Nickname: "Yoda"
Birthdate: 2/23/75
Birthplace: Panorama City, CA
High School: Agoura High School, 1993
College: University of Miami, December 1997 (projected graduation date), double- majoring in electrical engineering and music engineering, minoring in jazz saxophone performance
Interests: The Simpsons, Star Wars, Transformers, Dodgers, Lakers, Spelling Television, Seinfeld, Miami Hurricane Athletics, food, computers, recording engineering, raw sewage, early 80's flics, and old school video games like Joust and Donkey Kong.
Favorite Groups: Brand New Heavies, NWA, Mr. Bungle, Incubus, The Police, No Doubt, Steely Dan, The Pissing Idiots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and early 80's bands like Men at Work and the Eurythmics.
Favorite Musicians: Beck, Bjork, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Prince, James Taylor, Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, Seal, Jessica, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderly, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Stitt, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, Tom Harrell, Kenny Garrett, & Phil Woods.
Background: Jeremy began playing piano at the age of 8. Tiring of incessant requests for "Axel F," he picked up the alto saxophone in the sixth grade. Jeremy quickly learned, however, that the alto saxophone was too small an instrument to conceal his gut, so he switched to the larger tenor saxophone in the 9th grade. At the age of 16, Jeremy was a finalist in the "jazz" category of the 1992 Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards, and soloed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. That same summer, he was named to the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All-Star Big Band. For nearly five weeks, the group toured all over Japan and performed with such artists as Rufus Reid, Richie Cole, and Bill Berry. The group also shared a stage with Dizzy Gillespie and Branford Marsalis in September of 1992 at the Monterey Jazz Festival. In the weeks immediately following the Japan trip, Jeremy fulfilled a fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival, and performed with musicians such as Chris Potter, Gary Burton, and Eddie Daniels. In 1993, Jeremy received a full scholarship to the University of Miami in Florida.
Jeremy joined his first band in late 1992. The group featured an eclectic array of talents, and included two guitarists, keyboards, three background vocalists, four horn players, drums, percussion, and a rapper- thirteen members in all. After one show and a private meeting with producer Quincy Jones, the group dissolved after a tragic accident in which seven members of the band spontaneously combusted. Frustrated and fat, Jeremy vowed never to perform with a "band" again. In the summer of 1995, however, Dan and Doug approached Jeremy about playing with their funk band. They assured him that they could provide flame retardant costumes for virtually every performance. The rest is asparagus.
