| Hailing
from Minneapolis and formed in November of 2002, Amanda Harris (Vocals),
Ian Severson (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Eric Rotter (Bass, Backing Vocals)
and Joe Rotter (Drums) have created a unique style of aggressive rock that’s
been described by numerous fans and critics alike as the “perfect blend
of beauty and brutality. Prior to Gingerjake, Amanda was making a name
for herself as a solo artist while Ian, Eric and Joe were members of the
now defunct band Two Ton Crutch. When a mutual friend introduced them,
the chemistry was instant. They’ve been writing and performing ever since.
In only their 7th show, they placed 2nd in the Twin Cities hard rock station's
93X Battle of The Bands. They then went on to play the station's annual
93X-Fest in Somerset, Wisconsin, sharing the stage with such bands as Sum
41, Taproot, CKY, and many more. Since then, they’ve embarked on a non-stop
assault of the Minneapolis/St. Paul and greater Midwest club scene. To
this day they continue to stretch deeper into the Midwest playing shows
in Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Kentucky and beyond.
In late 2003, Gingerjake journeyed to Orange County, CA where they hooked
up with Producer/Engineer Cameron Webb, who has engineered albums for 311
and Godsmack and produced So Cal punk legends Social Distortion. They returned
with a blistering six song E.P. entitled Paralysis. Released independently
in March 2004, the band kicked it off by packing The Quest Club in Minneapolis
with over 950 fans. The single "Karats" quickly received airplay on 93X’s
prime time audience judged "Cage Match" with Gingerjake being crowned “retired
champions??? as they beat out national acts for the entire week. Since
its release, the E.P. has rapidly scanned over 3,500 copies and receives
regular radio airplay on several Midwest stations. In May 2004, Gingerjake
returned to the 93X Battle Of The Bands and won, securing a coveted main
stage slot at the 93X Riverfest concert along with Sevendust, Papa Roach,
Cold and many more. In September 2004, the Paralysis EP was nominated as
“Best Hard Rock Recording??? by the prestigious Minnesota Music Academy.
On October 10th 2004, the band returned to The Quest for the release of
their highly anticipated live concert DVD, again packing the club with
devout fans. On January 14th, 2005, Gingerjake's "Karats" was added to
XM Radio's "Unsigned" show where it will continue to receive regular airplay.
A highlight for Gingerjake in 2005 was playing Summer Fest in Milwaukee,
WI. Gingerjake were direct support for the Cardboard Vampyres, Jerry Cantrell’s
(Alice In Chains) rock star line up cover band. Gingerjake played to a
capacity crowd of over 5,000 fans and are invited back to play Summer Fest
in July of 2006. Most recently, Gingerjake released “Get It Get Off / Live???.
The mostly live EP consists of a studio version of the single “Get It Get
Off???, a multi-media video for “Get It Get Off???, as well as seven previously
unreleased live tracks. It was released Friday, January 13th ’06 as a limited
edition release which recently sold out of it’s only pressing. Currently,
Gingerjake is hard at work in the studio working on new music to potentially
be released this spring. No release date has been set yet, but the new
material is shaping up to be the strongest Gingerjake music to date. Stay
tuned and look for Gingerjake in a city near you. |
