Artists:Jeff Coleman

Jeff Coleman says, "I began on an old upright piano in the basement- writing songs and recording them on a little cassette recorder. In high school, "Jimmer" Pontz turned me on to blues harmonica, which was much more portable than that piano. I joined a band, playing keyboards and singing what we now know as classic rock.

"I'd heard that bass players always got work, so after high school I picked up the electric bass and joined a newgrass band, Wooden Nickel. Bill Nork, the singer/guitar player in that band showed me a lot of tricks, and Bill Noll the mandolin player and I dropped reggae riffs in between songs when we could get away with it. I bought my first accordion.

"While this was going on I was writing songs and playing acoustic guitar into a cassette recorder. Soon I was playing along while recording onto a second cassette recorder. I picked up electric guitar while on a government sponsorship (unemployment). When I found work I began adding Hammond organ, bass and drums to my songs. Eventually I moved on to reel to reel recorders and discovered tape loops and overdubs, drum machines and synthesizers.

"I've worked in many styles with many bands. With The Blame, a New Wave/Punk group, I played CBGB in NYC. Namaste, a world-beat band in which I played accordion and guitar, released a CD. The Moonbillies was a delightful vocal group for which I played lead guitar and ocasionally sang. Other artists have covered my songs and had sucess with them- "You Make Me" was a regional hit for the Sharks, and Dave SanSoucie included two of my songs on his CD.

"As a songwriter I like the sounds of words, and the rhythm of meter. I like to run words against each other in new ways. I like the pop song format, especially when it's bent into new shapes. My musical influences include New Orleans style piano, blues harmonica, classic rock guitar, pop, folk/rock, R&B, bluegrass, reggae, punk, cajun, and World.

"The latest thing is that I'm using my mad skilz to record and produce local artists that I believe in. We've got to an interesting place, where the net allows access to a thousand different scenes. Each of us can choose what we like, and I think that this allows new options for performers. My recording studio is supported by the listeners, a lot like Whole Wheat Radio.

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