Forming out of the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas, Lanyard includes Chris Pumphrey (alto sax), Greg Pardew (guitar), Mike Barker (bass, theremen), Ryan Grove (drums), and Mark Christman (percussion). Their collective consciousness provides fuel for their powerfully creative and improvisational compositions. Lanyard constantly pushes themselves in new directions, creating an unique live experience in each performance. They are a tour de force of instrumental power. Citing everyone from John Coltrane to John Zorn, from Iceburn to Sonic Youth,and from Tony Williams to Nels Cline as their influences, Lanyard looks to take music forward.