Album Notes

About Hot Day at the Zoo…
This fiercely progressive 4-piece string band (guitar, mandolin, banjo, upright bass) is pioneering a new genre of music their fans are calling "ZooGrass"!!! It's a high-energy, gritty-urban-bluegrass with strong elements of folk, blues, ragtime and jazz.

About Cool as Tuesday…
Released in 2005, Cool as Tuesday features 12 original songs distinguished by uncommon lyrical strength, diverse songwriting, and unparalleled musicianship.
* Liner notes written by world renown jazz “Beat” musician David Amram.
* “Editor’s Pick” on CD Baby.com's "Jam Band" category since its release and has remained a top seller ever since.
* CD Currently digitally distributed through 73 international companies, such as Apple iTunes, MSN Music, Napster, Rhapsody etc…
* Songs featured in Offshore Magazine’s popular television series Port O’ Call on NESN

Review clips:

"HDATZ sprawls and folds in plenty of flavors without making "polyglot" a necessary adjective. And the three-set show is their specialty: build momentum in the first, slay in the second, exhaust in the third. Everyone goes home tired and satisfied, and each song makes the beer taste a little bit better." - Jambands.com 1/07


“Acoustic has never sounded so electric! At first, Lowell 'bluegrass' band Hot Day at the Zoo looks like a bluegrass band. The instruments are bluegrass (all strings). The fast-paced, finger-pickin' tunes start out sounding like bluegrass. Even the slight drawl in singer Mike Dion's voice seems like traditional bluegrass. But listen a wee bit longer and it is anything but.” Boston Globe 8/06

“After listening to the Zoo live, you quickly get a sense that the conventions of traditional bluegrass, and its cousin old-time music, matter less to the band members than the directness and adaptability of the string band format. HDATZ creates a musical space with plenty of room for personal songwriting, musical virtuosity, hollerin’ and carryin’ on.” The Middlesex Beat 7/06

“Bluegrass youngbloods, Hot Day at the Zoo, respect the music’s tradition but tug the genre in ways Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs never expected!” Boston Pheonix 1/06.

“Coming from a state that managed to produce both New Kids on the Block and Aerosmith within the same ten mile radius, we should have been prepared for the day when five nice Massachusetts boys would rock out with bluegrass instruments and form a band that’s destined to become a powerful musical demigod: HOT DAY AT THE ZOO” The Pulse 1/06.

“Hard to believe a band with so much cracked corn soul is from Massachusetts. There’s homebrewed magic here and returning for more swigs has only convinced me further of its kick. Take notice, Hot Day is gonna be around for a while!” JamBase 12/05

“What a treat for the ears this disc is! It’s undeniably bluegrass but with a very young feel. Songs about whiskey-drinkin’ Irishmen, songs of leaving and coming home, lonesome songs of heartache and women with long black hair, and of course, songs about mama. Hot Day at the Zoo has definitely got something going on here!” 168 Magazine 7/05

"Superbly recorded and played 'Cool as Tuesday' gives a whole new generation of listeners a taste of music from a time long gone by from a group of talented musicians that could very well be reincarnated. Good stuff!" Metronome Magazine 3/05

“With all the complex amalgamations that transform traditional bluegrass music into 21st century fusion mutations of itself - ‘‘slamgrass,' ‘‘jazzgrass,' and ‘‘newgrass' among the curious nomenclatures - it's refreshing to find a band that can deftly combine the music with other influences without fundamentally erring from its basic, deceptively simple all-strings ensemble ethos." Patriot Ledger 2/05

"You need to drive on this album, loving where you’re headed and unable to wait for your destination, yet appreciating the anticipation… It’s the perfect sound track for leaving or going home, wherever that place you feel comfortable enough to call ‘home’ is." Outlet Magazine 2/05