Jean Caffeine “is the most famous person you’ve never heard of.” Her latest single, “I Don’t Want to Kill You Anymore,” presents a nice tension between the almost punky vocal delivery and sentiment, and the hooky, more sugary retro-pop sound. Co-written with John Kovach (The Eggmen), with Zack Humphrey (Megafauna) on drums and Jon Notarthomas (Faces’ Ian McLagan) on guitar, Poprock Record describes “I Don’t Want to Kill You Anymore” as “hilarious and earworm infectious. Disguised as an homage to early 1960s girl group twee pop…This is one perfect feminist rock and roll statement, both hard-hitting and hooky…Caffeine has produced a 3 and half minute masterpiece.”
It’s accompanied by a brand new music video, featuring a mash-up of footage and stills from a lo-fi band rehearsal in her living room, a gig at Buckminster’s Cat Cafe in Buffalo, silly animal hats worn alongside bassist Angela Tran, and a cemetery in Tlaplan, Mexico City where she took part in a visual arts residency. As a mixed media artist and art educator, she teaches collage and works with layers, incorporating her artwork into videos where possible.
Jean started out as a scenester, zinester and drummer on San Francisco’s first wave punk scene in the late ‘70s. In 1980, she migrated to New York, where she worked at Danceteria where she DJ-ed. While playing in a Velvet Underground cover band at Club 57, she was recruited by Ann Magnuson to drum for Pulsallama, a theatrical percussive buzz band who opened shows for The Clash. When Pulsallama disbanded, Jean joined Clambake featuring Grammy nominee Holly George-Warren. Following a move to Austin, she fronted an alternative country band, Jean Caffeine’s All-Nite Truckstop.