Silent Frisco @ String Cheese Incident : Hornings Hideout

Photo Credit: C. Taylor Crothers

Over the past decade, The String Cheese Incident has emerged as one of America’s most significant independent bands. Born in 1993 in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, SCI has since released 6 albums, 3 DVDs and countless live recordings from their relentless tour schedule. Their 14 year history is packed full of surreal experiences, epic moments, groundbreaking involvement and huge accomplishments. They have been recognized for their commitment to musical creativity and integrity, for their community spirit, philanthropic endeavors, and for their innovative approach to the business of music.

When The String Cheese Incident’s growth first started gaining momentum over a decade ago, when the internet was just beginning to take hold and the major-label business model was failing, the band decided to make music on their own terms.

Since then, The String Cheese Incident has gone on to carve out a completely different approach to the business of music; they are truly pioneers of a new way of ‘making a band.’ With the World Wide Web as their tool, SCI was among the first artists to disseminate information via the internet, such as tour dates, release information, and other news, to their growing fan base. Rather than doing business on such terms as ‘the bottom line,’ The String Cheese Incident put their music and their fans first, opening companies of their own, including a ticketing company, a merchandise company and a fan travel agency, to best serve their community. The band’s record label, SCI Fidelity Records, has always operated under the same ideals. Even early on, SCI Fidelity embraced downloadable music and file sharing, delivering SCI’s ‘On the Road’ series, where every show the band plays is made available for download on the internet. Whether they realized it at the time or not, The String Cheese Incident was inventing grassroots band development. Today, literally hundreds of bands are using some version of this same approach to building a band.

The String Cheese Incident’s commitment goes well beyond their immediate community, and even beyond the music community as a whole. Early on, the band took a serious interest in giving back to the communities that they visited, and they were among the first performers to encourage ‘Green’ shows and tours. SCI’s support has helped give rise to such not-for-profit organizations as Conscious Alliance, Rock the Earth, and Head Count. In 2002, when the band’s right to sell tickets to their own shows became threatened by ticketing giant Ticketmaster, the band stood strong for the independent music community and filed a lawsuit against the company. All the while, The String Cheese Incident has stayed committed to music as a creative endeavor, not just in their recordings but also in their live performances. The list of SCI’s special guests and collaborators is long and diverse. Their annual events such as Horning’s Hideout, and holiday shows such as New Year’s and Halloween, have helped redefine the concert experience and has garnered the band a reputation as live music vibe innovators.Silent Frisco is a crew of San Francisco sonic missionaries dedicated to turning impossible situations into musical magic. We specialize in enabling performances in public spaces where ‘noise’ has previously made such performances impractical or illegal. By using our custom ‘Silent Frisco’ wireless headphones, the music can play while neighbors enjoy peace and quiet. Once one removes ‘noise’ from the equation, public music gatherings can be seen for what they truly are: an unalienable civil right.

We are based in San Francisco but have traveled far and wide to bring this unique performance technology to happy listeners. Among the events that either Silent Frisco, or our founder Robbie ‘MoPo’ Kowal have performed at are Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Treasure Island Music Festival, Electric Forest, Camp Bisco, Earthdance, Harmony Festival, Gathering of the Vibes, Sea of Dreams NYE, and Ghost Ship Halloween. We’ve put music on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Miami Beach in Florida, and Town Beach in Bridgeport Connecticut. We helped to revive legendary outdoor artspaces the Silo in Houston and Austin Enchanted Forest. In 2010, Silent Frisco conceieved and executed the ‘Silent Soundclash Tour’ the nation’s first Silent Disco club tour. Show us a place where ‘music Is not allowed’ and we will show you how to get make it happen.