The band was formed in 2000, when Jon Hoyt and John Hergert realized they were both now living in Chicago at the same time. Both had grown up in Appleton, WI and knew of each other in high school. The original name for the band was Zig Zag Engine. Hoyt met Ben Riley at a Guitar Center in Chicago and asked him to join. They held auditions for weeks, looking for a singer. Freddie Feldman answered an ad in Illinois Entertainer, emailing Jon Hoyt about the gig. Hoyt immediately responded that the position was already filled. The next day, Hoyt emailed Feldman again to say, "Funny thing. We just lost our singer last night. Wanna come in?" And that was it. They changed the name to Gaskit and played their first show at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago.
In the summer of 2004, after finishing their first full-length album Saturation, Gaskit began planning their first nationwide tour. Their Mission-to make a statement-to the fans; to the industry and to the world. Their goal was to tour all 50 US states in 49 days--which would break the Guinness Book World Record for fastest rock tour of all 50 states.
Break something they did-unfortunately it was not the world record. Halfway into their tour Gaskit's guitarist, Jay Hoyt, broke his wrist in a freak accident during a show in Santa Monica, CA. "We were at the end of the second song of our set, when the stage collapsed from under me and I fell backwards... I felt a snap and immediately knew something was wrong..." Realizing the world record would have to be put on hold, the band refused to be discouraged. "This is only the beginning." recounts Hoyt.
You don't have to spend much time with this foursome to realize, they are on a mission-a mission that began three years ago when this hard rock quartet hit the Chicago rock scene. Since then, they have earned their reputation of being tenacious, brash, and tireless in their pursuit of making heavy rock music and putting on a live show that rivals that of most signed acts. In their short time coming up in the Chicago music scene Gaskit opened for signed acts such acts as Godsmack, Drowning Pool, Soil, Tantric and others. This success has lead them to movie (Desert Cemetery) and TV placements (Jake 2.0 on UPN), not to mention working with prominent LA producer Marc Jordan (Synapse, Rubikon) on their dynamic first full-length record.
Gaskit's sound combines a de-tuned blend of smoldering guitar chunkiness, with the murky fortification of bass tones administered by Jason Schade. Jeremy Paretti's assaulting percussive skills-honed during his days as a marine infantryman- provide the rhythmic bedrock into which singer Freddie Feldman etches his caustic, yet melodic, inflections. The result is a hard rock elixir sure to please fans of bands like Chevelle, Trapt, Breaking Benjamin, and Smile Empty Soul.
"All we want to do is make music that moves people...by pouring ourselves and our experiences into our songs and our live show," Feldman adds, "it's that simple." Bones may be broken, but it is obvious that this band's drive remains in tact. There is no doubt that gaskit will continue to turn heads, and continue to make a statement.
Gaskit has split up, as of September 2005. The members of Gaskit want to thank all of our friends, family, and fans that have supported us through the years. It has been an amazing experience being in this band and we have been through thick and thin together. The split is completely amicable and we will all be moving on to different projects so stay tuned. Again, THANK YOU to all who came out to see us play, bought our CDs, supported us on tour or just encouraged us in pursuing what we love. We are grateful.
Gaskit had two different line-ups in it's five year history.
Original line-up (2001-2003):
Second line-up (2003-2005):
Television: Episode #14 of "Jake 2.0", from Paramount Pictures, running on the UPN (in US), SkyOne (in UK), Canal Sony (Latin America), M6 (France), TEN (Australia), and TV3 (New Zealand) networks.
Film: Two songs on soundtrack of Desert Cemetery from Flashdog Entertainment. Body Damage: Crashes of Demolition Derby DVD
Showcases: Chicago MOBfest 2002 & 2003 MECA Music Conference, Chicago 2004 UMN Entertainment Industry Showcase, Los Angeles, CA, April 2004
Awards: Winner of the 2003 Songs Inspired By Literature International Songwriting Competition (SIBL). Gaskit's winning song "Peel This Away" is featured on a compilation CD with songs by David Bowie and Tom Waits. Winner of the 2004 SIBL International Songwriting Competition for the song "In My Hands."
Sponsors: Monster Energy, eBags.com, Understood Clothing, ConnectGO
(actual audio coming soon)
The Unreleased Studio Tracks (2005)
Falling Down
Kill The Messenger
221
Live Performances
Live on Hostage Radio - Time To Decide
Saturation (2004)
Everything
What Did I Do?
Simple Man
Response Ability
The Prize
Identity
In My Hands
Not a Pretty Picture
Wearing Thin
Time To Decide (acoustic)
Lost In Silence (2003)
Down
The Storm
Not Alone
Voices
Frustrated
Peel This Away
Albatross
Not Alone (acoustic)
Last Show (September 2005)
Live at The Whiskey A Go-Go DVD