Okay, so imagine you're a band. You've been grinding
for years, you're playing festivals, headlining
clubs, building a fan base, and then someone
books you for a three -night run at a bar in
Key West. Normal bands, they play their set,
maybe two hours a night, call it a weekend. The
heavy pets, they play 12 hours of music over
three nights, without repeating a single song.
12 hours. Welcome to Shecky's Jam Bands. Today
we're talking about a band that started with
high school guitarists trying to impress girls
at lunch and ended up becoming one of Florida's
most relentless touring machines. Pour yourself
a drink. This one's fun. Here's how this story
starts. Goshen Central High School, upstate New
York. Mid -90s. two kids, Jeff Lloyd and Mike
Garulli, sitting in a cafeteria with their acoustic
guitars playing during lunch. Why? To woo the
ladies, obviously. That's what you did in the
90s if you were a long -haired guitar kid. No
Tinder, no DMs, just you, a guitar, and the hope
that someone thought you were cooler than the
lacrosse team. Did it work? I don't know. What
I do know is that Jeff and Mike kept playing
together. They formed a band called Anthem. They
went through a bunch of names. My friend's band,
yes, that's actually the name they used. Eventually
they landed on the Heavy Pets. And unlike Lotus,
who never explained their name, or Wilco, whose
name is Military Jargon, the Heavy Pets also
never officially explained theirs. But here's
my theory. It sounds like something you'd name
a band when you're 20 years old and think it's
funny. Heavy, pets, it's absurd, it's memorable,
and it works. Fast forward to 2004, Jeff Lloyd
gets a phone call from Joe Dupel, an old high
school friend who moved to Fort Lauderdale to
start an internet marketing company. Joe says,
move down here, work for my company, we'll start
a band. We'll do it right this time. with capital,
with intention, with a plan. Jeff sees an opportunity
to escape New York winters. Mike Garulli follows.
Then Jim West, Jeff's keyboardist friend from
Syracuse University, comes down. And just like
that, the heavy pets officially formed in 2005.
Fort Lauderdale, sunshine, no student loans,
breathing down their necks. an internet marketing
gig to pay the bills, time to make music. Their
first South Florida show, a condo patio at Broward
County, right after Hurricane Wilma. I'm talking
debris still in the streets, power lines down,
and these guys were out setting up amps on someone's
patio. By April 2006, six months later, they
played 350 gigs. That's right, 350. That's more
than one show a day. These guys were hustling.
So let's talk about their big break. It's 2007.
The Heavy Pets were grinding, playing in every
dive bar, every college town, every festival
that'll have them. They record their debut album,
Whale, a Dream Factory Studios in Boyden Beach.
It's a double disc, 21 track monster. Rock, reggae,
folk, funk, everything. Most debut albums, bands
play it safe. 10 tracks, 40 minutes, and you're
done. The heavy pets? No. Let's make a double
album, let's cram it full of jams, and let's
see what happens. Well, here's what happened.
Two songs off -whale, Operation of Flight and
Sleep, get picked by Sirius XM Jam on station.
Heavy rotation. the band becomes the most played
unsigned act on the station. Suddenly they're
not just a Florida band anymore, they're a satellite
radio sensation. People in Colorado are hearing
them, people in Philly, people in freaking Montana.
Then they win a fan vote contest playing in Langadero
Music Festival, a massive South Florida festival
that's sadly defunct now. They crushed it. They
get invited back, and that Lang and Darrow exposure
leads to bookings at High Sierra, Gatherings
of the Vibes, 10 ,000 Lakes, and Bonnaroo. By
the way, their Bonnaroo debut in 2009. They played
the tent right before fish closed out the festival.
That's prime real estate. Everyone's scattering
after Snoop Dogg staking out spots for fish.
And the heavy pets are there with 60 minutes
to win them over. And according to people who
were there, they nailed it. Now, I want to talk
about something that sets the heavy pets apart
from most every other jam band I've covered on
this show. They're a collective. Most bands have
a leader. The Grateful Dead had Jerry. Fish has
Terry. Wilco has Tweety. Even in bands that claim
to be democratic, there's usually one person
calling the shots. Not the heavy pets. Every
member writes. Every member sings. Every member
brings songs to the table. They switch off on
lead vocals and lead guitar depending on the
song. It's like a rotating presidency. And somehow
it works. Mike Gurulli writes funky witty tunes.
Jim West brings jazzy complex arrangements. Jeff
Lloyd contributes introspective melodic tracks.
They all contribute. They all share credit and
the result is an incredibly deep catalog. They've
got over 1 ,600 live shows under their belt since
2005. That's an insane number. They've arranged
more than a hundred shows a year for two decades.
They've played Bonnaroo, Moe Down, Bear Creek
four times, their own festival called Pet Zoo.
They've even got invited to Jam Cruise 2012.
And they've done all this independently, no major
label, just relentless touring, word of mouth,
and a fan base that keeps showing up. Alright,
let's talk about the two songs you need to hear
if you're new to the Heavy Pets. Operation of
Flight, this is the gateway drug off their debut
album, Whale. It's the song that got them on
Sirius XM and introduced thousands of people
to the band. It's catchy, it's funky, It's got
lyrics that stick in your head whether you want
them or not. But here's the thing about Operation
of Flight. The studio version is great, but live
versions, that's where it transcends. Fans have
described it as impossible not to sing along
to. One review said, you'll find yourself singing
along to Operation of Flight whether you thought
you were too cool to or not. And that's accurate.
It's one of those songs that gets in your bones.
If you're skeptical about jam bands, if you think
they're all noodly guitar solos with no structure,
start here. Operation of Flight has hooks for
days. The second one is Sleep, also off the album
Well. This one's a different beast. It's dreamy,
it's layered. It's kind of a song where you tumble
into the jam and come out the other side thinking,
wait, how much time just passed? Live Sleep becomes
a showcase for the band's improvisational chemistry.
They lock into a groove and just ride it. The
guitars intertwine, the keys add texture, the
rhythm section holds down this hypnotic pulse.
Some live versions stretch past 10 minutes and
you don't get bored. One fan described it live
for the first time thinking, who are these guys?
That's the power of sleep. It announces the Heavy
Pets aren't just another jam band. There's something
special. Both tracks are among the most popular
on streaming platforms. Both are setlist staples.
If you only listen to two Heavy Pet songs, make
these two the one. Now, let me hit you with some
facts that'll make you respect this band even
more than you already do. The Green Parrot residency.
I mentioned this at the top, but let me elaborate.
The Heavy Pets have a regular multi gig stint
at the Green Parrot in Key West. where they play
nearly 12 hours of music over three nights without
repeating a single song. 12 hours, no repeats.
That means they have a catalog that's so deep,
so extensive, that they can fill 12 hours and
still have material left over. Most bands would
struggle to fill three hours without repeats.
The Pets do 12. By April 2006, less than six
months after their first South Florida show,
They already played 350 gigs and that's no typo.
350 gigs in six months. They were playing multiple
shows a day sometimes. They shared stages with
Bernie Worrall, Oteel Burnbridge, Tealeaf Green.
They built their fan base one sweaty club at
a time. The third fact, their self -titled 2010
album was produced by Scott Matthews who worked
with Brian Wilson, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton,
Van Morrison, and Neil Young. The album was mastered
by Grammy winner Valdo Miller and it features
John Popper of Blues Traveler on harmonica. The
Huffington Post named it one of the top 10 albums
of 2010. Not bad for a band that started in a
condo patio. Fact number four, Jeff Lloyd's first
Florida gig was jamming with George Clinton and
Parliament Funkadelic. on New Year's Eve between
2004 and 2005. Imagine that as your Florida debut.
Most people spend their first New Year's in Florida
at a terrible bar drinking overpriced cocktails.
Jeff Lloyd on stage with one of the greatest
funk bands of all time. The last fact. The Heavy
Pets have collaborated with David Grisman, the
legend who played with Jerry Garcia for years.
Grisman appeared on their album Swim Out Past
the Sun. That's not just a collaboration. That's
a cosign from Jan Band Royalty. So where are
the heavy pets now? Well, they're still touring.
However, I took a look at 2026 and I don't see
anything on the calendar. Up until last year,
they were playing at those Marathon Key West
Residencies. They released their eighth album,
Strawberry Mansion, in 2018. They've got 23 ,700
monthly listeners on Spotify. They're headlining
clubs, playing festivals, doing the work. Here's
what I love about the Heavy Pets. They've never
stopped. A lot of bands from the mid -2000s jam
scene burned out, broke up, or faded into obscurity.
The Heavy Pets just kept on showing up, kept
writing songs, kept playing shows, kept building.
They're not trying to be Phish. They're not trying
to be the next Grateful Dead. They're just the
Heavy Pets. A funked up rock and roll band from
South Florida that plays 12 -hour marathons and
writes songs about boys meeting girls and summer
never -ending. Relix magazine called them a living,
breathing force of nature. I'd call them proof
that hustle matters, that showing up every night,
playing your heart out, treating every gig like
it's your last, that builds something real. If
you're in Florida, try to catch them at the Green
Parrot sometime, bring comfortable shoes, you're
gonna be there a while. That's it for today's
episode of Shecky's Jam Bands. If there's one
takeaway from the heavy pet story, it's this.
Success in the jam band world isn't about getting
lucky or signing a big deal. It's about playing
350 shows in six months. It's about writing songs
people can't stop singing. It's about being willing
to play 12 hours over three nights without repeating
yourself. Go listen to Operation of Flight, get
lost in sleep, and remember, The bands that last
aren't always the flashiest. They're the ones
that refuse to quit. Until next time, keep jamming,
and if anyone asks you what your band is called,
please, please pick a better name than My Friend's
Band.