Tuesday 15 November 2011

Organ Accumulator

Please don't be put off by the moniker, nor by the description 'one-man band'; for the Lonesome Organist is legion, despite his solitary status.

The Lonesome Organist (Jeremy to his pals, Jeremy Jacobsen to the taxman), commonly plays two instruments at the same time; he can play up to four; combinations from organ, guitar, voice, drum kit, accordion, steel pan drum, harmonica, various percussion, and, wait for it, tap shoes.
Yes, that's right, he often plays instruments while accompanying himself with a tap dancing routine, one that creates the perfect beat and rhythm.
Very cool.
But what's the music like? I hear you ask.
Brilliant, is my reply: absolutely brilliant.
He's more than just novelty, and more than mere multi-instrumentalist.
His material is really out there - he ain't doin' 'Rosie', you know - he performs surreal pieces, some hard rock, some (kind of) post-rock, a little electronica, even; but the majority of his pieces have their boots firmly placed in blues territory; appropriate for one who hails from Chicago.

The majority of Jacobsen's recordings are available, and I encourage you to seek them out.
But here's a little taster.
Some live tracks extracted from his performance at 2002's Meltdown Festival, curated that year by David Bowie.
It's only half a dozen songs, but they do serve as a good sampler.
The set begins with 'All the Dirty Swine' and ends with 'Departing the Lonely Ship'; what the tracks are in between I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine.

Well worth checking out, this. Seventeen minutes or so that could cheer you right up.

This guy should have been massive.
Maybe The Lonesome Organist's time is still to come.

The Lonesome Organist - Live at the Meltdown Festival, 2002.
Decent rip from cassette captured FM broadcast @320kbs.
Get Lonesome here

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