Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic

BIRDSONGS OF THE MESOZOIC is a four-piece electric new music ensemble exploring and expanding the boundaries of contemporary music. The group has earned wide critical praise and international recognition for its innovative music; an unusual mix of classical, rock, minimalism, jazz and free-form sound.

BIRDSONGS began in 1980 as a side project by half of Boston’s now legendary Mission Of Burma: Roger Miller and Martin Swope. Miller and Swope joined forces with Rick Scott and Erik Lindgren for what was originally conceived as a recording project only. The project might have ended there had not Boston's Modern Method record label approached Miller and asked for a Burma track for a compilation album. Miller instead offered "Pulse Piece" from the sessions, naming the makeshift group "Birdsongs of the Mesozoic," a reference to a Birdsongs of America album that Swope had sampled during the sessions and to then-new theories about the dinosaur ancestry of birds.

Modern Method also asked Miller if BIRDSONGS could perform at the album's 1981 record release party. While there had been no intention to play more than the one gig, audience response was so strong that further shows were booked.

In 1983, they released a self-titled EP, Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic. With the demise of Mission Of Burma at about the same time as the EP’s release, BIRDSONGS OF THE MESOZOIC became a full-time band for all members.

In 1984 they released another LP, Magnetic Flip, and began extensive touring to support its release. A year later they released another EP, Beat Of The Mesozoic, and again set out on tour.

In 1987, Miller left the group to concentrate on his Maximum Electric Piano project which he had begun as a side project to BIRDSONGS. Ann Arbor expatriate, saxophonist / keyboardist Steve Adams of Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet (who had shared many memorable bills with BIRDSONGS) stepped up to fill the spot. With Adams onboard, the group’s music had a new jazz element to its sound. Within six months, however, Adams was offered a position in the Nova Saxophone Quartet and was replaced by saxophonist / flautist / keyboardist Ken Field. Guitarist / composer MICHAEL BIERYLO joined when Swope left in 1993.

“We’re all about different cultural influences and music, arranged in an unexpected way, with both reverence and irreverence,” says Bierylo.

BIRDSONGS has released eleven CDs of original material for the Rykodisc, Cuneiform, NEARfest, Ace of Hearts, and PEL labels. The group has also extensively toured the US, Canada, and Europe in its four-decades of activity.

The bad boys of chamber music actually look a lot like middle-aged college professors. They’re smart enough to put music theory into practice, breaking epic songs into tantalizing four and five minute pieces, enough to whet the appetite of chamber music fans without losing those with rock ‘n’ roll’s short attention span.

On The Web:

www.birdsongsofthemesozoic.org

Music To Check Out:

from Petrophonics:

• "Petrophonics"

from 2001 Live Birds:

• "A Band Of Deborahs (Not Debbies) - Live"

from Sonic Geology:

• "The Rite Of Spring (excerpts)"
• "Lost In The B-Zone"
• "Beat Of The Mesozoic, Pt.1"

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