Void-Potions For Bad Dreams; Feral Kid Tapes recorded 1983

 

One of the truly lasting mysteries of the initial Hardcore Punk era, at least for Disaster Amnesiac, is the last recording by Void and its disappearance from the official narratives of that genre's main media representatives. It's not as though Potions For Bad Dreams (was that its title during production?) isn't recognized and loved by seekers of heavy from varied eras of 20th Century Rock/Metal. I can recall reading about it on blogs years ago and it certainly did have a fan base online. That said the party line seems to be that Void stopped after erroneously producing a misguided foray into Heavy Metal which they realized was unworthy of their name and disbanded. One wonders: what were the practice sessions from which the tunes on Potions were conjured like? Were there differing opinions as to where to take their sounds, opinions which lead to disagreements and arguing? Was there a managerial element in the mix, one that pushed the band away from their established mania? It seems as though that any kind of clarity as regards these types of questions have been lost to everyone save those closest to the beating hearts of the Void's members if even with them. Thankfully for some of us Feral Kid Tapes managed to produce and release this bootleg, an easily attainable one at that, for listening. I've enjoyed my copy for two or three years now. Right from the introductory riffs, the band shows a willingness to slow down, to let the sounds ring a bit longer and that makes them in some ways heavier. Guitar master Bubba Dupree evinces more solo moves, ones which show his creativeness on the instrument as he blends bigger melodic statements with purely noisy passages. John Weiffenbach's vocals retain the manic gravelly timbres of the group's earlier recordings but also show a bit of nuance with age. It's not as though they're that far from his sounds on the Faith/Void split; they're definitely not characterized by Cheese Metal aesthetics. Chris Stover on bass and Sean Finnegan on drums push the riffs with more of a Heavy Metal in general and New Wave of British Heavy Metal (eg Mötorhead) specifically feel. There's a picture of the latter going full beast mode at the 9:30 Club, pounding out the rhythm on a battery of tom toms and as Disaster Amnesiac has listened to his playing on Potions I've flashed on that shot plenty of times. It's a rhythm section that is often fast paced in its playing but its syncopation is less unhinged. That being said, I've imagined record industry types being put off by Void's idiosyncratic playing feels as "sloppy". Obviously they sound great to me but I'm just some former grit that still gets enthusiastic about "amateurism" so what the hell do I know any way. Plus this shit ain't about yours truly, it's about Void and a great album produced by them, one that lurks in the shadows, mostly denied for reasons unknown or vaguely explained. Void's legacy undoubtedly lives on within the Hardcore Crossover sounds that began to emerge a few years after their dissolution as a band, and with their contemporary peer band Corrosion of Conformity, and it's through those types of lenses that Potions For Bad Dreams is viewed a mi casita de Tucson.  Here's to hoping that it gets respect and hearing at other music fans' places as well.

Three duo improvisation records.

 

 

As far as can be recalled by Disaster Amnesiac, documented cases of Jazz improvisors working within the mode of duo interaction are quite rare before the late Coltrane period and then there are scores of them. Justifiably so, too. An improvising duo with the right players can show regions of pure density and equally pure spaciousness, even within the same track. One need only listen to Interstellar Space, played by 'trane and Rashid Ali, for ample evidence of those dynamic variances within music that are possible. Lots of practitioners of Improvised Music have followed suit in that definitive album's wake. Here are a few that I've been digging lately. 

Rent Romus/Tatsuya Nakatani-Uplift; Edgetone Records, 2025

Woodwinds player/composer/improvisor Rent Romus and percussionist/composer/improvisor Tatsuya Nakatani are established voices within certain spheres of the Improvised Music scene. Rent has taken his music as far afield as Finland and into the United States Midwest along with being a stalwart of the Northern California one. Rent has gone deeply into Scandinavian roots for compositional inspiration along with Jazz and multiple branches from its aesthetic tree. Tatsuya tours all over the place with his solo percussion artistry; getting to see the way that he organizes his van is reason enough to catch one of his appearances in this reporter's opinion. On their recently released Uplift, the duo kicks off with feels of invocation. The explorations of these unique players show their signature sounds and stylistic approaches as they chase each other's riffs over the course of eleven tracks. Nakatani's extended techniques have been exactingly explored and he's one of the most innovative players around. Romus can often pull gorgeous tones from his alto and C-melody saxophones, along with pulling much more abstract ones from these and other woodwinds. This combination finds microtonal scrapes and squeaks and scratches too along the way of this set to flesh out the earthier tones that Rent has also developed within his research of Folk Forms. He's in the line of the likes of Albert Ayler in that way. Nakatani's brush work is sublime as it jitters across his drums and resonant metals. Standout track The Great Path Will Always Find Us has such mysterious and intriguing durations. Uplift is a fine representation for both of these cats, and thankfully they're both still out there plying their craft. Fans of improvisation owe it to themselves to seek out their live gigs! 

Derek Bailey/John Stevens-The Duke Of Wellington; Confront Recordings, 2025

Those familiar with Derek Bailey will likely be aware of the guitarist's fearlessness in terms of performance. The man spent decades boldly going into musical situations in which uncertainty and even failure were eminently possible and one assumes even desired. No surprise then that live set from which The Duke Of Wellington is pulled dives with immediacy into the abstract. Along with drummer/composer John Stevens, Derek hits off really quickly into areas of furious interaction, musical jousting that the two sound to have really enjoyed partaking in. Bailey's signature acoustic guitar style, generally staccato, and Steven's small kit striking with varied implements chatter and chitter to each other and by themselves. The sound matrix rises and falls and rises again, with lonely bell tones morphing into much more vast thickets before drifting back into the quieter parts. One can tell that this duo were listening to each other and well appraised of each other's moves. It's quite possible that this felt anathema to Bailey, but if it did there's no evidence of him being disappointed with the situation that unfolded at The Duke Of Wellington Pub in London (fun fact there are two of them per Google Maps). John's pocket trumpet chops had this listener wondering if Don Cherry had been in town when this set was waxed! Additionally one cannot enthuse enough about his drumming skills. He was able to coax so much variation out of small kits and adjacent percussive bits and pieces. The enthusiastic applause of the audience proves that there are people out there interested in the esoteric melodies of micro tones. Neither of these guys are around in the physical dimensions anymore so documents such as The Duke Of Wellington are crucial. 

The Denison/Kimball Trio-Walls In the City; Skin Graft Records, 1994

If the reader is wondering whether the recent passing of drummer Jim Kimball lead Disaster Amnesiac to Walls In the City, the first release of three from the duo called The Denison Kimball Trio they would not be mistaken. I hadn't played it in quite some time and the news about Jim's death sent me over to the "D" section to find it. This soundtrack recording for the film by Jim Sikora has eleven tracks of Bebop rooted guitar and drum improvisations. Kimball sticks to brushed patterns on his kit while Denison explores his love of chordal inversion and arpeggio atop that action. They keep things relatively cool throughout, which is fine, especially for soundtrack music. One doesn't want to overwhelm the viewer with too much sound. It's a record with very spacious qualities generally and as such it's quite effective as celluloid soundtrack. That being said I had some quality musical enhancement from its tunes on a few recent drives. Track number ten, Postlude, is a real standout with all of Duane and Jim's moves locked in, while One If By Land provides percussive contrast with bongo sounds and chimed guitar notes. Presumably informed with a Mid Western sense of space and really well engineered, Walls In the City gives much insight into the musical thoughts of two preeminent players from the post Hardcore and Punk scenes of the American heartland. 

One thought that Disaster Amnesiac has had while listening to these three records of duos playing Improvised Music is that there must be, right at this very instant in time, hundreds of two man set ups getting down to and down with their stuff. That's a tremendously inspiring notion, as are said trio of documents.

Live shot(s) #193!

 All shots from Saint Charles Tavern Tucson, 9/20/25.

Below: Alfred And the Breeders are an agitated rhythm band with arty primitive feels and great Psych guitar tones. 

Above: Got Bit perform emotionally wrenching Sludge Power Violence and feature a powerful vocalist. 

Below: Dirty Panty Tourniquet kick out the jams in a Street Punk way with real human funk. Their pit was a torrent. 

 

Saint Charles Tavern is rad.

Pere Ubu-The Tenement Year; Enigma Records, 1988

 

Nightmare scenario: some Entity within the Media Borg deems it an acceptable and good idea to resurrect Pere Ubu, with the band being fronted by a passable facsimile of David Thomas and any surviving member who needs a paycheck or some such worldly perk. Disaster Amnesiac has had this script run through my imaginings in the months since Thomas's passing earlier this year, and while it's one that improbable (how much money would be realistically expected from an enterprise such as that?) it is within the realm of the possible. Think about all of the unlikely reunions that have been concocted from the slowly fading carcasses of the 20th Century's high water mark bands, or the infinite repeat settings of Farewell Tours and Classic Rock Radio for example. As stated it has a lot to do with dough and no one, not even the most committed warriors of poetic vision and suchlike seem to be immune from its appeal. There's no way that I'd presume to know the minds of the likes of people who touched the genius that was Pere Ubu, in all of its five decades of incarnation within the orbit of David Thomas so we'll just have to wait and see about all that. What can be accessed are the varied and manifold recorded documents of Ubu. Touching again on the passing of the band's singer, that event has by no means been forgotten and his group's records have been in even more rotation that is usual in my physical environment, and specifically their records from the late 1980's through to 1993. It's 1988's The Tenement Year which has been blasted the most so yes let's unpack it a bit. The opening track, Something's Got To Give pushes the listener right away into big drum sounds from the tandem team of Scott Krauss and Chris Cutler while displaying the group's high level skill at song construction before going into a jam space with a stunning guitar solo. Such a strong starting statement! George Had A Hat follows with its fast paced riff and chanting. Then David intones "ok!" and the band bugs out again into the wild jamming that Disaster Amnesiac has read was directly influence by the Allman Brothers. Electronics and guitar men Jim Jones and Allen Ravenstine pair off in the higher registers while bassist Tony Maimone pile drives the part into beautiful oblivion. Pere Ubu's adept walking motions start off Talk To Me, and David Thomas just sounds so beautiful in the vocal department. The melodic nooks and crannies which the man explored with his voice and lyrics! Jim brings the twangy Surf guitar timbres, essential within the broader Ubu matrix and of course they work. Colorful melodeon by John Kirkpatrick is featured on the lovely chanty that is Busman's Honeymoon and it's very mysterious with its moves like the sea swaddled in fog. Yet another guitar jam out is pushed by the tight rhythm section before it concludes. Psych Rock is a huge elements of Say Goodbye, which starts off pensive before it evolves into a classic Pere Ubu anthem. More characteristically excellent vocal moves from Thomas while the background vocals give strong support of and for it. It's no surprise, just how locked in the ensemble playing is on this song, and its concluding moments offer airs of rarefied mystery in which to delight. Music rooted directly within the best of the 1960's Garage Psych manifests from Universal Vibration, with its cheekily naive sounding title. Disaster Amnesiac has certainly heard Thomas echoing Keith Relf, let's put it that way. Greasy guitar solo action leads the way. Once the critic Chuck Eddy derisively described the Ubu sound as being the same as that of Jethro Tull. I hear that similarity within the song, and that's an entirely good thing! The band heads into Eastern European modes a bit for Miss You while also quoting the Beatles. Thomas seems to have never forgotten to check in on Pop Culture references for his styles. He also hits the high notes with such skill. Maimone's bass playing has a standout feature on this one while he's pushed by the intricacies of Krauss and Cutler. This band was hitting on all cylinders. Dream The Moon his with a kind of Techno Pop range and a signature Pere Ubu rant and more of the bass-driven portions.  Ravenstine's electronics are all over this one, and over thirty five years later and it still sounds futuristic. The Dub Housing era is evident within Rhythm King and what's not to like about that? It's such a singular rhythm, and it was theirs, so why couldn't they quote themselves? The Ramones and Motorhead always did! I've read that there's a huge Ukranian influence within Cleveland, and the former's cultural signatures strike out from this tune. Alternative ontologies are the subject of the lyrics for The Hollow Earth, and its well executed Prog Rock makes sense therein. This is Prog which sounds eminently catchy as the mysteries of hidden worlds are plumbed. The  drumming has features that would not be repeated within Prog until the 1995 iteration of King Crimson. Pete Townsend's riffs are referenced but the listener will still know that this is an entirely Pere Ubu world being discovered. David Thomas you always gave so much to think about with your words! The Tenement Year concludes with We Have The Technology, a powerful and sweetly sentimental Pop song which predicts the Internet Age post social media kind of perfectly. That lovely chorus would have been so cool to be heard on FM radio in 1988 and '89! Why did that not happen? Probably had something to do with how squigey the synth sounds are and that most people have fucking sissy ears. Oh and that Enigma Records were a complete tax dodge type of scenario as Disaster Amnesiac recalls. 

Let's get back to that notion of Pere Ubu being resurrected for filthy lucre. Disaster Amnesiac has no idea whether or not it would occur. I can't see myself being enthusiastic about it, but then again who knows? It's my understanding that the band was a corporation bound by the arcane laws of the City of London, and doesn't that mean that some entity could purchase the rights to their name and branding? Perhaps in the next decade "Pere Ubu" will be plying their trade in China or Khazakstan or Seattle to a public which is perfectly fine with spending money on "An Evening With" or "The Return Of"? Again, stranger things have transpired! Until then I will be listening to any and all of their catalog, and The Tenement Year will likely be listened to more often than most. A perfect Pere Ubu album it is.

Ed Chang's Blindfold Deluxxxe-Live At Salon Zwerge; No Sides Records, 2024

 

Well well well what have we here? A just under twenty five minute live set from a larger ensemble of improvisors going completely ballistic for large portions of said duration? Indeed that's what's up with Live At Salon Zwerge, last's year's No Sides Records CD/digital document of Ed Chang's Blindfold Deluxxxe. Disaster Amnesiac does not know if Chang was at the time based in Chicago, where this set was pushed/pulled into existence, but since hearing it I have learned that he's currently a New York City-based musician. During that evening or night at Salon Zwerge, Chang assembled a deep group of improvisors and got them to go off on their instruments and their interactions with the sounds of other instruments in really pronounced and even aggressive ways. This latter adverb can particularly be applied to the drumming: it's fierce, with cymbals taking particularly hardened beatings. Harry Pussy drummer Adris Hoyos was clearly having a time pounding away atop the abstract electric guitar, bass, cello, electronics, woodwinds, brass and probably a few others that I've missed. Did people with Sissy Ears make quick exits for somewhere/anywhere away from the racket coaxed out of the axes of Blindfold Deluxxxe? Live At Salon Zwerge shows a band with that kind of energy indeed. There are passages of relatively more restrained group spiel. Did the woodwinds players smile to themselves that finally their statements would rise above the din of the drums and electrically pushed instruments? Was Ed Chang doing any sort of conducting to get these rises and falls to occur? Paired with the more out and out bonkers feels of those more deranged parts of the composition, they make for some interesting contrasts. That said, it's also really enjoyable for this fan of Noise and crazed energy gymnastics to have the ears grazed by the frenetic chaotic times within this document. After the music stops, there are few minutes of quite fascinating recorded banter and after set conversation from various different people, accompanied by someone playing beats and fills on the drum set. Very unique sociological documentation of a very specific scene, I'd say. No Sides still has CD copies of Live At Salon Zwerge. Grab one while you still can. Or just stream it. Either way you'll be treated to a unique event, one of a kind most likely.

Marcia Bassett-Phosphorescent Reality Flickers; No Sides Records 2025

 

In 2025, it makes almost zero sense to release a 3 inch CD, but that's exactly what No Sides Records has done in the form of Phosphorescent Reality Flickers by modular synth player/vocalist Marcia Bassett. The connoisseur of finely crafted Electronic Music that does not own a CD player with a spindle will be happy to know that the album can also be streamed at Bandcamp, as Disaster Amnesiac has done and is in fact doing right now. Headphones are place over the ears and I'm listening to this album that drifts into the slowed down zones of analog synth exploration that Marcia has spent years dwelling within. It's a recording with impactful and clearly well considered sounds. The vocalizing is spooky with its wordless sound formations and adds to the tensions built up by layered electronic sounds that set themselves up, stick around for a while, and then dissolve into new ones. Particularly compelling are the sounds that are generally classified as being "vintage": those high end squiggles and whirls that bring up images of deep space exploration and inner earth journeys. These aspects, framed by the more current tones of all-out terror and Noise aesthetics where crunchy earth moving blocks are summoned, along with said vocalise, make for an interesting twenty two minutes of sonic exploration. What other cool projects is Bassett involved with?

Live Shot #192!

 

The Bell Rays, 191 Toole Tucson 9/11/25. Powerfully realized Rock 'n Roll lives within the Punk Rock 'n Soul delivery of this long standing crew. So tight and so emotive. Last time I saw them the guitar player was on bass. Wow wow wow hell yeah! Incredible band.

Look, I'm Gone-James Howard Kunstler, KITSAP Publishing 2025

 

As Disaster Amnesiac started reading James Howard Kunstler's latest novel, Look, I'm Gone, its title puzzled me quite a lot. This swiftly moving tale from Kunstler takes place over Thanksgiving vacation of a twelve year old American kid in the year 1963. Jeff's his name and he's been shipped away from his home in Manhattan to a boarding school in New Hampshire. After briefly describing the circumstances of this young man's reason for being there along with a lucrative poker game played within its grounds, its actions move to the City. The author's descriptions of New York City during that period are sharp and clearly written. It was obvious to this reader that his memories of many of the iconic spaces within that city are accurate despite all of the time elapsed and it was a joy to read them. Shortly, Jeff heads out into town, flush with cash from his lucky card game. As he spends money and mourns the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, he befriends a young Broadway performer. In the exposition of this relationship, Kunstler gives insightful glimpses into those brief and almost intangible moments that lead from childhood into the affectations that characterize a teenager's ideas about what it means to be grown up. More genuine real world insights are provided by a political attaché from the Soviet Union. As these new to him features of human development unfold, Jeff becomes more and more obsessed with Holden Caulfield, the main character in Catcher In the Rye. Salinger's novel and even the man himself feature prominently within both the physical and mental aspects of the story as the obsession reaches a boiling point and Jeff decides to run away from his parents' apartment and head back to the Granite State in order to pose his burning questions to the acclaimed author. It's within these scenes, in the last third of the novel that it becomes a very pleasurable page turner. That said, James Howard Kunstler's writing, so full of rich detail, especially as regards architecture and its effect upon people, shines on every page as good, simple (but by no means simplistic) writing. Back to the title: Look, I'm Gone strikes Disaster Amnesiac as being a glimpse into a world and its dynamics that are indeed gone. Grab this one when it's published later this year and take a glimpse. Perhaps we can get some of it back in some ways.

Live shot #191!

 

Noise Music fan at The Palms Restaurant during Wonder Valley Experimental Music Festival, 4/5/25. Permission to take her photo was asked for and granted. Such a lovely young woman and quite friendly too. It feels good to post a picture of a living person after so many RIP's this year.

Bruce Loose RIP

 

Just look at those eyes. Bruce Loose saw through so many societal pretensions and illusions. He wrote and sang about his insights. He inspired a ton of people with his invective. He probably angered a lot of people with his honesty. He lived a lot longer than one of his twin flames, Will Shatter. RIP Bruce Calderwood and thanks Bruce Loose for giving voice to those of us who make others uncomfortable by simply existing as we are.

Death Pyre-Between Shadow and Substance; No Sides Records, 2025

 

One thing about communications within a digital platform that Disaster Amnesiac can confirm, at least as regards the subjective experience, is that they trigger ADHD tendencies really quickly. It's very challenging for this listener to really listen to and hear music that's being played on Bandcamp for some reason especially. Additionally, the computer which I own does has not allowed me to download Bandcamp recordings since 2020. These two personal facts are being mentioned simply because Death Pyre read a recent review of some of their music that was done at this blog. Communications occurred between the group and myself, ones that facilitated me being supplied links to more of their recent releases for consideration and appreciation. During this process, it was decided that Disaster Amnesiac would shake off those hyperactive traits, or at least try to, and listen to the Chicago/St. Louis combo's Between Shadow and Substance while sitting down quietly in front of the desktop. By no means this listener's preferred method of doing so, but it's what is to be worked with here. This review is occurring as the listening is taking place. Andalé.

International Talking-starts off with modular synth sounds and then quickly cuts to guitar feedback and strings struck action. Like electrical poles being hammered in the late of night. Soprano voices float through that darkness. Smudge-ey sonics. Echoes of electrical canyons. The occult bells attainable from  high decibal instrumental attack. Clouds of sound like giant dust storms that recently hit Phoenix (Tucson took some similar action last summer). High pitched build up swells underneath all of the already established currents within the piece's duration; they all mix in together for an ecstatic build up. Earthworks of sound, careening around the listening environment. Squige-ey electronics wrap it all up. A quick stop ends it. Death Pyre, please tour to Tucson and bring your effective gear for the show. 

Plusminus-what is that opening sound? Some kind of loop? It's joined by crackling guitar chord-like sounds and then smeared over by washes of white noise. Sampled, scrambled voice enunciation gets the cut up treatment. Minor key, Mage-ian harmonizing. Electronic bullets fired from some source, analog or digital who knows and it just fits in, anyways. High end tone dialing mix with increasing glossolalia. Feedback hits go even higher as the mind gets spun until it's out of control. Mutinies in heaven are no trifling matter. Repetitions get more pronounced and more of those knob turns get all smudged out and twisty as they ascend. Big quarter note pulses to conclude. 

Liquid Oxygen Tank-oxygen not Oxycodone! Oh wait the junkies are using Fentanyl and Tranq now, never mind. This piece must take up all of side 2 on the cassette that one can still purchase! The big feedback clouds continue and they're still enjoyable to hear. The walls of Noise that emerge in dreams. Fragmented voices again, stereo panned white noise, pealing feedback clouds again. Slight dips in the action, a regrouping before percussive wire hitting and missile command target strikes. Female voice lamentations meet up with electronic densities, establishing a zone of intriguing interaction. Emergency alert signals blend in with established maelstrom. Downed wires crackle and spark in the night. It's as if there's no one left but the recordings. Operator gone, post abandoned. Epic emotional rawness can be found here. Or perhaps clear musical calculating from the singer? It's all so effective as Industrial/Noise/Avant-Garde expression. Death Pyre do that stuff really well. 

As can be seen, Disaster Amnesiac was able to sit and patiently listen to Between Shadow and Substance. An enjoyable process to be sure, but now I must go and fidget for a while. While I do that you should scroll over to No Sides Records and buy the cassette version of this recent document from Death Pyre.