The Sursiks will make music out of anything...yes, anything. That's just what they do.

The Sursiks

This song is from the Sursiks 2006 debut release "I didn't know i was singing vol 1". The album is a collection of real phone messages set to music through the transcription of the pitches and rhythms of human speech. This particular message is from a guy who likes to quote martial arts films.

The Sursiks: Why Don't You Try The Martial Arts?

This is a track from the Sursiks' "I didn't know i was singing vol. 2" which was begun in 2007 but never completed. The concept behind this record was to be setting the melodies of television newscasts to music.

Medical Marijuana in Michigan (2008)

This track is from the Sursiks' 2006 release "I didn't know i was singing". It's an album of musical arrangements of real phone messages.
"What Kelly, did you slash your own tires because you were there at the bar with another man, and you were afraid we'd tell your husband?
We left, we got a ride home.....so,
You're gonna be screwin' yourself, slashin' your own tires.
There'll be a lie detector test bein' made. 
It's all in progress.
'Cause we aint gettin' in trouble for somethin' we didn't do.
Bye!"

Slashin' Your Own Tires (The Sursiks 2006)

"The Sursiks" are 3-7 classically trained, experimental-rock-band-seasoned musicians who delight in transforming non-musical material into music. For their debut release "I didn't know I was singing, vol. 1" (2006) they mirrored the rhythms and pitches of spoken voices from real answering machine messages with instruments and singing to create 16 mind-blowing songs. Their 2nd cd "Lydia Grace" (2007) employed the same methods with the improvised speeches of a 3 year old girl. 
The Sursiks' ability to transform completely improvised speech into catchy, danceable, elegant and fiercely interesting songs is nothing short of sonic alchemy. The arrangements include flute, bass clarinet, trumpet, saxes, trombone, violins, drums, marimba, xylophone, bass, guitars, piano, organ as well as some home-made instruments. 

The Sursiks' 3rd cd, "Christmas in March", uses found recordings from tv (shows, commercials, infomercials, news), radio (dj banter, news, weather, interviews), self-help and self-hypnosis recordings, children's lps, religious recordings, political speeches, stand-up comedy routines and more as the source material for its songs. 
The original recordings are taken apart and re-arranged in order to create new absurd, funny and bitingly satirical narratives which creatively reflect on the very material from which they're made. 
But then, The Sursiks take it one step further: The spoken parts are rhythmically and melodically tied to the musical arrangements, and throughout most of the songs they RHYME! "Christmas in March" is a collection of pop-culture mashups which imitate the rhythm, phrasing and rhyme schemes of poetry and songs, set to music by a real band! 
Gentle listener, as you journey through this remarkable cd, you can EXPERIENCE the sexy side of pain relievers, FIND OUT how the principles of television can help your marriage, HUM ALONG to to the melodies which are hidden in obnoxious pop-radio dj laughter, BE HYPNOTIZED into becoming a vampire, MARVEL at the president's plan to build a prison on the moon, and DISCOVER the one thing which is more painful than plucking eyebrows. 
"Christmas in March" consists of 15 tracks which blend seamlessly into one another. (a feature common to many popular "concept" albums, I might add). Five years in the making, this is an extremely detailed, funny, energetic, complex recording which reveals something new upon each hearing. 



Science and Invention

This song from the Sursiks 4th release "i didn't know i was singing vol. 2" (actually it hasn't been released yet, but it will be...eventually). Television news stories set to music through the transcription of speech patterns into melodies. As always, NO autotune is involved and the instruments are actually played.

The Sursiks "Hit and Run"

Hi, my name is David Minnick. I write and record a lot of different sorts of music for free and/or for money. Mostly, I like to make music that makes me laugh. I've been writing and recording music since 1980 (when I was 13). I've put out recordings under the names: The Sursiks, Oven Mitt Johnson, The 180 Gs and Zermos. I was the guitarist/primary songwriter for the Detroit ska band Gangster Fun from 1987-2000. I've written for short films, video games, TV ads, but I teach for a steady income.


The Sursiks

david minnick