STIR FRIED
''STIR FRIED''
1999
FALBO RECORDS
1/I Know There's Someone Else/Jost, Markowski, Mercado, Pedin/6:04
2/Hoe-Bus/6:37
3/Thanks for Nothin'/Kaye/7:00
4/Jessie Jane/Frangione, Lorenzo, Markowski/5:02
5/Bus Stop/Markowski/3:10
6/Beaten Path 2/Markowski/3:50
7/Everlovin' Woman/Markowski/5:56
8/Love and Peace/Markowski/4:38
9/Smack/Markowski/6:51
10/Bug Jam/Bugs, Stir Fried/1:25
11/Collection Box/Kaye, Vent/9:00
Buddy Cage/Pedal Steel
John Isley/Saxophone
Chris Lacinak/Cymbals, Drums
Lenny Post/Organ, Piano, Recorder
Samona Whitley/Vocals (Background)
Special Guests:
Derek Trucks/Guitar
The Harris Brothers/Horns
Stir Fried: John Markowski (vocals, guitar, percussion); Joanne Lediger (vocals); Jan London (guitar, slide guitar, percussion); Buddy Cage (pedal steel guitar); James Alvin Harrison (bass); Chris Lacinak (drums); Vin Lorenzo (percussion).
Additional personnel: Derek Trucks (slide guitar); Bill Harris, John Isley (saxophone); Don Harris (trumpet); Lenny Post (piano, organ); Kevin L. Horton, Carrie Anne Odgers, Hilton Rawls, Jr., Shelise Whitley, Samona Whitley (background vocals).
Recorded at Red River Studios, Subterranean Studios & Toad Hall Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by David Dalton.
Personnel: Lenny Post (recorder, piano, organ); John Isley (saxophone); Chris Lacinak (drums, cymbals); Samona Whitley (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Stir Fried; Tom Sullivan.
Recording information: Red River Studios, NY; Subterranean Studios, NY; Toad Hall Studios, NY.
Photographer: Rita Weigand.
Arrangers: Stir Fried; Tom Sullivan.
Personnel: Dr. John (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Buddy Cage (steel guitar); Tony Trischka (banjo); Vassar Clements (fiddle); John Hermann, Richard Hilton (piano); Bernie Worrell (Clavinet).
Recording information: 2000.
It's as difficult to describe the music of Stir Fried as it is to find an appropriate place on the music store shelf for their albums. Their music truly is stir-fried: eclectic and spicy, full of flavor, peppered with such an amazing array of colors and textures that it is almost an embarrassment of riches. The second studio effort (and third album overall) from the collective is all of those things, but with the heat increased even a few more notches. Last of the Blue Diamond Miners is freewheeling and playful, organic and rollicking, loose-limbed but tight. The number of elements that are seamlessly incorporated into the music -- bluegrass, funk, boogie-woogie, psychedelia, blues, country, world beat -- is only matched by the serious level of musicianship, which makes the songwriting sound improvisational and the improvisations sound like more than out-and-out jamming. The album and band is the baby of John Markowski, and he uses it not only as a forum for his own stellar songs, but also as a way to honor the undervalued music of his cult songwriting father, the late Thomas Jefferson Kaye. Even more so, it is a way to assemble some of the greatest instrumentalists that popular music has ever born. The fluctuating procession of guest artists includes such monumental names as Vassar Clements, Tony Trischka, Dr. John, and Bernie Worrell, while pedal steel great Buddy Cage is the band's second feature player, turning his instrument into a lead voice on songs like the Cajun-smoked "Nothing to Do" and the Booker T. & the M.G.'s groove of "Blood Brother." A different member of the band, though, stands out on every cut. On "West of the Mississippi," a wonderful balancing act between honky-tonk country, Western swing, and bluegrass, it is Trischka's expert banjo. On "Quagmire" it is the electrifying Hammond runs of Worrell and Markowski's incendiary guitar work. And fiddle legend Clements steals the hayseed jam that breaks out a third of the way into "Black Dress," despite near equal performances from Cage and Trischka. Markowski fronts Stir Fried more than ably. There's a little bit of Dr. John's funky Delta bravado in his voice, as well as some of the whiskey-soaked rasp of Gregg Allman, but it is more often a dead ringer for the great Richard Manuel. But in spite of the virtuosity of its members, Stir Fried is a true band, and the sensitivity and respect that the players show one another throughout the album is as inspiring as the band's extraordinarily distinctive blend of ingredients. The bluesy rhythms and slow, lurching voodoo guitar of "Vanessa" creates the perfect backdrop for Dr. John's inimitable singing, as well as a framework for the swaggering, sweaty interplay of the band. The breezy travelogue "Road Trip to Marist" is downright infectious (with a pedal steel solo from Cage that must be heard to be believed), but it resists any sort of label, especially pop, just as the entire album does. And on the epic ballad title track, the band arrives at a narrative tale that seems to bottle nostalgic impulses of long-gone, wide-open spaces. For musicianship alone, Last of the Blue Diamond Miners merits the highest rating available to it, but it also comes packing a wealth of precious gems in its 11 songs. ~
Stir Fried is an original band based in New Jersey/New York. They have been together for nearly twenty years performing their blend of swamp groove, psychedelic improvisation, and hook laden visual songs.
Originally formed around the songwriting talents of founding member John Markowski, whose father, Thomas Jefferson Kaye, was a legendary producer and songwriter in the 1960's and 70's. This band has always played signature versions of several Kaye masterpieces, alongside brilliant Markowski originals. John Markowski on rhythm guitar/song writing and vocals, Jan London on guitars, and Vince Lorenzo on percussion with long time member Joanne Lediger shines on vocals. The band is joined with their dear friend Mr. Buddy Cage on Pedal Steel Guitar, Rawn Randall on Bass,and Jimmy "Foot" Blackford on Drums, and the newest member of Stir Fried is Mr. Rod Kohn on the Hammond B3 Organ.
Stir Fried has toured extensively across the US, building solid fan bases on both the east and west coasts. Many legendary musicians have gravitated towards Stir Fried's original yet old school sound. The band has recorded and performed with the likes of Dr. John (keys), Vassar Clements (fiddle-Old & In The Way), Commander Cody (piano), Buddy Cage (pedal steel-NRPS), Jo Jo Herman (keys - Widespread Panic), Bernie Worrell (keys-P Funk, Talking Heads), Derek Trucks (guitar-Allman Bros. Band), Tony Trischka (banjo).
