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Local Artist Profile: Zmick

posted by Matt at 3:28 pm.

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[Courtesy: Zmick]

Band Members:
Brad Miller - Guitar, Vocals
Dan Wonsover - Bass, Vocals
Kris Ahrens - Drums, Vocals
Mike Donato - Keys
BIGS - Bringer of Light (This guy did the lights at Ben Folds via Knoxarray Event Production - pretty bad ass)

On this campus, one band is synonymous with Jam: Zmick. They play progressive rock fused with elements of reggae, jazz, and funk with the intent of “bringing people together and giving them an opportunity to dance, sing, laugh and bond with other music lovers.” You can find Zmick playing their Monday Night Rage spot over at the Canopy Club every week (including tonight! go!).

Here is a small dose of the live Zmick experience:

Zmick was kind enough to answer some of my questions for a Local Artist Profile interview:

the217: Summer Camp 2008 is fast approaching! Using the time since your 2007 participation as a benchmark, how has your band changed in the past year?

Zmick: The line-up now only has two of the original six members. The two new members, Mike and Brad, and our lighting designer, BIGS, bring the mother fuckin heat!! As for Summer Camp, it’s an unbelievable festival and nothing can completely prepare you for the unexpected moments that make the experience. This year, we have found an amazing place to practice that has really helped develop our sound and community.

Courtesy: Canopy Club

the217: Monday Night Rage has become a Canopy Club staple. Do you have plans to continue it into the summer and next school year?

Zmick: As of now, we are still working out details for the future. This past year has brought us joy through the expanding community based on music in Champaign/Urbana and our involvement in it. The Canopy Club has been extremely good to us and we hope to continue to have a good relationship.

the217: You list your influences as Jambands, Progressive Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Metal, Funk, Bluegrass, Electronica, Hip-Hop, and Classical. Are there any specific bands that stand out as truly inspiring to you?

Zmick: This has always been a hard question for us to answer. We pride ourselves on the all the different music we listen to. Basically, we think that we can’t be influenced by the people we’ve never heard, and are influenced by the people we have.

Courtesy: Zmick

the217: Four reasons why people should go to a Zmick Show!

Zmick: We have a good crowd of friends and fans that enjoy dancing to different genres of music (something for everyone). Each show has new improvisations, new covers and different setlists to make each show unique. Ultimately we try to have a good time with our audience and interact with them so that they’re contributing to the experience as much as we are.

the217: Any exciting future plans for the band?

Zmick: Outside of Summer Camp, we really look forward to improving and expanding our repertoire over the summer!

More Zmick Video!

Make sure you check out Zmick at their Monday Night Rage shows at Canopy Club! There is NO COVER and super cheap drinks ($1.50 Domestic Drafts, $2.50 Import Drafts), if you need some extra convincing.

Zmick Contact Info:
website: myspace.com/zmickmusic
booking: zmickmusic@gmail.com

Stay tuned for World’s First Flying Machine later this week!

Matt Fender: I'm put together beautifully