(image from Discogs)
It was sad to hear earlier this week of the death of Pat Fish, the jangle pop mastermind behind the Jazz Butcher records. He was a very witty man who wrote insanely catchy tunes & I lamented on Facebook that, since he wasn't more conventionally successful, he'd probably be ignored by the sort of press who would write about musicians who at least had a hit or two. Outside of the UK indie charts, I don't imagine the Jazz Butcher made much of a dent in the regular musical world.
My first memory, weirdly enough, of the Jazz Butcher, involved three people younger than I was who were also more in the know about (what wasn't then called) indie music. They were named Carla, Stephanie, & Clark. Stephanie was in my grade in high school, a tall, thin brunette of unquestionable beauty who was kind to me despite me being a dumb, fat, know-it-all dork. Carla was maybe her best friend, not as pretty as Stephanie, but certainly striking; she could easily have been the lead in a John Hughes film. Clark was cute I guess - I never know these things about boys - he seemed even dorkier than I was but with obviously more confidence. Clark was younger than Stephanie but they were dating. Oh yeah & Clark was a musician.
Stephanie was in Austin when I was in college, but a friend of mine had a crush on her, & reacted very badly whenever I talked about spending time with her, so I kind of backed off. This friend was of course an asshole & I regret being considerate of his feelings, but anyway, I never really became friends with Stephanie but I'm sure Stephanie is fine. I lost track of Carla & Clark but I remember a conversation when one of the two - Stephanie or Clark - was making fun of Carla & one of them said, "She likes the Jazz Butcher."
Indeed I sussed it out that it was a musician/band but didn't discover much until I found, used, a couple years later, the Creation Records Doin' It For The Kids compilation. It was one of those rare compilations in which I loved every damn song on it, & the Jazz Butcher song in particular made me search out the band's work. I found the album above, & play it till it skipped.
As is usually the case, as I sat to write this, I found that someone else has said what I meant to say better than I could. On the Jazz Butcher web site, the Memoriam page, I found this article from a fan which contains much of what I wanted to say here. He does mention a live show him in New York, & I am sad I never got a chance to see him. But maybe I just didn't try hard enough.
My first memory, weirdly enough, of the Jazz Butcher, involved three people younger than I was who were also more in the know about (what wasn't then called) indie music. They were named Carla, Stephanie, & Clark. Stephanie was in my grade in high school, a tall, thin brunette of unquestionable beauty who was kind to me despite me being a dumb, fat, know-it-all dork. Carla was maybe her best friend, not as pretty as Stephanie, but certainly striking; she could easily have been the lead in a John Hughes film. Clark was cute I guess - I never know these things about boys - he seemed even dorkier than I was but with obviously more confidence. Clark was younger than Stephanie but they were dating. Oh yeah & Clark was a musician.
Stephanie was in Austin when I was in college, but a friend of mine had a crush on her, & reacted very badly whenever I talked about spending time with her, so I kind of backed off. This friend was of course an asshole & I regret being considerate of his feelings, but anyway, I never really became friends with Stephanie but I'm sure Stephanie is fine. I lost track of Carla & Clark but I remember a conversation when one of the two - Stephanie or Clark - was making fun of Carla & one of them said, "She likes the Jazz Butcher."
Indeed I sussed it out that it was a musician/band but didn't discover much until I found, used, a couple years later, the Creation Records Doin' It For The Kids compilation. It was one of those rare compilations in which I loved every damn song on it, & the Jazz Butcher song in particular made me search out the band's work. I found the album above, & play it till it skipped.
As is usually the case, as I sat to write this, I found that someone else has said what I meant to say better than I could. On the Jazz Butcher web site, the Memoriam page, I found this article from a fan which contains much of what I wanted to say here. He does mention a live show him in New York, & I am sad I never got a chance to see him. But maybe I just didn't try hard enough.
Pat Fish was just 64 & that's too young to die. It just is. I wish I had played him more on the radio, I wish I had had a chance to see him, I wish I had spent more money on his records. But I am so glad I heard his music & I am so glad he made it. & I hope at some point you get to hear it too.
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