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The Astronauts of Love
Jere, Marilyn, David, Don, Jef
Nef 'n Jef Duo
Photos by KT Lowe
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In June 2006, The
Astronauts of Love were born. Originally David's backing band,
he felt the group was too fertile with talented songwriters to relegate to
backing duties; he dropped the "David Nefesh and _(band)_ " concept
and a bonafide band was born--ripe with the songwriting and lead-vocal duties
shared between David, Jef Reynolds, Marilyn, and Jere Stormer--with the backbone
of drummer Don Gulish.
In March 2006, Jere
Stormer, nominee and/or winner of numerous Detroit Music Awards for his
guitar and songwriting skills, joined
David's band on guitars--along with prolific singer-songwriter Marilyn on
vocals--to help promote the new CD Pureheart. Bassist Jef
Reynolds & drummer Don Gulish continue their fine work in the
ensemble.
Fueled by the great response to their first duo show at Live!
at the Living Room in Pontiac in February/2006, multi-instrumentalist and
songwriter Jef Reynolds (bass,
mandolin, guitar, cello, keyboards) and David officially formed the "Nef
'n Jef" duo--
with their first show as such in Toledo, Ohio in March
2006.
David's 2nd CD "pureheart"--a folk-rock extravaganza--was
released on January 21, 2006, kicked off by a CD-release concert at Trinity
House Theatre that evening with special guest opener Billy Brandt, who also
sat in for the show on guitars along with special guest drummer Ron Pangborn.
Along with Nefesh, musicians featured on the CD include bassist Jef Reynolds (Wolfman Jack, Jo
Serrapere), drummer Ron Pangborn (Sheryl Crow, Wilson Pickett), guitarist John Devine (Jo
Serrapere), and Marilyn on backup vocals. Lauren Parlin (bass), Don Gulish
(drums), and Sandy Wynia (vocals) make guest appearances as well.
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Since mid-2003, David has done some backup work for singer- songwriter Jen
Cass on guitar and vocals at some of her shows. Her 2003 release
"Skies Burning Red" has received national attention and was produced
by John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Catie Curtis), as will her 3rd CD--due
for release in 2006.
Along with his solo and band work, David and noted Michigan
singer-songwriter Marilyn started performing as a duo in 2003--an
endeavor which joins the clarity of David's voice and tasty guitar skills with Marilyn's lush voice, harmony, and talents on guitar and violin. David is backing Marilyn on vocals and guitars on her first CD release ("The Road"), due in
2006.
In March 2003, "Stripped" received airplay in Spain, on "La
Otra Musica"-- a show on 80FM which airs in the Cadiz vicinity.
On Saturday, April 27, 2002, David
made his fourth
stop on
CFRB radio
in Toronto--on the Marty & Avrum show, with his song Heretic
Son.
In addition to his solo work, from March 2002 until January 2003, David performed as
an electric trio-- with Dave Manchel on bass and Don
Gulish on drums.
On Saturday, November 10, 2001, David made an appearance on CFRB radio in
Toronto, on the Marty & Avrum Show, singing MY OWN MARS for
legendary
Jose Feliciano and other guests.
David received two excellent national-level reviews in May 2001, by New York-based rock critic and "Rock 'n Roll Reiki Master" Gail Worley, and San Francisco's freelance music writer Joseph McCombs (see "reviews"
page). Later, Worley listed Nefesh in her column on Starpolish.com as one
of the "top ten new artists discovered in 2001."
On Saturday, February 24, 2001, David performed and was interviewed on CFRB radio in
Toronto, on the "Marty &
Avrum" food and variety show.
CFRB has the largest number of listeners in Canada. An estimated audience of over 20,000 people
listened in as Nefesh brought Michigan music to Canada.
On February 16, 2001, he was a featured musical guest on Mediaone TV, on a taping of
Krystal's Motor Town Cafe (www.motortowncafe.com) in Michigan, a comedy/music cable access show which airs in over 30 cities throughout the year in the Metro Detroit area.
David's first CD, "STRIPPED," was released on October 6th, 2000!
Stripped is a full-length, 15-song solo- acoustic project. You can purchase it through this website ("Purchase CD" page) or at one of
his shows. It's also available at the following Michigan stores: Borders Books & Music (Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, and Farmington Hills), xhedos Cafe in Ferndale, and Wendell's Records in Royal Oak.
In support of the release of "STRIPPED," Borders Books & Music sponsored
David on a Fall 2000 Tour of six of its
Metro Detroit stores, from late October through early December.
On Saturday, June 27, 1999, David performed and was interviewed on CFRB radio in Toronto, on the "MARTY & AVRUM SHOW," which airs each Saturday from 7PM-8PM.
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