DIRAC

in february of 2004, a nameless funk ensemble of three talented players (brian zupruk, dave wiles, and jon hirschberger) performed a cover of phish's "ac/dc bag" at ithaca high school's cabaret night. after further rehearsal, composition, and the addition of keyboardist/singer joshua hatcher, the now quartet took on the title DIRAC. cut to just one year later and the group was already known for playing numerous gigs at a variety of venues in the upstate new york area, collaborating with several bands and artists, and independently releasing a 5-song EP, which was recorded in just two short sessions in bassist brian zupruk's living room. the group also has changed a bit in lineup due to the stepping-down of dave wiles and the addition of percussionist kenny christianson and new guitarist, robin schmidt. now tight and comfortable musically, the group has developed a distinct sound blending in morsels from the members' eclectic ranges of musical taste and repetoire. listening to DIRAC, one will hear a lush melting pot of elements from soulive, to victor wooten, to jimi hendrix, to the roots, to dave matthews band. despite the band's members studying at schools in varied locations throughout the east coast (robin attends bard college, josh attends the university of rochester, kenny attends suny fredonia, brian attends george washington university and jon attends suny geneseo) the band has shown an extremely high potential to be able to remain active. it spent the past two years gigging with numerous ensembles (including the legendary charlie hunter trio , sim redmond, and thousands of one), writing many new songs, and recording a full-length LP at ithaca's REP studio , which will be available in december of 2006. DIRAC's members are constantly working at their craft, individually and as a unit, and the band is constantly going in new directions to bring light to new musical ideas. stay tuned for more and more from the band DIRAC shortly.