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Main Entry: Oc·cam's razor Variant(s): also Ock·ham's razor \ˈä-kəmz-\ Function: noun Etymology: William of Occam Date: circa 1837 : a scientific and philosophic rule that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily which is interpreted as requiring that the simplest of competing theories be preferred to the more complex or that explanations of unknown phenomena be sought first in terms of known quantities. (In lay man's terms, think of it as the simplest explanation or stategy is probably, the best one.) *A thought provoking way to think of it is as follows: "Plurality is not to be assumed without necessity." While deciding on a band monicker, we realized how hard it is to come up with a band name that would not be currently used. We did google earches for the name Occam's Razor and also the variant of it Ockham's Razor. By doing this we found there were even more spellings of it. So we chose to spell it with it with a "u" for two main reasons. First of all, we spell it that way because we can not continue what we do with out "YOU" the listener and your continued support. Second reason being, we knew that there would be a possibility that the name could be used without us knowing about it or that someone out there would use it. So, this way it would be original to us. From time to time, we get people that tell us that the spelling is wrong, etc. and that they don't know how to pronounce the name and whatnot. Note that the 'Beatles' did not spell their name the 'Beetles.' They seemed to do just fine. Hope that this helps any of you that don't know how to pronounce the name, know what it means and wonder why we spell it this way. Thanks for the interest! __________________________________________________________________________________  A : Read the definition and back round on the 'Anubis' and then see some of the analogies that we have chosen to re-direct it's symbolism. Main Entry: Anu·bis Pronunciation: \ə-ˈnü-bəs, -ˈnyü-\ Function: noun Etymology: Latin, from Greek Anoubis, from Egyptian inpw Date: 1708 : a jackal-headed god in Egyptian mythology who leads the dead to judgment Anubis, whose hieroglyphic name more closely translates as Anpu, is the Ancient Egyptian God of death and dying, and sometimes God of the Underworld. His mother is Hesat or Bastet with an unknown father, or Nephthys, and his father is variously said to be Set, Ra or Osiris. His daughters are Qeb-hwt and Kebechet. In later times, Anubis was combined with the Greek god Hermes to form Hermanubis. The center of his cult was in Cynopolis. He has the head of a jackal or some other kind of dog, and the jackal is his symbol. The jackal imagery is related to Anubis' role among the Deities of Egypt, as the jackal is a scavenger and is strongly associated with death and dying. He was also know as the Guardian of the Dead. In art, he is depicted as a man with a canine head and alert ears, often wearing a ribbon and wielding a whip. Anubis is always associated with the dead, but his role varies sometimes from one story to another. According to some stories, he leads the dead into Amenti (the Underworld) and to Osiris. In some stories he is the king of the Underworld. It appears that in some parts of Egypt, he was considered equal to Osiris in importance. Later, Anubis became lesser in importance compared to Osiris and took the role of holding the scales with which the souls of the dead were weighted against the feather of Ma'at. If the soul was as light as the feather, Anubis led the soul to Osiris; otherwise, it was fed to Ammit. In his embalming role, Anubis is known as Imy-ut ("he who is in the place where embalming occurs"). He guards the physical remains of bodies, as well as the tombs and necropoli. Worship of Anubis is likely older even than that of Osiris. The Unas text (line 70) associates him with the Eye of Horus. In the Book of the Dead, he enbalms the body of Osiris, wraps it in linens made by Isis and Nepthys, and protects the body by laying his bare hands on it. Anubis is closely related to Ap-uat, another god whose symbol is the jackal, and who for many years was thought to be just another name for Anubis. In Book xi of The Golden Ass by Apuleius, we find evidence that the worship of Anubis was maintained in Rome at least up to the 2nd century. Anubis is worshiped today by some Neopagans. Alternative: Ienpw, Anpu, Yinepu, Imy-ut Papio anubis is the scientific name for the savannah baboon. The name is taken from Anubis, since the baboon is commonly thought of as dog-headed. *The importance of using the 'Anubis' as a current theme, in conjuction with Ockum's Razor, can be described by the following analogies: 1) The Servant Analogy : Seeing that this mythical figure is always associated with the dead, it automatically leads one's associative part of the mind to the inevitable. However, it is in the brand of thinking that we see that it is part of life and not necessarily one that people care to dwell on, but it seems to haunt us with an uncontrollable urgency. From a certain point of view, one may come to conclusion that he is there as a servant, trying to help guide one through the journey towards this eventual fate we all share. By some people's standards, they view a servant to be weak and powerless, however it is quite the opposite. Many life-lessons may be learned by one who provides a service, no matter how simple or how life changing the outcome. 2) Analogy of "The Dead" : Another perspective might be, in regards to the term "The Dead", one can quickly take on many assumptions as to how one may perceive this description. The second analogy that it seems to take on is that we sometimes find ourselves stuck in a rut, life seems stagnant, as if it has almost ceased to exist. We have lost our nerve. Many attributes of this thinking may quickly be ascertained, as well. A few examples are as follows: A) When in trouble or a time of crisis, things may spin out of control, leaving us without much power to change the given situation. So many things that once took on attributes of life, now only remind us of the death. However, it is in this position that one finds him or herself at a cross-roads. Forced to decide on whether on not to fight the situation or run away from it. IE: The fight or flight theory. It is up to you to decide, but it seems that in this case, the 'Anubis' is that intense reminder of just how urgent the choices that we make can be. B) Another example is just how different our lives may be if we were living in a different place. Some have no rights as a citizen, they do not get to enjoy the rights of a property and in some extreme cases, they are banned from their country and or forced to flee into exile. C) In some religions the theme also seems to occur, a monk that chooses to live a life of solitude and reverence is civily dead. In addition, many branches of the monotheistic religion 'Christianity' believe that one must be "dead" to the world. 3) The Competitive Analogy : Last, but not least, another that quickly comes to mind is for those who subscribe to the thinking that life seems to be a game and we are it's participants or players. Or maybe a struggle? If a ball goes out of bounds, in many games, it is commonly called a "dead" ball. Or take it a step further and and think of it as a struggle, hence the show of resistance in the cliche, "Not over my dead body!" We hope you can appreciate the usage of these ideas and know that we wanted to find something that falls into the philosophy of the band name. We tend to see it fall into the category of 'Mathematics' and 'Astrology', as the theory is widely used in everything from math to science; from computers to human behavior; to religion and philosophy. __________________________________________________________________________________ |
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After many auditions over time, they got a call in the latter part of 2001, it was in response to an ad they had recently hung up at the local Guitar Center nearby. Their hopes of finding someone that they would be happy with was starting to dwindle some, yet they remained optimistic. Sunday's band practice quickly came and a knock was heard at Viner's front door around noon. Right on time. He opened the door and he recognized the man's face and quickly asked him, "Didn't we work together years ago at McDonald's? I know I remember you." A voice replied, "Yeah, I remember you, this is like deja vu or something." The man felt welcome and introduced himself to the others,"Hey, what's up guys? My name is Chris Davis." The four headed down to the basement where practice was routinely held. After some hours of playing music and exchanging ideas, Chris told them that he liked what he had heard so far and asked for a copy of some of their songs. He also told them that he would come to the next practice with a song of theirs having lyrics written and melody written for it, so they would be able to gauge how things might work. The next practice came and the first song went well, Chris kept coming to practices with a new song each time, until they had three or four to work with. It seemed things would work out for this foursome. However, Chris was unsure of how long this would last and seemed pessimistic on the situation, suddenly. He told them his thoughts on the matter and thanked them for the opportunity and their time. Months later, after having tried out a couple more vocalists, the three were getting frustrated. They really liked what direction Chris was taking with their songs. They decided that what they needed was to structure the songs the best that they could and get a good quality demo of the songs and they did just that. Mike O'Neil then proceeded to call Chris and tell him what they thought and asked him to come over and get a copy of the demo. Chris listened to it for a week, or so and was pleasantly surprised by their progression and also their assertiveness and honesty. He was sold and told them that he was glad that they felt the way they did. At this point, it was Spring of 2002. They were close to having enough material to perform somewhere and knew that is what they needed to work towards, in addition to getting some songs recorded to get their music out there. August of 2002 was their first show at Mississippi Night's in St.Louis, Missouri. They brought a good crowd and were received well. After a few shows, they started saving their band fund's and put it toward's their first recording. Having eight or nine songs now, they chose what they deemed to be the best four of them and found a studio to record at. The first EP was recorded at Amp STL by Tom Fedke and was mixed and mastered by Kevin Gerdes. After having the first two songs paid off completely, they pressed 1000 cd's with two tracks and sold them at cost to get their music in the hands of listeners. Accompanied with additional shows, they soon paid off their recording and saved up enough to have the EP duplicated. 'With A Clear View' was released in 2003 and the band continued to harness their sound and keep writing songs. By the next year, they had already began recording with the same studio and the same producers again and decided to release another EP, they would have liked to have done a full-length but money was a factor. Isn't it always? By the fall of 2004 they had made enough money to release the 'Novocain' EP and had 15-20 songs written so far, but not enough time and money to produce them. The cd release was set months in advance, but personal lives were starting to get in the way, as they do in life. 1000 cd's were in the process of being pressed and things seemed to be headed in a good direction over all. Some one had even stepped in and offered to help out the band, knowing how hard it is to do original music and all. However, he had good ideas that were brought to the table, but they were outdated come to find out. In addition, the drummer was experiencing some personal issues and could no longer function with the band. The three were sad to part with their band mate, but remained friends. With the show two months away they desperately needed someone to replace him. Chris knew a drummer from one of the first bands he was in and knew that he was in a crossroads with the project he was involved in. He contacted him and discussed the idea and played him the new music and asked him to think about it. Shortly afterward, he spoke with him over the phone and this drummer had a bass player that he was still loyal to and insisted on bringing him along. After discussing the matter with the band, Mike O'Neil decided that to make the situation work, he would go out and get a new rig and guitar and be a second guitarist to Mike Viner. Audtions went well, as expected and the new members Chad Meinders on percussion and Brandon on bass, began working with the remaining members of the band for the upcoming show. If you did not know what was going on behind the scenes, it was as if no problems were occurring whatsoever and that the band had simply added to their sound. After some shows with the new lineup, the new bass player was visibly unhappy and decided that he needed to move out of town and desired to play heavier music than what the band as a whole could offer him. Frustrated by this sudden change of events, Chris spoke with another bass player of a band that was dissolving and asked him if he was interested in what the band was doing. He was and seemed to work out well, then after some more shows. Something happened. It was not evident to the original members at the time, but this band turned into a revolving door of members, it lacked something very necessary to a band's survival. New music. While they released new music and continually played new music at shows, the switching of members created a problem, the problem was that it was not unique for the new members. The original members having played these songs many, many times, the new one's got to the point of being able to perform them well live and then another member was gone. Time was spent getting the new person up to speed and things became stagnant. After the summer of 2005, it became evident that things were not going to last. The new bass player Johnny Prophet was looking for something different and wanted to move on. When our first bass player, now second guitarist got wind of this he was visibly annoyed. Chris asked the new drummer to think the week through on what he wanted to do and let him know at the next show. The next show came and it was to be the band's last show in a full-band/electric format for years to come and it took place at Pop's in Sauget, Illinois. Left in the wake of the show, the only members that remained were Mike Viner and Chris Davis. After that night, they decided to take a couple weeks or so, away from each other to think on what to do next and let the frustration and anger subside a bit. Chris and Mike got together that winter, heading into 2006 with no band, no direction and things had changed significantly in each others lives since they began doing music together. Both had their own share of hardships, as everyone does and over time, they both always did their best to remain optimistic. After many, many auditions for bass players and drummers, nothing seemed to work. Mike went out and got a digital recorder and started practicing recording with it and they began working on some demos in which to work songs out to stay busy. They feared of turning into some kind of closet band. Having tons of material with not enough people to play it. At this point, they had around thirty songs. After working on these demos of electric stuff, Chris got a call from his friend Greg McNeely and he asked if he and Mike would be interested in having him over to play some guitar. They agreed and Mike and Greg's style seemed to somewhat mesh and while working on demo ideas, it occurred to them besides just trying people out and recording new demos, they needed to get out there and play in front of people still. They didn't want the name to just disappear. The trio worked on a thirty-minute acoustic set and played a couple of shows at the original Creepy Crawl. Greg seemed to start losing his patience with the band member search and wanted to move on to something else. Having done a couple of acoustic shows, Topher and Viner now realized that in order to move forward they needed to just stop the stale auditions and they had plenty of new demo material worked out, so they began writing acoustic material of their own. They took a couple of new songs and switched them to an acoustical format and then proceeded to write more songs original to the acoustic format and also acoustically-minded. Nothing to fancy, seeing that it was two people. They began rehearsing not only at practice, but when they could at open-mic night's at the Ten Mile House. In time, they met new people and ran into old friends, some wondered why the two were acoustic. After awhile of performing acoustic shows and getting the word out by making it known, they found a good prospect. A young man by the name of Ryan Hawkins who played the bass. He was seventeen at the time when the three first met, but he could play and he could hang. With the acoustic shows going pretty good, having the capability to record their own music acoustically and almost being done with all the writing, the new focus began to start working with Ryan on getting him up to speed on the bass. They also worked on new ideas too, to help keep things fresh from Ryan's perspective. The trio heard about a drummer and proceeded to audition him. He seemed to work out and the newly formed band was rounded out by Adam McClain on percussion. Nearing the end of 2007, Ockum's Razor had come full-circle, once again. Working out a mix of a classic O.R. tune or two, plus adding in new songs from the past demos while on hiatus and integrating in brand new material, it seemed to balance things out well and keep everyone's perspective fresh and exciting. Ockum's Razor returned to the stage in February of 2008 at Cruisin' Route 66. To their suprise, the place filled to capacity and it was a memorable night, especially for Topher and Viner. The band continued performing shows and by the summer time, they worked their way up to landing a show at the Pageant. This was to be Adam's last show, as he was moving out of state. Having been circulating in the scene, they had met a prospect for a new drummer at an out of town show in Alton, IL. that Topher and Viner played acoustic at. Over time, they stayed in contact as the prospect was from another state, but then later moved to St. Louis. Going into the Pageant show, the three new that afterward a tryout was imminent for the potential new drummer. Things worked out well and Ockum's Razor quickly evolved into a different type of monster than accustomed to before. While finishing up the acoustic cd, Topher and Viner worked with Ryan and new addition Voodoo on a forty-five minute set and performed their first show at Pop's Nightclub toward the end of 2008. After a handful of local shows and some out of state shows, the new acoustic cd was ready to be unveiled, however one day before it's release a problem arose and the venue had to cancel. The two just moved forward and released it anyway that day at a Hot Topic in-store and made the best of the situation. This full-length cd was recorded by O.R.'s own Mike Viner and was mixed and mastered by Mike Ryan. In 2009, the band performed alot of shows, while getting the opportunity to re-connect with old fans and make alot of new ones in their town and also out of town. They also wrote more new material and continue to do so. 2010 seemed to be a break through year for the band as it released the new full-band/electric EP entitled, 'Pusher' that was recorded, mixed and mastered by Mike Ryan. This will be the band's first full-band release of any kind since 2004 due to so many member changes, etc. Five months after the 'Pusher' EP's digital release, Voodoo had moved on to pursue other opportunities and we decided to do all of our own booking again. We re-united with our original drummer Pat Burgart in mid Oct. of 2010 and have lots more in store for our fans in 2011, it just goes to show that by continually shaving the problems at hand and facing the fears of what comes with them, Ockum's Razor is a band that chooses to welcome adversity and then overcome whatever it may bring. |
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