Each band has a unique story about how they formed. Without question, their discovery always beings with ‘Where they were, Where they weren’t and What finally brought them to find one another’. The members have different answers for the first two but the last part -‘What brought the band together?’ - is always answered with the same pride, excitement and gratitude. Take the eclectic rock band My Jerusalem who describes their meeting by saying, “They [My Jerusalem] wandered their 40 years, collectively at least, through bands and projects that dried up to desert. Milk and honey, stale beer and cigarettes, it didn’t matter – they found their Jerusalem when they found each other”.

Founded by critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Jeff Klein, who wandered the “musical desert” as a solo artist for years, never planned on starting a collaborative band of his own. However, after playing with each member of My Jerusalem, separately, he couldn’t shake the idea of bringing each member together as one.  “I didn’t actually start out thinking of forming a band,” Klein recalls. “I’d played with all of them at different times and was like, ‘How great would it be to play with all of these people at the same time?’ And then when we did, it made perfect sense for that to be what we do. We clicked immediately.”

Clicking immediately brought forth a sound Klein describes as “Spastic Chamber Gospel Southern Gothic Indie Rock” that can only be produced from a unique bond that each member brings to the band. “We actually all genuinely love each other and get along like the best of friends. Sometimes I feel like we all have telekinetic powers. Nothing has to be spoken and we all seem to know what each other is thinking etc. It’s just easy.” Speaking from experience, Klein adds, “Playing in bands aint always easy.”

Although playing in bands can be complicated, ease does comes to mind when you listen to the songs from My Jerusalem’s latest release, “Gone For Good”, which echoes the sounds of each member’s distinctive background, stretching from the diverse rhythm of New Orleans, to the eccentric streets of Austin and the sleepless night of Los Angeles. “Almost everything we played and recorded with was duct taped together,” Klein jokes. “It’s part of our thrift store charm. I think it’s a really rich record. There are some very lush orchestrated songs and some more visceral ones. It’s a bit of all of our personalities welded together. I think if you are a fan of any of the projects we have individually been associated with before, you are going to enjoy this.” Gathering inspiration for the album came from not only their various cities but also their personal lives, Klein says, “I think we draw inspiration from the world around us. People, places, nature. All of it. Our relationships with lovers and friends and the everyday struggle to live life to the fullest.”

What took years of bouncing from band-to-band, project-to-project has brought My Jerusalem together – finally - “Gone For Good” is proof that My Jerusalem are no longer wonderers. Are they still searching? Yes. But that is the life of an artist. If you stop searching you stop creating, which is one thing that Klein can never stop doing. Every night when My Jerusalem walks on stage they make sure the crowd knows they have found their place. “There isn’t a moment where any of us don’t feel blessed to still be doing what we do. It’s really all a bit of a blur. I think it’s always good to never look back though. There will always be people that insist your early stuff is better but with any kind of fashion or art, it’s best to always just look to the future. In the end it isn’t about where you’ve been but where you’re at and where you’re going. We’ve all worked hard but are gonna work even harder… And party along the way.”

For more information on My Jerusalem, check out: ThisIsMyJerusalem.com