Jellyfish (band)
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San Francisco's short-lived power pop band Jellyfish was a project of drummer/singer/songwriter Andy Sturmer, keyboard player/multi-instrumentalist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., "Band Witchdoctor and Mime" Chris Manning (Roger Joseph Manning Jr.'s brother who joined the band as bass-player upon the completion of Bellybutton) and guitarist Jason Falkner.
Sturmer and Roger Manning formed Jellyfish after the break-up of their previous band Beatnik Beatch. Prior to joining, Falkner had performed on and written songs for Vermillion by acclaimed Paisley Underground band The Three O'Clock. Drawing heavily from the Paisley Underground, Queen, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, XTC, Cheap Trick, Wings, and Badfinger, Jellyfish released their debut album Bellybutton in 1990. The album contained the band's biggest hit "Baby's Coming Back" which peaked at No. 62 on Billboards Hot 100 Chart. As well as the singles "That Is Why", "I Wanna Stay Home", "Now She Knows She's Wrong" and "The King Is Half-Undressed" (the video for which was nominated for Best Art Direction at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards).
Frustrated with simply being the guitar player, Jason Falkner left the band after the tour of this album. Chris Manning also left the band around this time. Sturmer and Roger Manning recruited Tim Smith and a small handful of studio musicians (including Jon Brion) to fill the void and set forth recording their sophomore effort, Spilt Milk. Taking an extremely long time to finish, allegedly due to perfectionism, the record was finally released in 1993. Spilt Milk was much more orchestral than its predecessor, and some have pointed out that it seems to be a mini rock opera following the life and death of a washed up rock star.
The Jellyfish Sound was a potent stew of many sonic ingredients. Obvious influences include the Beatles, SMiLE-era Beach Boys and Queen, but more obscure reference points run the gamut from jazz ("Bedspring Kiss") to Nick Drake (compare Drake's "River Man" to the Spilt Milk track "Russian Hill" -- they're virtually identical, right down to the orchestral arrangement). Roger Joseph Manning Jr. also mentioned that, while searching for a guitar player for Jellyfish, they only contacted people through ads in which XTC was mentioned as an influence. Some reviews compared the more psychedelic work of Jellyfish to the Dukes of Stratosphear, an "alter-ego" of XTC.
Increasing creative differences between Sturmer and Manning caused the abrupt end to Jellyfish. Andy Sturmer stayed quiet for a number of years, but has since become legendary for writing catchy pop songs for Japanese pop phenomenon Puffy Amiyumi and soloist YUKI (formerly front woman and vocalist of the Japanese rock band Judy and Mary). Roger Manning immediately joined up with Jellyfish live band member Eric Dover in a project called Imperial Drag, and also recorded as one half of the Moog Cookbook. He also played keyboards for Beck Hansen, participating in several records and also remixed some songs for French duo Air. In 2005 he released his first solo album, called Solid State Warrior. His brother Chris shows up occasionally as a sound engineer.
After leaving Jellyfish, Jason Falkner joined with other disillusioned pop musicians Jon Brion, Buddy Judge and Dan McCarroll (the latter three best known for their work with Aimee Mann) in a band called The Grays. Falkner has gone on to have a successful solo career. Roger Manning and Jason Falkner have recently reunited (along with ex Redd Kross member Brian Reitzell) in a new-wave inspired band called TV Eyes. Reitzell and Manning also joined forces for composing two tracks for the Lost In Translation soundtrack.
Discography
Albums
- Bellybutton (1990)
- The Scary-Go-Round EP (1991)
- Jellyfish Comes Alive EP (1991)
- Spilt Milk (1993)
- New Mistake EP (Japanese Only) (1993)
- The Greatest (Japanese-Only Best-Of) (1998)
- Fan Club (4 CD compilation of rarities) (2002)
Singles
- "The King Is Half-Undressed" (1990) #19
- "That Is Why" (1991) #11
- "Baby's Coming Back" (1991)
- "Now She Knows He's Wrong" (1991)
- "I Wanna Stay Home" (1991)
- "The Ghost At Number One" (1993)
- "New Mistake" (1993)
- "Joining A Fanclub" (U.S. Promotional-Only) (1993)
- "Bye, Bye, Bye" (Dutch-Only) (1993)
External links
- [God's Gift To Oxygen: A Brief History Of Jellyfish] a biography at RogerJosephManningJr.com
- [Jellyfish bio at Artistdirect.com]
- [Puffy Amiyumi home page]
- [YUKI English site]
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