Crypticomp: Volume 1 to include 22 songs and 15 bands; Release Show on June 6th in Jamestown

Crypticomp: Volume 1 will feature 15 bands from Jamestown & Western New York. It will be available at Townhouse Records in Jamestown following the June 6th CD Release Party. (Art by Matt Coan)

George Moore has been busy. The 27 year-old Jamestown resident recently released a new CD with his music project The Cryptic Yeast, an experi-metal two-piece act he founded with former Jamestowner Rob Fiasco. The album, Everything I Have is Nothing I Need, was released Memorial Day weekend. In addition to the Yeast project, Moore has also been working on a local compilation album, Crypticomp: Volume 1, which features more than a dozen experimental, punk, and metal bands from the local music scene.

“Crypticomp is designed to expose new experimental and extreme artists in the Jamestown area and promote camaraderie within the scene,” Moore explains. “It’s a collaborative effort between Buffalo's Full Rabbit Records and myself that’s taken about a year to put together.” Moore says he also received help from local artist Matt Coan, who designed the front cover and the disc itself, and Fiasco, who helped out with some artwork and putting the package together. 

The idea to create Crypticomp stems from music samplers and compilations Moore has received over the years, which exposed him to music and bands he may otherwise not have heard. “It's something I've wanted to do for a while but didn't feel like there was much worthy of going on a CD like this up until about a year or 2 ago when awesome acts just sort of started sprouting up,” he says. “The Jamestown music scene as a whole has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 2 or 3 years and I just sort of wanted to capture a moment in time when there is a lot to be excited about.”

George Moore (Left) along with Rob Fiasco during a Cyrptic Yeast show. (Photo courtesy of Cryptic Yeast)

The CD contains 22 songs from 15 different bands from the area. Several of the bands on the CD (Off, Hot Stenographer, I am Frankie Scrap-metal, and Itchy Boy & the Cobras) are well known to those who follow local music in the south county. The other Jamestown-based groups include Celo-Kee, the Cobra Brothers, the Cryptic Yeast, Daniken, Ghost Attack, I am Zeroes and Ones, Lost Pioneers of Roanoke, Noise Track, and 18deadsquirlz (Moore’s solo project). Rounding out the list is Hello Star Vega from Salamanca and Jigsaw Hydro Citizen from Buffalo. Most, if not all the songs were recorded specifically for this album.

Moore says all the bands were selected based on their originality and their edginess. “This is sort of the ugly…in a good way…underbelly of the Jamestown scene,” he says. “I wanted it to be edgy so it leans a little more toward the extreme and experimental, but it's still quite the varied listen: noise, punk, industrial, hip hop, metal, techno, its all there. They are making what I feel to be the most important and original music in the area, and they deserve some recognition for what they do.”

There are also plans to create future compilations. “There's a reason it's called Crypticomp: Volume One,” he says. “I want to try and put one out at least every other year or so, each one featuring new and different acts as well as some of them from the first volume.” And Moore says he hopes to feature more bands from outside of Jamestown. “ Spreading it out to the Fredonia and Buffalo areas is something I want to do. There's also a bunch of area acts I wanted to feature on this volume but didn't get the chance for whatever reasons, so there will definitely be a volume two.”

The Crypticomp CD Release Show poster, designed by Jamestown artist Chris Wysard

To celebrate the current release, Moore has scheduled a Crypticomp CD Release Show for June 6th at the Reg Lenna Studio Theatre in downtown Jamestown. A total of seven bands will perform: Hot Stenographer, I Am Zeroes And Ones, Ghost Attack, Off, Celo-Kee, Itchy boy & The Cobras, and Noise Track. “Unfortunately,” Moore notes, “not all the artists can take part. Three of the bands are broken up, and a few don't even live in the area anymore, but the lineup is one of the most diverse I’ve ever seen in the area and I'm excited to see all these acts together.” Moore adds that Nordic Frost Productions is helping to promote the show, which begins at 5pm. All ages are welcome.

In addition to the CD release show, Moore says he’ll also send the CD to several people outside of the area to help promote the musicians. “I plan on sending it to various publications and radio stations, to hopefully open some eyes up and spread the word beyond Jamestown about the awesome acts on display here. When it comes down to it, first and foremost it's for the bands. I didn't charge an insertion fee for them to be on it, and Jason Braley of Full Rabbit Records and I paid out of or own pockets to put this out. We're definitely not trying to get rich off this, we just want to expose some cool music in a way that people who wouldn't normally hear it now have a chance to.”

Locally, Moore says fans can pick up a copy of the CD at Townhouse Records on 4th St. in Jamestown. He adds that bands will also carry copies with them to sell at future shows.  The cost is just $5. “You definitely get more than $5 worth of music. We didn't waste any space.”

To learn more about the bands on Crypticomp, go online to www.myspace.com/crypticomp.