Born in Pennsylvania and based in Washington, D.C., Pirog was educated in jazz traditions and influenced by regional legends such as Danny Gatton, whose freewheeling combination of country picking, redneck jazz, and rockabilly showed Pirog that he didn’t have to stay in one lane. “He played blues, country, jazz and Les Paul-style guitar - all in one song.” Pirog reflects. “It was very inspiring to hear someone blend so many different styles convincingly. I guess that approach always stuck with me.” Pirog puts that eclecticism into practice while performing the jazz atmospheres of his solo records or the immersive cello/guitar compositions he creates as one-half of the husband-wife duo Janel and Anthony. His idiosyncratic playing and prolific output have earned him critical acclaim with AllMusic hailing him as “one of the most noteworthy artists on the 21st century D.C. area music scene.” Meanwhile, in recent years, he’s expanded his horizons by performing around the world with ex-Fugazi members Joe Lally and Brendan Canty in their jazz-punk supergroup The Messthetics. The Nepenthe Series, Vol. 1 features collaborations with John Frusciante, Andy Summers, Nels Cline, Luke Stewart, Wendy Eisenberg, Janel Leppin, Brandon Ross + Ryan Ferreira.