Good time tonight. about 2 or 3 dozen folks in attendance. each band made $15 along with free pizza and drink passes. we don't do it for the money anyways, right? well maybe soon but tonight was good just for the music it revealed.
There was lots of it in evidence tonight, too.
more to come....
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Saturday, November 17, 2007
words and not words
i was listening to some program on NPR the other day and the article was about old songs v. new songs. back in the day when there was a new song by Dylan, Hendricks, etc. when a new song or artist came on the radio one would ask "what are they saying..." not "do i like the beat" or "that artist's great (or sucks)!"...
we at psychotroncs remember those days well- and i, for one, have nothing to say lyrically. i (dominic) have had a long dry spell of "writers block" yet musically feel like the arena is wide open to possibilities.
there are many places music can take you where words cannot, anyways. is barring The Bard wrong?
when Frank Zappa came out with the series "Shut Up And Play Your Guitar" it was due to an excess of solos recorded that were too good to go unpublished. a great relief to this fan of FZ's music but not of the "comedy music" he was playing at the time.
i see music much the same as a visual artist sees paint on canvas or light exposed to film. is a picture worth a thousand words where music is concerned?
send a comment and let us know your thoughts.
we at psychotroncs remember those days well- and i, for one, have nothing to say lyrically. i (dominic) have had a long dry spell of "writers block" yet musically feel like the arena is wide open to possibilities.
there are many places music can take you where words cannot, anyways. is barring The Bard wrong?
when Frank Zappa came out with the series "Shut Up And Play Your Guitar" it was due to an excess of solos recorded that were too good to go unpublished. a great relief to this fan of FZ's music but not of the "comedy music" he was playing at the time.
i see music much the same as a visual artist sees paint on canvas or light exposed to film. is a picture worth a thousand words where music is concerned?
send a comment and let us know your thoughts.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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
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
Friday, October 26, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
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)
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)
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