Cranium

Cranium started as a duo in Ryan Hall's mother's garage, one overcast, mid- June afternoon in 1995. Hall writes."I asked the only drummer I knew at the time capable enough to navigate some sick ideas that I had in my head to start a new project with me that would bring together my heavy metal/hardcore punk upbringing and my progressive rock/jazz fusion present. That drummer is of course, the great Jason Thomas, who I knew from various metal and rock bands around Reno, and who I had become acquainted with around 1991. He had just begun working in a new, devastating extreme metal band called December, a band that allowed him to be the drummer that he truly is, which I hadn't really heard up until then. When I heard them, I knew he was my guy. He was explosive and virtuosic, and blew me away. At the time, he had not dealt much with odd time signatures or much music besides metal/rock. Born with an amazing gift for the drumkit, he soon learned to master these new musical concepts that I had introduced to him. His talent, combined with my direction, brought to bear the beginnings of something that we thought could be very special and unique. Our "side project" started gigging around Reno as a duo. The Reno audiences didn't know what to make of us, but the few who cared enough to listen were convinced, and so were we. The two of us continued to write and develop material, but then it dawned on us-"We should try to get a bass player".

July, 1996: Enter Dave Adams, an Orlando, Florida import with chops to burn, and enthusiasm to match. Dave stayed with us for a year and a half, then, family concerns had him leaving the band and going back to Florida. November, 1997: Enter Asa Dakin, a nineteen-year old natural talent who came from the Nevada backwoods, and who had not had much experience playing with somewhat accomplished musicians. He developed quickly, played with us for 8 fantastic years, then departed, with musical differences and lack of continuing interest being the primary causes.

September 2005: Dave Adams rejoins. March 2006: RH moves to Thailand for a while, but continues writing new material and demoing new pieces on a newly acquired laptop. January 2007: RH moves back to Reno and rehearsals resume, and new material is being worked out. Our new record, "Phantasmagoria", will be out in March 2008 and will be released by SNP Records, an independent label based in Nashville, Tennessee.



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