year zero
a detailed history

November 2000
The official site
is further delayed. This is apparently due to bandwidth problems as the site has been designed in shockwave. A flash/html site will be designed. The new album has been recorded and Stef plans an exhibition for September 2001. The band members are each working on their own music/theatre/art projects. The most 'seen' has been Tomas with the Ensemble de Marrakech.

June 2000
The launch of the official website is imminent.

February 2000
Circumstances - the soundtrack to Plage/Tattoo is released. An official website is expected to be launched to publicise the CD.

December 23 2000
Stef and Rudy put the finishing touches to their cover of a Slade songe for 'Glittering the Millennium', and 80's tribute CD.

1999
The music for the theatre-play Plage Tattoo will be released as Zita Swoon's next album. A new record label called Chikaree Productions is founded to release this and other ZIta Swoon-sideproject releases. The album will be sold only at performances of Plage Tattoo.

July 1999
Rumours about a renewed cooperation between Stef and Tom Barman are confirmed in a French tv-interview.

July 23 1999
The remix EP of 'Disco' is released. It contains a.o. remixes by Soulwax, Rudy Trouvé, Daan Stuyven and Starflam, a homerecording by Stef a live version with mysterious backing singers, a version by Tom Pintens and a techno version by Mac Bart. Also the video is included in the mini-album.

July 4 1999
Stef discovers a new stage: the catwalk. In Paris he serves as a dressboy at a fashion show of belgian designer Walter van Beirendonck.

June 22 1999
Plage Tattoo / Circumstances premieres at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam (NL). Performers are Tamayo Okano, Koen Augustijnen, Aarich Jespers, Bjorn Eriksson and Stef Kamil Carlens.

June 10 1999
In Belgium, the new Kiss My Jazz album, called 'In a service station - a collection of service station truckdriving songs' is released. Although Stef pays a mayor contribution to the album, he is too busy to tour with Kiss My Jazz to promote the album.

June 1999
The new single and video from "My bond with you and your planet: disco!" are released. Maybe, a limited edition version of the single will be released in october. It will contain about 8 'Disco'-mixes, a.o. by Soulwax and Rudy Trouvé. It will also contain the video as a cd-rom bonustrack.

May 29 and 30 1999
Zita Swoon go to jail! Not as 'clients', but they perform together with Seatsniffers in the Antwerp jail, during 'Jailrock happening'.

May 1999
Zita Swoon ask Charles Bukowski's widow permission to cover one of his poems. She claims she likes Zita Swoon's music, 'cause it reminds her of 'hippie music'.

April 5 1999
'I paint pictures on a wedding dress' is released in the UK.

April 3 1999
The video for the new single 'Disco' is shot. Test shoots are done in the Monty in Antwerpen (B)

February 6 1999.
Apart from playing a mini-gig in Antwerp's FNAC store, Zita Swoon also records a 2 Meter Session.

January 29 1999.
The first single from 'I paint pictures on a wedding dress' is released. The limited editon of 'About the successful emotional recovery of a gal named Maria' contains 3 previously unreleased songs. The promotional videoclip contains some animation.

26 January 1999
Zita Swoon is awarded a special grant under the Flamish music bill. The group is given 1,5 million francs. This is the first time such a grant is given to a rock-oriented band. (see also a news paper article).

January 1 1999.
'She = like meeting Jesus' reaches the no. 33 position in VPRO's 'Song van het jaar top 100'.

January 1999.
Stef, Aarich and Bjorn continue working on the theatre/dance piece that will be premiered at the 1999 Holland Festival. A tour with this production will follow (in october?) The project bears the title 'Plage Tattoo / Circumstances'..

December 1998.
A sample of a Zita Swoon song is used in a AIDS prevention commercial on belgian television.

October 26 1998.
The regular version of 'I paint pictures on a weddig dress' is released.

October 23 1998.
The new album 'I paint pictures on a wedding dress' is released in a special limited edition version. It includes eight songs not on the regular album, and this additional album is called 'The sound hobbyist.'

October 17 1998.
Zita Swoon performs at the Crossing Border Festival in Den Haag. Besides the 'normal' show, they do a session for the tv show '2 Meter Sessies'. A signing session is also done at the Plato stand in the basement.

September / October 1998.
The new song 'Song for a dead singer' is aired on several belgian and dutch radio stations. It will not be released as a single, it's a promo only. Apparently, the song is a tribute to Jeff Buckley.

July 1998.
After a Zita Swoon gig at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam on June 23, Stef returns to New Orleans to mix the new album.

June 1998.
The new album ('Helden') is being recorded in New Orleans. Producer is Malcolm Burn.

April 1998.
In this month, recordings continue for both the new Zita Swoon and Flowers for Breakfast albums. The albums will be released at the end of the summer. It is not clear yet which band will tour in which period.

March 1998.
Zita Swoon signs a new contract with Warner Benelux. It seems that they want a new record company for each new album. Zita Swoon is also invited for their first show in the United States during the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas on March 21. Because of other occupations from Aarich and Tom, only Tomas, Stef and Björn are able to go to Texas.

January 1998
Zita Swoon wins a Zamu award for 'best functional music' for the Sunrise project. Stef also receives an award for best singer.

January 1998
Zita Swoon is looking for a new record company. There are three candidates that want to release the new material, that the band is working on. On another front, rehearsals are started for a new project, which will be premiered at the Holland Festival in june. For this event, two dancers are added to the band, Tamayo Okano and Koen Augustijnen. After the festival, the band will probably tour through Europe with the performance. They premiere finally is during the Holland Festival of 1999.

May 13 1997
Stef announces the departure of Benjamin after the Sunrise project. He is replaced by a new guitar player, Bjorn Eriksson. There were rumours of adding a female singer to the band, but this never happened. The show in Sainte-Croix-Vallee-Francaise-Les Gévennes (June 13) will probably see Zita Swoon in this new formation.

April 25 1997
The long awaited Sunrise album is released. It is followed by a tour in Holland, Belgium and France during the next weeks.

April 1997
The first single of the Sunrise album is released by PIAS (production by Chikaree). It is called 'Couldn't she get drowned'.

April 1997
It is announced that Stef composed music for the VPRO movie "L'Amant de maman" directed by Patrice Toye. In the meantime, Tom and Tomas worked for theatre productions. New Zita Swoon material can be expected in the fall of '97.

March 1997
The New York composer Moondog-Louis Hardin complains about the name 'Moondog Jr.'. These complaints have effect and 'Moondog Jr.' is changed into Zita Swoon. Little chance there is another band with this name. Stef chose the name 'Zita', which stands for the old-greek word 'intense'. 'Swoon' is slang for 'desire". There is no change in release plans or whatever.

March 1997
More Sunrise performances are expected from March, as well as a secret gig in Antwerp. Also, a new album will be released, which features the newly composed Sunrise soundtrack. A single from this album will also be released in this month.

December 14 1996 (maybe also December 15)
Stef joins dEUS on stage during their gig in the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. This was his first appearance with dEUS since he left the band.

September 1996
Flowers For Breakfast (with Moondog Jr. members Benjamin and Tom) release their debut album with the great title 'Baron Samedi conducts the onion philharmonique'. The album is followed by a European tour.

September 1996
dEUS new album 'In a bar, under the sea' is released. Despite of his 'departure', Stef can still be heared on the album.

August / September 1996
Moondog Jr. together with Piet Joorens and Klaas Janszoons does a small number of performances of the Sunrise project. Sunrise is the silent movie from 1927 by Murnau (Faust, Nosfernatu). A soundtrack is created by the band and performed live during the movie in Brugge (B), Den Bosch (NL) and Den Haag (NL). There are plans to release the soundtrack as an album.

August 1996
Stef announces that he will leave dEUS. Playing in two successfull bands takes too much time. Getting more and more dissatisfied with his role in dEUS, he chooses to stay with Moondog Jr. The dEUS show at Pukkelpop is the last live show with Stef.

May / June 1996
'Moondog' is released for radio.

March 30 1996
Moondog Jr. perform the final show of their tour in Turnhout at the Bultrock Festival.

March 12 1996
The third leg of the tour starts in Frankfurt.

February 24 'til 29 1996
The Moondog Jr. Homepage is created.

February 1996
The 'Jintro & the great luna' CD single is released.

January 19 1996
The second part of the European tour kicks off with a short surprise performance with Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung at the Bazar Curieux Festival in Rotterdam

November 19 1995
A busy day for the lads: in the afternoon, they record a session for dutch radio show Leidsekade Live. The show is broadcast the same evening, while Moondog Jr. is performing in Amsterdam.

October 16 1995
Moondog Jr. perform in Namur (B) at the same day the album 'Everyday I wear a greasy black feather on my hat' is officialy released. The album is produced by Michael Blair, who is known from his work with Elvis Costello, the Lounge Lizards and...Tom Waits.

October 2 1995
The single 'TV song' is released.

September 29 1995
The band performs live on MTV Europe during Most Wanted with Michael Blair.

August 27 1995
Moondog Jr. gives its first real concert in Holland at the Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise Festival. In the afternoon Stef c.s. do a live mini session for dutch TV also at the Lowlands festival.

August 1995
After the success of dEUS, Island records decides to exercise its exclusive rights on the work of Stef, who is a member of dEUS (dEUS were signed by Island). This results in a worldwide exclusive contract.

January 10 1995
The Antwerp guys, now called SKC Moondog Jr. & A Beatband, do a radio session for dutch radio show Villa 65.

1993
The debut EP 'Jintro Travels the Word in a Skirt' is released by Jack & Johnny records. Cooperating artists: Bas Deriemaker, Tom Pintens, Stef Kamil Carlens, Klaas Janszoons, Steven Bruyneel, Aarich Jespers, Jules de Borgher (amongst others).

1992
A Beatband is founded.

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