A Vague Sound
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A Vague Sound

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"A Vague Sound; A Specific Plan"

Jan 11, 2007
"This started, basically, out of pure boredom," said Corey Gingerich, A Vague Sound's main (and, virtually, only) member. The Iowa City resident started off the electronic-intensive project by collecting sounds with his computer. "I just started experimenting with things I'd always thought about. I wanted to experiment with my menial knowledge of 11 different instruments and out of that came A Vague Sound."
He was a veteran of the usual round of high school and college bands and came from a musical family (including an uncle who held down bass duties in a latter-day version of Steppenwolf). "I played hip-hop, punk rock, heavy metal," he said. "Whoever wanted me, I'd go play with them."
When it came time to put together AVS, he focused on things he wanted to hear. That didn't translate into a broad audience. At least not at first. "It was the usual crowd of about 10 friends," he said. "After it was over, they just sort of stood there gaping at me. They didn't know what the hell was going on. It blossomed from experimentation with looping to me starting to form pop songs and starting to take influence from older bands. It became my own sound."
Among the things he used to create his own (vague?) sound were pots and pans, beer bottles and even his pet cat. "I toyed with that a lot," he said. "You can't tell it's a cat's meow but when I hear it I kind of chuckle."
With two recordings to his credit-Everything You Have Ever Hoped For and a self-titled affair-he's taken to the road along with keyboard-toting pal Jonah Nemec. "I get a better reactions in bigger cities. But here in Iowa, people are more often likely to ask, 'What the hell is going on?' But I wanted something where I didn't have to rely on other people. I just wanted to get up and go whenever I felt like it."
Gingerich (a double major in genetics and Chinese literature at the University of Iowa) chose to book his current tour by using MySpace.com. He found the tool invaluable and said that it helped land him a gig with local act Hearts in Bondage. Gingerich will share the stage with HiB on Friday, Jan. 12 at Kirby's Beer Store. "It's so easy to find bands now," he said. "I can just do a Google-esque search of who's around and come up with a band like Hearts in Bondage. You don't need to worry about booking agents. You don't have to give club owners an inflated estimate of what you think you can draw."
"If you're a musician operating on the margins, you should come and check out the show," he said. "You'll be amongst friends." - Wichita City Paper


"Monotremata Review"

A Vague Sound -- JIANGLAI [Slanty Shanty Records]
Chaos theory and whole-grain pop goodness collide on this disc, usually in a lo-fi and noisy way. The twelve tracks here incorporate sunny pop hooks (via keyboard, guitars, pedals, and anything else with melodic potential lone member Corey Gingerich can find), percolating techno beats, and a shifting approach to noise and chaotic background sound. The result is a sound that drifts from techno to noise to pop, sometimes bringing all these genres and more together at once. There's lots of emphasis on heavy repetition, especially of the good 'n catchy parts, which never hurts. There's also plenty of strange noises and experiental sound-fu to keep things in the "other" category, musically speaking. At times the sound is one of a techno goth band with lots of highly esoteric influences, many of which creep into the band's sonic palette. One thing's for sure: There are some seriously whompin' beats on this disc, and for a band with a serious devotion to the DIY / lo-fi aesthetic, this is pretty well recorded, too. You'll be shakin' that booty while listening to this one, no matter how bizarre it may sound. - www.monotremata.com


"Review in Perfect Porridge"

A Vague Sound
Jianglai
Label: Slanty Shanty Records
Iowa City is not exactly known as a hub for electronica experimentation. But that's not stopping Corey Gingerich, whose menial knowledge of 10+ instruments and passion for never-before-heard sounds blossomed into the Vague Sound project and his second album, Jianglai.
Like Xiu Xiu set to Rob Zombie, A Vague Sound has a refreshing DIY aesthetic reverberating from lush synth soundscapes, pained vocals and tub-thumpin' dance beats. Jianglai is 12 tracks of aural delight. - www.perfectporridige.com


"The Onion: AV Club"

Don't expect Iowa City's A Vague Sound to bolster feelings of normalacy and well-being [either], though it should be alittle eaiser to dances to its eerie, synth-driven tunes. - The Onion News


Discography

"Everything You Had Ever Hoped For" - Full Length Album.
"Come Hear Them Sing to the Sky" - EP
"Ex Vague Action Model" - Split EP
" Jianglai" - Second Full Length
"On the Origin of Mechanization" - Third EP
"Delicate Hummingbird" - Third LP due in March of 08'

We have tracks to stream on our myspace, and Jianglai has enjoyed play on college radio stations from coast to coast. Question of Faith, a track off of Jianglai, was featured on a car commercial that aired in Germany, and the band was recently featured on "Chic-a-go-go," a Chicago based television show that has hosted the likes of: TV on the Radio, the Scissor Sisters, and Duran Duran.

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Bio

Corey Gingerich grew up in rural Iowa and discovered post-punk music at an age where most still riffle through the pop bins. After playing in bands for years, he eventually dropped the idea of playing with other people and formed his own experimental act: A Vague Sound. With the initial 2 albums, AVS toured all over America, sometimes with a back-up band, and sometimes completely solo. A few years later, his girlfriend, Ashley Turbo, joined the mix bringing a completely new approach to AVS' vision. The music this band creates has been influenced by many acts, both old and new. Influences include: The Joy Division, The Faint, New Order, The Happy Mondays, Galaxie 500, Nine Inch Nails, TV on the Radio.
We have played with nationally famous bands like: Moth, the Zom Zoms, Adult, Leslie and the Ly's, girlsRISEwithHEAT, The Finals, Zibrazibra, The Velvet Teen, and the Appleseed Cast.
With a refined sounds and a new album due out in March of 08', A Vague Sound is poised to take the national scene by storm