I wrote down some of the lyrics and Googled them when I got home to find the name of the band. It’s hard to not like a song that has stanzas like these, which are sung to a Latin rhythm:
It was a really bad year; the kind of year I could forget with drinking
It was a really bad year; the kind of year I could forget with drinking
And all the fellas at the bar, they’re always helping out my wife with something
And all the fellas at the bar, they’re always helping out my wife with something
and
I have a problem with my local DJ, I can’t believe some of the songs he won’t play
I have a problem with my local DJ, I can’t believe some of the songs he won’t play
He don’t like Elvis, Elvis; He don’t like Elvis, Elvis;
He don’t like Elvis, Elvis; He don’t like Elvis, Elvis;
The Wikipedia entry on Grace is interesting. He runs a country version of Van Halen called Van Hayride, which sometimes includes Norah Jones. Grace, according to the profile, was born in Brooklyn and is “a New York City icon.” He heads up what seems like a pretty loose outfit:
Functioning more like a jazz bandleader, he has a main cast of characters but keeps two to three drummers on call for recordings and gigs. The band members come from all walks of life: jazz, rock, country and, well, other. Bassist, vocalist and wife Daria (Melomane, Pre-war Ponies, The (N.Y.) Moonlighters & God Is My Co-Pilot) keeps the rhythm going with the rotating drummers, Russ Meissner, Jason “J-Bird” Bowman and Bruce Martin (Tom Tom Club).
Below is “Sugarbear.” The Jack Grace Band is the best experimental country art rock group around.
Wikipedia and The Jack Grace Band website were used to write this post. The home page art is by Joao Castellano.
