The Gongs

From 2002 bio: The Gongs on themselves We formed in early September of 2001. We started off playing musical games using a trio of three lutes called "guys" and recorded the singles "you think i'm a terris", and "i smell..." When we found our first set of steel gongs near the train tracks, they taught us how to imitate the sounds that animals hear, as can be heard in "the bat", and "an old man talks to his dog". Now we always play with our set of amplified gongs. Originally, we were a threesome, Pete, Clara, and Stefan. When he heard us one night, Grisha became attracted to the sound of the gongs' microtones and drones, which he describes in "Evergreens [in Darkest Night]". He became the Gongs' fourth member, playing reeds (a retuned harmonium) and chucky (a super-long electric sliding stringed instrument). He discovered some splendid new techniques for playing the Chucky, such as "creating a cast relationship w/ the stratosphere", and others you can hear on our website. From the beginning, we had been in contact with "th' Man w/ the Red Steam"; we sang a few songs about him and soon realized we needed a better tool to communicate with. In January, we built this out of a collection of electronic rhythm circuits. Ever since then "th'Man w/the Red Steam" (or more correctly, "th'monument to th'Man with the Red Steam") has been helping to complete our sound. Back in October, (hal'ween to be exact) the gongs made first contact with artist/composer/producer/???, Momus, and began work on a cd for release on his label American Patchwork. We also just finished a little 45 rpm record, with 2-step, 5-step, and 7-step dances on it. Both the cd and the record will be with us on tour this summer, so come check us out.