Howlin Wuelf Media :: Jed Davis

Jed Davis, acclaimed New York songwriter and musician, will be releasing his new studio record, the highly anticipated The Cutting Room Floor, September 21^st through Eschatone Records. Jed, a well-respected recording artist and studio keyboardist, has written songs that have been recorded by Daniel Johnston, King Missile, the Ramones and many others. The Cutting Room Floor was executive produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips/MGMT) and mixed by longtime Belle and Sebastian producer/engineer Tony Doogan.

Jed recently fled the Brooklyn neighborhood known as Dumbo (more on this later) and moved back to his college town of Albany, where he began recording The Cutting Room Floor in late 1999. After years of working with drum machines and synths to mimic a full-band sound, he was itching to make an album with a full live band. Easier said than done.

The recording of The Cutting Room Floor was plagued by disaster from the beginning (Jed refers to it as "this cursed-ass motherfucker of an album"). But despite a revolving door of players and studios, eye surgery, bronchitis, nearly fatal pneumonia, multiple day-job layoffs, recording contracts gone bad, and master reels lost in the mail, the record will finally be available for vinyl, CD and digital retail release in the early Fall.

Maybe it's because he's safely out of the weeds, but Jed now stresses the bright side. "The experience was invaluable," he says. "Along the way, I was learning how to work in all kinds of studios with a variety of engineers and musicians." And the project attracted a surprising supporting cast. T. Erdelyi – Tommy of The Ramones – came out of hiding to work on some of the tunes, donning his producer hat for the first time since The Replacements' Tim. Musical ephemeralist and longtime They Might Be Giants collaborator Brian Dewan brought a menagerie of esoteric instruments (including electric zither, autoharp, and penny whistle!) to the party.

Upon hearing Jed's first round of tracks, Fridmann offered to mix the song "Before I Was Born". But then he became aware of the project's difficult backstory. "Dave responded with the awesomest act of kindness I've experienced in almost two decades making music," Jed recalls. Fridmann rode to the rescue, signing on as Executive Producer, giving Jed access to Tarbox Road Studios for ten days, and arranging for Tony Doogan to come over from Scotland and mix.

The Cutting Room Floor was completed in October of 2006 with a post-production session at The Magic Shop in New York City. And it was cursed to the end. "The Mets game was on while we bounced ‘Native Son' and ‘Queens Is Where You Go When You're Dead' down to ½" tape," Jed says. "As the last note hit the reel, Carlos Beltran struck out looking and the season was over!"

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You can download the new track "Let Go" here:

http://www.jeddavis.com/LetGo.mp3

Jed's recording process hasn't always been painstakingly long and full of mishaps. Over the years, he's been building his fanbase through a savvy combination of hook-filled pop-rock songs, natural talent and determination. Years of coffeehouse performances and four-track demoing led to the release of two solo records, We're All Going to Jail! (1997) and Jed Davis Wastes 8 Years of His Life for Your Listening Pleasure (1999), on Connecticut-based indie label J-Bird Records.

In 2001, J-Bird honored him with Everybody Wants to be Like Jed, a tribute album which featured cover art by Peter Bagge and performances of signature Davis tunes by an eclectic host of indie artists including Dewan, Daniel Johnston, Anal Cunt, Wesley Willis, King Missile, and members of Agnostic Front.

The last decade saw Jed transition toward a rawer punk sound, and to that end he began collaborating with some of New York's original punk rockers, particularly the Ramones. Joey Ramone invited Jed to open for him at his final CBGB performance; after Joey's passing, Jed's tribute single, "The Bowery Electric", brought Tommy, Marky and CJ Ramone, as well as "fifth Ramone" Daniel Rey, together for a historic recording session.

As a highly-esteemed session keyboardist, Jed has performed and recorded with musical acts of all genres, including Jessica Simpson, The Deuce Project, and Bandcamp. He also recently served as a member of New York garage-punk outfit The Hanslick Rebellion. Their 2007 video for the song "You Are Boring The Shit Out Of Me" was a YouTube smash – and the Jed-penned guitar hook from that tune was called "The year's most undeniable riff" by Spin magazine.

Jed returned to active solo duty last summer on his cross-country CELEBRATION PARTY! Tour – a month of shows with a stellar side-band featuring guitarist Reeves Gabrels (Tin Machine), drummer Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley) and bassist Mike Keaney (The Hanslick Rebellion). The gigs were recorded on a digital stereo recorder, and the resulting compilation of tracks from each tour stop, CELEBRATION PARTY!, came out on July 1 through Eschatone, digitally at all major online retailers and as a download bundled with signed silkscreen poster at jeddavis.com.

This spring, Jed's flight from Brooklyn resulted in a well-received single: "Yuppie Exodus From Dumbo", available as a digital download or on wax cylinder – pressed in a limited edition of 50, signed and numbered by Jed and cylinder package designer Michael Doret. According to Jed, "Technically, the cylinder is not wax; it's hard plastic so it will never degrade, no matter how many times you play it on your family Edison." Albany blog Nippertown wrote, "The song is a hoot-and-a-half kiss-off – a deliciously scathing little ditty about Brooklyn-centric hipperism that Davis has wrapped around a jubilant slice of Randy Newman-in-New Orleans neo-Dixieland-style romping. The lyrics manage to name-check (and skewer) such institutions as Craigslist, hedge funds, McSweeney's, Vespas, Etsy, Conde Nast, "This American Life," Grizzly Bear and Grapes of Wrath (the book or maybe rather the movie, but not the band)."

And now, here is Jed Davis's first full-length solo album since 1999. Over ten years in the making. With his combination of heart, soul, strong sense of melody and musical chops, Jed is proud to finally present The Cutting Room Floor.

http://jeddavis.com/