Artist description eclectic fusion of everything we have ever heard ..top notch musicianship and brave mixes ..different from anything you have ever experienced ..unafraid to be uncool we are lo-fi we are hi-fi .. we will make you think.

Music Style this is progressive music: eclectic and personal

Musical Influences steve winwood, carlos, miles, jimi, srv, david bowie, michael hedges, joni, paul desmond, eric, jimmy, utopia, danny elfman, robbie krieger, pat metheny, rtf, weather report, polly jean, black francis, carole king, duane, dicky, sonny landreth, herb ellis, joe pass, tuck andress, allan holdsworth, the pyschedelic furs, muddy waters, robert johnson, eric johnson, joe satriani, brian eno, hit me, buck dharma, the tubes, todd rundgren, utopia,the residents, snakefinger, the ohio players, mx80 sound, steven stills, steve reich, trey gunn, bob marley, fela kuti, mannu katche, slave, steve howe, heatwave, crack the sky (!), shakti, buddy emmons,steve hackett, steve hillage, steve morse, mahavishnu, larry coryell, larry carlton, david gilmore, the talking heads, adrian belew, robert fripp, jeff beck, oscar peterson, john coltrane, the bird, django, steve tibbetts, brian eno, john cage, ( keith hinton, donna moore, rick bashore- my guitar teachers), neil young, burt bacharach,stevie wonder,elvis costello, poison ivy and lux, and john phillip sousa.

Similar Artists radiohead, floyd, king crimson, eno

Artist History trial balloon has released two full length albums.. the first was "fool one another" 1998.. and the second was "ice" 1999..

Group Members ALEX SATOR...guitar, bass and vocals; LAYNE LOXLEY....drums and vocals.

Instruments guitar, drums, bass, keys, and vocals.

Albums "fool one another"(1998) and "ice"(1999)

Press Reviews see cdBaby.com/tb and cdbaby.com/trialb2 for an extensive listing of reviews....******************** BRYAN BAKER for GAJOOB.com .. "this is one of those albums that jumps out instantly as a mighty welcome suprise at GAJOOB. DEFINITELY ONE OF THE TOP RELEASES THIS YEAR OR ANY OTHER." ****************** DEREK SIVERS, president of cdbaby and hit media.. "trial balloon has always stood out to me as one of the best of the best.."******************** JIM BROWN...'THE FACELESS UNDERGROUND' fIVE STARS! that's right this badboy gets five count em five stars. i don't care if you never download anything off of this site.. all i ask is for you to download this baby.. it will quickly make it's way into your daily rotation.. it will likely blow your mind that a song like this could come from a local band.. Trial Balloon.. how would you describe them? to the best of my ability i would say that they have the most original, ear pleasing, escape from reality music i have ever heard.. i don't have my hands on this cd right now but you can bet on the fact that i will shortly.. i am a hardcore fan but i absolutely love these guys. i have listened to their mp3 "ice" god knows, one hundred times. i love em and i think you will too! ************************ JERRY KRANITZ OF THE PROGRESSIVE ROCK PAGE AND THE MAGAZINE "AURAL INNOVATIONS," WINTER 2000 ISSUE....Dayton, Ohio's Trial Balloon follows up last year's "Fool One Another" with more of the band's variations on psychedelia andfull blown acid rock. While "Fool One Another" had Pink Floyd and bluesy influences, "Ice" features much heavier metallic acidguitar and some good old rockin' flash from axe-meister Alex Sator. Sator plays guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals, andwrote all the songs, Layne Loxley plays drums, keyboards, and vocals, and Buzz Pitman contributes vocals. The album opens and closes on a light note with the opening track, "To Dayton With Love", serving as a light romantic guitarintro. And "Are You Happy" is an acoustic guitar piece that bids farewell. In between is plenty of shredding and rocking thatshould endear Trial Balloon to all fans of heavy rockin' psychedelia. "Small" and "Crybabies" are great rockin' psych songs with a bit of a pop edge. On "Small" the vocals and the song itself soundlike Simple Minds but the music is chainsaw guitar psych. It's got a catchy pop feel but the music is mucho crunchy."Crybabies" is similar with it's freakout metallic psych guitar but rather than the Simple Minds comparison I was reminded of theStooges. These tunes are HOT and are my runaway favorites on the disc. "Home" is a short looped guitar psych tune, and"Demons" is a floating psych tune with multiple electric and acoustic guitars. The title track is an 18 minute extended guitar jam that along with the rest of this disc features Sator's varied guitar interests.The pounding tribal drums are very much in the forefront while Sator's guitar jams along. I hear Pink Floydish soloing but Satoradds some rockin' fiery shred to the mix. I also hear some Crimson-like rhythms circa Thrak but with Sator playing blazingsolos along with it. The bands 1998 release "Fool One Another" featured Sator's various guitar personalities and on "Ice" wehear more of his psychedelic trip guitar but with considerably more flash. Great stuff. But this isn't just a chance to show off aswe hear lots of cool sounds and some funky bass. The last minutes of the song wind down on a quiet note to ease the listenerinto dreamland after the lengthy paisley headbangin' ride. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I like Ice or Fool One Another better as both albums seem necessary to give an overallidea of what this band's music is all about. Stylistically varied, but still coherent. Fans of heavier trip-rockin' psych will probablywant to start with Ice. PLEASE VISIT JERRY!!! ****************************** ...IMPACT WEEKLY-- BY JOHN WENZEL... JUNE 26, 2000... Trial Balloon Ice Self-Released Trial Balloon caused somewhat of a stir last year by winning Impact Weekly’s award for Best Local Band in Dayton. The controversy stemmed from the fact that the band—which is essentially guitarist/singer/songwriter Alex Sator—had never played a live show in Dayton and was virtually unknown otherwise. How fitting, then, that the first track on Trial Balloon’s latest album Ice is entitled “To Dayton, with Love.” The 45-second guitar instrumental is somber and sweet, conveying a sense of detachment from its surroundings. One can only wonder in which direction Sator wishes the listener to draw parallels, since most of the songs on Ice seem to be about his mercurial relationship with Dayton. “Small,” the first proper tune, is a vaguely British sludge-rocker with spinning vocals and slightly detuned guitars. Backed by a solid rhythm section throughout, Sator accentuates each beat with deftly woven feedback and chugging, muted chords. His penchant for excessive soloing comes to the forefront of the ambitious title track, which is clearly intended as the centerpiece of the album. “Ice” at first sounds restrained and atmospheric, but it eventually reveals itself to be a laborious exercise in scales and high notes. Sator is an inarguably skilled guitarist, but an 18-minute instrumental may be a sign that he’s taking himself too seriously. The rest of the songs cover a variety of genres, with an emphasis on psychedelic rock. The menacing distortion of “Crybabies” and the light acoustic flourishes of the lo-fi “Demons” complement each other perfectly. He ends the album with another somber instrumental guitar track, bringing a certain degree of thematic unity to Ice. Sator’s ability to coax wonderful textures from his instruments is sometimes marred by his scattered approach, but I would never fault him for making exactly the kind of music he wants to hear. If only the songs were as strong Sator’s confidence in himself, Ice would be his best argument for an audience. - JOHN WENZEL.. ALSO @ NOBODY.SH !!

Location west milton, ohio - USA

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