MOG - George Chen's Posts

Sic Alps

George Chen — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:40:59 GMT

Pleased to see the out-of-print vinyl tracks from Sic Alps compiled on CD with "A Long Way Round To A Shortcut" out this week on Animal Disguise. Misters Donovan and Hartman have miles of collective indie rock cred to spare in projects like Mesh, Nam, Henry's Dress, Yikes, Coachwhips, Ropers, and Total Shutdown. They were supposed to be on a US tour right now, but Hartman broke his wrist in a bike accident. They should be up and running again soon though. Particularly into this video's choppy editing style and scrappy graphics. Enjoy

The Pod

George Chen — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:20:18 GMT

Julian Barratt from Mighty Boosh and Nathan Barley spoofing techno... thanks to a million keys for the heads up on this...

Christian Marclay art show SF tonight

George Chen — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:31:01 GMT

Sound artist/turntablist (in the broadest sense of the word) is known for video compositions but this is the first art show I have heard of from him.

Check out images here, and read Fraenkel Gallery's description. The opening is tonight at 6 pm

"Stereo." Photographs by Christian Marclay. Runs through June 28. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Fri., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 49 Geary St. (415) 981-2661.

"Since the early 1980s, Christian Marclay has explored the visualization of sound and music through his sculpture, photography and mixed media-based works. As a visual artist who also works as a musician (Marclay pioneered the use of a turntable as a musical instrument in the late 1970s), the relationship between the audible and the visual and the incongruencies existing between the two remain the driving force of his work. The approximately twenty-five works included in Stereo span the artists's entire career."

Hanson Records store

George Chen — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:54:13 GMT

Aaron Dilloway has opened the midwest noise nerds' equivalent of an opium den just half an hour out of Cleveland. Providing the level of boutique noise that shops like Hospital in NY, Electric Heavyland(defunct) in Seattle, and Misanthropic Agenda in Oakland have set the precedent for, Dilloway (formerly of Wolf Eyes) has a long career working in record stores to draw on. From his own words, and pictures:

"The store is full of everything on my mailorder website plus TONS more new and used LP's, CD's, Cassettes, Books, and Magazines. MOSTLY NOISE!!!! But also Rock n' Roll, Synth, Prog, Industrial, Modern Classical, Reggae, Punk, Metal, Jazz, International, Sound FX and other random weirdness that gets thrown in THE SHOCK PIT!

The store is located in a secret underground location, so I will not be keeping regular hours. You must email or call to make an appointment to come shopping. To set up an appointment and receive directions to our secret location, just email me at: apps@hansonrecords.net or call me at 734-709-2064

So if yer living in the area or on tour or just wanna make a trip, don't hesitate to contact me.

I'll be having a big gig/party for the shop in June...more info on that later though...

Thanks to all my pals who helped organize stuff!And double extra thanks to my pal Sean at Discs and Tapes in Howell, MI for hookin me up w/ the record & CD racks AND for employing me for like 10+years as a young record slingin' snunk AND for turning me on to Deep Purple - Live in Japan!"

HIGHER SXSW party - "Y'ALL CAN'T WIN"

George Chen — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:46:26 GMT

We're throwing a SXSW party for all our artists and friends who are going to be travelling to Austin this year! Saturday, March 15th 12:30-5:30PM at West's Art Music and Wine - 408 Josephine St.

NRSZ 12:30 (SF, ex Hello Noisy) SSSSPECTRES 1:00 (NY, New York Night Train) KIT 1:40 (Oakland, Upset the Rhythm) THE MAE SHI 2:10 (LA, Team Shi) SCARY MANSION 2:50 (Brooklyn, Zum) GROUPER & INCA ORE 3:25 (collaboration set, Portland, Free Porcupine Society/5RC) GOWNS 4:00 (Oakland, Cardboard) THEE OH SEES 4:45 (SF, Tomlab) www.myspace.com/westswineartandmusic

Deerhoof with Ed Rodriguez

George Chen — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:27:26 GMT

Ed Rodriguez' (Flying Luttenbachers, Gorge Trio, Colossamite, XBXRX) first show with Deerhoof in Petaluma! Filmed by Vicente Coulier.

RIP Michael Griffen

George Chen — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:04:51 GMT

Very sad. I got this email from Joshua Ploeg on the spockmorgue list. I first saw Michael play with Behead the Prophet in 1997 in Oakland and SF. Our friend Zack Carlson was touring with them and Thrones and Men's Recovery Project. It was indeed a freak show all around, a lot of which hinged on the much older violin player who seemed to not only hang with but thrive on the hardcore chaos going on around him. It was very easy to associate being punk with being young, but here was an example of a lifer who obviously took punk beyond a fashion statement and was deeply invested in the life of an experimental musician. Last time I saw Michael was 2005, we (7 Year Rabit Cycle) played with Noggin in Seattle. Not many people came, but there was a young girl who brought her violin and Michael and Eric improvised with her and it felt really special, like there was a passing of the torch or a recognition of this generational gap closing around the concept of improvised violin.

Joshua's email below: Sorry this will be shocking to some people if you haven't kept abreast of Michael's condition recenty- Michael Griffen passed away monday morning, surrounded by his loving family he was an awesome noisemaker, cool dad to his kids (and bandmates) and an all around awesome guy (one of my role models)- he wrote, acted, did art and played crazy music with a tawdry list of bands including Noggin, Behead the Prophet and Artie Smudges Trio he had a deteriorating acute respiratory condition for the last couple of years and had been hospitalized recently after his condition worsened I don't know what else to say exactly at this time (a loss for words for once) haven't heard any memorial information as of yet but will keep you posted Adam and Aral were staying with him at the time so they will be at the home for those of you who are friends with them and wish to send condolences Jordan has been posting things intermittently on the Behead the Prophet and Yogoman/Jordan Rain myspace pages so you can check there for further information Make some racket to remember him, he made a joyful noise!

Stella searches for Santa

George Chen — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:40:23 GMT

Flying Luttenbachers Cataclysm DVD preview

George Chen — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:39:26 GMT

Weasel Walter announced the end of the Flying Luttenbachers on his site: "As of November 2007, The Flying Luttenbachers have officially ceased operation. The band will reappear when the human race is finally prepared for armageddon. Don't say we didn't warn you." But there are a few releases left in the works, including this live DVD. This is at least my favorite all star line up of Luttenbachers that I've seen live, and I was in attendance at this 6/25/05 performance. Ed Rodriguez from Colossamite/Gorge Trio on guitar, Mike Green from Burmese on bass, and Mick Barr (Octis/Orthrelm/Ocrilim) on guitar, Weasel on drums with his bullet belt and face make up, this is an unbeatable team, except they were beat by the economics of functioning as a cult band in one of the most expensive places to live in the US.

"don't ask me when it's coming out. i don't know. the youtube compression looks like total utter garbage, but you get the idea."

Dan Deacon vs Greyhound

George Chen — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:37:35 GMT

reposted from a myspace bulletin. So weird that Greyhound would think "hey, i should utilize Silent Barn to get street cred"...

IN NO WAY DO I ENDORSE OR PROMTE GREYHOUND BUSES

in the december issue of XLR8R magazine there is an ad for greyhound bus service that uses a photo of me at a show did at silent barn, a diy venue in brooklyn. no one asked me if this was ok. no one asked silent barn if it was ok to associate them with the company.

i first heard about it from jason of wzt hearts, who are also used in the ad, also without permission or even the courtesy of letting us know.

greyhound bus company is one of the worst run, bullshit companies i have ever had the misfortune to use. they are a total monopoly and take advantage of that with poor service and price hikes and route cancellation. they have bought all the other smaller companies and run them out of their office in dallas. they treat both their employees and customers like shit. they are a cancer.

since i do not drive i used to use them to get to shows (when nothing else was available). on many occasions i had to cancel shows because the bus would be late, my luggage would get lost/stolen, the over sell their buses, and fuck i fucking hate them.

it really upsets me that i am being used to promote them. if i had my way i would see all their buses transport guns to all the people they have fucked over.

like many evil companies they are trying to use subversive advertising and i will not allow myself to be a cog in their wheel of lies and deceit. these rats stink like rotten cum. fuck them with 1000 fires.

OTHER BUS COMPANIES YOU CAN USE TO AVOID GREYHOUND:

-ivymedia.com is a list of bus companies on the east and west coast. -megabus is a service for midwes cities that route out of chicago. sometimes the rides are as low as $1

again, greyhound has fucked with me for the last time. in case this message finds its way to someone in the advertising department of greyhound: eat my shorts you dickless pig fuckers.

sincerely,

dan deacon

Hooliganship

George Chen — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:11:18 GMT

I discovered this through the awesome Cartune Xprez DVD that my friend Ceci hipped me to. I liked it so much that I'm now selling copies in my mailorder. The Hooliganship video was particularly hilarious, although the bigger names here would be Paper Rad and Shana Moulton. This clip features a character called Donald Trumpet and the titular character. It looks like the Portland-based duo of Christopher Doulgeris and Peter Burr performs their catchy synth pop soundtracks with live video accompaniment. The youtube teaser should make you actually want to get the dvd, as the pixellation distorts everything and you really can make out the dancing pizza man much better on disc...

Jesus Year

George Chen — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:17:03 GMT

So I'm officially getting old, turning 33 in a few days. This is also known as the Jesus year because, as you may have heard, he died at 33. It's always a good time to lean back and reflect on one's time on this planet and ask, "If I died today, would anyone want to start a religion after me?" Lots to live up to, thanks son of god. I decided to see what iTunes would dig up if i typed this in and hoping I'd find the Vaselines, but I will settle on Lydia Lunch and crew to represent my personal vibe today. A teenager's mentality prevails throughout my Jesus year, and yeah, I'm feeling like a jerk too. Also a nice testament to longevity is Ms. Lunch's enduring career, so there's no need to get gloom and doom about being, ahem, past my prime. Let's hope...

Goslings

George Chen — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:47:12 GMT

Goslings seem to emerge from another time, and not just because they have a geocities page. Hiss-bathed, blown speaker dirge metal with female vocals baked into its spiky crust. Sort of like Eric's Trip meets Sunn0))). I find myself sucked into this album's sticky sweet tang and resign to drown in its murky magic. This could be the mascot for couple's noise, a genre that is only defined by musical/romantic partners smiling sweetly at each other whilst driving everyone around them deaf (Dead Machines, Hototogisu, Kevin Shields and Brian Miller, Monarch).

I like to stay home for Thanksgiving

George Chen — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:08:09 GMT

I don't have far to go today, but I would like to pay tribute to lazing (not a real word...yet?) around in your bathrobe and not venturing into the outside world with everyone's favorite cult recluse R Stevie Moore. I also just found this video highly amusing. Happy Thanksgiving/taking day

Made for TV Movie

George Chen — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:39:04 GMT

I saw this band only once in 2001, opening for Q and Not U. They've long since departed, but occasionally this one amazing track will pop up in my iTunes and still manages to carry its initial thrill. A bit dodgy in description, this opening track from the now 7 year old Portland Mercury Compact Disc of Sound compilation is dirgey, powerful, and emotive in a way that few things match. Our beloved Sea Scouts might be the closest comparison, and I realize this is comparing obscure band a with obscure band b, but that is the nature of such posts. Made for TV Movie released an album on Jealous Butcher and featured members of the '90s underground cult band Bisybackson.

Lance Hahn RIP

George Chen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:10:10 GMT

Sorry to say that Lance Hahn passed away after lapsing into a coma related to his kidney problems. Links: Austin 360 Harp Hyphen

There are still a lot of medical expenses that need to be dealt with, as he was uninsured. If you can donate at all, go to the Vulcan Video site, they've set up a paypal donation.

Sound of the Exquisite Corpse

George Chen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:08:53 GMT

I have visual and audio contributions in this installation, part of the Wire 25th anniversary in London.

Sunday 28th October, Sunday 4th November, Sunday 11th November, Sunday 18th November, 2pm-6pm (performances at 5:30pm)

Toynbee Studios, Studio 5, 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6AB

The Sound of the Exquisite Corpse

Hex Out Tapes in collaboration with The Wire and Electra are presenting a sound and visual installation for THE WIRE 25.

The inspiration behind the installation is the mythical beast creations formed from the game Exquisite Corpse. Exquisite Corpse, for those unfamiliar, is a method by which a collection of words, images or sounds are collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a or by being allowed to see the end of what the previous person contributed. We aim to create sonic and visual bastard beast creations by means of exquisite corpse.

Utilizing the process of bedroom cassette recording, this installation gives the people who attend the opportunity to contribute a live track, jamming out with previously sourced live recordings from a bunch of international improv/noise artists such as JOHN WIESE, C SPENCER YEH, DYLAN NYOUKIS, VICE COOLER, KAREN CONSTANCE and THE LADIES OF LEOPARD LEG.

This installation will be a continually evolving piece. No two recordings from the month will be the same.

For those who enter the cave of the beast and wish to jam out we will have a selection of bastard home made and traditional noise making devices. The space will provide anyone who comes along the opportunity to contribute sound and walk away with a recording of their jam.

NO experience required! We will have some unprofessional professionals on hand to aid you through the technological process. LET THE BEAST FREE.

Dan Deacon hi fives Oakland

George Chen — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:17:42 GMT

I am the center of a hi five storm from Sunday Sept 30th at Lobot Gallery in Oakland. More video to come, I have footage of the UC Berkeley Lower Sproul show the next day also...

Words from Wascovich

George Chen — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:11:58 GMT

got this email from Matt Wascovich today.

MY GUITAR, A HANDSHAKE GREETING WITH DEATH by Matthew Wascovich

I grew up in a working class suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Since age 4, I had been listening to The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Miles Davis, movie soundtracks, and a lot of radio broadcasts. It was a fairly regular town of averageness with many of us motivated by, or made to feel less shitty and more alive, because of sounds and music.

I bought my first record at age 6 - Ace Frehley's solo album that he made while in Kiss. I remember Rip It Out's lyric, "Rip it out, take my heart, you wanted it from the start. You got it now, so goodbye, so rip it out, watch me cry." That's some funny shit to sing at age 6 but life puts a crunch on your head and heart from nearly day one. I started street skateboarding when I was 7 years old and hung out with older kids. They turned me on to punk bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat, JFA, Big Boys, Saccharine Trust, Minutemen. This is important. I was changing fast, getting informed by being on my board and listening to this new stuff; essential.

Sound and music were always there along with skateboarding and a few other influential experiences. Street skating and punk showed me to do it yourself, your own way. I saw walls and curbs, differently. I saw authority, differently. It's laughable how many people start with the boot-to-your-neck pose, from birth-to-death, telling you how it should be. It might be your parents, your teacher, a coach, a boss, an art critic, a record store owner, or so-called hip magazine - I am only suggesting to you that it doesn't matter at all because there is no inherent reason why these people would have any more idea of what is good or bad than you would.

When I began playing guitar, I heard what I wanted to hear and did what I wanted to do with it. It's my guitar. Totally present as I am present. Nearly always works even when broken. I have had no formal training on guitar but the sounds flow. As it is, we are what we are. There is nothing wrong, no wrong way, no wrong notes, it's your style. What I am talking about has nothing to do with focused versus unfocused. It is one of the more simple, directly creative things that you can do, this playing of music - of all sounds as music. I prefer to play free improvised and structured music but that's how I have worked things out. Play structured, or free, or a combination of the two keeping matters breathing and alive for you. If you want to jam and learn some songs, well, that's great too. Learn some Dead Moon, Stooges, Jimi Hendrix, Sam Rivers, John Coltrane, The Wipers, Michael Yonkers, Sun City Girls - or go to your own source, somewhere beyond what others have done, and dig up the personal hiss puking from your head and heart.

Tune your guitar standard: E-A-D-G-B-E or non-standard: B-D-G-D-D-A (mix it up), play with a pic, your fingers, a screw driver, a pizza cutter, your third eye. Shake the sounds out, punch them out, caress. Melody? Consistent and inconsistent time signatures? Atonal/tonal? Modal? Plugged in/unplugged. All or none, or a little bit of everything? Practice, learn. Develop your skills. Again, it's your instrument. Widely listen and let the music, via yourself as conduit, come forth.

I started my band, Thee Scarcity of Tanks, so that I could play music as I wanted it to be played. Some people are enthusiastic and into it while others are dismissive and uninterested. That's fine. We are serious in our intent, and our attempts, and that's enough. What is enough for you? The next time you are criticised for the way you are doing something, take a deep look at the person telling you these sorts of things for each engagement is wholly felt.

When you are ready, set up your own show. All you need is a room and some hard work. Make friends and have a good time. Basements are cool. Backyards. Sheds. Galleries. Coffee shops. D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) spaces. A trailer by the lake. Squats. Bookstores. Who cares about playing a formal music club? Really, it's not that great. Put out your own record (vinyl does sound better, a true archival format) on a label that you start up. Beginning your own label is not vanity, it's reality, and most compelling stuff comes out on the small labels. It is a concrete example of taking initiative. You don't really need those in high places (labels and such) to do this. Besides, a high place is an ugly distance to fall from. Save your money. Keep your costs down. Stay tight with your economics. There is freedom in limitation. Risk something, but mostly yourself, and get ready for underdeveloped personalities to take their chops at you. You will find out quickly who is the real deal. Praise and criticism are the same thing (so avoid it).

It's your life, your guitar, your words, your paints. Non-fixed. Ready to be formed. Go for it, in the way that you want to. You don't have to be put in their cage. Start your own band. Write your own poem. Paint your own picture. Stay strong, participate - without insult, seek as unknown with the guiding love of doing that which you love, that which must be done. Do what interests you with fire, with fearlessness - art or otherwise - because it, truly, interests you. The truth is not so elusive, though we may make it difficult.

Please figure it out for yourself, most of the answers come from within.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matthew Wascovich lives and dies in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. He plays music with Thee Scarcity of Tanks and edits FLAT BIKE poetry mag. Since 1987, He has published 70+ books of poetry and lyrics including most recently, Devoid of Declaration (Hab Discontent Books, 2007).

This piece was printed on 10 April 2007 by Slow Toe Publication & Recording Institute and may be freely distributed in it's current form. A version of this essay was published by 3:AM Magazine (Paris/London).

SLOW TOE PUBLICATION & RECORD INSTITUTE P.O. Box 6592 Cleveland, Ohio 44101 U.S.A.

We remember Charles Gocher Jr, Benoit Sonnette, Donald Ayler who passed away this year, 2007.

Captain Ahab pool party

George Chen — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:17:04 GMT

KIT played at a pool party in West Oakland on Sunday Sept 16. The other bands were Foot Village, Captain Ahab, and Cell Block. I took some photos and here is some video

Police and Thieves

George Chen — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:23:17 GMT

I got this Junior Murvin version of this song stuck in my head and decided to do an a capella cover in garage band.

on Western Addition Radio tonight

George Chen — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:07:07 GMT

on josh's show 9-11pm PST - 93.7 fm www.no-disco.blogspot.com http://www.westaddradio.com/slavetotherhythm www.westaddradio.com

i'll bring some recent purchases in plastic to play... what i been into lately Charlemagne Palestine - Strumming Music Various - Teenage Meadows of Infinity/From the Ashes African Head Charge Islaja - Ulual YYY

Lil Wayne

George Chen — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:51:38 GMT

this song is listed as either "Black Republican" or "Black Democrat" - so you can have it both ways

Nar playing in San Francisco...in 2007?

George Chen — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:58:07 GMT

Back in like 1994, I saw Nar a handful of times and I knew that they were poppy and punky wihtout being the genre of pop punk, or what it had become in 1994. To draw the line between Nar and the K records scene at the time, Go Sailor, fronted by fellow Sac native Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, Softies) covered "Blue Sky." The last time I saw Nar was in 2000 during Noise Pop, opening for the Fastbacks. Occasionally would run into Scott Miller down in SF or at Woodland for Operation Restore Maximum Freedom, where he was very vocal about loving Skaters. From the Yakamashi/Dulcitone myspace bulletin, Mr. Matt Roberts says:

In a strange twist of events, Sacramento's finest, NAR, are playing Thrillhouse records in SF on Saturday. There are 5 bands from 5-10 or so. I'm guessing that this is the first time Nar has played down here in ten-ish years, and I think they've only actually played one other show AT ALL in like the last eight years or something. If you're not familiar with them, Nar was (is) one of my all time favorite bands, jangly punk-pop of the highest caliber. Their final 7" was the first record I ever released (not to mention the unfinished/unreleased/shelved album I was going to put out that you can hear on their giant discography double CD-R thing you can get from them). Dudes went on to play in FM Knives, Bananas, Lyme Regis, Smog, Bright Ideas, Ski Instructors, Pretty Girls, etc, etc...

Gowns on US tour, October

George Chen — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 04:52:08 GMT

Okay, just to get disclosure out of the way - I am the publicist for Gowns. It's not like a conflict per se to use Mog to promote something that i'm paid to promote, it's just - unseemly. But that fact aside - I was a fan of Gowns long before I was "working" for them, and I would be posting these tour dates anyway from the fanatic's perspective. Here's a video from back in April at SF's Hemlock:

Since then, they've replace drummer Corey Fogel with Jacob Heule (Ettrick, various other SF improv projects). The principals are perhaps known for past works with Mae Shi (Ezra was the singer) and Amps for Christ (Erika on guitar), but this is the project that lets them really shine on, crazy diamonds.

Their site will have these stats, but text-wise they are here::

9/21: Vancouver @ Emergency Room 9/22: Portland @ Rotture

10/01: Los Angeles - Pehr Space 10/02: Phoenix- Trunk Space 10/03: Alburquerque - Winnings Coffee Co. 10/04: Santa Fe - High Mayhem 10/05: Dallas - Monkey Bar 10/06: Houston - Rice University 10/10: New York - Mercury Lounge 10/13: Brooklyn - Silent Barn 10/14: Brooklyn - Death By Audio 10/15: Annandale-on-Hudson - Bard College 10/16: Medford, MA - Tufts University 10/17: Boston - TBA 10/18: New York - Cake Shop 10/19: Pittsburgh - Garfield Artworks 10/20: Cleveland - Pats in The Flats 10/21: Chicago - Ladyfest

Han Bennink

George Chen — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:18:57 GMT

Just picked up this Han Bennink Amplified Trio record from Amoeba the other day. Good and noisy, reminding me of Vampire Belt. It's the Dutch drummer with John Coxon on guitar and Ashley Wales on electronics. I've never seen him live, but this popular Youtube clip gives you some idea. He's toured with the Ex and Derek Bailey and does the ICP (Instant Composers Pool, not Insane Clown Posse). Hard to believe the dude is 65.

Lal Waterson

George Chen — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:50:02 GMT

You might expect Peter Christopherson from Throbbing Gristle and Coil to pick something on the harsh side of things for this 30 Years of Rough Trade compilation/book. The collection has some prominent customers each picking one track that they purchased at Rough Trade, and Christopherson went against the grain by choosing a female folky recording a song with her son. I fell in love with this track pretty much off the bat. It definitely stands out among 2 discs of material by groups like Swell Maps, Mekons, Kleenex, and Bikini Kill. Other than reading up on Lal Waterson on wikipedia, I haven't dug any deeper into her work. If any of it can top this, it'll be a pleasant surprise.

High Places

George Chen — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:00:18 GMT

Nice to see a grip of press for High Places, namely in Pitchfork today and on the Village Voice blog a couple days ago (even if both entries are penned by Mike Powell - is double dipping excusable when it's your friends?). I gave them a shout out on Dusted last week too. They are playing this weekend in the Bay, doing a bus show tonight in Oakland, Saturday at 21 Grand, and Sunday at the Crater Show. Here's a video I shot of them earlier this year at the Hemlock.

Y'all So Stupid

George Chen — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:52:10 GMT

Devin Flynn's animations have graced the WonderShowzen series, the Lightning Bolt DVD, and the title sequence of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters (the best part of that film). Flynn is also known for playing in the bands Pixeltan and Plate Tectonics (who have collaborated with Sensational). He was also in the Harry Smith Anthology Remixed show I blogged about a little bit ago. Flynn's got a bunch of surreal new videos up on Youtube of the ADD variety under the name "Y'all So Stupid"

Artificial sex

George Chen — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:04:59 GMT

For my tastes, I like to keep God out of punk, but if it's gonna be there on a Sunday morning, it might as well arrive via Lust Control. This interview with Doug Van Pelt was interesting because upon a blind listen, I could not wrap my head around the origins of this band - whether it was an actual 100% joke by non-Christians or a Christian band with an ironic sense of humor. The fact that Van Pelt is the editor of HM and was down with Knights of the New Crusade only muddles things further. I still think it's funny though.

rise of the idiots

George Chen — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 23:13:18 GMT

part one

part two

part three

No Doctors

George Chen — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:09:12 GMT

No Doctors moved from Chicago to Oakland/SF in 2004. I had a mixed reaction to early shows of theirs. Longtime champion Weasel Walter said something to the effect of "you will see them 3 times and hate them and then love them the fourth time." A more backhanded, or accurate, endorsement would be hard to conjure up for any other band, but in this case it may be deserved. Self-releasing all manner of noise-boogie since 2002 and collaborating with infamous Minneapolis guru Matt St Germain's Freedom From, No Doctors have transitioned from a splatter-core blooze mess into something cleaner and altogether more bizarre. A jam band weaned on Royal Trux, a campfire prank on "panic rock", a stoner-frat-brohemian Bobby Conn, or just four dudes (figurehead/spiritual advisor Clopes only appears in cartoon icon form here) highly dedicated to making the "rawk"est shit they can fathom. It's not for everyone, but what is? Self-released as an LP with CD packaged together, Origin and Tectonics has received little fanfare beyond experimental oracle Blastitude, which is already predisposed to this brand of chicanery. As difficult as it is to put a finger on just where these boys are coming from, its practical result is (if not the real thing) a valiant simulation of feel-good post-punk guitar heroics.

Paul F Tompkins on jazz (he doesn't like it)

George Chen — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:02:13 GMT

I saw Paul F Tompkins last friday at the Punchline in San Francisco where I picked up his debut CD, "Impersonal". The comedy community site A Special Thing has a small line of CDs available for direct mailorder and carried at Amoeba. It is sort of surprising that Tompkins is just getting around to releasing an album. Although he is known mostly for being a player on Mr Show and a commentator on Best Weekend Ever, he's not as well known as Patton Oswalt or David Cross. With his onstage three-piece suit, it is easy to peg him as a traditionalist. However, the material on this disc is a bit older and in his words "more intellectual than emotional." I recall seeing him on a late night show a few years ago holding a mock press conference about monster attacks, a total disruption of the stand up format. In any case, the material on "Impersonal" seems to be retired so this is the only place you are going to get it.

Heather Leigh kicks ass and takes names

George Chen — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:37:10 GMT

In addition to being part of the Volcanic Tongue family and a player in Charalambides, Scorces, and Taurpis Tula, Texan-turned-Glaswegian Heather Leigh Murray also churns out a bit of solo noise with table steel guitar and vocal manipulations. She stole the show last month at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. This is a track from a CDR compilation available through Dylan Nyoukis' Chocolate Monk - other artists on here include Inca Ore, Polly Shang Kuan Band, Unicorn Hard-On, Leslie Keffer, and Kim Gordon...

Hercules hates rock

George Chen — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:37:07 GMT

Who knew Cindy "Looper" was occupied by a fallen angel? These guys did... And who's to say that they were wrong? This, like many good things, is available at Aquarius

Waxy also provided a nice transcript "And we especially call for the judgement in this hour in the destroying of rock music directed specifically against children through the videos that were portrayed. And working specifically through these individuals for whom we call forth the judgement of the Sacred Fire at this hour before the Throne of Almighty God.

Michael Jackson, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, David Boowie, Van Halen, Madonna, Huey Louis And The News, The Cars, Herbie Hancock, Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Men at Work, ZZ Top, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, Weird Al Yankovic, Cyndi Looper, Pink Floyd, The Pretenders, Billy Joel, Billy Idol, Elton John, Neil Young, Sheena Easton, Patti Smith and Scandal, Fashion, Big Country, Morris Day and the Time, John Lennon, Appalonia 6, REO Speedwagon, David Gilmour, The Rolling Stones, Pat Benatar, Hall & Oates, Wham, Rebbie Jackson, Adam Ant, Bananarama, Christine McVie, Queen, Jack Cougar Mellencamp, U2, Fleetwood Mac, the Alan Parsons Project, Rick Springfield, the Thompson Twins, Missing Persons, Duran Duran, Police, Eurythmics, Culture Club including Boy George, Band-Aid, Relax, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, J. Iglesias and Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Dean Martin, KISS, Scorpions, Def Leppard.

And especially for the judgement of all movies including Beat Street, MTV, Street Beat, Miami Vice, Kid Video, Scooby Dooby Doo, Spinal Tap, Michael Sembello, Flashdance, 2010. And Andy Summers, Kenny Loggins, Phil Collins, Fire Incorporated, Olivia Newton-John, and the movie Ghostbusters.

And all other individual groups or individual artists who vibrate in consonance with them and with the vibration of the fallen angels and the demons of death and hell from the bottomless pit. We call forth thy flame now into the planes of Montair and for the full action of the will of God for the confounding and confuting of these images and this release of the plague of death and hell upon the planetary body. We accept it done now with full power according to God's holy will through this, our decree."

What's even crazier is the incantations the group does on the rest of this record. Sounds like a cross between speaking in tongues, Tuvan throat singing, and an auctioneer.

Sword and Sandals

George Chen — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:31:32 GMT

photo by Paul Morgan Although they have a few CDRs available at Aquarius, most people outside the Bay Area have not yet heard this band. It's primarily a trio with John Dwyer (Oh Sees, Pink and Brown, Coachwhips) stretching out his improv abilities on drums, Randy Lee Sutherland (whom I play with in Vholtz and has a million other bands) on sax joined by Shaun O'Dell (Beak). Lots of other people sit in, lately Doug from Reagan's Memory on organ. Dwyer is self-releasing an LP on his own Castle Face imprint. Recordings are also in the works for an LP split with Vholtz, Woman's Worth, and Ettrick, tentatively to be issued on my label.

Nick Hennies

George Chen — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:55:35 GMT

This is a track from the Berkeley-based art zine/CDR "Awesome Beginning". Nick plays in the Weird Weeds and lives in Austin, TX. Dude is constantly making music.

Everybody's Down

George Chen — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:08:15 GMT

No Age has used this song on both their "Get Hurt" 12" and the Fatcat full-length "Weirdo Rippers." It's stuck in my head, so it might as well be in yours. They are on tour in Europe with Mika Miko

Harry Smith Anthology remixed

George Chen — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:13:55 GMT

This show at the awesome and well-worth-supporting Alt.vinyl record shop has been extended through August 4th. If you find yourself in Newcastle Upon Tyne, make your way downtown to support this one-of-a-kind shop with its limited 8" lathe cut series and this stellar art show curated by Rebecca Shatwell. 84 artists and musicians were invited to create a visual take on a track from the Anthology of American Folk Music collected by Harry Smith. Smith seems to be a fertile focus for the intersection of visual art and music. Last spring in San Francisco Deerhoof did a soundtrack for some of Harry Smith's cut out animations, Heaven and Earth Magic. It was a revelation to see his playful and psychedelic film works, making his depth as an artist feed back into how I viewed his documentary work. It's interesting then that Shatwell chose a lot of experimental musicians for this project. The premise of this "remix" might have fallen flat, but several of the artist/musicians involved are among my personal favorites. Devin Flynn, Jad Fair, Jelle Crama, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Paper Rad, Royal Art Lodge, and Kyle Field are amongst the 84. This show is travelling, but I don't know exactly where.

This is the Royal Art Lodge take on "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground"

Ben Chasny in Magik Markers?

George Chen — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:14:12 GMT

I heard a rumor that I guess will be confirmed this Thursday in SF at Amnesia - that Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance is a full-time member of Magik Markers now. This, I gotta see. Below is some footage from Botom of the Hill two years ago with the classic Pete/Elisa/Leah line up.

Happy birthday JonnyX and the Groadies! INDEPENDENTS DAY

George Chen — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 19:27:22 GMT

Portland's (and the nation's?) best (maybe only) drum machine black metal party band celebrates its birthday every July 4th with a show. Tonight it's with Thrones at Satyricon. First time I saw them was on tour with Xiu Xiu in 2001 at Melanie's basement, also with Thrones and also on July 4th. Since 1996 (when they had a human drummer) this intensely DIY band has released a handful of 7"s and CDs under their own financial and aesthetic guidance (one 7" featuring a cover by current art world wunderkind Keegan McHargue). This is the opening track from the album that shows up in iTunes as "I" - the packaging is in a type of jewel case that was once in the running to be the standard format for DVD cases and is still popular in China. Not for the faint of heart. Happy birthday guys, oh yeah, and happy birthday America ...

KIT on tour in UK

George Chen — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 08:49:09 GMT

After numerous passport snafus, pet catastrophes and likely more unforeseen problems, I should be on my way to the UK for the first time ever about 28 hours from now. come say hello and pass on to your british friends http://myspace.com/vvkitvv

KIT UK TOUR DATES

06/15/2007 08:00 PM - Whitechapel Gallery 80-82 Whitechapel High Street London, London and South East E1 7QX w/ Skaters, Taurpis Tula, Birds of Delay Cost:£6

06/16/2007 08:00 PM - Birmingham - Sunflower Lounge Birmingham,

06/17/2007 08:00 PM - Manchester - 30 Windsor Road Manchester

06/18/2007 08:00 PM - Magnet - Liverpool Liverpool w/ Mood Food + The International + The Immigrants 6/19/2007 08:00 PM - Leeds - British Wildlife - Brudenell Social Club Leeds

06/20/2007 08:00 PM - Glasgow - Nice N Sleazys Glasgow

06/21/2007 08:00 PM - Cowley Club Brighton

06/22/2007 08:00 PM - Luminaire with Mika Miko, No Age London

06/23/2007 08:00 PM - The Point Cardiff, Wales w/ Deerhoof

06/25/2007 08:00 PM - ABC 2 Glasgow, Scotland w/ Deerhoof

6/26/2007 08:00 PM - Independent Sunderland, w/ Deerhoof

06/27/2007 08:00 PM - Irish Centre Leeds, w/ Deerhoof

THE ETERNALS

George Chen — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:26:27 GMT

As an impressionable teenager (there are photos of me wearing a backwards baseball cap) just coming off the sugar high of ska's interracial party vibe and the food fetish prog of Primus (anyone wonder how much mileage one can get out of sausage and cheese as lyrical imagery?), Trenchmouth came into my life as something of an anomaly. I thought they were a gateway into another weird music world, but it turned out they were just as much an anomaly amongst those who knew more than I. Their first album does not weather the ages as well as I thought at the time, veering at times into Red Hot Chili Pepper party jams. No matter how much they were lumped in with other scenes (split 7" with Circus Lupus, namedrops to Nation of Ulysses and Lungfish), they were definitely on their own trip. Timbales and razor cutter guitar bounced off comic book lyrics and windy bass lines, creepily intense and way punker than the cookie cutter mohicans that I tripped over on Telegraph Ave. They were the first to drop the names Scissor Girls and Jaks on me, even though there was no sonic similarity, and can be thanked/blamed for opening up my pallette off its hinges. They weathered an odd brush with the major label world on "Vs. The Light of the Sun" and pretty much hung it up by the time the last record, 1996's "The Broadcasting System". In a way, that is where the Eternals story picks up. "The Broadcasting System" was where they went as straight as they could into dub, shelving all the aggro elements, packing away the shard glass snaps, filing it down to a steady pulsing behemoth. Bassist Wayne Montana and Damon Locks went on to form the Eternals, who have more or less expaned on and perfected this template (drummer Fred Armisen of course has since bounded from SXSW prank videos to SNL and screen stardom). The elements have been there all along, and "Heavy International" is colossal and compelling, a reminder that these veterans have plenty to teach the young dogs who conjoin Dance to Punk. "Feed the Youth (Stage a Coup)" has Locks doing falsetto coos and talking revolution to a minimalist maraca shake and serpentine bass crawl. Conceptually and aesthetically grafting bits of On-U-Sound, Linton Kwesi-Johnson, and Pop Group, few people are doing this and even fewer do it well or as convincingly. "Beware the Swordbat" creates a rhythm track out of what sound like tape splices before the true jam starts, complete with femme backing vocals, cowbell, and unstoppable dance force. Don't sleep on this, or it'll sleep on you.

SXSW report 3/16/07

George Chen — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:00:50 GMT

An apt metaphor for SXSW might be trying to make a meal out of only supermarket aisle samples; you know, the morsels skewered on a toothpick that get handed out in little paper cups by someone in an apron and plastic gloves. You might be able to fill up on the morsels, or you might snack endlessly to the point of vomiting. Either way, it's a meal you eat standing up. I spent the late Thursday into friday morning trying to find the Amtrak station and failing to catch the Pack destroy Todd P's car or jam with Aa, or see the Baltimore freakcore of Dan Deacon and the Wham City players. I staggered all the way back to 16th St to try and catch the Finally Punk and LA posse only to find everyone wasted and smashing bottles, Hannah get a drum stick shoved at her crotch by the same vaguely european dude who told me that if we were in prison I would be his bitch. Some people's idea of a good time is apparently rather dark. I somehow made it over to Lucky Lounge for the Free Agency party in time for YACHT. This is after consuming a good amount of BBQ at the Salt Lick, which was tasty but also not worth going an hour out of the way for (in my opinion). I love YACHT, musically and performance-wise. I am sort of baffled as to why he is not bigger than GirlTalk, who I also like, but Jona's shit is more original and I think he's a better performer. Maybe he doesn't take his clothes off enough. Following YACHT was the new incarnation of Mae Shi. Although Tim Byron cites Fat Day and Andrew WK as influences, the latter shows through a lot more, especially given their mid-set costume changes, one of which is all-white garb. The strong points of the Mae Shi are their weird a cappella vocal parts, which they started off with, and the performance antics which include the three costume changes. As theatre combined with pop punk, i find this new version to be lighter and more posi than the old Mae Shi. The drum machine parts were not as compelling for me, and it is hard to characterize the new vocalist (from Holi Buffaglow) as his mic kept cutting out and the PA was a little wonky. Overall I felt good about them and look forward to the new record. The only other surprise of that party (Marnie Stern=good, Panther=eh, Castanets=too much!) was Ecstatic Sunshine. I was standing outside when I saw these kids pull up and unload their gear and just thought "I HAVE to see THIS." It was a skinny redhaired kid with a SPAZZ t shirt and a longhair Asian dude with a weird carpet poncho with two guitars. Todd Hyman's Carpark put out this record, which I'd heard and felt sorta underwhelmed by. This is what shit like SXSW is for, to open closed little minds like mine. These two tore shit up with two guitars and an insane enthusiasm. I could at points hear the stomping of pedals louder than the notes being played. Imagine two dudes who would be totally jamming out in their bedroom to Ian Williams hammer on glory (does Williams deserve some credit for the wave of post-Hella 4th gen imitations?) it in the middle of a swanky bar seeming to reinvent/rediscover punk-as-folk, noise-as-notes, guitar-as-transcendental portal. I took off for Ms. Bea's again just as Rebecca Gates from the Spinanes started into her solo set. I was transported back to being a teenager listening to Manos, to the nostalgic effect produced by a song like Hawaiian Baby which at some point felt like the kind of nostalgia I might one day aspire to, the emotional resonance that I would hope to attain once I'd entered adulthood, and now face the reality of being old and actually being nostalgic for the early '90s. I figured I had it worse than Gates, who seemed fine with her status as the middle of a free outdoor bill downwind of grilling meats. I wish I could say that anything she played stuck with me the way those early Spinanes singles did, but there's no reason they couldn't stick with someone else. The Austin locals seemed to bust out of nowhere when Yellow Fever and Best Fwends rolled up. Yellow Fever, despite having a terrible name, do sweet and savory pop music, sort of like Quixotic (sweet girl harmonies) or Young Marble Giants (minimal and sad). They seem to be an Austin favorite, and have made their way out west once. Best Fwends is Dustin from the Sneeze and his, I guess, best fwend. They had a giant plastic backdrop with Dustin's drawings, all of which seem like variations on Devo's Boogie Boy. The duo started off with a digital hardcore version of a Skull Kontrol song and owned it from there on. I would vote these kids Mayor and Vice Mayor of Youth Culture Village, even though my ballot would be discounted for coming from north of thirtysomething. Still, when someone asks if the kids are alright, just point them to Austin. I missed Finally Punk but there's definitely a stronghold for American freaks. Liverpool's freaks were Hot Club De Paris. Another band that sort of sounds like Hella, who woulda thunk this 5 years ago, but they also do a cappella shits and have a Q and Not U disco flavor. They have hooks, humor, and skills, so they should not have a difficult time finding an American label, but what do I know. I was pretty much ready to go home and watch more cable (the Curious George animated movie is actually surprisingly watchable) but I thought I'd take one more stab at the legit main strip. I had the sudden decision to pass on the Ecstatic Peace showcase for the hometown heroes the Federation. There was an insane line for the Beauty Bar (when will this chain/trend die? or dye?) which had an indoor show for Yo Majesty and an outdoor show for the Oaklanders. Yo Majesty is a black lesbian rap crew from Tampa. Matt Roberts has been talking about them for a year. It was pretty insane, the crowd reaction and the three women with cheap plastic crowns and demands to "turn my mic up" and threats of "punch(ing) you in the pussy." The music was like salt n pepa and coming out of a white dude with a laptop who had his shirt off. At some point someone's boob came out and someone in the throng got it in their mouth, and there were threats shouted toward that person. I find that sort of amazing from a logistical stand point, sucking a boob in the middle of a mosh pit. The Pack, aka Wolfpack, are from Berkeley. I figure I could see them at home, but after the number they did on Todd's car, I could think of nothing I'd rather see. Their hit song is about their Vans that look like sneakers (I for one found the semantics confusing) but their enthusiasm and charisma sells it all. These kids are like 16-18. I have probably seen them wandering around Telegraph. I have to start paying more attention. The Federation are basically the embassadors of Hyphy. I had to explain to Dawn, who lives in Toledo, what hyphy culture is all about. I do not have firsthand knowledge of this, but I do live in East Oakland. I do not ghost ride shit. I take the bus. But when the Federation came out, repping for Oaktown and yelling "Bay Area" I felt like a little girl shrieking "BAY AREA." Somehow I could not feel whiter doing this. But a mixture of hometown pride and just a realization that I spend most of my listening life hearing white people complain about their problems opened my eyes. I went dumb. I went stupid. I wished I had stunna shades on. I got sober-hyphy hyphy hyphy hyphy. Now I can never use that word EVER again. But it was glorious nonetheless.

SXSW report back 3/15/07

George Chen — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:58:39 GMT

Just back from a late night flight into Oakland. This has been a strange trip. I feel like a marathon runner who has trained in endurance and learned to pace myself. Only instead of distances mastered, i've just learned to prolong consciousness. I've functioned on about 4 hours of sleep the past few days, if that, and managed to stuff sausages and water ice (the real highlight of the trip I think) into my gullet and just about lose my voice to be heard above the din. Last year, my first time in Austin, was a mad sprint to be as many places as possible. What I've learned, in addition to the weakness of sleep, is to choose your battles. I stayed out of the 6th Street fray as much as possible. Shortly after finding my lodgings on Thursday, I wandered down to Todd P's Ms. Bea's show. I suspect that I am becoming complacent when I seek out the familiar, but I could think of no better arrival than to bro down with Silver Daggers, Mika Miko and No Age. Marnie Stern also played that show and familiar faces trickled in from all directions as the day progressed. Jim Smith, Randy, Marcus, Steve and I wandered off to eat some noodles and ogle Matt Pinfield in his cubic terrarium. We passed Chuck who reported an aborted Blonde Redhead afternoon set. This is how out of it I am, I had no clue that they were even in town. I had been jonesing to see Jesu, pretty much the only wristband-required item on my agenda after delivering some work-related items. Waited in line while Big Business pretty much owned a three block blast radius. Not many familiar faces emerged in teh Hydrahead crowd, although Kurt Schlegel was hanging out post his Melvins duties. I have been freaked to see Jesu since accidentally stumbling onto their existence about a year ago, inheriting a computer with pre-loaded iTunes and hitting random play. The arrival of Conqueror and the pending SF show had me atwitter, and I was disappointed that I might have to miss their SF gig. This added a sense of urgency to getting into the show. It started off as a sound check, demystifying the combination of live and prerecorded segments. We even watched Broadrick negotiate the amount of vocal delay with the soundman, something that seems to be anally parsed out on the album. Knowing that this was not the regular lineup for the band, I was prepared to forgive any off moments - this was their first show after all. I got pretty much what I expected, a solid wall of guitars, apocalyptic shoegaze glory. Somehow, the effect started to wear off about 4 songs in and I found myself fidgeting. It was hard to concentrate on any one aspect that made me lose interest - I thought the bass player might be rushing a little, that the pre-recorded segments were mixed way louder than the guitar or vocals, that it was just so similar to the record that it felt redundant. I ended up checking out afterward and eating a Best Wurst before wandering over to the church to see Vashti Bunyan. I recalled being really happy to be in a church for the first time at 2006's Table of the Elements show. It was amazingly quiet and peaceful in there with Vashti's voice hanging in the air, more palpable than any holy ghostness. It's always nice to beat the house once in a while. It was also a fortress of solitude, at least superficially, to the din of commerce raging down the street.

Burquitlam Plaza

George Chen — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 11:06:09 GMT

This is a songwriting project of Nick Krgovich of P:ano. I've put out two records for P:ano. This shows a slightly different side of his songwriting and has tons of guest vocalists (Veda Hille, Steve McBean from Black Mountain, Katie Sketch, Ashley Webb, and Chris Frey from Destroyer). Out of print on Deerandbird as far as I know. I particularly like this track.

SXSW

George Chen — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 09:45:15 GMT

So this will be my second year going to South by Southwest. I've said it before, but I feel liek a wussy Californian the moment I get off the plane. I spent a whole day last year wandering around, not having any idea where I was going, having strange meats thrust at me, and desperately wanting a shower and a smoothie about 6 hours in. I like Austin okay, but I'd like to see it when it's not an endless frat party/mardi gras. I know some people might think this is their dream come true - non-stop music blaring from every corner. I actually stayed till Sunday last time, and it felt like a ghost town. It was like visiting your school during summer, a skeleton of itself. I missed the non-stop activity for a second, realizing I was in the midst of a city having a hangover, an epic hangover of the "wake up in a dumpster" variety. So I actually am already on Last.fm and Myspace and so many other virtual ways to communicate that I am afraid this will be one more time suck. Nonetheless, I feel obligated to enter this fray and mog to the best of my mogbilities. Also, if you at SXSW my employer is having a showcase on Saturday March 17th. Better wear green. It is at Parish II and the artists are Dash Rip Rock, Ludicra, Akimbo, BloodHag, Jello Biafra, and Fish Karma.