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The Jonah Kit

Folk music with blood in its veins

About Me

If you want to call The Jonah Kit's hard-bitten acoustic music folk, you've got to qualify it - this is acidic Aggro-Folk that's just as at home in a raunchy barroom as it is in an intimate coffeehouse; this is folk music with blood in its veins. It's a sound that takes a refreshing spin on the singer-songwriter tradition, while drawing inspiration from the indignant, inflexibly at-odds-with-the-world misfits of decades past - Hank Williams, Fred Neil, Townes Van Zandt, Lou Reed. A sound that churns folk, punk, country and rock with rich and honest lyrics into something new, impassioned and real.From the unpredictable vocals and guitar of Jonah Watchman - soft-spoken one minute, explosive the next - to the dynamic grooves of upright bassist David Herman and drummer Taylor Still, this band sets themselves apart with their attention to stylistic range, expression, and boldness. Each song conjures its own scene, a combined evocation of character, location, atmosphere, and emotion - reminiscent of the dark, immersive grit of old Westerns or classic Film Noir.In fact, The Jonah Kit can catch audiences off-guard if they're expecting a milder brand of acoustic music. But, when an audience catches on to what this band is doing - when it sees that the trio is taking Folk to its outer limits - it responds with the kind of cheers and howls reserved for only the most original acts, for only the true genre-breakers.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 2/2/2005
Band Website: thejonahkit.com
Band Members: Jonah Watchman: guit/voxDave Herman: upright bassTaylor Still: drums
Influences: David Blue, Hank Williams, Fred Neil, Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground, Townes Van Zandt, Phil Ochs, Leonard Cohen, Wild Man Fischer, Syd Barrett, Tim Buckley, Bob Gibson, Dino Valente, Roky Erickson (especially the mostly acoustic Never Say Goodbye), David Ackles, Edward G. Robinson in Scarlet Street, Judee Sill, Tom Paxton, Paul Siebel, Tim Hardin, Bob Frank, Lefty Frizzell, Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Mickey Newbury, Buddy Holly, Edgar Allen Poe, John Cassavetes, Jack London, Victor Sjostrom, Dostoevsky, Orson Welles in Touch Of Evil, Ben Gazarra, Timothy Carey, and Seymour Cassel in Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, Sonoma County Transit, Benjamin Joseph Cobb/Max Whitney/Will Beiderbecke/Nate Peterson/ Annika/Tristen/ Big Ben/Joe/Jim/Robert/Cisco/ Marilyn/Noah and many other drivers/hobos/crazies/fools from the 20, Vincent Price in Witchfinder General and Confessions of an Opium Eater, Alan Lomax's Folk Songs of North America songbook, Nico, The Sex Pistols, Roy Orbison, Peter Cushing in Twins of Evil, Raymond Chandler, Hoyt Axton, Jack Kerouac, Robbie "the Werewolf" Robison, Kirk Douglas and Yul Brenner in The Light at the Edge of the World, Dashiell Hammett, Jim Thompson, Winston Churchill, Montgomery Clift, The Wicker Man, Marlon Brando in The Fugitive Kind, Apocalypse Now, and The Island of Dr. Moreau, Richard Widmark in Night and the City, The Shaggs, Stephen Sondheim, Steve McQueen in Baby, The Rain Must Fall
Sounds Like: “Great! -- wavering voice, ‘I've Got Something In My Eye’” - KZSU DJ Pat Blue Ribbon reviewing the Live at the Hotel Utah compilation. The DJ also named the track one of the top picks of the disc.
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Fugitive Folk Jamboree: Jonah solo, swapping songs with Bob Frank and Lynne Holcombe

Myspace is having problems, I kept getting an error message when trying to post this as an upcoming show...Show Time: Sunday June 29, 2008 - 2:00 PMVenue: Freight and Salvage (Fugitive Folk Jamboree: ...
Posted by The Jonah Kit on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:22:00 PST

Album Demo Tracks Posted!

At long last, we have new tracks on our page; tracks with the full band on them! These are demos for our forthcoming debut album. After exile in the wilderness, and a long haul in the studio, I'm exc...
Posted by The Jonah Kit on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:44:00 PST

Past Shows

4/06/08 House of Love Cabaret, SF hosted by Olive Mitra (FULL BAND)4/05/08 Purple Onion, Two shows 8 and 10 pm: opening for as well as accompanying Will Franken (Jonah solo)4/04/08 Purple Onion, Two s...
Posted by The Jonah Kit on Mon, 01 Jan 1900 12:00:00 PST

Solo Recordings Posted

The band and I have been taking a break from performing. We are rehearsing in anticipation of recording an album, a process that will take a little while, as we want to get it right in the s...
Posted by The Jonah Kit on Sat, 29 Apr 2006 06:28:00 PST

Psychedelic Satirist Will Franken on The Jonah Kit

From: http://willfranken.com/will-diary.html Folk Music with Blood in its Veins at the Du Nord The Jonah Kit plays Cafe Du Nord Thursday, Jan. 5 (9pm) Folk music is a tricky entity in San Francisco. ...
Posted by The Jonah Kit on Fri, 06 Jan 2006 03:45:00 PST

Luke Zaientz and the other coast

As many of you know, our drummer Luke Zaientz moved to the East Coast a few months ago. It is his drumming you hear on our recordings. In concert you will now have the pleasure of hearing and see...
Posted by The Jonah Kit on Tue, 30 Aug 2005 02:35:00 PST