Host Skull

In 2011, Host Skull arose as a musical outlet for Pittsburgh filmmaker/musician David Bernabo and mastering engineer/musician Will Dyar, a former Pittsburgher, now of Santa Fe, NM. The group's debut album was released on Chicago's Antephonic label in 2011, incorporating a host of musicians from Pittsburgh's contemporary classical and jazz scenes. For Host Skull's Destruction, the final album in a loose trilogy, guitarist Erik Cirelli and vocalist Kelly Miskis joined the band along with Santa Fe's Ben Montgomery on trumpet. The band is modular in membership and has performed at venues large and small in Pittsburgh along with regional touring. In 2012, Bernabo and Dyar in collaboration with Matt Wellins, Jeff Schreckengost, and Chris Cannon installed a interactive, generative sound art piece at the 707 Penn Gallery. The band has also performed as a modular dance company, at which point the group included members of the multi-media performance group slowdanger. Once signed to Chicago's Antephonic and Contraphonic record labels as well as Pittsburgh's Wild Kindness records, the band (and various side projects) now releases music through their own Ongoing Box label, which boasts 55 releases since 2011.