Meeting The Demands - An Interview With New York City's Only Soul/Punk Band

With the New York area's garage scene overflowing with bands that love to crank it up and go, merely riding out a four chord vamp but adding little imagination, it's refreshing to hear a band every once in a while that puts a different slant on things.

One such band is New Jersey's The Demands. The Demands aptly describe themselves as "New York City's only Soul - Punk band," for though they have all the kick of a typical garage band, they wash it down with soul and wrap it around a melody, and the end result is probably a fair approxmation of what would have happened if a teenaged Etta James or Carla Thomas sat in with their neighborhood group for an afternoon.

The Demands have been building up a following won over by the tight chemistry of leader/bassist/vocalist Jahna Rain, keyboardist Julia Rogers, guitarist Jon Pardo and drummer Jimmy Farrell. Perhaps they, the following, too are tiring of the crash and burn bands and crave the kinds of new twists bands like The Demands provide.

_____________________________________

We'll start with the obvious first question...How did The Demands come to be, and can you give a basic history of the band?

Jahna: The Demands started right after The Innuendos ended. I'm figuring it was around the beginning of 2000 when we got the good/bad news that two key members (Dave Rhoden and Sara Essex - you can find out more about their current bands The All Night Movers and The Stacks at www.davidrhoden.com) were leaving the Innuendos, cause they we're getting married (to each other) and moving to New Orleans.

John: I was looking for a change of pace and wanted to play in a band doing mostly original music. Jahna and I played together in the past and the opportunity to join The Demands opened up, so we made The Demands happen with me on guitar.

Janha: The idea for The Demands was to mix up all my favorite music - old soul, greasy r & b, power pop and punk- and do something fun and a little different. I had always thought that there was a fine line between soul and punk anyway. I thought that the trick would be to play soul music through a punk lens - to strip it down to the very basics. So, when we started, the band was a three piece - guitar, bass and drums. We went through a bunch of line-ups before we got it right... We quickly figured out that we needed something extra to make it work, and so Pardo joined the band on lead guitar. By the Summer of 2002, we had grown to a six-piece (two guitars, bass, drums, organ and baritone sax). But, we were feeling like a lot of important stuff had gotten buried under the enormous sound of this line-up, so we changed it up again. The current lineup makes me pretty happy - I think we finally hit the mark - I switched to bass, so we're now down to one guitar, bass, organ and drums. Pardo has been in the band for several years now, Julia for over two years and Jimmy for about a year and a half. I gotta say that we've been pretty lucky - we've had some amazing musicians and some super nice guys in the band over the last few years.

Can I get, for each of you, your own history of bands you've been in?

Jahna: 1985-89 - various bands that never played out or got a name... sang, played bass. 1988 - played bass in The Wolverteens (NYC). 1989-91 - played bass in The Hated (NYC). 1991-92 - played bass in Smartbomb (Gainseville). 1993-96 - played guitar and sang lead in Rocketfuel (NYC). 1997-98 - played bass in The Defilers (NYC). 1999-00 - played guitar and sang lead in The Innuendos (NYC). 2000-current - played guitar and now bass and sing lead in The Demands (NYC). 2002 - current - play drums in The Miscreants (NJ). 2003 - played bass in The High School Sweethearts. 2004 - current - play lead guitar in The Whirls

John: I'll work it backwards. Before The Demands, I played with Yod Crewsy in The Dark Marbles. I met Dave Dibiasio there. Dave played drums with us in The Demands for a year or so. Before that I played bass in Times Square with Jill Matthews and Dave Ari (of The Devil Dogs and The Headless Horsemen). Before Times Square, I played the organ with The Defilers. That's where I met Jahna. She was playing bass and screaming a lot. That band was really deep in the cave. This all goes back about ten years, and I try to take life in easy chunks. I'd like to deny the preceding decades.

Jimmy: Top 40, wedding bands, independent contractor, oldies band, Heavy Metal, rock copy bands, blues band.

Julia: I started studying cello and piano when I was four years-old, so, I’ve always been wrapped up in music of some kind. However, The Demands was my very first band. Of course, I’ve always liked to cause trouble that might be classified as "rock-and-roll;" some people might say I’ve been figuratively on the scene since birth. Recently, I also started playing bass in The Whirls.

Jahna, you're currently in two bands, but you've been in as many as three at a time, and playing a different instrument in each one. How hard has that been?

Jahna: The hardest part is making it to practice every week with every band and still having a personal life. Mostly it has been fun! By the way, I'm back to playing in three bands on three instruments... Bass in The Demands, drums in The Miscreants and lead guitar in The Whirls. It's like juggling several lovers... you get the best of all worlds this way. Still, The Demands are my main priority.

Relative to that, you do most of the lead vocals, and now you play bass, which is generally considered one of the hardest instruments to play while singing. How's that been going?

Jahna: A lot easier than I thought it would be. That's why I had never done it before - I thought I would do neither well if I tried to do both. It's working well, though - I have a lot more control over arrangements and feel on bass than I did on rhythm guitar.

A three-parter for Jahna...Who are your prime influences, first as a singer?

Jahna: Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Polly Styrene, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Elvis Costello, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Ella Fitgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dusty Springfield, Joe Strummer... the list goes on and on and on...

As a guitarist and/or bassist?

Jahna: Bass - Bruce Foxton and Donald Duck Dunn are the biggest two... add to that Bruce Thomas and David Hook Williams, of course...Jim Gange from The Secret Service-- I always preferred bass players who could carry the whole melody by themselves - a kind of lead bass... but didn't do it -- instead kept everything deceptively simple most of the time. Guitar-- I always looked up to guitarists like Mitro (Vacant Lot/Trick Babies) and Wild Bill (Senders) they're both amazing to watch play. My fave jazz guitarist is Kenny Burrell - I love that understated playing on "Blue," But -- I play 100% by feel -- I never thought of myself as being that facile a player... I was always aiming at a rhythm style that was choppy and clean and yet driving, like Pete Townshend. My leads are ridiculous outsider noises. I don't even try to emulate anyone... I love playing them, but I'm always a little embarrassed by the way they come out.

As a songwriter?

Jahna: Elvis Costello, The Kinks, Nina Simone, The Pretenders' first album, Smokey Robinson, Lennon/McCartney, Mickey and Sylvia, Nick Lowe, Otis Redding, The Jam, The Buzzcocks, and of course all that great girl group stuff/brill building era Holland/Dozier/Holland... I am a huge fan of classic jazz standards... you know like the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, etc. And gooey pop stuff like Barry/Kim.

Jimmy, yours as drummer?

Jimmy: Mitch Mitchell, Cozy Powell, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, and about 1,453,653 others. There are so many talented drummers including the young guys that are becoming prevelant on the scene. I am constanly being influenced. One thing about the drums is that someone always manages to kick it up to a higher level regardless of the type of music. The new strain of musicianship is superb. It is too bad that NYC radio sucks and that our ears will always search for those players and bands to feed our heads with the music that moves our souls.

John, guitar?

My Dad, John Pardo Sr., John Fogerty, Steve Cropper, Richard Lloyd, Pete Shelley, Dave Edmunds, Ike Turner, Scotty Moore, Luther Perkins, Waddy Wachtel.

Julia, your influences as keyboardist?

Until a little over 3 years ago, when I joined The Demands, I had never really thought of a rock-and-roll aspect of my keyboard playing. Being primarily a classically-trained musician, I was always used to really complex and labor-intensive piano pieces. Most of my "ensemble" playing was cello-related, and I didn’t do that much ensemble playing and improvisation on the piano, so this was all new to me, and I had to learn to simplify my playing and my ideas about what sounded right given the make-up of the band. I would say that I have always been a huge Stevie Wonder fan (not 1980’s Stevie, but 1960’s and 1970’s Stevie), so when I started playing with The Demands, I drew a lot from his style, combined it with my classical influences, then learned to apply the resultant product and shape it to fit the more modern, louder Demands sound. I also have always been exposed to and in love with jazz, so, I’d say that philosophically (at least in terms of improvisation), I’ve always taken a lot from the big band, brassy sound -- Dave Brubeck, etc. -- along with other jazz greats; Duke Ellington; Dizzy Gillespie; Duke Ellington; Miles Davis; John Coltrane; Louis Armstrong. I also did a lot of homework when first joining The Demands by listening to bands like The Deadly Snakes and The Sights and The Dirtbombs for that garagey, rock-and-roll, sometimes dirty soul-infused flavor. Strangely, in my spare time, I find myself listening to a lot of electronica: Portishead; Zero 7; Boards of Canada. I think some of the melodiousness of this material has bled into my Demands organ and song arrangement/writing ideas.

A rock and roll genie grants The Demands one wish: he'll do one thing for the band. What will you ask him to d

Jahna: Ask him for three more wishes! Seriously, I suppose I'd ask for the time and money to make a really great record and then tour around with some fun bands and have a great time for a while.

Jimmy: Record a CD that will be listened to for 30 plus years.

Jahna and Julia...your voices complement each other perfectly, as evident on tracks like the dance 'n party-friendly "Right Here's Where It's At." Are you two soul sisters

Julia: I think the key is that our voices are quite different, and each have their own strengths that bring something fresh to the music.

Jahna: We come at this music from totally different places (I'm self taught and Julia has been performing as a concert pianist and cellist since she was 4) but I think we have arrived at the same place somehow. I like the way we sing toghether, but I am most impressed - think we work our best as a songwriting team.

You have several songs about fools...the slow soulful "Running Out Of Fools," the faster "Seven Day Fool." Do The Demands associate with a lot of fools?

John: You got a problem with fools?

Jahna: I pretty much am one, when it comes to anything I care about. I guess that's why those songs resonated with me enough to want to cover them.

Julia: I don’t want to speak for everyone, but this particular Demand associates with far too many fools. I think it’s all those renegade fools that give the female Demands so much material for their song-writing.

Julia, The Demands often play a strong cover of "Since I Fell For You" with you in the lead. Is that one of your favorite songs, and one you have personal affinity for?

Julia: I wouldn’t say "Since I Fell For You" is one of my favorite songs. I think the real reason I started singing it was because The Demands had been performing it for so long and wanted to switch it up a bit to make it fresh. Plus, I was dying to sing something. Happily, that seemingly opened up the floodgates for Jahna and I to realize our ability to be a prolific song-writing team and for me to start singing some of our originals.

My personal favorite Demands song is "All Right." Tell me about that song.

Jahna: Angry-pop written by me and Paul Endres when we had the band Rocketfuel. It's pretty much about the point after a break-up where you realize that maybe you can survive without the relationship - that you might even be better off... after you get a chance to get over it.

And what do each of you pick as your favorite?

Jimmy: "She's Something." J's guitar part is sweet. The J's lyrics are great R rated rock and roll lyrics and the two J's vocals rule.

Jahna: Too hard to pick one... Top 4 are "I Want More," "The Sidewinder (He Can't Handle Her,)" "Running Out Of Fools," and "Here With You."

John: "Didn't I Tell Ya." It can get real scary.

Julia: I’m most proud of and happy with the new songs we’ve written. My favorite is tied between "Here With You" and "The Sidewinder."

Jahna, describe John.

Jahna: He's the glue in this band. Rock solid. Both as a person and player - you can always count on him. He's pretty much got it all - great player, great personality and and pretty darn nice on the eyes, too.

John, describe Julia.

John: Other than her distracting obsession with *The Eagles Greatest Hits,* Julia brings a fresh and cynical outlook to the band. She and Jahna have contrasting but complimentary personalities that steer the mood of the band. I wish she would stop asking to cover "Take it Easy," though.

Julia, describe Jimmy.

Jimmy is an amazingly loud drummer; I blame this on his heavy metalish past. He is also a just plain amazing drummer, and I appreciate the fact that he is sensitive to the subtle differences in all our music and can dumb it down or provide a healthy dose of pinache depending on what the music requires. Incredible drummers and good people are hard-to-find gems, and we have both in Jimmy. He also has come up with some great ideas for freshening up our song arrangements, which has allowed us to do a lot of growing in the past couple years. If we’re talking about a non-musical description, I’d say that Jimmy is both sassy and fresh (when he remembers to take his Geritol.)

Jimmy, describe Jahna.

Jimmy: Music is in her blood and I think if she could not write or perform she would cease as a living person. She is very creative in many ways and just not musically. The feel she has for the music is outstanding and the transition to playing the bass is a testament to that fact. I played with a lot of talented people with no "feel" and the music was as flat as an Irish girls chest. The Demands are alive, pumping and rocking. The best thing that happenned was Jahna switching to bass and kicking the band up a couple of notches.

What's with the "J-names only in this band" policy?

Jahna: I'm sorry - If I told you, I'd have to kill you.

John: If you had a "J" name, you would know already. This is a silly question.

Jimmy: Call the drummer "Timmy."

Julia: Yes, lately we’ve actually been calling Jimmy "Timmy" to try to change our monochromatic name image. It just might stick.

You've had some recordings released so far on comps: I know of "All Right" on Gotham Garage and "Gimme Gimme" on Garage Justice Vol. 1. Are there any others I'm missing? And what recordings are on the way?

Jahna: "Chinatown" just (finally) came out on the Devil Dogs tribute album Attack from the Planet of the Devil Dogs on Headdip Records out of Germany. And we're in the studio right now (at Mitro's place) working on our first full-length album.

Jimmy: The best is yet to come. YEA MAN!

Last October, you guys were on the bill with Arthur Lee and Love. That must have been an honor. Any great stories come out of that?

Jimmy: What a trip. I haven't heard those songs since WABC -FM ! Wish I didn't toss away the acid from the 60's.

John: It was more fun watching The Chesterfield Kings warm up. That was a spectacle.

You also did the Las Vegas Rockaround last September. Reflections on that?

John: Great show. Flew in, gambled, ate, drank a lot, played show, drank a lot, gambled, drank a lot, flew out. Compressed a weeks worth of activity into a Las Vegas quickie. The only way to fly.

Jahna: That was one of the most fun weekends of my life. We got to hang out with a whole bunch of interesting people, including the gang from Get Hip Records and we wrote one of my fave songs of ours "Here with You" when we were there. It always makes me smile.

Julia: Las Vegas marked a real resurgence in creative excitement for us. It gave us the chance to change the scenery a bit and expose ourselves to an experience that we don’t get to have every day. I think it’s incredibly important for us to occasionally get out of our element a little, or a lot, and take some risks in order to grow as a group.

What has so far been The Demands' finest moment?

John: Scaring the crowd at the Abbey in Boston a few years ago. I think they though Jahna was going to jump off the stage and tear somebody up. Wild.

Jahna: We played our best show ever a few weeks ago - best we ever sounded and the most fun, too. It was at a friend's 40th birthday party at a biker roadhouse/package store called the Great Notch Inn on Route 46 in NJ. That was really fun. But the stuff that's happened in the studio since then is probably the bet we've ever been. And I have a feeling that the best has yet to come.

What's the future for The Demands as you see it, or would like to see it?

Julia: I want to see us continuing to take creative risks, first by finishing an album we are whole-heartedly proud of and then possibly by going on tour and playing as many shows as possible to continue to expand our horizons.

John: More scaring, Las Vegas one night stands, and live rock and roll. Louder and faster.

Jahna: Finish the record, play some fun shows (we've got three great ones lined up -- May 8 at Siberia, NYC with the Deadly Snakes, June 5 at Magnetic Field in Brooklyn for Julia's birthday with The Whirls (debut show), and June 19 at the Laughing Lizzard Lounge in Alexandria, VA with The Florenteens. We're also supposed to play (New Jersey's WFMU's) Joe Belock's show soon... that should be fun!! Hopefully the record will be out before the end of the year. Maybe we'll get a little touring in there, too.

____________________________________

Visit The Demands' web site at powerandvolume.com/demandshome.htm

____________________________________________________

To reach any other page contained in this month's update on Fufkin.com, read the home page for the appropriate link and click on it. You can also search the site from any page using the search box located at the top of each page. Merely type in the word, phrase, name of the band, recording, name of the Fufkin writer that you are looking for or Whatever in the search box, and then click on "Search". If you would like to e-mail us, go to the About Us page for a list of e-mail addresses.

Go back to the home page by clicking here

______________________________________________________