JOVONTAES are a band from Lexington, KY. Since 2009, the band has consisted of Reid Small (always) on drums/occasional vocals, Mark Murray on guitar/electronics, and Josh Blaine on bass/home-modified electronics. Before that, Jovontaes were 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, flipping their own path while nodding their heads to the history of minimalism, improvisation, drug music, and experimental de-constructions of "pop."

Jovontaes 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)