Jonah Flatfoot Lead Vocals, Guitar, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet & Harmonicas, Typewriter, Golf Carts, Words:: Timothy 'Bunko' Greyhounds Drums, Swanee Whistle, gramophone, magic, Dog Handling, Vox:: Hermunculus Mooche AKA Fluff Mc Duff Trombone, Tinky-tonk, vox:: Jack 'The Hammer' McPherson Cornet, Tuba, Ukulele, handsomeness, Vox:: Cha Cha Gabore Baritone Sax, recorders, shoes, Vox:: Count Sebski Velo Fender Telecaster & other Guitars, Brie, camembert etc:: Tom 'Rocket Pants' Allen Double Bass and silly putty Matt The Boy Wonder Brown Drums and youthfulness
Previous Members;
Byron Valentino - Tenor Saxophone, Vocals Oisin Poitin - Double Bass Dan D Desperanto - Fender Rhodes Piano, Gaffer Tape Cheeks Le Toad - Clarinet, Alto Saxophone Sir Dennis Teeth - Musical Saw Socket Set Tripney - Bass and Tricycle
THE ZEN HUSSIES SHOP ALBUMS AVAILABLE TO BUY HERE VIA PAYPAL AT LINKS BELOW
"> CONTINENTAL ADAPTOR LP (2008) Limited Edition 12" Vinyl Full Colour Sleeve, full colour Inner sleeve with lyrics and collage pressed on heavyweight black vinyl
All New Stomping Originals Featuring; Kecker-Rocker, Fruity Matootsie, The Whiplash Waltz, Honey Bee Suite, Runaway Rich Kid, My Kinda Lady, Tread Gently, Midnight In Melksham. Read the 5 Star LP review on the right! " CONTINENTAL ADAPTOR CD (2008) Compact Disc See Track Listing above
Buy FLATFOOT SHARPSUIT Album (2004) available on CD for just £10 (plus P&P) today with PayPal.
Twelve Original Tracks - A Playtime of 54 Swinging Minutes to dance and singalong to featuring; Tell Me, Communal Viper, Kelly's Eye, Paying My Dues, The Loverat, Homebake FLan, Lonely Days, Tarbrush Ragdoll, Angelina, Tea Cosy Gurner, Bewilderness & Skelly Man.
SET OF FIVE 1" ZEN HUSSIES BUTTON BADGES £2 + P&P. Available Soon!
...And also
The Zen Hussies Support the TEMWA Foundation, an AIDS orphanage in Temwenani, Malawi, Africa. Show your support for the cause by buying the superb Templates Compilation LP (Featuring The Zen Hussies & A host of other Bristol Talent) From the link below!
Influences
"THE COMMUNAL VIPER" MUSIC VIDEO
Just a few of the luminaries we have been influenced by, or have even, on occasion, influenced...Trad Jazz, Bix Beiderbecke, Muggsy Spanier, Kenny Ball, Duke Ellington, Raymond Scott, Squirrel Nut Zippers, No Smoking Orchestra, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Toots, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Django, LSD, Cider, Real Ale, The Marx Brothers, The Specials, Cab Calloway, Scott Walker, Louis Jordan, Slim Gaillard, The Clash, Lester Young, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Wynonie Harris, Edmundo Ros, Joe Turner, Babyhead, The Baghdaddies, The Don Bradmans... the list goes on...
Sounds Like
You tell us what we sound like (answers on a postcard to 24 Kathdene Gardens, Bishopston, Bristol, UK, BS7 9BN) YOU COULD WIN A PRIZE - Free gig tickets, Albums, badges and a night out with the band -member of your choice!
The Zen Hussies Dutifully administering original swing, stomp and boogie at clubs, pubs, festivals and speakeasys since 2001, when lithe frontman, Poetic Licensee and chancer Jonah Flatfoot Esquire met drummer and dog handler Dr Bunko Greyhounds on the 9.15 from Limpley Stoke to Bath one wet wednesday in february. Within but a few short months, the band that we now know and love had succeeded in persuading various other musicians into playing aside them on trumpets, saxophones, double basses and trombone to scoop their first gigs as resident roof-raisers at the now sadly defunct Hat & Feather Inn, a legendary hostelry in Bath, that when the band make their millions, they have vowed to restore to its former 'glory'. Several years, a thousand gigs, three albums, nine suspended sentences and twelve replacement livers on, and the band are renowned for their 'stamina sapping, effervescent live performances'. The horn heavy Hussies will have even the most troubled of feet flailing in the aisles and singing along to their uniquely catchy brand of song and dance. Sigh in wonder, as they straddle the jazz meridian and steer their syncopated collossus bareback through your grandads' shed... Why not then adorn your most dandy attire, fasten those braces, and cover your chest in vapour-rub for a memorable evening with The West Countrys' Most Exclusive Drinking Club... Coming soon to a dancehall / bandstand near you!
DISCOGRAPHY
FIVE GUYS MAIM NOTES EP (2002) FLATFOOT SHARPSUIT LP (2004) CONTINENTAL ADAPTOR LP (2008)
MEDIA QUOTES / REVIEWS
'The latest loaded long player from the hussies entitled ‘Continental Adaptor’ has all the trappings of a mini wax cylinder classic. Opening with the splendid swank ridden ‘Kecker Rocker’ and sounding like somebody tearing down bunting with their teeth, this latest offering just like their live performance, is a captivating cavorting beast caked in opulent moreish magnificence.' Dan Heatley, Mofo 2008
'Hailing from Bristol (in the UK) The Zen Hussies second long player ("Continental Adaptor") is a free-for-all, no-holds-barred, get-your-lazy-ass-up-outta-that-seat-and-dance mixture of vintage jazz, swing and not-so-big band.
Some of the things that make this recording work are obvious: they're great musicians and snappy dressers (both requirements for their chosen style(s)). But lots of bands can claim those two merits.
There are a couple of things that make The Zen Hussies stand out:
They're daring. To keep "Continental Adaptor" from sounding like (yet) another tribute to a bygone era the band is wise enough to mix a goodly number of sounds into this album's eight tunes. You can easily pick out the swing/jazz/elements but you'll run across circus waltzes ("The Whiplash Waltz"), croonerific Sinatra-esque balladry ("Honey Bee Suite") and damned if that doesn't sound like SKA ("My Kinda Lady"). There's a lot to hang your head on here and repeated listens are paid off handsomely. This isn't a retro group where when you've heard one song you've heard 'em all. (Think more Squirrel Nut Zippers, less Cherry Poppin Daddies).
But the real key for this set is that The Zen Hussies have managed to capture the energy of a live performance. This is hard to do on a recording but is *essential* for a group that's focused on getting people to shake their money makers. I'm not saying that the group isn't even more visceral live, I'm just saying that you can hear what makes their live sets a hoot on these recordings. And without that there's no point putting songs to wax (and yes, this recording is available on LP!).
To sum up:
"Continental Adaptor" is a blast and should be the soundtrack to your next dance party.' Sepiachord 2008
'Born showmen with one eye on the absurd, The [Zen] Hussies play songs that lodge in the head like well aimed bullets, creating a sea of beaming revellers on a dancefloor bursting at the seams...' Venue Magazine, 2005
'Film Noir & Ska collide with a distinctive blue tone to the two tone...the Hussies transported me to a more fearless era...I almost breathed down a strangers' neck...' Decode Magazine 2005
'A Brylcreem sculpted anachronism, cymbals puffing and horns huffing like a runaway steam train' Kyrsten Grayewski, 2008.
'Boundary-Decimating...skanktastic combo who leave no danceflooor unshaken, imagine The Specials at their peak whilst wearing the broadest of grins' Buena Vista Social Club Presents, 2007
'The sonic definition of happiness' Rachel Wild, Festival Eye 2008
What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?: Hanging in a Tree Marie-Josee Houle: That Off-Key Blonde Dresden Dolls: The Kill Thomas Nola et son Orchestre: Lady Grey Zen Hussies: Bewilderness Peanut Albinos: Cartihenya Kepi Ghoulie: Sleepy Hollow ghostfire: Masters of the Sea The Pogues: Fiesta Luminescent Orchestrii: Neptune's Daughter Veronique Chevalier/Polks Haunt Us: Strange Faces in the Floor Vermillion Lies: Done Wrong Christian Williams: Mccall's Luck Vagabond Opera: Slow Beranche Slim Cessna's Auto Club: Jordan World Inferno Friendship Society: The Velocity of Love Melora Creager: American Girl Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Green Shirt Nouvelle Vague: Love Will Tear Us Apart Bakelite 78: Scotch Bone Orchard: Pretty Polly Barry Black: Snail Trail of Tears Walter Sickert & THe ARmy of BRoken TOys: No Room
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