the jigsaw seen biography

by Bryan Thomas

Co-founders Dennis Davison (ex-United States of Existence) and Jonathan Lea (ex-Revolver) originally met in

1986 after Lea answered an ad Davison had placed in a local paper. Davison had been looking for a lead

guitarist to join his then-current band Playground, whose members had moved to L.A. from Maryland. The

duo's friendship flourished into a longtime partnership thereafter. In 1989, Davison and Lea disbanded

Playground and formed Jigsaw Seen. Drummer Teddy Freese (ex-Yipes!, who had a Top 100 hit with their

cover of the Beach Boys' "Darlin'," ex-Spanic Boys) joined in 1993, followed by bassist David Nolte (ex-the

Last) in 1996. They gigged around L.A., attracting the attention of the New Jersey-based Skyclad Records,

which issued their debut album, Shortcut Through Clown Alley, in 1990. This was followed by a five-song EP,

My Name Is Tom, in 1991. The band then toured the U.S. (the Smashing Pumpkins even opened for them

once). In 1993, Skyclad folded. At the time, Davison and Lea had been compiling Melody Fair: Bee Gees

Tribute, a tribute to the early Bee Gees, which featured their cover of the title track. Davison and Lea then

brought the project to the L.A.-based Eggbert Records and its successful release in 1994 led to future tribute

projects. In the mid- to late '90s, in fact, Jigsaw Seen contributed to several various-artist tribute albums. In

1995, Eggbert released a Hollies tribute album, Sing Hollies in Reverse, which featured their splendid cover

of "On a Carousel". They also recorded covers for two Del-Fi tributes: their CMJ-charting cover of "Baby

Elephant Walk" was a highlight on Del-Fi's 1996 Henry Mancini tribute Shots in the Dark; and in 1998, their

version of "Luci Baines" (originally recorded by Arthur Lee's pre-Love band, American Four) appeared on

Delphonic Sounds Today!, a compilation of contemporary artists paying tribute to vintage Del-Fi artists. Their

version of the Left Banke's "Desiree" was the lead-off track on 1999's A Tribute to the Left Banke: Shadows

Breaking Over Our Heads. Meanwhile, Jigsaw Seen had continued recording tracks for its second full-length

album; unfortunately, it would be five years before critically acclaimed Zenith would be released on the band's

own Vibro-Phonic label (a year earlier, a various-artists compilation, Listen and Learn With Vibro-Phonic, had

been issued to rave reviews). Zenith was nominated for a Best Packaging Grammy and was picked up for

distribution in the U.K. and Japan. In April 2001, Davison and Lea's acoustic tour of Great Britain resulted in a

limited-edition six-song live CD, Perfformiad I Mewn Cymru (Performance in Wales), released by

Vibro-Phonic in August 2001.

In addition to his role in Jigsaw Seen, Lea has also played with L.A. pop maven Kristian Hoffman and ex-Bongwater

vocalist/actress Ann Magnuson. He also contributed guitar to unfinished Pete Ham studio demos for the posthumous

release of 1997's 7 Park Avenue and 1999's Golders Green. Bassist David Nolte has produced and/or co-written

albums by David Gray and Maria McKee. Lea and Nolte have also played in Rufus Wainwright's and Dave Davies'

(of the Kinks) touring bands. Songs Mama Used to Sing was released in 2002.

taken from the jigsaw seen's AMG site