“I Can Put a Band Together in 10 Minutes”
(a Junk Fingers history)

Junk Fingers formed in the spring of 2009 when former Fuzzy Comets singer Melissa Ippolito returned from an audition but found the band to be less than inspiring. When Byron Glatz
heard this, he said, “I can put a band together for you in 10 minutes.”

The first call went to his former partner in Hepcat Dilemma, Bob Loiselle. When Bob answered the phone Byron said, “Okay, it’s gonna be like this…. I’m gonna play drums, Melissa’s gonna sing, Colpo’s on bass and you’re gonna play guitar and write the songs.” Byron was so persuasive that Bob came out of a six-year retirement and agreed to the proposed band.

Since he had already committed Chris Colpo, who he had served with in Didi Mau after leaving Hepcat Dilemma, he made that his second call. Chris was also on board and true to his word he had put together a band in ten minutes.

The new band was rehearsing within a week and soon started to build up a repertoire of new original songs. By the end of the summer the band started to play shows under the name The Glatz Menagerie and recorded their first songs which resulted in a 4-song CD that was given away for free at early shows.

Sessions for a proper album commenced in the spring of 2010 at The Compound before moving to 20 Cedar Studios where producer Matt Vaughan took over the controls. On the day of the cover photo shoot the band decided to change the name of the group to Junk Fingers, a name which had been tossed around for a few weeks as an alternative. The resulting album was “You Can’t Drink All Day Unless You Start in the Morning” (Rat-on-a-Stick Records CD006). It was released that Fall to brisk sales and good reviews.

While performing regularly the band went back to 20 Cedar Studio and recorded three songs as a start for a new album. A fourth song, “Waiting for You at the Corner of Vision and Sound” was recorded at Wilkens Audio and was a highlight on the “Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle” compilation CD released in 2013.

Before work could be resumed on the second album, Chris left the band to concentrate on the reformed Hepcat Dilemma and the songs recorded for the album remain unreleased.

Late 2014 saw ex-Von Dane bassist Alex Fitz join the band. As Junk Fingers went about teaching their stable of songs to Alex, Bob decided that Alex needed to have some Junk Fingers songs that were his and started to write an ambitious mini-rock opera which ironically was based on a dream that former bassist Chris had told Bob about.

The mini-rock opera was called “Audrey’s Fever” and was about a girl who had always dreamed of flying. Alongside a mix of Junk Fingers favorites the band started to learn “Audrey’s Fever” and started to play shows sporadically, introducing some of the new songs into the set.

Just as the writing for “Audrey’s Fever” was completed in late 2016, Alex left the band and Junk Fingers went into an extended period of uncertainty. It looked like it could be the end of the road for Junk Fingers and “Audrey”.

But a few months before Alex’s departure the band had moved rehearsals to Melissa’s and her husband, ATS singer/guitarist Evan Knauer, had been listening to the band practice and volunteered to play bass.

Over the next five years, through more than one extended hiatus, Junk Fingers persevered and against the odds were finally ready record the long awaited second album in early 2022. The sessions reunited them with their former producer Matt and over the next two years a new album, “Audrey’s Fever and Other Stories” emerged.

While all of the band members are working on their individual projects, the band is hoping to reconvene for some release shows in early 2026.