Vernal Scuzz is a free-form band from Alabama, USA.
Wild mixtures of improvisation, themes, songs and tape experiments
played by Jasper Lee, Mika Carpenter, James Elliott, & Walker Yancey on
bass, zithers, euphonium, electronics, tapes, drums & words. They pursue
an evolving sound informed by cut-ups, noise, avant-folk, and punk. Members
of the group have played in Silica Gel, Worst Spills, and collaborated with
Johnny Coley, Joel Nelson, Sister Sniffle, Turner Williams Jr. and others.
Vernal Scuzz emerge like a wet hot electric creature hissing in the night on their first release.
Somewhere between proto-punk and primeval ceremony, the music is a highly charged
rhythmic vehicle for navigating the murk of media litter. Crackles of noise meld with zither
and brass tones....sounds that build an atmosphere and then burst suddenly into song.
Jasper and Mika's voices coo and screech in equal doses. A recurring theme is the
transmission of ideas through technological & linguistic means. Lyrics are made from
cut-up sources like football game transcripts, tracts, lawnmower manuals, and somehow
come out beautifully. Vernal Scuzz's first recording presents the group’s idiosyncratic
concepts through a visceral playing style that is unpredictable and raw.
First Cuts in the Psychic Sea: Live set on WFMU
“...art damaged, experimental compositions played with the fervor of a bunch of friends who read
Burroughs’ cut-up prose, heard Dub Housing for the first time and had them really click...”
-Josh Benke, Razorcake
“Vernal Scuzz seems to constantly be in metamorphosis. The eighth track Hexaco is an excellent example...ethereal folk opening to angular guitar/vocals, then full punk uproar...”
-Lost In A Sea of Sound
Vernal Scuzz - East Coast Tour - October 2024:
October 17 - Knoxville - Pilot Light - w/Serial Baby
October 18 - D.C. - Rhizome - Toshimaru Nakamura / Gene Coleman / Nick Millevoi, gen/loss
October 19 - Philly - Pageant: Soloveev - w/Emily Robb, Sam Wenc
October 20 - Flemington, NJ - Flemington DIY - w/Runk Spasm Eye, Mike Bruno, [Exhibit: A]
October 21 - WFMU Session
October 24 - Chapel Hill, NC - WXYC Session
October 24 - Carrboro, NC - All Day Records - w/Brother, Sister
October 25 - Athens, GA - Athica - w/ Salmon Tubes, Skinless Lambs
October 26 - Talladega - party
Wild mixtures of improvisation, themes, songs and tape experiments
played by Jasper Lee, Mika Carpenter, James Elliott, & Walker Yancey on
bass, zithers, euphonium, electronics, tapes, drums & words. They pursue
an evolving sound informed by cut-ups, noise, avant-folk, and punk. Members
of the group have played in Silica Gel, Worst Spills, and collaborated with
Johnny Coley, Joel Nelson, Sister Sniffle, Turner Williams Jr. and others.
Vernal Scuzz emerge like a wet hot electric creature hissing in the night on their first release.
Somewhere between proto-punk and primeval ceremony, the music is a highly charged
rhythmic vehicle for navigating the murk of media litter. Crackles of noise meld with zither
and brass tones....sounds that build an atmosphere and then burst suddenly into song.
Jasper and Mika's voices coo and screech in equal doses. A recurring theme is the
transmission of ideas through technological & linguistic means. Lyrics are made from
cut-up sources like football game transcripts, tracts, lawnmower manuals, and somehow
come out beautifully. Vernal Scuzz's first recording presents the group’s idiosyncratic
concepts through a visceral playing style that is unpredictable and raw.
First Cuts in the Psychic Sea: Live set on WFMU
“...art damaged, experimental compositions played with the fervor of a bunch of friends who read
Burroughs’ cut-up prose, heard Dub Housing for the first time and had them really click...”
-Josh Benke, Razorcake
“Vernal Scuzz seems to constantly be in metamorphosis. The eighth track Hexaco is an excellent example...ethereal folk opening to angular guitar/vocals, then full punk uproar...”
-Lost In A Sea of Sound
Vernal Scuzz - East Coast Tour - October 2024:
October 17 - Knoxville - Pilot Light - w/Serial Baby
October 18 - D.C. - Rhizome - Toshimaru Nakamura / Gene Coleman / Nick Millevoi, gen/loss
October 19 - Philly - Pageant: Soloveev - w/Emily Robb, Sam Wenc
October 20 - Flemington, NJ - Flemington DIY - w/Runk Spasm Eye, Mike Bruno, [Exhibit: A]
October 21 - WFMU Session
October 24 - Chapel Hill, NC - WXYC Session
October 24 - Carrboro, NC - All Day Records - w/Brother, Sister
October 25 - Athens, GA - Athica - w/ Salmon Tubes, Skinless Lambs
October 26 - Talladega - party
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