Hamster Theatre

   
Artist: Hamster Theatre

   Genre(s): 
Other
   Rock
   

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Discography:


   
 Quasi Day Room CD2

   Year: 2006   
Tracks: 15


   
 Carnival Detournement

   Year: 2001   
Tracks: 16


   
 Siege On Hamburger City

   Year: 1998   
Tracks: 12

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The Boulder, CO-based Hamster Theatre were founded in 1993, emerging from the musical mental imagery of Dave Willey, an American accordionist/composer skilled in a wide variety of instruments world Health Organization had lived for a fourth dimension in Europe and found himself attracted to the music of Lars Hollmer, Nimal, and standardised Rock in Opposition-related artists wHO blending elements of rock, European folk music, new wave experimentation, and modern composition. Returning to the States, he recorded and released a solo cassette entitled Songs from the Hamster Theatre (reissued on CD by the Prolific label in 1995), and the Hamster Theatre saga was underway.


In 1993, like-minded keyboardist/trombonist Jon Stubbs coupled with Willey as co-leader of the new band named Hamster Theatre, formed to spiel Willey's compositions live. Hamster Theatre featured Willey in the first place on keyboards, guitar, and melodeon and Stubbs on bass -- the mathematical group would see itself perennially challenged to observe a bassist world Health Organization would stick around very long -- with an array of extra musicians (including vocalizer Deborah Perry) on keyboards, saxophone, fluting, and drums. The mathematical group gigged around Colorado bars and coffeehouses, simply away from Willey and Stubbs this Hamsters lineup finally would non last.


By 1996 Willey and Perry had coupled the Denver-based avant-prog dance band Thinking Plague, which as well included guitar player Mike Johnson and beating-reed instrument participant Mark Harris. That year Willey and Stubbs recruited Johnson and Harris to unite a re-formed Hamster Theatre along with newcomers Mike Fitzmaurice on bass and Raoul Rossiter on drums. This sextet batting order of Hamster Theatre recorded the live CD Military blockade on Hamburger City at Denver's Mercury Café in 1998.


The mathematical group future undertook its most ambitious project to particular date, the Carnival Detournement album released by the Cuneiform label in 2001. The album was recorded in Colorado with Willey and Stubbs on a hoi polloi of instruments; supporting from the other Hamsters Harris, Johnson, Fitzmaurice, and Rossiter; and additional contributions from tetrad edgar Albert Guest musicians. Thinking Plague cofounder Bob Drake mixed the record album at his Studio Midi Pyrennes in France. Although on the Hamster Theatre site misgivings ar expressed from Willey and Stubbs around their decision "to kettle of fish with Bob's master, significantly squashing the sonic palette he had created," Fair Detournement was still released to considerable critical hail for its melodic, atmospherical, moody, and unpredictable portmanteau word of modernistic classic, avant rock, and European folk music influences.


In August of 2002, Hamster Theatre were invited to perform at Seattle's Progman Cometh fete held at that city's Moore Theatre -- the issue featured a number of Canterbury scene headliners simply by a number of accounts the Hamsters (at present featuring bassist Brian McDougall as a replacement for Fitzmaurice) closely stole the demonstrate. For those ineffective to go to the fete, the band's functioning was included on the moment saucer of the Populace Execution of Mister Personality/Quasi Day Room two-CD set released by Cuneiform in May 2006. Mr Personality/Quasi Day Room likewise includes a studio disc featuring fresh compositions mainly by Willey and Stubbs, some written for modern dancing and multimedia performances. The resilient and studio discs were both mixed and down pat by Drake, and this clock time Willey and Stubbs promised no sonic squashing.


In the meantime, bassists have continued to come in and exit through Hamster Theatre's revolving doorway. Between the Hamsters' Progman Cometh performance and the transcription of the Mr Personality studio tracks, McDougall foregone the ring and was replaced by Matt Spencer. However, Spencer appears on only 1 piece on the CD, Mike Johnson's mini-opus "Oye Comatose," and Willey handles the bass duties all over else. Spencer has reportedly since gone for California; apparently as yet some other bassist is standing in the recruitment line to hold up down the lowly notes during the Hamsters' planned appearance at North Carolina's ProgDay festival in September 2006.