Jessie and Jim, the creative force behind Turkey Vulture, have always had a knack for blending their personal histories with their music, and their latest EP, On The List!, is no exception. With a sound that feels like a collision of past influences and present-day experimentation, the duo revisits old favorites, explores new lyrical themes, and even infuses their daily life as parents into their art. In this conversation, they dive into the evolution of their sound since their days with Jimmy Junk Bird and the Stiffs, reflect on the inspiration behind the EP’s standout tracks, and discuss their unique recording process that spans two studios, two engineers, and a whole lot of creative freedom. Get ready for an honest, unfiltered look at what it’s like to make music at the intersection of family, nostalgia, and the kind of punk rock energy that only comes from a few years of hard-earned experience.
ATN: Congratulations on the release of On The List! You mentioned this EP represents a meeting of the past and present. How do you feel your sound has evolved since your previous band, Jimmy Junk Bird and the Stiffs?
Jessie: I think the riffs I wrote for Jimmy Junk Bird were more metallic, and also more bass-influenced because I wrote on both bass and guitar. The music was also more intricate with key changes and time signatures, probably because I had nothing to do after work except sit around and play music lol. And of course, there was a different singer/lyricist in JJB.
In Turkey Vulture, I’m writing mainly on guitar; the music and lyrics are more of a collaboration between Jim and me. And ironically, he is writing more in a metal style and what I’m coming up with is more punk!
ATN: You’ve updated two songs from your previous band for this EP. What made you decide to revisit “Untitled” and “Harvest Moon”?
Jessie: I love the music to those songs and I didn’t want to let it go! Aside from just liking the riffs, that music is part of our history. The new lyrics to “Untitled” talk about that a bit…
And an added bonus, writing new lyrics to old music meant the work was already half done!
Jim: I’d just like to add that the music that became “Untitled” and “Harvest Moon” were part of the very first round of Junk Bird songs. I remember arranging “Untitled” like it was yesterday when in reality it has to have been 11 years ago now. So yeah…why let good songs go?
ATN: Can you elaborate on the inspiration behind “Harvest Moon” and how your experiences as parents influenced the new lyrics?
Jessie: There are gonna be Scooby Doo spoilers in here! So this movie Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, it’s the best of the three and a half Scooby Doo movies I’ve ever seen. And the monsters are REAL! These ladies who live in a haunted Louisiana mansion turn into were-cats (like werewolves, but cats) and try to drain the life force from Scooby and the gang so they can live forever.
So our toddler sons got obsessed with this movie for several months and we were watching it once or twice a day… It has an awesome soundtrack, btw…
Around this time, I got to attend an online songwriting workshop for veterans as a guest of my brother Chris, who is a Marine Corps veteran. (I am not a veteran!) The teacher was Lance Carpenter who is a country songwriter. Chris and I spent this cool, rainy afternoon at his house enjoying the workshop and I started brainstorming lyrics using a “web” strategy that Carpenter shared, on the topic of reaching middle age and not feeling like yourself anymore – missing the more energetic and aggressive version of yourself. And somehow the Scooby Doo movie and the werecats chasing immorality became involved.
The original music had Louisiana inspiration too – it was a metal re-interpretation of the blues standard “St. James Infirmary,” which you hear in the outro.
Jim: Before “Harvest Moon” had lyrics, when Jess and I were first putting it together in 2013, I always referred to it as “The Motorhead Song” because even though I am no Mikkey Dee, this piece of music had me wanna break windows like listening to Motorhead does.
ATN: “Adults Destroy” touches on climate change. What sparked that idea, and how does it reflect your personal experiences?
Jessie: It’s me. I’m the adult who’s destroying things. This song is about all the things I don’t do to save the planet. (PS: If you are interested in more music about environmentalism and how the world is going to hell in a handbasket, check out The Ghost Wolves’ new album Consumer Waste!)
My brother Chris is involved in this one too. Around Christmas 2022, our whole household had COVID; while we were stuck at home, I started going through this box of papers and photos that had been in the basement of our childhood home. I found this “magazine” that Chris and I had made in elementary school that was like an Anti-Highlights – the cover had kids protesting grown-ups, carrying signs that said things like “Poo on Grownups!” and “Adults Destroy.” So that got me thinking how right we were when we were kids…
ATN: The writing process seems collaborative between you two. Can you describe how you typically work together when crafting songs?
Jessie: Usually one of us will write the music or the lyrics, then the other one finishes the job. After that, we play through the song together a bunch of times and maybe make a Garage Band demo, which leads to any needed adjustments.
ATN: Jim, you mentioned a Bonnie and Clyde story for “Fiends Like Us”. How did that narrative influence the music and the overall vibe of the song?
Jim: I just started humming this thing, and thought it was cool so I started writing lyrics or a poem to the melody I was humming about a Bonnie and Clyde-type couple in a high speed chase from the cops, and pictured a Social Distortion meets Misfits vibe to it. Both of those bands are very influential to me, and sent it to Jess and she said, “I can write music to that and sing it!” Then it became the visual focus for the new band photos we took with Jeff Apuzzo which then announced itself as the EP opener. Maybe there will be a music video one day, who knows?
ATN: What was the recording process like for On The List, especially after a longer break from the studio?
Jim: Recording in two different studios and with two different engineers sounded kinda trippy to me in the beginning, but they both turned out to be awesome experiences and I love the juxtaposition between the two. So yeah, between that and having some brand new songs, bringing some old ones back, trying something new both in songwriting and recording, I think “On The List” is a doozy.
ATN: How did you choose the instrumentation for the EP, particularly the unique elements in “Jill the Ripper”?
Jessie: “Jill the Ripper” was the odd song out on this EP – I wrote it on upright bass way back in 2020, so it was always a folk song. I used to play in a couple folk bands back in the day and loved how the songs sounded with banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and whatever other instruments showed up to practice! So when we worked with Steve Rodgers to record it and he had a banjo on his wall, I asked if he could try adding it to the track… He took it upon himself to also add accordion, and it all came out sounding killer!
ATN: Album art can be quite significant. How did you approach the visual aspect of this EP, and what does the cover represent for you?
Jim: The cover was originally intended to be a new sticker design. We decided to record while I was in the process of drawing the thing. I really wanted to nod back at the artwork for the previous EP’s, so I knew a skull and horns had to be involved and using a giant turkey vulture head as a helmet sounds pretty metal and stuff! (laughs)
ATN: You included your kids’ scribbles on the CD face. How do you think that reflects your current life stage as musicians and parents?
Jim: We’re cleaning crayon and pen drawings off the walls now. One time the two year old was wielding an open Sharpie! “How did he get that thing!”, I yelled! Luckily, he didn’t tag the house!
ATN: How do you see the songs from On The List fitting into your live performances? Are there any particular tracks you’re excited to play?
Jessie: Pretty much anything except “Harvest Moon” because I wrote way too many lyrics and I can’t remember them lol. We actually wrote completely different music to “Jill The Ripper” for our live performances, turning it into a mash-up of “House of the Rising Sun” and another old Jimmy Junk Bird song. We performed it for the first time at our EP release show and I think the alternate take was a hit!
Jim: Yeah, maybe “Harvest Moon” can be a sound check or something.
ATN: What do you hope listeners will take away from On The List once they hear it?
Jessie: This might sound silly, but I want them to feel happy. Even though our music isn’t necessarily cheerful, we get a lot of joy and energy from writing it and playing it live. I hope our listeners will feel the same way!
Jim: Same. There’s a lot of “GO” with a palate cleanser at the end. It’s cool. I dig it. Hopefully you do too!
SAME 3 QUESTIONS WE ALWAYS ASK
ATN: Artist / band that you feel is the most underrated and why?
Jessie: Well I just spent an hour listening to Stan Rogers today, maybe our next album will be all sea shanties!
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to collaborate with and why?
Jessie: Some members of my former folk band The Shoutbacks. “Jill the Ripper” seems to be a hit, so I’ve already got another Americana song in mind. It would be great to have those guys add some instrumentation!
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to tour with and why?
Jessie: Oh man, a tour… Social Distortion because they are so influential to us and one of our favorite bands – and one of our kids’ favorite bands too! We’d have to ask them to play “Prison Bound” because the kids are ironically in love with that song. Hopefully it’s not a self-fulfilling prophecy!
Photo by Jeff Apuzzo
