Artist description From the April 19th Baltimore City Paper: Seeing Skywheel live helps explain why the band defies description and commands notice. A turntablist appears onstage amid a huge, billowing cloud of white smoke. Behind him, a huge screen broadcasts erratically edited images. The DJ begins scratching out a funky beat and throwing out recognizable sonic bits, establishing an eerie atmosphere. Soon after, the rhythm section appears -- the bassist sets up a deep groove as the drummer kicks into a deceptively simple rhythm. They are joined moments later by a guitarist, who introduces a power riff and leads the players into Skywheel's version of melody. Next comes a female singer: Her fluent mezzo rises to a delicate wail that gently yet memorably fills the hall. And when, finally, the group's male vocalist appears, all hell breaks loose. The band launches a musical maelstrom, a chaotic assault of sight, sound, and even smell (plenty of dry ice on hand, you see) that beats a grateful audience into submission.

Music Style psychoalternalectradelic

Musical Influences Massive Attack, the Police, X, Queen, Goldie, Grooverider

Similar Artists Pink Floyd, Massive Attack, the Police, X, Queen, Goldie, Grooverider

Artist History Great Mutant Skywheel's story begins at the City Diner, a now-defunct Mount Vernon eatery. In 1997, Lizzy Dean Holyfield was managing the diner, and Christopher Mandra, Sean P. Finn, and Jamie Kelly were Peabody Conservatory students who'd stopped in to get a bite to eat after a gig with their band Termite. Conversation led to a joining of forces -- Holyfield, a singer, was interested in starting jam sessions, just as an experiment, and his new friends were game for the adventure. "We had no idea what was going to happen," Kelly says, but the informal alt-rock-flavored jam sessions -- with Mandra on lead guitar, Finn on bass, Kelly on drums, and Holyfield providing bombastic vocals -- lasted for about a year. At one point, the musicians toyed with the notion of employing two drummers, but that idea was quickly ditched: "One drummer . . . is enough," Holyfield explains. Still, he wanted the music to be polyrhythmic, so he brought in a DJ friend, N'Dinga Gaba, to add a percussive rush of another sort. Soon, they decided it would be cool to also have a "girl singer"; Holyfield found Aimee Real.It was in the summer of 1999 that the informal side project turned serious. "There was nothing formulated about it," Holyfield recalls. "We just realized that we had something, and it worked."Since then, Skywheel, with the addition of VJ (video jockey, that is) Brad Grochowski, has gigged steadily throughout Baltimore, shocking the shit out of audiences with its singular sound. (For lack of a better description, the band labels its trippy mix of funk, rock, electronic, and ambient sounds as "psychalternalectradelic.")

Group Members Aimee Real - Vox Feminine Lizzy Dean Holyfield - Vox Masculine N'dinga Gaba - DJ and efx Chris Mandra - Guitar and efx Sean Finnn Bass and efx Jamie Kelley - Drums and Perc. Brad Grochowski - VJ

Instruments Guitar, Bass, Drums, DJ, VJ, Huge Male Singer, Petite Female Singer

Albums Glimpse at the Reflecting Pool

Press Reviews Unsung Hero Magazine Review April, 2000 BAND: Great Mutant SkywheelDISC: Glimpse at the Reflecting Pool Brilliance at the edge of Etherea I'm stunned. I mean, I am fucking floored. The theory behind this butterfly is so unbelievably complex-yet so collectively accessible, that a musical oxymoron has been created:"Music for the ages." Layers of mutually divergent chord progressions shoot out into the cosmos as they simultaneously converge, creating a singularity that can only be described as Etherea: quasi-cultural, soul-derived timelessness. This is a journey to genius. ***************April 2000, CD ReviewGreat Mutant Skywheel: G1impse at the Reflecting Pool Rock bands with DJs are becoming an increasingly less likely lot in modern music. This is, after all, a new millennium and the electronic revolution is nearly a decade old. Even here in blue collar, ?rock corner bar - culture? Baltimore, where you can count the happening (read: not top 40) hard core dance clubs on one hand (with fingers to spare), the live music scene is showing signs of getting a clue. Lake Trout, initially a sonically adventurous "roots" ensemble, has incorporated scratches and samples, as well as up-to-date spin-off Big in Japan. And borderline progressive-rock Great Mutant Skywheel, they of the apt moniker, begin their career with the same aesthetic. DJ N?Dinga is not crucial to this release, but he is the ace-in-the-hole live, especially as the trippy sound track to the concert-opening slide and light show. His subtle jungle sensibilities bring the ambitious space-art rock firmly into the new; the resulting sound collage qualifies them as the most sonically ambitious and impressive act in town.?Get Back In? is the lead track as well as the unusual post-multimedia set opener, serving to introduce the study-in contrast dual-lead vocal gimmick (courtesy of frontpersons Lizzy Dean Holyfield and Nicole Adema) as well as the existence of an Enigma influence - ?Shadows ln Silence? in particular. ?Shape of Things to Come? is not only reminiscent of The Yardbirds in the song title - ?Confused? psychedelia of the guitar solo just about gets the songs rock on. ?Some Other Day? slows down the proceedings to a lower key, with dominant pseudo-soul vocals by Nicole. The guitar synthesizer keeps things interesting in an anachronistic way, bringing to mind early ?80s Cure. ?Reassured? busts the decks for the first time; instrumentally, disjointed guitars and vocals liven-up a jazz-funk back. More DJ dominance opens ?Sincerely?, bringing Portisheadish samples. Otherwise, the mellow-softest point on the disk. After which, about halfway through, things are still picking up. ?Glimpse at the Reflecting Pool? is the first of the two tracks that will be reprised via remix; although in this case the original version is preferable to NDinga?s overlong ambient minimalism. Here, rather Pink Floyd bass is matched against Holyfield's effects-laden Electric Hellfire Club (!) pseudo-evil vocal turn. More pastiche than song, and quite compelling over all. In opposition ?Standing at the Top Again?and its companion remix (by non-band member Neoverse). It?s original presentation remains the most conventional-catchy song structure on the CD, boasting an actual chorus, going back to ?Shape of Things to Come? rockout guitar domination. The female vocals are Eastern-tinged, as is the guitar line, with a near-classical solo (the result of formal training?) Mr. Holyfield goes all Peter Murphy-meets-Jello Biafra, managing to out-schlock his performance of the previous track. My only problem with this track is bass underrepresentation, as Sean P. Finn is well-trained to match the talent of guitarist Chris Mandra. As for the big rockist Break Beat Remix, a Front 242-ish sampling technique incorporates a Sam Kinnison vocal over-the-topness. Go figureFinally, Neoverses personal track, ?Dream State,? continues the Front 242/enigma/ Eastern comparisons, while DJ NDinga?s ?The Journey of Dawn? has Goldie and BT all over it. That, of course, is a compliment. - Stone Scruggs

Additional Info 1. We have a reputation - for being one of the nicest bands in Baltimore - We also book Thursday nights at the 13th Floor in Balt. If you're 21, admission is FREE!

Location Baltimore, MD - USA

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