wiaCD020
Release date:  August 10, 2009
Label: where it's at is where you are (wiaiwya)

Brilliant Disguise/Brilliancy Medley
by Jeff Mellin (with Dimtri Fane, Jake Guralnick & Doug Yule)
Produced & engineered by Jeff Mellin at American Street Studios, Philadelphia, PA
Dimtri Fane's bass recorded by Steve Katz at Purple Pants, Somerville, MA
Jake Guralnick's lap steel recorded by Chris Maxwell at Airstream Studios, Woodstock, NY
Doug Yule's fiddle recorded by Cameron Nicklaus at Avast Recording, Seattle, WA

Available at:
Amazon.com
Rough Trade
Norman Records

Download at:
emusic.com
Amazon.com
iTunes

Avaialble wholesale at:
Cargo Records

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Paperback: 116 pages
Publisher: Kolourmeim Press / Stereorrific Recordings
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0615181260
ISBN-13: 978-0615181264
List Price: $14.94

Available at:
Barnes & Nobel.com
Amazon.com
Target.com

News+Notes

In which Jeff Gets Happy, dons a Brilliant Disguise, and makes dinner plans with Bette Davis.

Friday, Dec. 4, 2009
It's been a strange but busy year.

In January, Jeff launched www.jeffmellin.com (which you should know, as you are here) to make all of his past recorded work freely available for listening, and as a venue for presenting new demos, works in progress, and new releases.

His recording of "Brown Sugar," the first song of his Sticky Fingers Suite, kicked things off. What had begun as songwriting game with songs based on titles of the songs on the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers evolved into a fully unique suite; part folk-rock fable, part murder-mystery noir, part surrealist love story. Jeff released the second installment, "Sway," in July, and plans to get the rest recorded and posted periodically throughout 2010.

In February, after years focusing mostly on writing, recording, and working behind the scenes on various Stereorrific and Waxfruit projects, Jeff quietly returned to the world of live performance with a brief residency at the Get Happy Pub in Philadelphia. He continued with performances throughout the summer as part of Collingswood, NJ's Second Saturday celebrations. Plans for an acoustic tour in 2010 are now in the works.

In April, Brazilian powerpop group Superdrive released a video of their cover of Jeff's 2001 song "You, Sweet You." The video has since been viewed over 10,000 times.

In July, Jeff recorded and released a demo of an acoustic ballad "Better."

In August, the UK indiepop label WIAIWYA released Jeff's cover of "Brilliant Disguise" on Play Some Pool, Skip Some School, Act Real Cool: A Global Pop tribute to Bruce Springsteen. Jeff's track featured lap steel by his old Eddies band-mate Jake Guralnick, bass by ex-Slide and frequent Midnight Cowboys collaborator Dimitri Fane, and an extended fiddle solo from the Velvet Underground's Doug Yule.

Alex S. of SoundsXP magazine wrote that "Jeff Mellin takes a song already laden with pain (‘Brilliant Disguise’) and uses slide guitar and a Jesus and Mary Chain vocal to reach new heights of pathos."

The album itself was somewhat controversial in both Springsteen-purist and indiepop circles, meriting a feature story by Jude Rogers in the UK's Guardian.

It was also featured on BBC radio as an "Album of the Day."

As the summer faded, Jeff began work on Three on A Match, a collaboration with ex-Delicatessen/Lodger frontman Neil Carlill (Vedette) and Marcelo Radulovich (both currently of Me Me and the Moth). The project will include songs based on the titles of Bette Davis movies. So far, Jeff's written "Dark Victory" & "The Man Who Came to Dinner" and is working on "Jezebel" and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

In October, Small Press Distribution, the USA's only distributor dedicated exclusively to indie lit, began distributing Skin & Bones, a collection of Jeff's song lyrics.

Most recently, Jeff returned to the studio with brother, the NY based composer/producer Joel Mellin, to finish work on the EP of songs he recorded with the help of Pete Weiss, members of Orange Nichole, and Doug Yule. Among the final touches in the works is the addition of the fabulous UK indiepop group Shrag on backing vocals. Expect a release in early 2010.

2008: The Year in Review >>