Jed Davis (born July 7, 1975 in

Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. The population was 8,189 as of the 2010 Census. The Lenox Hills neighborhood is adjacent to Bethpage State Park and the rest of the ...

) is an American musician based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He sings and plays keyboards as a solo artist and with The Hanslick Rebellion, Collider, and Skyscape.

Music career

Skyscape and early solo work

As a high-school senior, keyboardist Davis formed the band Skyscape with singer Domenic Maltempi in 1991. Skyscape recorded a CD, ''Band Of The Week'', two years later. After moving to the Albany area to attend the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...

at Albany, Davis performed in a solo capacity, self-releasing a demo tape titled ''Jed Has Too Much Free Time''. The demo's 33 songs were recorded on a 4-track cassette recorder by Davis and guitarist Alex Dubovoy in one weekend marathon. Skyscape is still active, releasing the full-length albums ''Zetacarnosa'' in 2009 and ''Dr. Des Moines'' in 2016.

The Hanslick Rebellion

Davis formed a new band, The Hanslick Rebellion, in 1995 with Dubovoy and bassist Mike Keaney. Known for a live show matched in intensity only by the group's backstage in-fighting, the Rebellion self-released the live cassette ''the rebellion is here'' in 1996. The volatile band imploded and ended in early 1997, reuniting for a tenth anniversary performance at New York's

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

on September 22, 2005. Davis resumed full-time duty with The Hanslick Rebellion following their 2005 reunion; to date they have released a remastered version of ''the rebellion is here'' on CD, a digital EP entitled ''The Deli Of Life'', which spawned a successful online video for the song "You Are Boring The Shit Out Of Me", and a second digital EP, ''Let's Get To The Fucking'', which explores a fusion of rock and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

. In March 2017, The Hanslick Rebellion released a politically-charged single, "Who'll Apologize For This Disaster Of A Life", accompanied by an animated video created by Davis.

J-Bird Records

After graduation from UAlbany, Davis moved to Woodhaven, Queens, and began composing in earnest across the musical spectrum, releasing two solo albums, ''We're All Going to Jail!'' (1997) and ''Jed Davis Wastes 8 Years of His Life for Your Listening Pleasure'' (1999) on Connecticut-based independent label J-Bird Records. In 2001, J-Bird Records honored Davis with ''Everybody Wants to be Like Jed'', a tribute album which featured cover art by

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Hate'' and '' Neat Stuff''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduce ...

and performances of signature Davis tunes by an eclectic host of indie artists including

Brian Dewan Brian Dewan (born 14 June 1963) is an American multi-media artist, who produces music, audio-visual performances, decorative painting, furniture, poetry, filmstrips, illustrations, and musical instruments. He has released three albums of song ...

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

Anal Cunt Anal Cunt, also known as AxCx and A.C., was an American grindcore band that formed in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1988. From its inception, the band underwent a number of line-up changes and never had a bass player. The band, known for its flippan ...

Wesley Willis Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Wil ...

, King Missile and members of

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980–19 ...

Collider and electroclash

As programmer for the electronica/punk fusion band

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particl ...

(formed 1997), Davis was a pioneer of New York City's electroclash movement. Collider's debut album, 1998's ''Blowing Shit Up'', was a mash-up of samples, dance grooves, synthesizers, and rock guitars applied to traditional pop forms and themes. The band's second album, ''Physics'' (1999), while still performed entirely on electronic instruments (including the

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

VG-8 guitar modeling system), was a step in a more traditional pop/rock direction, with samples of acoustic instruments employed throughout.

''Rise And Shine''

Between 2000 and 2005, Davis composed the music and lyrics for a stage musical, ''Rise and Shine'', with librettist

Arturo Vega Arturo Vega (13 October 1947 – 8 June 2013) was a Mexican-American graphic designer best known for his long association with the punk rock group The Ramones. He designed the group's iconic logo, and was sometimes called the fifth Ramone. Offici ...

. An attempt to record the musical in album form was aborted after several years of work, despite a voice cast which included

Dicky Barrett Richard Michael Barrett (born June 22, 1964), better known as Dicky Barrett, is an American singer who was the frontman of ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He was the announcer for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' until 2022. Barrett is known f ...

, C.J. Ramone, Matthew Koma, Brian Dewan and Jessy Moss. Following Vega's death in 2013, Davis resumed work on the recording in tribute to his friend, adding Heather Maloney, Miss Guy, and

Shea Diamond ShaGasyia "Shea" Diamond (born March 17, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and transgender rights activist. Her music is chiefly soul and R&B, and includes elements of blues, rock, hip-hop and folk. Her songwriting ability has been des ...

to the cast.

''WCYF'' and "The Bowery Electric"

Moving to lower Manhattan influenced Davis's transition from electroclash toward a rawer

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

sound, and to that end he began collaborating with some of New York's original punk rockers. Collider's final release, ''WCYF'' (2003), was produced by Ramones drummer/producer Tommy Ramone. In addition, Davis's tribute song to

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...

, "The Bowery Electric", brought Tommy, Marky and C.J. Ramone, as well as

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

producer

Daniel Rey Daniel Rey (born Daniel Rabinowitz) is an American musician, record producer and songwriter from New York City, best known for his work with the punk rock band Ramones. As a teenager Rey played in punk band Shrapnel, which also featured Dave Wyn ...

, together for a historic recording session. "The Bowery Electric" was released as a single on Spanish label No Tomorrow (2002), and later on the Ramones compilation album ''The Family Tree'' (2008).

Post-Collider solo projects

After Collider disbanded in 2004, Davis released a single, "With Love From America", under the band name The Congregation Of Vapors. In July 2008, Davis recorded 14 songs for a solo album at Chicago's

Electrical Audio Electrical Audio is a recording facility founded in Chicago, Illinois by musician and recording engineer Steve Albini in 1997. Hundreds of independent music projects have been recorded there. Unlike most producers, Albini refuses to take any royal ...

with engineer

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

. As is customary for Albini recordings, the entire album was captured live to tape as performed by Davis and drummer Joe Abbatantuono. This recording was released on

8-track tape The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, wh ...

in July, 2011, under the title ''Shoot The Piano Player''. Davis is enamored of archaic media formats. He released the single "Yuppie Exodus From Dumbo" on

cylinder record Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...

in June 2010. The limited edition of 50 copies was signed and numbered by Davis and Michael Doret, who designed the packaging. A number of Davis' finished but unreleased recordings from the Collider era, executive-produced by

Dave Fridmann David Lawrence Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. Career From 1990 onwards he co-produced most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Other bands he has worked with include Weezer, Saxon Shore, Neon Indian, Wolf Gang, ...

and mixed by

Tony Doogan Tony Doogan is a Scottish record producer who runs Castle of Doom Studios in Glasgow. He is perhaps best known for his work with Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian. He has also worked with numerous other artists, including Teenage Fanclub, the Delgado ...

, were compiled and released in 2010 as ''The Cutting Room Floor''. Psychedelic artist

Victor Moscoso Victor Moscoso (born July 28, 1936) is a Spanish–American artist best known for producing psychedelic rock posters, advertisements, and underground comix in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first of the rock poster artists of ...

provided vibrating color cover art. In July, 2012, Davis released the full-length album ''Small Sacrifices Must Be Made!'' on

Eschatone Records Eschatone is a New York-based record label founded in 2006 by Jed Davis, Joseph Slevin, and Lisa Brennan. With no allegiance to any genre, Eschatone releases the work of artists including Brian Dewan, The Visitors, wax.on wax.off, Michael Bassett, ...

. Davis' band for the album consists of guitarist

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...

, drummer

Anton Fig Anton Fig (born 8 August 1952 in Cape Town, South Africa), known as "The Thunder from Down Under", is a South African session drummer, perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band ...

and bassist Graham Maby.

Jeebus

Davis began working with a new band, Jeebus, in 2009. Jeebus includes members of both Collider and the Hanslick Rebellion, plus Reeves Gabrels. The band toured through the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

and

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

in the summer of 2009, and recorded a 10-song album, ''Jesus Christ's Supercar'', was released to streaming services in 2020.

Session work

As a session keyboardist, Davis has performed and recorded with musical acts of all genres, including Juliana Hatfield,

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, ''Swee ...

, Hand Habits, The Deuce Project, and Matthew Koma's Bandcamp.

Eschatone Records

Davis is co-founder of the independent folk-punk record label

, which is home to Brian Dewan, Michael Bassett, The Visitors and wax.on wax.off, and has also released material by Hand Habits,

Jobriath Bruce Wayne Campbell (December 14, 1946 – August 3, 1983), known by his stage name Jobriath, was an American rock musician and actor. He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label, and one of the first in ...

, Peg, The Valley Arena, and some of Davis' projects. In his role at Eschatone, Davis signed Daddy Long Legs (musician Brian Hurd, who debuted with The Visitors on Eschatone in 2007) and Hand Habits to their first record contracts, and oversaw the compilation of previously-unreleased Jobriath material into the full-length album ''As The River Flows'' (2014).

Discography

Solo

* ''Jed Has Too Much Free Time'' (cassette, 1994) * ''We're All Going to Jail!'' (CD, J-Bird, 1997) * ''Jed Davis Wastes 8 Years of His Life for Your Listening Pleasure'' (CD, J-Bird, 1999) * ''In the Presence of Presents 2003'' (digital-only, 2003) * ''In the Presence of Presents 2006'' (digital-only, 2006) * ''I Am Jed Davis!'' (CD, Eschatone, 2009) * "Yuppie Exodus from Dumbo" (single, cylinder record, Eschatone, 2010) * ''Celebration Party!'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2010) * ''The Cutting Room Floor'' (CD/vinyl, Eschatone, 2010) * ''Shoot the Piano Player'' (8-track, Eschatone, 2011) * ''Live at CB's Gallery'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2011) * ''Small Sacrifices Must Be Made!'' (CD/vinyl, Eschatone, 2012) * ''In the Presence of Presents 2017'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2017) * ''Rise and Shine: Day 1'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2019) * ''Rise and Shine: Day 2'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2019)

Skyscape

* ''Band of the Week'' (CD/cassette, Low-Sodium, 1993) * ''Zetacarnosa'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2009) * ''Dr. Des Moines'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2016)

The Hanslick Rebellion

* ''The Rebellion Is Here.'' (cassette, 1995) * ''The Rebellion Is Here.'' (reissue, CD, Eschatone, 2005) * ''The Deli of Life'' (CD, Eschatone, 2007) * ''Let's Get to the Fucking'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2008) * ''The Rebellion Was Here.'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2015)

Collider

* ''Blowing Shit Up'' (CD, Eschatonality, 1998) * ''Physics'' (CD, Eschatonality/MP3.com, 1999) * ''Amateur Hour: A Global Tribute to Sparks'' compilation, performing "I Predict" and "Something for the Girl with Everything" (CD, Fan Mael, 1999) * ''WCYF'' (CD, SonaBLAST!, 2003) * ''Todos Somos Ramones'' compilation, performing "I Can't Make It on Time" (CD, Rockaway, 2005)

The Congregation of Vapors

* "With Love from America" (single, CD, Eschatone, 2004)

Jeebus

* ''Jesus Christ's Supercar'' (digital-only, Eschatone, 2020)

Sevendys

* "City of My Dreams"/"I Hate Love" (single, digital-only, Eschatone, 2011) * "So So Close"/"When I Step Off the Train" (single, 7" vinyl, JAXART, 2011) * "Enjoy It" (single, digital-only, 2011) * "Please Don't Eat Me I Love You" (single, digital-only, 2011) * "Hold On to Your Soul" (single, digital-only, 2011) * "Duck and Cover" (single, digital-only, 2011) * "Living in a Frame" (split-10" vinyl EP b/w Jobriath, "Amazing Dope Tales", 2013)

Other appearances

* Bandcamp, ''Wanna Dance?'', keyboards (CD, EVLA, 2005) * Black Queen Speaks, ''Campeador'', keyboards (2011) * The Bowery Electric Crew, "The Bowery Electric", keyboards/vocals (single, 7" vinyl/CD, No Tomorrow, 2002) * Ramones, ''The Family Tree'', keyboards/vocals (CD, Rockaway, 2008) * Jessica Simpson, ''The Apprentice - The Complete First Season'', keyboards (DVD, NBC, 2004) * Sunday Girl, ''Sunday Girl'', keyboards/vocals/producer (2004) * TOE, ''TOE'', keyboards (CD, J-Bird, 1999) * The Visitors, ''The Visitors'', piano/organ (CD, Eschatone, 2007) * Hand Habits, ''Small Shifts'', keyboards/engineer/mixing (10" vinyl, Eschatone, 2013) * Avi Buffalo, ''At Best Cuckold'', keyboards/string arrangement (CD/vinyl, Sub Pop, 2014) * David Schulman, ''Gone to Shame'', keyboards/vocals/engineer/producer (2016) * Juliana Hatfield, "Christmas Cactus/Red Poinsettia", keyboards/co-producer (single, 7" vinyl, American Laundromat, 2020) * Juliana Hatfield, ''Blood'', keyboards/co-producer (CD/vinyl/cassette, American Laundromat, 2021)

References

External links

Jed Davis official Web siteJed Davis artist page at Eschatone Records"You Are Boring The Shit Out Of Me" music video
* Jed Davis biography at allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jed 1975 births Living people Songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male songwriters