In early 1996, the world was seemingly reconciling some of its evolutionary hang-ups. Gary Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in one of the most epic chess matches of all time. Scientists discovered the possible evidence of life on Mars. President Clinton appointed the first female US Secretary of State. And in one cluttered basement in Wilmington, Delaware, the Spinto Band began to materialize. Spinto, huh?
Incantation is a Death Metal band from New York, USA formed by John McEntee and Paul Ledney in 1989. They are one of the leaders in the New York Death Metal scene along with fellow bands Suffocation and Immolation, even though the band is currently located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Incantation was one of Relapse Records' first signings, releasing their initial seven inches and a handful of albums with them.
Tyondai Braxton is an American composer and performer and ex-guitarist / singer of American experimental-rock super-group Battles, and as a prominently featured artist on record label Warp Records. He has been actively producing and performing music under his name as a solo artist, as well as collaboratively under various group titles and collectives, since 1998. Raised in Connecticut, Braxton is the son of multi-instrumentalist and avant-garde composer Anthony Braxton. He later studied composition at Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut with Robert Carl and Ingram Marshall.
Born in 1972 in Pottstown, PA, Julie McKnight is a daughter of a Seventh-Day Adventist Minister. Julie's musical influences begins with her mother Saundra Brooks, who performed at the age of 19 at the Apollo Theatre in New York City after being coerced by her father, Norris Turney, a multi-reed player and member of Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Aretha Franklin may have won that night but Saundra Brooks brought the house down with her rendition of "What A Wonderful World." As the old adage says, "The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree."
Growing up in a log cabin in rural Vermont, Morgan Page began composing electronic-oriented music at the age of 14. By 15, his work appeared on local college radio and commercial stations in his hometown of Burlington, and began to spread to other cities. Towards the end of high school, Morgan got his own radio show at The University of Vermont, filling in for a friend on a popular Saturday night slot. This turned into a weekly endeavor that introduced Morgan to the vast assortment of electronic music that came by the boxload every week.
There are, at least, four bands known as The Deadbeats: 1) An early punk band 2) A UK downtempo group. 3) A Swedish rock group. 4) A funky, jazzy hip-hop band currently residing in Honolulu Hawaii. 1) An early LA art punk band on the legendary Dangerhouse Records label. In 1978 they released their first and only EP titled Kill The Hippies. Members: Scott Guerin (vocals), Geza X (of Geza X and the Mommymen - guitar), Pat Delaney (of BPeople & The Romans - sax), Pasquale Amadeo (bass) & Shaun Guerin (drums).
A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O'Halloran's personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA (where he studied art at Santa Monica College and formed the much-adored Devics with Sara Lov), Italy (in the depths of rural Emilia Romagna) and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure, intuitive, personal expression – and here is where we see some explanation into Dustin's quiet rise to notoriety and his continued ascension.
This Providence (previously known as Sunday Best), is a four piece pop rock band from Seattle, Washington US. The members of This Providence came together in the summer of 2001 and soon after recorded a 4 song demo CD, under the short lived name of "T minus 1." In 2003 they recorded the better known The Sunday Best EP, co-produced, and self-released (now out of print). While still in high school, they gathered a strong local following as well as some label attention. After graduating, the band released their debut full-length record, Our Worlds Divorce, produced by Casey Bates.
Camper Van Beethoven is an alternative rock band that was founded in 1983 in Redlands, California, though the band soon moved to Santa Cruz, California. Camper Van Beethoven mixed elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk, country, and acid rock into an eclectic, catchy and sometimes mysterious ensemble, years before the so-called alternative rock moniker came to mainstream attention. The group's trademark violin-coated melodies and their ironic take on American culture put them one step away from being a novelty act in the eyes of many critics.
Robert Alan "Robby" Krieger is best known as the guitarist for the 60's rock band The Doors. With his unique fingerstyle guitar-playing and excellent bottleneck-technique he is widely considered one of the greatest rock guitarists. Krieger taught himself to play guitar in a private school where his parents sent him after having some troubles in study. At first, he was interested in flamenco, but soon he expanded his playing to jazz, blues and folk.