CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!

ALL AGES

Too Many Zooz

Acid Jazz

The curious thing about being a fan of brasshouse? You're pretty much talking about being into one solitary but extremely unforgettable band: the amusingly monikered Too Many Zooz.

The musical style was "branded" by drummer King of Sludge, who recognized that there was no worthy existing classification for the New York trio, whose other two members are the equally unclassifiable Leo P (saxophone) and Matt Doe (trumpet).

"Brasshouse is a high energy musical conversation," Matt insists. "Though I honestly don't think there is a good way to describe it in words. It's about many different feelings and sounds and emotions."

Or as KOS so decisively puts it, "I don't really care about what's happening in music -- I just make art that I enjoy making."

It's exactly this indifference to convention and trend that has garnered Too Many Zooz a fanbase that KOS describes as "wide-ranging and fanatical." One of those fans? In 2016, Beyonce asked them to perform with her at the Billboard Music Awards...and it's quite possible they got just as much attention as did she.

After two years, a gazillion live performances and four EPs, their debut album Subway Gawdz (an unsubtle reference to their birth in the underground stations of NYC), was released to enthusiastic acclaim in 2016. Its sound was truly like nothing else, with inescapable grooves that take in dub, soul, funk and ska, utterly exhilarating horn blasts that shoot right up your spine, and, of course, equal doses of fun and attitude.

And right now, TMZ are riding higher than ever, surely poised for the leap into genuinely widespread international recognition that was likley inevitable since they first set foot in an NYC subway station. Indeed, following a deal with Ministry of Sound, their single "Warriors" racked up major play on Radio One (if you think you haven't heard it, when you hear it, you'll quickly realize you already have), followed by high-profile remixes from the likes of Armand Van Helden and KDA.

Then, UK sensation Jess Glynne penned lyrics and added vocals to morph the song into "So Real (Warriors)," which has been generating massive buzz while climbing the European charts. In the meanwhile, a live video for "Car Alarm" has furtively racked up more than 500K views in one week.

But surely signaling their mainstream "arrival"? A Canadian KFC commercial featured the band and their songs -- so don't be surprised if listening to their music suddenly makes you hungry.

Though they've also been up to more serious matters. Leo, in fact, was asked to play at the BBC Proms Charles Mingus tribute at a sold-out Royal Albert Hall in August 2017 -- certainly no small honor.

Yet for all this, the forward plan for Too Many Zooz, is, as ever, constant touring. The reason is simple: it's their outrageous, electrifying live performances that consistently continue to add the numbers to their growing worldwide legion of fans. Autumn 2018 will take them coast to coast, from Seattle to Houston to Philadelphia, and across Europe, with stops in Krakow, Strasbourg and Marseille, amongst others.

"I don't think there's any recording that can do a live performance justice," reckons Matt. "You'll see people of all different colors, creeds, genders, ages, sexuality at our shows. I really can't find a constant between them...besides liking our music -- haha."

But for everything that's happened in the last couple of years, the trio aren't actually all that surprised by their success.

"I always knew we had something special," Leo enthuses. "Thousands of people everyday loved our music...and I knew it would just continue to spread."

Clejan

Jam Bands

“If there was a poster child for every young violinist who secretly wishes they could forgo Bach for Eminem, Clejan (pronounced Clayjj-on) is their man. The classically trained violinist is breaking down barriers to become one of the premier violinists in the hip-hop/ Trap space. 

Like a good boy, he did what his parents wanted and played what was placed in his hands at the age of 3. But 12 years later while living in Atlanta, Clejan got a taste of a musical genre he couldn’t shake. Trap music- born out of Southern Hip Hop and Gangsta Rap. The name refers to a place where drugs are illegally sold and was as far from Mozart as could possible be. He loved it. Fueled with a desire to create, backed by years of rigorous discipline, Clejan started to blend what he learned as a classically trained violinist with hip-hop. Calling himself ‘The Trap Violinist’, Clejan, who began writing his own original songs at the age of 10 and released his first hip-hop project at 17, now has over 10 million views on TikTok for his violin cover of Trick Daddy and Lil Jon’s ‘Lets Go.’ 

But covers are just one aspect of what Clejan does. His original songs have an intense rhythm and power all on their own, and have garnered millions of streams across the world. Its not surprising that his stage name (which is also his last name) was inspired by “Clejani”, a small town in Romania known for being home to the world-renowned gypsy musical group, Taraf de Haidouks, which has produced several famed violinists. 

Clejan’s own genre of ‘Trap Violin’ takes inspiration from artists like Lindsey Stirling and the late Pop Smoke. But the source of his talent goes deeper. His energy, passion and sheer talent is in his blood, much like the musically-inspired Balkan gypsies. Listen carefully. It will stir your inner fire.”

-Hilary Stunda

NOWVIZ Magazine