Batty Jr.

This Austin-based four-piece features tired-eyed Texas troubadour Zeke Jarmon, Wild Child founding member Sadie Wolfe, as well as Taylor Turner and Jeff Olson, who together render an uncommon musical perspective of the day-to-day world around us. Whether its eons in the past, a minute into the future, or right in the spur of the moment, Batty Jr.’s lyrics take a slice of life and with their dreamy instrumental arrangements, re-serve it as their own idiosyncratic, observational and introspective dish.

Released this past February, Batty Jr.’s debut album From The Land Of Insofaras totes six songs all recorded live, back-to-back seamlessly – shedding any post-production studio magic in favor of unrepeatable mid-performance moments. The second track off From The Land Of Insofaras, “A Little For Later,” (featuring CAPYAC’s Delwin Campbell on drums) is initially a slow and despondent tune that elevates to a tranquil, harmonized chany…sure to make any indie-folk-rocker go batty for Batty Jr. - KUTX - Jack Anderson

I caught Batty Jr. last month at Radio, oozing arena-sized charisma on a stage too small to include Jeffrey Olson’s drum kit. He accompanied stand-up bass, cello and guitar bare-palmed on any surface his fingers could find, while the rest of the band strummed and plucked and bowed. Charisma is more than virtuoso musicians playing together for the pure joy of it, though. The meter goes up in accordance with how unique their soundscape is, which leads me to what might possibly be the oddest band comparison Batty Jr. will ever be party to.

I’m going to compare them to the Doors.

I’ve been listening to the recently-released 1966 recording of the Doors at the London Fog – their first gig as a house band – where they oozed their own arena-sized charisma from a stage not much bigger than Radio’s. I was surprised by how fully-formed they were a year before the release of their iconic first album. A lot of musical ideas had been tried and discarded on the way to an alchemic blend of blues, jazz, carnivalesque organ and a crooning lead voice. The musically sublime usually doesn’t look good on paper. You’ve got to hear it to believe it.

But while the Doors used their charisma to incite, disturb, provoke and otherwise channel the noir underbelly of Los Angeles, Batty Jr. just plain want you to feel good, in that weird Austin way. They have also arrived fully-formed on their debut EP, "From the land of Insofaras." I won’t mention the influences I hear, except to say that their music has the fullness of Dylan’s "Blonde on Blonde," and yet the lean muscularity of the Stooges’ "Funhouse." It marinates in a whimsicality that rivals Brian Wilson’s "Smile" with vocal textures that range from a skewed take on Velvets-era Lou Reed to doo-wop harmony filtered through the Avant Gard sensibilities of composer Philip Glass.

Zeke Jarmon’s guitar veers from angular roots licks to spacey jams with Taylor Turner’s bass coiling around it like an amorous rattlesnake(the EP starts off with a “mating call” between the two instruments). Sadie Wolfe’s cello – which is sometimes played as a lead instrument – is a seamless blend of conventional and downright loopy. Founding member Delwin Campbell’s drums jazz up the rhythm considerably.

If Batty Jr. is derivative, however, then so are the Doors, Joy Division and mid-period Dylan himself. Rather, they're part of a tradition of artists who have tossed the presents aside and are playing with the wrapping. I hear a lot of happy accidents on this EP. - Joe Vastano

Alt-folk quartet Batty Jr. captured its debut long-player at a friend's abode outside of Marfa. Through spoken-word narration by producer Nick Hurt and scene-setting sonics (distant thunder and rolling train whistles), Wormholes welcomes a captive listener under the tin roof of a studio and inducts them as an official member of the Austin crew's off-kilter universe. The choose-your-own-adventure story begins with spaghetti Western instrumental "Sound Check," beckoned forward by founding Wild Child member Sadie Wolfe's haunting, elastic cello. The quartet's traveling circus/orchestra energy then rolls into "Blue," introducing Zeke Jarmon's suave, lackadaisical vocal theatrics. In the style of Todd Rundgren's "Intro" message from Something/Anything?, Hurt drops in for a playful disclaimer on tuning. Jazz-trained, Taylor Turner's bluesy bass and former White Denim drummer Jeff Olson's pattering march rounds out the recording's spontaneous live sound, "Move Along" and "Wake Up" proving especially sprightly. The seven tracks are dedicated to recently passed Austin accordion great Ponty Bone, who let Jarmon play washboard in his band as a youngster. Descending from Bone's spunk, Wormholes teems with improvised life and Texan ingenuity.

**** - The Austin Chronicle

"I look down at my feet and they're yours."

That's Batty Jr. singer Zeke Jarmon's prepared statement for this interview. It doesn't make much sense, but it's strangely compelling. It's also the type of abstract line that sticks in your craw and seems deeper every time you think about it - kind of like Batty Jr.'s music. The four-piece Austin band is comprised of the aforementioned Zeke Jarmon (guitar, vocals), Taylor Turner (bass), Sadie Wolfe (cello), and Jeff Olson (drums).

The group, which features members of Capyac and Wild Child, makes generally stripped down, beautifully expressive art pop. Though relatively new as a band, Batty Jr. is a cast of players who know exactly how to play to one another's strengths. The bands frequently gorgeous instrumentation always leaves plenty of room for Jarmon's compelling lyrical and vocal idiosyncrasies.

With Batty Jr.'s debut record release this Sunday, February 12th at Barracuda, we sat down with three members of the band to discuss all manner of peculiar subjects.




Do512: What's the most exciting thing happening for Batty Jr. right now?

Batty Jr.:
(Zeke) Well, this interview is pretty exciting. I'm a little nervous about it. I did practice, though. I had my girlfriend ask me some questions.




(Do512):If someone was writing the Batty Jr. biography, what would this chapter be called?

Batty Jr.:
(Sadie) I'd say this is Chapter 2... Chapter 1 was, "Birth."

(Taylor) It could be Chapter 3, too. Because we first started, and then we took a break and became acoustic and didn't play any shows, and then we got our drummer back.

(Zeke) I think it'd be called, "To Name a Few," but I don't know why yet. We'll have to figure that out in the coming months.




(Do512): What do you wish grew on trees?

Batty Jr.:
(Zeke) That doesn't already? I work with fruit all day so I'm really thankful for it. I'm not sure if I could wish for anything else.

(Taylor) Honestly, the first thing that popped into my head was oranges, but they definitely already grow on trees. I wish trees grew Levi's that just fit perfectly.

(Sadie) Money, but a lot of people say that.




(Do512): What is the best compliment you've ever received?

Batty Jr.:
(Taylor) Our buddy Matt, who is one of the dudes in Zettajoule, saw our show and came up to me and said, "That was the most incredible show." He couldn't expand on it, he was just emotionally spent. That was pretty sweet. They're the best band in town so we're stoked about it.

(Zeke) Someone said, "Wow, Zeke! I must have gotten Batty Jr. confused with another band because I really had it in my head that y'all sucked!"




(Do512): What smell reminds you of your childhood?

Batty Jr.:
(Taylor) Lipstick, but like very specific parts. That's the most random and intense sense memory I've had in a couple years where I was like it opened a whole chapter of my childhood I had forgotten about. My grandma and mom having lipstick on at special events. Or dropping me off at school and kissing me goodbye and me having to wash it off.

(Zeke) Sunblock always takes me back, and Aloe Vera from not wearing sunblock. There's one scent that always really gets me. It's the smell of the perfume that one of my cousins once removed had on when she died. She was really old though, so it wasn't a sad thing. It's kind of an old person perfume smell. Musky.

(Sadie) I'm house-sitting for my cousin right now, and it's a very familiar smell to me. I kind of smell like it right now.




(Do512): What is something that you have a hard time doing correctly?

Batty Jr.:
(Sadie) [In loud monotone voice] COMMUNICATING MY EMOTIONS.

*Whole band laughs

(Zeke) Sadie's really good at communicating her emotions on the cello, it's just when she does that monotone voice that we don't understand!




(Do512): If the universe had a suggestion box, what would you put into it?

Batty Jr.:
(Zeke) Please help people understand.

(Taylor) Delete fascism.

(Sadie) That's a hard one though, because the universe is everything. The suggestions wouldn't necessarily change anything. If you're thinking that the universe has influence over your life it could change things. Maybe I'd suggest that people don't cut down trees because even if they don't grow Levi's on them, they still make great things.

(Taylor) Like Oranges!

(Zeke) I would say make me really small so I can see if there are other universes down there.




(Do512): Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Batty Jr.:
(Zeke) I saw this thing on TV about Stonehenge possibly being set up because of its acoustic properties. I don't know how fringe that theory is, but it was pretty interesting. The person playing the drum with the timing of the reverberation supposedly its a frequency that helps put people in hypnotic states. Anyway, I was playing in a bathroom with really good acoustics and I wasn't trying to do it, but I think something like that happened. I was really upset about my aunt's death, and I felt her hand touch my shoulder. It really spooked me at first, but then I felt really good that she did that.

(Sadie) I get so scared thinking about ghosts. I feel like if I let myself not be scared and see it... I'm not ready for it.

(Taylor) This isn't paranormal but I did see a Coywolf walk in front of my house about a month ago. They're not pack-running animals like wolves or coyotes so they look kind of lonely. They're alone, scrounging around looking for stuff in cities. I was with my friend Eric the other night playing cards or something on my front porch at Midnight and I saw this dog go around a corner. I assumed it was someone's German Shepard or something that got out but then I noticed it was way bigger than a German Shepard, way bigger than a coyote. It had a super bushy tail or have any collars or make any sound. It was just doing a steady trot down my street.




(Do512): What's the dumbest way you've ever hurt yourself?

Batty Jr.:
(Taylor) I put my hand through a window when I was a kid. I've got a gnarly scar from it.

(Sadie) I ran through a window. I was running inside and I didn't see it. It shattered and I cut my foot.

(Taylor) I ran down a hill one time and got a concussion. I was walking down a hill and reached to grab a tree branch but just barely missed and I was like, "I guess I'm jogging down the hill now" and I just woke up at the bottom of the hill. One of my brothers was there and saw me do it.

(Zeke) I hurt my sister in a knife fight once. We had been watching either Robin Hood or Peter Pan and we went into the kitchen and got knives out and started fighting.




(Do512): What do you wish you could experience for the first time all over again?

Batty Jr.:
(Taylor) Eating my first Nutty Buddy Drumstick ice cream cone. They're still delicious and I still love them. Having one of those after a long day when it's hot out is so great.

(Sadie) This is kind of silly, but I've done other interview-type things with Wild Child and now it kind of feels like we're doing these again in a whole different way. You know, your first interview, your first tour, your first whatever. It's exciting getting to do it all again for the first time.

(Zeke) I kind of miss the feeling of my body being too weak to do anything. Like reaching for a ball and just kicking it a little because I'm so tired. How hard it is to stand up when you're sitting down. But I know I'll get to do that again when I'm older so that's good. - Do512

Who: The sounds of Batty Jr. are comprised of Zeke Jarmon, Sadie Wolfe, Delwin Campbell, and Taylor Turner. Batty Jr. has given birth to some of the most compelling and original music Austin has to offer with family and friends from members of Capyac and Wild Child.



Like the tree that falls unheard in the forest, Batty Jr.'s lack of press has yet to bring their music to reach a wide audience. But, as much of the world's art and talent hovers in darkness, Batty Jr. is a jubilant light that dawn brings and desperately deserves a vehicle to spread their timeless music all around.



The vocal nuances of Zeke are unlike anyone else. From the way they slip and slide, effortlessly dancing around notes, to the unadulterated essence of the being from which said sounds flow, he's truly his own. Zeke's ability to give a performance has the freshness and the authenticity of someone who probably doesn't look in the mirror too much.



When: Who knows! But, next time they pop up around town, make it priority number one! - Do512