Sean Bigler (Songwriter: Lead Vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass etc...) Bonnie Lykes-Bigler (Lead & harmony Vocals, keyboards)
Influences
(A-Z):
Damon Albarn,
Bird & Bee,
William Bramley,
Kate Bush,
Julian Cope,
Noam Chomsky,
Jack Dangers,
Ray Davies,
Philip K. Dick,
Mike Dooley,
Barbara Ehrenreich,
Firesign Theater,
Colin Hay,
Paul Hindemith,
Ernest Holmes,
David Icke,
Hildur Jackson,
Joe Jackson,
Jim Keith,
Kalle Lasn,
Loop Guru,
Jim Marrs,
Paul McCartney,
Nellie McKay,
Midlake,
Midnight Oil,
Joni Mitchell,
Negativeland,
Jeff Rense,
The Residents,
Nino Rota,
Don Miguel Ruiz,
Todd Rundgren,
Eric Schlosser,
Steely Dan,
Webster Griffin Tarpley,
Paul Theroux,
The Thrills,
Glenn Tilbrook-Chris Difford,
Eckhart Tolle,
Pete Townshend,
Suzanne Vega,
Luke Vibert,
Gene & Dean Ween,
Terry Cole-Whittaker,
Yes,
Frank Zappa
Sounds Like
(A-Z): 10cc, Big Audio Dynamite, Blur, David Bowie, Thomas Dolby, Grand National, Ima Robot, Of Montreal, Oh No Ono, Oingo Boingo, The Police, Pulp, Super Furry Animals, XTC
Sean is finishing songs and a storyline for a three part Rock Opera/Concept album entitled, "Yossarian: the City, the Country & Back Again." The album will be 25 songs and have three parts. Here is a brief synopsis:
"Yossarian" (from Joseph Heller's novel, Catch 22) is an overworked investment banker who becomes deeply disillusioned by the insanities of modern living and it's "Catch 22s." He can't survive on Wall Street long enough to reach his "magic number" (wealthy retirement). He becomes a drug addict and loses everything: his job, apartment, girlfriend, his friends and his affluent lifestyle. He becomes homeless and dead to society.
A couple of years later his older bro finds him in a shelter and takes him out to an Eco Village / Intentional Community out in the wild country. These forward thinking MOFOs use solar & wind power, build earthen homes, practice permaculture and radical growing techniques. Yossarian is slowly rehabilitated and begins a deep spiritual transformation in nature.
He communes with strange "Nature Spirits" and meditates on an ancient "Serpent Mound" on their land. He also falls in love! After seven years, this reborn farmer / shaman has a terrible vision of civilization and it's impending doom. It's now his mission to return to "the city" and preach a Return to Nature before the fascist curtain falls upon it's citizens. The community urges him not to go..."no one will listen to you Yossarian!"
Yossarian returns to the city as some sort of doomsday prophet; long beard, crazy eyes & dressed in homespun clothes. Preaching to who ever will listen, he warns of impending poverty, food shortages, martial law, war, hyper survailance & micro-chipping, workcamps, sickness & dictatorship. "Come back to the country," he shouts, "Join together!...find some good land!...be self-sufficient!...escape the cities before it's too late!"
People laugh, ridicule and throw tomatoes at him. They call him a crazy conspiracy theorist & a tin foil hat wearin' hippy! Yossarian crawls into a dumpster to hide (and to mend his tin foil hat!). But then, by golly, all the things Yossarian warned about really do happen! But still no one listens to him! The TV says, "stay calm citizens, the crisis will pass. Go shopping...you'll feel better!. So out of his despair he learns a valuable spiritual lesson. (insert spiritual lesson here). ________________ "To hell with these people," Yossarian says and gets on his bicycle and navigates his way out of the city; skirting the police, rioters and food lines as he goes. He starts his long journey home.
Whew! 20 songs are done so far...a comic strip booklet will be included with the album. You can listen to more of the demos at www.epigenemusic.com. Thanks for the eartime!
Epigene are currently Sean Bigler (Songwriter, Lead Vocals, guitars, keys, home studio) and Bonnie Lykes-Bigler (Lead & Harmony Vocals, keys). The couple moved to the NYC area after releasing two albums in Seattle. Here is our 2004 press release (Rainmaker Publicity):
Any music fan is familiar with the city of Seattle for its leadership role in the explosion of grunge and punk in the early 90's. Since then, the Emerald City has thrived on its musical reputation, but has now given rise to a band as innovative as the alternative rock movement, itself. Epigene, formed by founder and singer/songwriter Sean Bigler, is a marriage of the social awareness of modern rock with the musical originality and depth of bands like the Police and XTC.
With their catchy but intelligent songs, Epigene has already gained a formidable fan base in the Seattle area, filling clubs and embedding themselves in the music industry with their 2002 release, One Bright Sign. Now Epigene is launching a new album, Popular Dissent, that boasts an even more dynamic sound and focused musical approach than their celebrated first CD, and will ride their own creative wave all the way to the pinnacle of modern rock.
This powerful second release will undoubtedly reinforce Epigene's drive to the forefront of music. Popular Dissent starts with high-energy icebreaker The New Voltaire, a social outcry with a steady drive and the powerful vocals of Bigler, reminiscent of an early Sting. Boasting not only a powerful message, but a magnetic groove, as well, The New Voltaire connects with any listener, a perfect opener for Epigene's fiery new album. Following the first track is Generica, a similarly infectious and upbeat tune discoursing the homogeny of popular culture. Maintaining a Police-like drive, Generica sees Bigler push his vocals to the edge in the vein of artists like Green Day or the Clash.
Epigene comes through with an album that asks strong questions, and makes strong statements. A number of bands have offered socially motivated material, but none compare with the draw of Popular Dissent. Listeners are often forced to choose between good messages and good music, but the new album from Epigene gives them both. In the perfect marriage between musical taste and social awareness, this CD exhibits all the signs of a modern music staple. The Good in Everybody, with a style similar to that of early modern rock's Talking Heads, touches on society's reflection on itself and people's irrational judgment of one another. All told, Popular Dissent is an album speaking to social change, or at least social realization, packaged into an album with an excellent groove.
Formed in the spring of 1999, Epigene got its start playing throughout Seattle, eventually landing a gig for MP3.com/Angelcity that would prompt them to record the tracks that would later become One Bright Sign. Originally playing bass was Edgar Allen, with drummer Darrell Grey, singer/keyboardist Bonnie Lykes, and Sean on guitar and lead vocals. Then, after a long period of hibernation for the band, Epigene emerged with a new face, fronted still by Bigler, but now joined by drummer Steven Harris and bassist James Burkman. After recording Popular Dissent in their own studio, the band set its sights on becoming not only a local favorite, but a nationally recognized group, with the new adventurous album as a vehicle.
Epigene's new release, Popular Dissent, is the kind of album that is looked upon by future generations of listeners as a turning point not only for a band, but for all of music, and is sure to set them in place as one of the strongest innovators of the new musical millennium. With complex but engaging tracks like the horn-underscored Pretty Little Noose and eclectic Twilight 21st Century, Epigene's Popular Dissent is sure to make a tremendous splash not only in modern rock, but the music industry as a whole. No music fan should miss the opportunity to pick up this masterpiece.
Reviews of both Popular Dissent and One Bright Sign can be found at www.epigenemusic.com
