| James Popik |
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James Popik / Ten Foot Tall
In the winter of 2003 Jim and Luke were performing with the jazz-jam outfit Equinox doing tunes from Miles to
Metheny, Monk to Scofield, Corea and Coltrane. One night Jeff Page from Jim's old band the Electric Enchiladas
sat in. It just so happened that vocalist Kyle Addison was there as well. After burning through a few blues tunes the
idea to keep it rockin' was obvious. After recording a demo of covers with one original (a half finished Dickey's
Lament) Ten Foot Tall was born with Addison on vocals and Ron Bengiavenga on drums. A year of gigs established
the group but the direction was soon to change as Addison decided to leave to pursue a career in Medicine. The
groove was too solid to let go so Andy Janowiak was called in and Pete Nardone was tapped for keyboards. It was
like Dickey Betts and Stevie Ray Vaughn with Dave La Rue on Bass formed a band with Bill Payne and Chad
Wackerman If that wasn't enough the boys recently added Jeanne Yarrow on vocals for an incredible mix of vocal
harmony, funky grooves and blistering jams. 2005 saw the recording of a debut CD that has received condiderable
airplay on New Jersey Rock stations such as WDHA, WRAT and WNTI as well as Jango Radio. Currently in the
Studio with a few tracks completed the band is working on it's second release.
From Tin Pan Alley songs at the foot of Uncle Al's piano through Top 40 AM radio, big sisters' record collections,
all-nighters wearing out the needle and professional studies Jim Popik has tried to absorb and learn as much as
possible but his sound is always grounded in the Blues, the 'live' sound and the art of improvisation. Influenced by
The Allman Bros., Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, Miles,Trane, Monk. Graduate of the New York School of Commercial
Music Jeff Page studied with Paul Plumeri, Ed Hamilton and Lou Pompillio currently working with Blues band The
Pressure Cookers. Former member of Branded Roads (opening act for Southern Rock acts Blackfoot, Marshall
Tucker and Outlaws), Dixie Highway and Electric Enchiladas.....Jeanne Yarrow is the former lead singer of Taproot,a
regionally acclaimed folk quartet. A pure singer in the Emmylou Harris school but with more power and a bluesier
and more Gospel sensibility..... Lightning in his hands and Thunder in his feet. Berklee alum/drummer Andy
Janowiak brings more than groove, more than feel. Like the best in the business he has a unique signature sound.
Full, fluid and dynamic. In addition to his work w/TFT Andy has recorded, engineered and produced many tracks with
the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of famer Bernie Worrell. Pete Nardone has been sited in various venues on the East
Coast since 1977. Jamming with the likes of Sweetwater Lemon Jello Jefferson in his past life. On stage Pete
usually has his eyes closed. Occasionally accused of peeking at young chippies he counters with, "it's just my way of
communing with dead keyboardists who inhabit my body when I'm in a deep trance." Like Bob Marley.When Pete's
not jamming he enjoys living on the edge, often working till he passes out, and Vanilla Ice Cream.... Graduate of the
school of hard knocks & road campus is bass man Luke Kessel. Toured nationally with Bluesman Lonnie Shields.
Currently leads What the Funk as well as well as performing with Karl Deitel Band (Keyboards, The Samples),
Screaming Nudes, The Gurus of Groove.
Bob Makin Courier news/Gannett I can give Ten Foot Tall the greatest compliment someone in my position can give
a local band: I played its CD over and over again because I wanted to, not because I had to. It helps that the Central
Jersey-based act plays a style of music that I really love: Southern rock that's as melodic as it is jammy. Fans of the
Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and especially Marshall Tucker Band will dig Ten Foot Tall. Given those
bands' New Jersey followings, Ten Foot Tall has a huge potential audience for its thoroughly enjoyable self-titled
indie debut EP.
The band also should draw well and enlist new fans when opening for Marshall Tucker on Friday at Starland
Ballroom, Sayreville. If you can't make that show, there will be plenty of Ten Foot Tall to enjoy this weekend. The
band also will play the Black Potatoe Festival on Saturday at the Red Mill Museum Village in Clinton.
I hope that Tracy Sousa of What the Funk? is singing backups for them there because her sweet, sexy, soulful
backing vox adds greatly to the band. What the Funk? bassist Luke "The Duke" Kessel also is on board and is his
ever-funky self.
The tasty slide playing of Jeff Page and James Popik, the percussive pop of Clay Cassel and the classical-rooted,
Benmont Tench-like keyboards of Pete Nardone also impress, particularly on the instrumentals "Dickey's Lament," a
tribute to former Allman Brother Dickey Betts, and the closing "Catch 22."
Popik's singing and songwriting won't turn the music industry on its ear, but both sport a familiar charm that hold their
own. I particularly like his Radiators-like tale "Midnight in New Orleans."
James Popik and Ten Foot Tall need to give up their Yankee status because they are Little Feat and Black Crowes
southern. This bunch should have been on the road with us, The CDB in the seventies, except they were most likely
babies. They jam with the brilliance and dynamics of the Allmans at the Fillmore East. The guitar harmonies are from
south of the border even though the group is from central Jersey. Effective vocal blends and added flashy layers of
keyboards to the sound, make the recordings even more thick and vibrant.
James has a personality voice, he doesn't really sound like anyone else and his slide playing is melodic and fresh. I
like the jazzy and bluesy feel of the tracks as well as the instrumental jamming that is powerful and interesting. The
drumming is superb and the rhythm section is exactly what two skilled slide guitar players can build on. Southern
rock, Jersey style also needs the wall of sound with a rocking drummer and solid bass riff.
If you love Southern rock, you'll love James Popik and Ten Foot Tall; however, chances are that if you haven't heard
the Allmans, you simply haven't heard anything about Southern rock, so you can learn it from these guys and gals. I
will most likely be writing this band up as the winner of my Sonicbids competition in the near future. They got beat out
this round by a blues guitarist with Chuck Leavell from The Allman Brothers originally, (now a Rolling Stone), Sonny
Landreth and a Doobie Brother. They are in good company and are the essence of what we were all about in
southern rock's heyday.They can probably quit their day jobs!
Gary Allen (The Charlie Daniels Band/JJ Cale/Stonewall Jackson)
In the winter of 2003 Jim and Luke were performing with the jazz-jam outfit Equinox doing tunes from Miles to
Metheny, Monk to Scofield, Corea and Coltrane. One night Jeff Page from Jim's old band the Electric Enchiladas
sat in. It just so happened that vocalist Kyle Addison was there as well. After burning through a few blues tunes the
idea to keep it rockin' was obvious. After recording a demo of covers with one original (a half finished Dickey's
Lament) Ten Foot Tall was born with Addison on vocals and Ron Bengiavenga on drums. A year of gigs established
the group but the direction was soon to change as Addison decided to leave to pursue a career in Medicine. The
groove was too solid to let go so Andy Janowiak was called in and Pete Nardone was tapped for keyboards. It was
like Dickey Betts and Stevie Ray Vaughn with Dave La Rue on Bass formed a band with Bill Payne and Chad
Wackerman If that wasn't enough the boys recently added Jeanne Yarrow on vocals for an incredible mix of vocal
harmony, funky grooves and blistering jams. 2005 saw the recording of a debut CD that has received condiderable
airplay on New Jersey Rock stations such as WDHA, WRAT and WNTI as well as Jango Radio. Currently in the
Studio with a few tracks completed the band is working on it's second release.
From Tin Pan Alley songs at the foot of Uncle Al's piano through Top 40 AM radio, big sisters' record collections,
all-nighters wearing out the needle and professional studies Jim Popik has tried to absorb and learn as much as
possible but his sound is always grounded in the Blues, the 'live' sound and the art of improvisation. Influenced by
The Allman Bros., Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, Miles,Trane, Monk. Graduate of the New York School of Commercial
Music Jeff Page studied with Paul Plumeri, Ed Hamilton and Lou Pompillio currently working with Blues band The
Pressure Cookers. Former member of Branded Roads (opening act for Southern Rock acts Blackfoot, Marshall
Tucker and Outlaws), Dixie Highway and Electric Enchiladas.....Jeanne Yarrow is the former lead singer of Taproot,a
regionally acclaimed folk quartet. A pure singer in the Emmylou Harris school but with more power and a bluesier
and more Gospel sensibility..... Lightning in his hands and Thunder in his feet. Berklee alum/drummer Andy
Janowiak brings more than groove, more than feel. Like the best in the business he has a unique signature sound.
Full, fluid and dynamic. In addition to his work w/TFT Andy has recorded, engineered and produced many tracks with
the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of famer Bernie Worrell. Pete Nardone has been sited in various venues on the East
Coast since 1977. Jamming with the likes of Sweetwater Lemon Jello Jefferson in his past life. On stage Pete
usually has his eyes closed. Occasionally accused of peeking at young chippies he counters with, "it's just my way of
communing with dead keyboardists who inhabit my body when I'm in a deep trance." Like Bob Marley.When Pete's
not jamming he enjoys living on the edge, often working till he passes out, and Vanilla Ice Cream.... Graduate of the
school of hard knocks & road campus is bass man Luke Kessel. Toured nationally with Bluesman Lonnie Shields.
Currently leads What the Funk as well as well as performing with Karl Deitel Band (Keyboards, The Samples),
Screaming Nudes, The Gurus of Groove.
Bob Makin Courier news/Gannett I can give Ten Foot Tall the greatest compliment someone in my position can give
a local band: I played its CD over and over again because I wanted to, not because I had to. It helps that the Central
Jersey-based act plays a style of music that I really love: Southern rock that's as melodic as it is jammy. Fans of the
Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and especially Marshall Tucker Band will dig Ten Foot Tall. Given those
bands' New Jersey followings, Ten Foot Tall has a huge potential audience for its thoroughly enjoyable self-titled
indie debut EP.
The band also should draw well and enlist new fans when opening for Marshall Tucker on Friday at Starland
Ballroom, Sayreville. If you can't make that show, there will be plenty of Ten Foot Tall to enjoy this weekend. The
band also will play the Black Potatoe Festival on Saturday at the Red Mill Museum Village in Clinton.
I hope that Tracy Sousa of What the Funk? is singing backups for them there because her sweet, sexy, soulful
backing vox adds greatly to the band. What the Funk? bassist Luke "The Duke" Kessel also is on board and is his
ever-funky self.
The tasty slide playing of Jeff Page and James Popik, the percussive pop of Clay Cassel and the classical-rooted,
Benmont Tench-like keyboards of Pete Nardone also impress, particularly on the instrumentals "Dickey's Lament," a
tribute to former Allman Brother Dickey Betts, and the closing "Catch 22."
Popik's singing and songwriting won't turn the music industry on its ear, but both sport a familiar charm that hold their
own. I particularly like his Radiators-like tale "Midnight in New Orleans."
James Popik and Ten Foot Tall need to give up their Yankee status because they are Little Feat and Black Crowes
southern. This bunch should have been on the road with us, The CDB in the seventies, except they were most likely
babies. They jam with the brilliance and dynamics of the Allmans at the Fillmore East. The guitar harmonies are from
south of the border even though the group is from central Jersey. Effective vocal blends and added flashy layers of
keyboards to the sound, make the recordings even more thick and vibrant.
James has a personality voice, he doesn't really sound like anyone else and his slide playing is melodic and fresh. I
like the jazzy and bluesy feel of the tracks as well as the instrumental jamming that is powerful and interesting. The
drumming is superb and the rhythm section is exactly what two skilled slide guitar players can build on. Southern
rock, Jersey style also needs the wall of sound with a rocking drummer and solid bass riff.
If you love Southern rock, you'll love James Popik and Ten Foot Tall; however, chances are that if you haven't heard
the Allmans, you simply haven't heard anything about Southern rock, so you can learn it from these guys and gals. I
will most likely be writing this band up as the winner of my Sonicbids competition in the near future. They got beat out
this round by a blues guitarist with Chuck Leavell from The Allman Brothers originally, (now a Rolling Stone), Sonny
Landreth and a Doobie Brother. They are in good company and are the essence of what we were all about in
southern rock's heyday.They can probably quit their day jobs!
Gary Allen (The Charlie Daniels Band/JJ Cale/Stonewall Jackson)
| James Popik Links: Official Website: www.tenfoottallband.com Sonicbids: www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=30970 My Space: www.myspace.com/jamespopik |
| Photograph by Carlo A. Ballstrieri |
| RED FLAG! WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH NASHVILLE DRUMMER GARY ALLEN OR ANY OF HIS PROMOTIONS |
| Tennessee Concerts Song Contest |