If you’re going out Thursday, you may want to catch Turbo Fruits playing their first-ever show in Gainesville.
The Nashville-based quartet will perform at the High Dive, located at 210 SW Second Ave. Doors open at 9 p.m. and tickets can be purchased for $12 at the door or for $10 in advance on ticketweb.com.
“We see opportunity in Gainesville because a lot of garage rock bands haven’t come through in the past,” said Rob Budowsky, the band’s accountant and promoter.
Lead singer and founder Jonas Stein described their style as rowdy, pop-like rock and roll, and Budowsky said they’re a punk band in the truest sense of the word.
“Their brand of garage rock is both raw and kinetic and smart and melodious,” Budowsky said.
The band will come equipped with new music from its April release, “No Control.” Attendees will hear favorites such as “The Way I Want You” and “Show Me Something Real.”
“On our best nights, you’ll see Turbo Fruits jumping around off the stage, hopping off the bar, climbing on people’s shoulders,” Stein said.
Ten years ago, a high school-aged Stein came up with the idea to start a band he would later call Turbo Fruits.
The story behind the attention-grabbing name:
“It was all due to gambling…I was gambling on a slot machine and I hit a small jackpot and it lit up turbo fruit,” Stein said.
The first four years brought about a few changes in the lineup. For the past six years, the band has consisted of Stein on guitar and vocals, Kingsley Brock on guitar and backing vocals, Dave McCowen on bass and backing vocals and Matt Hearn on drums.
Before playing together as Turbo Fruits, bassist McCowen and drummer Hearn used to play in a band called The Tits, which played shows with Turbo Fruits. When the rest of his band left one summer, Stein made a move.
“I gave them a call and asked if they could come on tour and they just kind of stuck,” Stein said.
Shortly after, Kingsley, who went to high school with Stein, was added as a second guitar player.
The band, which had a ten-week tour with Surfer Blood in 2010, draws influence from bands they’re friends with and with whom they tour.
“I think it goes both ways, you know,” Stein said. “I think you start to really appreciate each other’s artwork and music so you can’t help but feel influenced by it.”
Stein, who races bikes in his free time, referees ice hockey and disc jockeys, recognizes playing music is his trade.
“Being in a band and just being involved in music works out pretty well for me. I don’t think there was much of a defining moment, but as I get older and as I’ve been doing this for longer, I’m starting to realize that it’s probably what I’m going to be doing for a long time,” Stein said.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 6/4/15]
