Asparagii

Artist Information

Biography

Description:

Organic Spaceship Music

"Asparagii is a band that is hard to nail into a specific genre, and that's good.  Jam-based with whiffs of reggae and spacey-folk along with touches of whatever tosses their confetti that night is pretty much what they're about."  ~ Paddy Fineran, Kenosha News


Members:

*Mike Bielarczyk (Guitar, Vocals)
*Jay Bielarczyk (Guitar, Vocals)
*Marc Eaton (Drums, Vocals)


Bio:

Asparagii is a New Wave, “Jam Band” from southeastern Wisconsin which features Avant-Garde musical improvisation served on a plate of original compositions and hand picked covers. With their exceptional songcraft and propensity to cross genre boundaries, every show is incomparable to the next. While managing to win over new comers and maintaining the loyalty of their fans, Asparagii continues to radiate an immense amount of energy engaging listeners in an emotionally uplifting experience; taking them on an adventure without leaving the room. In addition to their Live Music Phenomena, the three piece has even been known to play games, such as Simon Says, with their audience, including them as part of the show.

Asparagii, now endorsed by Steve Clayton, Inc., has captivated audiences at venues around the Midwest such as; The Abbey, Goose Island, Underground Lounge, Elbo Room, Red Line Tap, The Brat Stop, The Frequency, The Rave, The Wildlife Refuge, and many more. They’ve performed along side bands like; The Big Wu, Umphreys McGee, Cosmic Railroad, Terry n the Front, Richard Cranium, Delta 9 Band, Roster McCabe among many others. The three piece has also entertained at many festivals including; Fungus Fest (2009, 2010), SRIM Fest (2011), Harvest Fest (2008, 2009, 2010), Hoe Down (2008, 2009, 2010), Cosmic Railroad Family Gathering (2011), Abominable Snow Ball (2008), Folk Off (2009), as well as hosted and set up their own Festivals and Special Events including; New Years Eve (2009, 2010, 2011), Log Jam (2009-2010), Earth Day Celebration (2011), 4th of July Fest (2008, 2009, 2011), and Burning Jam (2008).



History:

Pre 2007-
Jay and Mike Bielarczyk performed together numerous times throughout the years, but it was after a particular gig at the Showboat Theater in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, when they decided to unite. The two cousins tossed their musical skills, ideas, and some of their finest ingredients into a bag, kicked it around a bit, threw it in the microwave, and out came ~Asparagii.

Oct. 2007 to Aug. 2010-
Asparagii first unfolded as a two piece, folk, reggae band, captivating audiences with their feel good, acoustic, homey sound. Continuing to evolve and shape the band, Jay and Mike began indulging in effects, keyboards, and occasional loops. During this time, the two cousins explored their ground, found their niche, and began writing many of the songs they still play today.

Aug. 2010 to Present-
It wasn’t until a particular gig on August 27, 2010 at Stevens in Gurnee, IL, when Marc Eaton officially joined the band creating the very backbone needed to successfully escape the boundaries of a traditional Local Band. As a three piece, Asparagii started out offering a unique approach to folk reggae, with a jammy rock, blugrassy, space funk feel. Constantly tweaking their sound, the band evolved into the “New Wave, Jam Band” they are today. Mike and Jay upgraded to their electric guitars (still occasionally using their acoustics) and began using effects to simulate the bass. Now with the addition of Marc, reinforcing them with tight and progressive percussion, you get a recipe for an innovative, fresh new sound, anyone could easily find them self moving their hips to. Not only does Marc add his own personality to the mix, but he takes the Guitar Duo to new heights allowing them to take you places only imaginable before. Continuing to evolve, the three compliment each other on stage radiating an immense amount of energy, managing to win over new comers an

Instrumentation

Mike Bielarczyk - Vocals, Guitar, keys
Jay Bielarczyk - Vocals, Guitar, keys
Marc Eaton - Vocals, Drums, Percussion

Discography

Asparagii EP: http://www.asparagii.com/asparagiiep




Stream or Download our live recordings for Free at the Live Music Archives: http://www.archive.org/details/Asparagii

Currently in the studio working on their first album.

Links

• Live Music Archives
• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Youtube

Audio

• Whooley Mammoth (Minoqua Sessions 2-8-2012)
  Listen   Download
• Aphrodisiac (Minoqua Sessions 2-8-2012)
  Listen   Download

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Local Music: Wildlife Show, punk bands, benefit [+ Show ]
  

  ~ "Asparagii is a band that is hard to nail into a specific genre, and that's good. Jam-based with ...~ "Asparagii is a band that is hard to nail into a specific genre, and that's good. Jam-based with whiffs of reggae and spacey-folk along with touches of whatever tosses their confetti that night is pretty much what they're about." ~ Paddy Fineran, Kenosha News

• Endorsement with Steve Slayton, Inc. [+ Show ]
  

  Asparagii is proud to announce that we signed an endorsement deal with Steve Clayton Inc. Check out ...Asparagii is proud to announce that we signed an endorsement deal with Steve Clayton Inc. Check out www.steveclayton.com for a wide variety of premium guitar picks and accessories. We’ve been using their picks for many years now, and we just busted out our first batch of custom printed Asparagii picks on New Years Eve! Try to catch one at our next show!
  

• Rock the Earth [+ Show ]
  

  Rock the Earth 4/20/2012 By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News Earth Day 2012 is Sunday (April 22). H...Rock the Earth
  4/20/2012
  By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News
  
  Earth Day 2012 is Sunday (April 22). Hattrix is going to celebrate tonight (April 20) by hosting some of the earthiest, fingers-in-the-rich-soil-of-music bands in te area. Madison's ColorPhase dubs itself a "rock 'n' roll/ indie soul band." Terry 'n the Front has a rock 'n' roll attitude as filtered through punk, jam, funk, and soul influences. Asparagii is a band that pretty much plays whatever tickles their fancy. One posting I saw described them as "organic spaceship music." Expect everything - including the kitchen sink.
  The Hattrix Earth Day Celebration is tonight (April 20) at Hattrix, 2425 60th St.
  

• End of the World [+ Show ]
  

  End of the world? 12/29/2011 11:32 p.m. By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News I know a lot of people wh...End of the world?
  12/29/2011 11:32 p.m.
  By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News
  I know a lot of people who simply will not allow the new year to come unless there is some rocking live music happening. It’s a pretty good bet that a lot of them will be over at High Spirits in Trevor this weekend. Why? Because the best-named local New Year’s Eve bash is happening there. The Apocalyptic New Year’s Eve Midnight Masquerade Ball is going down right there along the Wisconsin/Illinois border.
  The ever-energetic Richard Cranium will lay down the alternative rocky, edgy pop-ish, old-school punk sounds. The always grooving Asparagii will provide the jam-based, trippy atmospherics. Together, yeah. It sounds like a good way to bring in the last year of humanity, according to those crazy prophecies. It’s time to party like a Mayan!
  Richard Cranium and Asparagii perform Saturday night at High Spirits, 12417 Antioch Road in Trevor.
  

• Asparagii's Music [+ Show ]
  

  Asparagii’s music 11/17/2011 10:32 p.m. By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News You may as well hear ...Asparagii’s music
  
  11/17/2011 10:32 p.m.
  By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News
  
  You may as well hear something different this weekend. What do you want? Jam music? Maybe reggae? How about free form jazz or perhaps space-folk? Well, let’s see. In order, how about Asparagii, Asparagii, Asparagii and Asparagii?
  Asparagii performs all that type of music starting at 9 Saturday night (Nov. 19) at TG’s, 4120 Seventh Ave.
  

• A different type of Oktoberfest [+ Show ]
  

  A different type of Oktoberfest 9/29/2011 11:32 p.m. By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News So you’re a ...A different type of Oktoberfest
  9/29/2011 11:32 p.m.
  By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News
  So you’re a die-hard live music fan and the five bands at the Rhode theater Saturday night just won’t cut it for you. What are you going to do? Afterall, Sundays in the fall are for football and — finally — baseball playoffs. Right?
  Don’t try to get that nonsense past the folks at Scotty’s. That’s because they are hosting one of what I’m sure will be many Okoberfests this month. You won’t find an oom-pah or polka band among the seven that will be performing, but they are all quite entertaining and worthy of raising a stein to in appreciation. Acoustic Soul, Cosmic Railroad, Kevin Grissom, Matt Meyer, Fire Up Acoustic, Asparagii and Amy Ashley will all be saying, “Raise ’em up; Eins, Zwei, Drei, Prost!”
  Oktoberfest at Scotty’s is 3:30-10 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 2) at Scotty’s, 2117 50th St.
  

• Two artists, one show [+ Show ]
  

  Two artists, one show 9/15/2011 11:32 p.m. By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News Remember a while bac...Two artists, one show
  9/15/2011 11:32 p.m.
  By Paddy Fineran - Kenosha News
  
  Remember a while back when I told you about Matt Meyer and his “Story Teller” shows at Art Bar? Each week he trades songs with another artist. Next week’s (Sept. 22) guest will be reggae/jam/space-folk/rock band Asparagii. It will be a night of expect anything, and that is good.
  Matt Meyer and Asparagii perform at 6 p.m. Thursday at Art Bar, 5301 22nd Ave.
  
  

• Shoe donation drive kicks off Saturday [+ Show ]
  

  Shoe donation drive kicks off Saturday 8/15/2011 6:01 p.m. BY JOE POTENTE - Kenosha News A group ...Shoe donation drive kicks off Saturday
  8/15/2011 6:01 p.m.
  BY JOE POTENTE - Kenosha News
  A group of local volunteers has got a home for those old pairs of shoes collecting dust in the back of your closet.
  Mark McCarthy would like to see you take them to one of a half dozen selected Kenosha businesses and leave them behind for those in need.
  McCarthy is a Kenosha resident and the man behind the local incarnation of Soles4Souls, a national drive to collect new and “gently worn” shoes for victims of natural disasters all over the world.
  A daylong kickoff of the Kenosha drive is set for 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday at TG’s Restaurant and Pub, 4120 Seventh Ave. Donations will be collected there and at five other establishments through Sept. 3.
  “I think it’s going to be a successful project,” said McCarthy, who heard Shoes4Soles founder Wayne Elsey describe the project in a radio interview earlier this year.
  Elsey, according to the Soles4Souls website, is a Nashville, Tenn., shoe company executive who was inspired by the December 2004 tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka and elsewhere along the Indian Ocean coast. Elsey used his contacts in the industry to gather 250,000 pairs of shoes for those affected by that disaster; in the years since, the program has collected 15.4 million pairs around the world.
  McCarthy saw Kenosha as a good place to further the effort.
  “We were thinking in this economic time we’re sitting in, this would be a good idea,” McCarthy said. “We’re not asking for money from people. We’re just asking people to go through their closet and see what they’ve got in terms of gently worn shoes.”
  In a pilot at St. Catherine Commons senior housing complex, McCarthy said he has already collected a few hundred pairs.
  Local partnership
  McCarthy teamed up with Sharing our Service, a local organization of service industry workers that TG’s employees Angela Cook and Shannyn Franklin founded earlier this year.
  Cook and Franklin used their ties to local musicians to assemble Saturday’s kickoff, which will feature free performances by eight musical acts and a southern-style “low country boil” dinner cooked by Franklin.
  In anticipation of substantial crowds, Cook said TG’s received permission from the city to erect a tent and stage the musical performances outside in the tavern parking lot.
  “I’m very excited about this,” Cook said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I think we’re going to collect quite a few shoes for people in need.”
  Cook said she likes the idea of a charitable event where people can donate without necessarily opening their wallets.
  “How can you go wrong?” she said. “Everybody has shoes.”
  If you go
  What: Soles4Souls drive to collect new or lightly used shoes for disaster victims
  When: Kickoff from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday; donations collected through Aug. 3
  Where: Kickoff at TG’s Restaurant and Pub, 4102 Seventh Ave. Donations accepted at TG’s as well as Alpaca Art, 5813 Sixth Ave.; Andrea’s 2401 60th St.; The Coffee Pot, 4914 Seventh Ave.; DeBerge’s Framing & Gallery, 2008 63rd St.; and Peacetree Originals, 4721 Seventh Ave.
  What’s needed: Shoes of any size, including flip flops, sandals and kids’ sizes.
  Saturday’s event: Will include a southern-style “low country boil” dinner and musical performances by The Real Deal, Asparagii, Yves Francois, Mark Paffrath, Jimmy Pendleton and Mallory Hellen, Jill Plaisted and Terry Maraccini, Rusty Horse and Three Hours Ago with Tamara Pierce.
  

• I'm With The Band: A lucky Friday the 13th at Bar 525 [+ Show ]
  

  I'm With The Band: A lucky Friday the 13th at Bar 525 4/13/2012 By Scene262 staff Just some th...I'm With The Band: A lucky Friday the 13th at Bar 525
  4/13/2012
  By Scene262 staff
  
  Just some things I think might be interesting this week.
  
  Friday the 13th is going to be scary at Bar525. Scary good, that is. What else would you expect from something called Zombie Apocalypse? It's going to be an out of town affair at the downtown bar with two Kenosha bands along with a Madison act. Madison's Venice Gashouse Trolley and Kenosha's Asparagii and Terry n' The Front make for a night of truly original music. Sounds and styles include rock, reggae, hip hop, jam, funk and groove. Basically, if you're sick of over-processed music that all sounds alike, you'll love this show.
  
  Zombie Apocalypse is Friday, April 13 at Bar 525, 525 Wisconsin Ave.
  

Setlist

*Originals*

12th and Vine
Ain't got Shit
Angel
Aphrodisiac
Aware
Can't Judge a Book
Cell phone
Dictionary
Drums
Everyday
Excitement of Disease
Governments our Dealer
Gravity
Harvest
In the Country
Is it Raining?
Jazzy Ninja
Knutwert the Camel
Liquid Handcuffs
Looks like Snow
Love Bubble
Love is like the Wind
Mackin it
Never Know
Pig Latin
Sabrosso
Sinking
Times Change
Top of the World
Transfixion
True Green
Woolly Mammoth
Worms

More to come........


*Musical Games*

Aww Shucks!!!
Hello!!!?
Simon Says



*Covers*

All Night Long - Lionel Richie
Anemone - Brian Jonestown Massacre
Assault N Pepper- Terry N the Front
Auld Lang Syne -
Bad Fish - Sublime
Bathtub Gin - Phish
Beautiful - Flight of the Conchords
Boogie on Reggae Woman - Stevie Wonder
Break my Stride - Matthew Wilder
Camel Walk - Phish
Cities - Talking Heads
Controversy- Prince
Corrina- Taj Mahal
Dance Dance Dance - Steve Miller Band
Dancin in the Moonlight- Sherman Kelly
Debra- Beck
Domino- Van Morrison
Doves Cry- Prince
Feel like a stranger- Grateful Dead
First Tube - Phish
Girl, I wana lay you down- Animal Liberation Orchestra
Givin it up for your love- Delbert Mcclinton
Halloween Theme-
Kids- MGMT
Limb x Limb - Phish
Little Red Corvette- Prince
Lonesome fiddle Blues -
Man in me - Bob Dylan
Mr. Charlie - Grateful Dead
Never been to Spain - Three Dog Night
One of these Nights - Eagles
Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus
Peg- Steely Dan
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Remix to Ignition - R. Kelly
Rift - Phish
Roses are Free- Ween
Sissyneck- Beck
Sleep Walk-
Steal Train - Sublime
Steppin Razor -
Sugar on my Tongue - Talking Heads
Sugaree- Grateful Dead
Suzie Greenburg- Phish
Sweet Jane- Velvet Underground
Take 5 -
Thats how strong my love is- Otis Redding
This must be the place -Talking Heads
Three little Birds- Bob Marley
Thriller- Michael Jackson
Timber Ho (Jerry) -
Train Song- Tod Snider
Walking on the Moon - The Police
Wana get High/Hits from the Bong- Cypress Hill
When the circus comes to town- Los Lobos
Where is my mind- Pixies

And many many more........
*covers are hand picked for every occasion

Basic Requirements

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