Karmic Juggernaut
Karmic Juggernaut | |
|---|---|
 Karmic Juggernaut at Rockwood Music Hall, on 5 April 2019. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | K-Juggs |
| Origin | Wall, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock, progressive rock |
| Years active | 2004–current |
| Labels | WKRM The Kream |
| Associated acts | We Used to Cut the Grass, Thank You Scientist, Bone & Marrow, Homeless Apians |
| Website | karmicjuggernaut |
| Members | Kevin Grossman Jake Hughes James McCaffrey Cody McCorry Randy Preston Daimon Santa Maria |
Karmic Juggernaut is an American rock band from New Jersey.
History[edit]
Karmic Juggernaut is a progressive psychedelic rock sextet from Wall Township, New Jersey, that formed in 2004 while several of the members were attending Wall High School. The three original members are Kevin Grossman, James McCaffrey and Randy Preston. Grossman recalls in an interview with The Outlook, that after winning a high school Battle of the Bands concert, they "made a sick demo and sold it to everyone in the high school," and that the recording got the band their first gig at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[1] The band currently consists of drummer Grossman, keyboardist Jake Hughes, vocalist and guitarist McCaffrey, bassist Cody McCorry, guitarist Preston and vocalist Daimon Santa Maria.[2] The band has been the recipient of ten Asbury Park Music Awards, for top instrumental categories.[3] They draw comparison to the music of the progressive rock band Yes, the rock and jazz fusion singer-songwriter Frank Zappa, the experimental metal band Mr. Bungle, the psychedelic rock band Gong, the progressive hard rock band Rush, the fuck rock jam band Umphrey's McGee, and the alternative metal band Primus.[1]
Karmic Juggernaut is recognized by the Courier-Post and The New York Times for their blend of psychedelic and progressive rock, with jazz, blues and funk accompaniments, and their live improvisations, with loud, fast and experimental jams.[4][5] A review of a 2014 concert by Speak Into My Good Eye notes that Karmic Juggernaut "excel[s] in the improvisatory arts [and] floored the audience, bringing them to their knees," and adds, "as far as I'm concerned, no one else in Asbury Park should be allowed to play a pedal tone, and nor should audiences accept it – it'd only be a second-rate knock-off."[3] Grossman notes in an interview with The Pop Break, that "it feels the best when we improvise well. It's an out of body experience, and when the audience is right there with us, hanging on every note, it feels like the mothership is taking off."[6]
Karmic Juggernaut's four-track 2012 EP was self-released, on 1 January 2012. The fourth song on the EP, "Oo Wah Hoo", was video recorded and taped in various spots of New Jersey, using Grossman's solar powered mobile recording studio, Sun Lab Studio. The music video for "Oo Wah Hoo" was released on 10 March 2012, and contains footage of the band recording the music in various wooded outdoor locations. A review by Matt Ascone for Speak Into My Good Eye says "K-Juggs dares to explore what happens when a band combines Hard-Rock sensibilities with a willingness to let go and explore the unknown. "Guacamole Genie" features intricate guitar work, growling vocals, precise harmonies, and stop-on-a-dime tempo changes."[7] In 2014, the band released the music video for "Transgressions", which was also recorded and filmed using the Sun Lab Studio in conjunction with Telefunken microphones. Bassist McCorry of the band We Used to Cut the Grass, and later of Thank You Scientist, replaced Zach Westfall around this time, as Westfall was touring with singer/songwriter Nicole Atkins. With McCorry, the Sun Lab Studio was filmed for a 2015 episode of the television channel PBS' show, Driving Jersey.[6] Karmic Juggernaut's second EP, the four-track Great Again!, was released on 23 July 2017.
The Dreams that Stuff Are Made Of[edit]
Following a one-night performance of Yes' 1971 album Close to the Edge, Bone & Marrow vocalist Daimon Santa Maria and Hive Mind keyboardist Jake Hughes joined Karmic Juggernaut. With the new lineup, Karmic Juggernaut recorded their debut thirteen-track album, The Dreams that Stuff Are Made Of, which was self-released on compact disc and digital download on 1 June 2018. Recorded at the band's own studio, The Hangar in Wall Township, New Jersey, the group was augmented with trombonist Ian Gray, trumpeter Joe Gullace and mallet percussionist AJ Merlino. It garnered praises from Dream Theater drummer, Mike Portnoy, and Jersey Beat, who calls the record "sprawling, fearless psychedelic rock [that] can be playful or rocking, and often a swirling combination of both."[2][8]
Members[edit]
- Kevin Grossman – drums, percussion and handpan
- Jake Hughes – keyboards
- James McCaffrey – guitar and vocals
- Cody McCorry – bass, theremin and saw
- Randy Preston – guitar and vocals
- Daimon Santa Maria – vocals and flute
Past members[edit]
- Andrew Black – bass
- Brian Gearty – bass
- Marcus Morieko – bass
- Zach Westfall – bass
Discography[edit]
- Albums
- EPs
- 2012 EP (2012)
- Great Again! (2017)
References[edit]
- Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kumpf 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Quinlan 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nuse 2014.
- ↑ Milke 2015.
- ↑ Lipp 2016.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bodkin 2014.
- ↑ Ascone 2012a.
- ↑ Portnoy 2018.
- Bibliography
- Ascone, Matt (4 January 2012), "Karmic Juggernaut Drops First Single Off New EP, Releasing It Saturday At Paul's Tavern", Speak Into My Good Eye, retrieved 24 March 2019
- Ascone, Matt (22 November 2012), "The Shakedown Source: Thankful For Phish & Karmic Juggernaut", Speak Into My Good Eye, retrieved 24 March 2019
- Bodkin, Bill (15 September 2014), "Happy Mondays Interview Series: Karmic Juggernaut", The Pop Break, retrieved 24 March 2019
- Kumpf, Diana (8 February 2012), "University Alumni Rocks With Karmic Juggernaut", The Outlook, 80, retrieved 24 March 2019
- Lipp, Eric (5 July 2016), "New Beach Destination on the Jersey Shore? Asbury Park", The New York Times, retrieved 24 March 2019
- Milke, Jean (9 April 2015), "5 must-catch Asbury Park Music in Film Festival concerts", Courier-Post, retrieved 24 March 2019
- Nuse, B. (22 December 2014), "Lost & Found Reviews: Karmic Juggernaut and Marco Benevento Played the Saint", Speak Into My Good Eye, retrieved 24 March 2019
- Portnoy, Mike (5 June 2018), "Karmic Juggernaut", Facebook, archived from the original on 27 March 2019
- Quinlan, Rich (2018), "Karmic Juggernaut - The Dreams that Stuff Are Made Of", Jersey Beat, archived from the original on 4 December 2018
External links[edit]
Media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]] at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
- Karmic Juggernaut discography at Discogs
