Seems nowadays every band and their dog’s band consists of a married couple. Back in 2006 when Jeffry Lee decided to start a band with his then fiancé Jenni Nelson, it was trendier to say they were brother and sister than it was to say they were husband and wife. Never having been too up on current trends, Jeff’s inspiration was drawn more from Johnny Cash and June Carter, George Jones and Tammy Wynette or fellow Canadians Ian and Sylvia Tyson, than it was from Jack and Meg White. What is undeniable is that Jenni and Jeff have the same unmistakable chemistry singing and playing together that any unmarried musical partnership will forever lack.
Their chemistry is obvious in the songs of their self-titled debut Hard Drugs. Its 13 songs stretch the gamut of 60s-70s rock’n’roll and tell a story of star-crossed lovers Lloyd and Aline. Country, folk, psychedelic and powerpop are all represented within the dramatic turns of each song on this double-LP rock opera. Written and recorded over the span of several years as a side project with fellow Blood Meridian members Shira Blustein and Kevin Grant, along with Nelson and friends Jason Dana, Colin McKill, Ashley Webber and Pete Dionne. To make for a more laid back and cost-effective process, it was predominantly recorded in members’ bedrooms, hallways and living rooms. Friends Jesse Gander, Brock Allen, Bryce Janssens, and Josh Wells who also all contributed as musicians to the project engineered the various sessions. Gander, who has produced a large portion of independent recordings in Vancouver over the past decade, mixed the record at the legendary Hive Recording studios. Its release was nearly abandoned when shortly after completing the recording husband and wife Lee and Nelson relocated to Brooklyn, NY to pursue other careers- Jenni in fashion design and Jeffry in editorial illustration. Fortunately it was there that they met David Bason who agreed to help them release their opus on his Stay Gold Records label in 2008.
Bason soon joined the band and helped orchestrate the making of their soon-to-be (finally) released sophomore album Party Foreverer. Not only did he recruit rock-solid drummer Dave Purcell, Bason introduced the Lee’s to Grammy-winning producer Michael “Mama” Tudor. Jeff and Jenni also invited best friends Colin McKill on organ and Toby Bannister to play bass, who in turn brought in Lee Godleski to play piano on the recording. Together they co-produced 11 new songs at Mama’s Place, Tudor’s home studio in upstate New York.
“Rarely today in the rock genre do you see a more honest presentation,” says Tudor, who has worked with a wide variety of artists including Moby, Duncan Sheik, The Strokes, and John Cale. “Beyond first impressions, Hard Drugs encompasses a depth and an irony which stems from clever, hard edged song writing that is immediately timeless. They have done their heroes proud.”
The experience was a comfortable and comforting one for the Lees. “Mama bought the quintessential house-in-the-woods. It was like a perfect little log cabin with a wood stove, a dog, a little bench outside, a stream. I’m pretty sure there was an old tire swing on a tree somewhere. It was just the perfect place to make the new Hard Drugs record,” says David Bason of Mama’s Place. “The songs Jeff was writing at the time were less urban based and more about moving to the country, getting back to nature, simplifying his life, starting a family and checking out of the rat race. Mama’s cabin helped capture the spirit of those songs perfectly.”
But in 2010 Bason relocated to Los Angeles while Jenni and Jeff decided to move back to Vancouver. Like their first recording, Party Foreverer became an ongoing art project that was worth finishing, even if it might never see the light of day. In May of that year they toured many of the southern states and much of the west coast as a two-piece. They arrived home in June and reformed the band with most of the original Hard Drugs lineup, including Blustein, Mckill, Dionne and with the addition of Jake Goodman taking over bass duties.
So far, only one of the songs from the Willow sessions has been officially released. In 2011, Vancouver’s Storyboard Label put out Hard Drugs’ “Summertime Blues” on a split 7” with fellow Vancouverites Lightning Dust. Friend and music historian Kevin “Sipreano” Howes described their side as “one hell of an uplifting unholy racket.” The limited-edition split also featured original screen-printed artwork by Jeffry Lee.
The songs on Party Foreverer were written over the span of a few years, those leading up to, and then while living in Brooklyn, NY. Although not a literal love story as are those on their debut album, several reflect a period when Jenni was living in New York City and Jeff was living across the continent in Vancouver, Canada. Not generic songs about love in general but specific longing for a significant other. What also sets these songs apart from their first record is an intentional ambition to have two lead vocalists as opposed to taking turns trading between lead and backing vocals. Although it has more than its fair share of more traditional duets, there are also songs wherein Jenni and Jeff have combined vocals to become a single voice.
Upon moving back to Vancouver, Jeffry Lee began to draw profusely while also compiling his life’s work for future publishing. Party Foreverer was left on the backburner for years until late in 2011 when Jeff was approached by the newly minted Project Space art gallery to do a solo show. “I'd always wanted to do an artbook and it occurred to me that making Party Foreverer was a souvenir of our having lived in New York so why not illustrate it and finally release the record!”
Party Foreverer is a double entendre- a music album and a photo album. Hand-drawn from photos in stark black-and-white, it is a departure from Lee’s psychedelically bright Surrealist-inspired earlier work. Not unlike the first Hard Drugs record it is conceptually based and creatively driven. “I like to assign myself creative challenges,” says Lee of his hybrid practices. “I firmly believe I taught myself to draw again while creating the drawings for this book.”
Party Foreverer is presented as a 52-page book of drawings by Jeff Lee, an oral history of the Lees' time in New York and ten songs for download. It’s also an album available through most online retailers that comes with a digital version of its artbook counterpart. Hard Drugs has taken many forms over its years of existence and has once again reinvented itself- as a band, as an image, as a way to keep on keepin’ on.