Jesters Moon
Bio and photos provided by Jesters Moon
No nu metal, no rap metal, no alt metal! Just heavy metal!
Lead Guitarist Vido Sinn and drummer Preston Hatch of Bangin’ Moon join forces with bassist Alvin and lead vocalist/guitarist/keyboard player Bryce Van Patten from Pipe Dreams to form Jesters Moon. Following in the tradition of legendary metal bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, Jesters Moon holds to a true heavy metal form.
Originally known as Bangin' Moon, this Pacific Northwest band has come a long way in the last 2 years. Having some initial success and airplay in Europe with the first album, “Blinded”, the band soon followed up with “Moontang”, a five-song disc that showed off talents of new guitarist Vido Sinn. The album was punchier, better produced and better conceived.
Though still receiving good press overseas and airplay for the single “Burnin' Feeling”, the band’s lineup was in for a change. Singer Dan E. Hurtz decided to call it a day and was replaced by vocalist/ keyboard player Bryce Van Patten, who played keys on the track "Departure" off “Moontang”.
The band struggled through about 6 months of searching for a drummer while Preston was off on another project. Jeff Johnson played with the band for several months but was unhappy with the rhythm section and moved on. Preston came back and all was well.
Playing locally and struggling to put together a new album, the band searched for one more piece of the puzzle. Enter Alvin on the bass. Having played in bands with Van Patten since high school, he seemed the natural choice.
The band finally had a solid lineup and a five-song demo was recorded in the summer of 2001 ,including new versions of “Burnin' Feeling” and “My World”.
Ready to begin work on a long overdue full-length album, the band had one more trial to endure. Long-time guitarist and founding member Michael Suter left due to personal reasons. Van Patten switched to guitar/vocal duties, still adding keys on certain tracks and the group was reborn in its newest incarnation: Jesters Moon.
The band completed their self-titled album “Jesters Moon”. Long-time friend and heavy metal legend Matt McCourt (Wild Dogs and Dr. Mastermind) joined the band to sing a duet with Van Patten on the single “No Clue”.
Bryce Van Patten: Vocals/guitars/keys
Bryce Van Patten has been a fixture of the northwest metal scene since the early 80s, gaining some repute for his drumming skills. Bryce was briefly working with Wild Dogs until Deen Castronovo came into the band. Playing in Babylon, Holy Terror (the Portland-based band), Egypt, Warhead, The Humans, Gothic Opera, Gene Pool, Bangin' Moon and finally Pipe Dreams before joining Vido Sinn and company to create Jesters Moon.
Vido Sinn: Lead guitars
Although born in the states, Vido was raised in Cagliari, Italia, a city on the island of Sardinia. Vido received his first guitar at the age of 5, and though involved in a near-fatal accident at the age of 16, went on to recover the use of his arm, plus win local guitar competitions. Vido performed in Graven Image, Metal Prince, and Panic. Vido also has a passion for black metal and was a founding member of Blackthorn. Vido returned from central Oregon to join Bangin' Moon and continues to be a key contributor musically as well as in spirit.
Alvin: Bass guitar
Alvin is an amazing bass player with the heart of a lion and always the right sense of where to be. Alvin has played with Circus Mind, I Am Opus, Pilgrim's Staff and Pipe Dreams.
Preston Hatch: Drums and percussion
Preston Hatch, drummer extraordinaire, hails from Long Beach, Cali., but has been in the northwest through the 90's. Preston played in a band called Rising with Tom Dumont of No Doubt before founding Bangin' Moon and Pipe Dreams. Preston has shown an amazing ability to play but not overplay, always maintaining the integrity of the song.
Jesters Moon (MIB~2002)
They didn´t throw a bunch of genres in a blender to see what would come out. They didn´t appear to be taking their cue from MTV. The guys in Jesters Moon, a band based in Portland, OR, just delivered one of the more interesting albums to cross my path in a while. They didn´t do it by reinventing anything or going where no band had ever gone before. They just utilized the simple, proven formula so many great bands have perfected: start with great songs, add some awesome guitar work and a big dose of passion and season it with your own mixture of instrumental and vocal performances and atmosphere. In this day and age, sometimes there´s nothing more refreshing than metal done the old-fashioned way. The band´s web site, here, declares this album to be "No nu-metal, no rap-metal, no alt-metal! Just Heavy Metal!!!" I certainly won´t disagree. As a child of the so-called hair-band movement of the 80s, I was immediately drawn to this album. But even though I viewed it initially as Accept meets Dokken, I also hear an edge that makes it more compelling than your average melodic metal fare. At first, I was tempted to complain about the vocals being too low in the mix, but upon further listens, I love the mix and the overall sound. While the riffs and vocal melodies may draw comparison to some 80´s pop metal giants, the sobering lyrics and overall feel lend a powerful darkness and reality to this album that make it much more than a nostalgia trip. My favorite tracks include "Devils Eyes", "What´s My Name", "Amnesia" and "You´re On Your Own".
For an interview with Jesters Moon's Bryce Van Patten, go here.