Blues On Stage - Zen Garage Profile

Profile
Zen Garage

Zen Garage combines traditional and contemporary blues with a cutting edge guitar team to create a great night of Roadhouse dancing and libation. Formed in the fall of 1997, Zen garage has one simple goal: get people dancing to the blues. Through the works of all time greats such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Freddy King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Tab Benoit, Zen Garage studies, combines and performs these and other soulful blues masterpieces to subcontiously draw our blues friends to our performances and most importantly to the dance floor at your location!

Guitar and vocalist Tom Harkness and bassist Tom Costello have performed together for fifteen years in local bands such as The Committee, The Carpet Knights and Beware of the Dog. Harkness who suffers dearly from "T.B.S.", ( Texas Blues Syndrome ) clearly portrays this great misfortune in his vocal and guitar style. Some say Harkness is a splitt’n image of a Texan except he owns no cowboy boots, no cowboy hat, no guns, no pickup truck and his wife’s first name doesn’t end in Bob. Costello mixes jazz with funk to create an unstoppable dance groove. So much in fact that other band members often have to stop Costello from his own funky dance after the song has ended!

Enter Jim Jimnak. Jimnak grew-up a poor blues child on the icy shores of Lake Superior. In a town most normal people will only visit in the summer time, Duluth is where Jimnak grew-up. Little Jimnak would lock him self up in a room with a beat-up Stratocaster for days at a time with only songs such as "Little Wing" and "Redhouse" to suppress his musical hunger. Suprisingly, Jimnak survived his childhood and now lives and breaths only blues music. Huh, Duluth and the Blues, what a strange combo!!! Steve Marchassault is all drums! Marchassault has been hitting things all his life. Drums, people, cars, beer cans and even thin air, nothing is missed by Marchassaults drumsticks. His rolls are so smooth he was once hired by a muffler shop to trick people into thinking their cars needed major exhaust work! Your mouth is wide open in disbelief. But believe you me, all the above is true and so is our love for the blues. So if you haven’t already, pop our demo tape into your blues box ( stereo ) and crank it up! Or, take the long way home tonight while singing along to our demo and playing a relaxing game of road rage. Better yet, insert the tape into your auto-reverse deck duct taped to your headboard while making passionate love to your significant other tonight. We don’t care, please just listen to our demo, give us a call, and book us. We won’t let you down!!!

ZEN GARAGE SPECIFICATIONS

THE BAND

Tom Harkness : Guitar and Vocals
Jim Jimnak : Guitar and Vocals
Tom Costello : Bass Guitar
Steve Marchassault : Drums and Vocals

BAND MEMBER FORMER CONTRIBUTIONS

Tom Harkness : The Committee, The Carpet Knights and Beware of the Dog
Jim Jimnak : Cherry Red and Balance
Tom Costello : The Committee, The Carpet Knights and Beware of the Dog
Steve Marchassault : Copperhead and Wallstreet

MUSICAL STYLE

Zen Garage performs traditional and contemporary blues and blues-rock. Instrumentation is two guitars, one bass guitar and a full floor drum set.

RECORDING

A four song demo cassette recorded at Home Bass Studio in February 1998 is available through Zen Garage.

EQUIPMENT

Zen Garage is a self-sufficient band. Members own their own personal instrumentation and amplification. Professional sound and lighting systems are owned jointly by band members.

PROMOTION

Currently Zen Garage is self-promoted. Future bookings are achieved by distribution of demo tapes and promo packs as well as contacts within the musical business. Zen Garage welcomes potential performance offers. Please contact us at 612 / 222-7235 or the number on the enclosed business card. Zen Garage has a current monthly mailing of over 200 local fans!

REFERENCES

Paul Junger, Extra Innings Bar, Prior Lake
J.R. Hartley, Home Bass Studio, Edina
Jerry Kern, Preferred Stock Band, Shoreview
Paul Halland, Under Suspicion, Paul Halland and Supafuzz, Mpls-

E-mail Tom Harkness: reil0023@tc.umn.edu

E-mail Ray Stiles at: mnblues@aol.com

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Copyright © 1998 by Ray M. Stiles
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.