Metro Pulse/Music/Jump, Little Children

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What:
Jump, Little Children with The Working Title

When:
Wednesday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m.

Where:
Blue Cats

Cost:
$8 advance; $10 door

Jump, Little Children never gave up the fight; they just started rolling with the punches

by Leslie Wylie

A mere two weeks before Jump, Little Children was set to release its most recent album, 2001's Vertigo, the Atlantic Records subsidiary label they were signed to hung the band, along with the album, out to dry.

They weren't alone—a handful of bands that had befriended JLC as label-mates were dropped just as hard. But while many of those decided to just take their time in the spotlight and fold, JLC spent the next six months fighting Atlantic for the rights to release Vertigo, which otherwise may never have seen the light of day.

They succeeded, but since then the Charleston, S.C.-based musicians have changed their tune, literally, as they redefine themselves as comeback kids. Vertigo's dark cloud of poetic balladry cleared out, giving way to a less pensive, more rollicking sound reminiscent of the band's youth in the mid '90s.

"We're all happy right now, and that helps, and it shows up in your music," says Matt Bivens, who does vocals and mans a handful of miscellaneous instruments from the tin whistle to accordion for the band. "We went through some hard times when Vertigo came out, but I think we're just having a lot of fun right now. We have so much to celebrate that I think we're not as moody as we were a couple years ago."

Copy that for Jay Clifford (vocals, rhythm guitar), Ward Williams (lead guitar, cello), Jonathan Gray (upright bass) and Evan Bivens (drums), the eclectic assembly of musicians who founded JLC as an Irish folk band while studying classical music at the North Carolina School of the Arts. After a stint in Ireland, the band took a lead from influences like U2 and R.E.M. and began wading into the realm of alternative pop, carrying with it the band's signature intermingling of instruments and influences.

The evolution of JLC's music was mirrored by an expansion of its fan base, a following that latched onto the band's imaginative and genre-blind approach to playing music.

"I really think the goal of a good band is to let you into their world just enough so that you feel that you're not being cheated," says Bivens. "Even though we don't write lyrics that are necessarily straightforward, with every album you get a sense of what we're going through."

With perhaps only the exception of Vertigo's emotional underbelly, whatever musical terrain JLC is "going through" is usually a pretty rockin' place to be. The band's music, whether heard live or through stereo speakers, has a reputation for its trademark animation and intensity.

New songs are being compiled into an album that the band plans to release this spring. Another work-in-progress involves the launch of a web site, www.ezchiefrecords.com, whereby listeners can choose from hundreds of songs from a dozen or so different artists, including JLC, and compile custom CDs.

Bivens explains that the system is a way for songs that JLC might not want to include on a full-fledged album, such as B-sides and live recordings, to be available for fans. He also says it's a response to the band's record company experience.

"People want new music, music they haven't heard before, but they don't necessarily want to buy a whole album anymore," Bivens says. "I think record labels need to realize that their system is a very archaic one and they need to grow up. And I hope this helps a little bit.

"We don't have any animosity toward record companies, and we're not saying that we won't get signed again someday, but we know now that there are other ways to do it. We're just doing our part to support the independent side of it," he says.

As for live shows, the band hopes established fans will keep an open mind and not judge new songs too rigidly in the context of old material.

"A lot of it we feel like we are kind of evolving, shedding our skin a bit in some ways, so it's going to be a little bit of a different show for those who are used to hearing a lot of old stuff," Bivens says. "We're making sort of a conscious effort to play what we want to play because we're very excited about these new songs. And we think the fans are going to like them."