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There are a countless amount of atoms floating around in the universe, most of which are fading away into nothingness or laying waste to the laws of entropy. But here on planet earth, atoms have decided to defy the laws of the universe and form together to make cells, tissue, organs, bones, muscles and brains. How you might ask? No one is really certain, and while their are a multitude of religious explanations, scientific theories and mystical interpretations for the creation of our wonderful world and the conscious mind, the members of Zmick feel it's more important to celebrate what IS and not worry about how it got here.

We're talking about the conscious mind here my friends!! What a beautiful thing!! This stuff doesn't happen every day on any other planet (at least that we're aware of). As far as we know it, this stuff that we call life, is only going down on this planet right here, and right now (and boy, what a party it is)!! The beautiful ability to process the world through our eyes, ears, mouths, noses, hands, heads, shoulders, knees and toes, using language to share our lives with each other via sound waves, and creating crazy experiences along the way; experiences that only happen once in the existence of the entire universe!! That's right my friend, you are only happening once. A completely unique individual, made up of all the same stuff everyone else is, but doing it in your own way, the way you want to do it, here and now. If that ain't something to celebrate, we couldn't tell you what is.

Now there are many ways to be reminded of how beautiful this life is. One way of putting appreciation in the forefront of our minds is by going off on a rant like the above. Another way, is through music, the most universal language on our planet. What better way is there to shed off all the subjective stresses of life, tap into our inner happy spots, and really celebrate the beauty of existence, than by listening to funky noises in moments in time that make us want to dance, sing, laugh and party!!

So that's where Zmick comes in, and that's why we do what we do. We make diverse colorful music for all walks of life, with the intention of celebrating this sweet existence we've been blessed with. We are the conduits that bring music to people that are ready to have fun, celebrate and appreciate new, interesting, funky sounds traveling through space. Some people call our shows a gathering of the vibes, some call them a spiritual release from the drama of everyday stress, some people call them a straight up funky dance party. We like to think of ourselves as a place where people can get together, celebrate life with other music appreciators, and have a dirty good time.

Anyways, here's a bit of our history...

Zmick is a progressive rock/jam band formed in early 2007 in Urbana, Illinois. The music encompasses elements of jazz, progressive rock, reggae, electronica, funk, metal, Latin and world music. Zmick writes music with the intent of bringing people together and giving them an opportunity to dance, sing, laugh and bond with other music lovers. Since 2007, Zmick has been creating a community where live music fans can congregate and enjoy life.

The band formed when Kris Ahrens, percussionist, and Dan McLean, guitarist, decided to move from Chicago to Urbana to play music with Dan Wonsover, a long time friend and self taught bassist/composer, and Jack Scheff, jazz pianist and math prodigy. The original quartet played many shows, including a Cinco De Mayo celebration at The Red Herring in Urbana.

As 2007 drew to a close, Dan McLean and Jack Scheff decided to leave the band. They were replaced by Brad Miller on guitar and Mike Donato on keyboards. Zmick also added mutual friend, BIGS, as the band's Lighting Director. BIGS has been synchronizing the light show with the music at a great majority of past Zmick shows.

As of Halloween 2009, Mike Donato is no longer the keyboardist for Zmick. The band went on hiatus from November '09 to January '10 in order to find a new keyboard player.

The newest member of Zmick, Don Rifkin, was introduced on January 15th, 2010 at Kinetic Playground in Chicago, Illinois. Don was keyboardist and lead singer of Garbage Mountain, Chicago-based Summer Camp veterans, until they disbanded. Zmick is extremely excited to have an additional vocalist and song writer on board. Zmick performed Rifkin's composition, Turtleneck (originally by Garbage Mountain), at his debut show.

All (current and former) Zmick members are huge fans of elaborately composed progressive rock and jazz and broadly appealing "catchy vocal music." Zmick has always strived to fuse the two different styles together with strong groove-orientated rhythms since the band's inception.

COME TOGETHER AND CELEBRATE THIS SWEET LIFE!!

"Somehow, someway, the universe randomly spawned one planet with life capable of making music and making love. chances are we've only got one shot at this, so let's throw caution to the breeze and have a good fuckin' time. All the while our planet will slowly evolve back into the dormant dust of the universe from which we all were created." -- Joshua S. Fisher