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Oct. 28, 2004

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME -- THE PHRASE REFERS TO A phenomenon in which someone who is held hostage for a long period of time begins to identify with their captors, rather than those who are trying to free them. (Think Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army.)

Stockholm Syndrome [photo at right] is also the name of a band led by Jerry Joseph (of Jackmormons fame) and Dave Schools, bass player for the very successful jammers Widespread Panic. After spending weeks on end barnstorming the country, the band hits Humboldt Thursday, Oct. 28, for a show at Six Rivers Brewery.

As I mentioned last week, Joseph is a former local. Fact is his family has deep roots in Eureka, and while he did not grow up here, in the '70s he lived in Arcata, where he fronted a couple of the area's early reggae bands, the Roots Rockers and Graffiti. While living here, he met Brad Rosen and with him formed a band called Little Women that worked out of Colorado for years, eventually morphing into Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons.

Although his band was by no means a jam band, while touring the country with the Jackmormons, Joseph befriended a couple of rising jam combos, Phish and Widespread Panic, who came west for the first time as openers for Joseph's band. That's how Jerry became friends with Dave Schools.

"A couple of years ago Dave was producing a record for my band the Jackmormons," said Joseph. "That was when we started toying with the idea of writing songs together." Specifically, Schools was interested in exploring work focusing more on lyrics with a political edge. And, says Joseph, something clicked between the two musicians. "We ended up touring Europe as a duo with Dave on bass, me on guitar, kind of a Hot Tuna vibe, but with our songs, not covers of old tunes. We had so much fun we decided to put a band together. We made up a list of people we wanted to play with, and to our surprise, everyone at the top of our list said yes."

The short list included guitarist Eric McFadden, who leads his own band, but who has also worked with Funkadelic. The chosen drummer, Wally Ingram, has been working with David Lindley for years. Keyboard player Danny Dziuk is a German master that Joseph met over there. The crew assembled, and an album, Holy Happy Hour, was born, with songs veering from genre to genre, tending towards dark music, then seeking the light. The overall effect is impressive, with Joseph's erudite lyrics at centerstage.

Considering the scheduling complications, Joseph did not figure the band would survive beyond the sessions, nevertheless they hit the road. "At first we were thinking it would be a little more liquid since everyone has their own band, but we made it work even with everyone's schedules," he said, admitting that a seemingly endless series of tours from spring into summer and on into fall have left him feeling like he's held hostage by his own creation, but sure enough, he has grown to love his captor. "I couldn't be happier," he says, adding, "Well, I might be happier when the tour is finally over."

With All Hallows Eve coming on a Sunday this year (much to the chagrin of a number of good God-fearing Christian folk), the ghouls will be partying all weekend long. For example, Mazzotti's begins the weekend with a Halloween party featuring a notable return from the rock `n' roll graveyard; yes, it's The Cutters, alive and well and ready to rock once more. Opening the show, another hard-rockin' combo, The Ravens. DJ Red spins `60s and '80s music before, between and after.

Down the way at Redwood Yogurt Friday night, The Ian Fayes and The Collars play indie pop with no cover charge. Meanwhile at Six Rivers Brewery, it's the return of the awesome Bay Area Afrobeat band Albino! (Note, there was a late schedule change so the Six Rivers ad in print here and elsewhere is incorrect.) A cool hip-hop/rock conglomeration called Turquoise Casanova opens the show.

Friday night at the Van Duzer, CenterArts presents an evening with "America's favorite singing cowboys," Riders in the Sky, fresh from a weekend at the Grand Ole Opry. (Note: In part because the Riders are a family friendly band, this show starts at 7 p.m. not at 8, like most Van Duzer shows.)

And speaking of cowboy music, we got a note this week announcing the return of The Tumbleweeds to their old Friday and Saturday night haunt, the Chapala Café.

Saturday night at the Alibi, it's the return of Trash and Roll in a new incarnation, coupled with a CD release party for the T `n' R album, Call It What You Want. I was actually present at the band's last performance some time ago at the Shanty. As I recall an angry friend of an ex-girlfriend of lead guitarist Freel brought things to a grand finale throwing a full pint of ale in his face. It took a while, but Freel assembled an album's worth of tracks, and then a new band, with Ray from the Cutters, Jon from Shaking Hands and Danny from Sad Wings of Destiny. Ray dropped off a burn of the new band's 7-inch single, which like Freel's prior album, has that the sort of honest garage rock feel that Alice Cooper can only dream of. Saturday night's show is not billed as a Halloween party, but considering the fact that The Buffy Swaze are opening, don't be surprised if people are in costume.

Across the plaza at Mazzotti's the jamband fans welcome the return of Nucleus (who must to be woodshedding again) with Ginger Brown opening the show.

Looking for something completely different? Friday night at Six Rivers Brewery catch the Humboldt debut of a band called Tiptons (formerly known as the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet), an all-woman quintet led by Jessica Lurie of the Living Daylights featuring four saxophones and a percussionist, Elizabeth Pupo-Walker from the band Tuatara. This one is a costume party.

Saturday's Halloween benefits include the annual KMUD Halloween Boogie at the Mateel with Something Different, N*P*K and local reggae legends The Ideals, and an Arcata House Halloween Boogie at the Bayside Grange featuring the Compost Mountain Boys and Deltron Nine.

Coming next Wednesday, Nov. 3: roots reggae master Prezident Brown at Mazzotti's. At Six Rivers Brewery, folk/rock songwriter Eileen Hemphill Haley and her Oregon Dogs band with special guest Mike Dillon from the eclectic Austin band Hairy Apes BMX. (Dillon plays with his band Thursday, Nov. 4.)

At the Van Duzer Wednesday, it's a totally amazing tour assembled by the National Council for the Traditional Arts. "Masters of Mexican Music" features four bands from four parts of the country: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano from Jalisco, Jose Gutierrez y Los Hermanos Ochoa playing music from Veracruz with African influences, Domingo "Mingo" Saldivar, playing Tex-Mex accordion-based conjunto music from the borderland, and Marimba Chiapas, which as you might guess is a Mexican xylophone band from Chiapas. I'll admit, I don't know much about these musicians, but I have seen several NCTA tours, and I can assure you this will be a night that you will not forget. Sabroso!

Bob Doran