Psi Com

Psi Com was an American Gothic rock/New Wave band of the mid-1980s. Prominent in the underground Los Angeles music scene, the group is noted for being the first band of the acclaimed vocalist Perry Farrell who went on to achieve greater fame in the band Jane's Addiction as well as the band Porno for Pyros and Satellite Party. He also founded Lollapalooza, the well known alternative music festival. The band consisted of Perry Farrell (lead vocalist) , Aaron Sherer (drums and percussion), Vince Duran (lead guitarist), and Kelly Wheeler (bass). The first incarnation of Psi Com was initiated in 1982 when a man named Rich Robinson, his wife Mariska Leyssius, a man named Terry, and Vince Duran formed what is now known as Psi Com. Being without a drummer, they placed a classified ad in the free weekly L.A. newspaper The Recycler. Farrell responded to the ad, not with the intention of becoming the group's drummer but instead as the singer. Rich agreed to let Farrell into the band as the vocalist in early 1983. The ad for a drummer was left in The Recycler however, because the band was still practicing with the aid of a drum machine. Terry soon left the band. Sherer called Farrell in response to the ad for a drummer. When Sherer finally joined Duran and Farrell, Psi Com played their first big show, opening for The Cult at L.A.'s -Music Machine Club in the latter part of 1984 as well as some inspired gigs: Rooftop of OkiDog with Minutemen. When 1985 came, the group realized that they needed a bass player to fill out the bottom end of their sound. As a result, they recruited their friend Wheeler, who moved into a house with Farrell near the University of Southern California. Wheeler was reportedly tempted into the group by being offered a bass guitar in exchange for his membership into the group. Just after Wheeler joined, the foursome performed at a gig in the middle of the Mojave desert opening for such acts as Sonic Youth, Redd Kross and The Meat Puppets. This performance however was regarded as awful as the vocalist Farrell was high on magic mushrooms at the time. In March 1985, Psi Com made plans to release a five-song, 12-inch EP. The band entered Radio Tokyo Studios in Venice, California that spring and recorded the songs "Xiola," "Human Condition," "Ho Ka Hey," "Words" and "City of Nine Gates." Ethan James manned the boards for the sessions, which lasted for one weekend. James was known for producing seminal punk group The Minutemen's most popular album Double Nickels on the Dime. In July, Psi Com had 1,500 copies of their self-titled EP produced to release on their own label, Mohini. When the records were delivered from the pressing plant, the band was in shock, as more than half of the EPs were warped. Frustrated by the experience, the band drifted apart musically and personally, and by September, Psi Com was no more. After the break-up, Farrell was still living in the house that he had shared with Wheeler. Farrell's new housemate -- a girl only known as Jane (or Carla Bozulich) -- introduced him to her friend Eric Avery, who became the bassist in Farrell's new band, Jane's Addiction. Wheeler spent his time performing with musician Dino Paredes, a bass player and vocalist from bands such as Berlin and the Red Temple Spirits. Duran and Sherer lessened their involvement with bands and only performed part-time with local L.A. groups. However, Sherer did go on to play drums on Mazzy Star's 1996 album Among My Swan. It is rumored that the demise of Psi-Com was a result of Sherer and Duran becoming Hare Krisnas but this was declared to be false by both the men in an interview with the American magazine Musician.