 After being voted "Best Female Vocalist" by the Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll for 2 years straight, Jeri Verdi smiles when she says, "I've paid my dues". But winning contests aren't what matter to Jeri Verdi. "I'd rather jam than compete against other musicians" she says. The music and swapping tales with fellow musicians over a drink are what's really important.
"I'm having a ball celebrating rock and roll and its roots" says Verdi. She has from an early age opened for legends such as Ernest Tubb, Dolly Parton and later John Entwistle, John Mayall, Koko Taylor, and Big Brother and the Holding Company. Even more impressive, Jeri got to sing and be backed by Big Brother and the Holding Company. To stand in the very same spot as one of her musical mentors - Janis Joplin. And, by all accounts, she hit it out of the park every night. People talk about Jeri singing with Big Brother to this day still. "I'm just lucky to be able to do what I love with the best", she says.
Playing and singing her favorites by Marc Bolan, Steve Marriott, Otis Redding, Lou Reed, Janis Joplin, Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Etta James in various cafes and bars, Jeri has been inspired to write many unique songs, some of which appear on her first album "Lipstick and Powder".
Jeri started singing with Tumbleweed Connection as a young girl and then formed the Jeri Verdi Band to play in various pubs for fun even though she was underage. After a hiatus of a few years to raise her daughter, she resumed singing and playing guitar in cafe's such as Border Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, The Gallery Cafe, and Providence Bookstore Cafe. Constantly invited to sit-in and sing and play with full bands, Jeri decided to form a full band of her own - The Villains. After the recording of her debut CD "Lipstick & Powder" at Millrat Studios with Ken Lyon and Tom Buckland along with the Villains, Jeri got rave reviews and she was then voted "Best Female Vocalist" by the Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll in 1996 and again in 1997. Mike Caito of the Providence Phoenix said her debut was "the best heard around here (Rhode Island)". The Villains evolved into Jeri and The Jeepsters and are now her outlet for her own brand of scorchin' rock n' roll - whether Jeri's playing original songs and her favorite covers.
Jeri belting out a
couple with Big Brother
and the Holding CompanyAnd now with the Jeri and the Jeepsters, more influences are added to an already diverse, playful presentation. Philo on 6-string Gibson and 12-string Rickenbacker guitar, Chicago Vin on bass, and Sparky on drums, mix up elements of The Small Faces, T. Rex, Johnny Cash, The Yardbirds, The MC5, The Kinks, John Lee Hooker, The Sonics, The Zombies, Buffalo Springfield, CCR, Chuck Berry, New York Dolls, and The Who in Jeri's own songs to create one of the freshest sounding rock and roll bands today - a band where roots and power-pop merge.
NEWS FLASH!!! Jeri's debut CD "Lipstick and Power" is back in stock! Come to a gig and grab one or order via jeri@dauntlessmusic.com. Jeri@DauntlessMusic.com.
Her solo CDRight now, Jeri along with the Jeepsters are working on her second CD in the studio which will be ready in 2005, or when they finish (right now it's rumoured to be a double CD!). And, she is also planning a stripped-down, back-to-basics rock and roll CD to be recorded on an ancient 2-track reel-to-reel tape recorder (Undaunted Analog!). With over 70 plus original songs, (and more on the way every week) Jeri and the Jeepsters will be recording and releasing material for a long time to come.
Jeri has been nominated numerous times in the Phoenix's Best Music Poll for the category of Best Female Vocalist. (Does the 2004 nomination make it 8 times now?, ah, who gives a shit). Jeri is already a 2 time Best Female Vocalist winner of the Poll , and guess what, she's was fantastic before and always has been fantastic. Jeri needs no contest to prove her talent, she's a natural performer with a stunning vocal range and delivery and a loyal following of the best fans anybody could ask for. Music is not about competition, it's about creativity. Jeri says, "Contests are for politicians and reality TV".
Come to a live show and see one of the best live rock and roll bands in action! A truly unique band on many fronts! And they sure would like for you to come to a show and "wiggle your bottoms". |
