2012 kicks off with a brand new release by Mr. Anonymous entitled “Champion Sound”. Jeep Macnichol a.k.a. Mr. Anonymous a.k.a. “original drummer from the ’80′s/’90′s pop jam band The Samples” teams up with Ranking Roger from The English Beat to deliver a fresh organic sound using only live drums, bass, and guitars and even live horns.
The sound behind the album is a mix of reggae, dub, soca, and jazz, and as the founder Jeep MacNichol
The sound behind the album is a mix of reggae, dub, soca, and jazz, and as the founder Jeep MacNichol
states, “my approach going into the album was to create a vibe like a mix of The Clash’s Black Market Clash and Miles Davis’s Kind Of Blue. I wanted a raw analog punk production where the singers sound like they’re sitting in the room with you.”
Over the past 2 years, Mr. Anonymous released a Live E.P., 6 singles, 5 music videos and has attained over 10,000 downloads. He has played for thousands of fans across the state of Colorado headlining and sharing the stage with acts like Thievery Corporation, Kool Keith, Anthony B, Pretty Lights as well as a reunion show with his old band The Samples for 30,000 screaming fans at Mile High Music fest.
Macnichol started his music career as founding member and drummer of the Colorado based pop/jam band The Samples. For a decade, his musical journey included 6 national album releases, national touring for 9 months a year in every venue imaginable in every state, sharing the stage with Sting, Dave Mathews, Steel Pulse, Flaming Lips, The Wailers, Sonic Youth, Blues traveler, the Horde tour, and a performance on the Jay Leno show. After 10 years, Macnichol decided it was time to follow new creative endeavors and dive into his love of Jamaican dancehall and reggae music.
In the fall of 2003, warning signals were coming from Kingston Jamaica…warnings of a musical, dancehall movement calling for new experimentation. Macnichol saw this as an opportunity not to be passed and thus the birth of his new musical persona, “Mr. Anonymous”. Under his new alias, he was ready to embark on a mission like no other!!!
Armed with an Acoustic Guitar, “Echo Box”, and Megaphone, base was quickly set up at Kingston’s famed Liguanea Club where, Ian Flemming’s classic James Bond adventure ”Dr. No” was filmed.
Contact was made with several key informants including Sly& Robbie, Bounty killer, Cutty Ranks, and Barrington Levy, as well as several underground agents including Brando and Dr. Innocent. After making contact, studios were secured and the mission commenced… The meeting of ”Guitar Driven Psychedelia” with “Dancehall Machine Gun Fire” was born!!!
The parameters for the mission were as follows… All instruments including live drums, bass, moog, electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, percussion, and megaphone were to be performed by Mr. Anonymous….Informant vocal performances all Ad Lib… No rehearsing or prewriting of lyrics… The essence of each session was to capture freeform raw energy and spontanaeity… most all performances were delivered freestyle…. thus the “Blueprint” for the Mr. Anonymous phenomenon and the debut album simply entitled “Mr. Anonymous”.
Four years later, after a brief imprisonment with an enemy organization(counterintelligence record label), Mr. Anonymous returned with “Mr. Anonymous 2″. For this mission, boundaries were pushed to “the extreme” into the “Dub” world and new contacts were made with key liasons in London England as well as Kingston Jamaica. Agents including Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling of The English Beat organization as well as Pinchers and Mega Banton(both in Kingston) and an agent from the West Coast of Africa were a handful of informers deployed. The parameters for all the performances were again works of Raw Energy and Pure Improv. Like the title of a song, from Senegal to Jupiter (by way of Kingston and London), the sound is a meeting of Dancehall Machine-Gunfire, Dub, Electro, Robotic, and Guitar Psychedelia.
The future holds no boundaries for the man with the mission… Mr. Anonymous is unstoppable!!!
~ Unknown
Hey Jeep! It’s been a long time and I’ve only recently caught up on the amazing stuff you’ve been doing. It’s been a long, long time since hanging out in Boulder with Steve D., taking advantage of youth and enjoying meals at Dots Diner. Haven’t seen you live since years ago in Chicago. I’m in Asheville, now. Would love to see you at the Orange Peel…
@BK
Word to the show in Aspen! I loved the music selections, and was probably the most fun I have had during an opening set there!
Just caught you opening for Thievery out in Aspen, and I was very impressed. You still have a little Samples vibe in these tunes. Keep em coming…..
Jeep:
You are still one of the most talented, creative and may I say, kind young men! Mom sends her love as do I.
Jeep!…wacky tunes man!..very cool vibe… check out our new stuff.Phineas J. Whoopie…we’re still kickin!
Cheers~
Dan