Galapagos was created at the University of Oklahoma in January 2006 as the byproduct of numerous late night jam sessions between students Kiel Dehnert, Mack Burke, Scott Strandberg, and Zane Russell. Over the course of the year that followed, they jammed and jammed some more. Eventually keyboardist Adam McFarlane began to jam as well, and before anyone realized it, he was in the band too.
In January, 2007, two weeks after the five piece became reasonably official, Galapagos appeared in their first public performance, competing for a spot at the Wakarusa Music Festival. They did not win, but that was OK. Let's, they thought, take a break and practice like crazy.
Over the next three and a half months their dedication to music, and multiple, inconvenient wisdom teeth surgeries kept the shows at bay.
Galapagos re-debuted on April 14th, 2007 at New York Pizza in Norman, OK. Since then things have been going well for the band, playing like madmen in 70+ packed shows. Practicing and jamming like crazy with aims to improve musically have always been a large part of the band philosophy, so expect them to keep getting better. You can usually catch them playing around somewhere in Norman, generally at their favorite dive bar, The Deli. Every month or so, the band enjoys gathering a troupe of fifteen to twenty fellow Norman musicians to stage a raging Galapa-Deli All-Star Jam. No songs are allowed, just pure improvisation from beginning to end, making every show unique.
Galapagos released their debut studio album, Electric Shaman, in July 2008. The album was recorded/mixed by Travis Linville at DirtyBird Studios near Norman, OK and mastered by Garrett Haines at Treelady Studios in Turtle Creek, PA. All of Galapagos' live recordings are engineered/mixed by Erik Allen of Daydream Recording. This last summer they played at Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival in Lawrence, KS, Diversafest in Tulsa, OK, and the Illinois River Jam in Talequah, OK.
Galapagos went into 2009 with a new lineup and a lot of wild ideas. With music as their focus, everything else falls into place. They'll continue to rage their home base this spring and by July will look to take the show on the road, permanently. More to come...
Galapagos' current lineup is:
Mack Burke - Guitar, Vocals
Thomas Cates - Bass, Vocals
Kiel Dehnert - Drums, Vocals
Zane Russell - Guitar, Vocals
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for booking info please contact us at:
stockneezy@yahoo.com
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Galapagos playing Glow at the Fiesta Bowl (Youtube video)
Galapagos playing Wasphounds at the Fiesta Bowl (Youtube video)
JFJO returns to The Deli on September 2nd to celebrate the release of their new EP 'One Day in Brooklyn'. Catch a sneak peak of the new material and head on over to 
