JL Stiles with band January 29, 2009

JL Stiles is just another magical and seemingly contradictory outgrowth of the smorgasbord that is San Francisco. He’s been around a while, bringing his stripped down rootsy pop music to his region and beyond and releasing some stellar original CD's, including the highly acclaimed solo acoustic masterpiece, Solo Sessions. Now, he is armed with a new EP, Landmark, that signifies a new direction for the old soul that is JL Stiles. The year has been busy for Stiles who has opened shows in 2008 for The Bodeans, Leon Redbone, Jefferson Starship and Leon Russell. On this night he'll be the headliner.

Though this New Orleans transplant can sometimes pick ragtime on his guitar and scat sing as if time-warped from the era of Scott Joplin, Stiles’ music hardly belongs in the blues and trad box, yet it hits deep. Don’t think brooding and remote, Stiles will engage you. This former San Jose Community College Mathematics instructor flows on stage with a harp rack and full grainy voice sufficient to thoroughly confuse you about math-types, not math, thank goodness.

"Music of all styles is inter-related and connected just as humanity is. And that also goes for stuff like Mathematics and music. I like to unify instead of hacking it all to pieces and creating exclusion." Says Stiles.

The result of the Stiles folk rock amalgam is a raw combination of material touching on everything from Armageddon to love, politics, humor and inspiration.

Joining Stiles on stage will be drummer Darius Minaee (Lyrics Born) and former bassist for New Monsoon, Ben Bernstein. Darius gives the mesmerizing Stiles guitar chunking a heavy groove and broad dynamic. Bernstein, who doubles on electric and stand-up bass, toes the line masterfully between simple pulse and creative melody. Altogether, it's a locked and loose outfit.

Official Website: http://www.jlstiles.com