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The group's mouth filling name (a question mark, a slash and a comma) is a reference to the membership of the ensemble. Three of the group's members --Fran Carris, Tim Wood and Joseph Zitt-- were core members of the Dallas performance ensemble "Question Authority, the". A number of the other members --Tom Bickley and Joseph Zitt-- are members of the Washington D.C.-based Comma. The name is also a reference to the group's irreverent sense of humor and fun.

The ensemble's current all-star lineup combines members of a number of ensembles. Many of the groups have current or future releases through the Metatron Press label. Other members include Austinites Thom the World Poet (multiple international tours), Bobby Corbell (Comma and Friends) and John Snyder (Empty Words), Washington D.C.-based Jon Matis (formerly of Gray Code and Austin band Tiktok), Rod Stryker (Sun Poets Society) and San Francisco-based shakuhachi player Nancy Beckman.

Metatron Press is a publishing cooperative dedicated to the contemporary arts. Creating books, CDs, performances, online materials, and multimedia works, they combine mindful experimentation with an eye to what has come before and what might come after.

Ensembles on the Metatron Press label that are represented in ?/, include Comma, Gray Code, Gusty Winds May Exist and zitt/matis.

Comma

Comma is a musical ensemble based in the Washington D.C. area of the United States. They work with their own material and that of other composers including John Cage and Pauline Oliveros.

Comma describes itself as "an ensemble specializing in music that involves improvisation and mindfulness practices. Their repertory includes newly composed musical works, performance poetry, chant from various early traditions, and group improvisations. Techniques include many extended uses of the voice as well as electro-acoustic environment."

Comma website

 

Question Authority, the

"Question Authority, The" is a performance collective devoted to exploring the borders between poetry and music and between composition and improvisation.

The ensemble brings together performers representing a wide spectrum of Dallas arts, including members of Victor Dada, Dancing Tongue, Poetry Circus, the Angry Girl Sextet, the Human Systems Performance Group, and the Word.

Question Authority, the website