In the fall of 2012 Zack and his brother Sam got the idea to merge their solo careers into a single unit.  They played an initial show at Nectars in December of 2012 and from there Sam made arrangements to move from his warm home in Arizona to the land of unpredictable weather known as Vermont.  Aside from the Brothers duPont, this band features the remaining lineup of the now defunct Zack Dupont Band: Tim Sharbaugh on drums and percussion, Peter Krag on keys, Will Andrews on trumpet and Pat Melvin on electric and acoustic basses.

Check out their fully funded Kickstarter project which acts as a formal introduction to the band as well as a means to finance the production of their debut CD/DVD project.

Here’s a little taste of that upcoming CD/DVD, an acoustic track of the Brothers playing “My Friend”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeMGgMQbamI

We are thrilled to be a part of this compilation CD featuring many of Vermont’s finest musicians benefiting local homeless shelters.  The album’s proceeds go straight to the COTS foundation who provide the less fortunate with warm places to sleep in the winter as well as food year round.  The album can be purchased via iTunes and physical CD’s are available at the following locations:
Paramount Theater in Rutland, Guitar Center in Williston, Ramunto’s Pizza in Williston, Argento Laraine Fine Jewelry in Williston, Outdoor Gear Exchange in Burlington, SVS Auto and Burlington Records, among others.
The tracklist is as follows:
Harmonies for Humanity Vol. 1.

1. Hope Is a Must - Second Agenda
2. American City - Gregory Douglass
3. Happiness - The Aerolites
4. Ben There - Eric La Fave
5. Not My Way - Myra Flynn
6. Brother, Be - Japhy Ryder
7. Enough to Get Away - Zack Du Pont & Pat Melvin
8. If I Were a Train - Toni Catlin & Richard Ferreira
9. Something Addictive - Climbing Up Walls
10. Cold Front - Jen Crowell
11. Penny in My Pocket (feat. Joshua Glass) - The Beerworth Sisters
12. Little City - Face One & Andy Lugo
13. We Do Not Agree - One Over Zero
14. Twisted (feat. M. Gandhi) - Alex P.
15. Cheers to a Good Day - Seamus The Great
16. So New (feat. Eric Daniels & Tim Stickle) - Sarah Stickle
17. Coming Home - Steve Hartmann
18. Worldwide - Coba Stella 

“Harmonies for Humanity is a project organized by RiseAbove Records that organizes the local music community in Vermont to raise money for the Committee on Temporary Shelter (C.O.T.S.).  The musicians appearing on the this CD are not paid or compensated.  They have donated their songs & music in an effort to help feed, clothe, shelter, educate and provide emergency services to as many economically disadvantaged people as possible.  All proceeds raised are donated directly to C.O.T.S.  It is our hope that you share in our music & help the economically disadvantaged wherever & whenever you can.”

This event is taking place on Saturday 10/13/12 and will not only feature a special lineup of musicians under the Japhy Ryder banner, but will feature a set of music by Burlington’s own Kat Wright & the Indomitable Soul Band.  Kat Wright’s band is arguably the best band in Vermont.   More info on the gig is below, but the summary is that you absolutely do not want to miss this.  Burlington won’t see a party like this again for a while. tickets aGet your tickets before it’s too late!

Switchback 10th Anniversary Party
tickets available here

• Saturday October 13, 2012
• tickets are $10 for 21+ | $5 for 18+ or Designated driver | Free for kids
• 160 Flynn Ave in Burlington VT
• doors at 11:30am music starts at noon
• Kat Wright & the Indomitable Soul Band at Noon
• Japhy Ryder at 2:30pm
• Activities & Fun for ALL AGES
• Brewery Tours
• Surprise take home gift
• Three 8oz beer sample tickets (21+ only)
• one free food item
• continuous shuttles to and from Downtown Burlington from 11:30AM to 4:30PM departing from Champlain Farms on Main St.

WHEN: Saturday, August 25th
WHERE: Upper Falls Road, Perkinsville, VT

We’d like to formally introduce everyone to our dear friend and the newest member of the Japhy Ryder family, Mr. Peter Krag.  Mr.  Krag has been joining us periodically over the last year or so playing piano and we are currently in the process of getting him to sign on full time.  Peter comes to us as a founding member of the Zack DuPont Band and one of the go to pianists in the northeast.  He is absolutely fantastic at what he does, we’ll be sure to highlight the gigs that he’ll be at over the next few months until he starts attending them all.  For the festival, be sure to catch him playing with the  Gabe Jarrett Trio regularly at Leunigs Bistro and at the Farmhouse Tap & Grill as well as with the Zack DuPont Band everywhere they go.

If you are in and around Burlington for the festival check us out at the following gigs.

• Friday June 1, the Zack DuPont Band (featuring Will and Peter) is playing the Long Trail Live Church St Marketplace center stage at 7pm
• Wednesday June 6, Japhy Ryder is playing Red Square from 7-10PM
• Saturday June 9, Japhy Ryder is playing the Radio Bean from 10pm-12Am

Not only are we excited for Jazz Fest, but our new album In Session is officially available via CDBaby.com and will be available via iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc in the very near future.

We mentioned press coverage of the Discover Jazz opening ceremony, here you go:

After 4 months of diligent mixing and minimal overdubbing we had a batch of 11 new tunes to send out into the world.  Of these 11 songs, our trumpet/drum machine guru Will Andrews is responsible for writing 10 of them.  The 11th track is a cover of JDilla penned “Fall in Love” originally released by his group Slum Village.

We are releasing the album ourselves starting at the hometown release party at Nectar’s on Saturday May 26.  The album will hit the internet on Tuesday 5/29 (via japhyryder.com and our facebook page) with proper iTunes, Spotify, Amazon release coming in mid June.

Track listing: 1. Bjork Feathers 2. Triste 3. Corleone 4. Fall in Love 5. Set Self Sail vol1 6. El Campeón 7. Nightwalker 8. Tribal 9. Last Night 10. Right on time 11. Bjork Feathers (reprise)

For those of you wondering, the song list is:
Bjork Feathers, Triste, Corleone, Flying Lotus, Set Self Sail v1.0*, El Campéon, Nightwalker, Tribal, Last Night, Right on Time, Bjork Feathers (reprise)**.

*Set Self Sail v1.0 is a return to the original demo version of the last track on our most recent studio record If the Haves are Willing.  We like it better.
**the reprise features Zack on Fender Rhodes and Will on guitar.

January 12 we head back to Red Square for a Thursday night improv session that is our big warm up for Friday January 13 down at the Rusty Nail in Stowe.  We haven’t played Stowe in many years and truly look forward to getting back into the mountains.   We have our friend DJ Disco Phantom coming down with us to add just a little bit more fire to the party.

After these shows we have another Red Square session lined up for 1/26/12 and a return trip to Sugarbush Ski Resort on 2/25/12. More dates will be added to the calendar as we nail them down, including a few stops out of Vermont (we hope).

Friday 9/23 we’ll be supporting legendary performing artist RJD2 on the Main Stage at Waterfront Park in Burlington.  Tickets for the weekend festival are $55.

Other acts performing include Barika, Afinque, Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band, RJD2, G-Love & the Special Sauce and Vorcza.

Check out the show schedule for more information.