Live shot(s) #224!

 

Shots taken at Crooked Tooth Brewing Tucson, 5/29/26.

Below: Moramarco! bring a distinct Bisbee vibe with their Southwestern sounds.

Above: Cat Mountain. Tight Folk rockin' band. Vinyl out! 

Xopher Davidson/Jacob Felix Heule-Resolution; Sirr-ecords Records, 2026

It's never not good news at Casita Amnesiac when word of new auditory creativity from Jacob Felix Heule arrives, as it has recently in the form of Resolution, which documents recent collaboration with Xopher Davidson. Across three long-ish tracks, this tandem team sets up some very righteous droning action from their varied and well considered instruments. Disaster Amnesiac saw Jacob play live on a fair amount of occasions back in the twenty 'teens and can sort of visualize the rig that he well could have been coaxing for many of his statements: a large bass drum turned on its side, resonant metals placed upon its surface, probably a cello bow. Surely Heule has added a few other pieces to this basic ensemble, but even if he hasn't, he has the skills at improvising which assure that just the right sound or silence is utilized as a way to serve the overall mix of the pieces. It's less clear what type of instruments Davidson handled during the recording of what sounds like a sectioned edition of one longer improvisational meeting. Ring modulators? Guitars/amplifiers? Synthesizers? Synth pedals? However they were accessed, it's just better to let the imagination run wild and to enjoy the inwardly visual aspects that recordings such as Resolution evince. It's very clear that Xopher Davidson and Jacob Felix Heule have great simpatico as an improvising duo. Their method sounds by no means rushed or forced. Instead its sounds emerge in manners that benefit from patient, more slowly paced moves. This allows for their impacts to be heard and felt. Find a method with which to quiet your mind and much sonic enjoyment can be had from the deep spaces explored by the two Oakland CA-based sound artists. People in north eastern Alamda County are advised to take in any of their live appearances! 

Sonny Rollins RIP

 

A fine, fun memory of Sonny Rollins, circa 2009. Mrs. Amnesiac and myself attended a concert performance by the now passed on tenior saxophone titan at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. He had a trio for the evening, one that featured Al Foster on drums. Wish that I could recall the bass player but that's just not happening. The group came out, briefly acknowledged the audience, and proceeded to play a looooooong piece. Seriously, they played for ages, with Sonny in particular going off on his horn, extending melodic fragments and twisting ideas until they became some other idea, spiraling off and out into zones of Jazz bliss. It drove the people in attendance wild, that's for sure. It's not recalled by me as to whether that one song took up the entirety of their first set: it may have. That was the one time that I saw Rollins live, for better or worse. He stayed admirably true to the music that he loved for decades, and now that he's left this place America has lost one of its last standing practitioners from that remarkably strong culture that developed in the 20th Century, if not the last. Thanks for sticking around for so long, Sonny, and thanks for all of that beautiful playing you laid on me and a couple of thousand others that night on California St. back in the aughts. 

Live shot(s) #223!

 

Taken at Che's Lounge 5/24/26.

Below: Mark Pierce/Mad Mindy played shorter songs with cutting Punk Rock vocals and surreal lyrics that suggested time spent out on the highways.

Above: Mark Pierce/Joe Peña/Joe Novelli taking liberties within the American song form from a Southwest vantage and really doing it effectively. The perfect soundtrack to a surprise rain storm, come up from the south and west. 

Cello adds such richness to any music in which it is featured.

Ace and the Soulless-s/t; Ghost Rhythm Records 006, 2026

 

After a recent, tight live set from Ace and the Soulless at the really groovy Chicago Bar in Tucson, Disaster Amnesiac approached guitar player Johnny Soulless about the CDs that they had mentioned being on offer. I had no cash but Johnny just let me take one gratis. Many thanks are in order from me to that really great guitar player. It probably would have been the case that Ace And The Soulless got an enthuse session at this eighteen year blog. That Soulless suggested I "mention it online or something" sealed that deal. In what appears to be this group's debut physical release, the listener is treated to ten tracks of rockin', rooted and rollicking Rock 'n Roll. Ace Reztone plays the upright bass on all tracks, and of course this gives their sound that gritty blend of percussion-attained melody which can be achieved from the instrument in capable hands. Disaster Amnesiac will ask the reader to refer to the ways in which Bill Black's playing effected the Sun Records sessions for Elvis's early trio as a marker for that. Adam Galleano keeps his drum playing pleasingly simple throughout. His drumming frames the songs' forms and keeps their paces going on all tracks. Yet another Tucson drummer that lays it down with an elegance that never misses. Since we're talking about the instrumental approaches here it must be stated that Johnny Soulless is a fantastic guitar player. His tones on the vocal parts of this album's tunes are seductive to the attentive ear, and his solos rip and rampage when he takes them, even as their relative brevity appears necessary to Ace and the Soulless' aesthetic. In the vocal department, the contrast between the singing styles of Reztone and Soulless must be noted. The former has a clear, well annunciated delivery while the former gives a raw alto growl. The back and forth presentation of these disparate ways of Rock 'n Roll chant are astute in that the listener never tires of either. It's worked for a lot of different bands. The lyrical concerns range from explorations of self awareness to barroom flirtation to hard times laments and these are, as we all know, lasting topical themes within just about any American music in general and Rock 'n Roll specifically. If that makes you uncomfortable or offended I'd be willing to guess that the dudes of Ace and the Soulless would shrug and play on. During Where The Hell Johnny Soulless begs the question of where in the hell Rock 'n Roll is these days: c'mon my guy, it's in your hands! Tucson people are well advised to catch Ace and the Soulless within the lounge setting. If they hit your town, dittos!

"Yeah, But It's A Dry Heat": A Tucson, Arizona Complication; West World Records, 1993

 

A bit of the purely subjective right off of the the bat from this reporter: for a long time now it's been my intent to find contextual clues about a given place that may find me through music. Many years have been spent trying to piece together some kind of understandable narrative about locales such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Cleveland, Richmond VA, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles...many many places. The music of varied cities and the regions in which they are located have tantalized me. 

Before moving to Tucson in September of 2021, Disaster Amnesiac was aware of Calexio (seen at a street fair in Oakland) and Giant Sand (seen at Great American Music Hall in 'frisco) from here, but that was kind of about all. The first live music that I had the pleasure to take in, Thanksgiving weekend 2021, featured a band playing covers of many different types of Metal; at that moment it became clear to me that music in Tucson has its very own unique characteristics, and that applies across genre. Tucson has quite a unique cultural gestalt and its music is a reflection of that. 

Just about five years into my residency here and said uniqueness still shows itself to me just about any time I have the pleasure of hearing musicians that live here play and perform music. In light of all that it would likely not come as any type of surprise to a reader of this post that Disaster Amnesiac was delighted to find an affordable copy of "Yeah But It's A Dry Heat": A Tucson, Arizona Complication over in Miami back in April of this year. Some observations after listening for a while follow. 

Earl's Family Bombers are featured first. Was this band a good draw in Tucson? Their two tracks are Slow Run and Green Corn. The former presents as a bit Mid-Western Hardcore and the gravelly vocals from the singer who sells it fine. The latter is bit more England 1979 or Berkeley 1990 with its gang vocals. Great guitar solo makes it for this listener. 

Lonely Trojans come up next. Nothing Is Random has a lot of features from contemporary acts of the early 1990's era, the tight snare drum in particular. Treble-ey bass and wide guitar chord chuckin' move this anthem. Speedway shows a different side of the the band as it's more traditionally Punk Rock in its method. The singer hits a higher note and the song has a brevity which helps. 

Did the Fells ever overcome their disdain for digital audio tape? Melodic Hardcore guitar tones and rhythms lead up to a wild, cool guitar solo on Pretend. When this song goes full meltdown it makes Disaster Amnesiac smile big. Tabouli has aspects of spoken word in the vocal areas: the music frames it thusly within the mix. The singer name drops the Fall so that's winning, as it its big, beautifully messy playing and Psych vibes. 

Al Perry and the Cattle had no disdain for digital audio tape apparently. Their contribution to "Yeah But It's A Dry Heat" is Losing Hand, a piece of proper Cow Punk with crackin' drumming and a grinding, non-Metal riff. Lyrics are troubadour in nature and they sound to have bypassed the Hardcore influence in favor of a more roots-styled aesthetic. That works, always!

Perhaps the most singular group on the record is Skinnerbox, whose singer laid down sultry vocal lines, framed by keyboard lines and thick bass tones on Whisper Parade. The female energy of the singing provides a nice bit of relief from all of the male angst that lead up to its appearance at the end of side one. Gothic Lounge sounds for some kind of emotional intrigue that took place, presumably, in Tucson. Whomever this song's lyrics are about, y'all got dissed pretty fiercely it seems. 

Side two features Mondo Guano, who played junk percussion and primal reverb guitar that really move. They seem to have been fascinated by mind control and societal masks, and Don't Look At Me admonishes people to avert their gaze indeed. This is some fine, primitive Psych. If you love bats, you absolutely MUST find a dusk during which you can stand near the overpass on Campbell near River and watch as the bats depart on their crepuscular journeys in search of insect blood. It's really quite the scene. 

Feed Me, the lone track documented from Zero Tolerance Task Force on the album, is a somewhat shambolic performance but the singer's recounting of life's varied foibles makes it a relatable and listenable one. A ripping second half of this song gets all Hardcore for a final push into sonic oblivion. 

The two songs by Fuzz are Diffused and Drill. They both have a lot of information packed within their structures: this was a tight, well rehearsed band. The drummer stomps really brightly and he must have been well regarded by the guitar and bass dudes. Fuzz hit pretty much Nu Metal zones at times, while twinned vocals on Drill evoke a bit of Fugazi influence. Disaster Amnesiac can envision scenarios in which Fuzz played with Ian's crew and maybe early tour stops by Korn. A really sharp, bombastic group they were.

Feast Upon Cactus Thorns appear next. Their contribution is Gonzo, an Avant Garage/Psych burner with Pop-ey changes that dip into some righteous jamming. It morphs into faster paced places and it's a really interesting blend of styles. UFO's are spoken of and the band jams out more than once, and tightly at that. Who has tapes of this group? Disaster Amnesiac wants more!

Arty anti-Vanilla Ice sentiments are presented by Slo-Deluxe on Vanilla Ice In Hell, a track done in solidarity with the scenes that he's been so lengthily accused of ripping off. Dunno, he seems pretty astute with his business and down to earth at that, so maybe all these years later he deserves some kind of break from all of the invective? Pounding percussion pushes yet more delicious, freaky guitar playing on the song. Tucson really spits out fine guitar players, along with drummers. Their promo blurb mentions cassettes for sale. Who has 'em?

Tight garage rockin' is called for on Shadows, by Malingus Youth, a group that sounds as if they worked on even their harmony singing. It's a unique song that ends way too soon. 

"Yeah But It's A Dry Heat" concludes with Blood Spasm and their tribute to the Old Pueblo on We Got Cactus, done in pure Hardcore that breaks down at exactly the correct spot. While the song is about Tucson, it was waxed in Los Angeles with one of the Bad Religion guys. 

"Yeah But It's A Dry Heat": A Tucson, Arizona Complication lists a clutch of other acts, not on the recording. They are: Doo Rag, Barely Bipedal, Head Cheese, Suicidal Drunk, and Skolliwoll. Hello to them as well. 

As Disaster Amnesiac has dug into this album, the question has arisen: have I partied adjacent with any of these people at shows? Or perhaps stood in line behind them at Bashas'? It's wished that I could tell them all how happy it makes me to hear their music and how stoked I am to get to spend some time in this wonderfully complicated town, even if Grant Rd. traffic currently makes me wanna holler.

Live shot(s) #222!

 

All shots taken at Chicago Bar Tucson, 5/16/26.

Below: World War 77 playing their first show. Fusing varied strains of Punk Rock into a Street Punk Blend.

 Above: Ace & the Soulless. Raw rockin' with fuzzy guitar slayin'. 

Below: Holy Nitemare: simply kick ass. Recording a 7" next weekend!