The Molecules
Encyclopedia
The Molecules or Molecules is a band.
Ron Anderson formed the Molecules with Chris Millner and Tom Scandura in 1990, a “hyper-brid” style of music, that combined free improvised noise and notes with tightly arranged angular songs. The trio, led by Ron, became known for its frantic shows and bombastic mixture of prog-rock, no wave
, noise
and punk
.
The Molecules played the local San Francisco Bay Area scene relentlessly, including participation in the Bay Area Second Annual Improvised Music Festival, and performances with Elliott Sharp
, Sun City Girls
, and locals Caroliner Rainbow, Three Day Stubble, Splatter Trio, and Pluto to name a few. They also opened local shows for the Japan
ese noise acts Boredoms, Ruins, Zeni Geva, Omieda Hatoba, Melt Banana, Space Streakings, CCCC, and Merzbow.
The Molecules recorded six CDs and toured the USA, Europe
and Japan many times.
In 1996 John Shiurba became the third bass player for the group after their Japanese and second bassist Ryo was denied entry back into the United States by U.S. Customs.
After some years of not performing The Molecules did a concert in San Francisco in April 2006 and decided to release a CD of new music and a DVD
of past performances. The release date was January 2007, which was followed by a West Coast tour from San Francisco to Vancouver, Canada on February 7th. Starting May 7th a tour of clubs and festivals in Europe, including the Musique Action Festival in Nancy, France and Festival Terra Terma in Cherbourg, France. The Molecules toured Europe again in November 2007 with concerts in Germany,Switzerland and the Music Unlimited Festival, Wels, Austria.
Ron Anderson formed the Molecules with Chris Millner and Tom Scandura in 1990, a “hyper-brid” style of music, that combined free improvised noise and notes with tightly arranged angular songs. The trio, led by Ron, became known for its frantic shows and bombastic mixture of prog-rock, no wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
, noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
.
The Molecules played the local San Francisco Bay Area scene relentlessly, including participation in the Bay Area Second Annual Improvised Music Festival, and performances with Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer.A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released over eighty-five recordings ranging from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock,...
, Sun City Girls
Sun City Girls
The Sun City Girls were an American experimental rock band, formed in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1981 the group consisted of Alan Bishop , his brother Richard Bishop , and the late Charles Gocher . Their name was inspired by Sun City, Arizona, an Arizona retirement community...
, and locals Caroliner Rainbow, Three Day Stubble, Splatter Trio, and Pluto to name a few. They also opened local shows for the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese noise acts Boredoms, Ruins, Zeni Geva, Omieda Hatoba, Melt Banana, Space Streakings, CCCC, and Merzbow.
The Molecules recorded six CDs and toured the USA, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Japan many times.
In 1996 John Shiurba became the third bass player for the group after their Japanese and second bassist Ryo was denied entry back into the United States by U.S. Customs.
After some years of not performing The Molecules did a concert in San Francisco in April 2006 and decided to release a CD of new music and a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of past performances. The release date was January 2007, which was followed by a West Coast tour from San Francisco to Vancouver, Canada on February 7th. Starting May 7th a tour of clubs and festivals in Europe, including the Musique Action Festival in Nancy, France and Festival Terra Terma in Cherbourg, France. The Molecules toured Europe again in November 2007 with concerts in Germany,Switzerland and the Music Unlimited Festival, Wels, Austria.