Oh Yeah! Jason will be returning to drummerconnection.com. Only this time WORLDWIDE ZOO will be joining him! It's slated to go down Sept. 18th at the drummerconnection.com recording studio in Kissimmee, Fl. Their host and recording engineer will be Eric Rosebrock, founder and owner of Drummerconnection. THIS WILL BE WEBCAST LIVE for your listening(and viewing) enjoyment. Copies of Worldwide Zoo's live WMNF appearance will be available soon both as a digital download and CD. If you had a chance to hear it you know they had a unique and wonderful session. BE ON THE LOOKOUT for that. Green Sunshine is excited to welcome Rodg Deep on electric bass to the family. His debut appearance will be at the Big and Hearty Music Festival in Gainesville, Fl. As always be sure to check out the Band Events calender to stay up to date on shows and appearances. And last, Jason would like to thank Stanton Moore for the private instruction:
 
 "Stanton,
The time we spent last week was as fun as it was helpful! I now have a firm grasp on the New Orleans grooves I love to play so much. I look forward to doing it again in Oct. Stay safe on the road.
_Jason Stander"

 Of course this would not have been possible without help from Jason's good friends Dave and Bill over at ALL PRO PERCUSSION in Brandon, Fl. These guys really go the extra mile for drummers. If you haven't been to the store, or plan on being in the Tampa Bay area, you owe it to yourself to stop in and see their awesome drum shop! Check them out by following the link in the "links" section.

 Worldwide Zoo is wrapping up their Summer Road Trip this weekend with the HUGE "Psychedelic  Summer Jam". Green Sunshine is on the bill as well along with Aquaphonics and headliner 3rd Stone. The Zoo is announcing shows in Alabama and Louisiana including Bayfest 2010, Moe's BBQ-Daphne, and Checkpoint Charlie's in the French Quarter-NOLA! Green Sunshine has been added to Jambando in the Park-Live Oak, Fl and is doing a string of "Kind Bud Thurs." at Beach Bar-Clearwater. CHECK THE BAND EVENTS CALENDER FOR ALL THE DETAILS! Jason will be returning to the Drummerconnection.com drum room. This time he'll have Worldwide Zoo with him. They're planning for late Sept. Please check back for more on this. And last, we've started a discussion forum with topics ranging from vintage drums and cymbals to technique and career development. It may take a while to get up and running so be patient with us please.

Worldwide Zoo appeared live on WMNF 88.5 FM's "In The Groove" show on 07/20/2010. Host Thor Bendickson and the Zoo crew talked about the band's new CD and all the upcoming shows on their Summer Road Trip. They performed in true Zoo style, mingling improvisations with original material. Jason's setup on this one was the 3 piece version of the '70 OBP Ludwig's, his Cyclone Drums snare, Bosphorus 21' MSV ride, 19" Zildjian Beautiful Baby ride, and 14" K Zildjian hi-hat's. You can stream it till next Tues. here(Windows Media) or here(Itunes). PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!

That's right the MADNESS has begun! The Zoo is gonna be doing a whole slew of shows in some of their favorite Florida stops from Hudson to Key Largo. They have a July 20th ON AIR performance scheduled as part of "In The Groove" LIVE on 88.5 wmnf July 20th from 10-11pm. In The Groove airs Tuesday nights from 9-11pm and is hosted by jamband music guru Thor Bendickson. BE SURE TO TUNE IN! Worldwide Zoo is also this month's "Featured Artist" in Miami Life Magazine. Check out the love here. And be on the lookout for a new set of band photos by photographer Rachel Voll. A few of these can be seen in the photos section. Both the Zoo and Green Sunshine have been announcing even more shows so check out the new "Band Event Calender" section for a quick rundown of gigs, or the usual "Upcoming Events" for more detailed info and show posters. Green Sunshine has some new videos from the beginning of the night at Crowbar 06/25/2010 up on Youtube. Be sure to check them out. And lastly, the GS crew would like to welcome Joseph Wheeler to the band on bass.

Both bands have got some serious show announcements. Worldwide Zoo has a three night stretch Aug. 22nd-24th at some of Tampa's hottest venues. Friday Aug. 23rd they will be opening for legendary bassist of the Meters, George Porter Jr. and his Runnin' Pardners at Tampa's famous Skipper's Smokehouse! Green Sunshine has been added to the Big and Hearty Music Festival in Gainesville, Fl. Each band has announced more shows across the state. Check Upcoming Events for more details. Worldwide Zoo's debut release is now available on amazon.com and itunes making it easier to put a little Zoo in your life. And finally(I'm sure I forgot something), Jason is now playing with "Call us Watcha Like". They have a show coming up and should have a profile in Current Projects soon. Please CHECK OUT SOME LIVE MUSIC!

Worldwide Zoo is announcing shows for the end of summer fast, some even sooner. There's a NEW JAM NIGHT hosted by Worldwide Zoo at Cafe Alma in Downtown St. Petersburg! Anyone who has ever been to a Zoo Jam knows the kind of musical mischief that goes on. This will occur Friday nights starting June 11th. The doors will open at 10pm and music will start at 11. Also the Zoo is headed to Miami for an Aug. 7th appearance at the Legendary Tobacco Road! You can now pick up the new self titled Worldwide Zoo CD at CDBaby.com in both hard copy and digital formats. Now you can enjoy a little Zoo anywhere in the world. Green Sunshine has knocked out two of it's Summer Festival Trifecta with their sights set on Buzz Fest to finish. Catch them in Gainesville at the Backstage Lounge with Legacy or in Tampa at Crowbar with Spam All Stars! CHECK THE UPCOMING SHOWS SECTION FOR SHOW DETAILS! And lastly, Jason has posted the first of many quick exercises in the "online lessons" section for you to enjoy.

Green Sunshine has been featured on tbt magazine's "Soundcheck". Check it out here and leave a comment to let the band know you love em'. They also had a feature with the Dunedin Free Press that can be found here and covers some of their shows. Show announcements for Green Sunshine include June 25th at Crowbar with Spam All Stars, a late show June 26th at St. Pete. Beach Theater, July 30th at Brew Garden - Clearwater, and Aug. 14th at State Theater with 3rd Stone! Worldwide Zoo will be coming back to the Hub in downtown Tampa Sunday August 1st. If you haven't heard Worldwide Zoo's new album, you now have the chance to listen at Allmusic.com.

Worldwide Zoo has been mentioned in a TBO.com article entitled "The Short List: Best Local Musicians" by Curtis Ross, Tampa Tribune's pop music critic. You can find it here. Also, Creative Loafing Magazine put together a Youtube video of the highlights from sensory overload 5. The song "Seven" can be heard while watching clips shot during their performance. Green Sunshine has been featured on BayBuzz.org in this months "meet the band" series. Learn more about what makes them tick at the BayBuzz.org. They have also started recording a new Demo featuring the new band. This should be ready by the end of the month so keep checking back for updates.

 Green Sunshine has quite a few great shows coming up with chances to see them across the state. Newly added are shows in Lake Worth, Fl with Solillaquists of Sound at Propaganda, and at Backstage Lounge in Gainesville, Fl. Also a  performance at Green Sunshine's home away from home, Dunedin Brewery.

 Jason will be performing with a special band headed by Dwayne White for a Memorial Concert in honor of Don Capone. Don was the man who introduced Jason to the jazz scene and the brush techniques of Elvin Jones, Al Dawson, and Charlie Perry, whom were his mentors. Be sure to check the upcoming shows page for more details on all appearances.

We've got some photos up in the gallery from the Cigar City, Sensory Overload 5, and CD release party shows! Green Sunshine is announcing shows in Miami and St. Petersburg, so be sure to get the details on the upcoming events page. Also, Green Sunshine will be headed into the studio to record tracks in the next couple weeks. Check back soon for more on that.

 Green Sunshine will not be performing St. Patty's at MacKenzies as a whole band. Instead you will have Justin Boza, Mc Reason, and Motown Tee helping you get your Irish on!

 Jason is also now accepting 3 more students. If you would like to take private lessons from him, please use the contact form on the home page. There is a new video up on "videos" page with him doing some warm-ups on both brushes and sticks. It should be posted in the next 24hrs. He would also like to thank all the great drummers including John Blackwell and Albert Warren for stopping by the Cyclone Drums booth at Spring Bash 2010. More clinics and appearances are in the works.

Eric Rosebrock, founder of Drummerconnection.com and Jason get down on some DC play-along tracks. Jason even plays along with the Worlwide Zoo track "Take the Z train" from the new Album. Kevin B joins him for an oh so elevator version of Girl From Ipanema. There are so many great features and learning tools on drummerconnection.com. Jason believes any drummer can benefit from becoming a member and being active in this web based drummer community. Click the pic to the left to go to the re-broadcast!

 "I'd like to extend a huge thanks to Eric over at drummerconnection.com for having me out at the studio for some fun time. I hope all drummers learn to take advantage of this valuable and FREE resource!"
-Jason

That's right! The link to the What Goes On#14 TBO.com podcast featuring Worldwide Zoo is here. You can also download it as an mp3. Plus the Zoo will be performing at 2 events on March 27th 2010. First at the Cigar City Brewery as part of the Whole Planet Foundation - Cask Tasting Fund Raiser from 4-7pm. And then at Roosevelt in Ybor as part of Creative Loafing Magazine's Sensory Overload 5.

The Worldwide Zoo debut album has arrived. It looks amazing, sounds gorgeous, and is available now at www.worldwidezoo.net for only $12 shipped to your door! The CD release party was a blast and the Zoo would like to thank all the incredible people who sat in 30* weather(that's cold to Floridians) and hung out. Also a special thanks goes out to DJ MP and  DJ Lungfish for keeping things hot while the band setup and took breaks. Worldwide Zoo will be featured on the March TBO.COM podcast with Tampa Tribune pop music critic Curtis Ross and TBO Extra editor Rommie Johnson. It will be available for download and will be posted here when the link becomes available.

 JS4 will not be at Lenny's Latin Cafe again till 03/10/2010. The guys have various projects and vacations planned. And we're all anxiously awaiting the grand opening of the all new Cheese Shop Theater and Comedy Club where JS4 will resume the Jazz on 56th St series. These guys are making some great jazz so be sure to catch them.
 
 Green Sunshine now has t-shirts. They look snazzy, fit nice, and show what great taste you have in music. GO GET ONE NOW. www.greensunshineband.com or www.myspace.com/herbandlegends. And last but not least, Jason will visit the drummerconnection.com studio for a live webcast from the drum room Sat. at 7pm.

We've got Green Sunshine doing a night at the Dunedin Brewery on Thursday Feb. 11th at 9pm. These guys have had two incredible shows at the Brewery and plan to top those.  Get out early and get a seat. GS recommends the fish tacos.

Also Jason will be joining Dwayne White and Dan Harrison at Cafe Kili on Mon. Feb. 8th at 7pm. These gentlemen have been mingling in local jam sessions for awhile now and are excited to join one another.

That's right, only 16 days left till the release of the ever-so-anticipated Worldwide Zoo full length album. Artwork is coming in and the guys wanted to give you a sneak peek. They turned to artist and long time friend Craig Kaths to handle the job, and the result exceeded their expectations.

 And, JS4 will not be performing at Old World Cheese Shop for the next 2 weeks. The guys over at the Cheese Shop are moving locations and are hoping to be ready by then. You can still catch them every Wednesday night at Lenny's Latin Cafe on 56th in Temple Terrace.

Jason had the time of his life in Annaheim, Ca for the 2010 winter NAMM convention. He had a chance to hang out with some of his favorite drummers including Jeff Hamilton, Ralph Peterson, Stanton Moore, Lenny White, Cindy Blackman, and many more.
From Jason:
 "I would like to extend a special thank you to Ibrahim Yakici, Hasan Ozdimir, and Michael and Kevin Vosbein from Bosphorus for all their hospitality. Also Paul Francis from Zildjian for his great insight of the cymbal industry, Cindy Blackman for being such a sweetheart, Ralph Peterson for the 3 over 4 to 6 over 4 demonstration and just being a cool guy, Dom Famularo for his kind words of motivation, and Stanton Moore for kicking it old school with me. My gratitude is never ending."
 
 Also, WORLDWIDE ZOO will be playing on Sun. Jan 23rd at The Hub in downtown Tampa from 11pm to 1:30am. We hope to see you all out in enjoying yourselves in downtown Tampa on Sunday!

 Worldwide Zoo has been asked to kick off Robot Love 2.0. "Robot Love is a 9-day, 18,000 sq. ft. indoor art and music festival. Live music and performances every night! Roam the massive art gallery and graffiti playground... plus so much more!" The Zoo will be there Fri. 6-9pm.
 WZ is also announcing some of the cities on the spring 2010 Southeast Tour. Cities to expect to see the Zoo include Atlanta GA, Asheville NC, Knoxville/Nashville TN, St. Louis MO, Little Rock AR, and New Orleans LA! And be on the look out for the upcoming debut album from Worldwide Zoo, coming soon...

 The New Year is here and JS4 is back and ready to cook up some jazz for you. Wednesday Night Jazz-Tampa
at Lennny's Latin Cafe', and Jazz on 56th St at The Old World Cheese Shop are both great ways to see these guys. Check out the Upcoming Events page for more details.

Lenny's Latin Cafe is host to "Wednesday night Jazz" with hosts JS4 featuring Paul Keesling. Recently a video of the quartet has been posted on Lenny's Facebook page with a group of special guests including Dwayne White. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=216086880828&ref=mf Check us out this Wednesday. Jason is also on Facebook now so be sure to add him to keep updated on all happenings.

Jason and Friends(including JS4) went into the studio on Dec. 8th, 2009 to record a demo of standards. JS4 performed "Beatrice" for this session.  Bill Bennet, Shaheed Darby, and Santiago Rodriguez also make appearances. Recording this session was our good friend Jonathan Leon and his crew. This should be available by March 2010. 
 
 Also Jason will be headed out to NAMM 2010 with Cyclone Drums in Annaheim, Ca. Jan 15-17th. He hopes to see some of the latest music gear and meet a few of the industry people he has not had a chance to, face to face. He'll be joined by Brian Bernard of Cyclone Drums. We hope to see you There!

 A few more shows will be announced in the upcoming week for bands Worldwide Zoo and Green Sunshine, including dates at the famous Ella's in Seminole Heights(WZ), Dunedin Brewery(GS), and Pegasus Lounge(GS). And don't forget about "Jazz on 56th St." every Thurs. night at The Old World Cheese Shop. It is becoming a cozy little scene with laid back, smiling faces everywhere, enjoying great food and HOT JAZZ. WE WILL NOT BE BACK AT THE CHEESE SHOP TIL JAN. 8th 2010! Please join us then and see what the buzz is all about. 

83 Degrees, a Tampa based news publication recently did an online slide show focused on Cafe Kili. The Fidora Trio was a large part of that slide show including a mellow version of Blue Bossa in the background and a sound bite from our very own Jason. The Trio would like to thank Dwayne White and Shaheed Darby for sitting in on the session. Check it out at www.83degreesmedia.com/features/java120109.aspx . A big thanks to Brad Stager for putting the whole thing together. 

The quartet will be going into the studios next week to cut some tracks with the help of recording engineer Jonathan Leon. This material should be available Mar. 2010 and will have some of Jason's good friends helping out like Shaheed Darby and Santiago Rodriguez. AND the guys will be featured along with The Old World Cheese Shop in an upcoming issue of the Tampa Tribune. Who knows, if you make it out tonight, you may even be snapped in a photo for the spread...... check back in the next couple days for more details.................

 Also WORLDWIDE ZOO will be performing Feb.13th 2010 at New World Brewery in Ybor City-Tampa! This will be the OFFICIAL TAMPA CD RELEASE PARTY!!! More details as they come in....

 And Jason has written a few words about his new Cyclone Drums snare drum. To read what he had to say, click on the picture of the snare in the "Drums" section.

Because of Thanksgiving this week, the Quartet will not be performing Wed. or Thurs. The guys will be spending time with their friends and family and being thankful. They will be back next week! Jason wishes all of you a happy Thanksgiving and looks forward to seeing you over the holiday season.

 Please don't forget, Lenny's Wednesday nights is a great way to catch some hot food and even hotter jazz. Enjoy the "Jazz Special" which includes YOUR CHOICE of meat, 2 sides, and a fountain drink for $5.99. So, instead of that value meal at the drive thru, catch some good feelings in the form of great jazz and a homemade latin dinner.

 AND Thurs. nights are "Jazz on 56th St" at The Olde World Cheese Shop! Featuring Jason's Quartet, an amazing evening menu, and $1.00 Drafts! The evening menu has it all from 2 of their famous sandwiches to delicious wings and chicken strips. Enjoy a glass of vino from their large selction of fine wines to compliment the food and jazz. SEE YOU THERE NEXT THURS.!!!!!

That's right! Jason has been hard at work as usual and has cooked up a new quartet and a new weekly Thursday night event certain to be the hottest college night jazz session. The Old World Cheese Shoppe is located at 11001 N 56th St. Tampa, FL 33617 and is destined to be the next USF area hot spot. The food is amazing, the beer and wines are well priced with $1 drafts till 8pm for guys and ALL NIGHT for ladies, and there is TONS of FREE parking. Try the sweet and spicy wings, recommended by Jason.

Worldwide Zoo's brilliant Recording Engineer Jonathan Leon is now turning in the first Zoo tracks from their much anticipated freshman release. There is a sneak peek available in the Music section. I've never heard the band captured like this and I've heard them a lot. I think I'm more excited than Jason! He elected to take a small version of the 71' Duo Rock outfit, and of course the Cyclone snare drum. Have a listen. We'll have more on a release date as things shape up.

Worldwide Zoo hit the studios on Thursday October 22, 2009 and recorded their official debut release. They had a great crew, amazing sound engineer, and deluxe studio accommodations. Recorded live with no tracking of any kind nor overdubs, the Zoo put their magic to the test. The result was a true picture of this bands musical brilliance, captured in the highest recording quality.

Jason is extra excited about his new custom Cyclone Drums snare drum. Check the drums page for details on build and materials. And, in the days to come he will be posting some of his own thoughts on this new instrument.

  Cyclone Drums and it's Founder/Master Builder/CEO Brian Bernard have earned a well deserved reputation for superb sounding, master quality drums. Jason has played several snare drums and complete sets in different configurations, and considers them to be the best sounding drums money can buy. He is convinced Brian can help you realize any drum sound your taste calls for. A new Cyclone Drums snare drum is on it's way and Jason is losing sleep thinking about that "sweet Cyclone tone". More on Brian and Cyclone drums can be found at his website(click on the pic or go to links page). Below are some more pics of the Cyclone Drums tour.

  Jason got to pick out his own shell and decided to go with a 8-ply maple shell that will be 14x6". He likes a thinner snare drum as he says they "sing more". These are high quality shells that produce a wonderful tone when struck on the side with your hand. Of course when working with Brian, he allows the drummer to fully customize size, shell thickness, bearing edge, lug type, rim type, throw- off style, strainer, finish(wrap/laquer), and more. He should have enough of this shell left for your snare.

 Jason would like to thank Brian, wife Jennifer, and family for being such gracious hosts. They are truly wonderful people. Brian's joy of life spills over into his craftsmanship and the quality is undeniable. Jason is proud to be part of the Cyclone drums family!

We know Jason likes to keep busy and is always looking for exciting new groups to play with. This band has a sound that he just had to be a part of. All the things you'd expect from Jason: Funk, Breakbeat, Rock, and Jazz mixed up and boiled down. Check the "Current Projects" tab in the menu for more details.