Junk Parlor

JUNK PARLOR Biography A galvanizing force on the Bay Area indie rock scene since launching serendipitously in 2013, Junk Parlor is that crazy-rare band whose vibe is so driven by joyful schizophrenia that it transcends easy genre trappings. Born from the wild musical wanderings of Jason Vanderford, renowned for his five years recording and touring with gypsy jazz sensation The Hot Club of San Francisco, their energizing musical collage includes 50’s rock and roll rumbling atop gypsy rhythms, a bit of Gipsy Rhumba, tango, Eastern Euro/Hungarian music, bellydance, punk…Vanderford was raised on “rock and roll and punk and everything under the sun,” so other sounds are certain to appear as the hybrid junk rockers continue their jam. The songs on their mostly vocal 2013 debut Wild Tones and predominantly instrumental follow-up Melusina (2015) have earned them comparisons to Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Gogol Bordello, Dead Kennedys and Tom Waits. One fan called it “Crooner Punk” because of Vanderford’s beckoning, low range vocals – but those are just the centerpiece of a vibe that includes the singer’s acoustic banjo and rhythm guitar, the polyrhythmic grooves of drummer, cajon player and group cofounder Rt Goodrich, Laela Peterson-Stolen’s soaring violin and viola and the growling electric fretless bass of Tim Bush. At the heart of Junk Parlor’s desire to get their audiences dancing and singing along is Vanderford’s passion for storytelling. He taps into an offbeat influence for their latest single, the haunting rockabilly heartbreak tune “Mick Jagger’s Heart.” Drawing thematic inspiration from The Rolling Stones’ countrified ballad “Dear Doctor” (which appeared on Beggar’s Banquet), the band creates a fresh twist on the pain of lost love via the juxtaposition of dark lyrics and bouncy rhythms. Vanderford artfully describes the piece as what happens “when the heartache of Leonard Cohen decides to lament under the sun amidst the California surf…The moment of goodbye…the lingering sigh that begs to turn back time…Doctor won’t you please…tear it out.” The compelling, gut punchingly beautiful video for the track by Jeannie Jo uses scenes of San Francisco cityscapes as a metaphor for heartbreak. Building a solid, ever expanding West Coast fan base, Junk Parlor has played several hundred gigs these past few years. Beyond a batch of hotspots in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area, the band has headlined numerous times in Seattle, Portland, Eugene, Los Angeles and Reno. Aiming each time out to capture a room for a few hours, and aware of today’s short musical attention spans, Vanderford always creates fresh set lists using previous tunes to frame or set the mood for the next, building waves of energy in an arc like fashion. Not surprisingly, Junk Parlor’s fan base is as demographically eclectic as their music. Remembering a certain trip to Seattle, the singer says, “One night we played a punk club in Bremerton, with people wearing Mohawks and going crazy in a mosh pit, and the next we were at the Triple Door jazz club, with an older audience in suits and ties, drinking fancy martinis. The sonic shift reminds us a lot of the MTV Unplugged era, when heavy rockers gained new popularity by playing softer acoustic music.” As Vanderford tells it, Junk Parlor began almost by accident. In the years since his stint with The Hot Club of San Francisco, he had emerged as one of the region’s “go-to” musicians for his rhythm guitar and gypsy jazz expertise. In early 2013, his uncle, Tim Bush, asked him to come play his acoustic at a wine bar in Petaluma that he tended bar at. Vanderford agreed, but only if Bush played bass. “He’s been a professional bassist for 30 years and took me to buy my first guitar when I was 14,” says the singer. As he got into his once a month residency, Robin Goodrich showed up, telling Vanderford he wanted to put a group together. “I had never met him before, but he said he knew who I was,” Vanderford says. “I was hesitant but asked him to sit in with me for a few months. Then he shows up one day saying he booked the band. I told him we didn’t have a name and he said we better get one. So then I took it seriously.” As the idea of a larger ensemble took shape, Vanderford decided he wanted an original, more experimental band rather than another traditional gypsy jazz outfit. He began pulling out songs he had never shown anyone. The clever band name came from his younger days, when his bedroom stored his collection of vintage furniture and pictures he’d bought at antique stores. He vowed then that if he ever had a band of his own, he would call it what he called that space: Junk Parlor. Adding Bush on bass, the band played their first gig that May and five months later they made their debut album Wild Tones and started touring. While the singer writes all the original songs, the band works together on the arrangements and each member writes their own parts. Vanderford and Goodrich are financial partners in the band who do everything DIY, including booking, social media, poster making and promotion. Junk Parlor's members have played the gamut of festivals and prestigious venues including Outside Lands, Kate Wolfe Fest, Djangofest, Gaia Fest and SXSW. Vanderford has played, recorded and toured with the Americano Social Club, The Hot Club of San Francisco, Clint Bakers New Orleans Jazz Band, Little Charlie's Caravan, Avatar Ensemble and Seth Ford Young Quartet. Rt Goodrich has laid down rhythms and toured with Staggerwing, Beso Negro and Standing Room Only. Bush has played extensively with Danny Montana, Sweetie Pie and the Doughboys, Chuck Day, Sam Andrew, Jim Martin, and Freddie Roulette. Wild Tones included two instrumentals that resonated with the local bellydance community. The band started getting videos of dance troupes from all over, dancing to these tracks. Kami Liddle from the Gold Star Dane Company asked Vanderford if he wanted to collaborate, and he dove into a fresh project, aiming to create an album for dancers to choreograph to. They put together a Kickstarter campaign and raised enough money to make Junk Parlor’s instrumental dominated Melusina and go on tour with the Gold Star girls. He had been collecting vintage bellydance records for years, so he started picking out the ones he loved to learn. He recorded two covers among the originals, “Gold Star Dance Academy” and “Procession.” Looking ahead, Vanderford says that the new album, which will include “Mick Jagger’s Heart,” will build upon what Junk Parlor has been doing since day one. “Our first two records are simply two sides of the same coin,” he says. “I am looking forward to our next project as we already have all the songs and have been playing them out and getting a wonderful response. This one will include a few instrumentals, but have more of an emphasis on vocals. “What I’m learning through all of these recording and performing experiences is that it doesn’t matter if you’re a jazz musician, singer or dancer, the goal is always telling a great story. I love getting out there and hearing people’s stories and then transforming those into songs that can be interpreted in unique ways by the band, dancers and everyone in the audience that it touches.” "A dream falling off the edge of a cliff."