Samira Kadam - saxophone, vocals

I’m currently in school and work full-time, so I currently don’t have a life! But I did at one time and hope to have one again when I graduate. Back when I did have a life, I loved cooking new recipes that I saw chefs cook on TV, or recipes of foods I tried and loved at different restaurants (ask and I will gladly show you my gallery of food porn). I also love traveling the world, but not much of that has happened in the COVID years. I used to be a literature- (and nonfiction-) loving creative writer, but don’t do much of either anymore. What I can’t live without lately is lifting weights. It’s a passion I developed during the lockdown days and it helps me keep my sanity to this day. OH, and one activity near and dear to my heart: napping. As it’s been said, "sleep is the poor man’s nirvana." I find myself in nirvana quite a lot.

Biggest musical influences on my playing, and favorite artists: That perennially impossible question to answer, but I have realized over the years that I can narrow this list down to these wonderful artists:

1. The late, great Cannonball Adderley is my saxophone hero. I spent a good chunk of my life trying and failing in my attempt to be as great as he was. (Of course, in the process, I discovered my own sound and affirmed there’s no one I need to sound like but myself.) He was one of the most technically gifted and complete saxophonists who ever lived, in my opinion. No one combined that degree of improvisational innovation and raw soul like he did.

2. I was obsessed with Aimee Mann’s music for years, and still am (maybe to a less fangirl-ish level than before?). I haven’t heard a song of hers that didn’t send me into a state of reconsidering everything I thought I knew about life, or that helped me better understand the nature of man. She’s a poet in a cerebral songwriter’s body, a weaver of sound tapestries. The music is a strong dose of medicine and has changed me on deep levels.

3. I saw Kristin Chenoweth originate the role of Galinda (with a "Ga") the Good Witch in the Broadway production of ‘Wicked’ as a high school freshman, and I left the Gershwin theater in NYC knowing I was in love with her voice and MUST learn to sing. Progress report many years later? I sorta started, but it’s a work in progress. I listened to everything she ever created and started following her career, a process that uncovered to me what a deeply genre-fluid musician she is (believe me when I say she can sing anything, masterfully). This genre-fluidity is an influence that continues to this day.

4. Stevie Wonder helped me embrace "multi-instrumentalism" (let’s pretend that’s a word), and how music doesn’t need to be mediated through just one channel. My brain hurts thinking about how he performs on so many instruments with the level of skill he does, but I think he becomes the player each of his songs needs. He’s like a MIDI player, only analog…and human.

Favorite thing about playing music: I’ll follow in Fraulein Maria’s footsteps and give you a few of my favorite things - raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens… Nah, for real, tho:

1. Community: meeting other people who are the same kind of weird as you, bonding over it, and making some dope music together

2. Connection: getting all the feels listening to an artist, getting inspired, then transferring all those feels you felt to your audience.

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3. Self-discovery and endless innovation: surprising myself with what comes out of my horn

4. Not knowing what I don’t know about music: there is always more to learn, some of which I’m not even aware of! So that gives me plenty to do in the rest of my musical life.

Austin Salazar - guitar

From Denver, Colorado. When not on stage or at rehearsal, I can usually be found at the record store, walking my dogs, and drinking too much beer. I love to tinker with things, mostly guitars and cars and have an interest in analog music and photography. Carbohydrate enthusiast, nothing hits like a good slice or a greasy burger. I have a very wide range of musical inspiration, both classic and contemporary but the biggest influences are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and The Strokes. My favorite part about playing music is making something beautiful with my friends and hoping that it resonates with somebody.

Howdy. My name is Alec Lister, I’m the guy that usually has his face hidden by cymbals and other equipment in photos. I get enjoyment out of smacking and hitting things with my hands and sticks. Although I do "stick" to the drum kit most times. 

Time to be serious and talk some background, I started at a really young age but didn’t take music too seriously. About that awkward age of 12-13, My dad started to take me out to open stages and local jams. Self-taught at the time, I suddenly had the urge and drive to start playing, and I did, All. The. Time.

Alec Lister - drums

Jump forward about two years, I met one of my best friends, James, through a mutual friend. We started a band that lasted about a month. But me and him picked ourselves back up and started over. 

Jump through a few different line ups. We finally hit it home with a five piece. That’s where most of this group met, and played together for about five years. Julian, Jimmy, James, Austin, and myself made up 21 Taras. We played countless hours together. Recording, playing live, writing music. Usually two to four times a week. 

It was a good streak while it lasted, it ended on decent terms. We were originally gonna take a month break. Then Covid hit, and just like everything else in the world, got put on hold.

James was invited to join another local band Float Like A Buffalo. Julian completed, and put out his first solo album. I’m pretty sure Jimmy, and Austin did the same as me and became home dwellers. Much like the rest of the world. 

I did some tracking for Julian’s second, and current album during Covid. And one day he reached out to me and asked if I would like to jam with him and the other two dudes. We still had it, but it was a little on the rusty side. About March 2022, we started a new group under Julian's solo material and other original material we’ve written together.

Once again, jump ahead a month or so and we become a five-piece again. Samira Joins our rag-tag music-making team. I will say that now having even one horn player is a necessity in any band. She absolutely kicks ass, and impresses me every time we play together. And, the other guys are top-notch, but you start to know how everyone "feels and reacts" after playing together for so long.

We become JFP and the Time Travelers. 

Other parts of life kinda just slide in between everything. Graduated high school, started working, all that good jazz. Music is such a big part of my life, and as multiple hobbies. I now collect vinyl of all genres. Retro or digital, listening to It’s my primary way to pass time. Recording it is on another level, it’s fun to just try all sorts of different ideas and angles to a song.

Now we’re all caught up, over 11 years of running around making a ruckus all over the states (nearest to Colorado). Had ups, downs, lefts, rights, caddywompus. Still beating the skins with a awesome group of people, playing awesome music.

Remember, it’s all good music. Just might not be meant for you...