Jerome's Dream were a three piece emo violence outfit that existed from 1997-2001 in Connecticut. Leaving behind two full lengths, and a fistful of 7" releases (and even a 5"), Jerome's Dream stylistic impression on the genre has not gone unnoticed. Their earlier records were much like their live shows: fast, loud, and short, heavy on the feedback and technically impressive. Vocalist Jeff Smith refused to use a mic at shows (or while recording supposedly), which is pleasant enough when you see a folk-punk band doing it, but truly astounding when a screamo band pulls it off. After reportedly passing out in the booth while recording vocals for the Orchid split 10", the band's direction took a turn. Their second full length, Presents, featured no screaming by Smith, who instead used heavy effects on his voice to add a kind of atonal lyric to the songs. Musically, "Presents" was their most well-produced, and perhaps most musically mind blowing output. Below you can snatch their entire discography.
This is a blog posted earlier this year on the official Jerome's Dream myspace that kind of sums up what the band was all about, especially to the members themselves.
2008
it's been a long time since this band has played. just as many, if not all of our peers' bands as well. and though we are scattered about, the fact of the matter is, is that we were here, and this shit has made its mark. and i think that's a powerful thing, as the internet was hardly a leveraged platform for promoting music; it was the interwoven community of young kids who gave a shit about creating a culture and a community based upon the idea of DIY ethics and execution.
looking back, it was a very special time that simply cannot be "carried on", or emulated. the conditions of the current music world won't allow it. i mean, it seems that you need to have credentials that you otherwise wouldn't have even considered then, as an independent band. today, indie bands seem to be on par with majors, and once again, i think the internet has closed the gap, because it has consolidated resources unavailable then; marketing, promotion, distribution, video; it's all on line. everything is becoming digital. everything. and it's kind of fucking nuts.
and i'm by no means saying it's good or bad. i am saying that, though it's only been 7 years, since our end (and the end of many others), the dramatic shift in how music in general is handled and received, has created an even greater disconnect between now and then.. and i think this particular era in hardcore that we were privilaged to be a part of, wasn't documented properly, as it never is i suppose... but that creates an even greater mystery of what its culture and community was like.. in my opinion, it was one of the most impactful eras in punk, that is also the most under appreciated and overrlooked. which is just fine with me. because, those who were there, know what was, and those who were not, can look inside the music and only imagine the physical and emotional force it had. photos do not do justice. it was very hands on. it was very personal.
it was very personal for us as a band. perhaps even self indulgent. but that's what we did it for. it was for our own survial and coping. the music was our platform, but the community is what allowed us to share and demonstrate what hardcore meant to us. whether it was understood or excepted is debatable. regardless, we truly believed in DIY. we believed in community and supporting our friends and each other. we wanted nothing more than to travel to whichever basement, living room, kitchen, or small venue that would have us, and play our music in front of people who we wanted to believe would take something from it.. and some of you have, and we nod our heads to you. and for those who never saw us, or any of the wonderful bands that we were lucky to play with, we nod our heads to you too, for just discovering this and paying attention.
this is a 5 a.m. rant. it is also the first "blog" i have ever written.
good night,
erik
Oh, and if you're sitting there thinking, "I don't believe this dude could seriously be heard without a mic. Bullshit!" Watch this video.
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Completed 1997-2001 Disc 1
Completed 1997-2001 Disc 2
2 comments:
i saw them a bunch of times, and i'll vouch for the "no microphone" vocals. they weren't always super audible, but you could hear them. they also tended to play five or ten minutes sets, and i always thought that was because doing vocals like that was too much of a strain to do for any longer than that.
That's all the time they needed to get their point across
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