The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Variety

Media Credit: COURTESY INFECTED MUSHROOM Electronic band Infected Mushroom plays its first Athens show tonight. The group, formed in 1996, toured worldwide. [Click to enlarge]

The effects an infected mushroom may have on the human body upon consumption are questionable.

Erez Eizen and Amit Duvdevani of the band Infected Mushroom may have previously dabbled in the fungus, but Duvdevani said psychedelics are not what inspire the Israeli electronic trance musicians.

"Some people call [our music] psychedelic, we call it electronic," Duvdevani said. "And it [might] go with drugs, but is not influenced by them."

Coincidentally, certain Infected Mushroom songs bear evident psychedelic references, like "Drop Out" on the album "Converting Vegetarians."

The song begins with an excerpt from a speech by Timothy Leary, a 1960s psychologist and a strong advocate of psychedelic research and use, who coined the phrase, "turn on, tune in, drop out."

Since its formation in 1996, Infected Mushroom has toured all over the world.

In the last year, the band has been to festivals like Coachella and Virgin, and will be performing at Vegoose in Las Vegas later this month.

Although Infected Mushroom has played in Atlanta several times, tonight will be its first show in Athens.

Duvdevani said the duo likes to break into new markets, and he considers Athens to be just that.

He and Eizen will be bringing Tom Cunningham, an American guitarist who has been playing shows with them since 2004, and Brazilian percussionist Rogério Jardim.

"Everything is live. The computer is in the middle of the stage, but nobody really touches it," Duvdevani said. "The computer is a ready arrangement and we play above it."

Infected Mushroom, like most electronic groups, has a wide variety of equipment to help ignite its musical genius.

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