B I O G R A P H Y 

The grandson of an Italian immigrant coal miner (and proud-and-loud son of the central Appalachian Mountains), Norway-via-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 booted right toe booms the big bass drum while the right heel keeps time on his 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).

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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.

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Laughing All the Way to the Fretex, Marinelli’s nineteenth 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 power pop trajectory, while not sacrificing the sweaty punk attack of his older, lo-fi efforts and high-energy live show.