Jefferson Jackson "J.J." Jammer, lead guitarist for the Buttocks, JJJammers, Sudden Urgence, and many other groups, was born February 31, 1967 in Rockville, Maryland and died December 10, 1997 on the Capital Beltway in Washington D.C.. J.J.'s early life is not too clear. The first time he picked up a guitar was February 1983, and suddenly, he could play, "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In." He began to take lessons in September of 1983, after recording the first two JJJammers albums. Ironically, the first song he learned was Hendrix's "Hey Joe", which the Jammers had covered on their first album, weeks before.
The JJJammers consisted of "Little" Dick Beater and J.J.. They cut five albums, all of which went gold more than twice. Extreme luck followed J.J., as the Jammers were accepted into the Ted Chain, and were picked from the over 100 groups in the chain to form the Buttocks. During the period from September 1983 to the Butt Festival in December, J.J.'s guitar skills had been increasing rapidly, with an unbelievable 7000 chord vocabulary acquired in those three months. His appearance at the Butt Festival, instilled a new respect toward J.J. into the audience. After the Festival, the Jammers continued, going strong, and benefitting from the tremendous publicity at the Festival. Record stores were having problems keeping Jammers records in stock. "The Original" went multi-platinum, with sales of over 17 billion in one month. This beat the previous record of 20 million in two weeks, set by the Ted Team's Premier album. "Every man, woman, and child in the US has bought a copy of ["The Original"] and I wish I was their agent," said Vito Crannelly, agent for many of the Ted Chain bands. J.J.'s reply, "I run this band, and that's final!!"
From the Festival to the end of their career, the Jammers moved into a different class of music. Their success caused J.J.'s addiction to everything in existence. Swaying toward Satanism, J.J.'s band cut "Black Sabbath" and "Narrow Escape", reflecting their new Satanic and drug crazed period. The albums they had cut immediately before the Festival (Vols. I & II) were an emphasis on musical creativity that became the driving force for the band. The public enjoyed the local and national events criticized on the albums.
The fall of the Jammers came when Beater was killed. Since the Jammers' music had been taking a steady decline, it was probably fortunate that the band ended.
While J.J. was playing for (or with perhaps) the Buttocks, he brought in many of the philosophies observed by the Jammers. After Beater was kicked out of the Buttocks (after the second album), J.J. and Ted became the foundation for the band. From the second album to the present, the Buttocks' style and professionalism has increased steadily. This is undoubtedly due to dropping Beater. Ted did try cutting some solo albums, but he says, "I just can't do it by myself, without a band to back me up. Too much time is spent perfecting the overdubs in a solo album."
J.J. has been a member of many bands during the Buttocks reign. He fronted Vomit, with many other noted musicians. A spin off of Vomit consisting of Jack Anus and J.J., polluted the scene as Sudden Urgence. Sudden Urgence produced three albums that unfortunately came out with poor sound quality. The most likely excuse is that the long and involved sessions produced so much body heat that the master tapes were damaged. J.J. also fronted Trashed Davenport, Iron Fruit Fly, Sons of Satan, and Iron Cow. All of these bands met similar deaths, and as usual, it is rumored that Scott Bath Key had more than a little to do with it all.
After the death of "Little" Dick (dare I say "Bonham") Beater, J.J. moved slowly away from a Satanic theme, to a more mellow outlook. This is demonstrated in the Buttocks' "Fall on Uranus" album. His change is undoubtedly due to Ted's new ideals for the Buttocks. Although Possession Chronicle, a highly Satanic song, lives on, the band admits that the Chronicle does not reflect any part of their philosophy.
(above written 4/20/85)
At J.J.'s funeral, Ted presented the following list that was compiled by J.J.'s friends within the Chain. The list compares J.J.'s unique style with other musicians, both professional and amateur.
More info can be found in Jack Anus' interview, and in the Special Report covering J.J.'s death.