Profiles

This page is an ongoing list of all the webmaster's musical collaborators - associated bands, people, near misses

A Lark - one-off "album" project of Jeremy W and Jim L consisting of goofy Beatles covers recorded on a Service Merchandise home stereo and utilizing the 8-track, cassette and LP's, approximately in 1981 or 1982.

Adil S - bassist/guitarist for Center For Hearing And Dizziness circa 2003-2006.  Lead singer/guitarist for Island Diagnostic Imaging session in 2006.  Releases music as Bebe Ruhi.

Antoinette - somewhat unwilling vocalist/speaker/cabbie/phone operator for Maureen Moisture And Her Wrinklerods in early 1992, she also participated on a tape with Tom called "A Little T & A" and one Art-Noise Festival.

Art-Noise Festival - combining Gary P's and Rob F's, (and possibly Jim W's), WUSB radio shows into an open-invitation improv with many people in different rooms and the hallway near the WUSB radio station at Stony Brook.  There were two Art-Noise Festivals in 1991.  Participants, (there were at least 15-25 both times), included the three DJ's previously mentioned, Tom B, Margaret, Antoinette, Jimi D, Jim L.  The resulting "product" was about 10 cassette tapes of serious live sound collage.

Barbeque - post-Controlled Bleeding, pre-Deafcon Gary P 80's band, this also included Gene P and a saxophonist whose name I do not know.  Released one vinyl single.

Beth S - vocalist at the 1992 Exploading Jazz Commode show at Fanny Brice Hall at Stony Brook university

Bill C - vocalist for the Unqua Drill Boys

Blind Pig - local bar in Massapequa that was a frequent Deafcon hangout (along with Why Not?, another bar further east).  The last night of the late-80's ownership of the Blind Pig was the scene of the second Deafcon live gig, probably in 1989. Unrehearsed and making noise to shouts of "Free Bird" and "Play something we can dance to," the improv idea was not tried live in front of an audience again for years, (with the Moodsetters).

Bloodless Pharaohs - late 70's/early 80's band which included future Moodsetter Ken K and guest Moodsetter Gary S, the band's bassist was the great guitarist Bob and some guy named Brian who played guitar.

Bob B - younger brother of Tom B and charter guitarist of the unformed Green Eggs And Ham, partner in many a bedroom jam with Jim L on bass, posthumously named "The Nurnees."

Bob K - another charter member of the unformed Green Eggs on percussion, also was a guest vocalist on the final 4-track version of the project.

Bob L - a guest backup vocalist on the Green Eggs album, Bob was/is the WHPC Beatles DJ.  He also played the last guitar chord on the last Green Eggs And Ham song, "Jughead's Bed."

Brian D - Sax/reed/mandolin player during the transitional period as Deafcon became Psychoacoustics, his last appearance was at the Blind Pig gig when his PA was overloaded. 

Brian Thumper - guitarist/bassist with Center For Hearing And Dizziness, Brian sometimes switched bass and guitar with Adil..  Whereabouts currently unknown.

Cal The Drummer - present at the "1000 Points of Gas" WUSB show that was later acknowledged as the "birth of Psychoacoustics," was invited to the Blind Pig gig and the Deer Park rehearsal studio session in 1989 but never appeared again.

Cedars Guy - Deafcon once played a set in the woods on the Setauket property of WUSB Stony Brook DJ house "The Cedars" - this guy sat in for some Syd Barret covers.  The band used acoustic instruments and battery powered amps and played until a string broke.

Center For Hearing And Dizziness - band formed in 2002 by Gary P and Hannah and included - at various times - Matt The Bass Player, Jim L, Tom B.  The last, most stable lineup included Adil S, Brian Thumper and Paul C.

Chin's Kitchen - Jim L's first "album" recorded 81/82, this was done on a stereo boom-box and a mono Panasonic cassette machine plugged into a Harmony Amp, with vocals and overdubbed mandolins.  The title track was an homage to a local takeout Chinese place on the border of Seaford and Massapequa.

Chris L - charter guitarist of the unformed Green Eggs And Ham, Chris was believed to have had/lost a copy of some lost early tapes with Bob B and was chosen as his replacement before Jim decided to do all the instruments himself.

Christina T - a guest vocalist on the Green Eggs 4-tracks, also Jim L's girlfriend at the time, Christina took many of the GE&H photos along with Naomi B, Steve's sister.

Controlled Bleeding - late 70's/early 80's/beyond band which included godfather of improv Gary P and infrequent guest guitarist Paul L, both formerly of Hal Greer.  With Gary, the band released one vinyl single and a posthumous live album release.

Dan B - sometime electronic drummer for Moodsetters, Unqua Drill Boys and Progressive Jazz Commode

Dave M - charter member of Psychotic Undertone, Dave was a sometime player and guest in the backyard shed of Rob M and featured vocalist on the "King Kullen" track.  His brother Mike owned a coveted Ovation acoustic.

Deafcon - improv group mainly of Gary P and Tom B, with guests Joe E, Jim L, Steve L.  Deafcon existed mainly between the "Wayback Broadcast" of 1987 through the gig at CBGB the following year.  The group metamorphosized into Psychoacoustics sometime around 1990, (see Psychoacoustics entry).

Discrete Four - electronic project group, the bastard child of Slut Puppy....

Eric L - singer and neighbor of Tom B, Deafcon (Tom/Gary/Jim) played one or two backup tracks for him in the late 80's.  Eric is the cousin of the late Rich E.

Expanded Jazz Commode - revival of the Exploading Jazz Commode with Paul C as drummer

Exploading Jazz Commode - group consisting of Jim L, Tom B, Gary P performing semi-improvised versions of Coltrane, Eno and standards during the period between the Art-Noise Festivals in 1991 and before the formation of the Moodsetters, the group played Fanny Brice Hall at Stony Brook in 1992 with Beth, Margaret and Rob F as guests and Steve M as engineer.  The name for a time came to be associated with any non-Ken K improvisations.

Gary P - the godfather of improv, WUSB DJ and keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist with Hal Greer, Controlled Bleeding, Barbeque, Deafcon, Psychoacoustics, Exploading Jazz Commode, Moodsetters and many other projects listed here.  Gary is known for organizing and recording most local improvs and has possibly the best collection of original improv audio in the NYC tri-state area.

Gary S - drummer brother of Greer/Pharaoh Brian S and also once a Pharaoh himself, Gary S guested on Moodsetters recordings infrequently and introduced the band in June 1998 at Border's.

Gene P - member of Barbeque, it was Gene's guitar that Jim L played at the Gary/Jim Prospect Park Summer Solstice outdoor gig with mud dancing

Green Eggs And Ham - essentially a two-man band consisting of Jim L and Steve B.  The band's one album recorded in 1987 was released in 2000 by Upholstery Supreme and is available on the http://blisterpop.com site for free download.

Greenpoint Meatwhistles - Tom B and Jim L performed "House Of The Rising Sun" and "Courageous Cat And Minute Mouse" as a "single release" during the life of Deafcon.  Also simply known as the Meatwhistles.

Hal Greer - primordial post- high school band consisting of future Controlled Bleeding members Gary P and Paul L and future Bloodless Pharaohs Ken K and Brian S, Hal Greer are most well-known for a short "tour" of local Massapequa places in the mid-70's

Hannah S - vocalist, keyboardist and founding member of Center For Hearing And Dizziness

Jayne Mansfield's Head - Jim L instrumental project and song of the same name, produced sometime near the time of the third Manhattan Rubber, now lost forever.  Name revived for all Jim L projects based on instrumental pop since that time.

Jeanette Something - Friend of Hannah S who appeared on percussion with the as-yet-unnamed Center For Hearing And Dizziness around the same time as "Original Center Guitarist" and prior to Jim L and Paul C playing with the group.

Jeremy W - charter member of Psychotic Undertone, guitarist and godfather of tape manipulation for yours truly, Jeremy was also part of the one-off project A Lark

Jim L - your webmaster, guitarist/bassist/recordist/multi-instrumentalist and member of Green Eggs, Deafcon, Wrinklerods, Stinkfinger Overdrive, Psychoacoustics, Moodsetters, the various Jazz Commodes, CFHD and other projects listed on this page.

Jim W - classical DJ for WUSB, Jim was a Psychoacoustic collaborator and notable on the Art-Noise recordings

Jimi D - bassist/guitarist, member of Piltdown Band, Jimi made an appearance on the Art-Noise tapes and was the Moodsetters pinch-bassist from 1998 and 1999 and played with the group at the Knitting Factory in January 1999

Joe E - early Deafcon flutist/vocalist, Joe was the DJ on WUSB during the timeslot before Gary P's timeslot, Joe used the Moodsetters as his backing band at one point and his previous band The Muttnicks was in full swing at the time of his collaborations with Deafcon. 

John K - younger brother of Bob K, John was the source of the synth used on the primordial "acoustic" Green Eggs tapes and a guest trumpeter on the Psychoacoustics "Salvation Army Tape" a source for the later Smoking Meatwhistles Xmas project

Ken B - bassist for the Moodsetters between 1994 and 1998 and rarely thereafter, Ken was also responsible for video recording many of the gigs and some multi-track experiments in his home studio.  Ken continues to record with Dan B and has made appearances with a few former Moodsetters and participated recent reunions of the Moodsetters.

Ken K - vocalist and keyboardist for Hal Greer, Bloodless Pharaohs, Moodsetters, Ken has relocated to the American Southeast

Vowel Samples - Jim-centered short improvs aka The Spitting Knockwurst without vocals

Lee K - one-time Moodsetter violinist, 1998

Lo-Tech Jay - a member of Nylon And Steel and collaborator of Paul C, Jay appeared with the Moodsetters at least once for a live show and again for radio appearances.  His son Josh has appeared on recordings as well.

Manhattan Rubber - Jim L tape-manipulation project of the mid- to late-80s. There were three versions of this project - 1) Circa 1984, short song-like structures using various household items such as a TV, a soda bottle and a washer and dryer, a Casio keyboard, Aria bass and DOD fuzz box were also used.  One track was titled "Grandmama." 2) Circa 1984/5, this 90 minute collage used Psychotic Undertone tapes, the original Manhattan Rubber tapes and a tape recorder retrofitted with a potentiometer to control the speed of the motor and cassette tape loops.  3) Circa 1987, this was a 22 minute collage performed with tapes and a DigiTech 2 second delay/looper and recorded in 4 passes to a Fostex 4-track.  This name was revived for similar Ableton Live and Tracktion experiments for Internet release at http://blisterpop.com

Matt The Bass Player - guest bassist for Center Of Hearing And Dizziness in 2002, Matt vanished without a trace soon thereafter, maybe to California

Maureen Moisture And Her Wrinklerods - a one-album project by Tom B, Jim L, Antoinette and Gary P as guest for some tracks, notable because it was recorded back-to-back with rehearsals for the Exploading Jazz Commode show at Fanny Brice at Stony Brook

Margaret P - guest vocalist and WUSB program manager at the time of the Art-Noise Festivals, Margaret appeared on both sets of Art-Noise tapes and on stage with the Exploading Jazz Commode at Fanny Brice

Mechanical License - an electronic slicing project conceived in the early '00's.

Moodsetters - Moodsetters were formed in 1994 by Gary P, Ken K, Tom B and Ken B and sometimes Dan B to improvise music to VHS movies.  Released one "real" CD in the late 90's.  In 1998, Jim L joined the band for most of the year on 2nd guitar and Jimi D joined for live gigs later that year.  The band's official last gig was in 2001 and included Dan B and Ken B, but the band had rarely played as a unit since 1999.  The band temporarily reformed with both Kens, Tom and Gary in 1994 for a few movies.

Moodsweaters - my own appellation of an improvising Moodsetters with Joe E or Lo-Tech Jay singing if Ken K was not available.

Moon Pearls - two-woman band was recorded - and sometimes joined - by Tom B and Jim L to 4-track in 1997, the tapes also included Ken K, Gary P and Paul C at times. Moon Pearls played a few gigs with the 1998 expanded Moodsetters on double bills or a triple bill with Nylon And Steel and stayed together until about 2001.

Nylon And Steel - this band was present and played double bills at many Moodsetters live gigs starting with the Spot in May 1998 and up to the last band gig in 2001 at the Conklin barn.  The band included drummer future Moodsetter and CFHD collaborators Lo-Tech Jay and Paul C.  The rest of the band were Ian W, Jim F, Dave B (Arrow) and sometimes Paul M.  Moodsetter Tom B joined the band around 2000.

Nurnees - Bob B and Jim unformed band with Casio keyboard/drum accompaniment, circa 1983-86 and sporadically later.  Named after the way a mutual friend hummed songs.

Original Center Guitarist - original guitarist for the as-yet-unnamed Center For Hearing And Dizziness in early 2002, I never met him and don't know his name.

Paul C - Nylon And Steel and Center For Hearing And Dizziness drummer, Paul also played with various Moodsetter-ish projects as the band began to wind down in 1999/2000, notably at the "Nicolai Nicolai" gig at the Conklin Barn with Tom B, Gary P and Jim L.

Paul L - Hal Greer guitarist and Controlled Bleeding leader for years, Paul had been seen at Moodsetters gigs in 1998 as an audience member and has collaborated with Gary P since the millennium, including a return to the Knitting Factory for Gary.

Patty B - ex-wife of Bloodless Pharaoh Bob, Patty B was half of the Moon Pearls and plays flute and sings.

Patty P - the other half of Moon Pearls, Patty plays guitar and sings.

Phillipa - violinist who joined the Moodsetters and related improvs twice, Phillipa was friendly with Jimi D and was responsible for the photos taken at the Knitting Factory gig in early 1999.

PMRC - early Deafcon-era improv "group" which included Gary P and Steve M, this "group" had a daytime spot as opposed to the early-AM Deafcon broadcasts.

Progressive Jazz Commode - Exploading Jazz Commode with Dan B as drummer

Psychoacoustics - The actual end of Deafcon and beginning of Psychoacoustics is now forgotten - some cite the move from early AM Saturday on WUSB with Joe E as guest to Sunday afternoon shows with Rob F/Cal/Brian/Steve M as guests while others end Deafcon after Gary moved out of Greenpoint and Jim L began to participate more and beyond the bass-only contributions of 87/88 Deafcon.   The issue is compounded by the fact that old Deafcon tapes were renamed Psychoacoustics tapes at the turn of the 90's.  Psychoacoustics also played non-improv material and even did some tentative songwriting.  The Art-Noise Festivals are generally acknowledged as the end of Psychoacoustics.

Psychotic Undertone - unformed high school group consisting of Rob M, Jeremy W, Jim L, Dave M and loosely drummer Bob G or singer Steve F.  The group name was chosen by Paul P, Gary P's younger brother, the group was also known as Jake DeCrumb And The Toe and 5,000 Angry Men.  Circa 1980-82

Rich E - the cousin of Eric L, Rich E guested on guitar with on WUSB with Deafcon/Psychoacoustics and videotaped of the Deafcon Blind Pig and CBGB's gigs.  Rich passed away in the early 90's.

Rob F - Sunday jazz DJ "neighbor" of Gary P, Rob F was a frequent collaborator  from 1988 or so until the mid-90's on WUSB in the off-season hallways of Stony Brook and appeared on stage at the Blind Pig with Deafcon and Fanny Brice with Exploading Jazz Commode.

Rob M - budding "lead" guitarist of the Psychotic Undertone, Rob provided everything from a place to play, (his dad's shed), to a spare unplugged guitar and fuzzbox for Jim L to mess with in 1980/81.

Sami Y - schoolmate of Green Eggs and Ham's Steve B and Jim L, Sami "played" harmonica on "Encounters With South Dakota" and spoke on the primitively overdubbed "Voidness" psychedelic collage piece.

Slut Puppy - Jim's all-electronic group, named after a suggestion by the girl who sat in front of Jim in 10th grade math and also the name of Jim's homegrown fuzz/drive pedal.

Smoking Meatwhistles - 4-track project of Jim L and Tom B, recorded a Christmas album/tape in 1995.  This was an outgrowth of both the earlier "Salvation Army" WUSB Christmas show (with John K on trumpet) and the Greenpoint Meatwhistles single.  This album is available for free download on the http://blisterpop.com site.

Spitting Knockwurst - the Jim-centric Vowel Samples improv project with vocals

Steve B - Green Eggs And Ham vocalist, schoolmate of Jim L, Steve now plays guitar when he's not busy working.

Steve B, Tom's brother - Steve played harmonica with Deafcon at the infamous gig at the Blind Pig and was suspected of overloading Brian D's PA system

Steve L - old friend of Gary P, Steve played wooden flute, bongos, vocals with Deafcon at WUSB and live at CBGB and the Blind Pig.  His girlfriend also joined in on bongos on occasion.  Steve passed away in the early 90's.

Steve M - clarinetist, WUSB DJ Steve played with Gary in PMRC and Deafcon.  Steve sort of vanished around the time of the Blind Pig show and reappeared a final time to do the sound board for the Exploading Jazz Commode at Fanny Brice Hall at SUNY Stony Brook in 1992.

Stinkfinger Overdrive - conceived in 1992 as a Jim-led pop vehicle and son of Green Eggs and Ham, only recorded sporadically until 2007, when the group actually became active

Tom B - guitarist/bassist Tom was involved in all improv projects with Gary P from the late 80's and throughout the 90's, he was also half of the Greenpoint/Smoking Meatwhistles, one of Maureen Moisture's Wrinklerods and later a member of Nylon And Steel.

Unqua Drill Boys - Moodsetters Tom B and Gary P and sometimes Moodsetters Jim L and Dan B provided semi-improvised music for Bill C to speak over in early 1996.  The group reformed for a summertime session later that year sans Bill that is posthumously known as the Progressive Jazz Commode.

Wilbur And The Bakermen - audio-only one-off consisting of Tom B on bass/guitar, Ken B on bass/keyboards and Gary P on keyboards/electronic drums with Jim L on vocals/guitar in 1997, this was after taping stopped for a movie improv at Ken B's house after Ken K had left for work, (Phantom From Space???).  The name of the group commemorates a pastry shop owned by Deafcon friend Joe E.

WUSB, SUNY Stony Brook - birthplace of the improv, the radio station was the scene of many and various improv situations and events and included at various times Gary P, Rob F, Joe E, Steve M, Brian D as DJ's.

The original material here is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Copyright © 1981-2008 Jim Lemanowicz, Blister Pop Records, West Neck Computer-Assisted Research Facility of Massapequa, Upholstery Supreme Records, Stockhausen Records, Blissvile Electro-magnetic Laboratory, The Incredible Microgroove Music Publishing Co.
 

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