Prior to WRENCH, Jeff tracked three compositions for the "Rich Rags" "Orange Records" release of "Dance With Fire", as well as a number of titles for the "Orange Records" release of "Selections From Unreleased Albums", in 1991. A brave album issue which includes music from Scot Yvêl, Rich Rags, The Avant Garbage Allstars, David Peel (w/ Yoko Ono) and more.
The debut CD (Practically Normal) from "Wrench In The Works" was made available in mid August, 1997. Combining post punk fusion, with rock, alternative overtones and 60's flair, this musical canvas had opened eyes, especially after the live band was assembled in 1997.The album is a recorded selection of compositions, rather than an industrial "all at once" sounding collection. "I took the George Martin approach" says Jeff, "in that I recorded the songs individually, slowly piecing together the sounds, tones, and the emotion". Personally, it's a defining album, establishing each song uniquely to itself.The album was recorded, engineered and produced by Jeff at "Oh No!" Music Studios in Ottawa, Ontario - mastered at Distortion Studios (known inside the Ottawa community for firing up the likes of Alanis Morrisette, Sals Birdland, One-To-One, Artificial Joy Club, etc).The "Wrenchmen" lineup started out shortly after the debut of the CD and included David Szwec on guitar and vocal, as well as Todd Pilon (formerly with the 80's metal band "Reckless") on bass and vocal. JP would take on the role of bass in our later lineup. WRENCH recorded LIVE at the Corel Center - "The 80's Syndrome"Add to My Profile | More VideosThe track "Bad Boy" (a re-worked cover of a Beatles cover by Larry Williams), appears on the CD "Rockin In NYC". A compilation of New York City bands on the Lucky Dog label out of Boston, and "Breaking The Silence" appears on the Canadian issued CD "Ottawa Underground", compiled by former Alanis songwriter/producer/engineer Leslie "BUD" Howe. "Jenny" made its national debut on "The Canadian Indie Box set", which contains 100 songs from 100 bands across Canada. A live performance of "The Eighties Syndrome" (an original "RICH RAGS" classic) was recorded live at the Hard Rock Cafe (Kanata, ON), and was made available on the "TechRocks" compilation CD, as well as on the "live" video version at the Corel Centre. Hey! Is that a Wrench in your pocket?"Practically Normal" was reissued as a limited edition enhanced CD in the Spring of 2006, with bonus tracks, downloadable photo's, lyrics and other items, as well as Quicktime video footage of a performance of "The Eighties Syndrome" at the Corel Centre.Wrench was one of a handful of acts who performed at the first ever Tech Rocks events held in Ottawa. They, along with several other top notch acts, took the main stage at the Corel Centre, opening for Canadian rockers "Big Sugar". "The Eighties Syndrome" had been revamped to fall in line with a 90's backdrop. All of the wrenchmen did an outstanding job with this arrangement.You can gain a better perspective by going to the bands main site. There you will find bio's and complete history, details, and other really cool stuff. Like what? Who? Rich Rags (Orange / Ragdisk Records) - Wrench (Ear Traffic Records) - David Peel & The Lower East Side, with and without John & Yoko (Apple Records, Orange Records, Ear Traffic Records) - Avant Garbage Allstars (Orange Records).www.bagtwo.scottunes.comTwo new "WRENCH" CD albums are now underway or being planned. A new studio album titled "CONSTANT INTERRUPTION" is currently being forecast, and "INTAKE", another CD project is scheduled for a summer release. For the "CI" album, Jeff will be taking on a new team of writers and musicians (some new and hopfully some old pals) for this version of "WRENCH" which should be an interesting endeavor.Jeff explains "while doing the first Wrench CD was great, the workload was a nightmare. I pretty well had to piece the compositions together and construct them on the fly. Mind you, in being in possession of a new personal studio, the learning curve was massive for me. Usually when i've recorded myself, or others prior to Wrench, I have done so with co-producers and experienced engineers. Some tracks took months to complete. And as if that wasn't enough - the CD artwork had to be created - videos need to be assembled - then there is financing the project. No funds - no album! Sometimes you need to work with experienced musicians who have been through it - who know what it takes, in order to subtract the headaches of recording - getting product out into the hands of listeners. All in all, it was worth the added energy, almost all involved gave 100% of their creativity when it was really required, including Kelly Dodd (additional piano) and Zeek Gross for his amazing sax solo".When asked if the new Wrench project will include members from the prior line-up, jeff said "Well... i've moved from the Great White to the sunny South, so I would think not. I am anticipating tracking some new titles with my former "Rich Rags" composer / musician pal, Mark Scott, since we're living within driving distance of each other again. Anyway, by what i've read, one of my former session players seems to have a "chip" on his shoulder. Not sure if it's because of me, but then, should I really give a shit? Lets just say I count him out for that "winter recording getaway". I could however, see David and Todd adding tracks to the next album - live or via some transmission (once I relocate them).As for me... years pass sometimes without writing anything. But then something happens. Something hits you and you're compelled to start up. I don't know what that is or why it happens... it's just there.I write because it's part of me - whether its music, lyrics, a story or a book - regardless if anyone reads it - listens to it - likes it - or not. I pretty well do what I want, when I want when it comes to art. I'm not professing or asking anyone to bow down to my works. We do what we do - we are who we are.The bottom line... True artists embrace their past but constantly revalue - Art 'dabblers' excuse their past – and whine about it". That's just the way it is.