Neo-Prog
USA
www.slychosis.com
The band's music is sometimes heavy, sometimes spacey and sometimes includes a modern symphonic sound, and they cite such diverse influences as GENESIS, HAWKWIND, GONG, BLACK SABBATH, CAMEL and GENTLE GIANT, among others.
Slychosis began during the Fall of 2004. After a much needed three year hiatus from club gigging with Jackson, MS cover band, Final Spin; Gregg Johns called longtime friend and Final Spin bassist, James Walker, to discuss a writing and recording project. Karma-Kannix was formed (yeah, yeah, I know there is a Swedish project called Karmakanic - we didn’t at the time!). This project was very rough and from the heart. Recorded with ill-fated discontinued Lexicon and ST Audio soundcards. I was going for a loose funky feel much like the vibe of the Bowie Ziggy Stardust album. I even played electronic drums on it - a major feat
for a guitarist/keyboardist. In a review from Progression, my drumming was described as “Nick Mason on Quaaludes.” I thought this was pretty cool! But, I got the point (I still want to get that quote on a t-shirt). Karma-Kannix had progressive elements, but more of a classic rock or metal feel. The songs “Innerspace” and “Cosmic Irony” were two tracks appearing on the Karma-Kannix project that were reworked and re-recorded for the first two Slychosis albums, respectively. Given the Karmakanic issue and new found focus, the project was re-named, Slychosis.Former Final Spin drummer, Todd Sears, was enlisted in the project and Slychosis was born. The Fall, 2006 S/T debut cd was more prog focused, yet eclectic. This disc was also an homage of sorts to classic prog influences while forging the Slychotic sound.
Johns was living on the grounds of the psychiatric hospital where he was employed and the cd was recorded in the often flooding basement with the buggy ST Audio soundcard. The name Slychosis came together from the setting of the project, Johns’s day job as a psychologist and humor associated with the phrase “crazy like a fox.” The Johns photoshoped cd cover was another area of confusion. People just didn’t get it. It was pure gonzo humor! The bizarre butterfly was composed of headshots of band members.
The head of the butterfly is that of Sears with drumsticks for antennae and the wings are the headshots of Johns and Walker. It was given a psychedelic Rorschach look set with a humorous parody of The Silence of the Lambs promotional poster. There is a huge degree of dark humor in Slychosis! The cd received very encouraging reviews and reception given its meager production resources.
With new found motivation and a Layla soundcard, Slychedelia was begun. However this project would prove a difficult venture in reaching completion. Not long after initial writing, Johns would have to move very quickly due to structural issues with housing. This delayed progress by a couple of months and a studio was setup approximately 45 miles away. Sears was gigging regularly with Jackson staple bands A Bitter Sunday and Supernoise and going through a less-than-amicable divorce and became MIA for a while.
Johns and Walker continued writing and recording with MIDI drum programming. Singers and drummers were auditioned to no avail.
Recording and writing continued with Johns continuing vocals. Longtime friend Ceci Smith-Whitehurst was brought in on Cosmic Irony to give a female perspective on the track and Vocaloid Miriam software was also used to provide additional vocal textures.
Chip Griffith was brought in to add saxophone lines to Cosmic Irony and Metaphysical Fitness. Jeremy Mitchell, a music store tech acquaintance, was brought in on drums during the latter part of writing. Before long, the distance and creative and personal differences began plaguing Johns and Walker leading to Johns setting up a home studio and assuming bass duties. Given the response of Wild Night in Calcutta, the humorous Todd Sears track on the first cd, Johns tracked down Sears and Crimson Fields of Glory came to life with Sears’s idea for a lofty Scottish battle epic. Walker came back in to refine the bass line on Distrust and added his stylings to St. John’s Wood. Mitchell completed drums in quick setup on the non-MIDI tracks and the cd was complete. Johns and Walker then headed to Memphis for mastering services by L. Nix. It was also during the Slychedelia period that Johns established a correspondence and creative relationship with Ukrainian surrealist artist, Vladimir Moldavsky. Johns was immediately caught by the unique creative vision
of Moldavsky on the Surrealists.org site and arrangements were made for artwork on Slychedelia. Moldavsky proved to be a creative muse for Johns in that his visuals inspired writing themes as well as Moldavsky’s critique of pre-production tracks given his ear as a guitarist. Thus, Fall, 2008, Slychedelia was released with a generally favorable reception.
Around the latter stages of completing Slychedelia, Johns began conversing with Jeff Hamel of Majestic via MySpace and the pair found a mutual respect for each other’s musical projects and a complementary style to progressive music. These kindred spirits struck up a collaboration and Proximal Distance was born. Through the wonders of internet, Johns and Hamel have been co-writing, recording and sharing guitar, keyboards and bass duties. Hamel brought in Jessica Rasche from the Majestic Arrival disc for vocals and Johns brought in Jeremy Mitchell and Todd Sears from Slychosis on percussion. This has been an exciting and rewarding project and is nearing completion. We hope listeners love the tracks as much as we do because WE ARE SERIOUSLY PUMPED!!!!
Slychosis? The writing is underway on disc 3. With Jeremy now in Nashville, Todd Sears is back on the skins and new bassist, Clay Pale, is now onboard. Vocally, Bridget Shield, has joined the lineup and will provide a new dimension and artistry to the Slychotic sound. This disc is planned to be a more group driven and focused. Johns is excited about his new studio setup with MOTU 24 and URS gear and stationary Tama kit with drumbooth. Not to mention all of the boutique guitar gadgetry recently acquired.
Musicians:
Gregg Johns / vocals, guitars, keyboards
James Walker / bass, vocals
Todd Sears / drums, vocals
Albums:
2006 - SLYCHOSIS
1. Samuel (6:35)
2. Innerspace (4:59)
3. Dreamscapes (4:27)
4. Galactic Wormhole (5:00)
5. Wild Night In Calcutta (3:23)
6. Cyber-Evil (4:58)
7. Frosted Mini Suite (4:06)
8. Glass 1/2 Full (3:18)
9. Meltdown (5:08)
10. Space Bass (2:05)
11. Until Then (4:06)
12. EVP (5:31)
Look!!
