Too Many Zooz is an American music group based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, consisting of

Leo Pellegrino Leonardo Antonio Pellegrino, also known as Leo P, is an American baritone saxophonist from Pittsburgh who is based in New York City. He is a member of the "brass house" band Too Many Zooz and former member of the Lucky Chops brass band. He is ...

(

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

), Matt "Doe" Muirhead (trumpet), and David "King of Sludge" Parks (drums).

Formation and viral fame

Pellegrino and Muirhead met at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, which they were both attending. Pellegrino and Parks had played together in Drumadics, a local

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

band. Teaming up in mid-2013, the trio started busking together at various stations in the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

, playing a style they call "brass house". The trio defines it as a mix of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

rhythms,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, EDM, and

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

. Too Many Zooz gained fame when a video of one of their subway performances, recorded by a passerby at the Union Square station, went viral 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 ...

in March 2014.

Stage and studio

Too Many Zooz recorded an EP, ''F NOTE'', in January 2014, which they sold at their busking performances. They went on to release three more EPs: ''Fanimals'' (2014), ''Brasshouse Volume 1: Survival of the Flyest'' (2014), and ''The Internet'' (EP) (2015). By January 2015, the trio was booked on a tour at theaters and small clubs across the United States. They played backup for

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

and the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...

in their televised CMA Awards performance on November 2, 2016, in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Kaskade Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, music producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade as "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Magazine, DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-fi ...

's July 2016 single "Jorts FTW" features Too Many Zooz. The band's first full-length studio album, ''Subway Gawdz'', came out on June 27, 2016, and received mixed-to-positive reviews. The song "Warriors", from the album, was featured in a Google commercial for the

Pixel 2 The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are a pair of Android (operating system), Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as the successors to the Pixel (1st generation) ...

phone in October 2017. The track was also heard during the flag parade of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...

Grand Final.

KFC KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...

featured the song "Brnx Bmbr" in one of their commercials. Too Many Zooz released the EPs ''A Very Too Many Zooz Xmas'' in 2018 and ''ZombiEP'' in 2019, and in 2024, they issued their second full-length album, ''Retail Therapy''.

Band members

* Leo "Leo P" Pellegrino –

* Matt "Doe" Muirhead – trumpet * David "King of Sludge" Parks – drums

Discography

Studio albums * ''Subway Gawdz'' (2016) * ''Retail Therapy'' (2024) EPs * ''F NOTE'' (2014) * ''Fanimals'' (2014) * ''Brasshouse Volume 1: Survival of the Flyest'' (2014) * ''The Internet'' (2015) * ''A Very Too Many Zooz Xmas'' (2018) * ''ZombiEP'' (2019) * ''Red Apple Gift Shop'' (2025) Music videos * "Bedford" * "Warriors" (2018) * "Car Alarm" (2018) * "Trundle Manor" (2018) * "Pink Yesterday" (2020) * "Rake Stepper" (2023) * "Mad" (2024) * "Nowhere Else to Go" – featuring Moon Hooch (2024)

References

External links

*
Bandcamp page
{{Authority control Musical groups from New York City American street performers Musical groups established in 2013