Forming in Boulder, CO, ZILLA has three-man roster comprised of acclaimed musicians: Michael Travis, Jamie Janover and Aaron Holstein.
Michael Travis (drums, percussion, keyboards, sampler, mallet Kat) has spent over a decade as the driving percussive force in the nationally popular band, The String Cheese Incident. Travis continues to be an innovator of improvisational drumming, managing to play hand percussion and/or melodies while simultaneously keeping incredible time with the kit.
Aaron Holstein (guitar, bass, sampler, keys) has had a long and lush musical history, playing guitar with bands such as Boogie Shoes and Vibe Squad. Holsteins progression has transformed him from the notion of a typical guitar player, to an applauded adapter leaving behind the traditional notions of what it is to jam with a guitar or bass.
Jamie Janover (hammered dulcimer, Mini-kit, electric kalimba, mini-sitar, sampler, percussion, tamboura, tongue drum, water) is a world-renowned hammered dulcimer innovator whose long list of band credits is more than impressive. Winner of the 2002 national hammered dulcimer championships, Janover continues to expand the limits of all his instruments by creating a fusion between their timeless sounds and the pertinent call of todays modern dance scene.
Influences
Tipper, Schpongle, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Bassnectar, Theivery Corporation, Karsh Kale, Ooah, Tabla Beat Science, Mark Isham, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Lymbyc System, The New Deal, S.O.T.E.G., Si Begg, Kraddy, Burningman, Hamsa Lila, The Slip, Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead, Trilok Gurtu, Jason Hann, Alan Hertz, Home At Last, eDIT, Horning's Hideout, Dave Watts, Ina, Shambhalla Music Fest., El Circo, Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Zakir Hussain, Bill Laswell, Pat Metheney ... how much sleep we each get before a gig, the time of day that it is, how much we have eaten that day...
Sounds Like
This is best left up to you... check out our music:
http://www.cagefreerecords.com/catalog/zilla/index.html
Zilla is a Colorado based trio of musicians with the live experience in mind. A 100% organic, improvised experience, each Zilla concert proves to be a completely new occurrence, with even the band members having no idea where the music will take them night after night. Relying on their uncanny ability to listen and incorporate their individual talents into a group focused brand of live electronic dance music, Zilla is sweeping the country by storm with their rare breed of beats, bass and uncontrollable musical fury making each performance exactly what live music is all about: spontaneity, grooves, and a damn good dance party.
Forming in Bolder, CO, Zilla began as a quintet before changing to its current three man roster comprised of acclaimed musicians: Michael Travis, Aaron Holstein, and Jamie Janover. Michael Travis (drums, percussion, keyboards) has spent over a decade as the driving percussive force in the nationally popular String Cheese Incident. Travis continues to be an innovator of improvisational drumming, managing to play hand percussion while simultaneously keeping incredible rhythm with a kit. Aaron Holstein (guitar, bass, sampler) has had a long and lush musical history, playing guitar with bands such as Boogie Shoes and The Vibe Squad. Holsteins progression has transformed him from the notion of a typical guitar player, to an applauded adapter leaving behind the traditional notions of what it is to jam with a guitar or bass. His playing focuses on the whole of the sound, rather than the individual instrument. Jamie Janover (hammered dulcimer, mini-kit, percussion, sampler, electric kalimba, electric sitar, mini-electric kalimba) is a world renowned hammered dulcimer wizard whose list of band credits is more than impressive. One time hammered dulcimer Player of the Year, Janover continues to expand the limits of his instruments, creating a fusion between the timeless sounds of the dulcimer and the pertinent call of todays modern dance scene.
While each individuals accomplishments are impressive, the group identity theory behind Zilla is what truly makes the band unique. The constant focus of the group is to create a whole, complete sound devoid of noodles, wanking, solos and other characteristics that plaque improvisational music today. The music strives to serve all participating, including the audience. No one in the band has any idea what is going to happen a nanosecond ahead of time; they rely on their instincts and musical history together to create a sound that rarely strives from its intended direction. The collective whole is truly the dominant force in this band.
The music itself is a plethora of grooves, beats, and highly percussive breaks which cause the listener to become engulfed within the sonic vortex of sounds encompassing them. The band plays on pure emotion, so each night is different and varied, and no song is ever the same. ZIlla is about being as aware as humanly possible when youre in the moment. The band plays, the crowd reacts, the band reacts and so on and so on. A cyclical paradigm is created in which everyone plays a part. Its a whole new form of tension-release music in which the music never has to resolve itself in order to sustain the mood. It merely adapts and heads in whatever direction dictated by the experience.
Essentailly, Zilla is the ultimate live experience. Many bands try to accomplish the amount of music communication that these three musicians employ their entire careers. This band is all about the music first, which is how it should be. The music plays the band, and not the other way around. Their infectious energy has crowds across the nation dancing up a storm to a completely new band of musical experience.
Hey ZILLA, thanks for considering us worthy of your friendship. We'll try not to let you down. Please do visit our profile and comment about how we're doing. Read about recording in our blog!
Join us in Dreamtime as we envision and embrace our deeper dreams, learn, connect and co-create in an atmosphere of celebration, participation, creative expression and community.
The 2009 Dreamtime Festival will take place July 16-20th and includes four full days of amazing performances on four stages, hundreds of cutting edge workshops, interactive theme camps and art installations, free camping and parking.
- Over 100 workshops including Henry Redcloud from the Lakota, and the Mayan oracle AumRak from Guatemala.
- Four full days of amazing performance on four stages, featuring Cheb i Sabbah, Govinda, and Lunar Fire (the wild alter ego of Kan'Nal).
- Over 18 theme camps, including Serenity, a healing village offering free massage and body work classes
- Over a half dozen art installations including the Sapphire Portal sound healing installation and a solar powered full size crashed flying saucer stage and sound system.
you guys need to drop the side projects, get together and make more music (besides sbloom) or how about recording sbloom with a few new OMG tracks, bless homies
Hey ZILLA! Just want to stop by to say thanks for being friends! Keep me in mind if you need any mastering done. All of the info is on my page and feel free to email me anytime. Only $25 per song and $100 for an EP, mix-tape, or full CD! Thanks!! Jim Wavelength MD
Thanks again for the add! We really would love to have you and your group down for a free haircut this month if you have time. As an active element of our neighborhood's scene, we will host local bands on our website and allow you to blog and post up show dates… Its not done but we will let you know when!
~ Leon
"Local's Barbershop"... Adopting the sense of community that barbershops are known for through Arts, Music and Fashion, as well as getting the best haircut service possible at an affordable price .
ArcheDream for HUMANKIND, an international black light mask and dance theater company communicates universal ideas and emotions to promote understanding and compassion. Merging ancient ritual and magical storytelling with modern technology, it unites, uplifts, and empowers.
Archedream Summer tour and Archedream W/ Shpongle Tour blowing up @ a Venue near you!
Book Shows @ your Venue today! Contact info@adhk.org
New concert video up now from EOTO. The Electronic dub step duo keep Sullivan Hall up late with cutting edge blend of live, improvised dance music. Watch the entire concert at http://www.baeblemusic.com/concertvideo/SullivanHall/EOTO.html.
