A beat up old Park n' Fly van will putter into Charlottesville Sept. 13 carrying one of the most eclectic bands today. But catch Jump, Little Children while you can, because soon the quintet, which fuses pop, folk, rock and even a little rap, will be breaking up.
Jump, Little Children met while attending North Carolina School of the Arts and rose to moderate fame playing venues mostly in the Southeast. After years together and successful albums like Magazine and Vertigo, the guys are growing up.
Jay Clifford, lead vocals and guitar, will become a dad in January, then work on solo projects. Jonathan Gray, upright bass, recently got married and plans to start a family.
For now, the band commonly known as Jump will be making their last Charlottesville appearance at Starr Hill. Ward Williams describes their parting of ways as "bittersweet."
"Every moment we spend on stage and every moment we spend with the fans is fantastic and we love that," Williams said.
Unfortunately, he said, "For every hour we spend on stage, there are about 10 hours of stuff we just hate."
But those hours they spend on stage count. With a sound both unique and catchy, Jump truly makes the audience a part of the show.
"You know we've been more spontaneous recently," Williams said of their live performances.
During a recent Jump show, a band member stormed the stage dressed as a turtle during Michael Flynn's opening set. Flynn retaliated by attacking Jump with whipped cream.
Jump also is doing what it can to honor its long-time fans through their Web site, www.jumphq.com.
"Fans can go to our Web site and request [their] favorite song, tell [their] favorite Jump story, what city [they'll] see us in and we try to pick out as many as possible and read them out and play their song request," Williams said.
Even though they won't be around for long, new fans can enjoy the variety of song styles and energetic stage performance. With a set list that includes songs from 1995 to their latest EP depending on what fans request, Sept. 13 promises to be a great show. It shouldn't hurt that Charlottesville is one of their favorite places to perform.
"I'm not trying to suck up," Williams said. "Charlottesville is a really fun town and a great place to play."
After the final tour, Jump members want to record The Early Years, Vol. II, a compilation of "songs that never made it onto a record and a cassette tape that is essentially the first Jump, Little Children recording ever," Williams said.
A live recording at Dock Street may be in the works.
After that the guys go their separate ways. Evan Bivins plays with Cary Ann Hearst and Bill Carson and is also a member of the Irish punk band, The Dole, with his brother Matt, multi-instrumentalist for Jump.
Ward said Matt Bivins also may have more theatrical, solo projects in mind, "Something like a one-man show/rock opera."
Ward himself will be putting out a solo album, he said he hopes, in January. His album departs from the usual Jump sound and "is a little more country."
Then, he said, "I'd eventually want to do like an '80s metal/hard rock album."
Though the guys will move onto other projects, Ward emphasized that there are no hard feelings.
"We love each other, we love playing together. ... We're like family," he said.
Though Ward said the band has "left the door open" to collaborate in the future, they have no immediate plans once this tour ends. So, Ward said, "If you want to come see us, come out now!"
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