Kronos Quartet w/Tanya Tagaq N. Fitzpatrick 5.5.8
This was perhaps the fifth time I'd seen the Kronos Quartet since 1985 here in LA and each time they amaze me. The Disney Hall venue was the first time I saw them in such an august setting. Still the sparse stage setting is basically the same each time. They began with an LA premiere of Xploding Plastix's "Work" and followed it with one of my favorite bands Sigur Ros' "The Fly Freer." Next was Kaija Saariaho's "Nymphea" Then came their guest singer from the Yukon Territory, Tanya Tagaq. When I visited there once I don't remember seeing anyone quite like her. Really. They did another SoCal premiere called "Nanavut," The native American vocalist prances around each of the four musicians in a white gown with an off the shoulder feather fringe, moaning, cauterwalting and grunting into the mike. After the intermission the quartet returned to do another LA premiere, Kimmo Pohjonen & Samuli Kosminen's "Avara." Followed by a traditional tune, "Tusen Tankar" and then a world premiere which David Harrington described as being most excited to debut. "Tundra Songs," written by Derek Charke was a five part piece which had Ms. Tagaq return to sit this time with the quartet as she sang. The audience gave them two standing ovations at the conclusion. Quite an amazing evening.

Get Well Tsuyama - Japanese New Music Festival Goes on W/O Tsuyama

Unfortunately, bassplayer Tsuyama Atsushi won't be able to perform.

Yoshida and Kawabata play 4 projects by 2 person in this time and they may play with guest musicians at some shows.

But even only 4 projects play in each night...it means each projects play more longer!!

Here's an statement from Yoshida Tatsuya:

Yoshida Tatsuya: 13-04-2008:
Acid Mothers Temple has been toured US for one month and just come back to Japan 2 days ago. In the end of US tour, bassist Tsuyama was infected with the malignant virus in the place to aggravate a cold, and a lymph node line was made to spread. A symptom was very poor, and he entered a hospital soon after he was returned to Japan. it takes more than 2 weeks to cure. so he decided to not come to Europe.

19 april: Guy Segers of UNIVERS ZERO (be) will be playing the bass parts

Anselm Kiefer's Palmsonntag Panels Installation in Los Angeles N. Fitzpatrick 4.18.8
I am at the end of a long school year and with only days left till I give my finals. I needed a break today from the little freak blowing me kisses in sixth period. So it just so happens that the Gagosian Gallery has Kiefer's first exhibit in a decade at their Beverly Hills Gallery. However why would I want to further torment myself with LA Westside traffic when I could check out their one-off installation of his Palmsonntag (Palm Sunday)Panels in an old Baptist Church a mere three miles from my crib? It's near Lafayette Park in the church gym and as the docent mentioned they had a hard time finding a space to fit a sixty foot dead palm tree in, much less one that would let them take a wall out to do it. Once inside you are treated to this sprawling tree laid across the floor with 36 "vitrine" large paintings hung above as a sort of altarpiece. They're a mix of pagan/Christian themes labeled in Polish, German, French, Spanish plus Norwegian and deal with Gregorian chants to the classic German fairytale, Rapunzel. Each panel is comprised of palm fronds, stems and leaves set in clay. Evidently this follows a big installation he just had in the Grand Palais in Paris. The LA shows are up till April 26th. Check it out. Vacation is almost here.

Blek le Rat's North American Debut Art Opening N. Fitzpatrick 4.9.8

Blek le Rat (his name, an homage to a Sixties child's cartoon strip) the famed Parisian forefather of stencil/graffiti art since the Eighties had his first solo American show on April 5th. The long lines outside Echo Park's newest gallery, Subliminal Projects next to Dodger Stadium attested to the buzz surrounding his debut. No doubt he inspired the likes of both Banksy and Shepard Fairey. My gallery pal,had little patience for the long lines, much less stencil art in general but I have to admit I loved the material. A local furniture store further west on Sunset, in Silverlake let him do an angel mural and they placed plexiglas over it to preserve it earlier that day. So I welcome his artistic addition to my neighborhood. Besides he was quite approachable for a photo or autograph for those in attendance. When asked about his the huge turnout he was quite pleased. "My best opening ever," he repled. A great guy as well. more

Silver Mount Zion Orchestra – 13 Blues for 13 Moons (CST Records) Eric Nielsen 4.8.8
This disc grabbed me and I listened to it over and over until I nearly burned out on the intensity and the passion. The artwork and packaging are stellar and really make you want to open the disc and listen to this very spiritual album. This group has a few members from Godspeed You Black Emperor! and it has much of the same instrumentation as the Godspeed discs. The music has many similarities and the listener travels some of the same paths. You can really hear the strings and the orchestral layered sounds. The music relies on the low-end strings – bow on bass or cello while the guitar sits mostly in the back of the mix. The double bass on this album fucking kicks ass!

The singing is great; it’s raw, repetitive, mantra like enchantment beguiles the listen into magic forming alchemy. The voice is upfront and in a register that demands attention and persists in importance. The back up vocals and chants are equally as impressive.

The album is mastered to run through the first 12 songs in 30 seconds of uninterrupted feedback. Song breaks, dynamics, and the consistent tone of the front vocals hide the fact this disc is but four 13-15 minute songs, the first beginning on track 13 to compliment the album’s title. more

Ilya E. Monosov - Seven Lucky Plays or How to Fix Songs For A Broken Heart (Language of Stone) Eric Nielsen 4.7.8
Ilya E Monosov drops 10 songs on his new disc, Seven Lucky Plays or How to Fix Songs For a Broken Heart. One thing Ilya does know how to do is set a mood with creaking attic sounds that permeate the lower registers of ambience behind most of the tracks.

I met Ilya when he lived in SD through a mutual friend, Makoto Kawabata of Acid Mothers Temple. He was working with Kawabata on some drones across the ocean the same time that Kawabata was remixing and releasing my band, Maquiladora's ep "White Sands". We got together a few times to play a little music, have some drags and talk about art. We never meshed but I sensed some interesting ideas about song-making from Ilya that made me very interested to hear this solo disc. more

The Sword - Gods of the Earth (Kemado) Eric Nielsen 4.3.8
The pleasure of The Sword drops in on you like a napalm bomb with repetitive riff power, a modern throwback which aims to please and drops it with ease. Memories flood upon first listen. It sounds to me like the best of the Bay Area early 80's tied to the heavy modern tones utilized in dark death metal. The singing is reminiscent of the classic realized sounds unfettered of baggage, alone in it's pleasure.

Heavy yet approachable, in darkened skies this album opens a door into the inside of the machines. Other bands are doing this sound and it's always hard for me to pull one out to the surface, away from others.

What does make a good album of this nature? Is it the guitar tones, the originality, the lyrics, the leads that grab you? The guitars pop in a way that many of these bands fail to do. It doesn't just scream infinite notes, but rather phrases and intertwines with the story, as do the dynamics of the tracks. more

Coming Soon From Lotus House Records

J. Spaceman Sun City Girls - Mister Lonely Music From a Film by Harmony Korine (Drag City) Eric Nielsen 4.1.8
When the sad circus sounds float out at the beginning of this record and you’re looking at the names involved on the CD and you read Sir Richard Bishop, Sun City Girls, Harmony Korine, Werner Herzog (I love his voice, “We here in the broken nation are tired and bruised.”) and J. Spaceman of Spiritualized and Spacemen Three, you wonder where in the hell this evil little mantra will take you.

J. Spaceman opens with some modern Mercury Rev gentle tinklings and slides with voice-overs and steady background loops (he does a lot of those sounds on this disc). It does sound like a Mister Lonely’s a comin'. This soundtrack allows your mind to imagine some crazy beautiful broken film.

The 20 tracks are split between Sun City Girls (8) and J. Spaceman (12) but they utilize the same tone, texture and often instruments. Most of these vignettes are short with ambience and craziness to project both pleasant and chaotic sibilant sounds. Of course the back and forth between players adds to the juxtaposition when listened to as a whole. more

This is What It Is 4.1.8 N. Fitzpatrick
A special premiere of "This Is What Is" a new documentary of Daniel Lanois' work was held at The Vista Theatre on March 27th. This lovely venue is eighty-one years old and a remnant of the old DW Griffith backlot across the street on Sunset Blvd. here in Silverlake. The artist currently lives nearby, up in the hills. His band; Brian Blade on drums, Darryl Johnson on bass/backing vocals and Aaron Embry on keyboards/vocals did a brief set beforehand. I was lucky enough to snag a front row, center seat for some of his classics as "The Maker," as well as his latest tunes from his new cd, "This Is What Is." He brought out Brian Blade's father, Brady Blade, Jr. to do a blues belter "This Might Be The Last Time" which floored everyone. The final guest was Billy Bob Thorton in a black suit to do the soliloquy from "Slingblade." The band played backed him and the house sat in hushed silence as the guy in front of me held a spot on him. It was most eerie and he claimed that he hadn't done since the film was made thirteen years ago. The eighty minute film followed at 11pm and was interesting, arty and a bit too long. Any U2 fans will like the recording scenes for their new work, shot in Fez. However I loved the Brian Eno and Emmylou Harris scenes. It's currently available on DVD.

Rameses III – Basilica (Important Records) 3.28.8 Keith Boyd
Blissful ice storm fragments tinkle and ping against each other as they descend on the night wind. Riding on currents from the North they follow their own logic and show you the face of the land as they pass. You stand on a high promontory arms outstretched and eyes wide opened to the wild, wild sky. The tattered sleeves of your robe catch gusts and billow with the promise of flight. A great chord arises from the landscape and settles into the atmosphere for an eternity. Like some Borealis of sound it hovers just above and just out of reach. This ectoplasm of sound expands and contracts in a never-ending octopoid undulation. Bending and swirling it grows to fill ever more space and time. Now from horizon to horizon it reaches; a vast and swirling dome. Your work is done here. You descend the mountain to bear witness to the people below. more

Howlin’ Rain – Magnificent Fiend (American Recordings) Keith Boyd 3.28.8
Once upon in Rock music there was room for the mythic beast known as a hybrid. Bands would splice moments of soul, gospel, funk or what have you into their bag and come up with heart warming melodies that could be stretched out into endless space live but still find room on the Top 40. This paradigm extended to live shows. During the late 60’s through the mid 70’s concerts would celebrate diversity with lineups that could include Miles Davis and The Grateful Dead, Papa John Creech and The Jefferson Airplane. This willingness to blend and bend beyond the rock/pop narcotic was the magick of the times and helped produce the early genius of such acts as Moby Grape, Procol Harum, Elton John and The Band. While being critically celebrated to a certain extent during this period, most of these artists either found limited commercial success (a one hit wonder scenario) or only did so after changing significantly. While the long term money and fame might have eluded some of these acts their output has come around again to show its wide and powerful influence. What to call this sound? It’s definitely springing from the Rock idiom. It’s a mish-mash of something born under the California sunshine but also homegrown in the super Blues groups from England (Terry Riley, John Mayal and Fleetwood Mac (early)). From under that base however we end up with gospel choruses, trembling washes of Hammond B-3 Soul and over the top dynamics that ebb and flow with each piece. This sound has now risen again in the wonderfully capable hands of Howlin’ Rain on their super new disc, “Magnificent Fiend”. more

The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath Chris Dier 3.19.8

So here I am, stuck in traffic. I won’t find out for another 45 minutes or so, but a semi truck, attempting a sharp left turn has not succeeded in a very ugly way. The truck lays in the road on it’s side blocking both lanes of Montezuma traffic. Police lights flash, road flares burn, street lights blink on and off as the sun sets on this scene. Studious college students will gather amongst other interested observers.
In my car, a quarter mile before the cause of my irritatingly abrupt crawl, I insert “The Bedlam in Goliath,” by The Mars Volta. I turn the volume up trying to drown out the constant questions pounding my right ear in rapid succession and the annoying “Gummi Bear” ringtone chiming in the back seat.
I immediately notice the cosmic wailing of Cedric Bixler. It fits my mood, cuz I’m trippin. My Xanax hasn’t fully sedated my nerves. Brake lights are flashing around me, necks are craning out of windows and the song gets funky with synthed rhythms, and wah’ed riffs. With each seemingly improvisational mixture of sound and avant garde blend of instrumentation, my anxiety builds.
My heart is pounding. Sweat is pouring down my face. My breath is lost. I’m physically twitching. My eyes are involuntarily dancing in their sockets. I feel like I’m about to blast off on space mountain, my world is spinning. The noise becomes so overpowering that I try to cover my ears to stop it. It doesn’t stop.
I remove my hands just in time to catch the first line of Metatron, “Maybe, I’ll break down!” That’s it. This is the soundtrack, to my fuckin meltdown. This CD is the soundtrack to my depressive, schizophrenic, manic, anxious mind fucks.
Breathe.
Breathe deeply.
It’s only song 2.

Bauhaus – Go Away White (Bauhaus Music) 3.19.08 Keith Boyd

Those three descending notes are what mattered most. At first it was all dub drums and clatter. Sweepy scrapes of guitar strings added atmosphere and panic. What was this sound? Was it the soundtrack to some German/Jamaican hybrid horror movie? Then those damn notes started. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! And you knew you were not in Kansas anymore Toto! Like many of you out there my first exposure to the Glam/Doom/Goth/? Band Bauhaus was through the exquisitely creepy single, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”. This miniature movie as song while actually standing apart from the bulk of their output seemed to encapsulate the exact feeling of the band. Named for the German art and architecture movement of the 20’s and 30’s this group of weirdoes seemed to pop fully formed out of post-Punk England as if they were Nosferatu coming out of the grave. While remaining the ground-zero for all Goth music to come, Bauhaus had an extra something that I believe elevated them into the realm of the truly great and unique. That of course adds extra meaning and poignancy to this combination Comeback/Breakup disc. more

Drum Strong 2 Featuring San Diego Taiko and Super Sonic Samba School Eric Nielsen 3.17.8

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Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso at the Echo in LA Eric Nielsen 3.16.8

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Acid Mothers Temple Thursday at the Echoplex in LA - Playing Dark Stars in the Dazzling Sky 3.13.8

Acid Mothers Temple Thursday at the Echoplex in LA and at the Che Cafe on Friday

New York Dolls at the Belly Up Tavern 3.10.08 Keith Boyd

Tonight my life was “saved by Rock-n-Roll”. While that tired cliché from Lou Reed might ring false, to many an ear this past Monday night at the glorious Belly Up Tavern it held true and then some. Despite my relatively humdrum existence I found that yet again the release and ass shaking spirit of music has the power to transform. For a few hours on a Monday night in San Diego I felt it and brother let me tell you it was a good thing.

My homegirl Gail and I tripped down the coast in time to catch the openers, We Are The Rage. And while they were highly derivative they managed to perk up a few ears with their Stones/Dolls/Faces/Hanoi Rocks vibe. They embodied the timeless icon of kids everywhere prancing in front of mirrors with a sister’s hairbrush for a microphone and KNOWING that deep inside their suburban hearts lurks the soul of a malformed Mick Jagger. It wasn’t deep folks but it was satisfying. Next up were locals “Grand Ole Party”…What can I say about them and remain kind…I think that anyone who dares set foot on a stage deserves props from having the nerve to do so but this ensembles’ hipster-reggae-80’s-Yeah, Yeah Yeah’s pastiche was too much for me. I liked the singer’s voice when she’d stay away from the high Minnie Mouse registers but those moments were few. Homegirl Gail on the other hand really dug them and felt that it was super to see a powerful woman playing drums and singing. She also could get behind their funk numbers and found it all to be pretty great. I just couldn’t help but feel that they were poorly served by being placed on this bill and that their pretentious tropes fell a bit flat. more

The Black Crowes – Warpaint (Silver Arrow Records) Keith Boyd 3.8.8

At this point in their career is it still fair or even relevant to call The Black Crowes a “FILL IN THE BLANK” retread act? Does it matter that their Bluesy, psychedelic soul rock recalls a mish mash of Stones/Faces/Zeppelin? As of 2008 they’ve been playing for longer than many of their forbearers did and in the major label Rock world aren’t they one of the last acts standing? All arguments to the side I say that when the results are as good as this album the comparisons and conundrum don’t even warrant a notice so I’m getting it out in the open here right at the beginning and we’ll leave it at this; THE BLACK CROWES ROCK!

After an absence in studio output of seven years the Crowes come galloping back into the battle with, “Warpaint” and if this soulful dose of freaky deak doesn’t move you, you might want to schedule an appointment with your head shrinker. Relying less on their poppier instincts the Robinson brothers drive this beast in a blues direction. They come across as Old West preachers drunk on equal parts Gospel and Moonshine. The darkness and regret that permeate tracks such as, “Walk Believer Walk” and “Oh Josephine” is deeply moving and impressive as signposts to Chris Robinson’s growth as a songwriter. While I’m sure that some of this powerful sadness comes from such personal tragedies as divorce, drug abuse and the soul/body wear of touring, The Black Crowes seem to ultimately come across more as wild-eyed prophets than depressive bedroom poets. The tone is one of celebration. A celebration of experience in all of its guises. The Crowes are coming out on the side of life here and are reveling in its wild ride of up’s and down’s. more

Grizzly Bear with the LA Philharmonic at Disney Hall 3.1.8 N. Fitzpatrick
Returning to the Los Angeles for the first time in seven months as headliners, Brooklyn based Grizzly Bear debuted at Disney Hall with the LA Philharmonic. The symphony opened first with classics such as "Rite of Spring" which were felt to reflect the headliner's style. Then Grizzly Bear took the stage with a full set of selected cuts from their works: "Yellow House" and "Horn of Plenty." The "..haunting, layered vocals" of Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen (whom I had just seen solo in January at this same venue in the LA Phil's "Concrete Frequency" series) mesmerized the young crowd backed by the solid rhythm section of Christopher(s)Taylor and Bear. They ended their show after midnight with an encore of The Crystals' "He Hit Me." Coming up this spring,they are scheduled to do a series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music called "Love in Hard Times:The Music of Paul Simon."

Chimaira and Black Tide at SOMA Eric and Krista Nielsen 2.23.8

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The Editors at HOB Chris Mutter 2.14.8
The Editors were great! I've heard their cd and seeing them live was almost like seeing a different band. This can sometimes be a bad thing, but in this case it was a good thing. The Editor's front-man was so passionate about what he was singing that he really made me want to feel the same emotions. His performance was full of exaggerating gestures. If it wasn't genuine it probably would have been one of the strangest things I have ever seen. Somehow it just drew me in. more pics

SUNNO))) - 00 Void (re-issue) (Daymare Recordings/Southern Lord) 2.14.08 Keith Boyd
It’s the Black Hole Sun for real this time. No longer a simple slogan shouted from the tongues of half crazed street anarchists, this DOOM and CRACKING has become manifest. Great fissures appear at the corners of your vision. Terrible Avatars materialize on the altar and spew forth a plague of wasps and locusts. Reversals of all types erupt spontaneously. Men become Women. Day becomes Night. And over the top of it all riding these foul and eldritch winds comes the relentless chiming of the dreaded riff. As Julian Cope once said about the sound of SunnO))), “Don’t blame the messenger!”
Although 00 Void was technically their second release, SUNNO))) allowed several different labels to release versions of it and hence it overlapped with many of their other discs in terms of a timeline. In terms of artistic expression however the album represents a major leap forward. After the worthy “Grimrobe Demos” and “Flight of the Behemoth” SUNNO))) had mined their line about being, “An Earth tribute band” to death. On 00 Void they kept the doomy, down tuned riff sweeping but added significant layering and texture. Some of this was due to the use of samples the rest however was the result of the chiming overtones invoked by multiple tone sweeps being deployed simultaneously. 00 Void is the sound of Leviathan rising from the deeps. It is the ominous peeling off of a blackened layer from the ash after a star burns out. And yet while it seems almost inevitable that this sound should put the listener into the mindset of all things dark and Chthonic, there is another space within filled with blissful, hypnotic light. The wonderful new cover art by Stephen Kasner gives us a clue to this inner spirituality. The front is a vision of countless dots of light which towards the center become almost blinding. Stare at it for awhile and you’ll find yourself thinking of angels and astral voyages. Check it out while listening at maximum volume and you’ll find a hidden realm where Pandit Pran Nath gives heavenly tambor lessons to an assembly of past and present saints of sound. You’ll see La Monte Young throat singing with Terry Riley and Karlheinz Stockhausen giving Black Sabbath a free Helicopter ride. In a frenzy of synaethesia you’ll feel the sound of a river. You’ll taste brighter colors. You’ll swoon people, you’ll swoon. more

From This Week's SD Reader
Pre-Bummer Haight-Ashbury by Jay Allen Sanford 2.13.8
“Ultimately, this music is our attempt to add a tile or two to the fluid mosaic that is California and its mythology,” says Eric Nielsen, one half of experimental space-rock duo High Mountain Tempel.

“It’s our reflection of the waterfalls of Big Sur, the pre-bummer Haight-Ashbury, the traffic and gangs and smog of L.A., the wind-bent branches of Torrey Pines, the falling cinders of canyon fires, the witch covens and guru love nests, the sheer audacity of the Central Valley aqueduct, the Buddha calm of the High Sierras, the gnashing teeth of 1980s punk rock, and the skin-cracking power of a Santa Ana wind.”

Nielsen draws inspiration from such unlikely sources as Terry Riley, Lustmord, Philip K. Dick, and H.P. Lovecraft. He helps run local website blogsandiego.com and performs with outfits like Maquiladora, Buzz or Howl, and various Japanese underground bands (Astro, High Rise, and others).

High Mountain Tempel released a CD late last year on their Lotushouse Records label, A Screaming Comes Across the Sky. According to Nielsen, “It’s the soundtrack to your next apocalypse.”

WHAT’S IN YOUR CD PLAYER?

1. Akron/Family, Love Is Simple: “I’ve heard their live show converts the weary and the reluctant and raises spirits from their vacant lives back into their bodies.”

2. Einstürzende Neubauten, Alles Wieder Offen: “Germanic chants and soundscapes to soothe the rough edges of the day.”

3. Pink Floyd, Obscured by Clouds: “It houses the true, honest underground of spirit and ’70s psychedelia.”

4. Mountain Home, self-titled: “Spooky, subtle drones, haunting vocals, and reinterpretations of old standards.”

5. The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Ekranoplan: “This album is heavy rock in an articulate and heady format. more

Acid Mother’s Temple and the Cosmic Inferno – Ominous from the Cosmic Inferno (Essence Music) Keith Boyd 2.6.8 
           When they are firing on all cylinders, every lineup from the Acid Mother’s Temple universe will kick you ass and blow your mind. The vast profusion of releases and tours means that as listeners we are privy to every turn in their artistic road. This of course can have its’ perils. Just think of it, Kawabata and the band(s) are letting you witness their every passing development and interest in real time, warts and all. I can’t think of a braver, more psychedelic statement than that. Given this tight-rope walk there are bound to be a few clunkers along the way. The wonder is just how few of those actually happen. My particular favorite AMT releases are the ones where they allow the spacey-er elements through and engage in long droning walls of sound. Many of these tend to happen on Kawbata Makoto’s “solo” discs but seeing as he uses the same general cast of characters as a band it’s sort of hard to tell exactly which ones these are. One of the newer lineups in the AMT world is, “Acid Mother’s Temple and the Cosmic Inferno”. From its’ inception the CI version of the group was a beast to reckon with. It seemed as though every album or show was a full-on assault on your sense driven by riff speed and walls of noise. This is not to suggest any unpleasantness whatsoever; I actually like big noisy affairs. But somehow beneath the CI version you could always hear a little something extra going on as well. On their new release, “Ominous from the Cosmic Inferno” they have given free reign to this epic and freaky otherness and as a consequence have put out one of their best albums ever. more

Om’s Chris Hakius Quits! 2.5.8 Keith Boyd
            Another one bites the dust! BSD favorites OM recently announced that drummer Chris Hakius was leaving the band. Bassist Al Cisneros writes; “Om is continuing forward with a new drummer and working on a new recording. Please check omvibratory.com and the band’s MYSPACE page for updates. A live vinyl only LP, “Om- Live at Jerusalem” will be forthcoming”.
            There were no further details about why the split occurred. This news is both shocking and odd considering Om had just released their third and most fully realized album, “Pilgrimage” this year. It is with a heavy heart that we here at BSD say goodbye to these ultra-spiritual, Doomed out riff riders.

Mia Doi Todd - Gea (City Zen Records) Eric Nielsen 2.2.8
On her 7th release, this interesting artist breaks out some ambient beauties.  It’s hard to put into words as it defies and doesn’t try to be like so many other records. Cinematic, graceful and gently harmonic, where her training in Japanese traditional theater whispers and lightly touches your back giving you the tingles. 

The mood is reminiscent of Mrs. Robinson's era, a gentler and mannered time, that plays within the rules while expanding the consciousness of the proceedings. A mindful, thoughtful collection of river songs, a nature setting on a triptych screen painted with birds, long grasses and flowers.  Songs full of natures' rules.

It’s Simon and Garfunkel at times, without the baggage.  Remember how good that was when you first heard it?  Like being barefoot in the high sierras with your feet in a stream and the blinding hot sun of the extreme elevation willing you to see differently.

Hope, wait, be patient, watch, engage, and act in a responsible manner. All these virtues seem to play out and fluctuate through the voice. Even when the guitar sounds fairly traditional, it’s set into the mix in a way that spotlights the voice... and it is the voice that sets the table for the entire piece. more

Yoshi Wada – Lament For The Rise And Fall Of The Elephantine Crocodile (EM/Omega Point Records) by Keith Boyd 1.31.8
About a trillion records and CD’s, thousands of live performances and hundreds of my own various bands later I still find myself floored and amazed by music and it’s endless permutations. The ability of sound to lift us out of our everyday lives and shift our spirit around is (along with the redemptive power of love) perhaps one of the true beauties of being alive. Some how this collection of nerves and muscles and bones and blood and water takes hold of (or produces from within – ie. the voice) an instrument and by manipulating it produces vibrations. These vibrations are true alchemical tools that transform sadness into joy, anger into action, sentiment into love. They hit us all differently and that too is a measure of their magick. I can hear and groove off of Tuvan throat singing, field recordings of the tectonic plates shifting and even peyote rituals of the Mexican Indians that might leave you flat and reaching for the new Tim McGraw or Fallout Boy. Despite how many ways it has been done musicians still find new ways to produce, bend and arrange those vibrations. Some make the old new again. Some obliterate all rational thought. Some come to bury Caesar and others to praise him. The essential point still holds; there is always more room to explore sound. more

Castanets - In the Vines (Asthmatic Kitty) Eric Nielsen 1.29.8
In the Vines lays a slow languorous sound scape treating the ears and the mind to an apocalyptic vision of the present. The foremost theme is set in the downplayed voice. Treating the acoustic guitar to an other world, the vocal happenings are attacked by the ethereal transmissions from outer space. Overdubbed, effected, distorted soundtracks are an out-of-body experience beginning to beckon.

This disc is reminiscent of the new Six Organs of Admittance Shelter From the Ash, and that's a good thing. The extra tracking brings the emotions out, covering up of the sun, the ambient downpour sliding on the lap steel, the breathy piano, the cracks, warbles and pops of the overdubbed textures.

Underneath all the jelly is an alt country piece, the production and layering giving a chance for your imagination to soar. The album definitely has that 'touched by Rafter' feeling. Having worked with Ray on previous Castanets discs, Rafter's stylings and inspirations are included. I hear it in the drums of "Strong Animal" and the soaring effected feedback of the opening track, "Rain Will Come". And, rain does come, painted orange across the setting sun skies.

The greatest piece on the disc for me is the track "Three Months Paid". Drums, vibe, and tweaked sounds all take me to a very far away place of wonder and beauty. A whispered voice sits back in a noble refrained way and rubs the edges of your soul. Something about this track makes me feel like I'm on a lilting star or a pitched pirate ship being battered about by the energies of the solar system. It all goes right through the chakras.

Check out the Castanets live at the Casbah on Jan. 30th with Fantastic Magic, Rafter and Vision of a Dying World.

Vision of a Dying World - Skelephone Call from the Eastern Side Eric Nielsen 1.26.8
Vision of a Dying World has a new piece of music out on Single Screen Records. It’s a 6 song, 16 minute ep that comes out hard, fast and strong. The singing is open throated right from the beginning and moves with abandonment through shorts blasts of sounds. Lots of starts and stops and dynamic shifts lead in with drums and vocals.

The David Lowery comparison works very well for this alt pop country band. The guitars and rhythms strike out country and western on speed. Chasing the bad guys across the southwest in a posse of full galloping horses, the bass is driven by hooks, vocals, and the devil.

Often pieces start in a guitar country riff and then are joined by the rest of the band in a bash of many layers. All sit together very well and are led by the vocals through a Munsters' guitar line or a shimmering vocal strut. Sometimes sounding like the Flaming Lips, most of the songs tread the same vocal frequencies, blasting at you and past you in a 16 minute fevered dream.

Sometimes there are moments where the piece breathes but it’s really about the assault of song structures bound together by momentum. If it weren’t for the country touches, I’d say this album has the energy and theme of a NY Dolls piece. It’s going for the swagger and cockiness with the horns and the self-assured voice. I can imagine these pieces going over well in a live setting. Check them out on January 30th at the Casbah with Rafter, Fantastic Magic and The Castanets.

Seven That Spells – The Men From Dystopia (Beta-Lactam Ring) 1.25.08 Keith Boyd

Goodness Gracious it’s been a long while since I’ve heard such mangled beauty. It’s as though these Croatian freaks (along with Kawabata and Tsuyama from the ALMIGHTY Acid Mother’s Temple!!) have taken every rural folk song from their country, dipped it straight into some gooey psychedelic lightshow liquid and commenced to sprinkle it over their heads.

The going gets weird right away with some plucked sitar and tambura. These lines of brain massaging melody run smack into a pounding mono-riff from Hell and subsequently ride on waves of plinking, plonking and swishing synth lines. Although it’s divided into 5 separate tracks there is no real division here. It’s all one big MASSIVE meltdown and psychedelic endurance test. The guitar is a high light, letting loose with crazy and way over the top solos. These are of course some of the high lights of the disc. It’s as though every Hendrix lick ever recorded has been condensed into one blurry laser gun blast and it’s aimed at a pack of wild cavemen who scatter to the four corners of the Earth to found new religions based on feedback and volume.

There’s no real letup for the whole 70 plus minute ride. You simply sit down, strap in and hold on. Or don’t… Maybe you should just crank this sucker up and let it blast all of the talk of recession/stimulus, Hilary/Obama, Love/Hate, Right/Wrong and any other notion right out of the folds of your over stimulated brain. Let the walls come crumbling down for a change. We could spend weeks analyzing this molten chunk of spiky psychedelia but why bother? It’s more enjoyable to simply let these freak-power currents give your nervous system a reset and boost.

Rafter - Sex, Death, Cassette (Asthmatic Kitty - Release Date 1.22.8) by Eric Nielsen 1.15.8
Full of flavor flav, stacked deep with 19 vignettes of life inside Rafter's circus mind, Sex, Death, Cassette is everything you could hope for. Claps, gentle melodies, beautiful breaks, and singy-sing songs grace the airs as the record gently puts you into a whimsical deep sleep. It transports you through it's stuttered drums and gentle whisper vocals into a cacophonous circus that alternates between acid-tinged realia to off-kilter love-warble nostalgia.

From the grab bag of intrumentation, any sound could come at any moment. The positive message comes between the horns under a subtle wash of tweak-tinged effects, into words exclamated with joyful buzzing, squaking and before you know it, the song is over and another gentle epic proclaims itself.

Big made little. Underplayed mostly, hidden in simplicity, camoflauged in silky sounds, the meaning and magic of the mysticism lies under a bubble wave of broken instruments and backwards tracking. Inviting with the gentle, gentle sweet lyrics, you dig through the pile of tricks to find the spirit. more

Maquiladora To Rerelease White Sands and Ritual of Hearts with 9 Previously Unreleased Tracks, Saint Cecilia's Drowning White Sands and Ritual of Hearts Revisited, on Acuarlea Discos (Spain) on March 25th
Maquiladora is: Eric Nielsen, Bruce McKenzie & Phil Beaumont
With occasional guests from Black Heart Procession, Modest Mouse, Each playing a mixed bag of instruments.

Maquiladora create songs from a sense of place.

Tucked in the south-west corner of the US is San Diego, a city bordered on the north by suburban trail to Los Angeles, to the west by the spirit of the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the vast dimension of the Borrego Desert, and to the south the cacophony of sites and sounds that makes Tijuana - home of the busiest international border crossing in the world.

Why the geography lesson?
Because all these are constant source of inquiry and inspiration for Maquiladora.

The band's name comes from their birth in a warehouse. (A Maquiladora is the Mexican term for a sweatshop) Lyrics were written on travels both foreign and internal. Albums recorded in former funeral chapels, warehouses, school halls and attics that send a homing call to resonant sounds that travel to places both familiar and strange.

Acuarela is releasing a new take on Maquiladora's acclaimed early works in "St. Cecilia's Drowning - Ritual of Hearts and White Sands Revisited." A re-mastered collection of songs recorded between 1995 and 2002, including 9 previously unreleased songs, these recordings present a graceful invitation into the musical journey of this reclusive band.

As Magnet Magazine's Fred Mills puts it "on the second and third Maquiladora albums, a sound as fully-formed as I could wish from an artist. From White Sands' opening strains, all rustic, country-folk-twang and elegiac vocal falsetto, to the shifting waves of
tribal psychedelia that comes later on; from Ritual of Hearts' minimalist, brooding blooze to its yearning, gospel-tinged drone-pop; from both records' invocations of everyone from Neil Young, Tom Waits and the Band to the Red House Painters, Giant Sand and Lambchop: Maquiladora's re-envisioning of the Americana form was profound,
moving, and utterly unique." In 2001 he wrote in Magnet that Ritual of Hearts is "Single of the year - Bar none"

Basement-life said Ritual of Hearts is a 'brutally sincere folk tinged masterpiece.'

Blackbook wrote "These reclusive Californians do for country music what Radiohead did for Brit pop: dismantle the machine and rebuild it with alien parts." more

Old Guitar's New Life & Some Local-Centric Beatles Trivia Jay Allen Sanford 1.11.8
"It's kind of funny, but a bit of Shambles 'magic' is being included on a lot of local recordings - besides my usual studio stuff - via my old twelve string," says Shambles singer/guitarist Bart Mendoza. "I exchanged it with Mike Kamoo for studio time, figuring it was staying in the family. Now a house guitar at Earthling Studios, it's shown up on lots of albums by local acts. Most recently, I was in studio when the Swedish Models borrowed it, mentioning it would be on a Prayers recording as well. The guitar's main life has probably been on Stereotypes recordings.you know how people are about their guitars. I felt like a proud dad for a second! Considering it had sadly sat unused in a closet for a few years, a pretty good fate for a guitar."

So why did Bart stop using the guitar himself? "It never made it further than #3 on my list of guitars," he says. "It was/is a cool guitar, but I had a hard time tuning it, particularly live, so it became a backup, and then just got retired except for the occasional studio outing."

Ever since Bart and I first met and worked together in the mid-to-late '80s at a local comic book distributorship, he's been regaling me with tales of his Beatles collection. Recently, he wrote me "My coolest [recent] item isn't very valuable, but fun. I've been friends with a lot of Beatle people over the years and have Alistair Taylor, Tony Sheridan and Alf Bicknell's business cards and autographs/letters together in a frame, with a small print signed by Pauline Sutcliffe, and a picture sleeve for the unreleased Leave My Kitten Alone single, alongside a copy of My Bonnie signed by both Sheridan and Pete Best. Not exactly a signed copy of Sgt. Pepper's, but still fun!" more

Buffy's Swan Song at Ken Theater Jay Allen Sanford 1.7.8

I confess ---- I once broke up with a girl over Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Over the few months we dated, we watched episodes of the series together, and she seemed to enjoy the show as much as I did (and still do).

Then, I put on a video of the musical "Once More With Feeling" episode, which I consider one of the all-time coolest hours of television - just brilliant stuff. My girl didn't even get through the second song before she stood up and announced, with disdain on her face and poison in her tone, "This is stupid. I hate this," and she left the room.

I knew at that precise moment that this was not a girl I could ever respect, let alone love.

That was a couple of years ago. Last September, I heard that the Buffy Musical episode would be screened in my favorite surviving single-screen theater, the Ken in Kensington, in an October 5th audience-participation blowout. more

Best Shows of 2007 Eric Nielsen 1.4.8 (In no particular order)

1. Titan, Earthless and The Assemblehead in Sunburst Sound at the Ken Club
The Ken Club noise box was perfect for this show. All stops aside. Earthless is the best live experience SD had to offer last year here, hear?

2. Acid Mothers Guru Guru at the Casbah
At first I wasn't sure and I walked out a believer. Many's drumming lit the night on fire and Kawabata and Tsuyama showed us another of their infinite sides.

3. Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso at the Troubadour in LA
The first and only US tour with Kitigawa on the Theremin and vox. Pure noise abrasion, noted primarily for the experiment and the freak out.

4. Neko Case and Eric Bachmann at The Belly Up
Ever heard an angel? Ever spent time in a giant room with a thousand people as the reverb drenched voices of goddesses descended?

5. Flaming Lips Free Show Downtown
Best antiwar rally/party of the year. Thank god some artists take the responsibility to condemn the killing and the war machine. Especially great to see in this war town with a crowd full of military.

6. Indian Jewelry, Residual Echoes and Riververb at Scolari's Office
The sound, vibe, strobe light, smoke machine, and twisted vocals ate into your late night brain with repetitive drums and extended pieces that made you move through the room out of your body.

7. SunnO))), Earth and Weedeater at the Casbah - Southern Lord 777 Tour
Best wall of sound ever encountered at the Casbah. through the smoke you could see the waves of sound. Meditative and enchanting. more

Best Releases of 2007 Eric Nielsen 1.2.8 (In no particular order)

1. Six Organs of Admittance - Shelter from the Ash
Sometimes gentle, other times all-encompassing, this album wraps it tendrils around your fifth chakra like the clouds kiss the sun.

2. Akron/Family - Love is Simple
A sacred ritual deep in a jungle on the mosquito coast or up the river Col. Kurtz is traveling. A darkness addressed that spooks and shakes the church upside down.

3. Entrance - Prayer of Death
Pleasure, power, peace, passion. Ride the wicked worm, bless those unsacred and meld into another form.

4. Om - Pilgrimage
A repetive mantra that burned holes in my soul. I played this over and over

5. Titan - A Raining Sun of Light and Love For You and You and You
High school memories of Yes propel this album throughout the Universe of my existence. more

Local Numbers for 2007 Jay Allen Sanford 1.1.8
San Diego ranked #17 in U.S. terrestrial radio market earnings last year, with 45 operating stations generating around $203 million dollars income. The same Arbitron ratings show the two most-listened to local stations are KSON-FM/KSOQ-FM country and KIFM jazz. The station with the smallest audience is XHFG-FM, which plays Latin pop. The surveys only represent listenership north of the Mexican border.

According to a BIA Financial Network report, the city's most profitable radio station last year was KOGO-AM, which earned Clear Channel an estimated $14.9 million. Clear Channel's area stations together earned around $63.1 million, representing almost a third of all revenue generated by local radio.

Locals figure prominently in several year-end entries on the Nielsen Company's annual top-10 lists.

Among the top U.S. markets for people who download or listen to music online, San Diego ranks #3, with 21% of adults doing so within the past month. Austin and Salt Lake City top the list; the national average is 15%. more