BandGlenn Hubler and John Yonosh met in high school through a mutual friend, and found they shared the same guitar teacher. After some intense, fusion laced jams, they temproarily went their separate ways, in Solar Wind (John and later Rob), and Instant Justice (Glenn). However, as high school wound down, lured by the precision, the complexity or 70's prog rock, an agreement was made, that post college, a prog rock project would take place.
So they started what was to become Approximate in the Summer of 1991, while still attending separate colleges. Whenever an extende break from school matched the schedules of John and Glenn, a series of jams and writing sessions would take place, the band performing under different names during this time period. Initial sessions were with Jason Diliberto - in the Summer of '92, Phil Jackson lent his jazz inspired savoire faire to the proceedings, and a demo was born. There was not much recoring or playing activity from 1993-1994, but additional seeds of Approximate were sown, as John and Glenn both continued writing.
The first formal get together of Approximate was the Summer of '94, with Brian Davis on drums. Now free of the pressures of higher learning, Approximate was officially in operation. Eventually we recruited Miles Adams to hold down the drum chair, and a series of gigs resulted, performing ou own brand of originals, and a few covers, from 1995-1996. After this period we attempted a demo, but things sort of wound down for awhile, each member drifting into other projects. John and Glenn resolved to buy enough equipment to do an Approximate recording right, and on their own time. Of course accruing this gear would take time as well. During this time, John and Glenn both began moving outside of prog rock and jam oriented fusion, picking up influences from forms as diverse as traditional jazz, bluegrass, and rockabilly.
So, side projects completed, Approximate returned to the Studio in late 2000 to begin the odyssey which recently culminated in Greatest Hits. During this recording process, the band was essentially John and Glenn, and the drummer of record for any given song. Performers included Aaron Walker, Pat Thomas, Miles Adams, and Steve McCall. In late 2003, Approximate again knocked on the hallowed halls of gig-dom, playing the one and only Absurdofest with Pat Thomas on drums. Good times were had by all - but things like work, starting new families, and the pressure to finish the album led this lineup to gradually drift apart.
In 2007, with the kids slightly grown and the album almost done, John ran into former bandmate Rob Lippmann at a Paint Box reunion gig. One thing led to another, and pretty soon Rob was on the album, and a member of the band. After a series of rehearsals a couple of gigs were played in 2007 and 2008, thanks to our friends Paint Box. Work on the album was completed in early 2009, at which point Approximate once again set out to proffer their musical wares, to demonstrate their musical kung-fu, in various live settings in the Philadelphia area.
See ya soon...
