What's in a name? In the case of the postrock instrumental project called Mice Parade, it's an anagram of Adam Pierce, the moniker of a multi-instrumentalist who earned his rep with the lo-fi Boston pop band The Swirlies as well as with the lighter, more experimental Dylan Group under the leadership of vibes player Dylan Cristy. Mice Parade is a genuine solo project in that Pierce plays everything; or, at least he does when it's physically possible. Though his compositions have the cut-and-paste structure associated with electronic music, he favors acoustic instruments and tries to record everything live. His latest album, "Obrigado Saudade," involves guests because it utilizes Brazilian jazz motifs, thus necessitating more instrumental harmonies and layered percussion.
One of those guests is keyboardist/drummer/dub aficionado Doug Scharin, who has his own interestingly named solo project: Him. Scharin is more out there in terms of structures, but he also borrows more straightforwardly from jazz and folk music ("folk" as in localized world pop rather than acoustic guitar-strumming protest music) and is perfectly happy to patch in the samplers and processors. He also has a thing for horns.
Pierce and Scharin will be bringing a bunch of musician friends with them on their upcoming joint Japan tour, including Cristy and Kristen Anna Valtysdottir of the Icelandic group Mum, and they'll of course be sitting in on each other's sets. Give it any name you want, because it sure will be hard to describe in words.
