JJB is on Instagram - & more Interwebs active there - as jonathanjbower & at facebook...
JBow Performs *John Prine* for AnchorageDailyNewsBeen hard (and admittedly occasionally bleak) hunkering down with no gigs or recording dates on the calendar. We have a new record, the last stages of which presently hang in quarantine-limbo, and we have a wide open summer minus live performances for now. But some weeks back the Anchorage Daily News put out a call for live performances from area musicians for its hunker-down-focused column, *Quarantunes*. Recorded just a couple days after the passing of songwriting legend John Prine, the choice of which song to play proved a kind-of no-brainer (listen HERE). This acoustic version of 'John Prine' proves a little more plaintive and melancholy than the more gospel-tinged tribute appearing on 2018's *Light Years* album (listen HERE), and I admit that had everything to do with the ongoing struggle to understand and absorb these strange times we're living through and noticing the ways people's lives are being impacted (such as John Prine's family and countless others). In the midst of it all, I'm really grateful this platform and outlet appeared to help support artists AND to offer music to the community during a period that we're all striving to find ground, to understand what's happening around us on a day-to-day basis, and adjusting to circumstances (mostly) outside of our control. Many thanks to the ADN! It's encouraging when a community recognizes the role that art and music play in cultures throughout the world, and how these can aid in how the human family experiences, processes, & comes together in crisis situations.
Stream Light Years (& etc.) on SPOTIFYYou can stream Light Years & Hope, Alaska at Spotify (here) & at most streaming outlets. Have you added any of JBow's songs to a playlist? Shoot us a line & let us know! We'd love to share your playlist with others & we're always curious to see the space these songs share with others!
Song for Bill Cunningham"It's as true today as it ever was: he who seeks beauty will find it." - Bill Cunningham
Light Years - Jonathan's new album - releases next Friday, January 26,. In advance of the record, we're releasing select tracks at Soundcloud. The first single is a tribute to the legendary and adored New York Times photographer, the late Bill Cunningham, who passed away in 2016. You can listen below and/or at J's Soundcloud page: Brave: The KickstarterWhere to begin? I'm not even going to pretend I can bring anyone up to speed on the time and goings on since we last posted on this too-long-neglected website. I will share that there's a new album in the works that - if all goes well - should be out by the end of this year. And you can learn about it (and throw any support you can offer to our crowdsourcing effort) HERE.
jjb made you a mix tape
Well, for starters, we've neglected to mention that JJB launched a blog a couple months ago. It's separate from - don't confuse it with - the blog at the music-themed website here, where JJB will occasionally post music-only/-specific news and writing. His Wordpress site, www.inbetweenthehours.com, is a space where Jonathan aims to weekly riff on the crossroads where his efforts as a father and a musician/writer intersect, crash, tangle, and strive to gracefully dance together. It's also a space where J is experimenting with photography - in the form of "photo essays" and similar projects. If nothing else, it's a space to play and freestyle as he waits for and seeks out new songs. This week, Jonathan made for his readers (& listeners) a "mix tape," a playlist/soundtrack to accompany his essay on recent trips to LA, appearing in a local AK periodical, The Anchorage Press. You can find the "mix tape" here. Plug in your earbuds, and then head over and read "L.A. is for Love Affair," here.
Spring is ON in AK, and we imagine the same proves true everywhere else, too. Hope the "L.A." mix tape proves good company as you wander in your sun-soaked daze, wherever it finds you. best, JJB Music Nina Simone (Last Call Version)A few weeks back, AK/CA filmmaker, Tom Trainor, heard the "Hope, Alaska" album and reached out and offered to film a video for NPR's 2016 Tiny Desk Contest. I thought it'd be a fun opportunity to serve up an alternative version of one of the songs on the record. While I especially love the album version of "Nina Simone" over many of the other songs on the record, I also enjoy this "bar band" version of the tune that Marty, Aaron, Cameron (& Tom Bargelski, who's not appearing here) present in live settings. Give it a look, give it a listen - & many thanks to Tom Trainor & Jeremy Blake for their film work, to James Glaves for mixing everything, to Marty Severin for offering Studio 2200 for shooting, and to Aaron, Marty, & Cameron for driving this train with me...Enjoy!
JJB Holiday Merch Offers
Holiday Salutations, All,
Roused myself from the TDay food-brand coma just enough to remember today is Small Business Saturday, & we have a few JJB merch/music Holiday offers worth sharing. Order between now and Solstice, and we'll ship your JJB merch asap: 1.) Purchase 'Hope, Alaska' on CD or mp3 at Bandcamp at the discounted holiday prices, & receive a free postcard packet (a $10 offer). Each pack of postcards features Michael Wilson's photos/album art, bookmarks feat. Nina Schmidt's "Dream/Nina Simone" painting, & album cover stickers. 2.) 'Hope, Alaska' American Apparel brand t's - all sizes - are available at $12 a pop at the holiday price. Order one b/w now & Solstice and get a free CD copy of 2012's EP, 'but so beautiful' and a 'Hope, Alaska' sticker. 3.) Order a t-shirt and 'Hope, Alaska' CD and receive a free copy of 2012's 'but so beautiful' & postcard packet. Not bad, eh? (We just ask that you do do do include a message w/ your order so we can fill the order w/ these discounts & bonus items!) It's been great to meet and see folks on the road and out and about this past year, and - in the age of free music/everything - your support proves beyond words. Continued thanks for supporting good art and business when you're able, and here's to hoping we can share a few songs together in 2016. Happy Holidays! peace, JJB
RE: Oliver Sacks
Well. You stagger into the kitchen to start the kettle one morning and the floor nips your feet just so. You turn your head and catch the light on the birch one afternoon and that splash of yellow suddenly drives it home to you: Hello, Autumn...
20 years ago next month, I left a bookstore job in Springfield, PA and moved 5 miles deep into the woods of NH with 19 other recent college and high school grads. I held a BA in English, and saw the job as my chance to break outta the 'burbs and imitate Thoreau for a year. I took my guitar with me, determined to spend that time learning how to play a few chords for the lyrics I couldn't stop writing after college, when we were all supposed to play grown up and commit to "real jobs." One of the few books I brought w/ me into the woods was Oliver Sacks's "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" - which I purchased on my last day at the bookstore. 20 years later, those Phorest Phreaks remain as loved as family, I pay the bills with a job in mental health, and I manage to throw a few chords behind my words now and then. Oliver Sacks passed away on Sunday, and his deep, abiding affection for music - in addition, of course, to his "paid gig" - will I hope/trust warmly echo, reverberate across the skin & through the blood like a pitch-perfect chord for years to come...RIP, Dr. Sacks...such a beautiful and engaged heart and mind... You can read mic.com's tribute to the good doctor here & a wonderful reflection on his passion for music at BrainPickings here... What Happened Miss SiMONE?
I notice, telling by the calendar, it's that "#tbt" time on social media today. I don't always have something to bring to the table, but today I do:
This morning I'm remembering too well a time that I played a Nina Simone record thick in the midst of a difficult spell. I was living in Japan & can still recall so well the flood of feeling that powered thru me that day - a freight train of emotion, an unrelenting tidal surge of..."she knows, she knows...Nina's there." The places her hands & voice went...I finally watched the Netflix doc on Lady Simone last night. Haunting. On the day I've described in my memory, I was years from trying to write a song paying tribute to her. That song's the best I could do - a white singer/songwriter guy who can only, at best pine and long to go places vocally & musically that she went - but a shout-out/tribute/nod to the Queen all the same. The best I can/could muster...Summer's over, autumn's here, winter's on the way: "Honey, let's stay home & spin some Nina Simone..." You can stream or purchase the song, "Nina Simone" - from last year's "Hope, Alaska" album - HERE. Spring Postcard:"When that sun passes by & leaves a crushed cranberry sky..."
- Welcome the Night Last night, from a 2nd floor bedroom window on W. 24th... This time of year, I think of Alaska as a monastery coming out of its annual, winter-long silent retreat. Many of us have endured the long, dark quiet spell (& others reveled in it) - its peaks and valleys and unexpected moments of grace and terror. The bell sounds, we bow and move our stiff, sore limbs & the other parts of ourselves that nearly atrophied in hibernation. And though you can strive to remain in the rhythm of your breath as you wake to the world again, I find there's a moment each spring in the Great North when I step outside, or - as pictured here - into my bedroom with a view, and am instantly walloped all over again by the beauty of a world on the cusp of full bloom... Heart stopping. Breathtaking.... This weekend, Jack Tobin at AK's KONR informed me that Welcome the Night, from last year's "Hope, Alaska" album currently sits in its top ten. Means a lot, as it remains my favorite song on the album. I started writing it in 2008 - I had "Moon River" stuck in my head when I began drafting it - and I kept working on it till I thought it was ready to record in 2013. I've long thought of it as a sort-of hymn to/for the Spenard neighborhood in Anchorage, where I first lived when I moved to AK in 2003. I was glad to learn it's getting airplay and that - from the sound of things - a few people appreciate the tune... Hope you've emerged from your own den by now, welcomed spring, toasted those blushing night skies in your own way. Here's to also hoping we can meet over music and all other things good in the not-distant future. it's all wrapped up in beauty, JJB 
The Jonathan J. Bower Music/Merch: A Virtual Lemonade Stand
We're a little behind setting up a store at the website here, but until we do you can purchase all merch - including JJB Hope, Alaska t's, postcard packs, posters, and cd's - as well as automatic downloads of both Hope, Alaska & 2012's but so beautiful at our Bandcamp page. You can also buy these items directly from Jonathan via Paypal. His 'handle' for Paypal orders is jonathanjbowermusic@gmail.com & you're welcome to contact him via that email address or via his JJB Music page at Facebook if you want to inquire about ordering directly through his virtual lemonade stand. Happy Holidays, All, and we hope to see you out at a show in the New Year! xo, JJB
Hope, ALaksa Release Recap
Season's Greeting, All.
If you're interested, you can read another "Open Letter" to the Kickstarter backers in the "Blog" section above, reflecting on things such as AK winter, holiday season-specific gratitude, along with a couple musings on "what music means to me." etc. Meanwhile, thanks to all who came out & supported the JJB "Hope, Alaska" release shows this fall. Couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate the release of the new album than to present the tunes with musicians Aaron Benolkin, Marty Severin, Cameron Cartland, and Tom Bargelski. We'll be aiming to play some more this winter, but in the meantime I'm lining up a few solo shows and house concerts. Stay tuned for details! In related news, "Hope, Alaska" is now available at Amazon, iTunes, and at my Bandcamp page. Maybe you know someone who'd like some new music this holiday season? Consider "Hope, Alaska" and/or any related merch - such as our gorgeous t's and stickers and postcard packs - available at Bandcamp or via Jonathan directly via Paypal & jonathanjbowermusic@gmail.com Message Jonathan directly if you're interested in ordering. Thanks all. Hope you're enjoying winter wherever this finds you. It's finally started snowing here, and we're inching towards solstice, ready to lean back towards that light following this long winter's nap... Be well and take care, Jonathan J Bower 
The Anchorage Press Reviews "Hope, Alaska""Hope, Alaska" received a generous review at The Anchorage Press this week, and - gulp! - the cover of the Arts & Entertainment section?!?! You can read the review here. Thank you to the AP - much appreciated.
Hope, ALaska Kickstarter: A success98 Backers. $4000 raised to support the release of "Hope, Alaska"...There's no easy way to properly describe or summarize the experience of this campaign. At one point soon following the launch, I told a friend that, telling by the contributors and correspondence I was receiving about our video and the album, this Kickstarter was like a 21st century, digital-age version of the old "This is Your Life" TV show...But that's only one way to describe it. If you'd like to learn a little more about the journey of this record, and my efforts to somehow thank those who backed the Kickstarter, head over to the blog and read my "Open Letter to the 'Hope, Alaska' Kickstarter Backers & Supporters.' That, and/or please watch the 3rd and final installment of our Homemade KS Commercials (below). Thank you All. My heart has had a rich month. I look forward to a little less self-promotion, and a lot more reflection AND practicing for our album release shows at the end of October. xoxo, JJB
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Upcoming Shows:
TBA...Like many of you, we've been staying put, hunkering down, working from home, etc. In the meantime, check out JBow's acoustic performance of *John Prine* for the Anchorage Daily News's *Quarantunes* music column a few weeks ago! (Look left, top post!) |
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Joan DiDion
Hope refused to die but it got real thin sometimes. - Ron Carlson
We've uploaded another song from the new album to the "Listening Booth." This one's called Joan Didion.
Producing this song in 2013 became my introduction to Andy Tholberg, who co-produced it with Evan and me, and who just hasn't stopped blowing my mind since I tumbled down the rabbit hole of his solo work, along with his contributions to a diverse assortment of Alaskan bands and musicians. So, I sure hope you enjoy the song even just a fraction as much as I enjoyed putting it together with Evan, Andy, and James.
Be well, and have a good night.
JJB
We've uploaded another song from the new album to the "Listening Booth." This one's called Joan Didion.
Producing this song in 2013 became my introduction to Andy Tholberg, who co-produced it with Evan and me, and who just hasn't stopped blowing my mind since I tumbled down the rabbit hole of his solo work, along with his contributions to a diverse assortment of Alaskan bands and musicians. So, I sure hope you enjoy the song even just a fraction as much as I enjoyed putting it together with Evan, Andy, and James.
Be well, and have a good night.
JJB
Hope, Alaska
Welcome to the revised and updated Jonathan J. Bower website. A special thank you to Elizabeth Bradfield at Pelagic Design for working her magic, setting up shop, and capably walking this neurotic technophobe into my new residence in the cyber realm.
We have a mixed and mastered album nearly ready to go. If you're interested, you can preview the new record by clicking on the "Listen" tab above. There, you can stream one of our favorite tracks - a kind-of title track - a mid tempo, but still jaunty little song-slash-postcard we call Hope, AK. We're in the process of finishing the album art now, and - as with 2012's But So Beautiful - I dare say I'm as excited for you to see and hold this work as I am for you to hear it. (I'm addressing that specific, shrinking brand of music listener/customer - the pre-Cloud demographic.) For an advanced preview, click on the "misty mountains" photo to the right of this post and catch a glimpse of Michael Wilson's wonderful cover image for the album. In the meantime, I'm happy to share with you the final track listing for Hope, Alaska:
1. pls
2. Nina Simone
3. Joan Didion
4. The Captain's Verses
5. Hope, AK
6. Olena
7. Friendship Fire
8. The Book of Consolation
9. Welcome the Night
10. P.S.
Stay tuned & take care, JJB
We have a mixed and mastered album nearly ready to go. If you're interested, you can preview the new record by clicking on the "Listen" tab above. There, you can stream one of our favorite tracks - a kind-of title track - a mid tempo, but still jaunty little song-slash-postcard we call Hope, AK. We're in the process of finishing the album art now, and - as with 2012's But So Beautiful - I dare say I'm as excited for you to see and hold this work as I am for you to hear it. (I'm addressing that specific, shrinking brand of music listener/customer - the pre-Cloud demographic.) For an advanced preview, click on the "misty mountains" photo to the right of this post and catch a glimpse of Michael Wilson's wonderful cover image for the album. In the meantime, I'm happy to share with you the final track listing for Hope, Alaska:
1. pls
2. Nina Simone
3. Joan Didion
4. The Captain's Verses
5. Hope, AK
6. Olena
7. Friendship Fire
8. The Book of Consolation
9. Welcome the Night
10. P.S.
Stay tuned & take care, JJB
