Jonathan Earl

Maybe you don’t drink. That’s fine. Maybe you’re not a fan of live music. No worries. The Jonathan Earl Band will take care of that. Before lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Jonathan Earl parts his lips to teach you the words, you’ll be moving by way of musical intoxication. When the show is over, while you’re massaging your calves, Jonathan Earl is lighting cigarettes poking fun and meeting new people. “I’m Earl,” he says, thrusting a hand out for the shaking and beaming a smile for the taking. His newest album, “With Each Long Night,” runs 35 minutes, just six minutes shorter than his first, self-titled album. “With Each Long Night” was recorded in both his basement and at Taylor Sound in nine months. “I don’t think I had any idea I what I was doing with the first record,” Earl said. “As far as genres go, it’s unfocused and all over the place.” “With Each Long Night” has the very focus the first record was lacking, the lyricism, chords, and grooves are tight and fresh and real. With his taut, witty lyric writing, enhanced hooks and imagery - all of the songs on “With Each Long Night” tell a captivating, sequential story. Earl feels confident that this record – this story, rather - has what a larger audience would appreciate. “It’s straightforward and fairly connected to the world. It’s about everyday shit - this girl, that whiskey - You know, simple concepts.“ The same vibe that brings folks out on the dance floor is the same message this album sends: Today might have sucked but tomorrow is a new day. Have a beer, get out on the dance floor and try not to go home with an unappealing stranger. But if you do, well the day after tomorrow is a new day too, my friend. But this all started somewhere, right? “Nope. There wasn’t a magical moment. Just the boring, ever since I was a little kid thing,” Earl said laughing. “Ever since I can remember I knew I wanted to do music.” In reality, it was in the midst of getting in trouble, skipping school, skateboarding and snowboarding, that Earl started his love affair with music. He was playing the piano at age 7 at home in River Falls, Wis. Then guitar at 9. Bass at 13. And off the little guy went. By age 15, Earl was making music in the woodshed that his dad converted into a studio for him. At legal adulthood, he moved to Minneapolis, taking classes at Hennepin Tech in audio production before he started working at Taylor Sound a year later. It was there where he later met and started playing with Johnny Charon of Clovis. Through that venture he met Soul Tight Committee’s and Les Exodus’ rocking drummer Jordan Carlson. He and Jordan quit their lives and went on the road with Blind Pig recording artist Renee Austin. “After the tour ended, I looked at Jordan and said, ‘Let’s make a record.’ “ What started as a whole lot of dorking around quickly became the Jonathan Earl Band. Jordan and Earl ran into award-winning bassist Ben Foote, when he was playing with Joanna James and Little Man. At the same time, Jordan and Earl helped populate the band Stook and the Jukes – the Americana band nominated for Best New Artist at the Minnesota Music Awards in 2006. In this band, they met the one and only Toby Lee Marshall and his handsome organ. Toby has ripped grooves with the likes of Lonnie Brooks, Jesse Lang and Big John Dickerson. With songwriting influences like that of John Mayer, guitar playing influences like Warren Haynes, grooves like G Love and organ lines as funky MMW or Jimmy Smith, it’s no wonder Earl knows how to lay down the funk. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about having fun.”- Tatum Fjerstad ©

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