FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Version 1.5 Last Updated 9.14.05 1. Who is Ego Likeness? 2. Official Releases a. Songs From a Dead City 1. Where are the samples from? b. Dragonfly 1. Why is the style of "Dragonfly" so different than "Songs From a Dead City?" 2. Why are the versions of the songs on the album different than the ones that were available on mp3.com c. Water to the Dead 1. Why the change in style? 2. Where did the samples go? 3. Artwork 4. What are the symbols on the album? 5. Who is Stu? 6. Who is Isabel, and what is the difference between Isabel's version of Above the Soil and Edward's? 7. Where is the name from? 8. Why are there two parts? 9. What happened to (insert song name here)? I thought it was going to be on the album. d. What's next? 3. What is The Trinity Project? a. Why are there some old Ego Likeness songs on the first Trinity Project Demo? 4. Discography 5. Who else is in the band? 6. Misc. a. Where did Ego Likeness get the backing video I've seen at their shows from? b. The copy of "Dragonfly" I bought didn't have a cool sticker inside like the copy my friend bought. What can I do about this? c. Where did the name "Ego Likeness" come from? d. Why so many "Dune" references? e. Why are zombies so scary? f. Dingo, what's all that stuff you play? g. Where's all your hair? h. Isn't this FAQ starting to get a little silly? i. Who are some major influences? j. The Ego Likeness logo looks familiar. What is it? k. What does the foreign text on the CDs mean? l. Is Chrizto out of the band? m. Do you have any CREEPY FACTS ABOUT THE BAND? 1. Who is Ego Likeness? Ego Likeness was founded in 1999 by Steven Archer and Donna Lynch as a side project of Seraphim Gate, a Baltimore/DC based goth rock band. After a line up change Seraphim Gate performed as The Thaw and then promptly broke up. Guitarists Johna Ohtagaki and Stu P. Didiot moved to San Francisco where Stu performed regularly with a rockabilly band. Johna formed Idoru, a darkwave band featuring members of Cop International recording artists The Razor Skyline. "Songs From A Dead City", the first Ego Likeness demo was recorded early January 1999. The demo, much like recent work from the band, is a fusion of many styles. "Songs from A Dead City" was performed live several times in the DC area. The live band consisted of Archer, Lynch and Nicoletta Stephanz (theremin /backing vocals), who also contributed to the demo. In the winter of 2000, Archer and Lynch began writing "Dragonfly". "Dragonfly" was the byproduct of self imposed isolation. It was an attempt to take everything that the pair felt worked in music and combine it in a way that made sense, taking the experimental darkness of "Dead City" and bringing danceable elements to it. In the years between the release of "Dragonfly" and the follow up "Water to the Dead." Lynch/ Archer worked to resolve their live sound, and to develop their fan base, performing live up and down the east coast. Their eclectic blend of electronic music and rock struck a nerve with people and they were asked to appear on a number of high profile compilations, including Dark Future Music's "The Best of Gothic Radio," several Dancing Ferret compilations including ,"Noir", "Asleep by Dawn Vol. 1," and a promo only European release for the label itself. They were also fortunate to perform with such acts as The Damned, the START, Voltaire, Rasputina, Voodou, Chris Connelly (Ministry, The Revolting Cocks), and many others. In July of 2003 the band locked themselves in the studio and began working on their follow up to "Dragonfly". A mix of their live sound and a great deal of studio work, "Water to the Dead" took nine months to complete. The final result was released on July 20th, 2004 by Noir/Dancing Ferret world wide. Throughout 2004, the band appeared on various compilations in the US and Europe, worked on several remixes and collaborations with artist's such as Voltaire, The Cruxshadows, The Last Dance, and Black Tape for a Blue Girl, and continued to play the east coast on a regular basis, including shows with The Cruxshadows, Bella Morte, and Philadelphia's Dracula's Ball (Halloween) with Collide, in their first major live performance. 2005 saw EL performing it's first west coast show at Convergence 11 in San Diego CA (along with The Azoic, More Machine Than Man, and many others), and a two week June tour in Germany and Luxembourg with The Cruxshadows. This September EL will join CXS once again for a two month North American tour. EL is also currently working in the studio on their next full length release. 2. Official Releases: a. Songs From a Dead City 1999 (Cassette, CDR, MP3) Recorded on a 4 track with minimal gear. Possibly 40-80 Cassettes, Many CDRs and MP3s) There are several versions of "Dead City", as it was originally intended to just be a demo. Version 1. The first 4 songs: Bourbon St 4 AM, Emerge, Release, Underpass Version 2. Includes the above, and the songs: Whole (Cold Version) and The Theme from the Gorky Maze Version 3. This is the final version, including the above songs, as well as the tracks: After the Rain, Guns in the Oceans, and Bourbon St 4 AM (Sunrise Mix) Guns in the Oceans features Nicoletta from Coven of One on Theremen. 1. Where are the Samples from? The samples on "Songs From A Dead City" are from "Flatliners", "The Hunt For Red October", and various news programs. A good portion of the samples on Release, The Thaw, and Theme From The Gorky Maze were manufactured by the band. b. Dragonfly 2000 (CDR, and Angelfall Studios CD) Recorded using outboard gear, mixed to two tracks digital, with vocals and other instrumentation/sounds overdubbed. There are two versions of Dragonfly. Version 1. The original CDR only releases differ only from the final version in that there is no guitar or violin on any of the tracks, and the songs are mixed slightly differently. These versions are possibly available floating around as mp3s...don't ask the band, they don't have copies. Version 2. The final Angelfall Studios release features Steven on Guitar, and includes Justin (Dingo) Sabe's first appearance with the band. It also features Violin by Stephanie Kim, who played with the band live for several years, and Guitar by Shaun Mason (Screwtape). 1. Why is the style of "Dragonfly" so different from "Songs From A Dead City"? It's not...don't be so narrow-minded. But then again, one of Donna's biggest musical influences is Loverboy, so perhaps they aren't the best people to be discussing "styles and genres" with. 2.How come the versions of the songs that were on Mp3.com are different than the versions on "Dragonfly"? Ego Likeness had no idea they would eventually have real musicians in the band when the Mp3 versions were put up. Revisions were made to the songs once the band started growing. c. Water to the Dead 2004 (Noir/Dancing Ferret) Hard Drive Recording In addition to Lynch/Archer, the album also features: Dingo: Keyboards, Fire Adam Goode: Bass Tim McCracken: Keyboards Dave O'Donnell: Drum Programming Stu P.Didiot: Guitar on Mandala It's worth mentioning that several of the songs had been played live for a few years and former members Jerome Lintz and Jenny Mettee contributed to the overall structure of them. 1. Why the change in style? Archer/Lynch never change style, they just change ratios. If a song needs to gravitate towards a specific genre to be what it needs to be than that's where it goes. Guitar is more prevalent on this album because Steven's skill has improved over the years, as has his understanding of what it should sound like in relation to the rest of the material. 2. Where did the samples go? Donna would say, "Any sampling you heard on the material was all Steve." Steven would say, "Legally it's a iffy situation at best, and we decided they were not necessary for this particular album." A fetal version of the song "Water to the Dead," featured part of a Mirror Divination being given to the pair by a Tibetan Lama, but due to back ground noise and the Lama's heavy accent, it was removed. 3. Artwork: Always aware of the importance of the visual aspect of music, the pair enlisted the service of Lauren Simonutti, a Baltimore-based photographer who's work captured perfectly the feel that the pair were going for. She does not have public contact information at the time of this writing, but questions may be directed to the band via their website. The outside photos were shot in Wyman Park, very near to the now extinct Angelfall Studios in Baltimore, on a very cold, very wet day in February 2004. They were not shot in black and white, but during the course of the hour and a half shoot Donna actually turned white and gray from the cold. Also, she had no shoes. The inside photos were shot in the basement of Angelfall. Steven was in the process of working on an installation called "Milking a Space," and the photos were shot in the room utilizing the elements of the installation. More photos from the shoots, and images that relate both to the album, and the installation can be found here: http://www.archer.angelfallstudios.com/thespring 4. What are the Symbols on the Album? The symbols are ve`ve`s, Voodoo symbols for the Loa (Haitian demi-gods). Along with the ever present Sanskrit mantras found in Tibetan Buddhism, these symbols are a very important part of Archer and Lynch's lives and beliefs. (They do not, however, necessarily represent all of the beliefs of Archer and Lynch, nor that of the rest of the band or it's associates.) 5. Who is Stu? Stu P. Didiot (aka Stu Lunn) played guitar, along side of his wife Johna Ohtagaki with Seraphim Gate, and The Thaw (Lynch/Archer's first project together). In the process of recording The Thaw's untitled EP, Stu and Johna decided to move to California. One of the songs the band was working on at the time was Mandala. Stu's guitar tracks from that session (Recorded in 1999) were used on the album. In 2003, Stu died in San Francisco CA of cancer. He continues to be an inspiration to the pair, and they feel honored to be able to include his talent on the album. A million thank you's to Johna for her permission. An excellent site about him is here http://www.stu-p-didiot.com 6. Who is Isabel, and what is the difference between Isabel's Version of Above the Soil and Edward's? Isabel is one of two main characters (Edward is the other) in Donna's not yet published novel, "The Good Mothers". Donna is presently looking for a trustworthy literary agent. For more information on Donna's writing, please visit www.egolikeness.com and click on the link to Donna's personal website. Two songs were written within a few weeks of "Dragonfly"'s completion. Above the Soil (Edward's Version) is the original version of the song, and appears on the compilation "Emotional Overdrive". Isabel's Version is a re-interpretation of the song based on performing it live. The other song written in that time period is Axis, which apart from an additional guitar part appears in it's original form on "Water". 7. Where is the title "Water to the Dead" from? The name was inspired from the book "Dune" by Frank Herbert. 8. Why are there two parts? Because that's where the songs go. 9. What happened to (insert song name here?) I thought it was going to be on the album. There are several songs which the band performed regularly for a number of shows that were not included on the album. These include ,"A Proper Goodbye" ,"Filth Maidens", "The Foolish Man Who Has No Home" and "Burning Land". Those songs have not been forgotten, and will probably be re-worked and may appear on a follow up album. d. What's next? As of the time of this writing Ego Likeness is preparing for the upcoming tour, and working on the next album. 3. What is The Trinity Project? The Trinity Project is a clearinghouse for the more abstract work of Archer and Lynch. It features instrumentals, spoken word, sound sculpture, etc... The first Trinity Project album (self titled) was released in 2000 and contains some of the earliest work by Archer/ Lynch. The next album "The Subtle Movements of the Entropy Engine" was released by Angelfall Music in the spring of 2002. Justin "Ding0" Sabe and Alexx Lackey of echomatrix are also involved with this outfit. a. Why are there some old Ego Likeness songs on the first Trinity Project Demo? As Ego Likeness was the side project of Seraphim Gate, The Trinity Project is the side project of Ego Likeness and Archer/Lynch feel they can put their songs wherever they damn well please, no matter how confusing. It is worth noting that the versions on the Trinity demo are different than the ones on "Songs From A Dead City", so it's best if you just buy one of each. 4. Discography: NOT YET UPDATED! Discography: Basement: Points on the Fracture (Moral Imperative 1995) Vocals/ Production Electronic Control Organization: 1997 Untitled Vocals Screwtape: 1998 Untitled Production Ego Likeness: Songs From a Dead City (Angelfall Music 1999) Vocals/ Bass/ Production/ Programming Ego Likeness: Dragonfly (Angelfall Music 2000) Vocals/ Guitar/ Production/ Programming The Trinity Project: 1 (Angelfall Music 2001) Production/ Programming/ Guitar Emotional Overdrive: Volume 1 (Angelfall Music 2002) Co-Producer/ Programming/ Guitar The Trinity Project: The Subtle Movements of the Entropy Engine (Angelfall Music 2002) Production/Programming/ Guitar Ego Likeness: Water to the Dead (Noir/Dancing Ferret 2004) Vocals/ Guitar/ Production/Programming Hopeful Machines: Hopeful Machines 1 (Egotrip Music 2004) Production Programming Remix and other work: The Trinity Project Remix: Genesha's Mouse, released on Emotional Overdrive Volume 1 The Trinity Project Remix: The Flock of 1000 Sparrows, Released on Subculture Shock Compilation Giant Robot Solutions Group: Twang, released on Emotional Overdrive Volume 1 The Cruxshadows: Cassandra, on Dancing Ferret release Fortress in Flames Material released on various compilations including: Ego Likeness: Second Skin, On The Eye Compilation (Ontheeye.com) 2002 Ego Likeness: Drown Like You, The Best of Gothic Radio (Dark Future Music) 2002 Ego Likeness: Second Skin/Blind Arms, Subculture Shock Compilation (Subculture Shock) 2002 40 Watt Son: Why Now?, Subculture Shock Compilation (Subculture Shock) 2002 Ego Likeness: Song to the Divine/Above the Soil, Emotional Overdrive Volume 1 (Angelfall Music) 2002 The Trinity Project: Genesha's Mouse/ If I'm Not Careful I'll Start to Get Scared of the Walls, Emotional Overdrive Volume 1(Angelfall Music) 2002 40 Watt Son: Why Now, Emotional Overdrive (Angelfall Music) 2002 The Trinity Project: The Flock of 1000 Sparrows, Soldiers and Tanks, Subtle Records Compilation (Subtle Records) 2003 Ego Likeness: Second Skin, Asleep By Dawn 1 (Dancing Ferret) 2003 Ego Likeness: I Live on What's Left, Noir (Dancing Ferret) 2003 Ego Likeness: I Live on What's Left, European Promotional Compilation (Dancing Ferret) 2003 Ego Likeness: Water to the Dead, Asleep by Dawn 2 (Dancing Ferret) 2004 Ego Likeness: Hurricane, Dracula's Ball/Convergence Promotional CD (Dancing Ferret) 2004 5. Who else is in the band? The live band currently consists of: Donna Lynch (vocals, piano, arrangements) Steven Archer (guitar, all programming, vocals) Justin "Ding0" Sabe (noise, oddities, percussion, fire at http://www.giantrobotsolutions.com) 6. Misc. a. Where did Ego Likeness get the backing video I've seen at their shows from? The backing video was produced for the band by Kurt Tesnau and Michael Fitzgerald. Archer/Lynch are slowly creating future video work. b. The copy of "Dragonfly" I bought didn't have a cool sticker inside like the copy my friend bought. What can I do about this? Perhaps you could kick your friend and when they fall down, take their sticker. Or you could buy another CD. Or you could stop being a whiny baby and deal with it. c. Where did the name "Ego Likeness" come from? It's another "Dune" reference, taken from a quote found in the book "In My Father's House" by Princess Irulan. For more information, do a web search. d. Why so many "Dune" references? Because they couldn't find any good titles from the "Ace Ventura" movies. e. Why are zombies so scary? Because you just can't reason with them. For more information and the bands personal thoughts on this fascinating subject please go here: http://www.egolikeness.com/zombies.txt It could save your life one day... f. Dingo, what's all that stuff you play? "For the technically minded my audio chain looks like this: Roland MS-1 Sampler or K5000S keyboard -> AirFX -> Kaoss Pad -> Volume Petal -> Alesis NanoCompressor->DI box." g. Where's all your hair? Presently some of it is on a bookshelf at Donna and Steve's house, just laying there like a little nappy, multi-colored dead animal. The rest is hanging from pipes and rafters in their house, just being fancy. Why? You want some? h. Isn't this FAQ starting to get a little silly? No sillier than Ego Likeness having a FAQ in the first place. i. Who are some major influences? Skinny Puppy, Danielle Dax, The Swans, Curve, Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Styx, Pat Benetar, Swervedriver, Genesis, God Speed You Black Emperor, Angels of Light, Nick Cave, Phylr, Foetus, Nina Hagen, The Cramps, Massive Attack, Vangelis, but most of all ZZ Top, to name a few. j. The Ego Likeness logo looks familiar. What is it? It's based on the Chinese symbol for longevity. k. What does the foreign text on the CDs mean? It's Sanskrit. The one on "Dragonfly" is Om Mani Padme Hung, the Tibetan Buddhist Mantra for Compassion. The one on "Water to the Dead" is Om Tare Tutare Ture Soha, the Mantra of Green Tara. Green Tara is analogous to Mary in the Christian pantheon. l. Is Chrizto out of the band? Yes. m. Do you have any CREEPY FACTS ABOUT THE BAND? 1. Steven and Donna are so egotistical that they wrote this FAQ about their band in the third person (which is harder to do than one would think, but due to their superior intelligence, they are up to the challenge). 2. Donna occasionally sleeps with her eyes open. 3. Steven and Donna raise hairless rats and have bred a colony of Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (honest! Well, they are really more like beetles, but the cockroach name seems to have stuck). 4. Ding0 *loves* robots. Like, in a prison way. 5. Ding0, for some reason, figured out anagrams for Ego Likeness and The Trinity Project because he has too much time on his hands. They are for Ego Likeness: GEEK LESIONS, and oddly enough Donna's official title GEEK LIONESS. For the Trinity Project: PC JITTER I NO TRY, and our parent business TRIJET TINY CORP. 6. Donna has an unholy and unbreakable love for Jeremy Irons. She still refers to the heels she was wearing when she met him in NYC as her "Jeremy Irons shoes". Bringing this up around Steven is likely to get you punched. 7. Donna is obsessed with all things related to quarries and coal and slate mines, and has a deep mistrust of some chickens.