Tungu-Successful Utilization of Elements; Public Eyesore Records #157, 2024

 

The operative origin dynamic of Tungu's Successful Utilization of Elements can be summed up by the axiom: "ask and you shall receive". Ukrainian bassist and composer Sergey Senchuk sent out requests to a group of musicians and composers and sound artists that he had an interest in working with, and the album presents the results of those queries. It's a recording that is unified by the nature of its pieces, those being shorter vignettes that fuse the sounds of Tungu, sampled and pulled from acoustic instruments, with nineteen separate collaborators. Disaster Amnesiac has noted qualities that evince more of a fold-in characteristic than that of cut-up, in the sense that the transitions between and among the various sonic elements are always smoothly realized. Tungu places a lot of importance upon the human voice, either sampled or live performed, as is the case with the two pieces featuring Sainkho Namtchylak, The Tasting of Sensitivity and It's Great To Have A Sport Where You Cannot Be Found. Other stand out songs are Masque Bete N obj 217 which features whirling merry go round sounds and some sweet Primitive Guitar tones, tones that are again found on Four reasons to change the mood. That type of guitar playing is always appreciated in these parts, and Jean Marc Montera along with Guillaume Gargaud respectively do marvelous jobs with their axes. Liquid-ey Buchla by Philippe Petit is presented on Emergence from sleep, adept percussion samples and lovely pedal steel are paired within Susan Alcorn's Nightingale feature, minimal 1990's Cafe Glitch arises from DJ Sniff aka Takuro Mizuta Lippit on Hand in the mouth, and thick bowed basses ballast zesty electronics on Zeitdichte with Berit Jung. Jaap Blonk brings his bonkers dada vocalizing on JSPS and Rene Lussier plays crunchy Garage-ey tones on the very organic sounding Responds moi #2. Relaxing drones color Xavier Charles's Riviere seche and Giuseppe Verticchio aka Nimh's A few minutes before oblivion. These are my highlights from Successful Utilization of Elements but really each of its pieces have plenty of intriguing ideas for the astute listener to savor. Senchuk describes this album as "a whole musical world" and it really hangs all together as such. Sometimes all that one has to do is ask!

Did Tom Hardy read Stone Male?

 

The reason that Disaster Amnesiac is asking this question is rooted in the fact that I watched The Bikeriders a few days ago. This 2023 film had flown beneath my radar, mostly. A chance encounter with it on a friend's cable gave an opportunity to see it, and there were a few free hours left that afternoon, so viewed it was. As a film it's pretty good. The setting alone, specifically Chicago, sets it apart from most Biker movies; the fact that the action did not take place in California or Arizona was definitely a refreshing spin for a film of that genre. The entire cast did quite a fine job of nailing the accents of the region (Chi, Milwaukee, Indiana), and even the California dudes in the story had believable cadences. As an amateur student of these sorts of American traits, Disaster Amnesiac found The Bikeriders to be pretty legit. Additionally, the sub-text was very compelling: the inevitable decline of an established social order and its take down from younger people vying for control of said order. It's a tragedy, and as such it's obviously worthy of exposition within film. I recommend it for these traits alone. All that said, it's the performance from Tom Hardy that is really intriguing to me. Hardy's performance as Johnny, the founder of Vandals MC, is one of a rarefied quality within this era's male roles. Perhaps a lot of men have tried to nail the qualities of older actors such as Bronson or Marvin or Eastwood, but I can't really recall any of them evincing them that well, at least until his in The Bikeriders. The guy just dominates every scene in which he appears, and does so with a minimum of overt gesture or line. Strong and silent to the max. Disaster Amnesiac is old enough to have known veterans of the Great Depression and WWII, and it's from that era which Johnny came up. As I viewed the film, I wondered many times, "...did this guy read Stone Male...?" If not, he must have studied many of the actors that Joe Carducci wrote about in that essential guide to film. Hardy did a masterful job of bringing the mostly lost and/or forgotten vibes described by Carducci, and it's goddamn brilliant to view. Enough so to make the somewhat pollyanna conclusion of the film palatable. His performance will hopefully be noted by directors and other actors. Johnny is a Stone Male, and this country needs a lot more of that quality to be out in front as we navigate the largely bullshit inheritance of Late Empire.

Matt Davignon-Pink Earth; Ribosome Music, 2016

 

A few days ago a friend that lives in Oakland sent me the lineup for the 2024 Skronkathon, a venerable tradition amongst a certain set of the wider SF Bay Area Improvised Music scene. A lot of familiar names stuck out of that list, and Disaster Amnesiac smiled at seeing them. One absent name however was that of Matt Davignon. Matt has been involved in music production, along with live music promotion, for many years now. As I recall it, his main tools for the former are older drum machines, tweaked and processed in order to get sounds that fall well afield from the timbres that are generally expected from them. My copy of Davignon's 2016 Pink Earth has been floating near the top of the listening pile and has indeed made it into the player of late so a few words seem in order. A release consisting of five tracks, Pink Earth has often felt to me to be some kind of aural travelogue to a region that, while existing primarily within Matt's imagination, can be visited by anyone that spends time paying attention to its sounds as presented on the disc. Sounds coaxed from whichever machines that were utilized are by turns percussive, droning and drone-ey, colored ambient, and even melodic on occasion. There sound to me to be four-seven or so primary sources whose tones are given the necessary treatments for variation within these unique worlds, and variations occur within enough regularity as to provide for much interest and intrigue as they emerge within their matrix of origin. Along with hearing strange naturalistic landscapes quite similar to the visions presented by primary cover artist Brian Lucas, Disaster Amnesiac also hears and sees unique cybernetic vistas reminiscent of the burnt circuits of Louis and Bebe Barron. Both types of places will appear within the mind of the astute and patient listener, and they are both truly worthy of repeated hearing. Patience is rewarded by Pink Earth. If one can still their mind as the album plays, one can hear many beautiful events, unfolding repeatedly over its close to one hour duration. It's hoped that Matt Davignon continues with his singular musical evolution. Pink Earth has evolved exceedingly well over time. Perhaps a ten year anniversary vinyl edition is in order? That cover art would look pretty great within that format, and the sounds would surely bear new revelations from an analog perspective.

Larry Wallis-Police Car: The Anthology; Cleopatra Records, 2024

 

Cleopatra Records continues their work of getting under-documented and/or forgotten music producers' stuff out in affordable ways, and Disaster Amnesiac has been digging that, especially, lately, as regards Police Car: The Anthology from Larry Wallis. Discerning fans of high energy Rock 'n Roll (British Division) will surely be familiar with Wallis. The man was a major figure on the scene roughly during the period of post-Hippie and Pre-Punk Rock, early to late 1970's. As such, he and his mates carried the torches lit by earlier electric miscreants and handed it off to those younger punters whose minds were on fire during that hot Summer of 1976. Wallis deserves accolades for that cultural move, of course. That said, his music is also deserving of being heard as such. Police Car is not only the name of the album, but also that of its opening track. Presumably this is Larry's most famous song, and it's a great tune. Lumpen sentiments, relatable for all of the London yobbos of the era, wrapped within a really driving riff and propulsive rhythm section. And that's not the only really great song. Where the Freaks Hang Out ("set the controls for the heart of the fun!"), Downtown Jury, Crying All Night: all stick to the same template, and it's a goody; those huge guitar riffs moved by mid-tempo, foot stomping drumming and understated vocals. The real high point of Police Car emerges from Mrs Hippy Burning. After repeated listens to this track, even more than that of the entire disc, Disaster Amnesiac swears that one could do an entire article about it alone. The song's main riff is so massive, characterized by such swing from all players. Entire Scandinavian music scenes have been based upon this song, and I'll take it over the lot. If it doesn't get you strutting around you probably just don't like Rock 'n Roll. Seriously it's one of the best songs that Disaster Amnesiac has ever had the pleasure of hearing, and it may be the best song of the entire era that's been mentioned. Did Motorhead ever jam this track live? Surely, Lemmy must have loved it. Hopefully he and Wallis, who passed in 2019, are right now in Valhalla intoning its verses as they hump  sky maidens around Ygdrassil. Meatman features some very cannily humorous lyrics, and those while Tesco Vee was still learning to masturbate. Even the lesser tunes such as Leather Forever and Seeing Double are really good ones. While there's no way that they could be as rad as Mrs Hippy Burning, they're still not being skipped within my rotation of Police Car. I have no doubt that early Punk Rock bands such as the Damned and the Sex Pistols were aware of all of them. The former would have probably been more honest about some "old hippie" being able to influence their stuff, but still how could that not have been the case for much of that scene? This anthology closes out with a few odds 'n sods from Larry Wallis as a featured player with Pink Fairies, his most renowned act (a brief stint in Motorhead can't really be counted), Shagrat, Steve Peregrin Took and UFO. All show him being a bit more of a glory hound on the electric guitar, as opposed to being a world class song writer, and that's cool. Disaster Amnesiac will never turn down Phil Mogg's dignified vocalizing with UFO. Fascinating to hear it paired with Wallis on lead guitar. The listener will likely find more cohesion within the purely solo tracks that make the majority of Police Car: The Anthology. The only quibble to be had is the scant amount of player information within the CD liner notes. Maybe for the vinyl that's not the case. That said, it was a bit frustrating to not be able to find out who the great drummer on most of these songs was. Or maybe Disaster Amnesiac missed that information? Certainly happy to have not missed out on this outstanding document of work produced by a seminal participant in the 20th Century Rock 'n Roll outbreak. Find it and let your freak flag fly, brothers and sisters!

Live shot(s) #136, plus bonus shots!

 All photos taken at Hotel Congress, Tucson 8/8/2024. Sirius in alignment with Leo. 

Below: Get This; sick guitar tones and ballsy drummer.

Above: Got Bit. Banshee power. Drummer is a Giants fan, which takes balls here in Tucson, most MLB people skew toward Dodger Stadium. 

Below: Felsenmirror, on tour from Portland OR. 'norwest at its best. Plant a garden, anyway, the roots will heal the soil.

Above: Suicide Forest. Self deletion occurs within a place beyond the Word. Tread this place with caution. Overtones from on high. A Tucson gem, so damn great. 

Below: Bonus shots, or Discrete Elements Of One Room Within Hotel Congress.

Grateful Dead-Ready Or Not; Rhino Records, 2019

 Of the tons of Grateful Dead releases floating around Disaster Amnesiac's world, lately I've been listening to and getting a bit obsessed about Ready Or Not. As recalled, it was conceived of and released as a kind of live demo for a potential mid-1990's studio album that was never realized, for obvious and obscured reasons. No need to delve into the tragic dynamics of the Dead in general and Jerry specifically during their final few seasons as a living band, but suffice it to say that the nine songs on this disc represent a missed opportunity, for, as much as the group have been purported to have hated their studio albums, the songs on Ready would have been fascinating to hear within that style. 

Take for example Jerry tunes such as Liberty, Lazy River Road, and Days Between. The live clips of each of these fall within the time frame during which he was playing his last custom guitar, Lighting Bolt. Disaster Amnesiac recalls reading somewhere the opinion of an astute Grateful Dead analyst that opined on the seamless blending of rich acoustic and cutting electric timbre that was achieved by Garcia with that axe; this is on full display on these tracks of the release. Liberty and Lazy River Road rely upon easy going picked figures that move at relaxed paces which perfectly frame the singer's by then well aged yet uniquely harnessed style. It's pretty amazing to me that the man could move stadium-sized audiences with these simple pieces, yet with the clarity of Lightning Bolt's crafting and the dedication of the Deadheads this was indeed the case. Days Between opens up spaces that are a lot more abstract, and it falls within the ending period of Jerry's relationship with the Rosebud six string, yet it still feels to be within the cluster of Liberty and Lazy River Road. How would have these tunes been documented within a recording studio? Would Days Between have been a lengthy track with lots of psychedelic tinges added within its sombre coda? Would Lazy River Road have been stripped down to its Folk form essentials, a la some Workingman's Dead track? Would Vince Welnick have retained that piano filigree that was so hook-ey on Liberty, or would Jerry have nixed it? Then there is So Many Roads. In the years following Jerry Garcia's death, this song has taken on a kind of eulogy function (at least if the comments on YouTube videos of it are to be believed). Supposing that he had survived his health crisis and made a commitment to record the song with the Grateful Dead, how would he have produced it? Would he have agreed to the very much like Knockin' On Heaven's Door harmonies from Bob and Vince during the song's finale? What would his guitar solo have sounded like?  Would he have used clean tones, or more processed ones? One of the aspects that I always find enjoyable about Dead studio albums is the small sweeteners utilized by Garcia during fades. I feel like those would have been audible within a release that had proper recordings of these songs of his and Hunter's. Thinking here of the ending seconds of Standing On the Moon. It's that last "be with you!" that always gives this listener goose bumps. Surely, Jerry would have had moments such as that within that unrealized document of these 1990's songs. Again, an opportunity that was missed. Obviously, when it concerns an artist as multi-faceted as Garcia, opinions such as these are only scratching the surface. One could probably spend years weighing in on how he would have handled the "official" documentation of these songs. Would that he had survived to make that realization!

As regards the Bob Weir songs, the most interesting thing about them for Disaster Amnesiac is the fact that they feature much simpler time signatures than was usually the case from him. Eternity, Corrina, and Easy Answers all pretty much feature solid 4/4 meters, something really surprising, coming from Weir. Were these concessions to the band, as in maybe they'd grown tired of having to pay attention to all of those 7/4 and 10/4 phrases? Total conjecture here, I know, but one can't help but wonder if there had been discussions as to the arduousness of that type of playing within the stadiums that the Dead were packing full of raving fans. Eternity features a springing rhythm that propels a fine Blues riff and really fine percussion from Mickey Hart. Would it have felt the same on an album? Easy Answers feels like a kind of rejoinder to some of the more optimistic statements within the Grateful Dead world, but when Jerry takes a Leslie-ed solo turn one will probably feel hopeful again. I can hear a more abrasive tone within an imagined studio track of the tune, perhaps a bit faster paced and attacking. Bob Weir certainly is capable of those kinds of attitudes, even though he's known as a paragon of Marin Mellow and such-like. Then there is Corrina. As Disaster Amnesiac recalls it, the song was pretty disliked in its time. I even saw Dead parking lot shirts that had the Velveeda logo with "Corrina" written in that classic cheezy font. People heard it as some kind of dippy ditty, but, I always loved its sounds, especially that Vince keyboard ostinato. Guys, why did you let Vince flounder, post-Dead? Damn. But back to the song: its rendition on Ready Or Not features a prodigious jamming section, which shows that they were highly comfortable with the contours that it presented. Projecting again to the studio conception, it seems reasonable to conjecture that it would have taken its place along side Easy Wind or Scarlet Begonias as high level Grateful groovers for those who love the albums as well as the shows. I can easily envision a nice, surreal Dub-inflected section arising from its massive rhythmic lock. Did Weir flesh any of these songs out post-1995 on his solo albums? I have paid zero attention to those, so that question remains mysterious to me. 

Finally, on to the Welnick songs. Samba In the Rain and Way To Go Home to be exact. The former was pretty much instantly rejected by the Heads that Disaster Amnesiac knew. One of them would refer to it as "SAM-ba In the Rain", implying an corny "Sambo" type of vibe in it. That said, with all of these years' remove....it's kind of a banger. The Grateful Dead do Smooth Jazz is one thought that I've had, in that, yeah the rhythm section is kind indeed smooth, but original engine room dudes Lesh and Kreutzmann lock in such a way as to be really, really intriguing. Then of course Jerry swoops in, and he could make even as staid a genre as that super weird with his expressive playing. And, he does of course. Knowing what the feel of the mid-1990's was, I wonder if Samba In the Rain could have been produced into another radio hit. Very much of its time, but it has aged well. If you're a Samba hater, I beg you give it another try. Way To Go Home has an assertive, tribal stomp style, again good for the dynamics of Stadium Rock, and the vocal from Vince and his backers touches upon CSN harmonies not really heard from the Dead since the American Beauty/Working Man's Dead paring. Those guys were all Marin County homies, so surely that small copping would have been copacetic with all parties concerned. What Glitter and Pomp Rocks effects, residue from his time with the Tubes, would Welnick have added to his songs on the Dead studio album offerings that he was never allowed to offer? Disaster Amnesiac's appreciation of his playing and singing has grown mightily since I got my copy of Ready Or Not.

Even among strong endeavors the center cannot hold forever, and even the invincible eventually fall. Such was the case for the Grateful Dead. Their thirty year run was startlingly cut short on an odd day in August of 1995, while they were still, despite a lot of external and internal challenges, working on their music. Ready Or Not proves that, had Jerry Garcia not succumbed to his physical ailments, they would have had at least one more good to great album waiting in the (bat) wings. It's a tough fact of life that some potentialities go unrealized.  

Live shot(s) #135!

 

Clay Ant; The Palms Restaurant, Twentynine Palms CA 4/6/2024. Another Wonder Valley Experimental Music Festival shot. Clay Ant are based in Los Angeles I think.