RED TAG RUMMAGE SALE

In February of 2007 my band rejouissance was on its first tour and had our first show in one of the coldest, snowiest nights I can remember. It was here in that dank, bat infested basement that I first saw Red Tag Rummage Sale, a two piece cello and guitar group that summed it all up for me with “we’re happy to be able to share with you what we do in our own home.” And that is really it with Red Tag. They can make you feel, no matter where you are, like you’re in their living room, listening to them play some of their new songs, laugh, and in general, feel part of something. What gets me most about red tag is that they could be playing in a small theatre, VFW hall, record store, or grain silo; each performance they give their all, and make the largest spaces feel close. Their songs take you through one movement after another of warmth, purpose, and beauty. If anything, their sound is genuine. The sounds weave you through the room, and layered on top, vocals that cut through everything. Red Tag uses empty spaces very well, cutting instrumentation out for vocals to carry the movement, followed by a powerful drop provided by cello. Red Tag Rummage Sale provides that feeling in every city, time and time again.

HILL BOMBERS/WEIGHTLESSNESS

In 2008, Jon Burns began recording songs for this split CD, but the preparation had begun years prior. As his band Sever the Hands was winding down, Jon was still writing, and a release to get these songs down and archived was obvious.

This is a pure project release. No tours, promotion, or concern for sales were intended. One show was performed in Syracuse, and Jon was able to play some songs solo on a Rejouissance tour in Florida. The split and the two different names has to do with the different type of sounds between the two projects. Hill Bombers and Weightlessness are the same guy, recording and playing everything.

We loved that this was broken into a split because split releases are usually between two projects, and that's exactly what this is, just the same guy. Hill Bombers draws from a distorted skate rock sound, with a nice amount of humor akin to Annihilation Time and DRI. Weightlessness feels more introspective, drawn out, and heavy, in the vein of Japan's Envy and Mogwai.

BAD COPS

In the wake of the break up of Syracuse's Spark Lights the Friction in 2002, Jon Peters and Jim Heffernan wanted to continue playing music, bringing out a more stripped down distorted sound, and focusing heavily on audience participation. The energy witnessed at upstate hardcore shows was a contagious, inspirational experience, but Bad Cops wanted to capture that same energy without the predictable chugga chugga of what the scene had become. In the early 2000's, a recognizable sound was becoming apparent, and Bad Cops wanted to push the idea of the band you'd go hear at an all ages show at the Westcott.

A seething nerve, where one cannot decipher where there is a line where the band ends and the crowd starts was the ideal picture of a bad cops show. After calling on high school friend Eric MacLachlan, the band started writing 4 songs that would become the Bad Cops EP. They were fortunate enough to record with Jocko at Indie Audio Studios, as well as play extensively and exclusively in Syracuse. No focus was given on the future, purpose, creating something for dollars or stature. Band merchandise was all hand made random shirts and posters created by the band and friends, and they encouraged the crowd to make their own "merch".
An open-ended commitment has been made to record their last four songs. Stay tuned.

MP3s
Me Rest Drums (Bad Cops, 2003)
Gore and Tinto (Bad Cops, 2003)

RELEASES

"Bad Cops" EP
 4 Songs
July 2003 

VIDEO

"Gore and Tinto" live at Planet 505 Syracuse, NY August, 2003

"Me, Rest, Drums" live at the Red Haus Syracuse, NY April 2004

"Wonderful Tonight" live at the AV Space, Rochester, NY 2006

REJOUISSANCE

This project was started by Jim Heffernan in 2003. What began as a solo project for songs that didn't fit into the collaborations of the time (We the People, Bad Cops, Awake) he drew on the help of his friends to play in Brooklyn, collaboarting with Chris Swisher, Jon Davies, Jon Burns, Andy Williams and Damian Vallelonga, but primarily touring and recording with Mike Harriff. Together, Jim and Mike embarked on several Northeast tours, as well as two full US tours, and trips down to Florida.
Original releases had a stripped down acoustic, singer songwriter feel, with use of baritone guitars and at times synthesizers and electronic drums.

In 2010, Rejouissance became a collaborative project between Jim and friends in Syracuse, abandoning most all original songs and reshaping the sound into a heavier, distorted 5 piece band. The project changed from songs primarily and exclusively being written by Jim Heffernan. Today, Rejouissance is comprised of Damian Vallelonga, Matt St. Laurent, Mike Harriff, and Jeff Walter. The sound of rejouissance today, is the sum of these 5 parts.
The term "Rejouissance"has had several different meanings over the years, but overall the common thread between the meaning is release, expression, rejoice, and the feeling we get when music has taken us somewhere and we don't have the words to describe how we feel.
Contact Info for Rejouissance: jaheffer@gmail.com


MP3s
Our War With Faith (Rejouissance, 2005)
The Race (EP II, 2007)
Brace The Dam (Moss On Monuments, 2009)
Hollow Tower (Scrudding Wounds, 2011)

RELEASES

"Rejouissance"
5 Songs
2005

"EP II"
5 Songs
2007

"Moss On Monuments"
9 Songs
2009


DOWNLOAD

"Scrudding Wounds" EP
3 Songs
April 2011

STREAM

VIDEO

"State of Arrest" 9/10/11 Ithaca, NY

"Ostrom" by Rejouissance from Jeff Walter on Vimeo.


LINKS

Rejouissance - "Our War With Faith" on Pink Couch Sessions

WE THE PEOPLE

Guess what? Ya bought it.

Spring 2003 - 2008

MP3

We The People - With a Thousand Faces MP3

VIDEO

"Outside of Society" Westcott Community Center Syracuse, NY April, 2006

"Thick as Thieves"

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