Honestly… Who would steal 40 sack lunches?!

Some very lovely ladies are helping out with ELFest sustenance. Read on!
xo,
JHaJ

A story for the ages:
Carl: I ate some Triscuit crackers in the car, you should have had some.
Eric: Well, maybe if you told me they were delicious Triscuit crackers I could have enjoyed them with you.
Carl: I'm sorry.
Eric: Well, "sorry" doesn't put the Triscuit crackers in my stomach now, does it Karl?

Alright Guys and Gals,

ELFest is upon us, and this means a serious rallying of the troops. As starving artists and those who support our starving artists’ friends (which inherently makes us broke) we thought it would be a good idea to implement a pot-luck type atmosphere at ELFest. It is NOT required, but would be greatly appreciated. Kelly, Laura, and Kristen are going to coordinate it so Annie and Erik can do what they do best- be the king and queen of the ball.

Here’s the deal:

-There are over 160 people CONFIRMED for the event, so every little bit helps folks!
-Bring a dish that could feed 5-8 (more if you want!) people.
-send a message via facebook or myspace to Kelly Waterman, Laura Schelhas http://www.myspace.com/heartsoverflame, or Kristen Gray http://www.myspace.com/kristengray and let them know what you are bringing and what day you are bringing food.. although potato salad has a special place in all our hearts- we don’t need all 160 of you bringing it.
-For our vegetarian friends, please note if a dish has meat in it!
-Be creative! I know you’ve gots that special sauce (no, not that one) for a delicious dish.. so do work, son.

Thanks!

Laura, Kelly, and Kristen

ELFest details

Directions and Parking
Mapquest is best.
1016 Michigan Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48823

That will get you to the house. It’s blue and has a porch with white pillars. The best place for you to park your car during the day is the neighborhood behind the house (it's on busy street with NO street parking). There are a few streets that have clear NO PARKING ANY TIME signs, but if they are not marked, you can park as long as you want until 2am. Since it’s over a weekend, you can also try across the street at MSU’s campus- just be sure to read signs, there are several places that are 24 hr no parking zones. Please do not pull into the driveway to park, we will ask you to move immediately! If you are planning to stay in East Lansing over night, please note that you cannot park on ANY public streets over night (some streets it’s no parking 12-2am {these are marked as such}, some it’s 2am-6am). You can pay and park in a public parking lot, or talk to the locals you are staying with about parking in their driveway.

ELFest Saturday night afterparty!

Hosted by Jon Cendrowski and Will Yates
The Revolutionary Politics of a DanceParty
508 Virginia Street
East Lansing, MI 48823
Don't miss this party. Seriously.

5 Days!!

ELFest!

Well, here it is. The week of ELFest. Crazy, no? Below is the lineup-
with times- for the two days. Keep checking back all week, as we will
keep you posted on last minute changes, and give you more detailed info
about parking, after-parties, stories about Annie freaking out, etc.
See you all very soon!!
xoxox,
JHaJ

ELFest
June 2, 3
12pm-9pm
Annie's backyard
1016 Michigan Ave
East Lansing, MI 48823

Saturday, June 2

12:00-12:40pm The Kid Breaks
12:40-1:20pm Jess Kramer
1:20-2:00pm Tim Monger
2:00-2:40pm Drunken Barn Dance
2:40-3:20pm Stargazer
3:20-4:00pm The Victrolas
4:00-4:40pm Zach Curd
4:40-5:20pm The Novel Citizen
5:20-6:00pm This Is Deer Country
6:00-7:00pm The Mighty Narwhale
7:00-8:00pm Natural Monuments
8:00-9:00pm Great Lakes Myth Society

Sunday, June 3

12:00-12:40pm Incidental Music
12:40-1:20pm Broads of Canada
1:20-2:00pm That's Him! That's The Guy!
2:00-2:40pm Alan Patrick Scheurman
2:40-3:20pm The Dardanelles
3:20-4:00pm Patrick Elkins
4:00-4:40pm Onett
4:40-5:20pm Jim Roll
5:20-6:00pm Camerata
6:00-7:00pm Frontier Ruckus
7:00-8:00pm Chris Bathgate
8:00-9:00pm Canada

Unnamed Record Feature: Punching Bee Music: Volume One

If there’s any gripe we at JHaJ have fielded multiple times in our eight-plus months on the Internet, it’s this: Why do you guys only cover bands from Detroit and Ann Arbor? My usual response to this is “Check the band links,” and if you do that, you’ll find that while the majority of our favorites do hail from those aforementioned cultural hubs, but we do provide passage to the MySpace pages of bands that spell “home” “M-o-u-n-t P-l-e-a-s-a-n-t,” “E-a-s-t L-a-n-s-i-n-g,” “A-l-p-e-n-a” and “M-a-r-q-u-e-t-t-e.”

Still, our particular living arrangements do lend themselves to a bit of geographic bias, so it’s with great pleasure that I allow the Punching Bee Music: Volume One compilation to usher in the JHaJ’s reimagining of the record review.

Quick history lesson: Punching Bee is a collective of over 30 musicians from Grand Rapids that came together in 2005, operating under the following credo: “Coming from our homes. Playing with our hearts. Buzzing in your ears.” You may have read something we’ve written about stage-packing indie-pop cutie-pies The Mighty Narwhale — they’re Punching Bees. You may have seen that Jes Kramer is playing ELFest — she’s a Punching Bee, too. But that accounts for less than a third of the collective’s membership, so let’s meet a few of the other bands, with the help of Punching Bee Music: Volume One.

Matt Ten Clay — Good Lord
Grand Rapids is notorious for being a conservative Christian hotbed — this is the city that spit out Dick DeVos — so it didn’t surprise me any to find a song on the Punching Bee comp that takes the piss out of some of the best-known passages of the Good Book. What was surprising was to find such sentiment housed in a twangy foot-stomper. Putting religious uncertainty on top of a musical style with right-leaning tendencies might be an easy juxtaposition, but Clay sets the bar higher by making some space in the mix and filling it with the buzz of acoustic guitar strings.

Please, Oh Please! — Freeland, MI Falters
You say synthesizers don’t go with shouts that have a little bit of Anathallo in their reverberations. I’d like to prove you wrong with the chorus of “Freeland, MI Falters.” I say the kind of urgency in a song like “Freeland” hasn’t appealed to me since high school. You can prove me wrong by saying that there’s a little part in all of us that will always be drawn to minor-leaguers with epic dreams like Please, Oh Please! We’re both right.

PS Please, Oh Please! went on permanent hiatus at the end of March. You’ll probably never be able to see them live, but you can download nine of their songs for free here.

The Mighty Narwhale — Nightlights
Collin’s enunciation and elongation of the “10 mile radius” lyric makes this one for me. The entirety of “Nightlights” inspires nostalgia for nocturnal expeditions under clear skies, but it’s this seemingly insignificant choice that captures those moments and our feeble attempts to make them last longer than the unfeeling hands of time will allow. “Nightlights” feels like sweatshirt weather, damp grass beneath my toes and someone else’s head on my shoulder. That’s pretty much where that inclination towards minor leaguers with epic dreams lives, isn’t it?

All of these songs are streaming on the artists’ MySpaces. Also, we're still looking for a name for this feature. Anybody got an idea?

Matt Ten Clay
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows:
June 6 — Jukes in Grand Rapids with Nathan Kalish and the Wildfire

Please, Oh Please!
MySpace

The Mighty Narwhale
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows
May 25 — Kraftbrau in Kalamazoo with Deep Sea Creatures
June 1 — Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts
June 2 — ELFest in Annie's backyard
June 10 — The DAAC in Grand Rapids with Jes Kramer (fundraiser show!)

The Low Hello, Natural Monuments, El Boxeo, Wildcatting, Syscrusher at Mac’s Bar in Lansing 5/18/07

MAC’S BAR!!! DAMN THAT HORRIBLE GRAFITTI! Despite having to avoid potential seizures, Friday night was one of the best nights I’ve had at Mac’s in a long time. I was anxious to check out some new (to me) bands (The Low Hello, Wildcatting and Syscrusher), and see some of my favorite JHaJ veterans (El Boxeo and Natural Monuments).

The Low Hello started out the evening with some few tuning problems, but attained pitch perfection quickly to perform a fun and friendly, albeit slightly messy, show. The guys played off each other’s energy really well and seemed to be having a great time onstage. Which made me have a great time in the audience. I’m not completely sold on their sound yet, but I’m anxious to listen to their EP for a cleaner indication of this band’s sound.





Natural Monumets is hands down one of the best indie-pop bands in the current Michigan music scene. Alec Jensen’s awesome Dylan-esque voice, the intriguing lyrics, and catchy –yet incredibly original- songs… I love seeing this band perform. I can’t wait to see what they bring to ELFest, forcibly being transformed into an acoustic band for the evening.





Absent were the traditional umbrella dancers from El Boxeo’s set. However, Zach Norton donned a bear head for the evening, which made for a cute and fuzzy change to the normal El Box performance. I hadn’t seen El Box perform in several months, and they played just as impressively as I remembered. John Krohn jumped onstage adding vocals for “The Rope,” which was thrilling due to: A) the rareity to see this song live and B) it's one of my favorite songs from Livonia.







I was slightly disappointed in Wildcatting’s set. I mean, don’t get me wrong: the band played a very tight set, their sound was pretty great and the audience seemed to be into it. However, I’d heard from several people that Wildcatting usually provides (sorry for the lame vocab choice) pretty wild and unpredictable live performances. Maybe it was just an off night? I’ll check ‘em out again for sure.



Syscrusher ended the evening with an epic performance energy only attainable by John Krohn and Ryan Baldaras. The sound definitely held some resemblance to ex-MI band, The Casionauts, but was enjoyable none-the-less (or possibly because of it?).





This was a very well-booked and well-attended show. Hopefully we can count on some similarly good lineups at Mac’s in the near future
(ie: )

The Low Hello
Web site
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows:
May 31 — Corktown Tavern in Detroit w/ Beaten By Yuri, Belflur and Deleted Scenes
June 1 — Jacoby’s in Detroit

Natural Monuments
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows:
June 2 —ELFest in East Lansing!
June 19 — The Elbow Room in Ypsi w/ Sayonara Tiger and The Cut Scene
July 22 — The Replay Entertainment Exchange in Lansing w/ The Word Play
July 24 — The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor

El Boxeo
Web site
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows:
August 3 — Saginaw County Fair w/ The Pop Project

Wildcatting
MySpace

Upcoming Michigan Shows:
June 23 — Bohemian National Home in Detroit
June 30 — THe C.A.I.D in Detroit w/ the Oscillating Fan Club, Duende, Zoos Of Berlin, Ancourage, The Questions

xoxo!
annie moss

Hey, neat! We have a blog again!

Yes, it's true, I graduated from college. Whether or not taking such a long reprieve from blogging, however, is still debatable. Nonetheless, JHaJ returns, less than three weeks away from the tear-your-face-off awesomeness that will be ELFest.!

On that note, we regret to inform you, dear readers, that The Hard Lessons are no longer on the ELFest bill. Straight from the Augie’s mouth:
“We have to be back in NYC to meet with some folks and rock a show during ELFest. I'm definitely bummed since it looked like we were going to be in town.”

But do buck up, because there are still 24 amazing acts confirmed for our little backyard gathering (The Next Door Neighbors have also had to cancel due to a travel-related conflict).

So while you wait in giddy anticipation for ELFest, you can check out our two new — and yet-unnamed — features. The first is a weekly recording feature, with which Annie and I will keep all of y’all informed on the releases from Michigan artists that are floating around out there for purchasing and loving. We’ll listen to one CD (or LP or seven-inch or mp3 or whatevs) a week, and tell you all about it on the Internet. Not a record review, per se, more like a record impression.

The second is something we’ll need your help for. We want you to write to us — at justhaircutsandjackets@yahoo.com — about the first time you heard your favorite Michigan songs. We’ll take contributions from fans and bands alike, and of course we’ll be writing about our experiences from time to time, too.

Finally, we’ll need your help again in naming these new additions to our bloggy repertoire. Think of a song title or lyric from a local band that fits the feature, and send it to us in an e-mail with the subject line “Naming Your Features.” If your suggestion is chosen, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that your idea is forever ingrained on the Information Superhighway.

That’s all for now, kiddos. Hope to see you all very soon!
-Erik

May Calendar

Erik's busy putting on his cap and gown, so I'm posting the calendar this month. Apologies- no cute and clever references about May. All I've got is:

As always, please leave a comment with any info we may have missed.
xoxo!
annie m.

May 5
-The Gentleman Callers, Horse Cave Trio, Rusty Thimbles at Juke's Bar in Grand Rapids
-The Low Hello at The Replay Entertainment Exchange in Lansing
-Kelly Jean Caldwell, The Willowz at The Bohemian National Home in Detroit
-Virgil Walters at The Power Center in Ann Arbor

May 6
-The Mighty Narwhale at The Elbow Room in Ypsi
-Mason Proper at Art in the Loft in Alpena

May 9
-Sari Brown, Evan Bicker Williams, Joshua Marcus at the Dreamland Theater in Ypsi
-Kelly Jean Caldwell, Laura Veirs and Saltbreakers at The Magic Stick in Detroit

May 10
-Jeremy Vallender, The Avery Set at The Red Eye Café in Saginaw

May 11
-The Novel Citizen, Vankles and The Pedestrians at the RHS Variety Show in Rochester Hills
-Sink With Me, Anchors For Reality, Remembering Yesterday, Hollowpoint, Strength In Numbers, Not Another Hero at Blingerz in Quincy
- Kyle White, The Antivillans, The Epitomes, Todd Deatherage at Andrew's Bar Art Show in Ypsi

May 12
-Electric Six at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit
-Nomo at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor
-The Gentleman Callers at Wolverine Gun Club in St. Charles
-Jes Kramer, Julie Belle, Pistolbrides at DAAC in Grand Rapids
-Sink With Me, Dryvel, Incarta at The Rock Spot in Lansing

May 15
-Javelins, The Silent Years, Fields at The Lager House in Detroit

May 17
-Freer, Sidharttha, The Questions, The Go at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor

May 18
-El Boxeo, Natural Monuments, Syscrusher, The Low Hello at Mac's Bar in Lansing
-SikSik Nation at The Lager House in Detroit
-The Royal Affairs at The Belmont in Hamtramck
- empire! empire! (i was a lonely estate) at Dawn of a New Day Café in Saginaw

May 19
-The Hard Lessons at Short's Brewery in Bellaire
-Terrible Twos, Reptile Forcefeild, and Carjack at The Lager House in Detroit
-The Singles, Extra Blue Kind, The Lessmores at Jacoby's in Detroit
-Son and Heir, Jes Kramer, Emma at a house show in Ann Arbor
-Jacets at The Shelter in Detroit

May 21
-Mason Proper, Three More Shallows, empire! empire! (i was a lonely estate), Clublight at Mac's Bar in Lansing

May 25
-The Mighty Narwhale, Deep Sea Creatures at Kraftbrau in Kalamazoo
-The High Strung (CD Release Show), The Henchmen, Mano y Mano at The Lager House in Detroit
-Sycamore Smith, Hell Town Trio, Tommy Kilometer at Peter White Library in Marquette
-Sari Brown, Andru Bemis, Bailey Cook at Eagle Street Theater in South Haven

May 26
-The High Strung at the Canton Cup Soccer Tournament in Canton
-Matt Jones at The Crazy Wisdom Tea Room in Ann Arbor
-The Novel Citizen, Prussia , The Vankles, and Brandon Grenier at Rochester College in Rochester Hills
-Onett, Head and Toe, Ben and Bruno, Beilby's Ball at Scene Metrospace in East Lansing
-Sycamore Smith at Stucko's in Marquette
-The Singles at the Chelsea District Library in Chelsea
-Charlie Slick, Car Jack, Jaye Thomas at Jacoby's in Detroit
-Jes Kramer at The Farmhouse in New Boston

May 27
-Charlie Slick, Syscrusher at Kraftbrau Brewery in Kalamazoo

May 29
-Black Wizardz, Jes Kramer at Diamond Star House in Kalamazoo

May 30
-Canada, Frontier Ruckus, Pelle Carlberg
-Sari Brown at Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor

May 31
-Chris Bathgate, Wilamena, Gentalmen Callers, Arthur Autumn at Mac's Bar in Lansing
-Emily Bate, Jes Kramer at Four Friends Coffee House in Grand Rapids
-The Low Hellow, Beaten By Yuri, Belflur, Deleted Scenes at Corktown Tavern in Detroit

a quick photographic update

The Epitomes, Chris Bathgate and Mason Proper in East Lansing 4/27/07









La Remodea at The Green River Cafe in East Lansing 4/28/07







xo,
annie