Naughty Jungle of Love

Naughty Jungle of Love is a homegrown band, which has enjoyed a long, colorful, somewhat nebulous beginning in Willimantic, CT. The lineup including frontman Jefferey Hart has been together since late 2002. Since 2003, when we moved to Bristol, CT, playing cover tunes has tightened us up, and we've re-doubled our original set. Since April, 2005 we've grown from a solid 2 shows per week to 10-15 shows/month, and usually book at least 6-8 weeks in advance. We are currently booking our first summer on the music festival circuit.

We were the house band last semester at La Boca in Middletown, where we played "college night" every other Wednesday. At such medium and large venues as Sully's Pub in West Hartford, Toad's Place in New Haven, and the Webster Theater in Hartford, we've opened for regional and national acts: Turkey Bullion Mafia (New England), The Bridge (Greater DC area), The Smyrk (New England) Project/Object (national Zappa Tribute), Ants Marching (national Dave Mathews Tribute) and The Wailers (inter-national reggae). New York City has treated us very well -- we return to various venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn about twice a month. Our most significant accomplishment, though difficult to brag about, is working with the best original funk and jam bands in CT, NY, RI, and NJ to develop and encourage the original music scene on the east coast. We're deeply committed to cooperatively developing both the audience at large, and our own particular fanbase.

Whether we're playing a large main event, or a tiny dive bar, The Jungle is particularly good at connecting to a crowd. We tend to keep the dance floor full, and hit several jams in a row before stopping to speak. We run contests, (including drinking contests) and give out our signature prize -- a stuffed monkey. Most importantly, though, we have FUN on stage. Crowds respond to that, and more than anything else, come out to have a good time with their friends NJL. As a testimony to its effectiveness, at our first Webster Theater show, we sold 84 tickets on a Monday night.

Our promotion machine is currently in high gear and gaining momentum. Street Teams are becoming a part of our vocabulary as we branch out into other states and faraway cities. When a venue books the Jungle, they get a self-advertising band. That's not just colorful fliers, and a growing email list -- that includes at least same-day radio ads (often spots earlier in the week, as well) on 106.9 FM WCCC and local college stations 90.9 FM WCNI New London, 91.7 FM WHUS Storrs, and/or 90.1 FM WECU Willimantic. Beyond that, we've had good results promoting on various websites, and we list our shows on MySpace.com, JamBase.com, TheBandList.com, and SonicBids.com. The most reliable advertisement of all, however, is the fact that between seven of us, we spend a significant number of cell phone minutes calling up friends and acquaintances to invite them out personally.

The future looks bright for the Jungle. It's nearly time to shed the CT label and call ourselves an East Coast band -- to trade in the parade of cars for a couple of tour vans. Our goal now is to begin strategically developing an audience in major cities across New England, New York, New Jersey, and eventually down the coast and across the country. Our songs are catchy and marketable, and are just waiting to be heard across a SoHo dance floor by the right A&R person. No matter where the road takes us, you can be certain we'll arrive in style.