Jaybone Bell & Restless Light is maybe a very appropriately titled group. Because while they play in the realm of Americana and folky bluegrass, they have a striking urgency and restlessness to their tunes that often seems absent where many of their traditional folk contemporaries are concerned. At the core of the group is Jason “Jaybone Bell” Ziebell. He started playing solo shows around 2010 under the Jaybone Bell moniker before assembling the full group. But Jaybone is not the only star and the band’s musical prowess and tight chemistry really did shine a bright beacon of light on those once unfulfilled acoustic songs. Jaybone and the boys have become somewhat of a staple here with their cult-like following in Winona and their popularity continues to grow regionally. Now they’re finally releasing their self-titled first full length album this Friday at Ed’s (no name) Bar.
The Interview Part:
We really sunk in and committed to creating a solid product we can look at years from now and be proud of
Your self-titled album “Jaybone Bell & Restless Light” is your first full-length release and you recorded it with Kevin Bowe of Kevin Bowe + The Okemah Prophets, right?
We recorded two tracks with Kevin and the other 8 with Brett Huus at Soundstrations in Brownsville. Really great experiences with both engineers in different ways. We spent a lot of time with Brett getting everything perfect and he was really the driving force behind how the record sounds. He also mastered the disc.
Kevin lent a hand on the tracks Mendocino and Guadalupe Mountains. Those tracks have a much bigger sound. With Kevin we really went for it and tried to produce our most epic tunes with him. He’s a guy who can name drop people like crazy.
Yeah—when Jonathan interviewed Kevin for The Noisy Neighbor he talked about working with Paul Westerberg of The Replacements—not that anyone’s heard of him or that band.
Will the sound on “Jaybone Bell & Restless Light” differ from “The Wind Shine EP” you recorded and released in 2013?
It sounds much different—like we are a completely new band. We really sunk in and committed to creating a solid product we can look at years from now and be proud of. We had no idea what we were doing on the Wind Shine EP and now I think we kind of know what we’re doing.
I saw you had Philip Potyondy of Brass Messengers adding some trumpet and Jillian Rae also laid down some violin for your track, “Guadalupe Mountains”. How did that come about and can we expect any other cameos on this record?
The producer of the record, Parker Forsell, set that all up and we were really pleased with how it ended up. Getting different energy into the studio was fun and really added to the feel of the record I think. Jillian also plays on a bluegrass tune of ours, Coyotes Cooin’, and she adds a killer solo. Those two are the only cameos though. Isaac played piano on a few tracks and that kinda felt like a cameo.
Do you guys like cameos?
Oh yeah—especially when the players are so good.
Do you guys like Cameo the band?
I don’t know. Probably.
How did Jason come into the stage name Jaybone Bell and does he make the rest of the band call him that at all times?
A while back when I was a freshman in college, around 2008, I had a friend who started calling me Jaybone. I hated it, but one night I had this insane dream where I released a dinosaur themed record called “Raptor Songs” under the pen name Jaybone Bell. So, I started to seriously consider using the pen name after that. I played my first shows under that pen name at Blooming Grounds way back. I tried to play under my real name at Some Sum Studio one time and Alex Stevens (legendary Winona scenester) convinced me not to. And the rest is history.
Is the Restless Light part named so because of Kelly’s hyperactivity?
No. Kelly is pretty mellow I think. He’s super chill.
Ok…maybe I’m just thinking of him when he gets excited…which seems to be a lot…maybe not…you’re the one in a band with him.
What does the future hold for Jaybone Bell & Restless Light?
Gonna play a bunch of shows this summer and then ride off into the sunset.
Upcoming Local Gigs:
Who: Jaybone Bell & Restless Light, Tin Can Gin, and Gravy Train
When: Friday, May 8th 9:30pm
Where: Ed’s (no name) Bar