Published: April 25, 2008 10:41 am   

Bump comes to Loading Dock in Traverse City

By KRISTEN HAINS
Special to the Record-Eagle

TRAVERSE CITY -- If you happen to drive by The Loading Dock tonight, you might just hear things that go bump in the night.

In this case, though, the sounds will actually be the Detroit-based band, Bump, who will return to Traverse City after spending the past few months on the road.

The band has undergone some changes since they last appeared in Traverse City in 2007. Dan Einheuser recently took over for longtime bass player, Eric Novak, who decided to give up life on the road.

But according to lead singer Yorg, the change hasn't been significant.

"We do have a brand new bass player, but fortunately, he has always been part of the band family," he said. "He was the first bass player that our guitarist ever played with and he taught me how to play piano when I was in sixth grade."

Adding Einheuser to the mix continued the band's mission to keep the original members together.

"We have not changed and we kind of think like that with Dan," he said. "At least it has always been like he was an original when we started out."

In addition to Einheuser on bass and Yorg on guitar and vocals, the band is rounded out by Clint Carpenter on drums and sequencer, and Chris Sterr on guitar, lap steel and vocals

It's been seven years since Bump began bringing their own style of "electronic science fiction rock" to audiences across the country.

And what exactly is electronic science fiction rock? According to Yorg, it's a blend of all the various influences of music.

"Everyone who sees us says they cannot put a label on us," he says. "And it is hard to put a label, but it is really hard for us, because we cover so many genres."

Make no mistake, though. Their hearts are in rock and roll.

"We were all raised on very classic rock," he said. "We listened to a lot of old stuff, but we definitely put like a futuristic twist on everything."

The band achieves their sound by combining drum machines, keyboards and sequencers.

"The only stipulation that we have is that everybody is involved with the song," he said. "It is like all songs written and recorded by Bump, no matter what."

Beyond that, the evolution of their songs happens in a variety of ways.

"It is every way possible you could imagine how we write a song," he said. "Sometimes the drummer will just start a drumbeat, and we will write something over that. And then, sometimes somebody writes lyrics and we write a song around that."

The band had plenty of time to contemplate new music as they spent 2-1/2 months touring across the country playing in 23 states.

One thing it didn't take them long to contemplate was the need to lose their trailer and travel with just a van.

Down the road, literally and figuratively, Yorg said the band hopes to follow the lead of musicians like Dave Matthews, who have switched to diesel engines in order to take advantage of bio-diesel options like French fry oil.

"They are saving a lot of money, and helping out the environment and helping out these fast food restaurants that want to get rid of their French fry oil."

In the meantime, the band plans to continue taking their music on the road and expose new audiences to the music that is Bump.

"Well, you can take Bump in so many ways, but really it is just like that feeling of just like a party...just constant...even though you cannot really describe our music, it makes you move," Yorg says.

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Indie Rock Quartet Bump Descends on Vaudeville Mews Monday [+ Show]
Sarah Vachlon - The Times - Delphic (Des Moines, IA)
If their name isn't unique or catchy enough, their music certainly is. Bump is an indie rock quartet from Detroit, Mich., and they're coming to Des Moines on their spring 2008 tour on Monday. Performing at Vaudeville Mews for an all-ages show, Bump will play at 10 p.m. with a $5 cover charge.

Their music is difficult to classify; it can only be described as a blend of progressive, electronic, underground funk and reggae, and classic rock. The band, however, prefers to refer to this sound as "New Detroit sound."

Whatever it may be classified as, the sound has enticed and entertained crowds from all over the nation. The sets they play last about two hours and vary with each performance.

"It's going to be one of the greatest parties in history," said Yorg Kerasiotis, 26, the lead singer of the band. "We have a lot of fun. We say party a lot because at a pumped up show, something's going to happen. You'll feel a lot of different emotions; you're going to dance, you're going to watch, you're going to stare sometimes. It's really cool."

The band will be headlining and will be the only one playing on Monday night. Their current spring 2008 tour extends for over 40 days in over 15 states.

The quartet members include lead singer Kerasiotis (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Chris Sterr (lead guitar, vocals), Dan Einheuser (bass) and Clint Carpenter (drums, vocals). The band recently experienced an upheaval when Einheuser replaced Eric Novak, the previous bass player for the band. However, Kerasiotis said that Novak is still very involved with the band.

"We're doing what we love," Kerasiotis said.

One may inquire about the curious nature of the band's name. Kerasiotis said that the name was originally thought up by a close friend who said, "You guys were bumping!" After that, the name just stuck.

Party From The Heart [+ Show]
Real Detroit Weekly
Bump
By Travis R. Wright
Dec 26, 2007, 12:47

Party From The Heart

There's not too much that surprises me these days. Comes with age … experience … and traversing the proverbial block of life. It doesn't come as a shock when people turn out to be nice folks or complete asses, when bands knock me off my feet or put me to sleep, when expectations exceed or fall short.

But I fight this desensitization. I'm looking for stimulation.

Sitting down for beer and soup with Yorg, Eric and band manager, Joe Choma, of the Detroit-based band Bump this past week at a local Ferndale eatery became an astounding occurrence. For lack of more eloquent phrasing — I was surprised to be surprised.

Bump is unlike any other band I've come across in the city, and while they might not tuck into one of the handful of genre scenes more prevalent in Detroit, they've crafted a fan base that stretches from the state line across the country. "There's a lot of scenes that get forgotten about in this city," says Choma. And he's right. There's an eclectic jazz scene, a strugglin' blues scene and a scene that is nearly indefinable — it's rock, it's pop, it's experimental and (at times) it's improvisational.

And people dig the hell out of it.

This might come as a surprise to you, but Bump is NOT a "jam band." Sure, there are some improvisational moments structured into some tracks, and when I raise this point between a sip of soup, Yorg jumps on it with enthusiasm. "Exactly — it's planned!" he exclaims. Eric quips, "Yeah, we're a plan band." These guys have heard it all — they've consistently been tossed in with more college-campus-focused jammers, but this hasn't made for any treacherous bumps in the road.

"We get grouped into [jam bands], but we're not going to let it get us down or anything — stuff like that just makes you work that much harder," Choma says, to which Yorg adds "That said, our biggest fan base is Detroit. That's still our biggest market. Last year we sold out the Majestic for the night before Thanksgiving and we almost did it this year, too."

Going back for a moment to the line of thinking regarding surprises, it's evident to me at this point in life that New Year's Eve is like a rollercoaster — perhaps in more than one way. On one hand, the evening can either be a big bang or a complete bust. And sometimes, like any amusement park ride, New Year's Eve plans often sound cooler than they turn out to be, but other times, they're seemingly dull but somehow the night morphs into an evening of unforgettable celebratory antics.

Luckily, there really are "sure things" out there. Isn't that what everyone wants in life — a little certainty? Joe Choma and Bump want it, and along with a supporting cast of bands including U.K. (by way of Iowa) group The Envy Corps and Detroit's darlings, The Silent Years on their New Year's Eve bill, I'm certain expectations of grandeur will be met. 

For a band like Bump, who easily fit onto a party bill, I wondered if there were any memorable New Year's gigs they've played in the past. "We had a New Year's once in East Lansing at the Landshark and Clint (drums) wore a skintight Superman costume from his childhood under his clothes … without the cape … and with no underwear," Eric says.

"Seriously, it looked like he was the grape smuggler in his pants. So anyway, later that night, he starts to take his clothes off and then finally he took everything off until he was just in a leotard — and let me tell you, he really put the "tard" in leotard if you know what I'm talking about. And these were our younger days when we used to get really drunk."

Now that's a surprise. Perhaps I'm not so cynical after all — perhaps I'm not so desensitized — perhaps I needed a little awakening — perhaps I needed a little Bump to set me straight.

Bump is always out to show people a great time, but music aside, they're also out to push the boundaries of the zenith that is the music industry. They think so far outside the box that the box has lost its shape and form ... and from that vantage point, they've really started to get creative on the multi-media end of things. They always have an impressive light set-up; this past summer, while on tour, they were doing real time webcasting from the road for their throbbing fan base, and for their upcoming double disc record they will be including a comic book of sorts by locally based graphic illustrator Gustav Gerlach V.

And with record sales no longer being an incredibly viable way for a band to make ends meet unless you're in the top tier, it's through these more interesting avenues that Bump hope to reach out and, at the same time, pay some bills. Now, record companies want to dip their hands in the tour profits, too — Bump isn't havin' any of that. "We can do 30 days on the road and turn a profit — which is what it's about and it's hard for a lot of bands to do that," says Choma. "There's no money in record sales, but you can still make ends meet if you put in the work and reach out to various, more interesting outlets — licensing, promotion and sponsorships, things like that."

At the end of the day, this band is surprising the city by working on its own terms. They also surprise the biz, by succeeding without a major label contract, and when you make it to the show on New Year's, they're bound to surprise you, too. With about 60 grand worth of intelligent lighting and no city ordinance to tell 'em when they have to stop playing or serving (they plan on going until at least 3 a.m.), Bump is looking to make this New Year's the best you've ever had. For a $50 general ticket and an amazing $150 VIP ticket value (drinks, food, balcony access), there's no question they're bringing in '08 the right way. "It's not about ticket sales or draw," says Yorg, "It's about putting really great music on stage."  | RDW

Bump • 12/31 • Atheneum Hotel International Grand Ballroom
More info: myspace.com/bumpband

Bump Playing Its Own Motown Song [+ Show]
Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune
September 20, 2007


They've played the Motown sound. They've played the electronica sound. But after six years of mixing and matching different genres within their own creative element the Detroit-based rock outfit Bump has finally nailed down what they can call their own sound.
Appropriately they call it the Detroit Sound, a tribute to all that is their hometown, musically speaking, mixing the best of rock, funk, R&B and electronic music into one aptly titled hybrid.
"We kind of think that we sum up all that has really come from Detroit in the last 40 years," guitarist and vocalist Chris Sterr said in a recent telephone interview. "The longer you go and the more you do it, the more people get it that didn't get it before. It has been more positive than we could ever hope."
Bump will be in concert at Howard's Club H on Saturday, supporting The Samples on an extensive fall tour throughout the U.S.
While dubbing yourself as the aural expression of an entire city rich with musical history may be a bold move, Bump prefers to think of their statement as paying homage rather than drawing distinction.
According to Sterr all of the band members grew up listening to The Four Tops and The Temptations, a sentiment echoed throughout the sound of their EP released in 2004.
"A couple of years back we did this EP that was kind of like a loose tribute to the Motown sound," he said. "We tried to make as much as we could from what we were hearing growing up in Detroit."
However, they also had an interest in electronic music, a genre rich in history throughout the Motor City.
Over the past three years they have continued to hone their diverse musical interests into an eclectic, electronic-tinged rock quartet that continues to push their creative energies.
"We're a rock-based band but we have definitely ventured into funk and jam band stuff to progressive rock and country. We kind of go everywhere but we have one solid foot in a rock format."
The Samples with Bump opening will perform Saturday with doors opening at 9 p.m. at Howard's Club H, 210 N. Main St. in downtown Bowling Green. Tickets are $12 at the door.

By COLE CHRISTENSEN
Sentinel Staff Writer

Off The Record - 10,000 Lakes Music Festival [+ Show]
The Fergus Falls Daily Journal
June 21, 2007

By Bob Williams

With less than a month left until the 10,000 Lakes festival in Detroit Lakes, VIP packages, tickets and prime campground reservations are going quickly.

If you are looking at the list below thinking, "Well, I've heard of the Tragically Hip," don't feel too bad. That's part of the point of 10K - checking out something new. Visit the 10KLF website and listen to the bands and visit their websites. I enjoyed a few hours with a couple cohorts and some cheese and wine doing just that. The interface makes it easy and we had no load or buffering problems. Highly recommended if you have plans to attend or are on the fence.

I will fill you in on one band and that's Bump.

I personally guarantee you will enjoy their show.

I found out about the band after some friendly gent handed me a free EP at a past 10K. It sat in my collection for about three months until one day, staring at roughly 500 compact discs and 400 vinyls, I realized I needed something new to listen to. Into the player the disc went and it's been a favorite ever since.

They play at 9:30 p.m., Thursday, July 19, on the Saloon Stage. On their 5 track EP, it is hard to pick a favorite and the styles jump from song to song. What was a jam, turns funky, then grooves and your feet are tapping and your melon is bobbling before you realize it. It's progressive rock & soul.

Their bio:
Growing up in the outskirts of the Motor City, it has become Bump's mission to resurrect the sounds that made Detroit a musical Mecca. After the recent years of Detroit's association with garage rock, hip-hop and rap rock, Bump is stepping up to fuse all the famous sounds the city was once known for. Yorg Kerasiotis combines the vocal hooks and harmonies of the Funk Brother's with the stage presence of James Brown, while Chris Sterr echoes the guitar tones of Mick Taylor and classic Detroit rock. Holding it all together are Eric Novak, who drops tasty bass-lines reminiscent of James Jamerson, and Clint Carpenter on drums laying down the groove like the great Stewart Copeland. Bump has taken all of their Motown roots and has managed to create an unusual and unique sound to call their own.

Ticket prices go up the first week of July so order now and you save $15 per ticket and vehicle.

Things That Go "Bump" on Sunny Afternoons[+ Show]
Homegrown Music Network
Things That Go "Bump" on Sunny Afternoons

May 10, 2007

Interview by Clara Rose Thornton

Close your eyes for a moment and envision Detroit, Michigan. If you've never ventured there before, the image that invades your mind probably comes straight from modern folklore -- abandoned blocks, burned-out hulls of buildings, empty car-manufacturing plants with rusty old Ford license plates rattling along the ground in the breeze. Now imagine the Detroit of yore, the Detroit of Motown's heyday or of mid-1970s rock. Did the image change to ingénues shimmying until dawn, afroed funk musicians laying down a groove and long-haired rocker boys air-guitaring into the night? Well, the reality is that Detroit's wholly unique culture and incredible vitality has not vanished along with its foothold in the auto industry, and it is precisely this music that has kept its thread of life long and sinewy. Detroit neo-synth/electro-funk darlings Bump arrived on the scene in 2001, and with their constant DIY touring and increasingly widespread praise and recognition, the glory days are poised to return. This summer, with their biggest nationwide tour ever, they'll be gracing the stages of several festivals -- most notably Dogstock, in Melvern, Kansas, a fest where proceeds from the 100+ band, four-stage extravaganza go directly to The Akita Adoption and Rescue Foundation. Funk inflections, 80's-inspired synths, soaring guitar riffs, angelic keyboards AND a good heart? You've got to read lead singer Yorg Kerasiotis tell it to believe it. Detroit Rock City, indeed.

Home Grown Music Network – This is the second time that I've interviewed you guys. The last time I interviewed you it was after your July 2006 Wise Fools Pub show with Bockman, in Chicago. I remember that (lead guitarist) Chris Sterr had just recently suffered a severe health blow.

Yorg Kerasiotis – Yes, that was his first show back. He's fine now; everything's back to 100%

HGMN – If my memory serves me right, you guys didn't even cancel any of your shows at the time -- you just forged on without him for a while.

YK – We had our producer come and fill in on guitar, which wasn't the same, but at least he knew all the songs. We did it without him, but it went fine.

HGMN – Wow. See, that road warrior sort of dedication seems like it's been a Bump mainstay from the beginning.

YK – That's the way it's been for six years.

HGMN – And it seems to be truly manifesting this summer. You're having your largest
and most comprehensive tour ever -- 40 dates in 17 states.

YK – (chuckles) Yeah, yeah; it's going to be great. We're really excited about it.

HGMN – How did that come about?

YK – To be honest with you, we usually like to tour for a month, then take a couple weeks off, go another month, then take a couple weeks off. You know, month by month by month. Although, now, two members of the band are getting married -- in August and September. So we're taking a month off in mid-August, and therefore decided to do the big, BIG tour right now. We're not stopping touring until mid-August. We're booked pretty solid. And then right after I get married, we're going out to California and to play there and then in Oregon, and next head down south and hit up Arizona, New Mexico and all that good stuff on the way down.

HGMN – Nice. Congratulations on the wedding, by the way.

YK – Yeah, lookout! Thanks! (laughs)

HGMN – Who else is getting married?

YK – Chris Sterr, actually -- the one you just talked about.

HGMN – Ah! Excellent! That's so beautiful.

YK – When it's the one, it's the one. That's all that matters.

HGMN – True words. Getting back to this touring aesthetic that you guys have adopted -- this principle of not canceling shows, of garnering more fans, of spreading your music and your style to as many people as possible across the largest landscape possible -- was this the goal when you decided to form the band?

YK – Always. We get categorized with the jambands a lot, yet if you actually go see a show, [you'll see that] we're very different than the quintessential jamband. Like, way different. If folks go see us, they'll think, "What are these guys? They're not anything specific that I've ever seen." But the one thing we do take from jambands is that we've always wanted to tour constantly. We're all about playing live, and becoming better musicians through playing live. That's always the goal, no matter what.

HGMN – Can you describe the band's origins?

YK - At Michigan State University we started. We branched off from there. We wanted to get as big as we could in Michigan. That all basically climaxed this year: We sold out the Majestic Theater in Detroit, which I think is around 1,300 people. It was absolutely the best; we had been playing there for four years. Currently we play all over Michigan and the Midwest. We're doing really well in Chicago. Though we wanted to branch out, so we started hitting up Colorado and all over the rest of the United States as much as we could. The name (Bump) has been getting bigger and bigger, so we can get the shows we want to get.

HGMN – Did you guys go to high school together?

YK – We all grew up in the same town. The bass player (Erick Novak) and the drummer (Clint Carpenter) went to the same high school, while the guitarist (Sterr) and I went to the same high school. We were the only two in the town – the North and South high schools. Everybody knew each other there.

HGMN – So what is it about music, and about rock n' roll specifically, that drove you to want to form a band, that drove you to create? In other words, what is it about the specific capabilities of the musical medium that spoke to you more than, say, wanting to make films with these guys or write books? Why music?

YK – I think that for all of the guys, ever since we were kids, we didn't see ourselves as doing anything other than being in band. That was it. It was like, something hit us. I could tell you a million influences that I've had throughout the years, just like the other members could. But mainly it's just that when we were kids, that's all we wanted to do. Since middle school, late elementary school… ever since we could have talent shows, we were in the talent shows. It was like, "When's the next gig?" When we were in sixth grade, we were thinking, "When can we get more gigs?" We were tired of just doing talent shows. [We thought to ourselves] can we play the coffeehouse, or can we play a bar down the street? We were barely 14 and trying to get gigs already. I guess that the combination of MTV and Motown in general – the oldies – greatly influenced us. We had good radio stations in Detroit. We knew about all the oldies before [other kids]. A lot of people would ask, "Are you kidding me? You're talking about somebody that was big thirty years ago." Well, yeah! That's what we know. We integrate all types and eras of music. We've always been influenced by it and we always thought we'd be a band.

HGMN – Given that philosophy about the joy of music, the joy of playing and how that was with you from the beginning, do you see a difference between the types of gigs that you get as an ever-touring band? For instance, the clubs versus these massive summer festivals that you're starting to be more involved in: Do you see a difference between those two touring experiences?

YK – At the clubs, the drawback is that no matter if you're the biggest band [on the bill] or the smallest, it's always hard to get people out. But you get a lot of good set-up time, you get your set right, you get a longer time to play. Yet we'll take the festivals anytime. It's just a gathering of people; so many people can utilize that time to come see you, even to come see three or four songs. If they love it, that's great. You can take the whole weekend to promote yourself. You bring CDs, you go around; for 10,000 Lakes and Dogstock we'll probably bring about 1,000 CDs to each. We'll distribute them and tell people about the gig. Even after the gig's over -- after we get done playing -- we'll be giving them out. It's a great way to make fans, it's a great way to meet people, and you get educated, too, because you can go around and see all the other bands that are playing with you and see what they're up to. It's all one. You can work and play, as well as go to school, at the same time. We love the festivals. The more festivals the better.

HGMN – So you love the festival atmosphere, even in terms of promotion, where there are dozens and dozens and sometimes more than a hundred other bands, more so than the club shows where it might be just you and another band or two? That's interesting.

YK – We love both. But, you can't beat the publicity [of festivals]. And you can't beat the overall atmosphere. I hate to take sides; there are no sides taken. But if there's a festival happening, chances are people are going to go to that festival. You go where the people are. And it's summer… (laughs) The festivals are where it's at.

HGMN – So you also think of it as more of a seasonal thing -- that's where the people are flocking during the summer?

YK – Yeah, and you know what's funny? About three years ago we all started realizing this when bar owners told us that bars hate summer. I'd say, "Hate summer?
What on earth? People are going out." (They'd respond) "They're not coming here! They're going to the outdoor festivals, they're walking around. Or they're getting shitcanned somewhere else, you know, out on their porch." Overall, bars do better in the winter. When the people are outside, you have to migrate to that sort of atmosphere.

HGMN – You mentioned Dogstock as one of Bump's preeminent festival opportunities this summer. How did you get hooked up with Dogstock?

YK – We were kind of whoring ourselves. We wanted to play every festival we could. Dogstock saw our package, loved what we were doing, saw that we were promoting hard for all our shows, saw that that we were doing a huge tour before the summer -- and therefore would be promoting for (Dogstock) during it. 10,000 Lakes has been really happy with us, too. They sent us 2,000 flyers, and when we distribute them all, we not only promote for us but we promote for the festival in general.

HGMN – Dogstock appears unique within the entire festival roster because of the fact that it's a benefit. And not only is it a benefit for a good cause but for a good cause aiding animals, which seems unheard of, to me, in terms of large-scale music festivals. This event will have 100+ bands on four different stages. That's massive -- and to have a significant amount of the proceeds go directly to The Akita Adoption and Rescue Foundation? That's so exquisite.

YK – It is exquisite, and that's what it's all about. All this hard work, that's what it's for. What should you want to do when you become a big rock band? You've got to help out. You've got to help out the world around you, because everything's going to shit right now. You've got help out as much as possible. So we're always happy to be a part of those [types of] things.

To be honest with you though, on top of that, I'm just so excited about the music in general. Bernie Worrell, Ivan Neville's Dumpsta Funk… I'm really excited about Dogstock because it seems like there are a lot of groovin' bands, a lot of beat-oriented funk bands. I can't wait to see Bernie Worrell; he's one of my idols.

HGMN – What can fans expect from a Bump set, specifically at a festival like Dogstock, where you have a limited amount of time to truly allow an audience to receive the band's essence? Describe your sound in that sort of live setting.

YK – Everyone that I've talked to who've heard us play – for example, at this radio show we just did -- they've said, "You're really good. What kind of music are you?" Then they'll tell us five genres they think we sound like. This one guy said, "You guys are like a cross between Pink Floyd and Maroon 5…but, no…not really!" So the only thing I can say is, if people come see us, they're not going to see a genre, per se. For instance, with a lot of the bands at festivals, people say, "Oh, we like to see [so and so], they're kind of folky," or "We like to see [this other band], they're electronica," or "Let's see that band, they're really rockin'." But if you're going to see Bump, you say, "Let's go see Bump. They're…out of this world!" You can't even explain it or box us in. It's a different experience. Every song is different. [The sound] has all of our influences there, and they run really deep. We take the parts of our influences that we think are the best parts about them, not necessarily the hits.

HGMN – It's funny you say that because in literally every article that I've read about Bump, the writer's saying, "Hmm, is it electronica? Or are they a jam band? Is it neo-Motown? Is it funk? We don't know. But we like it."

YK – And when you think about all those types you just rattled off -- we sort of sound like all of it, don't we? All of that stuff sounds good, but still, we're not going to be a funk band, we're not going to be an electronica band, we're not going to be a rock band. We're going to be all of those things. The thing we care about most, though, is that no matter what, there's a groove. There's a beat. You can move. No matter if it's a pop song or a jammy song -- you can move.

HGMN – In your press information, in the band members' bios, on the Web site, in various interviews -- there's always the sentiment that you are trying to, in a way, recreate but yet reinvent the classic Detroit sound. Detroit is known for a soulful, Motown-inspired, funky aesthetic that got lost, and now people don't immediately think of it when referencing Detroit. And somehow you guys are trying to bring that back, yet with a futuristic element to it: Electro-Motown. Can you comment on that?

YK – We're inspired to write the songs we want to write because of that connection, but when we actually get them down and play them for people, it can be heard that we're inspired by and commenting on it, but we don't copy it. We do our own thing with it.

HGMN – Was that a conscious element of your passion when you were younger? To incorporate your hometown sound?

YK – Not really, it was a natural thing. All the guys in the band, we really dig to find old records that most people wouldn't know about unless they're really into eclectic, "retired" sounds. We try to find that stuff that people haven't heard, and let that inspire us, rather than something that's blatantly happenin' at the moment in musical culture. I think that was always the case; I just want to do something brand new. We're trying to be the future.

Lookout for Bump's upcoming double album in the fall, Astronomica, what Kerasiotis calls a "space-rock opera, a musical adventure that tells an insane, complete story." Their debut studio CD, Incredible Consequence, is available now.

Bump - Some Incredible Consequences [+ Show]
Glide Magazine
March 21, 2006

What are your earliests music memories or concert experience?

Clint: G'n'R: 1993 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, MI

Nadz: Poison Flesh'n'Blood tour 1989, Palace

Yorg: Endless amounts of music were played for me as a kid, but man Bruce Hornsby just killed everything for me in '87.

Sterr: First concert experience - The Pointer Sister's, '88. First concert that left an impression on me - Eric Clapton's All Blues Tour, '95

How did the band initially get started?

Yorg: The Rhythm section was in a band (Melt) and were touring in Georgia for one year or so while Chris and I were in a band touring around Michigan called Sweet Mary Love. All four of us grew up in the same neighborhood (Grosse Pointe, MI - a suburb of Detroit) so after a crazy car crash that left Nadz and Clint recovering back in Michigan, the four of us just kind of combined due to the fact that we had gigs lined up and were thirsty for a new lineup!

How have you developed as artists since then?

Yorg: We all think about music differently now and it keeps on changing. There have been so many musical barriers that we have torn down in the last three and a half years. Each of us has grown so much individually, but more important we all realize that we're only as good as the group! We have developed in a way that only constant touring, rehearsing and writing will do for you. Our evolution has come from everyone getting involved. Almost every Bump song has started out as one thing or idea, but when everyone gets involved it comes out a much stronger and more focused, yet diverse piece of music.

How would you describe your new album?

Clint: Pretty much the fucking best thing your ears will ever hear. But no seriously, we are just very proud of it and we put amazing amount of work into it.

Nadz: It sounds like sucking a golf ball through a garden hose! Honestly, it's somewhere between synth 80's indie rock and progressive jamband pop.

Sterr: The best thing that we could create with the time we had to create it.

Yorg: I can't believe we recorded this thing! It's definitely been the incredible consequence of being in the dream of making a living in music. No matter what happens with our career in Bump/music, we'll always have this disc as a record of the hard/trying times. It and the life we live are the "Incredible Consequence" of being in a band.

Top played songs currently in your iPod rotation?

Collective band van answer:

"Race for the Prize" - The Flaming Lips

"The End" - Ryan Adams

"The Beast" - Aphrodite's Child (666)

"Ambition" - Doves (and anything off Last Broadcast!)

"This" - Brian Eno

"Close to the Edge" - Yes

"Night By Night" - Steely Dan

Which album from history do you most wish you wrote or played on?

Clint: Jeff Buckley (Grace)

Nadz: Pink Floyd (Animals)

Sterr: Steely Dan (Aja)

Yorg: Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells)

Classic story from the road?

Yorg - Besides having our house robbed of pretty much everything we owned while on tour last summer we recently had the best night of our lives in Kalamazoo on 2-24-06 when we played at Bells! Then Mike "Dutchie" Sterr invited the whole crowd back to his house and we killed! So the next morning we go to Guitar Center in Grand Rapids and Clint's stomach decides that it's fucked and he throws up in between the two sets of doorways inside the store! Needless to say the whole band laughed our asses off about it and then continued to shop. Turns out the workers got pissed at us and started asking us where our drummer went and told us we should clean up the mess. Knowing that the customer is always right Yorg told them to take it easy on all of us because we were all doing heroin last night! The worker took us seriously and came out to the van to yell at most of the band and crew while Yorg was still shopping inside. Nobody knew about the comment he had made and the GC worker started calling everybody out in the van and accusing them of being on heroin! The whole van started laughing there assess off and basically tore this guy a new asshole for being such a bonehead. The guy walked away for a sec and the van took off! Looks like we're not going to be allowed in the Guitar Center again even though we still managed to spend $700.00 there collectively that day!

Most memorable on-stage moment so far?

Clint: While opening for HANSON at the Royal Oak Music Theatre I was bending over to pick up my drum rug and a 13 year old girl told me I had a hot ass! YES!!! Or opening for KDTU in Detroit at the Majestic.

Nadz: Opening for PGroove in Athens at the Georgia Theatre for their
New Years Run. After we finished "Injustice" we got a nice "bump" chant from the crowd. Very unexpected.

Yorg: yeah, probably the Athens "Injustice" opening for PGroove.

Who would you most like to share the stage with or tour with?

NADZ: Yes

Yorg: Amadou and Mariam
Clint: The Greyboy Allstars

Sterr: Derek and the Dominoes

What are the plans for 2006?

Yorg -With this current album we'd like to tour relentlessly and then tour some more! At the end of 2006 we will be going back into the studio to begin recording our masterpiece album "Astronomica"! It's a tale of conspiracy theories and string theory. Pretty much the dark concept album/rock opera most prog bands wish they could make, but we are really going to do it. It's about 60% done and a lot of that new material will be played during tour this summer.

Incredible Consequence is due out May 2, 2006 on Beechwood Records.

bumpgroove.com
myspace.com/bumpband

Things that go 'Bump' at the Music Farm [+ Show]
08.2005 Chaleston Post by Mark R. Pantsari 
http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=34959

Things that go 'Bump' at the Music Farm

BY MARK R. PANTSARI
Special to The Post and Courier

The Motor City has long been a cornerstone of American music. Motown officially established Detroit as a musical hotspot with a sound that carried a universal appeal in turning out some of the most memorable and influential songs and artists. The Motown sound's incomparable blend of pop, rhythm and blues, and funk still is unmatched to this day.

But the Motor City is famous for much more than Motown. The city has given birth to the White Stripes, Eminem, Kid Rock, The Stooges, MC-5, Bob Seger and, of course, Ted "the Nuge/Motor City Madman" Nugent.

After making a name for itself in Detroit over the past 3-1/2 years, rock quartet Bump is primed to put its own spin on the Motor City sound.

The band -- Yorg Kerasiotis (guitar, keys, vocals), Clint Carpenter (drums, vocals), Eric Novak (bass, synths, drum machine), and Chris Sterr (lead guitar, vocals) -- split its time between playing local shows on the weekends while the group's members finished up degrees at Michigan State University. The group is now more or less on the road full time, and Bump has already made some impressive additions to its resume.

Bump was named by www.jambase.com as a "band to watch in 2005," and the group has certainly lived up to expectations this year.

Bump recently played at 10,000 Lakes Festival in Minnesota, where a record crowd of approximately 13,000 checked out Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio, the Black Crowes, Les Claypool and several other bands in one of the nation's fastest-growing festivals.

Bump also appeared last weekend at the Bele Chere festival in Asheville, N.C., alongside of bands including the Derek Trucks Band, the Drive-By Truckers, Blues Traveler and others.

"We're getting some really cool shows and some great exposure," Yorg Kerasiotis said in a recent interview with Preview.

"We really thrive off of good audiences, so it's been a great opportunity for us so far this summer." Musically, Bump touches on bits and pieces of the many sounds of Detroit and takes an all inclusive approach to the group's outside influences.

The four creative minds in the band bring amounts of techno, funk, rock and jam. While the band's rhythm section is reminiscent of the catchy grooves of Motown, Bump's collective sound has also covered ground from the Who, to Faith No More, to the Flaming Lips.

"There's so much different music in Detroit," Kerasiotis said, "we just to try keep it fluid and funky and song-oriented."

"The music is all over the place and it's all kind done in our own flavor," added Chris Sterr. "Detroit definitely has its own thing, and we add onto that from our influences from all over the place."

Currently Bump is making its first foray into the South. The quartet has 38 shows running through November that will find the band making appearances for the first time in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, before winding up the tour with some dates in the Midwest and the Northeast.

"We're hoping to start playing down there a lot more," Kerasiotis said of touring in the South. "We really love it down South. And we plan to keep going from town to town, and we may only turn three or four heads, but that's what happens, and we'll keep coming back, and just never stop."

After wrapping up most of 2005 on the road, Bump will begin recording its first full-length studio album in early 2006. Currently the band has a live EP out and its studio EP, "The Heart of Cadillac Square" has received critical acclaim with a nomination for a Detroit Music Award.

The band has been consistently winning new fans on the road, but is looking forward to making the studio album and capturing the potential of the band.

The record is over 3-1/2 years in the making with most of Bump's original material being written on the road.

"It should be coming out in April (2006)," Kerasiotis said of the album. "We're going into a studio in Detroit for about two full months to record.

"We've always wanted to make an album we really want, with good producing and a lot of time and effort in the studio. That means we pretty much have to stop touring and playing out as much and just concentrate on the album, and that has not been an option in the past."

Bump's introduction to Charleston should prove to be a fruitful first-time show, as Bump will be opening for Savannah's Perpetual Groove tonight at the Music Farm.

When Preview first featured Perpetual Groove nearly three years ago, the band was passing out free CDs and struggling to break out of the Southeastern market.

Now the band has several national tours under its belt and appearances at just about every major festival in the country -- Bonnaroo, 10,000 Lakes, Wakarusa, High Sierra and several others.

The surging popularity of both bands should make tonight's show a must-see for local music fans.

The show will start at 9 p.m. and tickets are $10. Call 722-8904 for more information.


For information on BUMP, check out www.bumpgroove.com.




Bump's Debut Shows Off Its Blend  [+ Show]
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT DISC: Bump's debut shows off its blend

November 7, 2004


Bands like Bump don't get a lot of props from Detroit music scene tastemakers, who tend to favor their rock 'n' roll heavy on the guitar: either scruffed-up and intense or crunchy and loud (or sometimes both). That's true whether you're talking about much-hyped garage acts like the Dirtbombs or groups in a more traditional hard rock vein, such as the Kingsnakes.

On its debut studio 5-track EP "The Heart of Cadillac Square" Bump sends a signal that it's worth a look-hear, too -- even if the amps aren't in danger of blowing out. A steady live gigging presence over the past three years, the group conjures the kind of music that's often described as jammy, though on disc the the trips to Wankville are kept to a minimum. What you get is Eric Novak's limber bass in tight interaction with the snappy drumming of Clint Carpenter, Chris Sterr's guitars snaking in and around, serving more as an accompaniment than a foundation. The emphasis is on communication, whether they're tapping funk, jazz, R&B or even new wave influences.


Most immediately noticeable are the sandy but pliant vocals of Yorg Kerasiotis, who has the kind of pipes you can imagine overcooking things, a mistake he thankfully avoids. That's true on opening track and hometown homage "Motorland," a subtly groovy tune that tops out with a nifty sax solo. Same goes for "Moonlight Song," which bounces along on the energy of Kerasiotis' voice coupled with keyboards courtesy of the Brothers Groove's Chris Codish. There's not a single misfire, but the standout has to be closer "Dusk," which is built on a slightly cheesy keyboard loop even the most hard-core rocker would admit is catchy as all heck.


By Steve Byrne, Free Press staff writer


Bump's CD-release party is Nov. 24 at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward, Detroit. 313-833-9700. With the Natives of the New Dawn.


http://www.freep.com/entertainment/music/disc7e_20041107.htm

Copyright © 2004 Detroit Free Press Inc.


Bump - At the Mad Frog [+ Show]
Cincinnati City Beat
http://www.citybeat.com/2004-12-08/soundadvice.shtml

Bump
Friday · The Mad Frog

Detroit has forgotten more about music than most regional scenes in this country will ever know, so it's astonishing to read in some quarters that the city is making a resurgence as a respected scene because of the suddenly and impossibly raised profile of The White Stripes. Detroit never waned as a musical powerhouse, the fickle media just stopped paying attention. The good thing about the renewed interest is that smaller, equally fascinating bands that would have slipped through the cracks before now have a shot at a little of the spotlight. Bump is a case in point. For the past three years, the Motor City quartet has stood as a garden variety Rock band while the members finished their studies at Michigan State. In that time, the band has been honing its sound, a potent blending of all the elements that have consistently made Detroit one of the nation's most vital musical hot spots -- a Classic Rock foundation, Garage Rock snarl, New Wave precision, Funk thump and groove and Soul swing. In the process, Bump has mutated into an incredibly diverse Jam outfit, opening for the likes of Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Umphrey's McGee and Lynyrd Skynyrd and more than holding their own, amassing a sizable local following and picking up a Detroit Music Award nomination for their trouble. This year has seen the expansion of Bump's territory into large parts of the Midwest and even a well-received circuit through Colorado. The band's initial studio recording, the five-song EP Heart of Cadillac Square, is a laudable first release and a fair representation of everything the band does well in the live arena, from the soulful Rock groove of "Motorland," the band's hometown theme, to the similarly bouncy "Moonlight Song" to the Jam-filled goodness of the disc's closer, "Dusk." If you want to find out what the talk in Detroit is all about, you might want to have that Bump looked at.

(Brian Baker)