PFS were conceived in 1983 in San Francisco, by Scott Brazieal (piano, keyboards and tapes), Herbert Diamant (saxes and bassoon) and Gary Parra (percussion and noises), all of whom had previously had a reasonably successful career in the instrumental avant-prog band CARTOON. However, musically, PFS are much darker in their sound and take more influences from classical composers, such as ROBERT SCHUMANN, BÉLA BARTÓK and LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, rather than CARTOON's more quirky cartoon and chamber rock influences. PFS incorporate tape loops, courtesy of Brazieal (a former student of the San Francisco Conservatory) and with Diamant and Parra, they are primarily a three-piece instrumental chamber rock-style band who play with their own unique style, with flair and panache. Altogether, PFS released two albums. Their debut album "Illustrative Problems" was released in 1986 on Cuneiform Records (Rune 06 - but has never been released on CD) and is less focussed and avant-garde than their follow-up album. As a live band, PFS played outstanding dark, apocalyptic and altogether dissonant music, that the crowds did not immediately adjust too. Their second album "279" was recorded over several years (1985 to 1989) and was released on Cuneiform Records (due to their friendship with Steve Feigenbaum) in 1990. The album consisted of many improvised tracks based on a pre-conceived structure; it also included a cover of a 1982 Cartoon track "Leeward" and a version of Robert Schumann's very last composition "Theme In E-Flat". Many tracks also include clips from other composers, such as Schubert (Death and the Maiden), Beethoven (String Quartet Op. 59 #2), Bartók (1st String Quartet), Josquin (Missa Pange Lingua), Mahler (Second Symphony) and Mozart ("Dissonant" String Quartet). The track "War" includes a clip of arias by Verdi, as well as samples of gunshots from the U.S. raid on Libya, atomic tests in the Bikinis, the London Blitzkrieg and the voice of Adolph Hitler. Craig Fry (formerly of Cartoon) and Bill Johnston also added violin and 'cello respectively, as guest musicians, on many of the tracks. Despite the more classical and chamber rock influences, their sound is still avant-garde, courtesy of Brazieal's tape loops and piano style. Diamant's saxophone playing is also sometimes reminiscent of David Jackson and Gary Windo on occasions. After PFS, Brazieal went on to play briefly with Dave Kerman's 5UU'S in the 1990s (featuring on one track on "Crisis in Clay" playing vibes) and later also joined with Fred Chalenor (Tone Dog, Pigpen, Caveman Shoestore, Hughscore) for a short time. Craig Fry went on to play with Paul Drescher Ensemble, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and several Klezmer bands. If you are familiar with Cartoon and want to hear what their next incarnation sounds like and you also enjoy RIO/Avant-Prog and Chamber Prog bands (e.g. UNIVERS ZERO, PRESENT, SAMLA MAMMAS and MIRIODOR) then PFS will be very much worth a listen. Due to their classical influences and their often apocalyptic soundscapes, they are not for everyone however, but those who like their music dark, often incoherent and doom-laden should enjoy PFS. ===James R. Yeowell (2007)=== <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/PFS">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.