Album Notes

review by: Jennifer DeGroot, Slamm Magazine

Goes well with: Jeff Buckley, Sunny Day Real Estate, Medeski, Martin & Wood

There's something haunting about Decoy, the debut from the Sacramento group called Frank Jordan. It could be the snippets of voices wailing and babbling incoherently through a few tracks, but mostly it's that Mike Visser's voice is startlingly similar to that of the late Jeff Buckley.

Like Buckley and Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Visser is the rare male rock singer whose voice is an instrument all its own, almost too beautiful for its own mortality. It twists and careens over and around the melodies, climbing the notes slowly like a taffy pull on tracks like 'Made' and 'Standard.' It makes you wish he would give up the occasional distortion tricks and just let his voice stand raw and naked.

Visser is backed by a stellar band: Matt Ontjes on bass guitar and Devin Hurley on drums. Hurley is a versatile and creative percussionist whose work accentuates "Interference" and "Only a Shirt You Hate." Visser's vocals don't hog the spotlight, though -- on several tracks he stops singing midway through, leaving the last half of the song for a raucous instrumental. In fact, the album's highpoint is the full instrumental, '2005 Ivar Ave' -- at nearly 10 minutes it may seem a bit overindulgent, but Frank Jordan are whizzes with their toys and know how to experiment without losing themselves in the process.

Decoy alternates between percussive jazz-rock and '70s funkalicious, which ends up equalling a downright smooth groove. This is edible jazz that also rocks --think Medeski Martin & Wood, not Kenny G.-style Muzak. No matter the nod they clearly owe to Buckley and his band, Frank Jordan is not a phony imitation, as the album's title might ironically suggest. Offering thought-provoking lyrics ("Playing God does not solve problems") and true talent, this band plays on its own merits.

and yet another great review at this link:
http://www.indiemonkey.com/reviews/eh/frankjordan.html


the "official" bio:

"Music and art are limitless. If it's not moving - what the fuck is the point" m. visser

"We just liked the way the words looked on paper" says drummer Devin Hurley when asked about the name of their band. At the time of the band's inception, the name Frank Jordan was in a lot of headlines, Frank Jordan the guy was San Francisco's notorious and soon to be ex-Mayor, he was known as the guy who was trying to ban live outdoor music.

Frank Jordan the band was formed in 1994 by a group of high school friends from Carmichael, CA. This is their first band, Devin was turned on to drums by his older brother and started playing when he was 10 years old, Mike taught Matt how to play bass and then taught himself how to sing. Like most bands, the members of Frank Jordan we're never formally trained in music and they play by "ear & memory", but unlike most bands they practice four times a week in a gutted out insurance company loft and have played over 500 shows in the last 4 years. On dedication and commitment to their music, singer/guitarist Mike Visser states flatly: "I don't have a back up plan, I didn't go to college...the band is it".

Frank Jordan features Devin Hurley-drums, Matt Ontjes-bass and Mike Visser-on guitar & vocals. For the first 3 ? years of their existence Frank Jordan was an instrumental band with two drummers. A year after streamlining to their current three piece line-up they went to the studio and recorded with multi-platinum Cake and Deftones engineer Joe Johnston. The result is an introspective, fervent, experimental rock, jazz, pop record they call Decoy. A disc that embodies Frank Jordan's signature style and stays firmly outside of the standard song structure box. The first time around the band pressed 500 copies of Decoy, now Cornerstone R.A.S serves up the analog recording in a digitally re-mastered disc and delivers it to the world inside and out of the Sacramento Valley.

When asked about the band's inspiration and non-linear song writing style, guitarist and lead singer Mike Visser says: "Honestly, the ideas come as mistakes, they come by accident. But they're Great mistakes - and I'm happy that they come."

The band's influences range from The Police and Fugazi to Cool Keith. On comparisons The Police comes up most often, Alive & Kicking Magazine says: "These guys rip it up. There were moments I swear I thought I was listening to some basement Ghost in The Machine era Police tapes. The engineering is masterful...tasty vocal distortion...vintage recording sound. I bow down before the rhythm section... I am nothing".

When asked what Frank Jordan the guy is doing nowadays Devin says: "I think he's senile and really old...I hope he doesn't try to sue us."