ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO
Photo and Album Art: Nancy Rankin Escovedo
A celebrated singer and songwriter, Alejandro Escovedo has as eclectic a background and body of work as any rock artist of his generation. As comfortable performing with a string ensemble as he is with an amped-up power trio, and as likely to bare his soul in his lyrics as he is to display some serious rock & roll swagger, Escovedo had already played an important role in punk (with the Nuns), roots rock (the True Believers), and alt-country (Rank & File) before he launched a solo career that's seen him work with everyone from Tony Visconti, John Cale to Bruce Springsteen. Beginning with 1992's Gravity, Escovedo's music has been consistently literate, ambitious, and eclectic, with 2001's A Man Under the Influence exploring different genres, while 2008's Real Animal and 2016's Burn Something Beautiful focused on passionate, guitar-based rock & roll. 2018's The Crossing (and its 2021 Spanish-language counterpart La Cruzada) told a richly detailed story of the immigrant experience.
NICHOLAS TREMULIS
Photo: Phil Solomonson
Photo: Sandro Miller
Photo: Phil Solomonson
Nicholas Tremulis is a classic Chicago product, born to a jazz piano-playing father and a blues-singing mother, a career spanning over 30 years. Tremulis formed the 13-piece Nicholas Tremulis Band to play his energetic combination of rock, R&B, free jazz and soul. Chris Blackwell took notice and signed them to Island Records. After two records on Island, Tremulis created a smaller band and recorded an album with poet Gregory Corso. Tremulis toured Europe extensively and has been a long-standing backing and recording go-to for Keith Richards, Mavis Staples, Bonnie Raitt, Ivan Neville, the late Rick Danko and many more.
Side projects like Candy Golde with Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) John Stirratt (Wilco) and Rick Rizzo (Eleventh Dream Day); The Fauntleroys with Alejandro Escovedo, Ivan Julian (The Voidoids) and Linda Pitmon (Baseball Project) and Chi-Town Social Club with Darryl Jones (Rolling Stones), Vince Wilburn Jr (nephew of Miles Davis) and Shawn Christopher (Sonia Dada, Chaka Khan). He also serves as musical director for Jones' solo work. Tremulis created The Waltz, a concert series benefiting homeless teens, featuring a stunning historical music jukebox of guest artists including Rick Danko, Mavis Staples, Jeff Tweedy, Steve Earle, Billy Corgan, Howlin' Wolf legend Hubert Sumlin, Ian Hunter, David Johansen, Ronnie Spector, Marianne Faithful.
An accomplished producer and composer, he teams regularly with long-time friend Dan Andries, documentary producer at WTTW and Collaboraction Theater founder and executive director Anthony Mosley. He hosted a singer songwriter series at the Ed Paschke Center and co-hosted 93XRT's Eclectic Company with long-time pal musician/visual artist Jon Langford. Nick, "The Windy City Poet"' is currently scorching the earth with the 14-piece The Prodigals, featuring the original core members of the Nicholas Tremulis Band and album "Rarified World" produced by Rob Fraboni (The Last Waltz, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan).
DARRYL JONES
Darryl Jones, Rolling Stones; his bass career took flight at age 21 when the southside Chicago native landed his first job with jazz legend Miles Davis. Gigs with Sting, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, Eric Clapton, and others followed. In 1993 he was chosen to replace longtime band member Bill Wyman as bassist for the Rolling Stones. Jones' projects as a co-leader include Stone Raiders with Jean-Paul Bourelly and Will Calhoun, 3 Brave Souls with John Beasley and the late Ndugu Chancler, and Chi Town Social Club with Nicholas Tremulis, Vincent Wilburn Jr., and Shawn Christopher. He also performs with the Miles Electric Band, to revisit and renew the musical innovation of the legendary Miles Davis, and his solo work as The Darryl Jones Project. He founded Jones Musical Instruments to produce high-quality basses and guitars; is a music composer for film and television, and regularly teaches master classes and guests as a lecturer.
VINCE BELL
"Vince is a poet"- Townes Van Zandt "Ojo is shamanism” – T Bone Burnett Vince Bell's career spans 40 years, starting in the thriving Houston Montrose scene in the 70s. His songs have been performed and recorded by such diverse talents as Little Feat, Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffiths. A serious car accident led him to a 10-year recovery and brain injury, documented in his autobiography, One Man’s Music: The Life and Times of Texas Songwriter Vince Bell, also a one-man performance piece, One Man’s Music. He made five critically acclaimed records and a live performance DVD. His most recent work Ojo is an improv of Bell’s poetry, lyrics and hand written notes realized by a stellar collection of avant garde, jazz, and Americana musicians, produced by Bob Neuwirth, who also produced Bell’s first record, “Phoenix", together with producers Dave Soldier (Soldier String Quartet, owner of Ojo’s Mulatta Records) and Patrick Derivaz (engineer). His collection is part of the Houston Folk Music Archive at Rice University,
JULIE CHRISTENSEN
Julie performed and toured with Leonard Cohen and is a founding member of the seminal LA punk band Divine Horsemen. She has performed with artists including Iggy Pop, Public Image Limited, Van Dyke Parks, John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and k.d. lang. A Sad Clown is Julie's 7th release, her second with Nashville band Stone Cupid featuring Jeff Turmes (Mavis Staples) Julie appears on the Flesh Eaters new album, their first in 25 years, and has toured the US with the band. Says Todd Rundgren, who produced Julie's first album in 1994, "It was her ability to sing with conviction in a variety of approaches that made her extraordinary to me." Julie's recent releases are the critically acclaimed "11 From Kevin: Song From Kevin Gordon" and the first record from LA punk pioneers Divine Horsemen in 25 years.
Curated social media, provided marketing for new album on Plowboy Records for Grand Ole Opry legend Jim Ed Brown. Brown and sisters Bonnie and Maxine, known as The Three Bells, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, March 2015.
Marketing and promotional tour support for this project formed by Alejandro Escovedo, Ivan Julian, Linda Pitmon and Nicholas Tremulis.
Provide marketing, PR and booking support for super group with Darryl Jones (Rolling Stones), Vince Willburn Jr (nephew of Miles Davis, co-executor of Miles Davis Estate), Shawn Christopher (Chaka Khan, Sonia Dada) and Nicholas Tremulis.
Developed strategic plan including events and marketing, to relocate long-time Southbay gallery to South LA, including a signature annual event, Cross Town Traffic. Gallery is now called Range Projects Gallery.
Provided written materials and assets for Elias' Rock Light Exhibition and Book. Rock Light Monograph 2017 Lumen Press715