JOVONTAES is a band from Lexington, KY. Since 2009, the band has consisted of Reid Small (always) on drums and occasional vocals, Mark Murray on guitar and electronics, and Josh Blaine on bass and home-modified electronics. Before that, Jovontaes was an ever-evolving ensemble which (at any given time may have) included members of Street Gnar, Trailblazer, Todays Hits, RC Pro AM, other Lexington locals and beyond.
They've been labeled everything from "skater kraut" to "skategaze" to "surf punk" to good ol' fashioned "psych rock," even "noise" at times, but choose not to identify with nor adhere to any of the above. Instead, Jovontaes push forward without falling victim to the boundaries of classification, beating their own path while nodding their heads to the history of minimalism, improvisation, drug music, and experimental de-constructions of "pop."
Jovantaes are Lexington, KY. They emerge from (and possibly define) my town's peculiar skate/Kraut/nihil/garage axis, evoking the smell of stale Miller High Life and burning couches: stumbling match-grip surf rolls, howling chorused-out guitar, droning Adderall haze, and a singer who makes Will Shatter sound like Scott Walker. Imagine Moolah playing at a beach party on the edge of the Kentucky River, big gray globs of unidentifiable garbage drifting silently past and the dense wet air becomes gridlocked with mosquitoes - Trevor Tremaine (Hair Police)
Paranoia Makes A Crazy Gift, available via Sophomore Lounge in June of 2013, is the follow-up to their 2011 LP, Things Are Different Here (Hello Sunshine/Woodsist). The 6-song full-length was recorded during the course of one evening at Blaine Manor in September of 2012; except the last song on the album, "Western March" which was recorded at the Void Skateshop on a cold day in January 2012. All songs were mixed by Jovontaes at Small House in 2013 and mastered by Cyrus Shahmir. All songs were recorded using one microphone (rumored to have been an internal telephone mic). Several overdubs exist, but are few and far between.
Other upcoming releases include JOVONTAES "Roll The Dice" cassette on Gnar Tapes/Burger Records (featuring new material/rarities/classic unreleased jams) as well as a tape of new material for Night-People Records (whose owner/operator Shawn Reed recently designed a deck for Small & Blaine's BARBARIAN SKATEBOARDS company) later this year.
