23 Psaegz

Founded by Seth Faergolzia in 2010 as the successor to his world-renowned 13-year project, Dufus, the 23 Psaegz carry on the warm, weird legacy by stretching the boundaries of musical experience with craze & care unmatched. The group originally gathered with the intention of performing Seth’s 23 Psaegz stream of consciousness puppet rock opera, & has since also become a collaborative backing for his complex web of musical delight. Front man Faergolzia brings his skills to a new apex of musical sagacity, as he leads the 23 Psaegz odd.

23 Psaegz — a long piece of music derived from 23 pages of Seth’s streaming mind waves. Seth conducts his rollicking 15-folk-grand orchestra with a ‘glock’ mallet, booming kick pedal, tenacious guitar, & far-arching vocals. Designed with five moving parts, 23 Psaegz ignites a most profoundly human machine, a musical organism with propellers, say, blasting out whirls of free-thought, frequencies that both cut close to the bone & hug the heart fondly — a true masterwork. Seth’s keen ear for harmony deftly channels the energies & talents of the human voice, flute, tuba, trumpet, violin, guitars, bass, piano & found/salvaged percussion pieces. With the precision and release of flight, melodic instruments melt sweet cream harmonies with the bass section, lead & vocal choir, then muscle up with brain circuit cranking dissonance. The playful & seriously probing expanse of 23 Psaegz = kaleidoscopic-divine New Orleans marching band meets Peter & the Wolf in outer space. This intense conflation of lyrical imagery & sonic wonder is music to submerge in.

Seth & the Psaegz concoct music which remains outside the scope of particular genre-labels or classification. With their harmonic subtlety, poetically experimental lyricism, quirked-out energy, & of course, Seth’s soaring, gurgling, whip-crack-acrobatic vocals, each Psaegz performance lovingly unweaves time, revealing moments honest & organic in their exploration of possibility. Spontaneously fusing performers with audience, Psaegz mingle into the crowd in fits of wild dance to Seth’s iPod-karaoke hip-jump sample-gasms. They’re reshaping & reinventing musical forms to create new, relevant gestures forward. Whether a whistle-driven dirge, foot-stomping fable, or inspired improvisation, these are not songs that will attract only a novel-shock-response, but a growing body of music so dynamic & full, it can be approached as if with new ears every time — outlandish, wise & full-hearted.

SETH FAERGOLZIA (ex-Dufus) Rochester, NY
In his first band Dufus, Seth Faergolzia lead what was possibly the
most creative and well-loved underground band in the
Anti-folk/Freakfolk communities of New York City and beyond, stacking
up 10 albums and numerous tours through the US, Europe, and Japan
(including performances with such acts as The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The
Moldy Peaches, Ween, Black Dice, Jeffrey Lewis, Animal Collective and
others) as well as a press reputation that often name-dropped
stylistic comparisons to Frank Zappa, Deerhoof, The Moldy Peaches,
Devendra Banhart, and The Dirty Projectors. In addition to recording
over 20 full-length albums under his solo moniker or in collaborative
projects, Seth Faergolzia is also a clothing designer, painter and
sculptor. He has written well over 1,000 songs.

His new solo music demonstrates the same boundless musical creativity
and vocal acrobatics as his former band, but with an increasingly
honed wisdom and intimacy. Seth Faergolzia's uniquely virtuosic
combination of weirdness and warmth continues to set him ahead of his
contemporaries. His most recent album DUFUS: ETH (now on CD and vinyl)
is a farewell to the Dufus project; it was fan-funded and released in
September 2010 on the night of Dufus' sold out 13th Anniversary
performance in New York City. Such artists as Regina Spektor and Adam
Green joined the band for this special evening.

Seth Faergolzia is now taking to the road with a “one-man-band” setup:
an added bass drum on his foot and keyboard/noise and iPod at his
fingertips, adeptly operated amidst vocals and acoustic guitar. Recent
solo sets draw together new songs, improvisations, electronic samples,
and select material from the 13-year history of Dufus, making each
night a unique creative experience.

www.dufus.tv
www.dufus.bandcamp.com