Daniel Zongrone
Encyclopedia
Daniel Zongrone is an American musician currently living in Greenville, South Carolina
. Zongrone is best known for his work as a member of the electronic music
group Earthstar
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is currently a solo jazz musician working with various local musicians.
In 1986 Zongrone received a "Meet the Composer" grant for New York City dance composition. Some of the compositions and recordings which resulted were used in the soundtrack for the 1998 independent horror film The Glasshead
. In 1987, Zongrone recorded his only solo album to date, Absolute Zero.
. He received his first drum
at the age of six and made his first public appearance in a street parade. Before the parade ended another young boy took his drum and broke it over his head. Young enough to realize this was not a problem, Zongrone continued to bang the drum. He received his first drum set at the age of 12 while window shopping with Grandma in a local pawn shop on Stueben street in Cornhill. He began playing with school friends and enjoyed the girls it attracted. In 1972 Zongrone met another school chum, creative guitarist Dennis Rea
and inventive bassist Norm Peach
. The three young musicians formed an "eccentric progressive rock
band," Zuir, Together they decided to pursue their musical careers and make a serious effort at performing original compositions. In 1975
the trio moved to Seattle but found no more interest in their music than they had found in upstate New York. Rea recalls that Zuir was "perhaps the first out-of-state rock band to seek its fortune in Seattle - only 20 years too early."
. In the early 1970s Wuest was among the first musicians in Utica who owned a synthesizer. Wuest was heavily influenced by the German electronic music scene of the 1970s, including Klaus Schulze
, Popol Vuh
, Tangerine Dream
, Kraftwerk
, and Harmonia
. Earthstar was born out of the partnership of Wuest and the members of Zuir, plus other Utica-area musicians. In 1977 Earthstar was signed by Nashville
-based Moontower Records, who released the group's first album, Salterbarty Tales
, the following year. Zongrone served as the percussionist on the debut release. Guitarist Dennis Rea recalls concerts during the period when Earthstar was in Utica: "The group performed live only a handful of times, mostly at inappropriate venues like roadhouse bars and college beer halls, with predictable results."
Craig Wuest was an admirer of electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze
, with whom he struck up a correspondence. Schulze encouraged Wuest and Earthstar to come to Germany. Wuest sold his grand piano, which had played a prominent part on Salterbarty Tales, to finance the move. Most of the Earthstar musicians joined Wuest in Germany to work on the group's second album French Skyline
, released in 1979 by Hamburg
-based Sky Records
. Zongrone did not appear on that album but did travel to Germany later that year in time for the recording sessions for the third album Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!
, which was released by Sky in 1981. Zongrone played piano
, bells, and vibraphone
on the album and also composed the opening piece, "Golden Rendezvous," with Wuest.
Zongrone also participated in recording sessions for a fourth album, Sleeper, the Nightlifer, which was never released. Zongrone left Earthstar after the Sleeper, the Nightlifer sessions. Some music recorded during the 1979-1980 recording sessions was included on the final Earthstar release, Humans Only
(1982).
Earthstar is notable as the only American band who participated in Germany's Kosmische Musik/electronic music
scene while still at its height. The association with Klaus Schulze guaranteed Earthstar recognition and respectable record sales by German electronic music standards.
ist) Daryl Trivieri's work at the Semaphore East Gallery in the East Village
in 1985. In 1986 Zongrone received a "Meet the Composer" grant for New York City dance composition. The following year he composed, performed, recorded, and produced a collection of ideas in a CD titled, Absolute Zero. A hiatus from professional music followed during which time Zongrone produced and raised up, together with wife Audrey Medina, four wonderfully creative children.
Solo Albums
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
. Zongrone is best known for his work as a member of the electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group Earthstar
Earthstar (band)
Earthstar was an electronic music group originally from Utica, New York, in the United States. Earthstar was encouraged by Krautrock/Kosmische Musik/electronic music artist, composer, and producer Klaus Schulze to relocate to Germany where they were signed by Sky Records. Schulze produced their...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is currently a solo jazz musician working with various local musicians.
In 1986 Zongrone received a "Meet the Composer" grant for New York City dance composition. Some of the compositions and recordings which resulted were used in the soundtrack for the 1998 independent horror film The Glasshead
The Glasshead
The Glasshead is a 1998 horror film directed and produced by Matthew S. Smith.-Synopsis:The film focuses on a group of college students on a hiking trip who are visited at an evening campfire by a strange man who tells them a bizarre ghost story. The tale involves a 19th century farmer whose skull...
. In 1987, Zongrone recorded his only solo album to date, Absolute Zero.
Early years
Zongrone was born and raised in Utica, New YorkUtica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
. He received his first drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
at the age of six and made his first public appearance in a street parade. Before the parade ended another young boy took his drum and broke it over his head. Young enough to realize this was not a problem, Zongrone continued to bang the drum. He received his first drum set at the age of 12 while window shopping with Grandma in a local pawn shop on Stueben street in Cornhill. He began playing with school friends and enjoyed the girls it attracted. In 1972 Zongrone met another school chum, creative guitarist Dennis Rea
Dennis Rea
Dennis Rea is an American guitarist, writer and music event organizer currently living in Seattle. Rea first came to prominence as a member of the electronic music group Earthstar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is probably best known in the West as a musician for his work with the quintet...
and inventive bassist Norm Peach
Norm Peach
Norm Peach is an American bassist from Utica, New York who was a member of Earthstar during the late 1970s. He also played with Dennis Rea and Daniel Zongrone in Zuir prior to joining Earthstar. He appeared on two Earthstar albums: Salterbarty Tales and French Skyline .-References:*Album liner...
. The three young musicians formed an "eccentric progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band," Zuir, Together they decided to pursue their musical careers and make a serious effort at performing original compositions. In 1975
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
the trio moved to Seattle but found no more interest in their music than they had found in upstate New York. Rea recalls that Zuir was "perhaps the first out-of-state rock band to seek its fortune in Seattle - only 20 years too early."
1977 - 1982: Earthstar
Earthstar was the brainchild of keyboardist/synthesist Craig WuestCraig Wuest
Craig Wuest is an American keyboardist currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known as the founder and leader of the electronic music group Earthstar during the 1970s and 1980s. Earthstar was only American band who participated in Germany's Kosmische Musik/electronic music scene while...
. In the early 1970s Wuest was among the first musicians in Utica who owned a synthesizer. Wuest was heavily influenced by the German electronic music scene of the 1970s, including Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
, Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh (German band)
Popol Vuh was a German electronic avantgarde band, in the mainstream-media so called Krautrock, founded by pianist and keyboardist Florian Fricke in 1969 together with Holger Trülzsch and Frank Fiedler...
, Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
, Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, and Harmonia
Harmonia (band)
Harmonia is a Krautrock supergroup from Germany. They formed as a collaboration between Michael Rother of Neu! and Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Möbius of Cluster and later included the British musician Brian Eno.-Musical style:...
. Earthstar was born out of the partnership of Wuest and the members of Zuir, plus other Utica-area musicians. In 1977 Earthstar was signed by Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
-based Moontower Records, who released the group's first album, Salterbarty Tales
Salterbarty Tales
Salterbarty Tales is the debut album by the American electronic band Earthstar. Salterbarty Tales was recorded in 1977 and 1978 and released by Moontower Records in 1978. The album is the only release to feature significant grand piano sections performed by Craig Wuest with relatively basic...
, the following year. Zongrone served as the percussionist on the debut release. Guitarist Dennis Rea recalls concerts during the period when Earthstar was in Utica: "The group performed live only a handful of times, mostly at inappropriate venues like roadhouse bars and college beer halls, with predictable results."
Craig Wuest was an admirer of electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
, with whom he struck up a correspondence. Schulze encouraged Wuest and Earthstar to come to Germany. Wuest sold his grand piano, which had played a prominent part on Salterbarty Tales, to finance the move. Most of the Earthstar musicians joined Wuest in Germany to work on the group's second album French Skyline
French Skyline
French Skyline is the second full-length album by the American electronic band Earthstar. It was their first release for Hamburg, Germany–based Sky Records....
, released in 1979 by Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
-based Sky Records
Sky Records
Sky Records was a Hamburg, Germany based independent record label specializing in Krautrock/Kosmische Musik and electronic music. Some of their releases could be classified as progressive rock or art rock, experimental music, industrial, ambient, or New Age...
. Zongrone did not appear on that album but did travel to Germany later that year in time for the recording sessions for the third album Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!
Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!
Atomkraft? Nein, Danke! is the third full-length album by the American electronic band Earthstar. It was their second release for the Hamburg, Germany-based Sky Records on February 1, 1981. Atomkraft? Nein, Danke! was recorded during 1979 and 1980 at Deponté la Rue Studio in Paris, France, and IC...
, which was released by Sky in 1981. Zongrone played piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, bells, and vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
on the album and also composed the opening piece, "Golden Rendezvous," with Wuest.
Zongrone also participated in recording sessions for a fourth album, Sleeper, the Nightlifer, which was never released. Zongrone left Earthstar after the Sleeper, the Nightlifer sessions. Some music recorded during the 1979-1980 recording sessions was included on the final Earthstar release, Humans Only
Humans Only
Humans Only is the fourth full-length album by the American electronic band Earthstar. It was their third and final release for Hamburg-based Sky Records ....
(1982).
Earthstar is notable as the only American band who participated in Germany's Kosmische Musik/electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
scene while still at its height. The association with Klaus Schulze guaranteed Earthstar recognition and respectable record sales by German electronic music standards.
1983 - 1987: New York
Zongrone once again worked with ex-Zuir and Earthstar member Dennis Rea composing music for an exhibition of painter (and former Earthstar violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist) Daryl Trivieri's work at the Semaphore East Gallery in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
in 1985. In 1986 Zongrone received a "Meet the Composer" grant for New York City dance composition. The following year he composed, performed, recorded, and produced a collection of ideas in a CD titled, Absolute Zero. A hiatus from professional music followed during which time Zongrone produced and raised up, together with wife Audrey Medina, four wonderfully creative children.
Recent works
Zongrone composed the soundtrack for the 1998 independent horror film The Glasshead, incorporating compositions and recordings from his earlier grant. He is currently working with various musicians in the US & Berlin playing drums and vibraphone.Discography
In EarthstarEarthstar (band)
Earthstar was an electronic music group originally from Utica, New York, in the United States. Earthstar was encouraged by Krautrock/Kosmische Musik/electronic music artist, composer, and producer Klaus Schulze to relocate to Germany where they were signed by Sky Records. Schulze produced their...
- 1978 : Salterbarty TalesSalterbarty TalesSalterbarty Tales is the debut album by the American electronic band Earthstar. Salterbarty Tales was recorded in 1977 and 1978 and released by Moontower Records in 1978. The album is the only release to feature significant grand piano sections performed by Craig Wuest with relatively basic...
(studio album) - 1981 : Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!Atomkraft? Nein, Danke! is the third full-length album by the American electronic band Earthstar. It was their second release for the Hamburg, Germany-based Sky Records on February 1, 1981. Atomkraft? Nein, Danke! was recorded during 1979 and 1980 at Deponté la Rue Studio in Paris, France, and IC...
(studio album) - 1982 : Humans OnlyHumans OnlyHumans Only is the fourth full-length album by the American electronic band Earthstar. It was their third and final release for Hamburg-based Sky Records ....
(studio album)
Solo Albums
- 1999 : Absolute Zero (studio album)