Contact::: scutopus at gmail dot com
Diet:::
Scutopus. The diet is not known; fecal material contains organic (?) crystals and perhaps sediment particles. The radula morphology suggests that the diet is particle-size dependent, probably detritus.
FAQ:::
Q: How do you say "scutopus"?
A: I pronounce it "SKOO-toh-puhs" and run it together a little, but you can say it however you like.
Q: What is a scutopus?
A: The word itself comes from Greek roots: "scuto" means "shield", and "pus" means "foot".
scutopus (lowercase 's') is the pseudonym under which I put out my music. Scutopus (italics, with capital 's')
is a genus of shell-less mollusc.
Q: I thought all molluscs had shells!
A: Me, too, until I databased for a scientist who studies shell-less molluscs, known as Aplacophora.
Q: Why "scutopus"?
A: I came across the name while databasing. I thought it looked and sounded cool. Plus, with the second-hand knowledge
I picked up from the databasing job, I could craft a mythology around scutopus as the bottom-feeding, ocean-floor-dwelling, music-making Aplacophoran.
I named my studio "the ocean floor" in keeping with this. What better place for scutopus to make music than its home?
Q: I ask the questions here.
A: Even rhetorical questions?
Q: Watch it.
A: Fine.
Q: Didja have a pseudonym before "scutopus"?
A: Yes.
Q: What was it?
A: It was cheesy.
Q: C'mon!
A: Okay, fine. "Heat Sync". There, you happy? I thought changing the "sink" to "sync" (as in syncopation) was clever.
Q: Why the puke-colored background?
A: It's the color of the ocean floor in my imagination. In reality, the ocean floor has many hues
due to its sheer area and geographic and biological diversity, but olive green-brown is more fun.
Q: So you like to remix; what songs of what artists would be an ideal remix project?
A: I'd love to be a part of the legions of remixers of
Bjork's excellent oeuvre. I'd take the constituent parts of "Enjoy", "Possibly maybe", or "Verandi" (or all three) and go to town! That would be a lot
of fun and an honor. By the way, I think her most unremixable-because-it-is-perfect song is "Anchor Song", and the best remix of one of her songs is
Black Dog Productions' version of "Come to Me"--SO good: few elements, graceful. Many others on the list, including The Books, Cocteau Twins,
Jesu/Godflesh/Final (Justin Broadrick's music is a treasure), Scorn (Mick Harris, indeed!), Yoko Ono, Stereolab, Super Furry Animals,
something by Nico, Tortoise's "Everglade," Trans Am...
scutopus has collaborated live with The Jesse Stiles 3000 and Todd Jones. Other folks scutopus has shared the stage with are Evidence, Blue Meniscus, Time of Orchids, Eric Fitzgerald, Bresma, Nathan Michel, Behold... the Arctopus, Genghis Tron... you? I have played in between (as a respite from the evening's bombast of avant- prog rock) Trio Convulsante, Friendly Bears, Doctor Nerve, PAK, Zs, and Snuggle/Stencil in that order on Nov. 5th, 2005.
scutopus has played at the Bowery Poetry Club, Knitting Factory, Brain Wave Wednesdays at Angels and Kings, and the Korova Milk Bar in New York City; at Northsix and the Megadumb 2002 event on the roof of a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York; at a Vassar College dodgeball rave in Poughkeepsie, New York; at Princeton University for the LITSK 2003 conference; at Flux Factory thursday in Queens, New York; Positively Fourth Street (formerly B.R. Finley's) in Troy, New York; at Coffee Obsession in Falmouth, Massachusetts; and a DJ set at an insane warehouse in Boston.
If you would like scutopus to play where you are, drop me a line at scutopus at gmail dot com. I am able to play a noise set, a techno set, a combination of those two (see my Knitting Factory recording), or a drone set.
I like to do remixes. See the remixes page for an idea of what I've done before. My requirements are that the remixed person or band choose the track I am to remix. Then, if possible, I would like access to the constituent parts of the chosen track. I'll make a rough draft, and then send it to the remixed person or band for feedback. I will then finish it, and with the person's or band's permission, I will post it on the remixes page.