Biography
Screaming Headless Torsos is the pioneering, genre-bending rock band founded by guitar virtuoso, professor, and Guggenheim Fellow, David Fiuczynski. Listeners will find the "twelve-tone beats and atonal heat" as rhymed about by original lead singer Dean Bowman in their first hit, "Vinnie". New fans will also find a library of break-neck grooves, soul shrieking, and micro-tonal guitar mystery.
Though the debut album in 1995 (Warner Discovery) was supposed to filed in the rock-pop category, the band's rock abandon and sheer creativity with just the right amount of improvisation won fans and critics in both the rock and jazz camps. The Torsos were chosen by Musician Magazine as one of the top bands of 1996, described as "brilliantly blending jazz know-how with a love for heavy riffs." Guitar Player wrote that [Torsos] "combines a hip handle on high culture with wicked knack for the raw groove." Shortly after the release of debut album, SHT went on to tour Japan, the Americas, and Europe, and released a live album recorded in Japan in 1996.
The Torsos took a hiatus in the late ’90s fueled by creative and personal differences within the band and, in 2004, a new Torsos emerged. Fronted by new lead singer Freedom Bremner — fresh from his collaboration with symphonica artist/producer Moby — the Torsos came back with a different energy and released the 2005 studio album, "Torsos 2005", a hits compilation called "Choice Cuts" (2006), and a live DVD recorded at the New Morning Club in Paris and the Knitting Factory in New York City. The resurgence was followed by European and Latin American tours.
The Torsos raised the bar very early in its career and released more quality than quantity. It earned the band that elusive global cult status, with legions of fans posting YouTube tribute performances and blogging about when the next release would come and what it would sound like.
In 2010, the band released "Dead Christmas Trees", its first video single with new singer Freedom Bremner. Produced by New York producer Gregg Fine, the band is now back with a vengeance and is currently making a new record, tentatively titled "Code Red", co-produced by Fine and legendary Bad Brains producer Ron St. Germain. The Torsos band members have said that this record is driven more by songs than "chops", with inspiration spanning drum and bass, electronica, rock, hip-hop, and Middle-Eastern jazz.
In an unorthodox move, Torsos decided on a two-drummer rotation, employing world-renowned drummers Gene Lake and Skoota Warner on this record, as well as placing them in rotation from tour to tour. The band line-up features Freedom Bremner on vocals, David Fiuczynski on guitar, Daniel Sadownick on percussion, and David Ginyard on bass. Some special guest artists are expected to make an appearance as well.