Also taking place at Dracula’s Ball is the Dark Dreams Collection Raffle. Among the raffle items is a brand new 30-second song for your ringtone recorded by Information Society. All proceeds from the auction and raffle benefit Musicopia and SPARC.

For more details about Dracula’s Ball and where to buy tickets, please visit http://www.draculasball.com/details.htm.

@virtadpt: If you wanted to start making synthpop music, in what aspect of music would you recommend starting?
Paul Robb: Songwriting. Always songwriting. 700 years ago, my career actually started when I sold my band’s live mixer and bought a multi-track cassette deck, thus focusing my energies on writing rather than performing. A good song can exist nicely in any number of genres, a bad song doesn’t really work in any genre.

@DarylNorthrop: Love your work! Synthesizer is a great album. Any touring soon?
Paul Robb: Sadly, not at the moment. All three members are embroiled in other projects and daily life, and it’s difficult to find the time.

@manfariel: I’d ask if it is true that inSoc comes (to Brazil) from July 15-30? It is me, Paul, Viviane (Brazil, S�?£o Paulo)
Paul Robb: It is not true, unfortunately. Kurt has just started at a new company and can not really get away until the new game is out in the fall.

@chrisakavern: How come “Fire Tonight” is not in the live set?
Paul Robb: It’s a little bit of a downer for the live set, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you people rather see us jumping around shrieking like monkeys?

The live concert took place in Philadelphia in 2008 and featured James, Paul and Kurt in fantastic form. A German film crew shot the entire show from multiple angles and captured the fantastic energy of both the band and the audience. The track listing for the concert is:

1 Peace and Love, Inc.
2 Wrongful Death
3 The Seeds of Pain
4 Walking Away
5 Baby Just Wants
6 Burning Bridges
7 Think
8 Jonestown
9 Growing Up With Shiva
10 I Like The Way You Werk It
11 Run Away
12 Back in the Day (Old School Electro Version)
13 Running
14 Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
15 What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)

In addition to the full concert, the DVD contains all five videos released by the band during their time at Warner Records, available for the first time on DVD, taken directly from Warner’s archive masters. Bonus features include several photo montages, a video montage from their first tour of South America in the late 1980s, and a few other clips, including the infamous “Wall Street” video.

As if that wasn’t enough, the DVD also contains a full version of the band’s digital-only “Modulator” EP in MP3 format. Only available through digital download, this nine-track EP contains remixes from the Synthesizer album by such folks as Dave Aude’ and Tommie Sunshine, as well as a brand new track with Kurt on vocals (“Don’t Touch The Devil”) and a live recording of a track not previously available in stores (“Wrongful Death”).

This DVD is in NTSC format, which is the standard for American DVD players. Customers outside of North America using PAL or SECAM systems may or may not be able to view NTSC format. There is no Region Code on this DVD (Region Code 0).

The official release date for this product is October 20, 2009.

DVD Cover – VERY LARGE

MODULATOR, the new digital-only remix EP from Information Society is slated for release on September 22. Featured remixers include Tommie Sunshine, Dave Aude, Ego Likeness, among others.

Other surprises include a live version of the vintage INSOC classic, “Wrongful Death,” and “Don’t Touch the Devil,” which is a brand spankin’ new collaboration between Kurt Larson and Paul Robb.

MODULATOR will be available through all the major online services, including iTunes and Amazon.

-1. Seeds of Pain (Dave Aude Remix)
-2. Baby Just Wants (Lthrboots Remix)
-3. Run Away (Tommie Sunshine Remix)
-4. I Love It When… (Jon Gill’s Downtown Remix)
-5. More To This (Sucias TTV Mix)
-6. This Way Tonight (Ego Likeness Remix)
-7. Baby Just Wants (Wesley Krusher’s Ghost Girl Remix)
-8. Don’t Touch the Devil
-9. Wrongful Death (Live 2008)

Kurt is very, very upset. Kristin is heartbroken. There is a reward – please contact at the address shown in the images, no questions asked.

Kurt had with him a stuffed pig, “Jungle Pig,” on tour in Brasil.

While on stage in Ribeir�?£o Preto, he was STOLEN. He belongs to Kurt’s best friend (and our graphic designer), Kristin, and is a very important keepsake to her. Please, if you know where he is or know who has taken him, return him to his rightful owner.

He was taken from Kurt, and was last seen with someone who bought two t-shirts and admitted they’d stolen him. The pig-napper left before anybody could do anything to stop him.

Thank you.

Click the images for larger versions

Who knew that Paul could Samba?

Part Two – What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)

Thanks go out to Arvy and Junior Kain for providing the translation.
Translation Caderno B cover:

Alert: Eighties Lives

So, Information Society, a group that made the world dance with technopop of the past, is back in Brazil for the eighth time, and they don���?�t know why thousands of fans still love the dance floor hits while the rest of the country is listening to local (Brazilian) rock.

Page B4 (main article):

Technopop? Still?

Today, it sounds like an old bpm to less nostalgic ears, but in seven visits to Brazil ���?? in 1989, 1990, 1991 (twice), 1993, 1997, 2006 and the eighth about to happen on August 7 at Vivo Rio ���?? the American technopop group Information Society enjoys a rarely-reached status on the world stage.

â�?��?I can’t explain how we became so popular there, maybe it’s because the Brazilian people have an excellent musical taste,â�?� said Paul Robb, band co-founder, from New York in a phone interview with Jornal do Brasil. â�?��?The interesting thing is that we sold many more records here in the USA and Japan, but we never performed to a huge crowd like the times we’ve been in Brazil.â�?�

Tropical memories

Together with DJ’s and original band members Kurt Harland and James Cassidy, Paul Robb expects to face that receptivity one more time. They were the first international artists to perform in many Brazilian cities.

â�?��?On the first occasion in Manaus, it was very hot and I got sick,â�?� recalls Robb. â�?��?It felt like a hundred degrees. I couldn’t take it and I left the hotel to get some fresh air in the city. I bumped with a school-kind-of band that seemed to be fantastic. I don’t know why, but that military beat made me feel better from fever.â�?�

Many visits to Brazil, with countless stories.

â�?��?The best tour was in 1991, at Rock in Rio. It was one of the best shows of our career, but the fans complained a lot about the short set. We wanted to play more, but the organizers didn’t allow us. I don’t think they realized how popular we were, between stars like George Michael and Prince. Even now, in interviews, we are asked why that show was too short. I also remember that our success was so big we couldn’t get out from the hotel, so many fans gathered in the hall. To hang out in the city, we had to sneak out of the hotel, so we could take a ride through Rio together with Run DMC.â�?�
It was a time of pop music when guitars, bass and drums gave room to computers, synthesizers and drum machines. And Information Society reigned in that department. The technopop genre had roots from the 70’s, with the sound of bands like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. Soon after, others took flight. Some of them vanished (Human League, Ultravox, A Flock of Seagulls, Soft Cell, Thomas Dolby) while others kept themselves alive (Depeche Mode, New Order, and IS itself). The band – formed by Robb, Harland and Cassidy – had a collection of hits during their career, with a 3-year hiatus in 1993. Now they are back together, not just rehashing a glorious past, but actually producing new material. In 2007 they released a CD with brand new songs called Synthesizer and will release the DVD “It Is Useless to Resist Us” in October.

â�?��?The musical styles were changing and we didn’t want to change what we were doing just to keep us popular. We were 30, time to take a break, marry, and raise children.â�?�

The favorite pop gems vary with audiences around the world.

â�?��?It’s funny, but we noticed that even in our country the peopleâ�?��?�s taste may vary,â�?� points Paul. â�?��?On the west coast, â�?��?What’s On Your Mindâ�?� is unbeatable. Here in New York and also in Florida, the success is â�?��?Runningâ�?�. In Brazil, it always was â�?��?Repetitionâ�?�. All Brazilian chicks love the ballads!â�?�

All the hits, plus â�?��?How Longâ�?�, â�?��?Peace & Love, Inc.â�?� and â�?��?Thinkâ�?�, will be in the set list for this tour. In addition to Rio, the tour includes stops in Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, S�?£o Paulo and Ribeir�?£o Preto. Only in Rio de Janeiro, the show will be opened by DJ Mem�?ª, playing hits from the 80’s.

â�?��?I think the longevity of our success is due to the fact that our shows are very upbeat, compared to other electronic bands. And also, Information Society isn’t a reunion of three unemployed DJ’s, producers or singers. We are a real band,â�?� says Robb.

(end of main article)

(box section)

“People running out from the restrooms to the dance floor” by Amandio

In late-80’s and early-90’s they played a lot in carioca clubs. They were one of the most popular bands back in the day. Unfortunately, I never saw the band perform live, but I played Information Society a lot. I loved to play it. I remember very well, I was a resident DJ at Columbus, renamed Bunker later. I was doing a partnership with DJ Nino Carlo, who simply adored Information Society. I used to like it too, of course, but he was addicted. He could play â�?��?What’s On Your Mindâ�?� without stopping if you allowed. This song, by the way, was played a lot. It was a smash hit ’round here, especially on the dance floors. Actually, the whole album was a success.

It had a funky beat, a cool new thing. Not so fast, but enough to fill the dance floor. I just had to play it to see people stop peeing in the restrooms and run out to the dance floor. Those were dance floor hits, sales hits and radio hits. A unanimity, never seen before, because we had bands with huge success on the dance floors but a flop in sales, or a smash hit on radio but not on dance floors. Information Society attacked on all frontlines.

When I do 80’s parties, the band repertoire is still a success. It wasn’t just a thing from the past. The people still remember. It wasn’t a squared sound, they were very wild at that time, and that’s why it is still being played and everybody likes it. Some people say unanimity is dumb, but it wasn’t in this case, indeed.

Kurt at home with Allistair!

Coming soon to the InSoc iPhone app: sneak preview of tracks from the upcoming EP “It Is Useless To Resist Us” before they are posted anywhere else and more never-before-seen photos available exclusively on the app.

Click here to launch iTunes and download the app.

Stay tuned for the more information!

DIRECT LINK TO VIDEO

The first nine videos in the playlist were provided by Sherri Leu, whose photos of the band during their early days appear on the INSOC EP, the “Running” single released by Twin Tone, and Apocryphon: Electro Roots 1982-1985. More of Sherri’s photos from the band’s early days are posted on INSOC’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Information-Society/9242177284. Click the Photos tab and go to Fan Photos.

Can’t find your favorite classic INSOC videos on YouTube? You can still watch them at any one of these sites:

MySpace Video
Facebook
Imeem

Click here to learn more about why they were removed from YouTube.

If you missed the March 27th broadcast of Paul Robb’s interview on KFAI, listen to it right here.

Tune in to Across the Board with DJ SLT on KFAI at 2am (Central Daylight Time) Friday Early Morning on March 27. Mark your calendars!

For more info, go to http://mog.com/Apraxia/blog/1247173.

PAUL ROBB AND JAMES CASSIDY AT NYE’S POLONAISE ROOM

On March 27, Paul Robb and James Cassidy will be at Nye’s Polonaise Room in the evening. Stop by for your chance to meet Paul and James the night before the INSOC concert! For directions to Nye’s Polonaise Room, go to http://www.nyespolonaise.com.

Tickets for Information Society’s show on March 28 are available online at http://varsitytheater.indietickets.com and at Loring Pasta Bar. For more details, go to http://www.varsitytheater.org.

Tune in to Across the Board with DJ SLT on KFAI at 2am (Central Daylight Time) Friday Early Morning on March 27. Mark your calendars!

For more info, go to http://mog.com/Apraxia/blog/1247173.

PAUL ROBB AND JAMES CASSIDY AT NYE’S POLONAISE ROOM

On March 27, Paul Robb and James Cassidy will be at Nye’s Polonaise Room in the evening. Stop by for your chance to meet Paul and James the night before the INSOC concert! For directions to Nye’s Polonaise Room, go to http://www.nyespolonaise.com.

Tickets for Information Society’s show on March 28 are available online at http://varsitytheater.indietickets.com and at Loring Pasta Bar. For more details, go to http://www.varsitytheater.org.

Complete your collection.
Only $10 plus shipping.

That should be enough to let on that InSoc is returning triumphantly to Texas for two shows:

Information Society @ Dallas TX – 11:00PM, 3/20/09 (Friday)

The Opus Club
2208 Main St
Dallas, TX 75201

Information Society @ Houston, TX – 3/21/09 (Saturday)

The Zeppelin Club – 11:00PM
3101 San Jacinto St
Houston, TX 77004
(713) 521-7300

So fear not, my friends, enemies, co-workers, and even those of you I do not know – you do not have to go to Minneapolis to see Information Society! Well, you can, if you want to. Nobody’s going to stop you. Seriously – it’s your choice. You can even go to all three shows, if that’s how you roll.

Okay, if you’re in the band, you have to go. Yes, even you, Kurt.

Purchase tickets from Groove Tickets

That should be enough to let on that InSoc is returning triumphantly to Texas for two shows:

Information Society @ Dallas TX – 11:00PM, 3/20/09 (Friday)

The Opus Club
2208 Main St
Dallas, TX 75201

Information Society @ Houston, TX – 3/21/09 (Saturday)

The Zeppelin Club – 11:00PM
3101 San Jacinto St
Houston, TX 77004
(713) 521-7300

So fear not, my friends, enemies, co-workers, and even those of you I do not know – you do not have to go to Minneapolis to see Information Society! Well, you can, if you want to. Nobody’s going to stop you. Seriously – it’s your choice. You can even go to all three shows, if that’s how you roll.

Okay, if you’re in the band, you have to go. Yes, even you, Kurt.

Purchase tickets from Groove Tickets

www.opb.org/programs/ofg/videos/view/48-Voles

What’s that? You’ve been begging for a show that’s not in New York or California?

Not in Florida, Washington or Texas? Well, you’re in luck!

This coming March, Information Society will be returning to Minneapolis, Minnesota (where it all started!) to play at the Varsity Theater.

Varsity Theater
1308 4th St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414-2029

Ticket Information:

Tickets will go on sale (approximately) 01/03/09.

On the Web:
Indie Tickets.

In Person:
LORING PASTA BAR
327 14th Ave. SE
Minneapolis, MN

$20 Advance, $25 door

If you already own Apocryphon, please rate and review the album here.

Apocryphon is also available in a 2-CD Digipak with a full-color 30-page booklet at the INSOC Shop.

Can you name the character who wore the Information Society t-shirt in the film and describe the t-shirt design?

Choke is now showing in theaters across the US. Check your local listings.

More info about Choke:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/choke/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024715/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choke_(film)

Released under the new iTunes Plus format, we bring to you the highest quality recording coupled with DRM-free listening. Now you can have your cake, and eat it where ever you want.

Apocryphon sells for $19.99 on the iTunes store. Check it out.

CLICK HERE to be taken to the iTunes Music Store.

If you hurry, you can be the first to write a review.

**must have itunes installed**

WALKING AWAY

BABY JUST WANTS

Now available in the Shop.

Track List:
1. Empty 3.0
2. Closing In 2.0
3. On The Outside 2.1
4. Ending World 1.1
5. Seek300 2.11
6. The Sky Away 2.0
7. Are ‘Friends’ Electric? 2.0
8. Ozar Midrashim 1.1
9. The Ridge 1.1
10. White Roses 1.0
11. Kebabtr�?¤ume 1.0

Now available in the Shop.

Track List:
1. Empty 3.0
2. Closing In 2.0
3. On The Outside 2.1
4. Ending World 1.1
5. Seek300 2.11
6. The Sky Away 2.0
7. Are ‘Friends’ Electric? 2.0
8. Ozar Midrashim 1.1
9. The Ridge 1.1
10. White Roses 1.0
11. Kebabtr�¤ume 1.0

Next target – Los Angeles! Mark those calendars, loyal InSoc fans, unsure hangers on, confused unknowns, friends, family, enemies, acquaintances, and invaders from outer space! Mark them for Saturday, 27 September 2008! Mark them now!

Information Society will perform a live, full show at the Viper Room in Hollywood on September 27th. This will be the band’s first live performance in the L.A. area in more than ten years. Come see Kurt, Paul and James play the kind of music you didn’t know you liked, in a way that guarantees happiness as THEY define it. Listen!

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster and the Viper Room’s website.

Be there!

Next up:
@ Respectable Street, West Palm Beach FL 10/31/08

09/17/2008: Austin, Texas
09/27/2008: Los Angeles
10/04/2008: Santa Domingo
10/31/2008: West Palm Beach

Hurry and get your tickets now.

Download a copy of the article in PDF format.
You will need a PDF reader in order to open this file.

Click here for the translation:

- -

Caption of upper three photos:
The trio returns this year to the music scene with a tour of the EU, a
double disc, and a DVD filmed live in Philadelphia; they hope to visit
Mexico shortly.

- -

Title:
Revived Thanks To Nostalgia

- -

Left column:
The approaching CD ‘apocrypha’

August 1st brings to light “Apocryphon,” the “old and new” disc Paul
Robb conceived as a gift to all who maintain their devotion to
Information Society.

“‘Apocryphon’ is new in the sense that we’re releasing unknown songs
that we wrote and recorded before signing with a record company. I
don’t recommend it for those not true fans of the group because it’s
heavy and dark. If you like Information Society, it’s a treasure
because it’s a double disc with a big library of photographs.”

Besides upcoming shows in the United States and Peru, Robb doesn’t
discount a visit to Mexico.

“If something coalesces in Mexico, we’ll go. We live nearby and it’s
a brilliant place to visit. Check in on the new webpage.

“We’ve done big shows in Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Venezuela,
Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, and have plans for Peru and Chile.

- -

Central and right columns:
Paul Robb says grunge and hip-hop killed electronica.
Luis Carillo

For a band with exactly 20 years as the yolk of the electronic egg in
America which soon disappeared, it has been the lasting loyalty of its
fans and an overflow of nostalgia that has kept them alive.

Information Society, two guys bent over synthesizers and a vocalist
dancing in rollerskates with eccentricly (un)styled hair, dominated
clubs and arenas in North and South America in the 80s, with “What’s
On Your Mind” and “Walking Away.” Soon came the breakup, the
families, a hiatus of more than a decade and an attempted scheme by
the VH1 program “Bands Reunited” to seduce and compel them to perform
in 2004.

After recently making the disc “Synthesizer,” the society composed of
Paul Robb, Kurt Harland, and James Cassidy declares itself alive.
They have returned to the scene in the United States (including a
great night in Madison Square Garden), and in August they will release
the double album “Apocryphon” and a live DVD.

In an exclusive interview with Gente!, the leader, Paul Robb, admits
that for a generation which danced under neon lights and copied their
hairstyles, acne marks appeared, nostalgia weighs heavily and sells
albums and lots of tickets.

“Nostalgia sells. It’s a mixture of nostalgia and devotion.
Furthermore, people have more money as they get older and they can buy
concert tickets. Bands like Depeche Mode or Erasure haven’t stopped
making albums and touring. Surely they’ve had devoted fans since the
80s,” says Robb via telephone, from his house in Santa Monica.

“We’re alive, having concerts, and we’ll have ‘Apocryphon’ and the DVD
of the big show in Philadelphia. We didn’t die, it’s just that our
life hasn’t been structured for 15 years. We did other things and we
raised families.”

The musician recognizes that the market has changed, and speculates on
what would happen if Information Society were a new band today.

“We wouldn’t get a record deal (laughter), although there are bands
that sound similar to Information Society. We showed up at a strange
time; we were something too late for the 80s, and too early for the
techno of the 90s, and that affected our place in musical history.
Today we’re more popular in Europe than when we were a major success.
Erasure, OMD, and Depeche Mode had monopolized Europe. They said to
us “we already have Depeche and Erasure, why would we need Information
Society?”

It’s clear to Robb: two trends annihilated electronic music in the
dawn of the new decade.

“Really, grunge and hip-hop conspired to kill alternative electronic
music. In the 80s Information Society was considered alternative, and
in the middle of the 90s the alternative thing was a question of
rockers.”

- -

Right sidebar:
How I say it

“For me there isn’t one single group that’s the main icon. What’s
revolutionary one day is boring 10 years later; but something one
person finds boring, could captivate their children.”
Paul Robb
Leader of Information Society

Caption of lower photos:
For 20 years, the band has been one of the principal exponents of the
electronic genre in America.

—————————————————————————-
TITLE: Apocryphon: Electro Roots 1982-1985.

Limited Edition 2-CD Digipak, complete with full-color, 30-page booklet chock full of never-before-seen photos of Information Society in the early days.
Contains the complete INSOC EP, the ultra-rare Creatures of Influence album, both re-mastered, and an entire 2nd CD full of live and rarely-heard recordings from the INSOC archives. None of this material has ever been released on CD before!

Price: $19.95
Shipping: $3.00 / $6.00 Int’l.
—————————————————————————-

The World Famous Viper Room will be host to the first Los Angeles show in at least 10 YEARS!!!

make sure you order your tickets early though. This is a small venue and will sell out.
Viper Room
8852 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, California

WEBSITE

VIPER ROOM ONLINE TICKETS

Sign up for Information Society’s email list at http://informationsociety.fanbridge.com and get the latest band news delivered to your inbox. More info about the 25th anniversary 2-CD release is coming soon, so be prepared.

Check out the full article in the multimedia section
or
follow this link to the original article: Santa Monica Mirror

Check out the full article in the multimedia section
or
follow this link to the original article: Santa Monica Mirror

This is no joke.

More to come soon.

This is no joke.

More to come soon.

Happy birthday (four days late, sorry!) to the man who makes things happen!

Remix Contest

Happy Birthday.

Very well written.

……Touring behind their most recently released 2007 disc Synthesizer, Information Society received a hearty welcome from the San Francisco crowd, who was eager to cheer from the very first thumping beat of the set. Kicking things off with â�?��?Peace & Love, Inc.â�?� (from the 1992 album of the same name) Harland Larson, in pigtails and a leather jacket, waved a magic wand-type instrument, striking a synth pad as images of various members of the Bush administration blinked behind him…….

[[ FULL REVIEW ]]

Now, fret not my little luv-bots. Kurt’s enormous and detailed site has already been archived here. You’ll notice a new link under the InSoc NOW! heading. So Kurt’s site will continue to live on in all it’s glory. And now it is closer and faster.

Also: New Pictures From the SF Show @ the DNA Lounge

Now, fret not my little luv-bots. Kurt’s enormous and detailed site has already been archived here. You’ll notice a new link under the InSoc NOW! heading. So Kurt’s site will continue to live on in all it’s glory. And now it is closer and faster.

Also: New Pictures From the SF Show @ the DNA Lounge

If you are attending the Philly show, be sure to look your best. You just might appear in one of the crowd shots!

Other shows scheduled for January:

SEATTLE
Jan. 6, 2008
El Corazon
All Ages Welcome

SAN FRANCISCO
Jan. 13, 2008
DNA Lounge
21+

AUSTIN
Jan. 18, 2008
Elysium
21+

Please note that Information Society has no control over the age restriction at the San Francisco and Austin venues. You must be at least 21 to attend these shows. Please refer to the DNA Lounge and Elysium sites for more information.

We have just added dates for shows in San Francisco, CA (January 13th) and Austin, TX (January 18th) to our upcoming live appearances!

You now have two more chances to witness InSoc’s inimitable, legendary live performance, even if you cannot attend our recently announced Philadelphia, PA (January 5th) or Seattle, WA (January 6th) shows…

Please be advised that the shows in San Francisco and Austin are restricted to ages 21+! Remember to bring ID to ensure admission to the venue, as without it you may be denied entry.

All ages are welcome at the Seattle and Philadelphia performances.

For the first time in nearly 15 years, the three original members of Information Society ���?� Paul Robb, James Cassidy, and Kurt Larson ���?� will be performing a live, full set together. The first shows of 2008 are scheduled for Philadelphia, PA and Seattle, WA.

These live shows will be few and far between, so we recommend if you live anywhere in the vicinity of these cities, and have ever wanted to see INSOC’s legendary live show, now is the time.

The group will be playing songs from each and every album they have released, including the ultra-rare INSOC EP and “Creatures of Influence”, “Don’t Be Afraid,” and the new release “Synthesizer.” Also on tap will be a few old-school analog headbangers that haven’t been heard since the early 80’s.

“Whats on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” and “Running” are just some of the dance floor classics by the seminal synth-pop band Information Society, back for 2007 with a new release paying homage to their roots – the Synthesizer. Producer Paul Robb spoke with us about everything from freestyle and changing lineups to free software and the internet. Paul is the kind of witty guy you want to chat with for hours at a pub and new tracks like “Baby Just Once” and “Back In The Day” would be the perfect soundtrack.

Check out the full interview

“Whats on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” and “Running” are just some of the dance floor classics by the seminal synth-pop band Information Society, back for 2007 with a new release paying homage to their roots – the Synthesizer. Producer Paul Robb spoke with us about everything from freestyle and changing lineups to free software and the internet. Paul is the kind of witty guy you want to chat with for hours at a pub and new tracks like “Baby Just Once” and “Back In The Day” would be the perfect soundtrack.

Check out the full interview

1: Synthesizer has moved from the number 8 spot to the number 5 spot on the German Alternative Charts.

check it out: German Alternative Charts

2: Here is an AWESOME review we received from Gothtronic, a Belgian music site.

FROM SITE:

Information Society makes synthpop with a strong 80â�?��?�s influence, as can be heard in uptempo songs like â�?��?Baby Just Wantsâ�?��?�, â�?��?I Love it Whenâ�?�¦â�?��?� and â�?��?I Like the Way You Werk Itâ�?��?�. Information Society however doesnâ�?��?�t stay away from playing with modern sounds and rhythms too, so the music on Synthesizer should appeal to fans of modern electropop like Mesh or De/Vision as well. â�?��?More to Thisâ�?��?� and â�?��?This way Tonightâ�?��?� contain phat rhythms that come straight from R â�?��?n B music and this results in very fresh sounding danceable tunes. Also â�?��?Somnambulisticâ�?��?� is a strong track and the vocals in â�?��?Burning Bridgesâ�?��?� somehow remind strongly of those of The Cruxshadows.. Musicwise it however is fully Information Society with itâ�?��?�s synthetic electropop.

Check out the full review at their site.

1: Synthesizer has moved from the number 8 spot to the number 5 spot on the German Alternative Charts.

check it out: German Alternative Charts

2: Here is an AWESOME review we received from Gothtronic, a Belgian music site.

FROM SITE:

Information Society makes synthpop with a strong 80ââ?¬â?¢s influence, as can be heard in uptempo songs like ââ?¬Ë?Baby Just Wantsââ?¬â?¢, ââ?¬Ë?I Love it Whenââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬â?¢ and ââ?¬Ë?I Like the Way You Werk Itââ?¬â?¢. Information Society however doesnââ?¬â?¢t stay away from playing with modern sounds and rhythms too, so the music on Synthesizer should appeal to fans of modern electropop like Mesh or De/Vision as well. ââ?¬Ë?More to Thisââ?¬â?¢ and ââ?¬Ë?This way Tonightââ?¬â?¢ contain phat rhythms that come straight from R ââ?¬Ë?n B music and this results in very fresh sounding danceable tunes. Also ââ?¬Ë?Somnambulisticââ?¬â?¢ is a strong track and the vocals in ââ?¬Ë?Burning Bridgesââ?¬â?¢ somehow remind strongly of those of The Cruxshadows.. Musicwise it however is fully Information Society with itââ?¬â?¢s synthetic electropop.

Check out the full review at their site.

SYNTHESIZER IS NOW OFFICIALLY HERE

Today, 9 October 2007, is the official release date for this new album from Dancing Ferret Discs.
“Synthesizer” is the first new Information Society album in a decade. It features Kurt Harland, Paul Robb and James Cassidy (the “classic lineup” from their debut album) as well as other special guests and members of the “InSoc Collective.” Fans of the band’s best-known hits like “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy),” “Running” and “Think” will find this new album to be familiar without being stale. Those who follow the current crop of electro-pop bands will also find plenty to love about “Synthesizer,” including a greater appreciation of the influence that Information Society had (and still has) on so many successful electronic artists.

Released October 9th, 2007 on Dancing Ferret Discs.

Straight from the German Alternative Music Charts, Synthesizer debuts in the number 10 spot.

Straight from the German Alternative Music Charts, Synthesizer debuts in the number 10 spot.

SYNTHESIZER is NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDER here in the INSOC SHOP. That’s right, the wait is finally over – SYNTHESIZER is FINALLY HERE.

SYNTHESIZER will be in stores on October 9th in the US and October 5th in Europe, but we know you don’t want to wait that long, so we’ve prepared a limited edition release of 1000 copies exclusively for direct purchase in the INSOC SHOP.

The limited edition will be shipping on September 1, more than a month before the record appears in stores, so you’ll definitely be the first on you block to get it!

TRACK LISTING

So, what are you waiting for? Order yours today!

He turns 29.

Happy Birthday, now get back to work.

Finally, here is a music video featuring the recording of our live performance of What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) and Running at Madison Square Garden, with footage Kristin shot before and during the Freestyle Reunion II concert synced up to the audio track. They may not have allowed her to film our performance, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a music video!

Additionally, check out two new exclusive backstage clips!

• Kurt Interviews Eddie
• Kristin joking around with Caz

[ VIEW ALL MSG VIDEOS ]

INSOC LIVE @ MSG – PHOTOS!

There are still plenty of pictures expected to arrive from Caz and Ed, so keep your eye on this soon-to-be-larger gallery of pictures from our appearance in New York!

[ VIEW GALLERY ]

Enjoy!

Many thanks to falcotronik for this most excellent music video.

MORE BACKSTAGE CLIPS
• Madison Square Garden Kazmeyer Compilation
  Clips of Jim Cassidy sharing wisdom and wandering around backstage at MSG
• How Hard Could it Be?!
  Kurt Harland gives an amusing anecdote regarding the difficulty of keeping cool on tour.
• No Wristbands
  “Without wristbands, they’re not going to let you go upstairs….”

More to come!

You want to look awesome, right?

Of course! Everyone does – including us!

That’s why we are providing these sexy, awesome, funky new shirts!

The black shirts feature the Oscillator-style alien design in gray on the lower left slightly wrapped around to the back, “INFORMATION SOCIETY” in a dot-matrix font down the right side of the shirt.

You requested it, and we listened! The new shirt design is available as long and short sleeved t-shirts, as well as womens fitted babydoll t-shirts.

You can pick up a new shirt of your very own (or any of the other available shirts, stickers, and other fun InSoc things…) at the INSOC SHOP!

Paul Robb, James Cassidy, and Kurt Harland Larson will be performing live on stage in NYC on July 21st. Tickets for Freestyle Reunion 2007 at Madison Square Garden are on sale now at Ticketmaster!

More info and ticketing at Ticketmaster

a knife and a cork, a bottle and a fork…

If you’ve purchased Oscillator, let the world know what you think about the CD.

Post your review on Amazon!

Oscillator is currently available at the INSOC SHOP for $8.00.

You know you’ve been waiting for it. And now, your wish has been granted! Yes, kids, HACK is now available on iTunes. Recently unleashed to wreak mayhem upon the Internet, HACK and the little known compilation EP Rhino Hi-Five: Information Society have landed at iTunes and want to go home with YOU!

So, how much of our impressive and world-changing catalogue is available on iTunes for your listening pleasure? We have you covered. Below, you will find a up-to-the-minute (as of 5 June 2007) list of the InSoc releases currently available through iTunes.

Albums:

• Information Society
• HACK
• Peace and Love, Inc.
• Don’t Be Afraid

EPs, Singles, and Compilations

• Rhino Hi-Five: Information Society
• InSoc Recombinant
• Oscillator EP

Initially, this show was initially interrupted by a security guard walking across the stage (?!). Later interruptions included about eight people and THE COPS running up on stage, a drunk unruly girl attempting to bother, molest, or dance with Kurt, with security (strangely!) nowhere to be found, and Kurt becoming stuck backstage at the beginning of the last song.

Not our best show ever…

The set contained four songs – the first was Peace and Love, Inc – but the video of the first song was unusuable because the lights were bad, the sound was terrible, and Kristin kept getting JOSTLED by the UNRULY HOOLIGANS.

INSOC @ THE VENUE | MAY 26 2007

Video of our performance (minus Peace & Love, Inc) at the dubious Venue Nightclub, New Orleans, LA.

And, of course, the gallery of over fifty still photos is available as well!

[ VIEW GALLERY ]

OSCILLATOR is the first new commercial release from INFORMATION SOCIETY in six years. The legendary electropop group returns with a taste of their forthcoming album SYNTHESIZER, which will be a full-length release.”

OSCILLATOR focuses on the underground hit “Back in the Day,” with the album version and several remixes, but also offers two versions of the extremely infectious cyber-synthpop groove “I Like the Way you Werk It,” – the album version and a slick remix. The third song on the OSCILLATOR EP is a live b-side, “Great Big Disco World,” which was recorded in Japan in 2006.
The expected arrival date is set for June 18th.

This EP is highly recommended – the music is fresh and appealing, but still retains the signature intelligent, quirky, tongue-in-cheek quality which has come to be seen as very uniquely “Information Society.”

( from an iTunes user review)

That’s right, humans and robots. The Oscillator EP will soon be available on CD for your enjoyment. After our Internet-exclusive premiere of OSCILLATOR in March, did you think you would never get it on CD? Don’t feel ripped off, though, if you t hought it wasn’t going to happen – the CD version of OSCILLATOR is different!

TRACK LISTING

1. Back In The Day
2. I Like The Way You Werk It
3. Great Big Disco World
4. Back In The Day (Electro Roots Mix)
5. I Like The Way You Werk It (Jr. Kain and Arvy Mix)
6. Back In The Day (Kasino Mix)
7. Back In The Day (Jr. Kain and Arvy Mix)

So, what are you waiting for? Pre-order yours today!

INSOC @ ELEMENT | MAY 3 2007

Video of our performance at Element NYC, from beginning to end.

[ VIEW GALLERY ]

a knife and a fork
a bottle and a cork,
that’s the way you spell “New York.”

InSoc @ ElementNYC | May 3 2007

225 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002

Tickets
Purchase advance tickets at TicketWeb for $10 or $15 at the door.

Hours
9:00 pm – 2:00 AM

Ages
21+ – Bring proper ID

Contact
For Info, please email: info@elementny.com

[ More Information! ]

The first two of those releases, “Skullbuggery” and “Mandroid,” are now available on iTunes, Napster, eMusic, Rhapsody and elsewhere through the good offices of HAKATAK International.

More to come later this summer….More info at Hakatak Int’l MySpace!

Additionally, information for all upcoming shows has been updated – including ticket info.

“We Mean You No Harm” Magnet

Don’t you love the funky ASCII Space Invaders guy? Of course you do.

Now, you can have your very own bright yellow magnet to stick wherever your heart desires – as long as the surface is magnetic, of course. Don’t try and stick this to drywall, glass, carpet, wood, or any other non-magnetic substance, or you will be sorely disappointed by the performance of your magnet. Stick it to steel, though, and it’s a whole new ballgame!

This magnet is bright yellow with black graphics, featuring our text-based extraterrestrial buddy, and “INFORMATION SOCIETY” across the top, “WE MEAN YOU NO HARM” across the bottom.

Looks great on your fridge, file cabinet, locker, protocol droid, or hovercraft. Available now in the INSOC SHOP!

InSoc Gift Pack

Are you indecisive? Need a gift idea?

Fear not, humans! This new addition to the INSOC SHOP will solve the problem for you! This package comes with the Window Sticker, The Logo Sticker and the Magnet. Pick it up while supplies last.

The shop has been updated with our latest creation – a transparent, “University Style” sticker for the back window (or front window, side window, sunroof, moonroof, porthole, glass bottom, windshield, use your imagination) of your glass-enclosed vehicle. Or the window of your apartment. Perhaps the acrylic side-panel of your tricked out custom-built PC.

Whatever the case may be, this sticker is printed in reverse, to be stuck INSIDE a transparent surface, and designed to look like the classic “team spirit” type of decal generally used by schools. These stickers are a classy, fun and unique way to show your undying love for Information Society. Or to make it look like you’re the member of some sort of exclusive club. Or maybe to simulate having gone to some high-priced ivy-league school on the East coast – as long as nobody looks too hard at the sticker, that is.

While this sticker will make your ride look way cooler (unless your ride is Vector, in which case it can’t possibly look cooler), it will not in fact make you any smarter and does not double as a college education, even though it’s called the “University” style of sticker.

Head on over to the INSOC SHOP and pick one up for yourself!

The shop has been updated with our latest creation – a transparent, “University Style” sticker for the back window (or front window, side window, sunroof, moonroof, porthole, glass bottom, windshield, use your imagination) of your glass-enclosed vehicle. Or the window of your apartment. Perhaps the acrylic side-panel of your tricked out custom-built PC.

Whatever the case may be, this sticker is printed in reverse, to be stuck INSIDE a transparent surface, and designed to look like the classic “team spirit” type of decal generally used by schools. These stickers are a classy, fun and unique way to show your undying love for Information Society. Or to make it look like you’re the member of some sort of exclusive club. Or maybe to simulate having gone to some high-priced ivy-league school on the East coast – as long as nobody looks too hard at the sticker, that is.

While this sticker will make your ride look way cooler (unless your ride is Vector, in which case it can’t possibly look cooler), it will not in fact make you any smarter and does not double as a college education, even though it’s called the “University” style of sticker.

Head on over to the INSOC SHOP and pick one up for yourself!

Some of you may have noticed a brief period of time when the site was not available this morning. Some of you may not have.

For those that did notice, I am sorry. A very much needed site update was processing. Fixed many errors. Like with the Photo Gallery. And others.

But now is not the time to reflect on the old. I’m here to tell you about the new. Well, show you… at least. Follow the links to see the new material.

• Discography — brand new
• UnReleased — updated
• Beat Mutation — updated
• Photo gallery — fixed
• Multimedia — Completely New and working section

I am sure there are way more than that. That’s just off the top of my head.
There will also be new additions to the InSoc Store very soon. Keep an eye out.

Since we didn't have enough material to fill an album, we decided upon our five best songs, which were called, respectively: Bacchanale, Fall in Line, Growing Up with Shiva, Get Up Away From That Thing, and Can You Live (as Fast as Me?). We were still very pretentious. Bacchanale was an instrumental which I'd written in my "electronic-music-as-Dionysiac-tribal-experience" phase. This was a full ten years before the rave kids, with the assistance of Ecstasy, began climbing on that band wagon, I might add. I can remember fantasizing about huge concerts in which the first few drumbeats of Bacchanale were enough to send the vast crowd into an ecstatic sufi-like whirling trance.

Fall in Line was a rudimentary pop song with lyrics that addressed our Bohemian disapproval of television and tie-in marketing. Sample lyrics: "I read the book / I saw the film / I heard the song / Now I live the life." Since neither Kurt nor I could really complete an entire song at this point, I turned the bridges over to him, and this is what he came up with: "You come from across the Sea / And you shudder when you listen to me." For some reason, it never occurred to us that these lyrics were perhaps more true than we knew.

Growing Up with Shiva was our anti-nuke song, equating The Bomb with the Hindu god of destruction. It also included the one and only time I actually attempted to rap. Keep in mind, this was 1983, when even early rap stars like Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow were just getting started. However, that doesn't change the fact that my rapping was absolutely awful–wordy, white, and pretentious. Growing Up with Shiva was our first little hit, though, and as we sat in a pizza joint in downtown Minneapolis we had the first experience of hearing our music on the radio when KFAI, the low-power public radio station played it on a Friday night.

Get Up Away From That Thing was another anti-television diatribe, based loosely on James Brown's Get Up Offa That Thing. It's funny–for a group of kids who frequently stayed up until 3:00 AM to catch reruns of Kung Fu, we certainly affected a distaste for pop culture. But the simultaneous immersion in, and disgust with, popular culture was a theme that would be played out pretty much non-stop throughout our short career. Towards the end, though, all the affectations were gone, and we really did despise the monster we'd helped create and were wallowing in. In the end section of the song, where JB did his standard trick of listing all his best cities and saying, "I'm coming!", we used the occasion to list all the shopping malls in Minneapolis. We also made some snide comments about "partying" and "drinking beer," which helped to further endear us to the local music scene.

Can You Live (As Fast As Me) was yet another modern-life-in-the-information-age-type screed. Sample lyrics: "I believe in the power of rock and roll / And I believe that Exxon will save my soul." That's a pretty good line, actually.

On the back of the record I included a small essay that perfectly encapsulates the hilariously sincere, adolescent nature of the undertaking. Here it is in full:

"In an age of video wallpaper and aural anesthesia, music has become a prostitute. No longer is it a gift from the gods; it has become a pacifier, a tranquilizer, and a tool. A tool to protect us from loneliness, to entice us to buy, and to keep us from seeing how bad things have really become. At one time, music was a vital experience. It was physical, emotional, almost religious. But today music is just one more device used by the Sun King called civilization to control itself."

Oh my. Can you tell I was a Humanities major? What I forgot to add was, "And so we're gonna register our extreme anti-consumerist tendencies by trying really hard to make lots of money in the music business." At least I had the decency to give a "Special Thanks" to my bank-robbing buddy Todd on the back cover. Of course the mysterious Erich Zahn is listed as Executive Producer.

One local paper reviewed the disc with two words: "Wordy much?"

Out of the thousand copies that we pressed, we sold maybe a hundred. We sent off consignments to big name indie distributors like Important and Dutch East Indies, and never heard from them again. One local distributor, when we were coming to retrieve our unsold stock, actually said: "Yeah, I'd appreciate it if you would get ���?em the hell outta here."

For some reason, it never occurred to us to use the records as demos. In fact, the whole idea of getting "signed" to a record label seemed never to have appeared in our brains at all at this point. We kept playing shows every month or two, somehow expecting to be "discovered," like in the old movies.

Read the Interview Here!

Please note that the order in which the tracks are currently played on the Full CD Listening Party is as follows and differs from the actual track listing on the EP:

1. Back in the Day (Kain & Arvy Mix)
2. Great Big Disco World (featuring Vitamin C)
3. Back in the Day (Electro Roots Remix)
4. I Like the Way You Werk It
5. Back in the Day (Kasino Remix)
6. Back in the Day (Album Mix)

Click here to listen to Oscillator for free.

Oscillator is available online at Napster, iTunes, eMusic, and Ruckus.

Click here to be taken to the original page for this interview

I had been a fan of Information Society since the release of their self-titled LP in 1989. But it was their follow up release, Hack, that propelled them into the forefront of my favorite recording artists, a spot that they have remained in ever since. The original line-up of the band [Paul Robb, James Cassidy and Kurt Harland] dissolved shortly after their third release, Peace and Love, Inc., and was continued solely by lead singer Kurt Harland on the incredibly atmospheric Don’t Be Afraid.

Information Society had not recorded any new material since that 1997 release and I had begun to give up hope of ever hearing anything new until last spring when it was announced that Paul Robb was working on a new record [Synthesizer] with James Cassidy and newcomers Christopher Anton and Sonja Myers and would soon be playing select cities. I was lucky enough to catch the reunited Information Society last summer [see my coverage of the show here] and had an amazing time. Information Society has been on hiatus for almost a decade but has not missed a beat.

Paul Robb graciously accepted an invitation to participate in an electronic interview for the Plaza of the Mind. It was conducted over the past month and I am happy to present it here today as it coincides with the internet release of the band’s new EP, Oscillator.

[The Plaza of the Mind quotes appear in Bold-type, Mr. Robb’s in normal-type]

now available :: OSCILLATOR :: internet-only release

( more information )

Oscillator EP

Exclusive Internet Release

OSCILLATOR’ is the first new commercial release from INFORMATION SOCIETY in six years. The legendary electropop group returns with a taste of their forthcoming ‘SYNTHESIZER’ full-length release.

This six-song EP features newcomer Christopher Anton on vocal duties, as well as a range of intriguing guests and remixers.

OSCILLATOR contains four mixes of the underground smash “Back in the Day,” as well as a rare live recording of the band, made at Club Milky Robot in Osaka, Japan in 2006.

Described by SPIN magazine as “high tech, high concept, and relentlessly high energy,” INFORMATION SOCIETY continues to pump out the club jams.

Track Listing:

1. Back in the Day
2. Back in the Day (Kasino Mix)
3. Back in the Day (Electro Roots Mix)
4. Back in the Day (Kain & Arvy Mix)
5. I Like the Way You Werk It
6. Great Big Disco World (Live) (featuring Vitamin C)

What’s that? You’d rather eat glass than support iTunes? No problem! Here is the list of online services that our distributer claims will be carrying “Oscillator” for your listening pleasure.

Oscillator is to be carried by:

• Amp’d Mobile
• Audio Lunchbox
• BurnLounge
• Ecast
• Daiki
• InRadio
• iTunes
• Liquid Digital Media
• Mix & Burn
• mTraks
• Musicnet
• Musiwave
• Napster
• Navio
• 0D2 (Loudeye)
• Pure Tracks
• Rhapsody
• Ruckus
• Soundexchange

4.14.07 – Mohegan Sun Casino – Uncasville, CT
5.03.07 – Element – New York City, NY
5.12.07 – University of Central Florida – Orlando, FL
5.26.07 – The Venue – New Orleans, LA

Be sure to check back often at Information Society’s Official Site and INSOC’s MySpace page for the latest news and concert dates.

We also started manufacturing and covering the city with a vast series of self-promoting posters, with pseudo-advertising slogans like: "Insoc makes life betterâ�?�¦For You!" and "Alive with Pleasure: Insoc!" and "Insoc & You: a Great Combination!"

After our second show at First Avenue, the manager of the club, a legendary figure in the local music scene, and a notorious cokehead and drunk, called us upstairs to his office for a meeting. He proceeded to ramble on at length about our potential, and how to "work" the music business, in a completely incoherent way. "I'm a man who likes confrontation," he said, "whether it's in the back room at Moby's or here in my office." Moby Dick's was a serious drinker's bar wedged between two strip joints on Hennepin Avenue that none of us ever would have gone near for fear of being killed. We really had no clue what he was trying to say. It seemed that he was excited by our new sound, and by the fact that we were drawing a new crowd into the club. I only realized this in retrospect though, because at the time none of us had any idea what he was talking about. It felt good to be noticed, though.

The remainder of the already-famous Minneapolis music scene was also noticing us, though in a not-so-charitable light. Already known as clumsy geeks and pretentious nerds, we were also being revealed as tee totaling know-it-alls, who seemed to despise almost everything about the then-ascendant beer-swilling, guitar-slinging punk scene, which was true.

To them, we were Art Twats. We never hung around before or after our shows to drink and socialize with the other bands; we were usually too worried about transporting and setting up our giant rickety piles of synthesizers and drum machines. We also didn't wear the requisite jeans-and-flannel uniform that was already de rigeur among bands; instead, we wore custom-made two-tone fluorescent-colored jumpsuits! Just the thing that punk bands with names like Ground Zero and Final Conflict and the Warheads were rebelling against.

We often found ourselves in radio interviews and local articles talking about how much better synthesizers were than guitars. And worst of all, as far as the other local bands were concerned, was the fact that we played disco. In the early ‘80's, the whole disco-sucks thing was still a big issue, and any band that used drum machines and synthesizers was immediately considered the Enemy. It didn't help matters when we started performing huge multi-part opuses with titles like Disco's Not Dead (It's Only Sleeping), and when Kurt started spicing his monologues with rhetorical questions like: "Who dares to say that Insoc doesn't rawk?"

We did have a few champions in the local scene, however. Tim Holmes, the Director of Performing Arts at the Walker Art Center was one of early supporters, and arranged several concerts under the highly credible auspices of the Walker. He was obviously a man with very refined tastes, because he later went on to write a groundbreaking biography of John Cougar Mellencamp.

Roy Freedom, the head DJ at First Avenue was also a big fan of ours, and helped see to it that we got some choice slots on the stages at the club. He also attempted to keep me informed of new trends in the dance music scene. Once he came back from a trip to New York, and excitedly told me about "a new kind of rap music."

"They call it Hip Hop," he said. "It's much faster than old rap music, and it uses a lot of live instrumentation." I'm not sure about the live instrumentation part, but it's true that new producers were starting to appear like Afrika Bambaata and Arthur Baker, who made rap music fast enough to be played in the white dance clubs. Even in clubs in Minneapolis. In my opinion, this was an important early step in the mainstreaming of rap music which took place long before groups like Run DMC and the Beastie Boys had their big crossover hits. Roy Freedom later quit the music business to become a mailman.

In the meantime I had taken a job at First Avenue working as a stagehand and VJ (video jockey). I often arrived at the club at 11:00 AM, and didn't leave until 2:00 or 2:30 AM the next day, but since the headline acts rarely arrived before 5:00, I spent many hours sitting around the club fantasizing about someday playing on the big stage. And since as the club manager helpfully pointed out, "we pay for hours worked not hours in attendance," most of these hours were unremunerated, except in the currency of dreams. And yes it was the same guy who had been so effusively, if incoherently, praising us a few months before.

Since I didn't have a car at this point, I would usually walk across the Mississippi River bridge after work and crash at the apartment Kurt shared with his dad. I often found myself sleeping in the same bed with Kurt.

First Avenue was somewhat unique (at that time) in incorporating live video of concerts which they would project on the large screens throughout the club. (Just the thing us TV generation kids reveled in: pay big bucks to go see a live show, then watch it on TV!) During concert nights I usually got to be the guy who sat on top of the speaker stacks with the video camera, which allowed me to study all the rock stars of the era in close-up. On one occasion I was chewed out by Grant Hart of Husker Du for not using the video system during their show (his bandmate Bob Mould had told us not to). And this was the same guy who had gotten us our first show at First Avenue a couple of years earlier. He didn't realize that I was so low on the totem pole that no amount of browbeating would have changed anything.

The video thing was cool, and sometimes I got lucky enough to hang out in the DJ booth and run the lights, but mostly I just carried road cases.

My budding career as a professional case-carrier was, alas, cut short when I injured my back helping lug the Ramones' archaic and massive sound system into the club. The one good thing to come out of working at the club was the exposure to all the new records that the DJ's played, and I often found myself worming my way into the DJ booth, even on my off-nights, to catch the names of the records as they spun on the turntables. I abandoned and restarted my college education several times during this period, each time vowing this would be the final decision.

We also acquired a fifth member, James Cassidy, who started out as our volunteer lighting man, graduated to playing banjo solos during our infamous mangling of James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing," and eventually was invited to join the band as a full member, mostly because he was so eager and fun to be around. He also usually took my side in arguments with Kurt, which was reason enough in itself as far as I was concerned. We announced his joining the band with a full-scale press release, billing him as "the well-known conceptual artist and rabble-rouser James Richter," which brought our histrionic pretentiousness to such a delightfully crass level that even some of the local music papers started to write good things about us.

During this period we rehearsed in a rented room on the second floor of an antique hall, a sort of permanent flea-market. The second floor also contained, incongruously enough, a large auditorium, and as we rehearsed in our little room, we could hear echoing from the auditorium across the hall the alarming shrieks and sobs of the all-woman primal scream therapy class that invariably seemed to be scheduled at the same time as our rehearsals.

Have you all been checking the calendar? No? Well, that’s too bad because you could miss something awesome. March and April are shaping up to be busy! Here’s the news you can use:

19 MARCH 2007 :: OSCILLATOR EP RELEASE :: [ INTERNET ]

The moment we’ve all been waiting for: Oscillator EP Internet Release, mere days from now, on March 19, 2007… Keep your eye on iTunes to pick it up!

23 MARCH 2007 :: WINTER MUSIC CONFERENCE & 22nd ANNUAL IDMAs :: [ MIAMI, FL ]

Paul Robb will be appearing on the “History of Electronic Music” panel at the Winter Music Conference, along with electro legend Man Parrish, among others, on Friday March 23.

Later that night, Paul Robb will be one of the presenters at the 22nd annual IDMAs (International Dance Music Awards).

24 MARCH 2007 :: ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL :: [ MIAMI, FL ]

On with the sunscreen as the band performs its first outdoor, daytime (!) performance in many years.

INFORMATION SOCIETY will be performing a short set at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami on Saturday, March 24.

"I really feel like wailing tonight. This would be an excellent night to just really get out there and—I mean, fuck! There's three great reasons we should really have a good time tonight. Number one, we are fucking gods. Secondly, we own this place," says Eddie the Weasel. He gestures around him at the gorgeous hardwood bars, the narrow-focus spotlights illuminating every table, the thick velvet drapes covering the windows, the unbelievably dense crowd of models, Wall Street players, and beautiful people surrounding us. "And secondly, er…I mean, we should really get out and do some wailing tonight." By this he means he really wants to continue drinking and socializing.

It's not as if we hadn't done some wailing already. We had originally assembled in the dark, luxurious confines of the Temple Bar in the early evening to celebrate the release of our second album, secure in the knowledge that we had at least one surefire single to work in the coming months. Our first record had gone gold almost overnight a year and a half before, and our position in the pop firmament seemed assured.

Our manager had just departed with his entire entourage (brothers and sister, girlfriend/assistant and assorted hangers-on), after leading us in a two or three hour-long martini and champagne drinking binge that culminated in the purchase of a three-hundred dollar magnum of Veuve Clicquot, which had been spilled across the table before anyone had a chance to pour from it.

At a certain point earlier in the evening, one of our managers' friends had looked around the table and said: "I just realized that we live in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and no one I know has a real job."

"What happened to the Beak, anyway?" asks the weasel. By this he means that he is already too drunk to notice that Cassidy has left the table to go to the restroom.

"He's in the bathroom," I say. "Let's just stay here for awhile. I just ordered a MacAllen Eighteen Year Old, and I think I'm starting to hear the bagpipes." By this I mean that I am entering what Jim Cassidy calls "the lovely mood," i.e. the early, contented, all-is-right-with-the-world stage of drunkenness.

"Let's get some cognac," sassy Unremembered Girl Number One, as Cassidy returns to the table.

Soon we are all sipping from huge snifters of Hennessey, and Cassidy and I are working on a new trick I had recently seen in a movie. I would take a puff of my Macanudo (you could still smoke in bars in those days, even cigars, if you were obnoxious enough), blow the smoke into the snifter, and cover the top with my hand, trapping the smoke inside, allowing it to become infused with the scent of the cognac. Then I would stick my nose into the snifter, inhale the smoke, and exhale it once again through my mouth. We're talking high class all the way, here. And did I mention that all three of the men are wearing sunglasses?

Soon the cognac has given way to Drambuie, then Chartreuse, then more martinis. The din is deafening; everyone in the tiny, cramped room is shouting to be heard above the general racket of fabulousness.

"Those people at the next table," says Unremembered Girl Number Two slurringly, "are bitching about your cigars, you guys."

"Fuck them," I say. "Fuck everybody! We own them!" By this I mean that we were young, successful, relatively rich, and we didn't have to pay much attention to anybody.

"You are a God!" say Eddie the Weasel, looking at me with admiration.

Unremembered Girl Number One suddenly gets up from the table. "I think I'm gonna be sick," she announces. She hurries to the women's restroom. Finding it locked, she detours into the men's to throw up.

"Shot, shot, shot!" shouts Cassidy, slapping his hand on the table three times for emphasis. By this he means, "I'm really fucking drunk, and even though I don't want any more, I'm going to force everyone else to drink more, because I know I can, and I know they will."

Before the shots can be ordered, Cassidy too has run to the bathroom, and finding the men's already occupied by the puking Unremembered Girl Number One, repairs to the women's to do the same thing.

At this point the waitress arrives at our table to take our order. I turn to face her as she perkily asks, "What can I get you?" I then see her face cloud over as her gaze drifts from my face to the table. I follow the direction of her eyes, and see that our table is covered in vomit.

"What the Hell?" I ask myself dully. "Who threw up on our table?" I look around. Cassidy is gone. Unremembered Girls Numbers One and Two are both gone, and Eddie the Weasel, a much more experienced drunk than I, is sitting back in his chair in his bright blue sport coat over his white turtleneck and trademark Czechoslovakia medallion looking amusedly back at me.

Only after several more seconds of slo-mo cogitation do I realize it was actually I who had barfed all over the table, unnoticed by myself, and by the dozens of beautiful people who crowded around us on all sides! The toxic melange of a multiplicity of fine liqueurs and strong cigars had finally gotten the best of my system.

"The young lady had a little problem," says the Weasel, motioning vaguely in the direction of the restrooms where the rest of our party seemed to be encamped.

"I see," says the waitress understandingly, as she begins to wipe up the vomit with her bar towel. I am still sitting dumbly, trying to come to grips with my own degeneracy.

"You are a God!" repeats the Weasel after she leaves. "Buddy, you just puked all over our table. You really have taken glamour to a whole new level."

Outside, a few minutes later, Cassidy and the Weasel decide with Unremembered Girls Numbers One and Two to take a cab to Ludlow Street to continue wailing, while I opt for home and bed.

How does one get to such an exalted level of fabulousness, you may ask? Well, I wasn't always one of the beautiful people. It took years of hard work, brains, talent, and a little luck. Not everyone is lucky enough to puke up a couple hundred dollars worth of fine liquor at one of New York's most exclusive nightspots. I struggled for years to reach that pinnacle, and it goes a little something like this…

Finally, our long-awaited net-roots video for “I Like the Way You Werk It,” produced by 13tongimp, is available for your entertainment needs!

InSoc fans drove us crazy with their creative, funny, amazing video clips (including three full length music videos!) for “I Like the Way You Werk It!” when we called for submissions. So check it out, and see our talented, brave and slightly off-the-wall friends and fans – and a vast array of robots and androids – showing the world how it’s done.

A small version of the video can be seen at the top of this page, but you can view it on Google Video and YouTube! Be sure to DIGG IT – spread the word!!

Finally, our long-awaited net-roots video for “I Like the Way You Werk It,” produced by 13tongimp, is available for your entertainment needs!

InSoc fans drove us crazy with their creative, funny, amazing video clips (including three full length music videos!) for “I Like the Way You Werk It!” when we called for submissions. So check it out, and see our talented, brave and slightly off-the-wall friends and fans – and a vast array of robots and androids – showing the world how it’s done.

A small version of the video can be seen at the top of this page, but you can view it on Google Video and YouTube! Be sure to DIGG IT – spread the word!!

• Recent Interviews
• 01/27/07 – Talking 80s Music with Martin Hennessy (EPISODE 5)
• 06/08/06 – “…IS GOOD” w/ Jon Hershfield
• 06/02/06 – morons.org
• 05/18/06 – Grave Concerns

Have you noticed there’s an empty place in your life that can only be filled by spankin’ new InSoc Paraphernalia?

We can help you with that.

New SHIRTS and STICKERS are available in the INSOC SHOP.

The SHIRTS – which come in an absolutely mind-boggling array of sizes (M, L, XL) – are made of black cotton and feature the blue, glowing Information Society logo, “INFORMATION SOCIETY” across the shoulders, and “IS USELESS TO RESIST US” on the right sleeve, also in electric blue. And petite ladies (and guys!) out there – the Medium will probably fit you just fine!

The STICKERS are 4.75in (approximately 12cm) square, featuring the blue glowing Information Society logo on black. Perfect for cars, computers, guitars, roommates, Christmas decorations… We cannot guarantee that having one of these will help you get a girlfriend but it can’t hurt. After all, what good is a record, if you don’t have a girlfriend?!

Visit the INSOC SHOP to satisfy all your InSoc-related shopping urges.

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Sit transfixed in rapt amazement as the sounds pour from your terminal in a fountain of digital audiophonic bliss. The InSoc Beat Mutation Syndicate – remixing the music you didn’t know you liked, in a manner that guarantees happiness as we define it. Listen!