Vernian Process is an Avant-Garde

Avant-garde

Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....

 band formed in San Francisco in 2003. Taking its name from the works of 19th century author Jules Verne

Jules Verne

Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...

, Vernian Process is a band that creates music themed around Victorian scientific romance

Scientific romance

Scientific romance is a bygone name for what is now commonly known as science fiction. The term is most associated with early British science fiction. The earliest noteworthy use of the term scientific romance is believed to have been by Charles Howard Hinton in his 1886 collection...

 and its modern counterpart steampunk

Steampunk

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...

. Their sound is a fusion of modern and old-world styles including darkwave

Darkwave

Dark Wave or darkwave is a music genre that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of New Wave and post-punk. Building on those basic principles, dark wave added dark, introspective lyrics and an undertone of sorrow for some bands...

, 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...

, neoclassical

Neoclassical (Dark Wave)

Neoclassical Dark Wave refers to a music genre within the Dark Wave movement. It is characterized by the use of ethereal atmosphere and angelic female voices but also adds strong influences from classical music. Neoclassical Dark Wave is distinct from the academic art music form known as...

, trip-hop, ragtime

Ragtime

Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...

, and other related genres. The band consists of vocalist Joshua A. Pfeiffer, multi-instrumentalist Martin Irigoyen

Martin Irigoyen

Martín Daniel Irigoyen is an Argentine musician best known as a composer and guitarist of Vernian Process...

, bassist Janus Zarate, multi-instrumentalists Brian Figueroa and Kyle Thomas, and drummer Eugene Dyer III. The band also features guests live and in the studio regularly.

Career

Pfeiffer began working on music under the name Vernian Process in the winter of 2003. He released a number of downloadable albums over the next 4 years, including 2004's Discovery and 2006's The Forgotten Age, before being approached by Irigoyen about joining the project to work on Behold the Machine. From that point forward, Vernian Process evolved beyond a solo project. Throughout 2009, as work on the album progressed, Vernian Process sought out additional members in order to play shows to support the upcoming release of Behold the Machine, as well as record new material for future albums. Zarate joined in 2009, followed by Fargo, Figueroa, and Thomas in the latter half of 2009 and early 2010. Eugene Dyer joined the band as drummer in early 2011.

Behold the Machine was released on October 1, 2010.

On November 11, 2010, they announced that their next album would be titled The Consequences Of Time Travel.

Press

Vernian Process has appeared in articles from a variety of media, including the UK publication Bizarre Magazine

Bizarre (magazine)

Bizarre is a British alternative magazine published from 1997 to the present. It is currently published by Dennis Publishing; it is a sister publication to the Fortean Times.-Content:...

, and MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 during their coverage of the Steampunk genre.

Band members

• Joshua A. Pfeiffer - Vocals, Songwriting
• Martin Irigoyen
  Martin Irigoyen
  Martín Daniel Irigoyen is an Argentine musician best known as a composer and guitarist of Vernian Process...
  
   - Guitars, Songwriting, SFX
• Janus Zarate - Bass Guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Brian Figueroa - Keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  , Guitars
• Kyle Thomas - Keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  , Accordion
  Accordion
  The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
  
  
• Eugene Dyer III - Drums, Hand Percussion
  Hand percussion
  Hand percussion is a term used to indicate a percussion instrument of any type from any culture that is held in the hand. They can be made from wood, metal or plastic and are usually either shaken, scraped or tapped with fingers or a stick...
  
  , Saxophone
  Saxophone
  The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
  
  
• Erica Mulkey - Live Guest Cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
  

Live appearances

Live, Vernian Process is often joined by Cellist Erica Mulkey of Unwoman

Unwoman

Unwoman is a solo artist from San Francisco, California. Musician Erica Mulkey mixes cello and vocals with electronic influences. The music she creates is difficult to label with an established genre, but contains characteristics of synth pop and goth...

.

Vernian Process has appeared at events performing with Attrition

Attrition (band)

Attrition are an electronic music band, formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly...

, Skinny Puppy

Skinny Puppy

Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....

, Front Line Assembly

Front Line Assembly

Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Influenced by early Industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, FLA has developed its own unique sound while combining...

, and Faith and the Muse

Faith and the Muse

Faith and the Muse is an American, underground gothic/darkwave band composed of two musicians, Monica Richards and William Faith. They are well regarded in the gothic music scene as innovators and icons. Their music encompasses many genres, from folk-style songs to darker compositions. Richards is...

, Ravenwood Festival in Arkansas, and the Eccentrik

Eccentrik

The Eccentrik Festival is an annual 3-day goth and industrial music festival held in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and has in some years been spread out between several different venues. The festival started in October 2004...

 Music Festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 2008. In 2009 they appeared at a number of festivals, notably Steamcon

Steamcon

Steamcon is one of the largest regional steampunk conventions/symposia in the United States. Located in the Seattle area of Washington state, Steamcon held its first symposium in 2009.-Overview:...

 in Seattle, Washington (alongside Abney Park

Abney Park (band)

Abney Park is a band based in Seattle that mixes elements of industrial dance, world music, and steampunk influenced lyrics in their work. Their name comes from Abney Park Cemetery in London...

), Eccentrik

Eccentrik

The Eccentrik Festival is an annual 3-day goth and industrial music festival held in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and has in some years been spread out between several different venues. The festival started in October 2004...

 Festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...

, The Endless Night Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

; Gaslight Gathering in San Diego, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and The Maker Faire

Maker Faire

Maker Faire is an event created by Make magazine to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself mindset".-Past events:The first was held April 22 – 23, 2006, at the San Mateo Fairgrounds...

 in San Mateo

San Mateo

San Mateo, Spanish for Saint Matthew, is the name of several places:*San Mateo , Spain- Canary Islands :* Vega de San Mateo, Las Palmas, a municipality on the island of Gran Canaria in the province of Las Palmas- Costa Rica :...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Gilded Age Records

In 2008 Joshua and Evelyn Kriete founded the musical collective 'Gilded Age Records' to release all future Vernian Process material under. As of October 2010, over fifty other 19th Century influenced bands and solo artists have also joined the collective.

Freelance Work

As of 2008, Joshua, Martin, and Allison Curval have begun working together on the musical score for the steampunk themed videogame; "Shades of Violet: Song of the Clockwork Princess" for Imagineer Games.

Albums

• Discovery (2004)
• The Forgotten Age (2006)
• Behold the Machine (2010)
• The Consequences of Time Travel (TBA)

Compilations

• Catching Up With Vernian Process (2006)
• Catalysts (2006) - A Collection of cover versions

External links

• Vernian Process Official Site
• Vernian Process on MySpace.com
• Vernian Process on Facebook.com
• Gilded Age Records Official Site
• Interview with Sepiachord.com
• Interview from The Mick #30 (starts on page 160), by Mick Mercer
  Mick Mercer
  Mick Mercer is a journalist and author best known for his photos and reviews of the goth, punk, and indie music scenes. He has photographed the bands Tragic Venus and Blondie in the UK and Europe.He publishes a monthly online magazine called "The Mick"....
  
  
• Interview with Dieselpunks.org
• Interview with The Aether Emporium
• Interview with Livid Looking Glass Magazine