About the band
Joe Bartolotta - Andrew Berkowitz - Kyle Boe
The "Fiddlers on the B�ze" ("B�ze" is meant to be pronounced "Booze") got their start humbly on the mean streets of Bloomington, Minnesota. It was here where the love of doing jack shit matured into a subtle art by Orchestral stand partners "Deaf" Joseph Bartolotta and Kyle "Curly Back" Boe in the late 1990's.
Playing under the direction of several section leaders (some of whom were spawns of satan), Deaf and Curly parted ways during the great "Lowe/Moulder" standoff of 1999, in which Curly was traded to the first violins for two other violinists, a future minor league prospect, and a case of Popsicles.
The time the standmates were split up allowed for both members to reflect and perfect their specific brand of bullshitting. Curly made a science of the usage of vulgar phrases and saying the most outrageous things out loud. Deaf went towards a perfection of satire and making obvious observations that people would otherwise not want to discuss.
By Spring of 2001, there was a new member: Andrew "Berko" Berkowitz. An actor by trade and a gentleman by default, he added the necessary class that usually was absent from vulgarity, insanity, rubber novelty poop and the fact that Deaf and Curly sucked at their respective instruments. Curly knew Berko previously through theater, and had a keen interest early on in Berko partaking in his and Deaf's antics.
The formation of the group is said to have happened in the spring of 2002. Deaf had a job working the recording studio, and this proved to be an excellent place to goof off for Curly and Deaf as they "prepared" for the Lake Conference Solo/Ensemble competition. While Deaf was listening to some Metallica one day, Curly came into the studio with a poem he had written called "Cock Around the Clock." Deaf immediately laid down the track, and as such, history was made.
Berko happened to pass by and hear the barrage of obscenities coming from the recording studio. He quickly got his fiddle and played a background part involving Bluegrass music. Deaf mastered and mixed the track, and it was soon released as a single with the b-side of "Dixieland". They released the single to Jefferson High School, knowing that they would have limited success because of anti-Hawaiian sentiment that had been spreading, Berko, being Hawaiian, choose to keep his name off the liner notes in order to not hinder the success of the group. The group was called "Fiddlers on the B�ze," based off of what Curly and Berko thought you would call a "Fiddler on the Roof that drank too much." The album went #1 in it's first week. It stayed on top of the charts for five weeks.
In April of 2002, the group returned to the studio to make their follow-up, the "Kalkino Sessions EP". "Kalkino" being the name of Deaf's recording company. Berko was in the midst of a theatrical production; his noticeable departure was filled by several stand-ins, but nothing was like having him live in the studio. The EP was released and did reasonably well. Curly and Deaf went on to do a small duet work which resulted in the first official "Act of God" in the Jefferson Orchestra: a Superior rating at the Lake Conference Solo/Ensemble Contest. With renewed confidence, and with Berko returning, the group went to work on new material.
As of June 6, 2002, the band's status was officially in limbo, as Boe and Bartolotta left their former high school for good. Over the summer of 2002, the group was drifting heavily into pornography, gluttony, reckless driving, frightening parents and young children, drama, and baseball. These things ate their money, and alas, they could not return to the studio. At one point, Deaf said he found Jesus. Curly and Berko, fearing this would lead to the end of the group, beat the shit out of him and forced him to watch a marathon 36 hours of pornography. After this tough ordeal, they were stronger than ever, but still could not get back into the studio. Boe and Berkowitz performed together that summer, but after that, the three went on their own musical paths.
Until now...
Curly and Berko are performing together again through the University of Minnesota Campus Orchestra, and there has been talk that the band is headed back to the studio with plenty of new material. New plans for the album include recording the first ever tracks to feature the performance and song writing of all three members.
Former members: To this day, the band consists of the exact same members as it did the day it was formed.
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