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The Heavy Pets are an American jam band based in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...
, renowned for their funk, jazz and reggae-infused brand of rock and roll. Officially formed in 2005, the band tours nationwide and appears regularly on the summer music festival circuit. Currently, the group is composed of guitarists Jeff Lloyd and Mike Garulli, keyboardist Jim Wuest, bassist Chris Patsis, and drummer Jamie Newitt. In 2010 they released their second studio LP ''The Heavy Pets''. The album was dubbed a "Top 10 Album of 2010" by ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
''.


Early years

Original members Jeff Lloyd, Mike Garulli, Jesse Margiotta, and Joe Dupell befriended each other at Goshen Central High School in upstate Goshen, New York. Garulli was in a hardcore band named Strep Nine when he met Lloyd. Together the quartet formed Anthem, the first iteration of their band loosely named after the 1938 ''
Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...
''
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
novella because they were still interested in Rush. The group practiced under several more names (such as My Friends Band) before sticking with The Heavy Pets, only to fizzle apart when members left for college. While at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
Lloyd befriended classmate and keyboardist Jim Wuest. Lloyd and Wuest played regular gigs together with bassist Robert "Chops" Froehlich and Syracuse University drummer Kinyatta King under the name My Friends Band, but the group disbanded after 2003. The high school crew partially regrouped after college, but remained a completely underground band. In 2004 Lloyd got a call from former Heavy Pets bassist Joe Dupell, who had moved to
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...
to start an internet marketing company. Dupell invited him to visit, and Lloyd saw it as an opportunity to leave New York. Garulli followed, and The Heavy Pets were officially formed. Wuest arrived soon after. Lloyd had his first Florida debut jamming with George Clinton and
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
/
Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...
on New Years between 2004 and 2005. Their first South Florida show was late in 2005, on a patio in a
Broward County, Florida Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...
condominium just after
Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensifi ...
. Afterwards the band recorded a demo and began booking at Florida venues such as Fat Cats, Alligator Alley, and Tobacco Road, Miami. By April 2006, they had already played over 350 gigs and shared the stage with
Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American Keyboard instrument, keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. In later years, he also worked with ...
,
Oteil Burbridge Oteil Burbridge (born August 24, 1964) is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of t ...
and the Peacemakers, and Tea Leaf Green. The lineup changed several times after the release of ''Whale'', with drummer Jamie Newitt joining the group just before 2008 Langerado Music Festival, right before a heavy summer touring schedule. Dupell left the band suddenly in late 2008, and bassists Mark White of the
Spin Doctors Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band from New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and N ...
and Felix Pastorious (son of
Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...
) began moonlighting at shows. Philadelphia bassist Justin Carney joined the group as Dupell's permanent replacement in mid-2009. He left the band in the summer of 2012, and was replaced by Tony D'Amato, a longtime musical collaborator and high school friend of Newitt.


Big breaks

Langerado 2006
The band's breakthrough came in March 2006. They were selected by popular local vote out of 350 other local unsigned bands to perform at the 2006 Langerado Music Festival. While there they played along bands such as
Ben Harper Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music, and he is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, liv ...
,
The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...
, G Love, and Robert Randolph. High Times
That May they were selected as the ''
High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...
'' "Unsigned Band of the Week". In July 2006 the band embarked on an East Coast festival tour, hitting as far as upstate New York. That September they also performed at the Symbiosis Gathering in Angel's Camp, CA. Jam Cruise
The Heavy Pets were invited to perform on Jam Cruise, specifically the annual music-festival-at-sea's 10th voyage in January 2012. The Heavy Pets donated a portion of proceeds from ''Swim Out Past The Sun'' sales between its release and the band's inaugural voyage upon Jam Cruise in support of Positive Legacy's community outreach projects in
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
.


Album history


''Whale'' (March 2007)

In March 2007 the band released their first studio effort ''Whale''. The album was recorded from September 2005 to March 2007 at Dreamfactory Studios in Boynton Beach, Florida. It featured the original line up, with Ryan Neuburger on drums and Joe Dupell on bass. The double-disc debut has 21 tracks ranging from rock, to reggae, to folk. The hit tracks "Operation of Flight" and "Sleep" were rotated heavily on Sirius Jam-On, earning the band "most-played" status for an unsigned act. They toured heavily in Florida to promote the album in the fall of 2007.


''Slow Motion Conductor'' (March 2008)

In 2008 they released a three track EP entitled ''Slow Motion Conductor''.


''The Heavy Pets'' (April 2010)

In 2010 the band signed with the label and management team 102° and traveled to
Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...
to record a new album. That winter they spent six weeks recording the album in Scott Mathews' TikiTown studio. The band had self-produced everything up to that point, but Mathews produced the album. As a Multi-Platinum award winner, some of Matthews' previous projects have included
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
and
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
,
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
,
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
,
Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...
,
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
,
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
,
Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...
,
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
and
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
. It was mastered by Grammy Award winner
Vlado Meller Vlado Meller (born in 1947 in Humenné as ''Vladimír Meller'') is a Slovak audio mastering engineer, currently with Vlado Meller Mastering in Charleston, South Carolina. Meller works across many genres of music, with credits on rock, hip-hop, p ...
of Universal Mastering Studios NYC, and released on both CD and vinyl. Tom Lueken served as engineer.
John Popper John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler. Early life Popper was born on March 29, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a ...
of
Blues Traveler Blues Traveler is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1987. They are known for their extensive use of segues in live performances, and could be considered a key part of the re-emerging jam band scene of the 1990s, sp ...
made a guest appearance on the track "Girl You Make Me Stupid" with a harmonica solo. An old college friend of Wuest and Lloyd, Mike Kammers, arranged horns.


''Swim Out Past The Sun'' (October 2011)

The band returned to their acoustic roots on ''Swim Out Past The Sun''. Featuring a three song sit-in by longtime
Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...
collaborator
David Grisman David Jay Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acousti ...
, ''Swim Out Past The Sun'' was again produced by Scott Mathews and mastered by Vlado Meller. Its cover art was contributed by American painter Mark T. Smith.


''Two Horses'' (October 2013)

The release of Two Horses marked a new era in The Heavy Pets' process of recording their prolific song catalog. By utilizing the world-class, hometown Power Station Recording Studios, the band was able to self-produce "Last Babies" and "Keep Me Running" while maintaining their rigorous performance schedules. Two Horses was recorded and mixed by Paul Kronk at Power Station Recording Studios, mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering, produced by The Heavy Pets and executive produced by Brotherly Love Productions. The two tracks are in rotation on Sirius XM Jam-On.


''Rags And Aces'' (May 2014)

Rags and Aces, the second in a series of self-produced EPs The Heavy Pets have been working on amidst their rigorous tour schedule. Following the success of their first in the series, Two Horses, the Pets stuck to the same formula of tracking and mixing close to home at South Florida's Power Station Recording Studios. Although the Pets attribute the writing credits of every song to the band as a whole, the three-track recording features one penned by each of the band's principle songwriters. Mike Garulli's "Movie Star" debuted live as a bluegrass/Americana number before getting shelved, reworked and recorded as a catchy indie pop tune with an abundance of witty lyricism. Jim Wuest's double-headed "Dewpoint" commemorates a friend's success in a poker tournament and kicks off with a serious funk groove paralleling the ups-and-downs of the game before taking off into a celebratory disco dance party. Jeff Lloyd's "Chew" depicts a long night of indulgence that can only be set at a music festival.


''Stolen Smile'' (November 2014)

Stolen Smile, the third in a series of self-produced EPs with tracking and mixing completed at South Florida's Power Station Recording Studios on the release which again showcases the work from multiple THP contributors. The two-track recording features another fresh tune penned by Mike Garulli in the down-tempo atmospheric "Giant Birds," first heard live in the Fall of 2013 while "Sigismondi" is another of Jim Wuest's dynamic dance numbers which has matured over a longer road life but developed into the unique sonic journey captured in a fresh light for this release.


Touring

A longtime fixture on the summer festival scene, The Heavy Pets have taken the stage at
Bonnaroo Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) far ...
, Jam Cruise,
High Sierra Music Festival High Sierra Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in Quincy, California, United States, a mountainous area about 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. History The first High Sierra Music Festival was in 1991 at Bear Valley in Alpine ...
, Gathering of the Vibes, moe.down,
Langerado Langerado Music Festival was an annual music festival, taking place in early spring in South Florida, first organized in 2003 by Ethan Schwartz. In 2008, the festival was held at the Seminole Big Cypress Indian Reservation in the Everglades ...
, Summer Camp Music Festival, All Good Music Festival, Wakarusa Music Festival, Wanee Festival, The Peach Music Festival, Hulaween, Bear Creek, Mountain Jam Festival and their namesake PetZoo. They tour nationwide and have played over 1000 shows since their late 2005 inception.


Discography


Studio albums

*''Whale'' (May 2007) *''Slow Motion Conductor EP'' (2008) *''The Heavy Pets'' (2010) *''Swim Out Past The Sun'' (2011) *''Two Horses'' (2013) *''Rags and Aces'' (2014) *''Stolen Smile'' (2014) *Strawberry Mansion (2018)


Live albums

*The Heavy Pets Live From the Outer Banks, North Carolina (March 6, 2009) *The Heavy Pets Live From
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
(October 17, 2009) *The Heavy Pets Live From State Theatre, St. Petersburg, FL (December 4, 2009) *Charlie Miller's Picks (Winter 2010-11)


Line-up


Current members

*Jeff Lloyd - guitar, vocals *Mike Garulli - guitar, vocals *Jim Wuest - keyboards, vocals *Jamie Newitt - drums *Chris Patsis - bass


Previous members

*Joe Dupell - bass *Felix Pastorius - bass *Julius Pastorius - drums *Mark White - bass *Ryan Neuburger - drums *Justin Carney - bass *Tony D'Amato - bass


Management

*Manager: Matt Beck, Brotherly Love Productions *Media/Publicity: Destiny Spang, Brotherly Love Productions


References


External links

* *
The Heavy Pets
on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

The Heavy Pets
on Last.fm {{DEFAULTSORT:Heavy Pets Musical groups established in 2005 Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)