Jeffrey Novak

Growing up in Tennessee, Jeffrey Novak took up vocals and guitar while participating in punk groups as a teenager. Among those early outfits were Jeffrey Novak's One Man Band and the ultra-raw Rat Traps. Once the latter project disbanded in 2006, Novak launched Cheap Time. Initially the new band channeled a Redd Kross-inspired hard-rock approach, yet a change in the rhythm section steered the music toward power pop and glam trappings. Between 2008 and 2012 the group issued three albums on In the Red—Cheap Time, Fantastic Explanations [And Similar Situations], and Wallpaper Music—while Novak simultaneously cut solo tracks on which he performed every instrument himself. Although these pieces stayed close to Cheap Time’s power-pop foundation, they allowed him to explore the Kinks and Bowie-style pop side of his interests in greater depth. The After the Ball LP appeared in 2009, accompanied by the singles “Home Sweet Home” and “One of a Kind.”

Baron in the Trees, his next album, was tracked at Jay Reatard’s studio and became one of the final projects the producer completed before his untimely demise. Although In the Red had planned a 2010 release, the record did not surface until 2013. Later that same year Novak delivered Lemon Kid, which distilled his garage-rock leanings with Syd Barrett-influenced wispy psychedelia. In 2014 he assembled Savoy Motel, an outfit comparable to Cheap Time, recruiting Cheap Time drummer Jessica McFarland together with Heavy Cream guitarists Dillon Watson and Mimi Galbierz. The band’s self-titled debut arrived in 2016.