Member Since: 11/07/2005
Band Website: http://www.jdandthelongfellows.com
Band Members: I play bass mostly, in JD and The Longfellows, Teddy Simmonds Jazz Band, The Instant Foxes, and other various projects. I play guitar as well, mostly solo stuff, but sometimes in Fruit Machine Blues, when the mood is right, and the stars align.
Influences: Well my parents were very influential, it may be the early days when I used to rummage through my dad's eight tracks and play old albums by The Who, especially Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy, and Boris the Spider was my favourite. My dad also used to make me tapes of old 50's and 60's bands, and I loved those tapes. My step dad Craig played guitar and sang better than anyone I've ever come across, so he's a big influence as well. My mom always encouraged me to play guitar instead of taking drugs and stealing cars, so she's been pretty influential. My brother Mike used to make 80's hip/hop tapes for me, exposing me to the world of Boogie Down Productions, and the art of dance music and lyrical spinning. My brother John used to protect me from my brother Mike, so they're both influential. I went to school with some kids in Cambridge, ON, Canada, who also listened to The Who and The Beatles and what not and we started our first band together, so Jason Harvey and Nick Pensom were influential. The list goes on and on, to this day I'm still heavily influenced by those around me, like Nathan Persad, Malcolm Gaynor, Babbsy, Carl Lawrence, Chris Barlow, and assorted others who encourage me to keep playing, and growing. Most of all, Ray Davies, Pete Townsend, Gord Downie, Sarah Harmer, and a bunch of Canadian bands that I grew up listening to, instead of doing drugs and stealing cars.
Sounds Like: Me, really. A little jazzy, in an ignorant way, bluesy, rocky, some times just silly, little bit o prog, some Canadian charm, and a general lust for getting it all over with in under three minutes (I have the attention span of a gnat).
Record Label: My own, sort of, Afterschool Music.
Type of Label: Indie