The Amygdaloids, an

American rock American rock has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music, and also drew on folk music, jazz, blues, and classical music. American rock music was further influenced by the British Invasion of the American pop ...

band from New York City, contains three

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

scientists: Joseph LeDoux, vocals and guitar, Tyler Volk,

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

and vocals, Colin Dempsey, bass, and Daniela Schiller, drums. LeDoux is a professor of neuroscience and Volk a professor of biology. Schiller is a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

cognitive neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental process ...

. Their name is a reference to the

amygdala The amygdala (; plural: amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex verte ...

in the brain.

Early career

The band’s first gig was on November 1, 2006 when they formed to play a set in conjunction with a lecture given by LeDoux about his research on fear and the brain. They played a number of rock

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

with mind and brain themes, including: "

Manic Depression Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

", "

19th Nervous Breakdown "19th Nervous Breakdown" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was recorded in late 1965 and released as a single in February 1966. It reached number 2 on both the US ''Bil ...

", and " Mother's Little Helper". They also performed several original songs about mind and brain and mental disorders. With each gig during the following spring, they included more original material. In May, 2007, they played to 10,000 people in Madison Square Garden for NYU’s College of Arts and Science graduation. The audience of students and their families did “ the wave” during their set which was captured on video and posted on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, giving them a PR boost.

Recording

The Amygdaloids recorded their debut CD in June 2007, ''Heavy Mental'', at Axis Sound in New York (Jeff Peretz, producer; Steve Rossiter, engineer). The CD contained 8 original songs, 7 written by LeDoux and one by Volk. It was released in October 2007, around the same time as an article about LeDoux was published on '' Salon'' by rock interviewer, Jonathan Cott, (

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

, "Essential Interviews"). The interview led to an invitation to play at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington DC. Since then the group has had a steady flow of invitations to play in NYC clubs, art venues and museums. The Amygdaloids were offered a recording deal with the music production company, Knock Out Noise. In June 2008 they did basic tracking for a new CD (producer, engineer, Stuart Chatwood; executive producer, Tim Sommer). A pre-release version of the CD called ''Brainstorm'' was issued in March 2009. It contains 17 songs, 14 by LeDoux and three by Volk.

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

Winner

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

sings duets with LeDoux on two of the songs, "Mind Over Matter" and "

Crime of Passion A crime of passion (French: ''crime passionnel''), in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as anger rather than as a premed ...

". The official release was June, 2010 and is called ''Theory of My Mind''. It includes an additional song, "Theory of My Mind", that was written by LeDoux and featuring

Simon Baron-Cohen Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow o ...

(autism researcher from

Cambridge, UK Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

) on bass.

Rock-It Science Music Festival

On March 3, 2009, The Amygdaloids shared the stage with a star-studded cast of musicians for the Rock-It Science concert at the

Highline Ballroom The Highline Ballroom was a music venue and nightclub located at 431 West 16th Street in Manhattan in New York City. Description Primarily featuring musical acts, its capacity was approximately 700 people hosting diverse concert programming f ...

, New York, an event organized by LeDoux, Knock-Out Noise, and the Sensation and Emotion Network. Guest artists included Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Band), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister),

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

, The Kennedys,

Gary Lucas Gary Lucas (born June 20, 1952) is an American guitarist/songwriter/composer who was a member of Captain Beefheart's band. He formed the band Gods and Monsters (band), Gods and Monsters in 1989. Lucas has released more than 50 albums to date a ...

(Capitan Beefheart),

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

( Dream Syndicate), Stuart Chatwood (The Tea Party), Peter Holsapple (The dBs, REM), among others. The Amygdaliods included additional guest scientist musicians: Daniel Levitin (author of '' This Is Your Brain On Music'',

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

neuropsychologist), Pardis Sabeti ( Harvard Geneticist), and

Dave Soldier David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interact ...

(aka, David Sulzer, a Columbia Neuroscientist). At Rock-It Science, The Amygdaloids were also joined by Maura Kennedy (of The Kennedys) on vocals and Jeff Peretz (the producer of their first CD) on guitar.

Other accomplishments

In 2012, The Amygdaloids performed at the Qualia Fest in New York City.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amygdaloids, The Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from New York City Rock music groups from New York (state)