"Well it's hard to explain," says Teague Alexy who along with Angelo DeRosa
makes up the versatile band Spilled Milk. "Our music is very hard to categorize
because it's a culmination of our musical tastes and personalities. Jive Ass
Turkey is like fourteen different mood swings all tangled together."
'Hippie-Hip-Hop' is what first came to the mind of engineer Tracy Brown who has
also worked with Sepultura and Eek-A-Mouse. "When I first heard their demos I
could not believe how each song was completely different but still held this
strong Spilled Milk vibe that tied everything together."Teague and Angelo first met in southern New Jersey at the age of twelve. Sharing a mutual love for hip-hop, they instantly became friends and musical collaborators. For the next nine years, they would bounce in and out of many local groups frustrated with lack of dedication and input from surrounding members. Through all of this, the two of them remained together until 1994 when Teague left behind his beloved turntables and headed for the west coast with his acoustic guitar.
In a five week span in the fall of 1996 Angelo joined Teague in San Diego to record the groundbreaking "Can You Tell Me Where The Restroom Is?" and spawned the Spilled Milk sound. (The overwhelming success of "Can You Tell Me Where The Restroom Is?" was a bit of a surprise. The hastily thrown together sixty minute tape is an eclectic brew of musical madness with frequent moments of complete improvisation.)
In early October 1997 Spilled Milk again reunited in San Diego to begin work on what would eventually become Jive Ass Turkey. During a two week gathering the previous summer they laid the groundwork for a few songs and decided that recording a full length CD was inevitable (this summer gathering also produced two exhilarating although brief live shows). The first release on the album, Friends, is a perfect showcase for the groups sound. Angelo's smooth lyrical prowess is underlined by his sharp-edged organ and Teague's wah-wah guitar. The haunting chorus is a typical Spilled Milk experiment. The closest relative of 'Friends" on the album would seem to be the dynamic Rhymin' Extravaganza ("one for the heads," says DeRosa) again featuring Angelo on vocals. His two verses are backed by Teague's acoustic bassline and separated by Vermont based band DAD member Ian Alexy's extensive jazzy guitar solo. One of the more interesting curves on the winding road known as Jive Ass Turkey is the dark, melodic sound of Storm. Teague's strong, eerie vocals spiced with brother Ian's organ and Angelo's acoustic guitar riff could send timid listeners heading to the basement for shelter. Other songs of particular interest include the live studio rendition of 'Walkin In China', the simply beautiful 'Carousel', the soulful, grass roots hip-hop tune 'Substance Abuse', the radio friendly 'Twisted' and the Nyabinghi-inspired Farley Field. Farley Field was written in protest to the dismantling of a public park in Spilled Milk's hometown of Somers Point, New Jersey.
"Four Stars"----SLAMM Magazine
