nice pooper zine

Upcoming Awesomeness: ANTiSEEN, Limecell, Bad Vibes at the M Room Dec 10 2011

2011-12-05T07:20:00.004-05:00

Yep, the mighty ANTiSEEN make their way back to Hostile City USA in less than a week! The M Room with Limecell, the Bad Vibes, Scareho and Eat the Turnbuckle.

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 38: Leningrad Psychedelic Blues Machine - Dark Star (LA-054)

2011-11-27T21:07:00.005-05:00

Ok it looks like some old links are no longer valid, so here is a repost redux of Acid Mothers Sunday Vol. 3. This time, instead of just the title cut, here is the full cassette, also in FLAC. Kawabata, Nanjo, Tabata and Koizuma Hajime tackle the Grateful Dead's "Dark Star" and more. Needless to say, this is one of my favorite releases ever.

Leningrad Psychedelic Blues Machine - Dark Star FLAC

Leningrad Psychedelic Blues Machine - Dark Star mp3

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 37: La Musica Mystery Box Discs 1 and 9

2011-11-13T08:53:00.008-05:00

Ok, I am still having trouble figuring out what the hell this box set is. While I am fairly certain it is La Musica Tapes Vol. 3, I am really no closer to figuring out what is what. Here is the only description of the box I have been able to find online:

LMB 061-070 LA MUSICA TAPES vol.3/V.A.
This miracle box set is a comprehensive collection of roots of Japanese psychedelic beatniks
musicians since 50's. SAKAKI NANAO & NIPPONIA NIPPON / KUKURI GAKUDAN /
MENZAIFU / YAMASA / MANJI / HOLY ANGELS / BUZOKU / SUWANOSE
MANDALLA / KAMINARI AKAKARASUZOKU / JIYUH MINKEN.
Cult groups & their sects (who indeed desert from society & act underground without
relations from any scene) are introduced. Japanese representative psychedelic underground
musicians are fully gathered.
Studio & live recordings.
Limited edition of 50 copies.

Here is disc 9 from the box. I am posting this under the Acid Mothers Sunday banner just because... maybe Kawabata is on this? Plus, I posted the other disc under this, so... yeah, let's get as confusing as possible!

Anyways, on first listen this sounded a bit like Holy Angels, but I don't think it is. That said, not sure what this matches up to from the above (and of course there are 10 discs and 11 bands listed on the description). Regardless, the first track has some saxophone on it and sounds way spacey. The second track is a little more free jazz spazz and sounds Kawabata to me.

If you have any ideas about this stuff, please leave comments! Thanks!

La Musica Mystery Box Disc 9

I decided to add disc one as well. This one is all over the place, murky tribal psych, birds chirping, chopped and screwed vocals, violins or something... doesn't really sound like one group. All the more perplexing with Nanjo's habit of putting different groups on one CDr. Help!

La Musica Mystery Box Disc One

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 36: Mainliner Live July 17 1999

2011-10-30T08:43:00.003-04:00

Yep, close to Halloween, so why not feature some more live Mainliner, this time from Chicago's Empty Bottle, July 17 1999. Seems this is from the Ruins/Mainliner/Toho Sara/Splendor Mystic Solis tour of that year (did it make it to Philly?). Recording sounds fucking awesome, great mix. Of course it is not the total in-the-red house fire of the studio recordings, so that part of the Mainliner deal is missing, but Kawabata's guitar is nice and high in the mix, so commence the leveling!

Anyway, I assume this is the touring trio of Nanjo Asahito on bass and vocals, Kawabata Makoto on guitar and Yoshida Tatsuya on drums. Not sure if this was ever put out in one of those 10 CD box sets on La Musica, but it is safe to assume that it was.

Man, I love Kawabata's "bluesy" playing during "Ride Blue." Fuck yeah. And yeah, "Black Sky" is still the urrrrrh riff of inverted doom. Or somethin' tss tss.

Mainliner Live July 17 1999
1. Tsukisasaru
2. Attack
3. Static
4. Ride Blue
5. Black Sky

FLAC

256 mp3

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 35: NipponiaNippon & Sakaki Nanao (?)

2011-10-16T08:21:00.008-04:00

As I mentioned in the previous post I recently dug out some CDrs and cassettes I haven't checked out in ages. One of finds is a 10 CDr La Musica box I traded for around the millennium. Unfortunately I am not sure what it is exactly, the CDrs are only labeled by number, no info sheets, group names, etc. Nor do I recall who I traded with for this one.

All of the evidence points to La Musica Tapes Vol. 3. Here is a rundown on it:

LMB 061-070 LA MUSICA TAPES vol.3/V.A.
This miracle box set is a comprehensive collection of roots of Japanese psychedelic beatniks musicians since 50's. SAKAKI NANAO & NIPPONIA NIPPON / KUKURI GAKUDAN /
MENZAIFU / YAMASA / MANJI / HOLY ANGELS / BUZOKU / SUWANOSE
MANDALLA / KAMINARI AKAKARASUZOKU / JIYUH MINKEN.
Cult groups & their sects (who indeed desert from society & act underground without
relations from any scene) are introduced. Japanese representative psychedelic underground musicians are fully gathered. Studio & live recordings. Limited edition of 50 copies.

I honestly can't be 100% sure this is the same as the 10 unlabeled CDrs I found, but all things point that way. Some of the recordings are very professional studio sounding and kinda commercial and some are live bootleggy sounding jams. Quite the variety. Since this is the return of Acid Mothers Sunday, it is only fitting to post the one disc (labeled disc 8 on the discs I have) I am fairly certain on, as it contains guest guitar from Makoto Kawabata. Pretty sure this is the NipponiaNippon & Sakaki Nanao disc from La Musica Tapes Vol. 3. The droning sound is very similar to the other NipponiaNippon I have heard. Lots of spaced out, echo'd percussion and stringed instruments with some Japanese spoken word over top, which I assume is poet Sakaki Nanao. Here is some info from Kawabata's web site:

Forms the improv group NIPPONIANIPPON with Yokoyama Mabo and other musicians with links to the Japanese beatnik scene. The group plays mainly outdoors and at temples. They also perform with Japanese beat poet Nanao Sakaki.

And here is some info on the cassette they released:

Collaboration between Japan's only beat poet Nanao Sakaki, and the beatnik improvisation group Nipponianippon. A collection of hymns to the unverse, giving thanks to all the gods for earth, sun, sea, the cosmos.

Not sure if this was released in any other fashion, but this one is two tracks, one clocks in at 20 minutes, the other around 10. Anyway, lots of deep psych and mystical mysticalness. Enjoy! I will be posting some other discs from this box for help identifying. If anyone has this box and knows more about it, please get in touch or leave comments. Definitely get in touch if you have the info sheets that came with La Musica Tapes Vol 3, of if you think this is another La Musica Box, lemme know!

La Musica Mystery Box - Disc 8 - NipponiaNippon & Sakaki Nanao

And for our European friends, don't forget to check out Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO's current tour here!

Psychedelic Crazy Horse - Short Cuts (cassette)

2011-10-10T22:50:00.008-04:00

Re-found a bunch of CDrs and cassettes recently and found this little gem from the late 90s Tokyko underground. Eric laid this on me after the XplanetbethX year plus tour of Japan. Thanks, man! A goofy trio with an amazingly great name, Psychedelic Crazy Horse turn out to sound nothing like Neil Young's best band. Their improv spazz tunes kinda remind me of Caroliner for some reason. Has to be that fake boulder bass or something, because the frenzied guitar isn't very dayglo. I remember the name popping up in various zines around the mid to late 90s and finally hearing this self released cassette (direct from Japan!) during those heady days of Japanese psych discovery I was a bit taken aback at the free-ness. A tad more Ruins than Marble Sheep, but still occupying a very individual space. Not sure whatever happened to the band, not much online about them, though Mason Jones' Ongakublog does have some info on this release. They were on some of the later Tokyo Flashback comps, but that is about it. Here is Raw Pogo on this cassette:

for all the PSF label fanatics, this is an obvious must. Awesome psych guitar that just soars. A bass so slippery you’d start doing the invisible beachball dance like a dead head too, and jazzy drums. Jamming improvisations and songs that start to fall apart from the spaciness just like MOSS ICON did. In fact if this were given to me with out info, I would have guessed it was recorded in 1988 during The Summer Of Beads, at some secret fire hall show in Virginia or Maryland or Eastern PA, with MOSS ICON, THE UPTOWN BONES, THE TAR BABIES, DIE KRUEZEN ’88, DINOSAUR, SHUDDER TO THINK and DAS DAMEN all on the bill. With lots of Birkenstocks and beads and sst shirts and pot and lenghthening hair. A show avoided like plague by all the hooded sweatshirt dorks and ‘posi’s, during that segregated summer. But alas these jams are from Tokyo clubs about as far removed from a hall show as you can possibly get. But if any of this review regurgitates any of yr secret history then youre welcome and we know what side you were on back then, and you have already sent the money for this fucking cassette right?

FLAC:

Short Cuts part 1

Short Cuts part 2

We Have Heaven and Shinji Masuko @ Good Weekend Oct 5 2011

2011-09-27T09:47:00.007-04:00

UPDATE: Great show, some video here:

High Rise Live March 15 2000 Khyber Pass, Philadelphia

2011-09-26T13:36:00.012-04:00

Been on a crazy High Rise kick lately for some reason. Sometimes nothing clears the brain like Narita's riff from "Ikon." Anyways, this one is from their only visit to the Khyber Pass as far as I can tell. I honestly don't remember that much of the show, just that they were loud as fuck and awesome and the Major Stars opened up. And that Nanjo had to put on his shades before he would pose for pics with us. It was the day before my birthday so I blame that for my hazy memory.

I am not sure who recorded this, etc. Kinda sounds like a soundboard. I traded for this not long after the actual show, but I see that it was also available on the High Rise Psychedelic Atmosphere Beatnik Tour 2000 CDR box set. Be sure to check out the awesome and informative Bleak Bliss blog, lots of High Rise, La Musica and more. I am not sure if the track list/recording is exactly the same as that found on the box set. The band at this time was Asahito Nanjo on bass and vocals, Munehiro Narita on guitar and Shimura Koji on drums.

Not sure what the exact track list is either, but here you go. I did these in FLAC format (3 parts) as it is a live recording and sounds pretty killer.

High Rise March 15 2000 Khyber Pass, Philadelphia Part One

Part 2

Part 3

1. Induced Depression
2. Ikon
3. Disallow
4. Psychedelic Speed Freaks
5. ?
6. ?
7. Right On (part 1)
8. Right On (part 2)
9. crowd noise
10. ?

Doodles - Disc One (PLDR-2001)

2011-09-19T19:00:00.009-04:00

Caught a great set the other night from Kawaguchi Masami's New Rock Syndicate at the Empty Space (Sept 14 2011) and picked up some CDrs after a nice brainwash. Two of 'em were on the Purifiva label and it jogged my memory about this awesome slice of pop psych, also on Purifiva. I don't know much about Doodles, but this is their first CD(r) and they wound up putting out a few more as well as having two songs on the landmark Night Gallery compilation on Alchemy Records. I know that Mischishita from LSD March was in the band in a later incarnation (or something), and the drummer on this release wound up playing with New Rock Syndicate as well as on that LSD Pond double CD on Archive.

Six songs of strummy psych with off key vocals and great guitar breaks. Gotta admit, it reminds a bit of 90s Philly's O Mighty Isis. Recorded live and in studio, released in 2001 I think? A CDr in a jewel case with color copy sleeves. I am sure I snagged this from Eclipse Records back around then. While not quite as intricate and deep as Angel N Heavy Syrup (who I am sure the description name checked), this is a cool batch of femme voiced Japanese basement psych pop kloud wrap. Enjoy!

Doodles - Disc One (Purifiva, PLDR-2001)

Kawabata & Pikachu USA Tour 2011

2011-04-17T16:36:00.005-04:00

On the heels of the current Acid Mothers Temple tour, Kawabata keeps on going with ex-Afrirampo and current Cosmic Inferno drummer Pikachu!

April 28 Oakland CA @ Disco Volante, 347 14th St.

April 29 San Francisco Ca @ Hemlock Tavern

April 30 Portland Or

May 01 Seattle Wa @ Josephine

May 02 Spokane Wa @ warehouse!

May 04 Minneapolis Mn, @ MeXXXa w/ lots

May 05 Iowa City, IA @ The Wherehouse

May 06 Chicago Il @ Rubens Palace

May 07 Detroit Mi @ Scrummage Fest w/ lots

May 08 Cleveland OH, Boo Box

May 09 Bard College @ SMOG w/ bubbly mommy gun, quiet hooves

May 10 Boston MA @ Yes Oui Si Gallery w/ bubbly mommy gun, quiet hooves

May 11 Brooklyn @ Monster Island (ToddP) w/ Prince Rama, bubbly mommy gun, quiet hooves

May 12 Brooklyn Ny @ Death by Audio w/ bubbly mommy gun, Alien whale (colin from usaisamonster), PC Worship, Guardian Alien (greg from liturgy), Perfect Bitch (brooklyn promoter band)

May 13 Philadelphia @ Marvelous Records w/ Dick Neff, bubbly mommy gun -- 208 S. 40th, byob

May 14 Baltimore Md @ Floristree w/ bubbly mommy gun, quiet hooves

May 15 Richmond Va @ Couch Heaven w/ caves caverns, articulate chewbacca

May 16 Chapel Hill @ Night Light w/ Clang Quartet and Three-Brained Robot

May 17 Athens ga @ Farm255 w/ bubbly mommy gun

May 18 Atlanta Ga @ 529 w/ bubbly mommy gun

May 19 Pensacola, FL via Balder- @ 720 Studios

May 20 New Orleans LA @ SIBERIA

May 21 Austin Tx..

May 22 Las Cruces @ house party

May 23 Albuquerque Nm @ The Kosmos w/ Tendorizer, Rainbow Pyramid Ensemble

May 24 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space w/ Wet Hair, Rene Hell

May 25 San Diego Ca

May 26 Los Angeles Ca @ women o crenshaw party

Here is some live stuff from the duo.

UPDATE: Here is the Oakland show.

Acid Mothers Temple Spring Tour: Philly and Baltimore

2011-04-16T17:18:00.011-04:00

Two great shows two days apart for me on this year's Space Ritual 2011 Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO tour, Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia (April 13) and the Ottobar in Baltimore (April 15). AMT spring tours are becoming as reliable as the Grateful Dead's spring tours of yore.

First up, the Philly show was a powerhouse. I rolled up with Trust Aquarian to a sold out Johnny Brenda's and greeted Hiroshi and Tsuyama and AMT's killer driver, Justin! I ducked out for a quick one hit smoke and ran into the Cosmic Commander of Wrestling and my pal Susannah for some babble and such before Acid Mothers took off. I was riding a wonderful mellow buzz with some Sly Fox porters and such, but as a short guy, I had to wander around the balcony waiting for a space to open up. The sound was fantastic and not being able to see the band really had my head spinning. This tour Tsuyama has been looping his vocals over and over for maximum psychedelic overdrive, and the sound man was spinning that shit all over the room, it felt like the throat singing was right behind my left ear. I dopeily turned around a few times, like "What?" At one point I thought I heard a tenor sax, but it was just Kawabata abusing his effects pedals. Whew!

The jams were great, very beefy, very intricate and totally over the top. A gorgeous version of long time fave "La Novia" was a highlight, with looped vocals, shimmering bass and then that monster guitar riff burn. Ah! Prophase Music is reissuing La Novia on vinyl soon, too. A classic!

A very long "Pink Lady Lemonade" with lots of peaks, Tsuyama going insane on the bass, super fast, super fuzzed. After that, the three note trance out of "Cometary Orbital Drive" and a riotous encore of "Dark Stars in the Dazzling Sky." The Philly crowd was all in, loving it. Lots of hippie dancing and old heads, plus the kids... and a dude I swear to god was a narc from a Dead show parking lot circa 1990. Yeah! One of the better AMT shows I have seen, everything seemed to come together and blast out like a big bang, insane! Unfortunately the live shots I took didn't come out. Alas. Some photos with Kawabata and a trip to the Shopzone and we were off for an easy ride home, the last sight of Johnny Brendas saw two folks laying down on the steps, wiped out!

Friday night, it was Trust's turn to drive to Baltimore. This time with me and Dana in tow. Friday night traffic to Baltimore? No problem. Wait... lots of problems. Alas, we got there too late to see Mopar Mountain Daredevils featuring Cotton Casino! Damn! Dana and I had some chocolate and rolled up to see a sweaty Bill from Mopar outside having a smoke. Argh! Great to see Bill and Cotton, but really bummed I missed the band. One of these days.

We grabbed some National Bohemians and cruised around the Ottobar and smoked and all that jazz, blabbed with some folks and got ready for AMT. Another great set, similar to Philly but a tad less energy. During "Pink Lady Lemonade" I ran into Philly ex-pat, John Boothman from Vibrolux, Gelcaps, etc. His new band, Tsarship Unicorn opened up the show, but we totally missed them. Damn! Great to see John, totally crazy surprise!

But the highlight for Baltimore was Cotton Casino playing with AMT for the first time since 2003 as far as I can tell. She joined them for a killer, long encore of "Dark Stars in the Dazzling Sky." I was geeking out like crazy, never thought I would see this and was happy to rush up front all zonked out and rock out! Cotton rules!! So much fun to see everyone so stoked, so happy.

More babble with the various AMT folks, and goodbyes and yet more merch and we were off for a Trust driven long ass drive back to PA. Thanks a million to Justin for hooking us up and such! AMT keep it going and keep it amazing, year in, year out. Go see them!

UPDATE: Thanks to king taper, Zapenguin, you can download these shows here (and be sure to read his hilarious and spot on reviews, too!):

April 13 2011 Philadelphia Johnny Brenda's

April 15 2011 Baltimore Ottobar

Acid Mothers Temple 2011 Tour, SF Show...

2011-03-29T16:03:00.003-04:00

Awesome, Thursday's AMT show in SF was uploaded to archive!

Here are the tour dates, just got the word that Mopar Mountain Daredevils (featuring ex-AMT vocalist Cotton Casino) are opening the Baltimore show:

Wed 03/23 @ Spaceland Los Angeles CA
Thu 03/24 @ Bottom of the Hill San Francisco CA
Sat 03/26 @ Doug Fir Lounge Portland OR
Sun 03/27 @ The Wild Buffalo Bellingham WA
Mon 03/28 @ Chop Suey Seattle WA
Tue 03/29 @ Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver BC
Thu 03/31 @ Broken City Calgary AB
Fri 04/01 @ The Badlander Missoula MT
Sat 04/02 @ Urban Lounge Salt Lake City UT
Sun 04/03 @ Larimer Lounge Denver CO
Mon 04/04 @ Bourbon Theatre Lincoln NE
Tue 04/05 @ 7th Street Entry Minneapolis MN
Wed 04/06 @ Empty Bottle Chicago IL
Thu 04/07 @ The Strutt Kalamazoo MI
Fri 04/08 @ El Mocambo Toronto ON
Sat 04/09 @ Il Motore Montreal QC
Sun 04/10 @ Great Scott Allston MA
Mon 04/11 @ Daniel Street Milford CT
Tue 04/12 @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn Brooklyn NY
Wed 04/13 @ Johnny Brendas Philadelphia PA
Thu 04/14 @ Red Palace Washington DC
Fri 04/15 @ Ottobar Baltimore MD
Sat 04/16 @ Local 506 Chapel Hill NC
Sun 04/17 @ Pilot Light Knoxville TN
Mon 04/18 @ The Earl Atlanta GA
Tue 04/19 @ One Eyed Jacks New Orleans LA
Wed 04/20 @ Fitzgeralds Houston TX
Thu 04/21 @ The Loft Dallas TX
Fri 04/22 @ Red 7 Austin TX
Sun 04/24 @ Solar Culture Tucson AZ
Mon 04/25 @ Casbah San Diego CA

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 34: Okami No Jikan - Psychedelic Atmosphere Beatnik Tour '98

2011-02-19T08:22:00.012-05:00

Back in 1998 Nanjo Asahito brought High Rise to the USA and played the Astrocade in Philadelphia, probably my all time fave Philly venue. An anything goes warehouse with great vibes and friendly hosts... and video games. Some of my best memories of those times took place in that warehouse, including the insanely good vibes of the Dealers/Photon Band/Lenola show.

I am pretty sure this was the first of two times I saw High Rise, but I was super duper excited for the "special opening set by Mainliner," whom I had seen in NYC in 1997 and I was (and still am) obsessed with their heavy duty debut Mellow Out, perhaps the be all end all of noiserock (with an emphasis on rock). As they set up... Nanjo strapped on a Rickenbacher guitar (!) and Ed Farnsworth, who was drumming for Bardo Pond at the time was behind the kit... the wild haired guitarist, Kawabata was no where to be seen, so I was a tad "eh" as this was not really Mainliner. I didn't have my Japanese psych trading cards complete set yet, so I didn't know anything about Nanjo's floating lineup slow jamming mystical project, Ohkami No Jikan. While not sounding like Mainliner at all, I was totally hooked on Nanjo's ultra echo'd and effected guitar, insanely loud and filling up tons of space in the warehouse, wind tunneling that shit, yo! My buzzed out brain was hypnotized by the fuzzed out, icy cold sounds from deep space. Shimura Koji is on bass and you may know him from drumming with the recent line up Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Parasio UFO. The rest of the night was great, Bardo and Mikey Wild were awesome and High Rise were punk as hell, but that opening set was the highlight for me and stuck with me for years. Fast forward a few years and I picked up Steal Space Underground CDr boxset on Nanjo's La Musica label and this set was included on the Psychedelic Atmosphere Beatnik USA Tour 98 disc. Not sure who recorded it, but the sound is quite good and totally Nanjo'd. Also on this disc was another Ohkami Set from 1998 with Nice Pooper pal Mason Jones and Chris Van Huffle sitting in with Nanjo and Shimura. I have included that set as well.

These are FLAC files as I have been getting requests for those recently, split into three parts:

Ohkami No Jikan - Unforgiven (Live Nov 16 1998, Cocodrie, SF, CA + Flyers)

Ohkami No Jikan - Aruji (Live Nov 1 1998 Astrocade Philadelphia)

Ohkami No Jikan - Koko (Live Nov 1 1998 Astrocade Philadelphia)

Residents Spring 2011 Tour

2011-02-11T07:24:00.001-05:00

Wooo hoo... more of Randy's Ghost stories... April Fool's Day in Philly!

The Residents Spring 2011 Tour Dates
Tuesday, March 15 - Lunario del Auditorio Nacional - Mexico City, Mexico
Thursday, March 17 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
Friday, March 18 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA
Saturday, March 19 - Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC
Monday, March 21 - Myer Horowitz Theater - Edmonton, ALB
Tuesday, March 22 - Uptown Theater - Calgary, ALB
Thursday, March 24 - West End Cultural Center - Winnipeg, MN
Friday, March 25 - Cedar Cultural Center - Minneapolis, MN
Saturday, March 26 - Museum of Contemporary Art - Chicago, IL
Monday, March 28 - The Mod Club - Toronto, ONT
Tuesday, March 29 - Club Soda - Montreal PQ
Wednesday, March 30 - Somerville Theater - Boston, MA
Thursday, March 31 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
Friday, April 1 - World Café Live - Philadelphia, PA
Monday, April 4 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
Tuesday, April 5 - Republic New Orleans - New Orleans, LA
Wednesday, April 6 - Mohawk - Austin, TX
Thursday, April 9 - El Rey Theater - Los Angeles, CA
Friday, April 15 & Saturday, April 16 - Bimbo's - San Francisco, CA
Saturday, May 14 - The Roundhouse - London, England *Mute Festival

Seven Inches: White Heaven and Loud Machine 5000

2011-01-30T09:39:00.006-05:00

I was going through some old 7"s and dug out these two, featuring the massively awesome Michio Kurihara, one of my fave guitarists of all time. Kurihara is probably known best for playing with Ghost and Boris, but almost anything with his name on it is "worth it" in this house. His stun gun/swarm of bees Cippolina/Jacks sustain style is so damn psychedelic it boggles the mind. At turns beautifully melodic, other times harsh riff damage.

These were both released by Japan's HG records (?) back in the 90s, the White Heaven 7" is from '94 and Loud Machine 5000 (also known as Loud Machine 2000) is from '92. The Loud Machine 5000 tracks remind me somewhat of the angular sound of Heroin and Clikitat Ikatowi, but not quite as frenzied. The vocals are a bit pro, but worth it for the Kurihara pyrotechnics for sure. The White Heaven jammers are not on any of their other releases as far as I can tell. Enjoy and check out this awesome Kurihara discography and start filling in the gaps! Oh yeah, photo is from Ghost's May 8 2009 show at Johnny Brenda's.

Loud Machine 5000 7" - Go Grace Go/Lord of Nothing Part I

White Heaven 7" - Threshold of Pain/4 Hours (In The Afternoon)

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 33: 20 Guilders and Suzuki Junzo

2011-01-23T09:20:00.009-05:00

One of my fave bands of that last few years is 20 Guilders, the duo of Suzuki Junzo (Miminokoto, Pouring High Water) and Tabata Mitsuru (AMT & The Cosmic Inferno, Zeni Geva, Leningrad Blues Machine). I first became of aware of Junzo from his work on the Archive CD release of Astral Traveling Unity. I think he posted on the AMT message board, but we have been emailing for a few years now and his work is always incredibly diverse and interesting, from his solo releases to his group releases with Miminokoto and others. His inverted raw blues sound is always identifiable seems equally informed by Takashi Mizutani and Jerry Garcia as well as Loren Connors, Dock Boggs and Mississippi John Hurt. One of these days I hope he and Kawabata do some duo recordings! Tabata of course needs no introduction, his guitar squall is an institution. Of course my first non Zeni Geva exposure to Tabata was his awesome turn in the Leningrad Psychedelic Blues Machine's heavy cover of "Dark Star," still a complete and utter mindfuck. And of course, he is the bassist in Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno.

Mason Jones posted a song from 20 Guilders on his great Ongakublog and it was an instant hit in this house. I had to track down their self released CDrs and their cassette on Sloow Tapes. Dreamy, spacey and somewhat Syd, I was hooked on the relatively gentle sounds from these two multi dimensional guitarists (plus other sounds). Their first "real" (silver CD) release comes from the oddball Gyuune Cassette label, a self titled eight song trip that contains new versions of some of their older songs as well as new jams. Most of the songs contain some drums and bass and make the sound fuller, more of a band than a duo, an unexpected surprise and making the songs heavier without losing the delicate touch of the earlier releases. The deep head swirl dual guitars are still there and better than ever, the song writing is top notch. The track I am featuring here is "Except Emanuel," one of the harder rocking jams on the CD. Definitely some windblown Crazy Horse, guitars pushed high in the mix, washing against each other, while the drums are slight and way in the back. Great singing, distorted guitars, boiling. I wish it was 20 minutes long.

Suzuki Junzo's recent solo release on Plunk's Plan, Buried Sky, Spider Torn to Pieces is a fantastic distillation of Junzo's various influences and mostly features him on solo electric guitar with some vocals and some drums from LSD March's Ikuro Takahashi. Junzo's eclectic style makes more sense than ever on this one, for me it is his most rewarding solo work yet. The nods to country and Venus blues, plus the highwater marks of Japanese underground guitar damage are many and often coming out of nowhere, but the whole makes perfect sense. I get the feeling that this album will be rewarding for years to come, I keep picking up new phrases and sounds with each listen. For Acid Mothers Sunday, I am posting Junzo's "Black Pendulum." This is a bit of an oddity for the album as it features almost techno/Krautrock propulsion, but not as much jarring ragged guitar lines as a lot of the tracks. But damn, it is such a good atmospheric head nod for driving in the snow, and that is how we roll this month.

You can buy both of these releases direct from Suzuki Junzo here. Highly highly recommended.

Both artists will also be on the upcoming Grateful Dead covers release I am curating, Left Hand Monkey Wrench on Prophase Music sometime in 2011. Junzo's drone project Pouring High Water tackle "Franklin's Tower" and Tabata plays bass on the Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno version of "Eyes of the World." Both are mindblowingly awesome.

Here are some videos of 20 Guilders live, tracks for download below.

20 Guilders - Except Emanuel (From 20 Guilders on Gyuune Cassette)

Suzuki Junzo - Black Pendulum (From Buried Sky, Spider Torn to Piece on Plunk's Plan)

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 32: Makoto and Pikachu - Live

2011-01-09T08:24:00.003-05:00

Hey all... welcome to 2011, once again sorry for the lack of posts, but you know how it goes. I was going to try to work up a best of 2010 list, but until I get that together, here is a new Acid Mothers Sunday, which I am sure you all prefer anyway. That said, the Purling Hiss album Public Service Announcement is probably my fave release of 2010, so check it out if you care.

Anyway, on to the meat. This time around we have a live set from Makoto & Pikachu. Makoto is of course, Makoto Kawabata from Acid Mothers Temple and Pikachu is Pikachu from the sadly split Afrirampo as well as Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno. This one was on a split (with Human Shower) CDr Kawabata was selling on the 2010 AMT tour. 20 plus minutes of noisy spaced out weirdness from these two. Drums and drum machines, yelling, glissando guitar, laughter and hard rock riffs. A very what the fuck release in the tradition of (a much more fun) Hanatarash. Not sure when or where this was recorded or the limitedness of the CDr, but it is an enjoyable slice of Japanese pie for sure. And the main reason I am putting this one up is because Makoto and Pikachu will be touring the USA in May with Mugu Guymen. It looks like the Philly show will be May 13 2011. They are looking for venues and such, so if you are on facebook, check out this event and get in touch if you can help 'em out.

And of course, don't forget that Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso will be touring the USA and Canada in March/April of 2010.

Makoto and Pikachu - Live

Acid Mothers Temple USA and Canada Tour 2011

2011-01-09T08:24:00.000-05:00

Wed 03/23 @ Spaceland Los Angeles CA
Thu 03/24 @ Bottom of the Hill San Francisco CA
Sat 03/26 @ Doug Fir Lounge Portland OR
Sun 03/27 @ The Wild Buffalo Bellingham WA
Mon 03/28 @ Chop Suey Seattle WA
Tue 03/29 @ Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver BC
Thu 03/31 @ Broken City Calgary AB
Fri 04/01 @ The Badlander Missoula MT
Sat 04/02 @ Urban Lounge Salt Lake City UT
Sun 04/03 @ Larimer Lounge Denver CO
Mon 04/04 @ Bourbon Theatre Lincoln NE
Tue 04/05 @ 7th Street Entry Minneapolis MN
Wed 04/06 @ Empty Bottle Chicago IL
Thu 04/07 @ The Strutt Kalamazoo MI
Fri 04/08 @ El Mocambo Toronto ON
Sat 04/09 @ Il Motore Montreal QC
Sun 04/10 @ Great Scott Allston MA
Mon 04/11 @ Daniel Street Milford CT
Tue 04/12 @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn Brooklyn NY
Wed 04/13 @ Johnny Brendas Philadelphia PA
Thu 04/14 @ Red Palace Washington DC
Fri 04/15 @ Ottobar Baltimore MD
Sat 04/16 @ Local 506 Chapel Hill NC
Sun 04/17 @ Pilot Light Knoxville TN
Mon 04/18 @ The Earl Atlanta GA
Tue 04/19 @ One Eyed Jacks New Orleans LA
Wed 04/20 @ Fitzgeralds Houston TX
Thu 04/21 @ The Loft Dallas TX
Fri 04/22 @ Red 7 Austin TX
Sun 04/24 @ Solar Culture Tucson AZ
Mon 04/25 @ Casbah San Diego CA

Nagisa Ni Te - Live Oct 19 1996 Koenji Showboat

2010-12-08T19:05:00.004-05:00

Sorry for lack of posting, but it has been a busy few weeks and such. Anyways, this one is the awesome Nagisa Ni Te, recorded live on Oct 19 1996. I got this one from Eric Pogo which I believe he snagged when he was in Japan in the late nineties. Not sure the actual linage of this or anything, but all signs point to it being recorded by Eric's pal Youji. Great folky awesome full band set with lots of fuzzy guitar solos, big open chords and soaring vocals for a great heartfelt mix of Japanese language jams and grooves. Most of the songs are from their fantastic On The Love Beach album from 1995.

Here is some background from the Jagjaguwar site:

Here is the Nagisa Ni te story: in the beginning Shinji Shibayama performed "hyped up dada-psych" in the early 1980's as part of Idiot O'Clock and then the more toned-down Hallelujahs. He also founded and still runs Org Records, the label responsible for bringing Eastern psych powers Maher Shalal Hash Baz to the world. With Maher Shalal Hash Baz's help, with the musical contributions of many of their collective friends, and with the assistance of Shibayama's now full-fledged cohort Masako Takeda in all things Nagisa Ni te, Shibayama recorded and released On The Love Beach, a beautiful, slow and entrancing work pulling equally from American and British rock traditions. Thus was born Nagisa Ni te, which means "on the beach" in Japanese, an homage of sorts to Neil Young's 1975 masterpiece. Their psych folk tendencies notwithstanding, Nagisa Ni te also did well to take cues from the avant rock world around them at the time, comfortably implementing the minimalist credo "less is more" throughout this record.

Enjoy! Spring or winter, it is all good. Fragile and confident!

Nagisa Ni Te - Live Oct 19 1996 Koenji Showboat

Birds of Maya @ Kung Fu Necktie Tomorrow (Dec 1)

2010-11-30T11:59:00.001-05:00

Stoked!

We Have Heaven, Fursaxa @ Secret Arts Space Nov 5 2010

2010-11-06T11:35:00.009-04:00

Almost a year to the day after the awesome Fursaxa/We Have Heaven/Marble Sheep show at the Secret Arts Space comes this nice and mellow couchcore show. First Friday in Bethlehem, but we still snagged great parking, said howdy to Eric and quickly hit the "Your Welcome Inn" for some beers and Eddy Grant, Curtis Mayfield and uh, 311 on the jukebox. And smoking! A smoky walk back to the Arts Space, we caught up with K-town native Mike WKDU and blabbed about Pettibon with Eric. Then it was on to We Have Heaven doing it up. I definitely dig the fuller sound of the violin mixed with the minimalism of the (effected)guitars and loops and (usually brushed) drums. Really sublime and lilting, nice. Eric seemed to have some guitar problems, but the overall sound/vibe was great and kept moving forwards.

We hit the bar again for a quick a beer and missed Zomes for the most part. We caught about 3 minutes of his droned out keyboard heavy set.

Tara did a solo set as Fursaxa. The last time we saw her, she was playing with a harp and cello, this time around it was all loops and effects, voice and bells. Really stunning, the vocal loops especially were echoed to infinity and created a great background to work with. If you are gonna talk about "blissed out drone" you have to sit on a comfy velvety couch and get transported by the Fursaxa deal.

A fun night, lots of good vibes and good folks.

UPDATE: Mike added some audio and visuals from the evening on his awesome blog, Freedom Has No Bounds.

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 31: Mainliner - Attack Nog

2010-10-31T10:50:00.005-04:00

What? Two Acid Mothers Sundays in two days!? Halloween spirit or something. Anyways, this one is only one song and clocks in under 4 minutes, so don't get your hopes up. I was bumbling around the music library closet and happened upon Freakout Revisited, "The bootleg of the bootleg La Musica Box Set Psychedelic Freakout (LMB 041-050)..." Might as well let the liners for this 10 CD set continue:

"... described as: '1980-1990s studio & live, unreleased materials - heavy, garage, space, avant-garde, mondo & folk.' The collection is, in fact, compiled at least 90% from Galatic Zoo Dossier cassettes 1-4 and various other cassettes supplied to Nanjo Asahito by Plastic Crimewave... Asahito did not ask or tell Plastic Crimewave about this box set..."

So, anyways, Plastic Crimewave reissued this on his own with anointed/correct liners, etc. and it looks like it is still available. Tons and tons of great stuff from Mr. Crimewave himself, plus Fursaxa, Warrior Pants II, Musica Transonic, Maher Shalal Hash Baz and more.

One of the few songs Nanjo added to the box is this totally in the red Mainliner jam, "Attack Nog." One of their most High Rise moments for sure. This one is from the "Trouble Fill My Spoon" disc.

Mainliner - Attack Nog (Freakout Revisited)

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 30: Kawabata Makoto - Jisetsu (AMCD-019)

2010-10-30T16:10:00.005-04:00

It is a slow, sconed day today at the compound and this ulta minimal Kawabata Makoto release from 10 years ago is really hitting the spot, so why not celebrate Acid Mothers Sunday Halloween a day early? It certainly is a dark one.

Jisetsu is solo Kawabata playing suruthibox, "an Indian drone machine" according to the AMT website. A single, 40+ minute drone, this one is as barely there as it gets, but still a rewarding listen when in the right vibe/mood/imbalance. A low throb that goes back and forth with pulses and delay and variating highs and lows. Not sure if the Drone-on readers poll was still around in 2000, but this one shoulda placed high for sure.

According to the same data sheet "is this what's left once you rip all musical form away from Toho Sara!?" and that seems as good a place to start/end with this one. Released on CDr in an numbered edition of 100 on AMT's label with the catalog number AMTCD-019 as part of the Acid Mothers Temple Gold Disc Series. Mellow Out!

Kawabata Makoto - Jisetsu (AMTCD-019)

Fabulous Diamonds @ Fire Oct 26 2010 (photos)

2010-10-27T07:39:00.004-04:00

Really awesome and really loud, the incredibly charming Fabulous Diamonds were fantastic last night at Fire. So simple, but so wide open. Really tranced out dubby Krauty jams with those beyond echoed keyboards turning into fractals right there! If you dig their records, go see them! I can't imagine anyone would be disappointed.

Rancid Vat - Hostile City USA (Video)

2010-10-25T10:10:00.004-04:00

A couple of days ago I was searching for the awesome awesome awesome Rancid Vat song "Hostile City USA" on youtube with no dice. Unreal! Probably the best, and certainly the best-known song from the Philly era of Rancid Vat and it wasn't showing up anywhere! Totally awesome punk fueled mayhem about the city scientifically proven to be "the most hostile city in the USA" back in 1994 via a Gallup Poll commissioned by Duke University. With lots (too many?) folks (Roller Skating clubs, Death Metal Fests, etc.) taking up the Hostile City banner, I am 99% sure Rancid Vat were the first ones to flip it this way. And they get no fucking credit! The best song about the city of Brotherly Love since "Fall In Philadelphia" and the best punk song about Philadelphia EVER and there is barely any recognition! This song was available on a 7" and on their awesome 31 Flavors of Hostility CD as well as the compilation The Cheesesteak Years. You can buy these releases here, direct from Rancid Vat main man, Thee Whiskey Rebel.

Anyways, I put together a slide show of some Rancid Vat pics I had laying around and here is the result. Enjoy! The Cosmic Commander of Wrestling was one of the best singers/frontmen I have ever seen, the Philly lineup of Rancid Vat was just amazing, Punk as fuck, way late into the game. Alas, all good things... The main Vat'ers, Thee Whiskey Rebel and Marla Vee split Philly for Texas and haven't looked back. Who can blame them?

Circle Pit and Fabulous Diamonds In Philly This week

2010-10-21T07:44:00.002-04:00

Ok, finally got some confirmation on this. Circle Pit are at the El Bar on Sunday, Oct 24th and Fabulous Diamonds are on Oct 26th at Fire. Whew!

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 29: AMT & The Melting Paraiso Early Recordings Disc 3

2010-10-03T09:47:00.004-04:00

Ok, this time around we dig back into the vaults for some Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso tracks from 1995-96. These two long jammers were originally released on a cassette in an edition of 10 and then reissued on the triple LP version of Synesthetic Recordings' The Early Acid Mothers Temple Recordings 1995-1997. As far as I can tell that edition (pressing of 100) is sold out, so I am posting those tracks here. It looks like the two LP version is still available though. If you dig the early extra noisy AMT sound, I can't recommend this one enough, so classic. The songs posted here are taken from the LP, not the cassette.

I don't think "Freakout Mu" appeared anywhere else, but it is a great 18 minute slice of the noisy pre-Tsuyama AMT, so much synth and effects, insane! "Speed Guru" is quite different than the version that wound up on the first AMT PSF release. Absolutely dizzying backwards riffing, hypnotizing and swirling and shit, harsssh at times, but still a fucking celebration!

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Early Recordings LP #3

Notekillers @ The M Room Sept 23 2010 (Photos)

2010-09-24T08:39:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics of the mighty Notekillers playing the Prophase Music showcase last night. Just unreal. Alas, the rest of my pics really suck, but a great night. A good time was had by all! See the Notekillers live!

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 28: Okhami No Jikan - Black Tape (LA-068)

2010-09-19T10:48:00.004-04:00

The connection to Acid Mothers Temple on this installment is a bit tenuous, as the lineup to Nanjo Asahito's Okami No Jikan was supposed to be secretive and clouded in black mystery and such, we can only speculate. I honestly hear/don't hear some of Kawabata's playing on these jams, so there is the disclaimer. "May not contain any AMT"

A friend bought this tape at a High Rise show in 1999 at the Khyber Pass to the best of my recollection. I borrowed and transferred to CDr around the same time, but neglected to scan in the cover, so this one is coverless. My apologies. I am sure it was black. This one contains two more versions of their signature tune, "Israel." Both clock in at 15 minutes plus with the second version sounding more like a live recording than the first. It also sounds a bit more like Nanjo's guitar playing. Both jams feature the slow/heavy drums and bass riffage with insane amounts of guitar + effects just blown the fuck over top. And some quiet vocals in there at points. Here is what the La Musica catalog from the time had to say:

068. OHKAMI NO JIKAN / Black Tape
Complete reisue of a mysterious cassette that was only sold at gigs in 1992. Their earliest cool and heavy studio demo recordings featuring the original line-up. The original release was limited to 30 copies.

Man, I wish Nanjo wasn't missing from action. There really seems to be no one like him and in spite of the rumored rip offs and stuff, he did an amazing amount of work to popularize the Japanese underground world wide. I await his return with some sort of black metal superfuzz kill group. Mysterious to a fault? Anyone with more Ohkami or the awesome sounding spin off groups Ohkami No Bohyo or Ten No Ohkami, please post them somewhere and drop me a line or leave a comment. Thanks and enjoy!

Ohkam No Jikan - Black Tape (LA -068)

Prophase Music Showcase @ M Room Sept 23rd: Notekillers, Kohoutek, Dark Sea Dream, American Speedway

2010-09-17T07:43:00.003-04:00

Less than a week away... woooo!

Mondo Drag @ the Grape Room Sept 15 (Photos)

2010-09-16T07:51:00.006-04:00

Here are some pics from Mondo Drag's awesome set last night at the Grape Room in Manayunk. First time I saw them with their keyboard player and he adds an awes dimension to their sound for sure. Just an amazing fucking band, yalls. If you are in Brooklyn tonight (Sept 16) go see them at Union Pool opening for the equally rad La Otracina (record release show).

Strapping Fieldhands on tour Sept 2010

2010-09-10T07:56:00.003-04:00

Hey check it out!

Long time Nice Pooper Pals, the Strapping Fieldhands are doing a short tour starting tomorrow at Kung Fu Necktie!

Strapping Fieldhands - Fall Tour 2010

We would like to welcome our friends from the UK -The Doozer ** on a few select shows.

September
11 Sat. - Kung Fu Necktie - Phila. PA **
12 Sun. - Bruar Falls - Brooklyn , NY **
17 Fri. - Secret Project Robot- Brooklyn, NY **
20 Mon. - Grog Shop - Cleveland , OH.
22 Weds. - Cafe Bourbon Street - Columbus, OH
24 Fri. - GonerFest 7- Hi Tone-Memphis, TN. (more info)
25 Sat. - 529 - Atlanta , GA.
26 Sun. - The Milestone - Charlotte, NC
27 Mon. - Nightlight - Chapel Hill, NC

October
9 Sat. - Cake Shop , NYC

Bardo Pond - Live WKDU Oct 23 1997

2010-09-06T10:12:00.004-04:00

Happy Labor Day! Here is one from the peoples' band, Bardo Pond. Still kicking after how many years into "the game?" Anyway, I was going through some CDrs and came across this. I remember I taped it off of the radio when it aired. Not sure if it was recorded earlier or live, but live in the studio regardless with a first airing on October 23rd 1997. I assume this on the Drug Music show, but not quite positive. Anyway, totally classic late 90s philly-ness, Bardo Pond and WKDU. At some point I transfered that tape to CDr, and here it is. I am not that familiar with Bardo's titles or discography from this era, so if anyone wants to help in the comments, please do. Thanks! Regardless, this is a jammer for sure... Now download this, eat chocolate, watch the Phils double header and enjoy!

Bardo Pond - Live WDKU Oct 23 1997

Notekillers - Airport (Video)

2010-09-02T11:57:00.004-04:00

Well, damn, that is quite good. And awesome! And it reminds me of Musica Transonic a little bit, even!

A studio version of this jam will be on the new Notekillers album, We're Here to Help on LP and CD from Prophase Music, out in November 2010!

And you can see these gents kick it live at the Prophase Music showcase at the M Room in Philly on Sept 23rd 2010.

Mondo Drag @ the Grape Room Manayunk Sept 15

2010-09-01T07:55:00.004-04:00

Tons of shows coming up in Sept, but just wanted to mention this one so it doesn't fall off the radar. The mighty Mondo Drag return to Philly on Sept 15 at the Grape Room in Manayunk. Formerly the Grape Street Pub. Wooo!

Eric DeJesus Reading at Brickbat Books Aug 28, plus Dragon Turtle and Fursxa

2010-08-22T11:29:00.005-04:00

Awesome, Eric (The Dealers, Easy, Raw Pogo zine, We Have Heaven, Mugface, etc.) is gonna be reading from his book, We Won't Be Here Forever (American Typewriter) at Brickbat Books in Philly on Aug 28th. Plus Dragon Turtle and Fursaxa... And yeah, it is the day after Tesco Vee reads from the Touch and Go book.

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 27: Musica Transonic - Euro Speed Freedelic Boogie

2010-08-15T10:59:00.003-04:00

This time around we have a CDr of studio recordings from Musica Transonic, the awesome trio of Nanjo (High Rise, Mainliner, etc.), Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner, etc.) and Yoshida (Ruins, Sax Ruins, etc.). With the none more true title of Euro Speed Freedelic Boogie, this one was part of the Steal Space Underground box (LMB 051-060) on Nanjo's La Musica label. According to the photocopied data sheet, these jams were recorded at Abbey Road studios. Not sure if these songs ever made it on to any other releases, but here you go.

Musica Transonic - Euro Speed Freedelic Boogie CDr

Ruiz Rulez

2010-08-13T15:50:00.002-04:00

Mondo Drag - Fade Out (video)

2010-08-08T11:07:00.003-04:00

Awes video for one of the best jams on Mondo Drag's New Rituals

Prophase Music Showcase: Sept 23 2010 @ the M Room

2010-08-03T09:53:00.004-04:00

This is gonna be super awesome, of course!

Sept 23rd at the M Room:

Notekillers
American Speedway
Dark Sea Dream
Kohoutek

More info coming...

New on Prophase: Janina Angel Bath - Gyspy Woman LP

2010-07-26T18:50:00.007-04:00

Well, well... doesn't this just look amazing!?

That's right, it's Janina Angel Bath's Gypsy Woman, on vinyl at last! A 12" and a 10" in an awesome heavy gatefold sleeve, this one looks as good as it sounds. Ethereal scapes and vocals mixing in that awesome super psych deal, like REAL acid folk but so much more. Tabla, sitars, guitars, harp (I think?) and lots of other stuff went into the cauldron for this one. Psych the fuck out at 3AM and all that shit! Some of it reminds me of the Cocteau Twins, some of it reminds me of Fursaxa, throw in some Nico (if only she did a duo LP with Angus MacLise) and some Pocahaunted and all sorts of mystical fairy stuff. 500 pressed with like 400 being available at retail, I guess the 100 are promos? Anyways, it SOUNDS better on this deal, too. Buy it now direct from Prophase here.

And here is one of my favorite tracks...

Janina Angel Bath - Medieval Passage

Antiseen, Bad Vibes & The Workhorse 3 @ the Balcony July 10 2010 (review & pics)

2010-07-14T08:37:00.013-04:00

Wow, another Philly Antiseen show! That makes two in the same year, before that it was five fucking years between shows! Do you know how lucky you people are!? And a Bad Vibes reunion!

We did roll in late because the Phils went into extra innings so we missed The Workhorse 3 unfortunately. Heard they were great and the CD on DRP is cool.

Anyways, we got some Guinness and ran into Seth from the old days of WKDU, The Dreck Merchants (!!) and the Astrocade, a most awes surprise indeed. And we talked about Bill from Harry Pussy who is playing at Brickbat Books on July 22nd. Yeah! So we moved to the floor for the Bad Vibes as they started my fave BV jam "You're My Fucking Problem" (again, you can download all their stuff here). Unfortunately there were some sound probs, but it was a great opener. More unfortunate was the big baldy guys just ramming into people and making us spill our Guinness. What the fuck!? I am somewhat torn about bitching about people doing the punker dance and such, not to sound like an old fogey, but there is definitely a difference between a 16 yr old kid running around, stage diving and a bunch of 200 lb grown ass men running full blast into your faithful editor. And the "put your arms around your buddy and run into a bunch of spectators" was always gay. Even at Kitschchao shows! So yeah, beers spilled and a foot stepped on, but no real damage, but completely annoying. But in spite of that silliness, the Bad Vibes were fucking great. The bass player is just killer, those are the riffs of the band, and Gavin is a scary as fuck front man. I know they were under appreciated when they existed but damn, what a killer fucking bummer punk band still flying and frying the (black) flag.

And after a quick smoke and another beer, it was time for Antiseen. They keep on keeping on and all those cliches and such... but really, in this era of hardcore bands doing reunions and shit (not that I am against that at all, see ya at the Pagan Babies show in Sept!), Jeff Clayton and Joe Young have keep the Antiseen death train on the tracks for over 25 years! And damn, it has been an incredible ride. One of the frustrating parts of being an Antiseen fan is that they have so many good songs that often get ignored from the stage, but tonight they opened up with two I hadn't seen them do yet, "Death Train Comin'" and "Alpha Male." I definitely was losing my shit for "Alpha Male" from their last full length, Badwill Ambassadors. That is another key to the Antiseen puzzle, they have somehow beat the odds and continue to release vital music without watering down their "brand." Hell their records keep getting better and better in my view and who the fuck else can you say that about?

The new drummer and bassist are no longer new and sounded great, the well-oiled machine we have come to expect. Ya know Clayton and Joe aren't going out with any hacks! The hits continued with "Queen City Stomp," "Cactus Jack," "Nothings Cool" and the new jam "Curses." Luckily the excited dudes from earlier calmed down or left and the floor was a relatively safe place to watch the destruction. Right as the band was playing Nice Pooper/summer of beads fave "Hippy Punk" the fucking Cosmic Commander of Wrestling rolled in in all his glory. Perfect! Rest of the set was fucking great, killer renditions of "Today Your Love -> Stormtrooper," "I Don't Like You" and of course the real deal anthem "Fuck All Y'all." Sure, I woulda loved to have heard "Run My World," "Sod," "Talk Show Trash," "Walking Dead," and probably like a dozen more, but I am not complaining at all. If anything, this was an 80% different set from the Khyber show a few months ago, right fuckin' on!

After the show, blabbed with Cosmo (he had just come from seeing Further!) and Clayton, but Seth had skipped out, hopefully back to his lair to get those Ascension and Dreck Merchants tapes. An easy drive and a night of ringing ears awaited us, but I am quite ready for the next Antiseen show, and if I was a super hack this is where I would say "Y'all Come Back Now, Ya Hear?" so count yourselves lucky I am only a general issue hack. Bang Bang!!

This Saturday: Antiseen, Bad Vibes and The Workhorse III @ the Troc

2010-07-08T08:49:00.003-04:00

Super excited for the return of the only real punk band left! This Saturday, July 10th at the Troc, well the Balcony Bar anyways. Rare reunion show from the Bad Vibes opening, fuck yeah. Go download their stuff here, All The Right Ways to Do You Wrong is one of thee best Philly punk albums of all time. Also on the bill is the Workhorse III with Eric Perfect from Rancid Vat and Limecell on drums.

Hey Now, What's That Sound?

2010-07-07T10:20:00.000-04:00

Hissssssssssssssssssssssssss

Touch & Go: The Book!

2010-07-06T09:37:00.004-04:00

Just got my copy and holy shit!!!! All I wanna do is bail and go sit in the a/c and be awesome and awesome and read this telephone book of greatness!

A proper review later...

UPDATE: According to this, Tesco is gonna be doing a reading at Brickbat books on August 27th with a Tesco Vee's Hate Police show that night at the Northstar with American Speedway.

Happy Stoked Overalls Dude Day!

2010-07-04T17:23:00.001-04:00

Afrirampo Call It Quits

2010-07-01T07:01:00.001-04:00

This happened last week it seems, but the awesome duo of Oni and Pikachu have called it a day.

They were great. Alas.

Separated at Birth?

2010-07-01T06:32:00.003-04:00

Pagan Babies - Last CD/DVD

2010-06-29T12:39:00.006-04:00

Philly's awes and gnarly Pagan Babies get the full reissue treatment from DRP Records, coming out July 13th. I was a pretty big sucker for these guys back in 87-88, I mean they were on Positive Force and actually played Central PA. And the one dude wore a Flyers jersey. So... yep. Enjoy! They did a reunion show in 2007 at the Church and will be doing a release show for this one somewhere sometime...

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 26: Miminokoto - That Spiral Orbit

2010-06-20T08:40:00.007-04:00

Happy Father's Day all you dads and such... This time around, we have an mp3 from long time Japanese Psych'sters, Miminokoto. The Acid Mothers Temple connection is drummer Shimura Koji, currently behind the kit for AMT and Miminokoto.

Miminokoto has been through line up changes and have a bunch of records out on PSF and Last Visible Dog, but this track comes from their 2010 release Chofu, Ekoda, Koenji: Live In & Around Tokyo on Plunk's Plan Records. Dreamy psych and great guitar playing from long time Nice Pooper pal, Suzuki Junzo (you can also catch Suzuki playing with Kawabata on the Astral Traveling Unit CD on Archive). Suzuki Junzo also creates some incredible psych folk with the Cosmic Inferno's Tabata in 20 Guilders. Whew!

Anyways, I love the weird ass bass or whatever it is on this song, almost as confusing as the first hearing of the jug on the 13th Floor Elevators' songs. A off kilter almost "Shakedown Street" wah wah plink wamp while the rest of the song reminds me of... David Crosby's "Cowboy Movie." Something of a trend in this house recently. Loose and trippy and awesome, a bit dark and still that weird hopefulness I get from the best of Japanese psych. Definitely something for fans of the more mellow side of White Heaven.

I think Eclipse carries this one, but if not, get in touch directly with Suzuki via his blog, Tapes-Echoes. I have ordered lots of stuff from him over the past few years and the turnaround is always quick and the music is always awesome!

Miminokoto - That Spiral Orbit

It's coming...

2010-06-03T18:51:00.003-04:00

... as we proceed to give ya what ya need...

And yes, the awesome Yahowha 13 mini documentary, Fire Water Air will be screened at this groovy event.

Pocahaunted @ Kung Fu Necktie on June 15

2010-05-27T12:27:00.003-04:00

Yay, super excited for this one. I really dig their new record a lot, though a commenter on Last.fm said "more drone, less surf" or some shit, so what do I know?

Also on the bill, Dark Circles from the LV, Siltbreezers U.S. Girls and Ether Island.

Pocahaunted - All Of Is Of from Not Not Fun on Vimeo.

Strapping Fieldhands, Floating Action Songs at Shaking Through

2010-05-20T20:34:00.004-04:00

Awes, new songs for download. All the info here:

Strapping Fieldhands

Floating Action

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 25: Tsurubami KFJC May 19 2003

2010-05-08T19:23:00.002-04:00

Hey now, a tad early, but for this Mothers' Day edition of Acid Mothers Sunday we have a live set from Tsurubami recorded and aired on May 19 2003 via KFJC. Must have been a treat to see/hear them live, hopefully us East Coasters will get the chance someday. Anyways, the AMT connections are Kawabata on guitar and Hiroshi on guitar and keyboards (I think) with the drumming of Nobuko Emi. Anyways, two long, dark swirling and piercing pieces, apologies for a bit of digital noise here and there.

Here are some words from Kawabata on Tsurubami from the liners of the Do Whatever You
Want... compilation:

As long as we three have life on this planet the group will continue to exist. Here's a summary of our mission:
According to the theory of Inyo Gogyo, everything that exists in the world can be expressed by Yin and Yang, the two principles. (even computers work in this way). Everything is created from Yin and Yang, and the interactions of the Five Elements - wood, fire, earth, metal, water. The workings of the universe can be understood through a knowledge of the Two Principles and Five Elements. The form of everything on Earth and in the heavens is created by Yin and Yang, while the workings of the world occur through the Five Elements. If we take it that sound is one particle of time, then the energy of sound flows from the deepest past into the far future. And that also suggests that the purpose of ritual and prayer is to recreate the energy that existed at the beginning of the cosmos. Rituals and prayer function to reawaken that which existed at the beginning, to open the doors of this world, and to make that energy flow once more. Through the holy sound of Ohm, can we glimpse the eternal, escape the constraints of time (past, present, and future), and come to meet the Buddha?
For us, Tsurubami is a place of eternal spiritual training, a place where everything must be laid bare. This band itself is the last and greatest stronghold of group existence. I see it as a place where we can experiment with a form of improvised playing based on paranormal communication which has existed since the time of the troubadours.

Yep!

Tsurubami - Live May 19 2003 KFJC

Oh Hells Yeah, ANTiSEEN coming back to Philly July 10 2010

2010-05-05T19:33:00.003-04:00

Just got an email stating that ANTiSEEN, the only real punk band left (my words, not the email's) are coming back to Hostile City USA, July 10 to play the Troc... I will post details as I get 'em...

Five fucking years without Antiseen in Philly and now two shows in the span of a year. Awwright!

Dark Sea Dream - Behind The Eyes

2010-04-25T22:36:00.004-04:00

Trust Aquarian hipped me to Dark Sea Dream after encountering them at the DC stop of the Yahowha 13 East Coast tour in 2009. I am not sure if he actually said the words "wind tunnel," but that sticks out for some reason. His tales of the band hitting insanely loud peaks, taking the best trance inducing aspects of showgazey stuff with long jams sounded right up my alley for sure, though I didn't get to see them and still haven't... one of these days. Anyways, part of the intrigue was that the Yahowha 13 dudes absolutely loved 'em and Trust said they were zoning out and grooving with the vibes in a most awesome manner... The live recordings and CDr I heard were pretty great, as were the tales of their SXSW domination. And of course the house jams Trust captured with the Dark Sea Dream dudes jamming with Yahowha 13, Janina Angel Bath and Grant Hart! The Prophase Power Boogie Band!

Hopefully those recordings and something new coming this year on Prophase. Also in the hopefully category, an appearance on the often-delayed psych Grateful Dead covers comp I have been putting together. This live jam is from their limited to 100 CDr 2010 SXSW tour CD. Totally reminds me of a bleak(er) Crazy Horse or David Crosby's "Cowboy Movie" (a jam they turned Trust on to, who then laid it on me, definitely a glaring hole in my burnt collection!) on a slow boil. Some depths of Fushitshua vocals and I am on board for sure. The studio (I think) version of the same song from their Harsh Times CDr is longer and has a different mood, and I recommend it as well.

Dark Sea Dream - Behind The Eyes (live)

The Tobacco Man

2010-04-19T10:26:00.003-04:00

Watched parts of Redneck Zombies last night, haven't seen it in years. First time I saw it, I was crazy do'sed, blew my mind!! Anyways, this scene still terrifies me and weirds me out... bad vibes!

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 24: Zu-Kanka live March 15 2001 Nagoya Japan

2010-04-18T11:01:00.007-04:00

I am not sure when or with whom I traded for this one, but I got this in the early 2000s and digitized it around then as well. Not much info to to go on, but a great live recording (soundboard? I have no idea of the lineage, sorry) of a short-lived Makoto Kawabata project featuring Shoji Hano on drums and Koji Shimura on bass.

The sound is jazzy, which makes sense considering Hano's background (Derek Baily, Peter Brotzmann, Nicky Scopelitis), though he also played and toured with High Rise. Similar to Musica Transonic but much less fuzz frenzy and lots more fluid. It sounds improvised as riffs get teased and taken over and under, jamming if you will. And yes, that is the Latino Cool of current Melting Paraiso drummer, Koji Shimura on bass! Definitely a surprise, but some searching reveals he did some time as White Heaven's bass player in the nineties. His playing is bouncy and deft, very different from Nanjo/Musica Transonic's bludgeon bass. Kawabata's playing is very clean, Fender Strat with little effects. Almost funky in parts. They also do a few songs twice, not really sure why on that either. If anyone knows anything more about this, please drop a line. Otherwise, enjoying some of the more trad end of Kawabata's playing with two of Japan's best drummers (though one is playing bass).

Zu-Kanka - Live March 15 2001 Tokuzo Nagoya Japan

Makoto Kawabata - Guitar
Shoji Hano - Drums, Vocals
Koji Shimura - Bass

Acid Mothers Temple UK & Euro Tour May and June 2010

2010-04-13T11:26:00.001-04:00

Here you go! Go see them, the North American tour has been awesome!

May 20 Spazio 211, Turin - Italy
May 21 Festintenda, Mortegliano (UD) - Italy
May 22 CSC, S.Vito di Leguzzano (VI) - Italy
May 25 Corsica Studios, London - UK
May 26 Hare & Hounds, Birmingham - UK
May 27 Engine Room, Brighton - UK
May 28 The Croft, Bristol - UK
May 30 Bullingdon Army, Oxford - UK
Jun 01 Oetinger Villa, Darmstadt - Germany
Jun 02 La Zone, LiïÈe - Belgium
Jun 03 Villette Sonique Festival, Paris - France
Jun 04 Sala Caracol, Madrid - Spain
Jun 05 Ground Festival, Lyon - France

Acid Mothers Temple: April 9 2010 Philly Johnny Brenda's (lame photos)

2010-04-10T08:38:00.006-04:00

Alas, my pics came out pretty crappy, the smoke machine kinda blazed out my resolution or some shit... but damn, it was quite a show for sure. We rolled down with Trust Aquarian behind the wheel, got that door to door treatment! I was insanely excited after the super awesome show in Brooklyn on Wednesday and it was good to be back on home turf with lots of pals and such in the crowd. It was a Stoudt's Gold night for me and we quaffed while blabbing with a visiting Lux and the 1994 West Philly Posse.

After some beers and smokes, we headed upstairs just as the show was about to sell out, but hey thanks Jasso from Over-Gain Opitmal Death for the guest list action, much appreciated! Very crowded, but a nice buzz had me cutting through this silliness to a nice spot in the back for the ultra Mainliner tribute buzzsaw action of OGOD. Serious riff damage, ala High Rise and the whole Nanjo world, very very black and burnt!

More beers and then up front for Acid Mothers! Loud as always, the force of the amps blew some foam off my pint! A great opening jam lead to some weird free jazz spazz improv stuff, a battle between Tsuyama and Kawabata. If the Brooklyn show was like Pink Floyd (the jams all bled together for me, one long trance throb whirl), the Philly show was like the free jazz improv noise night. Lots of clashing sounds and spastics and Tsuyama on sax, crazy! My dessert really started to kick in just in time for a killer "Pink Lady Lemonade" with the now-its-a-song "The End" jam in the middle. Things really took off on the space rock tip after this with a long Krauty "Cometary Orbital" into "Speed Guru" with Kawabata swinging his guitar, hanging it from the speakers... and pulling out another guitar and continuing the jams! A massive "Dark Stars in the Dazzling Sky" encore and we were spent! Damn! Lots of talk with Jasso and the AMT guys and their driver Justin and pics and beers and finally it was time for the Prophase limo to drop us back up to the psychkave. My ears are still ringing and I am wading through a shit load of merch and thinking about going to see them tonight in Baltimore... Bang Bang!!

UPDATE: Some video of the opening jam courtesy of Ivymike777!

Acid Mothers Temple: April 7 2010 Knitting Factory Brooklyn (photos)

2010-04-08T11:23:00.006-04:00

New York Times Review

UPDATE: Great audience recording of this show up on archive.org. Thanks Acid Jack!

Yahowha 13 - 2013

2010-04-03T10:49:00.007-04:00

So, just in time for the Prophase/Alien8 showcase at SXSW, Trust Aquarian got it together and turned around this 2CD/1DVD package from the Yahowha 13 recordings and films from the last year. One disc is live tracks from their 2009 East Coast tour, one disc is studio tracks recorded at Welfare Line studios on that that same 2009 jaunt. Check out the live jam "Can We Go Now?" at the bottom of this post.

The DVD is about 20 minutes and was shot during the same time, featuring interviews and live footage. It is a short, but very well done and an awesome introduction to the band, but holds lots of cool moments (and even some answers!) for old fans as well. Everyone I know who has seen it has been blown away; the only complaint being "more, please!" The 3 disc digipack has some wild liner notes from Djin, too. Check it out:

This timely and spontaneous drawing forth of the divine creative consciousness in sound from YaHoWha13 is titled “YAHOWHA 2013” for several reasons. It is in alignment with a popular current topic of human interest concerning the Mayan Calendar from which the date of 2012, of this millennium, is indicated figuratively as a time of a “new or renewing sun” by the Mayan elders (heaven knows we could use a renewal) when their 5700 year old calendar’s dating comes to an end. This is where we, “The Aging of Aquarius”, survivors of the 60’s re-awakening to the Age of the Water Bearer, might actually have a second coming. What’s the Aquarian Age? It’s when the prevailing mental attitudes upon the Goddess Earth emanating from that galactic sector of intelligence causes people to find it easier to be at peace, compassionate and in acceptance of one another, among other virtues, one to one and nation to nation.

Yeah!

This one is an edition of 500 with about 300 left after SXSW. You can get via the Prophase site here. Some of these jams may appear on forthcoming releases in a differently mastered form, but we shall see. For now though... don't sleep on this one!

Yahowha 13 - Can We Go Now?
Recorded live March 2009

Janina Angel Bath - Life Everlasting Flowers (video)

2010-03-28T07:56:00.003-04:00

From Janina Angel Bath's Gypsy Woman on Prophase Music... CD out now, LP coming soon...

AMT in the newz!

2010-03-27T18:19:00.003-04:00

Prophase/Alien8 Acid Mothers night gets some love from Japan Times article on Japanese bands at SXSW

The best Japanese performance, and one of the top shows at the fest, came from Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO on SXSW's opening night at bar Rusty Spurs. Just before starting, band founder Makoto Kawabata said to the soundman, "Can you push my guitar sound to the audience as loud as possible, please" as the crowd grinned in anticipation.

All in their 40s or older, the quartet began the first of several fantastic psychedelic jams with the insanely high volume causing the floor to shake and bits of dirt to fall from the ceiling. With things winding down, Kawabata and bassist Atsushi Tsuyama climbed atop the speakers at the sides of the stage. Kawabata began rubbing his instrument along the ceiling and then on the speaker adding a greater experimental edge to the proceedings. The audience roared their approval, but their cheers were buried under an avalanche of feedback.

Read the whole thing as they say, especially Kawabata's take on Japan Nite.

Also! The March 24th 2010 AMT at the Bottom of the Hill has been posted to archive.org, thanks Michael Z!

Acid Mothers Temple Live action... March 22 2010

2010-03-24T14:52:00.001-04:00

From Monday in LA... thanks to Claudezachery/Dan!

Make sure you see them on tour!

Acid Mothers Temple 2010 USA Tour Dates UPDATED

2010-03-11T12:31:00.002-05:00

Hey all,

Starting at SXSW next week and they are off! Dig it! Also, you can pick up the vinyl of Are We Experimental? and the Kawabata/Michishita LP Maru Sankaku Shikaku (Circle Triangle Square), too!

Wed 17 March "SXSW" Rusty Spurs - Austin TX (at 1:00 a.m.)
Thu 18 March "SXSW" Canvas - Austin TX (at 4:15 p.m.)
Thu 18 March "SXSW" ESCAPES III - Austin TX (at 7:30 p.m.)
Fri 19 March "SXSW" Design within Reach - Austin TX (at 6:20 p.m.)
Fri 19 March "SXSW" Club 1808 II - Austin TX (at 1:00 a.m.)
Sat 20 March "MtyMx Festival" Autocinema Las Torres - Monterrey Mexico ttp://toddpnyc.com/mtymx/
Sun 21 March "WXSW Fest" Plush - Tucson AZ ttp://www.plushtucson.com/
Mon 22 March Casbah - San Diego CA ttp://www.casbahmusic.com/
Tue 23 March Spaceland - Los Angeles CA ttp://www.clubspaceland.com/
Wed 24 March Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco CA ttp://www.bottomofthehill.com/
Fri 26 March Mississippi Studios - Portland OR ttp://www.mississippistudios.com/
Sat 27 March Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver BC ttp://www.biltmorecabaret.com/
Sun 28 March Sunset Tavern - Seattle WA ttp://www.sunsettavern.com/
Wed 31 March 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis MN ttp://www.first-avenue.com/
Thu 01 April The Picador - Iowa City IA ttp://www.myspace.com/thepicador
Fri 02 April Empty Bottle - Chicago IL ttp://www.emptybottle.com/home.php
Sat 03 April Crofoot Ballroom Pike Room - Pontiac MI ttp://www.thecrofoot.com/
Sun 04 April El Mocambo - Toronto ON ttp://www.elmocambo.ca/
Mon 05 April La Sala Rossa - Montreal PQ ttp://www.casadelpopolo.com/
Tue 06 April Middle East Upstairs - Cambridge MA ttp://www.mideastclub.com/
Wed 07 April Knitting Factory - Brooklyn NY ttp://bk.knittingfactory.com/
Thu 08 April DC9 - Washington DC ttp://www.dcnine.com/
Fri 09 April Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia PA ttp://www.johnnybrendas.com/
Sat 10 April Ottobar - Baltimore MD ttp://www.theottobar.com/
Sun 11 April Local 506 - Chapel Hill NC ttp://www.local506.com/
Mon 12 April Pilot Light - Knoxville TN ttp://www.thepilotlight.com/
Tue 13 April Grey Eagle Tavern - Asheville NC ttp://www.thegreyeagle.com/
Wed 14 April Cosmic Charlie's - Lexington KY ttp://cosmic-charlies.com/
Thu 15 April Hi-Tone Cafe - Memphis TN ttp://www.hitonememphis.com/
Fri 16 April The Loft - Dallas TX ttp://www.theloftdallas.com/
Sat 17 April Emos Alternative Lounge - Austin TX ttp://www.emosaustin.com/

Acid Mothers Sunday vol 23: Take Up Thy Kaleidoscope (excerpt)

2010-03-07T13:21:00.006-05:00

For this this Acid Mothers Sunday, we go back to the originals, Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. and an excerpt of the bonus track to the should-be-in-this-week double vinyl version of Are We Experimental? on Prophase Music. "Take Up Thy Kaleidoscope" clocks in at 20 minutes or so, taking up one side of the double vinyl reissue (mastered for vinyl by Yoshida Tatsuya).

This is the first five minutes, a slow building, bluesy (for AMT) jam that gets more and more insane as the track goes on. Lots of panning and craziness and even some references to past AMT classics near the end. Kind of the opposite of a lot of the proper album (which featured shorter songs and more music concrete and less actual jamming), making it a great edition to the regular CD. Once again, they save some of their best stuff for vinyl only bonus tracks, it seems.

The double LP gatefold colored vinyl deal will be ready for the AMT show at SXSW so you can get it there (and AMT will have it on their USA/Canda 2010 Tour). As soon as a purchase link goes up on the Prophase site I will post it (here). 500 of these pressed and pretty much going insanely fast, so get 'em while you can. Dig some of the color schemes below:

(sorry for the goofy song naming by the way)

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Take Up Thy Kaleidoscope (excerpt)

UPDATE: I received my copies this week and they look amazing. The green/orange record is the most psychedelic looking slab of vinyl I have ever seen. UNREAL!!! Anyways, you can now buy one via Prophase, these are going super fast so get on board now!

UPDATE II: A reader asked about the colored vinyl counts, 500 total pressed:
150 on Blue
150 on Green
200 on Luscious Purple

Mondo Drag on Daytrotter

2010-02-23T17:55:00.003-05:00

Not sure how I missed this, but headly dudes, Mondo Drag did the Daytrotter thing and it sounds fucking fantastic. Dig it here. Strangely enough, drummer Johnny is the guy who does the kinda Finster/Steve Keeneesque artwork for the Daytrotter sessions. I had no idea! Enjoy and of course buy their new record, New Rituals on Alive.

Ascension

2010-02-17T07:20:00.003-05:00

Lots of awesome mid 90s greatness in the form of Stefan Jaworzyn and Tony Irving's guitar/drums duo Ascension. Check out most of their releases on No Not Fun Not No blog. Thanks to them for posting this long out of print stuff, nice blasts of jazz/noise guitar and spazz drums. Amazing how good this stuff holds up.

A decent wrap up on them here on the Skullflower blog. Anyone have Jaworzyn's solo set on WKDU from 1996 listed on that blog? If so, please get in touch!

Yahowha 13 - Sonic Portation now on vinyl

2010-02-06T08:56:00.004-05:00

While it has been out for a few weeks now, I seem to have neglected to mention that Yahowha 13's spacey awesome reunion album, Sonic Portation is now available on vinyl via Prophase Music.

This one still blows my mind, I constantly hear new things on each listen and the vinyl does seem to bring out some more coloring in the background. Cool black/blue vinyl with white flecks, gatefold sleeve (which makes Djin's totally out there but awesome liner notes much easier to read than the CD version), and now credited to Yahowha 13, instead of Yahowa 13... yeah! Once again, limited to 500 copies, this time actually hand numbered. Enjoy!

Don't forget to see Yahowha 13 share the stage with Acid Mothers Temple at the Alien8/Prophase night on March 17 if you are gonna be at SXSW!

Prophase Music/ Alien8 Recordings Night SXSW: March 17 2010

2010-01-31T09:43:00.003-05:00

Okay, I am pretty sure I can mention this now... but after lots of planning, of which I did none, here is the awesome, awesome line up of the Prophase Music/ Alien8 Recordings night at SXSW:

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
Yahowha 13
Plastic Crimewave Sound
Black Feelings
Duchess Says

Wow, holy shit! Yahowha 13 and AMT and more... and more to be announced! ahhh!!!

Wed March 17 6:00pm
Rusty Spurs
405 East 7th Street
Austin, TX 78701-3316
(512) 482-9002

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol. 22: Mainliner - Troop (LA -039)

2010-01-24T09:35:00.004-05:00

And for the first AMT Sunday of 2010, here is one I said I would post ages ago, but it somehow slipped my mind (and thanks for the reminder, dear readers). This is Mainliner's awesome Troop cassette from Nanjo's La Musica label with a catalog number of LA-039. This one contains different versions of the jams on the ultra pound fuzz Mainliner debut CD, Mellow Out. This one is the original Mainliner with Kawabata, Nanjo and drummer Hajime Koizumi. For a good overview of Mellow Out, check out Julian Cope's take.

Here is the scoop on Troop from the La Musica catalog:

Psychedelic heavy group, aka High Rise II, that reinterprets High Rise's concept on an eve heavier plane. Compilation of special acid takes, comprising an acid cool mix version of the first album and 3 bonus tracks.

You will note on my rip of the cassette, I somehow left off "Cockamamie (Take II)," I am not sure why this is the case, but please forgive. Hopefully there is enough in the red riffness to distract you from the incompleteness.

Mainliner - Troop (LA-039)

Mondo Drag - New Rituals CD/LP

2010-01-23T09:35:00.005-05:00

Friends of Nice Pooper and all around nice guys, the awesome Mondo Drag have a new album out on Alive. New Rituals is a great, trippy cauldron of psych, stoner rock, and hell, grunge? Anyways, if you dug their last one, Holy Spirit, this one is even better and kinda expands on those themes but a bit... more. Plus some mellower sounds are seeping into the deal for most awes effect. Also, their rad version of "Rosemary" will be on the often delayed burnt psych G.Dead tribute comp I am putting together.

Strapping Field Hands Tonight @ Johnny Brenda's

2010-01-08T10:58:00.002-05:00

Yay! Opening for Kurt Vile.

And some ink!

Acid Mothers Sunday vol 21: Penguin House Dec 18 2009

2009-12-19T11:02:00.007-05:00

Full on blizzard mode here on the East Coast USA... so here is an AMT Sunday a day early. This time around, we have three sets from basically last night at Penguin House in Tokyo Koenji. Miminokoto (with Kawabata), Leningrad Blues Machine and Tsurubami recorded and uploaded by AMT message board poster Fuyuki. Great sets and awesome recordings with an AMT tie in for each band. Kawabata sits in with Miminokoto, Leningrad Blues Machine is Cosmic Inferno bassist Tabata's psych band (and of course we all recall Leningrad Psychedelic Blues Machine) and Tsurubami features Kawabata and Hiroshi from AMT. Whew!

Miminokoto with Kawabata - Live Dec 18 2009 Penguin House

Leningrad Blues Machine - Live Dec 18 2009 Penguin House

Tsurubami - Live Dec 18 2009 Penguin House

(can I just mention the awesome jam about 6 minutes into the Leningrad Blues Machine set sounds like Legion of Mary? Wow.. amazing.)

Thanks again, Fuyuki!

Yesterday I received the new AMT label disc, Acid Mothers Temple with with Ichiraku Yoshimitsu, AMT Festival Vol 7, a 16 track live recording that sounds phenomenal, but wow... check out the artwork!!

Marble Sheep Live Nov 7 2009 M Room Philadelphia

2009-12-11T07:50:00.005-05:00

Hey now... here is the audio from the Marble Sheep show at the M Room in Philly from last month courtesy of Mike from Prophase. I am not quite sure of the track listing, so any help in the comments is appreciated of course!

Marble Sheep - Nov 7 2009 M Room Philadelphia (12 songs @ 192)

Kawabata & Michishita - Maru Sankaku Shikaku (Circle Triangle Square) LP

2009-12-07T10:48:00.008-05:00

The super duper awesome and long awaited Kawabata Makoto and Michishita Shinsuke LP Maru Sankaku Shikaku (Circle Triangle Square) just arrived and is available now from ye olde Prophase Music.

Two side long jams created by the Acid Mothers Temple main man Kawbata and Michishita from LSD March. This time around they use acoustic "ethnic" instruments creating some nice havoc in the drone world. Gorgeous green splatter vinyl in a gatefold sleeve! More pics coming later today... also this release is available on iTunes, yalls!

First snow of the season....

2009-12-06T09:21:00.001-05:00

Acid Mothers Sunday Vol 20: Blues for the Narcotic Kangaroo

2009-12-06T08:26:00.007-05:00

This one is one of my all time favorite Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO tracks. "Blues for the Narcotic Kangaroo" is a 20+ plus minute jam that is one of the most unique songs in the AMT cannon. This one was only released on the tour vinyl that AMT were selling on their 2007 Crystal Rainbow Pyramid tour. Released by Important Records on splattered vinyl in an edition of 1000. The regular CD of Crystal Rainbow Pyramid Under the Stars is one of my fave AMT releases and it is a slight shame that "Blues For the Narcotic Kangaroo" is not on the CD, but hell, the vinyl looks and sounds fantastic.

In addition to the "regular" AMT members, this song includes Kitagawa Hao on vocals and Ono Ryoko on saxophone. Ono Ryoko also plays with Sax Ruins and she plays in O-jazz with Tsuyama.

I just can't stress enough how much I love Ono's playing with AMT, it is a match made in heaven. She has the power and control to make some fantastic noise and washes of free squawk. But... as the blues of the title refers, this one features some rather trad playing, big Clarence Clemons storm clouds of emotional wow. Things get weirder and weirder with Ono and Kawabata way out front on this recording and the interplay between his guitar and her sax is just incredible. Things get super chaotic and the only thing holding on is a one note "Interstellar Overdrive" style plink while everything else swirls and pans from left to right at a dizzying pace. Things get more "Speed Guru" as the song goes on, faster and extreme, Ono keeping up most of the time. Unreal. I wish they would tour the USA with her, would love to hear her playing on a whole AMT set, especially "Pink Lady Lemonade." Oh man! Anyways, check it out and enjoy. It seems the LP is still available, so pick it up if you can.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO - Blues For the Narcotic Kangaroo vinyl rip @ 320

(photo is from AMT 2007 at the Unitarian Church Philadelphia, their only tour with vocalist Kitagawa Hao)

Acid Mothers Sunday: Vol. 19: Live In Occident

2009-11-22T14:46:00.004-05:00

Wow, I haven't done one of these in ages. Anyways, for this one, I have uploaded a rip of the Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO's first live vinyl, Live In Occident.

The seemingly gone Detector put this 2 LP colored vinyl gatefold in 2000. Decent live recordings of Acid Mothers Temple's various live shows in 1999, though unfortunately the Philly show at the Khyber that was my first AMT live show is not represented. If anyone has a recording of that one, please get in touch!

Anyways, this is the classic line up with Kawabata, Cotton, Higashi, Tsuyama and Koizumi Hajime tearing through America and the UK. It features the weird ass free jazz spazz jams like "Rising From the Cool Fool Inferno" that this line up squeezed in between the earlyish versions of "Pink Lady Lemonade" and "Speed Guru." And of course the over the top improv jam of "Acid Milk Milky Way Also Jupiter 888."

The highlight on this one for me is the sublime and beautiful "Astrological Overdrive." Cotton's vocals may be the most missed aspect of modern AMT and this performance gives a solid reason why. Her vocals mix perfectly with Tsuyama's, especially when he gets demonic and she remains angelic. It is a one of the great lost Acid Mothers songs, appearing no where else to the best of my knowledge, but it is 18 minutes of swirling but simple psych, foreshadowing jams like "La Novia" and "Soleil de Cristal et Lune d'argent" and even "Cometary Orbital Drive." Another mandatory jam on this one is another kinda lost song, "Blue Velvet Blues." This one didn't survive the AMT set list much after the first two tours it seems, but such a great song, again, another showcase for Cotton's vocals. While the ultimate version of the song is on the 2LP reissue of Pataphisical Freak Out Mu!!, this version is heavy and deep features a weird clapping jam with the audience not to far into the song, hazy and totally strange, almost like the "Chanting" on this Dead show. The super pretty main riff is colored by very light guitar playing and then crushing synth noise blasts. Totally incredible.

Detector didn't seem to last too long, though they did release a 7" and a 10" by Cotton's pre AMT band, Mady Gula Blue Heaven. This one has been out of print for a pretty long time and if it ever gets reissued I will pull it down, of course, but it is a key part to the AMT puzzle for sure.

This one is loaded at 256. Enjoy.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO - Live In Occident (Detector Records, 2000)

1. Acid Milk Milkyway Also Jupiter 888
2. banter
3. Rising From The Cool Fool Inferno
4. Astrological Overdrive
5. Pink Lady Lemonade
6. Blue Velvet Blues
7. Speed Guru
8. Lucille

UPDATE: The fine folks at Essence Music have reissued this in a remixed version on CD, limited to 500 copies in a gatefold sleeve. The sound is great, highly recommended!

Pics: Strapping Field Hands Nov 19 2009 @ Kung Fu Necktie

2009-11-21T17:16:00.004-05:00

After an awesome Jesus Lizard show at the Starlight Ballroom on Wednesday, the class of '94 week totally continued with a rare (reunion?) show from the Strapping Field Hands at Kung Fu Necktie. Tons of old heads at both shows, lots of bald spots and glasses, mine included. I swear there more girls at the Field Hands show than the Lizard one.

Anyways, the Field Hands were great, a tad sloppy, sometimes out of tune, but totally perfect in their deal. Sure, I wish they had played more songs from Discus and I wish they were rocking the 2 drummer line up, but so it goes. The remastered reissue of the CD is due in Jan 2010 (available now on iTunes) and hopefully will lead to more Field Hands show. I would love to see them hop on that "do an album front to back" trend and play the entire Discus album in the future. At the Khyber. Fingers crossed. Anyway, here are some pics from from the shambling shamen. Sorry for the extra blurriness, but I was trying to recreate my mind state of 1994 with lots of porter and smoke.

Acid Mothers Temple 2010 USA Tour Dates

2009-11-19T17:12:00.002-05:00

From Windish

Philly show is April 9 at Johnny Brenda's...

Sun 03/21/10 Plush - Tucson AZ
Mon 03/22/10 Casbah - San Diego CA
Tue 03/23/10 Spaceland - Los Angeles CA
Wed 03/24/10 Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco CA
Fri 03/26/10 Mississippi Studios - Portland OR
Sat 03/27/10 Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver BC
Sun 03/28/10 Sunset Tavern - Seattle WA
Wed 03/31/10 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis MN
Thu 04/01/10 The Picador - Iowa City IA
Fri 04/02/10 Empty Bottle - Chicago IL
Sat 04/03/10 Crofoot Ballroom Pike Room - Pontiac MI
Sun 04/04/10 El Mocambo - Toronto ON
Mon 04/05/10 La Sala Rossa - Montreal PQ
Tue 04/06/10 Middle East Upstairs - Cambridge MA
Wed 04/07/10 Knitting Factory - Brooklyn NY
Thu 04/08/10 DC9 - Washington DC
Fri 04/09/10 Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia PA
Sat 04/10/10 Ottobar - Baltimore MD
Sun 04/11/10 Local 506 - Chapel Hill NC
Mon 04/12/10 Pilot Light - Knoxville TN
Tue 04/13/10 Grey Eagle Tavern - Asheville NC
Wed 04/14/10 Cosmic Charlie's - Lexington KY
Thu 04/15/10 Hi-Tone Cafe - Memphis TN
Fri 04/16/10 The Loft - Dallas TX
Sat 04/17/10 Emos Alternative Lounge - Austin TX

UPDATED

Thursday Nov 19! Strapping Field Hands @ Kung Fu Necktie

2009-11-18T09:52:00.002-05:00

Don't forget!! Class of '95 representing!!

Marble Sheep: Live June 8 1991 Shinjuku Antiknock Tokyo

2009-11-09T08:40:00.004-05:00

With all the pics and stuff about Marble Sheep's recent visit to the Keystone State, I figured I would load up an older Marble Sheep & The Run Down Sun's Children show. This one is from 1991, June 8 at Shinjuku Antiknock in Tokyo. I got this one on cassette back in the mid 90s when I was on a crazy tape trade binge with a Japanese dude, my G.Dead for his Marble Sheep! Man... Anyways, not sure on the track list, drop a line if you know it, etc. or leave comments... thanks!

Marble Sheep & The Run Down Sun's Children - Live June 8 1991 Shinjuku Antiknock

UPDATE: Marble Sheep interview on jrawk blog here.

Marble Sheep, Plastic Crimewave Sound, Kohoutek: M Room Philly Nov 7 2009

2009-11-08T17:49:00.010-05:00

Day two of the Eastern PA Marble Sheep/Plastic Crimewave tour landed at the M Room in Philly! Woo! We were kinda burnt from the awesome whirl of the night before in Bethlehem but hopes and excitement was high for this one. After the usual scramble for parking, we rolled in and hung out with Prophase Mike and Kenzinger pints.

Kohoutek played a great heavy set with Clint from Bardo Pond on bass. The tribal jam action mixed with Monster Magnet big riffs sometimes bouncing around, joined by blasts of musically murky noise, kinda like that Boris and Merzbow live album. The blasts were big and echoed around the small space, more like clouds than lasers. A really peppy set that found them hitting pockets of greatness regularly. Mike mentioned a bit of shoegaze and I can definitely see that as well. Regardless, every Kohoutek gig is different, so don't miss any!

Sean from The Twin Atlas rolled in and we were stoked to see him. Plastic Crimewave Sound kicked out the jams as they say. The definitely benefited from a better sound system than the night before, Steve's vocals were actually audible so that was cool. That said, I have to concur with Mike again, it was a darker vibe from them, mixing a bit more snarl, putting more of the punk in the space punk, but more angry noise too. Regardless, they still had tons of chaos mixing some Altamont with, uh, I don't know, the Playboy Mansion?

After a stroll outside, we headed in for Marble Sheep, the long running psychedelic institution from Japan. Their wild and woolly show from the night before was still making our ears ring, but I couldn't help but get up front once again, who knows when this will happen again? Another powered up, high energy set, again the sound was a bit better in some ways, but the way the dual drums filled up the space in Bethlehem was tough to beat. Similar set as the night before, again hitting that super rock tribal high regularly. Space Punk indeed! I have to admit, watching them work it two nights in a row definitely winded me and I was just watching. Go see the rest of the tour if you can!! We snagged some merch (the Sheep's merch table rivals Acid Mothers Temple's!) and said our goodbyes and got pics with Captain Trip head honcho Ken and all that jazz to a slow motion drive home listening to the Clipse while rolling past Club Plush!

Marble Sheep, Plastic Crimewave Sound, Fursaxa, We Have Heaven Bethlehem Nov 6 2009

2009-11-07T14:47:00.007-05:00

Great show last night in Bethlehem featuring great sets from all four freak outfits which have magically been preserved for download here.

Don't forget, Marble Sheep, Plastic Crimewave Sound, Kohoutek and Gondola at the M Room in Philly tonight, Saturday Nov 7!

We rolled up after work and while looking for the place, we saw some Japanese freaks crossing the street and going into a bar so we knew we were close. Saw Eric Raw Pogo and parked and hit the same bar (and you can smoke there!)for some beers and watching the Sheep hold court before heading over to the space, a cool basement with couches and murals, ya know.

We Have Heaven were great, stripped to a three piece of two guitars and drums. Shimmering chimey guitar chugging in that early Spacemen 3 school of drone, really connected tonight. After heading out for a smoke and such, we rolled back in all smiles for an amazing piece from Fursaxa. I haven't see Tara perform in ages and this simple set up of sampler (etc) and bells and voice was really powerful and perfect. Swirling layers of sound, filling up the room; the lights and shadows playing all over the walls, really meshing everything together. We were totally blown away and stunned after her short performance. Definitely needed some fresh air and thought collecting, Tara's music totally took my brain out of a cinderblock basement and into some sorta time travelish void, nothing super out there, daydreaming but being nudged along by the sound and vision...

After that fresh air, we rolled in for our first sight of the new Plastic Crimewave Sound, new bass player and Crimewave's bro on second guitar. Super psychy crunch, a bit more noise and way more heaviosity from that SG using bro. A weird inversion of the Djin & Plastic Crimewave Sound tour from last year, this one was more like Tony Iommi Wayne Kramer sitting in with the Sound. Super riffage with way effected solos and noise.

Couldn't believe I was actually gonna see Marble Sheep... One of thee first Japanese psych bands I got into, never thought I would actually see them live. So excited! Right up front for the weirdness... Captain Trip records head Ken on guitar and vocals and then... two drummers... SG rocking clown... and a leopard gal on bass. It made no sense, it was great! While I will always love the G.Dead era of the Sheep, their new stuff made a lot more sense after witnessing the deal live. Full on tribal killer space psych, definitely hitting on hard rock with big ass riffs and overloaded effects kinda like Hawkwind. Definitely cramming a ton of sounds into a small space, propelled by the two drummers vs the two guitarists while the leopard bass held down the down. Total frenzy that was really fun but taking some super frying trips into inner space. So worth the wait. So awesome.

Marble Sheep tonight!! Bethlehem!

2009-11-06T09:10:00.007-05:00

Tonight's the night, yo!

The long long long awaited Marble Sheep USA tour is underway and the ship lands tonight in Bethlehem. Drop a line if you need directions!

Also tonight... Plastic Crimewave Sound, We Have Heaven and Fursaxa... it is truly a dream show!!! Just Stay On The Up Side!!!!

UPDATE: Tonight's show will be streamed online here: http://radio23.org/listen3.m3u

WOW!!!

And of course... Marble Sheep and PCWS are at the M Room in Philly tomorrow with Kohoutek!

(argh, how do I make that top video fit my margins!?)

Marble Sheep & Plastic Crimewave Sound Nov 2009 USA Tour Again

2009-11-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

Thanks to comment from ark, here are the dates for the Marble Sheep/ Plastic Crimewave Sound with addresses, times and such! Wooo!

*11/03--Chicago--The Whistler w/Great Society Mind Destroyers, 9:30pm
*11/04--Detroit--Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (5141 Rosa Parks Blvd.) w/Frustrations Katt Hernandez/Eve Risser and Darkred (ex-Paik), 8pm
*11/05--Pittsburgh--The Nerve (500 Dargan Street at Minerva St.) w/Dire Wolves, 7pm (yes, an early show)
11/06 bethlehem, pa secret arts space. with fursaxa and we have heaven
*11/07--Philadelphia--The M Room (15 W. Girard Ave) w/Kohoutek and Gondola, 9:30pm
*11/08--Brooklyn--The Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Ave.) w/No Neck Blues Band and 12000 Trees, 8pm
*11/09--Brooklyn-Matchless bar (557 Manhattan Ave.) w/Verily White Hills and Slasher Risk, 8:30pm
*11/10--Baltimore--Golden West Cafe (1105 W.36th St) w/Mother Sun Flower (mem. of Flying Eyes), 10pm
*11/11--Cleveland--Now That's Class (11213 Detroit Ave, Cleveland OH 44102) w/Puffy Areolas and Flat Can Co.,10pm

(go Phillies!)

Makoto Kawabata US West Coast Solo Tour 2009

2009-10-29T16:21:00.002-04:00

Here ya go!

All dates feature Makoto Kawabata and ?Alos (Stefania Pedretti of OvO, from Italy).

myspace.com/kawabatamakoto

myspace.com/signorinaalos

thu
29-Oct-09
Portland
Berbati's - Fall Into Darkness festival
w/Earth, SubArachnoid Space, Aerial Ruin

fri
30-Oct-09
Seattle
Dissonant Plane Records (7-9)
in-store w/Aerial Ruin

sat
31-Oct-09
Seattle, WA
Rendezvous
w/Amber Asylum, Thrones, Sugar Skulls, Aerial Ruin

sun
1-Nov-09
drive

mon
2-Nov-09
Santa Cruz, CA
Blue Lagoon
w/Mammatus

tue
3-Nov-09
San Francisco, CA
Hemlock
w/3 Leafs

wed
4-Nov-09
Los Angeles, CA
Mountain Bar
w/Exhausted Prayer, Aerial Ruin

thu
5-Nov-09
Fresno, CA
Tokyo Garden
w/Fights Monsters

fri
6-Nov-09
Oakland, CA
Terminal

sat
7-Nov-09
Arcata, CA
Jambalaya

World Series Game One: Phils 6, Yanks 1

2009-10-29T09:34:00.004-04:00

Awesome! Phuck Yeah!

Gif via The Fightins

Black Taco via Ruiz for Life!

Phillies Win 2009 NLCS!!!! Wooooo!

2009-10-22T12:28:00.004-04:00

Oh hell yeah! Taste it, Dodgers... go Angels, at least to seven games anyways!

Catch up on the best videos/fan reactions, dumb asses, etc over at The Fightins

Fav Song Today: Prize Country - Regular Nights

2009-10-21T10:23:00.005-04:00

Ok, full disclosure, the company I work for distro's this title, but even if we didn't, it is fucking awesome. As far as new school punk stuff goes, this reminds me of Hose.Got.Cable, Heroin, Indian Summer, but a little more NOW. Anyways, enjoy!

Prize Country - Regular Nights from With Love on Hex Records. Awesome album cover too.

Mable Sheep/Plastic Crimewave Sound Tour Nov 2009

2009-10-20T09:51:00.005-04:00

Just some more info on the local shows for the super awesome and much anticipated Marble Sheep USA 2009 tour with Plastic Crimewave Sound. Here are the dates in full:

nov.3-chicago-whistler
nov.4-detroit-detroit contemorary
nov.5-pittsburg-the nerve
nov.6-bethlehem, PA-Secret Art Space (with We Have Heaven and Fursaxa)
nov.7-philadelphia- the M Room
nov.8-ny-knitting factory
nov.9-ny-matchless
nov.10-baltimore-golden west cafe
nov.11-cleveland-now that's class

So the Philly show is now at the M Room and the opening bands are Kohoutek and Gondola.

Here is a flyer for the Bethlehem show and a post from Eric about it here.

It is gonna be so awesome, esp with super rad openers Fursaxa and We Have Heaven.

And of course, don't forget Chicago's psych punk road warriors, Plastic Crimewave Sound opening all shows. I hear Marble Sheep and PCWS are gonna jam the fuck out of Pavement's "5-4= Unity!"

Marble Sheep were one of thee first Japanese psych bands I picked up on and their mid period with intense Grateful Dead love is/was so in tune with my head, I will always be a mark for 'em, even if they seemed to have dropped the Deadness more or less... I am stoked to finally meet Marble main man and Captain Trip Records honcho Ken Matsutani (Captain Trip put out the God and Hair Yahowha 13 Box Set originally, so it all is CONNECTED!!!).

RANCID VAT - Deeds of the Damned video

2009-10-19T13:24:00.004-04:00

Wow, this came out of nowhere, I was looking for that Surgery video where they are in their ambulance, but holy crap, never even knew this existed! The West Coast/Steve Wilson era of Rancid Vat!

some live Antiseen

2009-10-18T08:13:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of the Drunk, Loud and Shoddy blog that I found while searching for some info on the Maximum Rock and Raoul comp that Eric posted recently. Something to listen to while you are reading Going Underground.

Nov 19: The Return of the Strapping Fieldhands!!!

2009-10-14T07:58:00.003-04:00

Wow, most awesome! To celebrate the remastered re-release of their debut LP Discus, the Strapping Field Hands are playing on Nov 19 at Kung Fu Necktie.

Wooo!

Photos: Antiseen at the Khyber Oct 10 2009

2009-10-12T09:51:00.010-04:00

Headed down to this one solo, literally worrying about parking in Olde City for like a day before I actually went down. One loop around and found parking within a block of the Khyber. Yay! As I was heading in I saw Joe Young from Antiseen checking out the parking restriction signs on 2nd street, so I was stoked they made it and hoping they were not getting towed, etc. PPA Must Die! I was also happy the Phils/Rockies game was postponed, not that the Khyber is a bad place to watch a playoff game, but ya know. Strolling up the street I saw lots of inked up punker types outside smoking and holding court. I honestly have no idea how popular Antiseen are these days, they haven't played Philly in 5 years, so I was definitely stoked to see a crowd already hanging out. $$$!

Caught some of the opening bands who were not the bands listed on the Khyber calender to the best of my knowledge. First band was kinda Howlin Rain, southern rock. Decent jams and a great guitarist and the bass player had an awesome kinda dub sound compared to the Skynardisms of the guitarist. I can see good things once they tighten up, definitely. Not very punk but still a good band to play with Antiseen so that was rad. Not sure who they were, though. Alas. I was enjoying some Yuengling Porter at this point, but I had seen two sets of flashing lights pulling folks over on the drive down, so I was keeping it pretty much in check for this one. Saw Jeff from Antiseen and said howdy and commenced my deal of hanging outside, smoking cigarettes and watching the mess that is Olde City in the 21st Century. It really is pretty amazing, if you have been to any shows at Nick's back in the previous millennium, you know the deal. Used to be a ghost town, now I literally saw 4 bridal parties or whatever that shit is when the chicks wear crowns and get all drunk. So many short skirts and high heels, all having to walk/teeter between hulking skinhead looking types and lots of ink and leather and denim. Such a bizarre culture clash. Hilarious, but ya still want to drive a steamroller down the sidewalk sometimes (and I stole that line from the Cosmic Commander of Wrestling).

Man, the next band, The Murderkill 100 were fucking great. Heavy as shit and gruff vocals, but tight and menacing. Again, not sounding much like "punk rock" or Antiseen, but totally perfect for opening for them. After checking out their myspace, I see that Dane from Derelict Hotel, Alcoholics Unanimous plays drums for 'em. Shit! I had no idea and didn't recognize him at all. Also... there were two other dudes with canes at this show! Antiseen brings out the handicapped. Awww!

Made my way up front for the Badwill Ambassadors themselves, the masters of disaster... and all that. Antiseen. The only punk band that matters. Sorry kids, keep trying. I had high hopes, I mean I haven't seen 'em in five years, they have a new bass player and drummer and they are one of my fave bands of all time, and live, they really have no equals. Some days I think all I need is Antiseen and Acid Mothers Temple. And the Grateful Dead. Seriously.

They blew up immediately, fucking perfect. A few old songs and lots of feedback, "Wifebeater" was great and all that jazz. The new songs they played were cool, too. They amaze me how they have a sound more or less and don't vary from it too often, but they continue to make insanely memorable songs that all stand out. If this was 1980 I would put them up against the Misfits as a perfect singles band. At this point I noticed long time drummer/Triple H lookalike Sir Barry Hannibal was on the drums, most awesome! Glad he is still playing with Joe and Jeff. New bassist was really awesome, he had a melodic sound that reminded me of whomever played bass on the NC Royalty EP. I was wedged up front on the left side of the stage and just as I was thinking "the crowd is kinda mellow" (though super into it, there were lots of sing alongs with the crew, haha) a bunch of fellas got all punky and started running around and jumping into each other. Of course this pile of male bonding wound up plowing into me and everyone else in the front. My knees were about stage level, a little higher and I was knocked over, but my knees stayed still, ground into the stage. Ouch. While I think some of these fellas were a little old to be running into each other all hyped up on suburban angst, perhaps I am a little old to be standing up front at an Antiseen show? Regardless, my knees are pretty bruised up and hurt a lot more the next day. A few brave chicks were in there mixing it up as well and one actually helped me up! Oh well.

The band just kept right on trucking, a well oiled machine plowing through "Up All Night," "Funk U," and the always awesome Ramones cover "Today Your Love" into the 'Seen original "Stormtrooper." While I definitely missed them playing "Sabu" and I really, really wanted to hear "Run My World" and "FTK" I was quite alright with the setlist and the buzzsaw blitz that ended with the anthem "Fuck All Y'all." Around this time Thee Cosmic Commander of Wrestling arrived! Finally! He took the stage to harangue the audience a little and hype everyone for the encore and such. A cooking version of "Fornication" and great singalong of "Animals, Eat 'Em" was an amazing and exhausting finale. Fuck yeah. They do what they do and they keep it fresh and man... kudos to them. 25 years and counting. Awesome. I need this kind of cleansing/purging on a yearly basis, damn!

After blabbing with Cosmo and watching the cops close down the streets as the bars all let out and the fights start (I didn't see any this time around, but my car was only a block away)I hit the road like an old man. My knees are still incredibly sore and bruised, but the Phils won and Antiseen are STILL the best punk band in the world!

PHILLIES!

2009-10-08T12:17:00.001-04:00

OH SHIT

We Have Heaven, GSGA, Art Difuria at Brickbat Books Sept 26

2009-09-24T13:05:00.001-04:00

Radness on Saturday the 26th in Philly... dig it here. Should be cool, Art from the Photon Band doing a solo set, We Have Heaven as the soundtrack for hacky sackin' and GSGA for the sleep time. Or something. Who knows what it will be like?

But such a rad flyer...

Process Church Event: Germ Bookstore Oct 3

2009-09-18T16:29:00.003-04:00

Wow... now this should be pretty great in a month of stuff that is shaping up to be... great!

This is basically the press release (below), Feral House is having a Process event at Germ Books in Philly on Oct 3. Music, readings, signing, etc. I read the book as soon as I got my hands on it and it is great, of course I still prefer Yahowha and the Source Family when it comes to cults, but the Process book was extremely... illuminating. Can't wait to hear the jams!

Lecture/ Slide show/ Booksigning/ Musical Performance:
Saturday, October 3
7PM

LOVE SEX FEAR DEATH:
THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PROCESS CHURCH OF THE FINAL JUDGEMENT (Feral House)
with author TIMOTHY WYLLIE
and editor ADAM PARFREY

Special musical performance by The Sabbath Assembly band, comprised of Imaad Wasif (Tee Pee Records), Jex Thoth (I Hate Records), and David Christian (of No-Neck Blues Band), who will perform Process hymns and songs
Admission $9. ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT STORE OR VIA PAYPAL. Make $9 payment to germbookstore@aol.com

Germ Books + Gallery, LLC
2005 Frankford Avenue
between Norris and Susquehanna
next to Rocket Cat Cafe
Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

215-423-5002