Jonny Tarr / The Rules

Soul influenced multi-instrumentalist Jonny Tarr celebrates the release of his latest Pacific Records album, The Rules, with an album release show at The Holding Company on April 7.

“The rules I am referring to, on the title track, are what some might consider the rules of love or the rules of dating,” Tarr said. “Although the song is not about one person in particular, it’s about an experience that all, or at least most of us have been through in our lives. The realization that the girl or boy who just broke up with us was out of our league. More importantly, they considered themselves out of our league. It’s about not kidding ourselves that this was going to be the likely outcome and that we should have just enjoyed it while it lasted instead of feeling sorry for ourselves.”

Tarr’s top notch band on April 7 will include Ken Dow (bass), Miles Clowminzer (drums), Matt Clowminzer (guitar), Monette Marino (percussion) and George Logemann (keyboards) with Matt Dibiase (vibraphone) sitting in. “My band are like family now,” Tarr said. “We have been very tight for a few years now and they are the best musicians I know.” He points out Logeman is the group’s latest addition. “We also play together in a Chicago Tribute band and when it came to the point where I had to admit that my keyboard playing was not good enough to be able to play and sing my songs at the same time, George was the only choice.,” Tarr said. “He always comes prepared and is a calming and confidence inspiring presence in the band.”

What sets “The Rules” apart from his previous releases? “I have been taking lessons in music production and mixing for the whole time I have been writing the songs on this release and it is my first self-produced album,” he explained. “I have a way’s to come with mixing and mastering but I am working towards being a fully self-contained music producer. I have been playing live for my main income for over ten years now and soon I want to be able to step back from a lot of those gigs to be able to add music production to my skill set,” Tarr added. “I also feel that because I had full control of everything that went into this album, it is more a distillation of what I might consider my own personal sound signature than on previous records.”

He cites a broad spectrum of artists as influences. “Sonically, there are influences from so, so many artists. From Depeche Mode, INXS, John Farnham, Chicago, The Police, Roy Ayers, Nuyorican Soul, Maxwell, Don Henley, Steely Dan, The System, Level 42, Prince, Hall and Oates, Pink Floyd, Massive Attack, Vangelis. The list goes on and on!” He notes that there is a very strong 1980s theme there. “I also always try to weave in elements from my jazz upbringing so there are lots of improvised solos and horn section features peppered in there but I am very big on electronics, too. I was introduced to a whole range of synthesizers that you can just download free from the web which are genre and era specific and they feature very prominently on the album, so I can say that my audio tutor has been a pretty big influence, too. Shout out to Matthew Bentley over there in the UK.”

What is Tarr looking forward to the most on April 7? “The Holding Company is a venue close to my heart and the vibe is always strong,” he said. “I am really looking forward to sharing the songs that my close friends and family know I have been working on full time for over a year. Special shout out to my beautiful wife Aleicia, who is one of the main reasons this record got over the line. Without her support, I might have given up more than once. It’s been an arduous process with some real big bumps in the road along the way, but I am finally there. It’s time to celebrate. and celebrate hard!” www.jonnytarr.com