Aural Suppository

All new posts found on All Our Noise

2010-02-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Thanks for reading; I now post all of my articles straight to:

All Our Noise

So check it out!

Bammas came, bammas saw, bammas got rocked

2009-11-15T22:12:00.000-08:00

DJ Stereo Faith is known throughout DC as a positive force for quality events throughout the city, from the Black Cat, to DC9, to Napoleon, and beyond. Even by his typically high standards, the Feedback curated by Faith this last Saturday at DC9 was an exceptional evening indeed.

Splitting deck time between himself and hardworking DJ notables Jackie O and Lil’ El (who likewise can be found bouncing all over the district, but we’ll point out the night at DC9, KIDS, that they both share, as a reference), it was clear that all three felt the intensity of the night and were hell bent on bringing their A game. In a nightlife genre that has reached a point where its end is beginning to be argued in select media, the crowd responded with a great appreciation to the earnest sets, pounding across the dancefloor with an intensity that is not often found in DC clubs these days. Even though it was not their job, all three made certain that the place was more than warmed up for the special guest of the evening.

Togo born, DC raised, Tabi Bonney has been in the hip-hop game for more than a minute. An over-achiever across the boards, from his music, to his fashion label, to his masters degree in Biology and Secondary Education, Tabi has laid down the concrete foundation for the hard sought notoriety for those involved in Hip-hop. Beyond his solid rhymes and catchy DJ style backing beats, it’s truly his talent as a performer that brings him to the front of the pack. An individual used to opening for the likes of Outcast, and LL Cool J might feel it’s beneath him to perform in a small club with three DJ’s, but instead Bonney seemed to give 100%, bounding across the stage and making sure everyone was part of the show.

The room seemed to shrink to a third of its size the moment he hit the stage. Bodies packed around the space like it was a heated cockfight, and hands flew up left and right forming a chorus of organic metronomes. As the room kept time, Tabi Bonney sailed through a list of his hits, such as Rock Bammas, Rich Kids, and The Pocket, taking time between tracks to make sure the fans were still right there with him. Shrewd move or happy accident, he played long enough to captivate, but short enough to have people wanting just a bit more. Though there was no argument about the calculation of the mutually beneficial promotion to hand out free CD’s in exchange for email addresses.

After his departure from the mic, the floodgates opened again, and the crowd spilled across the club. All three DJ’s kept going above and beyond, challenging everyone else to do the same, for roughly two more hours. In the end, the lights flipping on was not enough, and the staff had to kill the soundsystem to grind Feedback to its final halt. All in all, I can’t imagine anyone found the evening to be less than a total success.

The injection of a finally successful group of hip-hop artists from the DC community, that include Bonney, Wale, XO, and for my druthers, Flex Mathews, could be the injection that will keep both that and the DJ scene going strong for a long time to come.

Tabi Bonney performing at Feedback at DC9 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Oh to feel the gentle slumber

2009-11-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

The DC founded, Slumberland Records, celebrated their twenty-year existence with a more than colossal show on Friday at the Black Cat. With a clown car of acts squeezed into the Cat’s normal time slot, fanatics of the label were able cheer wildly along to the likes of Brown Recluse, Pants Yell!, Frankie Rose & The Outs, The Ropers, Nord Express, Lorelei, and of course, the feature of the evening, the one and only pop sensation, Crystal Stilts.

I must admit that I spent the majority of the night tethering back and forth between the show and my favorite dance night at the Black Cat, Kicks. But what I did hear was all manner of dreamy, indie, garagey, shoegaze, psych-flecked, cotton candy goodness.

While the crowd was not nearly the most rambunctious I’ve seen at the Cat, they certainly were devoted, and held down a steady camp as they eagerly awaited act after act, genuinely seeming to appreciate each one for it’s own merits.

In my schizophenic nomadry between the two floors, I had to pick my choice moment to produce the camera, and it should come as no surprise that the hour arrived as Crystal Stilts took the stage. A savvier fan could probably produce names for the tracks I captured, but if the band is to be believed, this is a document of two newer pieces.

From everything I’ve heard and know about that band, this is an even deeper return to the garage spirit that has brought them ever-critical acclaim, most recently from the Night of Light LP. Guitar that slips away like the tide, eddied by a swirl of vocals, with a loose cadre of drums pushing things along, while an echo of keyboard becomes the jelly that somehow holds it all together.

I believe Crystal Stilts themselves would want you to sit back, relax, enjoy the ride, and pay no attention to where you might end up.

Crystal Stilts performing at the Slumber Records 20th anniversary show from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

The even less anticipated, long winded conclusion of the Sonic Circuits ’09 review

2009-11-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

I was still deep in recovery from the previous day’s mini-fest when I pedaled up to the Black Cat for the grand finale of the ’09 Sonic Circuits. We had truly been promised an epic evening, and, beleaguered though we were, there was electricity in the air.

Arriving unintentionally fashionable, I missed Alexei Borisov & Anton Nikkilä , and pushed through the upstairs doors to see Pekka Airaksinen, whom I recognized from the Jandek ensemble, studiously commanding a laptop and a small array of gear. This is where my only real criticism of Sonic Circuits would come in. I wholeheartedly support what they are doing, and their attempts to raise their own bar each year. But, for the most part, they come from a very clinical and classical school of noise. A pedagogy more based in Maurizio Bianchi (who I actually love), and skronk free-jazz than the contemporary trends of Prurient, Emeralds, or even more modern classics such as Cock E.S.P. Therefore, the shows seem to be hit and miss to the followers of No Fun, Not Not Fun, Hospital, or anything Aaron Dilloway might carry. I hope this is not taken too strongly, but in the future, I’d love to see more Fckn Bstrds, and even HEALTH than, say, post-jazz theory.

It was clear, sadly, that even more so than for Faust, the crowd had packed in to see the LA based, sassy noise pop group, HEALTH. Such as when I went to No Fun Fest, and saw all the Blank Dogs and Sonic Youth fans, (who knew nothing of the band’s origin), standing around in angsty confusion, the HEALTH fans went reeling as though hit by an uppercut once Rat Bastard+Chris Grier+Ulrich Krieger stepped onto the stage to unleash a sonic chaos. And while it’s true, this group consisted of two guitars and a very skronky saxophone, the way the group carried out their set made it highly effective. For noise fans this was a pied piper tune indeed. Just when it seemed as though the moment had played out, Ulrich Krieger carefully lowered his horn and proceeded to let fly a Fear of God style guttural eruption through the vocal mic. This instantly pushed the stage through the roof, and up onto the next level. After he was finally spent, Ulrich, with the same calmness, picked his sax back up, and musically re-joined his partners for a denouement.

Rat BastardChris Grier+Ulrich Krieger performing at Sonic Circuits vid#1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Rat Bastard+Chris Grier+Ulrich Krieger performing at Sonic Circuits vid#2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

As bodies pulled themselves up off of the floor, HEALTH began hauling out their equipment to pick up the pieces. Following in suit, they too started off with a cacophonous bang. But gradually, order came from chaos, and parts of their set transformed into pure pop aesthetics. They pulled all of this off in a way that, instead of confusing their fans, actually convinced them to come along for the ride. The rest of the set became calmer and calmer, but still merged back and forth between the two styles. Their non-stop, hi-energy performance left their eager fans absolutely sated. Ten years ago this band would certainly have been a rising star on the Thee. One. G label.

(Of course, I had my own personal drama with a novice photographer who, even though he free reign of the entire space along the stage, kept insisting on standing directly in front of my camera and I…)

HEALTH performing at Sonic Circuits '09 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Finally, the moment the rest of the crowd had been anxiously awaiting since it was announced several months before, Krautrock legends, Faust, had arrived and taken the stage with their massive set up. The curiosity surrounding the cement mixer in the middle of everything was almost more than the anticipation of the band itself.

In true Krautrock style, Faust kicked things off by sliding into a spacey, instrumental psych jam, perfect for turning on, tuning in, and dropping out to. After taking the audience to the place they needed them for the duration of the evening, they went deeper with another epic audio tome, wrapped around a spoken word piece, that in so many ways, described the bands connection to the philosophies of their legendary, German namesake.

It was in the middle of this deeply reverential moment that Jean-Hervé Péron, one of the original members of the band, turned on said cement mixer enigma, and let its whir gently rumble through the system. As the rest of the band quietly supported this sound, Jean began to pour pitchers of pebbles into it, augmenting the effect, and periodically tossing great handfuls onto the unsuspecting crowd. Somewhere near the disorienting climax of all this, Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Faust’s other original member, picked up a grinder and carefully applied it to the metal thunder sheet hung near his drum kit, thereby sending a shower of sparks up and across the ceiling of the stage. The swirling finally reached its headspinning end, and the audience was Faust’s for the taking.

Faust's intro to their set at Sonic Circuits '09 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Fast performing at Sonic Circuits '09 vid#1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Faust performing at Sonic Circuits '09 vid#2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Faust seized full control, and soared through track after track, making new fans, and old fans bigger fans, along the way. At one point they stopped to say that, since things were going so well, during the next track, Geraldine Swayne, (who apparently is also a painter, writer, photographer and filmmaker), was going to create a painting while the band played. It was obvious that this was the type of maneuver that made the audience suspect. And even I would have to admit that it sounded like a terrible idea. But, not only did they pull it off, both the music and the painting were excellent. I’m quite certain that this was the first time in history something like this has worked.

In the end it was an excellent set, to wrap up another excellent Sonic Circuits. With the odd popularity of noise, I’m certain that this organization and fest will only grow in popularity and success. Here’s to hoping so anyway, because I’m looking forward to Sonic Circuits ’10 being an even more expansive and crazy event than this year’s. Unfortunately, (but fortunately, for the organizers), I’ve got a long time to wait until it gets here……

The largest fury crammed into the smallest space

2009-11-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

As a bonus, until the second half of the belated Sonic Circuits review is posted, here is a brief bit about the recent Iron Lung show.

I know that Chris Moore contacted me multiple times about trying to move this to a larger space, but alas, it was to no avail. So, as with all out of pocket shows, this one took place at the little house that could, Silver Sprung’s own Corpse Fortress. While they have been a boon to the punk community for sometime now, offering space when there is none, there are two major drawbacks to this place (if you don’t count the sketchy crowds that one often finds milling about there).

A: It is not near anything, least of which is mass transit

B: It is like having bands play in a room the size of your apartment’s kitchen.

I must admit that, even for this show, I would not have gone were it not for the ride I was given.

We arrived late, but I was glad to have gotten there in time to hear the other band I was excited to see, Ilsa. However, unfortunately, upon opening the door to the basement, I was immediately met by bodies, and as such, was forced to enjoy the band by standing on the space immediately above the show.

My cohort and I hatched a plan to bum rush the steps after this to ensure a good spot for Iron Lung. Having a friendship with the band, my partner in crime was able to get us V.I.P. access to, quite literally, right beside the band. The layout went something like this. There was the wall of the room, then me, then one foot, then the drums, then one foot, then guitar, then a small side gallery of people, then the other wall. And off to the side, was the crowd itself, packed tighter than any “sardine” simile could describe.

Even through the lens of my flipvid, I was terrified of how close the violent drum swings were coming to my face. In case you’ve never seen Iron Lung before, (or any “power violence” set for that matter) it’s like taking a two hour arena rock, metal show, and simmering it down to a lead furied ten minutes, and this was certainly no exception. Both the band and the crowd erupted at the same, in only the way that a band who draws about 100 people crammed in a ten foot by ten foot room can. Arms flailed about, as they were the only things that could be freed to move. As the band churned through tracks from Sexless//No Sex, one of the drum sticks exploded into toothpick shrapnel. The rabid fans kept pace with the ragging band, but almost before it had begun, it was all over. Like a trailer park after a tornado, all that was left were random bits of debris.

There were still two more bands left in the evening, but my friends and I were already having dreams of convenience stores. Was hitching a ride out to Silver Spring to pay a cover to crawl into an over crowded house to see one band play for ten minutes worth it? Absolutely.

A few notes about the video. It was shot entirely in Jensen vision, where you are the drummer. Also, a note about not being able to hear the vocals: I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to a house show, but no one who was actually there could hear them either.

Enjoy.

Iron Lung performing in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

The much belated, not anticipated, Sonic Circuits review, part 1

2009-11-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

This was meant go up well over a month ago, but due to many, many unforeseen technical difficulties, it is just now getting on its feet.

Every year noiseheads of all shapes and sizes scuttle down to the only noise festival DC has to offer. Over the years,Sonic Circuits has grown in size and stature, hosting everyone from Italian noise performance artists OvO, to John Wiese, and everywhere along the spectrum, in between.

This year was no different. After building almost an entire week around Sonic Circuits ‘09, things finally wound up to the colossal double evening finale.

I say evening loosely, as the Saturday show was an all day fest unto itself. Fortunately I had prepared myself, and was hunkered down for a long day of squeals and pops.

Hitting the play button, hometown hero, founder of Sockets Records, DJ for Fatback, member of Hand Fed Babies, and many more accolades,Sean Peoples humbly walked onto the stage and introduced himself. After that the audience slid into a trancelike place as blissful beats and tones filled the small room at the Velvet Lounge. For being the first set of a long day, it was definitely one of the more effective and memorable.

Sean Peoples performing at Sonic Circuits vid #1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Sean Peoples performing at Sonic Circuits vid #2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Let me briefly mention that, for brevity’s sake, (of which I usually am not known), I’ll only be reviewing the sets that I have video for. And while it’s true, those were the stand out artists, for me, it’s worth your time to check out all the performers from that cold and rainy Saturday.

Soft Pieces is another fragile, ambient noise artist. Again, hailing from the DC area, on this occasion, it almost seemed like a somber ritual being acted out before the crowd. A hushed silence ushered in woven blips and tones. At the height of the magical incantation, a giant slinkly was spread across the entire space, as it sent lightening over the PA. The religious expression was concluded with a communion of sorts as Soft Pieces adorned a mask, and handed out pieces of the spring as he snipped it down.

Soft Pieces performing at Sonic Circuits vid#1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Soft Pieces performing at Sonic Circuits Vid#2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Per usual for Sonic Circuits, as with any fest, or at least any show at the Velvet Lounge, there came a long and awkward moment of confusion. No one was playing, no one was setting up, and no one in the speculating crowd had a good idea of what the story was. Finally, outsider legend Jandek came walking out of the muck, backing ensemble in tow. It was one of the more highly anticipated sets of the festival, but at this point, people were ready for anything.

While overall it was the gratification everyone had hoped for, the rest of the group was a bit overwhelming, marginalizing the person who should have been gravitated around. Noise, in this sphere, is chaos, but the forefront was better reserved for the namesake of what in this instance was an array of artists.

Jandek performing at Sonic Circuits from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Everyone could tell that things had gotten of kilter, but were all breathlessly awaiting the glass-like hypnotic powers of Tim Hecker. When, finally, one of the organizers sulked onto the stage to inform us, in the way that one would share a death in the family, that Tim Hecker was sick, and would not be performing, we took it with that same reaction of woe and mourning.

As the heads of the crowd hung low, Kotra, a Nietzschean Deus Ex Machina from the Ukraine, mounted a pile of gear, and saved the day. What I have to say about this unexpected talent is that he finally brought to the table what I’d been waiting for all day: real, harsh noise. While the noise genre is dense with eclectic movements, harsh noise has been a standard from the beginning, and you can’t really call this a noise fest without it. It’s true Kotra pumped beats and synth through the system, but with the volume and abrasion that gave the feeling of standing in front of a blow dryer, in the way that only harsh noise can.

Kotra performing at Sonic Circuits from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

After this the show began to churn. People went down to the bar, or went out for food. The next few rounds of performers began to feel like a long blur. We devotees had already been there for seven or eight hours. The true hangers on were, at this point, waiting for the Dutch spectacle known as Fckn Bstrds. And wait we did. Finally, after an eternity of free-jazz, the moment had arrived. And by that, I mean the moment the management tried to shut down the show for having gone well past its cut off time. Fortunately, enough pleading took place to allow a group who had flown in from Europe, to actually perform after several locals had forgotten that they were not the only people there.

And it was absolutely worth the wait. As the group began dragging trash across the stage for set up, one member stripped naked, and tapped foam around various parts of his body. That alone could have constituted a performance. What happened in the end was roughly ten minutes of insane fury. There was screaming, shoving, the throwing of random objects, garbage monster outfits, full frontal nudity, and all set to the soundtrack of blaring disharmony over the system. A full pit, much more apt for a hard core show than this, erupted, and I held my camera out until it was absolutely no longer safe to do so. But in the end I was able to get the proof that this happened, and I could not be happier to present my first *NSFW* video.

Fckn Bstrds performing at Sonic Circuits from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Dead is the only way I could describe everyone, after what seemed like a fest cum eternity. We all hobbled home to recover before the final day of this week long excursion.

The closest a person like me will ever come to doing drugs....

2009-10-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Roughly two weeks ago now, I spent a few days in the ever amazing city of San Francisco. Beyond hanging out in record stores and cafes, I was eager to find some way to fill my evenings there. You'd never guess how helpful the people at Aquarius Records actually are. I asked what might be going on over the weekend, and instead of getting an off the cuff answer, I found myself as co-pilot in a Scotland Yard worthy hunt. After scoping across several papers and websites, the tall kindly gentleman stopped dead in his tracks,"Have you ever seen Caroliner?" he queried. Sadly my answer was going to be 'no.' "Well, they're virtually unheard of outside of SF, but they've been around forever." "It's a crazy show with costumes and costumes that merge with instruments, and more." Needless to say, that settled it for me.

What I was fortunate enough to stumble into that painfully windy Saturday night was a noise show in a multi-disciplinary artspace's gallery. If you happen to be in the Mission area in San Francisco, it might be worth your while to see what the Lab has going on.

While the opening three performers were very much enjoyable, it was the giant mystery looming behind the sheet draped over a large protrusion from the back wall that I was anxiously awaiting.

And sure enough, that time came. Down went the veil, and out popped the most surreal, dayglo portal to another world that I had ever seen. The closest I can come to describing it is, acid on acid. Instead, you should really just see for yourself:

Caroliner performing at The Lab in San Francisco from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Finding information on Caroliner can prove to be just as disorienting. While both the wikipedia entry and the myspace page tell a lose story of Caroliner being a tribute to a singing bull from the 1800's, there is little factual or helpful explanation, (though I did not scour the latter very hard).

Actually, the most enlightening bits of information came from a conversation happening behind me during the show. Somewhere out there is a video of the brainchild behind Caroliner performing the project solo, in the early eighties. This same, unnamed wunderkind, is, at this point, in his early forties, has no job, and basically lives to work on the band. (It was speculated that, in light of this, he probably lives like a cockroach. But that was just speculation.....). Most interesting of all was that the cowboy attired couple manning the merch were non other than his parents.

I spoke to his father afterward to see what, obviously, handmade record I should get. He said he couldn't tell them apart. I asked which one sounded most like the set, and his surprising reply was,"Tonight? Aw that was real tame; I've seen 'em do much crazier stuff than that." My mind was left to only imagine.

It might not justify a cross country trip, but Caroliner is certainly a group to go out of your way to get "far out" with. And while San Francisco is far from DC, it's not nearly as far as Europe. (Sonic Circuits, I'm looking at you........)

Pretty Ok? I don't think so

2009-10-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is a bit late. And while I hate to post back to back, I have yet to upload my Sonic Circuits footage, and that Caroliner vid from SF (Don't worry, you will know...).

Regardless, roughly two weeks ago I was fortunate enough to take in a more than splended evening at the Cat on a Thursday of all things.

Not only was it a night with some of my favorite people, but the bands were not too shabby either.

Kicking the whole celebration off were bay area, pop-punk (near) veterans Onion Flavored Rings, who, might I add, were the most known and respected group on this bill. With tendrils slithering in and out of the wide ocean of the punk scene for over a decade, it only made sense in certain contexts to have them open the show. None-the-less, they did so with a slightly sour cotton candy bravado. With a teaspoon of awkward disgruntledness sewing the set together, Onion Flavored Rings excellently knocked out a whole wall's worth of spazzy pop anthems.
And the punx went wild...........

Onion Flavored Rings playing at the Black Cat #2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Taking the baton and running with it, Ingid came bursting onto the stage with the crushing force of a little math, a little prog, a dash of Providence and a whole easter basket of rock. Sadly, you may not have heard of them if you weren't below the underground or an Indigenous American tracker. Climbing out of the ashes of Mass Movement of the Moth, this dynamic duo have soared to much higher places. Seeing them perform is still as likely as winning the lottery, but they both bring the same amount of joy. Here they are in their natural habitat.

Ingrid playing at the Black Cat in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

My reference for Screaming Females is not flashy clubs, popular music blogs, or bad, self impressed, internet radio, rather my connection comes from sweaty basements, punk shows, and the DIY community. So their current status is still a very odd reality for me. But, I'll give them two things: they have always been nice to me when we've interacted, and when they rock, they rock hard (I held my tongue on "...like a hurricane...".) And this was no exception at the Cat. The crowd, obviously, had grown in size and pressure, but fortunately the enthusiasm had grown as well (only by a touch). Coming out with a sawed-off sized bang, the Screaming Females erupted in a way that said, "I'm doing this because I enjoy it, but I'm glad you seem into it as well...."

Screaming Females playing at the Black Cat Vid#1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Once they had the crowed even more firmly on their side, they took them on a pre-Ralph Nader ride, only slowing down a bit for a few of the newer tunes.

Screaming Females playing at the Black Cat vid#2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

I am constantly amazed by Marissa's voice, off the charts guitar skills, and far-beyond over-the-top stage presence. If you've ever met her, you'll quickly realize that the stage is where she is able to truly express herself. Which is not to say that Mike and Jarrett are any sort of backing band; in fact, the whole group operates as one
intertwined machine. Though the crowd (I'd place myself in this camp) expressed a sentiment to hear some of their older tunes, they still managed to take a little more paint off of the walls and put a few more cracks in the ceiling.

All in all, it was one of those rare nights where everything was perfect, and it was only so because everyone brought their A game to the table.

Burnin’ up the Second Rome

2009-10-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

Last week, the eclectic purveyors of Type 1 music, the Cornel West Theory, finally had the launch of their first record proper, on one of the best local labels going right now, Sockets Records. Not only was it a packed house, (and with only one group on the bill, none the less), but both parties were honored to have Dr. West himself present. Not able to simply stay in the crowd, he was also participating in the festivities.

After Timothy Hicks, the “official” spokesperson of the Cornel West Theory, took a moment to explain the creation of the ensemble, Dr. West gave their introduction.
The very minute he stepped into the light, an electric crackle filled the room, and expanded like a massive Tesla Coil as the night went on:

the Cornel West Theory record release show Vid#1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

The atmosphere the group creates, from the sincerity of their political message, to their passionate theatrical performances, to their audience participation, instantly mobilizes the attendees creating a very magnetically charismatic environment. All of which is embodied in Dr. West, who, midway through the set, (after being dragged onto the stage to break down some dance moves like a twenty-five year old James Brown, for which, not being able to capture on film, I will never forgive myself), took the stage to poetically send out some of his beliefs while the group acted as his backing band. It was the most powerful peak of the night, and the entire room unified under the blanket of his words:

the Cornel West Theory record release show vid#2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

The Cornel West Theory, in keeping with its collective style flow, lets many people get involved in telling the story. A number of pieces read like group spoken word, only pulled off with engaging success, and most certainly entwining itself with the music. These tracks have a family feel where everyone grabs the mic to participate:

The Cornel West Theory record release show vid#3 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

All in all, it was one of the most successful record release show I’ve seen in a long time. I spoke with vocalist and the provider of the electronic spine for the group, John Wesley Moon, afterwards and he said the group was taking its time to figure out the next step. They will be planning a tour for the Second Rome album, but they’re waiting to see the initial reaction. From there, they’ll decide where the band is at, and how to push it to the next level. If the rest of it goes anything like this night, I’m sure they will have no trouble at all.

A black cat crossing your path is never a bad thing.....

2009-09-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Roughly a week and a half ago, the Black Cat took it's annual moment to commemorate another year of bands, beats, and brawls. At 16, the club should be sneaking out, openly defying it's parents and learning how to procure both booze and porn. How better to sum up the energy of angsty teendom than by celebrating with DC hot rodding garage punk warlords, The Shirks, coupled with DC ex-pats to the astral plane, Dead Meadow. Such a small, yet HUGE bill.

The Shirks (aka, still, the best band in DC right now....) came out in true style by declaring that,"We're The Shirks from Washington, DC, and we're HUNG OVER!" before unleashing sonic annihilation onto the crowd. Though they opened with the same two songs they started the last video with, I did manage to catch one new track, which is definitely worth checking out.

The Shirks play at the Black Cat's 16th anniversary show in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

If you were able to take the compressed fury of The Shirks and slowly coax it out into a long and intricate tapestry, you would have the embodiment of nouveaux psych pioneers, Dead Meadow. After taking their time setting up green mood lighting, wiggle light effects, a smoke machine, and (obviously long ago now) a bass drum head that hurt your eyes to simply look at, the band calmly strolled out, and the hypnosis began. Though it's all the way I remember it, The Shirks played for roughly fifteen minutes, while Dead Meadow swam through about an hour and half. It went from a show to a happening in the blink of an eye. Once they finally let the crowd touch ground again, we could not help but notice all of their instruments were still in place, and, yes, there would be an encore.

Dead Meadow performing at the Black Cat's 16 anniversary in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

When all was said and done, I felt as though rock'n'roll had sucked the marrow from my bones. It was, without a doubt, one of the best shows I had been to in months, and definitely one of the best shows I'd seen at the Black Cat in about a year. So, here's to another year of shows, DJ's, and,"You can't make me do that; my dad's a _______!"

No, your radio is not broken; your house alarm is not going off....

2009-08-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I was asked to perform on University of Maryland's longstanding radio station WUMC. The specific show, (n)flux, is geared towards experimental and ambient sounds. DJ ARKive has been working hard to pull together quality programming including having live performances from the likes of Daniel Higgs, among others. You should give it a listen every Friday from 10:00-12:00PM.

Needless to say, I was quite surprised to share an honor bestowed upon MULTIPLE members of Lungfish. Without evening meaning to, I performed for nearly an hour and a half. I'd been deeply exhausted by work, so, bits of the piece were not my best. However, I am quite fond of the better stretches. If you are a trooper, in the most Iron Maiden sense of the word, you can listen to the entire event here, (obviously you need to skip down to the "N FLUX" show, and no, the Tom Petty at the beginning is not part of it....).

Per usual, I could not resist whipping out my Flipvid, and I've included a brief excerpt here (Yes, with all the fun of watching real, live, clinical knob turning...):

DCADCNC perforning live on the (n)flux show on WUMC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

DC is Doomed

2009-08-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry to say, this isn't a post about a staggering group of burn outs letting minor chords reverberate long enough to grow beards, as exciting as that would also be. No, the title is a song title from a band to be mentioned below. What this is really about is how, (besides that truth that music is doomed in DC), last weekend was one of those rare occasions where there were, quite literally, worthwhile bands playing every night. The ante has been upped for this being a video blog, but, none the less, every piece will be curated.

Thursday night was truly a miracle of dark gods' first degree. After four albums, ten years, and what seems like an eternity away from the east coast, SF based, seminal USBM band, Ludicra, randomly played at DC9. Though I'll have to say, for such a monumental event, even I had to find out while randomly skimming through a midwest metal blog. Fortunately, that did indeed happen, and I was right up front to hear the frost tainted onslaught. If you aren't aware of this band, check out their website here.

Ludicra playing at DC9, in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

I was still reeling from the previous nights warfare, when I decided to try to catch Magrudergring and Assholeparade after work.

Being one of the original wave of powerviolence bands, not to mention being a group having anything to with heavy music coming from FloriDeicide, Assholeparade carry quite the mantle of brutality. I'd seen them several years ago when they were touring for their new album, so I knew I was in for a rager. One (of many) of the positive aspects of the DIY scene is that, in many circumstances, it prevents bands from hiding behind any pretense. You are going to have to know what you are doing when faced with a bare room, no stage, full office lighting, a half-working, sub-par PA, and no line of demarcation between you and the crowd. Quite simply, if you are not the real thing, you will tank like a flying-device, pre-Wright brothers. Fortunately, Assholeparade did not have this problem, as they tore through a twenty minute blitz krieg. Another positive thing about this type of show is that the kids aren't afraid to get active, and, as long as they aren't being assholes, I say the more the merrier. You don't even have to look very closely to see where that had an impact on the integrity of filming.

Assholeparade playing in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

They were quickly followed up by hometown heroes Magrudergrind. This is a band I can't really say enough good things about. I've known them almost the entire time I've lived in DC, though they pre-date that. I've been down front and center more times than I could even try to count, and I can scarcely name a more energetic and sincere band. Plus, oh well, it should be said, they fucking rip. Every new release could strip the paint off of buildings. They do in fact have a new album out, and you can check it out on their myspace profile.
(Plus, there is no way I could ever say anything bad about a band who's brought Unholy Grave to the US (TWICE!))

Magrudergrind playing in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

If those shows combined weren't enough to dig my grave, Saturday night's most certainly brought the shovel. It is always irritating when people discuss, X city's best kept secret band, who, look out world, is on the rise. But let me wear the hat of that asshole for just a moment. As much as it saddens me to think about, without trying to intentionally, DC's The Shirks (that mystery band I mentioned at the beginning) are certainly going to go somewhere, because, dammit, they just rock so hard. In the most arms folded, stare straight city in America, only The Shirks could induce a pit simply by playing rowdy garage punk. I'm sure it did not hurt that they've been out of commission for quite a while due to a sports injury (guitar karate, I believe). They have two 7's out, and everyone should, by all means, pick them up here.

The Shirks playing at the Velvet Lounge in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Sunday was a day spent best brunching late in the afternoon, with a copy of the New Yorker. And, though being beaten by a gang of tiny soap-socked elves is a strong situation to recover from, I wish I could do it more often.......

Until the next round.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation....

2009-07-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

So, you may have noticed a lack of activity here at the ole AS this summer. (But you probably didn't...) At any rate, I was given the fantastic opportunity to set up music programming for DC's Capital Fringe Festival, and, knowing me, I geekily documented as much as I could.

I was happily surprised at the number of people who were willing to reach out and take a chance to help craft some fantastic programming for the summer, and I really couldn't thank them enough for that.

I also want to add that there were many more performers than featured here, but I was only able to be there for the full bills at the end of the evenings. Among those were the likes of such great musicians as Pygmy Lush, Paul Michel, Alien Tears (Beck from Turboslut), John Bustine, and a whole horde more. Again, I owe all of them a deep gratitude.

Things kicked off with great DC psych band The Plums, followed by a Baltimore band of the same description, Lo Moda. The show was cruising along until the ABC barged in and claimed we did not understand our permit (riiiiiight......), thereby completely nixing what would have been another eloquently killer set from ex-Sentai, third-eye BLDGS.

The Plums playing at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Lo Moda playing at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

At the next event I was fortunate enough to have some of DC's finest, Will Eastman, Micah Vellian, and Outputmessage using vinyl and stylei like flint and kindling to burn the house down. Here's a short bit of Outputmessage:

Outputmessage at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

As always, Kylos was there on the V-dexxx, and I have to say, I'm diggin' his new images...

Visuals by Kylos at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

I was talking to Sean Peoples a few weeks ago, and he told me that he was trying to re-vamp Sockets Records and really do it right this time. I found that to be an ironic statement from the head of one of the most beloved labels in DC already, but I can't say I wouldn't get behind any ramping up.

So it went with a night that he,(or I should say, Sockets Records), curated.

Chris Grier is a guitar conjurer who is almost as interesting to listen to speak as it is to hear him at his craft. I do remember him saying that whatever time he was given, he most certainly would be able to fill. (And many other, much more quality statements, best left unquoted here...)

Chris Grier performing at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Another powerhouse from the new Sockets records, now with more *oomph*, is fractured dance pop band, Big Gold Belt. They are what would happen if those bland, generic, pseudo Brit-pop bands were membered by actually talented, interesting people. I really love this:

Big Gold Belt performing at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

And finally, bringing the house down, was the group so impressive they were asked to come back to the Fringe by it's executive Director, the Cornel West Theory. Sean is really pushing these guys, and rightfully so. Beyond talent, they are full of boundless energy, sincerity, and integrity. Plus, one of the guys wears a pasamontana...

the Cornel West Theory performing at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

The next night saw more of the same type of solid curation, as All Our Noise orchestrated what was probably our most successful night.

To kick things off, John and Paul Thornley, of US Royalty fame, got together to perform in a much more intimate style than they usually do, and it seemed to be a great choice for the Fringe.

John and Paul Thornley Performing at the Capital Fringe Fest from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Continuing in a similar vein, Typefighter proved that you can take a full band to some very quiet places that come right out to audience and take there hand before blasting off into the sky with them.

Typefighter performing at the Capital Fringe Festival from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Finally, Seas shifted all the way to the other end of the spectrum, with thick, rich layers of sound that swept everything away that was not tied down.

Seas performing at the Capital Fringe Festival from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

In an odd, and semi-tragic turn of events, a friend of one of my bosses was slated to do a four part-music/sound project, but in a twisted irony, suffered serious hearing damage in a speaker accident. Needless to say, he had to drop out at the last minute.

I knuckled down and was able to fill most of the slots, but left with one....I side-stepped a few ethics and booked myself. I didn't feel it was that terrible of a decision under the circumstances. I've been toying off and on with a solo noise project for some months now. I'm trying to make it a more serious endeavor now that I have the time. This was the first time I have ever performed live, and I was fairly happy with how it sounded. (I also got a kick out of the "ambiance" going on around me, in what John called the most "demoralizing space I have ever seen.") Fair warning, it was so long Vimeo made me separate it into two vids (yes, I do expect you to indulge me in watching both installments).

DCADCNC first live performance, in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

DCADCNC first live performance, part II from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Hip hop has always been an important part of my life, and also, obviously of DC in general. So there was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity to have some quality MC's stop by the Fringe. I'll have to admit, I had not heard of Arda Mus before this. But Flex Mathews suggested him, and DI backed that decision. It was certainly a good choice on all sides. I'd also like to note that all of these guys were really great people, and very nice to work with.

Ardamus performing at the Capital Fringe Festival from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

And a pretty sweet freestyle that I unfortunately missed the very beginning of:

Ardamus freestyling at the Capital Fringe Festival from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

I had initially asked Food For Animals to play, but when they couldn't do it, it was suggested that Hy's other group, Disturbed Individuals should play in their stead. After one listen, it was a done deal. Andrew had noted that they were getting around town a lot recently, so it was fortunate that I was able to snag them for this.

Disturbed Individuals performing at the Capital Fringe Fest from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Finally, one night, many moons ago now, when Head Roc was playing at the Warehouse (RIP), he brought a kid up on stage, and though I don't remember exactly what he said, it was something to the effect of," This kid is a phenomenal MC, and you should all be on the look out for him." And it was right after that moment that I was first blown away byt Flex Mathews. I've off and on kept in touch with him in the years since, but I've always been a die hard supporter. It was a no brainer that he was the first person I contacted. He got his first notice as an epic battler, back in that period. After his name was made, he charged head-long into non stop writing, performing, and promoting. Between his high work ethic, talent, and ever-amiable personality, he's earned everything he's gained. We did take a moment to laugh at the fact that in the city paper he was voted best rapper of the year, thereby beating Wale...

Flex Mathews performing at the Capital Fringe Fest from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Did I mention he's untouchable? This freestyle was much better for those who saw it in person, but none the less.....

Flex Mathews freestyling from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Jeff Barsky is the definition of multi-talented, not only playing in The Plums, but also his own noise project, Insect Factory (and considering several other members of the plums joined him on this outing, the same could be said of them as well.) They were the perfect kick off to the highlight of the Fringe, Insect Factory, BLK w/BEAR, and NYC golden children, Religious Knives.

Insect Factory (excerpt) performing at the Capital Fringe Fest from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Jim Adams is another artist who had an instantly lasting effect on me. Seeing his fragile photography at an art show soon after I moved to DC, it was hearing his collaborative album with Rothko that really impressed me. I found "Wish for a World Without Hurt," to be an incredibly haunting album, even to this day. Performing, alone and with others, under the name BLK w/BEAR, every live show holds the promise of a new and interesting relationship between convention and the concept of sound. Beyond that, in his own subtle way, he is an attention holding performer in every set. My deepest apologies that this is not my best or longest video. BLK w/BEAR deserves better, but I was in the middle of pandemonium when I shot this.

BLK w/BEAR (excerpt) performing at the Capital Fringe Fest from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Finally, in what was one of the proudest moments of the Fringe, Religious Knives took that stage. Just as amazing live as they are on record, I'm not sure there is much more to say except that if you missed them, well....you're an idiot.

Religious Knives performing at the Capital Fringe Fest #1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Religious Knives performing at the Capital Fringe Fest #2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Religious Knives performing at the Capital Fringe Fest #3 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Finally, sending off this summer chronicling, one of my personally favorite nights, well.....you may have guessed it, metal. The irony of being a fan of Orphan is hearing about them due to the lauding by Aquarius Records in San Francisco, not knowing that Speck, the drummer of the duo, is from DC. But regardless of how I got there, I cannot recommend this band enough. Their performance was enough to make people who's musical tastes are questionable say,"I'm not normally into that kind of thing, but that band was awesome." I had initially put local brutalizers, Ilsa, on the bill, but when they had to drop off, they suggested adding another ilk sharing band, Tetralogy of Fallot. New indeed, I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot from this impressive group.

Untitled from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

It seems like everyone from Mick Barr to Mark McCoy has a black metal side project these days. I'd heard that the No Neck Blues band was involved in one as well, but didn't know much about them. When Orphan said they'd asked Malkuth to join them, I'd thought I'd give them a listen. Whatever your take on this type of black metal is, I'd have to say that they are one of the most savage and kvlt groups out there. Despite having to overcome a few obstacles, they played a crushing and memorable set.

Malkuth performing at the Capital Fringe Fest from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Which brings me back to Orphan, and really, what more is there to say other than "Penis Farm"?

Orphan performing at the Capital Fringe Fest #1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Orphan performing at the Capital Fringe Fest from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Well, that it that my friends, and I certainly wish you all could have been there. And I also suppose this is turning into something of a video blog, which, as it's happening at my hands, I'd have to say I wholeheartedly support. Until next time...

All Aghast on the West Coast

2009-06-16T06:12:00.000-07:00

So, the mighty Aghast are taking their usual constitutional around the west coast for the summer. I dropped John a line about content for AS (yes, he's actually the co-author of this blog), and I'll just drop the quote in here:

"Hey dude... forgot to include you in my group email that Im trying to keep a tour blog at mundanearcana. Feel free to cut and paste on to AS if you want."

Thanks.

At any rate, as John did go to world of higher education to learn the king's English properly, it is, as usual, a good read.

So far he's up to post number two, but I'll just put them up here one at a time:

Thursday, June 11, 2009

If you're reading this, you have the city of Long Beach to thank

I wasn't sure if I wanted to bother keeping a tour log on this trip. And I'm still not sure that I do. But there have already been a few moments, brought to you by (and I know I said this last year too) the seriously beat-down burnout of a town that is Long Beach. I commented to Forrest earlier today about the incredibly high number of obviously intoxicated and/or visibly mentally ill people wandering the streets. We had a chuckle about it, but...it's not really hyperbole. Forrest speculated that it was a shared quality among beach towns and likened it to Virginia Beach. Here are a couple of great micro-encounters we've had with the locals so far:

1. In order to facilitate easy unloading of our bags last night, Alan briefly double parked his van in the mouth of an alley by his place, blocking the sidewalk. It's around 1:30am. We were inside a few minutes later, and a woman accosts Alan in his doorway and asks, "Is that your van?" "Yeah." "Ok, I need to get your name." Nothing about the woman's appearance suggests she has an even distant relation to the law enforcement profession. "Why do you need my name?" "Oh, uh... never mind." She walks away.

2. Forrest and I were walking back to Alan's after lunch today, and a hard-livin' type dude asked Forrest who did his "tat work," which was visible on both of his sleeveless arms. Due to an underabundance of teeth in the guy's mouth, I thought he had asked Forrest who did his tax work, which I thought an odd but not unreasonable question. Everyone needs tax work done now and again. Forrest replied that the artist is a friend of his back in Virginia. We continued the last half block to Alan's, where we hung outside for a minute. The guy stopped to chat briefly. "I got a friend who does that. He rides a bike around. Name's Tattoo."

Back to the big picture. All three of us had delayed flights thanks to the positively biblical weather visited on the mid-Atlantic last night. (By biblical, I mean "diluvian," not "weather that never happened," but thank you for asking.) Forrest's flight took off less than an hour late, but landed five minutes after his connecting flight was supposed to leave Cleveland. Run, Forrest, Run he did and made it. My flight was two hours late. Shravan had to spend the night in Atlanta. Fail. But here we all are. Forrest and I drove into LA to pick up Shravan this afternoon because poor Alan needs to vacate his home/record store by tomorrow, so he's off hauling all his shit into storage. He's also been throwing out a bunch of stuff, and while we were helping him last night, he made Forrest carry a box of overrun Parasytic covers to the dumpster lol. Right now S and F are practicing the set list with me occasionally vacating the keyboard to tap out a fill on the desk. Tour's so easy.

(Despite the photo, John actually doesn't drink.)

Void - AGHAST

If you are unfamiliar with Aghast, but love chaotic crust, you should check them out here.

All of the experience none of the tinnitus

2009-06-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the AV addendum to my thoroughly exhaustive coverage of
No Fun Fest 09.

You can read the article at All Our Noise.

I'd suggest opening them in separate windows and viewing them side by side (but hey, that's just me.)

Enjoy.

No Fun Fest 09: Chris Corsano from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

No Fun Fest 09: Thrones from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

No Fun Fest 09: Xeno and Oaklander from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Skullflower

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Sonic Youth

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Prurient with Kevin Drumm

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Thrones

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Mattin

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Grey Wolves

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Black Pus

Live at No Fun Fest 09 - Bastard Noise

Thrones

The Grey Wolves

The Sons of God

Sonic Youth

Skullflower

Prurient

Xeno and Oaklander

Kevin Drumm

Jazzfinger

Emeralds

Cold Cave

Chris Corsano

Carlos Giffoni

Blank Dogs

Bastard Noise

Bardo Pond

You've seen the best, now check out the rest

2009-05-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

In a simple finish to my exhaustive,(to me anyway) SXSW coverage, I leave you with a handful of pix, (none of which made the cut), and all of the unworthy, B-reel videos. Enjoy, (or potentially not), at your leisure, and thanks for coming along with me for the ride..........

Slough Feg

How corporate america ruined punk rock (again).....

Nadastrom at Ticketmaster

Nadastrom at Do it to it!

Katy Otto of Exotic Fever Records

Johny Henry and I

Drop the Lime

DJ Class

Darkest Hour

aQ/WFMU space

aQ+WFMU at the Tamale House

Steve Aoki

Absu

SXSW#26 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#27 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#28 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#29 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#30 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

There will always be frigid forms to sell you warmth

2009-05-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

So, I could not think of a better way to round out my coverage of SXSW (save a "the rest" post of the videos and pix that did not make the cut) than a little time with a truly amazing band, Milemarker. They charged through the DIY scene for almost ten years and through six albums before slowing to a hiatus after the release of their 2002 album Satanic Versus.

Fortunately the crater they left would soon be filled again as they went back into the studio to record the fantastic 2005 album Ominosity. Following it with a tour, they proved once again that no one can blow a crowd away like Milemarker. Even still, the world would not hear from them again for another two years. Now, though taking things at an easier pace, the powerhouse is back again, with a new lineup including such notable names as Ben Davis.

Al Burian, the prime mover of the group, as well as the author of the zine "Burn Collector," was kind enough to take a few minutes to talk to me. Beyond that, there's a great video of the opening of their set at SX. It's worth your time to keep up with the band on their myspace profile, which is the best source of information about Milemarker right now.

SXSW#24: Interview with Al Burian of Milemarker at Lovitt Records showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#25: Milermarker performing at the Lovitt Records showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

The ark that replenishes the earth

2009-04-28T18:45:00.001-07:00

Several years ago now, (I can't remember how many), I saw an odd posting. Apparently, somehow, the band Des Ark was slated to play at the Black Cat in DC. I was not sure how this was possible, since I had heard that Aimee Argote and her band partner, Tim Herzog, had parted ways. Like many in DC who were not only personal friends of Aimee, but also avid fans of the band, we showed up eagerly waiting to see what was going to happen.

Memory may fail me, but, I believe, when I entered the space, there was only a chair with a small table next to it holding up a glass of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes (this is either before the smoking ban, or this part of the memory is completely false). Both were on the floor and not the stage.

Eventually Aimee emerged, quiet, but kind, and somberly rested herself in the chair. What came next was possibly one of the most emotive, expressive, and powerful performances that I have seen to this day. A long period of frustration and unhappiness was spilling aggressively out of a rigid body hunched over an acoustic guitar and out onto a mesmerized and electrified crowd.

After seeing several sets of this new incarnation of Des Ark, I was finally able to get a cdr demo, that contained music so sympathetic and emotional to me, that it was the soundtrack of choice for my grandmother's funeral.

Several years later still Aimee Argote, clearly the prime mover of the project, had once again amassed Des Ark into an ensemble. Now, with the ability to go from raucous electric to quiet acoustic, the group swelled in dynamism both in song composition and audience experience. It was in this time that Des Ark put out a split LP with Ben Davis, on Lovitt Records, called "Battle of the Beards", which is well worth putting your hands on.

Des Ark continue to put on amazing shows, and their set at SXSW was no exception. Anyone who understands how great this video is should check out their pages on myspace, Lovitt Records, Exotic Fever Records, and last.fm.

SXSW#23: Des Ark performing at the Lovitt Records showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

DC finaly sees the return of a national treasure

2009-04-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Even their Last.FM entry has trouble pinning down the sound of the incredibly musically proficient and deeply haunting DC band Medications. Built on the ashes of another fantastic band, Faraguet, Medications may well fall somewhere between,"Math Rock, Post-Punk and Indie Rock," but leaving the splitting of hairs, what is concrete is that they have always come on strong as true sonic hypnotists.

I can safely say that, very unfortunately, when I first moved to DC I was not open to diverse styles of music, but bands like this slowly began to take the bricks out of that wall. Somewhere between their first full length, Your Favorite People All In One Place, and seeing them live many times at the Warehouse Next Door, we shared a deep embrace that I could never let go of.

This made it all the more difficult to hear that, in July of '07, Andrew, their drummer, had decided to part ways with Devin and Chad. The future of this once great band seemed in doubt. However, the remaining pair not only stuck it out, but also began to work on new material. Now, with new drummer Mark Cisneros in tow, they are once again playing live, and, even better, trying out some of those new songs, which appear to be taking the band in a slightly new, and interesting direction. Which is to say, keep your eyes peeled here and here for updates on that new album, and hopefully more shows.

SXSW#22: Medications plays the Lovitt Records showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Sinisterer indeed.......

2009-04-07T07:28:00.001-07:00

I have been watching the ever illustrious Edie Sedgwick perform since her backing band was just a frantic electro-clash playing laptop and a just as frantic video projector. With the newest incarnation involving several of DC's indie rock veterans, she's been able to explore more songwriting and stylistic options, none of which disappoint.

Such was the case when I was able to catch her set at the Lovitt Records showcase. For the uninitiated, you can find much more information about this party starlet here, or read her erotic tour blog.

Here is half of the song "Who's That Knocking at My Door," (You'll see how her large-than-life persona kept it half a song.), which, I believe, is a yet to be released. However, you should certainly check out the rest of her catalogue. And finally, if you happen to be in the area of Germany soon, you can catch her on tour.

SXSW#21: Edie Sedgwick performing at the Lovitt Records Showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Everyone you know is at SXSW

2009-04-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

One of the best parts of being at SXSW, especially if you run in music circles, is, at some point or other, running into everyone you know who is in a band, or every band you listen to. Such was the case when I randomly stumbled into Speck Brown and Brendan Majewski, better know as the hard-rocking duo from Brooklyn, Orphan.

I have to say, I've loved this band since I heard the first clips from their debut, Aborted by Birth. Not only is it worth having their record on your turntable, but it's also worth your time to look up their found footage youtube videos. I'm not the only person who seems to feel this way, so if you don't believe my words, check out those of aQ and Vice, on their Myspace profile.

I suppose it wasn't so entirely random that we crossed paths at the Lovitt Records showcase, since Speck is, after all, from DC. But whatever the case, they were kind enough to let me ask them a few questions about the album, shows, and upcoming recordings.

SXSW#20: Interview with Orphan from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

In the loop

2009-04-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

Allow me to interject into this SXSW coverage to write about a note worthy event that took place this last weekend. While it might not necessarily qualify as music, John and I opted not to call this blog, “Music-suppository,” but rather, “Aural-suppository.” And though there might be a conflict of interest here, beyond my personal involvement this really was a very fascinating event. (And arts project in general. Something that, sadly, DC is all too lacking in …)

Several months ago I was asked if I was going to take part in a tape-loop project that a local sound artist was putting together. I said I hadn’t heard anything about it, but was certainly interested. they forwarded me the, somewhat cryptic, information encouraging me to ask for a tape if I wanted to participate. Magically, one appeared in my mailbox about a week later that was numbered, labeled, and contained some simple instructions. I was to read the passage typed on the back of the insert, and then use that to give insight, and inspiration as to what I would ultimately record onto the loop.

I’ll spare you the details of what I ended up with, and instead skip straight to the good part.

All of the preparation went towards meeting in a specific place, bringing said tape loop along with a player, finding a suitable spot, letting the tape play, and then exploring the new terrain created by a large number of other people doing the same thing. Even following the map provided, I new better than to trek off to this place myself. I took the organizers advice, and met at his place, to walk over with a suitable guide. Obviously, there was no way I could have possibly found this place myself. What we ended up walking into was an overwhelming set of ruins that I was told were the remains of the original façade of the capitol building:

It's clear how stumbling upon a place like this could give someone any number of insporations. I set my tape player up, and waited to see if anyone else was going to show. (even as a mere participator, I was uncertain of attendance.) But sure enough, one by one, both tape loop players and tape loop listeners of all types began to arrive.

Around twenty minutes into the official start time given, it became a true installation. The entire area transformed into an exotic jungle of experience. It was not only nice wandering the terrain, hearing the various other ideas that people had dreamed up, but also seeing the true diversity of the crowd itself. At it’s height, it was very crowded in many different definitions of the word:

While rife with incidental sounds, I was able to get a recording of the early loops that were set up. (There were many more going later, but it was hard to get a good recording without human voices at that point):

Tapeloopinstallation - Tapeloopproject

And finally, after a mere two hours, it was all over. The spell was broken, and the rocks and trees returned to their previous and unassuming state. All in all, a good day that I was glad to have been a part of.

No comment

2009-04-04T00:20:00.001-07:00

Just...no comment......

SXSW#19: No comment from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

The events on the evening in question...

2009-04-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

Probably the most fortuitous thing to happen to me at SXSW, was to not be able to get into the AM Only showcase. Stuck with no other options, I reached out to friends, and thus began one of the crazier strings of events of the entire weekend.........

I've already given the basic synopsis here. I thought I'd give a few more snipits, followed by the much promised videos.

Apparently, every year truly DIY parties are thrown on a nondescript bridge, (or bridges; I have no idea) somewhere outside of downtown Austin. After several texts for directions, much use of the GPS on my phone, and far too much walking, I finally stumbled onto the scene of punkdom assembled. Weaving through the crowd towards the area of greatest congregation, I found a little area where several people were attempting to set up sound gear. (I say attempting, because the bridge was packed with the largest crowd I'd seen all weekend....) When the mock stage was finally set, on walked the members of the amazing, blazing punk rock (no, real punk rock, not that garbage your little brother listens to) band Annihilation Time. This is a group who I had formally not payed much attention to, but now I have seen the light. After a rain of shoes, (Sorry Converse, your product placement was absolutely wasted), the first note struck, and all hell broke loose. You would have thought you were at a house show in Richmond, with the amount of chaos taking place, on a pedestrian bridge, over water.....

Needless to say, you can't make out very much in this video, and I rather think that's a perfect representation of the set. If I had not stopped filming when I did, my flip vid would have been totally destroyed........

SXSW#16: Annhihlation Time on a bridge from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Having thrown myself into the mix like a twelve year old, I was pretty done after this. As the Vivian Girls floated on waves of hype in the distance, I ran into my friend, super-photographer, Josh Sisk, who insisted I follow him to a rave. After several discussions of plan finality, we actually ended up going to the iheartcomix showcase first. This would have been somewhere between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning, I really have no idea. Regardless of the time, the place was still going strong. The dance floor was both massive and packed, but not as much as the stage was. Through the throngs, and photogs, I was able to get some brief footage of Drop the Lime, was keeping the crowd at about 110%:

SXSW#17: Drop the lime at iheartcomix from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

You know you won't be at a place very long when the floor is covered with mud, even though all that surrounds it is concrete, and all that is left to drink is diet vitamin water and tequila. Well, such was the case for us. Not long after we arrived, the music was cut, the lights were thrown on, and the emphatic voices began to herd everyone outside. The parking lot became a sharkpool of cab seekers. All bets were off, even if you had called the cab in question. This was how I ended up, over an hour later, in a cab with two people who I did not really know. Where were we headed? I didn't really know that either, but I was told that it was a "rave." Now, we are all familiar with the common misuse of this term by the contemporary DJ crowd, but, oh no, once I made my way to the back of a series of storage units, it was a rave indeed. This was a full on 1995 era event, replete with glow sticks, pacifiers, lazers, and far far too many brightly colored bracelets. People were doing complicated skipping moves from some Rabit in the Moon video, and everyone was looking for their invisible globe. In the worst way possible, it blew my mind. At this point, 6:00 a.m., I was far too exhausted to take decent video, but none the less felt compelled to chronicle this. So, while it might not be cable quality, here is a rough idea of what that experience was like:

SXSW#18: Rave Time!! from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Somewhere around 6:30 I decided to call a cab to the middle of nowhere, and, luckily, eventually I got one..........

No this is not the end, this is merely the midpoint!

One man brings the house down

2009-03-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

One of the best recent decisions that I have made was to pick up a copy of Ten Stones, by Wovenhand. More than just a series of songs, Ten Stones is a total, superfluous story. Every piece in in it's place, and every place necessary. I had never heard of this, somewhat solo project from former 16 Horsepower frontman David Eugene Edwards. With five albums, an enigmatic yet charisma inflamed stage presence, a track for a double album in conjunction with a documentary about Sacred Harp singing, and now a tour of Scandinavia, Wovenhand are at the top of their game.

Edwards plays live with Ordy Garrison, the drummer from Slim Cessna's Auto Club, (another band well worth checking out), and bass player Pascal Humbert, now in the band Lilium, formerly of 16 Horsepower as well. And what a live performance it was. Crafting together the foundation of folk, combined with epic songwriting, and powerful musical composition, these tunesmiths carried the show aloft as if it were their last. The crowd spilled into the crypt-like space to witness this awe inspiring set. I must say, I always heard about the intensity of Wovenhand live, but they went far beyond my expectations.

You can find more updates from the group at their myspace profile here. And, you can also check out their records, and a few more videos here.

Here's a video of Wovenhand performing "Kicking Bird" from the Ten Stones album:

SXSW#15: Wovenhand performing at aQ/WFMU showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

And the moral of the story is: never play LA

2009-03-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

It's a shame that I was not able to get any live footage of the very kinetic, blown out, experimental French psych band Gunslingers. It was truly a set not to be missed, among the many that fit the same bill, at the aQ/WFMU showcase.

To get an idea of the frantic noise they bring, you check out their myspace profile here. They are still on tour, as I type this, so see if you can check them out in your town.

Gunslingers' newest album is called No More Invention, and while I could not find any direct link to the World of Sound Label, that put it out, I was certainly able to find it in the aQ webstore. If you don't believe that it's worth your time simply because I tell you it is, then maybe Julian Cope can change your mind.

At any rate, I was able to get an interview with the band that should be a direct parallel to the insanity of their live show. This is truly one of my favorite videos from the whole weekend:

SXSW#14: Interview with Gunslingers at aQ/WFMU showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Absu: Don't mess with black metal

2009-03-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Originally from Plano Texas, Absu was not only an area band on the aQ/WFMU bill, but also one of a small number of black metal bands in all of SXSW. (The only other BM band I can think of off hand is Wolves in the Throne Room). I find it odd considering the current popularity of not only black metal, but USBM in particular. Absu, however were not phased by this as they are currently basking in the glow of a large surge of popularity right now. Which partially explains how they found themselves on this very eclectic and buzz-worthy showcase.

The band has been through a fair number of lineup changes, and evolution in sound. (There is a fantastic bio on their myspace page.) They now have a new incarnation that is bringing back a truly grim black metal aesthetic. Beyond putting out a new album, which you can check out here, they are also embarking on an amazing tour with the fantastic French band Glorior Belli. You can check out the dates for that here

Proscriptor McGovern was kind enough to answer a few questions, and I was also able to get footage of their first song.

SXSW#12: Absu at the aQ/WFMU showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#13: Absu preforming at the aQ/WFMU showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Wildildlife (Thus begins the aQ/WFMU part of the blogging)

2009-03-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

Wildildlife was a band I stumbled across on some now forgotten music blog. However what I read and heard piqued my interest enough to get a hold of the Six album that they put out on Crucial Blast in 2007. I thought it was a fantastic combination of a heavy doom-esque sound interspersed with, almost quiet and ambient, psych. Nothing, however, could prepare me for their live show. Beyond some great musicianship, they owned the stage the entire time they were on it.

I managed to get a very brief, very dark, and very loud interview with Matthew Rodgers, one of the members of Wildildlife. As he noted, the new album is out now, and you can check it out here. Everyone should check it out, as this is one powerhouse of a group.

Also, this is the first in several posts about the aQ/WFMU showcase. So keep checking in, because I'm loading these just as fast as vimeo will let me....(Which is painfully not that fast.....)

SXSW#10: Wildildlife interver at aQ/WFMU showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#11: Wildildlife performing at aQ/WFMU showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

DC's Doomsayers

2009-03-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

So, it's safe to say that everyone in DC knows Darkest Hour, or at least everyone that I know, knows the guys in Darkest Hour. We always come out to support them when they play in the DC area, and we weren't about to change that now. It was just that DC had to go to Austin for that to occur. Which was no problem, since a large percentage of both Lovitt and Exotic Fever Records were there to catch the show. And sure enough, after other bands from similar stretches of the east coast, Ruiner, and The AKA's played, out came the boys themselves, and as usual, they did not disappoint, plowing through a raging set (There were much "bigger" bands playing after them, who I was not inclined to see, including The Bouncing Souls. We could hear them playing while the aQ/WFMU show was setting up, and Andee kept asking,"Are they still playing that same song?").

John says they've been in the studio hammering out a new album, so be on the lookout for that. In the meantime, here is the first song they ripped through at the showcase, Doomsayer:

SXSW#8: Darkest Hour-Doomsayer from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

And then we got unruly....

2009-03-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Unruly Records showcase, at Friend's Bar, on Saturday night, was a total throwdown. When we got there, DJ Class was on the mic, and the crowd was starting to get active. Through the pumping fists, I was able to get a fairly good video of him crooning a couple of his new hits, old hits, and total bangers.

The redlight informed me that my time with the Flip was short, so I tried to conserve enough to get some of the Nadastrom set. Unfortunately, this meant that I was not able to get any of the Blaqstarr set, where in, techical problems stopped the beats, and backed only by a live guitar, he plowed through a bunch of killer tracks, getting the crowd hyped despite the situation.

Finally Nadastrom got on, and it turned into a full scale disco-riot. The crowd went nuts, and since our hands were already up, we followed DJ Class's advice, and just tore the fucking club up. This video does not begin to communicate the level of insanity that went down.

SXSW#7 DJ Class at the Unruly Records showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#8 Nadastrom at the Unruly Records showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

So much to post, so little time....

2009-03-22T03:54:00.000-07:00

So,

It's 6:00 AM here, and there is no way I could possibly go into all the details of the absolutely amazing weekend that I've had here at SXSW. Once I find the time, I will go into much more elaborate detail. I'm trying to upload videos right now, but each one wants to take half an hour. Fear not, however, I have many, many, many videos to post. If you were following All Our Noise on twitter, I told no tails. Every video I promised, I have, and I'll post them all as fast as I can. In the meantime, here is a very short version, (for now), of how today went. God knows how but after two and a half hours sleep, I was able to get up at 10:00, and make it to the Lovitt Records showcase in plenty of time. I was deliriously happy there, seeing many fantastic bands including, Edie Sedgwick, Medications, Des Ark, Milemarker.....And of course, Frodus, just to name a few.

After that I ran into Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom, and we headed to a Ticketmaster event that they were djing, in a house converted into a makeshift club. It was mostly Dj's hanging out in the kitchen, er, I mean, dj booth. And after we staged a spontaneous dance party, we stepped out onto the porch to ponder the burning question,"Who, in fact, are all these people?..." Eventually we went over to the Unruly Records showcase, where people like King Tut, Scottie B, Blaqstarr, DJ Class, and our very own Nadastrom were turning Austin into Murderland. Everyone upped the ante minute by minute, until Nadastrom hit the decks, and all awesome hell broke loose. The night ended in pandemonium, and in my opinion, was a total success. After that.....there were some shenanigans, and catering. Then we all a parted ways, and here I sit. All in all, this was the epitome of a life affirming weekend.

So like I said, more blogs, more details, and many, many, many, more videos....

See you back in the diamond district...........

So

2009-03-21T03:33:00.001-07:00

At this point I have no idea when I'm going to get to computer to
blog, let alone upload videos.

We'll start by quickly getting most of the day's happenings out of the
way. I can always add more later. This morning I got up all too early
to get breakfast with the guys from aQ and WFMU. We went to an unknown
hole in the wall...that everyone in Austin goes to. None the less, it
was excellent. Then I ran into the Frodus guys (you may know them...),
and we all jetted over to see Darkest Hour (a good time as always).
After a bit of meandering it was finally time for the aQ/WFMU show. It
did not dissapoint, and every band played an amazing set. Check the
AON twitter feed for the blow by blow, and be on the lookout for videos.

After that I was supposed to go to AM Only, but was met by the Berlin
wall. With no plan, I sent out an APB, and was told that I needed to
attend the bridge party. After receiving many directs, and doing a
charity walk, infound myself, indeed on a bridge, surrounded by a
plethora of crusties and hipsters. I slowly navigated the crowd till I
reached a clearing with band equipment being set up. Apparently I had
arrived just as Annihilation Time was about to go on. As I pondered
this explaining the crowd mixture, it literaly began to rain shoes.
Yes. Shoes. I sincerely doubt whatever corporate sponsor sent these
out, had this in mind. It would be safe to say that no one actually
walked away with a pair.

That is what we will call the calmest part of the set, and what
happened next, we will refer to as the hell breaking loose. For
posterity's sake I am going to post the video that may look like
chaos, but will give you a visceral idea of how things played out. I
quickly put the borrowed HD Flip away lest it meet the shattering fate
of my sunglasses. It was damn near a riot on a bridge, and even though
I was thrown onto broken glass, I loved every minute of it.

As the debris was removed, and the Vivian Girls cued up, I ran into an
inebriated Josh Sisk. This usually leads to a long string of very good
bad ideas. "We're going to a rave. You're comming with us!" No
explanation of sleep or videos would sway him.

As the full group asembled, it was now decided that we would first
catch the tail end of the iheartcomix event. So we hopped into a car,
and off we went. Iheartcomix was still bangin' hard when we got there.
The stage was flooded, the floor had a sticky brown goo coating it,
all there was to drink was tequila and diet vitamin water, and there
were more photogs than you would find at the oscars. Still and all, it
was insane, in a good way.

Suddenly, then sound went off, the lights went on, and that was that.
As we reenacted scenes from Dawn of the Dead, we realized our ride had
left us, and after about 45 minutes, we were able to get through to a
taxi agency. This was followed by much street fighting over arriving
cabs, until we finally got one. And what a lucky one it was too. The
driver had a tricked out computer system, and insisted on showing a
video of," the ultimate conservative cat fight."

And now I'm here. Here being a rave. A real rave, in a warehouse
somewhere, with "ravers," and lasers. I imagine this will be the last
stop for the evening, seeing as this ends at 10:00 AM. Which, if I
stayed for the whole thing, would give me an hour to get to the Lovitt
showcase.......

I'd like to see that not happen. Besides, I'm not sure how many beaded
bracelets and pacifiers I can take. But I will say, it has been one
crazy day, the kind that only SXSW can bring.......

Sent from my iPhonenenga

Aaaaaand Twitter is down!

2009-03-20T14:01:00.001-07:00

Hopefully it pops back up soon; I've got much to share. (hopefully my
phone doesn't die as well.....)

Sent from my iPhone

SXSW blog w/videos #1

2009-03-20T03:14:00.000-07:00

O-K

So, I finally got out of DC, and on down to Texas today. For most of us, a layover is mandatory, and soon enough I found myself stuck in Houston for an hour. However, while walking down the terminal to my gate, my cognitive resources could help, but focus in on a group of people coming my way. The planets aligned, and out of all the people to end up on a flight with, there were all the guys, from the DC area's own, Darkest Hour. So, we exchanged facts and figures about SXSW, and in about half an hour we were there.

I hopped out of the airport, into a cab, over to my friend Kyle's place, and then back into a cab to go to Silhouette's for Do it to it, to go hang with Dave Nada, Jesse Tittsworth, and Matt Nordstrom among others. Of course, none of them were there yet, so went into the mutual of Omaha's wild kingdom in search of food. Kyle and I met up with Keller, who is also here from DC, and while getting vegan dogs from a street vendor, ended up eavesdropping on a Dinosaur Jr. show.

Of course, meandering away from that site, we ran into Darkest Hour all over again, and hung out with them until it was time to go back to Do it to it, where Tittsworth was just getting crankin. By the time Nadastrom took the decks, the roof was torn off, and it was like a DC party all over again.

Not to let the party stop there, Josh Sisk showed up, and said that we should head over to the Fools Gold party. This was, apparently, the one step too many. By the time we got there, there was one of those unfortunate "club lines" outside, that looked like a bad LA traffic jam. After randomly spotting Steve Aoki , we gave up, and called it a night.

Now I'm trying to hammer this stuff out before dawn, as I'm leaving for breakfast, with Andee from aQ at 9:30!!!

SXSW#! from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

SXSW#3 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

(Believe it or not, it is now the next day, and for brevity's sake, I've had to cut this short one video, but I will have it up in the next post!)

Test test

2009-03-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Just seeing if this mobile blog works.

Sent from my iPhone

SXSW!

2009-03-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

So,

I'm about to get on a plane to head to Austin for the weekend. I'll be posting here the entire time, but I'll also be posting to All Our Noise, and on Twitter.

Beyond blog updates, and tweets, I'll also have a flip vid, and will be posting footage from SXSW as well.

I'll be spending all day with aQ+WFMU at their event which features groups like Absu, Wovenhand, and Wildildlife. I'll be hitting up several DJ events such as the Unruly showcase, and the Mad Decent showcase. I'll also be going to the Frodus reunion at the Lovitt showcase. Who knows what the hell else I'll be doing so keep checking in here, follow me on twitter, and check out All Our Noise.

On two sides: the love and hate of the music of Blank Dogs

2009-01-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

Even in the underground there are darlings. Some are nothing more than badly spun snowballs of hype, while others are absolutely warranting of the attention. The newest “big deal” in the murky nether regions of the music world is a hot bed of controversy as to exactly which of the above they fit under. Having an onslaught of versatile releases come out no longer than two or so years ago, Brooklyn’s one man fractured pop machine Blank Dogs is dead center in the eye of this genius/fraud storm. Name dropped and written up on blog after blog, the strings of comments below each always seem to be a heated boxing match of opinions. Only time will tell which side will ultimately win out, but here is what we do know currently:
Not much.

The entire musical project of Blank Dogs is wrapped around a core of mystery and anonymity, almost as thick as the layers of lo-fi effects that haunt the music itself. There is no definitive website for Blank Dogs. No real information on the Myspace profile. No Wikipedia entry. Nothing but third party speculation, and a lot of pictures of cloth-hooded figures. In fact, that theme seams through all of the releases as well; most of which feature layouts of masks. While I’m certain that the truth can be parsed, sifting through the misinformation would be like trying to cut out a slice of the ocean. Which may be another reason why the popularity of this music endeavor has risen to such a height.

Of course, no amount of image and reputation can make a musician truly popular if this spine is not solid: the music. Considering the divergent (and caustic!) views on this particular artist, I can only describe, and judge it from my own point of view. Quite simply, I love Blank Dogs, and absolutely fall into the category of “genius.”

But let me say that I came to Blank Dogs through the kitchen door, and not getting bumped around by photographers at the red carpet entrance. I simply saw a Blank Dogs release on the new arrivals list of the Fusetron distro, and, intrigued by the description, thought I would give it a chance. After realizing that I had definitely made the right choice, I thought I might look the group up on the internet, and well, you know what I know now…………

So, with that slight bit of objectivity, let me say that, if you come from the bed room aesthetic, or the low-fi following, or the noise scene, or even the first wave goth and new wave school, then Blank Dogs is most certainly your type of music. Murky and brittle, these records sound like a porcelain doll, coated in pop, dropped onto a cold hard tile floor. I don’t want to be another person to make this comparison, so let me say that there is a similar idea here, that I firmly believe is organic, to that of a group like Joy Division. This music is rough around the edges, slightly disjointed, and though haunting, sounds like it’s just teetering on the edge of stability.

It is agreed, even by his most ardent supporters, that out of the near fifteen releases in about two years, there are both hits and misses. But if you listen to samples across a linear timeline, you can year the sound tightening, and the pop aesthetic hiding underneath growing in strength and form. Don’t get me wrong, there are still layers upon layers of gelatin-like effects, and warble, and songs that abruptly stop with a small delay wave or two crashing onto the shore. But then, it wouldn’t really be a Blank Dogs record without this. No matter which release it may be however (for a while you could download the entire, now very hard to find, back catalogue online, of which I have three hard copies), for me personally, it’s a pretty damn near perfect symphony of synthesizers, bass, drum machine, effects of all types, just off kilter vocals, and other (literal) odds and ends. I think it all comes together in one of its finest moments on the Trouble Man release, On Two Sides. I can’t find a weak link on this chain, and I have listened to this particular album more times than I’d care to admit. You can hear bits of everything from Sonic Youth, to New Order, to, I swear, even Giorgio Moroder. I know that The Fields LP just came out on Woodist, but I think if you could only get one Blank Dogs record, it should be On Two Sides.

As for the future of Blank Dogs, I’m very curious to see how this turns out. Obviously there are more releases lined up, and people are already grabbing them up like Cabbage Patch Kids in ’85. Deciding to be contrary to all the popularity of his ambiguity, Blank Dogs has begun to play shows as an actual band. In fact, they are even slated to perform as part of this year’s absolutely amazing lineup for No Fun Fest (along side such stellar acts as: Merzbow, Sonic Youth, Bastard Noise, Grey Wolves, and Skullflower). So, while we love to raise certain artists up to the stars only to crucify them a short time later in a firestorm of backlash, I tend to believe the fate of Blank Dogs lies more in Blank Dogs themselves. Something is going to have to happen. And I’m curious to see whether he (they, it?) decides to compromise his style enough for a much more mainstream popularity, or whether it all becomes too much, and the sounds pulls further into obscurity where most people can’t reach it.

Whatever the future may hold, for the time being there is a lot of quality music here to love or hate. I hope everyone enjoys whichever camp they choose to come down in.

Upcoming on Agipunk

2009-01-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

My connections to this Italian label notwithstanding, I have to say that they're becoming the most significant crust label in the world - without limiting themselves to just that genre. Take a look at their 2009 release schedule: vinyl reissues of classic material by Wolfpack, Deviated Instinct, Scatha, Hellbastard ("Ripper Crust" and "Hate Milita" demos), a Hellshock non-album collection double LP, a new Contrast Attitude LP (this has been on their plate for a long time, so who knows when to expect it, and it's supposed to sound a lot different than past CA records)... the list goes on. And that's on top of last year's releases by Stormcrow, Vitamin X, Uncurbed, and house bands Kontatto and Giuda. I probably won't hear everything on their '09 roster (I certainly didn't in '08), and heck, I don't even like all of the bands they're releasing. But their consistent output of solid new and classic material shouldn't go unnoticed.

In the US, reliable distributors of Agipunk include Ebullition, Havoc, and my bandmate's distro.

Grouper/City Center split 7"

2009-01-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is out now.

Merry Christmess

2008-12-25T11:04:00.000-08:00

Q: What do Santa and Toadliquor have in common?

A: THE POWER IS THE WEIGHT

Compact reviews

2008-12-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

My box of digitized goodies from the Small Doses distro sale I mentioned in my last post arrived today. Figured I'd post my thoughts as I make my way through the stack.

20.SV - Apocalyptic Desert - Digging this. Crossover noise release with rhythms, melody, and progressive composition. "Industrialized Post Apocalyptic Bio-Nuclear Radiative Frequencies Recorded In Tripoli - El Mina, Lebanon By Xardas." Comes in a slipcase featuring terrible Photoshopped artwork. Looks like a shitty promo, honestly. On Autumn Wind Productions. Oh, and I guess 15 minutes of this is all my shitty CD player will allow me, as it's started skipping.

EVP - Postmortem Canticles of Necromancy - This wants to be a 70s horror/thriller film score I think. But it's not creepy enough. Too much cheese for my tastes as well. Someone put a lot of work into this, but I can't get into it on first listen. Sharp DVD-style packaging. Also on AWP.

Alkerdeel - Luizig - Mostly slow "kvlt" black metal from Belgium (although not too kvlt to have a Myspace address printed on the sleeve, haha). Their site lists doom and psych influences as well as BM, and they do come through on the recording. This stuff is ok, not great. At War With False Noise re-release of an uber-limited cassette. Beautiful gray-on-black cardstock print job.

Behemothaur - Darkcrystal - Is it noise? Black metal? Free doom? Noise rock? All of the above, assembled in no particular order. Kiwi band featuring the CJA dude. Might take another listen to grow on me; I feel like the band is not sure exactly what effect they're going for, especially given the linear narrative of the accompanying booklet. Which is sharp as hell in the standard 200mg A4 style. Apparently an edition of 100. Neither release I've heard on this label has blown me away, but they get props for distinctive packaging.

Gargotheron - Black Metal Supreme - Another 200mg release. US black metal. Not into it. Fast/manic stuff featuring a drummer with some real chops but very rough around the edges. If this band is young, as I sense they are, they could go on to awesome things. But this doesn't do it for me. Edition of 100 in sharp packaging and a theme of being maimed in the desert by desert creatures or something.

Marzuraan - Five Years Worth of Fuck All - The Marzuraan LP is so good that I'm expecting great things from this collection. Things were going fine until my CD player got its panties in a bunch and started skipping double dutch. Anyway, this band is great. At War With False Noise put this out.

Not getting reviewed tonight: Ondo "Low" CD-r and Detritivore demo cassette. Tune in next time...

Lazy Saturday

2008-12-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

Hanging out with the cat before band practice. Here's what's been playing around here recently:

Spektr - Mescalyne 10" (drum machine bm from France, cool mix of blasts, ambience, and funky parts)
Mamaleek - Fever Dream LP (drum machine bm/psych/jazz weirdness from California...some of this sounds like a noise record, and some of it you could lindy hop to)
v/a No State = No Sound one-sided LP (new Am Tapes offering of manipulated/processed "silence" in the studio...noisier than you might think...includes Iron Lung and No Fucker alongside a slew of noise bros)
Exit Hippies / Aostrapos - split LP (didn't give this a close listen when I got it last year or earlier this year...just threw it on a minute ago...Aostrapos side sounds cool at 33 or 45!)
Tovahaunted - one-sided LP (Tovah vs. Pocahaunted, Tovah wins...way abstracted take on Phaunted)
Illusion of Safety - More Geography and Violence LP (first heard this long-running project on the RRRecords "Testament" comp I picked up a few months ago, then Aquarius had a brand new CD-r that I grabbed that was way worth it...this is their first vinyl output from '88, great soundscape/collage work with contemporary news fragments worked in...so good, I need more IoS stuff!)
E. Lunde / Hands To - split LP (got this from the same dude as the above LP...Lunde is also on the "Testament" comp...good but not great, too much pretentious spoken word content (like on the comp)...Hands To side is dronier and betterer)
Ox - Aftermath LP (Earth worship, unimpressive)
Xasthur - Nocturnal Poisoning 2xLP

A few news items while I'm at it (which is what this blog is supposed to be for anyway):

The initial release from Mark McCoy's quasi-bm project Ancestors has been pressed on vinyl after an initial cassette run. This came out a few weeks ago, limited to 300, who knows if it's still around. Youth Attack is apparently doing an even more limited test press version that has not yet been released. A 7" of new material is due out in the near future.

Have A Nice Life's sprawling bedroom shoegaze double CD Deathconsciousness is going to get a vinyl release next year, according to the band's label Enemies List. I will be keeping a close eye on this label next year; these guys seem attracted to the unorthodox.

New Pig Heart Transplant 7" out on Deer Healer, 400 copies.

Big label/distro sale on at Small Doses, lots of good prices.

Looks like aRCHIVE got some more copies of the Acid Eater LP in stock. Japanese garage rock blown out Disclose style with Masonna on vocals. 300 copies.

There's a new Dead C LP out that I haven't heard. Ditto for Dolores, the new Bohren record. Ghosts of the new Lifelover record are floating around the internet, but I have yet to get ahold of one.

Sadly, from here on out it will only be Ex-Yellow Swans

2008-12-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

So I picked up a copy (unfortunately not one of the color copies) of the Ex-Cocaine/Yellow Swans split LP. I, like John, deeply lament the decided separation of the Yellow Swans duo, and this release is one more reason to feel that way.

But first, let's spend some time with Ex-Cocaine.

I will have to admit that I had never heard of this group before. This says less about their relevance and more about my ignorance. But upon giving their side a spin, I was pleasantly surprised to hear, not what I had prejudged to be some sort of noisy, angular nowave inspired group, but instead, slightly abstract gently rolling psych.

Made up of yet another duo, Mike Casler and Bryan Ramirez are described as,"Two heavy mellow bros on congas and fuzz [who] amble through underwater psych murmurs delivering freak tales and out of control throwdowns," on their Last.FM page, and whatever that may mean, I could not agree more.

Black Cat Lament, the first song of two by EC on this record, spills in with gentle percussion rolls and swaying guitar riffs. It simply takes this basic idea and swirls around with it for a while. Accepting whatever comes after the jumping off point and let it take the music wherever, I think what I like best about this track is how a-rhythmic it is. There is never quite one single tempo, and synchronization takes a back seat to exploration. Normally this would throw most listeners off, but the way they approach this song, and the gentle mood they create makes it all fit right into place.

Everything pulls together in the second song, Sexy Music. A solid yet simple track of just barely atypical psych. I should point out that unlike many of their contemporaries, Ex-Cocaine don't really apply that many effects or lo-fi aesthetics, to this recording at least. Just a little delay here and there, and beyond that it's pretty straight forward. Which I think in the fringes of music where we are now, is something that not many groups could do and still maintain a following. What makes this track for me is the vocals. They have a slightly haunted quality, and though according to the liner notes they are only sung by Brian Ramirez, they have an odd choral sound that I feel pulls the song to where it should be. Once again, simple guitar and percussion, doing what would normally be a very traditional style, but tweeking it, organically, to move it to a place not only of originality, but also hypnotic appeal. I look forward to adding more Ex-Cocaine to my collection.

The flipside is, of course, one long and haunting track by the much lauded, (and rightfully so), sadly now defunct, Yellow Swans. Creeping in with a fuzzy undertow interrupted here and there with melancholic tones, Comedy Hypnosis is one of the final examples of what made this group great. Minimal at first, the track doesn't so much build, as grow. The tones lead to slight guitar, and muted notes of feedback at regular intervals. Somewhere in the distance murky vocals, not even attempting to come through the mix, add another layer to the composition. It's the type of music that, when you see it explained in words, sounds very underwhelming, but when you hear the simplicity, subtlety, and complexity of the sound you simply get swept away. Finally the lower registers drop off as the rippling walls of static white noise raise up like smooth concrete enveloping everything around it. The pressures hiss, pop, and crackle. The vocals begin to take on the sound of metal twisting in the wind. And as soon as the distortion, which is never grating, peaks, all the complex layers begin slipping away one by one until we are left nearly at the very place we started. The great part about the end of this piece is that the sound dies, and yet, after a beat, the final echo pops up again, and then another beat, and quieter again, and then again, always a little longer, and quieter to an almost imperceptible degree. And it doesn't die away until there is no vinyl left.

This is, in my opinion, a solid record on both sides. From the quiet and simple to the broody and complex. You can check out the myspace profiles of both Ex-Cocaine and Yellow Swans to find out more about the bands, and hear some samples of their work. You can also go to the Not Not Fun webstore to purchase a copy, with, PS, great album artwork, which I believe is still available.

Mining deep indeed

2008-11-30T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you come across records you like because of your specific musical tastes. Other times it's because you know the people in the band or have seen them play many worthwhile shows. Still other times it's to see what all the hype for a certain band or album is about. And then there are the records that come from the shadows and knock you off your feet. Such is the case with Inca Ore's Birthday of Bless You. While going over the Not Not Fun website I came across a boldened announcement stating that there was one final repress of 85 copies of this limited release LP. The description caught my attention with turns of phrase such as,"psychedelic secrecy, rippling whispers, and private ghost ballads." I knew that I was destined to own this album.

Inca Ore is better known as Eva Saelens, and is a member of celebrated, spacey psych group Jackie-O Motherfucker. Listening to her solo work you can certainly understand why. Birthday of Bless You, as soon as the needle drops, comes quietly out of the darkness whispering a language of haunted beauty. The entire first side flows like a blissful river carrying the listener on the hypnotizing tone of Eva's voice. Layered with deep reverb, and lo-fi aesthetic, the music transcends typical expectations in favor of a much farther off spiritual dimension.

The accompaniment itself is minimal. Often times not being created by recognizable instruments at all, but instead soothing and swirling tones that ebb and flow to give more depth to the key ingredient, the voice itself. Nothing, per se, is ever loud, but sometimes the thickness of the sound builds, and then other times drops away to reveal a folky, almost Americana lying underneath. There is even a cover of Merle Haggard's Silver Wings to tie it all together.

The second side of this precious slab pounces with a brief cacophony before sinking back down into the tides below. Though there are more silent moments between the songs here, there certainly is more diversity, and epic composition. From a piece that wobbles back and forth with some type of fractured instrument, to a piece where Eva cries out, almost totally acapella, and not really singing at all, that we are all pearls and we should realize this. Finally belting out that she does, revealing a bit of a southern accent.

It continues on with striking songs punctuated by cannon-esque toms, and ancient church like hymns carried on the psychic wings of murky organs among other things. The echo of her voice stretches farther and farther as the songs go on, carrying the listener farther and farther from the material world, until finally it slips away just as beautifully as it came in. I have been listening to the album over and over again for two weeks and am still mesmerized by it each and every listen.

So beyond the Jackie-O connection, beyond the limited release put out by Not Not Fun, and even beyond the fantastic yet simple hand screened cover containing some very nice artwork on the insert, if you have even the slightest inclination towards amazingly well crafted, lo-fi, reverbed and blissed out music, then you must at all cost find a copy of Birthday of Bless You, by Inca Ore.

It's also worth taking a few minutes to check out her interesting blog, and her myspace profile to hear samples of some of her work.

Soundz in my earz

2008-11-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so, here's what I've been listening to...

Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker - Fantasma Parastasie LP (I'm really digging this. Great mixture of their respective styles with neither dominating. I haven't really listened to enough of Aidan's work to have an educated grasp of his approach - he's the Agathocles of drone guitarists - but the shifting distorted textures on this record remind me more of Hecker. Great jacket art to boot.)

Pig Heart Transplant - Blackmail cassette (Iron Lung's Jon Kortland and friends doing the noise thing...kinda. Hard to pin down. New PHT live recording on its way to my mailbox from Soccer Mom Ebonics.)

Oren Ambarchi - Grapes From the Estate 2xLP and A Final Kiss On Poisoned Cheeks one-sided LP (Can't get enough. New live CDr out now on the Israeli label Uganda - 50 copies, be quick. This is the first recording I've ever ordered from that country. Incidentally, I had an issue with my credit card today, and when I called customer service the woman went over my last few purchases, including one from "Jerusalem, Illinois.")

Filth of Mankind - The Final Chapter LP (Classic. Killer.)

Total - Here, Time Is Space 2xLP (Some obscure distributor unearthed copies of this, at least some of which went to the Crucial Blast store. Which is Exhibit A in why I recommend keeping an eye on the CB distro.)

Skullflower - Taste the Blood of the Deceiver LP (Brand new, fantastic.)

Panicsville - Imperfection of the Organism LP (Spinning right now.)

Sit and Spin

2008-11-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

So, here's a no brainer that I thought might be worthwhile. Each week I'll give a brief list of some or all of the records that have crossed my turntable that week. Sort of like an analog last.fm. Now, it's true, I also listen to plenty of digitized music (I normally rip all cd's now), but I figure this list would be long enough. And also, for the most part, I talk about vinyl on this blog. So, for the first ever Sit and Spin:

10/25-11/02 (I'm cheating abit this time....)

Blk W/Bear-Fahrenheit_Drafts 12"
Wolf Eyes-Human Animal 12"
Dead Machines-Live at Tzompantli 12"
Bloody Panda-Pheromone 12"
Wolf Mangler-Cooking With Wolves 12"
Inquisition-Magnificent Glorification of Lucifer 12"
Woods of Infinity-Hedja 12"
Menstruation Sisters-Ma 12" (Thanks John!)
Nachtmystium-Reign of the Malicious 12" pic
Woods of Infinity-Frozen Nostalgia 7"
Su19b/Jenny Piccolo-7" Split
Su19b/Xbrainiax-7" Split
oVo/Smut-7" Split
oVo/Mr. Natural-7" Split
oVo/Cock E.S.P.-7" Split (OMG I LOVE THIS RECORD!)

And I think that's about it. Obviously I reserve the right to make this as short or long as I feel, and yes, there will be repeats. But whatever, inquiring minds want to know..........

TTFN!

Schizophrenic bliss........

2008-11-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered, and purchased an amazing and much needed 7" that I did not even know existed. While going on that same To Live a Lie binge, I once again stopped dead in my tracks due to another surely crucial split. It's best of the best between Michigan's fastcore hero's, Xbrainiax, and Japan's sludgecore beasts Su19b.

Xbrainiax blaze through 12 songs of face removing same said fastcore. If you for some reason don't know, this is some of the best newschool, oldschool violence, with nods to both the legends such as Hellnation, and newer broods a la Threatener. They aren't trying to fix what isn't broken, they're just trying to attach uzi mounts and sweet exhaust flame throwers too it. They've got all hooks, samples, and rapid fire tempos that show off the very best of what can be done with this genre, and yet still in a very raw and uncontrolled sounding way.

Su19b comes back with some of their most crushingly brutal work to date. I cannot say enough good things about this band. I know we all love classic punk based sludge such as Noothgrush, and the ever evolving doomy sounds of the cult followed Corrupted. But Su19b, in my opinion, just drops it down to a whole new level. Maintaining their molasses like integrity, infused with blistering speckles of blastbeasts, they lay down one moody and grim track on this 7" to counter the dozen that Xbrainiax rips through. Coming quietly out of the murk, Meadow Meal churns along, with not so much Sunn 0))) or even Moss like bass, but more Dystopia sounding down tuned guitars. The ambient dirge flows undisturbed until suddenly the hellishly deep and gurgled signature vocals (or god, probably one of those apropos moments to use the term "vokills") come tearing up straight from hell and into the mix. Accented with drum strikes and guitar pounds, the song picks up an agonized momentum that steamrolls over the listener, as the apocalypse is proclaimed in a terrifying unknown tongue. Finally, of course, in true Su19B form, Meadow Meal is punctuated by a hail of blast beats and machinegunned vokills that leave the listener feeling like they've been punched in the face. If you have never heard Su19b before, then run, don't walk, to the nearest place that has any of their releases, and drink deep.

The record itself was released on Crucificados records, a label that I have never actually heard of before. It's got fantastic cover art depicting some sort of horrible science experiment, with an unwilling subject being mainlined by hypos of both Su19b and Xbrainiax (of course!) right into the eye. The 7" is a pretty great looking candy cane colored marble slab of quality vinyl.

I know I don't need to preach to the initiated to pick up this split asap. Anyone familiar with either band will. But those of you who fall into the "Un" category, do yourself a favor, and grab this anyway. I know at the very least To Live a Lie is carrying it.

Bad People make for good company...

2008-10-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

So, again, when I had that fleeting moment of clarity around my junior year of college, I happened to randomly order several records from a small Colorado hate/noise/grind label called Bad People Records. Before that time I was utterly clueless, and would not transcend that position again until I moved to DC years later. However, as with purchasing an original Burning Witch LP on Slap a Ham by happenstance, I managed to grab a few choice items and gain some worthwhile knowledge before falling back into the fog. First and foremost was the No Le$$/Agents of Satan split 7", but more importantly than that, I grabbed the Hymns for the Hearing Impaired comp (which sadly is now lost somewhere in my belongings; hopelessly scratched). Not only was I unaware of how rare this find was, but also of what a wide selection of, for the most part, little known, extreme underground grind bands were on it. Beyond the above mentioned No Le$$ and Agents of Satan, there were the soon-to-be legendary bands such as Noothgrush, Agathocles, and a very rough and early track by a little side project band named Dystopia. There were also however, over the top bands that for the most part, only released the track on the comp, and would fade away into eternal obscurity. Such bands were named things like Spewgina, Jack With Killer, Forced Tumor, Crack Pipe Death, Captain Three Leg, Homesick Abortions, and my favorite over-the-top band track, Gaunjareeha - What the Fuck is you Sayin. Now, before we go on, let's get one thing straight, it's not called Bad People, because you want to take these people home to meet your parents, it is indeed, bad people, and I'm well aware of that. So, no social commentary on this one please. It's not like I'm going to review, or even listen to a Mentors, or Graveland record. The point is, this was some of the most primitive, raw, and intense grind that I have ever heard, even to this day. Which is why, while randomly flipping through the To Live a Lie records distro, I stopped dead in my tracks when I discovered this:

One of those little known, never heard from again, insanely intense, Bad People bands. I immediately snatched it up as fast as my little clicks could carry me. Of course, it is a split, and Crisis Rebirth is interesting as well. But Artortured was one of those bands I specifically remember pawing over from the comp. As soon as it arrived on my doorstep I dropped it on my turntable and evaluated the packaging. Artortured have four brutal songs, lyrically very much in the fatalistic vein of Dystopia. The music chaotically stays just on the verge of spiraling out of control the entire time. It's lo-fi, sporadic, and peppered here and there with the usual samples. I'd say that this is much more akin to a band like Fear of God than the tighter, more controlled power violence that most of us are used to listening to. (Coincidentally, Chris Grind, from Magrudergrind, was always enamored with the Bad People comp. And has crazy stories of being with some of that crowd in Colorado, when Magrudergind first got started, and literally watching them smoke crack!....) I suppose you have to be open to that type of less-produced, raw attack, but if you can let that all go, the Artortured side is pretty amazing indeed.

The flipside of Crisis Rebirth, while not quite as exciting to me as the the former, is still a good listen. Foreshadowing the more popular heavy music to come, it is one "long" song that at times reminds me a lot of Coalesce. Called Kleptocracy, it is another long ode to a dying world of bad bad bastard people. I really don't want to short this band, but the appeal for me in this split is much more in line with the gruff spirit of Bad People, and this song, is, well, probably much more accessible to the average listener. Which is not a bad thing at all.........

As for the packaging, it could not be more apropo. All hand drawn and photocopied with crude drawings and scribbled lryics for Artortured, and deeply hewed pictures of the band on the Crisis Rebirth side. Truly, all the best aspects of the old school.

While looking up Artortured on the internet yields nothing more than an info less myspace profile, this split appears on quite a few distros. It looks as though someone stumbled across a large batch of the original copies. The surest sign of this, and the most heart wrenching, is that there is a new release insert for Bad People/Riotous Assembly Records inside. And as much as I would desperately love to order, say, the AK47/Forced Tumor split, I know all too well that this order form has not been valid for many years......However, somehow, this one split still is, so I'd urge you to stop by To Live a Lie and grab a copy while they still exist.

I also feel like I could not finish this out without a brief word or two about the other Bad People 7" I am fortunate enough to own.

The Distorted Transmissions EP split between six feet underground heavy, devil worshiping, Agents of Satan, and the sample heavy, ever spastic No Le$$. You know it's going to be a good listen when the cover has a demon holding a baby, a yin-yang anarchy symbol, a black power fist, and an indeciferable photo of what appears to be chained bodies, that underneath, proudly proclaims this album to be "Dank Core."

I first heard both of these bands on the recorded account of the amazing fests that Chris Dodge put on annually for a while called Fiesta Grande (which, incidentally, is another great record to grab if you ever come across it...). So, it's a no brainer that I ordered this as soon as I saw it. And, come to find out, for good reason too. Now, while the Agents of Satan song on the Fiesta Grande comp,Castigo del Brujo, is, to this day, one of the most savage and brutal things that I have ever heard, the songs on this 7" sound entirely different. Fortunately, they are equally punishing in their own way. All of them (with fantastic names like, Black Metal Bat), are muckishly low and dirty, with bowely guttural vocals, and crushingly punishing musicianship. Heavy, deep, and plodding, despite the tongue-in-cheek viewpoint, you certainly feel as though you've been drug to a very horrific place.

As for No Le$$, they are equally amazing in a totally different way. Absolutely in line with powerviolence of the time, there are lots of samples, a constant flipping back and forth between grooving parts and blast beats, and of course the "big monster little monster" vocals. But No Le$$ does this all in their own unique way. Their groovy parts really are just that, and they prove that they really know how to play their instruments. Which is great when they spastically switch into chaotic blast beats, a lot of which seem to be tom heavy. I have to say that I love the vocals here. The deep gruff vocals are barked out at the same time as a piercing falsetto (think Bathtub Shitter, or, if you've heard of them, Cambodia). Of course, what seals the deal is the obligatory inclusion of their "big hit", Balls Deep. What can I say, this song defines the No Le$$ sound, and is a downright killer track as well. I'm fairly certain that you can, at the very least, find this track somewhere, and give it a listen.

My only big apology here is that, well, I have no idea if you'll be able to find this record anywhere. Then again, I don't know how hard or easy it may be........I already own it. But above and beyond both of these splits, if you want to find some real deal, out of control, raw as fuck, and totally sketchy intense grind, look high and low and anywhere you can to grab anything Bad People Records ever put out............

Ättestupa - s/t LP

2008-10-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

When I think of Swedish music, I usually think first of its disproportionate influence on the punk and metal scenes in the last 25 years (Anti-Cimex, Mob 47, Nihilist/Entombed, At the Gates, etc., nearly ad infinitum); but recently I've been listening to a lot more out-music than anything directly influenced by the above bands. Among my favorites at the moment are Sweden's Skull Defekts, who are passable as a rock band but really extraordinary as a noise/drone unit. I have the Release the Bats label to thank for multiple Defekts releases, and now they're responsible for the debut record from Ättestupa, who lay out two side-long trance-inducing jams on this LP. The comparison that comes immediately to mind is the Religious Knives "Bind Them/Electricity and Air" 12", the first RK release I ever acquired (and still my favorite). The Ättestupa record is more dense and varied, but similarly repetitive and lumbering. Both sides (there is no way to discern which is A and which is B) have a fuzzy, hazy drone as their foundation with a repeating keyboard line riding along over top. And in similar fashion, both tracks eventually give way to vocals and primitive drumming. The vocals are really the only connection to what could be considered folk music to my ears, but I wonder whether some of the keyboard lines (which really open up at the end of one of the tracks and seem to by supplemented or replaced by string instruments) recall regional folk melodies. The cover photo and three photos presented on large inserts depict rural peasants posing during their work days in what I would guess to be the latter part of the 19th century. Is there a connection between the music and the images? Are these field songs warped and corroded by a century of wind and ice and sediment? Could be. Personally, I hear captive zombies being marched to a mass execution. Regardless, this is a recommended release, and I believe that those on the lookout for the next Ättestupa release should keep an eye on another Swedish imprint, Klorofyll Tapes.

Back in the saddle with dark down under...

2008-10-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we aren't dead here just yet, and no, we haven't sworn off music for the monastery. John and I were both born at the tail end of Gen. X, and we'd like to live up to that reputation.......

Having put my Evan Dorkin comics aside for now, let me pick up a, not new, but very interesting 7". A while ago now, Southern Lord put out a great slab of little vinyl that was a split between ambient/suicide, outsider black metal legend Striborg, and an unknown ambient black horde called Scurshahor who are only described across the internet as "shrouded in mystery"....

I first heard tracks from this split on War Goat Radio. Dimitri was so impressed with it, that I believe he played the entire record. And I'll have to admit, after hearing these psychotic hypnoses, so was I.

Starting with the Striborg side, I think this is some of Sin Nanna's best work to date. At just two songs, I like it much better than the recently released Black Desolate Winter/Depressive Hibernation 2LP (which is not to say that I don't very much like that album as well). It begins with a slow, ominous, jangly guitar riff, which gives way to pure black metal pounding, before reverting back into a dark ambient echo chamber in another dimension. Aptly titled Psychedelic Nightmare, it certainly is indeed. What I like about this and the next track, Syncopated Pandemonium, is that they get right to the point. Black Desolate Winter actually takes an entire side before it starts "going somewhere," but with this 7" we are beamed into Sin Nanna's bizarre ireality instantly. Going back to Psychedelic Nightmare, once it locks in it's laying deep in echos upon echos, reverb, pure white ambiance, and skittering in and out, random sounds. It finally builds to the height of night terror breakdown with bubbling cauldrons, sonic cries, and a clear but initially un-discernable voice that you can finally comprehend saying "I was never born" before falling back into obscurity.

After a single beat, the record pounds into Syncopated Pandemonium. The tempo overall is much faster in this track, but it's hard to tell exactly where it's falling due to all the ambient discordance mentioned above. Except this time, the vocals are even more distorted and buried, as if creatures from beyond were desperately trying to come through. There is much the same bouncing between slow and fast tempos that is found on Nightmares. However this makes the two tracks less repetitive, and more suited for each other. Finally the waves of sound and fury roll down the tide until they crash upon the shore leaving the listener quiet and alone, back in the real world.

The Scurshahor side is only one long song (no, not nearly as long as other ambient black metal songs, but none the less.....). Fittingly titled Malicious Resplendence, it definitely sounds as though they and Sin Nanna both escaped from the same part of the sea in hell. The vocals' sound and thick laying are very similar to the other side, but there is something harsher here. Not so much being swayed in the tide, as being drug along the bottom, over the rocks. The deep layers here are rumbles, and groans; the sounds coming in and out are clanging metal. Multiplying and dividing all of this keep the track moving along, and give it a kinetic dynamism. I would not at all be surprised to find out that these mysterious heathens had a history in the noise scene, and this definitely seems to come from that sphere. Once these grim demons feel that you have been sufficiently put through the wringer, the cruel din drops away to leave the listener with one long and peaceful, soothing tone, which takes you gently to land before dropping you off back in your own unfortunate life.

This flat, black, escape pod stayed on my turntable for days when I first got it. I'd say a must have for collectors, and a great gateway drug for newcomers. I'm fairly certain that it's still available through Southern Lord, so grab it already.

WAHAHAHAHAAAA111111.......

2008-04-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Even from Mexico I am posting!

Well, to be honest, I won't be posting much. I'm having the damndest time learning the language, so I won't be able to hop into a store here, and ask where the metal section is (and any preferences of mine more abstract than that would quickly turn into an Abbot and Costello sketch...).

At any rate, I was dumping the contents of my camera to make room for more pics, and I totally forgot I had a short video of some band footage on there.

On 6/6/06, I went to a black metal fest in Baltimore, and while all of the bands were great, the first one I saw really impressed me. Called Bloodtorste, they took kvlt very seriously. I mean, I don't have to point out all of the obvious in the video. However, what you can't see are huge candelabras with red candles, a smoke machine, and strobe lights. You also don't get to see the massive fireball the lead singer blew over the packed crowd at the end.

A few months later they played a show at the Warehouse, where I used to book, and then they dropped off the face of the earth. Which is absolutely a shame. If anyone knows anything about this grim horde, please come forward.

!Reyes del Metal aman satan!

Reviews 3/28

2008-03-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

With my co-Suppositor Denman leaving the country in a couple days, I realize I'm going to have to step up the posting. So let's start with a couple of reviews before I hit the hay. Just got both of these today:

RELIGIOUS KNIVES - Live at Bigjar (Archive)

Yet another live release courtesy of the superlative Archive label, recorded by label-dude Scott Slimm in Philly last August. I've been a fan of RK for a while now, and though I wish they had kept tapping into the weird droney vein that was manifested on most of their past releases, I'm pleased to say that I dig the psych-rock thing they're doing now too. I saw them in DC on the same tour within days of the Bigjar gig, and I noticed they were having some communication issues on the improv tip - drummer wanted to end a song, guitarist didn't, or vice versa - but they put on a good show nonetheless. Maybe there were evil looks passing between the band members at the Bigjar show as well, but you can't tell on the recording. They laid down their set smoothly. Four tracks, all "new" stuff. Excellent recording. 600 copies. Vinyl version of their first full-length should be dropping on TMU any day now.

OREN AMBARCHI - In the Pendulum's Embrace 2xLP (Touch/Southern Lord)

Ambarchi is one of my favorite minimalist artists, and this is his first full-length since 2005's Grapes From the Estate. (Actually, he had some help here: two of the four tracks are collaborations.) The first two sides of the LP are reminiscent of that record, featuring his trademark lonesome electric guitar tones that start with a recognizable "click." But Ambarchi's approach on Pendulum is not the stringently minimalist exercise that Grapes was. It's warmer, with some additional instrumentation - most present on the C-side track "Trailing Moss in Mystic Glow." Flurries of acoustic guitar notes, sounding like an aimless James Blackshaw, support the drones. Side D is a vinyl-only bonus track called "The Intimidator," which is, not surprisingly, darker and more menacing than anything else on the album. 1500 copies pressed; order direct from the Lord and you will get one of the 500 on gorgeous marbled aqua vinyl. I can't recommend Ambarchi enough, and this album is a good place to start for the uninitiated.

Dying Yellow Swans?

2008-03-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

In their announcement of the new Yellow Swans/Ex-Cocaine split LP, the Not Not Fun crew had this to say: On the B, Yellow Swans channel a supreme slice of psychedelic eulogy that cuts twice as deep with the knowledge that after many a summer (they birthed in 2002-ish) dies the Swan. Pete and Gabe’s DYS saga has spanned the decade and their impending non-existence will be lamented all over the world, so the more 11th hour record books they want to stencil with their electric synergies, the better for all of us.

A quick jaunt over to the Swans' Myspace shows they're playing shows at least through June, so who knows when the final nail in the coffin will be nailed into the coffin. If in fact there is a coffin. Which there seems to be. Anyway, I will definitely miss this duo, but I'm sure Pete and Gabe's names will continue to float around in the potent stew that is west coast experimental music.

Even I wanted to party hard....

2008-03-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Was I the only person that heard Andrew W.K. on PRI's Fair Game With Faith Salie yesterday?

I would not necessarily call myself a fan of the guy, but then again, I don't really have anything against him. Hell some of my friends even dj'ed with him once. However, this made me laugh out loud (yes, while walking two large dogs, totally randomly in public..).

I think it's genius, and you should absolutely give it a spin.....

Life's been swell now I wanna Dystopia record

2008-03-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

Finally, after literally YEARS of waiting, the newest, and sadly the last Dystopia album has arrived. For those of you even remotely into "hard" music, if you have not heard this band, you surely must think "hard" means Captain and Tennille. As for me, I have a long history with one of the first real punk bands that I ever heard.

I was in college, in Mississippi, knowing nothing about good music, and was excited to test out this new website I'd heard about called Napster. So I plugged my phone line into my clunky Toshiba Satellite, and sent that 14.4 baby into action. Now this was before the real controversy about piracy had begun, and the people involved already had some of my money. Don't even ask how, but I had been able to buy a live compilation from some label called "Slap a Ham Records," and was anxious to look up a few bands that had impressed me. In particular, I had been "wowed" by a live version of the song "Backstabber" by a band called Dystopia. Sure enough, I was able to find a few songs by them on Napster (I would later buy all of their records from Life is Abuse, which is what you should do as well...), and I was soon downloading a song called "Stress Builds Character." An hour or two was all it took to make the song mine. The beginning was this weird speech about some guy hating his life, and then suddenly he yells out "I DON'T EVEN LIKE MONEY, AND I'VE GOTTA WORK EVERYDAY JUST TO FEED MYSELF!!" It was gut wrenching, and I'd never heard any punk or metal song up to that point profess such anger towards the necessity of commerce. I would soon dive deep into all types of political punk, and continually seek harder and harder bands. Dystopia had totally hooked me, and they have been a very important band in my life since then.

Which brings me back to the point at hand, the very last Dystopia record. We'll cover the tangible aspects first, then get to the music.

This is by far the best cover artwork for one of their albums. It is an actually well done photo-collage starting across the top with cheering (and maniacal) people, hovering over a second layer of guns and missiles, with an AMAZING picture of Bush wielding an almost bloody looking chainsaw below their name. The vinyl is clear, and is joined by a very nicely done booklet insert. Like the cover, the booklet contains some great artwork, and photos, and includes the lyrics to all the songs.

Speaking of which, let's get to the music shall we. While this record may not be as hard hitting as their previous two full lengths, it is still a force to be reckoned with (and would easily destroy most other bands). In keeping with tradition, samples are heavily prevalent through out the album. Which is of course how the first track begins, with a long sample of some ever depressing sound bites until the song lands. It reminds me in a way, of the aforementioned "Stress Builds Character." Two things stand out as a whole on this release. One is that the songs are all slightly more minimal and dirgey, than ever most Dystopia fans are used to. The second is that the vocals are much more grim and brutal than anything the band has ever put out. Also, alot of the guitar work is much more riffy, technical, and catchy. All the songs on the first side string together to form one long crushing blow that ends in a final track of samples of very sad and demented people yelling about their horrible psychiatric treatments. Which absolutely sets the tone for side two, which comes out swinging. By far my favorite track "Illusion of Love" comes out swinging with the fastest, non-deathmetal, tempo Dystopia has ever played. After the first half, the rest of the track takes us back to that misanthropic dirge that will continue until the end of the album.

I just wanted to take a little time to talk about the lyrics here. Dystopia has never been known to pull a punch, but instead, in a crass and upfront way, have always gone right for the throat. Some previous lines that come to mind are,"Life's been swell now I want to die!," and "Fuck your son I hope he fucking dies!" Never missing a beat, this type of lyricism holds strong until the bitter end. Going a little out of order, on that favorite track of mine,"Illusion of Love," with gut wrenching intensity, Dino screams,"Jesus! Fuck your love!" Which is repeated many times throughout finally to be joined with "..And the USA!" The whole song is about Christian based US imperialism. Which is a perfect segue into the next song. "Number One Hypocrite" is a continuation of the US angst theme. God the lyrics in this song are great. A few of the better lines are,"If you want an SUV we'll have to kill some children, and you don't fucking care as long as you are not impaired!","The simple fact is this: You're the terrorist!," and the one I had to look up just to make sure I heard it correctly,"I'm a product of where my parents fucked!" Well, I could go on and on about the rest of the lyrics on this album ("Your fingerprints are human, and you are a piece of shit!"), but I'll leave that up to the future listeners to experience.

Needless to say, Dystopia is one of the most important bands in the modern punk scene, and this last release is a testament to that. They are a band that for many years has tackled topics such as depression, capitalism, suicide, racism, the military, life, work, and death with their own honest and brutal opinions. To learn more about Dystopia, you can check out their myspace page here, and their record label Life is Abuse, which is also where you can pick up a copy of this new album. However, good luck getting your hands on one. Only 3,000 have been made so far, and they are so swamped with orders, the entire label has had to put everything else on hold to deal with it. However, if you can get your hands on one, you should at all cost.

It is also worth noting that if you are a Dystopia fan, you should check out the other amazing band that Dino is in, Asunder

SYPHILITIC VAGINAS

2008-03-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

It was important to me that my first post here be classy. Well, what could be classier than a band called Syphilitic Vaginas? Huh? Any ideas? I'll wait...

Ok, then. As repulsive and stupid as the name is, SV simply did what so many other punk bands have done - that is, name themselves after a song by a classic band. In this case, it's an abbreviation of an even classier (if you can believe it!) GISM song title. I had heard these guys described as a cross between GISM and Bathory, and in fact their top three Myspace friends are those two plus Venom. The early thrash metal vibe is strong here, and it's augmented with the driving, balls-to-the-wall energy of Japanese hardcore. I'm not the biggest fan of gruff vocals, but they work great here. The band apparently hails from Japan (their Myspace used to say "Tokyo, Japan," but now it just says "Japan"). I was skeptical at first, since it seemed a perfect concept for a US band to run with, but honestly, I don't think Yankees could sound like this.

I picked up their recent s/t cassette release, and it kills! Three burners followed by a synthy, Goblin-style coda. The blast beat riff in "Iron Sabbath" has to be in the running for best riff ever. Go listen to it on their Myspace immediately. I just did - twice - after listening to it on the tape. Which, incidentally, is the most recent of three super-limited SV releases. There are 100 of them. Prior to that, they had a split 7" with Netjajev SS (200 copies) and a lathe cut 9" (50 copies). I missed 'em, and chances are you did too. But they seem to be busy little Vaginas, with multiple upcoming releases on Recued From Life and Haunted Hotel. Everyone's going to love this band in a few months.

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

As promised, here's a quick review of my top 10 records of 2007:

10. THE ANGELIC PROCESS - Weighing Souls With Sand
9. GRAILS - Burning Off Impurities
8. DEATHSPELL OMEGA - Fas...
7. ALVA NOTO - Xerrox Vol.1
6. THE FIELD - From Here We Go Sublime
5. VOMIT ORCHESTRA - Antecrux (December '06, deal with it)
4. RICHARD CRANDELL - Spring Steel
3. THE DEAD C - Future Artists
2. OBSCURUS ADVOCAM - Verbia Daemonicus
1. DRAGONFORCE - Inhuman Rampage

Turns out....We were right....

2008-03-03T17:50:00.000-08:00

So, for those of you who know me personally, have you ever had that moment where I'm talking about music, and you've said to yourself,"What the hell is he talking about?" If so, then it's time to learn. Music retail is quickly becoming a scared creature as far as the hardcopy formats and major labels are concerned.

In another bit of odd news gathered from Myspace of all places, local record store Crooked Beat posted this statement today:

Date: Mar 3, 2008 3:59 PM
Subject: A Few Words Regarding the Future of Major Label Releases
Body:

Attention Customers:

Since 1997, Crooked Beat has always prided itself in being fiercely independent by primarily focusing on and specializing in stocking releases from independent and import labels. We also have always carried a lot of New CD Releases from the major record labels (WEA, Capitol, Sony/BMG, UNI) and their affiliates.

In recent years, however, most of these major labels have not been making their New CD Releases available to independent Distributors to purchase at a fair price in comparison to the prices the big box stores are paying for the same product. This, in turn, has caused a lot of our distributors to no longer consistently stock-- and sometimes not even stock in their warehouses-- certain major label New CD Releases at all. This has made it very difficult for independent stores to obtain a larger number of major label New Release CDs.

Furthermore, there is now a substantial penalty being enforced by One Stops/Distributors in the event that an independent record store returns major label product that does not sell. This makes it difficult for an independent store to even want to consider stocking, and more importantly, taking a chance on a new artist that is affiliated with a major label.

Due to these unfortunate circumstances and the fact being that major label sales on CD have become less than 3% of our sales since 2004, we will be extremely limiting our stock of major label New CD Releases from the following labels: WEA-Warner, Elektra, Atlantic, Capitol/EMI, Sony/BMG, UNI and their affiliates.

Update - February 2008

In 2007, CD sales from the major labels (WEA, Capitol, Sony/BMG, UNI) and their affiliates accounted for less than 1% of our total sales. Therefore, effective February 1, 2008, we will only be stocking select titles from these labels on CD. A large number of major label titles are now being reissued on LP vinyl that usually come with a free MP3 download offered inside the album jacket. LPs outsold CDs at Crooked Beat for the first time ever in 2007.

Due to this, we will be expanding our vinyl selection over the next several months.

We will also continue to specialize in and stock CDs from literally hundreds of independent and import labels.

Thanks.

Bill & Helen

Major labels are seeing most of their sales coming from online mp3's being bought or downright taken gratis. It only makes sense that between them and large retail stores the squeeze is being put on the "small players" to keep the money stable in the big hands.

This also seems to be going hand in hand with an independent music renaissance of sorts. People seem not only more interested these days in lesser known indie and underground artists, but they are also heavily invested in vinyl collecting.

DCist recently ran a story about local music stores where much of the same rhetoric can be heard. You can check that out here, and when you're done you should actually check out all of these bastions of good taste. Though I did say and mean ALL, here are my three local favorites:

Crooked Beat
Som Records
Smash Records

As far as the increase in the sale of vinyl goes, even NPR has to admit that there is a resurgence.

So close out your itunes, throw away that copy of "Music played on Dawson's Creek," and ask that weird music nut in your life just what the hell they are listening to.

(I'm listening to Behemothaur)

Just when you thought it was safe to be on Myspace.....

2008-03-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

I could not pass up posting this bulletin I found today:

Mar 3, 2008 11:30 AM
Subject: FAKE TWILIGHT / NACHTMYSTIUM NEWS FROM TWILIGHT PAGE...
Body: Some funny guy online here who runs a fake Twilight page (claiming it as official) has posted the bulletin below, its 100% fake and please ignore anything coming from any myspace 'twilight' page, we do not have one and the band is not even active and quite possibly will never do anything again.

I encourage any of you that have this 'twilight' page on your friends list to delete it as its just obviously someone thats trying to spread lies and rumors for their own personal amusement. I enjoy the joke as much as he does, its funny someone would actually spend so much time impersonating myself and the other members of a band that hasn't done anything in 5 years, but I do need to clarify its completely inaccurate.

Thanks.
Blake / Nachtmystium

FAKE NEWS FROM 'OFFICIAL TWILIGHT' MYSPACE PAGE.....

I apologize for the lack of news lately, Twilight is hard at work with the new album, which will be out August 10th of this year.

We are very pleased to announce that Twilight will be collaborating with 3 very talented artists in the underground black metal scene.

Three of the new tracks on the upcoming twilight album will feature the unique and beautiful vocals of Maynard James Keenan of Tool.

"Working with Maynard was unlike anything I had ever experienced. His studio ethic and lyrics are incredibly eloquent. He and I are even discussing future collaborations with Xasthur and A Perfect Circle. It sounds crazy, I know, but we all sort of bonded this year with this art. " -- Malefic

Also joining us is Black Tribe mastermind John Gill.

John Gill's work with Black Tribe has been a huge personal inspiration to the music of Nachtmystium and Leviathan. We are pleased to have his songwriting cover a great portion of our new material.

We encourage all of our fans and supporters to listen to his music and support him as if he was one of us. Because he is. In our hearts.

Other news:

Twilight will be performing a select number of dates later on this year. Twilight plans to tour South America, North America, Canada, Scandinavia, and at least 8 European countries this Fall. So stay tuned!

Xasthur also apologizes for the hacking that recently occurred on his official site. He issues this statement:
"Some asshole has hacked the official Xasthur site, so until control is re-established, I will communicate any new Xasthur news through Twilight, which is now my main project until further notice. The hacker has posted fake news about Twilight and about Xasthur, also adding incomplete information to the discography."

Also, we kindly ask anyone involved with Metal-Archives.com to kindly update the artist information about Twilight to include Malefic, Maynard James Keenan, and John Gill as the current full time members of Twilight. It is most appreciated.

Thank you,
-Blake Azentrius Judd Mystical, on behalf of Twilight

Denman's (Award winning) top 10 of 2007

2008-03-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

And speaking of winners, mailorder customers Kraig Keller and Denman
Anderson were the two lucky recepients of $25 AQ gift certificates,
randomly selected from the pool of peeps who sent in their 2007 Top
Ten lists before our deadline last month. Thanks again to everybody
who shared their lists (often with more than ten items, and often
with interesting and/or entertaining commentary). You're all tops
with us. You can view the collected 2007 Customer Top tens here:
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/2007customerfaves.html. Check it out.

DENMAN ANDERSON

1.Ammo)(omma-Go to Hell cd-r
2.Caacrinolas-Vargtimmen cd-r
3.Wolves in the Throne Room-Diadem of 12 Stars 2xlp
4.Harvey Milk-My Love is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love
Could Be (re-release) cd
5.L'Acephale-Mord und Totschlag cd
6.Bone Awl-Undying Glare 7"
7.Time of the Wolf-s/t cd
8.M.I.A.-Kala
9.Xasthur-Xasthur mlp
10.Yelle-Pop-Up cd
11. De Magia Veterum-Spikes Through Eyes Demo, Clavicula Salomonis,
The Blood of Prophets and Saints

Minterview number four

2008-03-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

Well old friends I suppose this is waaaaay overdue, and I'll try to hammer it out before I have to take off.

As always, let me needlessly explain...Two Sundays ago I woke up with a sore throat, sinuses, and an horrible demeanor (no I mean, really, more so). This quickly devolved into what I've already mentioned was not unlike the plague. All I could do was work and sleep, which is good news since I still walk dogs. Nothing soothes a body like pouring rain in a 25 degree atmosphere.

So here we are, almost two weeks later, with my good friend illness at least having the decency to move from a horrible flu into a mucal lung infection. Fantastic.

I should also note that at the very least, for logistical reasons, I will be posting minterviews by-weekly, and at the most I will post them when I have time. I have alot going on, but I'd like to hammer out a few more of these before I go to Mexico on March 29th (can it frikkin come fast enough!?)

None the less, this minterview should be well worth the wait. OvO is an amazing band that I was randomly able to catch at a noise show at the Warehouse Next Door, where I used to book shows. Here were these two crazy Italians, in full on costumes, with props, and very experimental ideas, interacting with the audience, playing a crazy crust/noise combination, and it was just awesome. At one point the drummer threw cymbals out into the crowd, stepped on them, and started to use them like shoes to dance through the crowd. It was really refreshing. I talked at length to the other member of the two piece, and bought a few records. A year of so later, I caught them again at a noise fest at the Warehouse, and was again blown away, I spoke more with them, and bought more records. OvO records are always good, but nothing compares with their live shows. I was lucky enough to discover this band, and it is a shame that they are not more well know. They should be, and with their output, I'm sure they will.

I was lucky enough to get some very nice responses to a hand full of questions I tossed out to Bruno, one of the notable gruesome twosome. Here is what he had to say:

(normal font=me, italics=Bruno)

Bruno/OvO:

Hi, we do remember you, you were there everytime we played in DC... yes, we're underated, but don't forget we're italians... do you know any overated italian noise band?
Ok, I go with the questions:

1.I’ll just start with the tried and true. So, how did OvO begin?

We began at the end of 2000. Me and Stefania are together in life since 11 years. It was natural to start a band together. Cock ESP were touring Europe, so the organizer asked us to drive them for some shows, and we made a band in order to do it with more fun. That's how we started.

2.While I love and own many of your records, you are an amazingly creative, interactive, and theatrical live band first and foremost. With that in mind, what is process for creating your music and live shows like?

Our music developes on stage. We started as an improv band, open to friends and collaborations. Then we became a duo, and the improvisations started to become songs with a structure. A quite easy structure, I'd say, even if it sounds like nonsense the first time you hear it. So we kept this composition process. The next album is gonna be almost completely composed in studio, it'll be the first time. We'll see...

3.You are a band that, in my opinion, crosses genres (without always mixing them). In America at least, that type of complexity is often met by a puzzled crowd. How have you come this mostly crust and noise concept, and how is it generally received?

It's generally well received in the US. I have the feeling the US crowd is more open to challenge. Some european crowds don't like to be challenged, don't like me to touch them and play music among the audience. I had to fight some alley cats a couple times during the show. This never happened to us in the US, even if we played hundreds of shows in the country. Things are slowly changing in Europe anyway. Labels like Load or Southern Lord and bands like Wolf Eyes or Black Dice getting famous there allow us to play in front of much more prepared audiences.

4. On a greedy personal note, though I own several of your records, my favorite has to be your split 7” with Cock E.S.P. Both sides are really killer. How did you hook up with Cock E.S.P. to put out a split, and what was that process like?

As I said, OvO started just to tour with Cock ESP. In some weird way, we got along. I love Hagstrom and Bacon. And I adore Paige and Elyse. We're so different but we take care of each other when we're on tour. We toured the US with them too. A split had to be done...

5. Finally, again with tradition, what have you been up to lately, and what are future plans for recording, touring, etc?

We're coming to NYC to record our new album .. in a couple days. A black metal remix album is gonna be out soon on Blossoming Noise. After the recording we'll play a few shows on the West Coast, then a little euro tour in march. Then we'll stop until the new album will be out, then we'll do a massive world tour...
In the meantime I'll tour with my other bands Ronin and Bachi Da Pietra, and Stefania will tour solo as ?Alos or with her female band Allun. Check www.barlamuerte.com to know where in the world we are today...

And there you have it. Great stuff in my opinion.

For more information about OvO, you can check out their myspace profile here.

Okay, I have to hop off to work, but I'll have more up soon I'm sure. Two things, my friend John and I will probably move our musical writings over to a co-blog as soon as we have time to hammer out all the details. When that happens, the new blog will be the home of the previous minterviews, and any other and future rantings about music. This lame duck will then be the home of pointless rantings about my life........I'll keep everyone updated, and let you know when you should jump ship.

In the meantime, keep your ear to the underground.....

Minterview number three

2008-03-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

First let me apologize for not posting this yesterday as promised. There were several factors, and one common theme. To begin with, the internet that I use at home is strictly “borrowed,” and somehow, even though I have three networks to choose from, none of them have been functioning for several days now. There must have been some sort of epidemic, since the café in the neighborhood that I can also use for wifi had a large sign proudly announcing, “Internet not working today, sorry!” Beyond that, there were no options that I felt like persuing.

But as exciting as my internet woes are, let’s get on to some music eh? About a month ago now, Aquarius records was doing a bit of a spotlight on a cd-r label that they had become fascinated with. Dealing with the darker side of the experimental and ambient (well, sometimes not ambient at all…) spectrum of the underground, Faunasabbatha, is home to many dabblers of sonically damaged conjuration.

Two examples that caught my attention immediately were the SORC'HENN "Harmonium pieces & dead reveries" cd-r, and also the WAVERLY HILLS "The Nurse" cd-r. The first recording is tagged as Ritual & funeral music from Breizh (Brittany), played under a dead pine tree., while the more simply named, Waverly Hills, gets the more complex description, Unhealthy, hypnotic, oppressing and depressive sounds from the haunted sanatorium. The clips I heard of both artists were incredibly haunting and dense. Needless to say I quickly placed an order for both. (And actually ended up ordering all the releases offered by the store, though oddly, none have come in yet…..)

As I mentioned previously, in the small world of underground music, when you talk about enough obscure artists, labels, etc, eventually these people will begin reading what you’ve said. As with Caarinolas, the same was true for Faunasabbatha. And just like the first instance, I took advantage of the situation to delve a little deeper into that person’s creation. Fortunately, Bruno, who runs Faunasabatha was more than happy to answer a few simple questions. So, without further ado, here is minterview number three:

(again, normal font=me; italics=Bruno)

Bruno/ Faunasabbatha

How did Faunasabbatha records come about?

Faunasabbatha is not exactly a label by its own existence ; it's a kind of subdivision of an older label called Ruralfaune. This last one is dedicated to experimental music, drone, wyrd folk (etc..)
Because i 'm a fan of metal since my teenage years, i decided to create this "lame son" to put out the heavier stuff but also the darker one. Faunasabbatha is for occult sounds, ritual music and other weird sounds from unblack metal to harsh-noise music. For the moment the BM takes the main place

Who are some of the people that you have put out on the label, and how have you found them?

Faunasabbatha - like Ruralfaune - is a place for young, unknown artists to put out some of their music but it's also a place for confirmed artists to put out unusual stuff, you know to express their dark side haha !
So , Behemothaur is NZ band with members of Futurians, Wolfskull , they all already released many albums. Heads of Pagan, Sorc'henn and Waverly Hills are three projects issued from the streets of Angers, France, the city where i live. We all are good mates.

What interests you in projects that you put out on Faunasabbatha?

To spread the word that making music belongs to everyone and isn't necessary something difficult to do. Many people need to get more confidence in their possibilites to do good music and they just often don't know how to do.
The label is very small so my help is modest but i'm so proud when an artist i released access to a new stage by releasing on bigger labels. For example Sorc'henn is going to put out a cdr on Crucial Bliss the cdr subdivision of the might Crucial Blast camp.

And finally, what is the label doing next?
Many things are in the works.. A new batch will be ready to be released soon. You'll be able to find some black metal with Law of the Rope cdr - a band from LA ; a cdr by De Magia Veterum a one man band from the Netherlands and also some other things. Later there will be an amazing lp by Mrtyu and a cd by Hail! , a side project by members of L'Acéphale and Wladteufel

And that, my friends, is that.
I’m grateful that Bruno took the time to honestly answer each question.

If you are interested in Faunasabbatha, and by now you should be, you can find more information about the label, and the records being put out, on their myspace page here.
And of course, you can buy Faunasabbatha releases at places like Aquarius Records.

That’s it for this week, but be sure to check back next time for a minterview of the mighty Italian duo OvO. In the meantime….

Keep your ear to the underground.

Minterview number two..

2008-03-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

Far from the grim hordes of the west coast, black metal on the east coast is mostly made up of a handful of random, misanthropic individuals hiding out in their respective basements gently stroking their Deathspell Omega records, their faces plastered with thick corpsepaint (much like how I imagine Malefic’s concept of heaven would look). The fans are few, and the bands are fewer, however they do exist. Here at the head of the serpent, one band has the “adopt-a-highway” duties for the left hand path. That band is DC’s only black metal band, Time of the Wolf. I was fortunate enough to see their first pummeling show at a blackmetal fest in Baltimore on 6/6/06. From note one they wanted the world to know that they were out for blood; blood for our dark lord Lucifer. Since then they have put out a full length, had several lineup changes, written several new songs, and started playing out more regularly. Very close to the tradition of the later second wave, they are very technical, straight forward, aggressive, and just as tight live as they are on their record. I sent out a “minterview” to one of the founders of the band, Tim, to talk a little about how they started, where they are going, and their own record label, OGH. Here’s what he had to say:

Again, normal font=me; italics=Tim

Tim/Time of the Wolf

1. How did Time of the Wolf come about?

Joshy and I worked together at an art store about 6-7 years ago. The 1st time I met him he was wearing a "Basket Case" shirt. So I figured "this guy might be alright." We started talking about horror movies and heavy metal and quickly became friends. We tried to start a few bands over the years, but to no avail. About 3 years back, Joshy was playing w/ Exosus and they needed a new guitar player. I tried out and brought with me what would become the TOTW song, "Of Rebel Angels"(which I’d written for another metal band I played with a long time ago). It went pretty well, but I was also playing w/ Crime Spree at the time. Crime Spree was doing well - we'd recently released a demo, toured w/ The Aftermath and Never Enough, and played some great shows (like the Posi #s fest in PA). So Exosus wanted someone whose primary focus could be Exosus - which I could not commit to at the time. Crime Spree broke up shortly after Exosus found a new guitar player. Then Exosus broke up. I called Joshy about 2 years ago, I think we were talking about Satanism or satanic bands, and the conversation ended up going something like this:
Tim: You know what we should do?
Joshy: Start a Satanic metal band?
Tim: Yes.
So I had already written "Of Rebel Angels" and had a lot of other music & lyrics ready to go. Joshy enlisted Matt Kozar (our original lead guitarist) and we began working on what would become the 1st record. Originally, we'd planned on being a low-commitment "studio project". We really didn't even plan on getting a singer or bass player as we assumed we could easily fill those roles ourselves in the recording process. We only planned on recording a demo. Then we decided it might be fun to play some shows - just for "shits and giggles." We found Brian RedBeard (Tradition Dies Here, Sick Fix, Etc) who seemed really into playing bass for us. He joined and brought Orion on board shortly thereafter. And that's that...

2. Tell me about the new lineup.

Matt and Brian couldn't commit to the band as much as everyone else would have liked - so they eventually quit. They were both in other bands, and really busy w/ their personal and professional lives as well. Orion was friends w/ "The Brothers Griffiths" (Brendan - Bass & Dylan - Guitar) and he brought them on board. They were playing w/ Empurios at the time, but Empurios seemed to be falling apart - members were going away to school, moving back to Norway, etc, etc. So Brendan joined not too long before Dylan. Empurios is pretty much done, I think. And we've just recently gotten Brendan and Dylan up to speed on a solid set of TOTW songs. They still need to learn a few of the old songs, but it seems to be working out really well. Everyone is really committed to TOTW. And, I have to say, I think the band is stacked w/ really great musicians at this point.

3. How are the new songs coming along?

Most of the new material was put on hold while Dylan was learning the set. We have 2 unreleased songs in our set right now. And I'm pretty pleased with those. There's also a few songs, and parts of songs, that we've been toying with for some time now. It's slow going as we're just settling into the new lineup. I think we really need to figure out our band dynamics at this point. Also, I've been really lazy about writing lately - so that's put more pressure on others. It'll all come together though.

4. When and what are you recording next?

We're planning on recording another demo in the next few months.

5. Are their any plans for non-TOTW releases on your label, and could you tell me a little about OGH's other release, The Kill, Baby?

The Kill, Baby is actually a Last House Records release. It was a chaoticore / screamo band that I was in back in '97-'98. Holy shit! I just realized that that record's a decade old now!! Anyway, I wrote that record, loved the songs, and insisted on recording - despite the fact that band members were at each other’s throats and refusing to even be in the same room w/ one another during the sessions. The singer and I put it together and pressed 1000 7"s. He still has boxes of them collecting dust in his room. We wanted to go on and re-form w/ new members, but it just didn't work out. I think the singer also decided he wasn't too proud of the record - so he never tried to get it distributed. Sometimes we talk about it and he's told me that he's seriously considered burning the remaining records. I still like it. Maybe just for sentimental reasons thought. I don't know.

As far as non-TOTW releases are concerned, yes we do plan on doing that. I'm still trying to convince Empurios to let me release their demo. I'm working on a "solo" project tentatively called "The Priesthood." And OGH is working on building a small distro. We also kicked around the idea of putting together a comp. We still need to talk to some bands, but we're hoping to put out a benefit comp for the Bobby Fisher Memorial, featuring dark / heavy bands from the DC area.

That is all.

Well that’s it for the second in my hopefully ongoing series of minterviews. If you want to hear some Time of the Wolf, find out more about the band, and purchase their album you can check out their myspace page here, and check out the OGH Records profile here.

I should have several more minterviews lined up for the next few weeks, but in the meantime look for the next installment with Bruno from Faunasabatha Records one Sunday from this.

Keep your ear to the underground…..

My little interviews.....(Minterview #1)

2008-03-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

So, for any of you who are here because you read my other blog, I am moving all of my minterviews over to this new fangled blog. In future, all minterviews (and there will be a future of minterviews) will be posted here, and all music blogging will also be done here. Starting with numero one, here are the previous four minterview posts from Day in Day Out:

So, funny thing, if you mention obscure bands, records, and labels enough, eventually people involved with those bands, records, and labels will not only begin reading your blog, but also commenting on it.....

This literal happenstance has convinced me to steer this blog into a somewhat more serious and regular direction. While I will provide the occasional anecdote (who could resist mentioning being stopped by gang members and asked if you were "family"....), I will try, for the time being, to focus more on music.

The first commenter happened to be Bjoern Eichstaedt, one of the creators of the aurally intriguing, minimal, musical soundtrack project, Caacrinolas. After he thanked me for saying a kind word or two about their most recent release "Vargtimmen," I thought I might track him down for my first in a series of mini-interviews (or, as I will more irritatingly call them from here on out "minterviews"...) More than kind, Bjoern went above and beyond to give some very fascinating answers to some basic questions. And yes, this minterview will get you from Darkthrone to Tangerine Dream in ways that eerily make sense. So without futher ado, here's what this musical craftsman said:

*(me=normal font, Bjoern=italics)

Bjoern Eichstaedt

First, on a merely personal level, is there any way to still get a hold of A Thousand Cries Has the Night, and Valley of the Dead? I'm guessing no, what with the limited run, but I figured if anyone would know where to dig them up it would be you.

I only have one copy each of them for myself left. But if you search for the titles, there are a lot of sites online, which offer the records for illegal download...

Second, what projects are you working on now? Any remote plans for a Caacrinolas 4?

We just did a remix project with a German gothic band called KALIBER 9, but I have no clue, when the record will come out. Talking about Caacrinolas 4, yes we are working on it. It is based on the classical piece DEATH AND THE MAIDEN by German composer Franz Schubert and will be recorded in a surround sound version for DVD. Might take us some more time, but it will definitely see that light of day ...some day.

What is your aesthetic view of the Caacrinolas project?

Well, it all started as a black metal project from guys who had never ever heard a black metal album. Larry and myself were playing in a free improvised music trio called BRETZEL KILLING MACHINE together and one day a friend of mine played a DARKTHRONE record to me which completely blew me away. So I immediately called Larry and told him: Let's do a black metal record - he had never heard any black metal before we started the recording process of A THOUSAND CRIES HAS THE NIGHT - which was as close to black metal as we could get. But being both interested in a wide range of music, we had no problems to adapt to the style. The second album VALLEY OF THE DEAD was more soundtrack oriented, so we tried to get some horror movie feel into it (that is why we used the title - it was something like a mixture of the titles DAWN OF THE DEAD and VALLEY OF THE DOLLS - a 60s movie starring Sharon Tate, the wife of Roman Polanski who has been murdered by the Charles Manson group in the late 60s) and mixed the album with influences from soundtrack composers such as ENNIO MORRICONE, also we put some prog rock influences such as KING CRIMSON or early GENESIS into it. From that moment on we defined the Caacrinolas music as film music without film. VARGTIMMEN then used that approach and took it a little further, also putting doom influences into the record. Also the record was influenced by 20th century classical composers such as György Ligeti and Penderecki, who's music was often used by filmmakers such as STANLEY KUBRICK or WILLIAM FRIEDKIN for films such as THE SHINING, THE EXORCIST or 2001. Also the music on Vargtimmen paid reference to German 70s krautrock group TANGERINE DREAM. The music of Caacrinolas is a kaleidoscope of alot of our musical influences, being classical music, prog rock, jazz, krautrock, ambient music, black metal, minimal music etc. and also our influences from the world of movies. It is film without pictures...does that answer your question?

And finally, just out of curiosity, what are you listening to these days?

I listen to alot of music. I love soundtracks, like music from 60s Mario Bava films for example, french jazz, RnB music - Neptunes stuff for example, I just bought three Kelis records. Also alot of Miles Davis 70s music recently plus German language pop music such as the latest album by German singer / songwriter Bernadette La Hengst. Well, to be honest, all kinds of stuff....

It kind of blows my mind that you were able to start with Darkthrone and end up at Tangerine Dream. It is funny that we both listen to black metal and hip hop (you may hate this stuff, and we won't even get into the subject matter but you should check out Bonecrusher and Trillville, or if you like the dj scene, DJ Dave Nada, and Tittsworth)

I know Bonecrusher - love that stuff. Never heard of the others though, but will definitely check.

Well to be honest, Tangerine Dream is not so far away from Darkthrone in my opinion since I think that Black Metal, although it is really fast, really FEELS very slow sometimes, very meditation like. Which is what Tangerine Dream is all about in my opinion. Also, Tangerine Dream did soundtrack music for William Friedkin, who also used Pendereckis music... so all is very close really. Oh, I forgot: Angelo Badalamenti, David Lynch's composer definitely was an influence too.

Also I love exotica music, like the early records of Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman and some Les Baxter stuff. Listen to these alot as well.....

[...] I just have to say that I love exotica music. I own many Martin Denny LP's, and love Yma Sumac, and Arthur Lyman, and Les Baxter, etc. I've been listening to that genre for ten years now. Out of all the diverse styles of music that my friends listen to, none of them seem to understand my deep appreciation for something like Quiet Village

Quiet Village is... well.... amazing ;-) And Yma Sumac, I just forgot about her. Although I mainly like MAMBO and VOICE OF THE XTABAY... the others are kind of cheesy..

And that friends, is the end. For coherency's sake, I should add that the first part was a series of questions that I sent Bjoern, and then it devolved into us just talking about random things we find interesting.

Unfortunately, as he mentioned, you cannot find copies of the first two Caacrinolas releases, as they were limited run cd-r's. However, you can still pick up their newest piece "Vargtimmen." If you are smart, you will grab up a copy here:Aquarius Records Simply scroll down the page until you find Caacrinolas, if you want to read about each release and hear a sample.

Well that's it for the first installment. For now I will try to put one up each week. The next two weeks will consist of an interview with one of the guys behind DC's only black metal band, Time of the Wolf, on what they've been up to lately, and the week after that, a few words with Bruno about his black metal inspired Ruralfaune Records sub label, Faunasabbatha. So keep checking in.

On a less positive note, my favorite DC record store,
Smash was broken into last week.
Here is their official statment:

in case you hadn't heard SMASH was broken into the nite of mon january
7th/8th. we've received many kind responses. while the situation
totally sucks, it could have been much worse. thanx for all the
support during this crappy time.

rock
matt/smash

----------
8 January 2008
Smash! was broken into last night.
The thief/thieves broke-in and stole eight black men's leather jackets
and all the cash from the cash register and change box were stolen.
That's over $3000 in valuables.
You want to help?
1.- Be on the lookout for someone trying to sell brand new leather
jackets at discount prices on Craigslist, Ebay, etc..
2.- Stop by Smash and buy something, we lost a lot last night, we are
small independent local-owned business.
3. Don't steal/shoplift from small independent local-owned business.
We are a dying breed due to multinational franchises.
Thank you.
Love from the Smash Staff.

It's a sad day when people are willing to steal thousands from a small, independent record store. For anyone in the DC area reading this, you should stop in and pick up a few killer items to help them out. I promise it will be well worth your time.

Thanks for reading, and in the meantime, refuse to listen to the music you are fed....

Deer obcessive musicalists......

2008-03-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

We welcome our future loyal reader to this new collaborative effort between the fantastic minds that brought you both Day in Day Out and Mundane Arcana. In keeping with the innovative and groundbreaking drive of these personal endeavors, we have joined forces to bring you up to date news about music that we like. That means eclectic music. We're not experts, so some of you will be like "psh, I knew that," while most of you will be like "psh, I don't care about that."

Coming first: Denman's first four minterviews reposted for your convenience. Coming second, a reposting of our 2007 top 10's (both John's elaborate and sincere, chronicled top 10, and Denman's aQ "award winning" cop out.) Then Denman is going to prove that "life has been swell, and now we do want to die", and John's going to talk about some of the records he bought recently, and we're off to the races. We welcome your comments, both good, and better.

(On a side note, Denman is happy to have his personal blog back, so that he can regale everyone with tales of crying himself to sleep and keeping up to date with Britney on TMZ.)