PureVolume

History of Zomo

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by Justin Hoenke

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I. In the back seat of my car
At least for me Zomo began in the back seat of my mom's Dodge Mini Van. It was there that I listened and learned to all my heroes at the time...The Oldies station in Pittsburgh, the popular music of the 80's and Ritchie Valens just to name a few. I pretended I was on stage and living the rock star life from that back seat, and over time the dream started to develop.

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II. 1998
It was this year that I met Zach and Adam Watt. Zach and I were oddly matched up to be roommates in Dearborn Hall at Edinboro University. We became very close friends over time but the music side of our relationship didn't start budding at all. We jammed together and with various friends but we were all unsure of which direction we wanted to go. Zach and I and our other musician friends all had a dream but we had no idea how to play it out in the real world.

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III. 2000
In the summer of 2000 I was at an Erie movie theater when I ran into Alan Dean. His old band just broke up at the time and he was looking to be a part of another band. So with a mutual admiration of Weezer we decided to give things a shot once school started back up.

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When we got back up to school, I don't know how things happened but Zach just fell into this musical project Alan and I had been wanting to begin. We adopted the name Jonas at the time...possibly because of the Weezer connection, but I had always loved that name for a band. The first batch of songs learned were mostly Weezer covers and some originals like Lucy Gray, Sleepyhead, Get Down, and Lil' Jenny. Alan knew Mike Ciders from an old high school band and we set out to rock out as hard as we can.

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IV. Early 2001
After a few shows and a name change to Crulowe (don't ask where that one came from) the band fell apart pretty fast. Tensions from within in the band increased and it became obvious who really cared about the music and who just didn't care. In the end, all that survived were Zach and myself.

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V. Summer 2001
The summer of 2001didn't bring much excitement to the band. It was just Zach and I and it was looking like there was little or no hope for adding other musicians. But hope came along when we found out that Dustin was available. Earlier in the summer his band Cell had broken up due to artistic differences. We quickly got a hold of Dustin and asked him to jam with us.

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VI. Fall 2001-Mid 2002
Enter Dustin Miller. The band was now a three piece that was even more determined and focused to take over the world. After old songs had been re-learned and fine-tuned, the basis for developing and growing as the new form of this band was set in place. And after many discussions on a band name, Zomo was finally agreed upon so we didn't have to think about picking a name anymore.

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But then after a few months of this lineup Zach suddenly left the band for personal reasons. Dustin and myself were determined to carry on. New songs were learned and we carried on. It was at this time that Alan Dean was asked back into the band. This new three piece carried on but it was obvious that the original fire had been lost. Zomo continues to learn new songs written by Justin Hoenke and work on recording an album called waiting for the green with Atom Watt.

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VII. Mid 2002-January 2003
Re-enter Zach Watt. Zomo is now a four piece with the addition of Rob Felsberg on bass guitar. The band plays a plethora of show in the Northwestern PA area at the end of 2002 and is set to release their live
EP live at the boro bar soon. However, in January 2003 Zach Watt is hit by a car and is left injured and out of commission for the first 5 months of the year. During this time, Rob Felsberg leaves Zomo for reasons still unknown. Kevin Hawk fills in on lead guitar for Zach Watt, and Zachs brother Atom Watt becomes the next bassist for Zomo. Recordings for waiting for the green are made at this point, but little progress is made.

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VIII. January 2003-May 2003
With Zach Watt on injured reserve and Rob Felsberg M.I.A, Justin and Dustin carry on Zomo and start to craft a new version of the band. With his recent songwriting exploits, Hoenke comes to the plate with the songs that will eventually make up for the muses. The newly assembled band starts to focus their energy on these songs, while the songs from waiting for the green are left behind. This version of Zomo plays a few shows throughout these months and surprises audiences with their sudden change in direction.

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IX. May 2003-August 2003
Zach Watt re-enters the band at this point once again. Fresh off a 6 month leave, Zachs return adds some fire to the band and they quickly start recording themselves in their own rehearsal space. Not much is known about these sessions, as to whether they were for a new album or just a batch of demos used to play catch up, but the band became extremely productive, recording about 5 songs in a month or so. At this point Atom Watt wasnt around as much, so Zach and Justin took over on bass duties. Things were going well until one day Zach Watt just left. He was there, and then he wasnt. Atom was gone as well, so once again Zomo was Dustin and Justin. Shows were booked and without a full lineup, Kevin Hawk was once again called to fill in on lead guitar duties. A close friend of Justins named Aaron Davis was asked to fill in on bass temporarily, and with this lineup the band rehearsed a set of both 2002 zomo era songs mixed with the new early 2003 for the muses era songs.

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X. September 2003-December 2003
After all live show obligations had been fulfilled, Zomo continued rehearsing with a new focus in mind called for the muses. Justins desire to create a unique and cohesive album had finally reached its boiling point. Kevin Hawk was let go after the shows, as the band felt that the new sound was more in tune with a power-trio approach. Aaron Davis stayed on with Zomo, adding his experimental touch to the bands new focus. His ideas and input would greatly affect the sound of Zomo during the for the muses rehearsals.

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For these four month, Dustin, Justin and Aaron stayed cooped up in their new rehearsal space working on what was to become the only official zomo album. The band spent these months fine tuning existing songs that fit into the for the muses concept and also toyed with some new songs brought in by Aaron and Dustin. Here is a list of all the songs that are known to have been practiced at that point in time. I am a rock, All My Love, Breakdown, Window, Do you want to be more than friends? Harvey Wallbanger, All that I want is you, Duchess of Bliss, Right Around the Corner, Tonight I am A God, Typical Guy, Neurotics in Love, Dude Just Leave Me Alone and Pocket Symphony. During all this, the band played some scattered shows in PA and NY state to very welcoming audiences. In November, five days of studio time was booked at Mudhut Studios in Sharon, PA to record for the muses with Bill Dodd.

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XI. January 2004-June 2005
With for the muses now complete, the band went back into the rehearsal studio to work on a new batch of songs for yet another release. Songs worked on at this time included Helium, You and Your Army, Distant Dials, MxMF, Becoming like Angels, and Never Trust a Car Salesman with a Cowboy Hat. Also, the band worked on releasing for the muses to a much larger audience and discussed plans for some kind of tour in support of the album.

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On January 16, 2004 Zomo played what was to be their last show at The Hangout in Edinboro, PA, the same venue where they started in 2000. Their set consisted of a majority of the for the muses album and some newer songs the band had been working on. Reviews were generally positive and things seemed to be looking up for the band. But tension hit an all time high in February and by the end of the month Dustin Miller had left Zomo and Justin Hoenke was planning on moving to Bellingham, WA.

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XII: July 2005
Dustin Miller and Justin Hoenke see each other for the first time in one year. New songs ideas are written, and talks of "one more Zomo show" occur.

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XIII:September 16, 2005
At Grounds For Change Coffeehouse in Meadville, PA, Aaron, Dustin and Justin of Zomo regroup for what is to be the bands final show. The band plays the entire "for the muses album" and 2 other songs. After the final song, 3 gong hits signify that after 7 years, Zomo is finally finished.

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XIV: March 2006
Or is it? Dustin Miller and Justin Hoenke begin to plot and scheme, taking the ideas spawned by both of them in July 2005, and begin to develop them into a new album.....?

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Keep in touch with the members of Zomo here:

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Justin Hoenke

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belsapadore

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Aaron Davis

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Dustin Miller

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Zach Watt

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Rob Felsburg

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