The Junkyard Percussion Unit, or JPU for short is made up of 4 members - Julius Damascus Ong, 17, Bryan Lucas, 33, Jasmine Kaur, 23 and Nick (yes, just Nick), 27. They are dressed in orange jumpsuits, much like construction workers, or if you're like me, I thought 'prison inmates'. Watched too much Prison Break - sorry guys!
So what is JPU all about?
We're the green percussionist 'construction workers'. We're all about Junk, Trash and Recycling!
(indeed they are, all their 'instruments' are recycled 'junk' - very green indeed! I likey! Kids - learn!)
Why did you guys join OMG!?
For the exposure and also for the fun of it. And for the experience too. I mean, we have performed in front of like 10,000 people and we're okay but somehow performing to a camera gave us nerves.
What would you do with the $50k if you won?
Bryan : Um, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Jasmine : Maybe we'll have a group retreat! (all the guys are like 'yay!')
So how did JPU get started?
We got to know each other from a common friend. Jasmine does Punjabi drums, Nick covers Latin percussion, Julius uses the Western drum set (the ones we normally see) and I (Bryan) do middle eastern drumming. So, Nick and Julius are stick drummers (they use sticks to play their drums), whilst Jasmine and Bryan use their hands.
We are a percussion band. But we are not the norm. When you talk about drums and percussion, there will always be an actual drum, but no one has come up with junk and trash as percussion.
What about Stomp!?
Bryan : Stomp! is a combo of dance and music. We are nowhere near Stomp! Stomp is our greatest inspiration!
Nick : We're here to tell everyone that a percussion showcase can be made out of anything. Music comes from the person, not the instrument.
Bryan :Yea, my first drum was my desk!
Nick : You know you're a born percussionist if whenever you see a surface you just wanna do a soundcheck!
What do you guys do in real life?
Jasmine is a school teacher.
Bryan is a full time musician and PR practitioner.
Nick teachers at SOTA/NAFA, has his own company called Latin Beats Production and does dance accompaniment.
Julius is a full time student and part time drummer.
Who do you think you'd like to challenge?
Vertical Dancers, cos there are limitations on what you can do on a mounted pole. Or maybe Rhythm & Moves? Not much choice out there, so depends on who goes out first.
Catch JPU in all their recycled percussion glory on OMG this Wednesday, 8pm on Channel 5!
Are you an awesome drummer? Want to kick some percussion a**? Have you been banging on pots and pans since you were a baby? Or have you got some other talent that will trump any finger-tapping, stick-waving, foot-stomping drumhead? Email producers NOW at omg@mediacorp.com.sg - you could be a Challenger on the show!
Better yet, if you know a super talented friend, email producers and get THEM on the show!
