FTW, 12.15.2020

I bootlegged the Stoogeaphilia gig list from Facebook after the "Notes" pages disappeared (which I'd thought would only apply to new material, not archives). Curiously, I was able to recover it by searching the page's history, but I'm not taking for granted that such will remain so in perpetuity. 

This got me thinking about the impermanence of the digital realm. I've been unenthused about digital music and movies ever since iTunes took a dump and sent 75% of my downloaded music to the widowmaker. Again curiously, when my wife was cleaning out the old computer, she found all the files, but I'd been unable to access them through the media player, so WTF? I guess cloud-based stuff is different, but I'm not moving all my writings there. 

I started this blog in 2004, when I'd decided to give up writing for the local alt-weekly; the e.e. cummings affectation of no initial caps makes most of what I wrote the first few years look kind of silly. After awhile I reverted to using them for stuff I wanted other people to read, then eventually, everything. 

Lots of music blogs are like real magazines. Thisun has always been more like a notebook that I use to try and learn about things. One could argue that the ease of accessing music via streaming platforms and things like YouTube negates the need for music writing; how many times can you write the same story? I've always tried to be descriptive, rather than resorting to "RIYL"-type comparisons, but what's the point when readers can hear for themselves?

Gradually over time, my scrawl has been disappearing from the internet. I started having stuff published on the I-94 Bar in, I think, 1998. I wrote for the Fort Worth Weekly from 2002-2004 and again in 2009-2010. I've written for other outlets (most notably, Phil Overeem's now-extinct First Church of Holy Rock and Roll) for shorter intervals. I have considered self-publishing a vanity press anthology, but really, what would be the point? Is there really anything I've done that I consider to have enduring worth? No, not really. All there is, is a collection of moments that probably don't mean much to anyone but me. Not worth the trouble and expense.

I have considered folding the tent here, but figure it's not time yet. I'll continue thinking and writing about music, because that's what I do. If nothing else, I like having this receptacle for permalinks to my stuff that remains out there in the ether, and other stuff I like to access on a recurring basis. But if Blogger starts acting like that other platform, I've always enjoyed writing in real physical notebooks, and I've got plenty of 'em.

Stoogeaphilia gig list (salvaged from Facebook Notes)

 2019

10.13.2019 Sunshine Bar (Arlington) w/Phorids. Not bad for no rehearsal after 21 months. We miss Richard, but we got through (including an attempt at "Ain't It Fun" for our friend from Duell).

2018

1.7.2018 Lola's FW Burrito Project 10th Anniversary w/Honky Tonk Country Club, Carey Wolff, William Bryan Massey III, and Taylor Craig Mills. Chris Bellomy joined us on sax for "Funhouse," "Dog," and "Little Doll." Matt likes Ken's new power conditioner real much.

2017

9.16.2017 Lola's "Matturday" w/Sur Duda and the Mike Haskins Experience. Bellomy joined us again for "1970" and, this time, "Funhouse." Ken broke a string, Jon cracked a hi-hat cymbal, and Richard was on fire, playing a Sharrock-via-Townshend chaos slide solo on "Rich Daddy" (for which we have Gary Floyd's "Big Dick Seal of Approval" on Youtube...seriously). Carl Giesecke from the Haskins Experience provided sleigh bells on "Dog."

1.20.2017 Lola's "Not My President's Day!" w/Bogus Green, Mean Motor Scooter. Chris Bellomy played sax on "1970." Ken's amp blew -- or was it dirty power? -- and Alan May from Bogus Green saved our night with the loan of his Bassman. We played a request that wasn't "Marquee Moon." And while no TCU girls climbed onstage during "Rich Daddy," a TCU professor was going apeshit up front.

2016

12.16.2016 Lola's (two sets) w/BULLS. (Addendum) Ken: I had an atrial fib event during "Loose." Rene Gomez snapped a picture of me at the precise instant when I thought I was going to pass out. Massey's kids offered to help me load out. I declined. A block and a half later I was sitting on the curb, puking. After that I started exercising the "old man option" on loadout.

7.30 Lola's Trailer Park w/Heater. (Addendum) Ken: I had an atrial fib event right before we hit, while talking to Cameron Smith about the Velvet Underground. I thought it was an anxiety attack.

1.9 1912 Club w/The Crack Pipes (Austin), BULLS, Tame Tame & Quiet.

2015

8.1 "Blessing of the Cars" at Barberville (Bedford) w/a band from Galveston that subbed for Bad Blonde at the last minute. Richard had amp problems and we played with the sun in our eyes.

7.11 Chloe Hurley's Sweet 16 party

5.8 Lola's: Ray's 43rd birthday w/Duell, The Dangits, One Fingered Fist, Wiliam Bryan Massey III

2014

10.5 Embargo (private party; two sets). (Addendum) Ken: I had an atrial fib event on the first downbeat of "Down On the Street." Got tunnel vision and broke out in a sweat. Thought I was having a heart attack. Never thought to stop the show.

*8.7 Sunshine Bar (Arlington) "Benefit for Marley" w/Caliche Burnout, Convoy and the Cattlemen; we played from midnight 'til close.

2013

3.1 The Grotto (Benefit for Addy) w/Tripp Mathis, Merkin, Addnerim, Prophets of Rage, Sally Majestic. (Addendum) Ken: I hadn't seen any of the guys for nine months at the time we played this show.

2012

7.28 The Cellar (two sets)

*6.24 Poag Mahone's (FW Weekly Music Awards showcase) w/Doom Ghost, FTW, Beauxregard, Vorvon, War/Party. Ken was sick as a dog and used Rick Sharp's amp. Some good photos. Playing in the daytime is weird.

6.20 Lola's (two sets): our sixth anniversary (two months late) and Ken's 55th birthday (a week early); Ken celebrated by blowing up his amp.

5.26 Sunshine Bar (Arlington) "Fight for Maddie" w/Wild Tribe, Zombie Shark Attack, Perdition

4.21 Doc's Records (Record Store Day) w/Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Fungi Girls, No Future, The Cush, Doom Ghost, Year of the Bear, War Party

3.12 Chat Room w/Restaurant, War Party

2.11 Where House w/Mike Haskins Experience, Fungi Girls (awesome and unbelievable), Doom Ghost

*1.14 Cowtown Bowling Palace (two sets). We were all sick as dogs, two River Oaks cops watched the whole show, and all the kids hated us because we had the game room blocked. Still, the most satisfied we've all ever been after a show.

2011

11.27 Lola's w/The Queers, Knock-Out, How's My Driving, Reno Divorce, Pratty

10.14 Lola's w/STEW!, The Red 100's

9.16 Basement Bar w/The Dangits, Dixie Witch

8.27 Basement Bar w/The Strange Attractors, The Wolf

5.14 Arts Goggle @ Landers Machine Shop

5.8 Lolaspalooza w/Spoonfed Tribe, Rivercrest Yacht Club, Sally Majestic, Brandin Lea, and more (Pro shot vid by Joe Easton and Room 4 Media Group)

4.9 Lola's w/The Dangits, E.T.A.

3.12 Doublewide (Dallas) w/Bipolar Express, Darstar

2.19 Sunshine Bar (Arlington) w/Convoy & the Cattlemen, Magnus

1.8 Lola's w/The Black Dotz, E.T.A.

2010

12.17 Mambo's Podcast

10.14 Lola's w/STEW!, In Bad Taste

9.25 Moon w/E.T.A., china kills girls

9.16. Doc's Records - MATTURDAY

*6.27 7th Haven - FW Weekly Music Awards Showcase. JT makes the greatest entrance of all ti-i-ime. The soundguy's helper slept through our entahr set.

5.30 Lola's 6th - FW Burrito Project Benefit

*5.15 Tradewinds Social Club (Oak Cliff) w/D. Wayne Grubb & Cutthroat Thompson; Wanz Dover let us use his PA and guests on sax for "1970" and "Funhouse"

5.8 Lola's 6th - Lola's Palooza; Ben Marrow again guests on sax for "1970" and "Funhouse"

4.17 Moon w/Sunglasses & Mushrooms, Kerry Dean; Ben Marrow guests on sax for "1970" and "Funhouse" (Ken: "I forgot!")

3.26 Lola's 6th w/The Black Dotz, Bastardos De Sancho

1.9 Grotto w/Great American Novel, Fate Lions

2009

12.16 Caves Lounge (Arlington) w/Magnus

11.14 Lola's Stockyards w/The Dangits (Audio recorded by Jeff Arsenault)

10.14 Caves Lounge (Arlington) w/One Fingered Fist

10.10 Moon w/One Fingered Fist, Bipolar Express, DJ Mojo Workout

8.22   Muddy Waters (Dallas) - Cancelled

7.16   Lola's 6th w/The Strange Attractors

5.22   Moon w/Transistor Tramps, Harry Has A Head Like A Ping Pong Ball

5.9     Lola's 6th w/Bastardos de Sancho, One Fingered Fist -- Sound tech who shall remain nameless let Bastardos play for an hour and a half; we got 30 minutes.

2.28   Ridglea Theater w/Addnerim, Rivercrest Yacht Club, Prophets of Rage, Merkin; Bob Fisher guests on sax for "1970," "Funhouse," and "L.A. Blues."

2008

*12.19 Moon w/The Fellow Americans, Jefferson Colby -- "The Night of the Germans"

12.12 Fairmount w/Yells At Eels, Forest Ward

12.7   Lola's 6th - Fraf Benefit w/Rivercrest Yacht Club, Tony Ferraro, Clint Niosi, Darrin Kobetich, The Magic of Ash Adams

11.1   Moon w/The Fellow Americans, Transistor Tramps

*10.18 7th Haven parking lot - Burrito Project Benefit w/The Great Tyrant, Eaton Lake Tonics, The Fellow Americans, others

10.12 Fairmount Fraf Benefit w/One Fingered Fist, Transistor Tramps

9.16   Fairmount w/Great American Novel (MATTURDAY!)

8.31   Lola's 6th - Lola's Sunday Picnic w/Me-Thinks, Titanmoon, Jefferson Colby, The CutOff, Hurt Street. Ken lent his bloody Tele to Paul Metzger afterwards.

8.14   Fairmount w/One Fingered Fist, The Fellow Americans. Richard's debut.

6.28   Chat Room w/Scene Girls, Elcaset. Sir Steffin's "retirement."

6.7     Moon w/Urizen, Great American Novel

5.4     Fred's - Fredfest

4.5     Fred's - Burrito Project Benefit

3.9     Chat Room w/Stella Rose, Spindrift

2007

11.30 6th Street Live w/The Fellow Americans, One Fingered Fist

8.30   6th Street Live

*6.28   Wreck Room. Ken's 50th birthday, "Marquee Moon" debuts.

5.6     Fred's - Fredfest w/Merkin, Von Ehrics, Me-Thinks, Howling Dervishes, Gideons, Jasper Stone

4.25   Wreck Room

2.25   Wreck Room

1.25   Wreck Room

2006

12.28 Black Dog Tavern w/Sir Marlin Von Bungy on bass

12.13 Wreck Room w/Impulse of Will

11.29 Wreck Room (w/Browningham?)

10.26 Black Dog Tavern. Nathan Brown pays a visit.

10.14 Fred's w/Gideons, Me-Thinks, Honky. Ken gets too drunk to play; Bobby from Honky sits in.

9.28   Black Dog Tavern

8.31   Black Dog Tavern

7.28 Black Dog Tavern

6.29   Black Dog Tavern

6.7     Wreck Room w/Impulse of Will, Velvet Jive, Kind Buds -- Ray goes to the bar for a drink during "TV Eye."

*5.28   Rose Marine Theater plaza. We played two sets and got numerous noise complaints, but police couldn't find the source (although Clay Stinnett did).

5.18   Black Dog Tavern - First "I Wanna Be Your [Black] Dog" Thursday; Sir Steffin joins up.

4.19   Wreck Room w/Impulse of Will - First gig. Audio recorded by Andre Edmonson.

* = Ken's faves (really: the best show is always the next one)

Alex Winter's "Zappa" -- WARNING: SPOILERS!

The first time I lost my shit watching Alex Winter's documentary Zappa was when Ruth Underwood played "The Black Page" on piano. Hearing Frank Zappa's most daunting composition played as part of a loving reminiscence (by a musician who recalls Zappa's performances with the Mothers of Invention at New York's Garrick Theater as transformative and was a regular collaborator from 1972-77) put a new spin on it -- quite a trick to pull off with a piece of music I first heard in 1976, at one of the shows recorded for the Zappa In New York album. There are a few moments like that in this film.

When I first read that Winter -- an actor best known for his work in the Bill and Ted franchise -- had taken on this project, I was skeptical. Well, shut my mouth and open my mind. Apparently, the way Alex sold the project to Gail Zappa (Frank's wife and head of the Zappa Family Trust until her death in 2015) was by telling her that he planned to focus on Zappa the composer, which was in accord with her wishes. In return, he got unlimited access to the legendary vault containing Zappa's archives, a treasure trove of audio and video material, which Winter makes masterful use of in his retelling of the often-told story. 

Comparisons being odious, Thorsten Schutte's 2016 Eat That Question: Frank Zappa In His Own Words had attempted to examine Zappa's life and work without using any of his music -- a fool's errand (in the same way as John Ridley's 2013 Hendrix biopic Jimi: All Is By My Side was). There's plenty of performance footage in Zappa, much of it previously unseen, and Winter uses Zappa's music (the song "Oh No," for example) to frame the narrative. 

I've been a Zappa fan for 50 years now, since my best buddy from middle school and I memorized the lyrics from a shitty Mothers of Invention compilation in MGM's Golden Archive Series (released after label president Mike Curb dropped all the "drug associated" acts from the label) the way we used to memorize bits from Firesign Theater records. I bought Weasels Ripped My Flesh -- a collage of live improvisations and studio tracks that Zappa compiled after breaking up the original MOI -- when it was new and hated it, but I couldn't stop listening to it, and it became my eventual gateway into free jazz and 20th century classical music (and the title track, two minutes of feedback noise that I would fly across the room to turn off, got me in training for the Stooges' "L.A. Blues"). Winter highlights Zappa's obsession with editing film and tape as one of the cornerstones of his creative process.

In recent years, my Zappa fandom has waned somewhat. The realization that the music (Zappa and the Who in particular) that I thought of as special and unique as a youngster only proves that I was absolutely typical of my age, gender, and place has diminished some of its luster. While the misogyny and homophobia of a lot of Zappa's lyrics don't negate the value of his total oeuvre, they do disincline me to listen to much of it, in the same way ex-Mother Roy Estrada's conviction for sexual abuse of a child (in my city, no less) disinclines me to watch Baby Snakes (the film of a '77 Zappa performance at New York's Academy of Music in which Estrada is featured); the backstage scenes with the sex doll are particularly creepy in this context. 

The lumpen Noo Yawk audience in Baby Snakes, obsessed with "gross outs" and guitar solos, is my cohort. But Winter reminds us that Zappa used the money he made off commercially successful records like Sheik Yerbouti (which was released after I got off the bus) to finance recordings of his orchestral music. A recurring theme in Winter's Zappa is that Frank just wanted to hear the music he wrote performed accurately -- an expensive hobby, and one fraught with frustration. Contemporary pop psychology would classify him as obsessive-compulsive or on the autism spectrum, and he was traumatized by his 1965 arrest (for "conspiracy to commit pornography") and the 1971 onstage attack that left him in a wheelchair for a year. But his response to life was to create.

Winter's interviews with musicians -- besides Underwood and her ex-husband Ian, there's early Mother Bunk Gardner, Zappa inspiration and '70s collaborator Johnny "Guitar" Watson, '80s band members Steve Vai, Scott Thunes, and Mike Kenneally -- illuminate both Zappa's creative process and his interpersonal relationships. But most telling are Gail Zappa and Pamela Des Barres on Zappa's family life. Frank openly screwed around a lot on the road, and one gets the impression it was an arrangement Gail acquiesced to but didn't embrace. Even more poignant is Des Barres' recounting of the circumstances that led to Zappa's recording the song "Valley Girl" with his daughter Moon. Winter shows the letter Moon wrote to get her father's attention, and it's a heartbreaker: "Hi! I'm 13 years old. My name is Moon. I've been trying to stay out of your way while you record..." Zappa's work-focused singlemindedness came at a price.

After he had forsaken working with musicians in favor of realizing his music using the Synclavier (an early digital synthesizer), Zappa was unexpectedly approached by the Ensemble Modern, a Frankfurt-based new music ensemble, who were interested in performing his work. The recording of the resultant concerts, The Yellow Shark, was released in November 1993, a month before his death at 52 from prostate cancer, and serves as a fitting epitaph. In Winter's film, footage of Zappa conducting the Ensemble Modern in a 1992 performance of "Get Whitey" (one of my favorite pieces, coincidentally) is interspersed with images of the composer with his family, signaling that his life was winding down. (That was the second time I lost my shit watching.) His response to a 20-minute standing ovation: "It's better than if they threw things at the stage." Then Winter shows him sitting alone in a large, empty room backstage.

Zappa came late in life to politics, cutting his hair and donning a suit to testify before Congress against censorship -- a brave and futile gesture from one who considered himself a "practical conservative;" the Parents Music Resource Center was still able to implement warning labels on records, and I wound up voting for Ralph Nader in Y2K because Al Gore's wife was one of the PMRC's principals. Perhaps Zappa's finest moment came in 1990, when he visited Czechoslovakia (where he was viewed as a symbol of freedom) at the request of President Vaclav Havel, who named him "Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture, and Tourism" (a designation that was subsequently withdrawn at the behest of US Secretary of State James Baker, whose wife was another PMRC principal). The third time I lost my shit watching was when Winter showed footage of Zappa's June 1991 appearance with a Czech ensemble -- the last time he played guitar in public.

I can't be objective about this film, but my wife, who isn't a fan, says it's the best music documentary she's ever seen, and that it gave her a better appreciation of Zappa and his work. Can't argue with that. The pacing and focus are flawless, although I'm sure fanboys will find something to crab about, and two hours and nine minutes flew by like a heartbeat. Definitely one I'll want to see again. Kudos to Alex Winter for doing a -- sorry -- most excellent job.

Mary Halvorson's Code Girl's "Artlessly Falling"

The guitarist-composer-bandleader Mary Halvorson is among the most interesting jazz artists (along with Tyshawn Sorey and the International Anthem stable) to emerge in this no-longer-young century. She studied and learned from Anthony Braxton and Joe Morris, but she's also toured as the solo opening act for Melvins frontman King Buzzo. Her interests are as broad as those associations imply, including both composition and free improvisation, the pure sound of her instrument (a massive 1970 Guild Artist Award archtop) and various forms of electronic manipulation -- most notably a pitch-shift effect she gets with her Line 6 delay pedal, and the gnarliest distortion pedal (Pro Co Rat, in this case) in jazz since Charlie Ellerbee's in Ornette's Prime Time.

Starting in 2008 with Dragon's Head, Halverson's gradually created her own idiom, increasing harmonic complexity in her writing by expanding her basic John Hebert-Ches Smith trio to five, seven, and eight pieces. On 2018's Code Girl (on which her Thumbscrew trio mates Michael  Formanek and Tomas Fujiwara replaced Hebert and Smith), she added a dimension with lyrics -- more art song than confessional balladry -- written by Halvorson and sung by Amirtha Kidambi. 

On Artlessly Falling, there's a new horn section: ace trumpeter Adam O'Farrill and saxophonist Maria Grand, who also adds vocal harmony and another contrasting vocal element. But the big news, for those of us with more than a few rings around our trunks, is the presence on three tracks of Robert Wyatt, ex-Soft Machine singing drummer and creator of quirkily idiosyncratic, jazz-inflected, politically engaged solo records, who five years ago had announced his retirement from music at age 70. His voice's wispy vulnerability has increased with age, but it works for the material Halvorson wrote with him in mind.

It's no surprise to see David Breskin's name in the credits as a co-producer (with Halvorson and Nick Lloyd). Breskin, who's served as a creative catalyst for artists of the caliber of Ronald Shannon Jackson, Nels Cline, and Kris Davis, is also a published novelist and poet, and it was at his suggestion that rather than writing free verse, as she did for Code Girl's eponymous debut, Halvorson used different poetic forms to create the lyrics for Artlessly Falling. Subject matter came from all over: Brett Kavanaugh's Congressional testimony, specific memories of a Pittsburgh neighborhood. Halvorson weaves imagery the way she crafts a musical composition. Her words are full of evocative detail.

Overall, I find Artlessly Falling to be Halvorson's most satisfying record to date. Her tunes have some of the same dream-like vibe as Wyatt's later albums, with surprise written into the contours of her melodies, and the band's muscular instrumental work always keeps things engaging. Ensemble cohesion and individual solo voices alternate seamlessly. Highlights abound, starting with an O'Farrill trumpet solo on the Wyatt-sung opener "The Lemon Trees," with assertive backing from Fujiwara that gives way to a clattering solo from the drummer. 

On "Walls and Roses," Halvorson pulls out all the stops with her distorted sound, which is well integrated into the collective blend. While her own records have always been more composition focused than instrumental showcases, her playing shines throughout Artlessly Falling. So far, my favorite track is "Mexican War Streets (Pittsburgh)," which wends its way through several sections, ever shifting in texture and mood. That will probably change with additional spins. You'll discover your own.

FTW, 12.1.2020

1) The election is done, although Trump and some of his followers continue to cling to the fiction that it was "stolen." The fact that half of the populace views the concepts of truth and reality as mutable is disturbing. One way or another, Biden will be a transformational president. If both Georgia Senate seats can be flipped, McConnell's ability to obstruct will be checked, if not negated. We live in hope (because, as my "lapsed" Catholic wife would have it, to live in despair would be a sin) that a real reckoning on race and economic inequality can at least begin here. The status quo wasn't working; Covid-19 was the proof of Bernie Sanders (who, to his credit, worked his ass off to elect Biden-Harris). For the time being, hearing responsible adults who can speak in complete sentences on real issues and use social media in an age-appropriate way (probably managed by staffers) rather than like an attention-starved teenager is refreshing. Meanwhile, I'm leaving my Biden sign in the yard until they swear in.

2) I don't need to hear every damn new thing that comes out (becoming a cranky pandemic hermit, as infection rates climb and climb, and our government remains loath to do anything about it, as rumors of a vaccine are accompanied by anti-vaxx propaganda that ensures people who don't need to die from the virus, will) -- although I did pull the trigger on the new Mary Halvorson Code Girl side, on which she has Robert Wyatt singing three songs. If I could have only one record, it would be Trout Mask Replica, which I continue obsessing on, inspahrd by Joel Bakker's great podcast back in October. Transcribing the material has me using faculties I didn't know I had, and playing them on heavy strings like the Magic Band guitarists used has my chops at a level they haven't been at in years. And when I finish these, there are still the bass parts (and a friend has a bass he says I can borrow). If I live another 20 years, maybe I can get to where I can play these songs without charts (although it's gratifying to discover that I am able to use my non-standard notation to remember stuff I learned quickly, then forgot).

3) That said, occasionally something worthy and unsolicited does cross my threshold. To wit, a new release from estimable Portuguese indie Clean Feed Records that includes Soundpath, a late work (premiered in 2012, recorded in 2018) for large ensemble by Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians godfather Muhal Richard Abrams (whose proteges have gone on to prominence in academia, including a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur "genius grant"). The piece was commissioned by the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, a Philadelphia-based ensemble led by altoist Bobby Zankel that had previously worked with Julius Hemphill, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Steve Coleman. Abrams' piece wends its way through several movements that are alternately searching, pensive, swinging, and turbulent, with ample space allotted for solo improvisation. The musicians, conducted by eminent multi-reedist Marty Ehrlich, include six woodwinds, eight brass, and a rhythm trio; everyone solos at some point. The net effect is like traveling on a busy city street, observing the hubbub of activity and the flavors of different neighborhoods. A lot like life, in fact, when one isn't constrained (by the need to survive) to living virtually.