Name: Any Questions? - Snow Storm by Ttam Troll
Duration: 4 min 30 s
Description: While being trapped in the studio during a blinding snow blizzard, I slowly churned out this dirgelike hymn of isolated despair. In the days leading up to this recording, I had become increasingly more disconnected than usual from those around me and began to retreat further inward. The manifestation of that exploration is what I now reluctantly share with you.

This track is taken from Imbued Vagary’s improvised, live performance at SHAPE Solstice Arts Festival on 06/18/16. It features MC2P4 (Synthesizers), Ttam Troll (Synthesizers), and Thee Sub One Genius (Beat Architecture).

After a 2 year absence, Thee Sub One Genius re-joined Imbued Vagary for a set of electronic experiments that delighted Festival goers.  Ttam Troll locks in with Thee Sub One Genius’ Ableton beats a pulsating synth bass line on his Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue while mC2p4 sprinkles sounds from outer space on his Alesis Micron.

Imbued Vagary - Muv Muffle (Live at SHAPE Solstice Arts Festival 06/18/16)

This song was written in 2007 for a film which still remains unreleased. We were asked by the director to compose a track which was reminiscent of The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes but with a more uplifting sound. Drawing inspiration from thoughts and emotions of brighter, more youthful days, I crafted this pensively uplifting instrumental with the aid of MC2P4. We later invited Mary Mary to come in and sing lyrics that we had written for the track.  Until now, this mix has never been released.  It’s the only Any Questions? song to feature female vocals.  I hope you enjoy this "softer side" of Any Questions?.

Any Questions? (featuring Mary Mary) - Charlotte RIP

This is where it all began. The Fiber family house in Shippensburg PA was the birthplace of my (and several others) music recording career and the setting for countless other childhood events. The Fibers (Larry Roy, Helen, Larry Lee, Lonny, and Dan "The Man") were my friends, hosts, participants, and progenitors of a musical movement which is still alive today.

That first recording was of a song called "Pung" and was recorded in 1985 onto a Tascam Porta One Cassette MiniStudio. The drum machine part was programmed by Lonny, Scott (MC2P4) recorded three separate keyboard parts, I laid down an electric bass part, and it was all mixed by Larry Lee. Here is that "landmark" recording...

Rarities

Pung (Loco Larry Mix)

Back in the early '90s, the internet wasn't used as a medium to promote music. There were no MP3s, no music sharing sites, and no iTunes. There wasn't even a good GUI web browser (Netscape Navigator) until the end of 1994. If you were in an "unsigned" band and wanted your music to be heard, you needed to go out and play live shows and/or try to get your music played on the radio. College radio was usually receptive to new music and would take chances on local or "unsigned" bands but getting any airplay on a commercial station was near impossible.

As luck would have it in August of 1993, a past co-worker of Scott's from Donnelley Directory was working at B-101 - a soft rock/adult contemporary radio station. He had a cassette of our latest release, Any Questions? - Prey For Death, and, knowing that our Industrial style music would never fit into the program format at B-101, he forwarded our cassette to his friends at 103.9 WDRE - Philadelphia's modern rock radio station.

They must have liked what they heard because I received a call from the station and they said that they planned to feature one of our songs during an upcoming Local Edge radio show - their weekly local music spotlight segment. I gave them some background info on the band and suggested that Limerick Lights (Radiation Mix) would be a good song to play.

I got a courtesy call about a week later from the station informing me that our song was scheduled to be played during the 08/15/93 Local Edge show. This would be our first mass exposure on the Philadelphia music scene and we were excited. We told everyone that we knew that we were going to be on the radio and that they should tune in. Not many people had e-mail at this point so we had to contact everyone by phone or word-of-mouth.

When the day of the broadcast arrived, we tried tuning in the radio station so we could listen to the show and record it. Normally, we never had a problem tuning in the station at either FFS I or FFS II but, on this day, the reception was full of static. We tried everything... We placed the antennas in every possible position, moved the radios all around the studios, etc. No matter what we tried, we couldn't get good reception.

Not to be deterred, we called our friend at Club Wojo and asked what his reception was like. He said that his reception was good and he invited us down. With time quickly running out, we jumped in the car and sped down to Club Wojo. With seconds to spare, we made it there and set up our recorder. This is what we heard...

Any Questions? - Limerick Lights on WDRE

In a post last week, I was talking about the "comedic" lyric versions for some of our songs. I'd like to share another example of this. It's a song idea (well, really only a verse that's repeated) called Solar Wash.

Back in 1989, when I first moved to the Philadelphia area (Phoenixville, PA to be exact), I was taking a break from working in the studio to go and do some long overdue laundry. Why would I feel the need to tell anyone about this? Well, because it was the inspiration for the first Any Questions? song that I would ever sing. To some, I may be stretching it a bit to say that I'm "singing" but that's a debate for the comment log.

Up until this time, MC2P4 and I had been writing a lot of songs and he had handled most of the vocals duties for those early songs. We also had a few guest vocalists - Ken Chandler and Brian Black. However, my visit to the Solar Wash (now called the Phoenixville Laundry Center - pictured above) and the experience I had one day in the Fall of 1989 was to change all this.

On that fateful day, I trudged into the laundromat and looked for a washer to put my clothes in. As I walked down the first line of washers, I realized that they were all in use. This struck me as odd since I hadn't noticed anyone as I entered the laundromat. It was at this time, as I rounded the turn to check out the next row of washers, that I saw a couple who were sitting side by side at the end of the row of formed, plastic seating by the window. As I made eye contact with the "male", the "female" stood up and dropped the paper bag wrapped "40" that was in her hand. It shattered and spilled beer all over the floor. Unphased, she began muttering to herself and started to walk towards me. By this time, I had found an empty washer and started to load my clothes. As she staggered closer and closer, she began to gesture to me to move to another washer. I then looked over at the "male" who, before my eyes, fell off his seat and onto the floor.

As luck would have it, at that moment, another couple entered the laundromat and began laughing hysterically at the "male" who had fallen to the floor.  This laughter distracted the "female" from her zombie-like advance on me and she turned to go and aid her "male" companion.  She gathered him from the floor and they shambled outside into the night.

That would be the last I saw of them.  The whole first row of washers eventually finished running but no one ever came to claim their contents.  I endeavored to wash and then dry my clothes and then left the Solar Wash with the inspiration for this little idea (complete with laundry word play)...

Any Questions? - Solar Wash

Tonight's Floating Fish Studios Holy Grail Week entry is an "insensitive" one.  To protect the innocent, I've altered the image of the protagonist in this story and, instead of explaining the back story of the song lyrics, I'll simply say that they were inspired by a medical procedure and a Ho Magos comic (aka Kenny's Cartoons).  I challenge the listener to try and decipher the blasphemous words.  Those in the FFS inner circle know the story well so you need no explanation.  

This live, improvisational jam was recorded in 1991 by the three member line up of Any Questions? which consisted of Ttam Troll - Vocals, MC2P4 - Synthesizers/Samplers, and LTJTHC - Electronic Drums.  Musically, this is one of our most inspired improvs.  After months of nightly improvisational jamming during and after the first Gulf War, we had become a very tight and cohesive unit and it shows on this track.  The song intro slowly pulls the listener in before erupting at the 1:48 minute mark with a barrage of electronic drums, synthetic warfare, and vocal shriekings.  The sonic terror that ensues is some of our finest music!

All that's left to say is...

"This is your dance remix!"

FFS Web Site Audio

Any Questions? - Scrape The Pus (Live)

While being trapped in the studio during a blinding snow blizzard, I slowly churned out this dirgelike hymn of isolated despair. In the days leading up to this recording, I had become increasingly more disconnected than usual from those around me and began to retreat further inward. The manifestation of that exploration is what I now reluctantly share with you.

Unreleased

Any Questions? - Snow Storm

Back by popular demand, here is another classic from the Dan Jam 1/91 recording sessions. This song, entitled Operational, was recorded near the end of our second day of continuous recording. Fatigue was starting to set in and our improvs were becoming more and more abstract. This oppressively, repetitious sample laden track was built upon a simple sequence that I programmed. The line up on this song is Ttam Troll - Synthesizers, Samplers, and Programming, MC2P4 - Synthesizers and Electronic Toms, and Dan "The Man" Fiber - Roland GR-77B Bass Guitar Synthesizer.

Any Questions? - Operational

Some you may not know this but Any Questions? did a show at Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine. Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes (pictured above) were the opening act and warmed up the crowd. After their short set, we took the stage and assaulted the alien denizens with our own brand of sonic terrorism and horrific visual hallucinations.

However, before launching into our unrelenting barrage, we decided to open our set with a song that was inspired by our visit to the planet. Here, for the first time, is our previously unreleased version of The One - A Tribute to Lube Skystalker.

Any Questions? - The One

The production of Jesus Christ Superstar and my participation in it remains one of the high points of my musical career. This took place during my first year of college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in February 1989.

Though I had been playing double bass or electric bass for almost every ensemble in the IUP Music Department, it was a honor to be chosen as the bass player for this "rock opera". I was the only freshman in the orchestra and the part I was to play was very high-profile and demanding.

I can still remember the first smaller "rock band" rehearsal with Chris Tackett (keyboards), Dave Foley (electric guitar), Tim Lutte (drums), and John DeStafano (percussion). They were all seniors and very accomplished musicians and there I was, the freshman new kid on the block. I was well aware that the rehearsal was really my "try out" and that I needed to prove my playing skills to them and to Gary Bird, the conductor.

From the first note of the opening Overture during that rehearsal, it became quickly apparent that I had "come to play". I could see their skeptic faces fade and, by the end of the rehearsal, I had allayed any fears they might have had. From that point on, the rehearsals went smoothly and all of our performances went well and were well-received by the public.

Some of my favorite memories of that production include all the jam sessions that the "rock band" would have before and after rehearsals. When we weren't doing free form improvisations, we would play covers of Frank Zappa songs or The Fish by Yes. In fact, it was Dave Foley that convinced us to do The Fish after he came into rehearsal one day with his typical glassy stare. He proceeded to hold up his keychain, which held a large (6"+) purple rubber fish, and declared, "We are going to play this!" How could we refuse??!!

However, my favorite memory is also the most esoteric and really has nothing to do with the production. It took place during one of the dress rehearsals in which IUP students were allowed to attend. It was during one of these rehearsals in Fisher Auditorium that Gary Bird (the conductor) took a moment between songs and asked the audience how everything sounded. Unbeknownst to me, my friend (and Associate) Everett (Rhett) Hammacher was in the balcony and took that opportunity to scream, "Turn up the bass!!!". Of course my bass didn't need to be turned up. It's one of those "you had to be there" or you had to know Rhett to know "why" that moment is so memorable and funny. I dedicate that little "flashback" to my fellow Associates - Ed Hartford, Rhett Hammacher, and James Hazen. Without them, my days at IUP would not have been so enlightened.

Enough of my ramblings. Here is the first 12 minutes of the 1989 IUP production of Jesus Christ Superstar. This recording was taped during a closed dress rehearsal and contains the following songs...

Synopsis
Overture

Act One
Prologue
Aria: Heaven On Their Minds

Friday .. Bethany
Scene: What's The Buzz?
Scene: Strange Thing Mystifying

IUP - Jesus Christ Superstar

In Fall 1989, we formed our electro-terrorist unit called Any Questions?. In the very early days of the band, MC2P4 wrote and sang most of the vocal parts but we also worked with a few other singers before I (Ttam Troll) eventually took over all of the singing (term used "loosely") duties.

One of these singers was our friend, Brian "Who" Black. He had sung with some other bands so we decided that it was worth giving him a chance and see how well he could do with the material we were writing.

The first song that we worked with him on was a track called Slam. I had spent several days sequencing this song and working out the live keyboard parts and bass solo. During this period of production, I recorded numerous versions of it. In fact, this is probably the most recorded song in the history of the band. There are well over 20 versions of this song on 4-track tape.

I had originally intended for it to be an instrumental but, after realizing that is was "lacking something", we brought in Brian to see what he could add to it. His sharp, biting vocal performance fit the musical style of the song well and we were somewhat pleased.

MC2P4 continued to work with Brian on a few more songs but, eventually, we decided that Slam and the other songs that Brian contributed to didn't fit in with our other compositions. By this time, our music was becoming much more industrial and aggressive and I had begun to be the voice of the band. Because of this, all versions of this song have sat unreleased in the FFS Vaults for over 20 years.

So, after 20+ years in the FFS Vaults, here is Any Questions? - Slam featuring Brian "Who" Black on vocals. This recording is rather "noisy" but I have chosen it because it also includes one of my favorite electric bass solo performances. As you'll hear, I obviously have a "little" Peter Hook (New Order/Joy Division) influence in my playing.

Any Questions? - Slam

First mutant to ascend from the plasma pool after the Cy-Tech Wars. Skilled in cybernetics and data manipulation. Exhibits an extreme appetite for blood and kills for his own pleasure.

Any Questions? - Snow Storm

Ttam Troll

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