History
The first incarnation of the band was initiated in 1981 when a man named Rich Robinson, his wife Mariska Leyssius, a man named Terry, and Vince Duran formed what later was known as Psi Com. Being without a drummer, they placed a classified ad in the free weekly L.A. newspaper The Recycler. Farrell responded to the ad, with the intention of becoming the group's singer rather than drummer. Robinson agreed to let Farrell join the band as the vocalist in early 1983. The ad for a drummer was left in The Recycler however, because the band was still practicing with the aid of a drum machine. Terry soon left the band.
Sherer called Farrell in response to the ad for a drummer. When Sherer finally joined Duran and Farrell, Psi Com played their first significant live show, opening for The Cult at L.A.'s Music Machine club in the latter part of 1984. One notable gig was held on the roof of the Oki Dog fast food restaurant, playing with the Minutemen.
When 1985 came, the group realized that they needed a bass player to fill out the bottom end of their sound. As a result, they recruited their friend Wheeler, who moved into a house with Farrell near the University of Southern California. Wheeler was reportedly tempted to join the group by being offered a bass guitar in exchange for his membership. Just after Wheeler joined, the quartet performed at a gig in the middle of the Mojave desert, opening for such acts as Sonic Youth, Redd Kross and The Meat Puppets. The performance was regarded as poor due to Farrell being high on magic mushrooms at the time.
In March 1985, Psi Com made plans to release a five-song, 12" EP. The band entered Radio Tokyo Studios in Venice, California that spring and recorded the songs "Xiola," "Human Condition," "Ho Ka Hey," "Words" and "City of Nine Gates." Ethan James manned the boards for the sessions, which lasted for one weekend. James was known for producing seminal punk group The Minutemen's most popular album Double Nickels on the Dime.
Psi Com ordered 1,500 copies of their self-titled EP that July for release on their own label, Mohini. The band went into shock when the records were delivered from the pressing plant, as more than half of the EPs were warped. Frustrated by the experience, the band drifted apart musically and personally, and by September 1985, Psi Com was no more.
After the breakup, Farrell remained living in the house that he had shared with Wheeler. Farrell's new housemate, a girl only known as Jane (or Carla Bozulich), introduced him to her friend Eric Avery, who became the bassist in Farrell's new band, Jane's Addiction.
Wheeler spent time performing with musician Dino Paredes, later the bassist for Red Temple Spirits and vice president of A&R for American Recordings. Duran and Sherer lessened their involvement with bands and only performed part-time with local L.A. groups. However, Sherer did go on to play drums on Mazzy Star's 1996 album Among My Swan.
It is rumored that the demise of Psi Com was a result of Sherer and Duran becoming Hare Krishnas, but this assertion was declared to be false by both men in an interview with American magazine Musician
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