The Universal Indians started in the winter of 1993. Reincarnated from the free skree ashes of the band Plants, U. I. began by merging simple songs with strong improvisational roots. The members = Gretchen Gonzales: guitar, Bryan Ramirez: guitar, vocals, John Olson: drums, saxophone.
The first live show was in March 1993. Soon after, the Universal Indians played nearly every weekend. Limited edition cassettes have been distributed at every show. The Indians were initially based around set lists and song structures. As the band developed, however, the majority of the recordings were improvised during basement shows with Gretchen on drums, John on guitar, and Bryan on guitar and vocal.
Bryan was kicked out of the band in the summer of 1997 for lack of enthusiasm and fell into the growing "torch & twang" scene. During this transition, the Universal Indians mixed things up a bit playing as a two piece and with various people around Lansing like Elias Harik on electronics, Kris Kazor and Sean Lyons on bass, Gretchen on guitar, vocals, and table-top guitar, and John Olson on drums, saxophone, and electronics. Many live recordings take place at the Creative tapes household and JB Badstones party palace.
In 1998 UI added ex Couch and Galen member Aaron "Mike Ephron" Dilloway as a full time member playing heavy freakout guitar and on headphone/reel to reel vocal menace. Faster and with a looming electronic pulse edge, the new improved UI is leaner and meaner than ever. Playing around Michigan the trio recorded the almighty "Thrist of the Worm" lp, the state's first mountain of unraveled meltdown of doom, throbbing the 4am braincells of the Michigan landscape, quivering and sweaty like the teeth of the dark rabid electro- rat. Dilloway strengthens the band and the label by merging the teenage weirdo dance thuggness of Hanson records to the holy blurred lofi skree of Complex & Creative American Tapes. The two labels have jointly merged to make Michigan the Midwest island of frothy weirdness, fueled by early crudoid techno and mentally retarded Czech hip hop. The Universal Indians continue to add handmade instruments to their loner late-night basement wall-of-doom world of stoned sound, covering the foggy heavy mountain.