STML: Jez

[what]

Here we go it's my turn!!! I chose this guy called Jez, cos i like him but also because i have lost all my music and swede still had this album that i sent him yonks ago! The album is self titled.

Jez is a singer-songwriter (OH NO!!!!!!) from Byron Bay (but he actually lived in perth for a long time) and is quite fuckin great. i saw him live first in january 2004 and he blew me away with his guitar skillz (yo) and his stage presence. He played either at this year's or last year's East Coast Blues n Roots Festival i cannot remember. His website is www.theofficialjezsite.com and myself and a couple others have mentioned him on this biatch a few times before. i'll do the review soon.

[lozzy]

i love jez.

is this gonna be the self-titled or pickles hinder slumber?

[swede]

its self-titled... its uploading still, will be there in a moment

[lozzy]

i already have this. tis great. will do review soon.

and jen...how'd you lose all your music?!? i'll send you a list of what i have....see if i can help you build up your collection again :)

[what]

HOT!! YOUNG LOZZY ROCKS!!
here is a bio from his site
Hailing from Byron Bay in the beautiful north coast of NSW, Jez is a hard working guitarist/singer/song-writer, & passionate live performer. Jez is driven by a devotion to rythym and melodic experimentation. Percussive guitar, stomp-box and strong smokey vocals make for a big, full sound from this dymanic and intimate performer.

Jez has built a strong following in Byron Bay as well as tours such as: The Hopetown, Bar Broadway, The Metro (at ABC's "Long Way To The Top" launch), The Punter's and Bar Open.

Jez has supported a wealth of Australian bands including: Midnight Oil, The Waifs, The Celibate Rifles, The John Butler Trio, Renee Geyer, The Cruel Sea, Tex Perkins, Mick Hart, The Beautiful Girls and more. He has appeared at Victoria's Queenscliff Festival, Brisbane's Valley Fiesta, & Byron Bay's Blues & Roots Festival.

To date, Jez has released two full-length cd's ("Jez" & "Pickles Hinder Slumber").

[what]

and here is a photo of him
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/jennifek/Jez_MediaPhoto_04.jpg

[what]

ok guys i added a bonus live track called 'one too many'. it's about having one too many magic shrooms. i'll do my review now cos i am bored.

You're The Shit: this song sparks my rebellious side through its inclusion of the word 'shit'. it somehow makes me feel like i am hardcore when i know that i am not. its got some pretty cool percussion in it. subtle guitar work. pretty good song in my opinion. but not one that i would randomly say OH I WANNA LISTEN TO YOU'RE THE SHIT!!! no. not at all.

Next Best Thing: the chorus in this song is really good. more of a song you can sing along to, but only in the chorus. and really nice mellow guitar stuff going on. oh there you go again... looking for the next best thing to fill you in! yeh i love the chorus in this mofo.

*: i do not know why he hasn't named this song. it's an instrumental, and only 44 seconds. displays a bit more of his skill with the guitar. very noice. different. unusual.

All In: HOT!!! cool rythm geetar, and some harmonica thrown in for a bit of niceness! and some percussion again! i havent listened to this album in ages and i had forgotten completely about this song.

Lost: This would easily be my favourite song on the album! f^ckin awesome. just jez and his guitar, and stomping his foot. like most of his songs, the guitar is in open tuning, and in this song he gets a huge sound especially in the intro. really catchy guitar work, and then the vocals come in.. brilliant. its a more upbeat song but slows down a bit in the middle then gets faster again. i thinks this will be a popular one amongst listeners. very popular indeed.

*: another unnamed instrumental. i like this instrumental better than the first one. more skill involved. its scorchin.

Belly Up: really simple song. simple lyrics with a bit of an environmental message. don't worry kids he's not the john butler preacher type. added bonus- he says fuck. re-igniting my rebellious streak yet again. oo0Ooo0OOoo0Oo i'm hardcore.

Denied: OmG!@? WtF!@? bit of cello action there in the inro it seems. nice slide work. i think i remember this being played the first time i saw him- it was amazing. my blind friend thought it was a cd playing cos of the sound he was getting out of the guitar. haha. we forgot to tell her that the support act had started. oops! she was like, WHAT? THIS IS A GUITAR!@? notice the song is 12 mins 44 seconds long. there is a break and then a secret track or whatever is played so don't just press for the next song!! its quite nice actually.

One Too Many: this song is farken haaawwwwt. u gotta see him do it live to comprehend how wahsomeeeeeee the guitar work in this little ripper is. friggin AMAZING!!! SO GOOD! !@#&*^# i cant describe it. and then he uses the body of the guitar for percussion. u can hear it real well. and the he does a little tapping thingo which is quite nice 'thats a joe satriano influence.... mushroom trip'. yes, this is the song about having too many shrooms. a valuable lesson to be learnt there kids. you don wanna ever have a bad trip. on any type of drug. not fun!!

Overall, Jez is tops. you can hear the lez zep influence in there with the open tuning stuff. and of course that little joe satriani tapping thingo. i give jez a 7.8 out of 10. i hope you enjoy this as much as i do. otherwise i will stalk you down and make you eat faeces.

[Yaz]

go jez

this may sound really dumb but where do i d/l the album from

[what]

haaahaaaahaaahaaaahaaaahaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaa.
are you in stml?
its in the inbox.

[lozzy]

go jez

this may sound really dumb but where do i d/l the album from
ohhhhh yaz *shakes head*....you have to join STML. send me an email or pm and i will explain :)

[Tribal_Drummer]

jez is the shit.

wooooo

:D

[:: katie b ::]

jez is the shit.

wooooo

:D

yooo tribal haha - i just saw u were a guest on the jez forum. nice one.

im listening now...review will be later.

[swede]

also, tribal did u add urself to the contacts list?

[:: katie b ::]

yo. ima review it now cos im so bored. ive had a fair good listen to it.

You're The Shit: interesting opening. sounds like it should be for the opening of some weird absurdist-humour movie. nice beat, cool guitar. interesting vocals. like the bongo-sounding shit goin on in there. tis hot.

Next Best Thing: indeed, tis the next best thing on this record, if not THE BEST. i love it. prob my fave. "oh therrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre u go again" is hot, i like how he sings it. its heaps good...quality chorus, quality line. simple guitar, simple melody = gold! i LOVE the extended "fill u innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn" at 3:08 - how emo of u jez. truthfully, it is vocally enticing and shows off his vocal abilities more than any other song.

*: what can i say. random.

All In: sounds like little johnny b, till the harmonica chimes in, then when the vocals come in, its johnny b again. tis ok. i find myself tapping along. cruisey. nothing spesh.

Lost: how genius. hot guitar playing, some talent there without a doubt. and omg how irony, like his lyrics get "lost" in the music, so he shouts a little louder, omg jez. how metaphorical. i like it a lot thou. would be 12930820488403x better if i saw it live. what is also ironic, is that i get a litte lost in this song...

*: ok. there is something fucking AWESOME about this. i really really like it. no matter who it is, something about actually HEARING the fingers slide across the fretboard of a phat acoustic guitar is incredibly unreal. im a sucker for acoustic sound. dunno why. love it. only bad thing is that i wanted more of it, wasnt long enough. sneaky bastard.

Belly Up: like the opening of this song...the guitar melodies in this album are really unusual and this epitomises that. ahh, very jack johnson-ish. which isnt necessarily bad. easy listening, no complaints.

Denied: YES. DENIED. get farked. that cello shits me to pieces. this song annoys me. the cello is so un-fitting. its depresso. however, as much as it shits me, i listen to the whole thing every time, maybe its cos there is a hidden tracker after, meh. i dunno. however, i didnt get no hidden track, couldnt find it. so i guess he hid it well.

One Too Many: rocks my socks. tis my fav i think. perhaps cos its a live version, but he rocks in this. awesome geetar. i listened to this the most. its hot. no more to say. joe satriani thing was funny. mushrooms ha.

***************************

Jez is hot. literally. he's such a dude. the fact he uses a farken hot maton acoustic makes him even hotter. his voice reminds me of a mix between john butler, eddie vedder and jack johnson. thus is cool.
i would much rather see him play live, than listen to a cd of his. it would be far more appropriate. he is clearly talented, a trooper on the ol' geetar.

the sound of an acoustic geetar makes me feel awesome, always has. i love it. tis my kinda scene foo's. and with jez, he plays it well, simply and throws in a good lyric or two. so its a good package. only thing he lacks, for me, is any meaning to his shit. i mean, if i was stoned or bent, it would be like farken shakespeare...but i regret to inform u i was sober and straight during all sessions of listening to this cd.

so as for now, he gets a wopping 7.1 out of 10.

p.s. that fill u iiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnn from "next best thing" is so hot. go on, put it on now, at 3mins 08secs - u'll know what i mean. infact, roll it from 3mins so u get the build up.

[surething]

finaly got round to listerning but then realised only had one song hahahahaha, thanks swede for setting me up with the rest.

ummm so it was good, bit like JBT but diferent enuff not to just copy (coz that would have put me off), i liked it, would play it again.

sorry not a detailed report life's just to busy right now .

but thanks to everyone for the STML coz i love getting new music, lets keep this thing going :D:D

[bri]

ok time I stuck a review up for Jez
in general I like his style not too derivative and not written to be chart friendly or to fit into a mould.

You're the shit
starts with a nice opening riff then goes into some interesting kinda eastern rythms, good vocals and lyrics quite an accesable song without going too mainstream and one of my favourites on the album.

The next best thing
probably my favourite song on the album straight forward kinda tune. Simple vocal and accoustic and that's all it needs. The vocals are given more range in this song and it has a quite infectious chorus.

track 3
nice accoustic playing but short and not particularly memorable.

All in
decent tune with nice rythmic accoustic and a bit of harmonica nothing really stand out for me on this track, though nothing I dislike about it really. Wouldn't skip past it but wouldn't add to a compilation of favourite tunes if ya know what I mean.

Lost
Like this song for the guitar rather than the vocals. A few different elements to the rythms in this and playing is really excellent. Maybe this song will appeal to guitarists more than others coz of the playing, not to say non guitarists wont enjoy it too though

track6
another little accoustic interlude

Belly Up
good picking in this tune. As Katie said it has a Jack Johnson type vibe to it and no complaints from me bout that. Another tune that has no real need for anything but the vocals and the accoustic to hit the spot. Good track

Denied
sounds sorta like the intro to a Beth Orton track till the vocals come in. The vocals in this are a bit softer than in some of the other tracks and it's quite a gentle song. dont mind the cello really as it makes it a bit different to stuff thats gone before.
Big complaint with this song is the five mins of dead air that follow it till the hidden track. Just have a personal hatred of these type of things if a tracks good enough just put it on the bloody album and dont ruin the continuity by sticking it ages after the last song has finished.anyway rant over.

One too many
Really liike this, fast rythmic guitar, slap percussion, little wanders off with the guitar playing, and some audience joking. Glad this was added as I felt from the other tracks that Jez was maybe somebody who would be best appreciated live and this track confirms that for me.

all in all a quality performer and one I'm keen to hear more from. No doubt that he's talented and thankfully has his own sound. Would love to see him play live.

Hate marking out of ten but if I had too I'd give him 7 for the album 8 if ya include one too many.

[swede]

ok ill do it too, ive been real slack on this one, but yeh here goes.

jez in general i think its solid, not mind blowing but its a nice easy listen, distinct style. In the album "jez" well, the opening song 'you're the shit' is really cool, i enjoy this and is one of the best on the album in my view.

anyway the 2 little instrumental tunes i wish were drawn out and were made into well, songs rather than lil interludes. i think it could have been time for him to really show off some talent and what not. but i guess thats all up to him what he wants to do..

other songs i really like, well lost, i think its mad, up beat and cool guitar. this is another one of my faves on the album, the same could be said for belly up, which is maybe the most like a john butler song, but i actually really love it. its hard for me to choose between these two and you're the shit as to which are my faves on the album. belly up just has this cool rhythm with vocals to suit.

for the other tunes - next best thing, all in, and denied, i think they are solid songs. of these i would go for denied, i kinda like the epic feel that it has to it and due to it having the most different sound within the album. i probably disagree with katie bout the cello, i really dig it, as bri said, makes it different. i think its a nice way to close the album to be honest.

----

one too many, well this was the first song jenno ever sent to me, i dig it. it kinda makes u wanna groove around. also love the raw sounding guitar, damn it makes me wanna see him to be honest. very cool.

so overall i enjoy the choice of musician, the album is solid. if i had to rate, id say the album itself 6.5/7 include one too many then it bumps to a 7/10.

thanks jenno for the selection, sorry for being slack and not reviewing earlier!

[Tribal_Drummer]

im pretty sure those 2 little instrumental tunes were turned into actual songs (i know 1 was definitely)... on the next album... 'pickles hinder slumber' which in my view is one of the most amazing albums ive heard.

both albums are entirely different. self-titled is more raw/roots sounding... & yeah jez is beautiful live... such a hugely talented artist. the third album... or possibly e.p is on its way... cannot wait!

i should really post a review, but im gonna fall asleep at the moment.