Saturday, June 28, 2008
my sweetie just posted 40 of her boris pics at meezlady.blogspot.com. you can click on 'em to make 'em big. check 'em out and leave her a comment, why doncha?
the !!!! beat
i'm resting my ears for tonight's stoogeshow right now, but later on, i'm gonna want to watch this clip of otis redding hosting hoss allen's '60s dallas tv show the !!! beat.
the best birthday present of all
miss aimee just called to inform me that my grandson was born in granbury this morning. we'll go see kelli and the new addition tom'w.
boris, torche, clouds @ rubber gloves, 6.27.2008
i hadn't been to rubber gloves in a good long while, since seeing dead sexy (r.i.p.) wa-a-ay back in august 2002, so i was surprised to see a dead sexy sticker in the window out front when we rolled up around 7:30. parked the car and walked over to recycled books, then got some chow at the diner on the square. shoulda gone to j&j's pizza instead. oh well.
hadn't had to wait on line for a show in awhile, either, and this would be a night with lotsa line-waiting: door, merch table, bar, etc. when we got inside, practically the first thing i saw was michio kurihara carrying his gtr upstairs -- a good sign; i hadn't realized he'd be with them on this tour. i used some of the b-day money my sweetie gave me to snag a japanese vinyl copy of smile, a "statement"/"floor shaker" 7-inch, and a t-shirt. maybe i shoulda stuck to the u.s. smile and copped their near-impossible-to-find heavy rocks cd as well, but i was seduced by the groovy packaging (i'm still debating whether to break the seal on it; it's so pristine -- ahh, the romance of the artifact).
lotsa ppl we knew on the set: ray, hembree and teague; tommy from the great tyrant and his wife; henry and roger from blood of the sun; the gonzalez brothers from yells at eels, etc. before the music started, i had fun watching people's silhouettes on the frosted window in front. started out drinking shiner but soon switched to pbr to economize (they have $1 genuine drafts there if you can stomach 'em).
i'd forgotten how small the room is at rubber gloves -- only a little deeper than the stage, it seems (kinda like the "big room" at the wreck room r.i.p.). clouds, a four-piece from boston, opened with hellacopterish energy and three singers (the bassplayer and two gtrists, one of whom looked like an evil damien stewart). after a coupla songs, i had to walk around, leaving my sweetie in the mass. the a.c. was off and it was sweletering.
another four-piece, torche from florida were next with their heavier take on high-energy and varying hair-lengths. teague said their old band floor, combining heavy and pop elements, was even better. my sweetie worked her way to the front and was shooting what'd wind up being a couple of hundred pics. by this time the a.c. was on, a good thing, since the room was packed, and it stayed that way until boris hit.
the four musos in boris set up their own gear. their pedalboards are massive; kurihara uses _two_, and has a coupla loose effects hanging off the end of one of 'em. before and during the set, takeshi had a few probs with his gear -- a dead outlet on the house's power strip, a strap that slipped off his double-necked steinberger gtr-bass in the middle of a song, a bum cord. he worked through 'em like a pro while his bandmates played on. they "rockstarred" it a little bit (leaving the stage for the tension-building delay before they hit; drummer atsuo changed his shirt) but came back and delivered a coupla hours' worth of toonage, old and new. my sweetie remarked, "it's hard to believe something can be so loud and violent and yet so beautiful" and i'm inclined to agree.
they were LOUDER THAN FUCK; i was standing in front of kurihara's stacked fender twins and he was _killing_ me, but it was greatness. the cliche is to compare kurihara to the late quicksilver messenger service gtrist john cipollina, but his style is a mixture of that (including the wobbly tremelo-arm vibrato), dick dale, robert fripp (his echoey volume pedal/e-bow rides), scorching wah-driven blasts, things that sound like an organ or radio static, sonny sharrock chaos-slide -- a kind of everything of psychedelic noise-rock gtr. he's my new gtr hero. (and plays an sg.)
on the other side of the stage, wata played her trademark black les paul with a repose that was the total opposite of her massive sound. takeshi plays more gtr than i woulda thought, but his sound had a _huge_ bottom end (i'm sure tommy was diggin' it). atsuo (who's really the leader, i think) proved to be an outrageous ham showman and leaped out into the audience to surf the crowd late in their set. boris' powerful, majestic music covers a lot of bases -- heavy drone, full-on punk thrash, quiet meditative pieces -- from song to song, or even in the course of one song. after pummeling us with sound for over an hour, they backed off the intensity and played a coupla slower numbers before closing with a trademark droney blast (atsuo's crowd-surfing oppo) before returning (after timely pause -- more rockstardom) to encore with "farewell" from pink (the song i'd been waiting to hear all night). 'twas wish fulfillment at its best. my ears are still ringing.
ADDENDUM: two things i forgot to mention. 1) the way all three bands reinforced in my mind the efficacy of having blasts of feedback in between songs. 2) the way kurihara's right hand moved so fast it was a blur at times.
hadn't had to wait on line for a show in awhile, either, and this would be a night with lotsa line-waiting: door, merch table, bar, etc. when we got inside, practically the first thing i saw was michio kurihara carrying his gtr upstairs -- a good sign; i hadn't realized he'd be with them on this tour. i used some of the b-day money my sweetie gave me to snag a japanese vinyl copy of smile, a "statement"/"floor shaker" 7-inch, and a t-shirt. maybe i shoulda stuck to the u.s. smile and copped their near-impossible-to-find heavy rocks cd as well, but i was seduced by the groovy packaging (i'm still debating whether to break the seal on it; it's so pristine -- ahh, the romance of the artifact).
lotsa ppl we knew on the set: ray, hembree and teague; tommy from the great tyrant and his wife; henry and roger from blood of the sun; the gonzalez brothers from yells at eels, etc. before the music started, i had fun watching people's silhouettes on the frosted window in front. started out drinking shiner but soon switched to pbr to economize (they have $1 genuine drafts there if you can stomach 'em).
i'd forgotten how small the room is at rubber gloves -- only a little deeper than the stage, it seems (kinda like the "big room" at the wreck room r.i.p.). clouds, a four-piece from boston, opened with hellacopterish energy and three singers (the bassplayer and two gtrists, one of whom looked like an evil damien stewart). after a coupla songs, i had to walk around, leaving my sweetie in the mass. the a.c. was off and it was sweletering.
another four-piece, torche from florida were next with their heavier take on high-energy and varying hair-lengths. teague said their old band floor, combining heavy and pop elements, was even better. my sweetie worked her way to the front and was shooting what'd wind up being a couple of hundred pics. by this time the a.c. was on, a good thing, since the room was packed, and it stayed that way until boris hit.
the four musos in boris set up their own gear. their pedalboards are massive; kurihara uses _two_, and has a coupla loose effects hanging off the end of one of 'em. before and during the set, takeshi had a few probs with his gear -- a dead outlet on the house's power strip, a strap that slipped off his double-necked steinberger gtr-bass in the middle of a song, a bum cord. he worked through 'em like a pro while his bandmates played on. they "rockstarred" it a little bit (leaving the stage for the tension-building delay before they hit; drummer atsuo changed his shirt) but came back and delivered a coupla hours' worth of toonage, old and new. my sweetie remarked, "it's hard to believe something can be so loud and violent and yet so beautiful" and i'm inclined to agree.
they were LOUDER THAN FUCK; i was standing in front of kurihara's stacked fender twins and he was _killing_ me, but it was greatness. the cliche is to compare kurihara to the late quicksilver messenger service gtrist john cipollina, but his style is a mixture of that (including the wobbly tremelo-arm vibrato), dick dale, robert fripp (his echoey volume pedal/e-bow rides), scorching wah-driven blasts, things that sound like an organ or radio static, sonny sharrock chaos-slide -- a kind of everything of psychedelic noise-rock gtr. he's my new gtr hero. (and plays an sg.)
on the other side of the stage, wata played her trademark black les paul with a repose that was the total opposite of her massive sound. takeshi plays more gtr than i woulda thought, but his sound had a _huge_ bottom end (i'm sure tommy was diggin' it). atsuo (who's really the leader, i think) proved to be an outrageous ham showman and leaped out into the audience to surf the crowd late in their set. boris' powerful, majestic music covers a lot of bases -- heavy drone, full-on punk thrash, quiet meditative pieces -- from song to song, or even in the course of one song. after pummeling us with sound for over an hour, they backed off the intensity and played a coupla slower numbers before closing with a trademark droney blast (atsuo's crowd-surfing oppo) before returning (after timely pause -- more rockstardom) to encore with "farewell" from pink (the song i'd been waiting to hear all night). 'twas wish fulfillment at its best. my ears are still ringing.
ADDENDUM: two things i forgot to mention. 1) the way all three bands reinforced in my mind the efficacy of having blasts of feedback in between songs. 2) the way kurihara's right hand moved so fast it was a blur at times.
Friday, June 27, 2008
r.i.p. taihachi oguchi
the founder of taiko drumming died yesterday, age 84, after being hit by a car while crossing the street.
radio first termer
frank cervantez hooked me up with another great cd-r -- an air transcription from radio first termer, a pirate station that operated from a saigon brothel by a pseudonymous air force sergeant who went by the handle dave rabbit. rabbit served three tours in nam before, inspahrd by his best friend's death, he decided to do something "for the troops" and went on the air broadcasting "hard acid rock" and scatological humor for 21 days in january 1971, only shutting down when he feared discovery by his base commander. in 2006, rabbit traveled to iraq to do a 35th anniversary show for the troops there. the "hard acid rock" he plays on the aircheck is the same music i listened to back in high school, but the context gives it a totally different vibe. (i remember being in the chow hall in korea in '82 and hearing "standing on the verge of getting it on" come blasting over afkn. some things change, some not.)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
poetschke on improvisation pt. 7
from karl poetschke:
prt. 7- imagination
So often you hear the word imagination in reference to artistic creativity but what exactly is imagination and how do we use it in an effective, pro-creative way? Imagination is all the images from the nation within us. By this I mean, that we are the sum total of everyone it took for us to be here now and we have access to all the knowledge and experiences that they experienced. This vast reservoir is accessible through our imagination. Everything born from our imagination either has happened, is happening or will happen. This is somewhat of a proven fact in quantum physics.
With this view of imagination, we can effectively utilize it in a pro-creative way by first learning to become aware of what is going on inside you, then become aware of what is happening around you and then combining them with the images of the imagination...simultaneously and instantaneously.
Note: these steps are cumulative not incremental and assume that you have read parts 1-6:
1- practice observing your thoughts as objectively as possible and become aware of your own patterns.
2- use these patterns for creative inspiration
3- while in this state of awareness, open your eyes and ears to your environment and observe it’s patterns
4- use these patterns for creative inspiration
5- by this step we have silenced the ego and allowed our unconscious mind to be combined with the outside world.
6- by benching the ego the imagination is transformed from ego-driven fantasies and illusions into a vast reservoir of infinite life experiences that can be accessed for creative inspiration.. Thus adding the third element...our complete “Self”.
7- at this step we can apply imagination in an effective way by combining (closing the distance between) our inside reality and our outside reality with our experience of all reality through out infinite time and space i.e. “Imagination”
8- as we utilize the imagination in this pro-creative way, we create a pattern in our improvisation of continuously unfolding inspiration
9-being continuously inspired enhances our creative output and increases our ability to experience musical freedom
10- the end product: total awareness of reality and complete musical freedom in a infinite, pro-creative circle of pure artistic creativity.
Not a bad place to be when performing.
Your insights are invited.
prt. 7- imagination
So often you hear the word imagination in reference to artistic creativity but what exactly is imagination and how do we use it in an effective, pro-creative way? Imagination is all the images from the nation within us. By this I mean, that we are the sum total of everyone it took for us to be here now and we have access to all the knowledge and experiences that they experienced. This vast reservoir is accessible through our imagination. Everything born from our imagination either has happened, is happening or will happen. This is somewhat of a proven fact in quantum physics.
With this view of imagination, we can effectively utilize it in a pro-creative way by first learning to become aware of what is going on inside you, then become aware of what is happening around you and then combining them with the images of the imagination...simultaneously and instantaneously.
Note: these steps are cumulative not incremental and assume that you have read parts 1-6:
1- practice observing your thoughts as objectively as possible and become aware of your own patterns.
2- use these patterns for creative inspiration
3- while in this state of awareness, open your eyes and ears to your environment and observe it’s patterns
4- use these patterns for creative inspiration
5- by this step we have silenced the ego and allowed our unconscious mind to be combined with the outside world.
6- by benching the ego the imagination is transformed from ego-driven fantasies and illusions into a vast reservoir of infinite life experiences that can be accessed for creative inspiration.. Thus adding the third element...our complete “Self”.
7- at this step we can apply imagination in an effective way by combining (closing the distance between) our inside reality and our outside reality with our experience of all reality through out infinite time and space i.e. “Imagination”
8- as we utilize the imagination in this pro-creative way, we create a pattern in our improvisation of continuously unfolding inspiration
9-being continuously inspired enhances our creative output and increases our ability to experience musical freedom
10- the end product: total awareness of reality and complete musical freedom in a infinite, pro-creative circle of pure artistic creativity.
Not a bad place to be when performing.
Your insights are invited.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
goodwin @ central market tomorrow
speaking of bands that have matt hembree in them, the lovely and talented goodwin be's at central market thursday night for the fort worth weekly-sponsored "thursday night live." they hit at 7pm, sandwiched in between two bands i know not from adam. i will be busy pouring grains in bins, but if you're not, check 'em out.
the evil that we do
my middle dtr and her husband came over last night and wound up staying for dinner. we had chicken fajitas and ice cream. he borrowed a bunch of jazz cd's to rip. i was surprised (and my sweetie greatly amused) that my dtr remembered characters i invented during her childhood like "lugubrio the storyteller" and "the crawling lion." also that when she was four, i once referred to eggs as "the menstrual discharge of a verminous fowl," which caused her not to eat eggs for many yrs. ng. "c'mon, whassamatta -- doncha wanna eat _eggs_?! they're _good_!!!"
three books i wanna read this year
george orwell - down and out in london and paris
truman capote - in cold blood
graham greene - the quiet american
truman capote - in cold blood
graham greene - the quiet american
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
great tyrant pics @ meezlady.blogspot.com
my sweetie posted some of her pics of the great tyrant at the chat room last saturday on her photo blog. (click on 'em to make 'em big.) go check 'em out and leave her a comment why doncha.
Monday, June 23, 2008
5th avenue jazz collective
The 5th Avenue Jazz Collective will be performing live in concert on Saturday June 28th 8pm at Arts Fifth Avenue in Fort Worth.
Pat Brown - Trombone
Daymond Callahan - Piano
Joey Carter - Vibes
Eddie Dunlap - Drums
Kyp Green - Bass
Jordan Gheen - trumpet
Dave Williams - Sax
Call for reservations at (817) 923-9500.
Arts Fifth Avenue
1628 5th Ave
Fort Worth, TX
76104
http://www.artsfifthavenue.com/events.htm
Directions:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Pat Brown - Trombone
Daymond Callahan - Piano
Joey Carter - Vibes
Eddie Dunlap - Drums
Kyp Green - Bass
Jordan Gheen - trumpet
Dave Williams - Sax
Call for reservations at (817) 923-9500.
Arts Fifth Avenue
1628 5th Ave
Fort Worth, TX
76104
http://www.artsfifthavenue.com/events.htm
Directions:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
the century of the self
just watched the first of four hour-long episodes of a bbc doco that explores how corporations and governments use freud's idea of the unconscious to control the minds of the masses. this provides an interesting explanation of how the american illness of "buying shit you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like" got started, as well as how people in this country have become increasingly self-involved and apathetic over the years. thanks to tommy for posting and jon for pulling my coat.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
cool groove revue
Saturday, July 12
Wes Race Presents
THE BIG SUMMER SHOW!
THE COOL GROOVE REVUE
with featured artists:
Lost Country - Juke Jumpers - The Sumterraneans with Jime Hinkle
also Wes Race (latest CD - Crytpic Whalin'!)
Arts Fifth Avenue
On the corner of Fifth Avenue and West Allen Avenue
in the Fairmount Southside Historic District of Fort Worth
Wes Race Presents
THE BIG SUMMER SHOW!
THE COOL GROOVE REVUE
with featured artists:
Lost Country - Juke Jumpers - The Sumterraneans with Jime Hinkle
also Wes Race (latest CD - Crytpic Whalin'!)
Arts Fifth Avenue
On the corner of Fifth Avenue and West Allen Avenue
in the Fairmount Southside Historic District of Fort Worth
Saturday, June 21, 2008
kinda burnt
...on writing right now. after the up liner notes, had a few li'l things crop up until i finally had to say "no mas" and call it down for awhile. still need to finish the h.c.-riverside story, for which my sweetie started working on the pics today.
watched the savages last night. good flick about a bro 'n' sis whose dad is suffering from dementia. pert realistic in that there's no _big redemptive (and manipulative climax_, which woulda made me gag like the end of stepmom or, um, schindler's list. i'm hyper-aware that lately i've been booking a bunch of shows (not all of which are confirmable yet -- suxxx being the rock 'n' roll secretary) to keep my mind off my folks' sitch (or make myself feel more connected to life somehow). so there.
my boss is giving me my 4th of july holiday early, so i've got three days off at the end of this week for boris @ rubber gloves on friday, the stoogeband @ the chat room on my b-day, and PFFFFT! at the chat room (with special guest jeremy hull subbing for matt on bass) on sunday. plus the fort worth weekly, whose music awards showcase i'm gonna miss because i have to work tomorrow night, is running a PFFFFT! feature in next week's paper. hooray!
watched the savages last night. good flick about a bro 'n' sis whose dad is suffering from dementia. pert realistic in that there's no _big redemptive (and manipulative climax_, which woulda made me gag like the end of stepmom or, um, schindler's list. i'm hyper-aware that lately i've been booking a bunch of shows (not all of which are confirmable yet -- suxxx being the rock 'n' roll secretary) to keep my mind off my folks' sitch (or make myself feel more connected to life somehow). so there.
my boss is giving me my 4th of july holiday early, so i've got three days off at the end of this week for boris @ rubber gloves on friday, the stoogeband @ the chat room on my b-day, and PFFFFT! at the chat room (with special guest jeremy hull subbing for matt on bass) on sunday. plus the fort worth weekly, whose music awards showcase i'm gonna miss because i have to work tomorrow night, is running a PFFFFT! feature in next week's paper. hooray!
the vagrants
found this while searching the 'tube for examples of the '60s lawn guyland (primarily italo-american) rawk aesthetic to show my ex-editor. spot leslie weinstein (the future leslie west) in the backline.
ADDENDUM: there's even a vagrants website with some mp3s. who knew?
ADDENDUM: there's even a vagrants website with some mp3s. who knew?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
things to do this summer
1) fix the living room ceiling and hang up art.
2) take my sweetie to nonna tatta's for her b-day.
3) publish the h.c.-riverside crew book.
4) go to new jersey in august. spend wednesday at seaside heights.
5) play a bunch of shows. (the rock 'n' roll secretary is hard at work now.)
6) walk to kincaid's while we still can.
2) take my sweetie to nonna tatta's for her b-day.
3) publish the h.c.-riverside crew book.
4) go to new jersey in august. spend wednesday at seaside heights.
5) play a bunch of shows. (the rock 'n' roll secretary is hard at work now.)
6) walk to kincaid's while we still can.
requiem for a day off
this "trailer" is over four minutes long, and it prolly took me half that time to realize where the scenes came from. proof positive, as if any more were needed, that the cut and the music make the film.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
all the notes
apparently there's a documentary about cecil taylor called all the notes from 2006. gotta try and find this on dvd.
dp mk I
laugh if you want, the "mark I" lineup of deep purple (the rod evans-nicky simper incarnation) was and still remains my fave. i even owned all of their _singles_ at one time.
yubiwaza
another weird thing that emerged from the recesses of memory while i was cleaning tonight: yubiwaza, which i had figured was a fake martial art some yolk had cooked up and was promoting via ads in comic books i usedta read when i was a snotnose. turns out it had _some_ basis in real jujitsu -- but only just.
i'm getting tired so i can sleep
last coupla nights at work i've been thinking about this song my mother usedta sing us when we were little. turns out it's an irving berlin song, part of the all-soldier musical this is the army he composed while stationed at camp upton, long island (which later became brookhaven national lab, where my father worked) during ww1. the way i remember it is a lot different than the way it sounds in the clip, due to my mother's, um, idiosyncratic sense of riddim. and i never heard the intro before now.
Out on a hike all day, dear
Part of the army grind
Weary and long the way, dear
But really I don't mind
I'm getting tired so I can sleep
I want to sleep so I can dream
I want to dream so I can be with you
I've got your picture by my bed
'Twill soon be placed beneath my head
To keep me company the whole night through
For a little while, whatever befalls
I will see your smile till reveille calls
I hope you're tired enough to sleep
And please sleep long enough to dream
And look for me for I'll be dreaming too
Out on a hike all day, dear
Part of the army grind
Weary and long the way, dear
But really I don't mind
I'm getting tired so I can sleep
I want to sleep so I can dream
I want to dream so I can be with you
I've got your picture by my bed
'Twill soon be placed beneath my head
To keep me company the whole night through
For a little while, whatever befalls
I will see your smile till reveille calls
I hope you're tired enough to sleep
And please sleep long enough to dream
And look for me for I'll be dreaming too
fw weekly music awards showcase this sunday
i'll be pouring oats in bins, but mariani's put together a pretty sweet lineup:
8.0
9pm -- Pretty Baby
8pm -- Calhoun
7pm -- Collin Herring
6pm -- Pablo/the Hemphill 7
5pm -- The Campaign
4pm -- Stephen Pointer
BENT LOUNGE
9pm -- Stella Rose
8pm -- The Great Tyrant
7pm -- Titanmoon
6pm -- Stumptone
5pm -- Telegraph Canyon
4pm -- Jefferson Colby
FLYING SAUCER
9pm -- April Geesbreght
8pm -- Elizabeth Wills
7pm -- The Burning Hotels
6pm -- Black Tie Dynasty (acoustic)
5pm -- PrinceRodriguez
4pm -- Blackland River Devils
PADDY RED’S
9pm -- KatsuK
8pm -- Goodwin
7pm -- TTXQ
6pm -- Merkin
5pm -- Lifters
4pm -- the cut*off
SCAT JAZZ LOUNGE
9pm -- Whiskey Folk Ramblers
8pm -- Josh Weathers Band
7pm – Rivercrest Yacht Club
6pm -- Maren Morris
5pm -- Panther City Bandits
4pm -- JZ & Dirty Pool
bonus: if you get a copy of the compilation cd, see if you can spot the typo on the cover.
8.0
9pm -- Pretty Baby
8pm -- Calhoun
7pm -- Collin Herring
6pm -- Pablo/the Hemphill 7
5pm -- The Campaign
4pm -- Stephen Pointer
BENT LOUNGE
9pm -- Stella Rose
8pm -- The Great Tyrant
7pm -- Titanmoon
6pm -- Stumptone
5pm -- Telegraph Canyon
4pm -- Jefferson Colby
FLYING SAUCER
9pm -- April Geesbreght
8pm -- Elizabeth Wills
7pm -- The Burning Hotels
6pm -- Black Tie Dynasty (acoustic)
5pm -- PrinceRodriguez
4pm -- Blackland River Devils
PADDY RED’S
9pm -- KatsuK
8pm -- Goodwin
7pm -- TTXQ
6pm -- Merkin
5pm -- Lifters
4pm -- the cut*off
SCAT JAZZ LOUNGE
9pm -- Whiskey Folk Ramblers
8pm -- Josh Weathers Band
7pm – Rivercrest Yacht Club
6pm -- Maren Morris
5pm -- Panther City Bandits
4pm -- JZ & Dirty Pool
bonus: if you get a copy of the compilation cd, see if you can spot the typo on the cover.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
the king of cheap does fort worth summer
a silly bit of blather i penned about stuff to do on the cheap during the summer here in the fort is online now at iloveftw.com.
next week
blackland river devils at the fairmount on thursday, and the great tyrant at the chat room on saturday.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
obama on religion
cat just makes so much sense. when have we heard a pol speak so lucidly on tough, complex issues? oh yeah, that's right -- never.
alvin youngblood hart - "electrophonic tonic"
here's a cover of the sonic's rendezvous band toon, with srb bassist gary rasmussen joining ayh.
Friday, June 13, 2008
friday the 13th
missed the backsliders at lola's last night because i fell asleep real early after coming home from the prom at jo kelly and scarfing some lisa's fried chicken. now i just feel like my head is turned inside out.
closing at work tonight and trying to catch up on "regular" writing (owe velton at iloveftw.com a coupla thangs, and need to get to back on the horse re: the h.c.-riverside history). if i wasn't closing and didn't fear the mid-cities, i'd go see carey wolff play a full band show out at bronco's in hurst. and i don't watch tv, but if i did, i'd be watching channel 21 KTXA around 8:30pm to see goodwin, who taped a coupla songs and an int for broadcast the other day.
time to go scarf chicken leftovers and try to make myself human in time for work this arvo. and listen to some joe strummer.
closing at work tonight and trying to catch up on "regular" writing (owe velton at iloveftw.com a coupla thangs, and need to get to back on the horse re: the h.c.-riverside history). if i wasn't closing and didn't fear the mid-cities, i'd go see carey wolff play a full band show out at bronco's in hurst. and i don't watch tv, but if i did, i'd be watching channel 21 KTXA around 8:30pm to see goodwin, who taped a coupla songs and an int for broadcast the other day.
time to go scarf chicken leftovers and try to make myself human in time for work this arvo. and listen to some joe strummer.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
the up on easy action
got an email from michigan and a phone call from london the other day and wound up writing liner notes for a cd by the '67-'73 michigan band the up that's gonna be released on easy action records in september. easy action had previously used my history of sonic's rendezvous band as the basis for the notes to the srb boxset they released back in 2006, and label honcho carlton sandercock is a true gent.
i was afraid i'd lost the april 2000 interview i did with up/srb bassist gary rasmussen in one of the several computer crashes i've experienced since then, but i found a printed copy in my files and was able to put together an edit of the relevant portions in a coupla hours. i also sent easy action a brief essay that germinated in my head while i was working one of those overnight shifts at the market earlier this week. nice to know we can still respond under those circumstances.
it also got me thinking about the ephemeral nature of this here intarweb, as the rasmussen int had disappeared from the i-94 bar, where it originally appeared, and the barman said it was unrecoverable, even in a very thorough cache search. maybe after i finish work on the haltom city-riverside crew history this summer, i'll have to start thinking about pubbing a compendium of my old scrawl from the web -- not so much because i think it's for the ages, but because i'd like my grandkids to be able to read it someday if they're so inclined.
i was afraid i'd lost the april 2000 interview i did with up/srb bassist gary rasmussen in one of the several computer crashes i've experienced since then, but i found a printed copy in my files and was able to put together an edit of the relevant portions in a coupla hours. i also sent easy action a brief essay that germinated in my head while i was working one of those overnight shifts at the market earlier this week. nice to know we can still respond under those circumstances.
it also got me thinking about the ephemeral nature of this here intarweb, as the rasmussen int had disappeared from the i-94 bar, where it originally appeared, and the barman said it was unrecoverable, even in a very thorough cache search. maybe after i finish work on the haltom city-riverside crew history this summer, i'll have to start thinking about pubbing a compendium of my old scrawl from the web -- not so much because i think it's for the ages, but because i'd like my grandkids to be able to read it someday if they're so inclined.
my folks
my big sis says our dad's now havng
"pleasant hallucinations":
that his brother spent the night
(not sure whether it's the one who's dead
or the one who lives in florida)
and used to come have a beer with him on fridays.
our ma mainly sits in her room, reading and watching tv.
my sis says "he seems to be trying to hold on,
while she's content to forget."
i miss them.
"pleasant hallucinations":
that his brother spent the night
(not sure whether it's the one who's dead
or the one who lives in florida)
and used to come have a beer with him on fridays.
our ma mainly sits in her room, reading and watching tv.
my sis says "he seems to be trying to hold on,
while she's content to forget."
i miss them.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
yadda yadda yadda
got off work at 8am. working overnights in preparation for inventory this week. tomorrow night we get to weigh all the bins in my bulk department. get ready for sore arms/back. thursday i'm off and i'm going to prom at my sweetie's school -- always a treat. hoping to hear back on PFFFFT! gigs at the fairmount and a house party. working on liner notes for a cd by an obscuro dee-troit band for a u.k. based label -- an interruption to the haltom city-riverside history, but worthwhile, i think. listeningto m. ward's post-war, my fave listen o' the moment. time to drink another shiner to try and make myself sleep. back to work at 9pm tonight.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
stoogesounds online
matt's recording of the stoogeband's 6.7.2008 moon extravaganza is online now at katboy's stoogeaphilia archive. you'll have to imagine the sounds of pizza being delivered to the stage, justin robertson falling on his ass (_hard_), and me scaring the shit out of the ppl in front by banging two plastic beer "glasses" together. all kidding aside, it's a pretty hot set. makes me wish i coulda seen it.
Monday, June 09, 2008
a little bird told me
...that lee allen and lucas white are joining rivercrest yacht club. you heard it here first.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
yardbirds - i'm a man
speaking of the yardbirds and bo diddley, here's a song they stole from him to great effect. in the wake of their version came a generation of u.s. teen-snot garage bands like the count five of "psychotic reaction" fame and all the bands on those fort worth teen scene comps. this first clip is live and while yeah, they do look like douchebags, especially the guy with the maracas, you can see how jeff beck pioneered the use of electric gtrs as noise generators -- a useful concept.
in this clip, they're lip-synching, but you can hear how powerful the record sounded. hearing it when i was 13 hit me as hard as live at leeds, hendrix at monterey, kick out the jams, and the tv broadcast of the stooges at the cincinnati pop festival. after this, i was _hooked_.
in this clip, they're lip-synching, but you can hear how powerful the record sounded. hearing it when i was 13 hit me as hard as live at leeds, hendrix at monterey, kick out the jams, and the tv broadcast of the stooges at the cincinnati pop festival. after this, i was _hooked_.
yardbirds - train kept a-rollin'
tomorrow, while i'm trying to force myself to go to sleep during the day in preparation for the first of three overnight shifts i'm working this week, i'll be taping the grubbermeister a yardbirds comp from some of my vinyl 'cos all he knows by them is "train kept a-rollin'." got to youtubing it and discovered a buncha different versions of that toon by different incarnation of the band.
first, here's the clip evabody's seen from blow-up, with beck and page on dueling git-tars.
here's a clip i'd never seen before, of the same lineup in france in 1966, with page playing _bass_ and chris dreja on riddim gtr. duh.
here's the previous incarnation of the band with 'riginal bassist paul samwell-smith (who quit to produce cat stevens an' like that). and yeah, beck sounds kinda lame.
and here they are on their last legs, on french tv in 1968. plant and bonham are already waiting in the wings. note page's townshend imitation, down to the ruffled shirt.
first, here's the clip evabody's seen from blow-up, with beck and page on dueling git-tars.
here's a clip i'd never seen before, of the same lineup in france in 1966, with page playing _bass_ and chris dreja on riddim gtr. duh.
here's the previous incarnation of the band with 'riginal bassist paul samwell-smith (who quit to produce cat stevens an' like that). and yeah, beck sounds kinda lame.
and here they are on their last legs, on french tv in 1968. plant and bonham are already waiting in the wings. note page's townshend imitation, down to the ruffled shirt.
bo diddley - rare and well done
day after the stoogeshow, i'm resting my ears listening to m. ward's post-war (thanks to sir steffin for the coat-pull), but i also found this collection of rarities by bo diddley on wfmu. yeah!
got boris tixxx
...from frontgate, so we'll be going to see them at rubber gloves the night before my b-day. it was a tough choice between this and tom waits earlier in the week, especially since my sweetie's been a waits fan since high school and i dig tom real much too, but the price differential ($15 a pop for boris versus $80something for tom) made it easier.
protect and swerve
how 'bout this: a police tribute band fronted by big mike richardson, with justin pate (ph7) on keys/voxxx, eric dodson (darth vato) on drums, and the ubiquitous matt hembree on bass. (big mike 'n' matt share the distinction of having played bass for underground railroad.) they break the seal on this project at the moon on august 26th.
PFFFF(F)T! on katboy.com
the third set from the 5.18.2008 chat room show (a.k.a. "the eric harris set") is online now at www.katboy.com/pfffft.html. as the title implies, we were joined for thisun by ex-yeti gtrist eric harris. dig it...
Friday, June 06, 2008
poetschke on improvisation pt. 6
from karl poetschke:
prt. 6
the rudiments of spontaneous group composition:
1-listen for the beginnings
2-embellish the middles
3-and accept the endings
1- clear your mind of preconceived ideas and let your thoughts dissipate. (see prt.1) use your minds ear as the ultimate anntena to your entire environment including your own unconscious self. reach out to your band mates and the audience. listen intently for where to start together as a group. (prt. 5)
2- pour your self into the context of the improvisation allowing inspiration to come through you from every stimulus available. listen for the art of transition to manifest in the music and follow it with total abandon.
3- accept the fact that the music is a living entity with it's own life force and free will and let death (infinity) take it when it's end has arrived.
tie this in with what i shared in part 4.
happy hunting.
your insights are invited!
prt. 6
the rudiments of spontaneous group composition:
1-listen for the beginnings
2-embellish the middles
3-and accept the endings
1- clear your mind of preconceived ideas and let your thoughts dissipate. (see prt.1) use your minds ear as the ultimate anntena to your entire environment including your own unconscious self. reach out to your band mates and the audience. listen intently for where to start together as a group. (prt. 5)
2- pour your self into the context of the improvisation allowing inspiration to come through you from every stimulus available. listen for the art of transition to manifest in the music and follow it with total abandon.
3- accept the fact that the music is a living entity with it's own life force and free will and let death (infinity) take it when it's end has arrived.
tie this in with what i shared in part 4.
happy hunting.
your insights are invited!
PFFFFT! on myspace
yeah, there's a PFFFFT! myspace thingy now. go to myspace.com/pfffftimprov to hear some toonage, see the show calendar, whatevah.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
carey wolff @ the fairmount, 6.4.2008
went to the fairmount for the first time so my sweetie could shoot pics of carey wolff, who was the featured artist on their songwriter showcase. the fairmount -- which had previous lives as magnolia station and (briefly) machenry's -- is a good size (round about 300 capacity), nicely appointed room with two bars, a decent sound system, and live music seven nights a week. the only non-snazz aspect was the parking, but i was informed after the fact that it's cool to park in city vending's spaces, so maybe it's not an issue. hearing carey (who's up for "best vocalist" honors in the fw weekly music awards) only reminded me that he has more songs i love than any other songwriter i know. opened his set with "shakespeare's ex," the last (hidden) song from the final woodeye album such sweet sorrow, then played 2/3 of the songs off his new e.p. i'm still the darkness, starting with the title song and including the powerful "untold stories" (that's the one rivercrest yacht club co-opted), the humorous "this old man," and my personal fave "nineteen years," broke it up with a tenacious d cover, then finished off with "our song," which he also played at our wedding party. the crowd was part regulars, part open mic performers/supporters, and part carey's crew from malone's. it was nice to see 'em all out on a wednesday night. the fairmount's got live music seven nights a week, kids. i say check it out.
darth vato cd review @ iloveftw.com
a review i penned of the new darth vato cd, oh no, we're doing great!, is online now at iloveftw.com.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
all hail the scrunchy king
augie's new amusement is jumping up from the bathtub rim to the sink, then climbing up on the shelf where kat keeps her hair scrunchies. he likes to grab one in his mouth and bring it down to where he can bat it around on the floor. the other day, she handed him a blue one that she found on the floor and he took it in his mouth, jumped up from the bathtub rim to the sink, then climbed up to the shelf and dropped it in the scrunchy basket. this cat's a genius. i think he could even be president someday. but he's already _the scrunchy king_.
ian hunter
when i was in high school, we usedta go to dave relethford's house and play air gtr to mott the hoople records (which was funny because some of us could really play by then). went and saw them at the uris theater on broadway with queen opening in the spring of '74 (i think). remember thinking at the time, "that guy looks old" (he was 34 at the time). he's 69 today.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
PFFFFT! 5.18.2008 second chat room set
...aka "the ray liberio command performance" is online now at katboy's PFFFFT! archive. hear the electric maelstrom unfold...
metalocalypse
this is some funny shit. thanks to liz for introducing us to its magnificent splendor.