Comments for Julie Jones and the Things You Are, Thick Picnic

Debut EP from this jazz- and funk-influenced rock band from Portland, Oregon. As a songwriter, Julie twists raw rock energy and jazz sensitivity with progressive chord changes, funk underpinnings, unusually melodic pop hooks, and dynamics throughout. Juliešs vocal style and lyrics have an unpretentious and very personal quality. Itšs an infectious, category-smashing kind of music that appeals to a broad audience. Local reviewers write:Just in time for the 90`s, the hipness of the music of the band comes from the genre-bending. Jones attempts to summarize, "It`s definitely rock, with a lot of jazz and funk elements -- sometimes pop-like, though our arrangements have some unusual twists and turns. It`s very melodic, both vocally and with the interplay of keyboards and bass and guitar, and rhythmically very rich also. We try for a lot of dynamic range, from very quiet, ethereal parts, to really cranking, driving sections. A lot of emotion and humor." -- Boyd Martin, Portland Downtowner, July 26, 1994Contradictory though it may be, musicianship is not high on the list of qualities desired from bands by many of today`s rock listeners. In a sort of reverse discrimination, bands with chops are being looked down upon as if there`s something wrong with heir knowing how to play their instruments - learn more than a couple of chords and you`re no longer cool. That`s going to make things rough on Jones and her mates, as they perform a funky brand of pop with all the window trimmings. Over Sade-like grooves, Jones and band cut loose with displays of instrumentalism that speak of an aesthetic that aspires to more than the elemental crunch of garage rock. Artful chord changes, screaming guitar solos, elements of jazz and Jones` mellifluous voice meld in the group`s learned sound. Don`t hold it against them. -- Tim Casebeer, Willamette Week, May 25, 1994"Cross My Heart" has hit written all over it. Julie`s dusky dark vocals are bathed in layers of keyboards and percussion. An unusual, but memorable melody line carries the song through the verses and the uplifting chorus; whereupon Neros Romer Tod Morrisey simply rips into two separate guitar solos, chewing up frets with ravenous fingers. A stellar performance all around... Julie Jones displays special aptitude as a vocalist. Hers is the sort of unusual voice around which careers are built. -- S.P. Clarke, Two Louies, June 1994For more information, or to download samples from this recording, visit the band`s web site at:http://www.teleport.com/~jayrc/JJTYA.htmlor email Jthings@aol.com