Dao X is the former lead guitarist and bass player for Sons of Pale Horse.
Biography[]
Dao X grew up in Palo Alto, California. He was enrolled in Millennium Polytechnic where his mother served as the physical education teacher. During his time there, he befriended Gene Casablancas in John Cage's music class. In 1991, X attended Lollapalooza with Gene and watched Naked City perform Future Tarkovsky Unmade for the first and only time, which X viewed as "life changing". The day after the concert, Dao and Gene started collaborating musically by writing songs together. Though they were unfocused as they could never decide on a music style, this allowed them to be proficient in so many different musical genres as a result. When X's mother disappeared, Gene's parents, Jean and Jane Casablancas, took him in and became second parents to X.
After graduating high school, X and Gene enrolled in Sundance Labs in Los Angeles to further their musical pursuits and desired to become the next Pink Floyd.
One night, X and Gene went to Jabberjaw and watched Chris Deschaines and Mike Ennis perform. While the audience disliked the performance, X and Gene loved it. They chased the performers to tell them how much they enjoyed the show. That night, they bonded over take-out Tandoori from Gunga Diner and watched Pale Horse. While watching the film, they booed at the scene where the film attempts to explain why the alien monster suddenly appeared in New York City. Under the influence, they exclaimed that the film was insult to the memory of Pale Horse, the death metal band the film was named after, and decided to band together to form the Sons of Pale Horse. Moments after their declaration, squids began raining down from the sky; X and the others saw this as an omen.
Trivia[]
- Gene X performs lead guitar, bass, synthesizers, and strings on the album The Book of Rorschach.