The New Order-s/t; Cleopatra Records, 2023

 

The swordsman in the middle, the one with the odd pageboy haircut is drummer Dennis Thompson. News is breaking that Dennis has passed away. It feels kind of odd to Disaster Amnesiac in that I've been digging Cleopatra Records re-issue of the music of The New Order, Thompson's mid-1970's band, a lot of late. It's not clear to this writer if The New Order was the first band that Dennis joined after his grinding time manning the drums for the MC5, but I do know that at the time former and future Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton joined him within this Los Angeles-based Heavy Rock group. As one listens to The New Order, one is treated to a rockin' assortment of for that time contemporary stabs at the sounds and feels that rocked. Rock 'N Roll Soldiers could serve as their calling card and mission statement within those parameters. Every time that Disaster Amnesiac hears it, I reflect on Asheton's noting that The New Order played with a nascent Van Halen; the latter took the glory alluded to with the song's lyrics, while the former, sadly, dissolved after a few years of fun within what reads as a pretty surreal Los Angeles underground assortment (if you're inclined to believe a few more of Ron's anecdotes, which I do). Other standout songs include I Can't Quit Ya with its Power Pop inflections, especially the version on which Jeff Spry sings, the slinky 7/4 time Sidewinder and the heavily "Deetroit" jams of Lucky Strike and Declaration Of War. Thompson rages on his drums on all of these tunes and more, of course. Disaster Amnesiac has read somewhere that when the MC5 were recording their major label demos, the consensus among a lot of the suits was that a better studio drummer would be needed by the Sonic Smith and his dudes, and I can hear what they were missing. This is by no means meant to throw shade at Dennis's drumming. The wildness of his style is not that suited for Pop Hits. This can be a cool thing, and indeed Dennis Thompson's drumming is very cool. Just not that "subtle". In a word, crazed, and crazy is a feeling that the various members were intimately familiar with, as the evidence presented within The New Order shows.

Random shot!

 Looking west from Coyote Hills, Newark CA 2018. Southern end of the San Francisco Bay.

Steve Albini RIP

 

A fond memory of Steve Albini. Some time in the twenty teens, my pal Scarp and I went to see Shellac play in Oakland CA. I'd seen them before, and was well aware of their nature as an ass kicking Rock band. At some point in this show, however, Steve started talking into the mic about the capacities for human wonder and gratitude. This talk lasted more than a few minutes, and it was eminently clear that Steve Albini was completely sincere with this talk. It was one of the most fascinatingly raw moments that I've ever experienced in the live music setting, and obviously it's not been forgotten. Nor will Steve Albini be. He was a paragon of artistic integrity and non-bullshit approaches to the work of musical production. His leaving is a huge loss to a segment of society that will recall his work and personality. Rock on to your next destination Steve Albini.

Live shot #115!

 

Mooncake, Berkeley Arts Festival Building ca. 2016. Biggi Vinkeloe, Yuka Honda, Emily Hay.

Live shot #114!

 

Caroline Partamian at Wonder Valley Experimental Music Festival; The Palms Restaurant, Twentynine Palms CA 4/6/2024. Guitar, electronics, and metal percussion. Her sounds seemed through-composed to me, and when I mentioned this she suggested that she hadn't really had much time to do that. Either way she played a cool set.

Gary Floyd RIP

 

Along with seeing him sing, and OH! what a singer he was, Disaster Amnesiac would sometimes see Gary Floyd out and about in San Francisco. He was one of those people that, when espied in the wilds of the City, would make me smile. I have no doubt that there are countless others across the country who feel the same way. Such a great frontman and probably a good person to have as a friend as well. RIP Gary Floyd!

Live shot #113!

 

Guitarist, composer, visual artist Jacob Pek at Berkeley Arts Festival Building ca. 2015. I've posted a different shot of Jacob here, from the same event, but saw this one recently and just had to post it as well. Too cool of a shot not to! 

The small festivals that Mika Pontecorvo organized under the moniker of Hardly Strictly Personal were generally sparsely attended affairs. It seemed to me that the participants would use them as opportunities to work out ideas that they were entertaining, or to possibly try different configurations of personnel to see what worked or did not work. They were always fun, albeit somewhat exhausting. As Jim Ryan said to me during one of them, "festival fatigue" would set in after a bit. Still, I have very fond memories from them, as one can probably tell. 

I have a large cache of photos from the 2024 Wonder Valley Experimental Music Festival, and hope to post some of those here in the coming months (and this despite the fact that the flash on my camera did not work for several exposures that night!) 

Go out and hear some live, local music.