Pnevma (2002-2007)
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psychedelic punk astronauts of inner space Pnevma formed in the Autumn of 2002. John Pink {guitar} was a former member of Headjam. Kostas Marakis (bass) was a former member of Orpheus. Chris Cosmos (drums) was a former member of Triptych, Whip The Minister & East of Ealing amongst many others. Craig joined whilst still in the ranks of Underdog. link to http://www.pnevma.net/ Videos: Rabbits and Mushrooms - at The New Cross Inn Urban Guerrilla - at The New Cross Inn Twisted Instinct - at The New Cross Inn Psylocibin and Salvia - at a rehearsal space in Bromley Dervish - at a rehearsal space in Bromley Sabbat - at The Scala, King's Cross Psylocibin and Salvia - at The Scala, King's Cross Click for a larger image   Pnevma 2 (Feb 2005)   Enter Eden Sabbat Psylocibin & Salvia       Rabbits & Mushrooms Twisted Instinct Festival CD inserts Posters They quickly got a strong Space Metal set together & proceeded to play a select few venues (a trend they have continued with to this day). They've played The Ivy House in Peckham 3 times (the last being a Mad Pride All-Day benefit organised by the inimitable Dave Skull (a close collaborator of Craig's since 1984)). They played support to Ghost of the Robot at The Garage in London & twice in The Scala (also in London) in 2003. Pnevma Collage The singer with Ghost of the Robot is the actor who plays Spike in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. His managers warned Craig off of inviting Spike (James Masters) to any after-parties & clubs. Craig ignored this fascistic control of a Hollywood commodity & invited the head-line band anyway. They declined all offers & came across as humourless, lazy rich kids with little or no knowledge of the underground music scene at all. They certainly didn't seem to represent the colourful crowd that supports their band & the TV show. Whereas they all dressed in nondescript jeans & T-shirts Pnevma wore a selection of drape jackets, pvc trousers, leather jackets, top hats,etc. It seemed to many of the punters that Pnevma were the real thing & the likes of James Masters were merely manufactured copies of the kind of Rock & Roll life-stylists they are promoted as being. CRAIG HIGH ON VOCALS AND WOODWIND. PARAGON OF FREE FESTIVAL CULTURE, SQUAT RAVE ORGANISER AND SAAAARRF EEEEEAST LUNDUN ROCKER JOHN ON GUITAR. PARAGON OF FREE FESTIVAL CULTURE, FACE, FIRST CLASS TICKET, MAESTRO OF MONSTROUS MACHINE MAYHEM AS HIS FINGERS SEAR THE STRINGS OF SPACE ROCK. KOSTAS ON BASS. TRANSGLOBAL MEDITERRANEAN ROCKER WHOSE ROARING LINES OF RUMBLING INTENSITY HAVE EXPLODED OUT OF THE THRASH METAL SCENE TO ADD AURAL WEIGHT TO THE BAND'S SOUND. CHRIS COSMOS ON DRUMS. QUITE SIMPLY RE-INVENTS RHYTHM UNDER THE NEW BANNER OF JAZZ METAL. After the third & last time Pnevma blew Ghost of the Robot off stage a mixture of this & Craig not heeding the commands of corporate tossers led to Craig & Kiran being physically thrown out of the Scala. A situation Craig & Kiran felt very proud of. Regardless of Pnevma providing both bands with a full-on projector light-show (supplied by Dave Flickering Light Eyre) & single-handedly carrying all the external equipment for each gig in & out of the venues Ghost of the Robot kept all the revenue from all 3 gigs (another reason why Craig had got the arse by the end of gig 3, complained & then got ejected). All this seemed to prove that the richer people are the more tight fisted they are. Pnevma Apart from this brush with global notoriety Pnevma have played two parties in West Wales. The first was an all-night fortieth birthday party for Carrot of The 24 Carrot sound system in one of the organisation's marquees in 2003. The other was at The Blue Rock Free Festival in Llanfyrnach in 2004. They shared the billing with Headjam, Nik Turner's Space Ritual & Zion Train amongst others. At this festival they had Steve Baker {Triptych & Whip The Minister} guesting on guitar. Pnevma Live Some of the bands Pnevma have been billed with in indoor venues include The Balloons, The Bert Shaft Orchestra, The Bulbous Skunk Cabbages, The Missing Puddings, The Long Decline & poet/stand-up performers like Zolan Quobble, Emil Sercombe, Lloyd Lindsay, Jazzman John Clarke, O'Matsu & Frank Bangay. Pnevma Live Although gigging infrequently Pnevma released a studio CD in 2003 & a second one in 2005. Numerous live recordings exist & hours & hours of film archive has been caught. All the lyrics have been written by Craig, John & Kostas. Pnevma Live   Pnevma Live           Flickering Lights VJ Dave Eyre     From August 2005 to date Pnevma have revived their gigging schedule & have done a run of gigs in South East London at venues like The New Cross Inn, The Montague Arms in Deptford, The Muse's Cafe under St. Giles Church in Camberwell & a squatted property in Hackney. Apart from a prospective return gig at The Montague in July they have been booked to play The Camberwell Green Free Festival on the 3^rd June. This recent run has seen them play with such noteable underground bands as The Sines, Unity & Devision, Jesus, Mary & Joseph, The Balloons, The Bert Shaft Orchestra, Jazzman John Clarke, The Czech band Add Syndicate & The Slackers. Add Syndicate have invited Pnevma to play Prague later this year.   The band take their name from the modern Greek / Slavic pronunciation of the Gnostic testament Greek, "Pnevma" or Breath of Life that god imparts to the human race in the Garden of Eden to counteract life-destroying illusion. [Email] Craig [Home] - [Bands] - [Kiran] - [Books / Art] - [Civil Unrest] - [Events] - [Links] All material in this section is Copyright © Pnevma, except where otherwise stated.