Every once in a while, a group of people come together to play music. They release two of the greatest masterpieces of rock, in this case, power pop. And then someone has a nervous breakdown, a fight ensues, and everyone goes their separate ways.
Such is the tale of the greatest band ever. Yes, it’s another post about Jellyfish. Thankfully one person had her wits about her to put a treasure trove of a vhs compilation of their many tv appearances during their short lived success. From this two hour tape comes two live performances that really stand out.
The first video clips starts at the beginning of a live performance of “New Mistake.” Over the years it’s become my absolute favorite Jellyfish song. The opening is a thick syrupy guitar riff which oozes right up to the opening line of the disastrous tale about falling in love. The lyrics are so brilliant and poetic- it’s just a simply gorgeous, well-crafted song.
Curtain opens, spot lights the gentleman
New Mistake
Signing his love letter “Best wishes, Simpleton”
Dialogue swam from his pen like polliwogs
He knew better that perfume was gravity
Pulling him closer to what could be tragedy
Love is blind, deaf and dumb, but never mind
The coda begins at the 29 minute mark. The musicianship is flawless- 4 guys in perfect harmony.
In this second clip, Letterman claims it’s their first television appearance, but I’m not sure if it’s first overall, or first on broadcast television (as opposed to MTV). I fucking love how Paul Schaeffer is filling in for Roger on the keyboards. Roger normally plays keyboards, but his brother Chris quit, putting Roger on bass. Paul is an outstanding musician in his own right and was the best bandleader ever and his contribution specifically to this song is not overlooked(the sampling of the horn is in the studio mix)….BUT I DIGRESS
This segment is another outstanding performance embodying a talent I only wished I could ever possess. It definitely showcases Andy’s incredible talent as a singer and as a drummer and as a frontman. If you stick with this clip, the next video segment is a the recording of the video for Baby’s Coming Back. Super cute!
Roger Manning (the dude at the piano with the long hair) has been a member of Beck’s studio and touring band for at least 20 years now. He also plays and produces for other acts. Currently he’s in a project with past bandmates called The Lickerish Quartet. Great album.
Jason Falkner, Tim Smith, Eric Dover went on to have not hugely successful solo projects, however they are still very active studio musicians and producers. Tim is also in Lickerish Quartet with Roger. The elusive Andy went on to live a VERYYY private, quiet life BUT he continues to work writing theme songs for cartoons like Gravity Falls and Scooby Doo Adventures and quietly producing music for, and signing background vocals on a couple of Japanese pop acts.
While it’s been almost 30 years since they broke up(the wound is still so fresh), they still have a huge and very loyal following, with many of us raising next generation Jellyfish fans. We all hope some day Andy will come out of hermit mode to play with the guys again. God knows we have tried to move heaven and earth trying to entice Andy to do it. I’m never giving up hope.
Now, go listen to Jellyfish. You can tell me how right I was about how incredible they are after you’ve let it permeate every cell in your soul.
I’m still on the hunt for the audio and/or video recording of their last live show. They were the opening act for Tears for Fears at the Broward County Fair in 1993. If you know anyone who has this, please reach out to me or the Joining a Fan Club fan page on Facebook.
Love,