music, poetry, life, and other stuff from boise

"matty the mockingbird" (2001)

2007-07-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

everything by jab (2001)
except...
it was recorded at tourist studios by brady gregg, who insisted he could never get a good recording of this song, no matter how many takes, because i jumped around too much. i think he concluded, "it is what it is." i think he didn't have enough microphones hanging from the ceiling.

"hello gem state" (2007)

2007-07-19T20:48:00.001-07:00

everything by jab (2007)

"Just Ask Solomon" (2007)

2007-07-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

everything by jab, 2007

"Lightning Over Sierra Anchas" (2007)

2007-07-18T23:36:00.001-07:00

"Lightning Over Sierra Anchas" (2007)
recorded & and all instrumental by j.bunch

alive in appleton - "bicycle man"

2007-07-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

"bicycle man"
everything by jab
recorded in appleton, wisconsin
2000

alive in appleton - "pbr anthem"

2007-07-04T01:46:00.000-07:00

pabst blue ribbon.

there has to be a song about it.

and there is.

...more stuff out of the vaults. ...more stuff out of wisconsin, obviously.

"pbr anthem"
everything by jab
recorded in appleton, wisconsin
2000

alive in appleton - "nutria"

2007-07-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

the good ol' alive in appleton sessions. i had to dig through the vaults to find this, so anyways - while i'm embarrassing myself - here is a song where steve earle meets patty griffin meets bob dylan meets some other white trash local from either oregon or louisiana, where nutria reside.

this is a great redneck anthem, but it is localized to the point where only rednecks from oregon and the deep south will get it.

"Nutria"
everything by jab
recorded in appleton, wisconsin
2000

great song.

do you wanna know where ol' zeke came from, d'ya?

2007-07-03T17:44:00.000-07:00

bill thought that he had all of my recordings and live performances. come on man, only i have the ultimate collection of some 433 and counting songs. thanks for releasing the anthology though, but howcome i haven't received any royalties yet? just wondering. and thanks for the flattering liner notes. i'll forgive the grammar errors even though you are a reporter for a major newspaper. by the way, congrats on getting published in U.S.A.Today. that's impressive. too bad it wasn't this article:

liner notes to the olzeke anthology 2 cd set (2006)

"The album that you've just purchased, or more likely have been given or stole - wouldn't that be cool - is the compiled library of the short lived, if not prolific, Ol Zeke Records.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ol Zeke Records, which should be just about everyone who lives outside of Brownsville or Halsey, Oregon, here is a short primer.

Ol Zeke, the namesake, is some old dude who frequents a certain tavern in Arizona, telling stories and regaling all who come through town for the price of a beer.

It was in Arizona where Jeremy Bunch first met Ol' Zeke during his many travels of the American Southwest.

It is with the spirit of Ol' Zeke in mind that Jeremy founded Ol Zeke Records, originally based out of his old, beat up, falling apart, hopelessly dilapidated house on Lake Creek Drive, south of Halsey.

The first official recording, though, was made at a storage facility in the studio of Brady Gregg in Corvallis. The three people who played on that first official recording - Jeremy Bunch on rhythm guitar and vocals, Keith Reister on lead guitar and backing vocals and Bill Poehler on bass guitar - got together the night before for a few hours at Jeremy's house on Lake Creek.

The next day, Oct. 8, 2001, the three met up at a hotel parking lot in Corvallis and headed to Brady's studio. Once there, the three recorded three songs, "Pedro or Jose", "Car/Cop" and "Sonora", three of the seemingly infinite numbers of songs Jeremy wrote.

With those three songs in the can after a three hour session, Jeremy came back the next day and put down five songs, "Radio Flyer", "Compadres Forever", "Light of My Life", "Life Brings You Back", and "Matty the Mockingbird." Those original recordings were never officially released, but a number of copies were made and distributed to friends and family.

That group made several recordings, as did the duo of Jeremy and Bill under the names of Standing on Rocks, Angels of Mercy and others. The duo played songs mostly written by Bill, but some by Jeremy. Of course, they went to bars to drink more often than play music.

The most prolific recordings, though, came from Jeremy doing solo recordings.

It is the rawness of his voice, the crispness of the guitar and the haunting feel that make Jeremy's solo recordings so great.

At the end of 2003, Bill was added to Clairemont as the drummer, though no recordings were made of this final group.

Most of these recordings were made in 2003, with a few in 2002 and a few in 2004.

The final recordings made were the three songs of Angels of Mercy in 2004. Those were the final recordings made by the label.

The majority of songs here were recorded in one take. There wasn't much as far as manipulation. These recordings could have been made live, and many were in point of fact.

Regardless the lineup, the important part of the label was the spirit.

It's not a spirit borne of privilege, but of the hardworking ethic. If there's a job to be done, no matter how hard or complex, you do it. You don't complain; you get it done. It is that small town, work your a__ off and get it done that permeates these recordings. We're all working class stiffs, there's no privilege here. If there's something worth having or doing, it's worth working for. If a girl's worth being with, you have to work for her.

Oh yeah, something about God is in there too.

As far as live performances, Jeremy did some solo over the years and a few with Keith, but playing for others wasn't necessary. Getting to play music was enough.

Things happened - as they always do in life - that derailed and eventually ended the Ol Zeke record label.

In early 2005, Jeremy moved to Boise, Idaho and any hopes of rekindling the magic of Ol Zeke Records was left with him. Who knows, some day the stars in the sky may align just right in the clear night sky and there could be a reunion of sorts. I'm not holding my breath though.

Here is the compiled list of songs recorded, in attempted chronological order. All of the tracks were mastered from their original recordings. Sit back and listen. You might discover what others already have.

-Bill Poehler
of the Statesman Journal
Salem, Oregon

"tres alamos"

2007-07-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

"tres alamos"
bass - eric rouse
all other music & lyrics - jab
recording - jab & gary boyd
produced by - jab, gary boyd, eric rouse
mastered by gary boyd
2003

song list - catching up

2007-07-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

"adios"
music, lyrics, recording by jab 2007

"rio grande"
music, lyrics, recording by jab 2007

"scorpion sting"
music, lyrics, recording by jab 2007

"saddled the fire"
music, lyrics, recording by jab 2003

"radio flyer"
music, lyrics by jab
recording by brady gregg - tourist's studio, corvallis, oregon
2001

"jose vrs pedro"
guitars, vocals - jab
guitars, vocals - keith reister
recording by brady gregg - tourist's studio, corvallis, oregon
2001

here is where i will post my music

2007-07-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

wow. it's great to get emails from people saying they saw somebody else cover one of my songs. that makes my day. i'm such a rockstar. just kidding.

jose vrs. pedro seems to be a hit everywhere.

so I've dedicated one blog to being my "cultural" thoughts. this one can be my musical thoughts. a site that says all the other things that i couldn't say otherwise.

my rock music just didn't fit into my "cultured" blog, not that life is fragmented or anything, but

this seems like a better place for it all. strategically placed, I tell ya.