1 oz. Jig
Photo: Jeremy Scott
Fayetteville funk masters 1 oz. Jig are about to release their second album.
The band, who are solely responsible for the shaking of around 10,000 butts (approximately 20,000 butt cheeks) per year in Fayetteville, will celebrate the release of The Brown Paper Bag EP on Saturday, April 13 at George’s Majestic Lounge with locals Tyrannosaurus Chicken and Michael Tisdale. Admission to the show is $6.
We caught up with singer/guitarist Jeff Kearney recently, and he was nice enough to tell us a little bit about the band’s new “angry little funk EP.”
Let’s start with the name of the EP. How you guys decide to call it the Brown Bag EP?
I originally thought of it as cheap do it yourself packaging, but the more I thought about it, the brown bag started to represent something else to me. It is a vessel in which you go out into the community and gather things to bring back to your home. It’s what you put a big beer into when you need to take the edge off. You can easily fight your way out of it when properly moistened. It is just a common but overlooked item in all our lives and that’s what attracted me to it, but most of all it is a symbol of small southern community. Larry Carrol was monumental in the design and implementing of this cover. His band The Great Scotts are playing Georges April 14 the night after our CD release. Everyone should go see them.
Tell us a bit about the recording process. How was it different than you guys’ experience recording the full length?
Well, first off all we did it all on 2-inch analogue tape at East Hall Recording with Chris Moore.
Recording songs you’ve written is like raising children. It can be very challenging, but offers great rewards. Some tunes are older and have matured a bit, others are younger and require more attention. Some are screaming in your face while you’re trying to change their diaper and they wont quit kicking and the mess just keeps getting bigger no matter how many times you try to wipe it or how many layers powder or ointment you put on it…wait…what were we talking about?
Oh yeah. I was comparing recording to child rearing. Anyways, at the end of the day, you want to have something that you can be proud of, and will benefit society in some way, and not something you have to hide from other people.
Back to your question. Its always easier the less of them you have to deal with at once.
What can you tell us about the tracks on the new record?
They are my angry little children. The tracks on this album are a bit darker than the last one. Where our self-titled album was all about the “Flowers That Grow From Shit Smell So Sweet” this one is full anger, frustration, and doubt. I hope the brown bag can hold it. Some of the tracks are masked with humor, some with happy sounding music and some are all out pissers. I guess I needed to scream a bit while I was writing these song, and music has always been a great way to do that. I am feeling much better now though. My next album will be very relaxed and conscientious, I promise.
You guys have a new(ish) drummer since your first record. Tell us a bit about what Marty brings to the table for the band.
Marty is a great fit for our band and we are all very happy to have him aboard. He is an old school Fayetteville guy and has played with some local legends such as Jo Jo Thompson, Windy Austin, The Tares, and Bob Kramer Incident. He brings the backbone of John Henry to the music, the humor of Ron White to the band van, a gorgeous head of hair to the stage, and his mad rocker style went perfectly with the frustrated feel of this record.
We noticed you guys are on the Wakarusa lineup this year. What other bands on that bill are you excited to see at the festival?
We are really exited about playing Wakarusa this year. It is a big time festival right in our own back yard. It’s also a great way to make contacts all over the country, which is great because we are planning on doing a lot of touring this summer. We just got back from a tour we called The Deep South Spring Dinger, where we played New Orleans, Shreveport, and Pensacola. We were very well recieved and plan on hitting those markets again in June.
My other band The Flipoff Pirates are also playing as a result of winning the Fayetteville Waka Winter Classic. Flip Off Pirates are in another battle now with all the winners of the Waka Winter Classics to play one of the main stages at the festival. You can go here to vote.
By the way, we are releasing the The Brown Bag E.P. at Vino’s in Little Rock this Friday April 12 with an after party at Midtown.
Don’t miss your chance to get your hands on this angry little funk EP.
