Random shot!

 

Idaho Falls, ID July 2020. A moment of mental peace within an era defined by societal terror and fear.

These Primus drummer audition videos though.

 

Aside from watching the emotional melt downs post 2024 United States of America Presidential Election, Disaster Amnesiac has been digging on the ever growing crop of Primus drummer audition clips. Details regarding the genesis of the former should be obvious and merit little comment. Anyone paying attention to music during this time will surely be aware that anyone can be replaced. In a way, that's a testament to the effectiveness of instrumental study as a living tradition. So many proficient to other worldly musicians playing out there! It's a cool thing, but also much more interesting than the fate of an established long term professional Rock Band. Not that there's anything less than impeccable about Primus. A great band, made up of very skilled players that also managed to write, tour, record, release and successfully market their sounds within a seemingly limitless swath of the world. You just have to love that. Still, sometimes established ventures are more fascinating for their peripheral occurrences.

Last night Harold Of the Rocks was streamed at this very desktop (operating system getting wonky tbh). Disaster Amnesiac took note of the release date for Suck On This! and recalled going to what may have been a release party for the album: the Omni in Oakland, November of 1989. Recall seeing the Limbomaniacs on the bill and grooving out to the then new Paul's Boutique. Primus had already become a big deal band in the East Bay, that much was abundantly clear. The East Bay is damn tough too. It's pretty easy for people to give zero F's in the Bay. It wasn't just the band's one nerd or dork hanger-on shouting out the lyrics to multiple songs during their set, let's put it that way. That room was stuffed with people that loved the music being played. The memory of that show being a really moved and moving experience for audience and band alike has not been forgotten. It was cool to witness a band that was about to break out and break out we're talking: B-I-G. Fugazi had that same feel, but there were much different dynamics at play. Les Claypool and his pals were on their way to something awesome and doing it in an original way, much as Fugazi, but with a more Official Music Business veneer. 

No other band can ever sound like Primus. Primus is a band that influences. Probably a mixed blessing. At least, that was how a musician that I knew felt. J and I would get together and play with some other dudes; these dudes would mention aspirations towards getting sounds either exactly replicating or very closely replicating Primus. Thirty five years later, that's probably going to still be the case within many nascent band situations.That is is a no-brainer, due to the stated reasons.

Regarding the audition clips that are being loaded up to YouTube they provide evidence of a glut of fabulous drummers within the realm. Tons of guys showing proof that they know cuts all across the lengthy Primus catalog, knowing them to the point of being able to gracefully navigate their odd twists, subtle nuances, and balls out huge riffage passages. Mostly very large drum/cymbal kits are shown. Within the context of Primus music that is not sin and makes a lot of sense. Tim Alexander is a musical searcher who is always trying out new combinations of sound sources and rhythms. Again, the Influencer thing, and he can pull it off as can Larry and Les. One brave drummer submitted footage of himself playing a four drum/two suspended cymbals/hi-hat combination (BRAVE move man!), but for the most part Disaster Amnesiac has seen drum sets that would take a minimum of thirty to forty minutes assembly within the most forgiving of circumstances. No girls yet though? Sheila Bosco? Fliss Kitson? Where are you? Shit, now that I'm thinking about it, where is Moe! Staiano's audition tape? If you see that, please send it my way. 

It must be admitted that Disaster Amnesiac has also pondered how the Primus audition video has been received by the band and its management. Are Claypool and Lalonde texting each other with admonishments to dig on certain of them and goof on others? Is Tim involved in an advisory capacity? How much time does the band have before they make their decision on the right drummer? Will they live-stream a reveal video, wherein they play a set of select tunes? Which tweeting services will bear the news? 

No doubt most of the 'fellers involved with Primus will have other activities lined up as ways of filling time before the band's next engagements. Disaster Amnesiac will continue watching this interesting development from one of THEE San Francisco Bay Area bands. They have enough San Pablo Bay salt and grime to assure that fact.

Up Half-Known Roads Trance Edition

 

Several years removed from the last Up Half-Known Roads edition, and Disaster Amnesiac has figured it'd be a fine time for a new installment. That makes for four in almost fifteen years! Model efficiency for sure. I had hoped to do more of these, and Lord knows that there are plenty of "these" types of recordings floating around in my home environment. Blame inertia I guess. All that said, the focus upon trance states  within each of these recordings has been their most distinguishing characteristic for this listener. Each of these documents of drumming techniques eschews the dominant tendency of drummers to get flashy and display the mad chops that they've worked on; instead, these performers hone in to much more primal places, essentially using their instruments as vehicles for trance inducement. This type of production perspective begs close attention and rewards it. At least, that's been Disaster Amnesiac's take as I've listened to them over the years. Each of the three sound artists presented here go solo with their rigs, and all of them have gotten this listener pretty baked. 

 

z'ev-Production And Decay Of Spacial Relations; Die Stadt Records, 2006

Naturally, this post on Trance Music from solo artists must start with the man that went incredibly deep within that pursuit, the late lamented z'ev. It seems doubtful that anyone that peeps this blog would be unfamiliar with him, but if one does not know z'ev, one should seek out very deep interview/overview on him in RE/Search magazine #6/7. The guy had an astutely worked out musical system, one which he developed over several years of dedicated effort and achievement. The main recordings documented within Production And Decay Of Spacial Relations are from a 1981 New York City performance. Quite good sources for exploration of the trance state from z'ev, to be sure. The materials utilized by him during that time, reclaimed metals and plastics, were pounded, swung around, twirled, thrown and just generally played with over duration that allowed for these rich overtones to emerge within the resonant space. In keeping with z'ev's study of linguistic systems, Disaster Amnesiac often hears sigils and even alphabetical elements within the sound clouds conjured by z'ev. Incidental sounds can be heard within the cascading sheets of overt ones, and to take note of them is to have the trance state made available. The liner note mentions "recoding", and while this is intriguing to me and surely of great importance to z'ev, I can't figure out what it implies for this record. A second disc features live work from New York City performances in 1982 from not only z'ev but also alternate Stephan Weisser personas uns and element/L. Poetic methods are key within this one for the most part, but whenever z'ev was manning a sound producing object, Trance moves were bound to be included, and indeed are. Wade into these somewhat murky (on account of limited budgets for engineering and performing most likely) sounds and be transfixed into a reflective trance state. 

 

Will Guthrie-Sacree Obsession; Ideal Recordings, 2015

Disaster Amnesiac imagines that Will Guthrie is a member of the post John Zorn generation of Free Improvisation practitioners. The cover image, very KVLT, suggests an eagerness to explore those types of Postmodern and Further blending. Clearly gotta find more documents of his work, as they probably range all over the aesthetic map. On Sacree Obsession Guthrie utilizes drums, percussion, gongs and orchestral bass drum as means to produce long form sound worlds. These worlds are often characterized by longer tones. It sounds as if one intended timbrel effect is that of drone. The action starts with invocations from bells, then gongs are introduced. Mallet push textures out of the resonant metals. Surfaces wobble beneath the metals. Guthrie shows the musical astuteness to self-pace in the solo mode, and this often adissimo begets the trance that is accessible through the drone. And that's just side one! There are spots within side two's track that suggest overdubs, but Disaster Amnesiac sees no harm in that when they add to the lovely percussion phrases played. More well placed gong hits and stick control for drum nerds to note. Slashing energetics fly off of the turntable. Microtones again present and noted. Will's very skilled musicianship let the overtones emerge. This is a very rare in beautiful thing in an age of bashing the drums as best evidence of talent. I've imagined that Guthrie must have found some of those Trance sweet spots as he performed Timelapse and Pacemaker in France ten years or so ago.

Black Mecha-Black Mechanical DJ Set At The White Hotel; Death Of Rave Records, 2019

Here we encounter the kind of deliciously anomalous obscurity the Disaster Amnesiac is always in some kind of obsessive state over. The sounds captured on Black Mechanical DJ Set At the White Hotel do suggest that Black Mecha was involved in producing a live DJ set. Random human voices float up to the surface from the overall matrix produced from....what? Turntables? If that's the case, this is some of the most original Turntablism that's been released. Although there is the occasional break within the action, for the most part the sound on this cassette is a repetitive rumble that conjures up not so much any kind of discoteque but more like a laundromat with most if not all of its machines at full cycle. Yes, this is a paraphrase from Lydia Lunch. Lydia Lunch can certainly use words, many thanks for lighting the way. Possible keyboard breaks sometimes can be heard but, again for the most part this release's sounds just rumble along with a rhythm that borders upon obsessive (just like Will Guthrie, nyuck nyuck). I want to include it within this post for the reason that it's always pondered by when I hear it: "how would people have danced to this?" The answer that's been formulated within my noggin is that, if a person worked towards trance-out while being exposed to this music, they would have ample encouragement from it to have that occur. This thing's raw like that, and I always also wonder: "was Black Mecha invited back to The White Hotel for a return engagement?" Really nice, Futurist cover art, too, and sound that shows no sign of post-production on that end. Sliiiiiiiiiick. 

How was your Thanksgiving holiday this year, America? Did you have to go into any kind of trance in order to fend off unwanted "discourse" from politically adversarial guests or hosts? Obviously these recommendations arrive too late for this year, but they could help during functions at later dates than this. Surely people will be getting uptight about whatever the Current Thing is at those gatherings. Or you could just find them and check them out for the sheer pleasure of listening. They're out there, just as the trance is out there for any that need its refuge.

Live shot #150!

 

Guitar player, Govinda's Restaurant Tucson, 11/28/2024. Really good raga playing on a guitar. Plus delicious vegetarian food!

Live Shot(s) #149!

 

All shots from Golden Saguaro Tucson, 11/20/2024. 

Below: Neuro No Neuro. Delicate Techno Classicism through samples and oscillators. Sneaky inversions. 

 

Above: Jeff Greinke. Getting down to those deeper vibes. Subtly twisting the dials into clouds of yes. 

Below: Bedtime Reverie. Performative Therapeutic Chromaticism. Would love to hear this broadened into a band format. 

 

Post gig hang was to feature guitar playing in an innovative style with grilled cheese sandwiches served. Disaster Amnesiac was sad to miss, but early morning vocational pursuits compelled me to head homeward towards sleep, which eventually did manifest.

Live shot(s) #148!

 All shots taken at Screening Room, Desert Drone show 11/15/2024.

Below:

Chelsey Lee Trejo. Last minute substitution gig. Bowing bubbles from the sea floor.

Above: Ryan Chavra. Blended strings with analog synth sounds. Really lovely. Mind dancing.

Below: Alluvium. Most purely cinematic act of the evening. Big guitar sounds, guitar player not visible in photo, sorry.

Above: Deep Stay. Melodic keyboard and vocal catharsis. Short film loops.

Let the full moon inside of the room. 

Roy Haynes RIP

 

Another drummer of crucial importance to Jazz has swung off into the Great Home Going. Disaster Amnesiac saw Roy Haynes twice, once at Yoshi's in Oakland and once at the Masonic Hall in San Francisco. Such a subtle touch on his instrument. Dig his trio album with Pat Metheny and Dave Holland or the one with Rahsaan Roland Kirk's group. Roy Haynes just played and played and played.

Necros-Tangled Up; Restless Records, 1987

 

On the very first Hardcore Punk Rock mix tape that Disaster Amnesiac ever had the pleasure of hearing, 1985 in late spring, Necros featured pretty prominently. Needless to say, I followed their career after that; there's even a funny (to me) story of actually meeting them at an Arby's on Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge VA as they were wending their way over to Richmond for a show with the Circle Jerks. Also recall 2003-ish, finding out about an affordable reissue of Conquest For Death and talking to a record store proprietor in Baltimore in order to attain a copy (dude also tantalized me with stories of interactions with Lungfish members). As for Tangled Up, the 1987 full length from Necros, Disaster Amnesiac most definitely owned a copy during that time and most definitely played it a lot. As recalled, the sounds on the album were exemplary of a certain strain of musical production, rooted within Hardcore Punk Rock and Punk Rock in general, that were evidence of progress within the overall aesthetics of same. Journalists such as Brian Walsby and Mike Gitter, if I'm not mistaken, were all-in, as was teenage Amnesiac, the Dumfries Dork, the Potomac High Hierophant (at least within my own little domain, consisting of bedroom and basement), the Terror of All Things Civil Within Montclair. It's suspected that my copy of the initial vinyl release was sold at Plan 9 Records in Richmond. Bad decision man! The Big Daddy Roth cover image alone should have precluded me doing that, but I probably needed some quick cash for weed or Marlboros. Teenagers can lack foresight! All that screeding aside, I'm happy to have found a CD copy of what was probably Restless Records' best offering, with the To Damascus LP coming in a very close second, here in Tucson a few weeks back. And I've listened. And I've enjoyed. Here in Arizona, on obvious Second Amendment diatribe such as Gun is not only understood but also welcomed and uplifted! That the lyrics also feature wild party babes is definitely not a bad thing. The music on this track features a dynamic that is all over Tangled Up, that being a canny update on the Hardcore Punk Rock rhythmic approach expertly swung by drummer Todd Swalla, just slathered with much more skilled guitar playing of a decidedly non-wanker technique by way of guitarist Andy Wendler. In other words, noisy and unhinged. Do not become unhinged when you're at the rifle range, of course.  Disaster Amnesiac keeps asking "just how close are Necros singer Barry Henssler and Ted Nugent, anyway"? Next up we have Blizzard Of Glass, with its tight syncopation and real deal Hardcore gang vocals. Tight picked bass there, Ron Sakowski! Perhaps a bit of Celtic Frost influence in there, who knows, and is that a bad thing at all, in this era or any other? Of course not. The song ends with the abruptness that one can expect from Punk Rock and leads to Tangled Up's centerpiece track, Big Chief. This one's an epic tale of some sort. Disaster Amnesiac has been guessing that some of the lyrical content describes weirdo people that Henssler encountered out on the tour trail, but obviously that's just speculative. And Wendler's solo is one of the most straight up Detroit post-Stooges guitar statements that I've ever had the pleasure of going deaf to. Fantastic, rockin' stuff here, driving pounding Rock 'n Roll! I'm certainly happy to have become reacquainted with it! Tough to follow all that, but Open Wound does with more of Necros Hardcore refinement. This band was at ground floor of the 'core, and this song shows them getting a bit fancier with the accents a bit, but it's still IQ 32 to this dumb ass. Tangled Up continues this trend, with Henssler maybe showing a bit more "maturity" in his lyrics, if by the term one means world weariness. Hey, at least you had Swalla kicking ass in your drum monitor, Barr. A bit more of that road chug on the tune, too. It's almost as if Power Of Fear  and Black Water are simplified version of Tangled, but that's alright. Necros were a touring, working band, and it's totally fine for bands like that to rely upon signature moves; especially good for the band if those moves are original and ass kicking. Hardcore Punk grounded itself within those tendencies, and again, Necros were there at its initial flowering period. After Noise, another rager, Tangled Up suddenly goes Prog on 500 Years, A Pack Of Kools, Nile Song and A House Full Of Drunks. Kools allows the guitar guys to show evidence of some of their musical developments and this leads into an incredible version of Pink Floyd's juiciest writing wherein Todd gets his licks in before the whole thing wraps up after a concise twenty eight minutes  with Drunks. Atonal piano hails the invention of Death Rock, to be capitalized upon a bit over a decade later by Viking Bros in Sweden. In doing research and contemplation for this post, Disaster Amnesiac saw a picture of this iteration of Necros, all greyed and aged, hanging out together. Did they play some shows recently? That must have been a time!

Live shot #147!

 

Thomas Harrison Jr., Make Out Room San Francisco 11/6/2017. Illinois inventive. I hope he's still producing music. And maps!

Cecil Taylor-Corona; Corbett vs. Dempsey Records, 2020

 

It stands to reason that Cecil Taylor's Corona CD, issued in 2020 by Corbett vs. Dempsey Records, would have not made it onto Disaster Amnesiac's perceptual radar until four years later. So much was obliterated and lost in that era (for a giant nothing), there was just no way that I'd have been aware of it. Thankfully for this Taylor fan, a cheap copy emerged from the depths of internet, that super duper fun place, and I snagged it on the immediate tip. Glad to have copped and listened, too. First track Sector 1 features a group of pretty well regarded international improvisors doing some sort of glossolalia (and a few short bars on some reed instrument) in accompaniment to Cecil's deep African Diaspora poetry recitation. His spoken word pieces are always fascinating. The ways in which Taylor parsed words, so abstract and intriguing, are on full display. Sector 2 presents the meat of this 1996 Berlin concert appearance, forty eight minutes of duo exchange between the man at the Bosendorfer and drummer Sunny Murray. Long time fans of creative music will recall that these two men produced some absolutely boffo improvisations in the 1960's, ones which defined a lot of the dynamics of free thought within the Jazz continuum. On Corona, their chemistry is shown to have not been lost. Murray ranges about on his drum kit, getting the wide, powerful sound that he was known for. Sunny pushes and stretches the rhythms in non-linear ways with a brashness that is rooted within his love of the form. Taylor's responses are in keeping with his by-then well established stylistic imperatives: huge block chords on the lower registers, as heavy as the heaviest Tony Iommi riffs (if one listens with, like, their ears), fast runs on the higher registers that fall like cascades of abstract crystal flowers. And of course it's all really sublime and lovely. As Disaster Amnesiac has listened to this track, I continue to hear the Blues that Cecil never denied having been influenced by. If you can't hear that, dude I am so sorry. Try again, and don't listen to twerps that accuse Cecil Taylor of being a fraud. Almost an hour of blissful listening is followed by more abstract verbiage from one of the top pianists of the 20th Century. Very cool how one can actually hear him walking away from the mics at the conclusion of Sector 3. Disaster Amnesiac got to see him play once, at Yoshi's in Oakland, and the man was nothing if not theatrical. I have no doubt that there were deep metaphysics implied and applied within this part of his presentation. Corona gives all of this to the music listener within a tight presentation that Corbet vs. Dempsey Records always has. This album is well recorded, lovely to see, and even more lovely to hear. Find it and study at the feet of two Masters.

The Fog; John Carpenter, dir. 1980

 

After Disaster Amnesiac's Halloween ritual of playing spooky chords upon an old, questionably tuned upright piano with the front door of the house open, the missus and I had some time to spend, and we figured a spooky movie would be appropriate. A quick perusal of Kanopy had us viewing John Carpenter's brilliant 1980 film The Fog. I may have seen it during the adolescent years, but that time is quite long gone, and the memories of it were vague at best. This was a good thing, as viewing it again for the first time revealed a fantastic experience. Lovely shots of western Marin County in Spring, clearly after a good rainy season, with the fields showing a shimmering green. Incredible exterior shots of Point Bonita and its lighthouse. Very creative set design and lighting. Excellent soundtrack work from Carpenter, wide shots that approached Minimalist paintings. Adrienne Barbeau giving a quite subtle performance, using her vocal inflections as much as her fine physical looks. Hal Holbrook as a man aware of his impending doom and reckoning with that. Use of horror motifs not as the principal concern but as ways in which to enhance the full spectrum of human experience. Seriously, if you've not watched The Fog for a bit, it's absolutely worth its concise one hour and twenty eight minute running time.

Chester Hawkins-Semisolids; Intangible Arts, 2014

 

Pretty ominous vials of some poison type of injected substance on that cover art for Chester Hawkins's Semisolids, no? The sounds of this 2014 release match quite well with it, too. Brooding electronics are pushed from various electronic sources, all of them captured with clarity and precision. Hawkins is not haphazard with his productions, as Disaster Amnesiac has gleaned from this one and Nil 1, reviewed a few weeks back. These tracks run the gamut from spooky, non-pulsed clashes such as iodine to more rhythmic areas on slender loris and malattia del sonno, the former even utilizing synthetic percussion and the later that would not sound misplaced within a John Carpenter film. the brood crushes the synapses with odd cyber sounds and proximity fuze might make an obsessive type do some cyber stalking of Cosey Fanni-Tutti and Christ Carter. Dramatic zones infuse isle of dogs and from away as Hawkins turns weird knobs on his devices; these zones will surely be pleasing for any fan of well crafted Industrial/Noise/Drone. nematode might very well get that butt out of its chair, with that repeated phrase, in order to perform some kind of improvised dance routine. As Burroughs so succinctly put it: "...dance around in your BONES..." That's been the case for this listener, anyway. Speaking of William S., the liner notes of Semisolids appear to utilize some kind of variation upon the Cut-Up Method. I tried to read them later in the day and found much bewilderment, which is probably at least one element of the intended effect of their screed. The album feels like a kind of concept statement, with that concept being presented in an oblique form that renders it fascinating. What was Hawkins obsessing upon during the production of these tracks? Grab a copy for yourself and attempt to decipher these deeply personal messages from this Tucson Sound Artist of high refinement aesthetics.

Live shot #146!

 

Modesty, Los Angeles based Pedal Drone Core. The Palms Restaurant, Twentynine Palms CA 4/5/2024.

86-s/t; OHP Records, 1985

 

Some of that 'ole black (vinyl) magic hit Disaster Amnesiac at Bookman's in Tucson as I looked down into the lower shelf of one of their LP bins. Would you not also be intrigued by that mysterious cover imagery? I'm sure you would be. Well anyway, I was, and subsequently the interest went up even further after reading that Mac McNeilly, Jesus Lizard pounder of skins and resonant metals did same on this 1985 release from OHP Records. It must be admitted that some idea of how these seven tracks would sound emerged from the synapses pretty quickly; that idea has proven to be pretty accurate. Bass with a treble edge, likely plectrum picked, guitar sounds that are noisy, pretty clearly pulling from the Post Punk side of available tonal choices in that time, both of them driven relentlessly by Mac. Max Koshewa, bass/vocals, and Ken Schenck on guitar/vocals do not sound bummed by this feature at all. Indeed, the band jams out pretty effectively. 86 obviously were a band that rehearsed and played shows with a focus towards the realization of an actual band sound. In that time frame, many bands chose to pull from ready made templates such as Hardcore or Crossover. The pleasure in 86 comes from the evidence which shows young musicians blending their influences in an attempt to come up with an original voice of their own within the band format. There are recognizable 1980's American underground music tropes, yet 86 transcended them within their jamming (but not Jam Band) songs, and it's really great that they were documented well and with clarity. Was Mac a marching band star drummer in the Atlanta Metro Area? Damn that guy can play. If you see this album out there, grab it for McNeilly's drumming. No doubt Max and Ken were glad to have grabbed him from wherever he was hanging out beforehand.

Phil Lesh RIP

 

1965-1970-raunch classics, psychedelic Dark Stars, feedback

1970-1974-fine grain woody tones, mastering the song form, strength to strength within the creative music world

1975-1980-guiding the good ship Grateful Dead all the way to the Nile and back

1980-1987-professional touring Rock Star

1987-1995-a participant in great song writing and live music presentation, MIDI pioneer

1995-2024-the best Dark Stars and the most adventurous bands of the post-Jerry Dead sphere

People loved Phil a lot. He played music for people. The Pride of Coucamounga and other kooks, too. Rock on, Reddy Kilowatt.

Live shot(s) #145

 

All shots taken at Golden Saguaro, Tucson 10/23/2024. 

Below: Cultural Detox Syndicate. Poly chanting with digital saturation and dissolves. 

Above: Actor & Parasite play Patch-a-Delic and have the footage to go along with that.

Below: Marcos Serafim. AI elevated to its full Surrealist potential. Erotic intra-dimensional with Illbient sounds. 

Golden Saguaro Its Groovy.

nil-01; Intangible Arts, 2023

 

As the collective earth-bound enter into Scorpio season within a chapter of the programmed reality script that calls for much nervous agitation, it must be that people are conversing privately about "current events" with at least minimal levels of intensity. Disaster Amnesiac has his main bro for that, too, of course. We've been discussing things currently happening society-wide. Not sure if D plays music in the background as we go 'round and around with it, but I certainly do. Some music just isn't optimal for that function: your Black Sabbath or your OFF! or Sub Rosa's An Anthology of Chinese Experimental Music (2011-ish). That said, some music definitely IS. Yes, talking about Ambient Music here, a genre which 01, by nil, certainly fits within. The album features sound art conjured by Chester Hawkins during a residency at Leibig12 in Berlin. These artistic sounds are achieved from manipulations of unlikely instruments such as electric toothbrushes and found acoustics to more standardized types of axes such at modular synths and phone apps. 01 is characterized by deep blends of these disparate instruments' tonal possibilities that are sometimes colored by street and field recordings all around the city. Disaster Amnesiac has been to Berlin enough times to resonate with the brooding  results. They're fine sonic representations of the place, made even more effective by Hawkins' adeptness with his tools. Es ist doch schwer, kenst du mich? The album's cover keeps reminding Disaster Amnesiac of the the cover for Eugene Robinson's A Long Slow Screw; it's the stark black with some white dabbled in there for contrast. But mostly black. Black is the darkest shade and 01 has a pretty dark vibe, which bothers this listener not one bit. If you find yourself buggin' out currently due to which ever you know what you're supposed to be obsessing upon out there, you could probably use its sounds as a means of anxiety transference. You could also call a friend, and you'd be able to leave it playing as you yakked. Remember to tell them how much you love them.

Live shot #144!

 

Civic Orchestra of Tucson, conducted by Dr. Keun Oh. Catalina Foothills High School, 10/20/2024. Pieces by Beethoven, Britten, Mendelssohn, and Mahler. The Britten piece, featuring viola soloist Teizheng Shen, was a revelation. Really great performances of the Beethoven and Mendelssohn scores. Perhaps a bit of intonation slip on the Mahler piece? A fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Live shot(s) #143!

 

 

All shots from Desert Drone at Screening Room, Tucson 10/15/2024.

Below: lid ismuth. Floating worlds within Drone. Somewhat short set.

Above: Ceremonial Abyss. Bobbing up and down in a diamond sea. With flicker. Longer, booming set. 

Below: Grant Beyschau. Hurdy gurdy, percussion, Casio tones. Went deeply into the drone. Look out for this recording, you'll want to hear it. 

Desert Drone is unstoppable!

Live shot(s) #142!

 All shots taken at Miami Art Works, Miami AZ 10/13/2024.

Below: Loud Obnoxious Bass. Miami Noise from Lob Instagon!

Above: Aphrodites Polyp. Tucson Electro-Acoustic. Lap Steel guitar used to great effect. 

Below: Dummy Rifle from Phoenix. Densities and aggro.

Above: Ceremonial Abyss. Portland Drone. Should have played longer, but I will see him tonight at Screening Room if the world isn't nuked by then.

dustsceawing-s/t; eh? Records #127, 2024

 

Minneapolis and so-called Minneapolis and Oakland trio of Miri Karraker, Noah Ophoven and Mitch Stahlmann have been exploring a shared interest in "lowercase music, small sounds, and questions around instrumental proficiency" since about 2017. eh? Records has documented parts of their progress on dustsceawing, one which presents two side-long cassette pieces. 

The first piece, firn, was recorded by the trio in in 2018 and features a quiet, slow moving activity among the three of them. The ways in which the group mesh their sounds shows an ensemble that is focused upon listening to each other and responding within appropriate duration, after silence or as a prelude to additional silence. Of note here at mi casita has been the element of surprise from the timbre of viola, cornet and flute. The fascinating question of "which one did that", always an aspect from the satisfying Improvised Music listening session, is one which has arisen often as Disaster Amnesiac has listened. Staring out my window now, big, puffy white clouds float past in the Sonoran sky, and dustsceawing's music matches them with a sort of perfection.  This is enjoyably float-ey music, made more enjoyable by the calmness of its presentation. The group plays with fine interconnectivity.

On side two resides fold, a piece which had Karraker, Ophoven, and Stahlmann performing and recording simultaneously at their respective residences, via Zoom. A very interesting dynamic of this 2022 session is that they each were muted from one and other, essentially playing solos at the same time (does that statement even make sense?) The press sheet describes the result as "[S]trata stack and form something solid" a descriptor which Disaster Amnesiac can hear and most definitely agrees with. The various layers of sound combine with a "stacked" nature that, if listened to closely, do evince touches of the adjacent lines to be seen within stratum. As an experiment, fold's principal dynamic is fascinating. Is it braveness or folly to tell their public about the method? I can't say, but it must be assumed that this method is one in play more often within improvised settings. 

Special note must be made too of dustsceawing as a physical object. The cover art is sublime and mysterious, and the actual cassette is clear with green glitter printing. Noice. 

The players who produced this release went deep, and you can too.

Random shot!

 

Discrete elements on an outside wall. Sullivan St., Miami AZ. Sometimes minimalist elements can jump out at a viewer with the most powerful of impact.

Random shot!

 

Casey Sonnebend's paints and some of this brushes and canvases. Capitola CA April 2012.

Live shot(s) #141!

 All photos taken at Screening Room Tucson 10/4/2024.

Below: Dollblood. Blended songwriting and Drone. Really excellent crescendo to end a short set.

Above: MMRA. Floating cities of the electron.

Below: Cecyl Ruehlen pulled wonderful feedback and overtones from six floor-based fret boards. Heaviest act of the evening with film that Clement Greenberg would have found nicely saturated. 

Above: Lauren Sarah Hayes does Noise Aikido. Rather too short of set, Disaster Amnesiac wanted more! Gestural twitches from interactive cybernetic looping action. 

Below: Twig Harper. Out on a long tour. Static-ey mastery. Fascinating wind instrument paired with an influential Noise rig. He just calmly destroyed. 

 

Before the acts played, and in-between sets, Wave Archive and Desert Drone, co-curators of the show, played older Country and Hillbilly music over the PA system. I pondered the terrible destruction in southern Appalachia, especially the images I've seen from North Carolina. Praying for all of those affected by the terrible Hurricane Helene.