Zebra Junction   -   Newsletter   -   Summer 2009.

 

Greetings fellow music lovers! 

It is with heavy, heavy hearts that we announce Zebra Junction's final live show.

 This Friday, Aug 7, at Parfet Park in Golden.

This Summer marks the 10 year anniversary of Micah and Shawn forming the band know as Zebra Junction.  In that time we recorded 4 albums, made 4 trips to Europe, and played countless shows from virtually every dive bar in Denver (anyone remember The Great Divide on S. Broadway?) all the way up to a sold-out show at Red Rocks Amphitheater.  How time flies!

We will still write, record and create music together, but from different locals.  Shawn will most likely end up in France with his lovely wife Patricia.  Micah and Adrienne will most likely join a circus, traveling wherever the road may lead.  We're not ruling out reunion shows or tours, in the U.S. and Europe someday, not to mention possible performances with Josh Blue And The Hooligan Stew Revue who's debut album is due out sometime soon.  We're confident you'll love it when you hear it! 

After making the ballot for the past 5 years running, we FINALLY won top honors in the  Westword Music Showcase this year for Best Jam/Improv band!  Among the winners in other genres are people we've done shows with and greatly admire: Ian Cooke, Something Underground, and Paper Bird.  We wish you all the success in the world!
  
A VERY special thanks to Mike Whalen who joined the group from 2001-04 and contributed his songs to our first album Orange Porridge.  Definitely check out his newest band Wonderlic!  Also, James Han, who was a member for a year and played his magical keys on our last 3 albums.  You can check him out performing with Bela Karoli and The Wheel these days.
 
Thanks to Oakhurst for being the first to cover our songs and showing us the ropes on our first "proper" tour.  We'll never forget living on that double decker tour bus with you guys in Europe!  So many songs came together on that trip.
 
Thanks to The Junkettes (Adrienne and Fannie) for bringing so much class n' sass to our live shows the past 2 years.
 
Thanks to Marlo and Kit at The Olde Town Pickin' Parlor in Arvada for giving us jobs 10 years ago and allowing us to practice in the store after hours and inspiring our unique approach to music.
 
So many have touched, helped and inspired us over the past decade.  Thank you Ivan Suvanjieff and Peace Jam, Dwight Mark, Richard Castaldo, Edward Dick, Mark Hutchinson, The Clam Daddy's!!!!, Erik Dyce, Patou, Nate Norris, Thomas Love, Erik Palmer, Scott Robinette, Mark Backus, Rhonda Smith, Erin and Hunter Shumaker, our students, Ed Edwards, Randy Rigby, Gus Skinas, Dan Polizzi, Bobbie's in Leadville, The Appaloosa, The D-Note, Eric and Amy Matelski, Nicole Torres, Ken Arkind, Ted Vaca and the Denver Slam Team, Jake Schroeder, Bob Wall, Armando Zuppa, Anna Mack, Marc 'Nahtass' W., Daniel Plym, Josh Blue, Yuko and Simon, Bill Swartz, Chad Swiercinsky, Rob Hall, Phil and Stacy Whalen, Boulder Acoustic Society, Morris Beegle, Steve Gaskin, Dave Barber, Gene Hayworth, Ma and Pa Lundy, Myles Lundy, Chris Lawhead, Pedro and Alex Castano, Ron Gordon and the Walnut Room, Glenn Isle Resort Cabins, Sharon Rawles, KRFC, Fred and Jackie Holzhauer, Roxanne Staples, Justin Dinay, Laura Goldhamer, Matt Kirk, Roger Beauchamp, Taylor Grant, Tasha King, and of course our teacher and mentor... Zeb himself aka Thommy Knox.  I'm sure we're missing several people and you know who you are.  THANK YOU ALL!!
  
We hope you'll continue to enjoy our recordings and look out for future projects down the road.  If you don't have all of our albums yet you can go to Zebra Merch and get hooked up straight away, or come see us This Friday, Aug 7, at Parfet Park in Golden..

 
We also hope that we inspired you a little and that you will pass it on.
 
All the best!
 
Shawn "Flitz Alan" Palmer and Micah Lundy

Birthday Extravaganza!!!   Music!!!   Comedy!!!   Burlesque!!!   Live Art!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a link to the full show info, which includes a Promo Video of Josh Blue:  http://community.icontact.com/p/zebrajunction/newsletters/zebrajunction/posts/zjs-spring-newsletter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Flitz and Micah happen to share the same birthday, which falls on a Friday this year - and that calls for a big ol party!  March 27 at the Toad Tavern, 5302 S. Federal Circle, Littleton, CO, 80123  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   The night will feature 2 sets of music by Zebra J  ~~~~~~~~  The debut viewing of Comedy Central Presents: Josh Blue (8:30 - 9pm).  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Burlesque by The Shimmy Shakin, Bumpin Grindin Varietease of Midnite Martini, Peggy Tulane, and The Junkettes (Miss Adrienne and Fannie Spankings).  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Music by Zebra Junction and friends.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Live Art by Eric Matelski and Friends.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Doors at 7:00, show starts at 8:00 pm




 

We posted three new recordings on our site.  hope you enjoy them~~~~~~~~
Tree Leave and Zeb first appeared on our 2005 album Waterborne.
We had the great opportunity to record our 2007 live show at Red Rocks Ampitheatre, where we recorded these songs.  Zeb features James Han on keys and Chris Lawhead on flute and scat.~~~~~~~~~~
Dream a Little Dream is an ol' classic, who doesn't love this tune!?!
We recorded this live at our studio in 2008.  If you catch a live show, you may be lucky enough to see the lovely Junkettes perform this song with us.~~~~~~~~~~
Check out our Listen Page to hear three other new recordings!

June 19 issue of the Boulder Weekly
The Americana Dream
Denver duo Zebra Junction brings music, mayhem and burlesque dancers to the stage
by Erica Grossman

The May 14 CD-release show for Denver duo Zebra Junction started off like any other concert. I walked into a room of loud music and headed straight to the bar. While waiting for my beer, I listened to the band. They sounded even larger than their studio album, a welcomed surprise from a two-piece outfit. They were playing a track from their latest release, Pomme de Terre, an album that combines old-timey anecdotal lyrics and a rolling barrage of jugband instruments.

But as I rounded the corner, beverage in hand, I was caught off guard. The visual on stage wasn't the down-home image I was expecting. Though the band, comprised of Micah Lundy and Shawn "Flitz Alan" Palmer, were playing feverishly with piles of instruments and gadgets at their feet, they weren't alone. Actually, they weren't even centered. At the front of the stage were two ladies known as The Junkettes. The Junkettes are a fishnet-laden pair of dancers, reminiscent of the Betty Page pin-up girls of the '50s. Their role in the band is generally that of movers and shakers, and that night they danced in a burlesque manner and showcased their acrobatic skills on a giant ring hanging from the ceiling. The Junkettes were later joined by Lil Miss Firefly, a woman who touts herself as "The Midget of Mischief and Mayhem." At 27-inches tall, she is a touring firebreather and glasswalker, and seems to fit in with The Junkettes like peaches and cream.

The music fed off of this circus-style atmosphere, warping traditional melodies with warbles and percussion. But the compositions were always concise. Several songs later, comedian Josh Blue of Last Comic Standing acclaim was invited on stage to help with the performance. He didn't tell jokes, though. He simply played the toy piano and aided in the entertainment.

And this is how the evening went. It wasn't the typical avant-garde experience, with hipsters tapping their feet in unison, breaking only for the occasional head bob or sing-a-long. Instead, I was an active audience participant in a vaudeville spectacle, some sort of bewildering showcase of pure entertainment.

I have been told that Zebra Junction is an Americana band, but, quite honestly, I'm not sure what that particular label means anymore. My confusion started last year while reading a Denver music survey that categorized local groups by genre. Under the Americana category were several bands whose music didn't seem to relate at all. I knew some of the musicians pretty well and would never ever have described them as Americana. These were rock 'n' roll bands or, at the very least, some sub-category of rock: indie, alt, punk, whatever. They featured electric guitars, loud distortion and confessional lyrics — aspects that, in my mind, defined them as modern rock 'n' roll outfits.

Since that time, I've seen many bands adopt that label, and even more music journalists use it as a descriptor. Even the Canadian-born Neil Young gets described as Americana. But what does it actually mean?

Zebra Junction isn't exactly comfortable with the category, either. "Americana is a really good general term," said Lundy during a later interview. "But the thing is that it's like an umbrella term. There are a lot of traditionalists, and people and bands and venues that cater to that. So there are certain people that are holding onto it."

But not Zebra Junction. Lundy explained that they are jazz with ukuleles, ragtime with technology, vaudeville with washboards. He even pointed out that they sometimes describe themselves as "hokodelic." But it's never as easy as plain old Americana. Altogether, Zebra Junction is more interested in the grand spectacle than they are with specific genres.

"We want people to remember the show," said Lundy. "People are less interested in watching one band do the same type of song over and over for a full set or a full night of music. And I think it's been like that from the beginning."

Unlike mainstream bands who spend all their time perfecting their music in the studio, Zebra Junction thrives on the adventure of live performance.

"We're definitely inspired by the vaudeville type of production, where you're mixing theatrics with music, and we try and keep that in our recordings as well," Lundy said. "We like our recordings to be very visual, where people can visualize things going on and a lot of times, when we're able to, we bring that to the stage."

And what could be more Americana than that?

Vaudeville has been an American pop culture mainstay since its inception in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been
embraced by the lower and middle classes and beheld by men and women alike. Vaudeville is an opportunity for the outcast to feel slightly normalized, and for the conventional to have their world turned on its head. Abnormalities are celebrated and looked upon with awe. And all of this in the name of entertainment. It's a glimpse of American history, a cultural curiosity that reflects the hopes and fears of the masses.

And being a member of the masses is something that has helped Zebra Junction build and sustain a loyal fan base.

"There are times when I just wanna hear the music," said Lundy. "But, for the most part, I want to be entertained. I want to be wowed by an amazing performer and see something I've never seen before, or see it incorporated in a way I've never seen before."

But tapping into that spirit of entertainment takes some real musical and theatrical talent. For Zebra Junction, it also means following the whims of their third band member, Zeb, an omnipresent, invisible companion. In the true vaudevillian style of the fantastic, Zeb is the muse of Zebra Junction, an integral part of the music and the act.

Lundy said that Zeb helps them channel the spirit of the band.

"Zeb is a guy that inspires us," said Lundy. "He's very worldly… he's a hobo and a vagabond who travels around, kind of like Charlie Chaplin. Everything that he does you love and you want to learn from it. So, in a lot of ways, he's our inspiration and is connected to everything we do, including performances and travel and recording and songwriting."

And so the summation of all of these facets unearths something: There is Americana in burlesque dancers and firebreathers, talented musicians and unconventional instruments, and even in an imaginary figure who whispers stories and jokes into Micah Lundy's ear while he sleeps… or something like that.

Regardless of the confinements of labeling, or even where the band might end up on a music poll, I feel like I gained some leverage in my search for a definition of Americana. Zebra Junction's eclectic tunes and sideshow stage presence pointed me to at least one conclusion. Namely, that the strange and bizarre is as American as apple pie.

CHECK OUT THE CD REVIEW OF POMME DE TERRE -BY DAVID T. PENNINGTON! Colorado Mucic Buzz- CD Review/Indie-Roots at http://www.coloradomusicbuzz.com/

Opening the jewel case for Pomme De Terre, the new Cd from Zebra Junction, my eyes were entertained by the superb artwork contributed by Nicole Torres.  As I listened to the album featuring a lineup of some of ....Denver....'s finest musical minds, I think about how this product as a whole coincides extraordinarily well.  Listening to Pomme De Terre is a breath of fresh air and the first steps in the making of a new genre.  This sonic masterpiece has timbres and tones that fill holes in new ways only the truly creative minds can.  While all the songs have been well thought out, this is an album that when you listen, you say "I'll bet they had a ton of fun recording this", especially "....Newton...." that features ....Colorado....'s own Josh Blue...

You got to get your hands on one of these CDs!
We are honored to be part of such a great compilation, which was released in September at the Brooks Center (a great show which included beautiful voices, cellos, trombones, banjos and tubs of water!).
Ask us about it if you see us, or check out any of the artists at a show.  There's a limited run, so don't wait.
http://www.myspace.com/longspoonmusic  
artists included on the Long Spoon CD: 

Wheel
Pee Pee 
Laura Goldhamer 
Team Awesome 
Rachel Pollard 
Josephine and Mouse People 
Bela Karoli 
Paper Bird 
The Tudaloos 
Picture Plane 
ZEBRA JUNCTION 
Hunter Dragon 
Abe Abraham 
Layden Bryant 
Married in berdichev 
New Denver Orchestra 
Gryph 
Roger Green 
Ian Cooke