CURRENT:Robin Amos (synth), Glenn Jones (guitar, bouzouki, electric saz and sitar, contraption), Jonathan LaMaster (bass, violin, and occasional vocals), Gavin McCarthy (x-Karate drummer newly welcomed to the fold as of 9/06) + Jonathan Williams (engineer, producer, and collaborator).
PAST MEMBERS: Jake Trussell (laptop, turntables, bass), Jon Proudman (drums), Chris Gutmacher (drums), Michael Knoblach (drums), Chris Fujiwara (bass), Michael Bloom (bass), Yuri Zbitnoff (drums).
Influences
Can, Neu, Cluster, Hendrix, Einsturzende Neubauten, John Fahey and "American Primitive" music, blues, film music (especially Bernard Herman), psychedelia, surf rock, electronic music, industrial, free jazz and middle eastern modalities.
Sounds Like
“Pulsing with air-raid analog synth, sweltering art-surf guitar and agro jazz-rock drumming” Guitar Player magazine.
"Cul de Sac's rerouting of expressway rhythms through expansive modal territories, heady delayed Hawaiian guitar and amorphous clouds of streaming electronics felt ahead of the game when they emerged in 1992...Right now Cul de Sac are making their way accross America as Damo Suzuki's backing group. The pairing might make it easier to join the dots between Can's obsessive rhythmic jamming and Cul de Sac's whirlpool mantras, but the sense of boundless continental space in Cul de Sac's music is no one's but their own." David Keenan, The Wire
". . . there's a group called Cul de Sac -- very ambient, very cool." --Lou Reed (Interviewed in Mojo)
CURRENT BIO: Cul de Sac, a band whose name was taken from a Roman Polanski film, is Boston's original post rock granddaddy. (Many cite Simon Reynolds as the instigator of this term, coined for Cul de Sac back in 1991 in an issue of Melody Maker.) Formed in 1989, the band has toured or played with such luminaries as Sonic Youth, The Boredoms, Yo La Tengo and Faust. The band is currently comprised of Glenn Jones on guitar, bouzuki and electric saz, Robin Amos on synth, Jonathan LaMaster on bass, violin, and occasional vocals, and Gavin McCarthy on drums. Since the year 2000, the band has recorded 4 albums for their current label (Strange Attractors Audio House), appeared on numerous compilations (with one of those tracks appearing here on our MySpace player, a blend of two Franco Battiato compositions that appeared on the recent Italian comp. "What's Your Function" for Silly Boy Entertainment), composed the soundtrack to the Roger Corman film The Stranglers Wife, and made numerous appearances in other films including a documentary about performance artist David Blaine by filmaker Harmony Korrine, and the Warp Records soundtrack to the Scotish indie film Dead Mans Shoes". The band has aggressively toured nationally and (more prominently) internationally in recent years, sometimes backing legendary Damo Suzuki, ex-vocalist for the early 70's version of german band "Can". Cul de Sac's most recent album, Abhayamudra, is a live double cd with Damo on vocals (culled from over 50 performances spanning 4 tours of Europe, the US, and Canada), a track from which also appears here on our MySpace player. Pulsing with air-raid analog synth, sweltering art-surf guitar and agro jazz-rock drumming Guitar Player magazine.
THE ORIGINS OF CUL DE SAC, AS WRITTEN BY NICK KEMPER FOR ALL MUSIC GUIDE:
"Shunning the burgeoning alternative rock movement, Cul de Sac intertwined elements of surf rock, Krautrock, Middle Eastern trance and folk music, post-rock psychedelia, and avant-garde to create a unique blend that garnered immediate critical attention. Formed in the early '90s by guitarist Glenn Jones, multi-instrumentalist Robin Amos, formerly of the Girls, and Bullet La Volta drummer Chris Guttmacher, Cul de Sac released their first LP, Ecim, on the independent Northeastern label. Bassist and filmmaker Chris Fujiwara played on the release as well and became a permanent member of the band. In addition, steel guitarist and fiddler Ed Yazijian and tape manipulator/ collagist Phil Milstein performed on Ecim. Dredd Foole guested on vocals, but most of Cul de Sac's material on this and later releases was instrumental. According to Jones, Yazijian left the band because they were "too loud"; he later joined Kustomized.
Early live shows were enhanced by the experimental films of Fujiwara and A.S. Hamrah, adding to the band's eclectic mystique. After a series of singles, a compilation of rehearsal jams was packaged and released as a second LP in 1995 as I Don't Want to Go to Bed, an interesting low-fi collection. Cul de Sac collaborated with the legendary John Fahey on 1996's The Epiphany of Glenn Jones. Three years later the group released the full-length Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall. The members of Cul de Sac steadfastly oppose categorization. Their original compositions and recordings have been enhanced by instruments of their own creation, including the Contraption and the Incantor."
Hope you're well...just dropping by - doing a bit of myspace surfing. - everything looking good here...you have taste.
There's a fair bit of news from this side - the dark poets film 'Borderline' is being used in Beijing to promote the London 2012 olympics...so that's a bit of a coup. Also - the Gary Lucas Vs The Dark Poets album is doing well...We're currenlty underway with production of music videos - so watch this space! Judgement at Midnight is now officially the most downloaded tune from the some bizzare double album on iTunes.(and all other download sites including beatport, amazon mp3 etc etc)
Also - Gary Lucas has come out to show his political support - and guess who it is...check youtube. com for 'THE DUTELS' (Gary Lucas)
So If you havn't grabbed your copy or download already - make sure you check it out....please email us with regards your thoughts...
I hope things are good on your side of the screen
Things are good here - currently writing and recording new material - we'll let you know as soon as this new stuff surfaces...
either ways - hope you're well - take it easy
J
The Dark Poets
OUT NOW!
Gary Lucas Vs The Dark Poets
"Beyond The Pale".
SBZ082CD
Featuring 34 Some Bizzare Artists - The Compilation album.
An excellent companion to the original "Some Bizzare Album" - SBZ 101 CD OUT NOW (re-released). OUT NOW!
Some Bizzare Records:
SOME BIZZARE DOUBLE ALBUM - "THE ONLY FAILURE IS TO CEASE TO TRY" Featuring 34 Tracks by underground artists
"Some Bizzare Double Album" Featuring Gary Lucas Vs The Dark Poets - "The Judgement at Midnight"
dear friends of PEACEfest (and all friends of peace and fests!) i've come by to invite you to two new networks that have an awesome potential to help UNITE people for peace and art globally & locally! all are welcome to join us, and the more people that are here the easier it will be for you to promote your band, concert, talk show, protest, or anything else you can think of! WUN Network Radio is Y(Our) commUNITY internet radio broadcast (all content submitted by the members) and PEACEfest is the world's biggest party and peaceful demonstration, and a place to meet people in your area to spread the word about any and all noteworthy happenings! i hope you'll join us!
Hey guys! I thought you might enjoy these wacky stripper impersonation pictures of Jonathan. Jon-thanks again for hanging out with us. It was a lot of fun...hope to see you again, next time in SF! *e
Thank you so much for the add, you guys are some of the best i've ever heard. I saw you playing on the movie Faust in the art school of Nancy (France), and it was just genius, amazing.