Buzz Box
Quoth the Raven …
For those who have been petitioning a higher power for another female-fronted punky-pop juggernaut to replace the lamentably defunct Frogpond and Lushbox, your prayers have been answered. Jade Raven, a Gladstone-based group with singer/songwriter Holly King handling vocals, recently crafted In the Dark, a solid album that blends perky singalongs with enchanting ballads. Jade Raven will unveil its work at a CD release party at the Hurricane on Tuesday, September 26, but the band is already hard at work on a sequel.
“We have about three new songs each week,” bassist Eric Cornwell explains. “We had a hard time in the studio deciding which ones to record, and we’re already wanting to go back in and record another one. We play the newer songs live, but we try to limit ourselves to three per concert.”
Even at this rate, most of the music-listening public remains unaware of Jade Raven’s unrecorded output because the group has played gigs sparingly. Cornwell says the under-21 trio has had difficulty getting booked at bars; favorite haunts for now include Club 301 (the venue formerly known as Gee Coffee) and the Speakeasy, an all-ages venue that remains one of North Kansas City’s best-kept secrets.
Jade Raven came together about three years ago, when Cornwell met King at work. “She played guitar, and at the time I played guitar, but we needed a bassist, so I bought a bass and just started playing,” Cornwell recalls. “I picked it up right off the bat.” Last year, the band began playing out and released a five-song demo, which Cornwell estimates sold nearly 300 copies. The only holdover from this release that made it onto In the Dark is the introspective, uplifting “Holly,” which Cornwell says is not an autobiographical effort but rather a general statement with King’s name representing everyman.
When it came time to put In the Dark together, Jade Raven used some of King’s distinctive cartoonish artwork for its cover and recruited Shiner bassist Paul Malinowski to turn the knobs. “He was really good on the slow songs, because I think he feels we do the slow songs better,” Cornwell explains. “He’s really creative once you get him going, and he gave us a lot of pointers.”
As the group was recording its full-length debut, the area’s Pixie-pop titans were still looming large on the scene, and their departure, though unfortunate, bodes well for such bands as Jade Raven to make a breakthrough. “I think we’re releasing at a good time,” Cornwell says. “Hopefully, we can catch everybody’s attention.”
