J. MARINELLI

 Marinelli is a true talent... a refreshing change of pace from the over-produced, processed, homogenized crap shoved down our throats on a daily basis.
 - Punk Planet
 

…somewhere between Guided by Voices, a lost mountain troubadour and a classic 70’s punk outfit from your dreams.
- Subversive

...joyous anthems of personal resistance.
 - RVA Magazine


(J. Marinelli’s) style on Stray Volts has transcended one-man band songwriting.”
- Razorcake

Hearts raced and his set careened at times to breaking points where you would have no idea if he’d just kick a hole in the bass drum or what. All this by one guy sitting down behind a drum set with a guitar and going full on. This is what rock n’ roll is about!
- Buddyhead

​

...unsophisticated basement brilliance. 
- Jersey Beat
 

Twisted one-man-band mayhem that's part Billy Childish, part Hank Williams, part Daniel Johnston and all fun and weird.

-  The Washington Post
 

...sounds like the funnest maddest person that you know picking you up and swinging you around the room while simultaneously explaining to you the most important secrets of existence and mysteries of life. - Little Gem

 

 

The grandson of an Italian immigrant coal miner (and proud-and-loud son of the central Appalachian Mountains),  Morgantown, West Virginia punk-folk troubadour J. Marinelli has taken the do-it-yourself idea to its furthest extreme.

That is to say, he’s his own band; after cutting his teeth in ‘90s and ‘00s punk notables Samuel and Les Trois Malheures our boy abandoned the notion of a backing band, and decided to do the dirty deed his damn self.

​

Thus: a Doc Martened right toe booms the big bass drum while the right heel keeps time on his humble hi-hat. His left foot snaps a snare, while his veined and gnarled hands grapple and grip the well- worn neck of a sturdy silverflake six-string -- barehandedly smacking a cymbal between syncopated strums.

He tops this well-edited Gotterdammerung with a crackling croon of a voice that recalls the forgotten apex of every aging lo-fi junkie’s vinyl collection (for you trainspotting music nerd-types, imagine the Fall, Billy Childish, the Urinals, and Guided by Voices filtered through the dusty arcana of early 20th century American folk music).

​

The end result is a swirling, sweaty, self-contained cauldron of sound and (e)motion. Tones at once familiar and strange: texture and tumult, punk and folk, sweetness and skronk, avant-garde and avant-garage. By the end of the set, you’re as exhausted and exhilarated as he is – eyes bulging and red, hair matted with perspiration, mind aglow with the possibilities of what a shy Appalachian can do if he puts his mind, heart, and back to it.

After bringing his one-man roots-punk juggernaut to the endless sprawl of his home country, Marinelli has recently completed three tours of Europe -- charming audiences in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway.

​

Laughing All the Way to the Fretex, Marinelli’s newest LP, and 19th release since 2006, was recorded via eight-track reel-to-reel at Studio Anatomy in Traverse City, Michigan by T.J. Hall (Tolerater, Parking Lots) and stands as his most mature release to date. While snugly fitting into Marinelli’s ever-expanding catalog, this release points toward a more melodic, powerpop trajectory, while not sacrificing the sweaty punk attack of his older, lo-fi efforts and now-legendary live show. 

BIOGRAPHY

UPCOMING SHOWS


Friday 19 June - ZNEDI Gallery - Trondheim, Norway
(private/socially distanced performance, w/ Skogens Rop and Kommunalt Svømmeanlegg)

Saturday 20 June - KOHI-Kulturraum - Karlsruhe, Germany
(digital performance and Q&A)



 




 

MUSIC

VIDEOS
PHOTOS

Booking: Europe

jmarinelli5@gmail.com


Booking: North America
oldmoonagency@gmail.com

 

​

CONTACT INFORMATION

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram