THE BLACK MATH EXPERIMENT

Formed in 2004 in Alvin, Texas, the Black Math Experiment drew sonic inspiration from the Pixies and Devo while delivering intense live performances. Guitarist the Amazing Bill Curtner put the group together largely by placing online classified advertisements, recruiting his friend Chris Soliz on keyboards, vocalists Christi Vest and Jef "With One F" Rouner, drummer Brian Coleman, and bassist Captain Matt "Mongo" Nelson. Their theatrical stage presence, irreverent songwriting, and guitar-centric rock quickly earned them a following throughout the Houston music community.

The band issued its debut recording, the four-song EP What We Do...Is Secret, in 2005, with copies sold inside manilla envelopes. Later the same year came the full-length Fake Words and Signs from Space, which secured airplay on local rock radio outlets; the track "You Cannot Kill David Arquette," which references the actor’s history of portraying seemingly indestructible characters, emerged as a signature number. Arquette himself embraced the song and has since championed the band as both supporter and promoter.

With the 2006 release Last Transmissions from the Blue Room, the group’s music reached unanticipated audiences, including the song "Ology," whose Weezer-esque power-chord riff and punchy keyboard parts were incorporated into kindergarten lessons on colors and geometric shapes in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The following year’s album All You Need Is Blood contained "Suit of Lights," a six-minute piece built on distortion and layered vocals that became the customary closing number at concerts.

Curtner, Rouner, and Nelson each became fathers in 2008, while Vest, then known as Lain, married, prompting the band to enter hiatus. At the midpoint of 2009, however, Rouner revealed plans to reconvene for select live appearances and potential new material.