“Try keeping a secret in the age of the diode” (from Circuit Court) ONES & ZEROS: the building blocks of data in our modern world. Our internet is made of it-our governments in thirst to find out what everyone’s doing with it… “from the quaintest living room to a huge industrial boom we thank it’s name …Let’s just hope he’s nice” (from The Best & Brightest) ONES & ZEROS put to the test. Ultra-Artificial Intelligence out of control? Where’s the rulebook for countries to play by?
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“Try keeping a secret in the age of the diode” (from Circuit Court) ONES & ZEROS: the building blocks of data in our modern world. Our internet is made of it-our governments in thirst to find out what everyone’s doing with it… “from the quaintest living room to a huge industrial boom we thank it’s name …Let’s just hope he’s nice” (from The Best & Brightest) ONES & ZEROS put to the test. Ultra-Artificial Intelligence out of control? Where’s the rulebook for countries to play by? Who’s going to have the first one? What will they do with it? “I never thought my chances of contentment would be determined by a transistor” (from This Is The Future) ONES & ZEROS inside us all. Making us…”better”. Who wants to improve? Should we all? Will we be made to? “How much would you take from your very own children…for more life would you spare any cost?” (from Life At Any Cost) ONES & ZEROS extending life until the decision to join a digital mausoleum…a final “home in the clouds”… These are various aspects of our future possibly on their way to becoming commonplace. These are the things on the mind of 3RDegree and make up its fifth and first full concept studio album ONES & ZEROS: vol. 1-their first for label 10T Records. All songs offer a unique take on the issues and ethics associated with the rapid progress of technology. Ray Kurzweil & others have been discussing futurism and transhumanism since the 1970s but only now are we seeing it impact our daily lives. Spearheaded by 1990’s-era members California guitarist Patrick Kliesch & New Jersey lead vocalist/keyboardist George Dobbs, the rest of the band shortly pitched in different songs-all closely associated with the overall theme. As with previous albums, both fully-fledged and skeletal ideas were created and passed between band members via the Internet and worked on in the flesh soon after. ONES & ZEROS: vol. 1 continues to embody the musical direction envisioned by band founders Robert James Pashman & Patrick Kliesch in 1990: to create interesting and engaging music that mixes accessible melodies and catchy hooks with the intelligence and complexity of Progressive Rock. Releasing a debut cassette in THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE in 1993 (w/Pashman on lead vocals), 3RDegree decided to step up their game in 1995, adding a world class lead vocalist in George Dobbs and releasing their first CD (second “album”), 1996’s HUMAN INTEREST STORY, which was re-released digitally in 2013, remastered. After playing many live shows in the New York City area gaining little traction, the band hung it up, leaving much material sitting on the proverbial cutting room floor. Dobbs would continue musical endeavors including solo albums, Pashman and Kliesch would work on projects together and a solo album each apart…but talk of 3RDegree was couched in the past tense until Pashman would make a video collection in 2005, putting together all the band’s music videos and performances onto DVD and basement tapes onto CDs. Discussion of the songs left behind bubbled under throughout that year until the original trio met at a NYC bar where it was agreed upon that the band would record again and later, play reunion concerts at NJ Proghouse in 2007 with original drummer Rob Durham and long time collaborator, guitarist Eric Pseja. 2008 saw the release of NARROW-CASTER (which included the aforementioned songs along with brand new ones) making a big splash in small progressive rock ponds worldwide with the Dutch Progressive Rock Page (DPRP.net) reveling: “It’s not often an album as refreshing as this comes along, and we should treasure it when it does...an album that demands repeated spins, and rewards every listen with some new revelation”. In 2009, drummer Aaron Nobel joined and the band played shows in Brooklyn (w/Phideaux), Connecticut (Marprog), Washington D.C & North Carolina’s ProgDay (w/Ozric Tentacles) later finding themselves working on some tracks with two different themes but with election year coming in 2012, the band decided that their political crop of songs would be particularly timely. THE LONG DIVISION would be released ahead of election day followed by many 2013 mid-year shows performed with IZZ, The Tea Club, Half Past Four, Dreadnaught and others culminating in a return visit to ProgDay ’13’s pre-show-all with new lead guitarist Bryan Zeigler. The album’s single “You’re Fooling Yourselves” made the Top 10 Songs Of The Year at DPRP’s yearly Poll (alongside many, much more “established” bands) and-even now-sits in the Top 10 Albums of 2012 at ProgArchives.com. After two “DIY” album successes, the band nonetheless decided to join forces with 10T Records to open up new ears to the band’s unique take on a loved genre. In early 2014, the band made an appearance at Québec City’s Terra Incognita Festival, w/Glass Hammer-3RDegree’s first show outside the USA. For 2015, 3RDegree release a new album on a new label and will play a tour that will not only hit the American northeast and Canada, but also the U.K. (England & Wales), Germany, The Netherlands and France. 2016 holds in store a completed second volume of Ones & Zeros as well as additional live performances.
