The Invincible Czars
| Status |
Leila is writing a Nutcracker newsletter! Whee.
|
|
Join the Mailing List |
Bio
Austin's Invincible Czars have made their mark by creating exceptionally original music: songs and instrumental pieces that are like four-to-five minute "mini-symphonies" chock full of memorable melodies, meticulous arrangements, dynamics, and humor. Their music fuses riff rock, classical/symphonic music, heavy metal, loungey grooves, odd meters, klezmer, country shuffles, punk rock and circusy polka. They draw from influences as disparate as Slint and Igor Stravinsky, Van Halen and Louis Armstrong, and The Melvins and Ween. The band applies the DIY attitude of post-punk groups like NoMeansNo and Fugazi to their musical explorations, resulting in a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
About
Josh Robins is the founding member of the Invincible Czars. He is also a regular contributing composer to the Golden Hornet Project. Josh is currently arranging Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture for the Invincible Czars and learning to play jazz standards on solo guitar. He has recently started teaching guitar lessons and is available(see email at the bottom of this page). His favorite band in Austin is Opposite Day. His cat Bruno is named for the NoMeansNo song "Oh No! Bruno!". His beard is 9 months old at the time of this writing.
Adam Kahan has been a Czar for nearly six years, and sometimes plays the bass guitar in such other adventurous and exciting modern combos as the Jazzus Lizard, Churchwood, the Unprofitable Servants, and Golden Arm Trio.
Violinist Phil Davidson has been with the Czars since their first Nutcracker Suite, and joined the band full-time in spring 2007. He teaches violin and viola for a living and plays with Chanterelle Duo, the Old Holdouts, Mostly Dead, and Muppletone. Visit his site for more information.
Keyboardist Bill Petersen originally hails from sunny California. Bill wrote most of the Invincible Czars' score to Aelita in 2006. He has two cats named Lamar and Momo.
Woodwind player Leila Henley has been Czarina (AKA Queen of Czars) since August 2007. She is available for all your saxophoning needs in Saxophonic, a quartet also featuring local favorites Alex Coke, Paul Klemperer and Thomas van der Brook. She also occasionally performs Daniel Johnston covers with the Unprofitable Servants and gypsy/klezmer madness with the Minor Mishap Marching Band. She is currently refining her flute technique in the hopes that she can one day make it through the entire 1812 Overture.
The group's latest addition is Louis Landry, who became Percussion Czar in summer of 2008. He has been playing drums since age 7 and holds a B.A. in Jazz Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University. Louis teaches drums, piano, guitar and theory at Red Leaf School of Music in South Austin (Want to take a lesson?), and language, math, science, social studies and peace education at Live Oak Community Montessori School (Does your kid need a school next year?). He also sings and writes songs which can be heard at www.LLmusic.net. His primary musical influences are all the sounds he has ever heard.
Recommended
Contests/Events
