JAZZ JUNE
I
F YOU'VE NEVER HEARD THE JAZZ JUNE BEFORE, LET
me clue you in. They are from Kutztown, Pennsylvania (no,
I've never heard of it either), and they are what you would
call emo-melodic hardcore, but that is hands down the
worst description for a band I've ever heard. Let's just call
'em rock 'n' roll. The Jazz June is Andrew Low (singin' 'n'
strummin'), Bryan Gassler (also on guitar duty), Dan O'Neil (plays
bass and is a very nice guy), Justin Max (Mr. drum & bass, minus
the bass), and Adam Gerhart (super roadie). I met up with the Jazz
June in Louisville, Kentucky, home of their new label, Initial
Records. Initial just released the "Breakdance Suburbia" limited
edition 7" and the CD version with ten tracks of 7"s, comp songs,
bonus tracks, etc. Initial will also be releasing a new Jazz June full
length in early 2000, unless we all die in the rapture, and then it will
be out sometime in late 2000. Judge not lest ye be judged.
So this is about the end of your tour?
Andrew Low: Yeah!
Did anything exciting happen?
Dan O'Neil: Other than Adam getting naked a lot? No. The shows have
been really cool; it was the first time I've ever been to California, and it blew
me away. The people in California are nice, but the driving there sucks.
AL: You get cut off a lot. You could be doing eighty-five thinking you're
tearing up the highway, and then some sports car will swerve around you
and you just head back to the slow lane.
You've been in Louisville today since 10 AM?
AL: Yeah. For a while we just sat in the van, and we went to Waffle House,
of course, 'cause it's the shit. Then we called Mark at Initial and went and
checked out the place and hung out for a while. It wasn't that bad 'cause we
came to the show at about four so we didn't have that much time to kill.
DO'N: The other day we got to Valdosta, Georgia at 11 in the morning
and we weren't playing until nine PM, and there is nothing to do in
Valdosta. It's a college town right on the border of Florida and Georgia and
there is nothing to do there. We did nothing for ten hours.
Did you get to the record store today?
I
AL: No, we didn't make it down there.
I got a Mariah Carey double 12" single-all "Honey" remixes.
AL: Wow. That sounds pretty limited, huh?
Yeah, but it looks like someone opened it and then brought it back.
AL: Once you break the seal it's never the same, but that's still pretty
crazy. I've never seen that before.
It's something you have to buy.
AL: Yeah, definitely.
DO'N: Mariah Carey-I'm one hundred percent about her.
Thirteen number-one songs.
AL: I know, she's crazy. She just won't stop.
She and Whitney Houston.
DO'N: Yeah. They did that song together on the Prince of Egypt soundtrack.
AL: Michael Jackson is probably up there with them too, right?
I'm pretty sure he has more than either of them, but as far as girls
go, Mariah's kickin' ass. She and Sean "Puffy" Combs.
AL: Hey, we could tell him about Buffy.
DO'N: Oh, Buffy.
AL: We were down in Santa Monica, where they shoot Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Shut the fuck up!
AL: So Adam's putting oil in the car and this guy came by and asked him
where he could buy some cigarettes, and Adam said, "I don't know, I'm
from Pennsylvania," and the guy said, "I'm from Boston; I'm just here 'cause
my friend is on Buffy and they're shooting it down the street." We were like,
"Holy shit!"
That's so crazy. I've got almost all the episodes on tape.
DO'N: It gets better.
AL: So we went down there and saw Sunnydale-what's the name?
Sunnydale High School.
DO'N: Yeah. We saw the tombstones and stuff too.
AL: We saw the whole town. We were driving by, and we're like, "Shit, we
have to try and get on the show." Originally we were going to have
118 THRASHER
WORDS AND PHOTO BY TYLER BORICH
Adam talk to the security
guard and we were all just
going to run through, but we
went up to him and said, "Hey,
do you think we can get on the
show?" And he said, "Nah. You
have to have backstage passes
and know someone." We
ended up talking to him and he
was a big Rush fan, so we said,
"You know, we're on tour and
stuff." We gave him a CD and
said, "Here, if you could give
this to Buffy and just tell her
that we're fans and every-
thing," and he said, "Actually,
I'll give it to the music coordi-
nator he goes around and
looks for bands to play on the
show." So we could be on Buffy
one day.
That's bad ass. Don't you
have something new coming
out with Whitney Houston?
A.L: We were gonna do this
R&B thing with her, but she
flaked out on us.
D.O'N: Yeah, Bobby Brown
didn't like the band.
The Jazz June have two full
lengths, They Love Those Who Make
the Music and The Boom, the Motion,
the Music, both released on
Workshop Records. They also have
a bunch of 7"s, which are all avail-
able on the previously mentioned
Breakdance Suburbia CD from Initial
Records in (yech) Louisville. All of
these albums should be available
from your local record store or gas
station. If you have a bone to pick
with the Jazz June you can e-mail
'em at: dunc630@kutztown.edu. Or
if you're old fashioned like me, you
can write 'em at 169 Main Street,
Kutztown, PA 19530, 'cause every-
one likes to get mail. Look for the
Jazz June at the 2000 Krazy Fest,
if the world doesn't end. Don't say
I didn't warn you. Repent, the end
is near.
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HOMER TAKES THE CLUB'S RETARDED
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STRUNG
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