Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker


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Background = group_or_band
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Alias = USS
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Origin = Parkdale, Toronto
Instrument = Guitar, Ehru, Turntables
Voice_type =
Genre = Alternative dance, Drum and bass, Electronica, Grunge
Occupation =
Years_active = 2007 to present
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URL = http://www.ubiquitoussynergyseeker.com/
Current_members = Ashley Boo-Schultz, Human Kebab
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS) is a musical duo based in Parkdale, [http://www.muchmusic.com/music/artists/bio.asp?artist=2136 Artist bio on MuchMusic.com] ] a neighbourhood situated in the west-end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band is comprised of vocalist, guitarist and ehru player Ash Buchholz (aka Ashley Boo-Schultz) and turntablist/hypeman Jason Parsons (aka Human Kebab.)

The USS sound is mixture of drum and bass beats, grunge-like guitar riffs and 2-step rhythms. "We like to call what we do 'the campfire after-party,' " Buchholz says. "It's like you're at Nirvana unplugged but there's a drum and bass party and glow sticks all around you." [http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/arts/story.html?id=fcf6d938-5dd0-4345-ab8c-4cb27c41137b Carey, Steve, “Good old fashioned Victoria block party”, "Victoria Times Colonist", Aug 17, 2008] ]

History

Buchholz, 30, and Parsons, 29, grew up in the oustkirts of the Greater Toronto Area — Buchholz being from the town of Markham and Parsons from the adjacent town of Stouffville. [http://www.yorkregion.com/article/77800 Higgins, Alyshia, “Stouffville’s Jason Parsons spins turntables to Edgefest, top of Toronto radio charts”, "yorkregion.com", Jul 5, 2008] ] They met in 2004 while working at a golf-course, stocking the beer fridge and discussing music; [http://www.cravefest.com/cravetv/?artist=Ubiquitous-Synergy-Seeker&tid=1016 Interview for Crave TV, last accessed Sep 16, 2008] ] the pair hit it off instantaneously, [http://www.seemagazine.com/article/music/music-previews/vocab-junkies/ Paul, Andrew, “Vocab Junkies”, "See Magazine", Aug 14, 2008] ] and a couple of months later, when Buchholz's sister was looking for a DJ for her upcoming wedding, Buchholz suggested Parsons for the job. "It was love at first scratch" said Buchholz, who later moved into Parsons' parents' basement and began to experiment musically with Parsons.

The band's name came about when Buchholz decided to draw-up a map of exactly who he wanted to be in life. At the top of this life-plan he wrote "Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker." Although this title was to become the band’s moniker, the duo says that the name is for everyone: “It's singular — it's the title of a characteristic, not the title of two guys”, Buchholz said. By July of 2007 they began to perform live, and they released their first independent EP, "Welding the C:/", later that same month.

The duo did not predict the success that was to follow and actually parted ways shortly after the EP’s release. Parsons travelled west to the province of Alberta to work on an oil pipeline and Buchholz headed south to the US on an emotional pilgrimage, until a friend of Parsons' contacted him with some good news.

The friend called-in to report that the Toronto-based radio station, 102.1 The Edge had started to put their first single, "Hollowpoint Sniper Hyperbole", into heavy rotation. Parsons managed to get his foreman to agree to give him a few days off, and Buchholz, who was in Texas by this time, decided to head north once again; the duo returned to Toronto to shoot their first video for "Hollowpoint Sniper Hyperbole" which was soon featured across Canada on the MuchMusic channel.

"Welding the C:/" and beyond

The "Welding the C:/" EP became a hot seller at HMV music stores across Canada and, after the video for "Hollowpoint Sniper Hyperbole" started airing regularily on on MuchMusic, the band was offered a music video production grant from VideoFACT to do a fully animated video for its follow-up single, "2 and 15/16ths". On May 30, 2008 the band headlined 102.1 The Edge's "Next Big Thing" concert to a record-setting capacity crowd of over 2600 people. The pair performed at the 2008 World Electronic Music Festival and were also the opening act on the main stage of the annual new-music festival, Edgefest, held by 102.1 The Edge. USS has also been nominated for a CASBY Award in two categories: Best New Artist, and Best New Single, for the song "Hollowpoint Sniper Hyperbole". [ [http://www.edge.ca/ConcertsandEvents/Casbys08/Vote.aspx 2008 CASBY Award Nominees] ] On Sep 16, 2008 the duo performed live on MTV Canada. [ [http://www.mtv.ca/tvshows/show.jhtml?id=10793 MTV Canada performance, Sept 16, 2008] ]

The members of USS are currently working on their first full-length album, "Einsteins of Consciousness", with the renowned American mastering engineer Bob Ludwig. The album is to be released in early 2009.

“It’s going to be our hello to the world,” says Parsons.

References

External links

* [http://www.ubiquitoussynergyseeker.com/ USS official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ubiquitoussynergyseeker USS myspace profile]
* [http://www.facebook.com/pages/USS-UBIQUITOUS-SYNERGY-SEEKER/21876203848 USS Facebook fan page]