Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Jew. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Tarantula Mountain is a heavy alternative rock project based in Austin, TX. Officially formed in 2020 by John Mendez (guitar/vocals) and Jasmine Jew (bass/vocals), this duo spent the last two years finishing writing and recording their debut album “Virgo Sunday”. They have performed around Austin at venues such as Come and Take It Live and Kick Butt Coffee. Their album “Virgo Sunday” is scheduled for release on February 11, 2022 along with their new single and video “Orthodox Red”.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are always going to be struggles and challenges, but a real witch or a wizard will always try to make the best out of a situation.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are both visual artists as well as musicians.
John is an instructor at Austin School of Music and offers lessons on guitar, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin, and ukulele. His lessons cover a variety of styles of music, theory, and songwriting. His visual artwork is self-described as a mix between Salvador Dalí and M. C. Escher and he works primarily with ink, pencil, and oils. You can view his artwork here: www.PostDreamism.com.
Jasmine is the Director of Operations at Austin School of Music. She is passionate about helping people achieve their creative goals in art and music. She is heavily inspired by color palettes from 90’s cartoons and works primarily in acrylic paint and ink. Her visual artwork can be found at www.JasmineJew.com.
Musically, they are influenced by late 90’s alternative rock, such as A Perfect Circle, Garbage, and Alice in Chains. What sets us apart from other Austin bands is the melodic bass lines, John and Jasmine both have unique vocal stylings and very creative lead guitar.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Over 2020 through present day, we have kept ourselves busy working towards a bright future. The early months of 2020 provided a much needed break from monthly gigging that allowed us time to rehearse and write new music and rework some older songs. The later part of the year, we filmed our first music video “Never There (Part 1)” with PennyRock Productions. We released the video in January 2021 and spent the rest of 2021 recording our album “Virgo Sunday” with Russell Tanner at Antimatter Studios in Austin, TX.
Contact Info:
- Email: tarantulamountain@gmail.com
- Website: www.tarantulamountain.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/tarantulamountain
- Facebook: facebook.com/tarantulamountain
- Twitter: @tarantulamtn
- Youtube: youtube.com/tarantulamountain
Image Credits
John P. Rosales Ralph Arvesen Elizabeth Jew Andrew Stone
