From the depths of Brooklyn's underground scene, OPTO S formed in 2018 when drummer Diana K connected with Charles Dodson through a fateful social media post. K and fellow musician Argelis Liriano had already spent eight years jamming together after meeting at local psych-punk shows, laying the groundwork for what would become OPTO S.

The three native New Yorkers discovered they had crossed paths many times before at shows throughout Brooklyn, sharing a passion for the experimental sounds of Sun Ra, Suicide, Oneida, and Silver Apples. Their musical chemistry proved immediate and powerful, propelling them from rehearsal spaces to live performances within months of coming together.

Lawrence Peryer: What was your first concert? 

Diana K: R.E.M. Jones Beach amphitheater Sept 1999; Patti Smith came out to sing “E-Bow The Letter”, amazing night.

Lawrence: Tom Waits famously described his distinctive voice by saying it sounds like "Louis Armstrong and Ethel Merman having a fight in a bag." In that spirit, how would you describe your creative voice, regardless of the field you work in?

Diana: "A scrappy perfectionist."

Lawrence: What instrument do you wish you could play and what is behind that aspiration? 

Diana: Synth-wanna make no percussive sounds.

Lawrence: What is your theme song and what does it express about you?

Diana: Buzzcocks “Something’s Gone Wrong Again” because something almost always goes wrong but it gets dealt with.

Lawrence: What was your first paycheck related to your creative work?

Diana: $20 in middle school for an accurate drawing of Garfield.

Lawrence: When you were 15 your favorite artist, song or album was:

Diana: Joy Division.

Lawrence: Tell us an anecdote or story about something that happened while working on your most recent project.

Diana: Drank too much coffee at the last album mixing session resulting in light hallucinations.

Lawrence: Who is the biggest influence on your musical life?

Diana: Hamish Kilgour.

Lawrence: What are some of the places you have saved on your phone's weather app?

Diana: Boston. I went there once. Was not impressed. Now weather app thinks I frequent Boston.

Lawrence: You are programming a music festival. What artists, dead or alive, headline Friday, Saturday and Sunday night?

Diana: Friday: Oneida / Saturday: Last Exit / Sunday: The Clean.

Lawrence: What is the last concert you saw? Who, where, when?

Diana: Holy Tunics, Bar Freda, about one month ago.

Read about more innovative axe-wielders:

Guitarists - The Tonearm

The Tonearm is an online magazine devoted to music, arts, culture, and the creative people who make our world a better and more interesting place.

The TonearmLawrence Peryer