Search - Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes :: ...pain, pleasure, fear and opera

What's with the title? Consider this: six immensely talented musicians including a guitarist who is a masterful cellist, an insanely good drummer who is a piano prodigy, a violin player who plays baritone saxophone & harmonica, a trumpet player with the range of big sky country, a reed man with the modern sensibilities of a John Ellis and the historical perspective of Roland Kirk, and a bass player,, who, besides his obvious skills on the low end axes of his choice, instills the group with a very special sense of harmony. Having been together for three years, they have their first studio album and a live CD now behind them. As the title implies, they seem to have turned a corner creatively, maturing toward a broad spectrum of many bright moments indeed. These guys are, as you will find obvious upon first listen, fearless. The musical equivalent of base jumping - highly exhilarating but not without its risks. JSDN compose and perform harmonically complex string pieces and rock their asses off with equal aplomb. Their sense of humor firmly in place, they'll play you for a sucker and slam dunk you with the most serious and über tight music, all in one song. With a live show that will leave you exhausted and begging for more, it is immensely gratifying on both a musical and personal level. Here lie the traists of a great collective. Their endurance will come from the fact that no matter what massive musical chops they may have, they retain a certain humility that will inevitably generate good will and great music. That is what will keep this opera in production for many years to come.