Meet g.amber valentine and g.ed livengood.
When they're not driving around in their Winnebago with their dogs GoGo and Roo,they like to set up monumental cliffs of Amps and Speakers and a Vintage Acrylic drumkit like Karen Carpenter played and proceed to produce some,uh, INTENSE stuff.
from jucifer.com:
pop, doom, noise, punk, jazz, hardcore, emo, indie, trip hop, art metal, goth, glam, grunge, rock, surf, classical- all are elements that seethe within the jucifer oeuvre.
while such inclusiveness probably reads like chaos, when wielded by jucifer it is cohesive, distinctly their own and completely devoid of falseness.
as a result of their unique sound, subtle recordings and commanding live show, jucifer has been embraced by critics as well as fans. they've played with such diverse artists as vic chesnutt, the melvins, chimaira and high on fire, as well as mike watt, man or astroman, mark arm and royal trux.
the list of bands to whom jucifer has been compared reads with similar diversity: from minor threat to the carpenters, slayer to sleep, hendrix to malmsteen, veruca salt to my bloody valentine, pixies, pantera, portishead, nirvana and napalm death.
as stated by athens, georgia's 'flagpole' magazine early in the band's career, jucifer is 'not for the faint of heart'!
their devotion to intensity and disdain for stylistic rules tends to inspire strong reactions.
the dichotomy between jucifer's lulling, melodic passages, high-volume sludge and brutal machine gun off-time (not to mention the contrast of female vocals alternately siren and banshee) may not appeal to those who like hearing the same old rock music recycled again and again.
the sheer individualism of the band may prove disconcerting to those who prefer neat categories to explain their world.
and the colossal, floor-shaking 'wall of sound' (approximately 15 speaker cabinets and 7,000 watts of power) which bolsters their live show will be daunting to those accustomed to lighter fare.
but for the brave; for the musical omnivore: enjoy!
TIME LINE:
late 1993- in athens, georgia, the band which will become jucifer is formed.
early 1994- third member (original drummer) quits.
mid 1994- first show with just amber and edgar.
mid 1995- jucifer's first studio recording
late 1995- fans help to release a 7" ('superman' b/w 'licorice')
1996- jucifer begins touring (in a 1977 chevy van) and completes 'calling all cars on the vegas strip'. outtake song '77 chevy supreme' is featured on a kindercore records comp called 'treble revolution II'.
1997- jucifer tours, writes, works those restaurant jobs.
1998- a friend helps to release '...cars' which is poorly distributed, but charts high on college radio. labels come sniffing.
1999- jucifer signs to capricorn- of the labels they met with, the only one which had both financial prowess (capricorn was a major label, affiliated with universal/polygram/ def jam) and a history of allowing its bands total control of their art.
july-december 1999- the bulk of 'i name you destroyer' is recorded.
2000- capricorn releases a re-mastered version of 'calling all cars on the vegas strip'. jucifer tours the u.s. more thoroughly than ever before. capricorn begins a business metamorphosis, leaving them temporarily without distribution.
2001- capricorn continues to be without distro. they agree to allow jucifer to record the 'lambs' e.p., planning to have it available only on tour. as 'lambs' is released, distro falls into place and the record is in stores. '...destroyer' sits on the shelf. jucifer tours most of the year, in fall acquiring the winnebago that will become their only home.
2002- almost two years after completion, 'i name you destroyer' is finally released, to critical acclaim and band's relief. jucifer tours all but 2 months of the year.
2003- jucifer's rented house (in athens) is sold while they are on tour. they scramble to save their most precious things (mostly music gear and their approximately 5,000 vinyl records) and accept that they now formally, as well as physically, live in their tour vehicle. in july jucifer records another e.p., 'war bird', as they await a go-ahead from the label to begin their next album.
2004- jucifer records a new album, planned for fall release. 'war bird' comes out in march. a live cut of 'amplifier' is included on the kill rock stars comp, 'tracks and fields'. the band tours through the southwest, up the west coast, and throughout canada from west to east. alas, velocette (the new label emerged from the ashes of capricorn) now has distribution problems. the new jucifer album is on hold but is expected to be out in spring '05. the band will tour all fall, bringing the 'war bird' show to all the cities that haven't yet seen it. jucifer will also be privately honing songs for the next record- conceived as a double album- which they plan to track as soon as money's available.
BEHIND THE MUSIC (TRIVIA):
jucifer plays every instrument on their recordings as well as writing, producing and arranging their own music. they also do most of the photography and album art.
unlike many 'two-piece' bands, jucifer's live show does not include other musicians or pre-recorded tracks.
jucifer has no house! they jettisoned most of their belongings (circa 2001) to live in their tour vehicle.
yes, they are married. they are proud parents of two beautiful dogs, ages 2 and 9.
she drives. he reads the map!
DISCOGRAPHY:
1995 'superman' b/w 'licorice' 7" (independent)
1998 'calling all cars on the vegas strip' album (independent)
2000 'calling all cars on the vegas strip' remastered version (capricorn)
2001 'lambs' e.p. (velocette)
2002 'i name you destroyer' album (velocette)
2004 'war bird' e.p. (velocette)
And this past Tuesday,Sept. 5th, Jucifer released the new "If Thine Enemy Hunger" LP,which is not a double album like it sez above, it's 15 tracks, but it IS being printed in red and yellow(i think) vinyl and I was ALL jazzed to go to the SINGLE local independent record store that would have this record(which is about 40 miles away)that I get to about once a month since I've been living out in the sticks and when I got there yesterday,2 days after the release,of course there were no copies to be found, the stoopid fuckers only ordered 1 cd and 0 vinyl for the entire metro area ,retail genius! Especially as Jucifer is playing here in 2 weeks. I guess I'll actually special order from the store instead of from the website ,as I hear that physical sales help out the bands more than online or mail order and these guys definitely deserve whatever I can give,they truly Live to Play and Play to Live.
They're touring the East Coast now from the south north, for a good time go see em.
My Trusted MOGs
Congratulations.... like vh1, you've just managed to make a band a wasnt interested in, intriguing enough to go download. :) Though to be fair, I've always been curious about Jucifer...