Fishtank Ensemble
Encyclopedia
Fishtank Ensemble is a Euro-American
musical group that formed in Oakland, California
in 2004. They perform a variety of traditional musical styles including klezmer
, flamenco
, Japanese folk
and Roma music
.
They are one of many bands to be commonly associated with the California-based eclectic indie band Estradasphere
.
in January 2004. First known as Fishtank, the band is named after this venue. The band's premiere performances were recorded live. These recordings would become the band's debut full-length CD, Super Raoul
, which was released November 2005.
In November 2007, Fishtank Ensemble self-released a second full length album of material called Samurai Over Serbia
. On Samurai Over Serbia, traditional eastern European, gypsy jazz, klezmer and original tunes are arranged to fit the ensemble’s unconventional, but imaginative sound.
In recent years, the group has been performing consistently throughout the United States
and Europe.
In 2010, the band released their 3rd full-length CD, Woman in Sin. Like the ones before this, it featured a unique and unusual blend of traditional and original music and was both self-produced and self-released.
The dynamic, virtuosic, fiery and peripatetic quartet that comprises Fishtank Ensemble take their roots both from their own varied musical and national backgrounds, as well as from their adventures and travels. The singer Ursula sang opera on the streets and town squares of Italy, until she found a love of gypsy music...their French violinist voyaged around all of Europe in a handmade mule-drawn caravan for ten years, collecting music and experiences. Their Serbian bass player has spent time playing with gypsies as well as some of the rock and roll's legends, and aptly defends his reputation as the best slap bass player in the world... and the guitarist is a master of flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar who honed his craft in the gypsy caves of Granada, Spain.
an-born violin
ist who is well-versed in the traditional music of the Romani. The original Fishtank Ensemble line-up also includes vocalist Ursula Knudsen, Kevin Kmetz, a Japanese American
shamisen
performer, accordionist Aaron Seeman, flamenco
guitarist Doug Smolens, bassist Tim Smolens and drummer Adam Stacey. Kmetz, Stacey and Tim Smolens are all also members of Estradasphere
.
European American
A European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
musical group that formed in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in 2004. They perform a variety of traditional musical styles including klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, Japanese folk
Min'yo
is a genre of traditional Japanese music. The term is a translation of the German word "Volkslied" and has only been in use during the twentieth century...
and Roma music
Roma music
Romani music is the music of the Romani people, who have their origins in Northern India, but today live mostly in Europe....
.
They are one of many bands to be commonly associated with the California-based eclectic indie band Estradasphere
Estradasphere
Estradasphere was an experimental band that originated in Santa Cruz, California during the late 1990s. The band, which in its last incarnation was based in Seattle, consisted of 6 multi-instrumentalists from a variety of musical backgrounds trained in disciplines ranging from classical music and...
.
Band history
Fishtank Ensemble first formed and performed together at The Fishtank in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in January 2004. First known as Fishtank, the band is named after this venue. The band's premiere performances were recorded live. These recordings would become the band's debut full-length CD, Super Raoul
Super Raoul
Super Raoul is the debut LP from Fishtank Ensemble. The album was recorded live at Fishtank in Oakland, California in early 2004 and completed over the course of two weekends. At this time, the band had only been playing together for three weeks...
, which was released November 2005.
In November 2007, Fishtank Ensemble self-released a second full length album of material called Samurai Over Serbia
Samurai Over Serbia
Samurai Over Serbia is the second full-length album by Fishtank Ensemble. It was independently released by the band in 2007. Traditional eastern European, gypsy jazz, klezmer and original tunes are arranged to fit the ensemble’s unconventional, but imaginative sound...
. On Samurai Over Serbia, traditional eastern European, gypsy jazz, klezmer and original tunes are arranged to fit the ensemble’s unconventional, but imaginative sound.
In recent years, the group has been performing consistently throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe.
In 2010, the band released their 3rd full-length CD, Woman in Sin. Like the ones before this, it featured a unique and unusual blend of traditional and original music and was both self-produced and self-released.
Band Bio
The LA Weekly calls them “cross pollinated gypsy music….one of the most thrilling young acts on the planet.” Formed in 2005 and playing everywhere from the hippest LA clubs to festivals, cultural centers, museums, parades, and even on the street, the band includes two explosive violins, the world's best slap bass player, musical saw, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, trombone, opera, jazz and gypsy vocals, accordion and one little banjolele. Tackling everything from French hot jazz to wild Serbian and Transylvanian gypsy anthems, Flamenco, and oddball originals, the band is a not to be missed event for world music lovers.The dynamic, virtuosic, fiery and peripatetic quartet that comprises Fishtank Ensemble take their roots both from their own varied musical and national backgrounds, as well as from their adventures and travels. The singer Ursula sang opera on the streets and town squares of Italy, until she found a love of gypsy music...their French violinist voyaged around all of Europe in a handmade mule-drawn caravan for ten years, collecting music and experiences. Their Serbian bass player has spent time playing with gypsies as well as some of the rock and roll's legends, and aptly defends his reputation as the best slap bass player in the world... and the guitarist is a master of flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar who honed his craft in the gypsy caves of Granada, Spain.
Band members
Much of Fishtank Ensemble's influence comes from Fabrice Martinez, a EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an-born violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist who is well-versed in the traditional music of the Romani. The original Fishtank Ensemble line-up also includes vocalist Ursula Knudsen, Kevin Kmetz, a Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
performer, accordionist Aaron Seeman, flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
guitarist Doug Smolens, bassist Tim Smolens and drummer Adam Stacey. Kmetz, Stacey and Tim Smolens are all also members of Estradasphere
Estradasphere
Estradasphere was an experimental band that originated in Santa Cruz, California during the late 1990s. The band, which in its last incarnation was based in Seattle, consisted of 6 multi-instrumentalists from a variety of musical backgrounds trained in disciplines ranging from classical music and...
.
Current members
- 2004 to 2010 - Fabrice Martinez; violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and violintrombaStroh violinStroh violin, Strohviol, or Strohviol, is a trade name for a horn-violin, or violinophone—a violin that amplifies its sound through a metal resonator and metal horns rather than a wooden sound box as on a standard violin. The instrument is named after its designer, John Matthias Augustus Stroh, an...
. - 2004 to 2010 - Ursula Knudsen; sawMusical sawA musical saw, also called a singing saw, is the application of a hand saw as a musical instrument. The sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin...
, vocals, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, banjolele, percussion, thereminThereminThe theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device... - 2004 to 2010 - Douglas Smolens (aka El Douje); flamencoFlamencoFlamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
guitar. - 2007 to 2010 - Djordje Stijepovic; Double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
.
Past members
- 2004 to 2008 - Aaron Seeman (aka Duckmandu); accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
. - 2004 to 2007 - Kevin KmetzKevin KmetzKevin Kmetz is an American guitarist and shamisen player. He is best known as the front man of the shamisen-based rock band, God of Shamisen. He has also recently become a full member of Santa Cruz, California eclectic band Estradasphere along with fellow God of Shamisen member Lee Smith...
; shamisenShamisenThe , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument... - 2004 to 2006 - Tim SmolensTim SmolensTim Smolens is an American bass player, most notably a contributor to the artistic output of bands such as Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3, and Fishtank Ensemble, primarily as a bassist and songwriter...
; double bass (recording sessions) - 2004 to 2005 - Glenn Allen; double bass (2005 tour)
- 2004 to 2005 - Adam StaceyAdam StaceyAdam Stacey is an American musician/composer best known for being in the bands, Estradasphere, and Secret Chiefs 3.Born in Los Angeles, California in 1981, he began playing the accordion at a very early age but eventually became more known as a keyboardist. During high school, he joined many bands...
; percussion - 2007 to 2008 - Mike Penny; shamisenShamisenThe , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
.
Discography
- Fishtank at the Fishtank (2004) (limited release)
- Super RaoulSuper RaoulSuper Raoul is the debut LP from Fishtank Ensemble. The album was recorded live at Fishtank in Oakland, California in early 2004 and completed over the course of two weekends. At this time, the band had only been playing together for three weeks...
(2005) - Fishtank Ensemble, Live at the Freight & Salvage (2007) DVD of live performance, includes interviews with members.
- Samurai Over SerbiaSamurai Over SerbiaSamurai Over Serbia is the second full-length album by Fishtank Ensemble. It was independently released by the band in 2007. Traditional eastern European, gypsy jazz, klezmer and original tunes are arranged to fit the ensemble’s unconventional, but imaginative sound...
(2007) - Woman in Sin (2010)