cartesian miscoordination

wormhole time.

we got a non-euclidean vector approaching — curved like a multi-dimensional corkscrew from the planet neptune.

But first off I’ll tip you off to a local rok muzack fest on Saturday the 30th, sort of a early Hallow’s Eve th’owdown at Basement Studios in Raleigh. All Hallow’s Eve Eve ya might say. I’ll be gettin ugly with Kolyma — don’t know what time, but I’m fearin we’ll get stuck with an early spot. It’s sort of an an all afternoon/evening kinda thing starting around like 3:30 or 4 pm and going til at least midnight. I’ve heard other bands include Continent, The Kick-Ass, The Greatest Hits, and who knows what-all. Each and every musician that day will be card-carrying Urantians, I’m told.
Basement Studios are around back of like the Rockford on Glenwood.

The following descriptions are approximations of conflations of noise-making individuals at Bickett Gallery, in the general temporal neighborhood of Wednesdays, 10 pm:

Oct 27: Nu-Clear Merkins
Riding the rings of Saturn, baby. JR Pelosi on tenor sax, guitar, chapman stick. You know him from playing on the street in Chapel Hill and from such seminal bands as the Feraliminal Lycanthropizers, who conquered Europe a couple of years ago before effectively splitting up. Tone Pham on trumpet, who went through some hairy ordeals as a young boy fleeing the ‘Nam so he could bring his Miles-esque free jazz to America. Nathan Logan on drums. Fine drummer. Hopefully Mark Simonsen will be back in town to round out the ensemble on guitar and maybe vibes. And I think they’re bringing a bass player, Andy Long, to whom I don’t believe I’ve been formally introduced. I’ll be blowin horns and prob’ly guitar.

Nov 3: Razor Wire Safety Net + Kirk Ross
Old Kirk’s done a lot of musical improvising over the years besides his frontman role for Lud. He’s on guitar. On basses, Christopher Thurston. On drums, Brian Donohoe. On alto sax, bass clarinet, guitar, Slowfeet Bob. Martian madness all the way.

Nov 10: Squalid Fold
It has been suggested that this will be the last Cold Sides show. But it’s not really the Cold Sides, it’s Squalid Fold. Very different beast. But we’ll probably sound similar to what we did over at Ringside last week. Robert Biggers on drums, Ezekiel Graves on sample recoding, Neill Prewitt on vox, keys, maybe some bass, Slawfoot Bob on horns/guit. From Pluto.

Nov 17: Razor Wire Safety Net + Drew Robertson & Mahlon Hoard
Mercurial psychedelic jazz. Drew on droney guitars and keys and junk. Mahlon on saxes — soprano and tenor. RWSN will be the usual suspecks.

Nov 24: Jesus Christ and the Talibans
Jupiter and beyond the Infinite. Jason Aylward from Ladderback and Continent on drums. Hopefully Phil Moore and Wes Phillips from Ticonderoga on guitar and bass, if they’re in town. Me on other stuff.

A trip to the moon. Lunatic style.

A flight toward the sun like the queen bee on her nuptial day.

Bee seeing you.

The Ventriloquizer DL
Resident Nomad out of Field
Retroactive Dynamics, Inc.
“Where will you be when the Xists land?”

licensed to cruel

‘Lo folks.
Gonna be a bang-up weekend. Depraved goings on in the form of the annual recurrence of the Barrister’s Ball at Kings Barcade on Saturday. Through the contrivances of some sort of bureaucratic foul-up I will be playing there — as a member of Odd International. We’ll be gettin busy after the fashion of the 70s Miles Davis ecklecktrick bee-combings, between 11 pm and midnight. Prior to Bobby Logic’s pop majesty. Then there’ll be an afterparty at the warehouse behind Kings with like DJs and stuff. I believe Alex Cox is doing something there.
That’s Saturday, Oct 23, Kings Barcade.
And the door fee is cheaper if you come in costume. I think it’s ten bucks if you’re a cop, robber, pimp, prostie, catholic school girl or (perhaps sickest of all) priest. And like $12 if you’re in some other costume. And like $15 if you come as your regular dumb-ass self. Not sure about those price details — you might want to check them yourself.
Odd International is Eric Broadway on drums, Parish Anderson on alto sax and keys, DJ Krazerock on vinyl siding and samples, Christopher Thurston on eclectrick bass, either Q Jones or a replacement on congas and Slowfeet Bob on guitar and alto sax.

As for the reoccurring Bickett dreams (10 pm-ish, every Wednesday. Take a CD home!):

Oct 20: Razor Wire Safety Net + Peter Lamb
Peter of Countdown Quartet (countdownquartet.net) on tenor sax. He’s got a sorta Coltrane vibe going on. Could be a pip. B Donohoe on drums. C Thurston on basses. S Bob on horns and guitfiddle.

Oct 27: The Nu-Clear Merkins
Don’t be afraid of Pelosi. He’s reasonably harmless. He’ll be on tenor sax and probably chapman stick and maybe guitar. Ton Pham on trumpet. Mark Simonsen (of Last of the Great Sideshow Freaks, Micro East Collective, Jackie O Pillbox, Kismet and many others) on guitar and hopefully vibes. Nathan Logan (Jackie O Pillbox) on drums. Slew-Mo Elbo on horns and guit.

Nov 3: Razor Wire Safety Net + Kirk Ross
Kirk on guitar. Like a mofo. You remember him from Lud and scribbling for the Indy Weekly and whatnot. We will be celebrating the demise of Bush II. What a fuckin asshole. Good riddance.

Nov 10: Squalid Fold
This will be Robert Biggers on mostly drums, Ezekiel Graves on mostly sample recoding, Neill Prewitt on mostly electric bass and vox and Slawfoot Bob on mostly alto sax, guitar, bass clarinet and trombone.
Squalid Fold’s members have been in numerous fleeting side projects including Cold Sides, The Nein, Audubon Park and Three Stigmata.
We will get snazzy on your ass.

Nov 17: Razor Wire Safety Net + Drew Robertson & Mahlon Hoard
You probably know Drew from Arcetuthus (sp?). Or maybe Phon (formerly The Gaze). Or perhaps Haptickle Optrickery. Mahlon’s a fine experimental/jazz saxophist. Mainly soprano but prob’ly tenor too.

All spectators will be required to sign a waiver absolving management of any responsibility for permanent brain damage incurred.

—The Ventriloquizer DL
Regional Perception Management Disinhibitor
Retroactive Dynamics, Inc. (an affiliate of the Thomas Carlyle Group)
“All the souls of history will be ours to burn as the fossil fuel of the dream’s construction.”

imminent pre-formances

greetings and solitons, my cosignificant utterers.

Ere we lay down the Wednesday law, a sidenote –

Saturday, Oct 16, Temple Ball/De La Luz (Carrboro): The nTet with Frank Gratkowski
Frank will do a solo reed set, then join us — me on reeds; Ian Davis on percussion; David Menestres on bass; David Fox on keys; Jason Bivins on guitar; Bill McConaghy on trumpet.
Frank’s one of the best goddamn reed players I’ve ever seen. Check him at gratkowski.com.

Now for the collisions of nefarious sound-scrapers, each and every Wednesday, 10-esque pm, Bickett Gallery:

Oct 13: That Obscure Object of Disdain
Neil Vendrick (of Viroid Stew) on sample recoding; Hal Hammond on tenor sax; Rob Koegler on drums; Robert C on horns and guitar.

Oct 20: Razor Wire Safety Net + Peter Lamb
You know Peter from the Countdown Quartet. Razor Wire is Brian Donohoe on drums, Christopher Thurston on basses; Robert C Pence on reeds and guit.

Oct 27: The Nu-Clear Merkins
Ton Pham on trumpet; John Randall Pelosi (of Kismet, Anubis Society Leisure Orchestra and also of Viroid Stew) on tenor sax, chapman stick, maybe guitar; Mark Simonsen (of Micro East Collective, Jackie-O Pillbox, The Last of the Great Sideshow Freaks and also of Kismet) on guitar and hopefully vibes; Nathan Logan (also of Jackie-O Pillbox) on drums; Robert P on horns/guit.

Nov 3: Razor Wire Safety Net + Kirk Ross
I’ll have to firm this up with Kirk before we play because he’s such a busy motherfucker, but he seemed confident it would happen. He’ll be playing guitar. You perhaps know him from Lud or scribbling for the Independent Weekly.

Nov. 10: Squalid Fold
This would be Robert Biggers (of Audubon Park, The Nein, White Octave and Cold Sides) probably mostly on drums; Ezekiel Graves (of Three Stigmata and Cold Sides) perhaps doing guitar and laptop; Neill Prewitt (of Cold Sides) probably doing distorted vocals, maybe some bass; and Crowmeat Bob (er, also of Cold Sides) doing like sax and stuff.

Vaya con el Diablo.

—Slowfeet Bob
Regional Two-Step Sales Technician
Retroactive Dynamics, Inc. (an affiliate of the Thomas Carlyle Group)

imminent caterwaul

Ladies and gents,
No time to write much, so there’s gonna be lots of cutting and pasting this week. First, I’ll tell you that I’m putting Marc Faris’ announcement at the bottom of the page. This is a one-time performance in Durham on Saturday to which I will contribute a composition.

Also, at Henry’s in Chapel Hill, also known to some as Fuse, on Sunday eve I’ll be playing with Mowing Lawns and sitting in for one song with Shallow be thy Name. It’s a MoveOn thing. Not sure when it starts, but probably kind of early ’cause there’s several bands.

Okay. Bickett stuff:

Oct 6: Razor Wire Safety Net + Merlin
Brian Donohoe is sick so we’ll be having another drummer. Probably Mike Isenberg or Eric Broadway. Merlin on vinyl. C Thurston on bass. C Bob on horn/guit.

Oct 13: That Obscure Object of Disdain
With Neil Vendrick on sample recoding; Hal Hammond on tenor sax; R Pence on horn/guit; rhythm section TBA.

Oct 20: Razor Wire Safety Net + Peter Lamb
Peter of Countdown Quartet. Tenor sax. Razor Wire will be the usual suspects, unless Brian’s still sick.

Oct 27: The Nu-Clear Merkins
John Randall Pelosi: chapman stick; tenor sax. Ton Pham: trumpet. Mark Simonsen: guitar; vibraphone. Nathan Logan: drums. Probably Aaron Oliva on double bass, or Don Raleigh if he’s in town.

Bye now. (but see below for Marc’s announcement)
–Bob

ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITIES
Featuring the premiere of An Alternative Community by marc faris, plus new works by Amelia Burch, Crowmeat Bob, and Todd Hershberger & Thom Limbert
SATURDAY OCTOBER 9 AT 8 PM
JOHN T. FREDERICK EDUCATIONAL COMPLEX AUITORIUM
NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS | DURHAM, NC
$8/$6 Students/free for NCSSM students

You’re invited to ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITIES, an exciting evening of new music by local composer. To showcase the premiere performance of his new work An Alternative Community, composer and electric guitarist marc faris has organized a full-length concert featuring pieces by Amelia Burch, Crowmeat Bob, and Todd Hershberger & Thom Limbert.

marc faris composed An Alternative Community while on an Artist Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council for 2003-4. The piece stems from his ongoing interest in creating productive musical relationships between performers with different sociomusical backgrounds, framed within a context that is informed by his social politics and views on current debates about North Carolina’s past, present and future. Ranging from quiet and contemplative to highly energized and emotive, the work is envisioned as a tribute to the network of creative individuals that make up the world’s alternative community. The ensemble gathered for the premiere features performers from our region’s vibrant rock, classical, and free-improvisation scenes. The performance will also incorporate texts by poet Charles Jester and video projections by artist Bill Noland.

The other music on the program shares the spirit of genre/boundary crossing embodied in faris’s new work. Mnemonic & Phonetics for North American Birds (Tweedle-Dee or Tea-Kettle) by Amelia Burch is an extraordinary performance/sound-art piece, integrating Amelia’s interest in birdsongs into her exploration of the drum set as a sounding/theatrical object. Crowmeat Bob’s The Swords, which he describes as “retro-futurist chamber metal,” showcases this composer-improviser’s work at the fringes of avant-classical and avant-rock. And faris’s pulsoptional colleagues Todd Hershberger & Thom Limbert will present Glossadlibia, a collaborative electronic “controlled improvisation” that uses recordings of glossolalia (the ecstatic “speaking in tongues” common in evangelical Christian sects) as source and inspirational material.

Performers include the composers themselves, as well as members of Cantwell Gomez & Jordan, Cold Sides, des_ark, Hotel Motel, Micro East Collective, pulsoptional, The Sames, Shark Quest, and more.

For more information, contact marc faris: (919) 660-3319 | mrf@duke.edu.

ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITIES is made possible through the generous financial and material support of the North Carolina Arts Council and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.