Ithaca's Mouth To Mouth To Mouth will be hitting the road this weekend with three new math-rock jams to share with you!  In celebration, they've put their debut EP from 2010, engineered by Phil Abbott at Pyramid Sound Studio, up for free download on bandcamp.


1/10 in Syracuse with Counter Pursuit, Blood Money, Street Rats
1/11: in Ithaca with Blood Money, Kaboosh!, Triple 5 Spout
1/12 in New Brunswick, NJ with Marloneisha (NJ), Young Enthusiasts (MA), County Drop (NJ)
1/13 in Binghamton with Why The Wires, Secret Plot... (PA)

Contact the band for details!

Many local bands that Ithaca Underground has worked with over the last few years have released DIY demos which have found comfy homes on the shelves at Pirate House HQ. We'll always enjoy them and they'll be a good glimpse at the bands we were enjoying during these years.


Recently, however, there has been a handful of bands who have been looking to take their recorded sound to the next level, in an attempt to better demonstrate their full capabilities and sonic prowess, as they would live.

Today, we take a look at one of studios in the area which has been a cornerstone to the overall CNY music community for decades: Pyramid Sound Studios. We discuss the studio, recent projects, and a studios role in today's ever changing music industry with engineer/producer Phil Abbott.

IU: Can you give us a brief history of Pyramid Sound Studios?

Phil: In the 70's, Alex Perialas' father was running a talent agency which would book bands across the East Coast.  As far as I know, it was illegal for clubs to book their own bands without an agency.  I may be wrong.  But, anyway, the studio was built alongside the talent agency.  A few people cycled through as engineers before Alex decided to just run it himself.  So, juggling schooling at IC and full-time studio work, Alex started engineering and has been the main guy since.  He's worked with greats such as Anthrax, Testament, SOD and even had the likes of Ginuine and Missy Elliot come through.  He has also had various engineers/producers working out of the studio, and that's where I come in.

IU: What's your recording & music background?

Phil: I've been a cellist since I was 5 and took up tuba and guitar in middle school.  In middle school, Pete "McAwesome" and I formed a band with two friends of ours.  We didn't really play out much, but we played all originals in that bedroom, and it was the foundation of my interest in recording.  The first recording I was a part of was done with a single mic hung from the ceiling with our amps spaced around it to create the 'mix'.  The medium was an Aiwa tape/cd/radio boombox.  Our singer/guitarist would hit the record button with his toe after counting off.  We even punched in this way.  In high school, the band pitched in and bought a tascam studio-in-the-box thing-a-ma-gig and I ended up buying it off of them.  It worked great and we could record multiple tracks!  My dad got me Recording for Dummies and I recorded some demos using it as a reference.  In the coming years, I got a BM in Sound Recording from Ithaca College with a focus in cello.  At school I abused my studio privileges with any band I could find that would come in.  This is the time I valued the most--just trying again and again to make good sounding recordings.  Learning how to use the gear, deal with people and generally what works and what doesn't.

IU: How did you come to be working at Pyramid?