The Corwood Bible of Jandek

"We can't deny there are spirits in this house. You shut the door, the wind closes two more I laugh a dark laugh, you smile and think about it."-Jandek

Today we have a guest contributor and an old friend/music conspirator Courtney Holt giving a review of the recent Jandek show that was performed in Los Angeles a few nights ago. Courtney and I have been friends for decades, share a love for strange, beautiful…often dark and noisy…music. We have been a part of a record label together, The Idelsohn Society (along with friends Josh Kuhn and Roger Bennett), which put on concerts at The Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub and Yoshi’s, gave Johnny Matthias a Gold record and a hug in front of a crowd of thousands at the Skirball Cultural Center, and opened up a pop-up record store in December 2011. In his career, Courtney has always managed to be one step (or many) in front of the curve, way-back-when at Interscope using this new crazy landscape of the Internet to strategize around promoting and marketing records. He has since been a major executive at MySpace (remember MySpace? Where are you now, Tom?), Disney, Spotify and was just named the Head of Americas for Moonbug Entertainment (parents of young kids will probably know one of their shows, CoComelon).

What I love about Courtney, is that on the heels of the announcement of his promotion recently, he celebrated by taking himself to a Jandek show. Alone.

A few words on Jandek. In the world of outsider music, Jandek is the Elvis. If there was an Outsiderpalooza, Jandek would headline one night, The Shaggs the next and the The Gerogerigegege the next (google them for now, we can talk about them later).

A few early Jandek album covers

In the late-80s and early-90s, more often than not, a Jandek record would appear on the Forced Exposure distribution list, the go-to for the strange, bizarre and awesome underground releases of the day (still around, still rocking it), released on his record label Corwood Industries out of Houston, Tx. The early releases each featured a full-bleed black-and-white cover photo of a person one would assume was Jandek (there was never any press or live shows behind the records to prove this). Generally the records featured the music of a rambling “folk” artist…light on song structure and melody…many times featuring a guitar, sometimes percussion….later electronics…seemingly without formal training or grounding in traditional music theory. By definition, an outsider artist.

I would buy each record as they came out, more out of wonder than anything else, calling a few in-the-know friends (record collectors) when they arrived, laughing a little at the fact we “bought another Jandek record” while a little in awe while listening to the strange lackadaisical sounds, the meandering stream-of-consciousness-seeming poetic lyrics (were they?), pointing out the moments of ever-so-slight different musical directions, celebrating them as one does when watching one of Andy Warhols films like Empire or Eat (remember when the cat jumps into the frame? A micro-moment that hit like the Poseidon getting slammed by the kill wave). When Jandek came out with a record that featured a color photo on the cover (grainy as usual…but color), it was as vif the heavens opened up through a field of quicksand.

You can listen to some of his music here and here and here.

Jandek today from Sheila Smith’s Socials

Jandek was a mystery. Besides the great Jimmy Johnson of Forced Exposure, it did not seem like anyone had a connection with him. He returned orders, even gave slight non-answers to written in questions. But that was the closest thing to knowing someone was alive at Corwood, except for an interview he supposedly gave John Trubee in 1985. Finally, in 1999, Texas Monthly released an interview with a man believed to be Jandek…and in 2004 at a festival in Glasgow, Scotland, a band performed where it was confirmed after the fact that yes, Jandek was leading the band from the stage. In between, there was a documentary made that Jandek was not in, called Jandek on Corwood (Dr. Demento makes a great appearance, and the doc does a good job giving insight on enthusiasts interpret his craft). Since 2004, Jandek has made the occasional live appearance and continues to release music. And while he is not as much of a mystery as he once was, a mystery now in plainish sight, his artistry is as far out as it was in the beginning of his Corwood releases: he is one of the more “out there” artists in his lifetime.

And now that the mystic table is set, I turn it over to Courtney Holt (who took the live photos as well), who is one of the few to have witnessed a Jandek show in recent years….

Jandek, Live at the Lodge Room (in Los Angeles), January 2nd, 2024

I received an email announcing Jandek was playing at the Lodge Room in Highland Park, which is a great venue in LA. I had to really check to see if this was a real appearance or a cover band or…? I am fairly knowledgeable of the aura and mystery around this artist; a bunch of his records have found their way into my life over the years. Needless, as much as I curiosity as anything else, I decided to go.

I fooled myself for 10 minutes that anyone would want to go with me. Yes DKN said he would have but you can say anything after the fact (SIGNAL EDITOR NOTE: I WOULD HAVE GONE).

So I knew I’d be solo.

Sunday at 8 pm, I rolled in after not finding a decent parking space. I figured it wouldn’t be hard on a Sunday, but strangely it was.

I found my way past an empty merch table into a room which was about 1/3 full. I did a loop and saw no one I knew or even recognized. I didn’t even spot someone who may have worked in a record store.

Just after 8, the band walked on: Lap steel (mask and shorts) and some other folks that looked typical, but not gratuitous-indie. But, one was standing at a table with a ton of electronics with a simple one-note drum pattern playing, not unlike a metronome. What felt like “tuning up” morphed into something like a beat driven “song”.

And then came Jandek, thin, clad in black, fedora, briefcase, all boxes checked. But there was also a younger female, Ms. Smith, who helped him on the stage where he sat in a chair facing two mics. She whispered in his ear.  He pulled back and sat in a chair, his back was to me from where I sat.  Two mics.  A lit music stand holding his “lyrics”.

Slowly Jandek moved to the closest mic, rising from his chair without care or hurry, relaxed he slowly moved into position and stood fixed for just too long before speaking the initial words and we are off.

The beats were now louder, almost groove based.

A man near me was dancing or at least moving, but with hand motions seemed right for this music…but wrong, nonetheless.  

Jandek was now “singing” or at least speaking words, like poetry over the groove-like music. He sang of lost love and sadness and other themes and every so often the woman across the stage would rise and join in for a line or two, do a small dance and then return to her chair.

When this first song was over, it had be nearly 30 minutes. I only know because I checked.  I wasn’t clocking the show and it went fast.  I was mesmerized, transfixed.  I was in.  The initial shock and awe was replaced with a tonal acceptance.  I nodded my head some more (my own version of expressive dancing I guess - measured tho).

The lighting never changed, with a strong blue hue. There was a song improvised around Jandek and the woman, who seemed to be his wife or at least partner/manager/biz associate/friend/dancing partner/and…. The song seemed to be about the previous night’s uber drive in LA. I guess Jankek prefers to remain stoic. Silent. Uninterested.

There was a song about brainwashing which seemed to really be about the scrubbing and washing of a brain. I think.

Two hours. There was dancing, slightly interpretive or so, with the woman approaching Jandek with moving fingers, hands outstretched, dancing, smiling, like a pre-teen musical dance number with Jandek looking slightly amused before acknowledging with his own stiff-tribal hand and arm gestures in return. All with this beat driven, danceable-ish structure. At times it felt almost like a base level hip hop.  The structure, the randomness, the tonality.  It worked, I think.  I’m still processing.  I may always be processing.

Ms. Smith seems to have brought a change in Jandek and not unlike Brix Smith introducing Mark E Smith to a more pop sounds for The Fall, this may be the next evolution of Jandek.  I thought about Yoko and before you think the wrong thing, I like Yoko.  She helped.  Ms. Smith, certainly helped bring Jandek to a new level.  The dancing…. I could see Jandek on a show like Dancing with the Stars, though I have never seen that show, I assume someone like Jandek may be too appropriate and too anonymous to crack that code. 

I might return for another show. I might bring glow-sticks, I may ask folks to join me and would assume I would be there alone again, hoping for better parking.  That all said, the next show is likely a solo piano show or atonal acoustic or maybe a Gerogerigegege cover set. No, prob not that but I would go alone to that as well.¹

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I KNEW YOU WOULD LEAVE

By: Jandek

THE ROCKS CRUMBLE
UNTO DUST THEY DIE
ONCE HARD STUFF OF MOUNTAINS
NOW SOFT POWDER AMONG THE SAND
WHO DARES CRUSH A ROCK
OH ROCK NO ROCK
REDUCED TO THE WINDS
SCATTER YOUR PARTS
YOU ARE NOT ONE BUT MANY
TO THOSE SHALL YOU SUCCUMB

BEAST OF TIME YOU HURL YOUR HEAVENS SPORADIC
FALLING IN THE GREAT PARADE
MARCH UNTO YOUR DEATH
AND INTO WHAT ARMS WILL YOU GO
SURELY NOT YOUR OWN
OH GOD OF GODS BE YOU MY HOPE
AND ALL ELSE RUFFLES IN THE WINDS
MAGIC CARPETS
FLY TO YOUR PLANETS
YOU HAVE NO PLACE ON EARTH
WHO IS IT CREATES SAD SOLILOQUY
IS IT EVERYONE
NAY YOU ARE A HEATHEN
ERUPTING WORDS OF PRETENSE
LORD LET MY HAND BE GUIDED
SOMETIMES I KNOW IT NOT
AS THE AIR NO AIR IS STILL
AND THE WEARY SOUNDS REFRAIN
NOW THE HYENA CACKLES
HIS CLUTCH HAS FOUND MY HEART BLEEDING

AND NOW YOU ARE GONE
WERE YOU HERE AT ALL
DO I AWAKE FROM A LONG SLEEP
MYSELF ON MY HANDS
TOMORROW IN THE GALLOWS
TREES IN THE SKY
EMPTY ALLITERATIONS REPLENISHED
BY THE HAND OF ONE WHO WOULD FALL DOWN
AND BEG A LIGHT TO SHINE SOMEWHERE

WHAT IS THIS
THE CAVALCADE OF MISERY
WHAT DEPTHS
HOW COULD WE THINK OF DISTANCES
AH IT IS THE GIFT OF MAN
TO LIVE THE DAYS LONG
THE NIGHTS LONGER
JOURNEY TO THE STARS
THEY WORSHIP THE SUN
COME DOWN TREASURE
THAT I MIGHT PERCEIVE A SMILE
ON YOUR LIPS AS WE MEET
ON A JOURNEY TO THE STARS

Shiela Smith and Jandek

1. Courtney and I did not see each others’ pieces beforehand…and had no idea we both referenced The Gerogerigegege (which we have not listened to together) which proves two things: there are reasons people are friends AND the The Gerogerigegege is band that fits squarely in the world of strange music.