Roger Joseph Manning Jr.

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Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. (cropped).jpg
Manning playing keyboards at Beck's semi-acoustic show at Irving Plaza in New York City on November 9, 2021.
Background information
Also known as
Born (1966-05-27) May 27, 1966 (age 58)
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • arranger
Instruments
  • Keyboards
  • piano
  • vocals
  • guitar
  • bass
  • percussion
Years active1988–present
Website rogerjosephmanningjr.com

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (born May 27, 1966) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the bands Jellyfish, the Moog Cookbook, Imperial Drag, and The Lickerish Quartet. He has also spent several years as a member of Beck's backing band, contributed to several recordings by the band Air, and toured or recorded with acts such as Jay-Z, Blink 182, and Johnny Cash. [1] In 2005, he released his first solo record, Solid State Warrior , followed with Robo-Sapiens (as "Mailibu", 2007), Catnip Dynamite (2008), and Glamping (2018). He is usually credited by his full name to avoid confusion with the folk musician Roger Manning.

Contents

Early life

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. was born May 27, 1966, the first child of Roger Manning, a businessman for Monroe Calculators, and Jane DeLara, a schoolteacher. [2] He has two brothers: Chris (born October 6, 1968) and Tim (born September 10, 1970). [3] The family later moved from Valencia, California to Pleasanton. [4] As a child, Roger was enamored with ragtime music and took piano lessons; later he taught himself to play the drums. [5] The first records he bought with his own money were Kiss' Alive! (1975) and the Beach Boys' Endless Summer (1974). [6]

Career

Jellyfish

Manning attended Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton in the 1980s. [7] [8] There, he met drummer Andy Sturmer. [9] After graduating, Manning moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at USC to study musical composition. He involved himself with the local scene and began auditioning for various bands. [10] He later joined Sturmer in the San Francisco band Beatnik Beatch. [10] Sturmer was the group's drummer, singer, and songwriter, while Manning was keyboardist. The duo soon began collaborating with one another, writing compositions that were stylistically different from the songs the band was producing at the time. [11] In August 1989, a year after Atlantic Records released Beatnik Beatch's eponymous debut album, [11] Manning and Sturmer left the group to continue songwriting with one another and formed the band Jellyfish. [10]

Jellyfish released two albums: Bellybutton (1990) and Spilt Milk (1993), whose combined sales totaled over 269,000 copies. [12] During this era, Sturmer and Manning worked with Ringo Starr, for his 1992 solo album Time Takes Time , and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Wilson and Jellyfish had one songwriting session and it was unproductive; Manning described the experience as "utterly surreal". [10] By 1994, Manning and Sturmer were drifting apart musically, [13] and in May, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Jellyfish had disintegrated due to "creative differences". [14] Afterward, Manning formed the short-lived glam outfit Imperial Drag with ex-Jellyfish guitarist Eric Dover. [10]

The Moog Cookbook

Manning formed the Moog Cookbook with sound engineer Brian Kehew shortly after the demise of Jellyfish. [15] [16] It was conceived as both a parody of and tribute to the novelty Moog records of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which featured cover versions of popular songs using the then-new Moog synthesizer. Manning recalled that "When Brian and I finally met, we knew we had to do this, because we knew we could do it right, and we knew we had the resources — before someone else did it, and did it wrong." [17] On stage and in their promotional materials, the band donned space-suit disguises that were similar to outfits worn by another emerging electronic duo, Daft Punk. This was reportedly only a coincidence. [16]

Moog Cookbook released two records, The Moog Cookbook (1996) and Ye Olde Space Bande (1997), before disbanding in 1998. According to Manning: "As creatively fulfilling as it was, Moog Cookbook was not financially viable. We weren't coming out of rave culture and house music like Daft Punk." [16] Music journalist Brian Chidester commented that the band "yielded solid overseas sales amidst the retro-obsessed landscape of Pulp Fiction , the Swing revival and thrift shop mania. The duo even ... found a small domestic audience attuned to similar electronic psych-pop coming out of Europe by bands like Stereolab, Mouse on Mars and the High Llamas." [16]

The Lickerish Quartet

In 2017, Manning reached out to his former Jellyfish bandmates Tim Smith and Eric Dover to form another group, The Lickerish Quartet. Manning's goal was "to continue with the tradition of a lot of the pop/rock stylings" as well as to get to know the two better as songwriters. Manning considers The Lickerish Quartet's activities to be "like picking up where we left off in many ways". [18] Initially, the trio did not intend to record; rather, they wanted to have small writing sessions. Eventually, though, they wrote and recorded twelve songs, which are being spread across 3 EPs (titled Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol. 3) through 2020 and 2021, with the releases being joined by singles from the EPs. [19] Session drummer Jeremy Stacey joined to augment the trio on the recordings. Andy Sturmer, however, wasn't invited to work with them due to his reluctance to work within the music industry.

Solo

In early 2006, Manning released his first solo album in Japan only: Solid State Warrior . He credited it under his full name to avoid confusion with the folk musician Roger Manning. [20] It was subsequently issued in the U.S. under a different title, The Land of Pure Imagination, along with an altered song content. [21] [22] The album included one of the songs Manning wrote with Brian Wilson, "Wish it Would Rain", [23] albeit with Wilson's contributions omitted. [24]

In March 2008, Manning released his second solo album, Catnip Dynamite , in Japan only. It was released in the U.S. on February 3, 2009 with the addition of three bonus tracks that were recorded during a live performance at Fujifest in Japan. [25]

In 2019 Manning co-wrote and performed background vocals on the song "You'll Never Guess What Happened Today" with internet pioneer Jaye Muller, aka "Count Jaye" for his 2019 album release. [26]

Discography

Solo and collaborative

With bands

Beatnik Beatch

  • Beatnik Beatch (1988)

Jellyfish

Imperial Drag

The Moog Cookbook

Oxbow

  • Love's Holiday (2023)

TV Eyes

The Lickerish Quartet

  • Threesome Vol. 1 (2020)
  • Threesome Vol. 2 (2021)
  • Threesome Vol. 3 (2022)
  • Fables From Fearless Heights (2022) (collects all three EP's plus two bonus cover songs: "So Like Candy" and "Sugar Me")

Appearances

  • Esa Linna – This Is Who I Am (2013)
  • Esa Linna – She's Not a Human Being (2012)
  • Marianas Trench – "Echoes of You" (on the album Phantoms , 2019)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jellyfish (band)</span> American rock band

Jellyfish was an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1989. Led by songwriters Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning, the group was known for their blend of 1960s classic rock and XTC-style power pop. They released two albums, Bellybutton (1990) and Spilt Milk (1993), that proved influential to many subsequent acts in a similar vein.

Marvin Andrew Sturmer is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and composer who co-founded the rock band Jellyfish in 1989. He was the group's lead vocalist, drummer, and primary songwriter. Following their break-up in 1994, Sturmer became involved with Tamio Okuda, as writer and producer for the Japanese pop duo Puffy AmiYumi. Although Sturmer maintains a low public profile, he continues working as a songwriter for cartoons produced by Disney and Cartoon Network.

<i>Spilt Milk</i> (Jellyfish album) 1993 studio album by Jellyfish

Spilt Milk is the second and final studio album by American rock band Jellyfish, released on February 9, 1993, by Charisma Records. It features a harsher and more ornate sound than their previous, Bellybutton (1990). As with Bellybutton, Spilt Milk was written and co-produced by founding members Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning. Albhy Galuten and Jack Joseph Puig also returned as producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Moog Cookbook</span> American electronic band

The Moog Cookbook was an American electronic duo consisting of Meco Eno and Uli Nomi. The project was a parody of and tribute to the novelty Moog records of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which featured cover versions of popular songs using the then-new Moog synthesizer.

<i>The Moog Cookbook</i> (album) 1996 album by The Moog Cookbook

The Moog Cookbook is the debut record by the American electronic music duo the Moog Cookbook, released in 1996. It consists of ten cover versions of alternative rock tracks performed using Moog synthesizers and other analog synthesizers. The album was critically acclaimed and became an underground hit. In 1997, it was followed by the similar Ye Olde Space Bande.

<i>Ye Olde Space Bande</i> 1997 studio album by The Moog Cookbook

Ye Olde Space Bande is the second album by the Moog Cookbook, released in 1997. It is a selection of covers of classic rock tracks remade using Moog synthesizers and other analog synthesizers. It featured contributions from Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh, who plays on the duo's version of Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love", to computerized vocal samples by Michael Penn. Other musicians featured on album were the MC5's Wayne Kramer, the Go-Gos' Charlotte Caffey, and the Eels' Mark Oliver Everett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Falkner</span> Musical artist

Jason Falkner is an American songwriter, musician, and guitarist who was a member of the bands Jellyfish, the Three O'Clock, and the Grays. Since 1996, he has released six solo albums, starting with Presents Author Unknown. He is also a session musician and producer who has contributed to dozens of recordings by other bands and musicians as well as a touring guitar player for Beck for decades.

Beatnik Beatch were an American pop rock band formed in San Francisco in the 1980s. They consisted of Chris Witt Ketner, Andy Sturmer, and George Cole (guitar). They also featured keyboardist Se Padilla, later replaced by Roger Manning.

Brian Kehew is an American musician and record producer. He is a member of The Moog Cookbook and co-author of the Recording The Beatles book, an in-depth look at the Beatles' studio approach.

<i>Bellybutton</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Jellyfish

Bellybutton is the debut album by American rock band Jellyfish, released on July 27, 1990, on Charisma Records. It was recorded after Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning's departure from Beatnik Beatch and Jason Falkner's departure from the Three O'Clock. The album was recorded in Schnee Studios in North Hollywood and produced by Albhy Galuten and Jack Joseph Puig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Dover</span> American musician (born 1967)

Eric Dover is an American guitarist and singer, most notably with Jellyfish, Slash's Snakepit, Imperial Drag, and Alice Cooper.

<i>Nintendo: White Knuckle Scorin</i> 1991 compilation album by various artists

Nintendo: White Knuckle Scorin' is a compilation album licensed by Nintendo and released by MCA Records in 1991. It was dedicated to Bobby Brooks, a talent agent who died in the 1990 helicopter crash that also killed Stevie Ray Vaughan. The stated purpose of the compilation was to promote literacy among children and "tap the Nintendo youth market". Most of the artists featured on the record had employed Brooks in some capacity.

<i>Solid State Warrior</i> 2005 studio album by Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.

Solid State Warrior is the debut solo record by American musician Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., released on March 5, 2005 through the Weedshare music distribution service. In 2006, the album was rereleased internationally under the title The Land of Pure Imagination, with three different tracks.

<i>Jellyfish Comes Alive</i> 1991 EP by Jellyfish

Jellyfish Comes Alive was a promotional EP released in 1991 by Jellyfish. It collected live performances of songs from Bellybutton and covers of songs by Badfinger and Wings.

<i>Catnip Dynamite</i> 2008 studio album by Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.

Catnip Dynamite is the second solo album by Jellyfish co-founder Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., released in Japan on March 19, 2008. Catnip Dynamite was released outside Japan by Oglio Records on February 3, 2009.

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<i>Fan Club</i> (Jellyfish album) Box set by Jellyfish

Fan Club is a box set of demos, rarities and live performances by American power pop band Jellyfish. The box set was released in limited quantity by Not Lame Recordings in August 2002. Fan Club contains demos from the band's 1990 debut Bellybutton and their 1993 sophomore follow-up Spilt Milk. The box set also contains recordings of live performances, rehearsals, compilation track appearances, and interview snippets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lickerish Quartet (band)</span> American rock band

The Lickerish Quartet was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2017. The group consists of keyboardist Roger Manning, guitarist Eric Dover, and bassist Tim Smith, each of whom were former members of the band Jellyfish. They released the EP Threesome Vol. 1 in May 2020, Threesome Vol. 2 in January 2021, and Threesome Vol. 3 on May 20, 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Whitmire, Margot (October 30, 2004). "Expansion Team". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 44. ISSN   0006-2510.
  2. ↑ Dorfman 2016, pp. 16–17.
  3. ↑ Dorfman 2016, p. 17.
  4. ↑ Dorfman 2016, pp. 16–18.
  5. ↑ Dorfman 2016, pp. 14–15.
  6. ↑ Catlin, Roger (April 20, 2020). "Roger Joseph Manning Jr., The TVD Interview". The Vinyl District.
  7. ↑ Dorfman 2016, p. 18.
  8. ↑ "First annual piano competition winners" (PDF). No. VII. Pleasanton Pathways. April 16, 1984. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  9. ↑ Mendelssohn, John (June 1993). "Just for the Jell of It". Creem .
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Rees, Paul (October 8, 2014). "Squids in: are Jellyfish the great lost band of the 90s?". Louder Sound . Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Lanham, Tom (October 20, 1998). "Jellyfish Jams to a '70s Beat - Bay Area Bell-Bottomed Rockers". San Francisco Chronicle .
  12. ↑ Orshoshki, Wes (December 29, 2002). "Music, Myths of Cult Faves Jellyfish Feted By 4-CD Boxed Set On Not Lame/EMI". Billboard.
  13. ↑ Everley, Dave (May 22, 2015). "The Outer Limits: Jellyfish". Louder Sound .
  14. ↑ Snyder, Michael (May 15, 1994). "Jellyfish All Washed Up". San Francisco Chronicle .
  15. ↑ Prato, Greg (n.d.). "The Moog Cookbook". AllMusic .
  16. 1 2 3 4 Chidester, Brian (October 15, 2013). "Moog Cookbook Were Daft Punk Before Daft Punk". LA Weekly .
  17. ↑ Parker, Lyndsey (May 17, 2018). "The Moog Cookbook talk '90s synth spoofs: 'We sank our teeth into songs we wanted to destroy and make gross'". Yahoo.
  18. ↑ Ewing, Jerry (March 12, 2020). "Three ex-Jellyfish members unite as The Lickerish Quartet". Louder Sound . Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  19. ↑ Beaudoin, Jedd (March 12, 2020). "The Lickerish Quartet Take Us on Classic Pop Journey with "Lighthouse Spaceship" (premiere + interview)". PopMatters.
  20. ↑ McCombs, Joseph. "Roger Manning, Solid State Warrior". AllMusic. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  21. ↑ Carpenter, Troy (September 25, 2006). "ROGER JOSEPH MANNING JR., "The Land of Pure Imagination"". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  22. ↑ Prefix Mag. Review of The Land of Pure Imagination. Retrieved on February 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ Mitchell, Justin (July 9, 1993). "Rocky Mountain News". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  24. ↑ Gatta, John Patrick (February 28, 2016). "Jellyfish Revisited with Roger Joseph Manning Jr". Jam Bands.
  25. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Roger Manning, Catnip Dynamite". AllMusic. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  26. ↑ Count Jaye, and the Hard Beats. "You'll Never Guess What Happened Today". Spotify. Retrieved April 16, 2020.

Bibliography

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