Tag: Jeremy Porter

Character Studies — Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Create Relatable Protagonists on “Sell Their Souls” Album

From left: Jake Reilly, Jeremy Porter, and Troy Toma of Jeremy Porter and The Tucos. Photo – Noreen Porter

As a proficient songwriter, Jeremy Porter brings compelling characters to life.

His characters range from dogs and kids to Shakespearean sidekicks and ranch hands, and together they face regrets, challenges, and hard lessons in different situations.

They’re prominently featured throughout the 12 tracks on Sell Their Souls, Porter’s latest multigenre album with The Tucos.

“It wasn’t really intentional,” said Porter, who’s based in Plymouth, Michigan. “I think you just summed up all the different things that I tend to write songs about. Regret is a constant theme, and it seems in my lyrics that I keep coming back to that.”

To create relatable protagonists, Porter draws inspiration from a variety of TV shows and films, including Wes Anderson movies, neo-Western dramas, and true-crime documentaries.

“I get a lot of inspiration from that,” Porter said. “If I hear somebody say something on the screen that catches my ear, I’ll put it right into my phone, and I’ll build a song around it.”

But his storied lyrics are only part of the equation for Sell Their Souls. The turbocharged, fearless instrumentation from Porter (guitar, vocals, piano, lap steel) and Tucos bandmates Gabriel Doman (drums, vocals, percussion, piano, guitar) and Jake Reilly (bass, vocals) provides the other crucial portion. (The band’s current live drummer is Troy Toma.)

“This is a bit of a heavier record for us, and it’s a bit more rock than we usually do,” said Porter, who released the album via GTG Records. “I always like albums like The Who’s The Who Sell Out. I wanted [the album’s title] to be like that, like a news headline—Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Sell Their Souls—that’s a sentence.”

I recently spoke with Porter ahead of an October 10 album release show at Parts and Labor Bar in Melvindale.

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Rocky Mountain High — Detroit’s Jeremy Porter Longs for a Snowy Holiday Out West on “Colorado Christmas” Single

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Detroit’s Jeremy Porter offers a fresh take on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Colorado Christmas.” Photo – Noreen Porter

Two years ago, Jeremy Porter discovered a hidden Christmas classic in a collection of 7-inch vinyl singles.

The Detroit singer-songwriter and guitarist flipped over a “Mr. Bojangles” single for the Nitty Gritty Dirty Band and found “Colorado Christmas” on the B-side.

“Their version is solid, of course, but it was the B-side, ‘Colorado Christmas,’ that really caught my ear,” said Porter, who also fronts The Tucos. “I’m always looking for a good Christmas song to cover. I actually spent a Christmas in Colorado as a kid, so it just seemed like a natural choice.”

Porter decided to record a rendition of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Colorado Christmas” during the studio sessions for his latest alt-country album, Dynamite Alley, via GTG Records.

On “Colorado Christmas,” the protagonist longs to escape Los Angeles for a snow-filled Christmas in Colorado.

Surrounded by somber banjo and pedal steel, Porter sings, “Now the sun is setting in the California sky / And I can’t find the spirit anywhere / So I think it’s time for me to tell Los Angeles goodbye / I’m going back home to look for Christmas there.”

“The lyrics exploring the contradiction between winter in the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles traffic and palm trees was the icing on the cake,” Porter said.

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Grit ‘N Glam – Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Release New ‘Put You on Hold’ Video

Jeremy Porter and The Tucos elegantly bring grit and glam to their stylish new video for Candy Coated Cannonball’s “Put You on Hold” single.

The Detroit rock trio of Jeremy Porter (guitar, vocals), Gabriel Doman (drums, vocals) and Bob Moulton (bass, vocals) seamlessly fuse energetic live performance footage with colorful animation to illustrate “Put You on Hold’s” storyline about a girl becoming captivated with city life.

“I wanted to go for a bit of a throwback to the Aerosmith videos with Alicia Silverstone – sort of a very loose plot about a party girl that maybe worked with the song, but didn’t necessarily follow the song’s lyrics to a tee,” said Porter, who worked with director-photographer David Kellogg on the video.

“There are nods to the lyrics here and there, and in general, like the song, it’s about a crazy night out for a not-so-crazy girl, but the concept and its tie-in to the lyrics aren’t overthought. We glammed the look of the band up a bit for shits ‘n giggles to do something different, get out of our comfort zone and have some fun.”

Porter and The Tucos demonstrate that glamorous fun while dressing head-to-toe in white or black and adorning sunglasses and scarves, thanks to stylist Alessandra Lipman. They proudly sport those hip stage fashions in a darkened gym located at the Plymouth Arts & Recreation Complex (PARC).

“PARC is an old high school here in Plymouth that’s been converted into an art space with studios that local artists can rent and stuff like that. I wanted something big like a high school gym, and it just seemed perfect,” said Porter, who’s partnering with Ghettoblaster Magazine to premiere the video today.

“I also like to keep my money in my community when possible and support the arts when I can. David and I met the manager there, and she showed us around, and we agreed it was our spot. The gym has the feel of the ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video a bit, which I liked.”

In tandem with the band’s live performance footage, the “Put You on Hold” video includes compelling animated characters and background scenery by Jones William. It explores the main character’s social outings with friends as well as her dating life and city adventures.

“(Jones) answered a Craigslist ad and was honestly one of the very few worth following up with. We never talked, just through email, a language barrier was an issue, and I wasn’t sure what I was gonna get. In the end, he delivered, and I was pleased with the work he did,” Porter said.

The band’s “Put You on Hold” video ultimately came together with Kellogg, who brought a “youthful, enthusiastic energy” to the camera.

“I met David through Instagram when we were recording. His work caught my eye, and he ended up doing all of the photography, including the cover, for the record. And even though he’s younger, he still gets the ‘70s/‘80s references we were throwing out – he’s well-traveled, so to speak,” Porter said.

“He didn’t have much to do with the concept or animation part, but he was very involved in scouting and choosing the location and everything that went into the performance part – lighting, setup, direction and all that. He and I also edited it together.”

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