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Jensen Bell -

Visiting because you heard Jensen Bell on the Radio?

Hear a song on the internet?

Did you really like that song? Yeah... we do too. Jensen Bell has quite a few good ones. Which one brought you here?

(Please blog us! Tell us about the songs that bring you to this site!)

Are you here from your visit to CDBaby? ... what about your MySpace account? Did you hear the songs on the radio?

If you haven't seen Jensen perform or don't know much about him, this page will give you a little info... enjoy.

If you need it short and sweet - click here: BIO

Story intro:

When you listen to the first few cuts from the new record, "Modern Dating Tips," by Jensen Bell, you hear influences rich and deep. New fans compare the music favorably to the fast post-punk of Weezer, the Beatles-drenched folk of Elliott Smith, the almost-country twangs of Tom Petty or Ryan Adams.

Savvy music experts will catch the sonic quotes from more obscure works by Big Star, Brian Wilson, The Ventures, Graham Parker, Charlie Feathers, Gram Parsons, X, The Left Banke, Danny Whitten's Crazy Horse, Gene Vincent, Taupin-John, Goffin-King, and lots of F&B Bryant.

In other words... there is a lot beneath the surface. This disk continues to satisfy the hunger for a raft of good songs from one disk.

Silver Lake / Los Feliz (Southern California) songwriter, guitarist, bassist, singer, arranger, producer, computer geek, film composer and performer Jensen Bell has been quietly growing a big dream for years now.

The story that will come out when reading the bio on his site is one of a kid born into the center of music. Raised in a thriving scene, approaching his own work with hunger, talent and loyal friends and mentors ready to lend a hand, Jensen struggled to find a place in the sun. And through this journey the only story that continues to matter is that of Jensen's songs, (the songs bringing people to this site in droves) his prolific ability to write them, and the effect that they have. Jensen is known for his inner golden goose that produces vibrant new works. He also has a history of dropping the jaws of some pretty respectable people on the artistic side of the music scene at home in Hollywood California, around the country, and even overseas.

The music is also pleasing and feeding a wider range of hard workin' people who love and need a good song to make it through life.

There are those who would want to shine a light on his history. There are eight full-length records that have never seen the light of day, aborted due to adversarial business dealings in the Hollywood Dream Factory. There is no story. The value to these almost-records (containing all original works worthy of airplay) will be obvious when people hear the songs. That is happening at shows and even online. People decide the value of music when they hear it for themselves. Now on this magical digital medium they are beginning to do just that.

More and more of this music is being remastered or re-recorded and now has a place to shine. Jensen Bell is putting all of these works in a permanent form starting this year with "Modern Dating Tips" available for the first time anywhere... Check over at CDbaby for the best prices.

This is good news for anyone that ever asked him, "where can I get this record?"... and for all of us who love supporting independent art of vision and quality.

Check the NEWS page here at JensenBell.com for when and where these hooky songs will be playing on your radio and don't be surprised if they are blasting out of computers everywhere you turn.

Some in the online community are now visiting his CDbaby page because they heard songs in a chat room where Jensen has been entertaining hundreds... others from this website, JensenBell.com... and still more arrive from communities such as MySpace and Friendster. In addition to catching Jensen Bell live, online listening alerts a greater audience to the joys of this music; the net is cast wider.

So who is this guy? Why haven't we heard this music until now? What is the story behind that song about the girl who sings the wrong words?

Who is Jensen Bell? Why can't I get this dang song out of my head?!?!

This "Story" page at Jensenbell.com should help you find out... but while you are here or at CDBaby, please sample some of the music, buy a download... or even the whole beautifully designed and packaged CD (chock full of beautiful hand illustrations by music legend Kristian Hoffman). Listen... enjoy... get hooked... and by purchasing, insure the continued release of good music from this compelling artist.

Then and now ~ Story overview

Then:

Jensen Bell began performing music professionally at about 7 years old. After a childhood of his parent's love of bohemian jazz, Bossa Nova, then Beatles, Elvis, CCR, and Elton, then the teenage discoveries of retro-new sounds from Costello, Stray Cats and even Cheap Trick, his early teen influences were mostly the punk tinged pop bands of the first wave of L.A. punk and power-pop movement.

Both a trained musician from childhood and an inveterate club-goer from about 11 years old, Jensen witnessed the tail end of a Hollywood music scene still being documented and lionized today. From there it was easy to choose a Hollywood music school to study "serious" guitar and bass playing with his pop and jazz heroes, studio guitar legends, Tommy Tedesco and Howard Roberts. Jensen was thrilled to be receiving daily advice from artists he had watched in awe at 11 years of age from the foot of the stage. Jensen was in Hollywood and the magical punk, roots rock and power-pop scenes were still pulsating just around the corner. Though immersed in study, Jensen was scouring the scene and there met Rock-a-Billy upright bassist and music mastermind Patrick Woodward (of the Billy Zoom Band). From there Jensen embraced rock-a-billy, trad. country cow-punk and alt. country as he interned with James Intveld, Maria McKee, Tony Gilkyson, Legendary Guitarist Johnny Meeks (of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps) , and thru Gilkyson, with a bit of stage time backing Dave Alvin, Exene and later Chuck E. Weiss. He finally learned to play his guitar with some style and was asked to audition for the Replacements. Members of management at that time say that he got pretty close.

Jensen bolstered by the show of interest formed his own band to showcase the rapidly growing backlog of concise old-skool pop songs. His first band recorded but never released their album, yet distinguished themselves opening for ~X~ 6 times including all of their "Live at the Whiskey" shows, and getting great reviews. Cow-punk wasn't gonna get enough attention and the band split.

His second band, morphed from the first one, was a pre-nirvana pop punk trio that got much farther...being copiously signed and either put on hold or dropped. Still, over an album's worth of material waits in the vaults and lots of people have cassettes and a VHS copy of their live in-studio performance on NBC's coast to coast broadcast of "Friday Night Videos"... They got great reviews on that too. Including a third incarnation of the pop-punk trio that mostly recorded, three albums worth of material was created and still languishes in the vaults... in various states of completion. Twice the number of songs exist as home demos. Jensen has always been known among his peers for prolific songwriting habits.

Discouraged and seeking a change of scenery, Jensen took on the sideman role and toured Europe with a no-depression band made up of former "paisley underground heroes" and as a bassist and co arranger, released three well received CDs in Western Europe... not much happened stateside. Then... after the 3rd tour...

Jensen came back to town and while making a living teaching music, arranged the chord charts and vocal parts for an historic performance of Brian Wilson's "Pet Sounds" at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles. That led to the formation of his fourth performing and recording band and another abortive album's worth of very good songs.

Now:

Finally Jensen formed a team with TV director and erstwhile music producer Christopher Brougham, and Best-Kept-Secret Engineer, Producer and Studio King, Steve Refling for a series of recordings that ended up as this year's recorded mixed and mastered CD, "Modern Dating Tips" out now.

Using about half of the ideas created with the defunct band and half new ideas, this disk includes the much anticipated love duet between Jensen Bell and Kim Shattuck of the Muffs. Local luminaries have called that "This decade's 'Don't Go Breakin' My Heart' " The collection of 13 tracks will be sold, at first as two "sides" or two "short form CDs" - Each side presents an evolving view of the arc of a modern person's dating life.

here is a link to a synopsis of the disk- ARTICLE ON "Modern Dating Tips"

Also out in the coming months: "Music to Save the World By" (details here) He is also back in the studio recording two additional products. The first, "Martyrs Anonymous Society" a 12 song collection slated for release before the end of the year. The second is "Hella Spy" a collection of raucous instrumental punk-surf-pop for sale at the shows and this website only. Jensen is known for calling out surf instrumental classics with his band at opportune moments on stage. Radio play and additional retail outlets will be listed on the news page.

So...why now? Why wait this long to finally put all this music out?

1. Technology has made it possible to achieve "major label sound" and powerful distribution without the "cost" of doing their style of business. We all win.

2. The Business is losing its stranglehold on the artistry of the music scene in his hometown. After years of dangling superstardom carrots to decent bands and banishing them to obscurity, the modern music industry is in a tailspin and the internet is allowing true artists to find their audiences directly.

3. What the hell?

Oh... did you want one of those boring "Bios?" ... all the facts in a neat little row?

fine... click here: BIO

Not enough information? You say you want even more detail? (wow you are dedicated!) Ok.. fine..

Get: ~ The Full Story ~

warning! very long and involved!