Estradasphere was an experimental band from Santa Cruz, California that was active from 1998 to 2008. While primarily a jazz-rock band, they'd play just about anything, from disco to bluegrass to death metal to grindcore to new age to video game music and everything in between; sometimes within the same song. In the band's decade of existence, they released four albums, three EPs / live albums, and three DVDs, and had a total of 8 members across 3 different lineups.
From what I gather, they never had a very substantial fanbase outside of Santa Cruz. But I think they were extremely talented, massively underrated, and endlessly fascinating - which is why I made this website! :-)
Unfortunately, I have no personal experience with this band— they broke up when I was 5 years old, and lived over 2,000 miles away from me— so I lack the perspective of someone who was actively involved as a fan. Even so, their music has deeply resonated with me, and I've done some serious digging in the hopes of picking up the pieces and assembling the story of Estradasphere myself. With that out of the way, let's begin!
Our story begins not with Estradasphere, but with Don Salsa. In 1993, two high school friends— Tim Smolens (bass) and Jason Schimmel (guitar)— fell in love with the band Mr. Bungle, and so decided to gather some friends and form a band of their own¹. After years of recording, their band Don Salsa's first and only album, Koolaide Moustache in Jonestown, released in May of 1997. This obscene, maximalist monster of an album is legendary among music nerds for swinging wildly between just about every genre imaginable within its 75-minute runtime and generally being incredibly immature and unpalatable. It definitely has the vibe of a bunch of high schoolers goofing off and doing whatever the hell they want. But that's why some people like it! This album was nothing if not impressive, and the skills Tim and Jason honed while working on it would pave the way for Estradasphere's future output.
In 1998, Tim and Jason moved to Santa Cruz, buying a run-down house at 911 Mission Street (which the rest of the band would eventually live in as well). Jason went to college at UCSC and Tim hung around his dorm², not attending college but instead studying music independently. At UCSC, they start playing music in the streets of downtown Santa Cruz with fellow students John Whooley (sax), Timba Harris (violin/trumpet)³, and Dave Murray (drums)— who had backgrounds in jazz, classical, and metal music respectively. The lineup also briefly included guitarist Jason Concepcion, who would later leave the same year to focus on his other project Netwerk:Electric. As the students all get to know each other more, a friend comes up with the name Estradasphere⁴, and they become a band.
In 1999, another friend of the band, George Smith, picks up the gimmick of sitting in front of the band during shows and silently reading a book while they played. This became part of a greater "circus" that followed the band and performed alongside them, becoming a staple attraction of their live shows (more on that later). They also start recording their first album around this time. Tim tracks down Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance and sets up some keyboards for Mr. Bungle's live shows; soon after, he and Trey shake hands to sign Estradasphere to Trey's record label, Mimicry Records.
First playing on the streets in front of coffee houses and bookstores, by Y2K they had left that behind to play almost exclusively at clubs and more formal venues, opening for larger acts coming through the area.
Estradasphere and their circus held a parade and performed through the streets of Santa Cruz to announce the release party for their first CD, It's Understood. The party, held in March of 2000, was a spectacle, with two stages to accomodate the band and all the performers. A few months later, the band hits the road for their first tour, opening for Trey's other band Secret Chiefs 3 across the US and Canada. Once home, they officially release the album.
Recorded in their house in the summer of 1999⁵, and released on June 26, 2000, It's Understood opens with an extremely strong first impression - one of Estradasphere's greatest songs, Hunger Strike. At almost 20 minutes long, this jazz/klezmer masterpiece would become a fan favorite and a live show staple. Metal, flamenco, and funk segments highlight the band's genre-bending capabilities, and each member has a solo to show off their mastery of their instruments. Also included in the album are a few short chiptune pieces, a bluegrass ditty, Tim's four-part suite The Princes of Xibalba, a satirical new age track, and more. Estradasphere's debut set out to prove that their genre ping-pong wasn't just a novelty; they could master all of these disparate sounds in their own right, and fit them naturally into a larger whole.
Also in 2000, they release a VHS called These Are the Days, which consists of recordings taken during their previous tour with Secret Chiefs 3.
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