Sun Ra

So I went up to philly to see the Arkestra on sunday, it was being pro-recorded, so no bootleg but!!!

look at this shit:

discography for download

it's not complete, but there is more Sun Ra than you can handle

hard drive crash, etc.

so i dropped my external terrabyte, and now it is kaput. they'll replace it for free, but my data is gone. All those gigs of out sounds and weird films. A little dissapointing, but whatever. I do like to raze the mp3s every now and then but i wasn't ready for it to happen now.

Tonight, I'll see Sharron Kraus again and tomorrow's the all day Sonic Circuits event at Artomatic. I also bought a ticket to Scootergate 4, the music looks unappealing, but i do gotta get my scoot on.

Next week I start ground work on the next Avant Fairfax event, new location, new sounds. Stay tuned for details.

I've been listening to the new Sunn O))), Monoliths and Dominions. It's really good, you can find it on other blogs, so i won't bother uploading it.

I've got a few vinyl rips I'm getting ready to do, so those will occur when I get around to it (anywhere from a few days to a few months.)

Raglani and Hauschildt's gear stolen!! wtf

So apparently, these cats were catching a slice after the fest, they exit the pizzeria and some lowlife is just finishing loading all their equipment into his car. Then the guy tries to run them down.

So go to the previous post, download no fun fest recordings from Joe Raglani (.rar A) and Emeralds (.rar D) and listen to a bygone era. This was like ALLL his gear. They probably stole they weed too!

If you can manage, throw the guy some money, as you need some serious synths to make such sweet komische music.

Raglani's Stuff stolen
Moog Voyager Old School White Wash
Moog VX-351 Expander with cable
Moog Voyager Case (Raglani Stenciled in Black)
Sequential Circuits Pro One (J-Wire) With black Plastic case.
TWO Traynor KB-4 Keyboard amps. (Raglani Stenciled in white on bottom)
Pedal Board case
Flower Electronics Little Blue Boy Deluxe Custom build modular synth
with wood sides.
3ms (4MS) Noise Swash Pedal. Silver
Boss Super Shifter (blue pedal)
Boss re-201? SPACE ECHO PEDAL NEW.
SONY walkmen
behrienger 12 channel Mixer (silver)
Moog Ring Modulator moogerfooger pedal
Line 6 DL4 delay modeler.
Shure Microphone beta 51
DJ case with new headphones and tools. All my patch cords. Including
several expensive adaptors and color cables.

Mac powerbook laptop computer
Garwin GPS

Steve Hauschildt's stolen gear
Moog Micromoog with flight case
Moog Lowpass filter moogerfooger pedal
Frostwave resonator filter pedal
Akai Headrush pedal
Boss Graphic EQ (white Pedal)
E.H. Small Stone Phaser pedal.
Behrenger xenix mixer
Various cables and adaptors

No Fun

So I went up to NYC for no fun fest, and contrary to the name, I had a fucking blast. I bought a little H2 recorder for the trip and was able to tape most of the show. I think the only one I'm missing is Carlos Giffoni, because I forgot to press record. (drugs) these are all in VBR mp3 because I was worried about space, but they still sound pretty good. I didn't do any post, so you'll have to turn your speakers up. They've all been tagged in Itunes, numbered, named.

EARS!

Tom'll be taking the recorder to Maryland Deathfest on Friday and I've yet to decide whether to give it to him on Saturday or take it to see the Bonnie Prince. I mean, I've heard like five bootlegs and three live CDs from the fella, so I know it'll be good and all, but there's already tons of recordings out there of him, and some of this stuff at MDF should be interesting. If Chris goes to Arkestra with us on Sunday, i'll let Tom use my h2.

Aleph @ Hallucinatory Mountain

The new Current 93. A much better record than Black Ships -- more dynamic, less repetitive, different players. James Blackshaw takes over for Michael Cashmore, the first track sounds like Om. I've been a big fan of Current 93 for about 7 or 8 years now, I guess. Some of the first music I got into independently. My friend discovered Foetus through buying NIN on Amazon, and we followed that thread and led to us discovering shit like Coil, Nurse with Wound (and the list, though i didn't get a chance to listen to any of that stuff until the internet grew stronger), Nick Cave, Throbbing Gristle, Teenage Jesus & thJerks, etc. All The Pretty Horses made a strong impression on me. I don't really have a strong comprehension of a lot of his lyrical subjects, but it sounds creepy enough to me. Still have yet to see them live, seeing as how they only play in like fucking Austria or San Fransisco.

Ears.

Burzum is free.

metal

okay, so I'm going to Scion rock fest. I got tickets because I heard about it from my roommate who works with the guitarist from Salome, so we were waiting for the free tickets to become available. I'm hoping that none of the bands I want to see are playing at the same time, but here's who I want to see:

Neurosis
Torche
Nachtmystium
Wolves in the Throne Room
Harvey Milk
Zoroaster
Krallice

I've seen Torche before, but I'm interested to see them again. I've also seen Mastadon, Boris, High on Fire, Pig Destroyer, Zoroaster, Nachtmystium, Baroness, Torche, and Salome before, but the listed are those that I gotta see. Boris is great and all, but I love them with Michio Kurihara and I'm not sure if he's playing with them for this. I've also been falling out with metal for a while now, and it's not really my passion anymore. My kid brother is still super enthused with it all still, so it'll be great for him.

I'm about to rip some vinyl for this blog any day now. I got some stuff I haven't seen online, so hopefully I'll bring something new.

Rastakraut Pasta? Krautrock Reggae?

No Fun Fest '09

I just bought my tickets for no fun fest. I'm currently on the hunt for the can't miss festivals this summer. Last summer we went to Terrastock 7 and it was pretty much the best four days of the summer. I also went to Brainwaves in November, and that was pretty fun but absolutely cold, and there was a severe drug and alcohol shortage. I wanted to hit Time of Rivers festival in Maine, and I recently couldn't afford to go to Knoxville for Big Ears festival (it was like 200 bucks just for a pass, ouch!) I'm most excited to see Emeralds and Skullflower. I watched a nature documentary on netflix online called something like "monsters of the deep" and put on the What Happened? CD. It was a good pair-up. I recently got a bunch of downloads of both Emeralds and Mark Mcguire solo work from '08. Fantastic. They played 611 florida a few years ago, but it was before I was hip to it. Mattin's performance at sonic circuits stands out in my mind, just standing up there on stage in silence with his laptop on his shoulder like the archetypical 'ghetto-blaster' for about 10 minutes, then screaming into the onboard microphone WHY ARE YOU STARING AT ME?! over and over. I think I was the only person who thought it was awesome and not schticky.

http://www.nofunfest.com/2009.html

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I'm promoting a concert and I figured I might as well stop uploading illegal downloads for the time being. If you are anywhere in the metropolitan DC area, please come to the show

Avant Fairfax festival. It's got a lot of great music with a lot of great stuff happening upstairs as well. Check out the line up at the link. A unique psychedelic music experience will be achieved by all.

April 25th, 2009
5pm-1am
Old Town Hall
3999 University Dr.
Fairfax, VA 22030.

Also, check out District of Noise a few fellows are uploading a lot of the great performances that happen here in DC. Check out the Hawkwind tribute night recording of Kohoutek, and the amazing Han Bennink recording.

Another show coming up I'm excited to see::

Chromatic Mysteries w/ Marshall Allen
When:
Wed, Feb 18, 2009 8:00 PM - Wed, Feb 18, 2009 11:00 PM
Where:
Twins Jazz, 1344 U St. NW, Washington DCMap


Marshall Allen- Alto Sax, EVI
Elliott Levin- Tenor Sax, Flute
Michael Gibbons - Electric Guitar
Ed Ricart- Electric Guitar, Processing
Scott Verrastro- Drums, Percussion



Chromatic Mysteries is a new ensemble comprised of members of such sonic explorers as Sun Ra Arkestra, Bardo Pond, and Kohoutek. Horns collide with guitars that melt with percussion to create alien emissions that communicate with man's primordial ooze.


As a young musician, Marshall Allen (b.1924) performed with pianist Art Simmons, Don Byas and James Moody before enrolling in the Paris Conservatory of Music. After relocating to Chicago, Allen became a pupil of Sun Ra subsequently joining the Arkestra in 1958 and leading Sun Ra's formidable reed section for the next 40 years. Marshall, along with John Gilmore, June Tyson and James Jacson, lived, rehearsed, toured and recorded with Sun Ra almost exclusively for much of Sun Ra's musical career. As a member of the Arkestra, Allen pioneered the Free Jazz movement of the early sixties, having remarkable influence on leading voices in the avant-garde. He is featured on over 200 Sun Ra recordings in addition to collaborations with Phish, Sonic Youth, Digable Planets and Medeski, Martin & Wood. Allen assumed the position of maestro in 1995, following the ascension of Sun Ra in 1993 and John Gilmore in 1995. Allen continues to be committed to the study, research, and developmentof Sun Ra's musical precepts.


Elliot Levin is a Philadelphia born and based jazz musician and poet. For ten years he toured the world with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, as saxophonist in The Sound of Philadelphia band. He regularly performs jazz and poetry with Cecil Taylor's groups Phthongas and Unit Core Ensemble and Odean Popeʼs Sax Choir. His original music and poetry was recorded for and broadcast throughout the USAas part of the New American Radio Series. He is also currently a member of drummer G. Calvin Weston's Big Tree, The Philadelphia Phenomenon (w/ Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Rick Iannacone, Calvin Weston); and the West Philadelphia Orchestra.
Born in 1878 to a Madagascar whaler and a Nepalese snake charmer, Outer Philadelphiaʼs


Michael Gibbons has been tantalizing intoxicated audiences for well over a century. In 1989, after decades roving the southern seas as a pirate, inventing cures and pharmaceuticals as a mad scientist, and designing top-secret UFOs as an astrophysicist during the Cold War, Gibbons, at the age of 111, along with his brother and one-time cellmate John, formed the well-regarded and mightily feared improvising space rock combo Bardo Pond. Armed with electrified guitars and almost as many pedals as hair follicles, The Brothers Gibbons kidnapped Swedish debutante Isobel Sollenberger, Japanese samurai dishwasher Clint Takeda, and some shlub named Joe, licked a few toads and conquered the Psychedelphia scene. Gibbons decided to unleash his solo machinations upon the unsuspecting public, in the form of kosmische raga folk (according to one victim, Ed Hardy), as 500mg. Gibbons continues to emit fuzzed-out washes of meditative drone, squealing feedback, and chemically-influenced riffs in such socially unacceptable configurations as Alasehir, Vapour Theories, Alumbrados, Baikal, Third Troll, and Curanderos, with records released through indie institutions Matador Records, Important Records, and ATP Records. Bardo Pond also performed this past December at the famed All Tomorrow's Parties festival, held in upstate New York.


Drummer/percussionist Scott Verrastro utilizes a plethora of sticks, brushes, bells, shakers, cymbals and gongs, metal, contact mics, and household items – in addition to a traditional drum kit – to coax a wide palette of sounds. Verrastro received a degree in music literature from Northeastern University in Boston and continues to examine many forms of music, including all styles of improvisation and traditional folk. His main percussion influences are Milford Graves, Rashied and Muhammed Ali, Sunny Murray, Han Bennink, Jaki Liebezeit and Bill Bruford and yes, even John Bonham, Bill Ward, Keith Moon, and Nick Mason. His improv psych band Kohoutek explores all of this territory, veering from drony Krautrock-inspired psych to abstract noise freak-outs and everything in between. Verrastro also plays in a duo with guitarist Chris Grier (of To Live and Shave in L.A.) called Thee Ultimate VAG, a trio with guitarists Anthony Pirog and Ed Ricart called PRV Trio, often accompanies guitarist Jeff Barsky in Insect Factory He has also performed with Damo Suzuki (of Can), Richard Pinhas (of Heldon), numerous Bardo Pond projects, and multi-instrumentalists Mike Tamburo and Little Howlin' Wolf.


Born in Ancon, Panama, Edward J. Ricart began his studies in Prague with Tony Ackerman, a student of the the great Bill Dixon. He's opened the book to his very own chapter of 'avant' guitarring, combining the ferocity of no wave and vintage hardcore with the endless spiritual possibilities afforded by free jazz and free improvisation. In the process, he's unleashed a fire music fit to score the technological developments and social unrest of this modern age. He currently performs as a member of DC's avant-rock PRV TRIO. He can occasionally be seen onstage with DC space rock stalwarts KOHOUTEK, and noise troupe SONIC SUICIDE SQUAD, who will be touring in support of Acid Mothers Temple this coming April. In the past year, his ensembles have supported Sabir Mateen, Eugene Chadbourne, Elliott Sharp, The Convocation, Toshi Makihara, Uri Caine, Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone. Equally likely to perform everything from math rock to modern classical.

Oblivians play 9 songs with Mr. Quintron

Although I haven't heard much of their other stuff, i definitely recommend this album by the oblivians. Some really great work by new orleans extraodinaire Mr. Quintron. Reminiscent of the monks.

Mayyors -- Megan's LOLZ and Marines Dot Com 7"s

Stolen from here.

I tried to get my hands on their 7"s, but they were micro and sold the fuck out. I re-upped this for everyone. Mayyors and Wavves are likely going to influence the future misspellings of many bands, like the multiple Wolves and Leopards and whatnot of years past. Blasted, in-the-red psychedelic punk. Vocals kinda sound like a Californian Mark E. Smith, with effects. It's nearly impossible to find out anything about these guys. One of the fellows used to be in a band called Karate Party or something like that. Here's a fan created video for one of these bangers. It's a loop of a few gorey clips. Sick.




Ears.





PS~!
Also, tomorrow on WFMU,

Tuesday, December 16th, 3pm - 6pm: Cave Chicago's Cave have partially emerged from post-rock/post-hardcore greats Warhammer 48K, and currently are purveyors of heavy-riffing, groove-centric psychedelic rock in the realm of Hawkwind, Circle, and the brighter lights of the Krautrock legacy. Wailing guitar jams, fuzzy keyboards, propulsive percussion and total sun-staring trippiness coming through today as the band tours on the heels of a new single, wonderfully titled "Butthash."

2008 - year end concert retrospective

I used to make year-end lists of both records and concerts, but the year has been so saturated with both that it would take far more concentration than I could muster to do them in one post. For some reason, I was criminally ignorant of the great shows Scott Verrastro has been booking and playing in DC since 2003 if not earlier. Since October of last year when I saw Kohoutek for the first time with Damo Suzuki, I've been immersing myself in this new world of sounds I'd lucked into. I will tell you this -- if I had been cool enough to know about this, I probably wouldn't have gone to college in Michigan back in '05.

Top Concerts of 2008 (likely to be revised over and over and over)

1.
Of course, Terrastock is number one, and deserves its own sub-ten
*Bardo Pond
*Mike Tamburo
*United Bibles Studies
*Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh
*Wooden Shjips
*Kinski
*MV+EE
*Grails
*Pelt
*Sapat

2.
Saturday, 9/13/08@ THE END OF 611 FLORIDA FREE FOLK PHANTASMAGORY V with Kohoutek, Max Ochs, The Julie Mittens, Human Adult Band, Hat City Intuitive, Sondra Sun-Odeon (of Silver Summit), Ilya Monosov, Insect Factory, Teething Veils, Layne Garrett

3.
8/24/08 (DC) @ the lighthouse w/ Kohoutek, mike tamburo, melissa moore, hunted creatures, chris niels, meadows

4.
May 31 / 611 Florida Washington DC , Suishou no Fune and Jason Kourkounis (drs)with: Alasehir, Moon Phantoms (Suishou no Fune and Alasehir), Bolmongani, Plums

5.
3/7/08 @ The Lighthouse (DC) w/ Kohoutek, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Bill Nace, Chris Grier, Lexie Mountain (solo)

6.

Friday 7/18: 611 FL ave - -Kuschty Rye Ergot, Noa Babayof , Sharon van Etten, Sun Tornado

7.
May 30th, Velvet Lounge, Jack Rose, Glenn Jones, Fern Knight, Alexander Turnquist

8.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and just say "Sonic Circuits." It was over the course of a week and I only missed the Baby Dee show in the afternoon and the more pop-hip-hop oriented Friday night but I saw a lot of great stuff at Sonic Circuits, but no one night stands out. Both Saturdays at Velvet Lounge were great, and closing night with Talk Normal and Dan Higgs singing briefly with Skull Defekts. Thankfully, they're now running early evening weekend shows over at Pyramid Atlantic.

9.
Oct 5, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 9:30 Club. The next day we saw the Residents (it was ridiculously stupid, I'm led to believe in a good way) and also the Imaginational Anthm Tour with Cian Nugent, Ben Reynolds and George Stavis. Because of their relative proximity we will count this as one. (Seeing as how logic went out the window with the number 8 choice.)

10.
Sunday 11/9 @ Velvet Lounge, DC w/ Plastic Crimewave Sound w/ Djin (from Yahowa 13!), Mondo Drag (Alive Records, garage-psych from Iowa), Blue Sausage Infant (DC noise)

Runners up -- Wovenhand, Silver Summit, Arrington De Dionysio, The Ex w/ Getatchew Mekuria, Thou, Brainwaves festival, Mythical Beast, La Otracina, Lexie Mountain Boys, Acid Mother's Temple w/ Danava on Easter Sunday


NOT EVEN CLOSE -- Sunn O))) Grimmrobes tour. Two guitar set-up is way underwhelming after seeing them 3 other times in the past 3 years. Earth cancelled too.

Agitation Free - At the Cliffs of the River Rhine

Agitation Free live '72. Mostly the second record.

GustI Lütjens *guitar
Lutz 'Lüül' Ulbrich *guitar
Michael Günther *bass
Michael Hoenig *keyboards
Burghard Rausch *drums

1. Through The Moods (13:28)
2. First Communication (8:56)
3. Dialogue & Random (0:57)
4. Laila (10:03)
5. In The Silence Of The Morning Sunrise (4:41)

Not sure where I got it from, it's been on the hard drive of my work computer for a number of months. This one is Senior Center approved.


Ears