Will Jeffery's Dead Butterflies EP Launch

 

Among the plethora of townie bars in the midst of Hockley lies a bijou cafe/bar called The Jamcafe and on this very evening it certainly is jammed. Tonight is the EP launch of local talent Will Jeffery with support from Simon Sharer, Cecil Grey and Timothy J Simpson. We have all attended gigs at the Jam Cafe and in our selfish little ways we hope and pray that the night is a flop so that we find a seat and enjoy the evening. It kind of makes me wonder why musicians choose the smallest venue in Nottingham to hold their EP launches then it comes to me that they're always afraid that no one will attend, this is not the case this evening as we are crammed into every nook and cranny to observe and support local talent and the evening completely belongs to Nottingham.

 

As the bar fills up the music begins, starting with intricate melodies from the wonderful Simon Sharer who was a last minute addition, swiftly followed by the hypnotically whimsical and completely ego free Cecil Grey who effortlessly and comfortably deliver acoustic/folk/french pop to delight our ears and souls. Tonight Timothy J Simpson is minus his band but still performs fantastically bringing his bluesy style and beautiful songwriting ability from the perfection of lyric “happiness smells like pear drops” making the listener smile because this is actually true, to the sadness of lines such as “I only have myself to blame cos my mama really tried”. Timothy J Simpson is the epitome of a tortured singer-songwriter soul that we all love in this day and age.

And finally the act that we are all here to see; Will Jeffery. Many people know of him as the bass player from local folk, indie act hhymn but in fact Will has been performing solo for many years and is one of the underground scenes best kept secrets– drawing you in from start to finish with his lyrical imagery of both happy and sad times past, along with his full band; the Wild Gentry. Jefferys vocal style is both gruff and gentle showing frequently commented influences; Gomez, The Beatles and Johnny Cash, from his formative student years. His musical style flits from folk to a vague sea shanty-esq sway. He holds the audience in the palm of his hand whether they can see him or not. His songs emulate his personality and melancholically sporadic narrative of the world and the people around him with the heartbreaking story of “Dorothy Jean” as a shining example.

Jefferys impeccably performed set contains songs from his first EP “The Day Off” and material from new EP “Dead Butterflies”, both of which are rich with life experiences and musicianship showing that he is a wonderful performer both as a soloist and with a full band. His band, The Wild Gentry; Ben Quine on cornet (hhymn) Fez on bass (Golden Troubadours) and Hel Lefever on violin, lift each track adding depth, soul, counter melodies and orchestration to fill the room and invoke the emotion demonstrated in the recording and production of the EP. Over all Jeffery has shown us tonight that he is definitely deserving of the title of homegrown talent which adds to the rich texture of the Nottingham music scene and most of all a fantastic start to his UK tour.

Will Jeffery's  EP Launch was at JamCafe on Friday 9th March. The “Dead Butterflies” EP is now available and highly recommended. 

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