Music Reviews
All-star debut CD by Panks
By Bill MeredithReprinted from The Palm Beach Post - March 4, 2005
Lake Worth singer and acoustic guitarist Jonathan Panks spent more than a decade in the local duo Savana, with violinist Kimberly Jaffar, before finally recording his debut solo CD. Yet the independently released 50,000 Buffalo (available through www.jonathanpanks.com) proves worth the wait through an all-star supporting cast and stellar production.
Much of the disc's great sound is because of engineer Phil McArthur, who co-produced and recorded it at his Major Audio Creations studio in West Palm Beach. The opening tracks, Somewhere in Carolina and Ohio, exhibit Panks' Americana themes - plus a mix of country, pop and bluegrass elements that liken him to a male version of Alison Krauss.
Two of Panks' award-winning songs appear on 50,000 Buffalo. The versatile McArthur plays bass, violin, accordion and dulcimer on Gettysburg, which placed near the top of a Billboard magazine-sponsored songwriting contest. On the Cajun-flavored Ziggy Mo, which did the same in a similar contest in Nashville, guitarist Tom Lippincott solos over the foundation provided by McArthur's bass and John Yarling's drums.
Other South Florida all-stars include backing vocalist Adriana Samargia, saxophonist John Michalak, keyboardists Michael Neale and Bob Taylor, and percussionists David Schanzer and Michael Moses. The dramatic closing title track, featuring additional contributions by electric guitarist Randy Bernsen, lap steel guitarist Charlie Cowles, and drummer Ettienne Fuentes, concludes what Panks calls "the album I've been waiting to put out my whole life."
See Jonathan Panks from 9:30 p.m.-midnight every Monday at the Bull Bar, 2 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach (561-274-8001), and from 6-9 p.m. every Thursday at the Sugar Cane Island Bistro, 353 U.S. 1 in Jupiter (561-743-4177). The CD release parties for 50,000 Buffalo take place from 8 p.m.-midnight Monday at the Bull Bar, and from 7-10 p.m. March 25 at the Sugarcane Island Bistro.
Jonathan Panks on his own
(with lots of friends)with new CD
By Skip SheffieldReprinted from The Boca News - February 24, 2005
50,000 Buffalo is a distillation of everything Parks has been doing for the past 20 years or so, from historic Americana to love songs. You could call it a "greatest hits" compilation, but it also contains some recently composed, post-Savana music.
Mixed and mastered by Phil McArthur at Major Audio Creations in West Palm Beach, 50,000 Buffalo is Panks' highest quality recording to date, and it features some of the finest vocals of the maturing artist. Panks has also assembled a stable of excellent backup singers and musicians.
Panks has been practicing yoga since 1993 and teaching since 1997, and his newer songs reflect his newfound inner peace and harmony. "Dolphin Man" is based on an actual character, now deceased. "Love So Bad" and "You are the Moon" were written with old friend and frequent collaborator, John Keller.
"I'm responsible for every dot and key," says Panks proudly. "I blended the vocals, and if they didn't come out right, we re-recorded them. It's all about trying to craft a song." Panks has moved into nonstandard guitar tunings as well, as evidence on "You are the Moon " "Ohio" and "Johnny Spirit". Panks has worked up a live solo act in which he plays alternately on three guitars with different open tunings.
For more information, call (561) 686-7000 or visit www.jonathanpanks.com