Tampa Bay's premier power lounge act*
Now entering their third decade of entertaining and confusing Tampa Bay audiences, proud purveyors of “power lounge” Vodkanauts continue to work their magic in a musical parallel universe, paying respectful tribute to musical masters while answering never-asked questions like, “What would Judas Priest sound like as a Mel Tormé tribute act?” Following a six-year semi-hiatus, the quintet (including new drummer Johnny Zoom) are swingin’ back into action and eager to rock the rafters at the 2023 reboot of WMNF 88.5’s Tropical Heatwave. This will be the band's fifth appearance at the long-running festival, having performed in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2012.
*OK, only.
Know Your Vodkanaut: Jonathan Harrison • vocals
Hometown?
St. Petersburg, Florida
Life-changing event?
The birth of my daughter, live theater, fronting ICU / Catherine Wheel / Edison Shine / Welcome
What music are you currently grooving to?
Depeche Mode's latest release, Memento Mori
Angus & Julia Stone, Down the Way
What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favorite album?
Peter Gabriel, Passion (The Last Temptation of Christ)
What was the first album you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
K-Tel Pure Power – the oddest compilation ever with Kiss, Alice Cooper, Heart, Doobie Brothers, ELO, Elvin Bishop, KC & the Sunshine Band, David Dundas, Paul Anka, Walter Murphy Band, Wet Willie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Gary Wright, Dr. Buzzard’s Band, Diana Ross, Brass Construction, Hall & Oates, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Silvers, Blue Oyster Cult, Wild Cherry … ordered after seeing a TV commercial.
Which musician have you ever wanted to be?
I have never wanted to be anybody else, really.
But if they croon and/or add a bit of theatrics to their performance? I'm down.
What do you sing in the shower?
I generally make stuff up.
What is your favorite Saturday Night record?
Often...Prince, Controversy
And your Sunday Morning record?
Currently...The Peddlers, Three In A Cell
Know Your Vodkanaut: Ryan Arsenault • keyboards, vocals
Hometown?
Redding, California
Life-changing event?
Just one??? Joining the Army, the births of my children, my mom’s purchase of a used cassette tape of Beethoven’s Greatest Hits from a gas station that sparked a childhood obsession with Beethoven, my mom’s subsequent purchase an upright piano and encouragement for me to take piano lessons.
What music are you currently grooving to?
Scary Goldings IV (Scary Goldings), How Cool is Cool (The Peddlers), Willie & the Wheel (Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel), Midnight Marauders (A Tribe Called Quest), Groovy (The Red Garland Trio), Rock Dust Light Star (Jamiroquai).
What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favorite album?
The eternally impossible question! But if I were to be banished to an island for the rest of my life, I’d be sure to take Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life with me.
What was the first album you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
Nirvana's Nevermind, in 7th grade, from a chain music store that no longer exists.
Which musician have you ever wanted to be?
If I had to choose, Claude DeBussey. French, brilliant, often avant-garde, way ahead of his time, scorned by the church, and a hit with the ladies.
What do you sing in the shower?
Whatever is bouncing around in my head. A thick and thundering guitar riff by CKY or Audioslave, a funky synth bass line by Herbie Hancock or Louis Cole, a soulful Stevie Wonder melody, a snippet of a John Scofield guitar line that I’m trying to draw inspiration from for my own playing, or a whacky lyric by Beck.
What is your favorite Saturday Night record?
Depends on what I'm doing Saturday night! Gettin' funky like an old batch of collard greens? Anything by James Brown or Stevie Wonder in the '60s and '70s. Keeping things cool? Any of the great bebop and hard bop recordings from the 1940s-60s. Otherwise, I love Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam no matter what I’m doing.
And your Sunday morning record?
Depends on what I'm doing Sunday morning! Enjoying a leisurely breakfast? Ahmad Jamal's Live at the Pershing or Ahmad's Blues. Working out? I usually want to rock to something like Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs for the Deaf or Soundgarden’s Down on the Upside.
Know Your Vodkanaut: Mark Warren • guitar, Theremin, vocals
Hometown?
Clearwater, Florida ... though it almost was Salzburg, Austria, which was my late mother's hometown. Apparently, things were kinda dicey at home right before I was born.
Life-changing event?
In high school, a good friend had (and still has) a beautiful 1982 Fender Black & Gold Telecaster. We'd sit watching the then-brand new MTV and by the second verse, he'd be playing along with these songs neither one of us had ever heard before. I wanted to be able to do that - and now I can!
What music are you currently grooving to?
Maybe some stoner/doom metal from the Ripple Music label...?
What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favorite album?
Hounds Of Love, Kate Bush
What was the first album you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
Jackson 5 Greatest Hits, at Zayre's
Which musician have you ever wanted to be?
Danny Gatton, Prince, and/or Todd Rundgren
What do you sing in the shower?
Todd Rundgren, Prince, and Kate Bush are in the repertoire.
What is your favorite Saturday Night record?
If enroute to a gig, something like Grant Green's Live At Club Mozambique puts me in a good mood. For a casual night out, ABBA Gold or AC/DC's Highway To Hell, please.
And your Sunday Morning record?
Sundays are quiet time. Once, I slept through until Monday afternoon...
Know Your Vodkanaut: John De Bellis • bass
Hometown?
Brooklyn, New York
Life-changing event?
Learning the bass guitar, moving to Tampa Bay area, my three children and growing up listening to my parents collection of '50s crooners, '60s lounge singers. Broadway musicals and traditional Italian records. The John Coltrane Quartet.
What music are you currently grooving to?
Jazz, Bebop and Swing.
What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favorite album?
Revolver, Live At Leeds
What was the first album you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
The Greatest Rock n Roll Hits, Dynamic House Records...ordered it off the television.
Which musician have you ever wanted to be?
Jack Bruce or Paul Chambers
What do you sing in the shower?
"I'm Beginning to See the Light"
What is your favorite Saturday Night record?
Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
And your Sunday Morning record?
Kind of Blue
Know Your Vodkanaut: Johnny Zoom • drums
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