Member Profiles: Jeff Dantowitz, James Bastable, Michael Beauclerc

What is jemo?

The obvious answer is that jemo is Jeff on acoustic guitar and vocals, James on bass and Michael on drums. The poetic answer is that jemo is nothing short of pure, unedited, raw emotion, captured through aggressive acoustic sounds and introspective lyrics of the main composers, creating a sort of musical masturbation in recorded sounds to unleash onto the public. ~lilfunky1 (2005)

After years in the scene, jemo has become a complete and awesome live experience, fueled by the artistic talents, passions, and joys of Toronto musicians Jeff Dantowitz, James Bastable, and Michael Beauclerc.

jemo is a mesmerizing blend of musical poetry, an aggressive acoustic alternative... From near silence to frantic aggression, ranging from the sincerity of individual pain to the nonchalance of daily experience, jemo is a chaotic blend of expression. Idolizing the glorious careers of bands like U2 and Pink Floyd, jemo approaches the alternative rock genre with healthy abandon: pushing and pulling the boundaries of expression. Sincere, meaningful, groovy music: one true song after another.

Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jeff Dantowitz incorporated his poems and experiments into the seven songs on the first jemo album, released in 2001. It is currently in rotation on several radio stations in North America, and reached "heavy rotation" on two US college radio stations: WRSU in New Jersey, and WUEV in Indiana. After interviews and frequent play on CIUT and CJAM, jemo's first release earned respect as a consummate piece of indie experimentation.

Dantowitz incorporated his poems and experiments into the seven songs on the first jemo album, released in 2001. It is currently in rotation on several radio stations in North America, and reached "heavy rotation" on two US college radio stations: WRSU in New Jersey, and WUEV in Indiana. In 2005, jemo released "The Six-Fingered Salmagundi" - a collection of live tracks and two new studio tracks.

After releasing "The Six-Fingered Salmagundi" in 2005, a live album recorded at Toronto's Renaissance Cafe, Jeff Dantowitz went into the studio with bassist James Bastable (formerly The Daybreak/October) and Yamaha-sponsored drummer Michael Beauclerc. The result is "Oaks With Rushes"... jemo 's most pleasing and accessible album to date.

Over the course of four years, playing intense and awesome live shows at legendary Toronto venues like Sneaky Dee's, Holy Joe's, and the Free Times Cafe, or on the streets of Ottawa's WestFest, the jemo reputation for passionate live shows became evermore exceeding. Label Records recognized the talent and potential, and stepped into the picture in 2005. jemo is now proud to work with the Canadian label to produce as much beautiful sound and meaningful music as possible.

In July 2006, jemo will be touring Eastern Canada to support this new blend of exotic sounds and infectious rhythms. The album is already receiving comparisons to the pitch of Radiohead, Ben Harper, The Dave Matthews Band, David Gray, Jeff Buckley.