Trey Spruance

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Trey Spruance

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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Preston Lea Spruance III
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Born = 1969
Died
Instrument = Guitar, keyboards
Genre = Experimental music, Experimental rock, Avant-progressive rock, Avant-garde metal
Occupation = Musician
Years_active = 1985–present
Label = Mimicry
Associated_acts = Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere, The Tuna Helpers
URL =
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Preston Lea Spruance III or "Trey Spruance" (born 1969 in Eureka, California) is an American composer, producer, and musician. Originally a guitarist and trumpeter, Spruance later began playing vintage electronic organs, saz, santur, electric sitar, tar, pipa, and various other string and percussion instruments. Sampling and foley work also play a large role in his recordings. He is most widely known for his work with Mr. Bungle.

History

Spruance, along with Mike Patton and Trevor Dunn, was a founding member of Mr. Bungle. Since Mr. Bungle's dissolution in 2000, Spruance has focused more on his Secret Chiefs 3 projects, expanding the role of the group's seven sub-groups and releasing "Book of Horizons", the first album of a planned trilogy. He has performed with John Zorn and Eyvind Kang, He also contributed some guitar and tubular bells to the ASVA recordings Futurists Against the Ocean and What You Don't Know Is Frontier with whom he toured the US and Europe. He, notably, also recorded with Patton's more mainstream group Faith No More on their 1995 album "King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime". He arranged the strings and one-woman choir for The Tuna Helpers' second album, "I'll Have What She's Having".

As a producer

Spruance has often worked as a producer, beginning with Mr. Bungle's albums Disco Volante and "California". In 2004 Spruance produced the album "Death After Life" for Oakland, CA death metal group Impaled, also contributing guitar solos for their songs "Resurrectionists", and "Medical Waste". Other production duties have included "I'll Have What's She's Having" (2004) by The Tuna Helpers and Faxed Head's "Chiropractic" (2001).

Record label

Spruance is the founder and webmaster of Mimicry Records, which has released albums from a variety of different bands, including Estradasphere, The Youngs, Danubius, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Brazzaville, Matt Chamberlain, Dengue Fever, The Tuna Helpers, and Sir Millard Mulch, amongst other projects.

Playing style

Spruance's playing style as a guitarist is rooted in Death metal and Surf rock; more recently he has combined these with Turkish and Persian styles in Secret Chiefs 3.

In Movies

The first movie score he performed was for "The Anna Cabrini Chronicles" (written and Directed by Tawd b. Dorenfeld), which was released in 2005. The music is similar to his work with Secret Chiefs 3 and was produced by Elk 56 and Dorenfeld.

Composition style

Spruance's diverse compositional style has been influenced by Olivier Messiaen, Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann, R. D. Burman, Ananda Shankar, Pythagoras of Samos, [ [http://www.westword.com/2007-03-01/music/the-secret-chiefs-3/ Denver - Music - The Secret Chiefs 3 ] ] [ [http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Music/Content?oid=oid%3A93651 Tucson Weekly : Music : Big, Bold and Epic ] ] [ [http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3 MySpace.com - Secret Chiefs 3 - NaKoja Abad - Surf / Grindcore / Psychédélique - www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3 ] ] Devo, Fear of God, Mercyful Fate, and many others.

Band membership

*Secret Chiefs 3
*Faith No More
*Mr. Bungle
*Weird Little Boy (a one-off studio project)
*ASVA
*Faxed Head (as "Neck Head")
*Noddingturd Fan (also NT Fan)
*Plainfield
*The Bon Larvis Band
*The Three Doctors Band

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/spruancegallery/ The Trey Spruance Gallery] - a comprehensive list of Spruance's live and recorded projects
* [http://www.webofmimicry.com Web of Mimicry]
* [http://www.mimicryrecords.com Mimicry Records] - Spruance's record label
* [http://www.secretchiefs3.com Official Site of Secret Chiefs 3] - official website containing member line-up and photos.
* [http://www.perfectpitchonline.com/v01i07/trey_spruance.php Interview]