Recycled Percussion is a Laconia, New Hampshire-based band. The group was originally formed in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Recycled Percussion | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Goffstown, New Hampshire |
| Genres | Instrumental Rock |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, electric guitar |
| Years active | 1995—present |
| Website | Official website |
History
editJustin Spencer formed Recycled Percussion in 1995 for a high school talent show.[1] Spencer, looking to be more creative than using traditional instruments, took the idea of playing buckets, which was introduced to him in the subways of New York City. Spencer then added more and more instruments to the show and expanded on the New York style of street percussion.[2] Spencer specialized in using recycled materials to build instruments.[3][4]
The band started to take off in 1999 when they were featured on the cover of USA Today.[5] Recycled Percussion began touring the country in 2001.[6][7] The group continued to tour for 10 years until they made their debut on season 4 of the television show America's Got Talent.[8] The group auditioned with over hundred acts and became the then-highest-placed non-singing act to ever compete in the series' history, finishing third.[9] They lost this distinction when Olate Dogs won season seven in 2012.
Afterwards, they began to work with Jerry Springer on a live version of "America's Got Talent".[10] They spent three months performing at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas and one month performing the live show at MGM Grand Foxwoods in Connecticut. In 2010, the band sealed a deal with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to have their own show.[11]
After runs of shows at the MGM, Tropicana and The Quad on the Las Vegas Strip, they last moved the show to the Saxe Theater at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip. Their interactive show features the audience being given drumsticks and other unique instruments, incorporating non-traditional items like power tools, ladders, buckets and trashcans.
In 2017, the members of Recycled Percussion started Chaos & Kindness, a television and web series where they give back to communities around New Hampshire and beyond in unique and entertaining ways. In one episode, they pay for dental surgery for a friend of the band with cerebral palsy,[12] and in another they perform for twenty-four hours straight.[13] The band also owns and operates a clothing line of the same name with several locations around New Hampshire,[14] as well as running an annual toy drive for local children.[15]
Discography
edit- Studio Albums
- Recycled Percussion in Manchester (1996)
- Covers, Pt. 1: Icon Covers (1997)
- Onhow (1998)
- IV: The 4th Album (2001)
- No Control in the Studio (2004)
- Las Vegas: In the Inside (2006)
- Recycled Percussion in Las Vegas (2006)
- Metallium Metal (2009)
- Lockout: Manchester (2011)
- Lockout: Las Vegas (2011)
- New Years Eve 1 (2014)
- Them Boys Are Back in Town: Manchester (2016)
- Them Boys Are Back in Town: Las Vegas (2016)
- New Years Eve 2 (2019)
- New Years Eve 3 (2020)
- Greedy Bendy (2020)
- Extended plays
- The Beginning: RP (1995)
- Now
- Live albums
- Live in Las Vegas! (2006)
- Compilation albums
- Demos: Recycled Percussion (1995)
- The Best of Recycled Percussion (2008)
- The Collection: Recycled Percussion (2015)
- Video albums
- Live in Las Vegas: DVD (2006)
Members
editJustin Spencer - Lead Percussionist, Group Founder. "Mr. Red"
Ryan Vezina - Lead Percussionist, Body Percussion Specialist.
"Mr. Blue"
Tony Zane - Dancer, Roller skater
Jimmy Luv - Hypeman, Singer
Davin Cox - Hypeman, Dancer
Former members
editGreg Kassapis - Co-Founder - Percussionist
Aaron Fairhurst - Co-Founder - Percussionist
Zach & Ethan Holmes - Percussionists/Multi-instrumentalists - Introduced Musical Powertools, Flying Sparks, Ladders, and Beatbox to live show.
Loren "Butch" Valley - West Coast Hype-man, Front of House, Absolute Savage
Todd "DJ Pharoah" Griffin - DJ, Percussionist
Jim Magoon - Electronic Guitar player
Jerami Bellofatto - DJ
Matt Bowman - Guitar player, Percussionist, 80s Primal Screamer, Slinky Master. "Mr. Black"
Jason Davies - DJ, Percussionist, Dancer. "Mr. Green"
References
edit- ^ Paulu, Tom (March 11, 2015). "Recycled Percussion: Their music is garbage, and fans love it".
- ^ Wright, Diane (April 21, 2004). "Group pounds out career in music world: Recycled Percussion doesn't need a drum set", Seattle Times, p. H29.
- ^ "Band Shows Way To Reuse Refuse".
- ^ Whitney, D. Quincy (April 4, 1999). "Old stuff makes new statement: Artists make use of recycled objects", Boston Globe, p. 9.
- ^ Buckley, J. Taylor (May 27, 1999). "Behold the beauty that is the bucket", USA Today, p. B9.
- ^ Hill, Jean Laquidara (February 7, 2002). "Junkyard rhythm has a great beat: Recycled Percussion draws crowd", Telegram & Gazette, p. B4.
- ^ "Recycled Percussion Interview - STEEZ MAGAZINE - INFLUENTIAL CULTURE". www.steezminimag.com.
- ^ "America's Got Talent: Make Some Noise For Recycled Percussion". Archived from the original on 2018-07-11.
- ^ "'America's Got Talent' recap: And your winner is..." Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Jerry Springer to take 'America's Got Talent' on the road to Foxwood's MGM Grand". 11 January 2010.
- ^ "Bash ends for Recycled Percussion at Saxe Theater". 5 May 2017.
- ^ ”Chaos & Kindness S4 E4 - Davin Gets His Smile Back” on YouTube. Published September 5th, 2020.
- ^ ”Chaos & Kindness S4 E2 - The 24-Hour Concert” on YouTube. Published August 15th, 2020.
- ^ Official Website for the Chaos & Kidness Store. Accessed March 7th, 2023.
- ^ Ali, Alissa (2021-12-25). "Recycled Percussion hosts annual Chaos and Kindness Toy Drive". WMUR. Retrieved 2023-12-28.