Alphastare, sometimes known as Jeff Vengeance, remembers his childhood as having been filled with records that his mother would play, including electronic works—Silver Apples on the Moon, Switched on Bach and works by Yellow Magic Orchestra. It was at that time that the seeds were sown for his foray into composing and performing his own expressions of this eclectic genre.

In the meantime, Alphastare listened to the sounds of his generation – remembering the first MTV pop music videos, Gary Numan and eventually the early forms of hip-hop. Around 1995 after years of listening to punk and hardcore and being a “skate-rat” Alphastare started exploring more experimental electronic music from the likes of Stockhausen, Throbbing Gristle and Einsturzende Neubauten and eventually started a band in 1995 with the intent of expressing his own interpretation of the genre. This all went on the back burner after he relocated to LA where he performed in the underground punk scene, most notably as a guitarist with the seminal band The Flesh Eaters.

He moved to the Bay Area in 2003 where he continued playing in bands. Playing guitar and bass eventually led into synthesizers. His first setup was a small desktop synth, monotrons, and tape players mixed through a 4 track machine run through effects such as the ubiquitous Moogerfooger delay and it was at this time that a friend encouraged him to do more with this format. So began his journey into the realm of experimental electronic music.

Much of Alphastare’s works can be found on Bandcamp including The Conjurer, Contagious Delusions and Night Movements.

Alphastare’s path leads him into exploring more experimental timbres and techniques and he is currently working with Left Coast Lights, a collective of Bay Area electronic musicians.