Perry-House Productions Presents: ZOOKRAUGHT! Dance-punk / post-punk from Seattle, WA.

“Three-piece punk band Zookraught is in full “chaos mode,” as they call it. The explosive collective has been gaining momentum in recent months, and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. Comprised of bassist/vocalist Steph Jones, drummer/vocalist Baylee Harper, and guitarist/vocalist Sam Frederick, Zookraught released their debut EP in 2022 and have been playing more notable shows of late, like a recent tour kickoff show for punk band Monsterwatch at Tractor Tavern. As well, the group locked down a spot on the lineup of Seattle-based music festival Belltown Bloom, and come February 3rd, they’ll be playing a big show at Conor Byrne with Bad Optics and a new group called Stetson Heat Seeker, which features Ian Reed and Obi of the now-defunct Actionesse.

“Actionesse was huge for me when I first moved here… I just fell in love with them immediately,” says Jones.

Jones grew up in Boise, Idaho, and moved to Seattle in 2014 with her hometown band, Fivestar. Soon after arriving here, she immersed herself in the music community and quickly began playing with another band called The Morning After, a self-described “angry and socio-politically charged hard-rock” band. It was in the The Morning After that Jones first met Baylee Harper, who played drums in the band, and the two immediately hit it off. When The Morning After dissolved in 2019, Jones and Harper formed Zookraught.

“Baylee and I… still want[ed] to play music together,” says Jones. “We started jamming together but then the pandemic hit… We kind of just sat on our little project for a while and then when shows started happening again we were like, ‘We have to get our shit together so we can get back on stage.’”

At first a four-piece collective, Zookraught started out as bass, drums, and saxophone, with the aim of bringing a quirky sound and energy. Their first EP, Like A Rotten Zucchini, added angular guitar melodies, to driving saxophone, prog rock effects, and the high-energy emotion of punk, and explored everything from political issues to personal relationships.” – article by Alexa Peters