Pisces (band)
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Pisces was an American
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
band formed in
Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...
, in 1967. During the band's existence, they recorded two singles and an album's worth of unreleased material before disbanding in 1970. In 2009,
the Numero Group The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 ...
released the album ''A Lovely Sight'', which compiles Pisces' songs from the original studio sessions. Highlighted by the singing of vocalist Linda Bruner, the record label distributed a follow-up EP focused exclusively on her previously-unreleased studio work.


History

A loose affiliation of musicians, Pisces' core members were Paul DiVenti (keyboards, vocals) and Jim Krein (lead guitar), who both originally partnered together to record a promo single in 1967. Krein visited San Francisco in the same year, becoming immersed in the city's psychedelic music scene, and returned to form the band Pisces with DiVenti, as well as Dale Taylor (rhythm guitar, vocals), Carl Van Laningham (drums), and Red Balderama (
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
, bass guitar). More of a recording project than a live act, Diverti and Klein constructed a studio in the back of Nielsen's Music Store to experiment with their self-penned material. In the studio, the duo constantly used backwards guitar techniques, phased drums, distorted vocals, and unusual sound effects heavily inspired by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...
'' and their 1968 self-titled album. Pisces was signed by Vincent Chiarelli, a tailor in Rockford, to his newly established Vincent Records, and released the two singles "Motley Mary Ann" and "A Homesick Feelin'" in 1968. Later recording by the group were accompanied by 17-year-old vocalist Linda Bruner who had initially gone to Krein for guitar lessons. Bruner sang lead on the four tracks "Dear One", "Say Goodbye to John", "Sam", and "Are You Changing in Your Time". The group released their third and final single, "Sam", in 1969 under the name Bruner. In the following year, Bruner, with acoustic accompaniment provided by Klein, recorded six songs, five of which were
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s, on a borrowed half-track, but after their studio was destroyed by fire Pisces disbanded. Not much else is known about Bruner, who was disillusioned with the music industry, although most reports state she was on the run following a
check fraud Cheque fraud or check fraud (American English) refers to a category of criminal acts that involve making the unlawful use of cheques in order to illegally acquire or borrow funds that do not exist within the account balance or account-holder's l ...
scheme. Even though much of their equipment was damaged by the fire, DiVenti preserved the band's
master tape Master recordings, or simply masters, are the original recordings—including Mastering (audio), post-recording mixes and Record production, production edits—of audio performances, from which all analog and digital copies of the audio are derived ...
s in a storage locker. On June 2, 2009,
the Numero Group The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 ...
released the material on the eponymous studio album ''A Lovely Sight''. It was generally met with positive reception, with music critics often highlighting Bruner's melancholy vocal delivery. In his evaluation of the album, critic Douglas Wolk applauded Pisces for "mightily impressive studio technique for a couple of guys who were basically doing everything on their own. Every song here has a distinctive and freaky sonic identity that makes a lot out of their limited resources". Rob Hatch-Miller of ''Dusted'' magazine wrote there was "something truly special in the musical chemistry" of the band. He also stated "The Bruner tracks are without a doubt the deepest and most memorable moments" on ''A Lovely Sight''. In 2010, the Numero Group released the EP ''Songs for a Friend'', which features Bruner's collaborative work with Klein. Drastically stripped-down in comparison to the psychedelic arrangements on ''A Lovely Sight'', the EP focuses on Bruner's somber covers of popular songs and her one original composition, "Songs Linda Wrote Herself". Numero Group distributed more of Pisces recordings between 1967 and 1969 as ''Somewhere in Your Mind'', in 2016.


Discography


EPs

* ''Songs for a Friend'' (2016)


Singles

* "Motley Mary Ann" (1968, Vincent) * "A Homesick Feelin'" (1968, Vincent) * "Good Morning Sunshine" (1969, Epic) * "Sam" (1969, Vincent)


Compilations

* ''A Lovely Sight'' (2009) * ''Somewhere In Your Mind'' (2016)


References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from Illinois American psychedelic rock music groups The Numero Group artists Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1970