Artist description Ronnie Neuhauser's Congregation Against Styrocultural Brain Damage is an amalgamation of musical styles presenting socio-political observations. This work encompasses elements of rock opera, soul, jazz, avant garde, and spoken word. All of which are presented in a nontraditional style. While Congregation's name provides a mouthful it is matched by a musical earful. The CD's cerebral assault is thematically broken into four acts. The myriad of genres in this CD tell a musical story beginning with Act I's, "Convocation for the Disgruntled," which is a calling of folks embroiled in frustration. The curtain rises on "Bile from the Belly of a Jackal" and presents a portrait of power villains in a decayed society. No sooner is Act II complete when Neuhauser delves into Act III's questions of spirituality and love, "The Unanswered Question." The last act, "Styrocultural Antidote," draws on Neuhauser's vision of a utopic musical environment where music becomes unboxed and diversity and eclectism is valued.

Music Style Rock-Avant Garde-Concept CD

Musical Influences Frank Zappa, Edgar Varese, Allan Holdsworth, Charles Ives, Gospel, Fishbone, Tower of Power, THE AVANT GARDE!

Similar Artists You decide!

Artist History Ron Neuhauser's songwriting has received recognition in the 1999 Songwriters Association of Washington, DC. He placed first with his jazz composition, "Dr. Sus." His guitar playing was described by Northeast Performer as being "Deadly"! He was also recognized as one of the leading bands in the "New Haven Advocate's" Grand Band Slam/Sounds of New Haven for his rock/funk project, "Grooveyard." Neuhauser's interest in soci-political issues became the seeds for his new project, "Congregation Against Styrocultural Brain Damage." Neuhauser's Congregation sets the stage for a mosaic musical experience, rock-fusion-opera! Neuhauser's dream is to provide a forum where commercialism takes a back seat to sharing art, "The music business isn't about promoting art--it's about promoting superstardom--music is now just the vehicle and it's an old broken down Pinto."

Group Members Ronnie Neuhauser-Guitar's and oddities, Jeff Halloran-Vocals, Marie Gisonni-Vocals, Dean Kosh-Drums, Jon Clarke-Bass, Drew Willmott-Trumpet, Fred Scerbo-Saxaphone, Christian Geith-Keyboards. Plus strange people doing things that are not acceptable to mainstream America!

Instruments See above

Press Reviews Check out the "House Of Shred" webzine's review and interview of me at www.houseofshred.com -- The Fairfield County Weekly / Music -- Umm, yeah. this is one of those bizarre entities that confound and befuddle. I'd geuss you'd loosely refer to it as a rock opera. It has four acts, 22 tracks and a cast of 17. I suspect it's about the horrors of corporate America and about how democracy and humanity have been gobbled up--like maybe commerce is the new religion or something like that. There's a Government Pork Informer, The Commander n' Thief and several Malcontents, along with "Non-Conformist Bellows of Disapproval." Although I admit to a pre-conceived notion that Neuhauser was a talking head for the radical fringe, his soundtrack for reform is pretty coherent. And it's not just an elaborate ploy to mask a lack of talent--the music is good. Rock, R&B, funk, and lots of big band horns. And there are pleasant surprises here and there like the suave, latin-flavored guitar riffs and smoky beats in the midst of "Congregation."Act two "Bile from the Belly of a Jackal" has some real sociopolitical gems. The spoken word"I Am the Media" makes some great points about mainstream sensationalistic brainwashing, which is why we here at the alternative press work for next to nothing to save our souls; and Neuhauser is good at making zealous, radical points in a witty, well-organized way so as not to scare the moderates among us. "Tax Monster" is really funny and unfortunately all too true; it's about what our tax money goes toward--like studies on public approval of beets. One of my favorites is "Lust in Oval Space," which is a very beatnik experimental spoken-word piece, interspersed with tight and noodley guitar solos, featuring a presidential impersonation claiming, "I did not sexually harass that small breasted woman." It's an ambitious project and a surprisingly successful one. Can you imagine this guy live?

Additional Info CD available at www.amazon.com or www.nocheez.com Photography by Studio Duda

Location East Haven, CT` - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).