Sonicbids EPK

we now have a "supersonic EPK" (electronic press kit) that you can peruse at


View psychotronics's EPK

there are full music files there! you can get the music going by clicking on the arrow at the top of the page! the music in the player will be updated regularly so bookmark the EPK url and visit often!

Hope you enjoy it!

psychotronics

How psychotronics works Pt. 2

The more i play the better i get. same for anything one does, or any band, i suppose.

how do bandmates intuit where a piece is going? surely jazzers have speculated about this for lifetimes. psychotronics doesn't bother- we just end up where ever we do and getting there is the fun. along the way mistakes may be made- we tolerate them, no- we embrace them. "doesn't sound right? play it again just to make sure, still no? one more time- wait, it's getting better... now that time it sounded like it belongs there... hmmm. matter of fact- i like that note there!"

this is how mistakes become "genius". now it's the audients turn- so, if we play a mistake over and over does it become the correct note? does the listener come around to accepting it or do the qualities of the note change? context is everything in this case, i s'pose.

every time psychotronics gets together to play we go through the above process countless times per minute.

Curt has used the phrase "noise management" to describe certain parts of his method. how apt.

Up coming music.

Like i mentioned earlier- psychotronics records everything. since playing GroveFest 2 and the Loop in Motion festivals we have noticed a higher comfort level in what we're doing. having proven our mettle live has, surprisingly enough, made us less self conscious. feeling more acceptable to an audience- yea, even finding them enthusiastic about our music- has left us generally a bit more calm, matured, mellow...

Mellow???? hardly...

October 15th we recorded three milestones. Later Still, Dr. Spy- The Spy Doctor and Dead Mans Chest. you can hear "Dr. Spy" at Sonicbids and go to the Audio page for a listen.

"Later" is kinda pretty, almost pop/rock anthem-esque. followed by Dead Mans Chest which is flat out horrifying! very frightening. starts out kinna dissonant fun then ratchets up to brutal. Picasso's Guernica put to music.





then Dr. Spy comes along with it's 007 kind of cool. Hank Mancini is either turning in his coffin or laughing in uncontrolable joy over this one.

so go listen and let us know what you think!

Cool new poster!

Cool new poster


Jimmy did it!


He rocks!

psychotronics Timeline

2003

November - Vince Hely, Curt Hendricks & Jim Laverty jammed for the first time. The Genesis

2004

Jan - Dec - Vince & Jim jammed a grand total of four times
Once each with Curt, Dave Pace, Phil (?) & Roy Gokenbach

2005

February - Dominic Schaeffer first appears for a one time only jam with Vince & Roy & Jim.

March - April - Vince & Jim continue with Roy.

(Mar 25, played 1st gig at City Museum with Dominic for Matt Hely Memorial)

June - Dec - Curt reappears for the first time since Sept 2004. The rest of the year consists of mostly Curt & Roy, but sometimes just one or the other.

(Nov 15, - Venice Cafe for first time, with Roy)

2006

Jan - Mar - Jim, Vince & Curt. Roy's participation becomes more sporadic.

(Feb 8 - Frederick's Music Lounge with Roy two days before they closed)

Mar - Vince brings Dominic in for one night.

May - Another one time only jam with Dominic.

July - Roy either quits or is fired. Dominic returns, but only appears sporadically until November

Nov - Dominic starts showing up for every jam. (We gotta stop feeding him) meow lol

2007
Jan to present- With the lineup firmed up (Vince, Curt, Jim & Dom) the band shoots up to international stardom, and they all lived happily ever after.

(May 23 - Venice Cafe)

(July 6 -Venice Cafe)

(July 20 - RAC)

(August 11 - Pop's Blue Moon)

(Sept 16 - GroveFest 2)

(Oct 6 - Loop in Motion)

GroveFest 2- some pics

GroveFest 2 Sunday September 16th, 2007
pictures by Gary Freiermuth

What psychotronics is and how it works Pt.1

We meet on Mondays in Jim Laverty's basement and play whatever happens along. There's usually an old TASCAM Portastudio 424 tape deck running, too. Four channel anolog cassette recorder. Remember those? Cassette tapes... i'll be damned. Some history is in order-

Turns out Vince Hely and Jim would meet down there to jam. They asked Curt Hendricks and Roy Gokenbach to join them on guitars. Roy was/is an "A Cat" (a jazz term, i think)- plays with a lot of top-of-the-line jazz players, always good for a jam session. Curt on the other hand is a rocker. They recorded everything and Jimmy came up with some nice mixes.

Curt and Vince played in a band called Electric Sheep some time ago. V and I knew each other from the Earwacks days and after that we played in a band named The Rhythm Method. I had always been a fan of Curts playing since he started Plaid Cattle. So when Vince arraigned for his new band psychotronics to openn for Funkabilly, I was excited to see them.

more to come...

Loop In Motion Festival 10/6/7

yesterday psychotronics played at the Market In The Loop stage for the LIM festival. we had a great time! being an improv rock band it's hard to imagine that folks that aren't musicians would "get it"- well, these folks got it. a crowd from little kids dancing to those twenty years our seniors (you guess!) bobbing heads. all were listening. they even waited for one of my loops to fade at the end of a piece to applaud. wow.

for me this is proof positive of what we've suspected all along- we would kill at "festival gigs". many strangers came up to me afterword and mentioned how refreshing our stuff was- they hadn't hear anything like it before- but they have(?)... well we play styles shown to us through the years, reflecting our individual musical histories and shine the blend back out to the listeners. hopefully it works. most times it does- and when it doesn't, we the band are the only ones to notice.

wish i had pictures to post here- anyone? there were a few video tapers out there. maybe they'll recah us at psychotronicsband.com and pass them on for your enjoyment.

the next show is November 30 at Venice Cafe'.

psychotronics the band, the blog- the launch!

i, being of sound, do hearby dedicate the launching of this here blog to fans, friends, lovers and enemies of improvisational instrumental rock...

*champagne bottle crashes upon the bow of The S.S. PSYCHOTRONICS* "Full steam ahoy! All hands on deck- we've run aground" i heard the captains cry...