The first of these is happening at Higher Ground on March 13, 2010 when we share the bill with the Toubab Krewe.   We are big fans of the Toubab Krewe and their brand of West African Americana, it is bound to be a show to be remembered.  Doors open at 8PM, we take the stage at 8:30.  This is an ALL AGES show, tickets are $12 in advance and $14 day of the show available here.

Just 3 weeks after that we are returning to Nectar’s to share an evening with our friends (and fellow Ropeadope artists) Otis Grove on April 9.  We are looking at the possibility of releasing our live album at this show, more info on that as soon as we have it.

We will also be playing a few other local gigs in the Vermont area.  Including Wednesday February 10 at Red Square in Burlington.  We have a habit of picking up last minute gigs at a few of our favorite venues in Burlington.  Watch us on facebook for info on those when they occur.

As you may know, we had a little guitar swap occur in 2009.  When Jeremy chose to leave the band the rest of us were stuck deciding whether to hang up our hats and call Japhy Ryder done OR to find the perfect guitar player to fill out the roster again.  Thankfully we opted to hire our friend Zack duPont and what a difference he has made in our sound as well as in our lives.
Zack duPont is a class act.

That said, Z doesn’t spend all of his time tinkering away on the new Japhy Ryder material.  He’s in fact one of Vermont’s finest up and coming singer songwriters.  Don’t be shocked, just because he sticks to instrumental shredding with us does not mean that his vocal chords aren’t fully capable of melting your face. Z’s first solo record “Paths” was released in early January 2010, and has thus far received stellar reviews across the Northeast.

Check him out over at www.zackdupontmusic.com or even better, at one of his solo gigs.

Like we said in the spring, we took the summer off of almost all things Japhy.  Pat and Josh spent the summer playing Reggae with Vermont’s own ‘Pulse Prophets’ while Will escaped into central NY seclusion, Jason hiked the length of Vermont and Zach continued to shred with everyone that he could (that’s what he does folks – he’s a shredder).

While technically on our Japhy vacation, Will and I continued to make moves on this new record of ours.  While yes we wanted it done last spring, we’ve kept finding ways of making it better.  In July we invited our friends Timothy K Hull and Tom Morse to add an extra pair of horns to a few tracks.  After that all work on the album got pushed back due to equipment breaking, ie: the mixing board shat the bed.  The good news is that its back and we plan on continuing the process to get this album done in the very near future.

Also in the making right now is the fabled Live at Nectar’s album that we recorded in the fall of 2008.  This album will be the last release featuring former guitarist Jeremy Kizina.  The disc has been finished, it’s pretty fantastic, and is in the hands of the folks at Nectar’s.  Due to contract arrangements, we can’t put this album out until they do… so we don’t really know when that will happen.  For the time being, you can listen to one of the tracks from this album right here
(head on over to japhyryder.com and check out the audio)

We’re playing a monthly gig at Parima in Burlington and adding a few one off gigs in the Vermont area around those, but there are no plans of anything crazy in the near future.  While working on this album there is not a lot of traveling going on.  Once its done, we might be back at hitting the road.

The new record is appearing to be getting a summer/early fall release.  Comprised of 9 tracks, it is a solid representation of who we are, what we do and how we do it.  In an effort to save money and the environment we are not planning to print any CD’s,  we’re just releasing it digitally.  We apologize to all the anti-mp3 folks out there, but not really.

Last Friday Club Metronome was treated with a rare guitarless Japhy Ryder concert.  When Mr. Dupont informed us of a family emergency and his inability to attend, the only choice we had was to crush it.  Although Zack was sorely missed, with the help of our friends Alex Toth and Maria Eisen from the Rubblebucket Orchestra we proceeded to truly engage in the mystique of Jazz Fest.

Here’s 1 track from the show, its called Heavy.

(head on over to japhyryder.com and check out the audio)
The whole recording is available from www.vermontlivemusic.com

Many new features are being added to our website over the coming days.  Have a look around, you might find something you like.  A few of the new features are a finally listenable set of tracks on the Music tab and a brand new photo gallery.

That is the news for now.  We’re playing in Boston (Cambridge) on June 26 at the Lizard Lounge with fellow Ropeadope Artists Leo Genovese and Tim Collins.  Come on out and say hi.  But first, sign our mailing list if you aren’t already on it.

First, the gigs:
Friday 5/29/09 we return to one of our favorite places to play, Jimmy Mac’s in Rochester NY.  We’ll have our friends Jae Mood with us, should be a good time.

Saturday 5/30/09 we are pleased to be a part of Nelson Ledges Quarry Park’s Summer Kickoff festival out in Ohio.

Wednesday 6/10/09 we will be performing as part of Burlington’s Discover Jazz Festival.  This free show takes place outdoors on upper Church St. on the ‘Fountain Stage’ at 7PM.

Friday 6/12/09 we will be supporting the Marco Benevento Trio at Club Metronome in Burlington.  This show is open to everyone over 18 years of age and tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show (with applicable service fees)

Friday 6/26/09 we are teaming up with fellow Ropeadope artist Leo Genovese’s band in Boston at the Lizard Lounge.  Tickets for this show are $10 at the door, and it is 21+.  We are working on adding a few dates around this one, we’ll announce as soon as we can.

After these two gigs with Ropeadope, we are taking a brief break from the world of Japhy Ryder while each of us explores different aspects of our lives over the months of July and August.  While we may add a few gigs to our schedules we primarily plan to take it easy – except for Pat and Joshua.

Why are they any different?  Joshua is not only the best damn percussinoist (shaker/triangle-ist) we’ve ever worked with, but he’s a badass drummer as well.  While holding down the beats in the Pulse Prophets, he has successfully drawn Pat into that group to fill the hole left while bassist Alex Budney goes on a leave of absence.  More info on the Pulse Prophets can be found on their website, and we’ll keep you updated on what Pat and Josh are up with them as well.

The radio show was the first official gig of the new lineup as Japhy Ryder. Prior to it we had performed once under our devious alter-ego’s name W.E.S.T. opening for the New Deal at Higher Ground in February. Needless to say, it was a total success. We’re playing 80% new material this weekend, we like it and so should you. Last night also featured our dear friend Matt Deluca standing in for Joshua on percussion. Matt is a wonderful gentleman, father and musician. We are honored to have him with us whenever possible, including the coming show at Higher Ground on Saturday.

The gigs this weekend are going to be epic. Expect the unexpected as we team up with Bodega and Otis Grove to bring you some damn fine grooves. Tickets for Higher Ground are still $8 until day of show, we strongly suggest saving yourselves the extra cash (maybe for a tasty beer at the show?) and getting your tickets now via the online ticketing system.

Stay tuned for pictures and audio and that kind of good stuff from the coming weekend. Travel safe.

For those of you not in the Burlington area, you can listen via webcast

After that we leave for the ‘Hometown Throwdown Tour’ which stops in Philly and Boston before returning home for the gig at Higher Ground on Saturday.

And then we’ll be headed in to start work on what looks to be the next album.  More info on that later.

For now, have another sneak peak at the new Japhy Ryder. Here is another track from our set opening for the New Deal back in February.  And yeah, we made this one up.
(head on over to japhyryder.com and check out the audio)

So there it is, Japhy Ryder version 2.0 shall make our official debut on April 2 to start the Ropeadope sponsored ‘Homedown Throwdown Tour’ in Philadelphia.  The tour then heads to Boston and ends with our hometown debut at Higher Ground on 4/4.

Here’s a little taste of what this new version of Japhy Ryder has to offer.

(head on over to japhyryder.com and check out the audio)

(if you are using Firefox and this sounds like a broken cassette player,
you can download the file – Tightrope)

Check out these two songs from the EP, Thruway Traffic & Charlie Brown’s Sound.

And while this is technically a transition period for Japhy Ryder, it is also time to look back at what we’ve accomplished and how far we’ve grown as a band as as individuals over the last 5 years.  We are tremendously proud of everything that we’ve accomplished as a group, and look forward to whatever the future brings for Japhy Ryder.

And now for the entertaining part, here are some photo’s taken at the studio while making the Soft Glow Sessions.  Looking back at these pictures made me remember why we’ve never recorded anything like we recorded these tracks – Will is in the kitchen!  It’s terribly difficult to use visual cues with someone that isn’t in the room.

Click on the the thumbnails for the full image.

Well, big changes are afoot in the Japhy Ryder camp.  Founding member and longtime guitarist for Japhy Ryder, Jeremy Kizina, has decided it is time for him to move on and pursue the next phase in his life.  While we are saddened by Jeremy’s departure, we fully understand and support him in his decision.  Furthermore, we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Naturally, this has raised many important questions about the future of the band.  Although we are all still very excited about making music together, there will definitely be a shift in focus as we make room in our lives for everything that has taken a back seat for the past several years.  As of this time, we have put booking on hold while we figure things out, although we are keeping the following gigs which were previously booked with our friends from Ropeadope:

Thursday, 4/2/09, World Café Live, Philadelphia PA
Friday, 4/3/09, Lizard Lounge, Boston MA
Saturday, 4/4/09, Higher Ground, S. Burlington VT

Other than these dates, you can catch us performing around the Burlington area with Will’s side project, W.E.S.T., most notably in support of The New Deal at Higher Ground on Thursday, February 19.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has come out to shows and supported us throughout the years and apologize to those who looked forward to the shows we were forced to cancel.  Most of all we would like to thank Jeremy for his dedication, inspiration, and comradeship as well as Jeremy’s family for the support, generosity, and hospitality they have shown us time and again in our travels.

We will be sure to keep everyone updated as we continue to figure out how we will proceed.  YES we will proceed, it may just take a little bit of time to arrange how.  Thanks again, and we hope to see you all in the near future,

Jay, Pat, and Will