Album Notes

Jules and The Family began three years ago when four closeted rock-and-roll stars decided to let their true passions shine, real jobs be damned. They started playing together in Westchester, August 2001, using Friday night practices to work on their original music while perfecting their rock and roll covers. Their first gig, at Broadway Station in Astoria, Queens, September 2001 was a smash success, although by the end of the 4-hour gig, the audience had definitely shrunk. The band itself, though, grew, as everybody in the audience had decided they too were closeted rock-and-roll stars and joined the band for the final song, a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night."
While most of us after that night went back to our day jobs, Jules and The Family persevered, writing more songs and building their library of covers. They continued to play in bars and clubs around the city, such as the (now closed) Elbow Room, The Lion's Den and Kenny's Castaways, and in Westchester, at The Sunset House and South Side Inn. The gigs are a mixture of their own true-to-their-roots rock songs and the covers you love to hear. Audience participation is a must. If you're not dancing, you don't get Jules and The Family.
Their own music brings back the rock-and-roll sensibilities that are missing in today's pop music. These are songs about life and love. They're danceable pop songs but with real music behind them. These are not your Mickey-Mouse club graduates. They are real people who have lived, loved, gone down in flames and got up to "Do It Again," (one of the songs on their debut album). "The Greek Song," a crowd favorite, is a simple folk-story set to music about Jules (the lead singer and social-studies-teacher-turned-rock-star) and her trip to, where else, Greece. "Up to Chance" lets you know that you're not the only one fooled by love. "I met a man who said he'd show me the world/I thought the globe, he thought some gin and a whirl" How many of us have heard those great lines in the beginning of a relationship only to be disappointed later? This is music you can relate to because it's music you've lived, too. Only now, you can dance to it. "Ruari" is a lovely lullaby that conjures up sweet dreams and is the perfect ending to the cd.
Expect another CD from Jules and The Family in Summer 2005. Expect the same great rock-and-roll that those of us who have been loyal Jules fans for years already know is coming. And, if you live in the Greater New York City area, come to a gig. Expect to have a good time.
By Lindsay Noonan