history

Personnel Background:

Mick Peters (2000 to present: stick, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals)
Mick hails from Birmingham, England. Seeking adventure and wide-open spaces, he moved to Austin in 1995, preferring Austin's blazing sun to England's frequent rain. Mick, a bass player who also plays guitar, had long been a fan of progressive music, but found that the quickest way to a gig in Texas was to hook up with a blues band - which he did for a few years. At the same time, Mick taught himself to play the Chapman "Stick" (an unusual hybrid 10-string instrument), worked on his own original material and developed his home recording skills by multi-tracking his compositions onto a self-made CD. Mick's taste in food has changed since moving from England to Texas. He now prefers jalapeno pizza and barbecue to kidney pie and fish & chips.

Ted Thomas (2000 to present: drums, percussion,, vocals)
Ted grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, and after realizing he was free to leave, moved to Austin in 1993. Ted's long affair with playing music began in fifth grade with the cello. He quickly segued to the trumpet, and at 13, he taught himself guitar, starting his first band at 14. Ted soon gravitated toward the bass guitar and played in a succession of popular bands as well as original music recording projects. He also handled lead and backing vocals, and occasionally played synthesizer. In late 1999, after a hiatus from playing music for a number of years, Ted was ready to play music again. This time he took on another instrument which had always fascinated him - the drum kit. Little did Ted realize, the extent of the endless drummer jokes he would have to endure as a result of of this decision. He has now settled to the bottom of the musical food chain - though by choice, not default.

Joe Funk (2001 to present: guitars, vocals)
Joe was born in El Paso, Texas, where he spent his formative years, but has lived in Austin, Texas since 1977. Joe started playing guitar when he was 14 but had put it down for a number of years until 1998 when he decided to focus on his guitar playing once again. Joe then formed a progressive instrumental trio consisting of guitar, Chapman Stick and drums called Two Sheds in 2000. A year later, the band produced a self-released CD of original compositions. Joe is often asked if Joe Funk is his real name. It is in fact, his real name, however schoolyard taunts once caused him to threaten to change his name to Bill Funk.

Bruce McIntosh (2007 to present: keyboards)
Bruce is a man of mystery. We'll fill in the blanks here when we learn more. All you need to know for now is that he has 2 arms, 2 hands, 10 fingers, and can play the keys extremely well. Sometimes his right hand doesn't know what his left hand is doing, but this can be a good thing.

Former Members:

Patrick McFarland (2000-2003: keyboards - including writing and performance on self-titled demo)
Patrick is originally from Jacksonville, Texas. Patrick began playing piano at a young age, and later picked up the guitar. He studied music in college and then played keyboards with a progressive rock band in the Dallas area until 1993. Though Patrick had not been active in a band since moving to Austin in 1996, he continued to play and create music, including work on various home recording projects with a friend in Dallas. Patrick is well known for his fastidious musical arrangements (Sample: "Let's rehearse that 5th bar with the 43 notes in the 6/8 section repeatedly until I decide how it would sound better."). Of course he was open to suggestions - as long as they were better than his original idea. Affectionately referred to as Iron Fist.

Thad Miller (2003-2006: keyboards - including performance on the Welcome Humans album)
Thad grew up in Canton, Illinois, and moved to Texas in 1993 after graduating from college. He started playing organ when he was 7 or 8, and added piano a few years later, after his hands had a chance to grow up a bit. He got his first synthesizer in high school and has been into recording and all things keyboard ever since. Thad has been in numerous big bands and jazz bands since high school, but started feeling the urge to branch out several years ago. Since then, he's been in several variety/dance bands and is now excited about moving on to his other musical love, progressive rock music. Thad aced the audition as the band's keyboard player and he impressed everyone with his musical credentials (e.g. playing weddings and providing sound effects for limbo contests).

Band Formation / Chronology:

1998

Pompous Circumstances - Part I

In 1998, while working together at a local computer company in Austin, Ted and Patrick were surprised to learn over lunch one day that they shared a fondness for progressive rock. The two became friends through a shared sense of humor and music. However, they did not play music together until almost two years later.

1999

Pompous Circumstances - Part II

In the spring of 1999, Mick and Ted met at a ProjeKct Three (a King Crimson side-project) concert in Austin. As fate would have it, Mick and Ted found themselves standing in line next to each other, while waiting for the club to open. The two struck up a conversation, after laughing at the sight of Robert Fripp trying to enter the locked door, only to be knocked in the head when it suddenly opened! Mick told Ted he was learning to play the "Stick," and Ted expressed his plans to buy a set of electronic drums. The two agreed they should get together when Ted acquired a drum kit.

2000

Trio

As soon as Ted acquired a drum kit he promptly contacted Mick, though they hadn't spoken since their initial meeting many months before ("Ted who?"). Ted and Mick jammed together in January 2000. Then Ted invited his co-worker Patrick to join them, on keyboards. The trio of Ted, Mick and Patrick worked well, both musically and personally. Without any master plan, the three began jamming and working on each other's song ideas, on a semi-regular basis once or twice a month (beer and jalapeno pizza became a rehearsal tradition.). Soon these get-togethers became so enjoyable they began trying to convene at least once a week (beer and pizza were a motivating factor as well). All the while it was agreed that another element was needed - specifically a guitarist. Finding a guitarist to play the sort of music they envisioned, in a town dominated by rhythm & blues would prove to be difficult and require patience.

2001

Pompous Circumstances - Part III

After over a year of rehearsing and jamming, in the summer of 2001, the trio of Ted, Mick and Patrick, attended a gig by a local band that would prove to be fortuitous. Through a mutual acquaintance of Ted & Joe's, Ted was told of an upcoming gig by an instrumental fusion trio employing guitar, drums and "stick", by the name of Two Sheds. This sounded worth checking out, so Ted, Patrick, and Mick attended the Two Sheds gig and were duly impressed with the band, but particularly the guitarist, Joe. Ironically, each trio was looking for the additional melodic element that the other trio had. Ted, Patrick, and Mick enjoyed talking with Joe, and discovered that his musical ideals were quite similar to theirs. It was decided that they should stay in touch with each other.

Quartet

Fate struck again, and a few months later, Two Sheds disbanded and Joe immediately thought of his new acquaintances. He informed Ted, Mick and Patrick of his availability, and their first jam as a quartet instantly clicked. In spite of the fact that the band had no name or gig prospects, Joe patiently attended rehearsals and diligently learned their previously written material (again, beer and pizza were a big draw). The newly motivated foursome then began rehearsing in earnest, integrating the guitar into their existing songs as well as writing new material.

Recording & Early Performances:

2002

The Search for a Name

Up until June of 2002, the band still had no name. Many ideas were discussed (which provided much entertainment during the obligatory rehearsal pizza consumption), but none seemed to satisfy unanimously. It had not been an urgent matter since the band had not gone public yet, but upon completing their "demo" recording in June of 2002 it became a priority, and the band officially became Thirteen of Everything.

The Demo Recording

During March through May 2002, the foursome recorded a "demo".
The 41-minute demo consists of five songs recorded on home PC equipment. All four members shared lead and backing vocal duties. The result was a recording that, while not intended as a final product, turned out rather well and suited its purpose. Thirteen of Everything's self-titled demo CD - only available directly from the band - was distributed to friends, acquaintances and various music industry contacts beginning in late June 2002 at the annual NEARfest progressive music festival, near Philadelphia, PA. Since then the demo recording has generated very positive responses (Reviews of the demo CD can be found here). In addition to generating favorable reviews and comments, the demo recording resulted in an invitation for Thirteen of Everything to play at the first annual "Cattleprog" in Dallas in December 2002. Unfortunately the timing was such that band could not accept due to scheduling conflicts and an unforeseen personnel change (see below).

And then there were three... - version 1

In August of 2002, Patrick was ready for a complete change of style, therefore rather than rehearse the band's previously recorded music for live performance as the others wanted to do, he decided to leave the band so that he could devote his spare time to a different creative pursuit (see Copperdown). Ted, Mick and Joe were saddened and disappointed by this setback at a critical juncture, but all concerned remain on friendly terms. An advertisement was quickly placed for a new keyboard player.

Keyboardist #2 Joins

On November 26, 2002, Thad Miller joined the band on keyboards. After learning of the opportunity to share weekly pizza and beer, he couldn't resist applying. After jamming once to get acquainted, Thad then learned a couple of the band's tunes and came back to ace the audition. Performances followed throughout 2003.

2003

Musea

After receiving an offer in late 2003 from Musea Records to release an album on their label, the band began preparations for recording the official debut album.

2004

The Debut Album

The band began the new recording in January 2004 and continued at intervals throughout the year, re-recording the five earlier tracks from the demo, plus incorporating thirty minutes of new material including a long-form piece which they had completed in 2003.

2005

The resulting debut album, "Welcome, Humans" was released May 2005 on Musea Records, and has garnered very favorable reviews. It is widely available through various international online retailers, as well as through direct download. Go to the "Order CD" page for details and links.

2006

After a bit of a hiatus, toward the end of 2006 the band reconvened to begin rehearsing again and to work toward gradually compiling and arranging new material for what they hope will eventually metamorphose into another album.

2007

And then there were three... - version 2

January, 2007: And then there were three... again (!). On the 13th day, of the 13th month, Thad announced with regret that he had to leave due to a lack of time available to commit to the band any further. Thirteen of Everything must now search for keyboardist number three.

Keyboardist #3 Joins

August, 2007: Bruce McIntosh joins Thirteen of Everything as keyboardist after a trial period to get better acquainted by jamming and co-arranging new material together. Bruce was already an acquaintance of ours as he was formerly with another local Austin "prog" band (originally Gambit, and then later changed their name to Austin Power Station). With Bruce now in the fold, Thirteen of Everything returns to having regular rehearsals & writing-arranging sessions.

2008

Moving Forward at a Slow but Steady Pace: Throughout 2008, Thirteen of Everything continued to work on new material as time permitted (which was not very often, with obstacles such as business travel commitments, car accidents, surgeries, etc.) :(

2009

Making Progress: Thirteen of Everything continues to work on new material PLUS we have actually started recording basic tracks for one of the completed pieces. There are currently three realized pieces (i.e. the arrangements are basically worked out). We have started recording basic tracks for one of those and continue to refine the other two, while also introducing new song ideas for further development. Two of the three pieces are in the 8-10 minute range, and the other one is a 3-parter (or more) that will likely be rather long.