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magpu

Playing intricately arranged music, Magpu made a name for themselves playing in clubs around their native Dallas, fusing progressive rock influences with a jam band sensibility. Though guitarist Brian Cox, bassist Kyle Grundmann, and keyboardist/vocalist Kurt Kistler had been playing together for a year with various drummers, they did not become Magpu until the addition of drummer Terry McIntyre in early 1998. They promptly began to gig around clubs in the Dallas, TX, area, occasionally traveling to Fort Worth and Houston for out-of-town shows. Their music was a musician's music filled with odd time signatures, strange meters, and unexpected key changes. Their less-than-lively debut In the Land was released less than a year after the band formed. Containing only four songs, it showed off a mix of progressive inspiration and winding improvisations in the spirit of the early Aquarium Rescue Unit and Phish. After more gigging, the band added electronic percussionist Cliff McCarthy to the lineup, who added a MIDIfied xylophone to the mix. Magpu is an oddity in the jam bands scene, producing live improvised music that is increasingly hard to dance to. They are, no doubt, music geeks. The addition of McCarthy, along with constant rehearsal, focused the band and spurred the release of Project Pu, a collection of rehearsal room improvisations, tape experiments, and other oddities. The music contained is more mature than their debut release, often delving into some positively Grateful Dead-like spaces when McCarthy's MIDI was invoked. The band continued to play local shows, and in 2001 began to play out of state regularly. ~ Jesse Jarnow, Rovi

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