Artist description kooksville house band

Music Style make believe jazz-core

Musical Influences we have several

Similar Artists zappa meets...

Artist History 4 years old

Group Members jay, james, sean, chris, maynard, jared

Instruments guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, sampler, congas, harmonica, trumpet, trombone, handbell

Albums kazowie

Press Reviews Kazowie's Fun: Sex, food and world domination! The Other Paper Aug. 24 - 30, 2000 pp-30 "I know you're trying to come up with a three-word phrase to describe us," says Kazowie guitarist Chris Seifert. "But you see, last night, we tried. We can't. I mean, what do you call Bette Midler?" "Crap?" offers drummer Jared Keron. An argument erupts. Seifert vehemently defends Miss Midler, pointing out her tumultuous early career, when lack of respect and interest forced her to play shows in gay men's bathhouses. "I want to play a gay men's bathhouse," Keron declares. Seifert laughs. Singer/rapper/bassist Jay Donovan openly frets about what that statement will look like in print. Despite his protests, the argument rages on. Welcome to the wacky world of Kazowie. After four years, two name changes (they previously called themselves Platypus) and countless unacceptable three-word descriptive phrases, Kazowie will finally unveil their unique musical vision to the world Saturday at Little Brother's, at the CD release party for their self-titled, self-produced debut. As for a description . . . they certainly don't invite Bette Midler comparisons. The six-piece outfit (including singer/keyboardist James Jeffers, singer/trombone player Chris Maynard and singer/trumpet player Sean Fox) cranks out quirky, funky blasts of neo-jazz, swing, ska, hip-hop (though the guys prefer "slip-hop") and occasional punk vitriol. Any enterprising young band will describe itself as "eclectic," but few bands actually deserve the title. Kazowie easily does. "We go on a song-by-song basis," says Donovan, in the midst of a discussion on band influences. Frank Zappa and Tom Waits rank high among them, but Donovan freely admits to Kazowie's other great influence: food. They actually named the band "Food" to begin with, before discovering four or five other bands worldwide with the same idea. As it stands, almost every song on the CD harbors some sort of food reference, often in the title: Born on the Cob, Frank's Snowcone, the delightfully poppy Queen of the Hamburger Station. The band acknowledges the other bands who employ this ruse -- Cibo Matto comes to mind -- but as Donovan points out, the bow and arrow was invented almost simultaneously on two different continents. Humor plays an obvious role in the Kazowie mindset. Adult humor, actually, in a few cases: The narrator of Big Baby T loses his wallet to a crafty prostitute (Donovan offers a mock-terse "No comment" in explanation), while many tunes wield sly sexual overtones; keep Buttered Potato away from the little ones. Donovan even raps on occasion, though he avoids what he calls the "My dick is 20 feet long, I'm so bad I can't stand myself" gangsta mentality, instead rapping about being white and getting beaten down by the man. Can the world really take all this seriously? Should it? Maybe not, but the gentlemen of Kazowie clearly have musical talent. In addition to the genre-hopping and multi-instrumentation, they self-produced their CD at Seifert's Wavetrap studios. Their live gigs boast a stridently goofy work ethic, with prizes (at Comfest, they gave away $10,000, conveniently shredded in a cheesy U.S. mint souvenir) and other special events. For example, Saturday's show will be catered and stylishly decorated. Originally, the guys talked about a whole prom theme, with powder-blue leisure suits, ugly streamers, unflattering lighting schemes and a bucket of blood for Stephen King fans. The project ultimately demanded too much effort and too much cash. Maybe next time. Despite releasing their record on the Masonic World Domination label, these guys radiate a genuine, laid-back attitude. Unfortunately, this lies in sharp contrast to the archetypical local rock star mentality. "We know people who walk into clubs, and they expect something," Donovan admits. "I mean, come on. You're in Columbus, Ohio," Seifert adds. "Calm down." As Keron puts it: "World domination is awesome, but if you're not dominating the world and having fun, what's the point of dominating the world?" --Rob Harvilla

Location columbus, oh - USA

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