The Key Studio Sessions: Crash Course in Science

In the fearless late 70s, Michael Zodorozny attended art school in Philadelphia and founded Crash Course in Science, an experimental three-piece that harnessed home-made synthesizers, toy instruments and noisemakers to create records that were both hard-hitting and alluring, not to mention insanely catchy. Moving in step with the era’s post-punk / pre-New Wave elite, the group echoed the dissonant pulse of England’s Throbbing Gristle and the whip-crack beats of Athens, Ga.’s Pylon. It produced a handful of albums into the early 1980s, played nightclubs and art galleries in New York and Philadelphia, was spun with enthusiasm by DJ Lee Paris on his trendsetting WXPN program YNMT, made a great music video for their single “Carboard Lamb,” and quietly disbanded as the decade wore on. The story could have ended there, and the band could have been lost in the annals of regional musical history. But Zodorozny continued working as a producer and remixer, and in 2009 a resurgence in interest in his old band led German label Vinyl-on-Demand to reissue Crash Course in Science’s entire catalog on LP. Performances followed, with Zodorozny now backed by original CCiS producer John Wicks and new vocalist Andrea Beeman, and new material began to emerge. One of those songs was premiered in the band’s Key Studio Session – the snappy, playful “Pantsed” – along with a selection of career highlights, and the band says we can expect a new EP in the fall. In the meantime, Crash Course in Science is playing a Philadelphia date in the midst of a summer of European festival appearances: this Friday, they’ll perform at Vox Populi Gallery headlining a lineup showcasing some of today’s fearless sonic experimentors, from fuzz rockers Psychic Teens to avant-garde noisemakers Normal Love. Crash Course in Science plays with Normal Love, Psychic Teens, Coqui, Young Leaves and Hurry at Vox Populi’s AUX performance space, 319 N. 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Friday July 27 at 7 p.m. Admission to the all-ages show is $8.