The Psychic Paramount

With the demise of Laddio Bolocko, guitarist Drew St. Ivany and bassist Ben Armstrong felt the need to pursue further musical endeavors, and in 2002 formed the avant-garde, post-rock psych outfit the Psychic Paramount. Based in New York, the pair began work on acoustic recordings before taking the plunge on a quickly put together European tour shortly after forming. A drummer — Tatsuya Nakatani — was roped in for the gigs, and off they went. The tour was a success, not just in helping the outfit hone its skills, but — mainly — in that the Psychic Paramount came back with a live CD ready to go. The live debut, Live 2002: The Franco-Italian Tour, was released on Bewilderment and Illumination, and was paired with a handful of Super 8 footage, and would see release in 2005. While the live record wasn't technically the first official release for the Psychic Paramount — they had already put out Origins and Primitives, Vol. 1 — the live offering would be their first real statement of intent. Unfortunately, Nakatani left the group soon after returning from the European jaunt, and was replaced by Sabers drummer Jeff Conaway. With the new roster in place, the Paramount entered the studio to work on 2005's Gamelan into the Mink Supernatural, which would eventually see release on No Quarter. In 2006, that same label reissued the band's Origins and Primitives release, adding on a volume 2, and putting it out on vinyl and CD. In 2007, the Psychic Paramount was found touring the United States with fellow avant-rockers Trans Am.