Featured Act For November: Jerry Cherry On Why His Life Is Sweeter In NYC ...

I first got to know Jerry Cherry via the now defunct Late Night at Rockwood Music Hall mayhem.  He always seemed to have an original approach to his song; some trick up his sleeve (when he wasn't stripping his shirt off, that is).  My first impression was, well, a bit of a WTF?


Photo by Courtney Collins

It was a little bit of a surprise, then, when he dropped his CD on me, and when I got to see him perform properly with his band.  Both superb experiences.

What also struck me is how much on the scene Jerry is.  He's always out checking on and supporting other musicians, and always with flyers for his next show, always promoting.  Time for Indie Sounds to find out more ...

Indie Sounds:Jerry Cherry is ... a man, a band, or both?

Jerry Cherry: I would have to say both. Even though I’m the driving force behind it, I have to give a lot of credit to the musicians that I play with. The band brings my music up to a creative level that I would never be able to do on my own. My cellist Xue Yang has also been writing string arrangement for my songs that are so beautiful. She is so gifted and I’m so lucky to have met her.

IS: So tell us about James Giamundo got his start in life and got into music?

Jerry: I had a very unusual childhood. I moved around a lot when I was very young. My mother was a very free spirited woman with a very wild heart. Growing up in that type of atmosphere and performing my first show when I was 14 at a bar she owned called Cookies Place gave me my start in the biz.

I also lived with my grandparents for a while as a kid. My grandfather always had an acoustic guitar lying around. As a kid, probably around seven, I loved to bang on the strings while crawling on the ground. I guess some things never change. AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne. Those bands did it for me. My mom took me to see AC/DC on my 11th birthday. I knew then that there was nothing else I would ever do but music and perform. I had a very supportive family growing up. My hair was down to my ass when I was 14. I got whistled at a lot.

IS: How did you end up in Florida?

Jerry: I was born in Brooklyn. East New York. My parents got divorced when I was three. I stuck around for a few more years before retiring to Florida at six. My grand parents lived in Florida so while mom was getting it together after the divorce, my older sister and I left the Big Apple for the Sunshine State to stay with them. Growing up I would come back to New York every so often to visit my dad and family.

IS: What brought you back to NYC?

Jerry: I started Jerry Cherry in Florida in early 2004, just after a visit I had to New York. At that time I was thinking about moving to New York but decided to stay in Florida. However, after another trip to New York in the August of 2004, I realized that it was the place I needed to be to get anywhere in music.

I had a great experience one night that made me come to the realization to move here. I grew up in Florida, like I said, and made many amazing friends and musicians there over the years. Singer/keyboardist Robbie Gennet (of Everclear, and other bands) was one of them. He mentioned to me that his sister Abby Gennet was performing at the Delancey on one of the nights I would be in New York. I went and saw her show and was blown away. Her band is called Slunt. I was very impressed to see such a vibrant music scene, especially on a week night at 2am.

What really made my mind up was a conversation I had on my last night before returning to Florida. It was with a homeless person. I had told him that I wasn’t sure about making the move or not to New York. He told me that I have to go where the million dollars is. The million dollars won’t come to you. Words of wisdom. Then he asked me for six bucks.

IS: You've got your debut CD out.  It took a while to make.  Tell us about it?

Jerry: Yes, I made a record. It’s called Life Is Sweeter…  It did take a while to make.  I think that is because it was my first record. I’ve done many recordings before, one, two, even three at a time. To record eleven songs and to have continuity to them is a much bigger challenge. Especially as I was producing it myself. What was I thinking? There are so many aspects to think about when recording an album. At the time, the only thing I thought about was how to make these 11 songs the best I could make them.

Everybody who’s involved in the process is so important. There was trial and error like most projects. I lied in bed every night wondering if I would ever be finished with it. The album is a story line of one year of my life in New York. Most of the songs were written in that year. It’s about moving to the city and seeing the endless possibilities, then falling in love and sharing your life and passion on this crazy island. Love takes many twisted turns and sometimes you crash. You then find yourself searching for who you were before love came to town. It’s hard to except the choices that you have to make sometimes. It’s also hard to let go of someone special. Then you click your ruby slippers and somehow find your way home. That’s what this album is about.

IS: So who performs what on the CD?

Jerry: I sang and played all the guitars, grand piano, synth and some tambourine. I also had many great musicians perform on this record. Felipe Torres played drums. Ricardo Rodriguez played bass. Dan Torres played trumpet and sang some backround vocals. Jody Redhage played the cello. Kiku Enomoto and Olivier Manchon played violin. I had a horn section that consisted of Alan Ferber on trombone, David Smith on Trumpet, and Dan Pratt on sax. Jared Gold played some C3 organ, and my engineer Mike Rogers played lots of percussion as well.


Life Is Sweeter...
Buy it @ CD Baby.
Buy it @ iTunes.

IS: Describe your live act.  And who plays with you live?

Jerry: I try to express and deliver my songs the best that I can. I like to give it all and leave everything on the stage. It comes from within. What was I feeling when I wrote the song? How do I feel about it now? The show takes you through many emotions. You may start out thinking, this guy thinks he’s a fucking rock star. Then you might say, ah that song is pretty. Then you’ll be mesmerized sonically with some of the layers of sounds including the string section. You might captivated by the lyrical content. Then we’ll just rock your face off. We have a wide variety of songs and styles. There is a fine line that holds it all together and that’s the connection with the audience.

I’m grateful for having an amazing live band. Jamie Alegre is on the drums. Ricardo Rodriguez is on the bass. Xue Yang Liu is on the cello, and Francesca Dardini plays the violin. Sometimes Dave Smith comes out and plays the trumpet with us as well.


Photo by Lauren Jonik

IS: What live venues have you been playing in NYC?

Jerry: I’ve performed at almost every venue in the city. They all have their feel and vibes. I had a really fun show playing at Uncle Mikes in Tribeca. The Bitter End was also fun. Don Hill’s has an amazing sound system. The Annex, Rehab, The Delancey. All great venues. It always seems that I get the most excited when I play at Rockwood Music Hall. I’ve had many great nights there and it really is a cosy little room. I just played my first show in Brooklyn at Spike Hill. That’s a very cool place.

IS: So you even managed to get banned from a certain venue?

Jerry: Yes I did. It was during Late Night at Rockwood Music Hall. It was a weekly Wednesday night show where musicians would go up on stage and play a song from the Billboard Top 100 from a predetermined year.  For weeks I would perform there and I would walk on the tables because they were right there in front of me. It was a way for me to get closer to everyone in the audience. They sorta looked like stage wings at a Madonna concert. I couldn't help going out on them.

One night before the show, owner Ken Rockwood said to me “no tables.” And I said ok. As soon as I started playing Oh Girl by Paul Young, the crowd started egging me on to do my thing.  I looked up at the crows nest where Ken runs sound and noticed he wasn’t there. I couldn't resist so I jumped out onto the tables and before I knew it Ken ran in and busted me, yelling “I said no tables.”  I felt so bad. Ken’s such a great guy and I should’ve respected his wishes.

The next week I returned for some more action. I could see it on host Matt Basile’s face that something was wrong. I asked him if I could do a song and looked at me and said “I don’t know man, you have to respect the bosses wishes.” I was a bit bummed until the next week when I returned and was welcomed to perform. A few weeks later I mooned everyone. Sometimes it’s hard to be professional. Sometimes I get so disgusted at everything that all I have to give is my ass. I was very surprised they let me return after that. I guess I have a nice ass.

IS: What's the Chubby Checker thing you're involved in?

Jerry: I got hooked up with Chubby Checker back in March. My radio promoter Gary Leftowith was not only promoting me but Chubby as well. Gary also produced Chubby’s new song and runs his record label. Chubby was getting ready to perform at an industry showcase at The Cutting Room when Gary asked me if I would like to play guitar for the show. Gary is also partners with Mike Rogers who mixed my record.  They loved my guitar playing and knew that I would be qualified for the gig.

We did the show and it was a major success. A few months later, Chubby’s CD All The Best was about to come out and I was invited out to play the release show at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It was then that Chubby’s musical director Tommy C asked if I wanted to learn the whole set and go on tour with them. He gave me a week to learn 30 songs. I did it. We’ve been touring all over the country on this huge red bus that says Checkerlicious on it. It’s been an amazing experience. You can call me Chubby Cherry if you want to, Pete.



IS: And you've done some TV too?

Jerry: Yes, I was on a reality series for two episodes. The show was called Matched In Manhattan. It was about a goth girl who couldn’t find the perfect man she was searching for because he had to be goth also. After an unsuccessful speed date with five potential conservative, casually dressed regular guys, me being one of them, matchmaker Matt Titus put his plan to work. She was really surprised and blown away when I showed up totally decked out in goth at our dinner date. That was really fun. I also performed playing guitar with Chubby Checker on the CBS Early Show, and The NBC Today Show. I performed two songs on a show called Alive With Clive in White Plains, NY. I was also recently interviewed by Eddie Muentes on his show Hit Records Night Life Video on MNN. You can see all of these shows at my website.

IS: So, what's next?

Jerry: I just finished recording my newest song called Vampires. I am giving a free download of it from my website. I’m very excited about the way this one came out. It’s a very deep song with a dark Spanish feel to it. It also has a very beautiful string arrangement courtesy of Xue and Fra.

I just filmed a music video for my song Freak Show. It’s the complete opposite of the spectrum from Vampires. This video will have you drooling.  I also have a few really cool shows coming up. I’ll be performing at Fontana's on November 25th at 9pm. Then I’m back at Rockwood on December 22nd at 10pm. Then I hit the road again with Chubby Checker on Christmas Eve for a string of dates. I also plan on seeing a few more Rich Girls shows!

Web: www.jerrycherry.com

MySpace: jerrycherryband