thank you very much Ben Haberland for your help with Stay Fucked (Ben's not in Stay Fucked anymore). you helped us (as did Colin) make what we think is a sick fucking record that we will soon play for others and to write some songs and generally get our shit tight. we wish you glory w/ Isles (yep, they're linked over to the right) and stuff.
***
several notable concerts attended recently:
last night, 9/29, Drayton Sawyer Gang and Archaeopteryx (links to both on the right).
missed Bloody Panda, but caught these fucking bands. Drayton Sawyer Gang is one of the meanest bands i've ever heard. they're not mean people--they're quite charming, actually--but their sound is brutal a la Helmet, Melvins, all the fucking kings of mean. singer Jason has an amazing stage presence--he stalks around like a caged jungle cat and bobs his head and snarls in this totally raunchy way. their music is hard as shit, anchored by thudding bass and drums courtesy of Lillie and Ryan, w/ Jason's righteous noise leads. just so good. i hear they're recording w/ Bisi, which is just too perfect. not to mention the fact that their songs are really catchy and the lyrics manage to be both hilarious and chilling at the same time.
Archaeopteryx is marvelous. they'd easily be as renowned as other mathpower duos like Hella and Lightning Bolt if not for the fact that they're still in college and homebound by that schedule. let's just say phenomenal virtuoso shit. Tony (ha, ha-- he's playing bass w/ my band for a spell and not with yours) writes supertechnical thrash shit and he and Ben (drums) execute it flawlessly with relentless energy. it's total nonstop pummeling, but really catchy and just all-around invigorating. buy their $5 shirts and their practically free CDs please.
neither band is "hip" fuck you hip bands suck. go hang out at some loft party on a roof or some bullshit and you won't see shit that even touches this. alright, alright, just blowing off steam, i'm not saying that all "hip" bands suck by virtue of their status as such but there often seems to be no justification for why people flock to certain bands and ignore others, like the two amazing ones above. support music for it's own sake please.
***
Wednesday, 9/28, Deerhoof at N6
Another great show from one of the truly sublime live bands around right now. quick update b/c much has been written and you probably already know the drill: everyone wore soccer jerseys; drummer Greg now plays exclusively snare, bass and hi-hat instead of snare, bass and ride cymbal; 90% of material from the amazing new Runners Four album, the poppiest yet (Ben Grnbrg sez it's moving closer and closer to Beatles and i totally agree), featuring the IN CRED I BLE song "Spirit Ditties of No Tone; John Dieterich cements his place as one of the three or four best guitar players alive--if you haven't heard his old band Colossamite, you haven't hardly begun, mang.
***
last weekend, 9/23-9/25, ErstQuake fest at Collective Unconscious
Showcase of the ElectroAcousticImprovisation genre which is not as daunting as it sounds. Keith Rowe/AMM/Toshimaru Nakamura/Erstwhile Records, google these terms, i don't have time to help you out. some amazing shit, some tedious shit. highlights included the freaky electronicist Joe Colley, who appears to be on the verge of a brain aneurysm during every moment of his performances; he favors glitchy sounds where it seems like the equipment is being damaged. haven't heard enough contemporary "noise" stuff to know if he's special or just parforthecourse, but i loved his shit and the CDs i bought of his. in other loudness, laptopsman Julien Ottavi brought serious noise (some of the loudest i've heard) punctuated with karate-chops to his keyboard. Sean Meehan, Mark Wastell, Rowe and Nakamura played hard on the quiet side of things, but more on that in my upcoming Signal to Noise review.
***
other honorable mention: Friendly Bears, fresh off tour, played a tight-as-hell set at the Lucky Cat a few weeks back. buy their new album, k?
***
if you haven't seen this article that Michael Anton Parker wrote about us and People and Wolf Vs and George Korein, go see it.
***
enjoying:
-playing with Joe (awww...)
-listening to our new album and new People songs and watching Dylan doc w/ Mary (double awww...)
-writing songs w/ Aa
-***Cheer-Accident*** (genius, genius band; really essential)
-recording w/ Colin Marston at Pain Cave
-Absalom (fucking) Absalom
-the company of my friends Michael Schaumann (my date to ErstQuake) and Caroline McCloskey (copy-editing friend and college bud)
-the Hidden Hand (Wino from the Obsessed and Spirit Caravan and St. Vitus). just rad straight-to-ya post-Sabbath (or intra-Sabbath?). that mother can sing. great dude too. look out for my interview w/ him, running in Time Out in a few weeks.
-"Empty" by Rebecca Pronsky
-Make a Rising (www.tonewplanet.com!!!)
-the chill in the air
guten nacht.
***
several notable concerts attended recently:
last night, 9/29, Drayton Sawyer Gang and Archaeopteryx (links to both on the right).
missed Bloody Panda, but caught these fucking bands. Drayton Sawyer Gang is one of the meanest bands i've ever heard. they're not mean people--they're quite charming, actually--but their sound is brutal a la Helmet, Melvins, all the fucking kings of mean. singer Jason has an amazing stage presence--he stalks around like a caged jungle cat and bobs his head and snarls in this totally raunchy way. their music is hard as shit, anchored by thudding bass and drums courtesy of Lillie and Ryan, w/ Jason's righteous noise leads. just so good. i hear they're recording w/ Bisi, which is just too perfect. not to mention the fact that their songs are really catchy and the lyrics manage to be both hilarious and chilling at the same time.
Archaeopteryx is marvelous. they'd easily be as renowned as other mathpower duos like Hella and Lightning Bolt if not for the fact that they're still in college and homebound by that schedule. let's just say phenomenal virtuoso shit. Tony (ha, ha-- he's playing bass w/ my band for a spell and not with yours) writes supertechnical thrash shit and he and Ben (drums) execute it flawlessly with relentless energy. it's total nonstop pummeling, but really catchy and just all-around invigorating. buy their $5 shirts and their practically free CDs please.
neither band is "hip" fuck you hip bands suck. go hang out at some loft party on a roof or some bullshit and you won't see shit that even touches this. alright, alright, just blowing off steam, i'm not saying that all "hip" bands suck by virtue of their status as such but there often seems to be no justification for why people flock to certain bands and ignore others, like the two amazing ones above. support music for it's own sake please.
***
Wednesday, 9/28, Deerhoof at N6
Another great show from one of the truly sublime live bands around right now. quick update b/c much has been written and you probably already know the drill: everyone wore soccer jerseys; drummer Greg now plays exclusively snare, bass and hi-hat instead of snare, bass and ride cymbal; 90% of material from the amazing new Runners Four album, the poppiest yet (Ben Grnbrg sez it's moving closer and closer to Beatles and i totally agree), featuring the IN CRED I BLE song "Spirit Ditties of No Tone; John Dieterich cements his place as one of the three or four best guitar players alive--if you haven't heard his old band Colossamite, you haven't hardly begun, mang.
***
last weekend, 9/23-9/25, ErstQuake fest at Collective Unconscious
Showcase of the ElectroAcousticImprovisation genre which is not as daunting as it sounds. Keith Rowe/AMM/Toshimaru Nakamura/Erstwhile Records, google these terms, i don't have time to help you out. some amazing shit, some tedious shit. highlights included the freaky electronicist Joe Colley, who appears to be on the verge of a brain aneurysm during every moment of his performances; he favors glitchy sounds where it seems like the equipment is being damaged. haven't heard enough contemporary "noise" stuff to know if he's special or just parforthecourse, but i loved his shit and the CDs i bought of his. in other loudness, laptopsman Julien Ottavi brought serious noise (some of the loudest i've heard) punctuated with karate-chops to his keyboard. Sean Meehan, Mark Wastell, Rowe and Nakamura played hard on the quiet side of things, but more on that in my upcoming Signal to Noise review.
***
other honorable mention: Friendly Bears, fresh off tour, played a tight-as-hell set at the Lucky Cat a few weeks back. buy their new album, k?
***
if you haven't seen this article that Michael Anton Parker wrote about us and People and Wolf Vs and George Korein, go see it.
***
enjoying:
-playing with Joe (awww...)
-listening to our new album and new People songs and watching Dylan doc w/ Mary (double awww...)
-writing songs w/ Aa
-***Cheer-Accident*** (genius, genius band; really essential)
-recording w/ Colin Marston at Pain Cave
-Absalom (fucking) Absalom
-the company of my friends Michael Schaumann (my date to ErstQuake) and Caroline McCloskey (copy-editing friend and college bud)
-the Hidden Hand (Wino from the Obsessed and Spirit Caravan and St. Vitus). just rad straight-to-ya post-Sabbath (or intra-Sabbath?). that mother can sing. great dude too. look out for my interview w/ him, running in Time Out in a few weeks.
-"Empty" by Rebecca Pronsky
-Make a Rising (www.tonewplanet.com!!!)
-the chill in the air
guten nacht.
