THE VERY US ARTISTS
A.L. Ashbaugh
If one were to ask A. L. Ashbaugh to sum up her artistic style in one sentence, she would probably say, "I paint weird stuff." Her inspiration comes from life experience and everything around her: the pretty things, the oddball things, and the downright scary things (though it's nigh-impossible to drag her to a horror movie). Her current interests (and habits) include: photography, exploring abandoned buildings, reading, scuba diving, traveling, sushi (particularly octopus), camping, tapioca pudding, Ashtanga Yoga, cooking, and automotive repair. The artists and authors who inspire her most are: Brom, Richard Kirk, Albrecht Durer, Todd Lockwood, Stephanie Law, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Sarah Ash.
Darren Baker
Darren has been composing music since 1998.
Sheri Bauer-Mayorga
How about programming the music of John Cage, Stephen Foster, Appalachian porch singers, Morton Feldman, Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Malvina Reynolds, and Irving Berlin in one concert and putting it together in a way that entertains children, grandmothers, and jazz aficionados who are neither children nor grandmothers? Sheri has tried it in both her piano concerts during her salad days and more recently as a singer with her jazz trio, The Berkshire Bop Society. When the above concoction gets too heady, she writes her own music and sings her own songs. Two outcomes of these musical journeys and detours are On the Wrong Side of the Railroad Tracks and American Snapshots: 200 Years of American Song; both for TownHall Records.
Carpentron/ Chris Torgersen
Carpentron is the solo project of Chris Torgersen, a New York native who splits his head between music, work, and family responsibilities. Carpentron's music is almost entirely electronic, with only vocals being recorded acoustically. However, rather than going with the dance music aesthetic, Carpentron is based in rock styles, with a heavy 1970s progressive rock influence as well as postmodernists such as Frank Zappa and Mr. Bungle.
Chaos and the Dancing Stars
Eric A. Radulski & John LaSala
The prototypical Chaos and the Dancing Stars purports to feature original text spoken by Eric A. Radulski with music by a veritable pulsar of guest composers. Its maiden voyage is musically piloted by John LaSala to take it out of orbit. Whoever shall carry it into deeper space remains to be seen. Eric A. Radulski is a novelist, poet, and editor. Most recently, he finished The Hands of Aldulan trilogy for Double Dragon Publishing, Inc. Currently, he's working on a collection of short stories and outlining his next dark fantasy series. John LaSala blends electronic and acoustic sounds, creating music in the dangerous void betwixt artsy-fartsy and tunefully accessible. Much of his music has been composed for dance theater with the likes of choreographer Noel MacDuffie, but his ventures in rock are manifested through Synthasium with cohort Chris Torgersen.
Chaos and the Dancing Stars image by Michael John Keegan.
Jeff Daschbach
Guitarist Jeff Daschbach draws from rock, bluegrass, and folk traditions to create his rich and unique sound. A blend of slap and tap technique and fingerstyle picking, Jeff's music evokes comparison to artists such as Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Led Zeppelin, and Bela Fleck. Jeff's vocal skills have been compared to Bono and Sting but he sites Robert Plant as his biggest influence.
HAIRWOLF
The HAIRWOLF mission began in 2007 to warn of the dystopian nuclear future awaiting mankind and offer a solution. "We need to prepare for the inevitable gasoline wars and the rise of the cyclopean camel spiders and lizard men," says frontman/guitarist Dr. Hercules. "We will construct a planet of pure Rock & Roll to sustain humankind." When asked for details regarding its construction, Dr. Hercules replies, "One rock anthem at a time." Drummer/vocalist Kai Demasonai adds, "Sound waves channeled through a magical space funnel will manifest a solid sphere." Keyboardist/vocalist Ronette Reagan emotes, "It makes sense. Rock & roll? The first part is rock: stones and minerals. The second is roll. Simply roll all that rock up until it's the size of a planet!" Bassist Number Two insists, "NASA (National Anthemic Song Association) has already given us the green light. With any luck, we'll have a planet in 150,000 years."
Brian Wilbur Grundstrom
Brian Wilbur Grundstrom's compositions for film, orchestra, chorus, piano, quintet and other ensembles demonstrate an innovative use of harmony and melody, which although firmly rooted in the tonal tradition is entirely new. Audiences take to his compositions immediately. Classically trained in piano as well as music theory from Gettysburg College, he has continued orchestration and composition studies with John David Earnest. His awards include Encore from American Composers Forum, Composers Assistance Program from the American Music Center, ASCAPLUS from ASCAP as well as two artist fellowships from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
SONOS Chamber Orchestra Director Erik E. Ochsner writes "Many audiences cringe at the thought of new music. We had such positive feedback from audiences on how much they enjoyed Grundstrom's work. It is modern, yet tonal."
He is represented by Jeffrey James Arts Consulting, and his compositions can be heard at brianwilbur.com.
Tim Kopp
Singer/Songwriter Tim Kopp was born in Alabama, in March 1974, and has been creating music since the age of 14. He started playing piano at age 9 and has been singing since the day he was born. Son of Dr. Daniel & Melissa Kopp, he was given his gift of voice and music creativity from both sides of his family. He has written several commercials for radio and has had some small successes as vocalist/piano player in his original rock bands Pandemic and currently the alternative hard rock band STEREO VEIN. His overall goal in life is to be the best husband, father, and singer/songwriter he can be.
John LaSala
John blends electronic and acoustic sounds, creating music in the dangerous void 'twixt artsy-fartsy and tunefully accessible. Much of his music has been composed for dance theater with the likes of choreographer Noel MacDuffie, but his ventures in rock are manifested through Synthasium with cohort Chris Torgersen. His recent projects include a musical experiment with remote collaboration called clique and, of course, The Very Us Artists.
Portrait by Joshua Wentz.
LEMMA
Jeremy Simmons and Joshua Wentz are designers who live and work in different cities, but find a common ground in music.
Maddy and Nancy
Maddy and Nancy: You may have heard of them under the names Sisters of the Moon, Lady Madeline and Nancy, or as "the singing twins" from world-renowned Blackmore's Night, named for Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Singer/Songwriter Candice Night. Prior to joining Blackmore's Night they'd worked on various projects of their own including their first CD, Movin' On, under the name It's Just Me, with musicians from North Carolina, NYC, and Long Island plus funk bassist Mark White from the Spin Doctors. During their college years they performed in Dimensional Rift, an original rock opera written and composed by VUA's John LaSala and Chris Torgersen. The twins toured with Blackmore's Night for five years but recently left the band to focus on original material and pursue new projects like this one! Maddy and Nancy want to continue sharing their lives' experiences through music with the world!
Michelangelo
Mr. Glide/ Nick P
Nick is a musical dallier from the UK. He has been writing and recording music from the age of 16, progressing from a Commodore 64, to a Hitachi tape recorder, a four-track Tascam and finally, a knackered Powermac G4. He has deemed only a tiny fraction of his music worthy for release. He has a number of noms de plume, including Mr Glide and The Benny Hill Massive, and also plays in a group called the Fine Excuses with Johnny Rogers. He enjoys laughing at misfortunes that are not of his own undertaking, and has recently developed an interest in fish.
www.myspace.com/jamshacklecollective
Nervous Lathe Operator/ Will Pesta
Will is a recent addition to The BMW Store family. He brings over two years of automotive experience with him, including zero in the finance department. Will's knowledge, attention to detail and genuine concern for your best interest will make your purchase experience a positive one! Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his friends as well as music, horse and automobile racing, travel, antiques, wine and cooking. Will is looking forward to assisting you with your next purchase!
Christine Pollock
Christine's art flows forth from a place that is such as one's own rhythm of breath; as if the first stroke upon the page starts a life that was unborn until the motion began. Each drawing brings something hard to hold onto once it is completed, driving her to start anew in an almost never-ending pile of papers with her mark upon them—as if each is a leaf of the same tree. Lights and darks release the blank pages from their anonymity.
Gene 'Noizepunk' Pritsker/ Di.J. Noizepunk
Composer/guitarist/rapper Gene Pritsker has written over three hundred compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music, songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles, etc. All of his compositions employ an eclectic spectrum of styles and are influenced by his studies of various musical cultures. He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation, an eclectic hip-hop/chamber/jazz/rock/etc. ensemble currently releasing a new CD for Con Legno records. Other organizations he is associated with include Composers' Concordance (advisory board since '96, Associate Director since '04), Absolute Ensemble (co-founder/composer-in-residence '93-96), The American Composers Forum (member NY chapter since '96), The International Street Cannibals (co director since '05) and The New Music Connoisseur magazine (critic since '97). Some of Gene Pritsker's music is published by Falls House Press, Gold Branch Music and Calabrese Brothers Music.
Pzychotropic
Pzychotropic is Mac McIntyre's personal project and has been in existence for about a year now. It serves as a platform for all the musical and creative ideas he has wanted to explore but couldn't in bands/collaborations that he was part of in the past. It's only now, in 2008, that Mac feels like some ideas are starting to develop in the way he would wish. Watch this space!
Jeremy Simmons
Writing tunes since at least 1985. Insert here the time-honored debate as to whether or not all that time and experience makes for better songwriting. I let the listener be the judge. In fact, I like to do this for all aspects of my music: I don't like explaining my music much at all. Music, including lyrics, is always going to have a different meaning for each listener. I don't want to try and force my meaning down someone's throat. That ruins the beauty of the listening experience, in my opinion.
The Synthasium
John LaSala & Chris Torgersen
Post-industrial neo-alternative electro-folk rock band, The Synthasium, formed in the mid-1990s from the ashes of the completely unknown Dying Breed, whose single “release” featured such dorm room classics as "Crestfallen" and "God of His World". But the new project, consisting of John LaSala on mandolin (among other instruments) and Chris Torgersen on synth-glockenspiel (among other keyboard settings), spent several years crafting their severely doomed album, Prototype for the Neophyte, until it had an irreversible encounter with digital nothingness. First the album, then the band. Nine years later, in an attempt to reverse the irreversible, the Synthasium is reborn—recast—reanimate! Hopefully they have learned their lesson: always save your work.
Synthasium logo by Michael John Keegan.
Thee Crumb
Vivian Circle
C.Thomas aka "Barney", Vivian, George '808' Difficult
Vivian Circle, the band, was born from the ashes of another band titled "Gowns". What started as an experiment of lush-pop noise between C.Thomas and George "Difficult" Tennell became a master/apprentice friendship that was far too short-lived. When George died in his sleep, the "Gowns" came to an end. Finishing the album, C.Thomas then left Vegas with what he had learned from his mentor in that cul-de-sac on the corner of Vivian cir. and with the Roland 808 drum machine, still housing hundreds of George's "beats." He regrouped and fled east to the mountains of upstate New York and began calling himself "Barney." He soon came in contact with another muse named "Ms. Vivian." An elusive artist in her own right, she persuaded Barney to continue with the band. They live/record in a deserted rail station, where "Barney" also paints, appropriately called "The Station."
Wendy Waves
Wendy Mittelstadt is a violinist and audio engineer from New England with an affinity for clipping and distortion. When she's not working on her ambient pieces, she's playing violin on one recording session or another somewhere along the East Coast.
Joshua Wentz
Lea+Enrôl Yon
Originally from Alesund, Lea and Enrôl create music in a manner contrary to their personal and cultural nature.
Zeck, Jr.
"Zeck, Jr." is taken from my old band, the Zecks. I've been an avid dabbler in music for years and am thrilled to take part in this project!
