Acoustic guitarist Byron Estep and violinist Matthew Pierce play original compositions and bizarre covers in an experimental, classical-meets-punk-rock style.

7 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary



Details:
The UNSUNG STRING DUO was formed in 1995 when violinist Matthew Pierce and guitarist Byron Estep met at CBGBâs gallery in Manhattan and decided to write music together. Their collaboration resulted in a number of live performances during the 1995-1997 period in which Estep and Pierce performed their original compositions and bizarre arrangements of pop cover tunes. The Unsung String Duoâs instrumentation (banjo, steel-string acoustic guitars of all sorts, electric and acoustic violins, etc.) and their unconventional playing style made them attractive to a number of different types of audience.

The Duo performed in venues ranging from downtown singer/songwriter clubs like Sin-e and CBGBâs Gallery to theatrical venues like HERE and the Wooster Groupâs Performing Garage to uptown concert halls like Merkin Hall and Carnegie Hallâs Weill Recital Hall. Also during this period, the Unsung String Duo appeared on John Schaefferâs WNYC radio show âNew Soundsâ in an hour-long interview/performance. As a result of this appearance, the Duo was invited by Joel Smirnoff of the Juilliard String Quartet to conduct performance classes at The Juilliard School.

In 1998 Matthew and Byron stopped performing as the Unsung String Duo and turned their attention to their other projects and to recording the music they had written and performed together. The result of this effort is their first full-length CD âThe Unsung String Duoâ available on iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby, among other places. The album represents Byron and Matthewâs years of collaboration and was worked on meticulously in order to bring that work to light in the best possible manner.

At present, Matthew and Byron continue to write and play music both on their own and in collaboration, and although there are no plans at the moment to make another album thereâs no telling what the future might bring. More details about Matthew and/or Byron can be found on their respective web sites: www.matthewpierce.com and www.byronestep.com.