I don’t know if you guys have heard of this new show, Rick & Morty? For some reason the fans never say a god damned thing about this show, and it’s like no one has heard anything about it.

Live music at The Space!

I am super-excited about tonight’s event at The Space Concert Club. It would be enough to get to participate in the #20stargarychallenge with Peggy’s vegan hot sauce. But we also have the very first live performance in 28 years by the post-punk / Noise legend, Problemist! On top of that, we’ll also have a live set by the very-excellent jazz combo Gamble / Previte / Rucker. This is an event you won’t want to miss. Wings plates will be available, as well as Peggy’s Sauce. Come on down! This will be an incredible night of music and fun!

A successful out-of-town adventure often requires the help of many, many people. Here’s a small effort to thank:

Anna for a ride to train station; Rachelle, Lee and Ryan for the radio hospitality at KPSU, Joe for audio reinforcement, Vicky & Joe for continued transportation assistance, Kiisu & Kim for the excellent hospitality, Michelle for lending a hand with the LP recovery mission, and Kelly and Dee for coordinating my ride back home.

I’m a better person for knowing all of you, and everything is a little more possible knowing all ya’ll. Let’s have a big holiday party this year where we all gather and have a great time. Deal?

Movie Meme Thingy:

Presented as a comedy, and framed by the device of a fictional documentary, “Spinal Tap,” presents itself as a film about an aging and unpopular metal band. But what the copy and the critics don’t say about this film is that it is a closely observed critique of male relationships, and walks through American Cultural Excess at a time when we were just starting down the road we are now desperately on. The improvisation is well executed and reveals the ludicrousness of Metal Bands with subtlety, understated attention to detail, and with the sense that these folks are too close to the source material to really be mean-spirited. Don’t let the comedy fool you: relationships, and how men treat each other is the subject of the entire film, with Metal and Comedy being the two intertwined leit motifs. There is no better film about this genre, with the possible exception of “Decline… of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years.” But don’t be surprised if you soon stop seeing the comedy and start seeing a deeper commentary on our world. It works just as well on either level.

Is anyone able to give me a lift from the Amtrak station in Salem to my pad (in Salem) at around 3:30? I’ll put gas in your car…

Get ready for Dimestore Radio Theater!

Remember That 1 Guy? ‘Cause I just did.

No, this is the kind of talk of a Targeted Individual. This is conspiracy nonsense.

Fuck this guy.

“This whole two week effort has been a calculated, and orchestrated political hit. Fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of The Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. This is a circus.”

PDX: I’ll be visiting Saturday morning until 2 PM. Anyone wanna get coffee / food / just hang?

I think we can just take away the “Honorable” title from all white guys for the time being.

Movie Meme thingy:

This is the perfect film. Adventure, romance, plenty of comedy, and a masterclass in editing and scene structure. The fun factor is what sells this movie, along with perfect casting and Casablanca vibes. There are no wasted scenes, no wasted dialog, and it holds up to multiple viewings. Say what you will about Harrison Ford’s acting ‘choices’ (he almost perfected the ‘I’m phoning it in’ style in the late ’70s), and yes, the sequels are largely reiterated forms of the original. (Not to mention the film is essentially an Alain Quartermain / Thief of Baghdad / Uncle Scrooge mash up.) But Raiders shines where many action / adventure films fall short, and holds up almost 40 years later. Essential to have seen it in the drive in as a youth, because how else would you see it?

I was bored.

Support your favorite Mutation.

If you want to jump right into being part of the Mutant Militia, then we have the deals for you. First, there’s the Tiny $10 Deal: A CD, A Patch, A Button and A Sticker. Then, if you want to double down with our $20 Twin Mutation Offer, you walk away with A DVD, two CDs, A Patch, A Button and A Sticker. And finally, there’s our Street Team Deal: if you show up with a home-made Mini-Mutations shirt, we’ll send you home with some gratis goods, for being a walking Mutation in public. Money is tight for all of us, so let’s make a deal!

And the final tour addition to the Merchanbox: Patches! Custom and locally made by Electric Mother Vintage, there’s a very limited number of these, and they’re the perfect way to support Mini-Mutations. There are three basic designs, and while we may do another run of this “image” someday in other colors, you will not see this particular run again. $5 and you can show off your mutant status to the normies who surround you. Thanks again Mickey Bare for making these incredible patches.

Happy 60th Birthday Darby Crash. He’s been dead for longer than he was alive, but let’s say you should watch the Decline films for the movie meme. The Decline films cover The Punk Scene, The Metal Scene, and the ‘90’s street punk Scene, and while the first two are amazing, the original has all the best performances and interviews. X, Black Flag, FEAR and more. The Darby interview is amazing, and it is clear how he could never have lived to be 60. At least we have his records. For someone almost 20 years older, he really had an incredible voice I connected with.

Movie Meme Thingy. (Thanks Devin.)

This Bogart / Bacall / Hawks / Chandler Noir from 1946 is full of plot holes and problematic elements by the standards of modern filmmaking. But what it looses in a lack of modernity it makes up for in snappy dialog, beautiful editing and music, and is a very excellent adaptation of the novel for a Hollywood flick. (Duh, Howard Hawks is in full brilliant form in this one.) This feels like what the phrase “old Hollywood” is referring to. I really can’t get enough of this film, and I’m shocked that it keeps working on me after so many repeated viewings. Don’t really dig too deeply into the plot. It’s just mood and atmosphere and wisecracks, which is perfect. This one is a little seedier than The Maltese Falcon, but they make an excellent double feature. (End with Big Sleep.) Bonus points if you follow this up with the ’90’s remake The Big Lebowski the next day.

Rad. Mini-Mutations playing live on the radio over the phone at 10 PM tonight on KDVS. That should be pretty sweet.

I was thinking that when you unlock interviews with all three of The Paintings, you would get a little trophy or something. But, instead, we just get another awesome podcast with an excellent member of the local scene. Enoy.
https://anywhereanywhen.wordpress.com/2018/09/25/jayson-selander-theres-no-destination/

Homemade ghosts.

A few times in the last several years I have turned down work, money, and creative opportunities because friends have revealed to me that someone I was about to work with was a shitty person.

Then I saw this going around, and I feel like I need to step up my game. There’s a lot of FB that is political, and I know a lot of people who keep large friends lists and don’t care much about the quality of that friend. I’m ready to start deleting and unfriending. I’m more than happy to have fewer of those friends.

We continue to get into the spirit of the season.

Terrible songs stuck in my head Part 2: “One night in Bangkok makes a Something Something…”

Is anyone driving from Salem to Portland on Friday the 28th, and could use someone to chip in on gas?

How do I improve the way I handle being wrong? This has happened a few times recently, where I was embarrassingly wrong and kept digging for irony. I feel like I’m fairly sensitive and I try to comport myself with a certain amount of decency in life, but if you want to see me become petty and awful, find something I’m wrong about and start hammering on it.

I want to get better. Being wrong is not terrible; it’s how we learn and how we become better in general. I just wish I didn’t handle being wrong so poorly. It feels like a defect.

Tips on self improvement? Or is it okay to be petty and difficult now that we’re past the Trump-rubicon.

Terrible songs stuck in my head Part 1: “Everybody’s got a hu-hu-hun-g-ry heart…”

I mean, I totally understand what the appeal is, but this is one of those moments where I can already see how the idea of Pirate Science is going to be taken too far by someone someday. But for now, I’m going to bask in the Pirate Science.
http://scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/pirates-needed-science-too/

You got my Bradbury in my Dick. You got my Phillip K. in my Ray. Plus live mutations. Enjoy!
http://midvalleymutations.com/2018/09/21/the-end-of-all-things-120/

Lady Liberty took a tumble today at the Puppet Parade, crumbling around us when everything looked like it was going to be okay. We did our best to take action, but no amount of duct tape was keeping her together, after the assault she sustained by our current government. In the end, we had to call it quits, and moved her to a neutral location where she will get help and attention. It remains to be seen what will happen to Lady Liberty. She might need all the help she can get. #message #puppetparade

The Puppet Parade volunteer duty (2 of 2)

Puppet Parade volunteer duty. (1 of 2)

Oh no!
https://www.residents.com/news/

I think and speak too much, but say too little.

There’s a few new additions to the tour schedule, with almost 17 stops so far, and playing with some quality acts all up and down the west coast. There’s now an Olympia show, as well as a Live Streaming performance from PDX, and a few other things. Check it out! We’re coming to a place near you.

Here’s the trailer.

My posts are broken, yo.

What?! It’s only 7:30? This is unacceptable. #darknessdescends

There are two holes in the Oregon Leg of the Mini-Mutations tour: October 15th and October 18th, when I’ll be in Portland. Portland Friends: while a show might be out of the question, anyone wanna get together and jam while I’m in town? Might be fun to make some noise and see what happens.

As for the 15th: it would be excellent to visit some other town in Oregon, either to jam or to play a show. Anyone game?

We decided to go for a walk, but when we got outside she started bawling, saying she didn’t want to go. She does that a lot now, crying to get her way, so I waited. She kept crying. Finally she says that she’s scared of the dogs. (One day we got approached by some loud dogs, and I had to pick her up and carry her away.)

I hugged her tight and told her that I would pick her up if the dogs came. She calmed down, we finished our walk without any dogs.

On the way in, she looked at me, sincerely, and said, “You will keep the dogs away because you are my best friend.”

I started bawling. Taking care of children is a rollercoaster of feelings, for sure.

I was so successful with a practice amp, I have to ask: If I was looking for a cell phone mount / something for a video tripod, would you have one I could borrow for a spell?

Hive Mind: let’s say I have a video file. I also have an audio track that I would like to add (two different audio tracks), and while I’m at it, maybe add chapter markers. There’s probably a Linux App that could do this easily from the command line. I spent a while googling, with only mixed results. Any nerds out there know what I’m talking about, and if there’s a free solution?

A New Old One.

Just added to the Merchanbox: stickers! Locally printed in a limited run, this design will not be reprinted. There’s only 100, so you don’t want to miss out. $1 and you can help promote your favorite local Mutation. Get yours today.

For those who find 20 minutes to be too long, here’s the whole show in under a minute.

Gonna do a live music stream here soon. Get ready.

I’m so happy it’s raining.

The world’s a genuine mess. So instead, let me freak out about something meaningless on the Inter-Web-A-Tron…

Field recordings are a unique way to process and make sense of the world around us. By reducing experiential reality to merely the audio dimension, we force ourselves to consider familiar sounds divorced of their context. “You Are There” is Mini-Mutations first venture into this territory, with an immersive, hour-long sound experience that really puts you somewhere else. $7 for a disc with bonus tracks that are different than the bonus tracks you get with the $5 digital version. Get ready to go from Beach ’til Calm. The intersection of field recordings and collage is Mini-Mutations.

Friends: I am looking for a small practice amp to borrow for a spell. Perhaps something you have lying around and are not using right now? It doesn’t have to be huge or loud, it just has to reproduce a clean signal, and be easy enough to carry with one hand. What do you say?

Ooops. They’ve got my number. And in English, even.

“Randomisation: why it beats talent.”

Friends in Portland and Olympia: wanna help me book an experimental show in October?

Some new California dates have been added, and I’ll be meeting up with folks as I travel up and down the west coast. Let me know if you want me to play a show, or just hang out. October is gonna be rad.

With the wealth of material that I’ve been putting out lately, it would be reasonable to leave things where they are. But instead, here’s a 40 minute cassette release by Mini-Mutations. Side A contains a 20 minute spacey jam that really sells the idea of the loneliness of rocket flight. Side B is a supernatural exploration of the dark side of magic. There are a limited number of these tapes, there are no download codes, and these are currently not available in any digital form. At $5 these are a steal, and in spite of the lo-fi technology, these pulp radio jams do sound pretty good. If tapes are your thing, then this is for you.

Taking matters deep into the heart of what, exactly, Mini-Mutations happens to be about, VANISHED! is an hour-long exploration of detectives and con artists who both… well, I’m sure you can guess. This features live bass freak-outs, synth improvisations and cut ups that build an audio essay you won’t want to miss. $7 on CD, or $5 for a digital download, each of which feature bonus tracks that you can only get on each specific format. This is a spacey meditation on pulp radio, and is perfect for late nights and a static-prone stereo.

In the mid-’90’s punk rock had become stale, grunge was starting to loose interest, and the Eugene music scene was thriving, encouraging bands of every shape and kind to do their thing. Enter Cathead, a collection of punks who did too much acid, or perhaps acidheads who liked punk too much. This collection features all of the studio recordings, practice sessions, live recordings, and plenty of between-song bullshit that we felt was worth letting out into the world around us. $7 for your very own, “Cathead Drone,” and $5 for a digital download. The Clock is Ticking, so unless you’re ready to say Welcome To Apocalypse, add a little Dosed Tea to your Neon Green Caffeine and enjoy Garage Sale music from Globe, Oregon.

It never fails to tickle my sense of funny when I promote this collection this way. “Confessions of A Social Network Junkie” is the first collection of Mini-Mutations live recordings. Mash-ups, collage, comedy, electronic jams and improvised experiments, all centered around the way we interact with the socialest of medias. $7 on CD, or $5 for a digital download, and there’s different tracks on each format, creating an actual reason for you to purchase the specific form you prefer. Help us, in that buying stuff from me really helps me make more CDs. For you!

“The Ways of Ghosts by Ambrose Bierce” is a collection of spoken audio stories, and is the perfect accompaniment for the holiday season. Originally aired in 2014, and digitally released in 2015 (with bonus tracks that were never aired), this is the first time this collection has been on CD, and now with additional bonus material on the disc. Spoken word with musical and SFX accompaniment, with sounds to make you scream. $7 on CD, or $5 for a digital download which contains different bonus tracks not on the CD! Are you ready to learn about The Ways of Ghosts?

I tell ya whut.

I spent the day making art, and had no contact with the news. It was pretty dope.

CDs are here. There’s seven to choose from. Yes, I will have them on tour. Yes, there is a limited number. Message me to reserve your copy. Join me in the early 2000s as CDR technology takes over your stereo.

In light of weather tragedies elsewhere, I’m still completely in love with the rain.

This is certainly a day for Grandpa Chet’s old jacket.

There’s not just new stuff in the store. You can get old things, too.
https://wtbc.bandcamp.com/

The thrift stores have some excellent Halloween stuff out now.

I’m working on a Live album, but it’s recorded from outside the venue. You can hear us leeching through the walls as two underage dudes split a joint and criticize everything we do. It should drop in January, and will be the first time someone used the phrase “drop” in almost five years.

Do I know anyone aside from Fred Kellogg who is currently at KAOS in Olympia?

So, this is happening.

Better start rehearsing.

Maybe watching Charlotte’s Web wasn’t the best idea. She’s fine; I’m wrecked.

Time to traumatize the three year old.

I’ve been saying it for decades, but it bears repeating: “I’d Buy That For A Dollar!”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/09/05/dollar-fine-man-who-assaulted-unite-right-leader-jason-kessler/1207982002/

What they don’t tell you about the Peppa Pig franchise is that Suzy works at a dispensary.

Here’s a photo of our cat, who hasn’t gone to the first day of anything in 14 years.

My how the time flies.

I’m very excited to announce my very first tour. There is so much going on in October that I really cannot wait. There’s a lot of holes in the schedule, and if you live in California, Oregon or Washington, I would love to play a show near you. Do you host a radio show or podcast? Do you host shows with experimental music? Know of a show that needs a last minute addition? Let us mutate you, live. See ya real soon!

After many years consideration, my Journey of relating to Beatles has been: John, Ringo, and now George.

I’ve never been a Paul.

Wow. Who knew so many people cared about Nikez. You can’t skate in those. #VansLyfe

Child Care is lonely. Your conversations consist of long monologues you can’t follow about Minecraft and a one sided dialog with the repeated refrain of, “because, that’s why.” Everything is either Paw Patrol this or Pokémon that, and you are relieved when they do nap, leaving you painfully with you own thoughts.

Anyone wanna chat about art or something? I don’t know how much more of the Shopkins / Peppa Pig mashups I can take. Anyone wanna rap about Žižek or something?

When you realize that Smokey The Bear – found after a forest fire during WWII and raised by the US Government – has the same origin story as Hellboy – found after a skirmish during WWII and raised by the US Government.

Do I know anyone with any KFJC connections?

I’ll cut to the chase: Jan Freya wrote one of the first memes accidentally, and kicked off the street dancing film craze that continues now in the Step Up films. But this isn’t just a walk through her Electric Boogaloo from the past. We also spend a lot of time talking about writing, and editing. Get to know Jan, and enjoy our first broadcast as part of the TMBG Dial-A-Song Radio Network. Hooray!
http://anywhereanywhen.wordpress.com/2018/09/04/jan-freya-jumping-in-the-cold-ocean/

Fair & Stately Labor Date (2 of 2)

You know that thing, when you’re a kid, and you think, “Oh, it would be so cool to have John Flansburgh say the name of your radio show for a sweet drop you could use? Well, I guess I need to become an astronaut, because childhood dreams can come true.
https://anywhereanywhen.wordpress.com/2018/09/03/wtbc-radio-joins-they-might-be-giants-dial-a-song-radio-network/

What is Fake News? It’s… fiction, duh? There’s a long tradition of creating stories that blur the line between reality and fiction. This is the central concern of philosophy, of course, going back to the pre-written era of our world, where we used to culturally worry about what really was truth anyway. When novels first became popular, epistolary novels were very common, where supposedly real hand-written letters mailed back and forth reveal the story, as if fiction was hard to swallow, so it had to be couched in something we knew and were familiar with.

Artists have long toyed with making things that can be mistaken for billboards or signs or TV or Radio, something called Culture Jamming, a phrase coined by artist Don Joyce in the early ’80s. Negativland pursued a career exploring the relationship between real and fiction, culminating in their True or False Tour in the early 2000s. The idea that we can creatively interact with – and comment upon – the world by toying with the form and reality presented therein has always been a tool of the artists.

So, what does that say about the creation of so much “fake news” that serves such a right-wing agenda? Crisis actors and flat earth nonsense is only the most extreme form, but the overall dependence on fiction to continue their own political narratives reveals their game entirely.

The right can no longer face reality. Only through the creation of fake news stories – and continuing to propose the notion that most sources are fake – can they get the upper hand when it comes to progress. They know that if truth actually was truth, that they can’t hold a candle to the scientific, financial, and political realities that we currently face. Only by living in fiction can they even face daily life.

Perhaps all of this is obvious, but it seems interesting to note that a creative form of art that was used for hundreds of years to make something engaging, is now being manipulated by the other side to tear our culture apart.

Consider all the other systems that have been around for centuries – like Civility – and now ask yourself if it could possibly be misused in the present day for ill gains?

“People have gotta know, wether or not their President’s a crook.”

“Nah.”

Sherlock Holmes & The Mysterious Traveller journey through two-hours of music to find those who VANISHED. Enjoy!
https://midvalleymutations.com/2018/08/31/vanished-117/