The Zoo: Unleashed

The halls of Butler have often been known for housing Tulane’s academically elite, but this year Butler House may be credited for possessing some of the musically elite as well. The funk/alt fusion of Tulane’s own Trevor Jones, Adam Cola, Ari Michael, Dan Kautz and Steven Kraft come together to unleash a sound known collectively as The Zoo. Emerging onto the campus scene via gigs at local fraternities, The Zoo showcases the skills of Cola (rhythm guitar), Jones (lead vocals/guitar), Michael (bass/vocals), Kautz (keyboard) and Kraft (drums) as they merge their diverse influences, which range from the schools of funk and jazz to jam bands and alternative rock. Though their sound remains an eclectic reflection of their individual musings, the band offers a harmony that can only be crafted through appreciation of their musical roots. “Some people play what they like and want to hear. Some people prefer to expand on it,” Michael said.

Expanding on their influences has not been the simplest of tasks despite surprisingly fortuitous beginnings. “I remember seeing Trevor walking in with his guitar and him asking if I played. I told him I played bass, but we should jam. We started playing from that point on,” Michael said. Working their way up from those beginnings in the Butler hallways has been a lengthy road for the band.

Jones, the band’s lead vocalist, had been jamming for some time prior to his days at Tulane, including some summer performances with his band from Colorado. The formation of The Zoo essentially required the band to harness each member’s previous band experiences, but it was their practice in a friend’s garage three miles off campus that gave them the polish they sought. The credibility of being an actual “garage band,” combined with the stage experience of some of the group’s more seasoned performers, proved beneficial to the band’s performances at venues around campus. “You have to work through bad acoustics to get your sound,” Jones noted.

The Zoo has grown through its transitions, from its beginnings as a jam session between new friends, to its show at a ZBT fraternity party, to its current work scheduling gigs at local music venues. “Our gig at the ZBT house was great. Having 50 to 100 people there while we played for like three hours gave us a lot of time to improvise things and just have fun,” Jones recalled.

Of all the difficult challenges facing bands today, the group agreed that the hardest is trying to polish their collective musical sound while simultaneously looking for actual gigs. Despite the difficulties of searching for venues, the band has had successes including an upcoming show at the Howlin’ Wolf April 8.

From their humble beginnings as a freshman dorm band to their growing popularity amongst in the Tulane community, The Zoo presents an untamed deviation from the 3-chord simplicity of generic rising bands.

Jones mused on how the band would like to be remembered, saying, “We want to make people happy. It may sound corny, but it’s amazing how something as seemingly arbitrary as music can touch people’s lives. We’d like to make that happen.”