Album Notes

Jack Salamander coalesced out of rehearsals held at James Cornolo's Apartment in Chicago back in 1991.

James, Bruce Mak, Tony Dimartino, and Dave Ramey had met a few times before Dave invited Lem Roby to come out and jam. James and Lem had met on a riverboat in New Orleans a few years before. Dave and Lem had attended Webster University together. As Lem and Bruce had attended the Academy high school for the performing arts together, the spectre of Frank Dawson gave the fledgeling project the wings of destiny.

The band debuted at the venerable Woodlawn Tap (Jimmy's) in Hyde Park that year.(Immortalized on the JackBoot DVD "Spank down the Whammy Bar and Lick it Off"-Out of Print). Jack continued gigging around Chicago until Lem took the guitar chair in New Crime Theatre's production of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Working sometimes as Trombone Dave and the Lawn Clippings, the band carried on while Lem underwent a self-imposed exile to Minneapolis.

Returning to Chicago to mark Muddy Water's birthday with a trip to his grave (the 6 beers in 6 cities roadtrip), Lem first encountered the seminal Root Boy Slim CD "Root 6," opting not to buy it because "it'll be in the cutout bin soon enough." That same day, the group met at Dress Rehearsals Studios in Chicago to record the eponymous "Green tape," finding a kindred spirit and engineering genius in Don Grayless.

TONY'S RANT SECTION

damnin kids ! What ever happened to Glitter's " rock and roll PT. II ?" - Oh, F@&*in' Lem needs to get the rights to it so we can hear James Cornolo's crafty Cornet sola-ya know, when the Bulls were winning! Lem, remember to be the ball -the bouncing guitar toolings dripped densely off the end of his guitar onto the stage, on which the roadies we don't have slipped gracefully!!!!. -T