What began as a studio project in Rochester, N.Y. four years ago manifested into what is now AudioInflux - a name describing the twist and turn of harmonic material into something tangible, hard-hitting and downright funky.
The powerful pipes of Chris "Hollywood" English are located behind the drum kit while MC Marcus "MdotCoop" Cooper takes front and center for some lyrical rhyme and reason between hooks. This group left audiences chilled last Friday night as they took Nietzsche's on a funktional journey with local bands Peanut Brittle Satellite and JazzBollah.
"I don't know if we're looking for a genre; it's just something that I've always wanted to do you know," said Kyle Uschold, bassist for AudioInFlux. "Ever since I started playing bass [I have been] like 'I need an MC to play over.' It makes you bob your head and what else is better to have an MC over than that?"
English received the nickname "Hollywood" while living in North Carolina in 2004 after a friend heard him perform. English said that while it may be a little harder to fit in with the mainstream movement, the musical variance allows them to own their sound. He claims it keeps the music "not so one-dimensional."
Under the red and aqua shadows from the lights on stage, a hypnotic, hip-jerking heartbeat ignited across the crowd. As the band delves into"Beautiful," MdotCoop's sharp verbal transitions sync with Uschold's quick fingers on bass. Guitarist George Miller mouths his guitar solo out loud as Tony Gallicchino's organ haunts through the mix.
And then there's "Hollywood" English, who bites into the drums with wafer-crisp, singing all the while. If playing the drums and singing simultaneously could look this easy all the time, more drummers out there might actually try this feat.
"I have to play the drums to get the music first, and then like the music in my head will make my voice do whatever I need to do 'cause if I got the rhythm down, everything'll come to me," English said.
Crowd favorites "Back in the Day," and "Can You Feel," kept the crowd's sway upbeat and wavering. Gallicchino even treated the audience to a special rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," using a vocoder, or a device that encodes an instrument's pitch with speech, to sing the tune AudioInflux-style.
Peanut Brittle Satellite held the main stage during one solidly built hour of otherworldly progressive madness. With songs that alternated between having two concurrent drummers or guitarists alongside the bass, violin and keys already playing, these Satellites used their dissonance to truly take their audience on a ride.
Producing a sound somewhere between The Twilight Zone, jazz and masterful guitar compositions, Peanut Brittle performed only one vocal song during their set, capturing the intrigued onlookers only by their musicianship. Additionally, Evan Courtin spliced his electric violin into a multi-effects pedal, allowing moments of cello to enter this six-person symphony.
For this crunchy sextet, it's all about thorough composition. The band focuses on strange rhythms, melding polyrhythmic grooves with mixed meter progressions. The improvisation is not lost, however, for every member gets a moment to take one off the wrist.
According to Courtin, one of the co-creators of the 5-year-old band, its hungry title began on a road trip to New York City where he and a fellow band mate played the very first open mic night at a hostel.
"We conceived the name in the elevator ride down to the basement where they were having open mic," Courtin said. "We just wanted to freak out in front of a couple people so there was like three people there, sitting on a couch in the back of the room. 10 minutes after we were playing they were all gone. So that's where the band name came from."
When an encore erupted a wall of cheers, Courtin took the mic and introduced AudioInflux with a smile creeping below his Albert Einstein-inspired hairdo.
AudioInflux's new EP is on the way and a weeklong tour in North Carolina has been booked for April Fools' Day 2013. But even for a group with such a wild style, listeners may not be prepared for the new release.
"We're playing all types of stuff on that EP so be ready man, it's different," English said.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: UB Center for the Arts
Photo: Jeremy Meyers
