Zen Bar

Saturday, May 23, 8pm the Zen Bar in Farmington (240 Farmington Ave) there will be a mix of blues, pop, rock and soul.

Filling the bill that night are Jennifer Hill and Co, Sarah LeMeiux and the Super Blue Band, Poor Pluto, Laura Ganci, Maiiah The Serpent Dancer, and painter Kerry Kozaczuk.

Jennifer Hill, on Sling Slang records, has been playing in the CT music scene most of her life, except for a few missed years performing in southwestern Colorado and New York city. When returning to CT in 2001 she began her search for a band that could create the "noises inside her head." After an exhaustive search, and many frustrating years the formula finally clicked and Jennifer Hill and Co. was formed. Coming together as a group of strangers from both coasts and from different musical backgrounds they created a vibe that is all their own. They have played the gamut of shows, from intimate concerts at NYC's Rockwood Music hall, to NYC'S indie M.E.A.N.Y Fest, and various other venues all over CT, NYC and MA. Often described as a "piano soul collective" the sound is a fusion of pop, rock, jazz, soul, and funk shaken together with a fat ass piano pounding beat. They are currently recording their first release for Sling Slang Records.

Poor Pluto, also on Sling Slang, is a 5 piece original rock band hailing out of the Hartford, CT area. Their dynamic sound is influenced by everything while producing music that is uniquely their own. Mixing elegant violin melodies, horns, driving rhythms, spacious piano and guitar work, touches of electronica, and lyrics about the ups and downs of life that are simple but make the listener think. The music is sonically intense yet organically mellow all at once.

Maiiah is a dark beauty who can intoxicate you with one flick of the wrist. She weaves through the music like a second melody...fluid and beautiful. She will be on hand for a beautiful belly dance sure to entertain and mystify you.

Sarah's influences ride the river, from Robert Johnson, Freddie King and Koko Taylor, on through Jimi Hendrix and Bonnie Raitt, to Bjork, Daniel Lanois and Pierre Bensusan. After college, she added some indie-rock to her mix, lending her vocals to bands like Brother Love, Hapikrak, and Toke Squealy, but she always returned to the blues. After stints in the house band at the legendary C-Note Blues jam and Hank's Saloon and Lillie's blues nights, Sarah toured, stopping back for regular gigs at Lower East Side hotspots Mannahatta and the Anyway Cafe.

Laura Ganci is a weaver of effortless melody and beautiful prose. Her waif like deliverance gives an air of innocence reminiscent of the Sundays or Ani DiFranco on a subtle day.

Kerry Kozaczuk (Metaleyelash) enjoys painting fairly abstract compositions interlaced with bits of disgusting invented creatures. She once manipulated a child psychologist into thinking that the death of her kitten was the root cause of her unending complexes.

JD