"When you get a group of musicians together, all they want to do is jam.
And that's so boring!"
-Brian Eno (paraphrased)
The year was 1994, and Zurround started the way many groups do- musicians
getting together to jam, playing the occasional party. The band's first
real presence in 1995 was in the form of Surround, an improvisational and
ecclectic mix of acoustic percussion, various electronic instruments and
strange devices, performing at our then-favorite bastion of Easter holiday
debauchery- the 30th annual Minicon science fiction convention. This
group had floating members, but always included Jj Kidder and Scott
Keever.
By Easter of 1997, the second chapter of Zurround had begun. Minicon was
back, and so was Zurround. Dr. Nick was a Zurround "regular" by this
time, and with the addition of Zharachne as a vocalist, the band performed
at both Minicon and the Soap Factory's Art-a-Whirl. In July of that year,
Zurround and friends decided to descend upon the Church of the Subgenius
for their X-day drill. Caly tagged along with a saxophone in tow, came
back alive (though missing a boot), and decided to stay. Gypsy came along
as well, and returned to be our "pilot"- mixing and effects processing on
stage in real time.
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1998 came along, and it started well. In January the now 6-piece Zurround
was invited to play the First Avenue Mainstage. The show was short, but
very well received. It was followed up by a performance on the main stage
at Minicon the same year. Caly acquired Jj's Prophet 600, and yet another
keyboard had entered the band.
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The six piece Zurround at Minicon's main stage
From left to right: Scott, Nick, Gypsy, Jj, Zharachne, Caly
The summer after our '98 Minicon appearance, the Zurround lineup began to
disintigrate. First to go was Scott, leaving in part to devote more time
to his project with Lojo Russo and
Funks Grove. Gypsy decided the band
was not for him shortly thereafter. Zharachne stayed with Zurround until
March of 1999, long enough for us to perform on The Descent on Radio K.
Zurround (consisting of Jj, Nick, and Caly) was shortly brought
out of dormancy by an offer to perfom with Psychopop (oddly enough a
project Caly had left some months before) in June of 1999. We played at
the Convergence convention and gigged through the summer, at which time
Caly temporarily left the continent. She returned in time for Jj's
departure,
seeking an existence in a more temperate climate in
the Spring of 2000. Zharachne joins us again in our current lineup,
and we are pleased to have her back. Our first performance as this trio
(Zharachne, Caly, and Nick) was at the Seventh Street Entry on June 11,
2000. |
