Thee Outernet

NOVA EXPRESS INTO THE SATELLITE HEART ... MY 31 FAVOURITES FROM 2011

2011-12-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to rant about the state of music these days. I'm not going to rant about the state of music media these days. I'm not going to rant about these days. I'm going to rave about the releases I liked that came out this year. It's not easy, any of it, but I'm gonna do it, because I want to.

I didn't know what a task I was taking on.

I tried to listen to everything that seemed interesting. God knows why... More often than not I was fooled by some spoiled--- Sorry. Let me just go so far as to say, there were more albums than ever in 2011 I couldn't subject my mind to for more than 11 seconds.

These are the 31 plus releases from 2011 I'll never get enough of. This list is in no order. Pleasant reading...!

*****

SMiLE by THE BEACH BOYS (Capitol/EMI 2xLP)

A bit less impactful for its delay, well worth the wait, yadda yadda yadda. I suppose true pop brilliance rarely gets this good? Ambitious three-sided song cycle about the heart of America being turned into a hat shop, or something like that, straight from the vaults of the boys with the baggies. Incredible opus, flawlessly construed. Fourth side with alternate takes and mixes of the best songs, or you could get the stupidly huge box set with the dangling cut-outs on springs, plus hours of studio direction and isolated takes for corporate tit-sucker prices you'd have to be as bat-shit as Lord Brian to pay for, let alone experience. The biggest head-fuck is that this tapestry was lying around so utterly complete, and seemingly only needed to be trimmed and sewn together, like the mental baskets Brian Wilson has been weaving ever since Van Dyke Parks attempted to invert the daydream world corporate America eventually caved in on poor Wilson like the mirrors inside a kaleidoscope. The lunatic laughter in those EMI hallways---from Wilson, and then from the suits when they heard the news---must have been just harrowing... Good vibrations, indeed.

*****

ONE NATION by HYPE WILLIAMS (Hippos In Tanks LP)

These culture-mocking UK noise and psych heads turned new-world imaginers tailspin the best of the hybrid beats jerking out of every urban jungle from here to Kalamazoo, sprinkle in spicy pastiches from electronic movements past and present, add their own lo-fi aesthetic, plus biting and subversive political commentary, humorous touches, and knack for sweet melodies, all into a fuzzy soup that's as ethereal and seductive as it is deeply imaginative, and strikingly emotional. But you already fucking knew all of that, didn't you, blog eyes? It's a bit easy to say, but this time around it's OK to believe the Hype. This time around, the negative reactions aren't justified, and it's part and parcel of the media-worshipping world we've become, and how people tend to believe everything they're sold over everything they're told. This gets my hands down pick as Record of the Year---straight up. A bit idealistic, but at least Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland are thinking about improving our social climate instead of just cluttering it with more bullshit.

*****

FOURTH WORLD MAGAZINE presents THE SPECTACLE OF LIGHT ABDUCTIONS (Pacific City Sound Visions LP)

The Skaters are one of my favourite music projects of the last ten years. Their smoke-bath of lo fi psychedelia and ritualistic prayer split sidelong into its two chiefs, Spencer Clark and James Ferraro, roughly three years ago. Ferraro has since been elevated to somewhat God-like status by the hipster blogster quotient, and for nothing short of what's usually pretty good reason (see below). If I had to choose a personal fave, though, like at gunpoint or something, I'd close my eyes and point at Spencer Clark's twisted rhythm experiments, which are undoubtedly inspiring his more selective cult following to new heights of spirituality, insight and foresight with this trance-inducing group hallucination of a synthesizer and tapes experience. Imagine Terry Riley circa Shri Camel, BBC Radiophonics lunacy and Teletubbies quibbering while you're on quaaludes and sizzurp. Truly bizarre third solo LP outing for Clark has me going really crazy over the book, story and concept as well. The dude is a sucker for Charles Berlitz's books, and that's right up my alley. I can confidently say Clark's 2010 sophomore solo album, Bamboo For Two by Monopoly Child Star Searchers, was my favourite album of that year. If you're still reading this and not searching out how to buy The Spectacle of Light Abductions, I'm a failure as a music writer. At least I could get by writing smut.

*****

ON AIR by JIM FERRARO (Underwater Peoples 2xLP)
FAR SIDE VIRTUAL by JAMES FERRARO (Hippos In Tanks LP)

The virtual superstar and ex-Skater (see above) continues his epic run into post-everything mystique with these ever-indulgent quests to recycle new sounds amid the overloading junk-piles of commercial and so-called independent culture. Godspeed Ferraro, I admire his aesthetics and his tastes, and his sounds, if not always his tendencies to avoid arcs and reasons within his compositional voids. You've got to laugh at the state of things today, if you're going to cope with everything that's happened, happening and about to happen, and the ability to laugh at the world and ourselves is what gives humans a state of inner well being. James Ferraro makes me laugh at the world, and laugh at myself---and I like that. There are few things that go as good with lots of natural drugs as my complete row of James Ferraro records. It's positive music, in a time when most so-called positive music can cause unbearable waves of nausea within any listener who still has enough marbles left to roll a complete game.

*****

BADLANDS by DIRTY BEACHES (Zoo Music LP)

Yeah, this dude's vocal stylings sound a whole lot like Alan Vega from Suicide, but the truth is Dirty Beaches is doing Alan Vega better than Alan Vega has done himself since Ric Ocasek pulled Saturn Strip out of Vega's vacuous space. Vega's not a musician, he needed Martin Rev to make it accelerate. This dude clearly is a musician. He knows how to spin a beat and loop a grimy sample so that it spins around in your head for days on end. This kid has got it, and this album delivers on the promise he's been giving us for the last three years. I think what it is that separates Dirty Beaches from a lot of the other wannabe weird whatever, is simply the emotion he channels. He has a voice, he has some things to say, and the way he sings them is really moving. Sometimes that's enough. "Horses" is the song that keeps running me over, again and again.

*****

WARY THE MIND by HOBO SONN (Amen Absen LP)

Brighton, UK stalwarts Hobo Sonn subtly re-contextualize electronic ambience and electro acoustic alchemy into post-glitch hypnotism sessions and fleeting skitters of sound transmissions from other planets. That's right, it's fucking unique. There's only so many ways to say it. Experimental music at its finest, shadowiest and most personal. A little warmer than alienating, which is always nice, too.

*****

OUTSIDE / INSIDE by CHARLIE NOTHING (De Stijl LP)
LOSE TODAY by STARE CASE (De Stijl LP)

Recorded in 1969 but not released until this year, legendary outsider jazz beatnik Charlie Nothing here treats the ears to a meditative woulda-been sophomore stroll through his peaceful rural environment. Nature sounds, spirit flute and soul percussion laying humble prayer to the saviour that is life. What more could you want from any true life experience? Meanwhile, on a similarly out-jazz tip (at times), on the same outstanding American label (De Stijl), Wolf Eyes' Nate Young and John Olson dirge on strongly together as Stare Case climbs new creative heights for the two, dipping into what's nearly outsider folk, with dark basement jazz lights courtesy of Olson's horn, skin-crawling lyrics and bass coming out of Young, and atmospheric mayhem flowing like contaminated rivers.

*****

NOT THE WIND, NOT THE FLAG (Medusa cassette)
DALLAS' AMP by THE PISS SUPERSTITION (Medusa cassette)

A couple of top spinners from the increasingly prolific Medusa label, courtesy of major Toronto head Ayal Senior. NTW, NTF is the free-spirit jazz and psych duo of percussion masters and multi-instrumentalists Colin Fisher (currently touring with Caribou's live band) and Brandon Valdivia (also of Picastro), and this is their most alluring and provocative release to date. Deeply laid down to analog tape by the storied Doc Dunn, it's one full-length for the ages that hopefully won't be lost in translation or crowded out by the poor-boys turned big-money-mongers who are monopolizing independent music with their watered-down tastes, puffed up prides and dollar signs where eyes once revolved. True freedom sounds for the spiritually inclined. On a far different tip, but equally as free from played-out trappings, The Piss Superstition is the shit storm of six strings noise nom de plume for shred visionary Julian Bradley, of Vibracathedral Orchestra obscure-o fame-o. Red cassette, red recordings, red, red, red. Insane acid prints by Matt King and Jacob Horwood only add to the hair-frying adventure. Julian Bradley and Bill Nace are the two guys earning my kudos on the noise guitar front these days. Listen up.

*****

DOUBLE AMATEURS by GRAHAM LAMBKIN (Kye LP)

Perplexing and engrossing post-modern experience from the sonic mastermind of The Shadow Ring, not to mention a growing body of engaging intellectual sound studies in the solo department. Herein across an American landscape and an LP record Sir Lambkin buckles his kids into the cruiser and lets his devout wife Adris Hoyos take the wheel while he expertly documents the proceedings, a mostly quiet drive with a couple of favourite modern electronic CDs playing on the car stereo, and some mysterious sounds drifting about. I'm not kidding you, this is what you're hearing, a family playing someone else's music, and it's phenomenal. A true sound genius at play, and loving it, in his very singular, up front and slightly intimidating way.

*****

WACO TACO COMBO by ERIC COPELAND (Escho LP)

Best Copeland solo outing yet, hands down. Big Black Dice beats beating down your hard dick while noise-level squelches shit-kick your ass. A couple real tweekers for the bass bins that you'll drop at your next party or DJ gig to really impress your drunk-ass friends, plus a side-long cut-up run through Copeland's hard drive jungles, and always wicked collage art to boot. Just when you thought all these solo LPs and 7-inches were starting to get a bit emailed in, Waco Taco Combo rolls along and restores your faith in all things Copeland. Keep it coming.

*****

ELAVANA PLANEETALLA by TOMUTONTTU (New Images 12" EP)
TOMUUNTTUU by TOMUTONTTU (Beniffer Editions 12" one-sided picture LP)
ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB / TOMUTONTTU (Tipped Bowler Plates split LP)

Tomutonttu is the solo project of Kemialliset Ystavat head Jan Anderzen and in 2011 the major Finnish psychedelic dude put out these 3 EP slabs of wax, upping his solo output considerably in comparison to recent years. In my opinion this material eclipses most of KY's maximal, digitally-obsessed two recent albums. Supremely puzzling electronic psychedelic headscapes sure to stimulate even the most overstimulated or jaded minds. Plus one of them is a split with Neil Campbell's outstanding world of psych fuckery project, Astral Social Club! Now there's a match made in heaven, man.

*****

U. S. GIRLS ON KRAAK by U. S. GIRLS ((K-RAA-K)3 LP)

You can officially chock it up as a well-formed trilogy for the first three U.S. Girls joints. M. Remy's most unabashedly pop moments are right here in living colour, rising out of the shadowy regions of her previous albums and singles---snapshots like a Beyonce cover and the Ronettes loop which opens the album---but they don't contrast too highly with a lo-fi Bolero ballad like The Island Song, nor the noisy interludes and atmospheric stopgaps separating her most developed songs to date. Remy's voice is the kind that can move mountains of song, and they say there ain't no mountain high enough, so why shouldn't she shoot for the pop stars?

*****

ETERNAL LANDSCAPES by L. R. J. MOANA and ADA VAN HOOREBEKE (Aguirre LP)
TWO ROMANTIC LANDSCAPES by DOLPHINS INTO THE FUTURE (Beniffer Editions cassette)
NEUTRAL BUOYANCY / ELECTRONIC MANTRA by DOLPHINS INTO THE FUTURE / FLORIS VANHOOF (Experimedia split 7")

Prolific magician of mellow Lieven Moana (aka Dolphins Into the Future) swims forward this year with no less than these three new offerings, each as fulfilling as the next to let roll up past the floats, the dock, and water fowls, past your feet, up your dock chair, past your smile, into your open ears, through your mind, and into your soul, where it stirs about incredibly evocative pictures of barges, cliffs, and lakes as wide as small towns. The Eternal Landscapes LP (inspired by the visual art of Ada Van Hoorebeke) especially evokes atmospherics in favour of much musical intervention, whereas the Two Romantic Landscapes North American tour cassette is among the finest of Dolphins' synth-trance excursions.

*****

YOUR FIRST EVER RIVER by UNITED WATERS (Arbitrary Signs LP)

First full-length wax-work solo outing for Brian Sullivan of Mouthus notoriety not only ditches his old Eskimo King moniker for United Waters but seems to creatively pick up where Mouthus' most studio-fried monument, Saw A Halo, left off. Hushed, articulate, exploring... A distilling solo work that eclipses any noise trappings or current trends in favour of simply something new and unique from a voice that's true.

*****

GANSRUD by ED YAZIJIAN (hp cycle LP)

Ed Yazijian offered the outside world the stellar basement freak-folk chalice Six Ways to Avoid the Evil Eye back in 2007 but has remained fairly off the map ever since, save for his ongoing collaborations with the highly respected Dredd Foole. Gansrud brings us up to date on what this deep spirit has been up to, and it's quite the feast for the well-lubricated third eye.

*****

FUTURE ACCIDENTS by SIGHTINGS (Our Mouth 12" EP)

Sightings charge on as one of the past ten years' most important rock groups with this heavy slice of recordings, capturing their phenomenal and powerful live-room sound. Previous albums Through the Panama and City of Straw brought the band's raw aesthetic up to studio production standards, though not always to the benefit of the band's intense live chemistry, but Future Accidents takes it back to ground level, where you can feel the sounds this band throws about, stomping you in the chest and forcing you to move under their rhythms.

*****

ON RUSTICATED SLANT by FLESHTONE AURA (Pleasence Records 45 RPM LP)
JOHN MILNER, YOU'RE SO BOSS (Pleasence Records 7")
DISCO PRISON / WORK STRESS by MAN MADE HILL / YOUNG TRUCK (Pleasence Records split LP)
GILDED FLOWERS by THE PINK NOISE (Pleasence Records EP)
EROTIC NIGHTMARE by THE SOUPCANS (Pleasence Records one-sided LP)

Just a healthy selection of all the goodies which came pouring out on the most encouraging label underground Toronto has ever witnessed, the vinyl salvation to local sounds both challenging and indie rock safe round these parts, Pleasence Records. I'm obviously sided with the challenging, and these recommendable feasts for the senses rip chords from a selection of the city's very finest groups these days. There's ferocious dog-off-the-leash noise-garage (The Soupcans), Melt-Banana-inspired spazz-punk kids (John Milner, You're So Boss), head scratching sound verite and humorous cut-up concrete (Fleshtone Aura), kaleidoscopic dance funk & post-punk (Man Made Hill & Young Truck) and, last but not least, the latest hot wax from Canada's most internationally adored lo-fi weird-punk navigators (The Pink Noise). Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg... 2012 is looking just as Pleasence as 2011. And that's spelled "as in Donald", by the way...

*****

LEAVE HOME by THE MEN (Sacred Bones LP)

The Men would fit in nicely beside pissed-off violent hardcore acts like Total Abuse, Vile Gash, Cult Ritual and Drunkdriver (the latter two of which have already broken up) if they weren't so stoked on the art-rock heirlooms from Wire, Sonic Youth and even the Beach Boys that they're really channeling underneath their hardcore volume pedals and ringing amps. The Men would be just the latest in a long line of bandwagon riff re-hashers, playing into the hands of the lonely rock critics, if they didn't have that sweet knack for making other people's songs sound so much like their own. You can tell there's a few dudes writing songs in this band, and I hope it's enough to give The Men some staying power where others fade so quickly, but when I hear they've got a split LP with Diet Cokeheads coming out, or rumours that there's a country and western influence on their next record, I gotta shake my head and wonder. Let's hope The Men prove me wrong, because "Think" and "Lotus" are two of my favourite songs from 2011.

*****

YT // ST by YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN (Psychic Handshake LP)

Genre and gender defying noh-wave titans from the future, spreading their J-pop vibes and sinister cuteness across all the ends of your emotional spectrum. There's some big buzz surrounding this Psychic Handshake record (with no small thanks to hometown boy Stuart Berman's encouraging words for Pitchfork) and the bloggers and reviewers are catching on like wildfire, so it's good to know all Yamantaka's hard work in fighting the odds to make this recording and album possible is turning into a dream come true of positive returns. Go get to know this band, they could be making serious waves down your roads...

*****

SO UNREAL by L.A. VAMPIRES featuring MATRIX METALS (Not Not Fun LP)

L.A. Vampires is an enigma wrapped in a puzzle and served with a TV dinner. This album should be a complete wreck. I should hate it, but I don't. I love it. It consists of the long tranced out lo-fi loops of Matrix Metals / Punks on Mars / Outer Limits Recordings mastermind Sam Meringue seemingly emailed over to Ms. L.A. for her to drink champagne and croon over. Seems like a recipe for disaster, or some strange home cooking, but this perplexing affair manages to out hipster the hipsters with its ultra repetitive beats and deadpan deliveries, waxing unpoetic about wasted nights and days from behind dark sunglasses. Schmaltz for the post-everything set? I know it sounds like I don't like this record, but I really, really do. When L.A. purrs Berr-lin Ba-by, I can see the city, and sometimes that kind of feeling and sincerity is enough to create a transcendent slice of modern enticement like this one right here. (I realized after the fact, that this is the one 2010 release that slipped onto this list... Keep on slipping, system, keep on slipping... I could erase this, but fuck it.)

*****

STUDIO JAMS by FRAK
CUSTODY by DENIM REPTILE
TWISTED & BENT by BAD BOY BUTCH BATSON
(all Beniffer Editions cassettes)

I love an oddball tape from yesteryear, and these three backwoods retro parties from Beniffer Editions' winter line-up of cassettes takes my cake and throws it out on the gravel driveway, just for the fuck of it! Come on, let's go get wasted and spin these things... Bad Boy Butch Batson's effort is the sloppiest seconds ever, following the still highly rotating Spare Parts LP Beniffer bestowed upon the world not too long ago. Imagine if Jandek was an adventurous kid, with funk in his soul and getting crazy in mind. A bit on the hard to handle side at times, but it's certainly got its spark. Frak ups the ante on the techno, still mining their treasure trove of early 90s melody-high AFX Kraftwerking. Hey, if the machines can do it, so can you. Nothing beats a timeless techno jam, and Frak fucking know it. Last up is a true mystery by Denim Reptile, something found by someone sometime that sounds like James Ferraro jamming with Ariel Pink in lo-fidelity heaven. Could the rumours be true? Says it's from Owen Sound... You never know with Beniffer, but you always know it's gonna be a weird time.

****

NAPA ASYLUM by SIC ALPS (Drag City 2xLP)

I've almost had enough of these guys, but I had just enough left for their Mickie Most meets Royal Trux sound to go buy this four-sider of new material for Drag City. Just as I suspected, it's wearing thin fast, but not before they could crank out this one or two session collection of off-the-cuff infectious sneers and jeers at jagged ditties. Sadly not as anti-music adventurous as their U.S.EZ album for Siltbreeze, but that's a statement you could apply to a lot of bands. There's a certain lackadaisical charm to Sic Alps, but more often than not they're treading water when they could be motoring away. It's when they get their shit together, on those certain songs, that Sic Alps sound like the best thing since the slacker 90s, but I have a feeling these guys are gonna lose it before they really cruise it. Let's hope they prove me wrong, but their quick to follow duo of 7"s weren't worth the price of admission in my books, so I held off. There's something about fulfill and demand, and a lot of bands are quick to shoot their loads and flood their markets these days. Buyer beware should be written on anything with shrink wrap. Napa Asylum almost tipped the scales in disfavor, but the Alps won my fandom for a little longer, though they'd probably want to kick my ass after reading this, like any band worth their spunk. Sic Alps are worth their spunk, so let's hope they don't let it dry up.

*****

BLACK UP by SHABAZZ PALACES (Sub Pop LP)

I don't know what's happened to hip-hop, or what's happening to it, and I don't really care, because I'm content to spin my Gang Starr and Originoo Gunn Clappaz albums into dust while all the egos and money grabbers of today boast and toast themselves into history's oblivion. I find Odd Future about as interesting and inspiring as a urine stain. All of the lights be damned, it don't mean a natural thing if it ain't got that natural swing. Sounds like Shabazz Palaces are about as pissed off at the eroding state of hip-hop and culture as I am, and they've crafted as unique and challenging a hip-hop hallmark as you're likely to find in 2011, a year when most of who's strongest in pushing things forward in hip-hop took the year off to cash in some chips. Shabazz stepped through alive and fresh, after an extended hiatus from the limelight by group brainchild Mushroom, the wizard who was also behind Digable Planets, whose records still hold up marvelously. Expect challenging things to come.

*****

CARDBOARD ORACLE by SIX HEADS (Wintage Records & Tapes LP)

Outsider noise from the sub basement set, courtesy of weathered and vital sonic sculptors Six Heads, a catch-all group of surrealist-minded musicians and composers condemned to Toronto's experimental ghetto. Find out their names, Google them--- they all have extensive discographies, and would appreciate your interest. I could do it for you, but you wouldn't learn anything. This is a real 4 am record for the post-noise heads. Local fave and a sure bet to be a worthy investment on the collector's market---nudge nudge, wink wink. Recently buzzed on The Wire blog for its tasty low budget cover art.

*****

THROUGH DONKEY JAW by AMEN DUNES (Sacred Bones LP)

Contains some of my favourite songs from this year, namely "Lower Mind", "Baba Yaga" and "Good Bad Dreams". Reverb and delay drenched songwriting at its most articulate, off-kilter and inimitable. A new, unique voice, just when you thought those had all been silenced. Something like a weird fusion between Roky Erickson's acid-fried sense of purpose and the drifting morphine-soaked wondering of Slowdive, with rhythmic accents courtesy of early krautrock. Insert praise and admiration here. About half of their songs eclipse their other songs, but oh boy those good songs are good.

*****

DOC DUNN (Inyrdisk CDr)
THE TRANSCENDENTAL RODEO plays and sings LE JARDIN MAGIQUE (Healing Power cassette)

Latest offerings from Doc Dunn and his Transcendental Rodeo troupe finds Toronto's best preserved psychedelic secret in full flourish, first with a solo electrified guitar sojourn (on my own Inyrdisk imprint--- oops! Guess I had to let just one slip onto this list...) and second to none, a full choir and ensemble document cassette for Healing Power, capturing the Rodeo in full gallantry, both in living room and public environment. A true troubadour of good vibes and deep jams, Dunn has raised the spirits of a lifetime's worth of alarming players and misfits, some of whom all gather when the moon reaches the right magnitude. Tell your neighbour.

*****

ASYLUM LUNATICUM by MAMA BAER (Nihilist 45 RPM LP)

Mystifying third solo vinyl offering from Fensburg, Germany's Mama Baer suggests more sounds than it allows through. 45 RPM might only be optional, but is recommended. It's certainly the speed of the recordings, which aim to allude and confound any conventions you might still not have shed. Despite its arresting exercises in tension and restraint, Asylum Lunaticum only hints at the powers Mama Baer previously unfurled on her obliterating pair of Shamanic Trance LPs from 2010. Her art brut approach to hammering out haunted folk shanties, fractured banshee ballads and dadaist rituals will have to wait until next year's 2xLP for Inyrdisk to further reveal what the Shamanic Trance LPs first exposed on wax beyond the tiniest of art editions... Asylum Lunaticum is a very engaging teaser for the sonic spectacles Mama Baer (and her beloved sound-poet, performance artist and anti-musician husband Kommissar Hjuler) have in store for the future.

*****

THAMES VOL XIV (She Sells Records cassette)
THE GIFT OF MONEY / THE NIGHT SHE BECAME ME by THAMES (American Tapes 7")

Montreal noise-core duo Thames stepped out stronger than ever this year---their sixth so far---with this ass-kicking duo of releases, each as sonically befuddling as the next. Warped song-manship, noise aesthetics and futuristic thinking blobbed out this mental bubble of thought-provoking new sounds. More loving details in another blog entry I wrote, for Weird Canada. Where are all the independent labels in Canada? Sniffing around for the next big shiny tunes, I'm sure. John Olson's American Tapes did these guys a solid by offering them their first slab of wax, let's hope the stateside support sends some more ears up our way in 2012.

*****

DELUDED by VILE GASH (Youth Attack 7")

I wouldn't recommend ordering from this label, because chances are you'll get ripped off for your money and never sent what you ordered, but if you can snag it at your local shop or online distro, some of what they're putting out is some of the best releases so-called violent hardcore has to offer. This 7" features the latest three studio-fried tracks from these promising Ohio nihilists, and despite clocking in at a hair under 3 minutes, it packs enough punch to clear away the competition in a single blow. Punk as fuck, and pissed as hell.

*****

MA VIE BANALE AVANT-GARDE by AIDS WOLF (Lovepump United 2xLP)

You know a group is at the top of their game when they spit out a double album and act like it was just business as usual. AIDS Wolf's new power trio lineup of Seripop + Alex Moskos has seen stages buckling under their pressure, and this hair-raising and unrelenting shred-rest of noise-rock aptitude marks the first annual report from these grimy lovvers. Suck it up and taste the sting, like when I had a bee in my Corona this summer.

*****

ABSOLUTE II by ONEIDA (Jagjaguwar LP)

Weathered indie art-rockers Oneida spent their last few albums creatively pushing the boundaries of their respective sounds and abilities to levels that have tested the patience and endurance levels of their listeners, with varying results. On Absolute II, it's as though they've artfully broken through their image of psychedelically fried rock n' roll into new lands of experimental drone fields and organic machinations. It's not always as sincere, vibrant, interesting or engaging (or just flat out musical) as some of the contemporaries and friends they're treading near (Mouthus, Sightings and the Dead C, for starters), but for sonic explorers clearly voyaging strange new worlds far beyond their usual depths, this is great, adventurous stuff by any stretch of the imagination. A few ideas take a bit long to develop, and some of the sounds are a little too naked where they could have benefitted from some clothing, but I can safely say this is my favourite Oneida album since Secret Wars, if not Anthem of the Moon. But what do I know? It's all a matter of opinion and taste, and everyone's entitled to their own.

Email from my mom

2011-12-06T01:14:00.000-08:00

Subject: Time to make some changes?

Dear George,

It's passed mid-night. Thanks for sharing this link with me. Honestly, I hope you are not getting into more of these destructive and depressing music as if life is so nice and perfect that you need to add more trouble to it. Most of the people not even have time to pump up themselves with positive thoughts because life is very hard and depressing already. Some teenagers might like to find these music as outlet for their frustrations. However, the more you hear the more you would be trapped in the depression with these destructive sounds and images. How about classical music? Let me forward a link ( at the end of this email) to you that shows the research on studying the reaction of "water molecules". Think about our body is more than 90% in water and the earth is covered with water, you would be amazed and amused by what sound and image can do to a person. Please try to be close to sound of HARMONY after 37 years. It might add something more pleasant in your life for the rest of your journey.

See the differences in classical music and heavy metal. Can you imaging the effects in your body on cell level?

MUTWAWA "Mayan Mutations" video by JOE LEGZ

2011-12-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

TRANSISTOR HEART

2010-08-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

Gary Stevens of HEAD MOLT and MUTWAWA has been DJing between bands at recent shows, playing obscure electronic, psychedelic, prog, punk, new wave, world, etc. sparking folks (myself included) to ask "who's this?" and "who's this?" So recently Gary posted his mixes on his RAT WARD blog for everyone to enjoy. Tomorrow night he debuts as DJ on WRIR 97.3 FM, Richmond Independent Radio, here in Richmond, VA, his shows are Wednesdays 11 PM to 1 AM. Here are his first five mixes, geek out!!!:
TRANSISTOR HEART I
(w/ Fela Kuti, Amanaz, The Witch, Gerard Levecque & Claude Romat, Chrome, Leather Nun, Todd Rundgren, Chrisma, Damned, Alex Chilton, Monitor, Braen, Pink Fairies, Jean Jacques Perry, Doris, Gaslamp Killer, Mondjam El/ Yamasuki-Yama Yama, Mehrpouya, Silver Apples, Starlights, Visitors, Brainticket, Joel Vandroogenbroeck, White Noise, Ghedalia Tazartes, Black Devil, Venus Gang, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Wicked Witch, Sympathy Nervous, Le Syndicat Electronique, ADN' Ckrystall, and Psychic TV)
TRANSISTOR HEART II
(Basile, Franz Auffray, Christine 23 Onna, Piero Umiliani, Janko Nilovic, Chico Magnetic Band, Elektriktus, Human Egg, The United States Of America, Jean-Michel Lorgere, Sam Spence, X Ray Pop, Wire, Waitresses, Sam Sklair & Gus Galbraith, Halli Galli Tanz Music, Ampzilla's Delight, Metropakt, Salvation, Moondog, Lou Reed, Trio, Oblivians, The Red Krayola, Jesus, Midas Touch, Snuky Tate, Cluster, Sammy Burdson Group, Todd Tamanend Clark, and Serge Gainsbourg)
TRANSISTOR HEART III
(Debris, Amon Duul II, Monocles, Damin Eih, A.L.K. & Brother Clark, Mott The Hoople, Snakefinger, Human Egg, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Bruno Spoerri, High Tide, Gerhard Trede & His Electronic Instruments, Camille Sauvage, Quiet Sun, Swell Maps, Wicked Witch, Hermans Rockets, Raymond Scott, Chaino & His African Percussion, Simply Saucer, Savage Republic, Aguaturbia, Nick Ingman, Vampires Of Dartmoore, Yma Sumac, The Son Of Pocket Music, Serge Gainsbourg & Bridgette Bardot, Dara Puspita, Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra)
TRANSISTOR HEART IV
(Brian Eno, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Die Doraus & Die Marinas, Les Maledictus Sound, Null & Void, The Soft Machine, The Index, Mekanik Kommando, DJ Dog Dick, Conrad & Gregor Schnitzler, Night Shadow, Boo! Hiss! Pfftlb!, Rah Bras, John Bender, Ultimate Spinach, Mario Molino, The Move, Kim Fowley, The Troggs, Quiet Sun, Nostromo, Casino Music, The Naughtiest Girl Was A Monitor, Greg Vandike, Ariel Kalma, and Ghedalia Tazartes)
TRANSISTOR HEART V
(Amon Duul II, Elektriktus, Solid Space, ADN' Les Catastrophe, Sympathy Nervous, Cromagnon, The Brainz, Assim Assado, Mary Moor, Mad Tea Party, Delta 5, Monks, SPK, Crash Course In Science, Deutsche Wertarbeit, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Executive Slacks, Rustic Hinge, Tool Shed, Violent Onsen Geisha, and Peter Jefferies)

ALSOS! The HAINEY VORVIS DUO GO WALK THE COSMIC BOMB

2010-08-01T07:59:00.001-07:00

Alsos was the code name for the American special operations force led by a Lieutenant Colonel Boris T. Pash who struck deep into the Rhineland (The Zone) at the end of WWII in order to round up German Scientists and stashes of Belgian Uranium Ore. The ore was immediately shipped Stateside for use in the Manhattan Project, which was rushing towards completion of an Atomic Bomb. The Brains were scooped up in order to keep ‘em out of Soviet hands...and now the BBC has turned up weird sketches purported to be initial plans of a “Nazi Cosmic Bomb”, a notion historians have dismissed for decades. Guess Alsos missed it. I mean, it couldn’t have been that well hidden, right? A beast of an entirely different order but not necessarily unrelated and not of dissimilar magnitude or intensity is, what in-the-know-Jazzbos around here are calling The Toronto Cosmic Bomb, aka Vorvis/Hainey. Jack Vorvis is a drummer moving into years commonly referred to as “veteran” and Hainey, although not quite there yet but will be shortly, is best known as the sub-range in Disguises. (Vwwooh Vwooh!) Their first Inyrdisk release (Iyd19) was a grueling workout for both these deepmen, a gorgeously plodding affair which worked best on repeat and played thrice through. Their new zone, in lovely packaging, (iyd 34) is the same formula: Vorvis layin’ in the cut in a bizarrely sexual swing time and beat patterns in no-logic pulse. Hainey straight walks the dog with total abandon. A similarly zoned logic pervades these basslines. In fact its more like walking the cosmic bomb. To add a whole new tier of wigginess to this already bent concept this new one features Vanessa Rieger on modified speak n spell which just scrawls itself all over the duo’s choodly concept skin. I’ve never heard a CCMC record this weird and the fucking NOW Orchestra could learn a hell of a lot from this wholly instructive bitch. (http://inyrdisk.com/)

Addendum: If anyone has the double Music Gallery cassette with Vorvis/Snow/Dutton/Kubota I’d pay what I owe to Hydro Quebec for it, which is a lot...!

Catching up on the Last 13 years of cinema: David Lynch's Lost Highway

2010-07-17T14:35:00.001-07:00

Started this process off with a viewing of Lynch’s 1997 film noir Lost Highway. Can’t explain why, other than Teeber and Jess indicated that it might be time. Josh was in. It was time.

Lynch’s film is sexy. And it is dated in a somewhat refreshing sense: Lynch is not completely out to lunch, not some total singularity, because Lost Highway betrays the stylistic conceits of that particular vintage of american cinema (early-mid 90’s) indicating an artist well aware of and ready to emulate, his contemporaries and their work.

But its a somewhat quaint notion presented by Lost Highway that interests me. Part A protagonist played by Bill Pullman makes a living playing free jazz. There is no indication whatsoever that his wife (Patty Arquette) is breadwinning. No, the indication is that dude affords the luxurious modo-styled LA hills mansion by playing OUT jazz at a club called the Luna Lounge. This would be a wonderfully anachronistic notion if it were in any film OTHER than one by Lynch. This was a time, remember when downtown avant-jazz was on the ascendancy in a big way. Zorn was at the height of his popularity, the Knitting Factory sold their records in Sam’s and HMV’s and opened a club in Los Angeles. (NB: The Knit began its life as a shitty whole in the wall in Lower Manhattan and up until twelve years ago its programming was devoted entirely to experimental/avant guardia) People still bought cd’s. In fact, cd’s were as much a item of conspicuous consumption as anything. Whether the Knits success was the result of a genuine burst of popular interest in the avant guard or simply a byproduct of getting in on the ground floor of the real estate boom and gentrification process of Lower Manhattan, is unclear). Heady times indeed. Whether you are Charles Gayle (who in ’94 played the Ottawa Jazz Festival and legendarily spent half the gig rambling on with his paranoid, Christian rightwing views) or Bill Pullman’s Fred character, there was at least some degree of money to be made in the out-jazz hustle.

O-Or its pure Lynchian fantasy. Along with the notion that on either side of Dead you’re fucking a variation of Patty Arquette or that physical imprisonment can’t keep a brothers mind down.
Either way, not saying in any sense that I’m stoked on the dudes’ music really. It sounds like that awful muscly-boutique-out-jazz white dudes are so prone to make, especially in that era. Zorn and cohorts, Vandermaark, all guilty.

And what if Lynch simply decided that the theme to this one would be taking it OUT!? That the audience should put into a situation in which they must relate to a man who’s living depends on his ability to take it OUT: Beyond the confines of evenly-paced time keeping, beyond slavery to harmonic structure and clean tonality. Why not then take it out in the filmmaking, to reinforce the theme. Beyond the confines of logically functioning plot devices, or the slavery of a straight narrative structure and direction. Indeed, why not take the man OUT of his body and give him a new one. Instead of making a shitty record of limp spy-music or retro-retro cool jazz with a skronk, why not make a psychological thriller that’s narrative gets to be similarly cluster-fucking as say Coltrane’s Ascension or a 70's FMP Evan Parker joint that's just streaming sheets of reed atonality.

But beyond my own jazz obsession: There is also the wonderful thematic device of Mystery Man and his video camera, which hints at early paranoia of the (At the time, a trend, NOW fully into a next level, well, really real) increasingly surveilled nature of our reality. And here we would need to dip into Mike Davis and Paul Virillio to really get a handle on what notions were kicking around that time. Mystery Man is the perceiverless perception of Security Cam/Vision Machines that began to be a constant presence in many cities but especially Los Angeles. Virillio sums up the question of “who” watches behind, what Davis in City of Quartz (1990) calls “Panopticon Eyelids”, in The Vision Machine (1994) and finds the answer to be: no one. (For example: I recently went through Airport Security with a small four-track tape machine in my bag. I decided to watch it come through on the xray monitor. It looked insane all exploded and thermal like that. Anyhow, the Security Monitor detail didn’t have to do much. My bag stopped in the middle of his monitor frame and the words Tascam Micro Cassette Recorder flashed across it. The xray machine can obviously take an image of my fourtrack's guts and cross reference it with specs in some super computer somewhere...WTF!) Mystery Man represents that deeply unsettling nobody who watches us from multiple angles in multiple places, omniscient. And despite being a non-existent other, but still present, the interest is somehow more directed to our depravity than anything to do with our so-called safety. Virillio, in his book, furthers this idea into the realm of military strategy and more or less becomes incomprehensible.

Lynch, on the other hand, continues to pursue OUT by presenting us with an examination of the formal structures of SUSPENSE (ie here is every plot device possible chained together and thrown at you to the point where it goes beyond plot). Free jazz of course does something similar, sort of, by means of an amplification of jazz’s tendencies. The differences between say Ayler and honker Big Joe Turner is really not much. Much like, beyond Lynchian flourishes, the actual formal qualities of Lost Highway are not far removed from those of any other psychological thriller, simply what tends to be the focus (resolution, linearity, one-actor per character ect) in the normal example are brushed aside by Lynch.

Once outside jazz’s traditional parameters you are left with a sometimes atonal haze, in a tempo so fractured that it becomes fractureless. Kinna how Lost Highway is. And as it should be.

(Thanks to teeber and autodestrukt for explaining what this is really about)

Terraform's "Temporal Junk"

2010-05-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

Maybe this blog is totally dead now (and for my part I confess I don’t exactly write at a blog-sustaining pace) but . . . I still love rock music, and I especially enjoy when bands question the elements of rock that get taken for granted, while still conveying the sense of the physical and the immediate so prized throughout the genre’s fifty-odd years.

On their cassette “Temporal Junk,” Portland, OR’s aptly named Terraform [http://www.myspace.com/terraformit], barely two years into their existence, reshape a familiar musical landscape into something alien yet no less inviting. If there is one immediate carryover from past tradition, it might be in the drums’ providing of the time-honored forward momentum. The bass left to its own devices might be playing something akin to standard riffs, but it certainly doesn’t mirror the guitar parts, which are modulated into a percussive crunch for the bass and drums to texturally, as opposed to tonally, outline. Vocalist Ryan yelps over his scrambled strings, goes “Ugh!” at the end of some songs, and pleads, for exactly what it’s not immediately clear. It adds up to even more incongruity between the previously mentioned elements. What’s more, his voice at times sounds like it’s engaged in a bizarre convo with the saxophone, the latter of which is to me Terraform’s secret weapon. Sax player Katarina’s parts consist of a lot of aggressive squeaks and human speech-like bleats, which shudder and refuse to neatly line up with anything else going on in the mix. It sounds delightfully wretched, accidental, free of any overt genre references, and it faintly recalls to my ears the synth-derived blurts of Pere Ubu’s Allen Ravenstine, though she’s using non-electronic means to arrive at a similar conclusion (or maybe “challenge” is a more appropriate word here). It takes guts to sound this much like you seemingly don’t know what you’re doing, and she pulls it off incredibly well, bizarre phrasing, extended technique, and all.

“Temporal Junk” can be purchased from Karamazov Tapes: http://www.myspace.com/karamazovtapes http://karamazovrecordings.blogspot.com/

Terraform also have the audio available for download from their Myspace, which is fine and dandy, but someone with the interest and wherewithal should seriously consider putting this out on a 12” @ 45 rpm. Their approach and material merit it.

Ra uprising

2010-01-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

Just my favourite 7" cover as of late, from the first and only Amon Duul 7", released on Ohr in 1970, and the best slab of psych-savant tripping this 2-session band ever offered. Take it as a little something to let this blog know I still care and will someday find it in myself to rant and rave at length about musics timeless and modern.

MONOTONIX interview

2010-01-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

The last time MONOTONIX came to my hometown (Providence, RI) they stayed at my house. The house was a real small shithole, much like a morgue, drop ceiling, dank, a "so where does the body get washed", formaldehyde type of place. I felt bad. I also had to go to a "job" the next morning so we had to leave MONOTONIX in my house (I gave them the keys). Not only did they eat all my groceries I just bought for the month, they left mounds upon mounds of long curly hair in my bathtub (which I sold on E-Bay a week later - Official MONOTONIX hair). I forgive them, and want you to know, that these guys are the best. Super live, amazing layers-down of Rock riffs and beats and growls. MONOTONIX is hard-working too, touring extensively, making records and moving in a music scene that is difficult to win over at times, but they always seem to bring the fun and keep it real when the calling is there. I love this band and hope you do to. Give it up for MONOTONIX. Go read elsewhere a real review if you need concrete evidence or just get into this humble interview I did with Yonatan Gat axe-master extraordinaire of the best band from Israel and the best band pounding the US tourpath in the year 2010 - MONOTONIX.

MONOTONIX is -

Singer - Ami Shalev

Guitarist - Yonatan Gat

Drummer - Haggai Fershtman

1. What have you guys been up to lately? Got any new material that you'd like to describe for us?

We actually just put out a record 2 months ago.
It's called "Where Were You When It Happened?".
We're gonna work on new songs and do some more recordings in January.

2. How are things at Drag City? What do you think about being on a label these days? It almost seems like DiY is better financially, is there a reason to have a label for you guys?

There are many things I like about Drag City.
One of them is that they let us be our own boss, we're kind of in charge of ourselves and make our own decisions, but they really help us with a lot of the work, and help us get press, distribution and other things.
They are great people and friends, and we're proud to be on their Catalog.

3. Do you notice any trends in underground music scenes these days? A few observations I have is that it is a lot less common to see bands or musicians have a "following" it seems that music fans take it a lot more night to night now. What do you think? It seems Monotonix is one of the few bands going that actually have developed a loyal following.

We live in Israel, and home, we don't go to shows at all.
When I do go to shows in the US/Europe it's usually our shows, and they happen 200 times a year, so the only trends with live shows I can see are trends at our shows.
There used to be an annoying trend of steel trashcans bouncing from person to the next, but I believe it stopped. Maybe steel trashcans are a 2008 trend.
I think this could turn into an exciting time with all that anarchy in the record business, recorded music becoming free and almost meaningless to people, live shows becoming the one thing that can not be captured digitally, records becoming songs, songs becoming versions of older songs. I know a lot of it sounds shitty. But I think rock'n'roll is getting more boring every day and any revolution is good. I'm hoping these silly, amazing times will maybe lead to one last exciting era in rock and roll.

4. What music are you currently listening to? Anything good coming out of Israel these days?

Not really. I just listened to a bunch of old Israeli stuff. Not too many things I would recommend to someone who's not from Israel and doesn't understand the nostalgia.
Iv'e been listening to a lot of old ska & dancehall. some django reinhardt, and that oh sees record "help".

5. Do you have any advice for kids just starting off in a band?

Tour a lot. Go out and play shows. It's an interesting way of seeing the world.
Plus it makes your band better and you learn some stuff about yourself.
Don't be afraid of American Cops.

6. What is your opinion about Music and Politics? Is there a political message in your music?

No political songs, no.
But I think the world would have been a better place if people thought and learned more about what they form their opinions about.
In my opinion, having a formulated opinion about something you don't know much about is ignorance.
There's also usually something pretty ignorant about rock guitarists going on about politics in zine interviews so i'll just stop here..

Awesome Flier Art By My Pal JOE LEGS!!!!!!

2009-11-21T15:27:00.000-08:00

I first met Joe Legs when he was a film major at VCU here in Richmond, VA. I always saw him at shows and he was in this weird band HO-AX, through these meetings we became good friends. Last year he relocated to Austin, TX and joined a band called MAGIC JEWELS. He also started drawing like crazy and told me if I ever needed art for fliers or record covers to hit him up. So I did, and was more than pleased with the results:

Joe Legs is no longer with Magic Jewels but he's still doing his solo work with YOKO BONER...he also paints, draws, makes videos, he obviously does fliers but also does other band art, and computer art/ other mixed media art. If you want to contact him for quotes or just to creep him out, contact him here. He also blogs at BLACK FONTANELLE and CONTORTIONIST JAZZ EXOTICA. I now leave you with a couple of his other pieces:

DESTROY ALL MUSIC FESTIVAL (Atlanta, GA) 10/24/09

2009-10-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

DESTROY ALL MUSIC FESTIVAL / 25^th ANNIVERSARY
THE EYEDRUM (Atlanta, Georgia) 10/24/09

WASTELAND JAZZ UNIT / TRAUMA
TAMIO SHIRAISHI + SEAN MEEHAN
ANDREW COLRANE / GRAHAM MOORE
MR. NATURAL / FENTON

Plenty of people enjoy the fetish of collecting things that are obscure, it's apparent in the closed auction listings on Ebay when you search “American Tapes”, that's for sure. But I wonder: How many people there are, out there, that truly appreciate how special these artifacts are, both in the absurd aesthetics as well as in the unpredictable, outlandish and often times regurgitated sounding audio content. And I wonder: How many people read through John Olson's AOL 1996 style listings for new releases, and instinctively forward them to their friends because there is something so special and smile inducing about reading through such upside-down / “weirdo English”, but also due to getting excited and knowing you'll be buying one copy of every thing listed in that e-mail, maybe even some at wholesale if it's something familiar (or if there's more than 15-50 copies that are ever going to be made). And what about when there's the rare opportunity to see some of these documented projects, outside of the narrow confines of art galleries and basements in their home towns? I suppose I can only really know for myself, how I feel.

Which brought my girlfriend, Teta, and I to a large Atlanta warehouse gallery, The Eyedrum, for a fest commemorating the 25^th anniversary of the Destroy All Music festival. I was supposed to fly home on Saturday night, but since booking my ticket, I no longer had any obligation to be home in Phoenix on Sunday. We had already considered having me change the return flight to Sunday instead, so that we could have an extra day together, but getting an e-mail from Blossoming Noise a few days before leaving, about this show, really pushed it over the edge. An extra 24 hours with my significant other and the chance to see some of these people / projects in a live setting was just too much to pass up.

So:

Fenton: I was a bit confused by what the desired effect was with his performance. Two long copper pipes were propped up in front of a couple of combo amps that were spewing out what sounded like low-end feedback, the kind that makes you really question the stability of you speakers' frames... but I couldn't tell if the sound was being altered or created by movements in the pipes. He seemed sincere and extremely drawn in and attentive, this came across like a project that he had much time invested in and that he was actively attending to the minor fluctuations in sound, but I felt like so much more could have been happening, even if just tapping or scrapping other pieces of metal or pipe into the ones that were upright. I was anticipating something dramatically different at some point or towards the end, but it never found it's way to that subsequent portion. I want to know.

Graham Moore: Fairly loud, wall of noise approach, the type of set up the easily allows chilling and the consumption of alcohol, only hindered by the occasional tone adjustment, for the most part. I appreciated the high volume and abrupt start, and even more so: unexpected increases a long ways in that really seemed to upset various portions of the PA in uncompromising sequences, but I really was not grabbed by what he was doing until things came to a stop towards the end of his set, with the last five minutes of churning, fluttering low end tones lurching in and out of existence, with higher end sound and feedback skirting on it's cruxes. It was really well done: tense and slowly peaked at smaller and smaller spikes until fading out completely. I was won over, 100%.

Tamio Shiraishi + Sean Meehan: The Eyedrum has several rooms that make up it's innards, the one in which the stage and the majority of this night occurred is actually not the largest, which is actually a rather gigantic square, white-walled gallery space that you first find yourself in when entering, an openness that begs for large multimedia pieces to be sprawling for 100 feet at a time. From one of the even smaller corners of the building, this squealing started, unannounced. The type of squeal that I've only experienced when an accidental and dangerously loud signal is patched into the wrong jack, and meets an open-air feedback loop (unloving accomplished on several occasions when sampling an old solid state washing machine sized receiver's faulty AM feeds into layered tape collages, which is an artistic way to dance around the fact that I could have easily broken an ear drum and surely irritated all dogs in a three mile radius of my living room). ...the sort of situation where you hear feedback, but it sounds like there are multiple pitches sort of shifting back and forth.

Over the course of the following twenty minutes or so, the apparently saxophone generated high-end tones ricocheted off the walls of the main room, into which an older Asian man (Tamio Shiraishi) eventually walked into, meeting up with another man who sat calmly at a single snare drum, using sticks and cymbals to create friction based, smooth sustained tones, at times coming close to matching the ear drum slicing sounds that were somehow being belted out of this man and horn. The sheer amount of physical force that he pushed through his entire body and instrument was perfectly contrasting that of Sean Meehan, who at his most animated moment, found his way down onto his knees, using forks to generate series of short ambiance until ultimately using the snare's head to crackle and crush an empty beer can that had been left on the gallery's floor, at the most slow pace imaginable (it probably went on for about five minutes or so).

Shiraishi and Meehan's piece was the most confrontational and performance based of the night, and the tenseness and anxiety that their presence created even phased me a bit. Shiraishi walked along the walls of the gallery, occasional in-between some of the people that were watching, and he seemed irritated and angry. His sax never made it down to the range in which notes are generally produced for more than a split second, and it seemed as though he was just blowing through and biting down as hard as physically possible, destroying three reeds in the process, while Meehan seemed completely devoid of emotion and life, never changing or moving at any more than a snails pace. The two seemed completely unaware and detached from each other in some ways, but still strangely maintaining this uniform state that relied on both of their input and stability,... they did an incredible job of utilizing the enormous space of the gallery's front room and complete attention and silence from everyone in the building.

(...okay, to be fair, some of us absolutely did let out a laugh when after changing out one of the reeds, Shiraishi approached the front, seemingly swung the entrance door open with much annoyance and then let a few seconds go by before belting out another series of extremely loud saxophone squealing for the few unexpected and unappreciative people on the patio and in the parking lot. ...because that was just truly smart and funny).

Mr. Natural: Before he started, Teta made a comment about this insane looking antler “instrument” that was sitting on the stage, leaned against a stack of amps. I told her about how I once played with this band in Phoenix, in which one of the members had made a contact-mic based unit using antlers, and they had springs of bike chains or something along those lines attached to them, and as the rest of the group (which I later tacked down as Sikhara) did their own thing, he would bow it or smack it against the ground and it would sound like thunder. ...a few minutes passed, and this taller guy, that had already looked familiar, walked by a few times, and too many different light bulbs started going off. It was absolutely the same guy, it had to be.

Sure enough, in ten minutes time, Teta and I were sitting on the floor in front of the small stage, completely enthralled by the simplistic genius of Mr. Naturals set, a dense and intricate collage of sounds generated by tapping and dragging the antlers across the wood planks and bowing (or hitting with the bow) the two long springs that ran parallel down the length of “the instrument” (as he refers to it), with the contact mics feeding the organic sounds through several effects and delay. The overall tone shifted from thick and low and percussive, to portions that were almost harmonic and ambient, which felt delivered from a natural combination of pitch-shifted vibration and occasional allowance of feedback.

In conversation, he expressed that he felt like he went into the performance without the needed preparation, but I feel obligated to express that what he managed to produce for those 20 minutes was not only textured, varied and interesting, but an impressive display of control and innovation (even if it might be a simple idea, he's the one doing it, making it interesting and having me love it). Really neat / nice guy.

Trauma: In my excitement for the night as a whole, I had completely spaced on who Trauma actually consists of (specifically Ben Hall!), and I was ultra excited to see a table full of Graveyards and Editions Broken Research releases, as well as the momentary / situational meeting with Ben, who is the percussive machine in various outsider units (Graveyards, Melee, Traum, Hell and Bunny, ect ect ect). A gigantic relief for me, (and sub-sequential bummer for them), I already owned a majority of the extremely neat things they had with them: some recent and not so recent Graveyards LPs and 8” lathe, a few tapes and countless Broken Research releases that I had gotten from Ben awhile back via the mail. I mentioned that if he had invested his paypal balance wisely, they'd be in good shape, but still managed to grab some exciting new things: new Melee and Graveyards LPs that he had released and I hadn't grabbed from elsewhere yet, a couple of Trauma cassette and a heavily advised / recommended tape from an artist called Skin Graft on Chris Riggs' (the other ½ of Trauma) label, Holy Cheever Church Recordings: which sadly did not come to my attention as the name of his label until Teta and I were back at our place, because the reference in that name is extremely obscure, to the point that I've never met another person who has even seen the film it's culled from, and I would have loved to connect on a mutual appreciation for it. I need to e-mail that guy.

Trauma's set was truly fantastic. Ben had an assortment of belted down styrofoam, what seemed like guitar or bass strings and other assorted items which were bowed atop on large drum, while another, which was more obviously contact mic'd, was used for generating vibration based drones and rapid, forceful skips of drumsticks across the head (with bells eventually making their way on as well). The dynamic range in both volume and type of sound that Ben crafted was completely engaging, the styrofoam and particular edge of this long plastic tube were scathing and could compete with any harsh noise approach that could have been alternatively used, and his various other combinations of actions kept things subconsciously rhythmic, the sort of vibe that causes you to start swaying, without really knowing or understanding to what pace. Chris used a bow and several wooden sticks and other small items to occasionally re-”prepare” the guitar across his lap, and often provided a simple, perfect baseline for what the two would be creating at the moment. Most notable were the movement changes, sparked by the occasional eye contact and body motion, the two would completely alter what they were doing in unison. The changes were exciting and further drew me in. I really loved their set and am grateful to have been able to catch them outside of the parameters of the cassette on American Tapes that I've come accustomed to letting repeat while working on projects at home.

Andrew Coltrane: ...actually played as a duo with a drummer, under the name Cold Turkey. In both his demeanor while playing and throughout the rest of the night, Andrew seems like a really shy, nice guy. I had really been looking forward to see what he was going to do, the various releases of his that I own are pretty varied and almost always really interesting. As Cold Turkey, while the other guy played scattered jazz-style percussion, Andrew played sax through a rig of various machines, not sure if some were tape units or samples of other sorts, but he had healthy amounts of sound spinning around underneath each fresh onslaught of reeded noodling, which itself would often have thick murky substance to it. While I liked what they did overall, the drums kind of took away from it a lot. Unless I was completely misunderstanding what I was hearing and how loud things were, I think they might have even been going through the PA, which seemed completely unnecessary. Of course, to be fair, it's probably hard for anyone that is banging on anything to leave much of an impression directly after watching Ben Hall do anything. (I would assume).

That being said, with an awareness of the critical tone, I was actually into it and grabbed their LP without hesitation. (and it's awesome, much more sparse, no percussion at all, just some heavily effected sax sputter that got a double play spin earlier this afternoon).

Wasteland Jazz Unit: Other than Trauma, I was most excited to see these guys. They had gotten a hold of me to say hello after they saw something I wrote about them (in regards to a CDr they did on American Tapes, actually), and since then, I played with Talibam! (who they have a split LP with), and have come to learn about the space and radio show they help coordinate in Cincinnati, the Art Damage (Lodge). Their schtick is simple and to the point: a reeds duo (sax and clarinet) through some effects and extreme volume, and it becomes much more apparent live, as the two play their instruments the way you would aggressively imitate Glenn Branca on guitar, that the approach is half of the game. It's not easy to swallow, but once you get to a part of the room where you can stand and watch them without your ears bleeding, you catch that it's a full on noise/jazz freak-out, most directly carved in stone when the amps shut off for the last couple of minutes and you can clearly hear John Lorenz wailing relentlessly. Obviously not for everyone, and especially not for anyone with sensitive ears or an opposition to feedback, but the “anything goes” / “fuck it” vibe is playful and sincere in it's specificness. I was way into it, despite taking a bit to figure out where and how I could be able to tolerate the aural attack. “All music has been destroyed”, indeed!

...neat meeting these guys and chatting for a second. I gladly picked up their new CDr that documents a collaboration with C. Spencer Yeh. “That's a fucking weird one”, the other John points out while laughing a healthy bit. I laughed too: “yeah, I bet!”. I look forward to eventually passing through their part of the country, I am sure it's a blast.

I thought it was extremely refreshing to see a group of people doing this sort of thing, keeping a cool, positive attitude, not taking it all so seriously when appropriate to acknowledge the absurdity, but in other contexts: having a psuedo-professionalism in the instances of well-thought out ideas and intricate / innovated creation, and universally: being approachable and nice for the most part. I was really happy to see all of these different personalities intersect and balance so well. I wish that there were some more people attending and that I had played too (I never think that though), but it was hard to not feel extremely good about walking to the car at 11:30pm, when it was originally set to last until about 1:00am. I didn't spend nearly half or even a third of what I was expecting that I would have been tempted by via merch, but still left with some exciting new stuff to check out. Met and re-met a few nice people, got to check out a legit gallery and space that I've never been to before, was truly blown away by several of the performances and shared the experience with someone that I love. I feel as though it's safe to say that I may have enjoyed this night more than most anyone else in the building, and I'm grateful that my obsession of the fringe delivered us to that moment in time.

LYDIA LUNCH & HER JERKS' LAST LAUGH

2009-10-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

I got excited when Teenage Jesus & the Jerks "reunited" to play those Knitting Factory shows a while back. I checked airline tickets, promised myself I was going, realized it was too expensive and ultimately forgot about it. So when word came about that Lydia Lunch was taking the band on tour I got excited. Now a two hour drive is all it would take for me to be face to face with a band that rearranged every conception I had of music and how to make it. DNA were always my favorite, but Teenage Jesus were the most punk in a time where words like that were a thing of the past.

First off, it must be mentioned that this was not a true to form reunion, but considering TJ&TJ was a revolving cast of members, all that really matters is Ms. Lunch was on stage with hopefully at least one member of the original band. And that's all you got... Lydia on guitar and vocals, James Sclavunos literally playing one drum and Algis Kizys from Swans on bass. Considering the band's discography is about as long as the dead air before the first song on my highschool band's demo, my expectations of a magical, lengthy set never danced across my mind for more than a moment. Perhaps this was the reason each show's openers were a who's who of modern no wave, punk and whoever else made it onto the bill: Mika Miko, the Bay Area's unruly Burmese, Talk Normal (best NY band going!!!) and so on and so forth. Could these be great shows? Possibly... but I'll never know.

Why? I didn't go. Chalk it up to my general laziness and procrastination of even the things I'm most passionate about, but I'll blame it on youtube. After watching video after video of recent Teenage Jesus shows, I vowed not to waste my 20 bucks and stayed home. As my friend Patrick mentioned (he actually went to a show), "you could tell this was a big joke on everyone who came", and maybe I should have expected that and probably would even embrace it? Hell, I like a good joke, but from the sound of Ms. Lunch's vocals, their set was either a 15 minute anti-smoking ad (thanks Patrick, I'm still laughing) or Large Marge from PeeWee's Big Adventure reincarnate on stage after her fatal truck accident. Gone is what I truly loved about this band... youthful angst, a sound that challenged your ideas of what music is and so on and so forth. With those key elements in the trash, why reunite? Money... I get that, and fuck she probably needs it, and while this is hardly as obnoxious as say Joy Division getting back together with Ian Curtis' daughter on vocals or some lucky chap they met at a pub "who had er' real passion fer the urly werks", I still think it's silly that this happened.

Proof?

A Totally Biased Guide To Pop Montreal!!!!!!

2009-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Pop Montreal when me and my fellow Montrealers open our cluttered apartments to dozens of bands (and if you are like me , that means serving brunch to 10 scroungers each morning), dust off our woolens and bike around town furiously making it from show to show.

This year there's a lot to please Thee.Ou. readers but it's gonna mean me plugging my own band and bands of my friends and fellow Thee Outernet contributors cause in Montreal , we keep shit local.

Set times for most of these Shows can be found on the Pop Montreal website.

Wednesday, September 30th :::

JAY REATARD
BOX ELDERS
NOBUNNY
HUNX AND HIS PUNX
USELESS EATERS

@ Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent)

----------------------
Thursday , October 1st :::

BUTTHOLE SURFERS
LULLABYE ARKESTRA
NUTSAK

@ Théâtre Olympia (1004 Ste-Catherine Est )

8:30 - 11:30 pm

--------------------

Thursday, October 1st :::

THE INTELLIGENCE
RED MASS
AIDS WOLF
TV GHOST

@ Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent)

10:30pm - 1:30am
---------------------------

Friday, October 2nd :::
/// DAYTIME SHOW!!! ///

FNU RONNIES
TYVEK
GARDENS
PINK NOISE
TONSTARTSSBANDHT
WASTED NYMPH
DIRTY BEACHES
INTERRACIAL LOVE TRIANGLE
+++ MORE

NOON - PWYC
@ Friendship Cove (215a Murray St)

-----------------------------
Friday October 2nd :::
/// NIGHT SHOW ///

TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS
DUCHESS SAYS
AIDS WOLF

@ Le National (1220 Ste Catherine Est)

8-11 pm
--------------------------------------

Friday, October 2nd :::
/// NIGHT SHOW ///

HUMAN EYE
TERRIBLE TWOS
FNU RONNIES
TEEN ANGER
GRAND TRINE

@ Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent)

9pm - 2am

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144238477092&ref=nf#/event.php?eid=159389097118&ref=mf
-----------------------------

Friday October 2nd ::

GLASS CANDY
DESIRE
COSMO VITELLI
+ Guests

@ Studio Juste Pour Rire

10pm - 3am
-----------------------------

Friday, October 2nd :::
/// PANACHE BOOKING SHOWCASE ///

(Homosexuals canceled)

CHAIN & THE GANG
AN ALBATROSS
TYVEK
NY NIGHT TRAIN'S JONATHAN TOUBIN

@ Lambi (4465 St-Laurent)

9pm-12

-----------------------------

Saturday, October 3rd :::
/// DAYTIME SHOW ///

AIDS WOLF#
HOLY COBRAS
MAGIC CHEEZIES#
TEEN ANGER
GRAND TRINE#
HELL SHOVEL (Jeff Clark from Demon's Claws)
ULTRATHIN#
FUTENSIL
+++ MORE

NOON - pwyc
@ Friendship Cove (215a Murray St)

face::: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144238477092&ref=nf

-----------------------------
Saturday , October 3rd :::

DIAMANDA GALAS
JERUSALEM IN MY HEART (performing w/ 30 piece men's choir)

@Théâtre Outremont (1240 avenue Bernard)

9:30 - 12 pm
-------------------------

Saturday October 3rd :::
FAUST
BLACK FEELINGS
LEOPARD ET MOI

@Fédération Ukrainienne (5213 rue Hutchison )

8-11 pm
-------------------------

Saturday, October 3rd :::
//// NIGHT SHOW ////

THEE OH SEES
GOLDEN TRIANGLE
THE FRESH AND ONLYS
PINK NOISE

@ Sala Rossa (4848 St Laurent)

10:30 pm - 1:30 am
-----------------------------

I'm probably most psyched to see Diamanda Galas , who's been a huge influence and inspiration over the years , if only I can snag a ticket! Opening for Teenage Jesus is pretty exciting too.

Both matinees are a sure bet with cheap cover , BBQ , coffee and many of Montreal's best locals bands as well as some awesome touring bands. Friendship Cove is one of my personal favorite venues. It's a warehouse space , on 2 floors with a rooftop perfect for chilling. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED to outta towners who wanna see what's cool in this part of Canada and meet some friendly peeps.

My boyfriend told me that Human Eye were the best band he saw at SXSW , I missed them 'cause I was watching The Intelligence but am pretty stoked to see them as I've been a longtime fan who's never seen 'em live.

Same for FNU Ronnies , I've been wanting to see them forever.

The Intelligence and Thee Oh Sees are both playing Montreal for the first time this Pop , I wonder if it has anything to do with me insisting to head honcho Dan Seligman that he stick around too see them at the SXSW Panache showcase?

See you in the pit , just don't spill my energy drink.

xo,
chloe

# denotes band of Thee Outernet contributor.

An Interview With TICKLEY FEATHER

2009-09-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

The following interview was conducted through various e-mails and text messages...

Jason- Who is Tickley Feather?

Tickley Feather- I come from the land of the long pig! I am edible and delectable.

Jason- So, can I refer to you as Annie in this interview or as Tickley Feather?

Annie- Please do refer to me as Annie, Jason.

Jason- Why the name Tickley Feather?

Annie- Tickley Feather is a name that sounds silly, and I like things that are silly.

Jason- Have you been tickled by feathers?

Annie- I have had the experience of traveling on the interstate behind a truckload of chickens. So not only have I been tickled by feathers, but also, have been blasted by them. The word "blasted" is funny!

Jason- So you recently "blasted" through Richmond, VA to finish your next album, how was the experience and how was it spending time in this city you once lived?

Annie- The experience was very nice, thanks. I loved working with John at The Etching Tin. He's really funny and he offered to cook me something on the grill one night, which is right out the back door, 4 feet from the mixing board. I was treated kindly by many old friends and new friends alike during my visit. I drank much more than usual during my last night out there, as usual. I would like to visit Richmond more now that I am living down south again.

Jason- What is the name of the upcoming record and when can we expect it to be released? Paw Tracks correct?

Annie- My upcoming record is going to be released on October 20th by Paw Tracks. It is my second full length and my first album with a title. The title is Hors D'oeuvres, a word with multiple spellings, that symbolizes hospitality and tiny snacks that do not stuff you.

Jason- So, will this album be edible?

Annie- I wish that were possible. Or at least for it to be made out of cardboard or something out of the ordinary. I heard people have made wooden records in the past. I will say that the album is on vinyl, which is round and at least as sturdy as a disposable plate, and could always be eaten OFF of if one found themselves in a pinch.

Jason- Is that your son Aiden on the new record cover? Is that how you spell his name?

Annie- Yes to both!

Jason- What touring plans do you have following the release of Hors D'oeuvres?

Annie- I will take this album on tour with me to Europe in November and sell it to Europeans! I'm still working on a US tour, for afterwards.

Jason- Were there any collaborators on the new recordings and will there be anyone accompanying you for touring?

Annie- This album just has me on it, not including mixing. BUT I would like to collaborate with someone at least for one project sometime in the future. Or, actually, I'd like to try working with a producer of some sort sometime. That might be neat. It'd be fun to get pushed around a little by someone who has ideas that are better than mine. Someone guided by that deck of cards that Brian Eno invented, maybe?

Touring: For various shows, I'll have AKASHA BLADE and SERPENTS OF WISDOM, both dudes who have incredible solo projects of their own. It feels really great to work with people who have skills and creativity that I trust and admire. You should look them up! Also, If Tim from MY MIND will do some shows again with us, I'd be totally happy. He has a special keyboard sense and also looks neat-o, in general. We did a few shows, the 4 of us, before I moved away from Philly, and I felt like it was really right.

Jason- What instruments are you using on the new album? I hear you play guitar this time!!!!

Annie- Guitar, keyboards, toy piano, a noisy thunder-sounding thing. I think that's it.

Jason- So you've moved from Philadelphia to rural VA, was it a positive move?

Annie- Yes, it's very good. I like it a lot.

Jason- What are the differences between living in (it's Staunton right?), VA and Philadelphia?

Annie- My favorite person I've seen here is an old man who is really hunched over and is always walking around with a garbage bag in one hand and i big old black umbrella, wide open, in the other. My favorite person I used to see in Philly was a big huge lady that wore really small, tight, close curlers in her hair and was always clapping her hands together joyously. Oh, but in Philly there was also this other lady who had electroshocked grey hair and screwed up looking makeup. She had a big crooked ring of red lipstick alllllll around the outside of her mouth. And blue eyeshadow alllllll around her eyebrows.

Jason- What are your releases thus far?

Annie-

Deaderna Doornail (tape, 3 copies) released by Diaper Records

Tickley Feather (random content CD, 10 copies) released by Diaper Records

Serpents Of Wisdom/ Tickley Feather split 7 inch Badmaster Records

Bermuda Triangles/ Tickley Feather split 7 inch C.N.P. Records

Tickley Feather s/t CD and LP Paw Tracks and Badmaster Records

Tickley Feather "Hors D'ouevres LP and CD Paw Tracks

Tickley Feather "B Sides and Bonus Tracks" (9/25) tape released by Diaper Records

a track on "Killer Workout Mix" comp CD C.N.P. Records

Jason- Have you ever had a pet turtle?

Annie- Yes, 2 box turtles for a few days. I fed them too much lettuce in the hot sun and I think they exploded.

Jason- If there were a movie made about TICKLEY FEATHER, who would you envision playing you?

Annie- Shirley Temple.

Jason- So, how tall are you anyway?

Annie- 3 feet 4 inches

Jason- What did you have for dinner last night?

Annie- Well last night it was classy. I made a roast and mashed potatoes and that long fancy broccoli. I tried to drink both of the beers in the fridge before my man got home and wanted one. I only got through 1 and a half. But I don't think he knew there were 2 to start with, so I'm ahead.

Jason- Alright, I think that covers it, thank you very much Annie!!!!

Annie- JASON, YOU EAT WEEEENERS.

MAMMAL: A LIFE REVIEW

2009-09-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Lowell, Massachusetts is a strange place. Notorious for being poverty stricken and home to one of the UMASS campuses, Lowell is more a haven for Asian gangs, crack use and junkies. Nestled in the middle however is RRR Records, run by Ron of Emil Beaulieau fame. Ron has thousands of rock and pop records on the walls and it's not rare to see him in some weird musical debate about the relevancy of (insert known or obscure rock icon here) with random locals. But you almost wonder if these Elvis collectors ever took the time to sift through the thousands of noise cassettes, compact discs and vinyl that Ron possibly makes a living off of via the internet. RRR has always been a trusted retailer and label in it's own right, releasing a plethora of noise releases from bands and artists all over the world. Crude, stripped down packaging has been the norm but not always the rule... whereas most can tell an American Tapes release by John Olson's artwork, Ron's aesthetics are almost like Olson in his childhood sketchbook. Dumbed down, primitive scribble and packing tape as cover art.

So I frequented RRR whenever I had an excuse to do so... Lowell isn't exactly far from where I grew up but it's not really "on the way" to anything besides trips to other run down Massachusetts cities (Worcester, Springfield) or New York. After doing my best to make sure the store was even open, I arrived one day shortly after eating some speed and scooped up several tape and vinyl releases from whoever caught my eye. When I arrived home that night my friend Fife and I jammed the 15 or 20 tapes I bought and I found myself immediately drawn to "Live, Estral Beach, MI" by Mammal, self released on his Animal Disguise imprint. As disgusting and blown out as the rest of the lot, but strangely rhythmic, the gnarl of synth crunch and tape hiss smashed into your brain in the same way a drumbeat would. I became a follower at that very moment, about four years late to my dismay, and began grabbing whatever I could find.

Mammal is a guy named Gary from Michigan who played a pretty big role I'd imagine alongside Wolf Eyes, Hive Mind and other Midwest noise neu-legends who have been at it strong for the past decade plus. Recently relocating to Tacoma, WA, which is in many ways similar to Lowell aesthetically and it's history of gang violence, something seems to have clicked and changed within this man's brain. Channeling the pummeling, soulless monotony of Suicide through distortion and crafting something all his own, a surprisingly melodic and straight forward Mammal emerges from his noisy past. "Lonesome Drifter" is a complete masterpiece. Two LP's of crushing downer vibes... this is either one big joke on society or we truly have here a man who's friends gossip behind his back about rare glimpses of a smile forming on his somber face during times they hung out. We could have a totally pleasant, nice guy here but his music conveys a different image altogether. Indifference overpowers excitement, but don't think the music is in anyway boring. Sifting through the piles of cassettes and CDR's he's unleashed over the years, comparing those to "proper" full lengths and trying to make sense of his progression will never leave you questioning his seriousness or validity. Even the most obscure tapes showed an artist on to something all his own, but what exists in such a rare form is your inability to deny that he's probably happy regardless of who hears it, hence the limited number of copies each release has been granted since his start. I think that's a beautiful thing to find in an artist... with it being almost impossible to ignore the blatant attempts bands make to appeal to audiences no matter how large or small. Here we have a true statement of love or hate from an overlooked yet relevant musician in a time when obscurity is just as much an attempt to appeal as aiming for the current trend.

http://www.myspace.com/doublenature

6 Part Motivational Series on Bands

2009-09-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

If you can forgive the mild Francophobia, slightly sexist undertones (unintentional), and the endorsement of an obsolete musical format once called a "compact disk", this could be worth watching if you are contemplating being in a band. This was a response to the many e-mails that come into my mailbox every month asking basic questions about being in a band.
Enjoy!

BOYD RICE: LET US NOT FORGET...

2009-09-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Does anybody else write in this thing anymore? Regardless, I felt it was important to shine some light on Boyd Rice's current rebirth of importance in the modern noise/indie scene. Pulled from the depths of isolated hibernation in Colorado by various NY/Philly minimal noise luminaries, Mr. Rice has once again graced us with his presence and who knows what the future holds for him or his various projects.

One thing is for sure though... I patiently am waiting for him to go back into hiding. NON never impressed me, besides a few live renditions of "Total War" that I dug, and his works with my favorite band DEATH IN JUNE were always kind of bullshit in my eyes. But what really turned me off about Mr. Rice was his appearance on "Race & Reason" with Tom Metzger. Metzger is known for his formation of the White Aryan Resistance, a group that bred various smaller hate organizations across the country throughout the 80's and 90's. Boyd and Tom talk about using music to form an Aryan Youth Movement, writing off his works as propaganda, and I guess I would agree considering how unimportant most of it was to begin with. It's hard to say what were his true beliefs and what was just shock value... god knows Sid Vicious didn't know shit about Hitler when he donned the famous Swastika shirt in his Sex Pistols days. All he knew was it would shock people, and while I don't label myself PC and think shock value is important to some degree, this interview shows a man taking the joke a little too far. In fact, I think it was him openly embracing the hatred he hinted on that ultimately sunk him below the depths of "the pulse"... Boyd was all but forgotten by most, usually mentioned due to his weird fascinations with Tiki Culture or other idiosyncrocies that made him stand apart from the rest of normal society.

I think noise has done equal parts good and bad for music. For me it proved that 4/4 rock n' roll was a limiation, not the rule. It was not until hearing Throbbing Gristle and Whitehouse albums that I knocked down my own musical barriers in my mind and started to embrace the fact that anything is possible with sound. But it also has become a format for people to spout hatred, as well as pair shock value with audio extremity. I find nothing artistic, beautiful or intense about a woman ballgagged and tied up, or screamed lyrics about raping unsuspecting victims. This white, macho, embracing your most disturbed and perverted side is just as prevelant in high school lockerrooms as it is a PRURIENT concert. The same goes for talk of racial purity and seperating whites from the rest of the world via music. The National Front and WAR have used black metal, Oi!, punk rock, Skinhead culture and other methods to pull confused white youths into their circle. Why would you want to contribute to that? I truly feel Boyd Rice knew how limiting a career in noise would be and felt "why not alienate myself further?" but that would be a cop out. In reality I think he just decided to show the world what a piece of shit he truly had become, and it's sad, because I know his contributions to music and art have influenced many projects I hold dear to my heart. Wheras DEATH IN JUNE flirted with imagry, Boyd Rice took on the openly proud image of a neo-fascist Aryan purist. Douglas P sucks uncut dick... Hitler would have thrown him into the camps with the rest of the "undesirables", but Boyd... why do this to yourself or anyone else, and if you truly believe the filth you spit, good for you, just go back into hiding where I don't have to hear any of it.

Shame on the artists who I won't even bother naming for seeing importance in this man and going out of their way to help him resurface. Maybe I don't get the "joke", but from the punchlines I've seen and heard over the years, I'm not laughing.

SPAIN

2009-08-26T18:34:00.001-07:00

French Cold Wave is "Mr. Hip Shit" around town right now. Obsessed over by weird folks with asymmetrical haircuts, anti-hipsters who swear they don't even listen to music anymore and dudes who work at independent video rental stores. So what do you do when the world is obsessing over the minimally synthesized sounds of France? Delve into Spanish Death Rock & Post Punk!

PARALASIS PERMANENTE is part Factory Post Punk, part Killed by Death comp with a healthy dose of Death Rock for good measure.

"Autosuficiencia" (in case video doesn't show/work)

DECIMA VICTIMA ignore the rest and stick to the Factory Post Punk sound and they offer a really interesting take on the style. It's totally excusable when a band sounds so close to one of it's influences when they write exceptionally good songs.

"Detras de la mirada" & "La razon de la discordia" (in case video doesn't show/work)

AGRIMENSOR K are one of my new favorite bands. Totally perfect, early lofi-goth from Spain. Completely perfect in every way.

"Principio Y Fin" (in case video doesn't show/work)

Start here.

THE WICKED AWESOMES - PUNK HOLOGRAMS

2009-08-22T01:21:00.000-07:00

I COULD SPEND SOME TIME WRITING A REVIEW OF THIS RECORD, BUT IT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. IT IS GETTING TO BE LATE ENOUGH IN THE YEAR I CAN START ASKING MYSELF "WHAT ARE THE BEST ALBUMS THAT CAME OUT THIS YEAR???"

BUT, WHENEVER I PLAY THIS, MY MIND BLANKS ON ANY OTHER CONTENDERS.

IF I WRITE ANYTHING ELSE, I WILL BE WASTING TIME THAT WOULD BE BETTER SPENT LISTENING TO THESE BANGER TRACKS.

PSYCHIC HANDSHAKE
THE WICKED AWESOMES

OUT ON PSYCHIC HANDSHAKE RIGHT NOW!!!

SIFTING THROUGH THE SLOP

2009-08-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

Finding a good band is no longer a needle in a haystack scenario, and a great song seems to be just around ever corner these days. While some lurk in the shadows calling out "poser" at everything that gets "big", I've done my best to shed my judgmental attitude (which I wrongfully labeled my "opinion") to just ENJOY whats going around. Here are some bands and/or songs I love.

WILLIAM HART inspired this entire post to begin with. "Coal" (with or without drums) is a depressing, lost romp through the mind. I mean what else could influence a song this dark? You know the original jam that spawned this song was an hour long with a main riff that you could literally play forever. I was in a band that had a song like that... with in an insane riff that you just pummel into your brain. It never left acapella/in the van humming stage though. His other songs are decent takes on downer folk, but if he released an album of songs like "Coal", it'd surely be one of my favorites of 2009. Think Birthday Party, Son House at his most ugly and depressing and the small circle of us who think all Cramps songs should sound like "Human Fly". If those things interest you this song might too.

"Flowers" by FLIGHT is another song I totally adore right now. It makes me think of bands from the 80's who did old rock n roll stuff and made it sound futuristic. It's got this great Weezer/Rentals breakdown in the middle. He might take that as a diss but it's not meant to be. I also have a creeping suspicion that this is Beck playing a trick on us.

BESTIAL MOUTHS are my new favorite band. I feel blessed that they live so close to me as I know I'll experience them live many times in the future. This is band #3 in a long line of Los Angeles by-way-of Atlanta (or the other way around?) goth punk units who keep getting better and better with each attempt. It looks as though garage punk is the "it" thing now, but for those who prefer Sioxusie over the Sonics like me, look no further. This group in this phase convey a mentality that has stopped giving a fuck what the kids at the Smell thinks and are playing from their hearts. Gone were the equally awesome crossover attempts of the previous projects. You'll have to leave the Indie section on your way to the Goth corner at Amoeba for this record.

http://www.myspace.com/williamrandelhart

www.myspace.com/inflighttunes

www.myspace.com/bestialmouths

Interview with Dum Dum Girls

2009-08-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

DEE DEE

1. What are the pros and cons of being in a band in the music scene right now, 2009?

I probably never would have made it out of the bedroom if not for the internet. I owe my Hozac, Captured Tracks, & Sub Pop releases to myspace discoveries. But I also struggle to be detached from the internet in other regards because I really don't need to read hater commentary that focuses predominantly on my looks or pitting me against other female musicians. It's unbelievable how stone-age sexist my apparent peers are.

2. What has Music provided for you on a personal level over the years? I know for me, as morbid as this may sound, I would probably be dead or a drug addict or a dead drug addict by now if it weren't for Music intervening in my life in such a deep way. Is it like that for you all or is it more of a hobby?

It is the same solace and salvation for me. I can't imagine myself outside the context of making music -- other than my love, it is my sole motivator.

3. Do you notice any trends in underground music scenes these days? A few observations I have are that it is a lot less common to see bands or musicians have a "following" it seems that music fans take it a lot more night to night now. What do you think?

I'm not sure. I am interested in observing how internet buzz translates to touring attendance.

4. Sorry I have to ask a cliche one - what music are you currently listening to?

My husband played DJ this week, so it's all about early Phyllis Dillion (she's the "queen of jamaican soul"), The Ramones, and The Kids.

5. Is there any particular music that you think people must hear from now or anytime for that matter?

Oh I don't know, I blow my mind on all sorts all the time.

6. What inspired the creation of Dum Dum Girls? And can you comment a little about getting signed to Sub Pop; that is very exciting!

I was writing songs and doing home recordings and essentially stole (I claim collaborated) the name from Brandon [Welchez]. I had no lofty intentions, so even the Hozac 7" offer was a complete shocker. The Sub Pop thing is still too surreal to really get into.

7. Do you have any tips for kids just starting off in a band? Any ways to cut through some of the BS or advice?

Do everything for yourself as long as you can. There's no need for outside "help" or intervention until much later. It will fuck you over.

8. Are there any musicians that you think had a great career or ones you'd like to emulate as far as success in Music is concerned? For instance, Tom Waits (love him or not) seems to have had a good run, not too big, has control over his performances, delivers a pretty decent show and ya know... lasts.

I think Sonic Youth and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are perfect examples of respectable and exciting longevity and creativity.

9. What is your opinion about Music and Politics? Do you like it when musicians fuse politics into their music (e.g. Hardcore Punk, Public Enemy, Phil Ochs) or do you think it is best left outside of music. What about Dum Dum Girls? Is there a political ingredient in your music?

I only talk personal politics, but I'm not for or against more general politics being in music.

10. Last, is there anything you'd like to let people know about or add about anything?

THANKS!

VANCOUVER'S PUNK HEART

2009-08-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

It has been said many times before this, usually tucked in dark corners of record geek message boards or in comments to some forgotton blog, but I'm going to put it out there in plain view for some to see with hopes that you'll spread the news that Vancouver is ten steps ahead of every other part of the DIY world musically. Something about every project that emerges is legitimately awesome, and the incestuous nature of these bands makes spreading out and discovering more as easy as tracing the family tree so to speak.

I first experienced TWIN CRYSTALS in Portland, Oregon at the cavernous Branx located behind Rotture on the the Southeast side. Awkward hellos and solid conversation trickled through the night till they completely leveled the building on borrowed gear. A band so weird and fucked up, alienating and intense, yet with an equal obsession for the Wipers and early Kraftwerk. Whereas Channels 3 & 4 took the route of crafting anti-hits that got stuck in your head faster than radio singles, Twin Crystals creates legitimate classic songs that no one questions. Like AC/DC... even those set on hating them admit they write memorable, great songs, but maybe my view of how they'll be remembered is different from what will become reality, and wrongfully so! Napa and Davis, California are places that I will always go hand in hand with becoming a genuine believer in everything this band is doing. I can't visit or even think about these cities without seeing things on repeat. And their LP is the most solid punk record of modern times and I never even thought they had it in them.

RANDOM CUTS is Justin taking what he brought to the table with Mutators and deciding to raise the child alone (with the supposed help of some mannequins). It's bands and people like this that make me think Brace Paine got his entire schtick from Vancouver, because it sure didn't come from Arkansas. Songs that are so catchy yet never let you get comfortable in your enjoyment. This is not music to go about relaxing to and winding down after a long day. It's the type of gnawing post-punk hits that you listen to while trying to hold your piss in. Another complete winner from a dude with a pedigree including the violent punk of Mutators and jarring no wave of Female Health.

MODERN CREATURES, DEFEKTORS and SHEARING PINX all dominate their respective lines of work. Defektors drops punk gold... amazing songs you'd feel just at home with were this 1979 or the early 80's. One of those that wasn't there when it started, but ended up doing it close to the best sort of deals. Modern Creatures, like most every band from up there, puts great, engaging vocals on top of perfectly replicated (insert genre here) yet made all their own. That's really the formula for this city. No band sounds exactly like anything you've heared before. They all take a genre and do their absolute best with it, adding their own touches and usually deliverly an improved version of what you've come to know. SHEARING PINX is the band that will never break up. They take said formula and beat it to death with dozens of yearly releases ranging a broad spectrum of influences and styles. The underlining theme of said band seems to be "we enjoy playing together", and when put at the forefront of a band, seems to be the missing link in so much of what we hear today. The tension created in the music is for everyone else, no anyone or anything within. Whereas Random Cuts seems angry at itself, Shearing Pinx is angry at the world.

Go to myspace right and search any of these bands. An LP containing all of them would be a starting point for any future punx to begin their search for all these band's records twenty years down the line.

Brave New World, Play Dead and Deep Wound were all criminally overlooked and made their ways into my life way too late. Thus is the trend of focusing all energy on one scene and ignoring the most inspirational pieces of it. Now is Vancouver's time. With this accepted, I find no reason for these records not to stay print and be considered classics by the youth to come.

Tobias' featurette No. 4 - Angels In America (NYC/MTL)

2009-08-09T14:30:00.001-07:00

'Angels In America' is a band made up of two kids who have assumed the persona's Moppy Pont and Rob Rombus. Who met in High School in NYC and formed the group at that time. After self-releasing their 1st tape "Cunt Tree Grammar" they sent a copy to Thurston Moore & Byron Coley's Bull Tongue column in Arthur Magazine (R.I.P). Soon after that exchange they were invited to have the tape re-released by Moore's own label 'Ecstatic Peace!'. Moppy has been living in Montreal for the past year or so (and is returning to the states permanently after this tour). While they were staying in Montreal they picked up two backing members which they will be taking with them through the states all month on their first tour.

They have been described as "a really stoned Teenage Jesus and The Jerks." and variations of that. They are way too pretentious to have a myspace page but you can download some high quality mp3 versions of their tunes on WFMU's Free Music Archive.

They sell teeshirts at their gigs of a man in black face being hugged by witches for $5.00 printed on the thinnest and tightest material known to man. 1 size. Which they got wholesale for .99 cents each.

Oh and probably the greatest live band you will see this Summer! We got into it recently. This was a recorded conversation in their borrowed apartment from 1am after a long day of wearing colorful costumes, barfing sprinkles and gummybears for an artfilm called "Smile Stealers" that Moppy stars in and Rob Rhombus also cameos in. I will also mention that Rob Rhombus has a stick n' poke tattoo on his stomach of a gravestone that reads "PIZZA", which he got this Summer.

(Moppy Pont in the film 'Smile Stealers' by Jasa Baka)

(Rob Rhombus in the film 'Smile Stealers' by Jasa Baka)

Rob Rhombus: I gotta control myself.
Tobias: Okay. You're a band, you did a
tape, how old were you? 18? You covered 18 by Alice Cooper when you
were 18? Is that right?
Moppy: um huh.
Rob Rhombus: We were babies.
Tobias: You were babies.
Moppy: We were 18.
Rob Rhombus: I had adopted this baby.
Moppy: And we had just been adopted by Mr. Boombastic.
Rob Rhombus: Father Boombastic. He runs a mission.
Moppy: We said "Can you be cute to us?"
Rob Rhombus: Yah.. he was a real fi-yah-star-tah.
Tobias: And the tape?
Rob Rhombus: I made one. And then I tried to make another one. I
couldn't do it so I called up my friend. My friend Peter. Greazy
Peter. Yeah we made it and then we made more of it. Let's just leave
it at that, allright?
Moppy: Then we had a little rendezvous at Kinky's.
Rob Rhombus: Yeah it was just the usual stuff. You go down to Kinky's.
They make your paper pop.
Moppy: Now we have a lot of inserts. They made a big mistake.
Rob Rhombus: Let's just say we knew what they knew. Listen this is the
real deal. We had gotten Mr. Boombastic to sponsor us at this
Dance-a-thon. And for every dance he would donate a tape. So we got
really energized. And then we got all these tapes outta the deal.
That's true. That's a true story.

Tobias: How many shows have you played in total?
Moppy: 4
Rob Rhombus: 5.
Tobias: So you've been a band two years and you've played 5 shows. 2
in the last week. And then.. a 100 in the next month on tour in the
States?
Rob Rhombus: We just decided to start showing our turds. Spreading our
stuff around. Smearing it. We are going to teach the people about
Philosophy.
Tobias: Who's your favorite philosopher?
Moppy: Maria Bello.
Tobias: Angels In America is..
Rob Rhombus: Some Kinda Monster. It's this quote we heard in Some
Kinda Monster. Phil Towel says it. Then Lar's dad reiterates it later
in the film.
Tobias: What do you think about..
Rob Rhombus: I got this rash. Seriously. Off the record. I gotta rash.
Moppy: I think this is a good interview.
Tobias: Where do you want to go from here? Not in your band but in
this interview?
Rob Rhombus: Basically the main thing is.. we're like..everytime I look in the mirror I expect to see the Candy Man. And that helps me because if I don't. In a way I feel like my day
has been ordained for safe passage. I just keep licking myself. I
can't stop. That's how I know it's going to be a good day. If I lick
myself for like 3-4 hours at the beginning of the day. Then I can go
out and just take care of it.
Moppy: yeah.
Rob Rhombus: That's what Mr. Boombastic taught me at the Rash Academy.
He taught me if you have a rash you need to just lick yourself. 'cause
that's how you clean.
Moppy: But sometimes if you lick yourself too much you get a rash.
Rob Rhombus: That's called too much of a good thing.
Moppy: That's what we're about.
Moppy: We wrote a new song about Obama.
Rob Rhombus: It's called "Touch it." We're going to debut it really soon.
Tobias: What are you touring in?
Rob Rhombus: America.
Tobias: No.. what kinda of vehicle are your touring in? Greg (of
Special Noise)'s parents car?
Moppy: & Markus' parents car.
Tobias: So that cars of both band drummer's parents.
Moppy: Why don't we talk about the new song?
Tobias: Sure talk about it.
Rob Rhombus: Talk about it but talk loud. We wrote a scary song about
the moment we saw the ghoul;that has become our god.
Moppy: And..
Rob Rhombus: .. he told us..
Moppy: There was some bad news.
Rob Rhombus: And the bad news is "Congratulations.You are.."
Moppy:"...holding"
Rob Rhombus: ".. a satchel.. down below.."
Moppy: "..a little.. living...cutie..."
Rob Rhombus: It's about how if a cutie comes out of you.. and what to do then.
Tobias: What's the song called?
Rob Rhombus: Phallaform. It's like "Brenda's Got a Baby" meets Ramstein.
Tobias: Can you talk to me about the new members of your band you've
picked up in Canada?
Rob Rhombus: Yah we're playing with a couple of real greazzzy weasels.
And their great.. Nader.. I mean called BiteNFight.
Moppy: Nader Hasan.
Rob Rhombus: But he goes by BiteNfight. And then there's Papa Spawn.
Moppy: He's kind of our new daddy.

Tobias: What would be a good reason to come to one of the upcoming performances?
Rob Rhombus: If you like good time Hellraiser licks. Mixed with
Darjliing Limited costumes.
Moppy: I'm sari.
Rob Rhombus: No it's okay, I was sarong.

(by David Forcier)

TOUR DATES:
08/08/09 - Montreal, QUE - Divian Orange w/ Woods
10/08/09 - Montreal, QUE - The Silver Door w/ Special Noise, NightGoat
12/08/09 - Providence, RI - AS220 w/ Kokomo, The Ram, Special Noise
13/08/09 - Boston, MA - House Show w/ The Great Drought, Special Noise
14/08/09 - Providence, RI - Warehouse Party w/ Special Noise
16/08/09 - Brattleboro, VT - Jared's House Party w/ Special Noise
17/08/09 - Brooklyn, NYC - Don Pedros w/ Stupid Party,Bad Blood
18/08/09 - Philadelphia, PA - TBA w/ The Great Drought, Special Noise
19/08/09 - Baltimore, MD - The Bank w/ Sewn Leather, DJ Dog Dick
20/08/09 - Washington, DC - The Mini Gallery w/ Sewn Leather, DJ Dog Dick
21/08/09 - Brooklyn, NYC - Monster Island (Todd P presents..)Sewn Leather, Teenage Girl Fantasy, MDNR
22/08/09 - New Brunswick, NJ - Meat Town w/ Special Noise
23/08/09 - Brooklyn, NYC - Silent Barn w/Sewn Leather, Hume
30/08/09 - Burlington, VT - TBA

365 Days of Summer: Sun Bleached Punk Gems & Duds

2009-08-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Something strange has been washing up on the shores of the continental United States these days. Along with bands from Southern California proudly displaying their hometown pride by sounding surprisingly "Californian", acts from all over have been pulling more from "Pet Sounds" than "Damaged". We can thank Panda Bear for making Brian Wilson cool again to kids who barely knew he existed (outside of his later, less credible career) and Wavves, who, well, is the biggest thing under the sun right now, right (with definite emphasis on sun).

First up is Los Angeles' BEST COAST, featuring Bethany from the now defunct Pocahaunted. Whereas Pocahaunted danced around any sort of structure, Best Coast trades in the drone and moan for a simple approach to light weight, laid back beach punk. Sort of half Wavves half K Records, Best Coast falls short of impressing me except on the "Sun Was High (So Was I)", which feels like it could be the opening song on the Fast Times At Ridgemont High 2 soundtrack. She almost sounds too like Wavves, with her reverb drenched vocal patterns not really carving out any original ground from song to song. Bob Bruno saves the project from drowning completely by weaving in and out of Bethany's simple 3 chord strumming with rather intricate and pretty bass lines, but at the end of the day I almost feel like this is a good indication that anyone can sound like they can sing when doused in echo and reverb (myself included).

DUCTAILS injects Grateful Dead noodling and experimentation into his take on the newly forming unnamed genre. "Friends" almost sounds like a Woods tour tape after it soaked in flat soda for a few days. "Welcome Home" makes me think Mr. Ducktails is a pretty solid musician even though he might hide it in other songs. His progressions float along, guitar and synth lines weaving in and out creating a nice atmospheric sun burnt dirge that's as depressing as it is uplifting. Almost a "life sucks but I'm still living" attitude conveyed musically, but it's not my place to say what message he's trying to get across.

Best Coast's partners in crime (from what I've gathered), PEARL HARBOUR, have a nice little ditty with "Lost At Sea", but it's almost too Beach Boys to really leave an impact on me. It's dissappointing when the part of the song that really nails in a memorable vibe is the element most easily compared to another band, such is the case with the vocal melody on this particular song. "Sunburn" has some of the same Grateful Dead-esque noodling that Ducktails seems to have mastered.

San Diego's JEANS WILDER completes this piece and is definitely the worst of the lot. More concept than consistent, songs like "Tough Guys" remind me of drunken party jams on dusty Casios... stuff no one remembers the next day for good reason. "Simpler Times" sounds like a Wavves outtake that soaked in the same beverage alongside that Ducktails jam, while "International Waters" is my favorite of the lot... like a weird Pedro the Lion track replayed through a reverb tank inside a concrete sound bunker, but it's not enough to save this ship from sinking somewhere off the coast of California, which according to his location on myspace, is close to home.

The noise siren reinventing herself as beach punk songstress. The mysterious man named after my favorite children's cartoon. The two Children of the Damned who escaped to make bedroom pop hits. And the lonely kid who pretends to enjoy the lack of company. Not quite impressed with the burdgeoning genre as a whole, but there is some promise running through each act's sound and I will definitely be paying attention to what comes next for each.

www.myspace.com/hereliesjeanswilder
www.myspace.com/bestycoasty
www.myspace.com/ducktailss
www.myspace.com/pearlescentharbour

The Pink Noise - Live on WFMU

2009-07-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Montreal's (formerly Toronto's) The Pink Noise just did a live session & interview this weekend live on WMFU while they were in NYC doing a handful of shows with Gary War. http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/32382

Just scroll down in the playlist til you see it and click the mp3 button to listen.

Description: The first live visit to WFMU from the mysterious Montreal combo that's been churning out an assortment of basement synth/sci-fi/punk weirdness over the last few years on such imprints as Kill Shaman, Almost Ready, and Sacred Bones. Cheap Korg and Moog synths, tape recorders, drum machines, and guitars, Suicide/Chrome love in the air. Tracks today: Huntsman / Micro / Treasure of the Arabian Nights / Oh Caroline / T Rex / Love For Sale. http://www.myspace.com/thepinknoise2

A BRIEF GLIMPSE INTO THE WORLD OF FREAKS!!!!

2009-07-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is a 2 part post with the other half being posted at the BLACK FONTANELLE blog. I've been filming bands here in Richmond, VA this summer. Some of the footage is a little dark but that's because we have shows in dark sushi restaurants, dark pool-halls, and semi-dark bowling alleys. Here's a look into our seedy world:

Here's Houston, TX grime rapper B L A C K I E :

Next up is local FLISHman, the amazing LEO HEINZEL:

Ah yes! Now it's time for the documented proof of the existence of SPIRITFINGERS:

I actually didn't film this one because I'm in this band but, SpiritFinger, Patrick Killingsworth filmed this on my camera. I give you BERMUDA TRIANGLES:

For the other half of this post, simply click HERE!

TOLD BY THE WATER: THE MOUTHUS DISCOGRAPHY

2009-07-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

One of the truest noise-rock innovators going, the six years strong Mouthus hammer out a distinct primordial sound and consistently evolve at a wild rate—from primitive, pounding beginnings to the serenest sonic surroundings of currents.

First united in Brooklyn, NY, drummer / electronics wizard Nate Nelson (solo project: Afternoon Penis) and vocalist / guitarist / keys lord Brian Sullivan (solo project: Eskimo King) may be split geographically between Baltimore (Nelson) and Brooklyn (Sullivan) nowadays, but their prolific discography continues to grow, with a wow-inducing 26 sonic offerings so far.

Mouthus’ triumphant full-length newbie for Ecstatic Peace!, DIVISIONALS, is but a few months fresh. The two were also just recently out on a brief east-coast tour with the Magik Markers that revealed Mouthus to be as deep in the electric mother current as ever. With 2009 firmly held down as another thunderous year in the Mouthus pantheon, reflecting on precisely what the band has been through and accomplished on the recorded side of their noisy coin feels like a pretty good idea.

MOUTHUS (Psych-O-Path #6 CD) 2003

It all begins here with a thunderous, primitive drum roll paving the way for a lightning-crash of cymbals and a down-torrent of guitar hail and whipping vocal winds. This CD-only album for the now-defunct label once run by Brian and Nate’s buddy Igor is the most singular and unabashedly straight-up rock-influenced recording Mouthus have released. This collection of 4-track barnburners captures a fresh band storming out the cosmos’ gates with no shortage of riveting ideas, making it the proverbial opening up of the otherworldly groove the band was about to plunge headlong into.

Like nearly all of the band’s output, MOUTHUS was recorded at the band’s rehearsal space (lovingly Christened The Tarpit), and has a relentlessly assaulting and somewhat claustrophobic feel to it. And I mean claustrophobic in a good way—Nate’s cymbals crash as though they’re imploding, and distorted bursts of overdubbed noise-shards whip by like tornado-thrown debris.

The dark chaos so exuberantly blasting off throughout MOUTHUS translates perfectly into the album’s cover art, which bares Nate’s psychedelic yet primitive line-and-shade drawings amidst the shadows of Brian’s photocopy treatments. Sullivan explained how the band recorded a massive amount of material for this album and cherry-picked the final track list, and even he himself had to wonder what forgotten lore lies stowed away on some long-buried treasure of 4-track tapes… Some of this unused material would find its way onto later releases, but Sullivan insists about 80 % of Mouthus’ entire collection of privately recorded work remains unreleased. Labels interested in releasing a box set of this stuff should politely hound the band to let them do it—though these are my rabid fan wishes, and don’t necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of the band members themselves, all rights reserved.

LOAM (Ecstatic Peace! Records + Tapes E#34b LP) 2004

Things really took flight for Mouthus on LOAM. It seemed like all of the pieces were now firmly in place—they acquired an 8-track for all future recordings, Thurston Moore’s esteemed label was getting behind them this time around, and the music they were making was expanding and refining quite natrually. I’ve often told Brian that LOAM sounds like it was recorded in the dead of summer on a massive outdoor stage set up in a vacant desert, and I stand by the analogy; LOAM sounds absolutely huge, absolutely pummeling, and absolutely unstoppable. Sullivan insists he prefers the unreleased digital, CD-intended masters of LOAM, but I can’t imagine listening to this juggernaut on anything but vinyl. Especially suited for 12” format is the tattoo-like album art, which Brian adapted from an installation piece Nate created for an exhibition.

If MOUTHUS revealed a new talent brimming over with promise, LOAM made good on that promise and then some. It was an exciting time for noise-rock, and Mouthus now found themselves among the forefront of a movement intent on discovering new sounds and new modes, no matter what the cost. It was time for their audience to expand from underground interest to underground sensation. It might not ever be possible for a band so unique and challenging to truly breakthrough to wide acceptance, but in a time when so-called indie rock was becoming safe and suburban enough for Starbucks and Apple to drop big dough on, it was refreshing to witness two scruffy dudes with barely kempt hair soaring straight on into new stratospheres.

BIGGER THROWS (Our Mouth #1 CD-R EP) 2005

In 2005 the creative expansion went further, and the prolific output increased. The band saw the need to launch their own CD-R label and debuted it with an EP’s worth of some of the finer ghosts haunting Mouthus’ vaults. Geared toward being both an outlet for their own music as well as that of their friends, the Our Mouth editions are essentially open-ended but generally capped around an initial run of 200 copies per release.

Rough and almost industrial, BIGGER THROWS is another strong step into fresh terra firma as well as a foreshadowing of some of the band’s future explorations. Brian’s wall of guitars and effects sounds more chewed and mangled than ever and Nate’s drumming more frenetic and stifling in its meticulously detailed and subtle electronic treatment. BIGGER THROWS remains precisely what its title suggested—a widening of ambitions, a strong promise that this band was showing no signs of restraint in its quest to lay waste musical barriers. Even Nate’s cover art line-drawing is reminiscent of plant life bursting forth from nowhere… As if even they were well aware this was still only the beginning.

AXOLOTL / MOUTHUS / SKATERS: LIVE AT KDVS 90.3 FM, SACRAMENTO, CA, 3-25-2005 (Our Mouth Records #2 CD-R EP) 2005

Always up for a collaborative affair or a jam if the setting is right, Mouthus are one band that works well with others. The first collaboration to see the light of day was this fine monster jam workout between Mouthus, lo-fi psych-drone duo Skaters and one-man electro-drone experimenter Axolotl, or Karl Bauer, the dude who actually first introduced Brian and Nate and was an originally projected third member of Mouthus before relocating to the west coast and leaving the two quite literally to their own devices. The three buzz units were rolling around on tour when this swell college radio station decided to set them up with some good equipment and quality airtime. The three inventors originally intended to record three separate sets, but once they were all gathered at the station and time became of the essence it was decided they should all just set up and go for it together. LIVE AT KDVS is the document of this one-off collaboration, and it’s a mighty fine one. So many tones growing and converging, remaining distinct yet bending to each other’s gentle guidance—it’s a sea of tranquil togetherness.

SLOW GLOBES (Troubleman Unlimited #154 LP & CD) 2005

Word was spreading fast about what Mouthus were cooking up both on record and in concert, and the hipsters were starting to buzz. Brooklyn hipster label extraordinaire Troubleman Unlimited wanted a piece of the action, and so it was SLOW GLOBES that became Mouthus’ first widely available dual-format release. As the story goes, it’s the album that most casual listeners and hipsters heard, and the one that many judged the merits of the band upon, successfully weeding out the ones who understood Mouthus from the ones who couldn’t grasp it.

Creatively, it captures the band settling into an almost contemplative state. Many compositions on SLOW GLOBES expand at their own pace, and the mood it casts is not exactly easy to digest—it’s a dark, slow, baffling and bold album, filled with almost sordid sonic tensions and emotions, and easily the most varied and challenging effort Mouthus had by then released. No wonder it effectively set the band apart from nearly everything else going on at the time—wordless figures elongate and are jarred back into place, electronic sub-rhythms dirge along, and almost anything with a hook or discernible melody to it is left for the second half of the album. Anyone looking for the latest post-rock or post-punk flavour of the month would have surely been sent running to cash this in at the nearest used record store. But for anyone with an open third ear, SLOW GLOBES is a true opus that stands as timeless testament to the exploratory nature of the band. It also opens with Mouthus’ only cover song to date, “Storms”, which was adapted from the Stevie Nicks composition on Fleetwood Mac’s epic and drugged-out TUSK.

To make things even more baffling and inaccessible, the LP was mistakenly released without its intended insert, which contains all of the song titles and relevant information; LP fans were left with a wordless entry containing ghostly, often alienating and very moody compositions housed in two very confounding images (the back cover taken from a short film Brian created before the band formed). The release of the CD version was stalled by an error in manufacturing the artwork (the front and back covers were wrongly reversed and had to be corrected), but all troubles aside SLOW GLOBES still succeeded in bringing Mouthus to more ears than ever before, and further deepened their profound vision. Summer was high, and hopes were climbing. It was time for Mouthus to ascend to the heights of the giants.

MOUTHUS / DOUBLE LEOPARDS (Troubleman Unlimited #158 LP) 2005

This “Tour Split” LP was issued in a limited edition for the two bands to sell on their joint tour and came housed in a wonderful die-cut screen-printing, and this time around Troubleman didn’t have any trouble at all—all went well in terms of artwork, and the LP sold out very quickly. The glorious, grinding sidelong contribution from Mouthus, “Growing Up the Giants”, is a roasted chestnut recorded in the same era as LOAM. Brian’s vocals reverberate over Nate’s disjointed rhythms, and the gurgling guitar carries the strangulated tune. Brian doesn’t know whose cat that is, screen-printed in black and white on the Mouthus side of the cover, but he’s pretty sure Nate does.

TOLD BY THE WATER (Our Mouth Records #3 CD-R EP) 2005

Another self-released EP, TOLD BY THE WATER contains two epic tracks from somewhere amidst the sessions for LOAM and SLOW GLOBES. Part of the Mouthus creative process lies in setting down spontaneous compositions, then going back over the recordings and fine-tuning their compositions into structural forms. Amidst such fervor and spirit, there is much spontaneity, so even Sullivan himself sometimes gets foggy as to where and when certain songs came from. But part of the fun of recording is going back over old tapes and finding what magic might have come from all those late nights in the past, and TOLD BY THE WATER is a complementing pair of but two of those treats held over from such processions.

MOUTHUS AND VALERIE ALLEN (Our Mouth Records #4 CD-R) 2005

During a few weeks in 2005 Mouthus met up with Brooklyn vocalist and friend Valerie Allen for a number of rehearsal space sessions. The result is a transcendent album-length collaboration comprised of four extensive tracks where Mouthus’ churning rhythms and primitive grooves are met with Allen’s swirling and atmospheric spiritual canonizing. The end result could stand as Mouthus most psychedelic and shamanic moment, coming off something like a peyote trip running hard through the jungle.

MOUTHUS & AXOLOTL: 12 / 25 / 04 (Olde English Spelling Bee #3 LP) 2005

The first of three Mouthus LP’s Olde English Spelling Bee would issue in a single year, this sublime collaboration between old friends and band mates Karl Bauer (a.k.a. Axolotl) and Brian and Nate was recorded on Christmas Day in Brooklyn. The two sidelong improvisations find the impromptu trio exploring their most dominantly electronic grounds so far, undoubtedly inspired by Bauer’s brilliant drone and electronics work. It’s a spacious, mellow affair, with a most trance-inducing effect, and is notable for featuring Nate’s earliest deep Mouthus foray into electronics, away from the drum-kit.

By 2006 Mouthus had splintered into a number of projects while remaining intact—the still-functioning Chaw Mank pairs Brian with the rhythm section from like-minded noise-rock friends and stalwarts Sightings (bassist Richard Hoffman and drummer Jon Lockie); the short-lived White Rock combined Mouthus with the Double Leopards quartet (though it was eventually phased out in favour of Religious Knives, a more rock-oriented group which until recently featured Nate on drums); and joint solo projects—Afternoon Penis is Nate and Eskimo King is Brian. It was only suitable that around this time, collaborative efforts were beginning to emerge on vinyl.

MOUTHUS (Olde English Spelling Bee #2 LP) 2006

Recorded way back in October 2003, Mouthus’ second self-titled release features two hypnotic and harsh sidelong jams from among their very first meetings. The record clearly shows how divided from rock trappings Mouthus were from the get-go, opting more for atmospherics and textures than anything resembling pop music. It’s a strange yet light-shedding addition to the Mouthus catalogue—strange because it predates their debut album yet sounds nothing like it (most obviously for its lack of drums), and light shedding because it exposes how some of the ideas the band had more recently explored were in fact originally conceived and begun at the outset. Released in a limited edition of 350 with two pink cats screen-printed on the blue cover, MOUTHUS gives a heady glimpse into the band’s incubatory period, before they emerged more defined, and as a result should be of interest to any hardcore fan of the band.

MOUTHUS / DOUBLE LEOPARDS / SUNROOF! : CRIPPLED ROSEBUD BINDING (Music Fellowship #17 2LP) 2006

The prestigious Music Fellowship label invited Mouthus to curate this curious double LP, which features sidelong contributions from Mouthus, Double Leopards, Matthew Bower’s Sunroof! project and a collaboration between all three camps. It comes housed in Nate’s full-colour cover art and black and white gatefold and label sketches, and features a blistering LOAM-era nugget called “God of Moth”. The collaborative jam on Side Four was culled together from three separate improvisations, with Brian on the mixing board, weaving them into one cohesive and strange work.

MOUTHUS / COUSINS OF REGGAE (Olde English Spelling Bee #6 LP) 2006

The third wonderful OESB release is a split LP between Mouthus and then-Montreal based duo Cousins of Reggae (who were also the first group to be released on Our Mouth), and it’s a match made in heaven (or hell, depending on your preference). Mouthus contribute two brand new songs to their engrossing side: the first, “New Drugz”, is steeped in spraying fuzz and thick sonic muck, with hallowed vocals drifting through the centre of the mix where the percussion usually resides, while the second, “Better Than Facemask”, puts that very percussion first, driving ahead like a three-legged race toward the edge of a cliff. Another limited edition, this one comes with a full-colour insert and individually screen-printed covers.

THE LONG SALT (Important Records #82 CD) 2006

Mouthus fourth album solidified their new sound: pummeling, chaotic, barely controlled whorls of machine-like sounds barreling toward your chest at threatening speeds. Of course these songs are much more controlled and constructed than first impressions and even repeated listening may suggest, but THE LONG SALT captures the move Mouthus had been hinting at and working toward in full flight—industrial percussion, groaning echo-plex vocals, and guitars upon guitars, all seemingly fighting with each other amidst anarchic battles for supremacy. Dense is an understatement for this many-layered silt-shifter of an opus. Imagine some sacred mudflats had been electrocuted, causing new monsters to spring forth, boggy minded and pissed off—THE LONG SALT would be the sound of the ensuing violence. Perhaps Brian’s SLR stills, which don the CD gatefold, capture the polar opposite of this album’s sonic fullness—electrically charged emptiness, which could erupt without warning. THE LONG SALT captures a band in full flight charging ahead unconcerned of what the future may bring, caught up in the moment and absolutely loving it. So strong it heaves mountains aside to taste the fruit of the valleys.

SISTER VIBRATION (Our Mouth Records #9 LP) 2006

Brian and Nate’s next effort would also be the first vinyl release for their Our Mouth label. Sonically, SISTER VIBRATION stands alongside THE LONG SALT but focuses on the band in their wickedly comfortable groove; a bit reeled in, mellowed and settled from the exuberant and explosive LONG SALT. Brian calls SISTER VIBRATION the bands most rock and roll record, perhaps due to its groovy yet no less off-kilter rhythms and hit-it-and-quit-it recording approach. Cut in roughly a single week, SISTER VIBRATION is comprised completely of first takes and favours a bare, raw and lo-fi approach to the more overdubbed and mastered LONG SALT. Consider it a taste of what Mouthus were bringing to their live audiences at the time—repetitive electronically treated hypno-rhythms paired with Brian’s grinding fuzz-currents of effects laden guitar. Straight from the jam space to your frontal lobe, this is Mouthus getting raw with it for all to dig.

FOR THE GREAT SLAVE LAKES (Three Lobed Recordings #29 CD) 2006

Mouthus’ masterful entry into Three Lobed’s Modern Containment mail-order series is a vault-cleaner of monstrous proportions, sequencing together the finest of stray tracks from over the years leading up to and including 2006 into a sentimental journey for and from the ages; an “odds n’ sods” collection as Brian puts it. Sullivan feels the material and overall experience of FOR THE GREAT SLAVE LAKES is a little less chaotic than THE LONG SALT, but far more pummeling, and the CD-only album is impressively cohesive and smooth in its transitions despite being pieced together from so many moods and phases of the band. It should be stated that the notorious 42-minute album closer “Compound My Eyes” is only so long because it moves into a digital lock-groove partway in, rolling out its extended length like a kind of meditative mantra for those who find solace in heavy sludge. The mysterious duplicated album cover is a Polaroid Brian took, and the inside images were created by Nate.

FOLLOW THIS HOUSE (Important Records #121 CD) 2006

Easily the most perplexing of any Mouthus release, FOLLOW THIS HOUSE was recorded before and after the band’s 2006 European tour. The story goes that they recorded the album’s final track, “Half-Thaw”, and realized its kinship with three similarly minimal and sludgy tracks they had recorded the previous year. Once they went back over the older material, they realized the four tracks complemented each other very well and marked a decidedly different direction than their previous releases, and so FOLLOW THIS HOUSE was born. Heaps of overdubs mark the album’s thick, oozing flow, and Brian’s use of keyboards take a more prominent step to the foreground than ever before. With a focus more upon texture and a low-end that punches through their fired up walls of noise and fuzz, the magic is in the details of this album, much like the glistening lights bursting through the volcanic turmoil taking place in the album’s cover art. Many people consider this album Mouthus’ most challenging release, but repeated listens and a carefully attentive attitude are all one needs to appreciate its meticulously overdubbed beauty. Of all the Mouthus albums, this is the one Sullivan finds himself listening to on his own the most, so that’s gotta say something about its artistic achievements and supreme relevance to the Mouthus canon.

MOUTHUS / WOMEN IN TRAGEDY (Wintage Records & Tapes #19 CASS) 2007

Undoubtedly the most rare and obscure Mouthus release, this 100-edition split cassette with Toronto drone-beat innovator Women In Tragedy was the debut in micro-label Wintage’s ongoing Tape of the Month Club series. The Mouthus contribution is “Low Words Said”, a muddy, murky, burbling composition that chugs along, guitar-led with a logic all its own. Stylistically, it could be found right at home on FOLLOW THIS HOUSE, or their next, even more minimal effort. Not even Brian is sure where exactly this recording fits into the Mouthus pantheon, but it is surely a prime selection from their deep vaults.

MOUTHUS (No Fun Productions #18 2LP) 2007

Those who thought Mouthus couldn’t get more challenging or minute in their compositions sure had another thing coming when this double-LP of four extremely minimal sidelong tracks hit the shelves. But for all its apparent simplicity, MOUTHUS was a recording beset with difficulties. Commenced directly after FOLLOW THIS HOUSE was completed, the band spent a lot of time recording new material that they weren’t entirely happy with. They needed time to chill out and get into playing again, but they also had to prepare for another tour. The clock was ticking, but then inspiration struck and they hammered out these four dense, calculated dirges, and a fuzzy breath of fresh air blew into the band’s stratosphere.

Then came the mixing process: Brian wanted to try something new, he had a vision and it took a lot of time and toil to make it come true. He wanted to challenge himself, and he wanted to turn the sonic quality of their recordings onto their own heads, so to speak. With great scrutiny, he did it, and MOUTHUS stands alone as a sonic muck-job (and I mean that as a compliment), where the low-end continuously punches through the mix like bubbles popping in a lava pool. But the difficulties didn’t end here—MOUTHUS was a very tough album to get onto vinyl properly, and it took a number of test pressings before the band was happy with it. In retrospect, MOUTHUS stands as a titan of experimentation, a wrestling match for the senses, and a singular statement all its own.

SAW A HALO (Load Records #103 LP & CD) 2007

Two-inch tape, 24 tracks of studio capability, a $1000 budget provided by Load Records, Samara Lubelski’s skilled hands as co-producer and free run of the Rare Book Room studio for an entire weekend—finally, Mouthus had the sonic world they’d always dreamed of at their fingertips, and they were gonna be damned if they didn’t make the absolute most of it.

SAW A HALO is a masterwork that’s full of surprises, true-to-form band-defining compositions and spontaneous sound-worlds. For starters, it threw a lot of people off with its gentle, clear folk-song opener, “Your Far Church”, but this is merely the beginning. SAW A HALO is ripe with multi-layered magic, and there’s not a spell around they didn’t summon during this monster session.

The story goes that Brian and Nate entered the studio for their lone weekend of recording—two 16-hour days at their full disposal—with the desire to experiment and concoct something as fresh as possible. To best achieve this, they kept their latest batch of songs as skeletal as possible, with only the most basic structures to work from, allowing the studio experience to inspire whatever it may during the process, for maximum spontaneity. The band found itself using even the Rare Book Room’s metallic lamps for percussion, but at the end of the weekend, they only wanted more time to chip away at this grand sculpture of an album they’d only begun to craft. Some gentle explaining to Ben Load ensued, and some time later he agreed to put up another $1000 for them to spend a second weekend recording the shape-shifting opus of a song-cycle SAW A HALO was destined to be.

The album was later mixed in another marathon weekend, done analog style (straight from multiple tapes to master tape), living out the band’s original idea to have the compositions all flow and meld into one another. The result is a head-splitting affair quite unlike anything else the band has ever done, a tome that adds the recording studio to the long list of devices Mouthus have experimented with and mastered on their own terms.

NO CANAL (Bottrop-Boy #28 CD) 2007

Four very different untitled tracks comprise this 250-edition CD release for German label Bottrop-Boy. The opener is a mellow flutes and keyboards evocation, which paves the way for the barn-burning second track, featuring the reversed roles of Brian fiercely pounding the drums and Nate ripping it up on guitar. Track three sorts through the rubble the second created, picking out beautiful emblems that shine in the stillness, and the closing number wheezes gently from smoke inhalation. Brian describes this album as a mish-mash of stuff that made no sense, and tracks the band did for fun during rehearsals and recording sessions. It has been described as Mouthus’ most ambient release, for its gentler leanings, and many fans have told the band it’s among their favourites. Definitely worth tracking down, the CD comes housed in a foldout envelope with a very minimal artwork scheme.

DUAL DRIFT (Our Mouth Records #19 CD-R EP) 2007

Opening with the meditative percussion and keyboards piece, “Pilot Wave”, this fine addition to Mouthus’ self-released catalogue is described by the band as a collection of stuff that stood out from over the years, but which had no home or place on previous releases. The centerpiece of DUAL DRIFT is the 10-minute “There’s a Shifting”, a nose-diving drone exploration that rings with the heavens. “No Bay Return”, a brief untreated guitar and drums mantra, dates back to the SLOW GLOBES sessions. All in all, another fine release culled from Mouthus’ seemingly bottomless vaults.

MOUTHUS AND YELLOW SWANS: CONAN ISLAND (Weird Forest Records LP) 2008

This super fine stopgap collaboration LP between Mouthus and (sadly, now defunct) Portland guitar and electronics noise duo Yellow Swans, CONAN ISLAND was cut in Chapel Hill studio in October ’06 while the two bands were deep into a joint tour. Brian adapted the wallpaper-like cover art from live photos, and Pete Swanson from the Swans handled the mixing and editing. The two sidelong jams ebb and flow like a project all its own, the two bands commingling into one dense unit of sonic deconstruction. CONAN ISLAND comes recommended for fans of both duos, and straddles the sonic borders between the styles of each respective band.

MOUTHUS AND YELLOW SWANS: LIVE ON CONAN ISLAND (No-Fi Productions #10 LP) 2008

During their fall ’06 tour, Mouthus and Yellow Swans would often join each other on stage, or during radio show tapings, for some full on jam exploration. This well-recorded LP documentation for the UK No-Fi label finds the two acts converging in fine form amidst the swales of spontaneity, jousting out three lengthy tracks which feature their fair share of chaos, noisy energy and good old “going for it”. Perhaps you could say this one’s for the hardcore Mouthus collectors, but if you’re not a hardcore Mouthus collector, than why be a Mouthus collector at all? Quality jams for the ages, never to be duplicated.

DAYS THROUGH THE COMBINE (Our Mouth Records #21 CD-R EP) 2008

Brian mixed this curious three-song EP together for the band’s 2008 European tour. It features Nate in fully electronic mode and was recorded and overdubbed in three days. The first untitled track is comprised of two takes of the same track playing simultaneously, one in each channel. DAYS THROUGH THE COMBINE witnesses Mouthus in a contemplative, experimental mode, opting more for atmospherics than fire-wielding power—even the shit-storm of fuzz guitar that opens the final track recedes into an ambience of sorts where it might have otherwise attempted to saw off your head.

DIVISIONALS (Ecstatic Peace! Records + Tapes E#34c LP & Digital Download) 2009

The construction of DIVISIONALS is a complex one. The original compositions and backing tracks that fill the two brimming LP sides date back as far as 2006, but all of the overdubs are recent recordings, and more in keeping with where Mouthus have been creatively for the past year or so. The album features Brian performing entirely on keyboards and sampling Nate’s drums while he plays them, and finds Nate further steeped into the realms of his electronic devices. Released by Thurston Moore’s dependable Ecstatic Peace! imprint (their first release for the label since LOAM), DIVISIONALS marks the first Mouthus LP to be officially available for digital download. The album surges forward and serves as a further testament to Mouthus’ growing interest in understatement and atmospherics, while retaining enough punch and grind to rise above the tame trappings of ambience. An engrossing addition to their expanding and prolific discography, DIVISIONALS poises the band with a future that is as truly wide open as the skies above.

EU TOUR SINGULARITY (Our Mouth Records #24 CD-R EP) 2009

It was only a matter of time until Mouthus added a live recordings release to their catalogue, but, in keeping with the band’s tendencies for experimental processes, EU TOUR SINGULARITY is no regular live album. Culled from the finer recordings of their 2008 European tour—specifically, shows in Aalst, Leiden and Paris—SINGULARITY takes a wizard’s mix approach, blending segments from different shows, and layering them inconspicuously into one seamless sonic head-fuck of an experience.

Over Future Horizons:
MOUTHUS / BULBS split LP for Important Records

CONTACT: mouthus@gmail.com
VISIT: www.ourmouthrecords.com

Forgotten Essentials Volume One

2009-07-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Alien Sex Fiend - "Ignore the Machine" 12" // ASF are ridiculous, beautiful creatures. Taking a cue from Alice Cooper's live show and pushing it over the top with half the budget and you pretty much hit Bat Cave goth aesthetics on the head of the nail. I can only imagine how terrifying they would have been to see live in their prime (mid-80's) but if I was able to get through it and not have nightmares I would be impressed with myself. Dirty, hyped up spook minimalism and a commanding vocal performance is the formula for this single, easily one of their best. You will hate this and then come to love this on the day you decided nothing else will put you in an awkward enough trance to get through the hours before bedtime. Still wish I had snagged that autographed copy of "Now I'm Feeling Zombified" at Record City, which was probably the first goth song most of you heard while watching Beavis & Butthead many moons ago.

Hair Police - "Blow Out Your Blood" CD // I bet they hate this record, but it's their take on Negative Approach's live show on a burnt out, dubbed cassette. "Obedience Cuts" is their best, but this is Hair Police at their most listenable (ha) and straight forwardly brutal. Overblown pseudo-hardcore muck, like Siege or Deep Wound filtered through Masonna's mind.

Honey Bane - "You Can Be You" 7" EP // She's adorable and caustic, spewing forth her feminist agenda at unsuspecting "punks" still stuck in old world gender roles. She sounds 15, and probably was, but this is one of Crass Records' highlights, alongside singles from Zounds and Omega Tribe.

Strange Frames & Secret Tones

2009-07-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

California Goth is alive and well. It's all I think about, care about, dream about, and new bands come out of nowhere to some, but to anyone as depressed as I am you tend to not notice a lot of what's going around till it's completely unavoidable. Secret Tones came into my life randomly via myspace. They had no drummer but didn't really need one to begin with, as the songs seemed almost darker and awkward without beats nailing any sort of structure to the floor. I hear little bits of the Cure at their best, Bauhaus at their most intense and Sonic Youth at their noisiest, and I thought I was the only one who thought goth and no wave should live happily ever after wrapped in each others arms and legs. Check out "Soft Pulse". Someone needs to release a vinyl by these beautiful, gifted beings.

Strange Frames features Rogers who played drums with my band for a while and does No Paws No Lions with the incredibly friendly Sam Woodson. I feel like this band is what the Vanishing would have sounded like when they were 17 and "figuring themselves out". There is a certain adolescent vibe I can't shake, and I don't mean that in an insulting way whatsoever. Kids can be totally miserable too, right? I just wonder who someone as happy as Rogers could be so sad, but said misery only needs to be achieved in short bursts as these songs don't last long. Each one comes, cuts in and draws just enough blood to help Strange Frames get to their next victim. Kind of like a mosquito, where Secret Tones are the tick that feeds till it bursts.

www.myspace.com/strangeframes

www.myspace.com/secrettones

An interview with HEAD MOLT

2009-07-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

Since September of 2006 HEAD MOLT have been scumming up basement parties and mom's kitchens with drum trigger throb and effects-pedal wizardry. Their visits to Richmond were always an anticipated, fun, and sweaty time for all in attendance. In February HEAD MOLT relocated to Richmond, VA and are going strong! In recent weeks I conducted this interview via various e-mails and text messages with core members GARY STEVENS and LEAH PEAH:

Jason- So, who the fuck is HEAD MOLT, who do you think you are?

Leah Peah-I dunno, some attention craving scum fucking shits from the toilets of Hampton VA that some how got plunged to RVA! Who do you think you are?

Jason- I think I'm just some hack, amateur, music journalist...so, can you tell us what equipment you use to make your sounds or is that TOP SECRET?

Gary Stevens- It's no secret, I'm a pedal jockey. I have a pile of guitar pedals, build contact mics, and do some circuit bending. I like to keep it low-tech. Fucking up tapes is cool too. Lately I've been using more feedback loops, raw signals that are fun to manipulate. I'm into that.

Jason- What are your most current releases? Who released them? Why do they release them for you?

Leah- We have a C-10 tape thats in production from Heavy Psych. Not out yet, but fairly soon here.
Our newest release is a split 7inch with Lazy Magnet on Flish records.
A c-60 out on "recycled" cassette from Obelisk Sounds.
Why do they put them out? I dont know...Maybe they're tone deaf or suicidal or both. I heard tone deaf suicidal people do crazy things. None the less, each label who has put our stuff out has been nothing but amazing, as well as the finished product.

Jason- So what's new w/ your solo stuff LEAH PEAH? I hear your a Deftones fan, is this true?

Leah- I'm currently recording stuff for a new split tape with The Suicide Magnets of Philly, Thats going to be put out on AEN (Anti Everything Noise). Also finished up a track for an all new female comp that is called "Ladyz in Noyz: An Addendum" on Corpus Callosum which is the sequal to Ladyz in Noyz released on Spleen Coffin in 2008. Both of which come from the creative dwelling of Marlo Eggplant's veggie grated mind!

Deftones?! I got a piss boner for all this talk of Deftones!!!!

Jason- What's up with your face on your facebook profile?

Gary- i hate saying "facebook" i just don't like the sound of it. That's what I look like when the earth's magnetic field is peaking.

Jason- "Facebook!!!" there I said it, SAY IT!!!!!!!! OK, enough of that...so what are your touring plans for 2009?

Gary- We want to go up and down the coast a couple of times. Maybe hit a few spots in the midwest.

Jason- Do you guys collaborate w/ anyone? (Recording or performances) Any future collaborations you'd like to mention?

Leah- We've collaborated with a few, both for recording and live.
Recorded collaborations includes: spoken word performer Bryan Lewis Saunders aka Mr. Brain Sander. The piece we worked on together is called "Craigslist" and was released on AEN.
It's an awesome tape that focuses on the "sassy-n-sensual" side of Craigslist and just when you thought you were at your repulsed and disgusted limits with the intensely written lyrics, it continues to downgrade your brain into some real raw filth.

We did a collaboration with FUN from Philly called "Lazy Saturday" that was recorded at the old Z Radio house. We were happily force fed bong hits and randomly handed Casios and keyboards of all varieties. As we moved throughout the house during the recording session, umbrellas, pedals, stomping and whatever one would constitute as noise ended up finding its way onto the recording. Breathmint gave birth to this collaborative session by releasing it as two CD-R's HeadFUN/FUNHead.

Live show collaborations include:
Jonathon Coward (SHAMS) Vocals and tape noise.
Brian Morsberger (Drums Like Machine Guns) Vocals.
Ed Wilcox (Temple of Bon Matin) Drums.
Zack Kouns Saxophone.

Jason- Are there any themes or social commentary involved with the sound of HEAD MOLT?

Gary- No, we don't really express any social commentary with Head Molt. Our sound comes from our own frustrations with everyday life. I wouldn't say we are apathetic but we don't feel that our music is the best vehicle for our personal ideologies. It's more of a vibration thing, our way of expelling our own negative feelings onto others. I guess I would say that the general darkness of the human condition is the true theme here...abandonned strip malls converted into prison camps or photos of car crashes?

Jason- So you guys moved to Richmond into the Church Of The Crystal Light, for our readers who aren't familiar with this spot could you give a brief history and mention a little about the current state of things there?

Leah- The Church of Crystal Light was a place with a lot of potential but with the city's current stance on places like Church, there was really no way for it to survive and when it comes to extremely DIY situations like Church its better to leave it a complete whimsical mystery.

Jason- Well said. How do you guys like living in RVA? Any funny or horror stories worth sharing?

Gary- Richmond and it's people have been good to us. It's way better than the shit hole Hampton we've been living in for years before. We feel slightly less isolated now, playing more shows too. We definitley plan to stay here for a while longer. So far the only horrific thing that has happened was when the city shut down the art space we were living in for 4 months (Church of Crystal Light). We're somewhat homeless now but things are starting to look better for us. We're thankful for the great friends we have here who are helping us out.

Jason- So I remember that you guys opened for GIRL TALK at the NorVA some months back, I also remember seeing tons of feedback from folks on the internet...both positive and negative. How was this experience and how did you get on this show?

Gary- I've known Greg since the first time I booked Girl Talk at my old place (The Rat-Ward in Hampton). That was back in 2001. A buddy of mine instant messaged me about the Norva show and jokingly suggested we get on the bill. So I emailed Greg not expecting anything and he quickly responded and was into the idea. He had his booking agent contact us and that what that.

Leah- I didnt really know what to do with myself, I don't think any of us did. So we drank A LOT like we would at any other show. We had a talent assistant, we got free rum and beer and all that other cliche stuff that comes with playing places like the NORVA. It was interesting to hear a mixture of boos, and cries of confusion, with people chanting along with the "lyrics" but in all honesty I was more into the sensation of how loud we actually were. That alone makes me want to play bigger shows again and again.

Gary- Over a thousand people were angered by our performance. It was the best "fuck off" to the Hampton Roads area I could ever think of. I'm not sure if we can ever top that.

Leah- The reviews of our set for that show are hilarious. The reviewers themselves made it obviously clear a mass majority of people still suffer the typical mentality of; "I cant like it til someone tells me it's ok to". Which is exactly what Girl Talk did during the middle of his set. It was weird to have people come up and talk with us after the show. People wanting to take pictures with us and asking questions, but for every one picture we took, we had 3 dirty looks following it up. I guess these are the trials and tribulations a band must face when venturing over to the "other side" of acceptable mainstream music, especially coming from where we do.

Gary- no matter how many times people are told it's OK to like us, they probably won't. I'm OK with that.

Jason- What does the name Head Molt mean?

Gary- It was really just two random words put together. After I did a web search for the phrase I learned it's a common occurrence in the animal world, to cast off an outer covering periodically. Which kinda makes sense considering Head Molt was a sort of musical rebirth for myself.

Jason- OK final questions, what does the future hold for Head Molt? Where do you want to see this thing going? What's your favorite beverage?

Gary- The future is a nightmare world for future punks, hard core pirate punks, apocalyptic poets and Mad Max types.
Working on more tapes, some new vinyl splits, hopefully a new home. Don't really care where this mess takes us, into the gray hairs, into complete obscurity. Where ever we end up I will always enjoy cheap whiskey.

Leah- I don't know where it's going to go, and I don't know what the future holds, I'm just going to keep doing it and whatever happens, happens.

I like Malibu and Coke, Baileys on the rocks, and Buttery Nipples.

Jason- I should know because that's what you guys order when you come to the bar I work at...Thanks for doing this, Ciao babies!!!!!

Tobias R's Featurette No. 3 - Kevin from TYVEK grills Timmy Vulgar of TIMMY'S ORGANISM

2009-07-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Besides giving Saddam Hussein the keys to the city in 1980, Detroit, MI is also known for producing high quality rock bands (See: The Stooges, MC5, The Gories, Frijid Pink, Alice Cooper, ? & The Mysterians) as well as having the highest speed limit in The United States of America and also for it's poor public transportation system which is still heavily discouraged by the once all-powerful motor industry.

Detroit (as always) has a handful of really good bands right now (See: X! Records). If you liked previous projects like Clone Defects, Reptile Forcefield and Human Eye you'll want to immediately check out the new double 7" released on Sacred Bones by Timmy's Organism. *Highly recommended!*

I arranged to speak with the singer/guitar player Timmy Lampinen aka Timmy Vulgar. A man with a reputation for gargling with house paint and once playing a set wearing a large squid on his head, but also a very talented song writer and performer. As far as I'm concerned every song written is an instant classic. The music is always really deranged, freaked out sounding but with an obvious gift for writing hooks that forgo typical cheese for a mouth full of mold instead. When I put a record on in my bedroom or while DJing there is nothing I want more than to have the speakers spew and spray blown out budget glitter tar with insane stream of consciousness lyrics. I'm a sucker for it. And records Timmy Vulgar's involved in always deliver.

To make things more interesting there's a twist to this interview.... when I was on a mini-tour last month with Grand Trine and TYVEK (another excellent band from Detroit) I had at that time yet to conduct the interview. We were in Quebec City one night when I mentioned my idea to Kevin (of Tyvek), the owner of the bar had just bought everyone in all the bands shots of some strange murky-to-clear alcohol and at that point any of the normal constraints a person might have on their imagination were sufficiently melted. He offered to just write the questions for me and scrawled out some doozeys. Some of the questions were destroyed as he excitedly tore out the paper but there were plenty of survivors. I wanted to scan it but I think its better just to push this mutant through my thighs and get it over with. Enjoy.

Kevin: What is the significance of the eyeball?

Timmy Vulgar: The Eyeball, Ive liked them sents i was like 13/14 years old. I use to
draw them all the time. I still do! I have an eyeball collection toys and halloween ones. I guess its been a fascination for cultures for thousands of years. Its even on the dollar bill dude!

Is pop culture war?

Im not sure what it is? I dont watch T.v. cuz i dont have cable cuz
its pretty mind numbing. I really have a disgust for most contemporary
celebertys. Ive declared war agianst pop culture! Slop verses Pop!!!

If you could live on another planet besides Earth, which planet
would you live on?

Earth is pretty good for now, Probably mars about a billion years ago.

Does Arizona count as a planet?

It does compared to michigan or even the mid west. Weird insects and
arachnids,reptiles poisonous snakes! I use to live there ya know!

Would you rather play in the Garden Bowl or the Magic Stick?

Neither!

Urinals or Chrome? please explain.

Chrome! Way crazier! I heard Chrome first! Their Still ahead of their
time. Urinals rule though!

Do you actually like the band Crime or are they shit?

CRIME friggin rules also!

Can you turn into a wolf?

Yeah a lil jim beam or most whiskeys will help with that metamorphosis!

Are you human?

Half.

Please give the epileptix discography.

EPILEPTIX? lets see."the Kill yourself cassette"1995 "self hate
7inch"1997 "disco slut 7inch"1997 split w/the Druggies1997 and the
"Greatest Fits" LP.1999.
3a.m

STATIC AKTION - book noise in los angeles

2009-06-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

thurston moore

Around the turn of the century, the noise scene in LA was rebirthed by a new generation of highschool ages kids that did noise like it was punk or metal. They got audiences thrashing and moshing. It was an incredible energy destined to fade with age. Most of the musicians at the center of this have now gone on to break ground in much more chilled out sound: Secret Abuse, Emaciator, and Infinite Body just to name a few. One name that deserves recognition as well is Michael Fierstein, the man behind Static Aktion. Static Aktion is not a band, it is a label and booking/promotions identity. He has been booking big noise shows in LA since he was incredibly young. And he is still going strong, flying in incredible acts from all over and getting great local bands onto awesome bills. Here are some words I exchanged with him over g-chat.

me: How long have you been booking shows in LA now?

Static: the first show I booked was Nov. 2004 for New Collapse, Tender Buttons. That's if you don't count the 16 Bitch Pile Up / Sword Heaven show in my grandma's backyard from Sept. 04

me: Since then you've started to book some pretty big shows, usually under the name Static Aktion I believe. At what point did this booking name come into play?

Static: I felt like after Bob Bellerue left L.A. and the il corral sorta went under that I needed to take a more active roll in booking noise / experimental stuff in town. I put out some records as Static Aktion and it felt good to unite the shows and the records under the same banner. A lot of what I was trying to do early on was very influenced by Club Sandwhich and Neon Hates You.

me: But you have definitely taken things a step further than at least NHY really ever did, by flying acts out for shows. What was the first act you did that with?

Static: well Bob Bellerue was doing some of that in 05 / 06 and it worked sometimes so I think the first time I tried to do that was with Work / Death just because I felt like people out here really needed to see him and it wasn't going to happen in the near future if I didn't. I have been able to avoid losing money with each show after that. the Work / Death show didn't draw well at all, which is a shame.

Static: but when I say I was influenced by NHY and Club Sandwich it's more in the organization of those shows and the way people would come to NHY even if they didnt always know which bands were on the bill. I thought that was a great thing and it seems like after the Thurston Moore show some of that is happening with my shows.

me: It can be a very tough thing to keep a crowd coming back, because the Smell attracts such a young audience that "grows up" and leaves LA quickly. How much of the audience at the Thurston Moore show was under 21 do you think?

Static: I told Jim Smith of the Smell that it seemed like the average age was maybe 19 / 20 at that show. I think that the Smell brought an energy to that gig that Thurston doesn't normally get at "Noise" shows he plays on the east coast. i mean he was stage diving during a noise set

me: That is def the major thing the Smell provides that most venues do not. That young energy. Did Thurston seem stoked about his performance?

Static: i don't think the set went as he planned because one of his pedals was acting up but I think that forced him to take a much more physical approach to the set. he was leaning against this mass of stoked kids. you look at the pictures and all the people up in front look so happy
and that's so crazy to think about...they are jamming out to guitar noise / feedback.

me: Again, that is a very LA take on noise.. that it is perfectly in lineage with rock music. Without worrying too much about genre definitions: Do you pretty much just book noise shows?

Static: well I don't have any problem with booking non-noise shows but when bands like that come to me I think they are much better off going to Sean Carnage or The Smell / Echo Curio direct because those shows are just not what I'm good at. I've been booking some shows for
friends like Nite Jewel and Naomi Elizabeth but I don't advertise them as Static Aktion shows.

me: So you are making sure that people can come to expect a certain experience at a show with the Static Aktion headline?

Static: yes, definitely. I'm not sure if that's always the best approach but I have a very strong vision for what Static Aktion shows should be like.

me: so whats next for Static Aktion then?

Static: I took a few months off to try to re-focus after about 7 shows in the span of two and a half months but I'm super excited about the future. August 9th at Echo Curio - Damion Romero / Pulse Emitter /Monsturo / Grasslung / Earn. Also some shows in August for the amazing
Pharmakon from NY. Big plans for a three day festival in March of 2010.

16 Bitch Pile-Up's last show

me: Glad you are keeping with it. There really aren't many people dedicated to booking big noise shows in the US... and usually it is just once per year. Actually, who else is taking your approach?

Static: I don't see to many people trying to do it but I have the advantage of living in a big city so I have a lot of people to draw from...but I mean there are tons of people all over the US that help touring noise acts when they come thru. It seems like Nicole Chambers from IL is trying to do some bigger shows that involve flying folks in.

me: Is she in Chicago?

Static: yup, not sure if shes working on those shows by herself but shes doing some killer shit out there it seems. she's real focused and kinda intense.

me: How about you, an intense dude? Or, at least, can you tell me a little bit about why you are drawn to booking noise acts in particular?

Static: I don't think I'm intense. I try not to be. I started going to Smell shows and was really blown away by a lot of those bands like New Collapse, 400 Blows, Wives but it wasn't until I saw Rainbow Blanket that I felt I real deep connection to any of those bands. Rainbow Blanket were an eye opener for me...they were my age, they lived near me...sorta looked like me and they were making amazing music.

me: They were the entry point for a whole new generation of noise listeners in LA. Think that other kids connected with RB like you did?

Static: oh ya, I know that Infinite Body and Alex from Deep Jew wouldn't be doing what they are doing without that influence. They opened my eyes to noise in away that bands like Lighting Bolt and Wolf Eyes couldn't.

me: It is true. Even as someone a bit older than them, they had an energy that made me connect with them more than "just watching" In those years, the Smell was a place for discovery. I think Wives and Mika Miko were giving similar experiences to people.

Static: thru them I met Cole, Alex, Matt, Moth Drakula, Kyle Parker, Borges, Gordon...all of whom play a big roll in what i'm doing now. then that lead to the il corral which really made it feel like I could put on shows and do stuff. oh ya, so many of the young bands at the Smell now saw Mika Miko and Wives or early Abe Vigoda and decided to start a band i used to read punk rock books about how everyone who saw the sex pistols started a band...but that makes a lot of sense now

me: Its funny, every regular show goer for that early 00 noise scene in LA eventually become the people that made it happen. At one point I remember feeling like "there is no audience anymore, everyone became the show!" Including you this interview proves! :)

Static: ya, I hope alot of that energy and stuff can keep moving. i hope that some of my shows can introduce the Smell crowd to noise but it seems like the crowd now is alot more jaded than in 04/05 but maybe that's just because i'm older. I don't meet a ton of new noise bands anymore but that wave of all the men who can't love boys was a gold mine of amazing music.

infinite body

me: Well, I think you do an amazing job, unlike anything I've seen around the US. And folks in EU that do what you do have government funding, so they aren't taking the risks you do. I'm very happy you were down to answer some questions so people can hopefully get inspired in their home town! Thank you!!

Static: awesome. I'd also like to point out that the support from Dave Stone, Jim Smith, Luke / Sarah Fishbeck, Grant from Echo Curio, the local noise crew have made all those shows possible too.

http://www.myspace.com/staticaktion

Upcoming Static Aktion Events:
Sunday August 9th:
Damion Romero
Pulse Emitter (Portand, OR)
Monsturo
Grasslung (Baltimore, MD)
Earn
@ Echo Curio - Echo Park

Sunday August 23rd:
Pharmakon (Far Rockaway, NY)
Pedestrain Deposit
Rale (Oakland)
Infinite Body
Alex Twomey
@ Echo Curio - Echo Park

all photos by Wild Don Lewis

Brand New Demos From THE SUPER VACATIONS!!!

2009-06-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

Last spring of 2008 I had the pleasure of seeing The SUPER VACATIONS live while they were on a U.S. tour w/ GARY WAR and TEETH MOUNTAIN, I had been listening to their killer first LP on SHDWPLY Records a lot at the time, and after their short performance I already wanted to see them again!!! For those who haven't heard of these boys, The SUPER VACATIONS are an east coast band mixing 60's surf/ garage styles with a dash of new wave, and a sort of psychedelic twist creating a distinctive sound of their own. In my opinion they are the perfect summer music and 'tis the season! They've had members go on to play in GARY WAR, TEETH MOUNTAIN, WAVVES, and DAN DEACON. They are currently working on a new LP to be released this fall on SHDWPLY Records (U.S.) and FORTE DISTRIBUTION (UK/ Europe!!!) The band has been kind enough to share with us demo versions of songs for this album. Greg (GARY WAR) will be handling all of the mixing/ mastering at his studio in NYC. The album title is still to be announced...
I still haven't gotten to see them live again, so these demos will just have to hold me over until I do. Enjoy!!!
Into The Void
Henry

No Ventilation on Mercury: Missing Quad Muth

2009-05-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while. Discussions crop up about Quad Muth every so often, and when they do, it makes me wish I could see them play again. The band were an important part in my musical development - their music was weird, they made ample use of performance’s visual aspect, and they would move their audiences to respond and affirm what they the band were doing on the stage…or on the floor in front of the stage…or in the dingy basement…

It was no small feat given the sadly oft-proven caricature of Midwesterners as staid, retiring folk, given to resenting anyone for sticking out, for daring to dress up and especially for committing the sin of not using any of the acceptable and expected tools everyone in their right minds should use if they’re to be in a band. Quad Muth were a poke in the eye and a rude fart in the general direction of this tragic mindset. To me they were inspirational.

I first saw them by accident in the spring of 2003. I was a big Sicbay fan and this show was my chance to finally see them, as I was only nineteen at the time and couldn’t go to any ID shows. Having no idea what Quad Muth was save for the vague suspicion that they would be somewhat math rock, I was surprised when two figures stalked into the venue from out back. One had its face covered by this sickly gray mask whose flesh seemed frozen in mid-boil, with bits of rag barely containing the dark brown hair which spilled out from behind its head. The other was a short fellow with ooze the color of his alien-like counterpart smeared all over his otherwise business-friendly attire; he came in with a crutch. The duo commenced with this diseased churning of programmed and live electronics, almost subterranean in how the otherwise pristine digitally-rendered details were being obscured into a frothy muck. The young professional type alternated between incoherently mewling and howling into his echo-laden microphone, gyrating his upper body all the while to compensate for his lame leg that rendered him incapable of any other movement. At the conclusion of each song, the alien figure would raise both its arms into the air as if to indicate some kind of victory, and I immediately envisioned a scene where the young professional, on his way home from work earlier that day, was captured and possessed by the alien to do the otherworldly visitor’s bidding. The ooze seemed to indicate as much.

At the sight of this unexpected bit of theater unfolding in front of us, my friend and I laughed for the entire set out of sheer joy. It was one of those beautiful moments when something wholly unexpected just seizes and refuses to let go. Sure I had listened to Suicide and loved the first record for how timeless it sounds, but until that afternoon I’d never actually seen anything like that attempted and then pulled off with such a tightly wrapped layer of visual and sonic mystique. That they were also from Minneapolis blew my mind.

They went on add another member on “drums" (a collection of electronic pads and assorted percussion ephemera) and play shows with some of the better bands of the middle 00s: Mindflayer, Lightning Bolt, Deerhoof, Fat Worm of Error, Metalux, King Cobra, Quintron & Miss Pussycat. It made me happy to go to those shows and see them represent for all the music weirdos in the Twin Cities and elsewhere in Minnesota. Their touring out east to play No Fun Fest '05 was one of the reasons I went to the festival, and their under-the-radar local shows brought me many times to the dearly departed illegal venue known as the Church. They played one of their best shows there, on Halloween even. By this point the singer's outfit had evolved into this bizarre bodybuilder, muscles bulging out in all the wrong places. The extra percussion player added this additional frenzied clatter, and the programmed beat stuff was jacked up in the mix. Someone in an ant costume with a huge green head and a pair of crab pincers was dancing in front, and the singer walked over and began to commune/dance/hump it. Since everyone else was dressed up and there were no technical hang-ups (a constant bane for the band as it is for every other one) it was the perfect night to see them.

When it got out that the band was about to end in the summer of ‘05, it seemed like more and more people had found out them and were starting to come out to their shows. It made for a bittersweet conclusion to what had been an intensely personal affair of mine with the band’s music and whole MO. I’d gone to just about every show I could of theirs, and it felt validating that more and more people were finding out about how awesome Quad Muth were, that the sheer experience of a performance, like the ones you can see on something like the Lightning Bolt DVD, could happen in our own backyard, perpetrated by one of us.

Lucas the singer moved away to the Bay Area, James went on to play in Peace Creeps and then moved to Philly, and Markus continues to live in Minneapolis and play in the even more solidly danceable Skoal Kodiak

Wheels Of Love :: Tyvek's Kevin Boyer Drives Slow And Steady

2009-05-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Feeling excited about their debut LP and upcoming Montreal date (tomorrow night!It's gonna be MADNESSSSS!) I had a lil' chat with my bud Kevin Boyer , Tyvek frontman and all around sweetheart.

::::::::::::::::::::::

Chloe: Hi Kevin how are you today?

Kevin : Today I feel sick, but a lot better than yesterday. I don't think it's swine flu, but all of the symptoms are present and it's starting to worry me. Couggh, haaakckckk, blaaaeegh. I'm just going to keep gargling.

In Paris , April 09.

Chloe: You guys recently went to Europe for the first time, how did that go?

Kevin : Europe was extremely fun. There were no major disasters. The beer was ten times better. I got drunk a lot more touring over there. It felt like a vacation, and I rarely felt hung over the next day (Europe has higher purity standards for beer and alcohol!). In general, people were hospitable, very friendly, we always got fed and had a place to stay. The hospitality seemed to be an almost required thing for them, like they had an obligation to take care of us. Which is fine, I'm not complaining.... you don't really feel that vibe in the states. Here no one cares if you've had dinner before you play. You're lucky to get a drink ticket in most American bars. And of course in some places we did meet people who were extremely kind and were just excited about the music and feeling that kind of universal kinship that comes from sharing the insanity of music.

Being in a different country almost every night was nuts.... not knowing how the audiences would react or if people would show up at all. One way Europe is so different is that you drive like 100 km down the road, and you're in a different nation and suddenly the way the people interact with you and how they take part in the concert are just completely different from the night before. It always varied, and people often times seemed at odds with their neighbors. History weighs down on people there, much more so than here, like, "oh you guys played in Slovenia last night? that must've sucked! not so good, right?" No, it was a blast actually, but whatever... It's easy for me to forget that it wasn't too long ago that all of these countries were throwing bombs at each other. Maybe that's why people in North America seem a lot more laid back. People forget the past here. We just move and forget.

Playing every night with our french friends Cheveu was a treat. Playing with a familiar band every night lent some added perspective to the whole thing, watching how audiences in other countries reacted to them was great. Nothing made sense to me. Playing in places like Zagreb, Croatia or Benesov, Czech Republic was awesome. When we started Tyvek, the goal was to try to maybe learn ten songs well enough so that we all started and finished playing at the same time, and here we were in these extremely foreign places. It just didn't make sense, and I really felt free.
Another thing that added to the strangeness was that we were touring with a different line up, Matt and myself with our friend Ted enlisted to play keyboard. The other 3 Tyvek members all had to bail on the tour in the month/week before we left, so inviting Ted along was our last attempt to salvage the whole thing. Luckily, he could do it and was down to venture to another continent to play a prominent musical role in a band he'd only jammed with on two prior occasions, and hey he didn't fuck up too bad. The first night in middle of nowhere Switzerland was a hilarious debacle, and we all had our doubts, but we started to find some good jams and after a couple more shows the songs took on a new life with no bass, one guitar, drums, casio and vocals. I never imagined the songs being played like that, but the challenge certainly kept things interesting and definitely kept me on my toes.

In , April 09.

Chloe : How did yous end up hooking up with Cheveu??

Kevin: We met Cheveu when we played together at a bar in Hamtramck Michigan called "The Locker Room." It was my first and only time at this bar... that was fall 2006. We played a couple of other shows with them (Green Gay, Wisconsin and then a show again in Detroit). We were fans of their music and so we made plans to tour the west coast together... that was may 2007. We had a great time... it's great to play with a band that you really like to listen to and watch almost every night, and personally we all got along splendidly. It's nice to tour with people you can just chillax with and get out the boom box and enjoy some Bar B Q and tunes.

Chloe : Yes! I only like playing with bands you can chillax with! It’s what it’s all about!I wanna ask you about line-up. When I saw you guys in Austin it was as 3 piece , with Shelley on bass. But Heath told me he played some shows on the west coast a bit before that.So, who is in Tyvek right now? What line-up can we expect for your upcoming shows?

In Pittsburgh , January 07.

Kevin : Right now Tyvek is Matt, Shelley and me. Larry, Heath, and Damon are still a part of Tyvek in different way. It's been a transition. Larry's job is more serious and he can't get the time off to tour as much as we'd like. He's a great bass player and the coolest guy I know, and he has been very supportive. Larry and I have been friends since I was age 13, and he lives right down the road from me. Damon and Heath live in other states, and that makes things difficult for obvious reasons. The five us were rarely able to just play together in a casual laid back way. Heath and Damon are great musicians and friends, and I often miss what they added to the songs. Now, the band is back in a forming, embryonic state, and as new things emerge and become more defined I'm sure we will start adding more players to the mix here and there, which is what we've always done. Still, Tyvek sounds like Tyvek whether it's 8 people or 3 people.

Chloe : What's your songwriting process?

Kevin : The process is always different for each song, never the same way twice for me... sometimes I have something definite in mind musically or lyrically, like certain chord changes or words. Sometimes both. Sometimes we will just repeat a chord or a rhythm or a word or two and try changing them gradually, listening back to recordings, keeping what sounded cool, forgetting about the parts that didn't work. I find volume and rhythm to be the most inspiring things... everything comes after that, hearing loud drums and just playing guitar loud. Repeating the same things over and over along with the music, going through the day's events in my head, phrases, things that people said coming back to me. repeating them. Sometimes I'll be walking around and tunes and words will just start to play in my head. I think, "cool!" then I get home and try to play guitar along with the tune. Sometimes it sounds great, sometimes I forget about it the next day. I just try to keep an open mind and I think that songs can come from anywhere. Sometimes a song is written in a half hour sometimes it's years before an idea gets fully realized. One thing is for sure, I feel like I can't not do it and that I'll always be making music one way or another.

Chloe : One of the first things that drew me to your band was the fact that the lyrics are about pretty everyday , mundane stuff.You sing about cars, appliances , the urban landscape – Is your subject matter influenced by living in Detroit?

Kevin : The subject matter is definitely influenced by Detroit, but then I don't know if there's much stuff in the lyrics that couldn't be found anywhere in any city or in any case in someone's dream of being in a city. We get lots of precipitation here as I bet you do in Montreal as well. Winter is long: freezing cold, damp, tons of snow, constant cloud cover. In fall the trees are very colorful, lots of sun and crisp air, rain. Spring is damp and cold but light gets longer and warm air eventually pushes in. Summer is insane hot and extremely humid and long with lots of thunder storms, etc.. Our sound is influenced by Detroit.... Detroit's always playing on my imagination/nerves and it allows us to expand in whatever way we can into a space that's already charged with its own volatile atmospheric disturbances, independent, harassed, blamed, Detroit is the most dead on vision of the future I don't know what it is, it's certainly a headache, but it feels like nowhere anyone should live. Ha ha. But it's honest. Everyone knows they'd be better off somewhere else. Right now the national media keeps saying, "oh the government is bailing out Detroit..." What bailout? Detroit hasn't gotten any help from anybody for as long as I can remember, and helping out the failing car industry is a much different thing than helping out the city. Detroit's been bailing out America for the last 100 years, and this is our thanks, we get to be the canary in the coal mine. Detroit has always been at the forefront of any social/cultural advances in America and this is how we'll be punished, they're just going to try to hold us under water until we drown.

06

Chloe : How do you drive?

Kevin : I drive very carefully and slowly. I used to be a fast driver and when I was a teenager I was into drag racing and stuff, but now it's slow and steady. The world is a dangerous place and human beings are fragile: wheels of love!

******************

S/T out now on Siltbreeze

Death Sentence : PANDA! Wreak Havoc Amongst The Townsfolk

2009-05-14T00:55:00.000-07:00

DS:P! in Kyoto

A few months ago I got into a discussion with a young music nerd who claimed to only listen to 21st century music. I smiled and nodded and kinda pulled away slowly , unsure if he meant music that was created in the 21st century or , more radically , music that did way with the tropes of the 20th.

Death Sentence: PANDA! would probably please him in either regard as they formed in 2004 and make multi-textured avant-pop with very un-rockist instrumentation (look mom , no guitars!), and some rather unorthodox influences creeping in and out of the mixture. Their music is lovely , weird, playful and haunted. Sometimes just a bit violent.

These guys are one of my personal favorites in the current bumper crop of awesome bands and were good sports with my barrage of inane questions.

Death Sentence : PANDA! are::::
Chris Dixon - Drums / Percussion
Kim West - Flute / Vocals
Paul Costuros - Clarinet

Chloe: You guys have pretty unusual instrumentation , did you go into this with a specific intent?

Chris: Prior and concurrent to the formation of Death Sentence: PANDA!, Paul has
led an improv/ "mock" free jazz group called Murder Murder with whom Chris has played with many, many times. (Mrdr Mrdr is a revolving cast sort of operation involving multiple drummers, horns, electronics). DS:P! kind of came out of that group with the idea of writing actual songs but using that kind of instrumentation. I think Paul started using the clarinet because that the only functionally playable instrument he had at the time. Kim was still in Crack: We Are Rock and had played flute on couple of recordings by them. To us it just made sense: flute, clarinet, drums and Kim's vocals.
NEXT!

In Kobe

Chloe: How much , if any improv makes it on a DS:P! album or live performance?

Chris: Not much, perhaps none. Every note is deliberate. Each nuance is analyzed for efficiency and impact.

Kim: We tend to record early in the process so a lot of improv does happen
as far as my lyrics and nuances within the song. Structurally it is pretty set.

Paul: It's pretty much all improv.

Chloe:Is genre pastiche something you are actively engaging in?

Chris: Are you asking if we are purposefully weaving a tapestry of varied influences? A quilt of sound based on ideals passed on from times and lands far and near?
No, we are not.

Kim : I guess I wasn't purposefully thinking of creating a hodge-podge of different
sounds, but just something different sounding as far as how the instrument are
being used. I didn't want flute to sound too "flute-y". I don't think Paul wants his
clarinet to sound too "klezmer-y". etc.

Paul: Not intentional or premeditated at all. I think it's hard not too sound like we are mixing genres and style because of our instrumentation and all of our varied influences which really does run pretty wide. We are pretty much all record nerds, dj's and collectors in some way shape or form.

Chloe: So , who has the biggest record collection in the band?

Kim: Chris and Paul will have to duke it out for that title.

Chris : I think it's Paul. I've lost count of how many records I have....

Paul: Last time i was over Chris you had 13 LPs and 6 45's and this weekend i brought my collection up to 15 LPs (with the recent addition of Rappin Rodney ) and, count them, 9 45's!!!

Chris : Ha!I went to the record store and now have 25 LP's, six of which are dance music 12"s,8 45's and 276 cassettes!!!!!!!!

Chloe: The Bay Area has a long standing tradition of art and music that is often playful and quirky. Is your geography an influence   , stylistically or spiritually??
Do you feel it is a nurturing environment for more leftfield artists?

Chris: While the Bay Area, and San Francisco in particular, is a wonderful place to live, this concrete jungle with it's breath-taking views offers nigh a breast to suckle upon, delivering the sweet nectar of creativity. NO! It is a town of drunkards, of namby-pambies and of degenerates with one thing on their minds. Bawdiness and carousing. Entertainment is number one and those on the inside are cast outside. Therefore, so called left-field artists are not nurtured by the city but, in fact, activated into rebellion by the city. The true "quirkiness" of this area's music scene, or perhaps any location's music scene is a result of seeing what's out there, being completely dissatisfied with it and reacting totally against it.
The idea that you do not go to your audience but your audience comes to you is a cold hard truth. For real entertainment value, however, there most likely a Troggs or
David Bowie cover band playing on any given night.

Kim: Wow, I think Chris really took that one by the balls. I love this place, its home.
But like any place, it has its peaks and valleys. There has always been a great community of musicians and artists here and I emphasize community because although San Francisco seems like a big city sometimes its a real small place. There's an intimacy here that you may not get in NYC or LA and it very well may be geographic!

Paul: Living here certainly raises the bar and the wealth of so many advanced creative and talented musicians artists and performers really does keep one on their toes.  So much has already been seen heard and done before that I truly do get bored of regular rock bands or a run of the mill noise band that aren't bringing anything new to the table. It certainly is challenging which I love and is one of the top reasons why I live here.

In Austin

Chloe: Would DS:P! ever take to the streets and have a parade?

Chris: I don't think we would ever take the time to organize and coordinate such an endeavor. But if we were invited, we would definitely say yes. I, personally, am not so into huge crowds but I do enjoy parades. Who else is playing?

Kim: That's funny you ask that because I was kind of daydreaming with a friend who does video and film work and she wanted to do a video for us involving a parade. The parade would take place in Chinatown, SF and it would be all children dressed up in different fruit and dessert costumes. We still might do it.

Paul: I like balloons.

Chloe : You can have anyone you like play the parade , you just have to show up , ride your float and play.

Chris : Burmese should play at this parade, they really bring people together. What time do we have to be there? Is the
parade on a Sunday?

Kim: Hmmm. Burmese would probably scare the children but they get my vote too. I also like Bronze and Work (ex 16 16 Bitch Pile Up's Sarah Bernat's project).

Paul: I like balloons.

Chloe : Sunday's kinda short notice for me.. Burmese are scary! Awesome but very scary. My band played with them once and I couldn’t even make eye contact because their set felt like being shot in the face over and over (a good thing!). Would this be a bad vibes parade?

Chris: No bad vibes whatsoever. Burmese is honestly one of the most uplifting bands
I've ever seen. DS:P! toured with them and they melted our faces off. They have
from time to time scared the crap out of me too.

Chloe :I don't see bad vibes and uplifting as mutually exclusive !

Kim: No bad vibes. But I like being scared from time to time.

Paul: Vibes, starring Cyndi Lauper .

Chloe : What kind of float would you see yourselves performing on?

Chris : Float should actually float, held a loft by constant propulsion from airjets on the underside of the frame. The stage should made from bamboo, not because of the association with the name but because it is very durable and hard, yet cheap and easy to work with. It also resonates quite nicely. The float should be adorned with orchids and exotic birds who will not be tethered yet not fly away as they understand that their presence is necessary. OR, a big white cake that says "Eat Me" on it. Then we come crashing through in a modified 62 Lincoln Continental and wreak havoc amongst the townsfolk.

Kim: A Cupcake or Popsicle or a Strawberry. Something along those lines. It would be nice if you can eat parts of the float.

Paul: Probably a giant paper mâché head of Eric Landmark .

In Paris

Chloe: What do your parents think about your band(s)?

Chris: My mom says that I should stick with playing guitar and what a great guitar player I am and she remembers when I was in 8th grade and my first band played "Message in a Bottle" for the talent show and how that was really good.

My dad says "so wait, is this punk? What is this? It's definitely weird..that's what you wanted to do right?"

Kim: My dad likes it. He actually sang a song once with us. I think it was "Animals Hate You". He's glad I'm still using the flute he bought for me years ago. He actually came on our Euro tour with us for a few days where we introduced him to Men's Recovery Project . Now he's a fan. He drove some of us crazy after a while. He has a lot of energy. My mom thinks that Chris is too loud when I'm singing and we need more "peaks and valleys" which is a huge step from not liking any of my other musical projects.

Paul: Both my parents are incredibly supportive and I think my Mom has seen us.   This band is perhaps the most easy to listen to compared to some of my previous bands that she has seen. "As long as your having fun" is a common quote from her.

Chloe: What do you enjoy least, large crowds or tiny crowds?

Chris: If it's a show, tiny crowds. If it's the grocery store it would be large crowds. It depends on the overall mood.
Remember, it's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean.

Kim: I agree with Chris. One of my favorite shows was in Chicago and there were only a handful of folks there. But people were so down. Jail was there from Coughs and I ended up handing her my sax. She ran around the room playing it with us. There is a certain spontaneaity that happens when you play to smaller groups of people.

Paul : Yeah depends. For show I like small/medium room with a big rowdy crowd. For a dance party I like big crowds and small crowds.  Grocery store or record store, unexistent crowd.

Chloe: I'm interested in your crowded grocery store comment , 'cause I get very upset in crowded supermarkets myself and they often makes me really sweaty and nervous, I'm wondering if your supermarket issues are similar to mine.

Chris: Supermarkets can be problematic as they offer 2 sides of the same coin. Everyone is there for the same general reason, everyone is in an accelerated state of mind: Mob Mentality. 2, everyone is in it for themselves; what they want and they want it now. This leads to an almost mercenary mentality. So while you have people moving in a generally similar direction towards a common goal, you also have a very individualistic, "out of my way motherfucker, I'm shopping" approach. Observing this, not only does it appear as utter chaos but also impractical.

Kim: I try to avoid shopping at supermarkets at peak time. I mostly enjoy open air markets and luckily SF has three of them within the city. You don't get the same kind of mob mentality. People are taking their time a little more. Also , depending on what kind of farmer's market, there is more variety of shoppers (race and class).

Chloe: Do you get panic attacks in supermarkets?

Chris: No panic attacks but I must avoid the detergent isle. It stinks.

Kim: No panic attacks but I do get angry sometimes especially when someone's being selfish. Most of time these people don't realize it. If I try to keep that in mind, it will prevent me from getting too pissed off.

Chloe: Do you suffer from social anxiety?

Chris: No, yes, no.

Kim: No only real anxiety I feel while in public is the fear of some parking lots. Its true. I get claustrophobic in parking lots.

Paul: I don't have many fears, one is driving on freeways, two is balloons.

Chloe: I've read interviews with you guys where you explain your name as someone being sentenced to death by panda. Now , I've seen Planet Earth and the narrator tells me that pandas are totally lethargic animals that are so weak from their bamboo diet , they can barely move. So how would these lazy beasts kill?

Chris: They roll over on your ass and squash the shit out you.

Chloe: Are you interested in violence as an aesthetic? As a prank?

Chris: Pranks are funny. Violence in a non-malicious way can be a mere amusement or a complete uplifting experience. The act of destroying something man made can be hilarious; violence as a method of control is bullshit.

In Prague

Chloe: Why do you hate Canada?

Chris: We hate Canada? Who told you that?

Chloe : I figured you might hate Canada because y’all never seem to come here.. Maybe it’s personal and you just hate me? Are you guys ever gonna play Montreal?

Chris: We don't "hate" anywhere or anyone...We haven't toured North America that much. It's hard work and we are babies who need to be led around by hand.
We ever got anywhere near Montreal, we would totally play there.

Kim: No way! I love Canada. I grew up on the border. Detroit/Windsor. I was buddies with Ritchie Hawtin ! I grew up watching DeGrassi High! I've been to Quebec City - in the winter and survived!!! I used to party in Toronto! I used to party in London, Ontario! (Don't even ask me why) What do I need to do to prove that I'm a fan?

Paul: I can't fathom why this assumption was made. Canada is responsible for about 1/3rd of all the happiness in my life by producing some of the funniest motherfuckers on the planet! Strange Brew was one of the first VHS tapes we rented in 1984. Back when video stores had like 46 videos to choose from.

Kim: It's true. We haven't really done a US tour let alone a full North American tour. But we are thinking this fall might be a good time and we WILL make it to Montreal.

Paul: Confetti is pretty good, but I do prefer balloons. I like them.

Chloe: If you do make it here I’ll make you a white “eat me” cake, I make pretty god food . Will you be bribed by the promises of cake from someone you don’t even know?

Chris : Food is a very important factor in travel plans. We can be bribed by food for certain but in general, our tastes lay more on the side of savory than sweet.
Although, who can resist a delicious cookie now and again?

Kim: That's one great thing about touring in Europe and Japan and one bad thing about touring the US. Unless we get a home cooked meal or lucky with some great BBQ place in the south, most food in the US (while traveling) is not that great. And we ARE food lovers. Pickling is my passion actually. I love anything pickled. Saurkraut, Kim Chee, Dill pickles. . . I always wanted to open up a shop called "Tickle my Pickle" and have pickles from all around the world.

Paul: Kim is really good at pickles.

Chloe: When you come to Montreal I swear to tickle your pickle.I make it all , kimchi , krauts of all kinds , sour dills I even make my own tempeth and stuff.

I actually just had salad that had sour turnips AND kale from my crock. And fall is the best time for pickle making (even though I throw caution to the wind and do it all year).

So screw the cake, we’ll do sour/salt , put it on fresh basked sourdough rolls and wash it down with homebrew kombucha.

What kind of pickles do you make ?

Do you have a prefrance over vinegar or fermented?

Kim- Wow, you're probably a lot better than me at pickling. My favorite to pickle is those Lebanese pickled turnips that come out real pink cause you have to put like one beet per 3 or 4 turnips. I LOVE those.I tried doing saurkraut- but it came out awful. I'm still learning.My kim chee is pretty good. I like putting scallions in there.

I don't have a preference i like both vinegar and fermented.

My grandma on my Taiwanese side pickles a lot - mostly black bean paste. ITs like the
Chinese version of Miso paste but a bit stronger. I'd like to think that's where I inherited the love for all things pickled. Oh have you had pickled mustard greens? So Good!

I would take pickles over cake any day!

Chloe: If you each had a super power and would it be and why would you use it for?

Chris: Mind control. I would make people take off their clothes in public for no good reason. Kind of a "level the playing field" tactic.

Kim: I would like to fly. Kind of predictable but its true. I would be even happier if I could be strong enough to carry some of my friends too while I flew. But if not then I could make a little basket to bring a little doggie friend with me.

Paul: Probably a robot that could shoot hot oil out of his orifices into peoples faces and onto other stuff I disapprove of like the city of Atlantis.

Chloe: Do you have a song stuck in your head right now ?

Chris: A song by The Dreams , I don't know the title. Earlier, while I was doing the dishes, I had Rape is War by Burmese in my head.

Kim: I had a Malaria! song stuck in my head I'm not sure what the title is and earlier I had the Sensational song stuck in my head called Freak Styler .

Paul: just a series of buzzes and mechanical failure sounds usually. Which may explain some things.

Chloe: What are your day jobs?
Chris: Systems analyst
Paul: Political analyst
Kim: Eye doctor

Discography::

CD-r's:
Puppy, Kitty or Both 2004
Tour 2004 2004
Festival of Ghosts 2005
Festival of Demons 2006
Dynamique Festival du Bete 2007

Vinyl:
Puppy, Kitty or Both 10" 2005 Upset The Rhythm
split 7" w/ Silver Daggers 2005 Not Not Fun
Festival of Ghosts/ 2007 Upset the Rhythm
R`out 4,002 12"
Split 7" 2008 Rock Is Hell
Insects Awaken LP 2009 Upset the Rhythm
Insects Awaken split 10" 2008 Bibimbap
w/ The Dreams

Cassette:
Texas Pt 1 & 2 2005 Folding Cassettes

CD's
Insects Awaken 2009 Upset the Rhythm
End Times comp 2006 End Times
Rough Trade Shops 2006 V2
Counter Culture v. 5---
Jerk Off Records comp 2006 Jerk Off records (japan)
Insects Awaken 2008 Central Plaza (Japan)
Age of Reason and 2008 Central Plaza (Japan)
Obliteration (early tracks comp)

Uphill Gardeners

2009-05-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

In the mid 90's, when I started going to underground shows around LA, Uphill Gardeners was one of my favorites. The ultimate no-wave band, almost to the point of absurdity. The compositions sometimes seemed so counter-intuitive that (as question 2 below shows) I believed someone when they told me Uphill Gardeners were trying to mock the listener. Nevertheless, I still loved it and since everything was still so well put together it was still impressive and messmerizing.

Now, about a decade later, olFactory (the label run by The Smell) is putting out an album of all of Uphill Gardeners unreleased material. Don't miss out when this happens! Links below!

1. It has been about a decade since Uphill Gardeners was a band. What was your reaction going back and hearing these recordings now?

The absolute number one thing about hearing those songs again or for the first time ever(!) in some cases, was just how amazing an engineer Tom Grimley was. It sounds exactly like it did in the room when we were recording the songs. I wish he was still recording bands. Also, we were really fortunate to have Nigel as our drummer\keyboardist. His playing was so fucking good. I really enjoyed revisting those songs. I don't know how we even did some of things we did, especially Jarrett's parts, He could get so many different types of sounds from his guitars or synth. I could have used the Boss PS-3 a little less, i think.

2. I was once told that Uphill Gardeners was a total put-on. Fake-no-wave. Any truth to this?

Not true at all. A love of No Wave was probably the thing that Jarrett and i most connected on. In the 90's, those records were really hard to come by and each time he, Jim Smith, or i would get a new one, it was a big deal and we would trade tapes of that stuff. We were all also really into Aphex Twin, Wu Tang, and Krautrock. But no, not a put on at all. We were all very serious about our arrangements and music but without being academic serious chin stroker dudes about it.

3. What was playing in LA in the mid 90s like compared to now?

It's actually really similar to present day LA, their are a lot of cool all ages venues happening now like there were back then and also lots of really great, diverse bands doing shows together.

4. What other mid 90s LA acts do you think deserve renewed recognition?

Solid Eye, Slug, Polar Goldie Cats (before i was in the band, that's how Jarret and i met btw- at a Polar Goldie Cats show), Nels Cline Trio, Crib, and early Los Cincos.

5. What is everyone from Uphill Gardeners up to now? Please share any relevant links as well!

Jarrett went on to form Young People, Sound of the Soil, Skull Skull, and play in Liars. I think now he is concentrating on his solo compositions.

Nigel joined Godzik Pink after we broke up, and now does electronic music under the name Dougnut.

After we split, i joined Polar Goldie Cats and also the For Carnation. i play solo and with a bunch of other folks as well and record\produce bands.

Jarrett Silberman:

http://www.myspace.com/jarrettsilberman

http://presshusmoments.com

Nigel Lundemo:

http://www.myspace.com/nigeldonut

Bobb Bruno:

www.bunnytuff.com

www.myspace.com/bobbbruno

UPHILL GARDENERS: http://www.myspace.com/theuphillgardeners

olFactory: http://www.thesmell.org/olfactory/

Where There's Smoke There's Phycus

2009-05-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

Ain't never too late to bring a slightly outmoded 20th century concept into the 21st. So with great aplomb Damage has gifted us with a Phycus Myspace page. Only the nascent days of Canadian college radio and the tentacles of 80's mail art/cassette culture could have brought industrial music to Sidney, Nova Scotia, although you'd be hard pressed to find a place more reminiscent of Hull or Sheffield. In fact, from videos I've seen, you straight walk out the front door of Damage's childhood home you're more or less immediately ankle deep in the Sydney Tar Ponds and your chances of getting cancer skyrocket to a cool 3-1. A childhood listening to Nash the Slash helped as well, 'natch. So it all makes perfect sense that Phycus was birthed here. If you aren't chasing after deeply lost cassettes with names like Bring Me The Brain of Kurt Cobain ect, you may likely find a copy of X, a 3xlp retrospective that teems at the edges, some clunk 90's industrial in there you might chose to avoid (I don't), but mostly a killer range of qual ZGA-like Eastern Euro style noise, Laibach inspired symph-industrial and some lo-fi techno-pop with totally killer arrangements mostly by Damage himself, brewed in whatever bunker living sitch he found himself in; be it Sydney, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa or Montreal again, throughout the years '88-'99. List of contributors on this shit goes on forevs and the crew is mot: a to-remain-unnamed Thee Outernet contributing editor, a Governor Generals Art Award winner, a convict, a surrealist librarian, the big guy Corpusse Himself, a canadian noise legend, Anton Levay's daughter and so on...Total Zero might still have copies of X booting around. The mypsace page has some vids, one edited by Ontario art brat Jubal Brown, a bunch of killer jams (check out Destroy the Earth, a personal fav) and best of all vid of a live outdoor date from a Warehouse/abandoned industrial site gig in Toronto circa nine nine. Bonus from Damage, some words of wisdom to old koots hoping to revive since buried projects: Their will be no reunion tour, there is no new material.

Naomi Elizabeth interview

2009-05-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Youtube Clip (An Interview by Wolf75)

Jeff Schneider - I’m not really the brightest bulb in the chandelier, so it took me a while to understand what you are doing, and I am still not sure I really do. I can say that my gut reaction was something like when I first read Henry Miller, sexual, surreal, a persona is developed, free-spirited and dirty but at the same time very intelligent. What made you do it?

Naomi Elizabeth - I am motivated by boredom and frustration a lot of the time. My attention span is short, I feel like I've had time in life to process all the music I ever liked, enjoy it, and get bored of it. I'm trying to move on to anything that interests me in a new way. Which at this time happens to be smut (among other things).

J. S. - What is your stance on censorship? Do you think people should prevent lewd acts, like GRUNT for example (XXX rated misogynist noise artist), for the sake of the common good?

N. E. - My opinions about censorship don't exist, I'm not the boss of this civilization, I'm just an observer. I think it's hilarious though, that society is trying to run the media with certain standards, for example so little kids don't grow up to be monsters, but they are doing a pretty terrible job of it. It makes me laugh how much raunchy stuff is on tv. People swearing, naked ladies, etc.

J. S. - What do you think about the current music scene? American Idol to Mika Miko?

N. E. - I think it's all pretty boring!

J. S. - Naomi Elizabeth music sound is pretty straight forward. Have you had any desire to make more insane sounds or do you prefer smooth stuff?

N. E. - Insanity is a matter of perspective. I've listened to a lot of music that's too "weird" for 95%-99% of people, and to me it sounds normal. I can listen to a 20 minute song that sounds like a vague recording of a washing machine - without thinking, where is the rhythm, where is the melody? Also I think, upon close inspection, that the music on FM radio is sometimes way more fucked up and crazy than any bands, or noise projects, or sound experiments.

(photo by Elsbeth Villa)

J. S. - Has engaging this project changed you at all as a person?

N. E. - No, probably not.

J. S. - It seems like so many more young women are willing to show a little body these days. So there are “Cabarets” and some girls do “modeling” and not porn (see Isobel Wren), then there are some (like Sasha Grey) are totally doing the vilest extreme porn. Part of Sasha’s argument is that she is opposed to the (what she sees as) Puritanical paradigm most other women are still in when it comes to sex. I am not saying you are like this at all but what is up with that whole aspect of your project? The nudity and using sexuality?

N. E. - Honestly, it's a response to being desensitized to other, more subtle forms of human expression. I am not making a feminist statement.

J. S. - How would you like people to receive a Naomi Elizabeth show? Dancing?Observing? Moshing?

N. E. - Dancing is good, and I like it when people can hear the lyrics and sing along. That happens sometimes. I like awkward uptight audiences who just stand there too. That's fine.

Youtube Clip (Live at Echo Curio)

J. S. - What kind of stuff are you currently listening to?

N. E. - I'm really, really sick of music right now. I do listen to a little bit of stuff, but the topic kind of makes me sick!

J. S. - Last, do you think Music influences people’s behavior? Is there a piece of what your doing that is requesting that things change and can it be changed in such a way?

N. E. - Yes, I think the contents of your mind are largely determined by what music goes in there. I am not the boss of other people, but if anyone is benefited or changed by my ideas that's cool.

Double Dares , In-Jokes & Cultural Dissipation :: An Interview with Dead Wife

2009-04-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

Dead Wife are a young and exciting punk band from Montreal. They've only been playing together for a few months but already have a record in the works and are quickly becoming the toast of our city with their catchy and dirty riffage.

Dead Wife are Ashly (bass) , Lisa (guitar) , Rebecca (vox) and Walter (drums)

Chloe : How did Dead Wife come to be?

Rebecca : Basically Dead Wife was an idea Walter and I had been kicking around for a little while last year but it had never evolved past he and I jamming together in our basement. He would be pounding out on drums while I was playing weird things on keys and occasionally screaming on a mic. We eventually decided we needed someone on guitar to help us find new direction and Lisa was one of the first people we thought of. We jammed once soon after and it was alright. One Sunday night last December we were sitting around Shaun's kitchen table and Ashly was there too. Shaun was telling us about his new band Ultrathin and how they had booked their own debut show at the Friendship Cove for the following Saturday. I asked if we could play too if we had a song ready. It was more as a joke than anything because we had only jammed once. Shaun's a good friend and he was all for it but I don't think he actually thought we would pull it off. Ashly piped in saying that she played bass and she would like to play with us sometime. So we set something up for that Tuesday and managed to write a song. By Thursday night we had two more and we played all three of them that Saturday night at the Cove.
We felt a lot of support from our friends who were there that night so we decided we needed to keep going and braved the cold of our unheated basement all winter and kept booking shows.

Lisa : Ditto what Rebecca wrote. I think that DW was almost the result of a self-imposed dare... We're all just the right combination of craftiness and hard-headedness, and we're all punxx, which helped. Jamming and writing a few songs, then playing a show a few days later was something we just all wanted to do. Then we realized it was really fun making music together and decided to keep going. D*W*S*Y*H*F, you know?

We practice outta tiny amps, Becky sings through a Radio shack mic. We also lack wheels (1/2 of us lack motor vehicle skills).

Chloe: You guys are quickly becoming one of the most talked about bands in Montreal's underground , and had a triumphant first outta town show in Toronto. Any plans to hit the road and dominate other cities?

Rebecca : I think playing live from the get-go is important in the way we're evolving as a band because we had to get over insecurities almost immediately but at the same time it can be horribly overwhelming. That's why I don't know if I would like to call our first show in Toronto "triumphant". I mean I am proud of us for being able to play another city only months after we started but I think because we've come pretty far in a very short amount of time we have high expectations for ourselves and we're aware when we don't meet them. Some of Dead Wife may not agree with that but it's how I feel about it. I'm happy we're going back in June; I don't want to say it's to 'redeem' ourselves...but...I think we've come a certain distance since that show. In any case we're excited to be playing there again.

Ashly: I'm really hoping we can manage to plan a few dates for the summer, since we're all starving students and stuff, this is pretty much the only time we can think about getting a few gigs in other cities. I kinda made it my personal #1 priority for the summer to play more shows and write a bunch more songs. But first, we really gotta think about gear and wheels. It's awesome being poor.

Walter : We're going back to Toronto in June to play the opening for the Jesjit's hot zine Free Drawings. We get to play with our pals Gay Beast and are very excited.

We want to play T.O again, because, like Becky said (in so many words) we partied too hard on our friends front porch and then stumbled in the show in a fashionable mess and played a set that I only sort of remember happening. We're going to T.O this time with clear minds and spirits- but will probably have a beer or two to loosen up anyways.

Chloe : What are the plans for the Dead Wife record?

Lisa: I really hope to be able to put together a nice little package with the songs we've recorded... Like, not just a bunch of songs pressed onto vinyl or burned on a CD, but a RECORD - a record of a time, and a place, and the people implicated. We wanna get our friends involved, but its kinda secret for now.... not sure if we're going to go the DIY route, put out on my label ( Psychic Handshake ), or maybe someone else's?

Walter : The last set be played was recorded and we haven't even heard it yet! But a Live Cassette seems like it would be fun. We would want to release it on Campaign for Infinity, our pal Bwagg's stellar tape label.

Chloe: How was working with Graham Van Pelt?

Lisa : Working with GVP was a breeze! None of us knew him at all before, but I felt very at ease with him. He's a pro.

Ashly: Yeah, working with Graham was a pretty awesome experience. He's an all around good dude, and he enjoyed the booze and chips we got him.

Walter: G.V.P is a gentleman. He had lots of great ideas in the studio and had the quiet self-assurance of a man who knows what the Deal is. We gave him some whiskey, a bag of ruffles and a bar of dark chocolate in exchange for his time and effort.We luv u G.V.P

Chloe: Does gender inform your aesthetic or inner band dynamics?

Rebecca: Well I know we've been refuting the 'chick band' label. It's like why do we have to be set apart from a scene because most of us in the band are girls? That just seems too old school. We don't need anyone to pat us on the head or tell us how it is, you know?. I mean we need help and advice sometimes because we're new at this stuff and not because we're girls.
As for an inner band dynamic I'm not sure its gender that really matters. Then again, I've never been a guy in an all guy band. I must say though, we look fantastic in dresses. As far as music goes, we come from a variety of backgrounds so there's always this push and pull over a dichotomy in styles but I think we've been able to use that to our advantage. I know my vocals sound girlie but I like to imagine them as an entity other than myself that isn't subject to the same things as I am. At the same time I like to feel like they have this power over a room that only girls seem to possess. Lol.

Lisa:Heh heh, are you asking if the girls gang up on Walter? It's a pretty level playing field, I think.

As far as musically... I really don't think that our music translates any kind of political agenda... it's inspired by the internet, TV gossip shows, in-jokes....

If someone were to ask me if there should be more girls and more queers stepping up and starting bands, I would say YEAH. I do think that bands made up of girls and/or queers aren't given the same credibility just due to the labels associated with their inherent identities... but that's not why I joined a band. I wanted to play punk songs.

Walter: Girls and queers have been an integral part of punk music since the get-go, so I don't think it's anything mind-blowing that three girls and a homo "totally started a band omg". If Dead Wife are a girl band then I guess The Ramones are a boy band right?

Conversely, we're not afraid of showing our love for Versace, Star Magazine and a bunch of other stuff punks are supposed to hate. We're living in 2009 where basically anything can be inspiring. I mean, cultural dissipation anyone?

Chloe: What are the short term goals you all have for the band?

Walter: We wanna write new stuff, which kind of just happens in the first hour of band practice without really speaking to each other or saying anything. We just kind of plug in and see what happens.

Chloe: What inspires you?

Lisa: I'm inspired a lot by the bummers in my life. There are a few songs I brought to the table that hit the scrap bin, because they were too moody. lolz. We also come up with lots of our stuff spontaneously, on the spot.

Walter: One of my biggest inspirations in fashion and music is the endless appropriation of genres and styles oozing into one another. Having to negotiate an identity in this undefined space is what makes it interesting to be in a punk band, where your ability to define yourself is intrinsically rooted in what you love.

Dead Wife play live!
::
Montreal May 20th @ Friendship Cove w/ Tyvek , Black Feelings , Grand Trine
Toronto June 11th @ The Pound w/ Gay Beast and Brides (Free Drawings launch party)
Montreal June 17 at Sala w/ Mika Miko , Demon's Claws , The Coathangers

Non-Human Places : Metalux Interview by DNML

2009-04-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Went to the record store today and drooled over the 19 dollar KK Rampage / Metalux split. I'm too broke to buy it (that's what I'm telling myself), but it made me want to share this interview that I did with one of my favorite "bands" Metalux. If you don't know already, Metalux is a duo comprised of Jenny Graf and M.V. Carbon. Currently, J. Graf is busy in Baltimore with her other band Harrius (who blew my puny mind when I saw them live), and makes films, and does a billion other things such as "the guitars project" (It would take too long to explain, so just go to www.metalux.cc and check it all out.) Carbon is in NYC doing strange and beautiful solo stuff every day and taking time out to play with experimental heavies like Tony Conrad, Carlos Giffoni, and Richard Hoffman of Sightings among many others. Oh and Metalux is recording a new record coming out. If you find out when, let me know.

Note: I did this interview about a year ago for a zine called Wet Noise, that my pal Jail did. The zine was about queer and non-male noise arts, so that's why I'm asking creepy questions about gender, and some of the info is slightly out of date.

D: How did Metalux begin?

JG: Metalux already existed on a box, and maybe in a box. It was pre-fabricated, but nobody knows about that. Carbon and Bridgette (the first two members of Metalux) saw it while looking at a stopped frame of a film Carbon shot in Chicago. There it was; a box, with the word Metalux. It was lurking around in the industrial zones where all the strong weeds grow. Bridgette played a hand-made instrument with a motorized unit that played a wire. Carbon played cello, I started playing with them half a year later-drums with contact mics running through some pedals.

D: What are you scheming as of late?

We are recording a new record that will be out sometime soon. We also have some video projects in mind. And we want to spend more time in the woods.

MVC: Jenny is working on finishing up a movie called Proud Flesh. We just got back from an amazing tour in the U.K. Metalux is planning on touring again in the near future but we are still figuring that out right now. I've been busy in NYC collaborating with Tony Conrad
on various projects and we have been recording a lot of material which we plan on sorting out this summer. I have also been working with Luke Calzonetti (of Child Abuse ) on a project called Bad Faces. I'm working with Carlos Giffoni on a project called Jackal Blade, and I have another project called Violent Raid which has a record out on Shinkyo. I've been spending a lot of time painting, and as Jenny said we are trying to spend more time in the woods whenever possible. I'm hoping to shed a couple of layers of city skin by the end of summer.

D: Describe some elements of your collaboration process. What process/techniques work for you? ...and how does collaboration change when you work with others (Weise, or Twig....etc.).

JG: We don't have a fixed process of collaborating, although it feels very familiar. It has mutated over the years since we started.

LIVE- we work together best without a lot of parameters. Although we have also played from scores and a lot of people seem to like that especially when it means they can recognize a song from a recording. We just toured with a large group throughout the UK: Yellow Swans , Evan Parker ,C.Spencer Yeh, John Wiese, Paul Hession, John Edwards, Lee Stokoe (Culver) and we all played together for two 50-minute sets for 7 nights. I think that experience made me learn more about my own interests and abilities as well as those of Carbon's. People bring out different things in each other just as in conversation. Have you ever listened in on a conversation a very close friend is having with someone? I am usually surprised at what that friend is saying. I think it is important to eavesdrop on friends once in awhile just to affirm that you don't know as much as you think you do about him/her.

UNLIVE- We sometimes pass things back and forth for editing or mastering/mixing. Sometimes we record something and do nothing, but much of the time we like to create a splice somewhere. Sometimes I feel like I am a weaver, weaving strands of sound together. I enjoy the mixing and mastering process very much with Metalux. One thing that is great with us is that we don't argue about how to approach something. We are both willing to let go of an idea or to try something that doesn't feel "right" right away.

I think we both enjoyed working with Twig and we might kidnap him again sometime. He taught me a lot about how to keep robbers away from the touring car. He showed me how to put a very dirty sock on top of a bowl or some other food container on the dashboard. Robbers can't break into a car that has that in the window. We wrote some really great song structures using Instant Music (TM), a commodore 64 program. Twig played the songs by moving the cursor along with a joy stick, which is an interesting gesture to see on stage.

D: Would you describe any elements of your music/selves as gendered in any particular way?

MVC: I like to think the music comes from a non-human place. When I perform I definitely don't feel human. I like to feel like I'm coming from an unearthly place. A lot of our songs are about environments, sensations, or abstract descriptions. Things that don't possess gender in the English language.

JG: Here are certain kinds of gestures, actions or sounds that if performed in front of people (most people, it seems) it is like wearing a gender neutral tarp...like the white sheet that most ghosts used to wear. When a performer wears this ghost tarp, it is difficult for the listeners and players to enter into the sound/performance in a definite way. Gender has so much to do with how people identify with every experience. When I make music I think of myself as a creature. Carbon and I are highly sensitized to each other. We can feel each other subtly shift modes without looking or talking (and even in the silence before and between playing) and because we do that we are able to symbiotically perform that way. Again, this is why I call myself a creature when I make music in Metalux. I don't think there is such a thing as gender neutral, but it is fun to pretend that it exists. I think there are just so many different ways of being that it is impossible to categorize. Gender is in the eye of the beholder anyway, but if one wants to call oneself more male or more female, or a creature, on should feel free.

I feel lucky to work with Carbon because she and I don't pin things down and kill them in order to gain understanding. In fact,,one thing that I think is at the root of our approach is that for the first 6 months of practice, Bridgette Wilson (the first Metalux bassist), Carbon and I didn't talk about the music at all. We would meet at Bridgette's loft, drink coffee or something and then play for 3 hours or so. Then we would just disperse. It all just seemed like an illusion of a practice. Having just moved from NYC to Chicago, I thought maybe it was some weird Midwestern thing not to talk about what we played. And I do think that is partly it. Chicago wasn't fixated on defining itself in the same way NYC and East Coast places was, so people weren't spending tons of time analyzing things verbally. Most of my epiphanyt moments watching people perform (or act) happen when people stop being people and also stop playing their assigned gender roles. What is interesting is when they become vessels for something else, for a thought. I find that more sexually/spiritually stimulating anyway.

Some people who influenced me in this way are: Aileen Wuornos, Tina Turner (the first female pop icon I related to), Linda Montano (the first artist I related to), Prince (my first concert), Ohm Kalsoum (the Egyptian singer), Augusta Graf (my grandmother) and also various people I have known personally.

D: What color is your house?

JG: Inside? Coral (between orange and pink)

MVC: I live at West Nile, a large warehouse space below the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn. The walls are stacked high with white cinder blocks. The ceiling is vaulted corrugated metal, which does wonders for acoustics. Our kitchen is a stage and we frequently host performances.

D: Who have you been into lately?

JG: I live in The greatest City in America! At least that's what the bus stop benches say in Baltimore. There are people doing things here that I don't think are happening anywhere else, and if they are, great!. More important, is the context in which things happen. I am totally down with the style of happenings here. In backyards, in alleys, in basements, in bedrooms, and very little middle man ning. A lot of collaborative living, filming, working as well. I will tell you mostly about Baltimore stuff happening since it is less likely that it gets out into the mainliner veins of the media industry.

D: names?

JG: Have you ever heard any of Blaster Al Ackerman's stories on cd or vinyl? You can hear tracks on Ehse . Ehse is a Baltimore label and everything on there is capable of blowing your mind (depending on the way the wind is blowing). I like Leprachaun Catering and Trockenesis and Little Howling Wolf for a start. Twig, Caleb and Chiara Giovando just started a label called enleseries. A person can custom order sides of a record from a catalog of about 20 different artists. The records are hand-cut using a lathe so each one sounds slightly different. You can hear the grooves which is really lovely and creates nuanced variety in each disc. Metalux has a track on there but there are so many great musicians that you may or my not know of who have tracks there. I like the Beastmaster and the Hans Grusel tracks a lot.

There are people making films here too. Catherine Pancake just finished Black Diamonds, a film about strip mining in W. Virginia. It is a very powerful documentary that she dedicated very many years putting together. She has traveled a bit with it and included the W. Virginia women activists as speakers. But I have very much respect for Dan Conrad who has invented many different instruments since the 70's. He has these incredible light boxes that shift shape and color, one of which he plays as a color instrument. I played with him several times and it is an amazing experience. chromaccord.net is his website and he just finished a dvd documentation of the lightboxes. He happens to be Tony Conrad's brother too.

MVC: When I see live music, I am really interested in the approach. I feel like there are so many connotations that can come along with particular instruments and I like to see people who are successful at diminishing stereotypes. Sometimes I feel like the approach for the audience needs to change too. I am surprised that after all these years the tradition for watching a band is to stand or sit facing them. Some of my favorite performances that I've seen in the last year have been Keiji Heino w/ Thurston Moore, Audrey Chen, Zeena Parkins , Phil Niblock , Spencer Yeh, Little Howling Wolf, Radio Shock , Imaginary People, Fashi Mello, Sightings, No Neck Blues Band, Z's, Exceptor, IdM Theftable, Carlos Giffoni, Susie Ibarra , and Robert Ashley's Concrete. This week I have been listening to stuff by Nam June Paik, AMM, Subotnik, Ariel Pink, Grace Jones, Television, Yoko Ono, and Christian Marclay.

XOXOXOXO
hope you like it.

DANIMAL

OvO Interview

2009-04-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

OvO is one of the most interesting bands playing in this day and age. The combination of heavy riffage, bombastic drumming and vocals that could either crush concrete or lull a baby to sleep makes for an interesting blend of sound. I first saw OvO live in Providence, RI (my home) years back when they were supporting Miastenia their first album on Load Records . For the most part I check out every Load release because it is a great label and owner/operator Ben McOsker has knowledge for miles of interesting and unique music (laypeople will catch up to this label in the future). OvO was such a pleasant surprise: 2 people, woman and man, she (Stephania Pedretti) plays guitar, fiddle and her own hair and he (Bruno Dorella) plays percussion, usually a floor tom, one cymbal and snare. The sound is huge! When performing live, the band donned garb that appeared influenced by Carnival or perhaps something more… evil? Rhythmic and noisy the band played music that was on such a level above most else that many were standing in awe with their jaws on the floor. Without having heard their music before, people instinctively broke out into a frenzy of dance.

On wax, the band has many amazing past releases. The newest contribution to Music is titled “Crocevia,” and it is a magnum opus. Diverse sounds emanate from this record, noise, doom, hardcore, no-wave and Hawaiian strumming all can be heard. Long dirges with repetition meet other songs with short Lydia Lunch ’79 style vocalizations and guitar work. Again I am left in a state of sincere admiration of this band and their work. I encourage all to check out this new record (another release on Load Records), and do not miss this band live when they do come to your area.

The following is an interview with Bruno Dorella of OvO (Stephania is currently on tour with her solo project ?Alos) -

1. I am not sure exactly what part of Italy you both are from? Milan? If so, do you have any comments about the music scene in Milan (past or present)?

We're from Milan, but we're currently living in Berlin, Germany. There's always been a good scene in Milan, since the 70's. My favourite one to mention is Wretched, the wildest Italian punk band ever. Today the experimental rock scene includes bands like Uncode Duello (and all the one where Xabier Iriondo is involved), Fuzz Orchestra, Ronin... Even the two Italian twins of Blonde Redhead are from Milan. Berlin is more about electronic music. If you wanna be on the techno- breakcore- dubstep map you gotta live here a couple years at least. There's a good noise scene, small but good. A lot of great musicians from all over the world just come to live here, cause it's cheap and creative. But not many of them are German, and the experimental rock scene is really small. Beside OvO I mention Monno, MoHa! and UglY Iglu, but most of them aren't German.

2. What is it like to live in a country where it is a respectable trade to be in a band? Or is this not the case in Italy?

This is too complicated. It'd need a long, boring sociological excursus.
We should define "respectable trade", and try to understand why the most successful bands come from the US, where it's apparently an unrespected trade... don't know, I really think it's too boring...

3. Your new album "Crocevia" is very good. This word means "Crossroads" in English, is this album title related to anything spiritual? I know this concept is used in many old Blues songs - Robert Johnson and all that...

It's related to something spiritual and practical at the same time. Me and Stefania have been a couple for 11 years, and we basically split during the recording. We did it in peace, we're still friends and we still do OvO and take care of each other. Musically with this album we say goodbye to improvised and avant-garde music to become a rock band, even if weird. In Italian Crocevia means something stronger than Crossroads... it's a Milestone too. It's something you don't come back from, or an important decision that will influence your whole life. Last but not least, the words Croce (cross) and Via (road) remind of Christ's Via Crucis, so this album is also a concept about Crosses (Ostkreuz means Western Cross in German and it's a very special place in Berlin, Croce del Sud means Southern Cross in Italian, and so on...).

4. Stefania has a very unique and amazing vocal style ranging from operatic singing to her trademark growl; it makes the music very evil sounding but also beautiful. How was this style developed?

She's a natural born phenomenon. Her voice sounds like a trained opera singer mixed with the wildest male growler linked to a chain of weird pedal effects... but it's all natural and she does it without any training. Some singing teachers saw her and said that her body technique and her use of her stomach and throat would usually need years of study...

5. The one song on Crocevia titled "Tiki 2020". This one sounds No-Wave in a really great way. Do you both enjoy listening to No New York or other No Wave albums? Or was the inspiration elsewhere?

You're right. We love No New York and the no wave scene. I chose to play a minimal drum set instead of a regular one after I discovered that record. The energy in that album is unique. Tiki 2020 started as one of our many "OvO goes Rockabilly" songs ( Tiki 2010 is another one), but Stefania's guitar riff and voice gave it definitely a no wave taste. We were worried it would sound like contemporary arty farty San Francisco-NewYork newnowave, which we really don't like, but I hope we avoided it somehow.

6. How was the recording experience for this album, you did it in Brooklyn, NY correct?

It was great. We worked with Jason La Farge at Seizures Palace Studio in Brooklyn, the same where Martin Bisi recorded Sonic Youth, Naked City, Unsane, Alice Donut, Zeni Geva, Lydia Lunch, Cop Shoot Cop, Swans and tons of other great bands in the 90's.
Jason was really patient and easy, the rooms sound great, we didn't have to add a lot after the pure recording. The magic of the place did the rest.
You sit on a chair? It's where the drum set of Bad Moon Rising was.
You cook some tea? The drum set of Torture Garden was there. There's a hole in the wall? It was Brian Eno throwing a chair during a frustration moment in the recording of Material. John Zorn apparently recorded some sax tracks in the bathroom... you can't even take a shit without feeling all the inspiration of that place!

7. What are you listening to lately? What kind of music would be on your normal playlist?

I listen to everything, really. From grindcore to chamber music, from free jazz to breakcore, from soul to avantgarde, from african music to all the Load stuff... but lately I'm listening to a lot of electronic music, I name Murcof, Fennesz, Venetian Snares, but there's a lot of good stuff out there. Recently I listened to the whole collection of Load records, what a great label. And then as usual a lot of heavy metal, especially the stuff on Relapse, and the band that never leaves me alone, Neurosis. Stefania is more into classical music, but when she listens to rock it must really really heavy...

8. Last, is there anything you would like to let people know about OvO or your new record?

We would like everyone to know that this is our best record. It really is. There have been some problems with the distribution, the release dates, the promotion, and because of these things many people don't even know it's out. So spread the word and see you in September for our US tour.

Tobias Rochman's NEW BAND FEATURE NO. 2 - NÜ SENSAE (Vancouver, British Columbia)

2009-04-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

NÜ SENSAE are among Vancouver, British Columbia's cream of the crop in terms of what's happening in the DIY underground scene. I was first introduced to them through their contribution to the "East Vs. West" cassette put out by Divorce Records a few years ago. The two-piece pioneer "Voodoo Punk" which (regurgitating myspace profile influences a bit here) sounds kind of like The GERMS + L7 stripped down to just distorted bass and drums. It's usually pretty catchy and then sometimes they go feral and start losing it. Which all adds up to tons of exciting fun. I was pleased to be able to speak to both members.

NU SENSAE DISCOGRAPHY

* Nu Sensae split cassette with N.213 - Thankless Records
* Nu Sensae track on "I ate your arms" Thankless Compilation
* Nu Sensae "East vs. West" split cassette with Mutators, Shearing Pinx, Modern Creatures, Hamborghinni, Be Bad and Attack Mode - Divorce Records
* Nu Sensae track on "I ate your legs" - Thankless Compilation
* 3 Nu Sensae tracks on Emergency Room compilation - Nominal Records/Grotesque Modern
* Nu Sensae Self Titled 12" Album - Isolated Now Waves

Upcoming:

* "Three Dreams" 7inch - Critiscum Int.
* Nu Sensae track on Hockey Dad Records Compilation
* Nu Sensae "Live in Portland" cassette - Oms-b
(Photo by Nic)

INTERVIEW

It seemed like the Vancouver underground scene had expanded really fast and was riding high last year. But when I was visiting a few weeks ago I was told most of the illegal venues (like The Emergency Room etc) had been shut down and other staples like Pub 340 had "changed format" and now the city is trying to also trying to shut down another pillar The Cobalt due to the 2010 Olympics & new condo dwelling neighbours? What's the score as you see it?

Andrea: Vancouver is getting more and more prudish. It seems like every time something gets banned people just comply and act like those rights they had prior never even existed. .

Daniel: It is a bit of a bummer but I don't think it's anything really serious. Venues always come and go, especially in a city like Vancouver which is totally unsupportive of the arts in general. This venue scarcity happens every few years here, and I think it can be kind of constructive. It builds up tons of resentment and gets people creating more illegal venues. Vancouver has produced some amazing bands in the past few years that are now getting a lot of recognition all around the world. And certain venues are definitely associated with that success but definitely not attributed to it. So I don't think these shut-downs will have any affect on the music. We have all worked really hard at building a decent music scene here and I think the venues have the least to do with it.

I remember there was a big Exlcaim! article heralding the new Vancouver "Weird Punk" scene where a musician who didn't want to be named was quoted as saying “stick to covering Factor grant bands.” What contribution (positive or negative) did this type of media attention make - if any?

Daniel: I can't speak for any of the other bands or people involved but I personally never had any issues with that article. It has only given us positive attention.

Andrea: I can't relate to that attitude.

Of course playing outside of Vancouver seems to be no problem as you have a MASSIVE tour planned from May-August. Are their any places you are excited to visit? Any bands you're excited to play with?

Daniel: This is our third time going to the States but we have never been further than Los Angeles. So I am super excited to see the rest of the country.
We mapped out our tour so that we have to spend two days in Death Valley. I'm stoked on that. We love touring.

Andrea: I'm excited for new places and new people.

(Photo by Mish)

Do you think the 1% of kids that are using the Internet to become extremely well informed could potentially make art that is more potent or unique based on it's circumstances? Now that you can hear anything you want and see any band play live through uploaded and streamed video bootlegs, do you think taste is more developed and inspiration more abundant? Do the smart get smarter and the dumb get dumber? Or does it close the gap if only slightly? (or something else completely?)

Andrea: I like accessibility, I feel like I deserve everything the Internet has made free. I don't know what the consequences will be..

Daniel: I'm a bit on the fence about it. I mean it's great for bands because the new generation of music junkies have a crazy resource to find out about "10th wave feminist Japanese psycho-ska bands" or whatever. Myspace, music blogs and online radio shows have spawned Nu Sensae fans in countries we've never been to and will probably never play in, so it's awesome for that. But something about it is a little detached for my liking although I'm not at all opposed to its possibilities. Either way I think that more than 99% of people using the Internet are jerking off in their bedrooms.

Does the recent introduction of online Social networking affect show/event attendance?

Daniel: I think it helps with getting the word our for sure. But if your band sucks it's probably still gonna be empty.

How did you guys manage to get a 1sided 12" out in an edition of 200 and still be able to sell them for $10?

Daniel: Well we paid for the record from show money that we had saved up. So we never had to put any of our personal money into the record so everything we made back was profit. We wanted people to be able to afford it and I think 10 dollars for an LP is pretty decent.

We actually are about to repress the LP because it sold out.

NEW-ISH SOUNDS FOR ADVENTUROUS MINDS

2009-04-11T15:37:00.002-07:00

I wrote this whole Big Thing about the entire current state of Music, all its evils and its greatnesses and indie culture and bullshit, and now I’ve just decided to leave it in my notebook and off of Blog Stratosphere. Why? Because nothing’s changed. Major labels still suck, whether they’re scrambling to stay alive or not, people will always rip off the music they love instead of buying it, and there will always be steady streams of completely amazing and shitty, shitty music coming out to be discovered, now or later.
So I took a note from Badfinger and decided to go “Straight Up.” (No Rundgren reference intended.)
These are a bunch of new-ish albums (and one EP) I’ve been feeling a lot these days, and the feelings that go with them:

Emeralds “What Happened” (No Fun)

This U.S. trio lay it on super thick with the cosmic blankets, tucking in evocations of early solo Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream’s “Atem” and “Zeit” to deepest sleep beneath your subconscious activity. Here, what you live is what you dream worth living. The inherent heights compiled on this CD-only-and-fucking-worth-it album effortlessly obliterate the robotic coldness of the crystalline synthesizer and achingly ambient guitar get-up into more gaseous and much warmer realms of sub-space than most can pull off with all the Daddy-money their basement lifestyles can afford.
Balls deep under almost-ambient psychedelia’s clitoris, motions unravel a little more lucidly, but these “free” session heads stay focused and leveled enough to gel well all the fucking time. Magic music for mystic swimmers, oceans wide in scope... Stoned, but not too alone.

Total Abuse “s/t” (Deranged)

A debut that makes sure you’re not getting back up after it ferociously knocks you down. These guys rushed out of some desolate sewer somewhere in the U.S. and suddenly make punk rock, noise rock, hell—ALL aggressive music, new and old—Total Abuse make it DANGEROUS and EXCITING again. Would you invite this band into your living room to play a show to your friends? If you said Yes, you’re probably masochistic, or wasted as fuck, or you’ve just never heard this record. This record will destroy you. It could’ve come out in 1981 and already been cherished as your favourite album since you were a teenager, but hearing it a few months after it came out, it somehow feels REFRESHING. If only just to know it all hasn’t been done to death. So fucking real, so fucking raw, and so fucking bursting with it.
May punk rock never die... This is a real next-leveler of a debut LP, coming hard after 7-song 7” tore hardcore’s bones out of the throats of its dead heroes. Fucking scary shit, man, I’m telling you… Just dig that limited edition screen-printed “breast milk” cover. These guys are here to fucking play, and they mean bad business, because life isn’t all fucking cherries, brunches and frappucinos, you spoiled western world bitches. Taste the dirt of reality and RESPECT it.

Shepherds “Loco Hills” (Not Not Fun)

Way motorik, slightly lo-fi off-shoot of psych-folkies Woods, Shepherds slide into krautrock’s full-band psych-side so gracefully, tunefully and timelessly, you can’t help but wanna fall under their steady, evolving, fluid trance. Far out but in focus… All around ballin’. Hope the hiatus these cats are on isn’t a permanent one, because their side of the Ignatz split 7” for Not Not Fun is as “good times” as this delightful, unpretentious album, and the more magic music there is out there, the more wonderful go the days and nights.

Dead C “Secret Earth” (Ba Da Bing)

What the good God fuck is going on here?! The Dead C went and slipped out their most straight up and accessible LP of unraveling rock since “Eusa Kills”—quite possibly the most accessible LP of their entire careers—and nary a soul gave more than a hearty chuff of enthusiasm. I can’t hardly relate what a golden boner I have for this magnificent, flowing touchstone of a refined rock album. It’s suspended in a zone reserved for the times when Crazy Horse staggers fucked thru desert fields, honey sliding outward into unknown landscapes, strange and driven, circa ’75, ’76… “Zuma” into “Stars n’ Bars” territory… Turned to noise… and bronzed.
No group has aged and refined so well as this in the post-noise climate. Their limited-edition tour-only live 12” (which plays from the middle outward!) is well worth seeking out, too, as is the more damaged and instrumental “Future Artists” 2xLP from ‘07, the song-less, exploratory nature of which perfectly compliments the more focused and tuneful state of “Secret Earth.” Another unheralded, poorly selling plate of musical wisdom from the finest noise-rock band this side of Hades. Feed your brain some real nourishment and wrap it around this album, please.

Sic Alps “U.S.EZ” (Siltbreeze)

Some great little off-the-cuff garage-pop fuzz tunes buried deep amid the ruinous feud waste of this dived-out, drug-addled, riff-raff jam-pack of an album. Sounds like these cats set out to stow away like it was “Exile on Main St.” or “Twin Infinitives” all over again, because they sure cooked out a spontaneous stove-top vein-melter of a record on some lost long weekend. Ex-Coachwhips dude leads this project, and apparently previous Sic Alps albums are a lot different than this shambles of nearly burnt-out, slagged-off genius, having featured the bassist from Erase Errata and the Hospitals main dude. I’ll hear that stuff eventually, but I’d rather keep my original daydream that Sic Alps is some band that appeared out of nowhere and is related to no one. “U.S.EZ” outshines a lot of other buzz plates dropping these days and comes off so fucking effortless. Abandon at its best. Feel the damage enfold you and marvel at its catchy, memorable head-fuck.

Blues Control “s/t” (Holy Mountain)

Amazing little unisex duo of a dude on guitar, wailing or riffing it out, and a chick on keys and machines holding it down with beats and synth swaths. Almost simply another lo-fi and drone unit, Blues Control instead opens up to more accessible manna of textures and broken melodies to escape drone’s monotonous, depressing trappings and venture into areas more akin with krautrock, ‘70s Eno, Bowie’s Berlin era, and other playful and wonderful worlds of music. Fun, interesting stuff that doesn’t take itself so seriously as to stifle creative flow into formulaic sterility, but takes itself seriously enough to not come off goofy or half-assed. My only complaint is that suburban doorbell that reoccurs throughout “Frankie’s Problem”—such an unpleasant sound, but I’m sure these young artists have their reasons. And we’re all Frankies anyway…
I like this self-titled sophomore for Holy Mountain even more than their epic and minimal debut “Puff,” and I don’t usually go that way in my taste. These two put on a great live show, too. And dig that fucking psych cover art! I got so tripped out about it, I had it for months before my girlfriend informed me it actually spells out “Blues Control” in its psych line-art… It’s music like this—and awesome girlfriends—that help you stay young at heart (and art).

XO4 “Cataracts” (Ecstatic Peace!)

This is such an ultimately creepy and psyched out record. Imagine if Pelt got downright eerie and even subtly malicious during their plugged-in phase, and you’re somewhere near the vicinity of this western Massachusetts trio between avant percussion cats Jake Meginsky and John Truscinski, and Vampire Belt / Shackamaxon guitar treater extraordinaire Bill Nace. Truly frightening improvs chock full of movement, expansion and willful intent—not your average aimless or overly intellectualized avant fair. Way out alien sounds, captured in the raw for a standout Ecstatic Peace! release. This album came out back in 2007, but I only picked it up a while ago and it’s one of the finest new-ish things occupying my turntable, so Blog sticklers save your verbal attacks and factoid checks, please.

U.S. Girls “Introducing…” (Siltbreeze)

Megan seems to have found the way to bleed pop music down to its very core, so that there’s only a distant, thudding beat, a wall of cacophonous sonic tape spill-over or ghostly guitar melodies, and a powerful, enchanting voice left to bare witness to the rubble that’s lying around. U.S. Girls is the real deal. There’s such attention to detail and structure and a concise sensibility at play beneath its rough and tumble immediate impressions—hers are the barest foundational ideas of pop and rock, and noise. Future music for heads of all making, this is challenging, stripped down primitivist prayer programs for those who’ve kept their wit, and their edge, intact.

Blank Dogs “The Fields” (Woodsist)

Yeah, everyone’s loving on Mike Sniper these days. What’s one more blog entry asserting this really worth? His one-man New Order on vodka and anti-depressants passion-pop jams sure caught the bug, and they’re spreading like crabs across the big balls of the internet, record labels, and ear buds.
The young dude’s double LP sophomore “Under and Under” drops this May on In The Red, but until then we’ve got this recent EP for the Woods crew, the “On Two Sides” LP and all those great 7”s to soak up. “The Fields” certainly shows Sniper venturing out of his insular creative shell to explore more band-oriented arrangements, most apparently on “Red World” and “Passing the Light,” where it sounds like a full band playing away and not altering the Blank Dogs sound one iota. One of the lovely Vivian Girls lent some help to this EP… Sniper’s deep into a gold sound, so let’s hope it ages well, because when he hits a killer chorus or bridge, it really hits you in the chest. Not all these songs are great—“The Other Way,” for instance, is a little lackluster and uninspired—but there’s no mistaking good sound and wicked sensibility—first side closer “Spinning” is my favourite track, reminding me why I like OMD and Cabaret Voltaire so much.

OTHER NEWISH STUFF I’M FEELING:
Black Dice “Repo” (Paw Tracks)
DOOM “Born Like This” (Lex)
Madlib “Beat Konducta Vol. 5 – 6” (Stones Throw)
various artists “XXperiments” (Die Stasi)

JAMES FELLA / GILGONGO RECORDS - full / downloadable guest DJ set (on Arizona State's college station)

2009-04-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked to be a guest DJ for an hour on the Arizona State University's college radio station (they were doing a week of guests who run label,s play in bands, etc), so I compiled a bunch of mostly noisy punk / garage / and the such - as well as a few upcoming releases from my label) and threw them down for an hour or so. Here is the set in it's entirety!

http://www.gilgongorecords.com/sounds/04-03-09jamesfellagilgongo-1260am.mp3 (feel free to download)!

March is pretty insane, living in central Arizona. We get a million incredible bands coming through on their way from the west coast to SXSW. Regardless of what you think or don't think of the event, there is a pretty healthy "unofficial" festival that is auto-leeched and provides an interesting meeting point for like minded people, not just "music industry" people, because I don't think any of us on here would be too concerned with or stoked on that. Still though, it's weird, no one will say it's not.

Regardless, Texas traffic brought through Blank Dogs, Eat Skull, Naked on the Vague, These Are Powers, Wavves, Abe Vigoda, Thee Oh Sees, White Mice (or perhaps it was just when they were touring), and countless countless more. There's no point in trying to remember at the moment, and I don't want to go into details and highlights.

what I am ACTUALLY doing, is tossing out a mild excuse for my like of contribution for the past month. I'm very excited about this entitity, but on top of working a 60-80 hour a week job, running a label, playing shows often and seeing even more, the time just wasn't there in March.

So, hope you dig the radio set! Expect some "real words" soon!

Outsider Hardcore

2009-04-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

While I am reluctant to use the word "outsider" for anything, with its elitist connotations and classist assumptions, I can't seem to think of a better word for the phenomena I want to talk about. That phenomena is when hardcore music is so strange that even an acid-dropout with no punk background like myself likes it. I'm not talking about stuff that is just merely aggressive and psyched out at the same time here, like Sightings or Sword Heaven or Lightning Bolt or Coughs or AIDS wolf (although their most recent show at the Smell could have almost passed for a straight up hardcore band). I'm talking about those instances when hardcore is the goal. Sometimes from people that are entrenched in hardcore scenes and just happen to do it in a really inovative way or when weirdos that don't nec know a lot about hardcore do their best hardcore impression. Am I being demeaning yet? I tend to talk that way about things I love. Forgive me. Anyway, I'm finding myself in yet another phase of listening to a lot of stuff like this I thought I would share some links. If anyone has a better way of circling words around these bands, please comment!

Dynasty
[noise kids from Providence that rocked straight and pure but with the most atrocious sounding gear available.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3sktMzx1IQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60TpW9AggGc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r67aXnodkNQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dt2vRAoBd0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EGODwDa1k8

Deep Jew
[LA's answer to Dynasty?]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpSU33hLHMc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fUT8Ns8QDI

Realicide
[troo cincinanti hardcore with gabber influence and noise exposure]
http://www.myspace.com/realicide

on tour now: http://www.geocities.com/realicide/1events

Slicing Grandpa's ("Le Hardcore" 7" only)
[seattle oldschool weirdos that did a tribute to hardcore recently... i cant find any music to share from this though, just buy it!]
http://www.myspace.com/slicinggrandpa

Apathetic Ronald McDonald
[young kids from la's true backyard hardcore scene that do ridonculous shit]
downloads: http://seeeingred.blogspot.com/2008/07/apathetic-ronald-mcdonald-collection.html
http://911trash.blogspot.com/2008/12/axrxm-apathetic-ronald-mcdonald-play.html
http://brunchviolence.blogspot.com/2008/10/apathetic-ronald-mcdonald-fuck-that.html

Tobias Rochman's NEW BAND FEATURE NO. 1 - GRAFFITI ISLAND (London, England)

2009-03-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

London, England's GRAFFITI ISLAND are project comprised of only a minimal rhythm section and dead pan vocals. The dry vocal delivery gets compared to BEAT HAPPENING but what makes it more engaging and unique is the general spookiness you wouldn't find in Olympia, WA. The results are stark sounding, detached, lo-fi and possessed garage. I don't want to play up the macabre element too much and have you expect something that's depressing and miserable. It's important to remember it's also got clever phrasing and you can tap your toe to it. Currently they've only released one now sold-out 3-way split cassette w. Male Bonding and Pens. But they have pre-orders up for a 7 inch on House Anxiety records and also a 4 way split 7 inch with Male Bonding, Old Blood and Rapid Youth. They are following these two releases up soon after with another 4 way split 7inch w. Pens, Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles. I spoke with bass player Conan Roberts briefly by email this week and here are the results:

It seems like you're doing a lot of 3 and 4 way splits, why is that? Economics? Togetherness?
I stumbled upon a whole bunch of blank cassettes for free so it seemed like a good idea to do a split release with our friends bands Male Bonding and Pens. I love the whole split thing, especially when it spans countries and continents, it really creates a fun unifying feel between bands and scenes i think. The US has always had a great history of underground music, England not so much so, so its awesome that labels and bands in the US are now connecting with bands here and giving them some much needed exposure overseas.

What is happening in London right now with regards to new music from the underground?
I've only lived in London for 4 years and its only been the past 12 months maybe that I have seen anything remotely interesting happening with underground music. There were a couple of great bands here and there but never enough bands or interest to really make fun things happen like great shows or cool labels.

I feel like London still heavily looks to and relys on whats going on in the US to determine whats happening here. Especially with underground stuff. A venue will be sold out if someone like Wavves or Vivian Girls come over but when London bands play who in my opinion are equally on a par with those bands its half full. Its a shame, people don't seem to want to get behind and support homegrown bands. I think its a lot harder for English bands to get the exposure in this scene.

But not wanting to be totally down on stuff, there are some amazing new bands in London now who are trying to change this, Pens, Male Bonding, Hype Williams, Thee Pharohs are all amazing bands doing really exciting stuff now.

Does Graffiti Island actively tour?
We're currently trying to organize a US tour with pens so fingers crossed that will be sometime round August.

How do you think a single unified new world government with one currency/flag/agenda could be marketed effectively and accepted with open arms?
I think a lot of people believe that we are already ruled by one new world government, the United Nations. I'm reading a book right now called 'behold a pale horse' which deals with all this stuff. Its really hard to form a definitive judgement on this stuff i think as theres constantly new info to read and digest and my opinion seems to fluctuate with each new piece of info.

http://myspace.com/graffitiisland