2008 Woodie Awards
Juan Prophet Organization
Kristen Teffeteller
Issue date: 2/16/06 Section: Exposure
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When it comes to classifying the Juan Prophet Organization's music, Kris White, guitarist and vocalist, admitted it could run from one end of the spectrum to the other while covering everything in between.
"A lot of people keep giving us this Captain Beefheart [and] Frank Zappa crap," Jeff Holt, bassist and vocalist, said. "How do you classify Frank Zappa? What kind of music does Frank Zappa play? Anything he wants!"
Juan Prophet Organization's avant-garde sound comes from the musical diversity of its six-member, self-described family. According to Holt, the band changes its lineup throughout the album and shows, depending on what instrument each person plays on the song. Holt also plays accordion, guitar and glockenspiel for the band.
White utilizes multiple instruments as well, switching to bass, trumpet or percussion. White's sister, Grayson, plays violin, viola, and piano or sings while David Jellema adds Dixieland jazz clarinet and coronet to the mix. Matt Crisafi is the full-time drummer but he is sometimes on percussion or glockenspiel also! Clay Franklin, the long-distance member, provides bass and keyboards on the album and during Juan Prophet's tours.
The band originally met in North Louisiana in the late 1990s. Holt was playing in a Baton Rouge band, while White and Josh Foreman, one of the original members, attended college.
"We kinda bumped into each other over there," White said. "My sister and I came here to finish up school and Jeff and Josh came up because they knew people in Tennessee."
The Juan Prophet Organization began to form in late 1999, thanks to Holt's power of persuasion. Jellema and Crisafi were invited to play on the 2002 album and, "before they knew it," became full-time members of the band, according to Holt.
Over a meal of homemade Louisiana shrimp gumbo, Holt and White named artists who influence each member. While White's influences "cover the gamut," clarinet player Jellema listens to 1920-1950s jazz and cultural music. Grayson White grew up with U2; Holt named a former band mate as an influence on his bass playing.
