The Adventures of The Tone Set

A narrative Discography for
Galen Herod and Greg Horn.

1980-1987

Dow Jones and The Industrials




"The Industrials are interested in technology, manipulation, machines, media, chance, logic, design. We wear clothes, eat food, drive cars, watch t.v., etc..." - Red Snerts, 1981.

Dow Jones and the Industrials were a West Lafeyette, Indiana band that existed from the late 1970's until about 1981.

The band initially consisted of Greg Horn on guitar and vocals, Chris Clark on bass and vocals, Tim North on drums, and Mr. Science(Brad Garton) on keyboards.

Their first release was "Hoosier Hysteria," a split LP on Technological Fun Records with fellow Indiana band the Gizmos.

In 1980, they released a self-titled 7" EP on Hardly Music Records. The tracks were: "Let's Go Steady," "Can't Stand the Midwest" and "Indeterminism."

The next year, they appeared on the Gulcher Records compliation Red Snerts with "Ladies With Appliances." By that time, Chris Clark had left, and was replaced by Jenny Sweeny on bass. Brad Garton had also left to group, and was replaced a fellow named Dave on keyboards. Brad Garton appeared as Mr. Science on the compilation, contributing a track called "Mr. Science."

Greg Horn soon moved to Arizona, and nothing more was heard from the Industrials.

Posthumously, two Dow Jones tracks are available on Killed By Death compilations; "Can't Stand the Midwest" on #8.5 and "Ladies With Appliances" on #15.5. "Can't Stand the Midwest" also appeared on the Bloodstains Across The Midwest compilation.

Discography:

Dow Jones and The Industrials/ Gizmos: Hoosier Hysteria


Dow Jones & The Industrials:
1. What's The Difference
2. It Ain't Good Enough
3. Set Yourself On Fire
4. Malfunction
5. Dude In The Direction Field
6. Rocking Farmers
7. Hold That Coed
8. USA

Gizmos:
9. Progressive Rock
10. Pay
11. Dead Astronauts
12. Rock & Roll Don't Come From New York
13. Bible Belt Baby
14. Reggae Song
15. Take Me To The River

Split LP,
Technological Fun records
1980

Dow Jones And The Industrials: s/t


1. Let's Go Steady
2. Can't Stand the Midwest
3. Indeterminism

7" EP
Hardly Music Records, HM-000002,
1980

Various Artists: Red Snerts / The Sound of Gulcher

1. Amoebas In Chaos - "Designer Genes"
2. The Gizmos - "The Midwest Can Be Allright"
3. The Panics - "Drugs Are For Thugs"
4. Mr. Science - "Mr. Science"
5. The Defekts - "Peer Pressure"
6. A. Xax - "Banging Your Head"
7. E-in Brino - "Indianapolis"
8. Phil Hundley - "30 Second Affair"
9. Zero Boys - "New Generation"
10. Dow Jones & The Industrials - "Ladies With Appliances"
11. Post Raisin Band - "Pink Lincoln"
12. Last Four (4) Digits - "Diddy Wah Diddy"
13. Freddy & The Fruitloops - "Right & Wrong"
14. bay-root - "Out & Down"
15. The Dancing Cigarettes - "Broken Windows"

Gulcher Records,
Bloomington, Indiana
1981.
(Reissued on CD recently)
(Read DJ&TI and Mr. Science insert.)
(Read review in NY Rocker #43)
(Read review in Billboard July 11, 1981)


Tone Set


  
Tone Set was a Tempe, Arizona band that existed from circa 1981 to 1983. It consisted of Galen Herod and Greg Horn. They met while working for KAET, a Public Broadcasting station in Tempe.

Their early sound was ostensibly synthetic, mixing very 'clean' synthesizer sounds with tapes. This was the sound of their first release, a 1982 cassette called "Cal's Ranch". It almost completely lacked vocals (the only exception was a line in "Wigglin Around In Middletown"). The tape portions were primarily pieces of dialogue from various recordings. "(Predictions) uses the dialogue from a prime-time local news broadcoast (with anchorman Bill Close) that some nut with a gun took over in, I believe, the fall of '81 ... really surreal stuff."(Dan Bailey) Other pieces were of a more lighthearted nature, like "Time Travellers", which used an extended recording of dialogue from "Rocky and Bullwinkle". The tape was recorded at "The Center for Advanced Studies," a house were both band members lived, and released by Zia Records in Tempe, AZ.

In 1982, Tone Set contributed the track "Out, Out, Out" to Placebo Record's "Amuck" compilation (PLA-103 A&B). Galen Herod, as Happy People, contributed "Happy People" to this compilation.



Vocals started to become a more prominent part of their sound by the time they started recording their 1983 LP, "Calibrate". This was also a home studio effort. The first side of the LP featured three pop songs: "Life is Busy," "Slim," which were both were sung by Galen Herod, and "Living In Another Land," which was sung by Greg Horn. The second side of the LP came from the "Cal's Ranch" session. The cover was decorated with pictures cut from an old math book, plus a drawing of "Pegna," a creature that would give Pegna Records its name. "Calibrate" was released in February 1983 as Pegna Records PEG 1.

The duo once performed as "Life Is Busy", opening for Pebble Culture(former Nervous member Bil Bored (Bill Yanok), Kristi Register and George Maestri). "They did the whole set with fake Yugoslavian accents, the highlight being a song called 'Working in a Pencil Factory'. Pretty damned odd." (Dan Bailey) They released a cassette single with "Working in a Pencil Factory."

Tone Set poduced a video for "Life is Busy", from their "Calibrate" MLP, which was shown on "Videobeat" and once on MTV's "Basement Tapes," where, despite the presence of Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) as one of the judges, was not voted into regular rotation.

In 1983, each member began releasing solo works. The time and reason for Tone Set's breakup is unknown.

Discography:

Tone Set: Cal's Ranch



1. Introduction
2. Out Out
3. He's Got a Little Dog
4. Predictions
5. Such Heavy Conviction
6. The Devil Makes The Loudest Noise
7. Waiting For Oatmeal
8. Indeed
9. Relax
10. What Good's A Hit Song?
11. Time Travellers
12. The Tone Set
13. Appeal To Them
14. Wigglin Around In Middletown
15. Close

CAS
Zia Records,
Tempe, AZ.
8-30-82.

Various Artists: Amuck


1. Dali's Daughter - "Cold War"
2. Jody Foster's Army - "Bouncer"
3. Meat Puppets - "Unpleasant"
4. Paris 1942 - "She Cracked"
5. Killer Pussy - "Pepperoni Ice Cream"
6. Sun City Girls - "Bobby Sands Boogie"
7. Victory Acres - "Bottles Neck"
8. Happy People - "Happy People"
9. Soylent Greene - "Soylent Greene"
10. Precious Secrets - "I Wanna Know"
11. Teds - "After The War"
12. International Language - "Long Journey To Nowhere"
13. Knebnagau je - "Annex"
14. Tone Set - "Out! Out! Out!"
15. Poet's Corner - "History of the World #22"
16. Mask - "Windows"
17. Destruction - "Time"

LP
Placebo Records, PLA103
Phoenix, AZ.
1982.

Tone Set: Calibrate

 

1. Life Is Busy
2. Living In Another Land
3. Slim
4. Out Out
5. What Good's A Hit Song
6. Wigglin Around In Middletown

12" MLP
Pegna Records, PEG 1
2-14-83
(read insert)

Life Is Busy: Working in a Pencil Factory

1. Working in a Pencil Factory

CASS
Self-release


Greg Horn


After the break up of Tone Set, Greg Horn recorded the cassette "Das Funk Ist Verboten" in 1983. It continued in the style of Tone Set's "Calibrate", mixing tape-loop instrumentals with straightforward synthpop. It featured the vocals of Horn, Eric Yeater and Linette Shorr. Sometime between 1984 and 1990, he released a cassette called "Big Grumpy Adults."

In 1984, he released a cassette and some videos under the name "Pointless." After the Pointless project, and inbetween playing in "a bunch of bands that put records out," he continued his solo projects. A CD entitled "Thoroughly Unpleasant Music" was released in 1997, followed by "Brilliant Sloppy Precision" in 1999.

Greg Horn has also composed music for Japanese TV commercials and for Nickelodeon's "Eureeka's Castle."

Discography: 1983-1985

Greg Horn: Das Funk Ist Verboten



1. The Money Happens
2. A Man And A Secret
3. You're in Control
4. I Watched and Thought
5. Isolation
6. No Shuffleboard in Moscow
7. Potatohead
8. Happiest Girl in The Whole USA
9. Places and Things
10. Guilt By Association
11. You're in the Army Now
12. What Our Hearts Wanted
13. People In The Street

CAS
self-release.
1983.

Pointless


Greg Horn of Tone Set became Pointless in 1984. Pointless released a tape in 1984 and made two promo videos: "Keep It Simple" and "Something To Look Up To".

Pointless: s/t

CAS
self-release(?)
1984.

Galen Herod


Galen Herod continued on solo work. He released the following cassettes: "Glad to be a Human" in 1983, "Food for the Mood" in 1984, "Bite the Wax Tadpole" in 1987, "Where the Heck is Mr. Fun or Up and Down the Donut with Frank" in 1989. Later, he was a member of the Skin People, a group that released "Fix My Brain", produced by Butch Vig, in 1994.


Discography:

Galen Herod: Glad To Be Human


1.The Pig Story
2.Bill, Dave and Jed
3.Boy Meets Boy
4.The River Picnic
5.Counting Things
6.Looking For The Perfect Love
7.Ropeo
8.The Boy With The Swollen Head
9.Christmas All Over Again
10.Twenty Miles From Cuba

CAS
self-release
1983.

Galen Herod: Food for the Mood


1.Great Moments
2.Squalor Is Happy
3.Psychic By The Pool
4.I Just Wanna Make Love To You (Foghat Cover)
5.Maybe I'm A Martian
6.Corporate Animal
7.I Want Money
8.Thinking Top
9.Combing M Hair From Hell
10.Dumb Questions
11.Not To Know
12.Brian Knows
13.The Rhyming Song

CAS
self-release
1984

Galen Herod: Bite the Wax Tadpole


1.Young Giant On The Freeway
2.Rock & Roll With Julie
3.Sweet Talker
4.What it was for
5.Sitting on a Rock
6.Round and Round Again
7.Everything is Happy & Nice
8.Larry Nance
9.The New Guy
10.You're Not The Boss of Me
11.Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow (Monkees Cover)
12.Bite The Tad Waxpole

CAS
self-release
1987

Galen Herod: Where the Heck is Mr. Fun? (or up and down the donut with Frank)


1.RV
2.Grain Elevator
3.I don't Care About You
4.I Wish I Was Arnold
5.I'm Not Waiting
6.Up & Down The Donut with Frank
7.The Song of the Pioneers
8.I'm There With You
9.Fish Always Move
10.The Man Who Wasn't There

CAS
self-release
1989

Galen Herod and the Skin People: Fix My Brain


1.Rock and Roll With Julie
2.Fix My Brain
3.Carefree Girl
4.Mr. Frotian     
5.Mediocre Compromise
6.The Comfortable Land
7.Young Giant on The Freeway
8.Side By Side
9.A Good Girl
10.The Abandoned School
11.Round and Around Again
12.All Of The Time  

CD
Pegna / Boat Records
1994

Dumb But Happy


Dumb Bit happy were a Phoenix, AZ, group consisting of Greg Horn, Galen Herod, Timothy J. Mahoney on drums and Steve Evans.

"Another band kicking around Phoenix at the time was Dumb But Happy. I saw a story about them in the local alternate news/music rag. The two singer songwriters were in an electronic band called Toneset. Toneset had a song that got played on the legendary KSTM in the 80s. It was based around some "sampled" dialog from Gomer Pyle I think.

About this same time frame I was getting into a band called Let's Active. They were out of Winston-Salem during the wonderful years that produced bands like REM and 10,000 Maniacs among others. Well, Dumb But Happy guys Greg Horn and Galen Herod professed Mitch Easter/Let's Active as an influence." - Dannis Sacks

Timothy Mahoney and Steve Evans were later in Skin People with Galen Herod.




Sources:
Who's New Wave In Music, David Bianco, Pierian Press 1985.
Library of Congress copyright archive (TELNET: locis.loc.gov)
Galen Herod, Greg Horn, Dan Bailey, Trevor Blake, John Weingardt,
Ulf Johansson, Marc Shaffer, Paul, Greg McDeath.
The New Wave discography at Collectorscum.com
Panics Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/myband2/panics/
Various covers and inserts.


Author: Ramsey
The Thank You Page

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