John Spignesi Band

John Spignesi Band
Matt Alling, (Drums), Joe Jeffery, (bass) and John Spignesi (guitar) pre-performance at NBPT Brewing Company in Newburyport, MA.
Background information
Also known as	JSB
Origin	New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Genres	Rock
Years active	2015–Present
Website	www.jsbmusic.net
Members	John Spignesi (guitar, vocals) Joe Jeffery (bass, vocals) Matt Alling (drums, vocals)
Past members	Bob LaCroix (bass, vocals) Thom Guthrie (bass, vocals) Chris Mitchell (keyboards, vocals) Ed Murnane (keyboards, vocals) Joe Stein (trumpet, vocals) Leah Stone (vocals) Shöna Nilsson (vocals) Andres Wullaert (percussion)

The John Spignesi Band is an American rock band from New Haven, Connecticut. The band was formed by guitarist John Spignesi in 2015. Since then, they have experimented with a variety of musical styles, toured regularly, and released several albums.

History

Beginnings (2015)

The band formed in 2015 and was originally a side project for Spignesi. By this time, John had already made a name for himself in the New England area for his extensive live shows and ability to improvise on stage. Being a side project, Spignesi did not have any desire to spend the time picking out a name for the band, and thus decided to simply name the group after himself. JSB originally played cover songs to the likes of the Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, and numerous other classic rock groups. Spignesi began writing originals increasing their momentum and being named by local news stations as one of the "Top Up-And-Coming Bands To Check Out in 2016." After a few lineup changes, the band entered Ace Tone Productions to record their first album, "The Time is Now." The album featured bassist Bob LaCroix and percussionist Andres Wullaert, along with Spignesi, Mitchell and Alling. The album garnered local success, however the band was unhappy with the recording process of not tracking together live. JSB toured steadily in support of the album for the summer of 2017. In October of that year, Bob LaCroix announced he was moving to Maryland, and thus, was leaving the band.

Thom Guthrie Joins, "Beautiful Dream" Recording (2017-2018)

After Bob LaCroix's departure, Bassist William "Thom" Guthrie auditioned and joined the band. His first show took place in November 2017 and he performed with the group as a four piece during his tenure. With Thom, the band recorded their second album, "Beautiful Dream." Not wanting to repeat their mistake of the first album, the sessions were tracked together live as a whole group. This was a huge change in sound to their previous release. Through the help of Wormtown Trading Company, the CD release party for the album was scheduled for the annual Strange Creek Music Festival, with the band's set taking place in the late night cabin.

Joe Jeffery Joins (2019)

Prior to the release of "Beautiful Dream," Thom announced he was leaving JSB due to creative differences. Joe Jeffery, a local musician and friend of Guthrie's who had seen the band a few times in concert, quickly stepped into the role, performing with the band at the CD release party just one month after joining. Jeffery's jazz improvisation experience and punchy Motown-inflected bass playing accompanied JSB's drive to new heights during the band's summer tour across the Northeast United States, with numerous festival stops including Max Yasgur's farm for the 50th anniversary of Woodstock as well as Spignesi being invited to sit in with well known jam band icons, Max Creek and a return to the Wormtown Festival in Greenfield, Mass.

2020: Challenges, Changes, and Connections, Studio EP: "three"

The global COVID-19 Pandemic brought most live events to a halt. As JSB prepared to celebrate five years as a band, there were growing concerns over safety and attendance. The band came to a unanimous decision to cancel the show, and instead headed back into Ace Tone Productions to record an EP. This release, entitled "three." was recorded in March of 2020 just before things shut down around the United States. The recording proved to be JSB's most successful yet, amassing thousands of streams on Spotify and Pandora. In lieu of selling the CDs at shows, the recordings were mailed out to fans, with many praising the songwriting and recording quality.

Spignesi, Jeffery, & Mitchell were still able to play a few outdoor gigs throughout the Summer of 2020. These socially distant gigs kept the music connected and growing creatively, as Spignesi concurrently wrote material for an entire acoustic album throughout the quarantine period, performing the new songs at the outdoor shows.

Halloween Studio Album: "Nameless"

As the summer came to a close, drummer Matt Alling approached Spignesi with the idea of a concept album based off "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. Jeffery shortened the poem and divided it into five sections, and Spignesi set out to write the music for each section. The band recorded the instrumentals for "Nameless" in just two days in late September. The need to write and arrange in-studio forced the band to find an alternative to using their preferred studio, Ace Tone Productions, and the great engineer Matt Terribile for recording. The band instead recorded at Joe Jeffery's home studio, dubbed by Spignesi "The Richmond House."

JSB logged nearly 17 hours of recording in just two days, the three members arranging the songs only moments before recording. Jeffery mixed and mastered the EP himself, using CD's of Matt Terribile's mixes on prior albums as guides for the studio sound of the band. The Nameless EP was released on October 15, 2020.

Online Engagement, Live Releases, And Improvisation Mixtapes

Joe Jeffery suggested releasing super mixes of live improvisations from the 2019 tours. Spignesi sent to Jeffery's home studio four hours of selected instrumental full band improvisations. These were mixed into two releases, Just The Jams, Volume I and Just The Jams, Volume II. These received a friendly reception among the band's fans on social media platforms, and were accepted for distribution on well known streaming platforms. The instrumentals showcased the interplay of the band for the band's regular fans and listeners and music reviewers, who described music where "ample chops are displayed throughout from the fuzzed-out psychedelic flourishes to the wild unhinged space rock operas that intermingle as they soar up to the sky."

Shifting to outdoor gigs during the pandemic did lead to one rain cancellation of a "JS2" duo performance of JSB music on a chilly day in November 2020, and Spignesi and Jeffery shifted plans to broadcast live via social media from the Richmond House studios. Jeffery mixed down and mastered a full album of original songs, recoded with acoustic guitar and fretless electric bass for a special release entitled The Richmond Recordings. The band mailed out copies of the album Valentine's Day weekend to fans on their mailing list, as a thank you and a fun surprise. Many fans responded by posting pictures of their music-by-mail, celebrating the connection.

JSB continues to this day to release live compilations, entitled "Choice Cuts." These compilations are hand-picked by the band and are representative of different tours that the trio has embarked upon. The first edition, Choice Cuts, Volume I was released in November 2022, with a follow up, Choice Cuts, Volume II released in February 2023, respectively.

Brief Trio Period, Ed Murnane Joins, Return To Trio (2021)

In part due to the professional and personal stresses placed on the band and musicians everywhere during the COVID-19 era, the band made a mutual decision to shift to a trio format. Mitchell died on November 4, 2022.

Spignesi, Jeffery, & Alling rehearsed a few times as a trio and performed at Ace Tone Productions in March to celebrate the band's six year anniversary. A live album was released of that session, appropriately titled JS3. Shortly thereafter, Ed Murnane, assumed the Keys role. Murnane played with the band until November 2021. As of now the band solely consists of Spignesi, Jeffery, And Alling.

Acoustic Album, Duo Brewery Tour (2022)

Spignesi & Jeffery embarked on a duo brewery tour throughout the Winter of 2021 into early 2022. The six shows spanned three different states, including the first performance of JSB members in the state of New Jersey. On January 1, via the band's website, JSB announced their sixth studio album, Roots. The album was written solely by Spignesi throughout the quarantine period of March-April 2020. Being the first acoustic album, the group recorded in a "stripped-down" format of acoustic guitar, upright bass, and a smaller drum-kit. The first single, "Days Gone By," was released on January 15, followed by another single, "Catch Yourself Before You Fall," released on February 27. The album was released on all major music platforms on March 19, 2022. JSB performed a 16 date, 6 state regional tour in support of the record, dubbing the journey "The Roots Tour."

Collaboration With Scott Murawski, Upcoming Studio Record (2023-Present)

Spignesi formed a friendship with Max Creek guitarist and songwriter Scott Murawski in 2019. Having heard the three. EP as well as Roots, Murawski suggested that Spignesi allow him to produce the next JSB record. Several delays were caused in the project, namely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but sessions began for the upcoming record on March 11, 2023. The band is currently in process of recording this album.

Members

Current members

• John Spignesi - guitar, vocals (2015–present)
• Joe Jeffery - bass, vocals (2019–present)
• Matt Alling - drums, vocals (2015–present)

Former Members

• Bob LaCroix - bass, vocals (2015–2017)
• Thom Guthrie - bass, vocals (2017–2019)
• Chris Mitchell - keys, vocals (2015–2020)
• Ed Murnane - keys, vocals (2021)
• Andres Wullaert - percussion (2016–2018)
• Joe Stein - trumpet, vocals (2015–2017)
• Leah Stone - vocals (2015–2017)
• Shöna Nilsson - vocals (2015–2016)

Music

Studio Discography

• (2017) The Time is Now
• (2019) Beautiful Dream
• (2020) three.
• (2020) Nameless
• (2021) Shortcuts
• (2022) Roots

Live Discography

• (2020) Just The Jams, Volume I
• (2020) Just The Jams, Volume II
• (2021) The Richmond Recordings
• (2021) JS3
• (2022) Choice Cuts, Volume I
• (2023) Choice Cuts, Volume II
• (2023) Choice Cuts, Volume III
• (2024) Choice Cuts, Volume IV

Live Recordings

To date, every show the band has ever played has been recorded. These shows are available on Archive.org.

In August 2020, Spignesi & Jeffery searched through hours of live recordings to discover highlights of improvisational moments. Over two hours of material was sent to Jeffery, who blended them into a single track for each CD-length release. The first installment, entitled Just The Jams, Volume I was released for free on the band's website in August of 2020, The second, Just The Jams, Volume II, was released on November 23, 2020.

The band continues to release installments in the Choice Cuts series, highlighting specific versions of songs from various tours.

References

This article "John Spignesi Band" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:John Spignesi Band. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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