930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: snailhook on August 30, 2005, 06:08:00 pm
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that's right...a separate thread for DC9 shows now available to you fine 930 forumites. of course, just like the warehouse thread, this will be updated by descriptions of the shows i book that usually seven people care about. first off:
Clavius Productions presents its first DC9 psych extravaganza with The Spacious Mind, Unorthodox, Valkyrie, and Trephine. The Spacious Mind are from Sweden and are playing their second US show ever, and they are one of the best space rock bands around; if you're into Hawkwind, Gong, early Floyd, and Can, this show is not to be missed. Opening are MD doom metal legends Unorthodox (now with Spirit Caravan's Gary Isom on drums), one of my favorite newer stoner metal bands Valkyrie (http://www.thevalkyrierides.com), and heavy math-rockers Trephine (http://www.trephinemd.com, like Red-era Crimson meets Skeleton Key).
Thursday, September 1
http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
1940 9th St NW WDC
$10, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:15
The Spacious Mind
http://www.countrymanrecords.com (http://www.countrymanrecords.com)
Touching on the deep currents of the Terrascope-friendly vibes of minimal drone-scapes and like-minded tryyppers Bardo Pond, Transient Waves, and Spacemen 3, as well as old-school psychedelic standbys from Pink Floyd to Trad Gras och Stenar, The Spacious Mind's newest album rubs out your third eye with a grimy thumb.
The album begins with a menacing wash of stacatto drums peppering the foundation of a crumpled guitar drone. Slowly ebbing, the track mellows and leads into the massive 17:18 second track. Gently pulling the listener in, the delicate interplay of treated guitar, echo, and crackling melodies is eventually twisted into a battered mess of aggressive guitar rock.
The gentler side is also revisited, as on track 3, which is among the best sleep-inducing drones this side of Windy and Carl, Stars of the Lid, etc., and while the drowsiness is wearing off on track 4, the bombast returns with renewed fervor on the fifth track this time with a full on guitar solo, untreated, kind of jarring, but also fairly tryyp-minded.
With their records so expensive and hard to get in the U.S., I doubt you're likely to see much about them unless you're willing to dig for them. But, if you put the work into seeking them out, The Spacious Mind are worth the effort. (Fake Jazz)
Upcoming shows:
9/12: The Fatal Flying Guilloteens (Estrus)/Tijuana Hercules (ex-Mount Shasta)/16 Bitch Pile Up/Vincent Black Shadow
9/19: King Valley/Burnout (Iowa doom)/On A Pale Horse/VOG
9/27: Wolf Eyes/Prurient (Load)/Nautical Almanac/The Show Is The Rainbow/Books On Tape (Alien 8)
10/6: Terminal Lovers/Dufus
10/9: Barbez
10/11: LoVid/Violet/Alexei Borisov/Anton Nikkila
10/25: The Planet The (5RC)/USAISAMONSTER (Load)/Kites (Load)
10/26: Green Milk From The Planet Orange/Zombi (Relapse, ex-Microwaves)/Ostinato
10/29: 20 Buck Spin II w/ Distant Sun/Wooly Mammoth/Unearthly Trance, more TBA
10/30: 20 Buck Spin II w/ DMBQ/The Apes/An Albatross
11/2: (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope/Miminokoto (japanese psych, ex-White Heaven)/Kohoutek/Bradley Hyland
11/8: The Get Hustle (GSL)/The Convocation (GSL/Tiger Style, ex-Universal Order of Armageddon/Born Against)
11/15: Alcian Blue/Isobella (Cocteaus-esque shoegaze from Florida)/Kiss Kill Destroy
12/6: PITA (Mego Records)/WZT Hearts
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Nothing to add, just want to be present for the coming greatness...
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so glad i decided to stick around in northern va for a little while longer. i would have hated to have missed out on all this.
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zombi is not playing the green milk show now :confused:
just aded: the atomic bitchwax on 11/23!
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Splendid!
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I like sacriforce's lineups better. :cool:
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no zombi? too bad. maybe you can get argento agenda instead. theyre some kids out of richmond with equal admiration for fulci and......argento. but dont sound anything like zombi or goblin for that matter.
http://www.myspace.com/argentoagenda (http://www.myspace.com/argentoagenda)
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and look.. their influences range from dystopia to stravinsky. fuck!
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For fans of Estrus, In the Red, Sympathy for the Record Industry, Skin Graft, JSBX, Railroad Jerk, and noise rock:
Monday, September 12
$8, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:15
The Fatal Flying Guilloteens (Houston art-punk, Estrus Records)
Vincnet Black Shadow (heavy garage-psych from Baltimore)
Tijuana Hercules (ex-Mount Shasta)
16 Bitch Pile Up (femme noise trio from Ohio)
The Fatal Flying Guilloteens
http://www.fatalflyingguilloteens.com (http://www.fatalflyingguilloteens.com)
The Fatal Flying Guilloteens are from Houston -- the other Texas. Their sound is tough to peg; words like "blues" and "angular" are thrown around liberally, as are "what", "the," and "fuck". Often elusive, the Guilloteens have played a sinister game of slap and tickle culminating in a handful of seven-inches and two full-length LPs. Efforts have been upped to further their reach with extended outings across the country, often resulting in similar reactions to those now legend within Texas.
Often misdiagnosed at the hands of reviewers and listeners alike, the reference is never the same. Compared to everything from Pere Ubu to Gang Of Four to the Stooges, the otherwise straight line has been blurred. Point A to point B is lost in the translation and what occurs in between is signature in its delivery. With floor show swagger and fire on the teeth, The Fatal Flying Guilloteens have abandoned the verse-chorus-verse devices of "once was" and have created the upright working model of "what will be."
"Disjointed blues riffs wrap themselves neatly around foot-tapping (yet anarchic) drum beats, with the screaming of our pubescent superstar layered on top, combined to form an Extra Value Meal of blues-punks-who-used-to-like-indie-rock-but-got-bored-with-it-by-grade-ten. Hands down the best thing to emerge from Estrus since the Drags. 9 out of 10." - VICE MAGAZINE
Tijuana Hercules
http://www.tijuanahercules.com (http://www.tijuanahercules.com)
"Tijuana Hercules' gravelly deconstructions of the blues fare better; while no White Stripes clone, the band feeds off a similar nervous energy that springs from the built-in limitations of a smaller band. When the Moon Comes Up Wild (Black Pisces), this Chicago trio's second album of stripped-down, ramshackle white-boy blues, worships at the altar of Howlin' Wolf, covering the man himself on the album opener, while nodding at fellow acolytes Tom Waits and Jon Spencer along the way. Featuring two former members of Mount Shasta and newcomer Zak Piper on tin cans, cowbell, tambourine, trumpet, and trombone, Tijuana Hercules dishes out rip-roaring times for sloppy drunks and good times. (Skyscraper)
16 Bitch Pile Up
they have no website, but you can learn something about this amazing live band -- who i felt were the highlight of January's Noise Against Fascism -- here:
http://www.columbusalive.com/2004/20040721/072104/07210401.html (http://www.columbusalive.com/2004/20040721/072104/07210401.html)
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Originally posted by snailhook:
16 Bitch Pile Up
they have no website, but you can learn something about this amazing live band -- who i felt were the highlight of January's Noise Against Fascism -- here:
http://www.columbusalive.com/2004/20040721/072104/07210401.html (http://www.columbusalive.com/2004/20040721/072104/07210401.html)
!
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Stoner doom tonight at DC9!
Monday, September 19
$7, 21+
doors at 9
VOG (VA sludge-doom)
Burnout (Iowa doom)
Weed Is Weed (debut of local doom supergroup playing weed anthems, featuring current and former members of Spirit Caravan, Unorthodox, King Valley, Wretched, and many others!)
VOG
http://www.whereisvog.com (http://www.whereisvog.com)
Formed in the peak of the summer of 2004, VOG had its first jam in a basement in Oakton, Virginia. VOG came to fruition based on an intent to play music with other members who were serious enough to commit to playing on a regular basis. Riffs written out of pipe dreams flowed through the aura of dirge that released the steam of sour days.
VOG is the hawaiian term for a wretched gas/smoke present when volcanoes erupt that makes all that come in contact with it nauseous.
VOG also has symbolic meaning in the Runic language, an ancient European language that was used on inscriptions, monuments, and for magical divinatory purposes. In the Runic language, each character means something particular and combined into one they form something greater. Here's it correspondence with VOG:
V (Wyn) - the rune of pure joy and happiness, not through others but through the achievements of one's dreams and unique life path
O (Odal) - is the homestead, which was very precious to wandering peoples. It is used to represent all domestic issues and is a protective rune of the home.
G (Gyfu) - means the gift of giving. It also represented relationships, especially sexual ones, and is therefore one of the fertility runes.
The band is making great headway and will have a demo available soon consisted of their first epic song, "The Colors of Infiniti," which is around 25 minutes long.
VOG consists of ex-members of such bands as Lost It, The Seventh Gate, and The Ludivico Technique. Ex-members play in such bands as Durga Temple (www.myspace.com/durgatemple) and Anvil of Crom (RIP). VOG played their first show in the basement of a house in Dale City, Virginia with good friends The Wayward (formerly Carrion) and Durga Temple. Since then, the band has played in Baltimore, Harrisonburg, Leesburg, etc, with such bands as 5ive, Baroness, Beaten Back to Pure, Buried Inside, Dragon Green, Durga Temple, Earthride, Gates of Slumber, Nitroseed (ex-Spirit Caravan), Off Transmission, Pearls & Brass, Rebreather, Reverend Bizarre, Syzslak, the Tenth Key, Unearthly Trance, Unorthodox, Valkyrie, The Wayward (ex-Carrion), Witch Hunt, and Withered (ex-Social Infestation, Leechmilk).
The band entered the studio of Jeff Kane (City of Caterpillar, Malady) in late 2004 and recorded three songs: "The Stepping Stones of Humane Survival" (released on a split 7" with Valkyrie), "The Colors of Infiniti" (self-released on 100 pressed CD-Rs), and "Like the Sky Above" (unreleased to date). These releases have gotten good write-ups in several underground zines, and have been well received in both the US as well as abroad. Sean McEleny, the band's drummer on the first recordings, left the band in January for personal reasons. VOG found another drummer named Shawn Gisreal, who did the outer split 7" art. Shawn Gisreal was with the band for our weekend with Unearthly Trance and a couple of other shows before he decided that he would not be able to put as much time into the band as we needed. The original drummer, Kifah, returned to the band after leaving for personal reasons out of his control. He has been with the band since May, and learned the songs way quicker then expected.
After a few months of practice, VOG was ready to record their followup to "The Colors of Infiniti," their epic 22-minute-long song. VOG recorded with Jeff Kane again in a newly-improved studio in early September. The band recorded eight songs over the course of five days that ended up being 80 minutes long. The band is now going over the rough mix and preparing for the mixdown process that will take place in mid-October. The recording will then be given to Steve Austin (Today Is The Day) for mastering. The band is playing several shows this fall in support of their upcoming full-length with such bands as Burnout, El Buzzard, Unearthly Trance, Wooly Mammoth, Unorthodox, Weed Is Weed, Valkyrie, Sex System, and Torche. After early December, the band will be focusing on songwriting, taking a short hiatus from shows, and not dragging their equipment through shitty winter weather. The band will probably resume playing shows in late February.
Burnout
http://www.burnoutrocks.com (http://www.burnoutrocks.com)
Burnout's latest, <I>Armour of the Gods</I>, is full of heavy, chunky riff after riff and strong melodic vocals...their overall sound is simple with catchy guitar parts and stonery goodness.
This 11-song CD is packed with one trucking song after another. It's all pretty much straight-up, no-frills rock and tuned-down roll with plenty of sludge. Musically it reminds me of bands like Clutch and ATP with their thick, heavy, saturated bass and guitar lines. Vocals are right up front and painted over the thick canvas...Burnout aren't necessarily pitching in anything that groundbreaking, and the album tends to be kind of the same thing from song to song (a lot of the songs are even in the same key); nonetheless, these cats lay down the law and just plain rock, pure and simple. The sound is just throttling and the production is top notch. I don't know what these guys tune their strings down to, but it reminds me of the same sort of heavy riff sound that Goatsnake gets across.
There is plenty of southern dirge influences throughout this CD as well. It reminds me of a heavy, evil Skynyrd at times...twisted for sure.
I dig Burnout for their pure heavy goodness. If you dig ATP, Sixty Watt Shaman, and Unida, then you will almost certainly appreciate what these guys have to offer. It's heavy, evil, and just downright mean and dirty at times. A good one to throw on when you are heading home from work and are about to pick up a 6-pack of Pabst on the way. (Stonerrock.com)
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Wolf Eyes on Tuesday!
For every Ariel there must be a Caliban. Just as mellow beardos and spooky-chic wisps are on the rise, so are their troglodyte foils??born from the bogs of New Weird America, not the verdant woodlands. Instead of fireside thrums and lysergic madrigals, the folk music of this beastly race is all mechanical clatter and crank. Tonight, three delegations from this savage republic will gnash ears and shatter synapses in a show of might and bloodsport for all. Baltimore??s Nautical Almanac kicks out toxic drones on homemade, electricity-free gear. With just a mike and a battalion of butchered FX pedals, Dominic Fernow (aka Prurient) spews streams of hiss and bile. Topping the compost heap with a cherry bomb is Sub Pop??s Wolf Eyes. Praised by Sonic Youth and Anthony Braxton alike, the band has only grown more feral in the face of success. Wolf Eyes, Prurient, and Nautical Almanac play with The Show Is the Rainbow and Books on Tape at 9:30 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $8. (Bernardo Rondeau)
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Thursday, October 6
$7, 21+
doors at 9, show at 10
Terminal Lovers (from Cleveland, current and ex-members of Guided By Voices, Pere Ubu, Rocket From The Tombs, My Dad Is Dead, The Electric Eels, Keelhaul, Integrity, Boulder, and Abdullah)
Admiral Browning (instrumental prog-metal from MD)
Terminal Lovers
http://www.davecintron.com/terminallovers.shtml (http://www.davecintron.com/terminallovers.shtml)
http://www.myspace.com/terminallovers (http://www.myspace.com/terminallovers)
"Another band from Cleveland that gets it...If only we had more bands like this in New York -- interested in the art of rock, rather than rock fashion."
"Watt a way to kick the New Year in! Dammit, this record is the goods ??- usable, crushing, cremating, resurrecting and the ROCK!!! Terminal Lovers are dragged around by their collective hooter by one helluva talented snot-nosed longhair called Dave Cintron, a Cleveland guitarist/artist/McJagger-esque howler with a permanent boner that would tear Sir Lord Mick??s tight asshole apart purely for the pleasure of dissing the ancestors, if (strike that and make it WHEN) he gets the chance. Did you ever wish Woody Leffel coulda permanently pushed Cleveland??s Granicus to the same cultural corners he hounded ??em into on the ever-ascending ??You??re in America?? and that Viet-mawkish/dorkish 11-minute sub-sub-Stairway epic ??Prayer??? Well, Terminal Lovers reach it often and in spades, motherfuckers! (What is it about Cleveland, brethren? Is the city really THAT fucking dreadful?) Terminal Lovers is garage-y as White Lightning??s ??William??, smacktastic as Jane??s Addiction, demented as The Outcasts?? ??1-2-5 Blair?? and still as simultaneously smart AND despairing as a Kim Fowley, Kurdt Kobain or Bobby Liebling. Did you ever wish the Iggy-meets-Zappa blackface voice Axl adopted for ??It??s So Easy?? had abandoned its owner and gone solo? It did, boys??n??girls. It snuck into the plumbing of Everytown USA and called itself Dave Cintron. Now it??s mumbling the lyrics to ??Rising Tide?? from inside the cistern of each and every corporation washroom. Imagine Iggy reconstituted as the same Muppet that intoned their freak hit ??Mnah Mnah?? and you??ve got the voice Cintron adopts for addressing his mysterious female Muse. This is one confident motherfucker and she??s as tricky as Salvador Dali??s Gala at the very least.
Did you ever wish The Tubes had taken their tongues out of their cheeks long enough to reach once more for that truly Death & Resurrection moment on ??White Punks on Dope?? when you glimpse the despair of that sad fucking Hollywood Heights teen wanker? Dit-fucking-toe for the answer! Did you ever catch Bobby Liebling??s vocal on ??Last Night Here?? when you was at a particklier low ebb and genuinely wonder if it was your last night on Planet Oyth? Me three, motherfuckers. And obviously the big Ja for Herr Cintron aussi!!! This guy might wipe his nose and be your well-mannered boy for Auntie Martha and Uncle Joe??s Thanksgiving meal (hail, he??s even got his own www.davecintron.com), (http://www.davecintron.com),) but believe me this is one druid whose entire being is giving the whole world the Inner Finger right up against yer fucking face, yoze??n??mine brudder! Buy his music now because he ain??t getting any more alive than this." (Julian Cope, Head Heritage)
Read the rest of Cope's slobbering: http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/944 (http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/944)
Admiral Browning
http://www.admiralbrowning.com/ (http://www.admiralbrowning.com/)
Epic, instrumental prog/psych metal, recommended for fans of King Crimson, '70s Rush, Yes, Mastodon, Don Caballero, Voivod, Iron Maiden, and Breadwinner.
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Sunday, October 9
$8, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
The Aquarium (DC, Lujo Records)
Barbez (NYC jazz/folk/psych/post-punk with an Eastern European flavor)
Benjy Ferree (DC, Box Theory Records)
Barbez
http://www.barbez.com (http://www.barbez.com)
Brooklyn-based Barbez brings together a talented mix of jazz musicians, rockers, and one stunning modern dancer/vocalist to weave unique and haunting soundscapes. Drawing on such disparate musical traditions as Argentine tango, pre-MTV punk, the music of Kurt Weill, and the beautiful eeriness of The Residents, the band creates music that evokes everything from dark rock like Swans and P.J. Harvey, to the melancholy lyricism of Eastern European folk music.
The group came together in the late '90s, and through extensive touring and two stellar albums (recorded and produced by Martin Bisi of Swans, Sonic Youth, and Angels of Light fame) they have gained international attention and wide critical acclaim. The band??s current lineup features vocalist Ksenia Vidyaykina, Dan Kaufman (Rebecca Moore) on guitar, theremin player Pamelia Kurstin (Air, David Byrne, Cibo Matto), marimba/vibes by Danny Tunick (Bang on A Can, Guv??ner), bass/electronics/palm pilot Dan Coates, and on drums Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot, Secret Chiefs). In addition to the regular players, frequent collaborators have included violinist Eszter Balint (of Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise), vocalist Nils Frykdahl (Idiot Flesh, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), drummer Anthony Nozero (Drums and Tuba), and toy instrument ingenue Rebecca Moore. The band has also shared the stage with such great artists as Cat Power, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, The Lonesome Organist, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Shelley Hirsch, Faun Fables, Devendra Banhart, and The Dresden Dolls.
Barbez recently completed its third album, which is due to be released this September on Important Records, and the band will be heading out on tour thereafter. The band will travel extensively around the US and Canada and then head out for their second European tour, revisiting Italy, France, Slovenia, Croatia, and stopping in Germany to once again provide musical accompaniment to MacArthur-winning playwright John Jesurun??s "Chang In A Void Moon." A night with Barbez is a blend of the stirring, the spiritual, and the hilarious, and the joys and miseries of our everyday existence -- from traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge to an exuberant Russian wedding dance.
The Aquarium
http://www.aquariummusic.com/ (http://www.aquariummusic.com/)
"The original inspiration was to make music to watch fish to," remarks Jason Hutto about the origins of his band The Aquarium. The name was, therefore, a no-brainer. But the scope, breadth, and depth of The Aquarium sound goes far beyond simply being the soundtrack of the coolest pet store that never was. There is something longing and nostalgic about their music -- something that touches on the beauty of childhood. Their music would be a far more appropriate soundtrack to a dream about one perfect day as a child -- running, eating, napping, looking at stars. (And yes, fish). The kind of dream one would have and wake up feeling refreshed. Since The Aquarium began playing shows in their hometown of Washington, DC in the summer of 2002 this freshness of sound has made them a distinct light in an occasionally dark scene and has earned many endearing fans. There is something about them and their music that makes them a good pairing for a wide range of bands. This can be seen by the list of bands they have played with in the last two years, such as The Dismemberment Plan, Beauty Pill, Medications, Twilight Singers, The Cassettes, and The Out_Circuit to name a few. Watching an Aquarium show, it is easy to forget for a moment that there are only two of them. Laura Harris unabashedly lays down the beats, while Jason provides both bass and melody on his two keyboards, making a full sound that is not in want of more instrumentation. Their music, combined with their wide range of 8 millimeter educational films playing on a screen behind them, takes the listener somewhere beautiful and unique. They do not demand one??s attention, but reward it. Those who are willing to pay attention will not be disappointed.
Since their inception, The Aquarium have steadily been gaining fans and building a repertoire of wonderful songs but have yet to release anything. That is about to change, however, as they go into the studio this April to record their first full-length, which will be released on Lujo in the fall of 2005.
Benjy Ferree
Hailing from DC, by way of Prince Georges County Maryland and parts unknown, Ferree embodies a back porch pop vibe on par with the lazier side of Beachwood Sparks and Jack White's acoustic forays. His songs rely on a keen understanding of the spiritual side of music from a variety of sources, from the honky tonk to the pulpit. Rarely playing outside of his DC bedroom, Ferree and friends recorded a blissful EP (mixed by Brendan Canty of Fugazi) due out October 1st.
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Sonic Circuits DC 2005 and Clavius Productions present:
Tuesday, October 11
$7, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
LoVid (NYC audio/visual experimenters)
Violet (DC solo noisescapes)
Projexorcism (NC a/v political pranksters)
RDK (DC synth duo in the vein of Goblin and early Tangerine Dream)
LoVid
http://www.ignivomous.org/projects/lovid/ (http://www.ignivomous.org/projects/lovid/)
LoVid (Tali Hinkis and Kyle Lapidus) scrambles ordinary TV output into hyperkinetic audio-visual abstraction using homemade electronic devices, repurposed analog toys, and low-res video loops. In the duo's real-time performances, an intense, variable audio signal disrupts the video's horizontal lines into swirling or stroboscopic patterns. Whether projected on a large screen or worn on the body as mini-monitors, the static sizzles and mesmerizes in an orgy of post-consumer creative destruction. LoVid's installations and object-based work includes video stills transformed into fabric patchwork, wall collages, laser-etched tiles, electronic-mixed media sculptures, and photos. In these, LoVid focuses on the materialization of glitch video and electric signal into fixed objects.
This current tour is centered around a LoVid exhibition in Tulsa called "Don't Draw The Blinds," opening on October 6. They'll perform at the opening in wireful VideoWear, and will be using wireless transmitters -- though still with plenty of wires, don't worry -- for most of the
performances on the tour.
Violet
http://www.zeromoon.com/violet/index.php (http://www.zeromoon.com/violet/index.php)
Violet is the current moniker for solo works by Jeff Surak, who has played in such projects as v., Normal Music, Critikal, Second Violin, -1348-, New Carrollton, and a multitude of collaborations. Organic irrational compositions, using electro-acoustic instruments and tape/CD/vinyl manipulations. Violet has performed across the USA and in Europe.
Projexorcism
http://www.multiultramedia.com/projexorcism.htm (http://www.multiultramedia.com/projexorcism.htm)
Formed in 1999, Projexorcism started life with the acquisition of two Bell & Howell 2592 auto-shred projectors and 200 educational films. Originally much time was spent making splice reels to accompany various musical projects. Lens manipulation and shuttling film back and forth through the projection gate were the hallmarks of the early days.
Early in 2003, Projexorcism made great advances in their unique flavor of experimental hyperactive expanded cinema and has since been pushing the boundaries of weirdness. Projexorcism began using a quad 16mm projector array suspended from a lighting pole -- the projectors synchronized with a 4-channel sound-actuated variable speed lighting controller. The projected images are split, inverted, and bent using silver reflective CD-R's and plastic fresnel lenses. The optical audio is replayed directly from the internal projector speakers, though on occasion the audio is routed through effects and samplers. In May 2005, The Catawba Council for the Arts awarded Projexorcism an Innovative Project Grant to add a Film-to-Video Regurgitation Array to their quad 16mm setup. Unbound from the linearity of film, the 16mm setup is now augmented with real-time video capture, manipulation, and projection devices.
The film is "PJ'd" using various techniques to create new contradictory action sequences and soundtracks in real-time in the found sound/plunderphonic tradition -- without splicing. Films are chosen to reflect relevant, and at times irreverent, themes. Some of our recent themes include presidential politics, African-American history, math, water, chemicals, Middle-Eastern war, spiders, gila monsters, voting, and "Do androids dream of electric sheep at xmas?", a mixture of pro and anti-consumer film and Charles Dickens' "Christmas Carol."
You never know what to expect at a Projexorcism show. Film often breaks or passes through the projection gate in a manner inconsistent with film preservation, much to the dismay of Jedi film preservationists. The kinetic swinging and shaking of the projecto-tree will warp reels and pool hundreds of feet of film all over the floor -- CDs and lenses fall to the ground -- the shriek of optical sound feedback as dust clogs the sound bulb, the randomly choreographed accidents of brilliance and stupidity, the audience turned projection screen, the audience on the projection screen.
Projexorcism is often joined by a rotating cast of musicians and frequently collaborates with other artists (see the live show archive). 2005 has Projexorcism touring with a melange of experimental noise musicians and collaborations with the likes of Michael Thomas Jackson, Jabberwocky, Former Yugoslavia, Khate, Feralcatscan, Hellblinki, and more.
RDK
http://soundcamera.tripod.com/rdk.html (http://soundcamera.tripod.com/rdk.html)
DC's own retro-futuristic electronics duo of Davis White (ex-Lorelei) and David Rickert play Satie covers and dark soundtrack originals that reference early Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, Tomita, and Goblin to delight and amaze you. Their CD is beautiful, complex, classical pop, a Belle Epoque vision of the future.
other Sonic Circuits/Clavius events:
10/14 at 611 Florida: Nautical Almanac (Load/Heresee)/psi/Life Partners (Twisted Village, mem. of Major Stars)/The Trust Riots (Scarcelight, mem. of Accelera Deck)/Lust Ionics
10/25 at DC9: USAISAMONSTER (Load)/The Planet The (5RC)/Kites (Load)/Facemat
http://www.claviusproductions.org (http://www.claviusproductions.org)
http://scdc.alkem.org/about.html (http://scdc.alkem.org/about.html)
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Originally posted by snailhook:
Sunday, October 9
$8, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
The Aquarium (DC, Lujo Records)
Barbez (NYC jazz/folk/psych/post-punk with an Eastern European flavor)
Benjy Ferree (DC, Box Theory Records)
Who is headlining?
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there is no "headliner," but the aquarium will be playing last.
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Sonic Circuits DC 2005 and Clavius Productions present:
Tuesday, October 25
DC9, http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
1940 9th St NW WDC
$8, 21+, doors at 9
The Planet The (5RC, mathy spazz punk from Portland)
USAISAMONSTER (Load Records, prog/psych/noise duo from NYC)
Kites (Load Records, solo noise maverick from Providence)
Facemat (DC improv noise)
The Planet The
http://www.theplanetthe.net (http://www.theplanetthe.net)
Punk, prog and new wave is what The Planet The do. Vocals entirely drowned in effects, slicing guitar, danceable beats, and spacey keyboards come careening straight for your ears and don't let up until you collapse from dancing in 9/8 time.
"You Absorb My Vision has all the trappings of classic geek rock: science fiction imagery, misanthropy, cynical social commentary, Ritalin-induced spasms and, above all, a dire attempt to understand what all the sciences can't explain -- the attractive woman. So yeah, Portland, Oregon's The Planet The are essentially Devo disciples, but their music is as carnal as it is calculated. Sounds like Brainiac, you say? Well, yeah, but The Planet The are more aptly framed rather than pigeonholed, falling squarely in the middle of the Devo-Brainiac spectrum.
Unlike those other bands, TPT have a handful of infectious indie pop melodies, albeit ones mucked up by sputtering time signatures, clamorous sound effects, and squawking vocals. The Planet The seem more prone to backbreaking frenzy than pristine new wave pop -- they're more Hella than "Hella Good". Song structures seldom derail completely, but rather jar loose from the track before pulling everything together for an anthemic chorus hook. "Wet Dust" begins relatively clean cut with man and synthesizer in bubbly unison before the song spontaneously devolves into pathological moaning and dizzying chromatic guitar riffs. To the rescue comes the a massive refrain -- synths blaring, vocals straining, and drums raising Cain.
This unstable formula pays dividends on standout track "Please Don't Kill Myself", combining rickety Pere Ubu time signatures with morbid paranoia á la the Unicorns. The track single-handedly propels The Planet The beyond new wave quacks like Numbers and Dynasty, bands that still struggle to affix feasible vocals to their fractured, over-baked instrumentation. Similarly, "Please Don't Kill Myself" does lose momentum on its protracted bridge, but the catchy staccato verse synth reemerges from the rubble and lulls the listener back into lo-fi pop euphoria.
Unfortunately, You Absorb My Vision wears off its already porous pop coating by the album's final third. Back-to-back numbers "Free Jewelry" and "Tighten Your Dreams" hiss and snarl like morose Cex tirades, justifying reviewers' shackling of The Planet The to many unseasoned Tigerbeat6 rock acts. Still, even weaker late tracks "Tennis" and "Envision My Zorb" sport some nifty musical ideas, albeit less polished and fully integrated ones. They may be poking around in niches already claimed by previous bands, but these new wave dweebs got the smarts to pull it off without provoking wedgies, swirlies and/or petty lunch money theft from bullying traditionalists." (Adam Moerder, Pitchfork)
USAISAMONSTER
http://www.usaisamonster.com (http://www.usaisamonster.com)
USAISAMONSTER started as an epiphany in 2000, taking inspiration from various leftist organizations, zines, and hardcore punk. The name represents an awakening and realization to the truth and history of world power struggle and manipulation, murder, and lies. Colin Matthews and Tom Hohmann met through an ad in a record store while living in Boston in January 1996. We did this band for 4 years called Bull-Roarer who rocked as hard as we could and paid for our own records and did some DIY touring and meant the world to us. Bass player J.K. moved to Mexico. Col and Tom decide to keep on rocking and moved to Charlottesville, VA. Founded a rad show space called the Pudhouse that was about as rad as every other wild DIY freak out fun show venue. Did a bunch of one night only bands with Hot Tang. Got Jero Harris down there, jammed, got 3 of his buddies (Vlad, Chris, and A.T.) down there, jammed, made a CDR entitled "1", then did a week long southern hardcore tour as a 7-piece noise symphony rock chaos outfit. The most newsworthy thing that happened on that tour was we played at 2 a.m. in a convenience store in Greensboro, and that show was covered signifigantly in many zines revolving around the Crimethinc organization. Returning home, we became a 4-piece with Jero and A.T. Spent summer 2001 swimming and making 3 releases: "Trippy Yet Wholesome" CDR, "Weed Blood" CDR, and "Soul Jerker" 7-inch. Each release showcased different styles. "Trippy" is folk rock, "Weedblood" is stoner metal, and the 7-inch is art-punk. The 4-piece did a week long tour up north predecided of breaking up as soon as the tour was over. After tour Tom breaks his arm, switches to bass, Colin switches to drums, Hot Tang joins the band again on Farfisa and screaming. A CDR is made entitled "5". Just a few shows are played in this lineup. Somewhere in there we also did a CDR and 10-day tour called Elvish Presley with A.T., Jonah Rapino, and Jarrod Hood and recorded a split 7? that never came out, the mystery 6th usaisamonster recording. Tom gets his cast off and the current 2-piece (Tom on drums, Colin on guitar) is formed. Songs are written quickly, a CDR is made entitled "7", and a 3-month tour is booked. Boys move outta C-Ville summer 2001. Turn vagabond. Drive around USA, rock and sightsee. Have tons of days off, play tons of shows, touring for a spell with facedowninshit. Settle in Tucson with the express intention of immediately getting jobs, booking the tour, DIY rerecording CDR "7" to become an LP, writing the next record, and leaving in 3 months. On Christmas day 2001 our beloved friends Tim and Sam offer to found a label and put out our LP. "Citizens of the Universe" is released on Infrasound Records. 4 month tour begins in January 2002. Shows proceed through USA and Europe, with even a show in Hermosilla, Mexico. Europe tour is a completely uninvited event. We just set our minds to it, and folks were wicked helpful. Friends gave contacts and friends of friends, and we made friends. Borrowed all equipment every show and took the train, bus, and hitchhiked. Went to Slovenia, England, Poland, and tons more. Returned home, recorded "Masonic Chronic", took a break, moved to different towns. Tom writes Black Elf Speaks in NYC. Colin moves back to Virginia, releases split 7-inch with Lazy Magnet. Black Elf Speaks one month every night USA tour happens in October 2002 featuring same elf band members except Chiara Giovando replaces Jonah. "Black Elf Speaks" CD is released on Bulb Records. "Masonic Chronic" is released on Infrasound. USAISAMONSTER gets back together in Portland, Oregon in January 2003, practices all day every day for 3 months, books the tour and records Joshua Tree demo CDR with Kamilsky in Joshua Tree, plays 7 weeks of shows in the USA, again touring with facedowninshit. Then the dudes move to NYC. Then Load Records agrees to put out an album. USA is a monster goes to KeyClub studios in Michigan to record "Tashyena Compost." Record comes out, big month-long tour with Lightning Bolt in October 2003. 10-week USA, UK, Canada spring 2004 touring with Koonda Holaa, Corndawg, Vialka, and Burning Hull.
"...That??s why filing USAISAMONSTER under Load Records?? "noise rock" umbrella just doesn??t work. The duo essentially rumble and quirk their way through 10 brick-heavy prog-rock songs, saluting punk, pop, and even wailing hair metal on the way. The diversity suggests a careful commentary on American crassness and cultural bleakness more than any brand of inter-band confusion -?? there??s no gratuitous speaker-frying sludge here (not that there??s anything wrong with that). Like the most adventurous progressive bands, distinction and clarity merely build a frame for the actual substance, and, thankfully, the albums shining production projects each simmering note loud and clear, with Hohmann??s deep snare splattering huge throughout the mix. When it comes to year-end recognition, Tasheyana Compost stands above most." (Dusted)
Kites
http://www.loadrecords.com/bands/kites.html (http://www.loadrecords.com/bands/kites.html)
One-man electrical system operator Kites continues his man-and-machine battle for your mind. A blend of painful, electronic feedback nerve bake, quirky, simplistic songwriting, tinkling soundscapes, and atmospheric roars. Violent, sweet, unpleasant, and nice.
Facemat
"Fed Windham Hill??like timbres into a wood-chipper..." (Mark Jenkins)
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Wednesday, October 26
DC9, http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
1940 9th St NW WDC
$8, 21+, doors at 9
Green Milk From The Planet Orange (Japanese prog/psych/space rock!)
Ostinato (DC atmospheric post-punk, ex-Hidden Hand)
The Plums (mem. of Hat City Intuitive, Spaceships Panic Orbit, and Portions Toll)
Vincent Black Shadow (Baltimore fuzzed-out garage psych a la Mudhoney)
Green Milk From The Planet Orange
http://www.green-milk.com (http://www.green-milk.com)
The strangely named Green Milk From The Planet Orange is a young Japanese band that perhaps figured they have what it takes to become the next Acid Mothers Temple or Ghost, and they could well be right! This is an impressive domestic debut from GMFTPO (who had a couple of other Japan-only, now out-of-print cd-r releases, a few tracks from which appear here in re-recorded form) and should definitely appeal to the whole Japanese psych lovin' crowd and maybe to yr average indie/post-rockers as well, if they're open to a dose of '70s inspired experimentation: long proggy songs that are plenty weird and varied, both druggily spaced-out and/or noisy and heavy. Yeah, it's a spookily baroque trip, these guys stirring everything into their prog-pot from doleful trumpet to jazzy walking bass to wild psych-guitar soloing and pinging electronic effects. Equally capable of grandiose epic bombast and gentle, slow-paced vocal balladry, GMFTPO glory in proggy changes and this album should certainly be investigated by fans of Ghost's recent opus Hypnotic Underworld. Of course, the bands that GMFTPO would want to be compared with are undoubtedly their '70s prog-psych, and specifically krautrock, influences: Can, Faust, Agitation Free, Nektar... You can also hear a bunch of '60s west coast psych in there as well (I bet they probably own that Kak album for instance). Yet despite all the "retro" elements, Green Milk still sound young, even a little punk -- which they are, some of 'em being former members of stoner rock/grindcore outfit No Rest For The Dead. Though with GMFTPO they've set aside their metal/punk past, they still draw on it in sorta the same way as Guapo does. Kudos to Beta-Lactam Ring for bringing this our way...and also, after complaining about past Beta-Lactam Ring art/design, we have to give 'em some credit here, they did a nice job with this one. The disc comes housed in a beautiful digipak, with "distressed" graphics giving it the old '70s LP vibe. Real nice all around. (Aquarius Records)
Reggie White -?? the dearly departed defensive lineman/ordained minister ??- once infamously said to the Wisconsin state legislature, "If you go to Japan or any Asian country, they can turn a television into a watch. They??re very creative." Though White was, in his own strange way, trying to be complimentary, the remarks only served to incense and confuse. And speaking of incense and confusion, there??s this new art-rock band from Japan called Green Milk From the Planet Orange, which at least proves White??s statement about Asian creativity to be true. The group may not be able to do something so useful as, say, turn a television into a watch, but the members do accomplish something even more improbable: They turn prog rock into something cool for the modern age. What??s more, they do it without compromising any of prog rock??s excesses -?? witness the sprawling, 38-minute "A Day in the Planet Orange" from their latest disc, City Calls Revolution. Green Milk From the Planet Orange plays with Ostinato, the Plums, and Vincent Black Shadow 9:30 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $8. (202) 483-5000. (DD)
Ostinato
http://www.ostinatoproject.com (http://www.ostinatoproject.com)
Ostinato construct their sound in the same sporadic way the mind changes: Emotional impulses are often overwhelming and rampant. Their songs are structured in the same fashion, capturing the inexplicable exhilaration or devastating anger that is often so hard to translate. The result is a rich blend of melodic stimulation which evokes feeling, sonic guitar, swelling drums, and a fibrous flow of bass mesh harmoniously to produce a unique ethereal vibe, surprisingly created by only three musicians. Ostinato, an Italian musical term meaning "a recurring melodic fragment," is a name perfectly suited to the band.
Ostinato hails from the Virginia/Washington DC area. After years of friendship and relaxed free form music creation, Ostinato was officially baptised in 1997. Jeremy Ramirez (bass), David Hennessy (guitar and vocals), and Matthew Clark (drums) rented a house and got focused, eventually amassing the material which was recorded for the 1998 self-release <unusable signal>. Extensive gigging in Washington DC and Virginia followed, as did several extended hiatuses. Their second record was recorded throughout summer 2003 and was released on June 24th 2004 on Exile On Mainstream Records.
The Plums
Instrumental DC-area quartet, including members of Hat City Intuitive, Spaceships Panic Orbit, and Portions Toll, playing music influenced by Krautrock, post-rock, and psychedelia.
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Come join us and celebrate Kohoutek's first CD release in Baltimore and DC with the outstanding Japanese psych trio Miminokoto. Special guests include, in Baltimore, Dan Higgs of Lungfish (playing solo acoustic guitar) and electronics inventor Peter B, and in DC, our great friends (The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope. Miminokoto is an all-star line-up of three Japanese psych masters who play some of the most beautiful and transcendently shimmering songs you'll ever hear, and we are lucky to have them play in this area.
http://www.claviusproductions.org (http://www.claviusproductions.org)
Tuesday, November 1
Talking Head, Baltimore
http://www.talkingheadclub.com/ (http://www.talkingheadclub.com/)
$8, 21+, doors at 9:30
Miminokoto (Japanese psych, current and ex-members of Acid Mothers Temple, High Rise, White Heaven, LSD-March, Mainliner, Broomdusters, and Che-Shizu)
Kohoutek (DC improv psych/noise)
Dan Higgs (Lungfish singer playing solo guitar)
Tent (westside handmade instrument freakout power combo featuring Peter B)
Miminokoto
http://www6.plala.or.jp/Purifiva/emimi.htm (http://www6.plala.or.jp/Purifiva/emimi.htm)
Miminokoto was founded in 2000 by Masami Kawaguchi (ex-Broom Dusters, Keiji Haino's Aihiyo), Takuya Nishimura (Che-Shizu, ex-Maher Shalal Hash Bas), and Koji Shimura (Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno, ex-High Rise/White Heaven/Mainliner). Miminokoto released their self-titled debut album on Gyuune (Japan) in May in 2002. Miminokoto played on "Half Japanese Japan Tour" with Half Japanese and Ruins in 2003. Their live album Miminokoto Live was released by Last Visible Dog (USA). Miminokoto toured America in 2003 and 2004. They played with Rocket From The Tombs, Kinski (Sub Pop), Wayne Rogers (Twisted Village), Plastic Crimewave Sound, and more. Their album Miminokoto 3 was released by Siwa Records (USA). Takuya Nishimura left the band in 2004. Hiroaki Takeuchi joined the band in 2005.
"Rising from the ashes of Tokyo Velvets obsessives and Keiji Haino collaborators Broomdusters, Miminokoto are a more immediately auraless proposition. Their dynamic blues constructions are held together by taut, clean guitar lines coiling and snapping around a rhythm section that's liable to alter course in mid-air. The hopping patterns beaten out by ex-White Heaven bassist and drummer Koji Shimura anchor Kawaguchi's machine gun guitar, which stutters in a polyglot tongue drawing equally from Rory Gallagher, Jerry Garcia, and Lou Reed. But Kawaguchi's remarkable vocal most defines Miminokoto's sound, his distressed moan giving every track the urgency of deathbed blues." (The Wire, Jan. 2004)
"Miminokoto are a relatively new band in the Tokyo scene of leftfield post-Les Rallizes Denudes rock groups that are inspired by, or are in some way connected to, Keiji Haino or Asahito Nanjo's High Rise. Their music is more earthbound than that of those two characters, but is also stranger in its way. Miminokoto's strangeness wastes no time in announcing its presence, though its precise character is somewhat elusive." (Howard Stelzer, The Brainwashed Brain)
Kohoutek
http://claviusproductions.alkem.org/kohoutek.html (http://claviusproductions.alkem.org/kohoutek.html)
Improvised psych with noise tendencies and abstraction. Sonic explorations in any combination of drums, percussion, guitar, bass, homemade electronics, laptop, field recordings, contact mics, chord organ, and household appliances. Have been described as "if Can were a 4AD band" and been compared to Jessamine, Acid Mothers Temple, early Sun City Girls, and Skullflower, for what that's worth. Kohoutek is 611 Florida's house band.
Wednesday, November 2
DC9, http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
1940 9th St NW WDC
$8, 21+, doors at 9
(The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope (DC's finest fuzzy psych-pop purveyors)
Miminokoto
Kohoutek (CD release show!)
The Appletown Gun Shop (angular indie-rock from Boston)
(The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope
http://www.thesoundsofkaleidoscope.com/ (http://www.thesoundsofkaleidoscope.com/)
(The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope are a noise-pop band, begun by Damien C. Taylor in late 1995. After years of light touring, perpetual lineup changes and a slew of fourtrack cassettes, Damien was joined by brothers John Dugan on drums (Chisel, Piper Cub, Heartworms, Perfect Panther, etc) and Mike Dugan on bass (the Beans, Thee Snuff Project) for a July 2000 reording session at Kurt Heasley's SoundeSpeake Studio. These demos led to what would form the current core of the band, Alex Hacker (Lilys, the Ropers, the Still) on drums and Douglas Bailey (the Ropers, the Justines, the Still) on bass and harmonies and yielded the band's first two EPs, 2001's These Are... and 2003's Can And Do What They Will.
2003 saw the addition of Edward Donohue (the Carlsonics) on rhythm guitar and Brian Kalkbrenner (the Failed Henry Winkler Pilot) on Farfisa and percussion, and found them recording their first full-length recording From Where You Were To How You Got There. In early 2004, Michael Hirst joined, adding more guitar; Edward left later that year.
Since their inception, (The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope have collaborated with and provided music for numerous artists, art collectives, and artworks. In 2002, (The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope provided music for the Washington DC opening of Ledelle Moe's "Dogs" installation, co-billed a record release party with an installation by notorious mixed-media art collective Decatur Blue at the Signal 66 gallery in 2003, and performed at the Hirshhorn Gallery's opening for Douglas Gordon's 24 Hour Psycho event.
Though the band still practice a light touring regiment, they have favorably shared stages along the East Coast with Luna, the Fall, Lilys, Canyon, Relay, Swirlies, the Tyde, Velocity Girl, Black Ox Orkestar, Mazarin, J. Mascis and the Fog, and Weird War, and have provided support and backing duties for Cotton Casino, formerly of Japanese psych outfit Acid Mothers Temple.
(The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope's new album From Where You Were To How You Got There will be available in July 2005 through Alex's own Hackshop Records. They are currently preparing new materal to be recorded early next year, and planning a tour for late summer 2005.
"Imagine that Wire, post-'154', had not broken up but rather agreed to become a backing band for a coherent Syd Barrett and attempted to record pop music. If they gave it a good go it would have sounded something like this. The band combined some of the mood and sound of early Pink Floyd with the minimalist guitar tones of Sonic Youth and Wire."
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Unfortunately, The Factory Incident has canceled.
Tuesday, November 8
$8, 21+, doors at 9
The Get Hustle (5RC/GSL/Three One G, ex-Antioch Arrow/Heroin)
The Convocation (GSL/Tiger Style, ex-Born Against/Moss Icon/Universal Order of Armageddon/Great Unraveling)
Indian Jewelry (LA via Houston post-punk)
The Get Hustle
http://www.gethustle.com (http://www.gethustle.com)
To those who are unfamiliar with The Get Hustle,
The first time I saw the Get Hustle was in the French Quarter, New Orleans, which was no accident. I was homesick and drifting around outside this petite theater down on Bourbon Street, in a haze, and all of a sudden I heard a reverberation that was so strange coming from the stage inside. I went in to witness The Get Hustle and they stole my heart. It was the most erotic and magnetic sound. At the same time it was deeply spiritual and connected like angels flying across the desert right into your soul, saving you and enslaving you. I was listening to a lot of Sun Ra, Amon Duul II, The Birthday Party, Leadbelly, and David Bowie at the time and it seems logical that whatever this sound was would be in complete agreement with my tastes at the time. It was truly a thrilling psychic event and there have been many with The Get Hustle since.
Get Hustle will put you on your knees, turn you over and turn you out. It is crime! I was taken... Mac Mann is a gentleman who plays the electric piano making sounds that roll down octaves, scary, meaningful unfolding chapters of emotional plot sung to you like a hymn by Valentine Lovecraft Falcon, an angel, all the time the beat so primal, so bloodthirsty, is pounding in every direction never repeating but maintaining the spell by Maxamillion Avila. I have been a child ever since and they take care of me as such. Listen to their song "Revolution Van" and you will understand what I mean.
Whenever the weary old life and the weary old music seems to be hopeless there comes along an album so powerful and prosperous like the Get Hustle??s newest Rollin' in the Ruins on Three One G. The Get Hustle has been in existence for 9 years and has consistently made albums that amaze. Records including the "I've Got A Gun and I'm Excited" 7" and "Now We're All Gone" 12" EP, both on GSL, the Earth Odyssey LP on 5RC/Kill Rock Stars, the Gravity single "Who Do You Love/Mad Power" 7", and their Three One G debut 12" EP, "Dream Eagle". There was a shift to pure creative genius with Live at the Little Fawn, a tour CD put out by the band themselves. The newest is another album in that realm, even more brilliant. Rollin?? in the Ruins is a sacrifice for you, friends, take the rose, thank Three One G for putting out such an amazing release. Listen to the song "Don Quixote and Me"...I can??t give musical references, but this song will say more about this record than a million words. Rollin?? in the Ruins? is so intense, so explicit, and so ahead of it??s time, a miraculous continuance of the chronicle that is Get Hustle. (Jeff Schneider)
The Convocation
The Convocation are the result of well over a decade of constant innovation, revision, and exemplary musicianship by Tonie Joy. His previous efforts (particularly MOSS ICON and the short-lived UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON) have proven widely influential, to say the very least. His modest, semi-reclusive nature has allowed for uninhibited progression and virtuosity outside the lens of even the "underground" press, while his exceptional guitar skill has often been the focal point, if you will, of his recorded output over the years.
Indian Jewelry
http://www.swarmofangels.com/indianjewelry.html (http://www.swarmofangels.com/indianjewelry.html)
INDIAN JEWELRY used to tour and record as NTX+ELECTRIC, TURQUOISE DIAMONDS, THE CORPSES OF WACO, and the PERPETUAL WAR PARTY BAND, in addition to other appellations. Forsooth, we initially derive from the fleet SWARM OF ANGELS.
The present incarnation of the group is Erika Thrasher (synthesizer, guitar, vox), Tex Kerschen (vox & ephemera), Rodney Rodriguez (drums), Jimi Hey (ozark percussion), and Abi Cohen (pandemonium.)
The longer history of the band will reappear here after much work has been done in other arenas. For now a list of names will have to suffice. In addition to the aforementioned parties, the following persons are guilty too --
Brandon Davis, Candice Vincent, Leslie Keffer, Don Bolles, Andrew Scott, Pete Czechvala, Bryce Martin, Anna Bechtol, Ken Consumer, Bobby Deeds, Domokos, Travis, J-Morrison/Ghostworm, Squeaky, Ralf Armin, Chad Colehower/Sequential Sheik.
Nor does this account for the auxillary divisions. We are legion.
"Dressed head to toe in leather and cloaked in the grey mist of a smoke machine, this freaky threesome are less of a band and more of a living LP, as if the grooves from a disc of shiny black vinyl had suddenly jumped off the record player and become a wall of sound bigger than the stage. At times they even seem like they??re skipping or being played on some unimaginably old or dusty turntable...The performance is nothing less than appropriate to bring their soundtrack of dark nihilistic abandon to life." (Evan George, LA Alternative Press)
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Originally posted by snailhook:
Unfortunately, The Factory Incident has canceled.
That was supposed to be their final show. Any idea if they're going to do another one to make up for it?
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Clavius Productions presents a diverse night of experimental soundscapes varying from harsh noise and primitive electronics to pan-cultural composition and bizarre instrumentation, ranging from the beautiful to the violent and ugly. What these artists all have in common is the will to explore sound through unconventional sources:
Wednesday, February 22
$8, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:15
The Master Musicians of Hop-Frog (experimental post-everything rock from LA)
Tzii/Ripit (noise from France)
Big Cats (mem. of Hand Fed Babies/Gestures)
Brian Miller & Kevin Shields (of Gangwizard/Rose For Bodhan)
Pedestrian Deposit (harsh noise from LA, Hospital Productions)
The Master Musicians of Hop-Frog
http://www.hop-frog.com/Musik.htm (http://www.hop-frog.com/Musik.htm)
http://www.myspace.com/themastermusiciansofhopfrog (http://www.myspace.com/themastermusiciansofhopfrog)
The Hop-Frog Kollectiv itself is a mix of over twenty participants who focus on experimental spoken word, art, and music. In only two years of existence, the core members of the kollectiv have performed with Not Breathing, DJ Cheb I Sabbah, David J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets, etc.), Steve Mackay and The Radon Ensemble (The Stooges, Violent Femmes), and Dame Darcy (Meatcake) under the names hop-frog's drum jester devotional and The Master Musicians of Hop-Frog.
Hop-Frog have not only toured with Backworld (feat. Joe Budenholzer of Current 93, Foetus, etc.) and Sorrow (featuring Rose McDowall of Strawberry Switchblade, Spell, Current 93, Death In June, and Coil) on two separate occasions but members of Hop-Frog have played in both of these projects for the duration of the tours.
The live performances are especially intriguing, featuring heavily effected traditional western instruments such as clarinet, violin, guitar, drums, analog synths, and bass, fused with eastern, tribal, toy, and non-traditional instruments such as the saz, toy & real accordions, circuit-bent keyboards, snake-charmer flutes, christmas tree bells, the Dhol, broken cymbals, and even a kitchen sink. Hop-Frog have performed on three occasions in Paris, France, all over the western U.S., and have an intensive European tour scheduled for May, 2005.
The Silk Road is the first project from the musical collective Hop-Frog. This work was recorded under the name Hop-Frog's Fatwa, a project intended as a guerilla action against the upbeat, positive, and highly overproduced "World Music" of late, yet retaining the members' passion for musical traditions of various cultures. The album is set in an alternate near-future in which the characters find themselves on an endless journey along an ancient silk trade route. Many obstacles and states of mind are experienced, including encounters with countless mutant variants of the next generations of "smart" mines and their victims. It is a barren wasteland in the East where artists deemed "decadent" are banished, able to survive by taking jobs such as clearing minefields by hand. This is a metaphor for the treatment of artists in a society dominated by corporate totalitarianism, as well as cultural blandness and unchecked materialism. It is also ironic since artists have been forced to flee from the same region by oppressive forces in recent times. The journey along the Silk Road is an examination of the creative process. The characters are finally able to see the world with pharmaceutical-free clarity, and are able to endure the creative process with all its explosive pitfalls and rewards.
Tzii/Ripit
http://www.myspace.com/tzii (http://www.myspace.com/tzii)
http://www.myspace.com/riipiit (http://www.myspace.com/riipiit)
French composer Tzii is a musician but also a video maker and a DJ. As a logical sequel to his musical activities of the nineties, he created his own label (Night On Earth), releasing vinyl records, videos, mixtapes, and soon CD-Rs and DVDs. Polymorphis in tastes and centers of interest, he is influenced by various popular cultures, mainly European and African. He explores all the forms of the industrial culture, playful or introspective, electronic or acoustic, visual or sonic.
Nyko Esterle's electronic experiments, as an attempt to a musical self-sufficiency, started in 1998 with the fonding of his label RIPOSTE.REC and his solo project RIPIT. He was mixing electronic sounds patterned in a rhythmic and repetitive form with a stage attitude closer to punk than to the DJ one, confronting a rock audience to a hard and crude music, where the human is only there to alternate the structure and by then, giving an animal spontaneity to analog and mechanical sounds.
Since then, he knew how to explore the worldwide underground electronic scene by touring Europe and North America, by realeasing several recordings on various formats and by developing a local scene through massive experimental party organizing over Paris.
All along his travels and tours, his meeting with other artists led him to collaborate with a lot of different projects as Black Elf Speaks (Noise Rock Opera project from the members of Usaisamonster), Sikhara (Radonstudio.com), Steve Mackay (Sax player of The Stooges and The Violent Femmes), and Jason Forrest (aka Donna Summer). He toured alongside the previous but also with Doormouse, Venetian Snares, Hecate, Man Is The Bastard Noise and several others...
Brian Miller & Kevin Shields
http://www.deathbombarc.com/briankevin.htm (http://www.deathbombarc.com/briankevin.htm)
http://www.myspace.com/kkevinsshields (http://www.myspace.com/kkevinsshields)
No, not THAT Kevin Shields. This duo from Oakland's Gangwizard (Ecstatic Peace/Death Bomb Arc) create a wall of sound using guitar, electronics, and voice through delay and other effects. Scathing digital harshness, tense Prurient-style feedback solos, and many unexpected/non-traditional noise sounds. From completely awkward to transcendentally beautiful, this is music by a young boy and girl that don't put all their allegiances with the noise gods.
Pedestrian Deposit
A potent mix of manicured, intensely controlled yet visceral and raging noise from JOHN BORGES (who's previously collaborated with Nihilist Spasm Band and Solmania). Three years in the making, Volatile exhibits a unique expression of anger and the withdrawal of the urban landscape. Dynamic, powerful, structured, and chaotic.
For his first full-length album on the "real" CD medium (after a string of limited cassettes and CD-Rs), Pedestrian Deposit has pulled out all the stops, unleashing a solid hour of chaotic noise that??s as textured and varied as it is exhaustingly harsh. Volatile is an album that begs to be listened to on headphones, where the true depth of its sound field becomes almost overpowering; there??s plenty of frantic panning and moments when different sounds are pouring out of each channel, and even when there isn??t the subtle layering of noises is much more nuanced on headphones. Despite the fiery intensity and near-constant wall-of-sound at work here, this album demands close listening to be appreciated. Because on the surface, it may sound like just another harsh noise release -?? all pedal effects and wailing untraceable blocks of crunchy static. But under scrutiny, it??s obvious that there is a wealth of detail splattered under that surface. (Stylus)
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new pd record KILLS!!!
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ha, i am currently listening to it! double dose of PD this month at the warehouse and dc9. both shows will rule.
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And Whitehouse is coming - wow! I assumed the members were in jail or dead. That should be a fun one.
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Wait. Whitehouse is coming to DC9 or Warehouse?
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Originally posted by econo:
Wait. Whitehouse is coming to DC9 or Warehouse?
Looks like March 2nd at DC9
link (http://www.dcnine.com/index.php?page=calendar)
I am a little scared...
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The High Dials have announced a date at DC9 on Sun Apr 09. This is the same night as the Neko Case show at the 9:30. Kinda weird since the High Dials are opening for Neko before and after the 9:30 show. Why not just add them as a second opener before (or after) Martha Wainright?
It's nice that we're getting a full show but not so good that we have to miss Neko to see them. Tough competition, for sure.
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Maybe 9:30 thinks it can sell the show without bothering to add them to the bill?
Originally posted by xcanuck:
The High Dials have announced a date at DC9 on Sun Apr 09. This is the same night as the Neko Case show at the 9:30. Kinda weird since the High Dials are opening for Neko before and after the 9:30 show. Why not just add them as a second opener before (or after) Martha Wainright?
It's nice that we're getting a full show but not so good that we have to miss Neko to see them. Tough competition, for sure.
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Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:
Maybe 9:30 thinks it can sell the show without bothering to add them to the bill?
If they're touring together, I don't think 9:30 makes decisions about the lineup...doesn't the club only find openers when there are open slots?
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Actually, I was thinking of a situation where the opener for a tour that went through Baltimore but not DC played a separate show in DC.
I have seen other tours where the opener on a tour didn't open certain shows. But I can't recall any where they played a headlining gig the same night, right down the street.
Originally posted by Bags:
Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:
Maybe 9:30 thinks it can sell the show without bothering to add them to the bill?
If they're touring together, I don't think 9:30 makes decisions about the lineup...doesn't the club only find openers when there are open slots? [/b]
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the high dials is going to be a big yawn show. i'm sure redsock will post some info on this shortly.
anybody that wants to see a truly frightening and exhilarating show should check out whitehouse. i saw them in philly in november and it was the best live experience of the year for me -- and i saw 300 shows last year. i worked my ass off to make this show happen so DC could get a dose of some real transgressive art.
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Clavius Productions DC9 shows:
3/2: Whitehouse/Pig Destroyer/Wolf Eyes
3/9: Pearls & Brass (Drag City)/Owls & Crows/Snakehandling Preachers
3/11: Measles Mumps Rubella (CD release show)/Free Blood (mem. of !!!)/French Toast
3/12: No Things (ex-Liars)/Knife Skills (5RC)/Mess Up The Mess
3/14: Pup Tent/Gutbucket/Bass Jihad (Doug of 302 Acid solo)
3/19: Orthrelm/Growing (Kranky)/Grey Daturas
3/25: Soft Complex/Dirty On Purpose/Heros Severum
3/26: Barbez/Caution Curves/Dreamend/The Antiques
3/27: The Caribbean/zZz (from Holland)/Pagoda
4/3: Steve Mackay & The Radon Ensemble (sax player from the Stooges)/Accelera Deck/Kohoutek
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Not much needs to be said about this show...it's fucking Whitehouse! Three of the heaviest bands on the planet converge for one night in DC, as Clavius Productions presents:
Thursday, March 2 at DC9
1940 9th St NW WDC
http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
$15, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
Whitehouse (legendary UK noise duo)
Pig Destroyer (Relapse, northern VA grindcore)
Wolf Eyes (Hanson/American Tapes/Sub Pop)
plus surprise guests
Whitehouse
http://www.susanlawly.freeuk.com/ (http://www.susanlawly.freeuk.com/)
Whitehouse formed in 1980 on the fringe of the industrial music scene. Created by William Bennett, they pioneered a branch of experimental noise known as "power electronics," a genre explored by Japanese artists such as Merzbow. Influenced by contemporaries such as Throbbing Gristle and composers such as Alvin Lucier, Whitehouse developed a unique sound mixing high and low frequencies with aggressive bursts of electronics and vocals. With their label Come Organisation, they released what they termed "the most extreme music ever made." Often subject to censorship by stores and distributors due to subject matter and graphic record designs, they never bowed to commercial pressures and remained in control of their music and label. Whitehouse has recorded with Steve Albini since 1989.
William Bennett played guitar in the post-punk band Essential Logic. After leaving the group, he recorded the "Come Sunday" single under the name Come. This groundbreaking release, sequenced by Daniel Miller, featured relentless synthesizer pulses that hinted at the sound that would later typify Whitehouse. The Come Organisation was created by Bennett to release like-minded artists, though the majority of the releases on the label involved the founder himself in some capacity.
The Whitehouse project began with the full-length Birth Death Experience with William Bennett on vocals and synthesizer, Paul Reuter on synthesizer, and Peter Mckay credited as effects and engineer. Though relatively timid compared to their later material, it is important for the formation of their unique aesthetic. Their third release, Erector, was one of the first to fully take advantage of the dynamic potential of electronic music. Considered by many as the first power electronics record, Erector set the standard for aggressive experimental noise.
Aware that they were staking new ground, several releases soon followed. They released eight full-length records in three years, each one being proclaimed by the Come Organisation as "the most extreme music ever made." During this period, William Bennett found time to collaborate with Steven Stapleton (of Nurse With Wound) as 150 Murderous Passions, a project inspired by the Marquis De Sade.
Satirizing the music industry much like Throbbing Gristle, Whitehouse went to great lengths for originality. While Throbbing Gristle operated Industrial Records as a corporation, William Bennett operated the Come Organisation as a radical libertarian political collective where personal liberty and personal pleasure was to be maintained at all costs. Referring to live performances as "actions," disseminating propaganda that praised serial killers, and expressing an extreme ideology of personal pleasure via the media, Whitehouse gained a cult following based on their growing mysterious status.
Always controversial, anti-Whitehouse sentiments reached new heights in 1982. People misinterpreted the intention of William Bennett's article "The Struggle For a New Music Culture" published in the magazine Force Mental. Controversy surrounding the piece led to further censorship and distribution problems. Following their first U.S. tour, Whitehouse released two of their most shocking records to date: Right to Kill and Great White Death. These releases took sex and violence as lyric subject matter to unheard-of proportions with the equivalent in extreme electronic sound, and they also saw the addition of two new collaborators Kevin Tomkins and Philip Best.
After a five-year hiatus, Whitehouse returned with a new label name and a new producer. Thank Your Lucky Stars, released on Susan Lawly in 1990, was the first for Whitehouse to be recorded by legendary producer Steve Albini. Rarely deviating from the themes outlined by Right to Kill and Great White Death, Whitehouse released several more full-lengths throughout the 1990s. Sonically they have remained true to their original sound and are still quite extreme in nature. Slowly but surely, the coveted early records by Whitehouse are being reissued on CD, sometimes as special editions with bonus tracks. (All Music Guide)
Whitehouse FAQ:
i. Whitehouse specialise in extreme electronic music, a genre they pioneered in 1980, which in the late 80s greatly influenced, if not spawned, a wave of (in particular Japanese) 'noise' groups in addition to many other musicians in different fields. Trademark sounds are layers of white and pink noise, subsonic bass sounds and ferocious electronic effects, with or without vocals.
ii. Who are the current members and what instruments do they play?
William Bennett - vocals, instruments, Yamaha, Sony: founding member of group in 1980 at 18 and pioneer of extreme electronic music.
Philip Best - vocals, instruments, Roland, Toshiba: extreme music virtuoso joined group at age of 14 in 1982 after running away from home for live action performance at Spanish Anarchists?? Centre in London - original member of 1982 act Consumer Electronics.
iii. When was the group formed?
The group was formed in early 1980 by William Bennett. The following is an extract from the liner notes to the 2LP/CD Cream Of The Second Coming: "While I was playing guitar up onstage with Essential Logic as an 18-year-old back in 1978, I often fantasised about creating a sound that could bludgeon an audience into submission. At that time Essential Logic toured with The Normal (Daniel Miller) and Robert Rental with whom I became friends. Daniel inspired me and helped me to do it while Robert sold me an uncontrollably vicious beast of a synthesiser which subsequently became the heart of the Whitehouse sound."
iv. What is the origin of the name?
The name is a play on words: Whitehouse is both the name of a British porno magazine and the surname of Mary, an English activist, now deceased, on a constant crusade against the alleged proliferation of 'filth' on TV and other media.
v. What is their official discography?
Singles: Thank Your Lucky Stars b/w Sadist 7" (1988), Still Going Strong b/w Ankles And Wrists 7" (1991), Cruise (Force The Truth) 12" (2001), Wriggle Like A Fucking Eel 12" (2002)
Albums: Birthdeath Experience (1980), Total Sex (1980), Erector (1981), Dedicated To Peter Kurten (1981), Buchenwald (1981), New Britain (1982), Psychopathia Sexualis (1982), Right To Kill (1983), Great White Death (1984), Thank Your Lucky Stars (1990), Twice Is Not Enough (1991), Never Forget Death (1992), Halogen (1994), Quality Time. (1995), Mummy And Daddy (1998), Cruise (2001), Bird Seed (2003), Asceticists 2006 (2006)
Japanese Fanatics Club: Dictator II (3" CD single - 1994), Tokyo Halogen (live CD album - 1995), Just Like A Cunt (WB Vocal Version) (3" CD single - 1996)
Compilation appearances: The Second Coming (1981), Hoisting The Black Flag (1981), Für Ilse Koch (1982)
Also visit complete studio recordings dossier.
vi. What about live performances?
Whitehouse began performing live actions in 1982 - visit complete live actions dossier.
vii. What are their future plans?
Further live concerts in 2006 are expected to include USA, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Ireland, and UK. New album Asceticists 2006 is released on February 14th 2006.
viii. Does Whitehouse have any political stance or viewpoint?
Whitehouse have never had any agenda in this regard. No crusades, no mission. William Bennett: "There are people who, for needs of self-affirmation of their own prejudices, demand that certain things be demonised in contrast to their own image or belief system. Exposing this is, for me, one of the most interesting, even gratifying, phenomena coming out of producing this music."
ix. Why have the albums Psychopathia Sexualis and Right To Kill not been reissued on CD?
The original master tapes of Psychopathia Sexualis are missing presumed lost, and the only alternative would be to master the CD from a copy of the original vinyl. It was felt that although, with the right technology and with 'normal' recorded music, this process can be relatively successful, the experimental nature of the contents would produce poor results. The hi-tech software used to remove the sounds of crackles and scratches may also remove parts of the music.
Right To Kill was originally released in a very limited number (approx. 300 copies) as it was of a particularly clandestine nature. The label feels that to preserve its original intent is of great importance, despite an obvious desire to be able to widen its availability in the new digital format.
x. Why did Whitehouse decide not to perform live in UK and USA?
Owing to increasing problems and incidents with some members of audiences in those countries in the mid-90s. William Bennett: "We're not some fucking GG Allin performance."
xi. Have there been any bootlegs released?
The problem with bootlegs and pirate recordings was at its worst in the years intervening the cessation of Come Organisation and the beginning of Susan Lawly (one of the motives for starting the new label).
Most of the pirate recordings originated in Germany at the hands of Achim Flamm and Christoph Heemann. Sound-wise they were of extremely poor quality as they all had been crudely recorded from copies of the vinyl LPs. The packaging was made in such a way that people would think they had an original copy.
Other than knowing the details and exact appearance of the originals, the way to check is to look for the correct catalogue number etched on the inside groove often with messages in English like 'Porky Prime Cut'. We are happy to help people identify the authenticity of their records, if they are not sure. The above-mentioned Flamm and Heemann were also responsible for the 'Concrete Records' 7" single of Right To Kill and several bootleg live albums eg. 'The Sounds of Sadism', in addition to the unauthorised pirate release of the Ohrenschrauben LP on 2CD. They were originally licensed by all the groups to press 150 copies of the LP and expressly forbidden from further releases. Both of them are being monitored in the event of legal action being brought.
Most other bootleg releases originate from Japan and were often, but not always, pressed onto acetates in small numbers from between 30-100 copies. Most of the Japanese bootlegs were of live action recordings. One of the more extraordinary items was the metal box containing 6 gold acetates 7" singles, a T-shirt and several small posters and leaflets. This package apparently retailed at $500.
In recent times the problem seems to have abated especially since Susan Lawly commenced the series of high quality CD reissues. We have had no reports of significant new bootlegs in the last few years from any source.
xii. What is the true story about the abortive United Dairies CD reissue of the 150 Murderous Passions album on Come Organisation?
William Bennett: "This is strictly speaking neither a Whitehouse nor a NWW album but was a special project. Steve Stapleton produced the 'long' track and I produced the 'short' track with assistance from each other and Peter McKay on the other's tracks. It was Alan Trench's PWC (in all but name - subsequently to be named World Serpent) and Stapleton who decided to market the album as WH/NWW for commercial reasons (to make a quick buck - like with so many of their and Current 93's releases) - it was released by them without my consultation or permission (although they later paid the money owing from it). The proof of the greed is that they could have asked me for the tapes which I would gladly have provided - but their haste proved too great. The master tapes were, and always have been, in my possession - when PWC ('UD') went ahead with the CD and LP release they simply mastered it from a vinyl copy of the album. That's why the 'mix' sounds so different (and so disappointingly poor, in my opinion) because, to disguise its origins, lots of reverb and other effects were (rather clumsily) added to it. Susan Lawly decided to include my track on Cream of The Second Coming so that at least it was available for people to hear in its proper form. If you have access to the Come Organisation original you will hear the enormous difference." NB. These recordings are available in original digitally remastered format on the release Anthology 1 double CD (SLCD019).
xiii. Are Whitehouse 'misogynist'?
The lyrics of certain songs (in addition to some of the writings of Peter Sotos) have led certain people to the view that the group is misogynist. Judging by the high percentages of women at recent Whitehouse live actions it might seem odd to reach this assumption. William Bennett: "I don't consider myself a misogynist in any way whatsoever, although I can understand why people might question that. There are a set of much more complex emotional functions involved with these songs and I've never felt that simple hatred was one of them, and interestingly in this light is that I don't doubt most women's capacity to perfectly understand that."
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Thursday, March 9
$8, 21+
doors at 9
Owls & Crows (ex-Snuff Project/Secret History)
Pearls & Brass (Drag City, PA stoner/psych power trio)
Snakehandling Preachers (Philly rawk)
from the Washington City Paper:
Playing the heaviest kind of rural rock, Nazareth, Pa.??s Pearls and Brass come across as two bands in one. The Indian Tower, their sophomore disc, features bong-burnished bellows and Marshall-amp sludge. But on stage, the trio turns Grand Funk Railroad into a bullet train. Randy Huth and Joel Winter trade vocals and fuzzy riffs with ease. But it??s the splintered drumsticks and crashed cymbals that propel the band beyond its studio sound. Josh Martin tackles his kit with enough ferocity, abandon, and chutzpah that you??d think he??d drain his batteries after the first song. But he??s good for the long haul and the reason P&B is a true American beauty: fast, hard, and sweeter than hickory-smoked hog meat. Pearls and Brass appears with Owls & Crows at 9:30 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $8. (202) 483-5000. (Bernardo Rondeau)
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Is DC9 always 21+?
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Clavius Productions presents:
Tuesday, March 14
$7, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
Pup Tent (mem. of DCIC/Sarah Azzara, early '80s style post-punk a la Wire/Mission of Burma)
http://www.benazzara.com/puptent/ (http://www.benazzara.com/puptent/)
Gutbucket (jazz/prog/art-rock from NYC, think SST and Shimmy Disc)
Bass Jihad (Doug Kallmeyer of 302 Acid playing solo)
http://www.302acid.com/ (http://www.302acid.com/)
Gutbucket
http://www.gutweb.com/ (http://www.gutweb.com/)
from the Washington Post:
Brooklyn quartet Gutbucket is ostensibly a jazz band, but there's no chance you'll see them on the schedule for Blues Alley anytime soon. Ken Thomson's free-wheeling saxophone is the band's signature sound, but he plays over anything from oddly-timed prog freakouts to punk raveups supplied by guitarist Ty Citerman, bassist Eric Rockwin and drummer Paul Choffo. The very adept musicians are clearly in control of the chaotic sound they create. A classic case of a band that defies categorization, Gutbucket is at DC9 tonight.
RIYL: Ornette Coleman, Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress Of, Clawhammer, Zorn, Curlew
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Clavius Productions presents:
Sunday, March 26
DC9, 1940 9th St NW WDC
http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
$8, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
Barbez (NYC jazz/folk/psych/post-punk with an Eastern European flavor)
Caution Curves (DC electro-acoustic experimental trio)
Dreamend (Chicago epic shoegaze, like Ride by way of GYBE and Mogwai)
The Antiques (DC black jangle funk)
Barbez
http://www.barbez.com (http://www.barbez.com)
Brooklyn-based Barbez brings together a talented mix of jazz musicians, rockers, and one stunning modern dancer/vocalist to weave unique and haunting soundscapes. Drawing on such disparate musical traditions as Argentine tango, pre-MTV punk, the music of Kurt Weill, and the beautiful eeriness of The Residents, the band creates music that evokes everything from dark rock like Swans and P.J. Harvey, to the melancholy lyricism of Eastern European folk music.
The group came together in the late '90s, and through extensive touring and two stellar albums (recorded and produced by Martin Bisi of Swans, Sonic Youth, and Angels of Light fame) they have gained international attention and wide critical acclaim. The band??s current lineup features vocalist Ksenia Vidyaykina, Dan Kaufman (Rebecca Moore) on guitar, theremin player Pamelia Kurstin (Air, David Byrne, Cibo Matto), marimba/vibes by Danny Tunick (Bang on A Can, Guv??ner), bass/electronics/palm pilot Dan Coates, and on drums Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot, Secret Chiefs). In addition to the regular players, frequent collaborators have included violinist Eszter Balint (of Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise), vocalist Nils Frykdahl (Idiot Flesh, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), drummer Anthony Nozero (Drums and Tuba), and toy instrument ingenue Rebecca Moore. The band has also shared the stage with such great artists as Cat Power, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, The Lonesome Organist, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Shelley Hirsch, Faun Fables, Devendra Banhart, and The Dresden Dolls.
Barbez recently completed its third album, which is due to be released this September on Important Records, and the band will be heading out on tour thereafter. The band will travel extensively around the US and Canada and then head out for their second European tour, revisiting Italy, France, Slovenia, Croatia, and stopping in Germany to once again provide musical accompaniment to MacArthur-winning playwright John Jesurun??s "Chang In A Void Moon." A night with Barbez is a blend of the stirring, the spiritual, and the hilarious, and the joys and miseries of our everyday existence -- from traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge to an exuberant Russian wedding dance.
The Caution Curves
http://www.thecautioncurves.org (http://www.thecautioncurves.org)
A cosy electro acoustic combo comprising Amanda Huron, drums and percussion, Tristana Fiscella, vocals and guitar, and Rebecca Mills on her laptop, hailing from Washington DC, who's music is refreshingly nice (as opposed to nasty).
"Lemons" begins with a yawning sleepy start from vocalist Tristana Fiscella...something about liking lemons?
A slightly neurotic potpourri of naive noises...the music flittering about dangerously like moths round a candle, but hanging together on thin threads. A change comes half way through as Ms Fiscella tries desperately to stay awake as she sings some ??proper verses? over simple, understated drums.
On "Leslie", a naïve ambling clattering of drums, percussion and twangy guitar floats along nicely. The sun is out, it's spring, and squirrels hop from branch to twig, until after a deep breath, a moaning and a wailing hails drums building and falling, against a feathery warm duvet of laptop gurgling. The track sinks into colder regions, the sun is obscured by dark clouds and guttural words can be made out as bassy low bit drones fill out the space?as the voice soars, we quiet down to almost nothing as Tristana pleads, please please please please, please Leslie come home!
Maybe it's the sound of Tristana Fiscella's voice or the lemony nature of the first track, but this awakens something in my severely damaged memory and, on hands and knees I finger my way along my vinyl shelf until I dust off Danielle Dax, and more specifically her early work in the Lemon Kittens (hence the lemons). This was a pleasant reminder of the lovely Ms Dax, and the observation that experimentation when in feminine hands is simply and wonderfully NON-po-faced and refreshingly UN-nerdy!
And there is something feminine and charming about The Caution Curves, that is pastoral and free. The warmness of the laptop sounds that fill the air are delightful, the voice is improvised and happily carefree and unselfconscious. The drums although nicely recorded, are verging on the amateur, and it takes a while for me to decide whether I like them like this or whether someone needs a few lessons?but finally I decide that I not only like them like this, I love them like this...don't change?please?
As my favourite German improvisers, Can once said? I want more? (furthernoise.org)
Dreamend
http://www.dreamend.com/ (http://www.dreamend.com/)
A two-year-old, three-piece ensemble from Chicago, Dreamend describes its work as ??sad bastard? music. Their new album, as if by ghosts..., alternates between silvery sounding harmonics and dissonant spikes and valleys. The instrumentation line-up is mainly just guitars and drums and often sounds like Explosions in the Sky, an instrumental band from Austin, Texas. Dreamend intentionally mixes its vocals low, at least on their new release, which emphasizes the band's instrumental nature as the voice blends effortlessly with the surrounding music.
as if by ghosts..., makes a fine addition to your CD collection and is perfect for those evenings when you need a bit of dramatic music to accompany a thunder storm. Standout tracks include ??Ellipsis,? a beautifully rendered cyclic instrumental featuring a ringing, crystal clear xylophone. The last track, ??Fireworks,? weaves its ways through a musical soundscape in just under six-and-a-half minutes; it draws you in despite its length, and you find yourself wishing it was even longer. (The CD is available in a limited edition featuring an alternative vintage black-and-white cover photo as well as a random picture negative and booklet.) (Edgewood Smith)
On their debut split EP with Monster Movie, Dreamend treaded a similar ground as many post-rock bands, but did it with enough flourishes that made me wonder where they would take things next. On their debut album As If By Ghosts, both their songwriting and craft have grown a great deal, making for a near-great album that again treads somewhat similar ground as other groups have done before, but pulls everyting together in a way to make it sound revolutionary at times.
One of the bands that one could draw comparisons to might be Explosions In The Sky (for the lovely dynamic shifts and absolutely huge walls of guitars), but this time around the group has also encorporated vocals and it actually works quite well adding another human layer to the music that many instrumental rock outfits don't seem to want to go near. "Of Ravens And Winds" opens the disc with quiet strums of guitars layered alongside ebowed guitars, and even though the vocals feel a bit fragile, it serves as a nice lead in to the release as "Ellipsis" takes similar elements and piles on chimes and a mountain of shimmering guitars.
In fact, the first half of the album feels like one slow crescendo as "Four Days In May" marches on towards something more potent yet, closing out with great multi-tracked vocals and another haze of guitars before "The Almighty" wastes no time in laying waste with a blistering full-on attack of pummeling drums and guitars. From there out, the group mixes things up a bit and fortunately succeeds most of the time. "The Old House & Its Occupants" is yet another in a long line of quiet-to-loud guitar-led instrumental rock tracks, but damn if the group doesn't make it sound invigorating once again.
At their worst, the group can be accused of sounding like a Smashing Pumpkins b-side and they stumble a bit during the midsection of the album with the vocal-led "Can't Take You" and the odd "Slide Song" (both of which try something a bit different and don't entirely succeed). And so, the group is at their best when they let their instruments do the talking, as on the maelstrom to quiet tempest "10 Guitars From Salem." I have to say that I'd also be slacking if I didn't mention the lovely packaging, which is again hand-made, including an inset photograph that is unique to each individual CD. An excellent debut from a group who's managing to do some original stuff in a very crowded genre. (Almost Music)
The Antiques
http://www.theantiques.org (http://www.theantiques.org)
"If you don't worship at the altar of Greggg Svitil, you need a lobotomy...stat." (Rick Taylor)
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Clavius Productions presents the legendary avant-rock saxophonist Steve MacKay & The Radon Ensemble. This man revolutionized the use of sax on "Fun House", and continues to explore sonic territory with his improv psych unit, which includes an all-star cast of boundary-breakers. Get "Loose":
Monday, April 3
DC9, 1940 9th St NW WDC
http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
http://www.claviusproductions.org (http://www.claviusproductions.org)
$8, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
Steve MacKay & The Radon Ensemble (improv psych featuring the sax player on The Stooges' "Fun House"!)
Kohoutek (DC improv psych)
Accelera Deck (Scarcelight guitar/drums duo, from Alabama)
Lance Romance (bizarro solo artist from NYC via Providence)
Steve MacKay & The Radon Ensemble
http://www.vidioatak.org/~radon/ (http://www.vidioatak.org/~radon/)
Featuring legendary saxophonist Steve MacKay (Stooges, Violent Femmes, Commander Cody, Snakefinger, Andre Williams, Carnal Kitchen, etc.), with various noise madmen from the Radon stable -- Sam Lohman (drums - Acid Mothers Temple, Nik Turner, Nimrod, 36, Cash Slave Clique), Scott Nydegger (drums, electronics - Sikhara), Mr. Natural (electronics), and Noah Mickens (scrap percussion).
Steve MacKay is a tenor saxophone player, best known for his participation on The Stooges' influential second album Fun House. MacKay was familiar to The Stooges from his work in Detroit's avant-rock pioneers Carnal Kitchen. He was recruited by lead singer Iggy Pop a mere two days before the Stooges left Detroit for Los Angeles to record the album, after having sat in with the band several times.
His distinctive and powerful soloing style draws heavily from instro rock and drag music in equal proportion to the experimental free jazz approaches of Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler. This was a marriage that was far from common at this time, between two styles whose proponents had little appreciation for each other's work; and MacKay's voice on the middle-period Stooges recordings and tours is an undeniable precedent to early-'80s jazz beasts like John Zorn.
MacKay toured with the group throughout 1970 and 1971 but parted company with the Stooges after the band's brief first breakup in 1971. For the next ten years, MacKay would play with a wild cross-section of underground music icons: Violent Femmes, Snakefinger, Commander Cody, Andre Williams, The Moonlighters, and a handful of other efforts continued into the late 1980s. As the '90s approached, MacKay's profile gradually lowered as he took up residence near San Francisco and began work as an electrician.
As it happened, the wide perception in music history was that Steve MacKay was dead. As of the year 2000, Stooges biography pages on websites for MTV, VH1, and Rolling Stone Magazine included an item indicating that MacKay had died in the 1970s. The origin of this story is unknown, but it was a small record label and noise collective called Radon that disproved the rumor by contacting MacKay and arranging to release his first solo recordings.
Radon released the "Death City" single in 1999, and MacKay began to perform and record regularly with a revolving line-up of musicians associated with Radon. The first full-scale tour of The Steve MacKay Ensemble was mounted in July of 2003; with a percussion-heavy lineup featuring bassist Marlon Kasberg (Liquorball), drummer Sam Lohman (Nimrod, 36), multi-instrumentalist Travis McAlister (Nequaquam Vacuum), found object percussionist Noah Mickens (Nequaquam Vacuum), and drummer and band leader Scott Nydegger (Sikhara).
MacKay rejoined The Stooges in 2003 when they played their first show in 29 years at the Coachella Festival, and he has performed with them ever since. He appears on Stooges tracks on the Iggy Pop collab album Skull Ring and the live album Telluric Chaos, and participates in nearly all live performances. MacKay has also appeared at recent live shows by Violent Femmes, with whom he has played off and on since appearing on their albums The Blind Leading the Naked and Hallowed Ground.
While MacKay's profile continues to climb in the mainstream, Radon has released the Smegma/Steve MacKay collaboration CD 30 Years of Service in 2005, and the full-length Steve MacKay CD Michigan and Arcturus in 2006. His solo discography also includes a self-released collection of solo and group demos from the 1980s called En Voyage, and such compilations as Popular Electronic Uzak, You've Got Your Orders 3, and Multiball Magazine Issue 2. The Steve MacKay Ensemble has continued to perform live and on radio, and will embark on a tour of the U.S. and Europe in Spring of 2006. (from Wikipedia)
Kohoutek
http://claviusproductions.alkem.org/kohoutek/ (http://claviusproductions.alkem.org/kohoutek/)
Improvised psych with noise tendencies and abstraction. Sonic explorations in any combination of drums, percussion, guitar, bass, laptop, homemade electronics, field recordings, chord organ, and household appliances.
"...we were stoked to get our mitts on this self-released CD-R of smoke-blowing, heavy noise-inflected psychdrone. There's two tracks on hand, both instrumentals, with a total half hour running time: the opener, "The Burning Sea", starts off by invoking some gorgeous, bleary psychedelic noodling and skittery improv percussion with vaporous Middle Eastern melodies and twinkling chimes in the background, then slowly builds into a pulsating acid drone rock mantra akin to Skullflower hijacking Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold", throbbing single-note bass and muscular drumming laying down a limestone foundation for burning feedback-soaked guitar action to get down in an ocean of reverb. The second track, "Four More Years", is a swarm of helicopter electronics and rapid-fire improv drumming, a crackling free noise jam shooting sparks onto basement walls, sleigh bells and snakey bass drones squirming through a blizzard of buzzing cables and oscillating tones and noisy skree. These jams are righteous drone/improv/noise workouts, can't wait to hear more from Kohoutek. There's definitely much to like here for fans of Skullflower, Can, Acid Mothers Temple, etc. Comes packaged in an exquisitely handpainted/screened wallet, with the CD-R itself blasted with spraypaint." (Crucial Blast)
Accelera Deck
http://scarcelight.org/artists/adeck.html (http://scarcelight.org/artists/adeck.html)
Accelera Deck is Chris Jeely from Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Chris played and recorded in numerous rock bands, influenced heavily by the textures of My Bloody Valentine, and the early '90s "shoegaze" scene. It was the release of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II and Seefeel's Quique that inspired Chris to begin experimenting with guitar and sampler. He began recording as Accelera Deck sometime after October 1995, when a fire claimed all of his music equipment. With a little insurance money, a four track and guitar were purchased. From then on Chris' music touched every colour of the musical spectrum: from beat-oriented electronics to acoustic guitar strumming. Throughout his time recording, Chris has dabbled in releasing music under a variety of names like September Plateau and Your Favorite Horse and recorded for esteemed labels such as Morr, Neo Ouija, and 555 Recordings. A-Deck are currently traversing the free rock/heavy drone waters of the Dead C/Birchville Cat Motel, with a line-up of guitar/drums and some electronics.
Lance Romance
http://www.giantrats.com/ (http://www.giantrats.com/)
Lance Romañce is born and raised on December 7th 1979, at Women & Infant's Hospital in Providence, RI. Soon after, Lance Romañce turns 14. He enters High School, without incident, and begins to study drums, acting, improvisation, and the social life of teenagers. Lance doesn't play sports, but enrolls in the school jazz band.
Lance Romañce's 10th grade English tutor is Alex Kerry, daughter of failed presidential candidate John Kerry. At this time, Lance Romañce forms his first band, ??Federal Roosters,? which he leads while playing drums. They make their debut at a school assembly the day after OJ Simpson's acquittal. They play a tribute to OJ. The crowd boos. The boos are for OJ, though. The crowd cheers Lance. The year is almost over when he gets a bass for his birthday.
Then along comes 1996: Lance Romañce is kicked out of school due to his grades. He starts at a new school, but has to repeat the 10th grade. He also takes bass lessons. In 1997, Lance is kicked out of that school. He transfers to another school that bumps him ahead to the 12th grade, bypassing 11th grade. Lance Romañce Attends Berklee College of Music over the summer. Lance Romañce starts several bands, and an e-zine called "The Lance Romañce Mailing List," which, promoting nothing, balloons to over 70 high school-aged subscribers, many of whom he doesn't know. While reading Don Quixote in his Spring of '98 Spanish class, Lance adopts the name of Lance. He graduates high school on time, has a nice summer, and moves to Boston. Lance Romañce now attends Berklee College of Music full time. In 1999, he buys an 8-track tape recorder, and begins recording immediately. In April, he releases his first album, Sonnets Set to Music. He plays all the instruments, and records it himself in the dorms. To his surprise, not only do people like it, they call it "Genius." One of Lance Romañce's teachers passes it along to famous drummer Steve Gadd. Gadd passes it along to Eric Clapton, and Clapton to Phil Collins and Paul McCartney, who was dating a one-legged woman by this point. Clapton particularly likes the OJ tribute.
Lance Romañce never stops and continuously writes and records for his next album. He drops out of school later in the year, moves back in with his folks and starts working full time at a bookstore. He records Titty Titty Yum Yum in his parents' living room. Y2K is a big commotion, but Lance isn't worried. Lance gets his own apartment, and releases Titty Titty Yum Yum. in October. Lance Romañce begins taking ballroom dancing lessons and picks out a new wardrobe. In preparation for 2001, Lance Romañce makes a new years resolution to be more like Groucho: Grows a mustache and starts smoking cigars.
Lance Romañce is worn out. He takes a trip around the country, meeting new people, and eventually landing in Texas, where he lives for five months. But by 2002, Lance can't take the Texas heat. Lance Romañce moves back to Boston, goes back to Berklee, and lives in a house with ten girls. It blows, believe it or not. Lance Romañce has been performing sporadically this whole time, but it's in 2003 he starts performing regularly between Boston and Providence. Lance Romañce is now playing the guitar and singing, and frequently backed by a band. He also shaves his mustache and starts eating vegetables and smoking finer cigars. Lance moves back to Providence, and starts hanging around in New York more as well. He is frequently asked to play at parties.
By 2004, Lance Romañce is already starting to play regular gigs around New York City. He fast becomes a regular at New York's most famous open mic night, "Lach's Monday Night Antihoot," and a prominent figure in New York's Antifolk scene. This is the same scene that spawned Beck and Jeff Buckley. Lance Romañce moves to New York in 2004, and plays regularly 3 or 4 times a month in the city, as well as back home and at regional colleges with an acoustic guitar.
In 2005, bored, Lance totally revamps his live show. He switches to bass, and now uses a band made up largely of people he meets just before a gig. He also starts focusing on more improvised instrumental passages. Also in 2005, when Lach, founder of the Anti-Folk scene, goes on tour, he leaves Lance to host the ??Anti-Hootinany,? the largest and most famous open mic in NYC. An interview with Lance is featured in Anti-Up magazine, his picture on the cover of Urban Folk magazine, and appears several times on New York??s Bob Fass Show on WBAI FM. Lance is also asked to play the ??EARTHUNDER; Spirit of the White Buffalo? festival in Canada, along side USAISAMONSTER, Lightning Bolt, and MindFlayer.
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from the Washington Post:
There are people out there -- trust me, I'm friends with them -- who claim that "Fun House," the second album by protopunks the Stooges (Iggy Pop's first band), is the greatest album ever. Hey, Jack White has even said as much on more than one occasion. One of the record's most distinctive features was the blasts of saxophone provided by Steve MacKay, which helped make it more than just a garage rock record, adding to the claustrophic intensity of the music. After a few years with the Stooges in the early '70s, MacKay collaborated with a cross-section of performers, including vintage alt-rockers Violent Femmes, country rocker Commander Cody and raunchy R&B singer Andre Williams. He'll perform with noise madmen the Radon Ensemble tonight at DC9, with improv/psych locals Kohoutek opening.
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Clavius Productions presents a night of proggy space rock, expansive psychedelia, and bludgeoning swamp rock:
Tuesday, May 23
DC9, 1940 9th St NW WDC
http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
$8, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
Green Milk From The Planet Orange (Japanese prog/space rock)
Kohoutek (DC improv psych/noise)
Blackfire Revelation (Fat Possum, heavy-ass swamp-metal trio from New Orleans)
Green Milk From The Planet Orange
http://www.green-milk.com (http://www.green-milk.com)
The strangely named Green Milk From The Planet Orange is a young Japanese band that perhaps figured they have what it takes to become the next Acid Mothers Temple or Ghost, and they could well be right! This is an impressive domestic debut from GMFTPO (who had a couple of other Japan-only, now out-of-print cd-r releases, a few tracks from which appear here in re-recorded form) and should definitely appeal to the whole Japanese psych lovin' crowd and maybe to yr average indie/post-rockers as well, if they're open to a dose of '70s inspired experimentation: long proggy songs that are plenty weird and varied, both druggily spaced-out and/or noisy and heavy. Yeah, it's a spookily baroque trip, these guys stirring everything into their prog-pot from doleful trumpet to jazzy walking bass to wild psych-guitar soloing and pinging electronic effects. Equally capable of grandiose epic bombast and gentle, slow-paced vocal balladry, GMFTPO glory in proggy changes and this album should certainly be investigated by fans of Ghost's recent opus Hypnotic Underworld. Of course, the bands that GMFTPO would want to be compared with are undoubtedly their '70s prog-psych, and specifically krautrock, influences: Can, Faust, Agitation Free, Nektar...You can also hear a bunch of '60s west coast psych in there as well (I bet they probably own that Kak album for instance). Yet despite all the "retro" elements, Green Milk still sound young, even a little punk -- which they are, some of 'em being former members of stoner rock/grindcore outfit No Rest For The Dead. Though with GMFTPO they've set aside their metal/punk past, they still draw on it in sorta the same way as Guapo does. Kudos to Beta-Lactam Ring for bringing this our way...and also, after complaining about past Beta-Lactam Ring art/design, we have to give 'em some credit here, they did a nice job with this one. The disc comes housed in a beautiful digipak, with "distressed" graphics giving it the old '70s LP vibe. Real nice all around. (Aquarius Records)
Kohoutek
http://www.claviusproductions.org/kohoutek/ (http://www.claviusproductions.org/kohoutek/)
Improvised psych with noise tendencies and abstraction. Sonic explorations in any combination of drums, percussion, guitar, bass, laptop, homemade electronics, field recordings, chord organ, and household appliances.
"...we were stoked to get our mitts on this self-released CD-R of smoke-blowing, heavy noise-inflected psychdrone. There's two tracks on hand, both instrumentals, with a total half hour running time: the opener, "The Burning Sea," starts off by invoking some gorgeous, bleary psychedelic noodling and skittery improv percussion with vaporous Middle Eastern melodies and twinkling chimes in the background, then slowly builds into a pulsating acid drone rock mantra akin to Skullflower hijacking Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold", throbbing single-note bass and muscular drumming laying down a limestone foundation for burning feedback-soaked guitar action to get down in an ocean of reverb. The second track, "Four More Years," is a swarm of helicopter electronics and rapid-fire improv drumming, a crackling free noise jam shooting sparks onto basement walls, sleigh bells and snakey bass drones squirming through a blizzard of buzzing cables and oscillating tones and noisy skree. These jams are righteous drone/improv/noise workouts, can't wait to hear more from Kohoutek. There's definitely much to like here for fans of Skullflower, Can, Acid Mothers Temple, etc. Comes packaged in an exquisitely handpainted/screened wallet, with the CD-R itself blasted with spraypaint." (Crucial Blast)
Blackfire Revelation
http://www.blackfirerevelation.com/ (http://www.blackfirerevelation.com/)
NEW ORLEANS DUO GIVE THE JAMS A VICIOUS KICKING: IF YOU THOUGHT WINNEBAGO DEAL MADE A NOISE BEYOND WHAT TWO PEOPLE SHOULD FEASIBLY BE CAPABLE OF JUST WAIT 'TILL YOU HEAR THE RACKET BLACKFIRE REVELATION CONJURE UP! LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THIS NEW ORLEANS DUO. THEIR BIOGRAPHY MERELY FEATURES A PICTURE OF A DARK FOREST WITH THE WORDS "WE COME FROM THE WOODS AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HEADONG BACK TO WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH YOU." PUT ON THE RECORD AND YOU'LL BE HURLED ACROSS THE ROOM BY THE SHEER VELOCITY OF THEIR ULTRA-DISTORTED ROCK. QUITE HOW TWO PEOPLE CAN SUMMON UP A POWER EQUAL TO BLACK SABBATH, MC5, AND HIGH ON FIRE IS A MYSTERY. BLACKFIRE ARE NOT OF THIS EARTH. (JAMES SHERRY, KERRANG!, SEPTEMBER 2005)
"Empowering stoner metal" might sound like one of those self-refuting contradictions that George Carlin talks about -- like jumbo fries or military intelligence. But for Blackfire Revelation, a loud, droning two-piece from New Orleans, every glassy-eyed whiff of Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf" comes with a vague, lyrical pep talk. Take, for instance, "Battle Hymn," the blistering opener on the pair's debut, Gold and Guns on 51: Guitarist/singer John Fields screams, "I want you to know that you can change your mind," before exhorting, "Don't let other people waste your time." Meanwhile, "Act Like a Believer" uses interrupted dream imagery as a shortcut to self-improvement: "Wake up now and open your eyes/'Cause with your freedom and with your will/You can set fire to what you despise." Like a bad mood left over from the Nixon administration (the duo expertly covers both the Troggs and Blue Cheer), Blackfire's sonic assault proudly accompanies a message that's more inspiring to arsonists than fans of Dr. Laura. Now, go take on the day. (John La Briola, Westword Denver, October 2005)
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Hey, Snail, sorry this is so late, but the line-up you booked during the last Two if By Sea residency at DC9 was great. It included a band I would NEVER have sought out on my own- but I loved 'em: Neutral Mute from NYC - great punk/prog rock and Telograph (I think that's how they spell it) from DC was excellent too. Thanks. Nice show.
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thanks for the kind words, but i actually did not book the two if by sea residency. i did book them before, just not any of those shows.
and bump for green milk tomorrow!
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from the Washington Post:
Need a fix of chaotic Japanese neo-progressive rock? Of course you do! Well, you're in luck because Tokyo's Green Milk From the Planet Orange is in town tonight and does it as well as anyone we've ever heard. That's not faint praise, either -- the Land of the Rising Sun is well known for its booming experimental/psych rock scene. Green Milk can be heady and out there, but for the most part it's a full-on assault by a trio of highly accomplished musicians. The songs will zig and zag but will always rock -- hard. Improvisational noise trio Kohoutek opens at DC9.
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TONIGHT!
Tuesday, June 14
DC9, http://www.dcnine.com (http://www.dcnine.com)
1940 9th St NW WDC
$8, 21+
doors at 9pm, show at 9:30
Person (solo R&B from Metropolitan/Stamen & Pistils dude)
Dan Deacon (bizarre solo insanity from Baltimore, on Psychopath Records)
Oscillating Innards (solo harsh noise from LA)
Bird Names (experimental psych-pop from Chicago)
Video Hippos (guitar/drums multi-media duo from DC)
Person
http://www.personmusic.com/ (http://www.personmusic.com/)
Person is the D.I.Y. pop brainchild of guitarist Miguel Lacsamana of Stamen & Pistils (Echelon Productions) and Metropolitan (Crank Automotive). The band aims for a similar territory of danceable indie rock -- such as the Notwist, LCD Soundsystem, and the Postal Service -- but with a more soulful approach, reaching the likes of the Neptunes, Timbaland, and beyond to create a glitchy, electro/hip-hop backdrop.
The Person full-length, Entitled, is a comment on the fallibility of humanity, and many of the songs play off of one another in an ostensibly contradictory fashion. It follows a protagonist who is in search of truth, but fumbles along the way. Entitled starts off with an almost cautionary sci-fi epic tale, "The Fall of Perception," produced by Outputmessage (Ghostly International/Melodic/Echelon Productions). Throughout the album, Person denounces, then succumbs, to the insatiable desires of the sensory overload within this hyperreal environment. "Valid Concerns," an indie rock/IDM club jam, voices thoughts of what he should do to find that special someone, even if just for one night. "You Ain't Hot," featuring Young Rae (Echelon Productions), is a scathing criticism of today's pop world, achieved by successfully imitating the tried and tired formula of today's pop charters. Motives takes a Phariseean approach to the one-night stand: by giving in, yet placing the blame on the other person. "Who Do You Want Me to Be?" explores how we all adjust our personalities to satiate what we desire. "Neither Forgiving Nor Forgetting" is an angry banger calling out the shortcomings of a former lover and by doing so, calling out his own. Although there are critical lyrics, Person concedes that he still surrenders to the ideals of todays consumer-driven culture in the album closer, "Business Class."
The album will be released by Echelon Productions on June 27, 2006.
Dan Deacon
http://www.dandeacon.com/ (http://www.dandeacon.com/)
Absurdist composer and electronic musician Dan Deacon is based in Baltimore, Maryland. Musically influenced by Devo, Talking Heads, Scratch Orchestra, People Like Us, Raymond Scott, and Conlon Nancarrow, Dan’s music strives to take contemporary experimental composition and electronic music out of the circle of the esoteric intellectual gangs and hipster communities, placing it into the more informal "fun time." His high-energy performances consist of song-structured material performed with Casio keyboard, computer, vocoder and many whosits and whatsits to process his voice and signal generator.
His performance and compositional techniques show strong influences from the Fluxus Movement, Italian Futurism, Performance Art, Spiderman, Absurdism, and the current movement in underground rock. While maintaining a constant performance and tour schedule, Dan has spent most of his time working on pieces for brass ensemble, string quartet, solo cello, solo study, and his study in mid and high frequency sine waves.
Dan Deacon has performed with Cat Power, People Like Us, Matmos, Tracy and the Plastics, Rasputina, Dufus, Kool Keith, MC Paul Barman, Prince Paul, Blue Oyster Cult, Oxes, Grand Buffet, Arab On Radar, Rainer Maria, the Aquabats, and many others.
Oscillating Innards
http://www.iatrogenesisrecords.com/ (http://www.iatrogenesisrecords.com/)
http://www.myspace.com/OxIx (http://www.myspace.com/OxIx)
This is another in a stronger line of releases from the D.I.Y. Brise-Cul label, and I have to say that the politically charged theme of the release (whose title more than likely refers to the two terms of America's "rule" under George W. Bush) definitely sets the mood for an interesting 30-minute ride. First up is "Post 2001 North America (The World I Grew Up In Is Gone)", where after about a minute of sinister ambience and a sample of Bush refusing to live in an "age of terror," everything surges forth into a barrage of caustic distortion. This back and forth balancing act makes up the rest of the eight-minute piece, with a few subtly piercing fits of high-end working very nicely against the soft lulls of the background in between the harsh bursts. Similar samples cut back in towards the close of the piece and an explosive attack ends things off abruptly, prior to the drastically panned activity in "The Patriot Act (Trojan Horses)" -- which includes some really painful (and that's not an insult) high-end that cuts straight into your ears. This piece is a little more chaotic, but still offers that mix of loud and nasty distortion with sparser moments of subdued ambience -– to a lesser degree. Also introduced here are a few clanking percussive sounds and distant vocal screams –- though I'm not sure words are being enunciated so much as the vocal presence is one of expressive atmospheric qualities. Another "shorter" track (by comparison) that lingers right around six minutes, "War (Willingness)" is quite aptly titled. Again things do bounce back and forth, but this is by far the most intense track as far as density and volume are concerned, with quicker and more drastic cuts in the structure. Ironically, its ambient moments, as brief as they may be, are among the more interesting however -– including very light hints at melody during one segment near the end of the piece. "The Draft (Anticipation)" ends things off with more than nine minutes of material that persists very calmly around a sinister hum and some dripping water sounds –- but more like some sort of dingy sewer tunnel than a rain shower, to be more specific. This quiet approach remains steadfast for several minutes, until the volume starts to pick up just a smidge with some melodic piano elements much later in the piece...but just barely. I'd love to hear some more work of this nature, as its consistent approach makes for my favorite track herein, certainly. Despite the rough printing job apparent with all Brise-Cul releases, the black and white artwork looks very nice here and creates a definite aesthetic for the material, which continues on the rough typewriter text of the xeroxed insert –- which, in addition to some credits, reads, "Afraid to die, there is no safety, there is only panic, so familiar now." Nice work overall. I'm pleased with the focused and compact running time, and thankfully the President Bush samples are not overused at all (nor are the other similar samples that are mixed in at certain points to add contrast). So this is one of the better releases to come from this label to date. "The Draft (Anticipation)" is an absolutely awesome composition. (7/10) (Aversionline)
Bird Names
http://www.myspace.com/birdnames (http://www.myspace.com/birdnames)
2004 saw another band born under the star of heavy medley: Bird Names. This clean group of post-teenagers redecorates the popscape with way-out wrongrocking noises and low fidelity charms. The band features Eric Siegel, Colin Hartz, David Lineal, Albert "Treasure" Schatz, and Naomi Caffee. In August they "put out" an album which they call Fantic Yard. It's catchy and terrible, soft-mittoned and ungentle, psychedelic and dulcet, but mostly just long.
from an interview with Radio Free Chicago:
"Bird Names is an experimental pop group that lives in Chicago. We've been around in guises sloppy or regrettable for a bit, and made a long album of songs from a big pile that's added to regularly. The album is named Fantic Yard: fantic as in aphanasis, a psychoanalytic term referring to the public revelation of one's most intimate secret and the unbearable shame that goes along with it, so dealing in a way with fantasy. The music is structured like honky-tonk country with lots of repeating and we all really enjoy making and playing it. We barely rock at all though we fairly often roll and try to muster whatever shambly charm we might as compensation for our limitations.
What degree of investment or concern does this group, this Bird Names warrant? Would you like listening to them? Not that much. Your lips might get caught into a grin at some novelty, maybe you'd furrow your brow or raise something sour as though compelled, but probably you'd wander to the bar area at the show or carelessly put back on the new [Stephen] Malkmus album. A friend said to me once, 'I like your band okay but i cannot understand why you'd want to make music like that.' The recordings are a sight low-fi which in our drunker moments we think of as low truth. Low truth: who would hear low truth? Cool dads and weirdos and narconauts maybe. We don't have Mr. Holland's 40 years, you know?"
Video Hippos
http://www.videohippos.com/ (http://www.videohippos.com/)
Video Hippos is Kevin O'Meara and Jim Triplett, but we are part of a larger group of people who help us out with ideas and content. We don't work in isolation. Thanks to all who have joined up so far, consciously or not: robocop, stay puft marshmallow man, patrick swayze, moss man, matt vanek, cizuka seki, meredith moore, kenji, matt sutton, jason balicki, katherine radke, gabe martinez, aaron edelson, evie falci, charlotte benedetto, paul svecywk (how the hell do you spell that?), wham city, jordan thomsen, george w. bush, rush, my dad, my mom, my sister, skeletor, majii and steffen. Everybody, everybody. Anyone with something valuable to add can be in this "band." Be a friend...
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For a night of kickass stoner boogie, check out:
Thursday, June 29
$10, 21+
doors at 9, show at 9:30
Drunk Horse (Tee Pee/Man's Ruin, from Oakland CA)
Birds Of Avalon (ex-Cherry Valence, from Raleigh NC)
http://www.birdsofavalon.com/ (http://www.birdsofavalon.com/)
Nitroseed (ex-Spirit Caravan, mem. of Earthride, from MD)
Drunk Horse
http://www.drunkhorse.com (http://www.drunkhorse.com)
Drunk Horse may be selling prefab FM classics to traditionally dirtball-averse indie rockers, but the Oakland foursome is sincere about its cock rock, penis pop, and ball boogie. Sincere about the riffs at least, if not the decidedly secondary lyrics. There's nothing untraditional about that, though -— Ian Gillan didn't really mean "Space Truckin'," he just knew those idiotic words were funny and sounded cool. It's true that leader Eli Eckert, not a dynamite frontman but more convincing than he was on 2003's Adult Situations, tries to sing like a leather-vest-wearing bouncer from Billings but is in fact spindly, boyish, and currently short-haired. But that's not irony; it's just mild incongruity or attempted wish fulfillment. If anything, the Horse are too careful not to appear ironic -— those secondary lyrics could use a good smart dumbing down.
Then again, if the Hold Steady can keep 2005's recovering-Catholic-punks-in-favor-of-'70s-rock movement alive through the fall, Drunk Horse are in luck with In Tongues, which features the songs "Vatican Shuffle" and "Priestmaker" (I confess: It kicks ass). The band still draws on garage, protopunk, and the Stones, but this album's polestars are Deep Purple mark II, ZZ Top, Zeppelin, and Skynyrd, plus a touch of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Of course, those who chase virtuosos invite unflattering comparisons, and while Drunk Horse play better than most indie bands, they don't, you know, have Ritchie Blackmore in the group. (If they did they'd be dressing like Chaucer and singing about dragons or whatever, but...) They do have the riffs and the propulsion, though. Audition them on 8-track in a muscle car at high speed and volume after a few shots, and you won't care that they're not quite there yet. (Dylan Hicks, Village Voice)