Album Notes

Cinematic,Avant-Garde "Pop" Music

Somewhere between here and there, exists Reno’s Schizopolitans. The brain child of Avant Pop veteran Xtevion and experimental rock prodigy J. Lee Vineyard. The name says it all. Every track is a unique nuclear voyage to different worlds that exist in their own insane universe. Original, thought-provoking, and powerful; Schizopolitans make music possible only in the new millennium.

Xtevion is the pseudonym for Stephen K. Patterson a drummer since the age of nine and a classically trained actor. He began recording his original songs with the experimental duo Tapecase back in 1989 making pop songs where there was no melody. He has continued to create and record on his own and with a varied assortment of other musical and theatrical talent over the years as well as the ongoing collaboration with tapecase/rhansmall. Xtevion was also a founding member of The Knights of Indulgence Theatre United States (KITUS) who's original and ground-breaking works of performance changed people's perceptions of the Theatre. Xtevion's theatrical leanings are evident in the many voices and personalities that populate the music.

"Where are the Experimental musicians in Reno?" This was the ad Xtevion placed in the local paper back in early 2004. Only two of the many responders really understood what he meant. Vineyard was deep in an Eno phase and Mancuso just wanted to do something interesting. The initial meeting made for some great spontaneous composing as well as lots of recording. These sessions yielded quite a bit of material and Xtevion also pulled from his massive catalog of lyrics from over the years.
Xtevion's theatre connections got them a gig at the leading theatre space in town and that is where most of the shows have been done. The captive atmosphere of a theatre venue is more than appropriate as Xtevion's Shakespearean training and overall "weirdness" make a Schizopolitans show something anyone can enjoy.

Mancuso left the band in mid 2005 leaving Vineyard and Xtevion to reconfigure and rewrite. They have since been joined by Andrew Jorgensen on bass and Rob Hausman on synths. The music has changed a bit as the group becomes more "live" oriented forgoing much of the computer- based tracks of the previous year. Schizopolitans still manage to challenge the listener and themselves with new ideas and new ways of communicating them. With a name like Schizopolitans they are free to create in as many different styles and voices as they please.