Recently, Jumpstart Malady Anthology archivists came across tapes of some of the band’s very first recording sessions. We are proud to print the first ever excerpts from these sessions. Here’s the first in a series, this particular one is from September 18, 1984, a day before the first high school band competition they entered:
[Band is playing “Wings of a Dragon” (released eventually on the “In Sickness and In Health” EP in 1987), which breaks down after the third chorus repeats.]
KEVIN EDO: (singing) of a draaaaaagon, noooo no no no (singing breaks down) no no no no no NO! Jesus fuck, man, don’t–
PERRY BINGHAM: (garbled)
KEVIN EDO: Yeah, Perry, I CAN just show you the baseline I want you to play. But then it’s like, “What’s it all about here?” I mean, I want YOU to find it for yourself because, YEAH, I can show you what bass line I want, and I can show Mike exactly how he’s fucking up the drum fill in the chorus of “Love Cereal”, and I can try and fucking TEACH Gordon how to play the God damn piano, bu–
GORDON CRANWICK: (garbled)
KEVIN EDO: No, YOU’RE a dickhead, Gord. I mean, I can do all your guys’ parts FOR you…but then it’s like: We’re in a battle of the BANDS, dudes. BANDS. Not, like, a battle of the tenor singer/songwriters who play lead guitar. I mean, we entered this Musicfest as Jumpstart Malady, not like, as The Kevin Edo Project, or something. So, yes, I want you to change the base line, and yes, I want it a particular way, but no, I’m not going to just SHOW you. It’s a process of discovery, man. OK? I mean, you got to love this shit, man. That’s what being in a band is all about, it’s about that quest for perfection, you know? You got to want it. I can’t just hand it to you. This is, like, America, dude. Abraham Lincoln didn’t just have some dude TELL him, “Hey, free those slaves, man, do it up!” And Eddie Van FUCKING Halen sure as hell didn’t tell Haggar how to hit the high note on “Runnin’ With the Devil”.
PERRY BINGHAM: Fuck gr–(garbled)
KEVIN EDO: Fuckin’ A. So. Just, you gotta do it, just keep doing it until it’s right.
GORDON CRANWICK: (garbled)–that?
KEVIN EDO: Because I’ll TELL you when it’s right. Now. Let’s take it from the top, all right? Jesus.
MICHAEL FELT: One, two, (garbled), FOUR!
[Band begins playing “Wings of a Dragon” again, take 34 of this particular session. It breaks down after the second chorus, a scuffle breaks out, in which it appears Cranwick seems to actually shove his entire Casio VL-1 keyboard into Edo’s nostril.]
NOTE: The nostril incident left Edo in the hospital for three weeks, and Malady ultimately missed this “Musicfest” competition. It also had a lasting effect on the group, both physically (note Edo’s scar on JM’s first album cover and four month “vacation” in 1992 for plastic surgery) and musically. From this point on, Cranwick used a Korg PolySix in all JM recordings (other than the acoustic piano set at Town Hall in ’97). The Polysix would end up being a perfect match for the Malady. It had just the right tinny quality to match Bingham’s deep complex bass riffs, and it seemed to inspire Felt to really take chances with his drum fills. Also, it was too large to shove into any of Edo’s orifices.
Stay tuned to TJM for more excerpts from the Jumpstart Malady Anthology!