disaster amnesiac

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Live shot #45!

CAL Marching Band, UC Berkeley main campus, February 2014. I wonder what these kids are doing these days.....

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Amanda Chaudhary-Meow Meow Band; Catsynth Records, 2021

Multi-instrumentalist, film maker, critiquer of synth gear, and just generally bright person Amanda Chaudhary has a new release out! Here is Disaster Amnesiac, still scolding myself for never getting around to enthusing about the disc that I bought from her at a small coffee shop off of Park Blvd. in Oakland a decade ago, apologies for that, Amanda. Won't be letting that much time pass in order to review Meow Meow Band, Amanda's new release for the ever-busy Catsynth concern.

Things start off strange, as the voice of the late Serena Toxicat chants surreal texts while framed by Chaudhary's electronic drums and synthesizer washes on Invocation (French Miaou Bast). It's all very mysterious and moody, and one would think that it would set the emotional tone for the disc. It does not, as one of Amanda's great Pop Jazz tunes, White Wine, follows it. Disaster Amnesiac has heard Amanda sing this one, but on the CD it's performed by Amy X. Neuburg, who gives the lyrics her characteristic sparkle. ROVA new guy Steve Adams gives lyrical alto saxophone solo, and then Amanda follows with her astute keyboard ruminations. Funky rhythm section players Jamaaladeen Tacuma and G Calvin Weston swing the changes and then throw down a nice thick rhtymic carpet for the melodic players to do their thing. It's all happy and cool, with a tripped out tag line before the last chorus and nice, big finish. Cables and Carafes showcases Amanda's creative use of various synthesizers, with a good melody that is supported by really keen sounds from the various widgets and whirlies that Chaurdary knows with great insight and plays with great skill. Weston slams his characteristic style and clearly enjoys wacking China cymbals Cobham-style all over the sucka. Phuture Phunk Phor Phrenetik Phables here, all the way out to Pluto. Chaudhary's lyric song craft comes back into play for North Berkeley BART, with singing again handled by Neuburg. As always, her voice delivers pleasantly, with her clear enunciation and tone. What a great singer. Adams brings back his alto stylings, Chaudhary finds even more odd keyboard sounds, Tacuma and Weston syncopate like crazy, and then Neuburg brings it home. It would be SO bitchen if BART would release this song as a limited edition 7" commemorative next year for North Bekeley BART's 50th anniversary, with art by Aaron Cometbus. I'd buy one, and I don't even like BART very much. Something for the bean counters over there to consider. The star of Under the Ceiling Fan for me is Sheldon Brown. His bass clarinet solo on this track gives further proof of how intelligent and creative a musician Mr. Brown is. Any time he plays, it's for real, and Disaster Amnesiac is stoked to hear something new from him. Beutiful, impressionistic keyboard solo for Chaudhary as well, along with real lovely harmony playing from Adams. Just gorgeous! Gimme some more of that white wine from earlier, I wanna float! Meow Meow Band concludes with Donershtik, wherein Weston and Chaudhary rock a seriously robotic groove and Tacuma gets dirty on top of it. Chaudhary seems to pull from her formative years in the Big Apple on this one. It's got all of the urgency of that city, with all of the "fuck it, let's just dance" vibe that has always been so critical for people navigating it. That could apply anywhere else, as attested to by how Mrs. Amnesiac is dancing in our living room as I type these words. I myself have definitely rocked a few Travolta moves as we've played the disc on trips about town.

It seems as though Amanda Chaudhary has fulfilled a long-term ambition with Meow Meow Band, which would be the blending of high minded, academic head music sounds and harmonies with danceable, fun grooves and moves. This short, sweet release is a real pleasure to take in for all of that, and it's been to listen to as Disaster Amnesiac has kicked off 2022. Meeeeoooooowwwww!!!!!

Live shot #44!

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, poet, radio host Meri St. Mary. Poetry reading in San Francisco SOMA district, ca. 2013.

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Orasique-Ixtlahuaca; eh? Records #119 casette, 2021

Before Orasique's Ixtlahuaca even ended up in Disaster Amnesiac's possession, I was excited about it. Its orange jay card, emblazoned with what is clearly Bryan Day's asemic art work and listing of (to me) unfamiliar musicians provided the requisite intrigue. Suffice it to say I am happy to have listened to it.

Orasique is a group made up of Don Malfon on alto saxophone, Fernando Barrios on drums, Marco Albert on vocals, and Misha Marks on iatarra, which is a home made electric guitar. Each of these elements battle it out on Ixtlahuaca's seven tracks, sometimes fiercely, as on Quien sabe que clase de revoltos sean, sometimes with more restraint, as on Oyo alla astra su propia voz.

It's really fascinating to hear the various sounds of the iatarra; this instrument naturally has timbral characteristics of regular guitars, but its body seems to give it a very pleasing metallic flavor as Marks gets down on it. There are most assuredly spaces in which he develops regular "guitary" themes, but it's just that the iatarra often ups the ante on the "guitar as percussion instrument" hand, and in Misha's hands it often feels like an extension of Barrios' kit. Speaking of which, Fernando sounds as if he's assembled a set of drums that features various small elements, metal wrenches and cracked cymbals and junk shop busted head small tambors to go along with his traditional, very nicely resonant bass drum. His "all over" style skitters and scatters along during Las urgencias del cuerpo and Cuando los vivos comenzaron a salir, but he's not afraid to keep things bone simple, as on Oyo alla...., where he sounds like he's been studying Tony Williams' minimalist hi-hat on In A Silent Way. Marco Albert's vocalizing often brings images of crazed street corner prophets, but it's clear that he's also exploring the concept of voice as primary musical instrument. The small sound crevices and and burbling dada cadences of Cuando los vivos comenzaron a salir show this. His background in electronic music would seem to be a ground for these voice explorations. Don Malfon keeps a quieter profile throughout much of Ixtlahuaca, indeed he often seems to be content to let the other three dudes duke things out. That said, when he lets loose, it's clear that he has a point of view and a voice with which to show it. It seems clear that Don gets the whole group concept. His shredded ribbons of alto sound on Me mato un novillo are certainly worth the wait.

Taken in as a whole, Ixtlahuaca is a juicy sound revel from a quartet that digs in and develops seven pieces of organic and compelling band-based Improvised Music. This release has an organic, loose feel that is never stuffy and academic, that's for sure. Listen, fellas, Disaster Amnesiac is living only about an hour or so away from Heroica Nogales. Any chance you could do a tour up that way? Listo!