Myles Boisen - Guitarspeak

Myles Boisen is a guitarist, composer, improvisor, and record producer/engineer, best known around the Bay Area for his twin-necked twanging in The Splatter Trio, as well as musical exploits with The Club Foot Orchestra. Over the past two decades Myles has performed with John Zorn, Rova Saxophone Quartet, John Tchicai, Nina Hagen, Eugene Chadbourne, Vinny Golia, Myra Melford, Glenn Spearman, Ralph Carney,Miya Masaoka, Malcolm Mooney, Eddie Marshall, and his own "Guitarspeak" ensembles.

In collaboration with guitarists Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser, Elliott Sharp, Robert Fripp, and others, he has developed a potent musical language that combines a wealth of traditional and contemporary styles, focusing particularly on prepared guitar technique and improvisation. Myles' discography numbers over 40 compact disc recordings, including his Guitarspeak disc, ten CDs with The Splatter Trio, and musical work for MTV, film director David Lynch, and CBS.

Guitarspeak consists of 28 improvisational and highly free-form compositions, some recorded with Fred Frith and the Splatter Trio, among others.

Downlaod it.

Buy it.

Frank Zappa - Cruising With Ruben & The Jets

"Is this the Mothers of Invention recording under a different name in a last-ditch attempt to get their cruddy music on the radio?" It didn't work, but who cares: This now stands as a much-loved, oddball item in the Mothers catalogue. Zappa's love for the '50s doo-wop style of early rock'n'roll was never much of a secret, and this collection of (just barely) original tunes was both a tribute and an affectionate sendup. As Zappa explained at the time, "We made it because we really like this kind of music."

After placing doo-wop homages like 'Wowie Zowie" on earlier Mothers albums, Zappa went all the way with silly gems like "Cheap Thrills" and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop," with the original Mothers in all their greasy splendor; while "How Could I Be Such a Fool" and "Stuff Up the Cracks" lampooned the melodrama of early rock ballads.

This is the original vinyl rip from '68 (I believe) its been reissues and remixed on CD, you can get it here.

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Trevor Dunn & Shelley Burgon - Brooklyn 2005

You may notice that this CD does not have a title but in fact it is metaphysically titled "How Far Is Far?" But you don't really need to know that. What you do need to know is that this is a self-produced improv recording and I'm really proud of it.
Fifteen completely acoustic tracks.
---Trevor Dunn

This unique, totally acoustic duo of bass and harp have been a part of the downtown music scene in Euphonic Productions presents: Trevor Dunn & Shelley Burgon plus special guests Lie & SwellNew York City since 2001, playing venues such as Tonic, Barbes, The Issue Project Room andThe Brooklyn Conservatory. Their repertoire consists of both strictly notated compositions as well as purely improvised music---a repertoire that walks the line between chamber music and extended technique. Utilizing instruments that are typically buried by thick orchestration, Burgon and Dunn make the most of their distinct setting by exploring subtle and sometimes barely audible properties of sound. Their dynamic range is as vast as their sonic palette. Between haunting, minor melodies one may hear bass strings played with mallets and harp strings pummeled with a metal rod.

"Wavering between patient meditation and maniacal catharsis Dunn and Burgon mine the narrow fissure between pure improvisation and through-composed chamber music, slashing at the extreme interplay between steel, string and wood. Strings are beaten or jimmied with clothespins, the harp alternately caressed and throttled. The sonic equivalent of a Joseph Cornell box, the duo has a haunting, cinematic quality that is both staggeringly complex and achingly beautiful."
- Tim Duroche, Willamette Week, Portland, OR

Shelley Burgon - pedal harp: Originally from San Francisco Shelley relocated to New York in 2002. Since her move Shelley has performed with John Zorn (Music for films by Joseph Cornell),a quartet with Chris Speed, Ikue Mori and Skuli Sverrisson, Tin Hat Trio, Marina Rosenfeld and Raz Mesanai. In November 2003 she was a part of the Ravished Limbs Improvised Music Festival where she shared the stage with Jim Black and Okkyung Lee.

Shelley has recorded and performed with the following projects; Eyvind Kang's early music project of Atalanta Fugiens by Michael Maier, a quintet interpreting the American Jazz Songbook with saxophonist Jackson Moore and trumpeter Nate Wooley, and in a large ensemble of downtown New York musicians led by drummer Kenny Wolleson with music by various living composers and conduction by Butch Morris.

Trevor Dunn - contrabass: Trevor Dunn known for his involvement in avant-rock bands Mr. Bungle and Fantomas, has recently been playing with John Zorn's Electric Masada, David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness, Susie Ibarra, Marc Ribot and Jenny Scheinman. He can be heard on over forty recordings including his own Trio-Convulsant whose new CD "Sister Phanom Owl Fish" was released on Ipecac Recordings in July, 2004.

Download it.

Buy it direct from Trevor Dunn.

The Brownstars - Four Song Demo (Earth Crisis)

Here is the story. Sometime in the mid-90's the then member's of Earth Crisis decided to start recording a raunchy joke band called The Brownstars. All the songs were about shit, farts, vagina's and just being assholes. The line-up consisted of Kris Weichmann (Earth Crisis, Soulstice), Zebb Weichmann (Kris's brother), Ian Edwards (Earth Crisis), Kris Fuller (Soulstice), and possibly Eric Edwards (Earth Crisis, Cross Section) but I'm not 100% positive on how far his participation went (memory is shot these days)

It started by just them crashing shows locally in Syracuse and causing trouble. One show in particular, they pretty much destroyed most of the equipment and stage, Pete Speilmann then got on stage completely naked with a giant brown star painted on his ass and shot some sort of roman candle/ sparkler out of his asshole.

After about 3 shows, they were completely blacklisted across town. So they decided to start booking themselves under the fake name, Beerfest. With a name like that, they would get onto shitty local blues cover band bills and bad battle of the bands events. They would wear disguises so noone would know who they were until they would hit the stage, and declare that they in fact were the Brownstars. After that, fights would break out, cops would be called and alot of shit would get destroyed. Before ending the joke, they decided to quickly record a 4 song demo.

After the demo was recorded, only about 5-6 copies had been floating around, but the non participating members of Earth Crisis DID NOT want this demo to get out, it would ruin their repuation of being a serious , ultra militant group and show the world that they had a sense of humor. The dmeo was quickly swept under the rug not to be mentioned outside of close friends after that. This demo in fact was the skeleton in the Earth Crisis closet.

After rummaging through some old boxes in storage over the holidays, I unearthed a copy of this demo tape and decided to have it converted to MP3 for all to enjoy. I'm sure enough time is passed that anyone involved would not care and could actually laugh at this shit. Don't expect anything talented or good, just totally retarded fun and complete trash, you'll get a good laugh out of it and hell, consider it archival material.

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Former Earth Crisis member:
Yeah this happened after Earth Crisis flipped their van and Dennis was hospitalized. It's also when they recorded the first Path album, because EC was on hiatus for at least 6 months.

They played a coffee house once on open mic night, except it was acoustic. Zabb was going up to people at their tables and yelling, "You're face smells like a fart face!" So they got kicked out of a coffee house as well as every other venue you can imagine in Syracuse.

Back then, they wanted to keep it under the lid that anyone in EC was in the band, but I honestly don't think anyone gives a shit now. The most remarkabnle thing is that these songs were written on the fly. Like all their songs were written in a few weeks. The music on this demo is better than most serious music that was coming out the moshcore scene of the mid-90s, IMHO.

1. Fart Face
2. Stinky Pussy
3. Red Alert
4. Rob

Download it.

Minor Twang - Seein' Red, White, and Blue

I came across this on a message board a while back. Its a joke band some guys did, recording country western versions of Minor Threat songs. I was surprised that it's actually done pretty well and I've wound up listening to it a lot more than I ever thought I would.

Tracks
1. Straight Edge
2. Guilty of Being White
3. I Don't Wanna Hear It
4. Out of Step
5. Minor Threat

Get it.

German Oak - German Oak

A free form rock band founded by a small community of 5 German hippies / "avant garde" artists back at the beginning of the 70's. Their self title effort was recorded in 1972 in a WWII air raid bunker. The cover of their self title album (a militaristic image which is a portrait of the third Reich military force) provides an illustration of anger expressed by the WWII’s young generation against their parents. By consequence German Oak's music is very tortured, dark and weird, dominated by heavy, "distorted" guitar solos & rhythms. The background creates "painful" & "ambient" sequences thanks to delay echoes, electronic "fuzzy" noises & repetitive bass lines. A funkadelic/jazzy felt punctuates with discretion this grandiose, "creepy" instrumental album. A first CD reissue was offered by Witch And Warlock in 1991. Today this album is re-edited by Radioactive records (2005). In a rather discretion they also released the moody, cloudy and experimental epic-kraut "Niebenlungenieg" (1972)

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In the strange Olympic summer of 1972, the Dusseldorf instrumental group German Oak entered the Luftschutzbunker, or Air Raid Shelter, in order to record their eponymous first LP. Following in the footsteps of the percussive and organic Organisation and the remarkable Dom, German Oak had every reason to believe that this 3rd LP to be recorded by a Dusseldorf band would be warmly received. Unfortunately, German Oak were not only wrong in their assumptions that locals would embrace their music, but even local record shops rejected all the group's attempts to sell the albums in city outlets. Such was their lack of success that 202 of the original 213 copies were stored in the basement of the group's organist until the mid-1980s, when a thirst for undiscovered Krautrock finally brought German Oak back from the dead.

This is the original 1972 vinyl rip. This has been reissued with some bonus tracks but I don't think that is available anymore either.

Download it.

xBrainiax - Lightspeed & The Empire Blasts Back demos

Michigan's XBRAINIAX have created a brilliant, angry, and somewhat nerdy fast hardcore/violence sound, akin to if NEOS or LARM sat down and listened to classic powerviolence and threw in more metallic guitars

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XBRAINIAX kick down a second round of their brand of A.D.D fastcore assault, with crazy time changes, rapid-fire vocals, and songs that clock in around 30 seconds.

Another one of my favorite power violence bands

Two 10 song Star Wars themed cassette demos by xBrainiax that maybe clock in about 5-6 minutes combined. One has a No Comment cover and the other has an Infest cover.

Download them.

They have a ton of releases in print but these are gone. email chaosnonmusica(at)gmail.com for info.

or check out www.myspace.com/xbrainiax

Tumor Feast - Clowed & Suicide demos

I had a zine for a while with a great description of these guys but I can't find it now.

Tumor Feast is my favorite local band and have been for a while. Cincinnati power violence/grindcore. They've been around for a while but pretty much produce nothing. They play a couple shows a year that are ridiculous, most of the time they talk and bullshit around because they only have like 7 minutes of material.

The sound is complete Crossed Out worship. The recordings are great for being demos. The riffs are simple but cool and the drummer is retarded fast and plays hard as hell.

2 demos, the Clowned cassette and the Suicide CDr. Clowned is 16 songs in about 3 minutes, Suicide is 4 in about 2 minutes. Its a small file check it out.





Downlaod it.

These demos are all gone as far as I know, but they appear on the 625 Thrash comp Trapped in the Scene and have been saying for about 2 years they have a 7" coming out on 625 as well.

John Zorn - The Big Gundown: The Music of Ennio Morricone

On this intriguing concept album, altoist John Zorn (who also "sings" and plays harpsichord, game calls, piano, and musical saw) utilizes an odd assortment of open-minded avant-garde players (with a couple of ringers) on nine themes originally written for Italian films by Ennio Morricone, plus his own "Tre Nel 5000." These often-radical interpretations (which Morricone endorsed) keep the melodies in mind while getting very adventurous. Among the musicians heard on the colorful and very eccentric set (which utilizes different personnel and instrumentation on each track) are guitarists Bill Frisell and Vernon Reid, percussionist Bobby Previte, keyboardist Anthony Coleman, altoist Tim Berne, pianist Wayne Horvitz, organist Big John Patton, and even Toots Thielemans on harmonica and whistling among many others. There are certainly no dull moments on this often-riotous program.
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'The Big Gundown' was released in 1986. In the beginning John Zorn didn't wanted to accept the project,that was suggested to him by producer Yale Evelev, because he thought that Morricone's music was already too perfect in itself. But fortunately, as Morricone was one of Zorn's major influences he couldn't resist the temptation.

Now, John Zorn takes Morricone's music, strips it down to the bone, keeps only the essential and builds it up again, not so much a record of covers as re-incarnations. Zorn appropriates Morricone's music to himself.

The most important factor for Zorn in preparing the project was the choice of musicians: which musician was best to play the sound(s) that Zorn had in mind for each chosen Morricone composition on the record. Each track contains a carefully crafted combination of musicians (from completely different fields of music : Jazz, Blues, Rock, Avant-Garde, Classics) to produce the desired effect. Instead of taking one group and give the whole record an unique sound, Zorn assembles the musicians like a puzzle, not twice the same combination of musicians and not two tracks with the same athmosphere, exactly like Morricone choose different types of music for different films.

The musical width on 'The Big Gundown' ranges from Free Jazz influenced nervrecking guitar sawing like in 'The Big Gundown',' Metamorfosi', 'Once Upon a Time' to erotic soul :'Erotico' with Big John Patton's great organ playing, the Japonese Music influenced 'Giu La Testa', to the delicate 'Poverty' with Toots Thielmans on whistling and harmonica playing. On the Bonus Tracks there is even a possible 'hit single': 'The Ballad of Hank Mc Cain' with Mike Patton on vocals.

A brillant re-interpretation of Morricone classics.

This is the original 1986 version with 10 tracks, I unfortunately don't have the re-issue.

Download it here.
Buy the re-release with 6 bonus tracks here.

update

i'm still doing the blog. my computer is just all messed up so i haven't been able to update, but i will soon.

A Silver Mt. Zion - Horses In The Sky

A splinter group of popular post-rock ensemble Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion (or, as they are referred to here, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band) is comprised of GYBE guitarist/pianist/singer Efrim, bassist Thierry, violinist Sophie, and other guests. But whereas the band's previous albums sometimes sounded like replications of GYBE's layered, largely instrumental formula, HORSES IN THE SKY is a different kettle of fish altogether. Raw, stripped-down, and vocal-centered, Silver Mt. Zion's fourth album is hushed, mesmerizing, and deeply affecting.

The opening track, "God Bless Our Dead Marines," begins with Efrim's tortured, yelped vocals over pizzicato strings, before dropping into a shifting Balkan dance melody and a chain of surreal lyrics about politics, Nina Simone, and drug abuse. On "Mountains Made of Steam," a mournful vocal tag, that sounds like it might have come from some nightmarish version of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF gives way to a surging orchestral passage and a piercing rain of electric guitar notes, while the title track is all hushed acoustics. The combination of unique instrumentation, angular arrangements, and Efrim's elliptical lyrics and chilling singing makes HORSES IN THE SKY a distinctive and recommended listen.

Download it.

Buy it. also available on LP

NASA - Symphonies of the Planets - The Voyager Recordings Vol. 1, 4, 5

Possibly one of NASA's most avant-garde projects ever, SYMPHONIES OF THE PLANETS is a five-CD set that is now out of print. Put simply, it consists of recordings made by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 as they passed by the various planets and moons of our solar system. Although sound as we perceive it cannot travel in the vacuum of space, each planet and moon emits its own electromagnetic "signature" that can be picked up by the right instruments, and those emanations can be converted into sound and recorded onto compact discs for your listening enjoyment.

Of the five discs in the set, Volume 1 is my personal favorite, but all of them are definitely worth checking out. Each disc is only around 30 minutes long, but those 30 minutes are packed with cosmic ambience that is even more profound when you consider that no human artist composed this. Fans of Dr. Fiorella Terenzi's similar recordings of space will find this stuff to their liking, although a bit more "dark" and atmospheric than hers.

I only have volumes 1, 4 and 5 of this, I would up the rest if I had it. If anyone have volume 2 or 3 feel free to send it to me.

Download it.