Hoosier band Vuko wants you to dig them, with cover songs from '60s to today and originals

Whether she's blasting, belting and bouncing while (sometimes) barefoot or crooning into her love-locked hand-gripped mic, Vuko band's Jenny Gibson interprets a song's meaning.

At the Bluebird, Gibson and Vuko ("wolf" in Serbian) band made the semifinals of 2018's Battle of the Bands. Vuko — performers of classic, alternative rock-infused danceable music — sometimes infuse their numbers with folk-rock lyrics. They're rocking local venues and have played in Bloomington and Nashville, including the Blockhouse Bar, Peoples Park, Players' Pub, the MidWay Music Festival, the Orbit Room and Brown County Inn.

"Dark Side of the Road" is the band's new video for this new song (with the same name) and is more than 3 minutes of mixed vocals, guitar and a virtual fast and curvy road trip by day and by night.

All Vuko members are Hoosiers. In addition to Gibson, there's Ron Vanzo of Hammond on rhythm guitar and vocals; Tom Ritchel of Evansville on lead guitar and vocals; Bobby Euhl of Bedford on drums and vocals; and John Trice on bass.

Gibson, a past member of the Indiana University Singing Hoosiers, is the band's lead singer, with an emphasis on "sing." Her "blue-eyed soul" brings to mind, although not in a derivative way, the sounds of Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Grace Slick and Amy Winehouse.

Many other bands have influenced Vuko, including Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Linda Perry, Jefferson Airplane, Dire Straits, Grateful Dead, U2, Alabama Shakes.

A "voice the world should know"

"I’ve seen Vuko perform over a dozen times in different venues around town, the first time being at the Player’s Pub," said Eric Shelley, actor and education director at Constellation Stage & Screen. "Jenny (Gibson) is the reason I’ve followed this band. She has the kind of voice that you hear and think — 'this is a voice that the world should know.' Aside from her unique, deeply rich, stunningly powerful vocals, she feels every lyric down to her marrow and is a master performer. She’s the real deal."

Shelley said Vuko has a library of original music, and what hit him after first hearing them was his ability to hum the tunes after the show.

"But my goodness, they can write a great hook"

"I think much of that is attributed to Jenny, but my goodness, they can write a great hook. 'Rainbow' and 'Nightingale' are two of my favorites."

Gibson uses her alto voice to sing a mellow-leaning "There's a rainbow to guide you back home after the storm in your heart." This clever arrangement combines her voice with the percussion's steady pounding and the guitars' strings, particularly in the moving finale.

But then, hardly mellow, is their song "Forever Blue." Sunglasses, leggings, and those rare bare feet embellish Gibson as she belts it to us.

Vuko singer grew up on Janis Joplin

"I am a huge fan of Janis Joplin and have sung 'Bobby McGee' since I was 15," Gibson said. "We also have 'Piece of My Heart' in our repertoire."

"Piece of My Heart" (1967) was written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, who gave it to singer Erma Franklin. Joplin sang it the following year, and it exploded.

There's almost no type of music Gibson hasn't sung; she even did classical (and, of course, Singing Hoosiers' pop) repertoire in college.

"Pop is fun for me, but Vuko is a little more gritty. I also do a rap song in Spanish. I am bilingual."

Vuko has been together through the years, with Gibson singing in both the world music a cappella group Kaia (all female) and now Vuko (all male except Gibson) simultaneously at first.

"Kaia (band) recorded many albums and performed at Lotus twice," Gibson said. "We sang in 32 languages. I was happy as part of both groups, but it was tough."

Then Kaia disbanded, with Gibson staying on with what became Vuko. "The leader of Kaia died by suicide in 2020, two years after we broke up."

Rove and Ramble, Five Spoke Wheel, The Synthesis, now Vuko

Vuko was first called Rove and Ramble, then Five Spoke Wheel, when their first manager died young.

The name became Vuko, and they survived the pandemic practicing with masks mostly in a garage. "It was tough," Gibson said. "We have finally found a bassist, (John Trice of Lafayette), who is great and I feel we are whole again."

After the Singing Hoosiers at IU, Gibson joined an electronica band, The Synthesis, with the frontman of what is now Hypnagogia. The drummer died, and the members then played at the Blockhouse Bar, where Gibson and the frontman sang to memorialize the drummer.

Helping animals, getting discovered

In 2011, Gibson started work at the Bloomington Animal Shelter and made friends with a coworker and her husband, a respected guitarist. "He came to see me in a battle for the bands with The Synthesis,” Gibson said.

And he noticed her.

"He asked me if I was interested in joining his band years later, and I was very interested in getting a chance to rock."

"Vuko has been a labor of love for all of us," lead guitarist Tom Ritchel said. "Everyone in Vuko works full-time and a couple of us have families."

Vuko's debut album is out and another coming soon

December 2019 saw the release of Vuko's self-titled debut album.

Vuko members are writing music for their next album, coming this year.

"Our debut album was recorded entirely at professional studios in Bloomington. This (second) time, it is a DIY effort," Gibson said.

The band has been recording with their own equipment and hopes to be finished by May. They're also finishing a video for their new song "Ghost," which will be included on the album.

"We want everyone to enjoy us," Gibson said. So they do classic and contemporary rock and whatever else moves them.

"We seem to be very popular with folks around our age. We are all in our 40s except John who I think is early 30s. We want the young guys to dig us too," Gibson said. "We want everyone to dig us."

Find Vuko on Instagram and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington-based rock band Vuko shares their songs, covers