Junkierush
Official Website
GROUP MEMBERS
Bobby Koelble : Vocals, Guitar, Keys
Aaron O'Riley : Bass
Abdias Garcia : Drums, Vocals
Jorge Cesar "lto" Colon, Jr. : Percussion
The origin of the band goes back to the summer of 1999 and guitarist/vocalist Bobby Koelble, a graduate of Berklee College of Music and member of the seminal metal band Death from 1995 to 1997 (he was fortunate enough to be featured on the bands '95 Roadrunner release "Symbolic", recently voted one of the top 69 hard rock recordings of all time by Revolver magazine). After Death's leader, the late Chuck Shuldiner, decided to temporarily dissolve the band in '97, Bobby played with the popular Orlando band Kow from '97 to '99, all the while writing songs for what would become JunkieRush. "I really got into songwriting after Death" says Koelble. "I wrote a couple of things for Kow, but most of it was too rock-oriented for them to use.
"After his departure from Kow, he called upon some of the best musicians in Orlando to assemble a band. The original JR lineup consisted of Koelble, multi-instrumenatalist Chris Charles on sax/flute/keys/vocals, Aaron O'Riley on bass and Matt Hughen on drums. The band began playing Orlando in early 2000. "At first we were playing for pretty much no one" Koelble recalls. Butafter a little while people started coming around." And kept coming. Before too long the houses were full and the band was stoked. In the summer/fall of the same year the band recorded their eight song debut which was released in early 2001. The self-titled CD was nominated for CD of the year by the Orlando Weekly's Orlando Music Awards, has received airplay several Central Florida radio stations and has to date sold over 1400 copies.
So, what's with the name, boys? Isn't the word "junkie" usually used as some kind of drug reference? "Yeah. I mean, no. Well, maybe" Koelble laughs. "It's normally used in that context, but we're not exactly normal. Decide for yourself. I just think it sounds cool. If you think about it, the music is the junk, you know? It makes you feel good, it's a release. We're all about the positive. But if the name scares your parents, then that's probably a good thing." (laughs)
In 2001 the band blossomed into a sextet, adding percussionists Ito Colon and Rion Smith. But growing pains soon followed. Early 2002 saw the departure of drummer Hughen, which also led to Smith's departure. Ito Colon, who toured with Jimmy Buffet as a member of Kinya Crew and is one of the area's most respected musicians, stayed aboard. The drum chair was filled by Abdias Garcia, a native of Puerto Rico (as is Ito) who has performed with Tito Puente. "Ito and Abe have this ESP thing going on" says Bobby. "They come from similar backgrounds and have a very strong musical bond. It's kinda scary." The band was dealt another blow when Chris Charles left soon afterwards, once again making the band a quartet. "I guess we came full circle as far as that goes" Koelble remarks.
Undaunted, the band continues onward with as much determination as ever. "We want to take this thing as far as we can" Koelble explains. "We feel like we're on to something here, and the feedback we've gotten from our fans has been tremendous." As for any future additions to the lineup, that remains to be seen. "We've had some subs come in on horn and it's been great, so who knows what's in store. But for know, it's the four of us. We're just going keep it coming." The songs, too, just keep coming. Expect another JR CD by the end of 2002, and much more after that
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