MEETING ON CRAIGSLIST can lead to disastrous things. Every once in a while, though, a chance online meeting works out for the best. At least that’s what the guys in Jaguar Club would have us believe.
Originally formed in 2002 by then Vassar students Jeremiah Joyce and Yoichiro Fujita, the band played around the Hudson Valley, joined by various classmates, before relocating to a loft in Woodhaven upon graduation.
The duo might have moved as far from the clutches of the New York rock world as possible, but it wasn’t entirely bad: According to Fujita, the loft/recording studio was shared with two 50-year-old lesbians that were “into the punk scene in L.A. in the ’70s.They really wanted to make us famous.”
If only they had more time.The duo relocated to South Williamsburg not long after, when some of the band members went back to Vassar for their senior year. Firmly ensconced in the musician-friendly neighborhood, Joyce and Fujita kept their eyes out for a new guitar player who could make a commitment.
For a year they played with various people, adding and losing members at random, but could never find the right person. That was December 2005, when they logged onto Craigslist.William Popadic’s ad described an Emerson College graduate who could sing, play guitar and had moved to town just a week earlier.
Popadic fit in easily, playing guitar and signing, and the group released a self-titled EP in November 2006. A second EP, Ceci N’est Pas Le Club De Jaguar, came out in April 2007 and was accompanied by a short tour with stops in Washington D.C. and North Carolina.The Jaguar Club finally had a steady line-up, but things weren’t always peachy.
In April 2008 The Jaguar Club went back into the studio and began the yearlong process for its first studio album—And We Wake Up Slowly, dropping Aug. 29 with a show at Union Hall. “It was on and off, [we would play] just real sporadically,” says Popadic, adding that sessions, held at an old barn in the Catskills, ranged from 15 minutes to an entire day. However erratic the method, it worked.
The record’s intro track “And We Wake Up Slowly” uses waves of guitar to bring in Popadic’s powerful voice, but the lullaby-resembling song is only a tease.The next song, “Sleepwalking,” relies heavily on Fujita’s bass, distorted guitar and an explosive chorus, guaranteeing that even a first-time listener will sing along.
Not all of the songs are barnburners, though.The mellow “Corks Pop” highlights Joyce’s careful drumming, while Popadic’s passionate singing complements a repeated guitar riff. “Blood Pressure” is catchy, and finds Joyce on the piano (he was classically trained on the instrument as a child). On the other hand, “Perfect Timing,” the final track on the album, mixes piano chords with electric guitar and distortion, building until another guitar part breaks the piece into two sections. At the end of the track, The Jaguar Club’s furious sound leaves the album feeling complete.
In an effort to keep forward momentum, or perhaps out of force of habit, the group has recently added a new member: guitarist Gavin Dunaway. “We’ve always wanted a second guitar player,” says Fujita, “so Will can be more free to sing.” Dunaway isn’t featured on any recordings yet, but he may join in the future.
At a recent Mercury Lounge gig, the foursome seemed perfectly tight, especially considering the new arrangement; it’s become a club where membership means quite a bit.
> The Jaguar Club
Aug. 29, Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.), Brooklyn, 718-638-4400; 7:30, $8
