J. E. Sunde’s voice has been described as “some sort of weird angel.” Listening to his vocal work on this episode of the Wild Rose Moon Radio Hour lends further understanding to that quote. Performing here with his drummer, Mike Gunvalson, and his bassist, Jeremy Bettcher, Sunde frames his songs in a 50’s country rock with a laid-back vibe. The first piece, entitled, “Clover, “ starts with a steady tom-tom beat, the vocal bouncing around in a slap-back Buddy Holly style:
We lay down in a bed of clover
Sunlight on the water and the clouds are passing over
We interpret dreams and read the signs
Try and translate their intentions for the waking mind
Jonathan’s background in philosophy and religion (University of Wisconsin/Eau Claire) comes to bear through most of his lyrics here, which highlight his attention to love, from his album, 9 songs about love. Influenced by the work of the Argentinean writer, essayist, and poet, Jorge Luis Borges, Sunde’s work can be intensely personal, symbolic, and dreamlike. What appear on the surface as simple songs, deepen, as you replay them in your mind:
Is there wisdom in that crazy desert mystic
Descending with the tablet and the fiery name of God
Or the posture of the existential skeptic
Resigned to face the forces that are red in tooth and claw
Whether playing with syntax or imagery, this is heady stuff, full of questions and the ongoing search for meaning inside the subject of love. The next song, “Sunset Strip,” a straightforward piece about broken love that just shoots straight, “Yes I did wrong but you know I confessed it, I wrote this song just to prove that I meant it.”
Love Gone to Seed, Jonathan’s first song after the break, is straight up Buddy, particularly at the chorus with the rhythmic end stops of the lyrics marching out the beat with a melodic hook that is ear worm madness:
Then you cast it to the wind
And I chased it like an idiot
To see if I could capture it
To see what I could hold
On baby
Baby hold on
I'm asking you baby please
The last song in the trio’s set is a song called, We Live Each Others Dreams. It features Jonathan’s outstanding falsetto and his equally beautiful whistle on the break. The song is dribbled out slowly unfolding in a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to our mutual humanity.
Please care for where you find yourself
It means so much to someone else
For we live each other's dreams
Also featured in the program is Indiana author and essayist, David Hoppe, reading a piece from his new book, Letters from Michiana, about pop rock singer, songwriter, and band leader, Tommy James. In addition to David’s reading, the Shoot the Moon radio show features biographical questions concerning both guests’ lives.
This episode of the show airs on October 3rd at 7 p.m. Just tune into WVPE 88.1 FM, relax and enjoy the Wild Rose Moon Radio Hour, “A Home for Humans.”