This new version of The Coachmen was formed in 1997 with guitarist J.D. as the sole original member, and now includes Valerie Boyd on guitar, May December on bass and Simone Kwik on drums. No longer NYC-based, they live in Upstate NY. In March, 1997 The Coachmen recorded "Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock," an LP on Ecstatic Peace, released in 2000.
"Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock" is an all-instrumental bracing blast/blend of free jazz, garage psych and modern classical, challenging all previously held notions of just what exactly is, and is not, "music," using a conceptual crowbar to pry notation and time free from any semblance of a traditional foundation. Chas Leland produced the LP (and subsequent recordings), wringing the worst noises possible out of the worst noises The Coachmen created.
"Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock" is available from Ecstatic Peace .
To avoid confusion with 1960's garage bands with the same name, they altered their moniker to J.D. King & The Coachmen. Their 2000 recording session, "American Mercury" is on Ecstatic Peace, a CD released in 2006 and is available from Ecstatic Peace .
"American Mercury" received considerable airplay in the US and Canada on independent and college stations, most notably WFMU. It also garnered positive reviews in The Wire 276, Next Big Thing and Blog to Comm.
Compared to the anarchy of "Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock," "American Mercury" seems almost pop, yet remains a swirl of free jazz, garage psych and modern classical, with the addition of gut-bucket blues elements. This time, all the instruments are tuned, reining in the chaos, establishing an occasional border to the disorder. Several guitars were used: a Les Paul Classic, a Strat, a Tele and a Rickenbacker 330-12.
J.D. King & The Coachmen returned to the studio before "American Mercury" was even released to weave their study in garage minimalism, "Mercy (Can Make You Happy)." Percussion is limited to tambourine and maracas. Guitars were limited to: a Strat, a Tele and a Ric 330-6.
The four tracks appearing above are from "Mercy (Can Make You Happy)." The album is mixed and in search of a label.
For more details on the entire history of The Coachmen, there's a link on this page under General Info to our site, complete with MP3s, photos, old posters, etc.
Vital Coachmen Favorites:
Favorite Thespians: James Dean, Tony Perkins, Brigitte Bardot, W.C. Fields, Loretta Young, Laurel & Hardy, Barbara Steele, Dean Stockwell, etc.
Favorite TV: Ozzie & Harriet, Route 66, The Twilight Zone, Naked City, etc.
Favorite Writers: Jacqueline Gillott, Truman Capote, J.D. Salinger, Kingsley Amis, Patrick Dennis, Bruce Jay Friedman, Josh Alan Friedman, John Updike, Alan Sillitoe, Hubert Selby, Jr., James Purdy, Penelope Mortimer, Richard Yates, Tobias Wolff, etc.
Favorite Rock Bands: The Fleetwoods, The Byrds, The Modern Lovers, The Honeycombs, The Shadows of Knight, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Rosie & The Originals, The VU, The Beatles, etc.
Favorite Jazzsters: Pops, Duke, Pres, Bird, Monk, Miles, Chet, Billie, Don Sleet, Bill Evans, Tina Brooks, etc.
Favorite Composers: Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Berlioz, Bizet, Wagner, Mahler, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Satie, Ives, Copland, Barber, Messiaen, Cage, Feldman, etc.
Favorite Painters: Miro, Klee, Stuart Davis, Vermeer, etc.
Favorite Movies: Over the Edge, Whistle Down the Wind, The Third Man, The Trial, Psycho, Pretty Poison, L'Atalante, Rebel Without a Cause, Breathless, A Taste of Honey, The World of Henry Orient, Eaux d'artifice, You're a Big Boy Now, GoodFellas, The Naked Kiss, Night Tide, Carnival of Souls, Black Sunday, etc.
Favorite Heroes: Dorothy Day, John Coltrane, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Orson Welles, Nico, etc.
Currently Listening To: Charlie Parker, The Staple Singers, Carla Thomas, J.S. Bach, Otis Redding, Booker T & The MGs, "Exile on Main Street," etc.
