Not feeling up to writing a ton outside of what's below, so in short: long, bad couple of weeks, shows everyday, not enough time to take care of label or life things as each day has been wake up for work, work, come home, get ready for show, show, go to bed too late, repeat. I've been feeling awful, but at least participating in mostly great things: Soft Shoulder played with KIT (see below), Little Teeth last night, and Aids Wolf tomorrow. I played, alone, with Aunt Dracula, and in a few days with Wet Hair (Shawn Reed from Raccoo-oo-oon! Catch up time I hope, if they guy doesn't think I hate him, I'm glad, but he's got a right too - I've done a terrible job staying in touch with him). What else? I know there was so much more - but it's being forgotten.
I will also say this: the economy is truly in a bad place. Despite this, and it's direct effect on subculture and "us", there's a bunch of stuff that's supposed to happen between now and January on the label. Ann's HELL-KITE 7", a last minute GAY BEAST 7", the new STEPHEN STEINBRINK and SOFT SHOULDER collection CDs, and around the same time a new FOOT VILLAGE collection CD,... a lot of money's worth of projects, and I can guarantee you, with how things have been lately, the label won't be supporting itself on these ones, it'll be a lot of me, and "me" needs to be saving right now, I like to be a couple of months ahead - right now I am not, but I am doing okay, and I feel like most people around me are too, which is good. My field of work (as in "normal job", of working with developmentally disabled individuals) is not really affected by the financial troubles of the world, but still. I am feeling pretty exhausted and worn out, with little time for me. I'm working on it though, maybe this will be the month that I get back into a rhythm that works for me / though probably not. I'll say: New Years.
_______________________
THINGS:
When George Chen e-mailed me to let me know his band KIT was coming through town on tour with Deerhoof and asked if I'd like him to thro me on the list for it, I immediately got back to him with a completely unlikely but preferable alternative: "Do you have a day off before or after? Let's do a house show". So a week and a half before, we through together a KIT / SOFT SHOULDER / PIGEON RELIGION thing at BOO BERRY, which was absolutely wild and fun from start to finish, P.R. brought the Moss Icon / Black Flag hybrid punk, KIT the shrill and crazed spazzy dancy riffy punk, and SS the dark thick noise-wave. Feet on ceilings, people falling on the floor and windows fogged over from the humidity of human heat, the show was perfect and a ton of fun. KIT had a couple of new / recent records with them too. I grabbed their LP on UPSET THE RHYTHM, "Broken Voyage" awhile ago, but they had a new 7" on the label as well and a split with Sonic Youth offshoot MIRRORDASH.
This split is a collection of abstract and weird output for KIT, and Mirrordash offers what would stereotypically be a portion of a SY song, a flowing extended jam or elaboration, I was glad to grab this from them, because it's a bit pricey in stores. The Upset the Rhythm 7" is incredible. Bay area collage artist extraordinaire Jessalyn (pending proper spelling and a last name, because as always, I am not typing this with internet access), who also recently did the inside poster fold out for Foot Village's "Friendship Nation" (the CD version on Tome, not the LP version that I did), and if you can find them, her fliers are always top notch (sincerely),... did a great job on this. It is, essentially, a visual version of what the MEATE / OBLIVIA / WIESE 7" (see below / lower). Great songs that are similar to (and I am fairly sure some of which we played) the set at Boo Berry, and rumor has it, Mike Watt has a cameo on here, but don't quote me, I don't know. In fact, this record doesn't even say KIT on it, anywhere.
Very excited to see a repress of the first DISTILLERS LP at Eastside this week! I have been trying to tack down a copy of the first two lately, but not wanting to pay 40-80 after shipping, of course, as this is just one of those bands / records that I always dug but just never picked up, because you had the feeling that you would always feel like you'd be able to. I mean, to put it into direct context, there wee all these nuts 7"s coming out from screamy hardcore bands that would be in print for a week or two at most, and constantly coming out,... how can you justify picking up something that's on the Epitaph sister label - you could "always get that later". ...anyway, it's been gone for years, and is now back out of nowhere, as is their other Hellcat release, "Sing Sing Death House", which I asked Michael to pick up for me, and hopefully I can grab next week. And for those that weren't around for this band, before sounding more like Hole on their major label full length, "Coral Fang", they had two excellent Rancid-style straight up punk rock LPs that are sincere with their attitude, have awesome aesthetic and are just, well, fucking good.
I don't want to go into how I finally picked up PJ HARVEY's "White Chalk" and how the LP sounds like complete shit. I need to read up on it when I am home, because I would assume it's an issue with how it was pressed. Everything sounds distorted and damaged, and not in an exciting way at all. Who knows! Anyone else buy this and have it sound good (correct)? A much better purchase on the same trip to Zia? the NEEDLES 7" on LENGUA ARMADA which came out earlier this year, and was out of print before I even knew what it was (a killer new Bay Area punk band with Martin of Crudos / Limp Wrist on vocals). I've been searching for it, moe than casually, and have not even seen one to try and grab in any context at all, and it's mind-blowing that someone actually had this / didn't like it / sold it to Zia where I then got it for $2. My total after trading some stuff in was $15 that day, I would have gladly paid that alone for this one 7", and especially after hearing it for the first time since Quintos played it in the store (Eastside) after he grabbed it - fast, pissed punk that is totally Crudos in style and aggression. I love this and hope he represses it, even though I think the project itself was short-lived / done now. (Rounding out that same trip was another cheap used 7" from RAT TRAPS, who I know nothing about, other than that the single is on SHATTERED and therefore should be good by default. Excellent nasty sounding punk rock / garage, a girl and guy exchange vocals from song to song, sometimes overlapped, though equally as snotty. Bet this band is awesome live.
Mike, or as the internet might have it, mike.se of VLV fame, or as a normal person might have it, "of Pillowscars Records from Sweden", recently released an LP from EIAFUAWN, which is an extremely complex and impressive solo project from on of the members of Mohinder (and later: Duster and El Buzzard), and everything about record is great, and very "grand". In a way, it almost reminds me of a more elaborate (though slightly less gloomy) Circulatory System, though maybe that's is just completely in accurate, it's what comes to mind. Downer songwriting, but still very loveable / accessible. The variation and utilization of countless instruments and slight variations to overall style remind me a lot of the French Quarter LP,... I bet Stephen would really enjoy this quite a bit. In contrast though, even at it's most "poppiest" of moments, there is nothing very uplifting about this, a feeling that I always (and probably improperly) refer to as "minor sounding". I'm extremely glad that Mike sent me a few of these on a recent trip he made to the states, and I hope that this record finds it's way to the people that it needs to, because this is something special that deserves much appreciation.
A few new great releases from JOHN WIESE via his own HELICOPTER label, the first of which is a 7" of schizophrenic ensemble of controlled debauchery with members of Smegma, recorded (I believe) at their house in Portland. Lots small sounds, the moments of two things colliding, cleverly strewn together. Sounds like there's some liberal improper turntable sampling of other records, jazz and vocal pieces, some chimes and screeching amidst countless confusing snippets coming from unrecognizable sources. Much like much Sissy Spacek material, this is very over-stimulating, though I would go as far as saying this would be appreciated far beyond the parameters of "noise listeners, this is a true art-damaged collage of sound, that doesn't really stick to any sort of vibe (it's simultaneously a "dark" and "light" listen), other than the obscure. I loved it. It'll be an "end of the year top whatever" record. Also included in this time around's box: a one-sided LP reissue of the excellent SISSY SPACEK CD, "Devil's Come and Palm", which I probably already wrote about earlier this year when that version came out, and a new LP that is WIESE + DEAD MACHINES, a long collection of collaborations recorded three yeas ago, with a lot of range in sound, but an overall "chill" listen, if by any stretch of the word / world, you know what I mean. This one's called "General Assurance", and both LPs are limited to only 100, so if you want them, grab them now.
A 10 years delayed HELLNATION / CAPITALIST CASUALTIES split LP has finally been released on Sound Idea and Six Weeks, though it must have just been delayed in idea only, because these are new recent recordings (07 and 08), and even they were not, it's release would still be completely legitimized by the fact that these two still are out there playing shows and touring on occasion (I just saw Cap Cas a year or so ago). Not that it's a competition, but I feel like Hellnation really are just as on fire as they were 10 years ago (when they cranked out some extremely manic power-violence LPs on Slap-A-Ham), but Cap Cas have a sound that is sounding tame to me right here and now. Maybe it's just me, I feel like it's missing a little bit of it's usual "umph", though this is more intense and well-done than most modern "fast core" and anything that tried to lump itself in the proximity. It's pretty insane that all this power-violence bands still do things sometimes, Despise you and Crom have been touring and doing new stuff too. ...of course in a perfect world, it would be Man is the Bastard and Gasp recordings and touring that would have me freaking out.
One of my favorite things from the past couple of months was this tape by a guy named JUSTICE YELDHAM. Justice is pretty nuts, his performance art / sound project consists of him attaching contact mics to large panes of glass, which he then makes noises onto with his mouth and runs through several effects into loud amps. Perhaps it's not the most amazing sounding stuff in the world, but it's unique and interesting, and knowing what's going on makes it all the more entertaining for me. I won't go into too much more detail - I'd recommend just trying to find some videos online, but he's great. I decided to specifically pick up the tape that I did, because it's on Eva (Kevin Shields)'s short run label HATE STATE, which features hand-knit bizarre creations to house the cassettes in. This one is woven around and through a square of plexi-glass, and has an awesome little photo with the tape, of a crowd of people watching Justice play, which is a great great captured moment: a few people looking like they are excited as hell, a few holding their ears like the sound hurts, a few people making faces that indicate they are wondering "What the hell is going on?" and my favorite: Ren of God Willing / Deep Jew / all of that stuff: standing with his arms folded and a look on his face like he's strangely intrigued by watching an autopsy or dissection video, which is possibly not to far off, because when Justice plays with glass, sometimes his face gets all cut up. Well, you know.
things:
THE DISTILLERS - s/t LP repress (Hellcat).
EIAFUAWN - "Birds In The Ground" LP (Pillowscars).
JU SEK REET MEATE / OBLIVIA / JOHN WIESE - "Inside and Out" 7" (Helicopter).
SISSY SPACEK - "Devils Come and Palm" one-sided LP (Helicopter).
JOHN WIESE + DEAD MACHINES - "General Assurance" LP (Helicopter).
KIT / MIRRODASH - split 7" (NFJM).
KIT - untitled? 7" (Upset the Rhythm).
PJ HARVEY - "White Chalk" LP (Island / Control).
HELLNATION / CAPITALIST CASUALTIES - split LP (Sound Idea / Six Weeks).
NEEDLES - s/t 7" (Lengua Armada)
RAT TRAPS - s/t 7" (Shattered).
WWVV - "On the Road Vol. 6 - Abundant Life" CDr (label? - reissue of old tape from a few years ago - "Buck Dharma"-era) .
JUSTICE YELDHAM - "428 Wein 300708"(?) - cassette (Hate State).
Listening: Eyes and Arms of Smoke, Hair Police, FYP, Ten Commandments: The Movie, Slowdive.
11/02/08 - cold
Not a ton to write about at the moment, but I will say that the Halloween show at the Manor that Soft Shoulder played was incredibly bloody. Very very bloody.
things:
I luckily scored a couple copies of a JAY REATARD 7" called "Blood Demos" (one for me, on for the soon to be ready Gilgongo box at Trunkspace) that was released on Australian label STAINED CIRCLES, I believe for a tour over there, but was probably recorded two years ago, as it is demos of four songs from the "Blood Visions" LP: Blood Visions, Tuning Blue, It's So Easy, and Oh, It's Such a Shame, easily my four favorite songs on there, and not weak "demo" versions at all, perhaps a slightly noisier fidelity, but developed and well-done. And honestly, if you've listened to that LP constantly, it's pretty neat to hear these versions and all their small differences (lyrics in different orders, guitar parts that are just slightly different, etc). Jay often puts up demos, old unused things and random stuff on his blog, regularly, and it's worth going through and checking out: http://www.jayreatard.blogspot.com
A few new things from the ARBOR label, a great looking split between C. SPENCER YEH and SICK LLAMA, the art being done by Double Leopards / Religious Knives' Marcia Basset. The C-side is all violin based material, and is hectic and scattered and scratchy, my favorite parts being when the swirling sounds of rough bowing drop off for more minimal and sparse moments. I was a little thrown off by the Sick Llama side, debating whether it's supposed to be 33 or 45, which happens a lot with his material. A faint scream in the beginning sounds fairly right AND wrong at either speed, but prompted me to just stick with 45. As always, a great collection of noise / sound here, and like some of my favorite pieces from him, this covers a ton of ground - at times reminding me a lot of what I do on my own. I think Sick Llama is one of the most under-rated artists doing noise, as far as interesting recordings go. Also new on Arbor is a ZAIMPH, which is actually the solo work of the Marcia mentioned above, though despite knowing it's her on this recording, I wouldn't have guessed the art was. Mystical / misty drone that is on the high end of things, that in fact - does have plenty going on if you take the care to listen, it's under a few layers, but there. This is more apparent on the B-Side, where vocals and feedback take president over the layers of keyboard. Reminds me a little bit of a more aggressive Charalambides or something.
I feel like I may be confusing things, and this can happen a lot when you try and write without the internet to fact check, but I am pretty sure that the other new Arbor release, an LP from INFINITE BODY, is a project that I caught here in Phoenix opening for No Age and Abe Vigoda. This is so mellow and minimal and hardly there, that I feel like I could possibly be confusing two things as one. (What I saw open that show was load and pulsing "ambient" music that seemed to have a few things going on at all times (and a pretty neat sound-sensitive lighting set-up as well). This LP has short sections of guitar or higher pitched tones that enter, dance around the speakers for a couple of minutes in an early Growing-type manner, then pull back, letting a constant field recordings (talking / yelling, birds, some banging around - sounds like downtown Somerville, NJ if you ask me) take center until the next section starts.
Speaking, of Sick Llama, I just recently stumbled across the fact that he's one half of SLITHER, named Heath Moerland, the other being the label head from Tasty Soil and Cotton Museum's Chris Pottinger, and I was happy to find a copy of their LP on Obico for a fair price. (One of my favorite labels, everything they do is incredible, but being short run releases and from Portugal (or is it Italy? or Spain? - regardless) make them very pricey. This one-sided disc is a constant delivery of perfect material, starting off with a very clearly recorded horns / electronics section with just a moment's delay attached to it, and sounding much like some of the Tent/City stuff that's supposed to eventually be a split LP with Binges (also on Arbor). Things continue with a similar vibe, though more busy and loud, though without becoming a mess or hard to decipher at all. Interesting stuff from start to finish, another great example of free/post-jazz and noise being flawless coupled, highly recommended group and label in general, really.
The vinyl version of GLASS CANDY's "Beat Box" finally came out! Although, if I remember correctly, originally planned to be a double LP, it was cut as just a single LP, though I have no idea how. Despite the repositioning of a song towards the end (though the artwork and center labels have the CD's order still) there is a staggering amount of music on here, and it sounds absolutely incredible. Comes with a bonus 7" with two additional songs, the A-side of which, I believe, is one of the best things Johnny Jewel has whipped out. In the same vein as the rest of the LP, but there's this dynamic factor that is very overwhelming. It reminds me a lot of the Chromatics track that I was writing about from an older 12" a few months ago. The B-side is ultra synth-heavy, also sounds great. The wait was worth if for such a beautiful looking release (just like the Italians Do It Better triple LP comp), but these two extra tracks are a treat.
Another great release on CRIMINAL IQ: fast and manic, snotty punk in the name of HOLY SHIT! - who I was first interested in checking out due to praise from Alicja Trout in her label's distro listing of this LP, but was happy to find used for $5. Fifteen songs in what feels like it can not be much more than that at all, and a perfect sized helping. Wild and ridiculous in spirit, but not at all a joke, these guys sound like they would be an absolute blast live. `
I received a whole bunch of new stuff from Sweden's RELEASE THE BATS for the distro, always a pleasure, always. The NTHnthsthSTH LP is a correspondence collaboration between Finland's UTON and New Zealand's ANTHONY MILTON, and the result of a couple years worth of ideas, loops, field recordings and modern weirdo/drone/psych sounds is pleasantly complex. There is an odd sound running throughout this LP, something gigantic and exciting, and without ever transcending into something that might not be taken serious, this is surprisingly child-like feeling,... youthful and adventurous perhaps? Maybe the same feeling you get when driving to a new place, through strange terrain, for the first time - tense buy joyous. Looks like it might be more of a weird psych/pop record judging from the acid-induced, colorful front cover, but trust me, it's far from that.
The POCAHAUNTED / ORPHAN FAIRYTALE split 7" was good, and weird. The Pocahaunted side is so sincerely mature sounding, spaced out folk / chant - but simply put, it's just really good and focused, perhaps if not only due to the amount of space on one side of a 7", though "regardless" too. The Orphan Fairytale side was a trip. I know nothing about the project, except that they / he / she / it is based in Europe, and that their spiraling and gurgled composition of underwater organ was weird. The second of two 7" was a LOOSERS / OWL XOUNDS split, which has been something I have been excited about for a very long time, both are favorites of all things modern, though Owl Xounds are dormant at this time. Loosers, who are often a wild and rhythm / bass heavy band from (I believe) Portugal, though there is a huge amount of variation from not only record to record, but from song to song. Incredibly hard to pin what they do down, so it rarely accurately is: but, free-form contemporary - spaced out, tribal and unafraid. Here, the group plays a very relaxed soothing groove that sedates before the flipside's operation begins. Owl Xounds, who are a based in NYC is a constantly shifting entity that revolves around drummer Adam Kriney, and often features Mario Rechtern on sax. Their track here consists of the two of them, and Gene Jonas upright bass, and as is normal, extremely hectic and crazed free-jazz. The three play a solid block that has several shifts in mood and aggression and completely gripping throughout. I'm glad that I was a le to get a stack of these to be able to sell to people over here.
The menacing looking ATTESTUPA LP is something I also know nothing about. Matthias put up some photos of the release, and it's dark and eerie vibe was impressive and intimidating. I chose not to read any of the info about it, though of course that now leaves me here with it in front of me, and again, being without the internet, no way to reference who / what / where / when this is, though I am nearly positive that it may be something based out of his own town, in Sweden: Gothenburg, which knowing my luck, the spelling of which I just butchered. ...the art, god. Ancient looking black and white prints that remind me a lot of that Earth LP, "Hex", photos that look like they are from a scary 1800's / early 1900s era, though why would I assume that? ...actually, instead of trying to describe this and do an awful job of it, I will just add the photos online, to here, when I get home, so you can accurately see what I am right in front of me. Bizarre and strange music, somewhere between doom / black metal and outsider folk. That sounds absurd, but that's what I hear buried in the grooves of this LP. I feel like no matter what, this will be taken as a joke, but if Noothgrush were trying to play in the style of Young Marble Giants, this is what I feel like it would sound like. And yet strangely, enough, the resulting sound perfectly accompanies these prints. Cult music for a damned era. I'll be very interested to hear what the story is with this project when I get home, but I won't bother revising this, because it's being taken in just like it would have if I brought it home from a local shop, which after looking through the LP, I would have - no questions asked.
I got a pack of stuff from NAIL IN THE COFFIN because an initial box of Aids Wolf / Night Wounds LPs were short a few copies, and included in this one was a copy of an incredible LP from CLIPD BEAKS, a band that I actually didn't enjoy very much when seeing a year or so ago, but am loving here. Dark, gothy, sassy music that falls somewhere in the crosshairs of The Vanishing and Love Life,... Vanishing in their earliest time - dancy and kind of fucked up, though here the bass reminds me very much of Gang of Four, and the vocals mostly relating to Love Life - a great combination I am surely a sucker for. I truly don't remember them sounding like this live, at all, but am extremely grateful that this LP made it's way to me, I don't think I would have ever checked anything out otherwise, and that would be me missing out, for sure. Oh, and excellent gatefold screened covers, and a gigantic double sided newsprint poster that is easily 24" by 36". Giant.
I heard through the grape-vine that there was going to be a vinyl version of the DNA discography, so I bugged Michael at Eastside about getting some, and a week later, it was out and right there for me to grab. ...overall, absolutely great. For those that might not know, DNA were in on the first breed of "no wave", and played minimalist destructed punk - robotic drumming, punch bass / (and earlier on, keyboards), and Arto Lindsay's completely absurd vocals just thrown all over while cranking out some tinny and discordant,... okay, a-tonal guitar playing. I have only ever owned the "A Taste of DNA" 12" and the "No New York" compilation LP, and otherwise - the CD version of this discography, and I never listen to CDs at home, and don't much like listening to DNA in the car. And so on. It's all here, those things and the first 7", and a ton of live and unreleased (historically) stuff. My only only complaint? A few really awful looking scans of fliers on the inside of the gatefold.
things:
JAY REATARD - "Blood Demos" 7" (Stained Circles).
C. SPENCER YEH / SICK LLAMA - split 7" (Arbor).
ZAIMPH - s/t 7" (Arbor).
INFINITE BODY - "A Series of False Awakenings" LP (Arbor).
GLASS CANDY - "B/E/A/T/B/O/X" LP + bonus 7" (Italians Do It Better).
SLITHER - "Venom Injection / Invertebrate" LP (Obico)
HOLY SHIT! - s/t LP (Criminal IQ).
NTHNTHSTSTH (Uton and Anthony Milton collab) - LP (Release the Bats).
ATTESTUPA - s/t LP (Release the Bats).
POCAHAUNTED / ORPHAN FAIRYTALE - split 7" (Release the Bats).
LOOSERS / OWL XOUNDS - split 7" (Release the Bats).
CLIPD BEAKS - s/t LP (Nail In The Coffin).
DNA - "DNA ON DNA" double LP (No More Records).
10/26/08 - october all over. (long).
Table of contents:
1. - blah + etc
2. - playing / seeing shows (and some "things" (like #3))
3. - notes on new things
4. - 3 in list form.
Who knows where the time goes, it's strange - you find yourself at the beginning of a new month, and make all sorts of plans to get all the ideas accomplished, but often, many don't come to fruitation. On a very basic level, my initial ambition of doing this weekly has obviously failed, which is okay, but still - my goal was / is weekly. This thing is very much for me as it is anyone else, I love being able to look back on what I was doing / seeing / listening to - being heavily involved with music is nothing to brag about, it's a headache - at times a complete annoyance, and silly things, like forgetting about your new favorite record, or some wild band you saw two months ago, can easily happen for me if I don't have it documented for myself somewhere,... and here is as good as any, because giving other people a window into things that are going on can encourage other people to check them out as well,... or at least I'd hope that would be the case.
So anyway, this specific brick of words are all regarding the month of October.
There was an excellent string of shows right at the end of September / beginning of this month, and there were many, so I feel like it would be silly to try and elaborate all that much on all of them. There was a SOFT SHOULDER / BLESSURE GRAVE / HELL-KITE show at Ryan's new house, which on the flie for the show was given the name BOO BERRY FORT, a perfect label for his weird old cabin of a place that he shares with two nice people, a couple named Alex and Kana, and is surrounded by a diy / post-apocalyptic fence consisting of rotten wood, sheet metal and chicken wire. Blessure Grave is Toby from Night Wounds' new solo project, and is great minimal goth / dark-pop, but due to a last minute transportation issue, he couldn't make it. Hell-Kite ended up being Ann Marie and Ryan, playing the songs they recorded together for a 7" on Gilgongo, and we (Soft Shoulder) played a set that despite sounding great to us, felt a little flat in the room. Fun though, and people were encouraged to "dress goth" and corpse paint was provided in the bathroom, but it was unfortunately all liquid / goo-based, none of the powder style, so I couldn't take part. Very into Toby's new project, and the guy behind Wavves and his partner Reyna are playing with him now as well. ...and each new Night Wounds recording has been better and better than the last.
A day or two later, even though I said I couldn't play, I had been added on a show with LAZY MAGNET at THE MANOR,... I had told Ryan I couldn't play because I had long been planning to see VITAMIN X / GEORGE MOSHINGTON / YUMA TERRITORIAL PRISON GUARDS (something like that - and I don't have the internet here to check right now) and BECKY LEE at MODIFIED ARTS. That show was really good, Vitamin X, who are from somewhere in Europe, perhaps Holland, played their 80's throwback ultra fast old-school hardcore with minimal "brutality" but maximum force (two very different things) and they had another band from California out for the show two, who were called SEVEN GENERATIONS, which I had extremely low expectations for but was pleasantly surprised by. Playing a style of typically slow, sort of "moshy" hardcore in a very mid-90's East Coast sort of way, kind of like Disembodied, and may respect for them was multiplied exponentially when their singer chose to talk for a solid five minutes in the middle of the set about some fairly disturbing Palin facts that he clearly disclaimed was not an issue of him telling people who to vote for, or to vote at all, but that it was something to keep in mind (that this person believe God created dinosaurs and humans at the same time and that it doesn't matter if a young girl is raped by he father, she believes abortion is not an option). ...and so on. It was tasteful but "pissed", much like everything else about their set. While I probably would have been more excited about them 13 years ago or so, I thought it was 100% valid / solid. ...George Moshington had two friends drum who had never practices or played with them before, because their drummer, Mark, was in a car accident the day of or before,... it was a bit of a train wreck, but hilarious and awesome, and came to an unexpected close with an OP IVY cover. YUMA ETC, a current project of Ryan from The Wongs, Destruction Unit and so on, had to cancel because their drummer couldn't make it, but he played with Becky Lee, on an ultra minimal drum set, and it gave Becky's set some real movement, and her blues singer song-writer material came across more like an more chilled-out early Gossip, and I loved it.
Since I knew I would still be too busy seeing all of these bands to play the show over in Tempe, I tried to come up with something that could be done in my absence. ...so I made 6 identical 30 or 45 second tape-loops, and put them in 6 different cassette decks placed throughout the room, and drew up some directions explaining 6 people from the crowd were supposed to each man one of the decks, pausing, fast forward and rewinding in an attempt to make them all line up. ...however, I actually made it back to Tempe before I "played", so I decided to ty and do the game myself, prefixing the set by making a live loop using the same set up, and letting that play for awhile while I first started trying to synch-up the decks, which I was able to "kind of do okay". It wasn't the most incredible thing, and not as interesting sounding as I had hoped, but it was alright.
I played with Lazy Magnet again the next night, he jumped on Ann's HELL-KITE tour kick-off show. Which was not huge, but went very well, and we sold plenty of stuff to get her a good amount of money to leave town with (more than would be normal from a random show on tour at least / for sure). Ann's set was great and she played some new songs, and I was really happy with my set. It was a more elaborate set-up than normal for lately, a ton of amps, a few guitars, a new tap-oscillator (that I did not hook up to anything, but rather: kept a contact mic under, so that it would pick up the tones it would generate clearly, but have much emphasis on the fact that the small machine was getting jostled around on the table a good deal. Lot's of drawn out sound that would spiral around itself, nothing very quiet nor loud, somewhere in between at most times. The most enjoyable moment of the night was Ashlea from Soft Shoulder's first solo set ever, which was a collection of Grouper or Inca Ore or U.S. Girls-like foggy drone / songs, concluding with one that had a louder beat that underscored it and took things in a last minute unpredictable direction. I loved it, and hope she'll do it again really soon.
In another example of good timing, our show, which was at CARTEL, ended just in time for us to back up all the gear and merch and head a street over to catch EARTHMEN AND STRANGERS at The Manor. Earthmen is another project of them same Ryan mentioned that played with Becky Lee the day before, and Earthmen are an excellent power-pop garage band that I first saw a couple months ago with Jay Reatard down at the Hollywood Alley, and they were even more enjoyable in a small Tempe living room. Ann took off for tour the next day, a month of shows starting to the east, heading though central / west and then hitting and slowly crawling down the west coast, but I'm hoping she ends up writing all about that somewhere / sometime, which is something that I still should have done regarding my last short tour back in August. Her demo or tour CDr, or whatever it should be referred to was just barely finished before she left, and it came out beautifully for being a rushed thing with little time for tweaking. (And you should get in touch with her for a copy).
Checked out a QUINTRON / FATHERS DAY show at Trunkspace. Fathers Day were great, excellent S. Palin and Bail Out banter, and they had their new CDr EP, "I Gotta Look My Best", which features human hair on the cover and comes with a comb,... oh, and offers a somewhat adolescent (I will not say "gown up") sound from these guys, with the confidence to play a slower tune here or there and not just slamming as fast as possible. I'm going to try and nab a few of these for the distro. ...Quintron was incredible, sounded so full of energy and soul, but it was pretty crowded and they played on the floor, so I decided to just buy the new LP and head home after awhile. I just listened through it and love it, every bit as awesome as Swamp Tech or Are You Ready For An Organ Solo, for sure. If your not familiar with what Quintron / Pussycat do, go out of your way to give it a chance: New Orleans organ based garage / soul / dance party music that's undeniably catchy and still in your face. (I remember first crossing paths with Quintron forever ago, god maybe like 9 or so, when he collaborated on one of the Oblivions LPs! - a true secret love ever since).
I feel like I've hardly had to be responsible for setting up any shows in awhile, which is a welcome change of events, without a doubt. I did do one, still in early October, for Vancouver's TWIN CRYSTALS - and we did it with us (Soft Shoulder) and TREASURE MAMMAL at Devlin's house, north of University, but in the same general neighborhood (it just starts feeling different up there). Nick / CHILDRENS CRUSADE was going to play as well, but he didn't have some of his vital tools to play with, so he couldn't which was a bummer. Abe / Treasure Mammal was incredible, all of his sets have been lately. For a long time awhile back (I'm talking years), I wasn't enjoying his live shows as much - something I was usually chalking up to the of quiet PA's, but recently he's been playing out of his own amps (or having more efficient ones to use), and it gives what he does a very necessary kick. ...of course the fact that his newest batch of songs are more quirky / hilarious than ever helps too. I think we all enjoyed our set a lot as well, it was definitely fun, great little space for that show - perfectly sized actually.
Twin Crystals, wow, unbelievable. Jesse from the band, is one of my favorite people out there, a productive guy that is just constantly cranking out things on his own, or in not only Twin Crystals, but Channels 3x4 as well, and he has one of the most hip labels that few people are privileged to know about, Deer + Bird Lathe Cut Records, incredibly cool. Last time he came through, there was just too much going on. Twin Crystals played with us, but so did Old Time Relijun and Foot Village - so as you can imagine, it was pretty hectic, hard to keep up on hanging out with everyone, it was a bit of a disappointment in that regard, despite being an incredible show (honestly one of my favorite moments of Trunkspace so far). So, it was nice to be able to just relax and lounge throughout the show, rather than have entirely too much going on at the same time throughout.
Another one of my favorite Trunkspace moments, which is a bit perverse, perhaps, came a week later, when I headed down to catch DIGITAL LEATHER. ...the show was small, but there were a handful of kids there. However, by the time Digital Leather, there was no one left,... I was, in fact, the only person watching them, other than four or five of their friends, who were sitting in the back by the piano. It was pretty unreal. I know Phoenix / Tempe can be weird, but it's odd to see a band that has such hype in certain areas and scene, play to no one in their own area. ...it happens, to everyone. Soft Shoulder has the same thing going on. Although we can play ANY show in Tempe at a house and know there will be a lot of people there, all having a blast, if you put us in a venue, it's hard to say for sure what will happen. ...but anyway, given the bleakness of what I was watching, it did not come as too much of a surprise when their keyboard amp stopped working 5 or 6 songs in. They tried getting it to work for a little, but I decided that seemed like a fair time to take off after hanging out for several minutes and a song played without the keys in an attempt to kill time in the even of a quick fix.
More recently, SUCKS, which is a band comprising of Sacramento kids from Terrestrial and Hot Girls Cool Guys, who are now playing one of the most art damaged violent sounding noise rock I've heard in awhile. ...falling victim to Friday night exhaustion, I feel asleep a short while after Soft Shoulder, but was abruptly woken up by the start of SUCKS. I left Ryan's bedroom and tried to sneak into the living room, but the BOO BERRY's got a smaller area to watch, and there were probably 40 kids somehow shoved in thee already, so I hung out in the hall, confused by some of the sounds I was hearing and wanting to know what was doing what. I have yet to hear anything these guys have recorded, but listening to them: one of the best new things I have heard in awhile, and a really nice group of kids too (always the best combinations, of course). ...the next night we played over at TRUNKSPACE, with BOLT, an AZ band that haven't had a chance to hit a Tempe show yet, and therefore: are missing their target audience. Playing some damaged art-rock in the vein of Pink & Brown, I'm excited to see where things go with them. I absolutely loved our set,... especially after, despite having fun, having a lot of weird guitar problems at the last few shows. We nailed a new song too, and hopefully we'll have another ready for the Halloween show at The Manor.
things:
Another new DEERHOOF LP, this one called "Offend Maggie". ...although it feels like forever since "The Runners Four" was released, "Friend Opportunity" is still completely new to me, and I haven't spent much time with it. This new LP, to me, gives off the same vibe very much, though on first listen, grabs me a little more than the last one did. I feel like this is starting to blur into Blonde Redhead a little more than I would prefer, though there is plenty about these songs that is still undeniable unique and genius. I did however, hate this art, just about everything about it, especially after how much I enjoyed the last one's.
After the awful hunt it took for me to get a copy of the newest GROUPER LP, "Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill", I was really glad that the reissue of her split tape with Inca Ore was being released by her, herself - so I got a bunch of these for the distro. ...a beautiful collection of recordings from both girls, these four Grouper tracks are like a bridge between the second and newest LPs. Delay heavy and muffled with perfection, haunting songs that don't touch on anything "drone" at all, this is an evolving artist at play. The Inca Ore side is a little less complex than some of her other recent tracks. This is still great, but I would personally prefer the Birthday LP or Ballet Chop CDr. ...I'm really happy that they decided to do this over and in the form of a record.
Walked into Eastside at some point this month to hear some wild wild wild Captain Beefheat / James Chance type stuff playing that I was not familiar with, and got a two second education on some band that apparently has been around forever called BLURT, and since Michael and Jon Q got two of the three copies of this 7" that showed up at Eastside, I decided to go for it. Not that the A-side isn't fucking awesome, the B-side "Hat" is even more so. Entirely too short, I hope they have a ton of other stuff out there that is as good as this.
Brittany (MARRIED IN BERDICHEV) sent over a brand new and mesmerizing new CDr + mini art zine, that collects a batch of her intricate and adventurously weird drawings as well as some newer / recent recordings of her vocals / noise layers and loop project, all of which I vouch for 100%. I suggest bugging the crap out of her when she gets home from her European tour so that you can get a copy of this great little package.
Got a GREAT little 7" of noise clanky garage / punk from LITTLE CLAW on SILTBREEZE, a band that I have always known in name only. Truthfully, this sounds like earlier Yeah Yeah Yeahs (on the A-Side) of Mr. Airplane Man (on the B-Side) if played with less concern in being sassy and proper and more in just "doing it", and with Siltbreeze fidelity (I think this could sound terrible if recorded "well"). This definitely makes me interested in checking out their other stuff.
One of the most consistently impressive bands to me has always been Seattle's THE DEAD SCIENCE, a trio that plays dark and campy Nick Cave-esque jazzy cabaret sort of music, something had for me to decide. The bass playing is so powerful, the guitar so incredibly precise and especially live, perhaps the most impressive drumming I've ever seen. I often wonder if they ever acknowledge to themselves just how incredible they truly are.
Although I don't feel like we're the best of friends or anything, I am always excited for them to come through town, and are one of the only bands playing together as long as I have been playing shows, clear back to 2000 or 2001, the first time we crossed paths when they toured through with Parenthetical Girls, a band who one of my band mates at the time would later join and still constantly tours the world in currently. Tent/City's LP was recorded at a show with them a couple of yeas ago, and just this pass May, Ann (Hell-Kite) and I did a set together opening for them at Trunkspace, which was when they mentioned the fact that they had an upcoming LP on CONSTELLATION, which is beyond perfect.
It's hard to explain, there are so few labels that are even remotely appropriate for such a unique band, and Constellation is such an unattainable label to me, it's hard to explain why I would think anything like that, but I just do. So to me, it's a huge deal, and naturally, as is always the case with Constellation, the record looks great and is a pleasure to listen to and pick up and touch. This has a lot of songs that I've never heard before and some of my old favorites at well, specifically the second track, "The Dancing Destroyer",... such an incredible song to see them play. This is very very elaborate, everything sounds perfect and there's horns and strings accompanying to just a perfect extent, and includes guest vocals from Katrina Ford, of Jaks / Love Life / Celebration - probably the only bands (at least the latter two of) that I can feel remotely comfortable comparing these guys too, and even at that, it's just a vibe. ...well worth your time, in the sense that you should buy this if the description peaks your interest, but even more so, to check out when they come through your town. GREAT people.
It took me awhile to get to listen to the new TWIN CRYSTALS stuff that I graciously acquired from the show we did with them in Tempe. The final / normal version of a 7" that Jesse gave me a test press of last time they came though (and one of an upcoming LP this time). This 7" is essentially the perfect thing for me: my three favorite songs of theirs, together and recorded really well / tons of energy coming through, easily. There's a CDr of recordings from KDVS / Sacramento, but despite being good, they don't have the darkness in the sound or reverb on Jesse's vocals that add so so so much character to it. I'm going to have to get a ton of these for the distro, because I want everyone I know to have this, and realistically, if it wasn't existing, I'd offer to put it out myself in a second.
Jesse also had copies of a new 4 way split of Vancouver bands, including Twin Crystals, SHEARING PINX, STAMINA MANTIS and AHNA. Looking and sounding great, it's also collaboratively released between three Vancouver labels: ISOLATED NOW WAVES, DEER AND BIRD and THANKLESS, and perfectly titled: "BLOOD KLUB". The Shearing Pinx and Twin Crystals songs are great, with some heavy poppy bass and drums noise pop from Stamina Mantis and a good Bastard Noise like track from Ahna (the only artist on here I'm not even remotely familiar with (one person? group?). Good, regardless.
Perhaps one of the most annoying / lame label things I've seen in awhile is this VIVIAN GIRLS 7" called "Wild Eyes" on a label from NY, PLAYS WITH DOLLS. I ordered a copy back in June and never got it, so when I got home from the first of two tours this summer, I decided to just order it again, when that one never showed up either, I did some investigation, and found out that the record had been selling for $30-$100 on ebay throughout summer. More so, word was that it was out of print, even though this dude who does the label still had (has) the paypal ordering button on his site. ...so I've e-mailed him and never got a reply, and then you find out that the same thing has happened to a ton of other people, and you start to wonder how much is sitting in this guy's paypal account, because of all the current HYPE bands, this one is pretty high on the list, and if a record is going for so much in auctions and you can still buy it for $5, you can feel safe "knowing" that a lot of other people are in the same position as you - annoyed!
A few people vouch for the guy, but the band doesn't seem very happy about the fact that people are paying money and not getting anything, and he's got funny things to say to others, and word bounces around that he has all the records and is going to give them to the girls so they can mail them out, and that the paypal button is still on the myspace even though it's been out of print for 4 months because he doesn't know how to take it off (sorry, bullshit). It's hard to say where people are coming from, but geez, it reeked of foul play, and maybe the dude will see this and get all pissed off at me, but if it gets him to e-mail me at all, that's okay, because like I said: he has never replied to my messages, nor a lot of other people's. Luckily for me, word was dropped on VLV that some distro in NYC got a small box of these from storage (or "something") and were selling them for $5 - so after months - I at least got one for what, $18 total? Still less than ebay, and hey, since this guy who does Plays With Dolls can be vouched for, I am sure he'll refund me and however many others there are, right?
Anyway, another good and criminally short Vivian Girls release, the flipside's "My Baby Wants Me Dead" is awesome and kinda gloom-twee or something while having this sort of 60's psych-pop feel to it as well. Probably my favorite thing that they've done so far, though I must say: it's pretty nice to have a copy of the repressed LP since my original that came to me cracked in 1/3 - 2/3 had a hard time playing correctly! And I love that it's pretty much identical to the first press, despite switching over to IN THE RED.
There must have been some sort of disconnect when I heard that the band on tour with Quintron dropped off the show because their van broke down in Texas. It was definitely GOLDEN TRIANGLE, who I had been waiting to hear or see based on the fact that the girl from The Lids and Angry Angles is in it, and so when I reconnected the dots when Quintos asked me about them because a new 7" came in, I was excited, though also obviously bummed that I didn't even realize that I didn't get to see them. ...does that make sense? It's mostly just silly. That Quintron show was hard to watch, but I am sure it would have been thinner when they played if they made it.
The 7" is good, a kind of elaborated version of the B-side of the Vivian Girls 7" I was trying to describe above, sorta psyched out garage stuff, more minor - not so poppy,... ultra catchy and memorable though, not so plain, there's more going on here. Excellent collage on the cover, smooth minimalist back cover, everything about this is perfect, and I'm excited for whatever else they end up doing.
While Ann was on tour, she picked me up a new BECK / JAY REATARD split 7", with "Gamma Ray" from the new Beck LP on the A-Side, and Jay Reatard covering it on the flipside. I think it's a tie,... there are things I like about Beck's version more, but overall, Jay's is just kind more gripping overall. Locally, I picked up another new single, "Chemtrails", the B-Side "Vampire Voltage No. 6" is a great driving tune, ironically enough much like what Jay does, though Beck's "been there / done that".
Ann had a couple of days to hang out in Portland, so I asked her to do a silly favor and have Scott from Exiled (and shh: Eat Skull) pick out a couple of things that he though I would be into for a surprise or whatever. He sent her home with an ALVA LP, a band I've never heard of on a label that is usually spot-on, MENLO PARK. In this case, it's a completely damaged hybrid of things like White Magic or First Nation or Spires That In The Sunset Rise, and completely bizarre and twisted, god - with art to match. The other, is an equally great, though differently vibed LP from a band called METABOLISMUS - an intriguing combination of sound - from a long Tent/City style lead in on the A-Side that eventually builds into a nice thick but high-end ambient piece with strings, bells, things that sound like they are playing backwards, a tranquil but uneasy sounding area, followed by a two short pieces, one that is continuing a layer of higher shimmering sounds with lower electronic tones underneath and one that is very animated - a bouncy and more organic couple of minutes that has what sounds like sax and heavily delayed recorder, more sound reversal, done well - not silly at all. the flipside is a little more uniform, the first half being fairly straight forward and gentle, the second have a bit more "tripped out" and weird, but keeping things fairly calm until this unexpected "dark ages" out-tro, perhaps the only thing on here that I am not 100% loving. ...though some of these players names look familiar, that only one that I can place 100% would be Samara Lubelski, which makes plenty of sense, because her old band Hall Of Fame was what first started coming to mind throughout this LP. I really enjoyed both of these records - I need to remember to e-mail Scott to let him know.
Backing up: I was / am extremely happy with the LP version of the 6 JAY REATARD 7"s on Matador. A complete shtick from start to finish, I just really don't care and completely love how it all played out. ...basically, the hype on Jay was (is) huge, and so MATADOR was trying to get an LP going - and he convinced them to do this insane thing - release 6 7"s in extremely (and increasingly with each following) limited pressings that by the second or third one were selling out with in 15 minutes to an hour after being put up on (and crashing) the Matador web-site. I managed to score the first 4 for $5 each for three of them, $10 for one. I'll probably pick up the last two when the buzz has died down a little, because I am not interested in paying absurd ebay prices for these things, but they are nicely done, very non-uniform and seeming like they were well planned out - not just shit that was thrown together and the such.
Anyway, the deal was that once they were all released, the LP / CD version with all of the songs would come out, and just sort of sum it all up, and not is has and everything about it makes me love what Jay is doing 100%. I was very wish washy on some of these songs in the context of the individual 7"s, I don't know why, though point most of the blame at the fact that even though he still plays like a maniac live, these newer recordings are just fucked up weird noisy pop records - not the style of the "Blood Visions" LP, which is such an untouchable modern punk classic in my opinion.
Having these things together on the LP make them feel more comfortable to me, and a lot of it actually is just sounding like The Lost Sounds again, and I'm completely okay with that. It's weird how having things in different dosages can make you hate or appreciate them. ...but the absolute clincher on this LP is the aesthetics. The cover and art is okay, silly, but okay - however there's a 7" by 7" beautiful full color booklet with all of the front and back covers of the 7"s, the jacket is ultra thick and nice, as is the LP and even down to the inner sleeve, it's a nice solid wax / rice paper one, with no die-cut whole - there's no reason for this to ever get a scuff on it at all. ...this is an extremely well done record and well worth the cost. In fact, iit might be one of the most well executed releases, in all it's insanity, in years. Still 100% recommended for anyone that likes good early punk / pop - some Addicts or Adverts or lighter Wipers, and for sure - Lost Sounds as well.
Fellow "label guy", Brent Eyestone (MAGIC BULLET RECORDS) picked up a fairly priced LP from me on ebay, but do to privacy laws in Fredericksburg, Virginia, I am not allowed to disclose this object. What a Cramp. The point though, is that I thought it would be nice to send along a few of my recent releases, and was pleasantly surprised when I got a package back that I feel far exceeds the parameters of a fair trade. Meaning: I sent several mass produced - mostly bulk printed releases, like the ZS, Foot Village and Little Women LPs, and in return, he sent things that are not only extremely short run, but extremely intricate and "special" as well, and seeing these really ups my level of respect for what Brent does.
The AUGHRA LP, it's untouchable. The LP is housed in a recycled sleeve, painted over with white on one side, black the other - with a white bleak looking rabbit screened in white over it. Inside the polybag as well, is an 11.5" x 11.5" piece of wood which on one side is the "cover", screened onto it in black, AUGHRA, and a bear on his back in grass, swatting at a butterfly. On the other side there is a small paper glued onto the wood: Congratulations - You've landed a very Special edition of the new Aughra full-length. Limited to 108 copies, I wanted this version to be as hand-made as possible. I hope that you enjoy owning it and listening to it as much as I'm truly honored to be a part of your record collection. Thank you. - and then his name, signed. ...sorry, call me a sucker, but I truly buy it as legit, and appreciate it 100%.
It also comes with the CD version, not just a bulk CD, but the entire CD's art in a zip-lock, and that is an impressive work in it's own, with a written piece on his world views and the contest in which these songs were recorded, interesting and great, and inspired / inspiring. I don't feel like I should type out any more of it, but needless to say, he has some great ideas / ideals. All of this talking about things you can't hear,... the music itself is atmospheric, sometimes in a dark and imposing sort of way, at other times very light / uplifting - and at times with these beats that give it a strange electronic shoegaze feel to me. Perhaps it's because of everything else going on with this LP, but I feel like there's a good deal of himself heavily vested into the material on here, and I love how personal of a release this is, I really really do.
The other LP was a reissue of two short run of two tapes by a project that he was doing with Mike Haley (label head of The Electric Human Project, and when making sound solo, is Wether), called BIG CHINA & LITTLE TROUBLE. the two tapes were beautiful, and the aesthetic remains here (simple two color screening that has a looseness to it that is vey intentional, but conjures one of the more ?"together" looking Wolf Eyes LPs. I remember buying those two as soon as they came out and Brent was talking about them online. They were short, 10 and 15 minutes, but that schematic plays out fine onto two sides of an LP, and like the Aughra LP, this also comes with a CD version, again, with full art in a zip lock. I blew past this part, but there was extra material on the Aughra CD, and so is the case with this one, it includes a short run 3" CDr that the two of them also did. The sound on this one is all over, from dark drone to eerie acoustic guitar, to heavily distorted vocals and noise, this sounds like the soundtrack to a dead future, but is not buried under some gigantic pile of mud, you can hear what is going on here, and that's a good thing.
I picked up two great AM-TAPES related CDrs for cheaper than they were "new", a GRAVEYARDS CDr on MAIM AND DISFIGURE called "Awake In A Coma", which is a spaced out warbled recollection of scattered percussion, high end sustains, occasional reeded bursts, and mumbled lows. The real prize of the two was a KILL DEVIL HILLS CDr on BROKEN RESEARCH, as I always assumed they were a one-off project. (They had one of those incredible American Tapes one-sided 7" w/ full color copies on colored paper glued over the B-side, and came with CDrs with an hour or so of other recordings. This disc is also an hour or so long, excellent recorded minimalist post-"free jazz", dungeon style. And as with many of the Broken Research releases, simply packaged with a pieces of printed-on sandpaper on the cover, a unique / signature style.
shorter words:
A 3" CDr from NAPOLEON BLOWNAPART on GREENTAPE that sounds as though it's mostly guitar generated noise with some primitive Deerhoof vibes conjured when the occasional high-pitched spoken / vocals come in. Sounds like something that would be great live. A spacey strange NAUTICAL ALMANAC live CDr on 5NAKEFORK that has an exploring trio on violin, percussion and electronics. A very "guitar" oriented GANG WIZARD CDr on IMVATED that kind of meanders around a bit - some stuff that sounds like i would have been a blast to see. A sludgy extended low-end sound structure CDr from LEAVENWMORTH on NAIL IN THE COFFIN. A CD from CHAN SANTA MARIA, which is actually George Chen (KIT, Zum label head) and Steve Santa Maria (who I believe might be in Grey Daturas) and is a healthy approach to improvised noise / sound, using samples, synthesizers, guitars and general electronics to created computer-free collages and soundscapes, some more of my style than others,... translation: I loved some of this quite a bit, "Ping Polo" perhaps the most. And if you know me at all, sampling Eric / Noggin is an obvious plus. A good little 7" from a band called BUZZER on DOUCHEMASTER that sounds like it could be an old UK band, though almost crossing the "too much rock" line, but I like the edge that it's on in the meantime. Scored a couple of BUSH TETRAS 7"s that I didn't have, for reasonable reasonable prices of $5 each.
things:
DEERHOOF - "Offend Maggie" LP (Kill Rock Stars).
QUINTRON - "2 Thirsty 4 Love" LP (Rhinestone / Goner).
FATHERS DAY - "I Gotta Look My Best" CDr EP (self released).
MARRIED IN BERDICHEV - art zine / CDr (self released).
NAPOLEON BLOWNAPARTE - "Draft Day" 3" CDr (Greentape).
NAUTICAL ALMANAC - "Live From Wichita" CDr (5nakefork).
GANG WIZARD - "Young Money" CDr (Imvated).
THE NEW FLESH - "Filth and Degradation Vol. 1" CDr (Imvated).
TWIN CRYSTALS - KDVS CDr (Nail In The Coffin).
LEAVENWORTH - untitled (?) CDr (Nail In The Coffin).
WETHER / LZRMTN! - split CDr (Nail In The Coffin).
HELL-KITE - untitled / tour CDr (self-released).
GRAVEYARDS - "Awake In A Coma" CDr (Maim and Disfigure).
KILL DEVIL HILLS - "The Loneliest Corner in Michigan" CDr (Broken Research).
CHEN SANTA MARIA - s/t CD (GSSD / Shit On).
TRETETAM - "Free Ashtray 1" CDr (self-released).
TRETETAM - "Free Ashtray 2" CDr (self-released).
BECK - "Chemtrails" 7" (DGC).
BECK / JAY REATARD - "Gamma Ray" 7" (DGC).
JAY REATARD - "Matador Singles '08" LP (Matador)
BLURT - "Cut It!!!" 7" (Orchestra Pit).
BUZZER - s/t 7" (Douchemaster).
VIVIAN GIRLS - "Wild Eyes" 7" (Plays with Dolls).
VIVIAN GIRLS - s/t LP repress (IN THE RED).
LITTLE CLAW - "Race To The Bottom" 7" (Siltbreeze).
GOLDEN TRIANGLE - s/t 7" (Robs House).
TWIN CRYSTALS - s/t 7" (SLU).
v/a - "BLOOD KLUB" 7" (ISOLATED NOW WAVES / THANKLESS / DEER AND BIRD).
GROUPER / INCA ORE - split LP (self-released).
THE DEAD SCIENCE - "Villainaire" LP (Constellation).
AUGHRA - "Proof of Dark Matter / Light The Lights" LP (Magic Bullet).
BIG CHINA & LITTLE TROUBLE - "Black Blood of the Earth Pts 1 & 2" LP (Magic Bullet).
used / old things:
ALVA - "Slattery For Ungdom" LP (Menlo Park).
METABOLISMUS - "Terra Incognita" LP (Black Jack).
BUSH TETRAS - couple of old 7"s, one on 99, one on Fetish.
9/28/08 - painth, frontyard
Weird week, it just sort of came and went, I feel like I am constantly completing things in slow motion. The MARRIED IN BERDICHEV 7" is finally all done, and came out great. There's 300 of them I'm curious how long they are going to last. ...I haven't talked to Brittany in forever, it's pretty silly. Honestly though, there's never the obvious time to really do it. I'm never just hanging around by myself, not doing anything, to be able to pick up the phone and chat. ...and truth be told, I am sure it's often the same case for her, she's a very busy / productive person. In the same vein, I am truly trying to make time to spend with people, but being caught up, at least remotely, is #1 priority. I don't even know how to describe it - it's not that I like being so occupied with projects, it's that I am constantly two or three days behind where I am supposed to be, and if I stop, I'll get completely swamped.
Ann's going to be gone for the next month (doing her project HELL-KITE), which will be weird and a bummer for sure, but more so: I'm completely excited that she's heading out on tour, doing it alone and just going for it. It's ambitious and impressive, most people would not do that,.. I mean maybe for a week or so up and down the coast, but three or four weeks is a long time and it takes drive to even consider making that sort of plan (whether you want to admit you have that drive and all of that or not). She has some great looking shows, though can use help in DENVER or SEATTLE, so if you live in one of those places and happen to read this, and think you can help, please do).
Her tour kickoff sort of show is this Friday, the 3rd at CARTEL, with myself, Ashlea (from Tent/City, Soft Shoulder as: A. HOHM) and FOOT OX. The day before is a LAZY MAGNET show at Ryan's new house, which I am going to try hard to get to after heading over to Phoenix to see a bunch of great bands play with VITAMIN X, including GEORGE MOSHINGTON and one of Ryan's (from The Wongs, Destruction Unit and such) projects which sounds like it should be awesome. ...and the day before that? the 1st? KATY DAVIDSON with FRENCH QUARTER, and some sort of weird collaboration set with myself, John Ryan and Ashle (so Soft Shoulder, or 3/5's of Tent/City) with Katy too. I think it should be called TENT NORA, but that's just me. ...and Tuesday, 9/30 is a BLESSURE GRAVE (Toby from Night Wounds bringing the death / goth jams) / HELL-KITE / SOFT SHOULDER show, also at Ryan's new place.