Li'nard's Many Moods
Jersey City, New Jersey, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Li'nard, left, and Shelby Johnson interact with the audience during a show with his band, The Many Moods of Li'nard, at The Groove, a Greenwich Village nightclub in New York.
Just a typical night for The Many Moods of Li'nard, an act that stands out even in a city so musical the subway trains seem to clack out a rhythm.
Singer, bassist and one-time street musician Christopher Li'nard Jackson mixes musical and comedy riffs, poking fun at the music industry, his unsuspecting audience and even himself.
The style began a few years ago when Jackson, who goes by the single name Li'nard, convinced the owner of a usually empty bar to let him lure an audience inside.
"You had to develop something to hold the people in the room other than the music," Li'nard said. "People'd come in, listen to music and then walk out. So when people started trying to leave, I'd stop the music and say, 'Hey, where you all going? What do you have to do?"'
He parodies Pink Floyd's "The Wall," lamenting that he "still can't find that (expletive) brick in the wall." Some of his best performances are of songs he dislikes, such as John Mel lencamp's "Jack and Diane," which caught his attention when he saw the Indiana rocker dancing in the song's video.
Li'nard finds humor everywhere. He stopped the band one night because a man on a cell phone was wishing his mother a happy birthday.
"I said, 'What? Give me that phone.' We all sang 'Happy Birthday' to his mother over the cell phone," Li'nard recalled, adding the mother was screaming with delight.
But behind the humor is a serious musician who mocks the industry and its shiny-shoed record label executives, concerned that they "take the fun out of being a musician" because of an obsession with selling records.
"They create hit artists, even if they're not good musicians, just because they have the mon ey to promote it," he says. "They make you write a song a certain way. They want to censor what you say. There should be free speech in this country. That's why I change the lyrics."
Li'nard now finds freedom in small venues, away from the mainstream music scene. He dreams not of a hit record but of owning his own club.
Li'nard's story is as unlikely as his stage show. Born in Rich mond, Va., the former high school sports star has been in a church choir and a violinist. He beat drugs and spent a year as a street musician.
Now Li'nard has found his niche in the Greenwich Village nightclub Pure. T. Brooks Shep ard, who managed and produced Dizzy Gillespie, stopped in for a few minutes one night because he knows Li'nard's drummer.
"I ended up staying all night," Shepard said. "He does bring a party atmosphere to the situation, something lacking in a lot of places today."
Shepard added: "He's very disarming. He makes it look easy and seems to be joking around. But when they get ready to hit, the band is very tight."
The rock tunes are mixed with hip-hop, reggae, R&B and just about anything else that fits Li'nard's many moods each night.
"I'm not going to conform," he said. "You don't have to be one style of music. If I'm in the mood to play funk, I'm going to play funk. If I'm in the mood to play rock, I'm going to play rock. If I want to do some show songs, I'm going to do that."
His footloose style evolved from a troubled past. Li'nard joined Narcotics Anonymous two years after arriving in New York in 1989, and has been sober ever since.
"It's pretty much the reason I'm alive today and continue to do music," he said. "For the rest of my music career, I'm going to have fun despite how much money I make."
He's not making Springsteen or Stones money — not when he passes around a metal bucket after shows, urging the crowd to show its love with $100 bills.
Camille Lanvin, a 22-year-old French tourist who saw the act one night recently, said she loved it.
"They change styles for every song," she said. "They're funny. In France, this would be very unusual. To me, it's amazing." - The Associated Press
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
Li'nard is a New York City legend. He is recognized as a genius in dynamic live performance and as a versatile bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of exceptional artistic standards. Li'nard is Hortissimo's site spokesperson. - Hortissimo Tea Products
One moment the waitress was asking me if I wanted a table. A moment later she was on the stage of Groove N.Y.C., invited by Li'nard's Many Moods to perform a rap tune, and she was excellent. Groove N.Y.C. is a Greenwich Village rhythm & blues club, and several bands play on a rotation. Li'nard's Many Moods is distinct in that the band not only plays soul music well, but it incorporates humor into its music. In the middle of one song, the band broke into an "I want my BET" chant, parodying the "I want my MTV" jingle. - Every Night Charley's Manhattan Beat (Blog)
Discography
"The First Episode" LP, Li'nard's first Album
(Li-nard's LP has sold over 10,000 copies at live performances around New York City. Many more copies have been sold online on iTunes and other download sites.)
Li-nard
Photos
Bio
He began his music career in Richmond, Virginia at an early age. He sang in his church's choir, won a statewide musical rhythm competition at age eight and studied the violin and the bass guitar. He is renowned for his command of a wide range of styles from Dance, Hip Hop and R&B;, to West African, Rock, Blues and Reggae.
An internship at Philly International Record Label with the songwriting team of Roebuck, Jefferson and Simmons led to work on records with Patti LaBelle, The O'Jays and The Jones Girls. He has contributed to over fifty albums.
Before moving to New York, Li'nard played up and down the Eastern seaboard and toured Europe with the groups Defunkt and Mr. Thing and the Professional Human Beings. Li'nard has also performed with Codaryl Moffett Jazz Ensemble and Roy Ayers.
He has performed at Manhattan's top nightclubs including The Blue Note, The Bitter End, Terra Blues, Nells and S.O.B.'s.
Li'nard's Many Moods has a strong following and can be seen at clubs in New York City and around the globe.
Band Members
Links
