December 1, 2014

LOCAL TALENT: Jerico brings down the walls

2.1 min read| Published On: December 1st, 2014|

By Akers Editorial

LOCAL TALENT: Jerico brings down the walls

2.1 min read| Published On: December 1st, 2014|

Jerico BandJerico isn’t comfortable being placed in a box when it comes to the tunes the band plays.

The band members are diverse, and understandably so, since the co-founders — Eric Suber (guitar/vocals) and Jess Locke (guitar/vocals) — have varied musical tastes.

“We’re like yin and yang,” says Locke. “I like listening to old country music and even some modern rock stuff, while Eric is pretty much into hard and classic rock.”

Rounding out the group are Shane Rogers (drums) and Rod Padgett (bass/vocals).

“Rod is really good about bringing us current music,” says Locke. “I haven’t listened to the radio in a while so he keeps us fresh.”

“And our drummer, Shane, is into heavy metal,” adds Suber.

Still, if you have to label Jerico’s style, classic rock would be your best bet. They like to play the timeless tunes people love to hear and sing along to. Their repertoire, though, reaches into the hundreds and covers many decades and musical styles.

“We probably have about 150 songs we can pull from across multiple genres,” says Suber. “It just depends on who we’re playing for. We’ve been known to do some disco or ’80s new wave.”

“We love doing songs from the ’80s because that’s our generation,” Locke explains. “We might do some Modern English or The Cure. And Eric does a killer rendition of Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell.’”

Though Jerico was officially formed as a full band in 2005, Locke and Suber have been performing together for more than 10 years. They grew up together in Wildwood and shared a common interest in music. They even played together in the Wildwood Middle School guitar band under the direction of Ronnie Moore.

Over the years, the pair stayed in touch, even when Suber left to join the military. When he returned, the two naturally joined up again and began performing in the area as a duo. Then in 2007, they added Rogers and in 2011, after their original bass player left to focus on his family, they approached Padgett to join.

Unlike some local bands that never venture beyond their hometown, Jerico — a compilation of Jess, Eric & Company — has a following that spans the state.

“We’ve performed in West Palm Beach all the way to Jacksonville,” says Locke. “We also have an upcoming performance in Zephyrhills.”

Nevertheless, they still love to perform locally. Most may recognize them from Leesburg Bikefest and they recently performed at Gator Harley-Davidson during its “Sons of Anarchy” event. They also play at private parties and local venues, though Suber says they try to stay away from the smoky bar scene.

And while they mostly perform covers, Jerico sometimes takes the opportunity to introduce crowds to their original jams, which can be found on iTunes and Amazon. Their songs have more of an Americana feel, in the same vein as the Eagles or Boston.

It’s easygoing, feel-good music, reflective of how the guys get along with one another and their fans.

“We’re all friends, so we just enjoy having a good time together,” Locke says. “We also like seeing people enjoy our music. It’s one of the main reasons I keep doing it.”

For more information about Jerico, visit jericoband.com.


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