Junk Function was born as the Eclectic Jazz Experience in 2010 as its members at the time began their senior year in high school. In 2011, the EJE released its first full-length album, "Leave It At That," which showcased a young, growing, dynamic group.
Three years and numerous lineup changes later, we're back.
As a band comprised entirely of college students from different universities in different states, breaks from school are always our time to reunite, to share the last semester's inspirations and challenges, and of course to extract those musical ideas that have been brewing in our heads for the last few months. For over three years now we have made every effort to meet up, write new music, and perform at every available opportunity. Winter break of 2013 added a new twist.
A few days after Christmas, the six of us woke up early, drove to downtown Richmond's Red Amp Audio, and recorded our first EP, "Cardinal Directions." In four hours. We only had time to play each song twice, so that's just what we did. The performances you hear on this album are just that -- performances, not overproduced, programmed samples recorded in isolation from each other. What you hear is how this band sounds when we play live. It's really a live album, and as such, it's a snapshot of where we were as a group and as individuals at the end of 2013.
"Cardinal Directions" defines our efforts to recreate the group and take it a new direction. At the same time, we decided to stay true to our roots--namely, the city and state that we love and that have loved us in return. In so doing, we decided to depict a cardinal, Virginia's state bird, on the cover. It's been a labor of love for us all, and we couldn't be happier to let the world share it with us.
credits
released September 30, 2014
Junk Function is:
Colin Greatwood: Trumpet
Logan T. Beaver: Saxophone
Michael Viray: Guitar
Tim Swartz: Bass
Steven Gizzi: Keyboards
Kendrick Smith: Drums
Produced by Tim Swartz and Steven Gizzi
Recorded at Red Amp Audio, Richmond, VA
Mixed by Tim Swartz
Mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk NYC
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