Artist description Heavy, hard hitting techno rock with an early days alternative feel.

Music Style Hard electronic rock with a hint of club, a hint of goth, and a hint of techno

Musical Influences nin, depeche mode, faith no more, pink floyd, god lives underwater

Similar Artists depeche mode, orgy, nin

Group Members Jeff Sargent/vocals and synth Jaime Nish/keyboards Carlo Pizarro/guitar Brian Fasani/V-drums

Albums Strange Appointments

Press Reviews As the song goes, who feels it knows it. I defy anyone at his or her indoctrinary 51 Peg concert - "show" or "gig" seems feeble to describe it - to not feel it. Personally I'll go as far as to claim to know it. Because this band has got it. And the fact that they won this evening's battle of the bands proves it. Although they took the stage-as that overburdened fog machine breathed itself into its employment-as openers, the club was already populated to its evening nadir. How do you even follow an act this good? The buzzword here is professionalism--the likes of which is rare amongst a group of beginners. No famous bands on the individuals' resumes. One album to boast of - and as well they shall - released over a year ago. Nothing but an impressive work ethic in that they've played out constantly since then. which explains the live presentation. And that is what we concern ourselves with now, being that the debut was reviewed (albeit belatedly) withing these pages last month. Only the first couple of tracks and the final track are held over from number one, as number two is well on its way, and should see the she-synthist Jaime's first studio appearance with what was initially a dual guitarist/frontman/drummer configuration. Sinder Jeff Sargent makes that much more of an impression fronting the stage, returning to his keys only at choreographed inter-verse intervals. And it never hurts to have a babe in the band. The contrivance of keeping Jeff in front is to feature his vocal--another savvy move. Take Peter Murphy without the quirks, for starters. For the industrially oriented, think Clay People and Psychotica. That's right-good company. Commercial accessibility? They've got that covered, thank you - a less hammy-glammy Orgy comes to mind, but 51 Peg leaves the bubblegum on the counter and pockets the hooks instead. This mid-Maryland band considers themselves "the new breed of electronic rock", perhaps referring partly to the bass-less setup of synthesizer, guitar synth, guitar and electronic drums. Whatever. If 51 Peg is the new breed of anything, it's simply relevance in the new millennium. -S.Scruggs, Music Monthly June 2001 A room without walls. Beautifully understated gothic sensuality liberated in rock sensibility - this is the new age of industrial music. Floating limitlessness - seductively dark, sublime, and introspectively transcendent. 51 Peg is the emotional vertigo experienced through the pathos of perception. These are the sounds of a glorious mystery - the hypnotic dance of relativity inside the One. -UNSUNG HERO Sept '00*****51.peg - Promo tracks from Strange Appointments CD Interesting sound built from alt-rock guitar riffs that shift from swirling melodies to rhyhmic heaviness, subtle electronics that add an industrial flavour, and some excellent drum work (that apparently is not a drum machine). A key element to 51.peg's sound is the vocals, which are outstanding - highly melodic yet with plenty of grit. At times they remind me of something like Cold, heavy but without taking an obvious step into metal territories, sitting more in a highly ambiguous area that resists easy definition. There is a strong commercial edge to what 51.peg are doing, but with enough idiosyncracy and passion to prevent it being swallowed up into those places that Filter et al occupy. This album could do very well if these tracks are anything to go by. -Flesh Made Word Ezine, May '00*****DC'S DARK HORSE-The true cutting edge, at first, unveils itself on the sonic periphery. As the ?trickle-up? economy of sound reshapes the mainstream from the grit and dirt of the underground, the greatest ideas in music, more often than not, are born in relative obscurity. At the edge of this evolution lies the souls of bands that take quiet, giant steps?bands that know that recognition is paid for with the time it takes for their inventions to be absorbed. This being said, 51 Peg has begun assimilation. Like a hybrid vampire immune to daylight, 51 Peg has emerged from rock?s underworld to take on the mainstream, unleashing one of the year?s best indie albums in the Mid-Atlantic, ?Strange Appointments? (Attack Records). Emotionally dissecting, whip-smart, and profoundly efficient, the DC-based five-piece juices its enigmatic bite by interweaving subtle, gothic sensuality with guitar-warm electronic rock. The result? Rocktronica, of course. And, if the doors to the dungeon weren?t completely ajar already, the recent addition of keyboardist Jaime Nish has only helped to supercharge the band?s power, sound, and overall visibility. They are something to see, mind you?as I recently found out at the Metro Café (Washington DC)while immersed in a human squash-pot of ravenous fans, peering up at a sea of waving glow sticks. ?Hope,? ?Strange Appointments,? and their encore, ?Plasticity,? were just a few of the songs that marked a show that connected to everyone. It was 51 Peg?s CD release party, and?as if to align the cosmos with a new dynamic?their artistry exploded. On this night, as leaders of an unconventional movement, Jeff Sargent (Vox/Keyboards), Joe Barowy (Guitar Synth), Carlo Pizarro (Guitar), and Brian Fasani (Drums) had done much in the way of earmarking a genre. Driving back to Baltimore after the show, I felt delivered. Off went the radio, and on went 51 Peg. It was 1:30 a.m., and I remember thinking, ?Today is a good day? as the track ?Apology? poured out into my car. I mused over the evening and the interview. It went something like this. . . . Shana Baker (SB): How did the name 51 Peg come about? Carlo Pizarro (CP): (turning to Jeff) Something from when you were in prison, right? (laughter) Jeff Sargent (JS): It?s something I saw on TV. It?s an astronomy reference to a star that has planets revolving around it. SB: How long have you been together? JS: A little over two years. Since around June of ?98. SB: In 1999, the direction of your music changed. What brought on this new, 51 Peg sound? Joe Barowy (JB): It was something we all wanted . . . JS: It was kind of a leap of faith; we had to completely step back and redo the way we write. SB: What was the first step in making the change? JB: Money-wise, it took us a little while to get there?to get the equipment to bring us to this point. We thought what we needed was a keyboard. CP: Nobody was really a keyboard player, so our first experience was ?Conditioner? (Track #3/Strange Appointments). As a result of that, Jeff has become a big old keyboard freak. SB: Jeff, what type of synths do you prefer after a year of keyboarding? JB: I like stuff that?s based on the older synthesizers. I?m not really into things like, ?Are the keys weighted and crap?? I just want to get cool sounds. I like stuff that?s real versatile in its modeling so I can go in and make all the sounds all my own. What I use now is a digitally recreated analog synthesizer; I can get the sound quality like an old sixties/seventies (synth), but it?s all done digitally so it?s easier to manage and program. SB: I heard that you don?t have a bass player. How do you create that sound? Brian Fasani (BF): No tracking?we are all like one quarter of the bass player. You aren?t necessarily always hearing the bass; you?re feeling it. JB: Which really, in my opinion, is what it?s about. I base my melodies off the frequency of what I feel. SB: Was there a time when it all came together? CP: Actually, there was a practice where we finally all had the stuff. We hadn?t written any new songs; it was really weird and kind of scary. We all wanted to incorporate this (keyboards) into our sound but we didn?t know how. We kind of looked at each other like, ?Well, what now?!? I remember that practice because out came ?Conditioner.? That was like the coolest thing; we then wrote about six songs that week. BF: Yeah?we had shows scheduled and no bass player. We were totally flying by the seat of our pants. SB: Do you have a formula for writing songs? JS: We just turn our shit on and go. That?s the best I can describe it. Every now and then somebody will yell, ?Hey, listen to this!?, but almost everything we use happens in the presence of all four of us. We jam until someone says that?s neat. SB: When I listened to the new CD, ?Strange Appointments,? none of it sounded ?tried.? JB: That?s because we don?t know what we?re doing. (Laughter) JS: It?s all built around reckless abandon. I mean, it?s the ?we don?t have a bass player, and we?ll do it without one? feeling that fostered the attitude in the first place: do whatever?as long as it sounds full. SB: Do you ever miss the presence of an actual bass player? JS: The first couple of times that we didn?t have a bass player was kind of weird; there?s a certain vibration you?re used too?the way it makes the walls rattle. We started feeling better when we started making the walls rattle. SB: It sounds as if this has challenged each of you. JB: Oh, yeah. No one is who they are. You?ll see Carlo and I with guitars in our hand, Jeff on keyboards, and Brian on drums; but everyone?s had to go way beyond being just a drummer, guitarist, or singer. Everyone has at least two jobs now. SB: Where did you record? CP: We recorded at Phase One studios in Toronto. It was a totally laid back vibe with unbelievable gear, lots of gold and platinum records on the walls, and a boy band we called ?the backside boys? recording in the next room. SB: What was it like recording in Canada? CP: The recording experience in Canada was great, but, for the most part, all we saw was the inside of the studio. Canada is like being in ?bizarro world?? it?s just like the U.S., but different. SB: I heard crossing the border was an experience? CP: Basically, we were held at the border for four hours in the middle of the night and treated like criminals. They made us pay a ridiculous amount of money to cross and threatened to send us back. Yet they never even checked our bags or equipment. So, needless to say, our chemical weapons made it across safely. SB: How long did it take to record? CP: It took us 16 days, 15-hours-a-day to record. We had lots of gas, watched Canadian MTV, and played the hell out of the Elton John pinball game. -UNSUNG HERO NOV '00*****If they ever make a television series based on The Crow, 51 Peg could easily be a featured artist on the soundtrack. In their own words, the band's music consists of "contemplative lyrics delivered with a fist-in-your-face power." Actually, they sound like dramatic Goth rock with NIN-sounding production and a radio-ready vocalist who has the ability to turn the word "away" into the word "awayayayayayayayeah." - Eric S., Listen.comHard Electronic Rock from this diverse collection of musicians opens the New Year in style! From the opening track 'Apology', the tone is set on this deeply rooted record. Swirling synth kicks and a barrage of guitars take this album to extraordinary new heights. Unlike most electronic rock acts, 51 PEG's main goal is not to make you dance the night away...oh no...their goal is simple...prepare to meet thy maker! With other incredible singles such as Conditioned Addendum, Dust & Grind and Conditioner...51 PEG could very well be the next household name in North American alternative music. Oh did I say could be...I meant will be! -Luke Patcha, Faze Magazine*****THE GUYS IN 51 PEG ARE BECOMING BONAFIDE STARS IN THE D.C. MUSIC SCENE. Not everyone's heard them, but everyone's heard of them. The buzz surrounding their so-called 'new' electronic sound continues, but the guys are not surprised. They know that every music scene has its own hazing rituals, and they're so far successfully navigating all the D.C. has to throw their way. Armed with a new recored and a new sound, 51 Peg has a new lease on local music. The band's hard-edged, synth-driven rock sound is difficult to categorize. Incorporating elements of drumnbass and a touch of glam-gloth, 51 Peg's sound is dark, the lyrics serious, and the direction acutely focused. "People are skeptical because we use a lot of computerized instruments and a lot of strange digital stuff," frontman Jeff Sargent explains, "and I can understand that, because I used to be really prejudiced against electronic music. I used to think it was a cop out, people who didn't really want to work or who weren't good on their instruments. We'd make fun of the bands that had keyboards. But the thing is, I always liked electronic music, so here I am, making music like this." The band formed in 1998 and gained an immediate local presence --in fact, 51 Peg was one of the last bands to play the Bayou at the end of that year, just before that historic DC music venue closed. Last summer.... opting for more technology-embracing musical methods...the digital deal was sealed when drummer Brian Fasani purchased V-drums. Electronic drums became popular in recent decades...because they can be programmed to sound exactly like real drums. But as Sargent explains, 51 Peg's approach is different. "Brian's attitude is what kind of sounds can I get out of these things to sound nothing like real drums." Having made the creative (not to mention expensive) commitment to electronic drums, 51 Peg set out to record their debut full-length record, "Strange Appointments." Guitar player Carlo Pizarro recounts the band's courtship with their current label. With no recordings under their belt and wrestling with a new sound, the band's manager Cindy Beam got the attention of Attack Records. "They wanted to hear the new stuff, and we hadn't recorded anything. So they said to us 'just record it on a boombox and send it to us.' And we did, and they dug the vibe." Within three weeks, 51 Peg was on their way to Phase One Studios in Toronto, Canada to record. Phase One is one of the more prominent studios in Canada, or anywhere for that matter. Alumni include KISS, Alice Cooper, Whitesnake and Canadian '80s rockers Glass Tiger. Pizarro recalls, "it was cool because there were all these gold and platinum records in the place." Producer Mark S. Berry and engineer Dave Tedesco contrasted the band's high-tech sound with lo-tech recording techniques. "There were no modern computer recording techniques involved. It was all old-school." ...Locally the band will be celebrating its release wih a party and performance at the Metro Cafe, at an event sponsored by Localmusic.com... 51 Peg was one of the first bands to contact Localmusic.com when the company opened for business in DC... Though there are advocate for artists within the scene, Pizarro believes that the media, specifically commercial radio, could do more to expose a large audience to local music. Often relegated to late-night Sunday shows, metro area music doesn't reach a lot of people who might be interested. "Why not run a song [from a local band] once an hour? Once every two hours? Throw it in with whatever the hell is hot right now. Who's to say that people aren't going to call and request this?" Second guitarist Joe Barowy sees a different area for improvement. Whereas commercial and national playlists are painstakingly developed to create smooth genre transitions and organize the music according to that timeslot's audience. "You don't get that [level of order] with local music -- [the stations] pretty much put you on a roller coaster and it's not very enjoyable to the ears." But Barowy also concedes that the current level of support will only improve and grow as the artists in the scene improve and grow. "There are a lot of bands coming out of this area, the scene's getting pumped--it's great, man--put DC back on the map." In the midst of the ever-expanding local community of artists, 51 Peg is using their experience in rock to give electronic music something extra. In the near future, they expect to collaborate more closely with DJs mixing electronic sounds and samples to create something new. "Wee want people to get the vibe. We got people breaking out the mix. The bottom line is we try to wrap all these crazy sound up into a song." -SNAP POP, July '00

Additional Info The album STRANGE APPOINTMENTS is available on our website www.51peg.com

Location Washington, DC - USA

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