36th Vilnius Jazz Festival. 12-16 October, 2022

Tommy Got Waxed

Netherlands-Lithuania

Jasper van Damme - sax

Simonas Šipavičius - sax/synth/elektronica

Mark van Kersbergen - dr

Adas Gecevičius - dr/elektronica

Jorn ten Hoopen - g

Paulius Vaškas - g/elektronica

Bas Kloosterman – b

This collective involving two frenetic alternative music groups – Rotterdam-based  “Tommy Moustache” and Vilnius-based “Sheep Got Waxed” – was formed when their paths crossed at the Festival for Young Jazz Performers 12 points in Dublin (Ireland) in 2017. The admiration was mutual, and these eccentric and unpredictable bands decided to join forces on stage, resulting in an explosive and inflammable combination of two drummers, two guitarists, two sax players, a bassist and a huge stack of electronics.

Soon after, “Tommy Moustache” started organising their joined concerts and recordings. Last spring harvested their collective album Tommy Got Waxed. The Dutch-Lithuanian band already introduced it in Rotterdam, and now is bringing it to the Vilnius Jazz.

According to the members of the project, they share similar views on music and inclination for experiments. The Lithuanians admit, that they were impressed by the good dose of humour and cheerful shows their Dutch colleagues put on.

All members of the Dutch group are representatives of young jazz generation of the Netherlands. They work with diverse collectives. As an example, guitarist and composer Jorn ten Hoopen’s creative horizon ranges from soul, pop -, Brazilian and African music to jazz and avant-garde.

The members of the joined band were educated at the leading music institutions in their countries; are winners of jazz competitions; have intensive international concert itineraries.

“Tommy Moustache” musicians have appeared in such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as well as “Nord Sea Jazz”, “Java Jazz”, Singapore, Seoul and Istanbul jazz festivals.

Simonas Šipavičius, Paulius Vaškas and Adas Gecevičius formed “Sheep Got Waxed” in 2010, while still students at the Jazz Department of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Their distinctive vocabulary – a mix of vibrant jazz, punk-rock, avant-garde and other styles – enraptured theatre director Vidas Bareikis, who asked the group to compose music for his theatre show Fight Club and to perform it live at the show.

These compositions resulted in the group’s first album, which claimed the highest theatrical award – the Golden Stage Cross nomination. In 2014, the second album Sheep Got Waxed was released, and in 2016 – the third Pushy, which enjoyed international attention. The group performed compositions featured on Pushy in three cities in China.

In addition, “Sheep Got Waxed” appeared in France (“Cosmo Jazz” festival), United Kingdom (Birmingham Jazz and Blues Festival), Estonia, Latvia and Russia. Last year it made its debut in “Eurosonic” festival in Groningen (the Netherlands) and “MENT” festival in Ljubljana (Slovenia).

In 2011, “Sheep Got Waxed” won the Grand Prix at the Vilnius Jazz Young Power competition, while Šipavičius was voted the best instrumentalist at the same competition in 2010.

The three Lithuanians joke, that they will play together forever, for the group’s name is actually an abbreviation of their surnames. Nevertheless, their interests go beyond “Sheep Got Waxed” – they have individual projects, collaborate with other musicians and representatives of other art fields. Recently, Šipavičius released his solo album Saxual Harassment with a pseudonym “Sheep Effect”.

Presently, “Sheep Got Waxed” is working on their new studio recording.  

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