The Blend

1. The group was fronted by Jim "J.D." Drown, born in Biddeford, Maine in 1947. While stationed in Korea, he entertained the troops with his musical talents. In 1973, while living in New Hampshire, JD started The White Mountain National Blend with four of his good friends, Skip Smith, Donnie Pomber, Ken Holt and Steve Dore. (The name was shortened to The Blend a few years later.) The Blend was the first band to play the Portland Civic Center, as the opening act for ZZ Top. They were one of Maine's most successful groups, landing a contract with MCA Records for two albums. Drown died at the age of 55 in December, 2002. An annual "Tribute to J.D." event is held in Kennebunk to raise money for local scholarships. Their song "The Prize" is semi-known for being played of St. Louis radio station K-SHE 95 2. Founded by national slam poet/coffeehouse haunt Toussaint Morrison, The Blend is a five-piece concoction of working-class ruffians who infuse hip-hop with jazz, rock with Bach, and politics with pleasure. (And some punky blues thrown in to keep the devils at bay.) The result? A slow-roasted, genre-defying blend of musical influences more restive than a triple shot of espresso. Call it hip-hop, call it slam-dance poetry, call it whatever you want-- just don’t call it emo. (Seriously. Don’t.) Weaving veracious lyrics through billows of gorgeous noise, the Blend has been deemed worthy enough to appear with the likes of Atmosphere, Saliva, Story of the Year, Mike Jones, P.O.S, and Brother Ali. This should come as no surprise, as The Blend is one of the most talented bands in the country, not according to their landlords. Their ever-widening fan base and nationwide network of co-conspirators is a testament to their immense stage presence, compelling sound,and perverse willingness to traverse the country in a deteriorating mini-bus that gets 8 miles a gallon downhill. Despite receiving press from (The) USA Today, The Blend has yet to be discovered by the arbiters of musical taste. (Hint, hint.) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.