About a decade ago, Judo Pony was a popular live band in Eugene, playing light punk and alternative-influenced, ’90s-style guitar rock.
In 2010, Judo Pony entered Last Band Standing, a battle of the bands-style competition sponsored by Eugene new rock radio station KNRQ. They made it to the finals. Their sound, also integrating elements of No Depression alternative country and soul music, was rendered with the tenacity of a hard-gigging road band.
“We had some success, and lots of folks were coming out,” Judo Pony singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter Jason Johnson tells me over the phone.
Despite that early success, the band went dormant.