Coleman
Jolley

COMPOSER · VOCALIST · PROGRAMMER · PRODUCER

Coleman
Jolley

punk. rock. rap. avant-garde. jazz. Bakersfield to LA to PDX,
1978 to now.

LISTEN ON BANDCAMPHEAR The Lizerds “IS IT LATE?”
Black-and-white portrait of Coleman Jolley

THE LIZERDS · 7-INCH SINGLE · 1981

Center label of the Lizerds 45 “Is It Late?” on Demos-Tones Records

Is It Late?

b/w Out Of My Hands

The Lizerds recorded both songs in November 1980, and the 45 came out in January 1981 on Demos-Tones Records. Cole played guitar & sang. In 2010, for its 30th anniversary, the single was digitally remastered by Grammy-winning mastering engineer and producer Andreas Meyer. That remaster is the version streaming on YouTube and the other streaming services. More than four decades later, it still gets airplay.
Demos-Tones is the label for all my work.

RECORDED
November 1980
RELEASED
January 1981
LABEL
Demos-Tones Records
STREAM BOTH SIDES ON YOUTUBE
Young Coleman playing guitar at a microphone, a large shadow on the wall behind him
Cole with The Lizerds, live at an outdoor event in Bakersfield, December 1979.

LISTEN

ONE ARTIST, MANY DIRECTIONS.

Pick a door. The solo releases are all on Bandcamp, from Demos-Tones Records.

PUNK

Is It Late?

The Lizerds · 1981

Where it started. Both sides of the 45.

PLAY ON YOUTUBE

ROCK

Black Salt

Album · 2015

Classic Rock to New Wave and Acoustic stylings, all original content. 

PLAY ON BANDCAMP

AMBIENT · ELECTRONIC

Monotude

Album · 2012

Digital and analog synthesis, from the space between what is public and what is private. Meant for headphones.

PLAY ON BANDCAMP

AVANT-GARDE · JAZZ

Recent Recordings

Album · 2013

Piano improvisation, a somber requiem and avant garde.

PLAY ON BANDCAMP

RAP

EROTIC CITY RAP

DJ Flash and The Future MC’s · 1984

Synths and programming for pioneering West Coast rap artists, The Future MC's.

PLAY ON SOUNDCLOUD
Kissing Jane: four young men in coats lit hard against a black night sky
Kissing Jane, Bakersfield, late 1985. Left to right: Dan Graeff (drums and percussion), Coleman Jolley (guitar, keyboards, vocals; back to camera), Scott Sturtevant (vocals), Chris Candelaria (bass).

ALONG THE WAY

Bands, crews and records

  1. [1979–1981]

    The Lizerds

    GUITAR

    Bakersfield cult punk. One 45, “Is It Late?”, 1981.

  2. [1985–1987]

    Kissing Jane

    GUITAR · KEYBOARDS · VOCALS

    Bakersfield synth pioneers.

  3. [1982–1986]

    DJ Flash and The Future MC’s

    SYNTHESIZERS · PROGRAMMING

    One of the early West Coast rap crews.

  4. [1990–1994]

    Orange

    SYNTHESIZERS · GRAPHICS

    Live performances with San Francisco shoegaze band featuring Sonya Waters. Contributed graphics for debut release on Saint Marie Records in 1994.

  5. [1990–1992]

    Lulu & The Atomics

    GUITARS

    Bay Area pub and event favorites spotlighting vocalists Lulu Lewis and Ronnie Jay of SF new wave legends, The Lloyds. 

  6. [2010–now]

    SOLO WORKS  -  (ON DEMOS-TONES RECORDS)

    EVERYTHING

    featuring albums Monotude, Recent Recordings, and Black Salt.

Coleman at a Yamaha keyboard in a wood-paneled 1980s recording studio
Coleman at Leon Haywood’s private studio, South Central Los Angeles, 1986.

BEYOND THE MUSIC

Away from the studio, I work in fields of data analysis, engineering and networking. In 1995, I was profiled in Dan Janal’s book 101 Businesses You Can Start on the Internet.

Coleman Jolley seated on a stool with an acoustic guitar
Coleman Jolley, 2015.

NOW

NOW IN PORTLAND PDX.

Still writing, still recording, still releasing on Demos-Tones. For collaborations, licensing, interviews, or just to say you found a copy of the Lizerds 45, write to:

operator@colemanjolley.com
BANDCAMP SOUNDCLOUD YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM