Pong * The Linus Pauling Quartet

Rudyard’s presents Pong * The Linus Pauling Quartet.

Pong (Austin, TX)
http://pongsongs.com/

Mention the word “pong” in Austin, and odds are responses will range more to the dance spectrum than the early video-game world. Emerging from the ashes of Ed Hall in the late Nineties, guitarist Gary Chester, drummer Lyman Hardy, and bassist Larry Strub formed Pong with guitarist Jason Craig and keyboardist Shane Shelton.

Together they became a mighty “retro-futuristic” fusion of melody, beat, lights, and vocal effects. Talk boxes and rows of keyboards replace Ed Hall’s post-punk guitar pulls, and dance floors began to give under the weight of ass-shaking punk rockers. It’s that mix of punk, post-punk, electronics, hip-hop, and humor that makes Pong so much fun.

2001 found Pong finally releasing debut Killer Lifestyle, chock-full of local shout-outs, creepy synth beats, and the “Blues Underground.” 2005’sBubble City gathered hits like “Finally, Some Good Music” and “Interpol” into a dance party on disc. – Darcie Stevens, Austin Chronicle

The Linus Pauling Quartet (Houston, TX)
http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/

Pure guitar muscle and Texas Stoner Metal Psych insanity with universal themes like drugs, beer, sci-fi/fantasy, and Bongs of Power. If you like your riffs heavy, the solos unyielding, and the smell of the bong to billow out of your stereo, the LP4 is your band.

“a core point about the Linus Pauling Quartet isn’t merely that they’re a great psych band, but a great band period, able to embrace a lot of styles and moods and work them well. ” – Ned Raggett, Allmusic.com

“Anthemic, stupid and selflessly unrestrained, the LPQ eventually attain self immolation of sorts during the sprawling chaos.”– Phil Mc Mullen, Ptolemaic Terrascope (UK)

“Variety through dementia indicative of excessive drug use and boredom.”– Flipside

“Compulsory listening for anyone interested in modern American guitar rock, or just plain alternative music.”–Crohinga Well (Belgium)

” [the band] should consider doing a few less bonghits”–Michael Davis of Option Magazine

“A quartet of Texas weirdos who’re smart enough to play it real stupid, mining that fine line between drug-induced idiocy and conceptual genius for way more than you might’ve thought it was worth.”– Kevin Moist, Deep Water.

“I don’t know what kind of drugs they’ve put in the Texas water supply, but I hope they keep doing it, because now we have these mutant sons of Yeti.”–Factsheet 5

“…possibly the most enigmatic yet bombastic rock band to emerge out of Texas inthe last 10 years.”–Mats Gustafsson & Lee Jackson – The Broken Face(Sweden)

“… a 2,500-microdot dose of conceptual zig-zaggery so daunting that Roger Dean would get a hernia trying to sketch the album sleeve. Imagine Captain Beefheart’s magic Band “reworking” Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother right on the cusp of the Rapture. ” –Fred Mills – Magnet(US)

“Not surprisingly for a product of the same hometown as the Red Krayola and Rusted Shut, Houston’s Linus Pauling Quartet is equal parts demented and lovable. A sevenpiece with several guests, the Quartet specializes in waves of psychedelic slog thicker than humidity coming off Buffalo Bayou in August. At the same time, C6H8O6 doesn’t abandon humor or melody in its overwhelming sonic onslaught…Like Slater says in Dazed and Confused, “You couldn’t handle that shit on strong acid, man.” On second thought, maybe that’s the only way you could.” – Christopher Gray, Austin Chronicle