Formed in early 1970s Kansas City, JPT Scare Band have spent decades graduating from totally unknown to painfully obscure. And yet—original lineup still intact. Still making meaningful music. Still proud of the twisted analogue insanity they’ve been recording since the days of reel-to-reel.
About the band’s genesis, guitarist and vocalist Terry Swope recalls: “The JPT Scare Band had no official beginning. The kind hand of fate brought Jeff, Paul and I together in 1973 and left us to sort it out. We moved into a house and set up our gear in the basement. As we jammed away the days and nights, an odd organic process was set in motion. Jeff, Paul and I discovered that we could make a mighty noise. Rather than question this remarkable development, the three of us simply accepted it as fact. We rarely discussed chords or arrangements; those things were beside the point. All that concerned us was combining our energy and using it to create a habitable musical world. Once we made that happen, our travels began.”
Over the years, word has crept into odd corners of the world. In 2007, Classic Rock Magazine named them among the “Lost Pioneers of Heavy Metal” alongside Iron Butterfly, Bloodrock, and Leafhound. The band will take it, even if they never quite called themselves metal. Their first two albums Acid Acetate Excursion and Rape of Titan’s Sirens were issued on vinyl only and vanished fast. Their first CD release, Sleeping Sickness, was swallowed when the label Monster Records imploded amid tragedy. For years, JPT existed mostly as rumor and out-of-print artifacts.
Then came Ripple Music. In 2010, guitarist Jeff Littrell reached out to Todd Severin of The Ripple Effect website, asking him to produce an album. Todd instead founded the now world-renowned label Ripple Music and released Acid Blues Is The White Man’s Burden as a double gatefold vinyl. Success followed. Fifteen years later, these two forces of nature team up once again to present this essential live work to the masses, with the exclusive release of JPT Scare Band‘s Live at Crosstown Station in the spring of 2026.
JPT Scare Band is
Terry Swope — Guitar, Lead Vocals
Paul Grigsby — Bass, Vocals
Jeff Littrell — Drums, Vocals
Ripple Music links
Website⎪Facebook⎪Bandcamp⎪Instagram
