The Band History

Eef was a band that existed in Burlington, VT during the years of 1994 and 1996. The original band consisted of Jedd Kettler on guitar, Mike Barrett on bass and Brad Searles on drums. They played live at various Burlington clubs and events, and recorded a batch of songs at Eclipse Studios in the Fall of 1994. The band had a punky sound and a theatrical stage show, almost as a reaction to the other more melodic and gentle bands the members regularly played in. (Hover and Guppyboy.) Zach Ward joined the band in early 1995 on guitar, and the grungy aspect of the band lessened; evolving into a folkier, almost country sound, a la Palace Brothers or Cowboy Junkies.

Eef officially released two cassette albums, Three Minute Kings and the self-titled Eef.

Aside from a few other compilation tracks and a short live performance on a Good Citizen Video, Eef was basically a short-lived, unknown and unheard band. Brad moved on to form the band Starlight Consiracy, Jedd went solo, and Mike and Zach did more Guppyboy stuff, and that was pretty much it for Eef.


Zach Ward, Mike Barrett, Brad Searles, Jedd Kettler

An Eef band bio from Summer 1995
Eef is a band. Mike Barrett plays the bass. He was the drummer for the now-legendary Burlington band, Guppyboy, and sometimes he paints and draws. Brad Searles plays the drums. He also played for Burlington bands hover and Snowplow, and sometimes he runs a little record label. Jedd Kettler plays guitar. He's been playing for awhile, doing solo stuff, hanging out in China, filling in with hover, and sometimes he takes photographs. Zach Ward plays guitar, too. He sang and played bass in Guppyboy, and right now he's waiting tables and finishing up school. Mike, Jedd and Zach all sing in Eef. Brad rarely sings. Mike and Brad met in junior high. Brad and Jedd lived together for awhile. Eef was born in Brad and Jedd's asbestos-filled basement in December 1993. Zach joined up in January 1995.

In that basement, Eef recorded their first song for "Sounds Around Burlington", a nationally distributed CD of low-fi Burlington music. The song was "Maleman" and folks liked it. Then a film director from NYC asked them if he could use a couple of Eef songs in a movie. Eef said "sure!" The director is Chris Meyer, and the film is "Black and White."

So Eef wrote more songs, played out, and hit the studio in August '94 to record "Three Minute Kings," - a seven song EP. And Eef were asked, and honored to play with Sebadoh and Barbara Manning. That was pretty great. They released the debut EP at that show.

A few months later, Eef asked Zach along for the ride. The recorded a song he wrote, "For Erin," for the Good Citizen CD, another neat collection of VT bands. Then they embarked on their first mini-tour, playing Boston, Montreal, and more. In Boston they were invited to play a Sonic Bubblegum Records showcase. The tour was fun, but Eef broke too much equipment. Back in the studio, Eef recorded some more songs, as well as a mellow set at Burlington's infamous Last Elm Cafe. They took five studio songs and five live songs, and collected them on "Eef," their self-titled second cassette. It was released on June 4th, 1995, when Eef had the pleasure of playing with the wonderful Palace Brothers. Eef also recorded at piece of noise in Mike's mom's basement for "Kontrabanda," a Living In Style Records compilation.

Which brings us to Summer 1995. Eef is taking it easy, hanging out, and looking forward to more songs and more shows. A fall tour looks hopeful, with shows in Canada and the U.S. If you'd like to listen to some Eef, or maybe want them to play somewhere, or have any questions at all, just write or call. They'd be psyched to hear from you.