Joan Jett, Janis Joplin, Heart. Their sound, tough personas, stage presence, and command for respect has paved the way for women all around the world to get into music scene, which for numerous years has been dominated by males. And the same holds true in the city of Dayton. Throughout the city, a significant number of bands don’t have a single woman in their lineup. However, there is a band that’s changing that.
The band is Jasper the Colossal. Paige, Moriah, Nicki, and Sarah are four women that are on their way to making waves in the Gem City with their raw and distinct rock and roll sound. On June 22nd, Jasper the Colossal will be releasing their first full-length album, Liar. During a sit down with the band recently, the group explained that the album contains everything that people love in a great rock and roll album-some soft ballads mixed with some hard rock, catchy hooks, songs that you can sing after hearing it over and over. Jasper the Colossal have spent most of the year writing for Liar, while it took only a week to record.
The band has big ambitions with the album. With the goal of setting up a tour later in the year to play around the US, they also plan on releasing 1,000 copies of Liar. In order to achieve these goals, the women decided to take a different path to get the album out. Their approach is a revolutionary move that most bands are starting to lend to release music independently, and also get closer to their fans. They went to the internet, and set up a pledge on Kickstarter.com, a website that allows people to set up an all or nothing fundraiser. The band
set up an amount that they wanted to meet, which would help pay for the manufacturing cost of the album. When you make a donation of a certain dollar amount, you get you a reward (could be anything from a free EP, to dinner with the band. Now, the only way that all of this could become a reality is if the band actually made the goal. Within the first couple of days the fundraiser was set up, the band not only met their goal, but exceeded it. A feat that the band themselves never thought would happen in such a brief period of time.
Jasper the Colossal shouldn’t be shocked, though. The fan support for this 4-piece girl band has been growing ever since its current lineup, which has been together for four years now. Their live shows are full of raw emotion. When they take the stage, their energy flies out and into the crowd, seizing their grasp of their viewers. They aren’t out there to look cute. They’re out there to fulfill their passion. Each girl mentioned that this is their life. Each chord strung on the guitars. Each crack of the drumstick on the drums. Each word sang into the microphone. Its poetry. This is how music is meant to be. That is why they have a rabid fan base that has grown more and more each show.
Many people around Dayton will mention to you that Jasper the Colossal is one of the hardest working bands in the local circuit. And the claims are true. The band has played shows in California, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, and West Virginia. With the extra money being donated thru the Kickstarter website fund, the band plans to use the extra money that’s used to getting transportation to go on a tour.
Jasper the Colossal aren’t going out and showing that girls can play instruments also. Jasper the Colossal is out to prove that they are a band that is ready to take on the world one show at a time. To want to prove that are just like the women pioneers before them-no matter what sex you are, rock and roll is here to tear the walls down.
To help the band by making a donation, go to their Kickstarter page. Also, the band will be playing at South Park Tavern on May 12th . They will be taking the stage with Ghosts and Paper Hearts, and The Worthmores. Cover charge is $5, and the show is for all ages. (view all of Jasper the Colossal’s upcoming local shows on the DMM Music Calendar)
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