Jessica's Crime

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Jessica's Crime is a sporadically active American independent rock band. The band formed originally in 1989 as the SpeedKings[1], changing their name to Jessica's Crime in 1995, following a number of changes in personnel. Founding member and lead vocalist Aaron Bishop has cited the band's "day-jobs in professional academia" as the primary reason for their occasional, long periods of apparent quiescence[2]. Originally from Dallas, Texas, the band moved to Philadelphia, PA at the tail-end of the 20th century. As of the release of their 2006 record Gone to Texas, the band comprises two members: founder J. Aaron Bishop (guitars, vocals, bass, programming, etc) and Michael P (guitars, vocals, bass, banjo, programming). Their musical style contains elements of punk rock, post-punk industrial music, dance, and older country music, à la Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. According to their website, they have not performed live since late 1999.

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[edit] Musical style

The band have described their style as "Ophidian rock music for the cold-blooded intelligentsia and the chemical elite. Plenty of guitars and thundering, cyclopean drummachines. Pure gonzo hell."[3] Critics have drawn comparisons with groups as varied as The Sisters of Mercy[4], Nick Cave, White Zombie, The Jesus and Mary Chain[5], Fields of the Nephilim, and even New Order and Johnny Cash [6].

[edit] Cover songs

In addition to their original material, Jessica's Crime have long been known for their sometimes bizarre choices of cover songs, the arrangements and performances of which often stray far afield from the source material. Notable examples include The Jolly Rogers ode to Blackbeard the pirate, 'The Devil's Son', as well as the Bo Diddley standard, 'Who Do You Love', both from their 1998 LP, Psychosemantic; their second record, 2001's 'Scarecrow + Hizbollah' yielded a techno-metal take on 'Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)' by Swedish pop icons ABBA, in addition to a surprisingly emotional rendition of Gary Numan's paean to robot-love, 'Are Friends Electric?'; their most recent offering, 2006's epic Gone to Texas included a bar-room singalong of traditional folk ballad, 'The House of the Rising Sun'. They have recently announced that their next project will be an album of cover songs titled PROJECT : GHOLA.[7]

[edit] Discography

  • 1995 Wintersongs cassette EP
  • 1998 Psychosemantic
  • 1999 Psychosemantic (sub-figura 1.5)
  • 2000 The Mutiny CD EP
  • 2000 Don't Cry CD single
  • 2001 Love is Vengeance CD single
  • 2001 Scarecrow + Hizbollah
  • 2001 Scarecrow (second jihad)
  • 2002 Letters to Suzuka: An Anthology
  • 2006 Gone to Texas
  • 2008? PROJECT : GHOLA

[edit] References

  1. ^ Legends Magazine, no. 88 (July, 1999), also available online: [1]; ibid., no. 108 (March, 2001), also available online: [2]; see also A Brief History Lesson, an official biography of the early years by Joshua Roberson, now available from the band's official website: [3]
  2. ^ . According to the official FAQ compiled for the band's website: [4]
  3. ^ Oblivion Magazine, no. 11 (July, 2001. Germany).
  4. ^ Rat Bastard, in Legends Magazine, no. 120 (March, 2002), also available online: [5]; Mike Ventarola, in Legends Magazine, no. 108 (March, 2001), also available online: [6]; David Ellard, writing for uk.people.gothic; Doug Cornell (April 3, 1999), writing for the now-defunct Amp3.com.
  5. ^ Rat Bastard, in Legends Magazine, no. 120 (March, 2002), also available online: [7]
  6. ^ John Harford, writing for Asleep by Dawn webzine.
  7. ^ Official website, News 7.31.07, reprinted at ChainDLK.com [8]

[edit] External links