We've been through many metamorphoses, from our larval stages in Tommy's basement to our more (im)mature stages in Zack's basement. In the beginning, there was a band dubbed Royale With Cheese, and from this band's dissolution descended Cassie, Dan, and Tommy.
Tommy wanted desperately to continue to spread ska love, so he began to jam with select others in his basement. He first found Nico, a recent ska-convert. Nico needed horn partners, and so Green and Davy were enlisted after much searching. A drummer was our last necessity, and the search continued.
Eventually, Dan decided to go to bigger and better things and left. Thus, we needed a bassist, too. We found one in Danikka, a friend of Tom's who was also in another ska band. It was shortly after that we found Zack, who filled the seat behind the set beyond our hopes.
With Zack came a new haven for rehearsal, and a shitload of technological goodies. One day, Matt showed up to practice, and we liked his stuff, and let him in on the condition that he wouldn't be a 'tard. He didn't keep his end of the bargain, but we let him stay anyway.
We got out first show in the fall of '05, playing a battle (between two bands) at GHS. We won! We were legit. Then Nico quit (Nico quits a lot of things). To fill the void he left, Danny stepped in. Danny was special because he went from playing trumpet to trombone just for us! Awww.
The shows continued, but after our third show, Danikka split off from the Jerks. We needed a bass. again! Dan came back to our rescue because he realized that we were the shit and leaving was stupid. More shows followed, with Nico occasionally filling in for a missing horn. Nico realized he wanted to come back and that quitting doesn't solve everything, and we finally had a four-piece horn section!
Not long after Nico's triumphant return, Dan again forgot that we were the shit and left. For the third time, we needed a bass. This time we decided to settle for cute, and went with Sean.
More shows, but then the Asians created yet another great wall; their sport of Jujitsu and it's late practice time didn't allow Davy to come to our early rehearsals. It was mutually decided that Davy would go bye-bye. Danny put down the 'bone and picked up his trumpet.
Danny and Nico rocked out for a bit as the dynamic duo they tended to be, with Green showing up occasionally, until Bob the 'bone came into our lives. The youngest member of the group, he was also the tallest, so everything balanced nicely. Some of the sweetest sounding horn riffs were created. The rhythm section continued to expound awesomeness (except for Sean).
This incarnation didn't last long before Green decided that hitting the gym was more important than blowing his sax. Again, the horn section suffered a hit. Bob picked up all of Green's licks, and the GSJ continued to rock.
Well, folks, in the summer of 2008, Nico was about to fly out to the eastern seaboard for college. A young trumpeter by the name of Erik was recruited to fill Nico's void. This would prove to be the final chapter in the life of the Grape Soda Jerks. Five months later, in January 2009, the Jerks played their last show, with special appearances by Nico and Green. At the ripe old age of four, we gave was a last hoorah for the ages.
**At this point, GSJ is considered defunct. Does there remain the possibility of a reunion on the horizon? One can only hope.**
