"What kind of music do you play?"

Tyrannovox @ Crane Farm (7/24/2010). Photo by David Loomis. Undeniable charisma by Raymond Crane.


Hello, there. Ken here.

I don't know about the other guys in the band, but there's one question I get asked a lot: "What kind of music do you play?"*

It's very hard for us to describe our own music. I know it's a stereotype, and you've probably heard it before. Ask a musician what he plays, and he'll go into a long, stammering speech about the 46 different genres he incorporates into his playing. The short explanation is that it's just not something that we've thought about very hard. But it's also something that we shouldn't think about very hard.

Allow me to explain. When Raymond, Mike, and I first convened a long time ago, we didn't know what kind of music we were going to make. We each brought our own skills and tastes with us, and we tried to keep an ear out for what was meshing and what wasn't. Our earliest music was born of that process. We never gave it a name, and we didn't set out to make music that fit within a certain category. We just tried to let it happen.

I think it's for the best that we can't easily describe what we do. If we had set out to make music with a certain genre in mind, then we might have rejected some very good material. Genres separate the stuff that fits in from the stuff that doesn't. For us, whatever fits in is whatever sounds good to us. If we were to decide what our music is (and what it isn't), then we might lose that freedom. We might start accepting and rejecting stuff based on whether or not it "fits in" with the category we're striving for, rather than using our own sense of what's good and what isn't.

For that reason, I just call it "rock." It's broad, but it seems to cover the most common ground. If you want a more elaborate answer, you can listen to our songs on the left side of this page.

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Don't forget about our show at The Loft this Wednesday. Check out the details in this post.

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*It's right up there with "You're the one in that Tyrannosaurus band, right?"

We're not worthy!

Alice Cooper, holding the disembodied head of Mike Loomis. Photo taken by Mike's decapitated body.


Hey, folks. Ken here.

Latest update on the contest to open for Kiss: we are currently in 54th place, just a scant 1,772 votes behind the contest leader. It's in the bag, baby!

Congratulations to Mike for his chance run-in with Alice Cooper just a few days ago. Alice rocked Lansing at Common Ground last Friday, and spent the following morning at the golf course where Mike works. Alice chipped a ball out of the rough onto the green, then chopped Mike's head off in celebration.

Hopefully Mike will be okay for the farm show on Saturday the 24th. Check the deets at this post.

We also have another upcoming date at The Loft, where we'll be playing on Wednesday the 28th. Music Manor is sponsoring the evening's entertainment, so it looks like it's going to be a big one. The cover is $7 for ages 18-20 and $5 for ages 21+. Doors open at 8PM.

The Loft is located above the Harem Urban Lounge at:
414 E Michigan Ave
Lansing, MI 48933

Here's the flier for the show:

Help us open for Kiss in Detroit!

Ken here.

Raymond has enrolled us in a contest to open a show in Detroit for the little-known rock band Kiss. We'd love the opportunity to do this, but we need the help of all you folks in Internet Land.

First, visit this link. Click on the yellow button that says DEMAND IT, which is off to the right side of the page. That's it!

The band currently in the lead has only 1,000-some votes, so this should be a simple matter.

Middle-of-July update.

Tyrannovox @ Oade's Hidden Camel (7/9/2010). Once again, photo by David Loomis, who crucially combines taking pictures with posting them on Facebook.


Ken here.

Our show at Oade's on Friday was a smashing success, which--we are thrilled to announce--was captured in a soundboard recording. We hope to make that available soon.

Also, next time you're there, take a look at the ceiling tiles above the stage. You might catch a glimpse of this:




















Our gig at the Double Six yielded more mixed results. Other bands welshed out, strings broke, crowds shrank, brake lines leaked, and so on. Nevertheless, the enthusiasts who made it out seemed to have a good time. You win some and you kind-of-win some.

Don't forget: our next show is the farm party on the 24th. Mark your calendars and check the deets in the previous post.

First!

Tyrannovox @ Oade's Hidden Camel (6/11/2010). Photo heartlessly purloined from David Loomis.


Howdy, folks. Ken here.

This is the first post on our new website. We have a presence here and there around the Internet, but this place will hopefully be the one-stop resource for all things Tyrannovox. That's tie-RAN-oh-voks, for all you n00bs out there.

("Terrible, powerful voice." Latin. Look into it.)

We can still be found on Facebook and MySpace, though the MySpace page may be of interest to historians only. MySpace is kind of like the DMV: frustrating, unfriendly, and jammed full of ugly.

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Schedule of upcoming shows:

On July 9, we'll be returning to one of our favorite venues, Oade's Hidden Camel. These things are always touch-and-go, but our set time here tends to be around 10pm. Show up early and grab plenty of drinks.

Our set will be part of a birthday celebration for their sound engineer. I'm not sure I remember his name at the moment, but he does a terrific job. Hopefully there's a rowdy turnout in his honor.

For anybody who's never been to Oade's, the address is:
1210 S Washington Ave
Lansing, MI 48901


On July 11, we'll be playing our second show at the Double Six, located in Adam's hometown of Stanton. Stanton is a bit out of the way, but if you're out there, the Double Six is the place to be.

I'm told this is a benefit show of some sort, though I'm not sure what about. Hopefully something cool, like bears. Or chimpanzees. Or bears vs. chimpanzees.

Festivities at the Double Six tend to begin at around 9:30. If the bears and the chimpanzees don't bring in the crowd, surely Adam will.

The Double Six can be found at:
4680 N Sheridan Rd M-66
Stanton, MI 48888


In the evening of July 24, Raymond is putting together a party on his family farm. If you like hay, beer, tractors, barns, and live music, this might just be the best night of your life.

Raymond will be pulling double duty with us and Occasus, one of his several musical projects. Come out and make some noise to keep him going.

This show will be located in the pole barn at:
W State Rd & S DeWitt Rd
Lansing, MI 48906