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From
the collegetown of Ithaca, NY, Boy with a Fish
is: Jeff Claus (guitar and vocals),
Judy Hyman
(electric violin and vocals), Rick Hansen (moog, organ, accordion),
Jay Olsa (bass), and Ryan Cady (drums).
Their new CD and vinyl release, I Put My Tongue on the Window,
is on Left Ear Records, and is available at CD
Baby, Amazon,
iTunes, etc.. Basic tracks were recorded by Grammy award-winning
engineer, Will Russell, at Electric Wilburland, in Newfield, NY;
overdubs were done in a bunch of livingrooms and home studios; and
the album was mixed by 3-time Grammy winner Pat Dillett (David Byrne,
Brian Eno, They Might Be Giants, Beth Orton, The National, Mary
J. Blige...), working together with Ron Allaire and Greg Thompson.
The album was mastered by Greg Calbi (Sonic Youth, Coldplay, Band
of Horses, Bon Iver, Ra Ra Riot, Interpol, Iron and Wine, Fleet
Foxes, Shearwater, Lucinda Williams, John Mayer, Grizzly Bear, etc.).
Additional musicians on the new release are: Erik Della Penna (guitar
and lap steel -- of Natalie Merchant's band), Brian Wilson (percussion
-- drummer in Jamie Lidell's band), Jason Shegogue (guitar and lap
steel), Peter Glanville (guitar), Alex Shuhan (French horn), Ryan
Zawel (trombone), and Paul Merrill (flugelhorn).
The
band's previous release, Birds
Fly Backwards, has been played on over 275 radio stations
in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia.
Claus,
the main songwriter and singer in the band, grew up in a small town
in rural Illinois, where it's flat as a table, and corn, soybeans
and silos dominate the endless horizon. In the music that world
collides and is interwoven with modern life and the dillemas it
presents. Hyman, who grew up in New York City and suburban New Jersey,
was steeped early in a rich combination of classical violin and
urban soul/R&B, and now also loves north African, middle eastern,
and traditional American fiddle music. The two met in college in
Philadelphia and are happy they've been married longer than they've
been apart. They're founding members of the alt-folk-rock band,
The Horse
Flies, about whom Rolling Stone has written, "A band that's
earned a buzz. They churn out swirling, addictive songs, blending
tradition with invention."
Hansen and Olsa, members of The Horse Flies now, too, grew up in
Johnson City, NY, played in bands together in high school, and,
eventually, moved to Ithaca in the 90's. They're founding members
of the totally cool alt-rock band, Plastic Nebraska. Cady grew up
in Connecticut and went to college in Ithaca, joining the rich musical
scene there before graduating then staying on.
The
Horse Flies have recorded 8 albums, two on a major label. They've
been featured on MTV, World Cafe, All Things Considered, eTown,
Prairie Home Companion, and Mountain Stage, and they've been written
about in Rolling Stone, Musician Magazine, The
New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston
Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Guardian (of
London), and many other publications. They've also played many major
festivals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including New York City's
Central Park Summerstage; Brooklyn Academy's New Music America;
Berlin's New Music Festival; Vienna's Big Beat Festival; the WOMAD
Festival, the National Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian in Washington,
DC; Philadelphia Folk Festival; The Telluride Festival, and more.
Claus and Hyman have toured extensively in the U.S., Canada, and
Europe and have composed music for four feature films (starring
such actors as Martin Sheen, Kris Kristofferson, Genevieve Bujold,
Rip Torn, and Michael J. Fox) and a number of nationally broadcast
television documentaries. Critics have referred to Talking Heads/David
Byrne, Neil Young, Counting Crows, REM, and Freedy Johnston to describe
Claus' songs and singing. His music has been used by Natalie Merchant,
film director Oliver Stone in Any Given Sunday, Rock
the Vote on MTV, and the band Fiery Furnaces. Claus has also been
featured in an article in Acoustic Guitar Magazine,
October, 2000.
Hyman has toured and recorded
with Natalie Merchant,
including her newest album, Leave Your Sleep. She toured
the U.S. and England with Merchant, July through September, 2010.
One of Claus' songs, "Sally Ann," is the opening track
on Merchant's CD, The House Carpenter's Daughter, and Merchant
and band (including Hyman) performed the song on Late Night with
David Letterman while touring in support of that release. That song
is also included on Merchant's Retrospective collection.
In addition, Hyman is the subject of the cover
article in the Fall 2004 issue of Fiddler Magazine, and
is featured in Electronic
Musician,
June 2010, for her Emmy award-winning film composing.
Birds
Fly Backwards, the band's previous release, was recorded
before Cady joined the band. Drums and percussion on that CD are
played by Ben Wittman, a
longtime friend who has played with Laurie Anderson, Paul Simon,
Paula Cole, Erasure, Don Byron, and many others. Additional musicians
on that CD are: Erik Della
Penna (guitar) and Elizabeth
Steen (organ and Wurlitzer) of Natalie Merchant's band; Robby
Aceto (guitar) formerly of Tom Tom Club; and Billy Coté
(guitar) formerly of Madder Rose and Saint Low.
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