disaster amnesiac

Friday, June 12, 2026

Interview with Steev Hise about his time working with the Luggage Store Creative Music Series is up at YouTube!

https://youtu.be/qYhqKIG_gh4?si=GojSLT_h6GCJs2rU

Many thanks to Steev for taking some time to talk about it!

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Shiroishi/Lion/Meanstreetz-Live at Silverlake Lounge; Daft Alliance Records, 2026

Although its propensity probably never really went away Los Angeles has been notable of late for producing tons of interesting and compelling music. One of probably hundreds of micro-scenes, the Improvised Music/Jazz adjacent one in the City of Angeles looks and sounds to be heated up with lots of activity and documentation. As stated many times, Disaster Amnesiac is interested in many of the sounds produced in Los Angeles, not the least of which come from that Improvised impulse. It's not recalled exactly where Live at Silverlake Lounge came to my attention but when it did the urge to hear it was strong. For one thing just dig on that cover imagery! Pretty difficult to pass up, no? Are those colored forms actually letters that spell out the names of the performers? Or the title of the record? Looking at its back, one will find the players listed: Patrick Shiroishi on saxophones, Adam Lion on vibraphone, and Mike Meanstreetz on drums. Fascinating trio that, and full of sonic potentialities, ones which are capably explored by these three Angelenos. Live at Silverlake Lounge kicks off with some Cage/Partch style percussion conversation during which Meanstreetz eventually takes a lead role, but not by bashing around. Instead he lets the form dictate the moves and eventually his voicings rise as the main focus. Shiroishi, a woodwinds player capable of great blasting, shows a bit different aspect of his musical abilities as his saxophone sounds emerge. His tones are abstract but also very much in the pocket. His sweet modal tones guide the group into zones that are often filled with more spacial insight, and when he does launch his ability to control the vessel is readily apparent. The vibraphone playing of Lion adds touches that are often times imbued with an almost mystical tonality, or at least tones of magic. Adam also knows well how to balance quieter runs with those more bombastic ones. Meanstreetz's drum kit playing is supportive and creative throughout, and his "junk percussion" bits are very interesting and well placed within the improvisational matrix that this subtle trio invokes. Ghost sounds and vibe runs take the listener to Shambhala. Everyone slides into a collective exploration of extended techniques. The three players play remarkably well together for one twenty two-ish minute investigation and then that's it. Therein lies the only disappointment of Live at Silverlake Lounge. Disaster Amnesiac is, and surely others are too, left wanting more. It's an intriguing statement from a trio that, given more time and perhaps a bit bigger budget, could really plumb the depths of abstraction available to them in the city that gifted the world the likes of Eric Dolphy, Don Cherry, Horace Tapscott, Nels Cline.....................

Sunday, June 7, 2026

Live shot #226!

Desert Breath are a Drone trio with vocals, electronics, and bass clarinet. Tranced out stuff. Thee 23 Skidoo, Miami AZ 6/6/26.

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Tucson Saguaros home opener, 6/3/26!

It must be admitted that Disaster Amnesiac did not attend any Tucson Saguaros games last season. That said, my pal Evan, who is working at Kino Stadium as a part of Tucson's only professional baseball team, reminded me about their home opener. Last night I donned my Saguaros cap, hopped onto I-10 east, and spent some time watching the game. Saguaros beat the Pecos Bills 3-1! As is usual, opening night at Kino was spirited and characterized by much enthusiasm from the Sagauros faithful. After the collapse of plans to locate a Mexican league team here in Tucson last year, the Sagauros remain the only team in this town. Hopefully more games will be attended by this reporter this season, rain outs or not!

Below: Trumpet player. He played the Anthem to start, along with inter-inning punctuations etc.

Above: Sticky the Saguaro hypes the crowd! I know this guy!

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Defense Mechanism-Lump Sum and Then Some; No Sides Records, 2026

It has to be acknowledged that No Sides Records is genuinely interested in presenting a diversity of aesthetic output and if you're doubting that statement Disaster Amnesiac begs you to look no further than their most recent release, Lump Sum and Then Some by Defense Mechanism. This Indianapolis based project presents eight tracks of generally good feeling electronic music that features flavors that cleave to brighter and sunnier side of the Avant Garde musical zone. As I've listened I've heard J Pop and J Fusion, video game bits, cascading rainbows of digital click and glitch and what is presumed to be Chip Core (a style I know next to nothing about). All of it done with what seems to be an ear towards fun times and most likely dancing. If one streams this album or perhaps plays the 3 inch CD version, one will surely find plenty of opportunities in which to move that booty along with being intrigued by its instrumentation and the implementation of said instruments. Tight arrangements characterize each and every one of the tracks on Lump Sum, which gives the record an impressive progressive Pop sheen. This music was clearly and cleverly thought out and produced and it's really breezy and fun. Play it after you dig into some of No Sides Records' darker releases as a way of bringing back some mirth into your sonic cloud!