more about I AM SPOONBENDER, SPOONBENDER 1.1.1 and THE SPOONBENDER SLEEP RESEARCH TEAM :
www.iamspoonbender.com
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"an established cultural force with vast implications. when considering I Am Spoonbender, one wavers between cerebral art critic and wide-eyed stoner. disturbing modulations meet comforting drones and signal each other in a mysterious language. one moment you're transported to some future other-dimension where you exist as both watcher and watched; the next you're checking to see if your speakers are shorting out. MESMERIZING." - diw magazine
". the most innovative live-instrument electronic rock band around, with a hypnotic, surprise filled show that reveals others to be mere pretenders. I Am Spoonbender belong in one category only- their own." - the village voice.
".I Am Spoonbender are an otherworldly multi-media quartet that, since 1997, has challenged mainstream music's status quo (as well as the paradigms of natural order and the occult) with thought-provoking explorations. The group's do-it-yourself approach covers everything from films, books and other printed material to occasionally releasing its own records to creating all the sounds in its tunes (as opposed to using widespread, ready-made patches), an ethic that has been influential on other musicians in recent years. IAS share a common thread with the great literary minds of magical realism. Above all, the group strives to draw attention to and point out the possible beauty of the small details in life that are often taken for granted, as well as those overarching issues that concern us all. In I Am Spoonbender's universe, this goal comes alive in multiple dimensions, with and without words. Vocals, bass, and drums meet with the band's primary instrumental palette, synthesizers (each member plays one in some manner or another), yet I Am Spoonbender is far from being some kind of new-wave revival band, the likes of which are all too common in today's musical landscape. In fact, as explained on its Web site, one of the band's strongest stances is "to NOT capitalize on the younger generation's lack of knowledge to the music that's come before." A high-minded experimental band with a conscience? Yup." - sf weekly
"Intense, playful, creative and always true to their name, I Am Spoonbender are a head-melting extrasensory transmission in sound and vision. Formed by composer/multi-instrumentalist DUSTIN DONALDSON in San Francisco (late '97), the group is led by a cinematic visual sense, headphone-worthy attention to detail, and a telekinetic precision that lays the groundwork for years of evocative multi-media to come. IAS conjure a hypnotic musical seance that mixes obsessive drones and rhythms with a pulsing op art ambience. Innovative rhythms, musique concrete, and CUP's dreamy vocals combine to create a totally distinct and always unfolding vision. As ever, the band turns its collective observations on a heady mixture of the political ("perception management"), personal ("inner space"), and the shifting, subjective nature of "reality". - new music canada.com
". my buddy spent a good solid 5 minutes hyping I Am Spoonbender to me, saying their live show was just completely off its ass and that I just had had HAD to check them out.It's all here, and the band gets bonus points for rocking the instruments without sequencers or samplers." - actionman magazine
". I Am Spoonbender rock out, thrash, kill their instruments, burn. They hammer away at both drumkits. It is too much. IAS's show at the Knitting Factory (NYC) was near perfect" - popmatters.com
".one of the most unique and creative live bands around. The next time you hear about I Am Spoonbender coming to a town near you, make sure you don't miss it- they will make you realize just how original and artistic a live musical performance can be, and let me tell you: there are a lot of bands out there that really should be taking notice. one of the best shows I have seen in a long time." - pitchfork
"Beyond simply a band, I Am Spoonbender is a distinct concept. The project is about noticing the beauty and details of objects that most people take for granted in everyday life, finding hidden connections, exploring the subjective nature of reality, and extrapolating meaning from synchronistic or seemingly coincidental occurrences. The theory and philosophy behind the band was born out of the band members' experiences with chance, telepathy, altered states, the occult, psychic phenomena surrounding communication devices, and other extrasensory and paranormal ideas, all of which informed and were informed by the music. During a period when pop music was overtaken by uninspired, pedestrian rock and MTV-ready teen bands, bland R&B, and ultra-commercial hip-hop, I Am Spoonbender burst out of the indie underground with a sound so futuristic that it made even the most adventurous of contemporaries seem somehow status quo. I Am Spoonbender helped launch music past the trappings of 20th century music and into the 21st century." - all music guide
"San Francisco's I Am Spoonbender anticipated the current fixation on analog ambient textures and spazzy post-punk funk by many, many years. Check out their astounding albums for IAS's ingenious filtering of Tago Mago-era Can's tribal rhythmic power, This Heat's unconventional dynamics, and post-rock/ electronic/musique concrète interfaces." - seattle stranger
" Calling all music makers and performers: The Bar has been raised. I Am Spoonbender has achieved what so many of us hope/ believe we might experience when we go out " - enfuse magazine
"(while) hordes of imitators flood the market, I AM SPOONBENDER refuse to allow presets, generic production and predictable riffs to drive their music. releases like this, along with their previous, will still be as listenable years from now and just as tasty as they are today" - brainwashed.com
"I Am Spoonbender are doing something no one else can compete with. Not only are their words out of this world, but they make you contemplate, and ask yourself if you are really even in the same realm as them." -bigstereo
" I Am Spoonbender craft a singular uniqueness from a seemingly disparate grouping of fundamentals, somehow achieving a cohesive synergy that consistently evokes 'godhead' responses. (I.A.S.) are usually referred to in futuristic terms, (as in 'here is the future of music', 'fucking visionaries' and the like) causing one particularly exuberant critic to gush "where does music go from here?". where indeed?" - chicago reader
I AM SPOONBENDER DO NOT ADMINISTRATE THIS PAGE
(they do look at it occasionally though).
to contact IAS directly, go to www.iamspoonbender.com.
