Gothic Theatre
The Accident Experiment
THE ACCIDENT EXPERIMENT:
Marcos Curiel—guitar
Pete Stewart—vocals
Tony De Locht—bass
Ernie Longoria—drums
“A musical journey of epic proportions,” is one of many ways to describe the project known to the underworld as The Accident Experiment, aka “AeX”.
After eleven years of being the driving force behind the success of P.O.D., guitarist/songwriter Marcos Curiel has put together a band that he feels can help him further explore his musical tastes and vision.
The Accident Experiment (aka: AeX) was formed in late 2002 by Curiel and drummer Ernie Longoria. They soon recruited bassist Tony DeLocht, who had played with Longoria in the southern California band, Sprung Monkey. With a handful of songs written and recorded, Curiel was in need of a singer that could vocally and lyrically meet the challenges he had personally set for his new project. Pete Stewart, formerly of Grammatrain, was the first to come to mind.
Curiel and Stewart first met in 1997 when their former bands shared a stage in Portland. The two immediately clicked and spent hours chatting about musical influences, goals and philosophies. Both became increasingly busy with their respective projects and ultimately lost touch.
“I tracked him down,” notes Curiel of his search for Stewart. “I sent him some of the songs and just asked him to see what he could do with them,” he added. Stewart recalls, “When I got the music, I was blown away with how ‘big’ it sounded. I had never written to music that was already finished and recorded before so it was a new challenge for me, but one that was inspiring.” After hearing the lyrics and melodies that had been put to his music, Curiel knew his forethoughts of what AeX was to be were not only complete, but also shared by Stewart.
The Curiel/Stewart writing team wasted no time in bringing their vision of the AeX experience to life. In five short months, the duo wrote and recorded over twenty songs. “It sounds cliché, but a lot of these songs really just came out and wrote themselves,” offers Stewart. Curiel and Stewart write from a “place” or “state of mind”, rather than apply the formulated approach often found within mainstream music. “This isn’t mainstream. This isn’t what you hear hour after hour on the radio. AeX isn’t predictable, that’s what makes it an experience for the fans and us. There’s more to it than just us, the band members,” states Curiel.
Effortlessly, AeX guides the listener through his or her own mind by challenging the thoughts and perceptions often associated with such concepts as human emotions, dreams, deceit, mind control, love, hate, depression and manipulation. “Seeds of Black”, “Scream to Breathe” and “Song for You” are but a few of the songs that lead the listener down the uncertain and unpredictable road of interpretation. “Songs are identifiable to anyone and can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. In our music, we try to take it to another level. We want to offer the opportunity to really think about, and question, what is being said lyrically and musically. If a fan wants substance, it’s there. If it’s just about the rock, there’s plenty of that as well,” comments Curiel.
Not many bands can truly build on, and fuse, their influences. From the journeys of Pink Floyd and Rush to the bruised tones of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, AeX tastefully progresses the direction such artists established. The diversity of these influences can be found in the many moods and emotive illustrations created, developed and performed by AeX.
Collectively, it’s the music, experiences, personalities and visuals of the band’s members and fans that create a platform for The Accident Experiment to ultimately live and breathe on its own.
