Long years of hard work will pay off next Tuesday for a group of
six Morgan Hill area musicians. Juz-Cuz, an up and coming musical
act from the South Valley, releases its first CD
“The Return of the Players,” produced by PPL Records on June
22.
Long years of hard work will pay off next Tuesday for a group of six Morgan Hill area musicians.
Juz-Cuz, an up and coming musical act from the South Valley, releases its first CD “The Return of the Players,” produced by PPL Records on June 22.
Chances are, if you’ve been to a local festival in the past four years, Juz-Cuz has been there. The group has played everything from the Relay for Life to the Taste of Morgan Hill and even the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Most recently, Juz-Cuz performed June 4 at the opening night of the Friday Night Music Series.
For the past three years, they have been on a journey of hard work, learning and developing.
On Valentine’s Day 2001, radio programmer Pepe Reyes heard Juz-Cuz play at the Morgan Hill Lighthouse. Reyes, who happens to be the godfather of saxophonist Armando Rodriguez, eventually put Juz-Cuz in contact with producer Arturo Salas. Salas took Juz-Cuz down to Los Angeles and began producing a CD in the winter of 2002.
Salas knew he had something special in Juz-Cuz, so he went to work on his friend and co-producer Jaeson Jarrett, CEO of the independent record label PPL Records, to check them out.
“Salas kept telling me about this band he wanted me to hear. At first I really wasn’t impressed; I just thought it’s just another band,” said Jarrett.
Then, recognizing true talent in lead singer Sammy Donato and the rest of the guys, Jarrett dropped everything to work with Juz-Cuz.
“But one day I walked into the studio where Juz-Cuz was recording, and I heard Sammy singing. It blew me away. After years of working with people like Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, I saw the same caliber of musicianship in Sammy.”
So last fall the group signed with PPL Records. Juz-Cuz scrapped everything they had worked on until then with Salas and began anew, spending the time writing, recording, re-recording and producing their 14-track album.
After endless trips to and from Los Angeles each week, hundreds of hours on the road and working with producers, the guys are tired and excited.
“We’ve been working so hard and I’m just excited to finally hold the CD,” said guitarist and back-up vocalist Anthony Donato.
“I mean, I can actually count the days on my fingers! For so long we never knew when it would be done,” said trumpet player Deepu Kochuparambil.
The band’s sound has evolved into a fusion between old school funk, which the band started out with as a cover band, and urban contemporary, hip-hop styles.
“What makes it so interesting is that I’ve never heard it before,” said Sammy.
“It’s like this,” said Anthony, jokingly. “Take Hip-Hop, R&B, put it in a blender and sprinkle on some Pop. Then you serve it hot. In the end, it’s music you can bob your head to.”
MUSIC HISTORY
The band has a history much longer than these recent developments. Though brothers Sammy and Anthony take their last name from father/manager Dave Donato, the two front-men are also members of a large extended family on their mother Rose’s side, the San Martin Locsins. There are enough Locsins to form several bands (which they have), but in 1997 Locsins aged 9-13 came together and formed Juz-Cuz.
Hence the name, which originally meant “Just-Cousins,” but since has taken on new meanings as a dozen or so members have come and gone.
There are six in the present group. Sammy, 20, also plays keyboard, but his 17 years of singing experience is what dazzles on stage. Sammy began his singing career as a 3-year-old at St. Catherine’s Church. Though he hobnobs with L.A. producers and has toured in Hawaii, he still makes it out on Sundays to sing at morning Mass.
Anthony, 18, started at age 8 learning Mexican tunes with his grandpa. Today, he dishes out some chicken-pecked style funk-rhythms and sings back-up vocals to fill out their sound.
Mark Kraft, 18, has been with the band almost from day one and is way beyond his years in technical bass playing.
“That Mark, he’s going to be the death of them,” laughed Jarrett. “He’s a perfectionist and remarkable for his age. He was working on a bass track yesterday that to me was already perfect.”
Enter the most recent additions:
Armando Rodriguez, 21, has played tenor saxophone for Juz-Cuz since 2001. Kirk Berkland, at 26 is the oldest of the group, first signed on a temporary replacement when their previous drummer left for college. But there’s no replacing his infallible, air-tight drumming. Kirk stayed on and teaches at the Music Tree on the side. The newest member is Deepu Kochuparambil, 20, who joined right before the record deal.
All were born and raised in Morgan Hill and, except Sammy, whose family is in San Martin. All have gone through the music programs at Britton Middle School and Live Oak High.
And despite Juz-Cuz members’ hard work, all parties involved attest that none of this would have been possible without Dave and Rose Donato, parents of Anthony and Sammy.
Dave Donato, a building-contractor, has spent the past seven years sitting in on every practice (three times a week or more), has hauled equipment and set up at every show, and has managed every aspect of Juz-Cuz Entertainment since the band started in 1997. The same goes for Rose Donato, who atop all that and working at Wells Fargo, practices with individual musicians, cooks for practice and dances her heart away at shows.
“It has been a journey,” said Dave. “There have been lots of peaks and valleys. We lose players, we make friends and we go places. It’s been hard but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
“I tell you, when I can go to the record store and I see my boys faces on their CD, I think I’m gonna walk to the nearest bar and have myself a celebratory drink,” said Dave.
The band would like to thank all the parents of band members, who have put in similar amounts of work helping at shows, providing financial support and keeping the six young men fed. They would like to thank their sponsors High 5 Produce, Bass Masonry, Haug Manufacturing and Las Palmas Restaurant as well.
WHERE TO FIND IT
“The Return of the Players” will be available at all major music stores (Tower Records, Sam Goody’s etc.) in the southwest and will also be available online at retail websites such as Amazon.com.
Once the CD is out, there’s no stopping them. On July 4 here in Morgan Hill, Juz-Cuz will perform at the Independence Day festivities at Community Park. The band invites everyone to come out at 3 p.m. for an informal CD release party.
After that, Juz-Cuz will head to L.A. for an industry CD release party where the guys will meet all the major players in the music business, including representatives of major record labels and radio personalities.
By mid-summer, Jarrett plans to kick off a nation-wide tour to promote Juz-Cuz, and there is talk of the band opening for such acts as N*Sync and J.C. And for the fall, Juz-Cuz might find themselves on a European tour.
Jarrett hopes to one day market Juz-Cuz to a bigger record label like Sony or Warner Brothers.
“We’re giving these guys the same treatment as we would give N’Sync or Britney Spears,” said Jarett. “I believe they can be as big as any of them. They have the core of a great band. They have a great lead singer and clean habits. I believe these guys can be legends.”
Juz-Cuz also will be playing at the Garlic City Fun Run at 4 p.m. July 10 in Downtown Gilroy and at the Summer Music Series at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 11, in Christmas Hill Park, Gilroy.
Visit the Juz-Cuz website to take part in their promotional campaign. By pre-ordering, fans will be entered in a drawing for an all-expense paid trip for two to the 2005 American Music Awards, free lifetime backstage passes to Juz-Cuz concerts and free Juz-Cuz merchandise.www.juz-cuz.com
