Sursiks music CDs. Personnel: David Minnick (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, percussion); Elenore Stepanski, Rose Broadwell, Josh Silverstein, Jim Vanbebber, Jason Hadaad (vocals); Judith Teasdle (violin); Gary Robertson (alto saxophone); Kenny Robinson ...

Sursiks discography. "The Sursiks" are 3-7 classically trained, experimental-rock-band-seasoned musicians who delight in transforming non-musical material into music. For their debut release "I didn't know I was singing, vol. 1" (2006) they mirrored the rhythms and pitches of spoken voices from real answering machine messages with instruments and singing to create 16 mind-blowing songs. Their 2nd cd "Lydia Grace" (2007) employed the same methods with the improvised speeches of a 3 year old girl. The Sursiks' ability to transform completely improvised speech into catchy, danceable, elegant and fiercely interesting songs is nothing short of sonic alchemy. The arrangements include flute, bass clarinet, trumpet, saxes, trombone, violins, drums, marimba, xylophone, bass, guitars, piano, organ as well as some home-made instruments. The Sursiks' 3rd cd, "Christmas in March", uses found recordings from tv (shows, commercials, infomercials, news), radio (dj banter, news, weather, interviews), self-help and self-hypnosis recordings, children's lps, religious recordings, political speeches, stand-up comedy routines and more as the source material for its songs. The original recordings are taken apart and re-arranged in order to create new absurd, funny and bitingly satirical narratives which creatively reflect on the very material from which they're made. But then, The Sursiks take it one step further: The spoken parts are rhythmically and melodically tied to the musical arrangements, and throughout most of the songs they RHYME! "Christmas in March" is a collection of pop-culture mashups which imitate the rhythm, phrasing and rhyme schemes of poetry and songs, set to music by a real band! Gentle listener, as you journey through this remarkable cd, you can EXPERIENCE the sexy side of pain relievers, FIND OUT how the principles of television can help your marriage, HUM ALONG to to the melodies which are hidden in obnoxious pop-radio dj laughter, BE HYPNOTIZED into becoming a vampire, MARVEL at the president's plan to build a prison on the moon, and DISCOVER the one thing which is more painful than plucking eyebrows. "Christmas in March" consists of 15 tracks which blend seamlessly into one another. (a feature common to many popular "concept" albums, I might add). Five years in the making, this is an extremely detailed, funny, energetic, complex recording which reveals something new upon each hearing. A word about the album title: The idea of Christmas in March is that of an extremely over-the-top and stupid marketing idea (related to the idea of "Christmas in July", but dumber). It represents the celebrating (or selling) of something when it is least appropriate, least wanted and not needed (You can probably think of a myriad of ways that this relates to American pop-culture and social engineering). The words "Christmas in March" do not appear in any of the tracks, but the concept underscores the entire recording.

Sursiks songs. The Sursiks have done it again! With the release of their 2nd cd: "Lydia Grace", they have sought to create an alternative to the tepid, yet irritating "kidz" music so prevalent in America today. (It seems that on CDs of such music, "kidz" are recorded singing "hitz" written FOR them by "adultz". The children, quite contrary to their natural curiosity and creativity, dutifully perform songs that they do not understand or necessarily enjoy. ) "Lydia Grace" is a collection of 13 songs actually written and sung by a 3-year-old girl. She was not told what to sing, or even what to sing about. The subjects of her "songs" and monologues often relate to the picture she was drawing or the toy she was playing with at the time. Having not yet been routinely exposed to ...

Sursiks CD discography. The Sursiks, the masters of musical reverse-engineering, have taken 16 phone messages from the answering machines of family members and friends and set them to music, largely unaltered. The messages are not simply slapped on top of pre-existing music for ...