Additional Details

Additional details

Been Together Since: 2003

Sounds Like: Melodic female singer hitting drums hard.

Members

Jessica Zweback -- vocals, drums
Frank Zweback -- bass
Davis Jumper -- guitar, vocals

MP3S

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Gr8 Big Heart

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Butterfly

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Mountain

Audio Interview

Discography

SkyBlue72 EP, 2004
Feel My Way Home, 2007

Where To Buy

• CDBaby.com

Review

Call it what you want - fate, coincidence, good timing - but the three members of pop/rock outfit skyblue72 seem destined to play music together.

Siblings Frank and Jessica Zweback each moved to Houston at different times for career opportunities, neither of which involved music. Guitarist Davis Jumper played with Frank Zweback in local jam outfit Zwee, and he also dated sister Jessica Zweback for a while.

The three even shacked uplived together, until Jessica 's recent move moved from her brother's house to a place of her own in the Heights. (Frank Zweback and Jumper still share the Montrose-area pad.)

And Then almost two years ago, after stints in various bands and innumerable crossed paths, skyblue72 was born. The band offers an appealing blend of Jumper's effortless guitar riffs, Jessica's earnest vocals and drumming, and Frank's solid bass.

"I know (Frank and Jessica) both really well, so I'm kind of like a brother (now), too. It's really not that tough. It makes it, I guess, a little easier," Jumper says of the band's closeknit dynamic. "Every now and again I feel ganged up on, but they probably do, too."

Indeed, skyblue72's members have an engaging, comfortable energy in person - even in conversation. It makes for an electric presence on original songs Butterfly and Gr8 Big Heart, an undeniably catchy gem that, with proper support, would likely rule the radio waves. (Both songs are from the band's 2004 debut EP, available at shows.)

"It's a triangle," Jessica adds, without missing a beat. "We create a triangle."

So far, each point is angled for success. The band averages about five to six shows a month, an impressive number for any band on the local scene. The video for the song Gr8 Big Heart recently wrapped, and skyblue 72 is in the process of booking gigs outside of Houston this year.

"I've been around with Zwee. We've done a lot of stuff, and I know a lot of people in the community," Frank says. "In some ways, this group is a lot easier to work with than (Zwee) because it's just three people. Everybody's just down for trying to do it."

But even though all three members of skyblue72 share a genuine love of performing live, they don't want to make it too easy to catch them at your favorite bar.

"We do get a lot of gigs, but we almost try to not play quite as much," Frank admits. "We're trying to balance getting exposed and playing in front of a lot of different people, and not playing so much that our draw suffers. Our strategy right now is just to get it out there and try to build a fan base."

Frank still plays every six weeks or so with Zwee, but he focuses most of his energy on skyblue72. Along with that, he works with at-risk youths at Marshall Middle School on the north side.

Jumper is a bartender at popular nightspot Helios ("Come by and have a drink," he offers to anyone willing to listen), and Jessica teaches bikram (or "hot") yoga after several years as a social worker.

Music, however, has always been an integral part of life for each member. For Frank and Jessica, it's also an important part of their heritage.

"We had an uncle who influenced us profoundly, who was a musician, who died very young. We were kind of left with his unfinished legacy, I feel like," Jessica says. "As I got old enough to sort of understand that, he's kind of been, and continues to be, an inspiration."

Eventually, all three members hope to be able to pursue music full time. Given skyblue72's so-far charmed existence, anything seems possible.

-- Joey Guerra | January 13, 2005