TVS and two fingers have been involving audiences since 1996 with a mind-teasing mix of original spoken words with sound art made with traditional and VERY non-traditional instruments…

TVS and two fingers Bio

TVS and two fingers have been creating their unique combination of performance poetry and sound art since the group’s debut performance in Fort Collins, Colorado on New Year’s Eve 1996. Poet Tim Van Schmidt joined forces with Mark J. Rosoff and Dave Zekman, members of the experimental music group two fingers, in the Fall of 1996 to record their first independent album release, “More Poets Inside,” a limited edition cassette. The group debuted the album and their act during their hometown’s inaugural First Night festival.

Since then, TVS and two fingers have performed extensively in Colorado and Wyoming, as well as in the East Coast states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The group has also released three more independent albums, including “Live,” “Dreaming of the Pyramids,” and “Air and Words,” published with a book version of the words. TVS and two fingers have appeared on two albums by Australian storyteller and didjeridoo player Paul Taylor and on a CD compilation of poetry from Sparrows, Colorado’s Performance Poetry Festival. They also recorded and produced the CD release by award-winning Colorado poet James Tipton, “Letters from a Stranger.” Another independent release for TVS and two fingers was “Live on Homegrown Radio,” a recording from a recent performance and interview on Fort Collins public radio station KRFC-FM. Other work includes a ten year retrospective of the best of the band’s recordings, titled “Big Treasure, The Best of Ten Years,” released in October 2007.

TVS and two fingers have sought out a wide variety of venues for presenting their art. They have played in coffeehouses, nightclubs, book stores, theaters, festivals, residential treatment centers, craft shows, art galleries, museums, parks, libraries, arts centers, living rooms, churches, urban youth centers and on radio. They have also supported a variety of nonprofit organizations by playing numerous benefit performances, including appearances for Public Radio for the Front Range, Swallow Hill Music Association, Friends of the Library, RockyMountainCenter for the Book, Open Door Mission and the American Cancer Society. Not only does the group perform, but they also host open mike opportunities for other poets to read to improvisational background sound.

Along with performing to the general public, TVS and two fingers have worked extensively at schools, doing performances and workshops for students in all grades- from pre-school through university graduate level. On two occasions, they dleadperformance workshops with Columbine High School students in the time of healing following the Columbine tragedy. TVS and two fingers have worked with a variety of school organizations, including special performing arts schools, charter schools and public schools.