Music: From 'Garage Punk-Techno' to 'Tibetan Singing Bowls'

Pigslop Artists' Co-op is on Cherokee Street in South St Louis. Next August, The Luminary Center for the Arts will occupy the space, but for now about a dozen artists have studio spaces there. "Hooded Fang", one of the bands which performed in Austin, TX, at "SXSW", was on their way back to Toronto, Canada, and played for one night only at Pigslop. This writer interviewed one of the band members before they played:

Blogger: "Who are the band members and what do they play?"

April: "Alex is our drummer, Lane plays lead guitar, Daniel plays rhythm guitar and is lead singer, and I play bass guitar. We record on Daps Records (a Canadian label)."

Blogger: "How did the band get together?"

April: "A space ship crashed in the Little Portugal neighborhood of Toronto and 17 survived. The 17 members were the original band with a big sound, including a horn section. We kept trading members for pizzas and refined our sound down to three members. Then we found Lane in the attic and we four are the current band."

Blogger: "How would you describe your sound?"

April: "We have ranged from "orchestral pop" to "surf rock". We put out our records as projects, so it is hard to characterize our sound."

Blogger: "Any unique St Louis experiences you will always remember?"

April: "Yes! None of us could buy beer here. They looked at our Canadian drivers licenses and told us they were no good here (laughs)."

"Hooded Fang" went on to play a raucous, rocking set of songs. Better than double shots of espresso for the ears, their sound was loud, but polished. This blogger would describe it as "garage punk-techno". It had the listeners breaking into impromptu dance numbers---no easy feat with a St Louis audience.

"Tibetan Singing Bowls" is a signature musical piece performed by Mark Biehl. The singing bowls were invented in India in 500 B.C.E. They are comprised of an alloy of seven different forged and beaten metals. When struck, the bowls emit primordial sounds from low to high which resonate and reinforce each other. These new tonalities allegedly balance the left and right sides of the brain. The boldest assertion about them is that they make the original sound of creation.

This writer did not attain Nirvana listening to the bowls. However, the experience Mr Biehle creates with the bowls is difficult to describe. This writer would encourage you to attend a session and listen for yourself.