Rent Romus' Life's Blood-Live at Duende; Oakland, CA 9/25/13

Disaster Amnesiac got to Oakland's Duende a bit early, at which time Rent Romus suggested "we're going to play some Jazz for you".
That they surely did, working from charts and building up heated improvisational crescendos (aside from one calm and cool Chico Freeman piece).  Their piece 6th St. Breakdown was particularly crazed.
Bassists Kim Cass and Markus Hunt lay down a thick low tandem, upon which drummer Timothy Orr spreads his percussive mastery and Rent blows his always stunning alto/soprano tones.
Life's Blood damn well rock their Jazz.
Below: Life's Blood marching in

Below: individual Blood cells

Below: video!

Changes in the City, Sam Adato Addition

Last week Disaster Amnesiac spent an inordinate amount of time in San Francisco during after work hours. I had a chance to see a small slice of the burgeoning Bourgie look of the "new" Mission, along with the cha-cha new boutique that inhabits the space formerly utilized by Sam Adato's Drum Shop.
It was absolutely strange to feel that, walking along at 22nd and Mission, I was hearing conversations reminiscent of Melrose Ave. or Manhattan. Additionally, the immaculately scrubbed and primping people inhabiting that space are not familiar to Disaster Amnesiac. I won't deny them their right to pursue whatever it is that they feel is their right to life, liberty and happiness, but goddamn it's strange to have that feel so much on display in the Mission.
Likewise, it was odd to not see Sam's big blue banner at 9th and Howard. His shop was such a landmark for a wide cross section of musicians. I always loved going there. Sam had vintage posters of Ginger Baker and Black Sabbath on the walls, and he'd always have some great, pre-Punk Rock going on the stereo, provided that there wasn't a Giants game on. He sold all manner of drum gear; his "snare drum wall" was truly a thing of beauty. Sam had a deal with a local machinist, and could put rivets in cymbals or have a piece of vintage gear physically replicated flawlessly. He is also a friendly person, supportive of just about everyone. He gave me a ton of pointers about drum hardware, as I'm sure that he still does for others at his new shop in Eugene, OR. Somehow, I doubt that the new proprietors at 283 9th St. have quite the same vibe going.
Disaster Amnesiac has always tried to remain realistic about the  changes that happen in San Francisco and the Bay Area. I don't dismiss the fact that this area was built on speculation, that its principles are firmly rooted in boom and bust cycles. Still, the last week's forays into SF made it glaringly obvious that the changes are indifferent to me, too. I am humbled before this fact. 

Bl'ast-Blood; Southern Lord, 2013 reissue of 1987 recording

As Disaster Amnesiac has spent the last few days listening obsessively to Blood, Bl'ast's reissue of 1987 recordings, it strikes me that, at that time, they had assumed the mantle of high energy Rock band from Black Flag. You've gotta figure that if Greg had not heard something worthwhile in their twin guitar attack, he would never have bothered to bring them on board at SST Records. As I recall that time, most of the really energetic and creative Rock bands of that period were emerging from within Hardcore Punk, which was definitely the case for Bl'ast.I figure that SST got all kinds of demos from all over the Hardcore scene, and for some reason, they chose Bl'ast. SST's criteria for signing bands were first and foremost musical, as opposed to scene-based, and, as such, Bl'ast obviously passed the test and gained entry. Let's look at these musical merits, shall we?
First and foremost, Disaster Amnesiac would like to describe and enthuse about drummer Bill Torgerson. Some years back, I opined about Bill's SST cohort Jim Thompson of the Alter-Natives, describing him as like an over-caffeinated Tony Williams. Similar adjectives would suffice to describe Bill's playing on Blood in particular within Bl'ast in general. His hyper playing, characterized by fast paced rolling motion, sudden stops, and head over heels tom tom fills, moves the band's tunes with a manic energy. I'd say that his rhythmic conception is a ton less linear than his peers in that era; far from doing the Hardcore Polka beat, Bill is clearly after some inner vibe with his drumming. On occasion his meter wavers, but it's in that wavering that a lot of tension and release feeling is pumped into the tunes, giving added boost to the guitarists' manic energy as a result.
Ah, yes, the guitarists. The dual six string attack of Mike Neider and William Duvall packs such heavy punches throughout the album's eleven tracks. Neider's dramatic lead lines, so sweetly distorted, wend their way through the structures of the tunes while Duvall doubles them into a thick wall of sound. Bl'ast's guitar sounds strike this listener as being rooted as much in Iommi as they are in Ginn. They give off a kind of psychedelic shimmer along with their high end wails and thick, dark chords. Again, reflecting on that time period, Disaster Amnesiac thinks of groups like Void and Corrosion of Conformity, along with Black Flag, of course, as bands that were integrating Hardcore's over the top energy with older Rock's genuine heaviness. Bl'ast's sound fits nicely into that pocket, standing shoulder to shoulder with those great bands in those terms. Bassist Dave Cooper must have had his mind and hands full, what with all of that twelve-stringed din and spastic drumming, and he was clearly up to the task. His presence in the mix is somewhat negligible, but you've got to figure that the rest of the group absolutely depended upon him to keep the melodic lines going in stable rhythm. That era's bass players were definitely not recipients of much glory (well, except for maybe Larry Boothroyd); I can imagine Cooper feeling quietly proud of his prowess as the other instrumentalists in Bl'ast went-the-fuck-off!
Bl'ast lead singer Clifford Dinsmore has always reminded Disaster Amnesiac of a Hardcore Punk version of Apocalypse Now's goofy foot captain, played by Robert Duvall. You know, the "Charlie don't surf" guy, in the way he melds Cali surf cool with a military macho. Dinsmore's lyrics are pretty far removed from being desirous of military action though. They often seem to deal with the inner tensions stemming from reflections upon the impending doom of the planet, or the pains of betrayal within personal relationships. His gravelly Punk Rock delivery, inflected with Santa Cruz surfer drawl, barks them out on point of the rhythm section's alternately stuttering or full throttle changes. Clifford was and remains a unique front man. It's tough not to be effected by his barreling, compelling declamations.
Back in the early 1990's, Disaster Amnesiac paid some attention to Bl'ast's demise. It seemed to be that they were somewhat unfairly attacked and then hounded by the Elite of the Hardcore Scene, and I'm sure that this added to what was already a pretty high strung situation (judging from the intensity of the band's delivery and the low return tenor of those times for real Rock bands). It's really great to hear "new" versions of their tunes at decades' remove from all of the dorky psychodrama.  Their current web page shows shots of the re-vamped group, so hopefully some touring is in the works. Rest assured I'll be blasting my copies of Blood before and after any live appearances that the band may make.

The Big Drum in the Sky Religion-Hell Hath No Fury; 3 CD-r set; Beard of Snails Records, 2013

Disaster Amnesiac completely understands why these three separate releases from The Big Drum in the Sky Religion have been packaged into one deluxe package from Beard of Snails. Each of them features this big, bombastic drone, under which different instrumental or Musique Concrete passages reside. A bit more on the latter shortly. First, I'd like to describe the former a bit, seeing as it is such a vital element to all three discs.

The best way that Disaster Amnesiac can describe the central drone that runs across all of the well over three hours of music on Hell Hath No Fury is to compare it with that of Metal Machine Music, in that it has the same high end, ultra-treble-ey ping. Within that densely layered wall of sound reside all kinds of micro-tones and high end frequency whorls. As I've listened, it has brought up images of mighty rivers, clanging junkyard action, windy mountain peaks, humans screaming and crying, and tornadoes, just to list a few. For those that love to listen to these types of massive drones, the appeal seems to reside within the endless variations of sound that can be heard within the ostensible chaos. The Big Drum in the Sky Religion has presented a masterful example of such a drone herein.
Now, for the component parts of the release:

Hymn to the Beast With Two Backs-this one is the most traditional of the trilogy, featuring guitar and drums dueling it out for most of its over 70 minutes' duration. Breaking up the scrawl is one floaty, almost ambient passage, after which the cathartic pounding continues, eventually leading to some plaintive banjo strumming. This one is like a Metal Machine Music dance mix.

Rangda Electric-here we find the overall drone paired with Indonesian-sounding bells and what sounds like chanting. Disaster Amnesiac wonders if these are recording made by the principle artist of  The Big Drum in the Sky Religion, or older field recordings from an LP? Rangda runs continuously for over an hour before ending with yet another banjo piece.

Vodou Chile-simultaneously my favorite disc of the release and the biggest disappointment for me. Disappointing because my copy has a skip that just won't go away, no matter the cleaning solution used. Favorite because of its percussive, almost steel drum sounding banjo and cutting electric guitar caterwaul. The banjo achieves Doc Boggs levels of mountain primitive underneath the pervasive drone. Disaster Amnesiac just wishes that he could get to the end of this ceremony!

The Big Drum in the Sky Religion has been shamanizing in and around Harrisonburg, VA for many moons now. There are many recordings available, and for free to boot, at their web page. Anyone who enjoys long drones or noise would do well to avail themselves of a few of their rituals.

Grateful Dead-Dave's Picks Volume 7: Horton Field House, Illinois State, Normal, IL; 4/2/1978; Rhino Records 2013

In terms of the Grateful Dead, the year 1978 does not generally warrant much enthusiasm from Disaster Amnesiac. This is probably due to the absolute love that I feel for all 1977 recordings, that year evincing a kind of lightning in a bottle magic, a psychedelic juggernaut of a band casting pearl after pearl of musical greatness. It may also be due to fact that the tapes from the former year that I have heard (and watched, via the Closing of the Winterland DVD), feature the group with a sound that is just different from the latter. It is tough to qualify what makes a band's sound magical or not so magical; that said, 1978 Dead sound has often struck Disaster Amnesiac as a bit less fleet-footed, not showing as much of the quicksilver energy so much on display in '77. It's often sounded to this listener as if the band is just sort of tired, maybe burdened by a bit of "business as usual" lackluster.
It has been from this vantage point that I have listened repeatedly to Dave's Picks  7. I say repeatedly in truth. This recording has been so very enjoyable, the band so surprisingly (to me) on, that it has been a mainstay during my coveted Listening Time for several, full version, delightful spins. Dave's Picks 7 has been an ample reminder of the fact that, for anyone inclined to enjoying their sometimes elusive (save 1977,of course), X Factor, the Grateful Dead were capable of unleashing it during any of their eras.
It's all there: "question everything" humor in the form of extensive quoting of the then-current hit single Stayin' Alive during Me and My Uncle and Big River and a slightly less obvious Time Has Come Today riff on Rhythm Devils, a goofy, wise cracking version of Werewolves of London; throbbing rhythmic subtleties on Friend of the Devil; Bob's hot rockin' macho on Passenger and Around and Around; deeply emotive Jerry-sing on Must Have Been the Roses and Black Peter (it has occurred to Disaster Amnesiac how much this song could be used to describe Mr. Garcia's life, post 1978); Phil's booming bass attacks and silences; Keith's Baroque/Boogie Woogie fusion; and heavy interplay in the form of a somewhat slower, yet towering Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain>Good Lovin' second set stomp.
Dave's Picks 7 offers new sounds, too. Take for example Weir's slide playing, which gives the Scarlet>Fire an Allman-like ride and adds new aspects to Ramble on Rose. One may also notice the change in timbre from Garcia's guitar. The Dean Markley sound had been dispensed with, and there are many examples of the sound that would emerge fully in the 1980's, particularly during the coda of The Music Never Stopped, which reminds me a lot of his work on Ornette Coleman's Virgin Beauty LP. I'm no expert on his pedal set up, but it sounds to me like he'd been tweaking it to get new sound aspects. Disaster Amnesiac has also been mightily impressed with the group's vocal harmony blend, too. In fact, this aspect is equal to or even better than their 1977 efforts, especially as regards Donna Godchaux. If I've heard a better performance from her within the Dead context, I'm unaware of it. Check out her solo spot during the transition from Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain for a fine example of what I'm talking about. Grateful Dead writers often mention her and Keith's malaise at this late date in their later Dead days, but, wow, she had a great night in Normal.
Not necessarily new, but on full display on Dave's Picks 7 is the way in which Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann lock in with such effectiveness throughout the show. Their duo playing runs the gamut from chunky funk to spitting lighting on the tunes, and their Rhythm Devils spotlight strikes Disaster Amnesiac as being easily as "primitive" as the earliest Amon Duul at times, always a good thing with psychedelic hippie drum jams. I have thought about how much these two carried the band during the hazier periods post-1980, and one can hear this dynamic in its early incarnation here.
Along with being simply a highly enjoyable listening experience, Dave's Picks 7 may have convinced Disaster Amnesiac of the merits of the Grateful Dead's 1978 sound. I wonder if this three disc set is a precursor to Volume 8 being a feature for a 1980's or 1990's show. A lot of comments at Dead.net have been suggesting such a release. Perhaps those that have been making said comments are aware of some unreleased shows in which the band was able to kindle their patented interactive gestalt?

Sun Ra Arkestra/sfSoundGroup/Hans Grusel's Krankenkabinet-Victoria Theater, SF; 8/3/13

Disaster Amnesiac feels certain that last night's concert at the Mission District's venerable Victoria Theater will go down as a high point for live music in the Bay Area for 2013.
Waiting in line for admission, I felt a great, freaky vibe emanating from the hundreds of music fans and Mission street people. Thankfully, the vibes were realized inside, despite lengthy delays in getting everyone seated and starting the music.
Owing to that delay, Disaster Amnesiac felt a bit inhibited as regards taking photos of the first two groups. Let me say this: Hans Grusel's Krankenkabinet performed a great piece for strings and electronics, in which a Power Electronics blast was paired with Black Metal vocalizing and really neat costumes and props (Grux?). Their sounds gave this listener a nicely powered lift. sfSoundgroup played two long pieces, the first by Luciano Berio and the next by Krzsztof Penderecki. Berio's sound worlds, free-standing spaces of their own, must be entered at their terms, and if this is done......yeah, BEAUTIFUL. Note to the SF Orchestral Establishment: performances of this music can make $$$$!
Standout players from this group were John Ingle and Joshua Allen, with their saxophone POWER, and equally strong bassist Scott Walton, who drove the Penderecki piece ferociously.
As for the Arkestra? Their Space Jazz music, so abstract and so warm, so swinging and so fiery. Disaster Amnesiac had not seen them since a Halloween show at Slim's in the early 1990's, and I wept tears of joy upon realizing that I was being treated to the amazing sounds of Sun Ra, his myth living in arrangements that he left behind, sparked by the loving mind of Marshall Allen and his big band cohorts. It strikes me that the Arkestra means a lot to a lot of people, and this shows when they play. The make people happy with their mixture of standard tunes, Ra originals, New Orleans funkiness and 21st Century space blasts. I just can't sing their praises enough.

Above: the Arkestra lives!

 Above: Travellin' Spaceways!
Below: Happy Outer Space Citizens

Major kudos to Kirschner Concerts and their partners for putting on this great event! Space is indeed the Place!

Up Half-Known Roads: Solo Drumming Records, Installment 2

Where does the time go? The other day, while checking out the post listing for this humble blog, Disaster Amnesiac noticed that it's been almost a full year since my last installment of Up Half Known Roads. When I had initiated this mini-series, I had planned on posting them with more frequency! With that fact in mind, I figure it's high time to describe and enthuse about a few more solo percussion records! Drummer jokes welcome in the Comments Section, naturally.

Simon Barker-Driftwood; Kinmara, 2012
In the 2009 film Intangible Asset Number 82, Australian drummer Simon Barker is shown as he embarks upon a quest to Korea, in search of that country's top practitioner of their intense shamanic drumming style. Throughout the film, Barker's deep and abiding love for the form and all of its musical and ontological complexities is in evidence as he overcomes many obstacles in order to finally meet up with Kim Seok-Chul, who is literally a national treasure in that country. Driftwood definitely exposes the fruits of that labor. Simon incorporates the jing, a large gong (and overdubbed shakuhachi on one track), into his trap set for six tunes of somewhat contemplative soloing. Not that he doesn't get intense at times, for, when he wants to, Barker can roll around the traps with the best Jazz drummers, beating out quick tattoos and around the kit flourishes. For the most part, however, he seems to try to stir up more intensely intimate vibes, as he uses the long-ish tones from the jing to voice, in concert with his beautifully low tuned bass drum and floor tom tom, spiritual, speaking sounds. Simon's mixture of space and notes, particularly on the track For Dong Won, give the proceedings a serious, darkly ritualistic air. At one point in Intangible Asset, Barker and a Korean shaman talk about letting the sound flow in a more natural sense, away from the ego and its showiness. On Driftwood, Simon Barker goes to those deeper, more meaningful places with his drumming. Find a quiet place to sit and listen to Driftwood, and hear those subtler pulses of life.
http://kimnara.com.au/

Nick Hennies-Objects; Kendra Steiner Editions #189, 2011
As opposed to Driftwood, with its roots in older spiritual streams, Nick Hennies' Objects takes for its conceptual inspiration from the more modern matrix of Object Relations, a subset of psychoanalytic theory. Object Relations stresses, according to Hennies' liner note, "an innate desire to form and maintain relationships[.]"  He proceeds to use a very minimal approach on congas, woodblocks, and claves, striking them with incessant, repetitive eighth note patterns. This aspect of the piece brings images of Plains Indian pow wow action to mind, along with the perhaps more obvious reference to post-Cage Modern Composition. It is with the addition of of vibes as a kind of resonating apparatus that the composition takes on a really interesting effect. Paired with the sound of sticks striking surfaces, or wood hitting wood, the vibes are vibrated with waves that make up those sounds; with careful attentiveness, the listener is treated to all kinds of micro-sounds from this blending. Disaster Amnesiac assumes that the point of this action is to reveal how entities transform each others' effect through their interaction. Disaster Amnesiac also just really enjoys sliding this disc into the player, putting on headphones, and trippin' out on the all of the echoing micro-tones that bounce around my head. Highbrow, I know. Seriously, though, Objects rewards close listening. Read the liner note in its entirety, too, and get a bit more educated as you drift.
KSE-14080 Nacogdoches Rd. #350; San Antonio TX 78247
http://kendrasteinereditions.wordpress.com/

This will conclude 2013's first edition of Up Half-Known Roads. Disaster Amnesiac can't promise another installment this year, but, rest assured I'll be filling my ears with more solo drumming delights. Perhaps I've convinced you to do the same some time.