| Psi Com | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Gothic rock |
| Years active | 1981–1985 |
| Labels | Mohini Records Triple X Records |
| Members | |
| Perry Farrell Aaron Sherer Vince Duran Kelly Wheeler |
|
Psi Com was an American gothic rock band of the early 1980s. Prominent in the underground Los Angeles music scene, the group is noted for being the first band of the acclaimed vocalist Perry Farrell who went on to achieve greater fame in the band Jane's Addiction, as well as the bands Porno for Pyros and Satellite Party. The band consisted of Perry Farrell (lead vocalist) , Aaron Sherer (drums and percussion), Vince Duran (lead guitarist), and Kelly Wheeler (bass).
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The first incarnation of Psi Com was initiated in 1981 when a man named Rich Robinson, his wife Mariska Leyssius, a man named Terry, and Vince Duran formed what is now known as Psi Com. Being without a drummer, they placed a classified ad in the free weekly L.A. newspaper The Recycler. Farrell responded to the ad, not with the intention of becoming the group's drummer but instead as the singer. Rich agreed to let Farrell into the band as the vocalist in early 1983. The ad for a drummer was left in The Recycler however, because the band was still practicing with the aid of a drum machine. Terry soon left the band.
Sherer called Farrell in response to the ad for a drummer. When Sherer finally joined Duran and Farrell, Psi Com played their first big show, opening for The Cult at L.A.'s -Music Machine Club in the latter part of 1984.[1] as well as some inspired gigs: Rooftop of OkiDog with Minutemen.
When 1985 came, the group realized that they needed a bass player to fill out the bottom end of their sound. As a result, they recruited their friend Wheeler, who moved into a house with Farrell near the University of Southern California. Wheeler was reportedly tempted into the group by being offered a bass guitar in exchange for his membership into the group. Just after Wheeler joined, the foursome performed at a gig in the middle of the Mojave desert opening for such acts as Sonic Youth, Redd Kross and The Meat Puppets. This performance however was regarded as awful as the vocalist Farrell was high on magic mushrooms at the time.[2]
In March 1985, Psi Com made plans to release a five-song, 12-inch EP. The band entered Radio Tokyo Studios in Venice, California that spring and recorded the songs "Xiola," "Human Condition," "Ho Ka Hey," "Words" and "City of Nine Gates." Ethan James manned the boards for the sessions, which lasted for one weekend. James was known for producing seminal punk group The Minutemen's most popular album Double Nickels on the Dime.
In July, Psi Com had 1,500 copies of their self-titled EP produced to release on their own label, Mohini. When the records were delivered from the pressing plant, the band was in shock, as more than half of the EPs were warped. Frustrated by the experience, the band drifted apart musically and personally, and by September, Psi Com was no more.
After the break-up, Farrell was still living in the house that he had shared with Wheeler. Farrell's new housemate—a girl only known as Jane (or Carla Bozulich) -- introduced him to her friend Eric Avery, who became the bassist in Farrell's new band, Jane's Addiction.
Wheeler spent his time performing with musician Dino Paredes, a bass player and vocalist from bands such as Berlin and the Red Temple Spirits. Duran and Sherer lessened their involvement with bands and only performed part-time with local L.A. groups. However, Sherer did go on to play drums on Mazzy Star's 1996 album Among My Swan.[1]
It is rumored that the demise of Psi-Com was a result of Sherer and Duran becoming Hare Krisnas but this was declared to be false by both the men in an interview with the American magazine Musician[2]
The band released only one (self-titled) EP. It was recorded at Radio Tokyo in March 1985. It was originally released in July 1985 on Mohini Records in a limited 1500 copy, vinyl only release. Unfortunately only about half of these records were actually printed correctly, and both variations are fairly rare on today's market.
Due to the later popularity of Jane's Addiction, the album was subsequently re-released by Triple X Records on CD in 1993.
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Ho Ka Hey
2. Human Condition
3. Xiola
4. City of 9 Gates
5. Winds
The first song is titled "Ho Ka Hey." This is a Native American expression that was used by warriors to psych themselves up when heading into battle, translation = "Good day to die".
City of 9 Gates relates with the Hinduist theory of Chakra where-in 9 orifices in the body are metaphorical gates of energy.
"Xiola," the third track on the album, is interesting in that it is the first time Perry experiments with the vocal style he would later implement in Jane's Addiction. For all of the other songs his vocal style is much more low pitched.
On the 27th of March 1984 at Pacifica Studios in Los Angeles, Psi Com recorded and a rough-mixed a three song demo cassette. The worktape was engineered by Glenn Feit. Additional copies of this cassette were manufactured and sold at Psi Com concerts.[2]
Tracklisting for Worktape 1
1. Hopeful
2. Them
3. Psi Com Theme
A demo of three Psi-Com tracks that have been speculated to have had possible inclusion on the Psi-Com EP (Incorrect, these were entirely different recording sessions, years apart and with different members {Kelly on bass}) were surfaced onto the bootleg collector's CD Skin & Bones some time in the early 1990s. It is suggested that these tracks were leaked by an unknown representative at Triple X records. There exist two different versions of these songs, with slightly different instrumental tracks and mixing on each one. There also exist purely instrumental versions of the stated 3 songs. These are available. on the Jane's Addiction bootleg CD Pigs in Zen.[2]
Tracklisting for Psi Com Demos:
1. 14th Floor
2. Cat (aka In The Holly Grove)
3. Karuna (aka Finger Puppets)
There are also a number of live bootleg copies that have circulated around the fan-community The most noticeable of these were.
The songs from the Psi Com Demos, Worktape 1, and the notable live bootlegs are all available to download in the Mp3 format at: the following link
To achieve their distinct sound on their EP, Psi Com used a noticeable and unique line of equipment. The bassist, Kelly Wheeler used a full-scale, small-bodied Ibanez that the band had bought for him and played it through an SWR bass amplifier. Vince Duran played a late 70s Fender Stratocaster through a Roland JC 120 Jazz Chorus amplifier. The percussionist Aaron Sherer played at a set of DW drums while Perry Farrell contributed to percussion by drumming on church bells, hubcaps and even a Chevy engine block. For certain vocal effects he used an Ibanez EM-1000 analogue echo unit.[2]