Friday, April 19 2013
9:00pm

Strange Jerome

Seattle based Strange Jerome combines the right amount of grit and edge with dynamic harmonies and gripping melodies. By blending alternative country, shadowy folk and blues influences, this clever roots rock band has crafted a provocative sound that has been described as Lucinda Williams and the rockin¡¯ side of Neil Young meets the Pretenders.

The Strange Jerome story began when eight year-old Sherri Nudelman discovered a guitar belonging to a friend¡¯s older brother in their basement. Inspired and obsessed, she began to incessantly harass her parents for a white electric guitar. Despite her disappointment with the small child¡¯s acoustic that actually showed up one Christmas, Sherri demanded guitar lessons. An early fixation with the likes of Elvis and the Beatles fueled her desire and she was determined to become a rock star. Sherri, born and raised in New Jersey, started writing songs at unknown early age and performed them for her babysitters. It wasn¡¯t until her late teens that she began a serious attempt at songwriting. Countless hours spent alone in her room yielded songs which lead to her experience playing in the band The Animators. Sherri teamed up with a variety of other musicians and singer songwriters and played the NYC circuit. She had always wanted to change her last name to something that was a little more performer friendly, but with her father deceased she felt a bit guilty abandoning the family name. The solution, she decided to take his first name as her last.

Sherri Jerome headed to Seattle in the mid 90¡äs. After collaborating with many musicians and doing solo performances, Sherri joined forces with guitarist Michael Beckworth. The two met while networking at a popular Seattle open mic night. The partnership has proven to be one that works well. Michael¡¯s definitive, gritty guitar sounds and tasteful phrasings bring a distinctive essence to Sherri¡¯s songs.

As the driving force behind Strange Jerome, Sherri and Michael still perform as a duo but most often with a variety of other musicians as a full band. The current line up consists of Sherri Jerome ¨C lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, Michael Beckworth ¨C back up vocals, electric guitar, John ¡°Johnny Cat¡± Ramsdell- bass, and Jon Hedges- drums.

Strange Jerome¡¯s new CD, ¡°Guns, Ammo Jewelry, Coins¡±, delivers a diverse yet cohesive collection of songs. The follow up to the bands debut CD ¡°Vicious Tattoo¡±, ¡°Guns, Ammo, Jewelry, Coins¡±, delivers dreamy eclectic singer/songwriter infused Americana. The opening track ¡°Elvis, Please Advise¡±, a quixotic, introspective country song poses the question, ¡°How will you make it to the other side?¡± While the album¡¯s 3rd track ¡°Bourbon Street¡± rocks the hardest of the 12 song CD with its infectious almost pop/punk drive. ¡°Sedro Woolley¡±, where the album¡¯s title comes from, is reminiscent of a Jim Jarmusch movie with its vignette-like storytelling.

The album was co-produced and engineered by Seattle¡¯s legendary Conrad Uno (The Presidents of the United States, Mudhoney).


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