Live shot(s) #256!

 

Shots taken at Saint Charles Tavern Tucson, 11/7/26.

Below: Sunbleached Bones. Doom catharsis. 

Above: Swigfoot play tight modern Ska-Punk driven by an amazing drummer. 

Below: The Brown Notes. So. Much. Bass. 

Broken Crow & Eloine-The Moon in the Shape of a Hooch

 

What exactly is a hooch? The definition which strikes Disaster Amnesiac as applying to the The Moon in the Shape of a Hooch reads: "[a] small shack, thatched hut or temporary living quarters". Was this recording made during a full phase of the moon's monthly arc? Its sounds are characterized by murky and mysterious tones, coaxed from violin, viola, bagpipes, electronics, tape sounds, invented instruments, and FM radio. The listener is first exposed to droning forms that sound as if they are the product of the violin/viola, peppered with sparse timbral actions from the other instruments listed. Drones certainly do provide feelings of occupancy with the ways in which they sit, structure-like, within any sonic matrix in which they are utilized. These forms set up and loom over the first half of this collaboration between Broken Crow and Eloine. The suddenness with which they are disturbed by more active hitting from very percussive qualities is shocking, as if one's cozy domicile has been hit by a large earthquake or some other such natural movement. Said forms are then blended into a swirling mass of Noise that churns for most of the remainder of the CD's duration. The contrast between the initial section of The Moon in the Shape of a Hooch and its subsequent finish is duly dramatic, not in an overblown manner but more in ways that increase the tension that overrides the entirety of this collaboration between long practicing denizens of creative music in America. It's thirty five minutes of tightly focused improvised sound art and fans of the type will be glad to reside therein on more than a few occasions I think. 

Live shot #255!

 

Kirtan singers at Tucson ISKON temple, 11/6/26. Diwali celebration! 

Live shot #254!

 

Drummer Bob Pantella with the Obsessed. Hotel Congress Tucson,  9/17/26. Incredible drummer. 

Shrimp Ring-s/t; eh? Records #136, 2026

 

It appears to Disaster Amnesiac that Shrimp Ring is less a concept project and more a project with a concept. To clarify, Erin Demastes and Dylan Burchett have produced a cassette document in which the inner world of infraorder Caridea is explored through the use of found objects, appliances, handmade electronics, synthesizers, toy instruments, noisemakers, game calls and computer. The resulting sounds coaxed from this menagerie fall into the broader category of Noise, which makes sense as Shrimp Ring was released by the rather prolific eh? label, which specializes. in documenting such endeavors. The album is full of clicking, dragging, scraping, sweeping, whizzing, buzzing, ticking, and whinging tones pulled from the varied sound making objects utilized by Shrimp Ring. Any appreciator of such sonic samples will likely take pleasure in their hearing. It's a document of slow boil process music, presented from players that clearly delight in exploring the more granular elements included within the sound art process. Things never get overbearing or overblown as instead the two veteran sound artists allow the tones to rise up and out from within their origins and interact with each other in bionic ways. Zones of contact are established and explored, all of them with ears toward the exploration of the ontology of the shrimp. Surely those that appreciate these types of conceptual notions will find them intellectually satisfying. That said, most Noise fans will find tantalization purely from the timbres and rhythms that emerge from the efforts of Shrimp Ring. As Disaster Amnesiac has listened, an effort has been made to recall whether any other sound recordings have centered upon the shrimp as subject. If memory serves correctly, the Residents wrote a song about them, which sets up a fine antecedent with the arts. There's also that line in that Pixies song. Other than that, Shrimp Ring would appear to be working within a pretty wide open zone. Having not heard other offerings from them, this listener wonders what they must sound like. "[t]he plane of reality...(of) shrimp-kind", who knew? 

ELOINE + DEFORMA-Flywheel; No Sides Records, 2026

 

One more album from the recent cache of No Sides releases and it issued forth from the creative minds and probably mindful actions of long time improvisors and Noise Artists ELOINE and DEFORMA. Entitled Flywheel, this cassette available release's production method consisted of a fascinating system whereby ELOINE's analog sounds were manipulated by DEFORMA in some manner. ELOINE took those results and added to them, after which veteran creative musician Thomas Dimuzio added his mastering touches. The result is an eminently pleasurable listen for spells of introspection and quiet attention span focusing. It must also be added that the experience was enhanced for this listener by utilizing headphones. Flywheel is an awesome headphones record. Even the crunchier aspects, featured on such tracks as The Antrhopod and Six Foot Air, lack any kind of an assaultive sheen, instead they're of more timbral nature. Clearly this combination of artists is interested in music as such. It also has whirling, swirling sounds on Forest Moon as well as rumbling otherworldly tones on Cosmic Reset. Starfall proved very interesting as it had me pondering notions of the Firmament. The one in the Bible. Additionally there are high register tones and and rumbles on that one. It shimmers in its conclusion. The title track takes the affairs out with spring-ey acoustic clacks in duet alongside amplifier noise. An unsettling low bass end rumble enhances: again headphones help. Analog Glitch Core at its finest! Lovely gamelan bell tones make for dreamy listening too. For a certain type of person, it'd probably feel really neat to hold a tape featuring that warm cover art. Disaster Amnesiac assuredly is the kind of person that gets a neat feeling from sounds such as those found within Flywheel. 

Live shot(s) #253!

 

Shots taken at Golden Saguaro Tucson, 10/28/26. 

Below: Jeff Grienke performed deeply ambient Techno. Human voices coaxed from synthesizing tools. 

Above: Al Perry explored modes and melodies from the Levant to Albion to Turtle Island on his oud.

Below: Deadski had a cybernetic breakdown set in the Jungle style, inspired by and dedicated to his late mother who endured Alzheimer's for a decade. Really emotionally raw set with fantastic knob magic. 

Above: Steev Hise breaks down the Golden Saguaro mission and its intentions. Tucson is lucky to have the place! Glad to see a lot of supporters at this uplifting show!