Polvo-Siberia; Merge Records, 2013

 

The first time that Disaster Amnesiac heard about Polvo was at some point in the latter 1990's. A guy who worked in a coffee shop near the flat that I lived in by the name of Kam. Really serious guy and from what I gathered a solid presence within some type of underground music scene in the Bay. It's not recalled at one hundred percent but I believe that he lent me some sort of recording from the band. Or perhaps a copy of one of their Merge Records albums made it into the rotation of SF Public Library? Whatever the means were, their music was heard by me and it was quickly clear that this band had a singular sound, were very unique, and were clearly an important voice within the underground Rock scene of the decade. At some point further down my subjective timeline an LP by Polvo was acquired. Still have that one. That said, and again despite the obviousness of this band being a great one, one worthy of obsessive listening and pondering, it took several more years for their impactful music to REALLY hit, which it did with Siberia, a 2013 album that I dug into about a decade later. If the back story of Siberia is understood correctly, Polvo had taken a long hiatus between its predecessor release and its production, and it was hailed as a fine return to form from a seminal band. From a purely subjective point of view, it's an album that I spun constantly during the Summer of 2023, to the point of the annoyance of Mrs. Amnesiac. It was played a LOT here, and for several weeks. Shuffling down to late Summer of 2026, Siberia has again been in near constant rotation within the auditory environment of Casa de Amnesiac. It's an album that, for this listener, inspires a kind of slavish devotion: it MUST be played again and again again, for its nuances are of such mediocrity slaying magnitude that to do otherwise would be unacceptable, at least for the next thirty eight minutes or so. As this post has been pondered there have been times within Disaster Amnesiac's internal dialogue that a certain amount of chastisement has been leveled. What right have I to even bother describing and enthusing about its greatness? Polvo were a band cut way above the average, and perhaps things should just be left like that and there. Surely, those who know know it very well. That being said it just can't be helped in the case of Siberia. I'd really like to describe and enthuse. 

Total Immersion, Siberia's first song presents a sweet fuzz riff and handclaps while delivering a lyric about some hippie chick malaise. When the harmony singers join in during the chorus it's as good as a mid-1960's Paul Revere and the Raiders jam, but one also gets Space Rock Bass and an equally space-ey jam out to conclude. 

A slamming drum part and twin guitar licks emerge from within Blues Is Loss. Those guitar tones wrap a garland around the listener's auditory mind during the nicely lengthy introductory instrumental section before the question is asked "how did my dreams get so clean?". I'm guessing it's the same reason why these Polvo guys produce such intelligent music. Some seriously bright gents within the band. A rollicking, sliding outro portion has these huge chords that one just can't help but be moved by. 

More sweet fuzz tones on the guitars and deeply interesting lyrics are featured upon Light, Raking. The chorus of this song has driven Disaster Amnesiac to tears, multiple times. Synthesizer magic! College town Blues blends with higher order Punk Rock of the Tom Verlaine sort here. This would be a fun song to hear while driving at the faster speeds. Its pacing would have most wanting to press down on that gas pedal, especially as that stabbing synth riff really gets pushed to the fore. 

Polvo double down on their singular twin guitar phrases on the initial stages of Changed before spinning out another one of their equally singular choruses. The drummer's arrangements during the song's parts are thoughtful and full of taste. Huge pockets and the coolest singer. The latter's style is crooned in an almost off hand manner which contrasts well with the lyrics and their conclusion that we all gotta change at some point. 

It's rather daunting to pick a high point on an album that is essentially one giant, stand alone high point, but that being said The Waterwheel is just that. The lyrics paint completely psychedelic visions. Such vivid mental pictures conjured. No surprise that the song's chorus is a killer. A slinky, sly drum beat and clever percussion overdubs nudge things along into a jam part that throws off swirling whirlpools of guitar band bliss. Polvo were one of the best jam bands, that's for sure. If you can't swing with this song you're probably a zombie anyway. This human hears it as a meditation upon the obsessive nature of creative endeavors, especially those of a touring Rock band. 

A perfect transition from the high level incendiary band action comes along on Old Maps. Mellower pacing and sweetly picked acoustic guitar, thumping bass and even a tambourine shake hit on the two's and four's. The singer pleads his case and hopes for a place. Juicy guitar interplay between the entire group ensues into a collective playin' situation before a tight ending. A rolling stone gather no moss, and if you're just passin' through, what can you do? It's hoped that whomever wrote the lyrics to the song found a cool spot in which to settle down and ground. 

The drama picks upon with Some Songs. It has a more early 1990's UK groove in the rhythm section to start before a morph into something more Southwest United States stride. It's got all of the features of an effective Summer jam and yes Polvo offer up yet another bonkers chorus within its frame. Its ending features a beautiful fade/rising portion, perfect for a penultimate album track. 

Last up on Siberia is Anchoress and it's a Summer rain song par excellence. It has a stomping Downer Rock and sullen vibes and these elements bring the album down to an earthy conclusion. It marches into the eye of a storm with so much sublime shades of light and shadow. 

Who are these Polvo guys? What do they do now, after having ended their incredibly cool career with a masterpiece? Are they college professors? Architects? Whatever they're collectively up to now, with Siberia they produced a Southern-inflected, masterfully performed, engineered, and sequenced album. It's a perfect album full of songs and atmospheres that never cease to please. It lends itself to obsessive listening and rewards that listening as many times as one will play it. I wonder if Kam the barista still digs on Polvo. God knows Disaster Amnesiac does, and especially this album. Summer 2026 is likely not the last time that a deep dive on it occurs over here. 

Live shot(s) #238!

 

Photos taken at Che's Lounge Tucson, 8/29/26. 

Below: Raven and the Acolytes play songs that one can dance to. Really nice primitive keyboard sounds are an anchor of their sound. 

Above: Alex Wilkerson & Them. Southwest Country/Sludge blending. 

Live shot(s) #237!

 

All shots taken at The Historic Y Main Lobby Tucson, 8/22/26.

Below: Ev Essif presenting a poetic cycle wrapped within mercurial washes. 

Above: Maiiuwak never fail to bring the sublime Drone moves. Always happy to hear this great project. 

Below: Julio Lopez offering pieces by several composers along with one self-composed. 

Moving into Virgo vibes currently. 

Live shot(s) #236!

 

All shots taken at Hotel Congress Plaza, 8/21/26.

Below: PJ Bidwell Band. Solid pan-Country Music blending. Extra great harp and pedal steel playing.

Above: Southwest Dream Pop from Sophia Rankin & the Sound. This band should go international. 

Below: Eric Underwood Band give essentialist guitar Rock a place in which to breathe. 

Live shot #235!

 

Got Bit. Hotel Congress, 8/8/24. Powerful vocals and pounding rhythms. 

RIP Frank Beard

 

Surely anyone that has ever played a drum set for any amount of time since the 1970's has been influenced by the great Frank Beard, drummer of ZZ Top for over five decades. Disaster Amnesiac never tires of hearing his playing across all of the group's varied eras. Frank Beard has moved on to the great beyond. Thanks for all of those great beats, Frank Beard. An essential drum master. 

Philip Gayle & Bryan Day-braynphilip; Soundholes Records #136, 2026

 

When it comes to sound artists and musicians such as Bryan Day and Philip Gayle, one is simply not advised to bring any kind of desire for an evident display. Producers such as these use methods and strategies that they've developed well outside of established thinking orgs, either after having interfaced with said orgs or having been autodidactic from their earliest efforts. Their sounds are their own and the listener must take them as they are presented and expect no quarter given for whatever blockages their own tastes may present to the their perceptions while listening. So it very much is with braynphilp, a recording of Day and Gayle that was recorded over two days of early summer sessions in Japan, 2024. One of the most abiding mysteries of the thing for Disaster Amnesiac is that fact that there are individual pieces listed, six of them, but as I listen I hear only two continuous, cassette side long tracks. At one point it was actually wondering if this was some kind of gaslighting strategy but that was a fumbling kind of rumination, quickly abandoned as the tape's two sides unspooled. Successfully going a bit deeper into zones of actual listening, I heard a document of two sound artists, well matched and perceptively playing to each other's various sound sources and tactics for implementing them. Very important within an improvised setting as surely it's good to be reminded of from time to time. It's realized that there are people out there who'd consider these pieces as "noise" or Noise. It could be argued however that they are less that and more the sounds of players dealing with timbres and the surprise combinations of them that can be achieved by going very granular with their respective rigs. It can also be added that at times it's somewhat impossible to figure out which rig is making which sound, something that connoissers of this type of music often revel within. This listener is among that fold. Each side has its own unique sonic stamp. Side one features mostly pulsing, short form encounters throughout. When Day's distinctive instrumental sounds are identified, they have very pleasing, "wet" qualities. Strange voicings and a somewhat manic laugh at the very ending. On side two, more heat gets generated, and it's almost a junkyard Samba at times! Its melodic forms and overall colorings mark it as more traditionally Electronic Music. Gayle's guitar chops push a bit more to the fore in a very Downtown kind of way, and that's not a pejorative. He also vocalizes a bit in ways that are expressively non lyrical. The cavernous spaces all over side one eventually float back, and an astute listener can hear the deeply rooted call and response nature of Day and Gayles' dynamic. braynphilip has a dynamic defined by self designed nuances delivered with refined dignity, and in a world full of conforming loud mouths it hits in ways that are extremely satisfying. 

Live shot(s) #234!

 

Shots taken at Che's Lounge Tucson, 8/7/26.

Below: Trikochet. Psychick Skate Rock carving!

Above: Brown Notes have song forms worked out within layers of bass. 

Below: Lemon Drop Gang. Boozer Punk rockin'! 

Lighting hit the Catalinas and they're on fire like right now. Crazy views on the drive home! 

Live shot(s) #233!

Jayden Secor and his band. Ventura CA based contemporary Honky Tonk music, out on the road and building up their following that way. Shots taken at The Dirty Drummer, Phoenix AZ. 

RIP Jeff Conolly

 

Word is breaking that Jeff Conolly of DMZ and the Lyres has passed on the great beyond and Disaster Amnesiac thinks back to a gig that a cool chick named Kathy took me to, and the 9:30 Club in D.C., probably 1988. The Lyres were a stunning live band and Jeff was the man that took them into zones of absolute bonkers Rock 'n Roll madness. An unforgettable show, and he had that same effect to many others, no doubt about it. He was a truly wild Rock 'n Roll performer and musician and America loses yet another of its original cultural voices with his leaving. Another Goodby 20th Century event. Rock on Mono Mann. 

Live shot(s) #232!

 

Shots taken at Music Box Lounge Tucson, 7/31/26.

Below: Room Tree have a linear Electronic Music theme running through their blissful bass heavy jams. Triumphal arches. 

Above: Language of Thieves. Smooth and organic rhythm section with wild, clarified guitar soloing. A very good band. 

Shows at Music Box Lounge are always cool. For Disaster Amnesiac the drive from the far west side of Tucson to the east side, it's kind of like going on a vacation. It's a different world over there. 

Live shot #231!

 

Gabby Fluke-Mogul and Nava Dunkelmann, Berkeley Arts Festival Building mid 2010's. 

Disaster Amnesiac is bummin' because I haven't been to enough live shows this summer. The school year starts is a few days and I will be back at work, which means more money coming in. Hopefully more money being will translate into more shows attended! It's been rough for me monetarily for a few months. 

Grex-Auntie + Tebs; Geomancy Records, 2026

 

The last time that Disaster Amnesiac crossed paths with Oakland CA based Grex was during the sickeningly manipulated time of Autumn 2020, and thankfully those darkened days are in the rear view mirror. At least for now anyway. I'm thankful for recently receiving news of Auntie + Tebs, the new recording from guitarist/vocalist Karl Evangelista, keyboard player/vocalist Rei Scampavia, and drummer Robert Lopez. These three, along with some pretty well considered guests, comprise Grex on this album, and they all submitted top notch performances for it. For starters, the guitar playing of Evangelista. Let's consider his sounds that resemble at times radiation as on Nikki Swango or their searing attack on Hera Syndulla. Then there's its ability to steer collective improvisation on Rita and give distinctive solo statements on Atomized!. Disaster Amnesiac has been familiar with Karl's playing for over a decade now and I can testify that he's continued to develop his musical language on the electric guitar. Can't see him stopping that any time soon, either. It's the Jazz Way and Karl Evangelista is one of its proponents. He has a really captivating Battle Rap style of vocal delivery, and it's all over Auntie + Tebs too. They describe topics of really lived life and the passions/struggles contained therein. Nods to Val Wilmer and Milford Graves are fascinating too. Rei's keyboard playing rises to the high bar set in the guitar department. Percolating sounds on Rise and cool Prog strokes on Toodles being fine examples of this, or the spooky moods displayed on the title track. Rei sings more than raps, which really works in contrast to Evangelista's vocal performance. The lyrical focus sounds to have changed as it's less impressionistic and more worldly than on the last Grex LP.  At the drum seat, Robert Lopez holds things down, drawing from his broad tool kit of drumming approaches. Very appealing to this listener are his European Improvisation chops on Auntie + Tebs II and his deep focus grooving on Auntie + Tebs.  His swagger gets metallic on Full Mantis and one just has to delight in the snares being turned off for the tune as well. As stated, there are guest appearances on Auntie + Tebs. Bobby Bradford plays some cool cornet on Midas while Zoh Amba goes positively Ayler-ish on Atomized! in a seriously bonkers Free Jazz breakdown. Auntie + Tebs has many and varied moods and blends from minimal Funk to drone-ey dirges and nightmare Trip Hop to the stated free zones and liminal Hip Hop corridors. It's a fantastic album of urban musical fusions. Take note of it when it drops physically this September, because it's a very noteworthy new statement from this long lived trio of creative musicians. 

AIDS Wolf-Harsh Human Style; Skin Graft Records, 2026

 

On the one time that Disaster Amnesiac was aware of AIDS Wolf playing near me, there was some kind of schedule conflict on my end that made it so that I could not attend. A dude that I ran frequently with at the time did go to the show, and his assessment was simply "they were cool". If you know or knew S., you'd already be appraised that he's a man of very few words, and his capsule review potentially spoke volumes about his perception of the live AIDS Wolf performance that he'd just seen. It's recalled that the band's reputation for insane, unhinged sets reached far and wide. I'm sad that I didn't ever get to take in an AIDS Wolf show, that's for sure. That being said, AIDS Wolf has remained a band that's listened to often enough in these parts, and the news earlier this year of an archival release of unheard material was received with great enthusiasm. That release is Harsh Human Style, and Disaster Amnesiac has listened to it a lot, especially recently as there were a few days of being able to really blast it at high volume on account of having mi casita to myself while Mrs. Amnesiac was visiting with a pal in a different part of the state. A doom-ey riff kicks off Sixty Eight, one that's paired initially with a pounded snare drum and some kind of vocalized beseeching. The drum kit playing gets gradually more beat centered as singer Chloë Lum joins in with higher register intonations. Eventually drummer Yannick Desranleau pounds the track home and guitarist Alexander Moskos marches along with him. Is Lum singing in a language of her own devising? The players start mixing things up right away on Sixty Nine, an example of less is more as regards the drumming. The guitar makes a cool racket atop the machined hits until everyone decides to battle for the space. Eventually a cowbell-centered groove takes the lead. Disaster Amnesiac can't recall any No Wave with a cowbell, but then again I haven't heard everything that mastering engineer Weasel Walter has produced and presumably he's utilized one at some certain point. Still, that's a first for this fan. AIDS Wolf does their version of straight up Hardcore on Sixty Six. The guitar lines swoop like engines being gunned while the drums scatter and skitter. Lum continues with her surreal chanting as strings bend and twist. This track's wonderfully unbridled guitar performance makes an old blogger smile! Harsh Human Style concludes with Sixty Seven, and it's a big, bold No Wave statement done correct in terms of that genre. This is not to imply that the track is a knock off, for it is not. It's just that as I've listened it's always been clear to me that AIDS Wolf are firmly a No Wave band and a lot of their music has pointedly No Wave gestural figures and that's fine because they did it so incredibly well. Guitar turbulence that melts away in the face of the lyrics, ones that drip with mystery. Some type of hook arises again from the strings as the AIDS Wolf melee groove deepens before it too breaks down for one last time. Chloë's lyrics sound as if she's running down reasons to dislike someone, but that's just conjecture because they're still mostly indecipherable. Finally, some strings echo and the (presumably) final AIDS Wolf statement is over after a mere fifteen minutes or so. Oh how Disaster Amnesiac wishes to have been able to have changed my plans on that evening in 2009 in order to have gotten over to 'frisco and seen them jam out live! Sacre bleu! 

Black Sun Ensemble-Whirlpool Ocean; San Jacinto Records, 2026

 

When liner note writer and co-producer of Black Sun Ensemble's Whirlpool Ocean Fred Mills first encountered the band, Disaster Amnesiac was likely also just hearing about them also, via Forced Exposure magazine, and only just down the road from him in Virginia. After that, though, Fred went on to get to know Black Sun Ensemble and its main figure, Jesus Acedo quite well, while they just remained an imagined sound for this listener. Thankfully, that situation changed recently as Whirlpool Ocean is affordable and easily accessible. Yes of course I was going to grab a copy and listen to it. 

The sense that's gotten from the writings of Mills and Rich Hopkins is that Jesus cut a chaotic path throughout his earthly stay. What's also becomes clear after repeated spins of Whirlpool Ocean is that his musical intelligence and creativity cut diamond bright as long as his perceptions were not beset by what was at one time called "demons" and currently more summarized as "chemical imbalance". Let us pause here to acknowledge the travails that Jesus Acedo endured before continuing on to the musical vision that was quite clearly a gift that he had. 

Now, having paused, let us continue on and talk about the main focus of Whirlpool Ocean, that being the guitar playing of Jesus Acedo. The album is full of examples of what made him such a special player. There are the crazed tones on Baby Serpentine Love Sea, the wild solo action at the end of Dangerous Pussy, his off the cuff hitting on Dove Of the Desert, his feedback mastery on Children Look Like Burnt Paper and the shredding action of Lord Of the Fleas. This album abounds with examples of his cold mastery of the electric guitar and its sonic potentialities. Jesus was clearly a player that could execute anything that he heard going on within his musical imagination. That he had such a grooving and supportive rhythm section from Odin Helgison on guitar, Mike Glidewell on bass and Ratshit on drums certainly did not hurt his musical efforts. The ways in which this band grooves and shakes and rolls and rocks on the album is always compelling. Just dig on their Sonoran style Harmelodic pulsing on Blues For Rainer In C Minor and the Surf/Spy Music tones of The Hunger for ample evidence of just how greased Black Sun Ensemble could be when they were hitting right. For further convincing one can spin the title track or the very SST 1987-88 of 667 or It's Not The End Of The World with its driving, Prog Funk moves and its elastic syncopations. This was a tight group that pushed and pulled and drove its music into highly creative zones of musical exploration, led by a player who was clearly touched by some divine fire and inspiration. 

It saddens Disaster Amnesiac to realize that, despite being resident in the home town of Jesus Acedo, I will never get a chance to hear him play live. There's consolation, however, in knowing that Whirlpool Ocean and its fine, powerful playing is easily accessible. Its sounds will continue to enhance my views of Tucson. That said it would rock in whatever town where it gets played. 

Live shot(s) #230!

 

All shots taken at Che's Lounge Tucson 7/2/26.

Below: Goggles bring primitive Psych Rock with a great guitar player.

Above: Stetson Heat Seeker are out on tour from Seattle. Seriously tight rhythm section and incredible guitar solos. Bringing the tenor sax rockin' spirit of the PNW to America! Get out and see 'em!

Below: Marta brought things back to the desert earth with their simple songs. A wonderful change in the Sonoran nighttime. 

Above: It's a fact that Working People cannot put on a disappointing show. They're getting tighter and tighter. New t-shirt design by drummer Dave is a winner! 

Live shot(s) #229!

 

Shots taken at Che's Lounge Tucson, 6/27/26. 

Below: Smoker Dad are a powerful road band that get down with authority. Great harmonica playing too.

Above: Family Worship Center present well crafted American song forms. This band is a cooker!

Both of these groups are currently touring the country. Get out and see them if you can. 

Live shot #228!

 

The Mermen, Stork Club Oakland CA 2012. 

Lob Instagon-Blues For Nobody; Love Earth Music Records, 2026

 

Musicians and music fans of a certain stripe within the general areas of southern California, northern California, and Arizona will know who Disaster Amnesiac is talking about when I'm talking about Lob Instagon. Lob's been an underground music scene denizen for decades, one who has been actively producing and promoting at a very approachable, d.i.y. scale. While I can's speak to Lob's personal feelings, the sense that I've always had from interactions with him is that he cares deeply about creative works and the people who make them, and does his best to accommodate their aspirations when they deal with his organizational proclivities. Lob has had his own project, Instagon, going for quite a while as well. Instagon is fascinating because it's a long running concern that has never had the same personnel twice, and this after close to nine hundred performances. It's a point of pride for the man behind Instagon and it certainly keeps things fresh for him as I'd imagine. A few weeks back, while doing business in Miami, AZ, Disaster Amnesiac was presented with Blues for Nobody, this year's Instagon release, and it must be stated that it may be his deepest record yet. Blues for Nobody is a record that fuses tight/loose jams by various Instagon lineups, deeply strange Electronic Music explorations, and plenty of recitations by Lob of several of his poems. As for the latter, it's clear that Lob has evolved into an expressive and compelling poet. His spoken words describe situations of personal dilemma, sepia'd memories, strange dreams/nightmares, and the sublime states attained from love. His delivery is always on task, even when a given piece is characterized by steam of consciousness attack. Lob's voice, somewhat gravelly now, has a gravitas that is well earned. On that front he has evolved into a true Beat Poet and Blues for Nobody is quite enjoyable for that. Regarding the former, the jams show groups of players who clearly are in simpatico with Instagon's titular leader. The jams at Miami's Thee 23 Skidoo bar, where Lob is the musical director/booker, must be getting legendary! Taken as a whole, Blues for Nobody is an undeniable statement from Lob Instagon: he's making great poetry and music and sound art, and I hope it's not for no one out there. Be a somebody and give it a listen. Lob's earned that consideration a hundred fold. 

Live shot(s) #227!

 

All shots taken at Splinter Collective Tucson, 6/17/26.

Below: Truthsayer. Loopy sexy shadow play.

Above: Romo Lampkin is a singer/songwriting plumbing the depths of current anxiety and ambiguity. 

Below: Igloo Martian. The duration of the performance transcends the actual time on stage. Surreal prop-centered questioning.

Above: CATyklysm brings modular questing and heavy Drone action. 

Rainbow Cholla at Splinter Collective is a really cool new series that hopefully will continue! 

Leland-Live at Mabuhay Gardens, S.F.; Contempt Records, 1980

 

Readers that are of a certain age and having had spent time interested in Rock music in the San Francisco Bay Area will surely recall BAM Magazine. It was a monthly or possibly even weekly trade journal for that general area and probably even a bit of a taste making apparatus for a while, especially during the Heavy Metal 1980's. When Disaster Amnesiac was first exposed to BAM sometime in autumn of 1989, an ad in the classified section jumped out at me: a long haired, caped guy with a Fu Manchu goatee that was holding a Stratocaster. It's not recalled if "Leland" was written above or below this image but it was certainly in one of those spots. Over the next several years, whenever an issue of the magazine was in my hands, I always made sure to check and see if Leland was still posting within the classified section. His image was always there and and it became somewhat iconic for me. Who was Leland? What did the music that he made with stat Strat sound like? Was he still living or had he passed away in some appropriately Punk Rock manner? It was likely in about 1996 when, while perusing the lower racks at the wonderful Open Mind Music on Divisadero St. that Live at Mabuhay Gardens, S.F., by Leland, was discovered by this obsessive crate digger. It added ninety five cents to the bill that day. It also provided some answers to those questions which had been formulated from seeing Leland's photo all of those times on the back pages of BAM. The sounds on the album were made by Leland on guitar and vocals, Razz Porter on bass guitar, and Larry Friedberg on drums. Collectively this trio raises some righteous, rockin' moods. An overall feel of raw and energetic and youthful exuberance characterizes the six tracks that make up Live at Mabuhay Gardens. The Punk Rock that had such an effect upon San Francisco musical culture can be heard as an element to the band's mix, along with what Disaster Amnesiac hears as strains of Heavy Metal. Leland's guitar soloing is deliciously noisy and aggressive to the point of making me wonder if he owned a copy of Raw Power or Funhouse. Razz and Larry pump and push and grind and blast behind Leland as he sings about poverty and impermanence and sickness and whatever other urban nightmares he's been exposed to. The band sounds at times as if they're going to go off of the rails but they always recover and give these jams that hit the exactly correct spot for any fan who craves blends of raw guitar Rock performances from the Punk/Heavy Rock/Psych Rock continuum. Dig especially on Feel The Pain for evidence of that. This album concludes with a track featuring the late great Dirk Dirksen as he questions the life choices of Leland while Leland, Razz, and Larry pump No Wave scrawls back in his direction. Oh how I wish that Leland could have had some of the success found by some of his 'frisco contemporaries. How much did he pay to get his photo into every damn issue of BAM, anyway? 

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! 

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.....................

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. 

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!