Parlay Droner - Mother Brother Live Sessions

Sonic wizard Parlay Droner is neck deep in projects and releases right now, and the fruits of these labors are sure to break your ears hearts as well as your ears drums! Big ups to Quantum Wampum for putting this little gem out.

Dave Go and The Guy From Beastmaster - Reel (sic) / Dear Darwin, Kill Jesus

 

dave Go and the Guy from Beastmaster is a project led by Dave from Florida=Death. He released 2 very different but still brilliant albums in September, a pair of themed musical collages called "reel (sic)" and "dear darwin, kill jesus"

Filthy Broke Fest on Oct 3 @ SuperPosition / Interview with Parlay Droner

Filthybroke Recordings is a record label that has recently migrated in part to the east coast from Arizona. With major players in CT and RI, the east coast is about to get bumping, and to celebrate this there will be Filthybroke Fest #1 held October 3 at SuperPosition in Meriden CT.

Dead Rider (ex-US Maple) w/ Florida=Death, Space Orphans and Phemale @ The Outer Space

Now here's a show I can get behind. The Outer Space are putting on a show of very strange musicians.

Ham Radio Operator, Yohsiko Ohara, & Colorguard @ Lipgloss Crisis on 8/25

An awesome noise show at Lipgloss Crisis on Sunday evening, filled with eclectic soundscapes for your ears to enjoy!

GRASSHOPPER / ARABIAN BLADE @ ELM BAR on July 24

Sick experimental noise/jazz show at Elm Bar on July 24, featuring Grasshopper, Arabian Blade and many more. Get down with some brain melting noise!!!

TIGER HATCHERY with PAUL FLAHERTY, PHEMALE, JON ERIKSEN, HUMAN PONTIAC @Manchild Manor/The Asylum June 17

Lookin' for some Free Jazz / Noise to fill your face and ears with joy? On Monday June 17, Tiger Hatchery is playing JUST THAT VERY THING alongside Phemale, Jon Eriksen and Human Pontiac at Manchild Manor/The Asylum in New Haven.

Keith Fullerton Whitman at Firehouse 12

There is no quick way to sum up Keith Fullerton Whitman. He is a ridiculously prolific artist, with recordings, performances, collaborations, as well as an intensely motivated music-geekdom that has taken him around the world. Chances are even if you're half-interested in experimental electronic music, laptop improv, noise, drill n bass, or you have come across Mimaroglu Music Sales, you've heard something by Keith Fullerton Whitman. His performance at Firehouse 12 will be introduce by a talk (free ticket required). A big thanks to all that helped make this come together.

Willimantic Records Birthday Party with Damon & Naomi, Tarp, Colorguard, and MORE on 2/10

One more trip around the sun for Willimantic Records. They're celebrating their birthday with a killer show featuring Damon & Naomi from Galaxie 500!

Fins - Lawnmower

The rolling hills of New Milford are set a blaze with the mighty noise of Fins. John Lydon, Scott Bowers-Defino, and Nate Sadowski are Fins, a band formed in the wake of several lauded experimental-music endeavors. Lawnmower is a four song EP that introduces us to them with high fives instead of clammy handshakes. Where noise rock can get a little pretentious, the tunes on Lawnmower cut through with garage concrete gusto, emboldening with zero traces of standoffishness. Spirit is really what sets Fins apart from other fuzz peddlers. Scary spirits that slam doors and break your stuff.

Reckless abandon propels "Foxfires" forward, with buried hooks and vocals screamed like a British man, standing in the rain, outside the house where he used to live. Brash surf-punk is brandished by sunny percussive entropy and wet reverb. "Lawnmower," the song, is a start and stop descent into a funnel with no light, where sonic-waves of melodious guitars strive to contend with near and pure dissonant harmonization. "Hags" really brings back that surf-heavy-on the punk-sound, with a lo-fi pizzazz that rounds off with arm and arm shouting. "Hold" has an urgent, straight forward attack that comes close to something one might find in the hardcore section. This aggression was concealed all along, but only beneath the surface.

No time is wasted on Lawnmower, and you never really get to catch your breath. Barely any of the tracks break the two and a half minute mark, so you better live in it while you got it. Fins are about having fun and playing high-volume, drink-spilling-music, which will certainly get the cops called to your house party. This fall will see Fins embarking on an East Coast tour, so pay attention for dates.


(Edited by J. Chance)

Sound Hall: Chris Corsano, Bill Orcutt, Bontrager/Labbe Duo on 9/2

Sound Hall is bringing a legendary set of performers to New Haven on 9/2 with avant-garde drummer Chris Corsano, Harry Pussy's Bill Orcutt and locals Nathan Bontrager/Jason Labbe as a duo. DJ Shaki will also be spinning!

Jon Eriksen / Aaron Novik / Ava Mendoza / Phemale @ InterCambio 7/21

InterCambio has a great noise show for you tomorrow night! Jon Eriksen is joined by Aaron Novik, Ava Mendoza and Phemale for a night your ears wont soon forget!

Greyglitch - Texas vs. Texas

**Warning, not mastered very well. Listen at a reasonable volume**

GreyGlitch hales from the mean streets of Lebonon, Conn. The devistated landscape is reflected in their music. But seriouslly... Greyglitch's sophomore album "Texas vs. Texas," great name, is an neat peice of glitch-electronic. Disjointed and abrasive, one finds them selves enveloped in a sphere of schizophrenic-mania. Utilizing distortion, delay, and circuit-bent Goodwill toys the band demonstrates a artiful control over chaos, something many experimental/noise artists lack. My only problem is the bands name "Greyglitch..." come on guys... lets try harder :). Nevertheless, their music is great, if you are into noisy electronics. Check them out---they'll blow your speakers a new one.

Joshua Burkett, with Foole's Pewtr, Baseball Camp Nurse - March 18th

Location:
Willimantic Records
744 Main Street (entrance in the back)
Willimantic, CT
phone: (860) 450-7000

This is the first art exhibition for Willimantic Records, Connecticut's new used record shop. On Sunday, March 18th, from 4PM to 7PM, Joshua Burkett (owner of Mystery Train Records), will perform. Josh might play solo, or be playing with Conrad Capistran as Tarp or as a member of Frozen Corn.

Vampire Belt, Jon Eriksen, DJ set by Shaki

from the Vampire Belt/Magik Markers 2008 split on Not Not Fun Records

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Location:
Popeye's Garage
50 Goffe Street
New Haven, CT

All Ages - 7PM - $8 dollars


Vampire Belt: Merciless free scene duo Chris Corsano and Bill Nace.



Jon Eriksen is a visual artist / noise-ician.



Shaki spins you in.


Vampire Belt times 6=

Aug 8 at Problem House in Allston, MA. With Keith Fullerton Whitman, Duck That, Keiichi Hashimoto.
Aug 9 at Gallery X in New Bedford, MA. 169 William St.
Aug 10 at Heldeberg House in Albany, NY. With Burnt Hills.
Aug 11 at The Stone in NYC. 8pm.
Vampire Belt / Evans-Corsano Duo - Aug 12 at Highwire Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. With Michael Evans solo, Julius Masri.
Aug 13 at Popeye's Garage in New Haven, CT. All Ages. $7. With Jon Eriksen, DJ set by Shaki.
Aug 14 at Flywheel in Easthampton, MA. 8pm. $6. With Big Nils, Matt Krefting.

Paul Flaherty & Bill Nace, The Mountain Movers, Oxbow Lake

Friday, July 15, 2011, Indie Night @ the Oak presented by CT Indie

Location:
Charter Oak Cultural Center
21 Charter Oak Ave
Hartford, CT

All Ages - 8 PM - $6 or only $5 w/ a canned good donation for Hartford Food Not Bombs

FB Event page

A night that will melt your mind.

Free-reed wise man Paul Flaherty has been in the improv trenches for some four decades now. Equally powerful solo as he is in collaboration with likeminded free-scene jazz/noise instrumentalists, here he joins Bill Nace, extreme-guitar wizard. The duo was most recently documented by Jim Matus at Paranoise Studios in Hadley Mass. The LP, No, the sun is out on Open Mouth in a limited edition of 250. The duo also released the LP An Airless Field last year on Ecstatic Peace!. Both Flaherty and Nace have collaborated with legendary drummer Chris Corsano, with Flaherty in The Hated Music and Nace in Vampire Belt. Thurston Moore and Bill Nace, who play together in The Northampton Wools, joined Flaherty for an untitled CD in 2008, another Paranoise Studio recording, which has been called "Ferocious, killer, and loud as fuck."



Begun by Dan Greene (Butterflies of Love) and Rick Omonte (Crooked Hook/Shaki Presents), the psych-pop-jam-noise-folk of The Mountain Movers most recently grew into a three sided double-LP called Apple Mountain, their fourth full length, and second (first two LPs were on Safety Meeting Records) on their very own Car Crash Avoiders label. John Miller helped in the creation of Apple Mountain, but The Movers are now backed by Kryssi Battalene on lead, Ross Menze on drums. Kryssi fondly calls this current rhythm section the Rick Ross. The cassette EPs Get Out and Come In came out a few months ago, collections of lo-fi freak outs and "drinking songs" put together on the 8 track in Dan's garage.



Oxbow Lake, an avant-garde trio consisting of Stephen Haynes (horns), Charlie Dye (drums), and Matt Sargent (guitars). Haynes is an improv composer, a product of the Black Music Division at Bennington College. He has worked with Rhys Chatham, Cecil Taylor and the Dells to name only a few. Charlie Dye plays drums in several projects, including Sunspots, Mary of Egypt (Indie Rock/Avant-Garde), Andy Akiho (Contemporary Classical meets Soca with Steel Pan, Harp and Strings), Trio Schema (Free Improvisation) and Basecadet (Southern Metal Ska Rock). Matt Sargent is a musician from Hartford, CT, by way of Chesapeake Bay. Since 2007, he has directed the Hartford Sound Alliance, a CT-based performer/composer ensemble. Matt currently holds a Presidential Fellowship at SUNY Buffalo, where he will begin a PhD in Music Composition in Fall 2011.

Oxbow Lake at La Paloma (4.29.11) by mattsargent

Last Show At The New Hawaii

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Wish I had a pic of the Cease and Desist order from the liner notes of Depression Era Music

Location:
The New Hawaii
139 South End Rd
Southington, CT

8:00 PM - Donations welcome, especially for the touring bands


florida=death (last show in ct? fuck that)
Fat History Month Allston / Boston
Ugh God - Philly
Da Comrade - Philly
Graph - Northampton

Pissed Jeans, Japanther, Unstoppable Death Machines, The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Family of Deers

Saturday, April 9, 2011, WHUS presents:

Location:
UCONN Hillel (Sponsored by 91.7FM WHUS, whus.org)
54 N. Eagleville Rd
Storrs, CT

Facebook event page

6:30pm - FREE for UConn Students, $5 for non-students

from Sub Pop:
King of Jeans. The title of Pissed Jeans’ third album and second for Sub Pop conjures their essence perfectly—masters of the mundane, beasts of the banal, high priests of the humdrum. These four, white, male high school graduates hardly look further than their own appendages for artistic inspiration, content to execute their own brand of brash and heavy punk music in the Joe Carducci-approved standard rock formation of guitar, bass, drums and vocals. From simple minds and simple fabrics comes this King of Jeans, perhaps also a slight nod to the variety of Pissed Jeans-inspired groups that have crawled up since 2007’s Hope for Men. After all, there can be only one.

It’s also worth noting that this is the first record that bassist Randy Huth has played on, he of both Drag City recording artists Pearls & Brass and Randall of Nazareth. A close friend of guitarist Bradley Fry and singer Matt Korvette since high school, his full-time Jeans status has helped to complete Pissed Jeans’ take on the cumulative efforts of all heavy guitar-based music of the past four decades. Drummer Sean McGuinness appreciates the random packets of opium he shares at band practice, too.

So here it is: King of Jeans. Expect to see these Jeans on the road for a good part of 2009 and 2010, as previous shows have paired them with acts as oddly fitting as Om, Black Dice, Flipper, Boris, Harvey Milk, Mudhoney, and hell, they even played with Sage Francis once. When that long hairy arm starts for your face, I recommend you take a good bite. —Brian Duane, 2009



band bio - with quotes from Vanity Fair and Thrasher (kinda funny):
Described as a “Performance Galaxy” by Vanity Fair and “Super hard, incredibly fast and overall inspiring” by Thrasher, Japanther (www.japanther.com) has always been a band apart, running the gamut from performance art to punk rock and back again. Pushing parties to the limit and only stopping short of riots, Japanther returns in 2010 with new member Anita Sparrows (The Soviettes) and Rock ‘n’ Roll Ice Cream (Menlo Park Recordings, March 2). Says Ian Vanek, “We met Miss Sparrows on Christmas Eve in San Pedro and formed an instant bond. She is family to us and making music with her is just a part of it.” With Sparrows on board, Vanek and Matt Reilly flew to Los Angeles to work with producer Michael Blum, whose past projects with Michael Jackson, Madonna (Like a Prayer, Who’s That Girl), Pink Floyd and Suicidal Tendencies seemed a daring fit for Rock ‘n’ Roll Ice Cream, an album envisioned by Japanther as a dance party–– and all the kids are invited. “Telephone mics? Really?” exclaimed Michael as the group began what was to become a near-perfect expression of an underground sound. Continuing Japanther’s established habit of collaborating with inspiring icons from every scene, legendary poet Eileen Myles (Cool For You, Chelsea Girls) appears on two astonishing tracks.



band bio:
Unstoppable Death Machines are a blown-out distorto-punk-rock freak-show bass and drum explosion from Brooklyn via Queens. Formed by brothers Billy [drums] and Mike [bass] in 2008, the tandem has jarred DIY venues, rooftops, lofts, sweaty warehouse parties, and art galleries—including two hometown performances at the Queens Museum of Art Biennial Celebration—with their brand of bombastic noise punk.



from Spinner.com:
The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt is a visual performance, soul- infused party band started in 2005 by college classmates Neil Fridd and Jesse Cooper Levy in New Paltz, New York. Their show consists of lights, costumes (e.g. a suit of stuffed animals), loud party music and audience participation.




Family of Deers bluesy/jammy rock UConn-based band with a dash of jazz.

Interview with Nick Reinhart from Tera Melos!

Interview by Monica Lyons and John Kritzman / photo by Kritzman. Also check out their show review here!

Monica and I managed to catch up with Nick Reinhart from Tera Melos this past weekend as the band made their way through Danbury in the middle of a month long road stand across the US. The band is fresh off of the release of their latest EP, Zoo Weather, which came out Feburary 22nd, and their full length, Patagonian Rats which came out at the end of summer last year.

Monica: So you guys just released an EP, can you give us a little background and how it turned out?

Nick: The EP is three songs that didn't make it onto our album [Patagonian Rats]. Actually, they’re on the vinyl LP, the side D. We feel like they didn't actually belong on the record. We had initially planned to release an EP prior to the full length but it just didn't work out, so we decided to release it afterward. We were gonna do it as a digital release only but then we're like 'oh well a tape will be cool, to have a physical item, and we can sell it for pretty cheap too.' It's kinda like a neat little souvenir, I don't know how many people still listen to tapes, but it's kind of a cool thing. So, it's three songs that didn't make it onto the album and three remixes of one of the songs on the album, and we're really happy with it. It would actually be pretty cool to melt it into like a little sculpture.

M: It's funny how tapes are coming back.

N: Yeah they are, a lot of people are doing that these days. The coolest thing about it is that they're cheap to manufacture and you can just throw a download card with it. So instead of just selling a download card, you're selling a physical cool little piece of art. Actually I think melting down is really cool. I'd be interested in doing that, maybe I'll do that tonight with a lighter or something.

M: So you're on tour with Marnie Stern, how's that been going?

N: It's really good, I think our bands match really well together. We met her a few years ago at SXSW and we had always talked about playing together but our schedules didn't line up properly, so this finally got put together a few months ago and were really excited to do it with her. I feel like there’s a big crossover between both our bands as far as fan base goes, and the people who haven’t heard of her that are into our band, and vice-versa, are really stoked on the bands. In fact, the other night some kids had never heard of Marnie Stern and I was like 'dude stick around and watch her, you’re gonna like her,' and they ended up staying and really really liked it. I think it's really appropriate and we're having a really good time. 


John: It's good to see you guys finally got out your first full length album, how do you feel it came out?

N: I think what we just did with Patagonian Rats is what we've been trying to do since the beginning of our band, but it takes a long time to get good. Maybe we didn't know what we were trying to get good at or it wasn't in front of our faces. I think we finally got good at what we were trying to achieve. Now it's the question of, well we can keep progressing with that or we can just flip it and do any of these different ideas because our band will always progress and do new things that interest us. I'm not really sure what the next step will be but for all I know it'll be just going further down the middle of Patagonian Rats, however that could be classified, making more like weirdo pop songs that are freaked out. Again, it can go in any direction, I'm not really sure what.

J: So it seems like you guys finally found your sound instead of jumping from sound to sound like you did in the first few EP's.

N: I agree, just like anything it takes hours. Have you heard of that Malcolm Gladwell book? It's about what it takes to be truly great at something. I can't quote it exactly but he hypothesizes that it takes something like 10,000 hours of practice to be truly great at what you're trying to accomplish. This is what related to me about the book, that before The Beatles had ever recorded a note or made an album, a lot of people didn't realize that they had already been playing and performing in German Strip clubs and all this stuff, and they had completed their 10,000 hours, or at least more than broken. He scientifically breaks it down with basketball players and scientists and other stuff, where it's like to get truly awesome at your goal, you got to put in your 10,000 hours otherwise it's just practice. I kinda feel like we can relate to that thought.

J: You guys writing more any time soon?

N: I started toying around with new ideas before we left, demoing some songs. But, I'm not really sure what we really wanna do next in terms of doing an EP, a full length, a split or anything, not only that but what sort of vibe we want to give our next collection of songs. There’s a lot of ideas we have, where as Patagonian Rats was our last record and was sort of neutral or right in the middle of the spectrum of our band. Part of me really wants to go more in that direction of songs like Frozen Zoo and Manar the Magic and kinda break it down, even more but keep it tweaked and weird, but then the other half of me and the band were really interested in going even further in the opposite direction of less accessible more fucked up and strange and faster, with thousands and thousands of notes and stuff. I don't really know what we'll do, but it kind of seems neat to do a really, really aggressive record, and then do a really like, not minimal album, but maybe more sample based, but still really out there. It's hard to describe. I guess I couldn’t even really articulate it with words until it was done.

Show Review: Tera Melos, Marnie Stern and Fugue @ Heirloom Arts

Lovely Marnie

Words: Monica Lyons
Pics: John Kritzman Full set of photos here!

On Saturday, March 5th, 2011, the Heirloom Arts Theater presented an impressive lineup of performances by Fugue, Tera Melos, and Marnie Stern. I had never been to the Heirloom Arts Theater after it was renovated from what used to be the Empress Ballroom, a raunchy, all-ages venue holding shows from ska showcases to the pits of CT hardcore. I’m not knocking the Empress Ballroom, as it definitely allowed for a non-discriminatory holding place for Connecticut scenesters, myself included. However, walking through its familiar doors, I was impressed with its cleanliness and modern renovations. It appears as though the Empress Ballroom has matured into a more professional and structural venue, promoting itself as "Danbury’s cultural and artistic alternative."

It took a while for people to show up, but eventually there was a pretty good crowd going. Fugue had already set up on the floor of the venue instead of on the towering stage, which was a good move on their behalf. Everyone was able to gather almost in a circle around the band as the lights cut out and a green spotlight engulfed the band. I have seen Fugue a couple times before but their creative energy never ceases to amaze me. Their sharp synchronization consumes the room, ranging from powerfully fast-paced to melodic and smooth. They create their own sound of rock-jazz fusion, even incorporating a new element into one of their songs that night that I had never seen before. Fugue’s sorcerer, Mike DiCrescenzo, took out a lighter and brought its flame toward an optical theremin, which produced an eerie, ghostly sound, complimenting their unique sound. Fugue also manipulates the use of movie clips into their songs before flowing into an array of rhythmic melodies. After some minor difficulties, in which some people were nice enough to offer up their own capos, they ended their performance with a new song. Fugue is currently recording new material to be released in the summer, which I’m sure won’t disappoint.

Fugue light it up

Tera Melos took to the stage for a sound check as the second performance of the night. It was uncomfortable looking almost straight up at the band during their performance, but maybe I’m just not used being so close up to bands on such tall stages. Despite the initial disconnection of height difference, Tera Melos expelled their energy onto the crowd and brought them to their level. The California native band pushes the limits of what is math rock and twists it to produce something completely new and outside the box. Complemented by the use of effect pedals and samplers, Tera Melos brings wildly quick and creative rhythms and abstract dynamics that flow in and out of each other, creating a completed puzzle of songs. They’re anything but traditional with their odd song structures, smooth vocals, and intangible melodic brilliance. The band played a lot of songs off their latest album, Patagonian Rats, as well as new material from their recently released EP, Zoo Weather. Tera Melos seemed truly confident during their performance, in which guitarist Nick Reinhart commented on their current standing: "Maybe we didn’t know what we were trying to get good at, or it wasn’t in front of our faces, but I think we finally got good at what we’re trying to achieve." Tera Melos delivered a captivating performance that night through their artistic ambiance and refreshingly different sound. At the end of the set, Reinhart brought his guitar toward his face as bassist Nathan Latona dropped his bass to the ground, reverb still echoing throughout the stage.

Tera Melos shred face

Marnie Stern, who has been on tour with Tera Melos since February, took to the stage for the last performance of the night. It was disappointing that a large portion of the crowd left after Tera Melos performed and didn’t even give her a chance to showcase her talent. I had read about the female songwriter and guitarist’s acclaimed finger tapping skills and was really curious to see what it was all about. Marnie Stern was literally shredding up on stage as her nimble fingers effortlessly tapped individual notes up and down the neck of her guitar. This is especially prominent in her performance of the song Transformer. Her constant smiling and graceful appearance almost made this technique look easy. Marnie Stern’s soft, playful conversation with her bassist came as opposite to her strong vocals and wide range of pitch, which synced up immaculately to the rapid riffs of her guitar. Her style is appealing and unique, incorporating genres such as experimental and noise rock. Though her sound was somewhat random and piercing at times, Marnie Stern shows a sense of individualism which positively sets her apart from other female artists in the music scene. Fugue, Tera Melos, and Marnie Stern all incorporated their own distinctive sounds and uncommon flair to create a complementary and impressive lineup for the Heirloom Art’s Theaters new reputation. They certainly won me over.