Anchorage Daily News

JEB has 100 percent fun while still making serious music


By JOSH NIVA
Anchorage Daily News

(Published: December 5, 2003 )

The members of JEB want to be taken seriously. Seriously, they do. They'll never admit it, though.

It's just that, well, they're too young and having too much fun to take themselves seriously. So the trio of singer-guitarist Beau Bodnar, drummer Erik Braund and bass player Jordan Cash take their music seriously, and that's about it.

A recent JEB show started with a tribal "man invents drum" scene, followed by a full-fledged drinking song (even though none in the trio is old enough to legally imbibe), a cover of Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" and the members trading instruments and stage positions at least four times. This sounds like exactly the kind of show you'd expect from three young rockers raised on the music of Local H : Braund is a recent high school grad, Bodnar is a student at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Cash is a senior at West High

It's all a ruse, of course, a musical sleight of hand. The antics deflect attention from the talent, but these are serious musicians with serious abilities, and for every Britney cover there are six or seven "serious" songs, straight from the Kurt Cobain School of Rock, Riffs and Angst.

"Our goal is to have 100 percent fun, goof around but still take the music seriously," Braund admitted at a recent recording session.

The motto explains why the gang pooled chunks of their Permanent Fund dividend checks for a massive merchandise purchase, which included T-shirts featuring a Christly figure exclaiming "I Am JEB" and ultra-chic JEB trucker hats. Unfortunately, the JEB condoms were unavailable.

"I want to get lunchboxes, lighters, mugs," Braund said before Bodnar jumped in, saying, "We want to be total sellouts."

The group credo also explains how a song like "The Many Faces of Dan" can surface. "Dan" is not one of JEB's "serious" numbers. It's a theatrical ode to authority figures that runs nearly 10 minutes and comes complete with over-the-top stage choreography and a handful of "Sir, yes sirs!" It's smarty-pants, but it's also smart.

They might traipse around onstage like Tenacious D, cussing, prancing and showboating, but the act works brilliantly, the audience unknowingly softened up for heavy doses of the serious stuff.

If JEB wasn't serious, the group wouldn't keep a dedicated rehearsal and recording schedule or try to play out as often as possible. If JEB wasn't serious, an album would already be sitting on the merchandise table next to the baseball shirts. The group refuses to release a CD before its time, no matter how hard the growing legion of post-adolescents beg for it or how high the lists of song ideas pile up. Braund, who's producing the album, promises an album in early 2004 but added, "It's a never-ending thing."

So, it seems, is JEB, as undeniable forces keep this band together through its many faces. Bodnar and Braund started jamming together in high school, a pair of skinny, mop-topped redheads who look like they were separated at birth. They formed a band with someone who Braund says had a first name that "started with a J." Thus the name JEB: "J" name, Erik and Beau.

Eventually, the "J" dude was out, but JEB -- Just Erik & Beau -- lived on. Cash, a senior at West High, joined two Christmases ago, around the time Braund dedicated the bulk of his musical energies to The Roman Candles. Braund left the Candles this past summer and has been a full-time JEBster since, and this JEB -- Jordan, Erik and Beau -- is as serious as ever.

"What if we'd found a bass player named Steve?" Braund asked, laughing with Bodnar.

Well, maybe not that serious.

Jeb will perform Wednesday at Chilkoot Charlie's and Dec. 19 at Alliance rock and rave event at Tesoro Centre. Braund expects more shows in 2003.

For more information on JEB, visit www.jebonline.com .

T.S. Scream makes an offer

Here are two words everyone loves: free music.

Now that T.S. Scream has your attention, the offer gets even better: This collection of music isn't just free, it's rare and rocking selections from one of Alaska 's longest-running crews. T.S. Scream recently released "The 2003 Compilation," a raw 14-track CD featuring of live performances, demos, rough edits and previously unreleased tracks.

These weren't the only gems in the T.S. Scream vaults, just the ones that fit. But this is a unique listen into the closet of a band that's been rocking Anchorage since 1989.

"It would have taken months to listen to all the material I have," singer Steven Mashburn said via e-mail.

Mashburn said many of the songs are special nuggets that will sound familiar to "the friends of T.S. Scream." Others are cuts that might surprise even hard-core fans, including three songs recorded in Portland , Ore. , in 1996. The CD also holds an epic five-song live jam recorded this summer at the Girdwood Forest Fair.

Mashburn said the group -- which consists of Mashburn, guitarist Scott Feris, bass player Kevin Stevenson and drummer Clint Sanders -- plans to print and give away 10,000 of the compilation CDs. T.S. Scream is finishing a new studio album, which will hit the streets in early 2004.

Want to give T.S. Scream's "The 2003 Compilation" a listen? E-mail the band at tsscream@hotmail.com .

Railer mixes pop, politics

Randall Scott is a man on a mission. Make that two missions.

One, spread the music of Railer, his Portland-based synth-rock band. Two, spread to word about HR 2239, a bill calling for electronic voting machines to print paper receipts so voters can verify their ballot.

Scott mixed pop and politics on Railer's New National Anthem Tour, an 11,000-mile, 21-gig road trip in support of the band's album "Frame of Mind" that ended in late November. It was the first national tour for Railer, a band concept Scott started while living in Anchorage .

Scott called from the road a few weeks ago, excited about touring and stumping for the bill known as The Voter Confidence Act, which was introduced by New Jersey congressman Rush Holt. During the recent tour, Railer played stages from coast-to-coast and also received worldwide exposure for its music and message, including a story on Wired.com and a phone interview with the foreign press.

"All of a sudden you hear the adage that either nothing is happening with your band or everything is happening with your band," said Scott on a cell phone while riding in the group's touring van somewhere outside of El Paso , Texas .

Scott started researching the electronic voting machine issue before touring and found horror stories of incorrect vote counts, faulty machines and fears of lost or stolen votes. In a press release titled "Hang Chad," Railer guitarist Ray Rude said Railer's offstage goal was to "Stop the current voting system from being replaced with fraudulent technologies."

"It's an issue of making our votes count," he added during the telephone conversation. "To get international attention because of it -- for a band that started in a basement -- it's just amazing to me."

Scott said he's also proud of his group's work onstage. "Every single club owner has invited us back," he said. Now, back in Portland , Scott said his band is resting, working on new material, plotting an eventual Alaska trip and recovering from the long road trip.

"It's been peanut butter and water, and we sleep in the van," Scott said. "It's a four-seat van, so the fifth person sleeps across the cooler. It's humbling but fantastic."

For more on Railer, visit www.railerband.com . For more on the issue of electronic voting, Google search "HR 2239" or visit www.eff.org .

Got music? Want Alaska to hear about it? Get your CDs, press kits and gig announcements to Daily News reporter Josh Niva. He can be reached at 257-4328 or jniva@adn.com .

T.S. Scream wants your attention

Railer tour has a double mission