Summer Concert at Opera House: Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons, 6/15

09 Jun Summer Concert at Opera House: Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons, 6/15

The heat’s on this summer at the historic Sheridan Opera House, especially since the jewel-box venue begins a year-long celebration of its 100th year in operation. (Its birthday is July 3, 1913. Stories to follow on the Speakeasy Gala July 6.) Among the performers on its robust schedule is Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons, who perform Saturday, June 15, 9 p.m.

“For more than 30 years, Jerry Joseph has been strapping on a guitar and chasing down truth, understanding and soul with a tenacity and resonant skill that mark him as a hard charging kindred spirit to Joe Strummer, Warren Zevon and Patti Smith. While not a household name or critic’s darling, Joseph is the archetypal musician’s musician, something resoundingly clear on his sweeping new double album, Happy Book. Captured with muscle and blood by Joseph’s longtime trio the Jackmormons, this latest chapter in his long, strange journey flows like glowing quicksilver through the modern psyche, where war and disaster wrestle with hope and faith and sometimes the best option is to sashay down to the local disco to mambo with the chicks with dicks just to remind one’s self that you’re never too old or too dead to learn a couple new tricks…”

Continue reading about the group here.

On the surface, Jerry Joseph is an ass-kicking rocker, but just below that facade, the California-raised guitarist is a lot more of a folkie singer/songwriter than he ever truly lets on. But with his latest double album Happy Book, Joseph and his trio, The Jackmormons, start to hint that there’s more than meets the eye, or ear. Songs like the title track “Happy Book” and “The Beautiful Dirt,” on first listen, sound simply like rock songs — bluesy, gritty and raw. But just when the listener succumbs to the idea that Happy Book is simply a rock album, Joseph turns sharp and introduces songs like “Anaconda,” which highlight more of the delicate nature of his songwriting approach. Simply put, Joseph is way more diverse than he ever admits, and Happy Book is a solid album that highlights the sounds we already know and expect from The Jackmormons, but also allows us a peek into these softer sides, ” raved  Marquee magazine.

For a preview of the Opera House show, watch this video.