"Punch Judy? I've heard of you guys! Ha Ha...hey, where's Judy?" The band hears this all the time. Perhaps it's because Punch Judy is an iconic Indianapolis based band. I guess you could say they are more like an establishment than a band. All of the members are considered to be heavyweights amongst their musical peers. Some say they are a "musicians band", which simply means that other musicians love to come and watch them play because they are so good at their respective instruments. Others identify with them as "the party band", probably from their reputation as being fun-loving and a certain good time to see. 

As you may have guessed, there actually is no one named Judy in the band as the name might imply. However it's a simple a play on words based on the historic Punch and Judy puppet show which has been around since 16th Century. Unless these guys are vampires, I don't think it's the same bunch. Punch Judy has been together for 15 years this 2008. Robin Altmeyer (bass, vocals) has been with them 14 out of 15 years. Next up is Kevin Kale (drums), who's been with them 13 years, Jimmie Bruhn (vocals, guitar) just turned his 11th year, and finally newest member Jason Sheroan (vocals, guitar) turns his third year in the band July 2008. That's right, not a single original member is still with the group...yet the wheels keep on turning!

Jason says he feels privileged to have been asked to join such a well oil-machine. "I had been in numerous bands in the past, primarily as a lead singer. Before that I was a bass player. Back in the mid-nineties I played with Jimmie in Funhouse (another local favorite in their day). So Jimmie and I have been very close friends going on about 15 years now and in some ways we're like brothers separated at birth. We have a very close musical connection. So, I pretty much got this gig by default!  Jason says that traveling with the band on their trips to St. Louis over the years helped forge his friendship with the others. "I'd sometimes travel with Punch when they'd go over to play St. Louis and we'd spend the weekend goofing off. We all got along great. So when Dave (Donahoe) left the band, Jimmie asked me if I wanted to join. Jimmie and I had been playing together in an acoustic duo called Dash For Daylight when Punch would have some open dates, so I was a natural fit I suppose. I've got a young family, but so do most of the others, so traveling wasn't something I wanted to do a lot of. Turns out, neither did they. So, I jumped on it".

As Robin says. "We really didn't want to have to go thru an audition period because we had calendar full of dates. We needed to keep things rolling as smoothly as possible. So I guess that means that Jason had no choice! But really, it wasn't like we were desperate or anything like that. We could have done it as a three piece until we found the right guy. And as luck would have it, our first choice was not only the right guy, but a friend too".

"Our goal is balance" explains Kevin, "we can do Motown as convincingly as we can disco, funk, country, or rock. We pay attention to the crowd's reaction and go with the flow." Jimmie adds, "Yeah, our sets aren't written in stone. We kinda just start the night out with what seems appropriate at that moment, and build from there. You want to keep the momentum going when everything is clicking. We know our strengths and try to play to them, so that every style we do has our own stamp on it". Kevin adds, "yeah a lot of bands tend to play an hour, take a half hour break, play an hour, etc. But if it's time to take our break, and people are up dancing and having a great time, why destroy it by taking a break? Keep them up dancing and having a great time because it makes them less likely to want to club hop." Robin quipped, "Yeah, it's like they're our prisoners of rock for the night!".

Whatever it is, it seems to be working. The band has no plans on slowing down either. "We'll probably be doing this when we're 70", says Robin. "Why stop? We're a great band, we're all best friends, there is no drama or inner turmoil, none of that... and fortunately there never has been. We just wanna play and have fun. People can sense that kind of stuff, and so as long as we're having fun, they are having fun. You can't play every weekend for 15 years if you're not doing something right, so I don't see why we can't turn another 15!" 

As Jimmie said, "Yeah, one of these days our kids will probably replace us!" If their kids are anything like their daddy's, then it should be one hell of a band.

Please check the schedule and try to see these guys when you can. You won't be disappointed.

Gary Glauber - fufkin.com