Neighborhood Texture Jam

Neighborhood Texture Jam is a five-man assault squad hell-bent on making audiences mosh and think at the same time. Improbable, sure. But not impossible.

Neighborhood Texture Jam was conceived out of wedlock on a cold, raw winter day in 1984. The idea came to Joe Lapsley and his guitarist friend Ed Scott while they were at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. It was during winter break when beer, drugs, and barren dorm rooms offered the only comfort from the harsh realities of college life. An electric guitar with a big amplifier helped a little as well. Joe and Ed played guitar and beat on trash cans outside the dormroom a wrote NTJ’s first song entitled Dogs, because it featured the neighborhood dogs barking and howling back at the aural textures Joe and Ed were laying down. This two-man happening soon grew into a full-fledged neighborhood texture jam with bass, guitar, and lots of percussion (no one could afford a drum kit) thrown into the mix. Joe (vocals), Tee (bass now guitar) and Greg (texture) are the three present members who were in NTJ Mach 1. They had three official gigs: the Pub at Rhodes College (where they received a lifetime ban due to damage caused by the crowd and the band), Beale Street (from which they were chased by police), and the Antenna Club (after which one band member was arrested and the rest fled town). Four years later the paths of Joe, Tee, and Greg crossed once again on the Rhodes College campus. A band from Nashville, 69 Tribe, had covered an NTJ classic called Bikers on a 12” single and dedicated it to NTJmay they rise again and rock. Thus, with some new members - Steven Conn on bass, Paul Buchignani on drums, and some guy named Tom on guitar, the band reformed in 1988. NTJ released their first cd, Funeral Mountain, in 1990 on Feralette Records. This disc received excellent reviews all around and was written up in Rolling Stone and Spin. Despite the critical success of the disc, NTJ did not play live much for a year or more due to Joe’s commute from Princeton, New Jersey where he was caring for his ailing mother, and Feralette conveniently hid all product and refused to order more. This new approach to distribution will eventually drive the price of Funeral Mountain way up and the executives at Feralette will be rich. As soon as the band was able, they started playing live as much as possible. Tom got married and moved elsewhere so John Whittemore was brought in to replace him. NTJ has played up and down the Eastern Seaboard, the South, the Midwest, and New England, with an inordinate amount of trauma. At CBGB’s in New York there was much confusion, fireworks, fire, and a shortened set. NTJ did the last on-air interview at WLYX, Radio Rhodes. The next day the DJs lost their shift and the broadcast tower was bulldozed (accidently). At Graceland, during the inaugural ceremonies for the Crossroads Showcase, members of NTJ were detained by the Mayor’s security force after being mistaken for leftist Muslim assassins. The security force released the band members after the Mayor left the premises. At Club Petrus in Atlanta there was much confusion, fireworks, fire, and a shortened set. After getting involved with Three Alarm Studios in Memphis, NTJ was dumped by neglect and Three Alarm went bankrupt. NTJ’s booking agent was arrested and confined to the state of Missouri after NTJ played at a pizza joint in his hometown. NTJ then signed a deal with Ardent Records but was ushered off the label after Ardent decided to release nothing but Christian music. NTJ sponsors a host of other alternative bands that play with them from time to time. Some of these are Fark, Lerm, Asian Bedfellow, Foon, Brotherhood of the Tomb, Muke, Duj, Big Betsy, Legends of Porn, and Lord Baltimore and the Steakhouse Ramblers.

Memphis, the mid-South, the north-East

Joe: Gang of Four, Genesis Tee: Face, Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy Steve: King Crimson, Brian Eno Paul: Police, Miles Davis Big Willie: Buck Owens, Dr. Demento