Month: January 2020

Facebook Post: 2020-01-31T14:52:12

So, a lot of us are the kinds of people who might be looking to have a casual hang with folks where we could listen to records and swap comics and talk about books and do something low key without having to go to a bar. Maybe even on a weeknight, not too late, but to give us something to look forward to in the middle of the week when there’s not much going on.

If I hosted something like this here is n Salem, what kind of interest might there be?

Four Dimensional Nightmare – 4DN 2020 (Self-Released)

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Four Dimensional Nightmare – 4DN 2020 (Self-Released)

Reviewing the last decade of Four Dimensional Nightmare releases offers a wonderful glimpse, and incredible insight, into what they have accomplished on this most recent release, 4DN 2020. And even that narrow window into the career or this artist probably omits some of the more impressive, and compelling, work. But that does us no good if we are looking for an entry point into this album. To suggest that we should examine the scope and sweep of their career to fully understand what this album is about is akin to saying, “You need to see 23 movies before this one will make sense.” ­

Consider it this way: if you’ve been following their carrer for any length of time, then this album continues themes and tropes that you’ve been picking up on for a while, and certainly is rewarding in that respect.

But that doesn’t do a new listener much good, does it? To say that 4DN is continuing to explore places they hinted at in previous releases is not a decent map for someone about to enter into the kind of darkness predicted by track 5, a beat-driven track almost unlike anything else you’ve heard on a Nightmarish release like this. Layered over the industrial rhythms and strange dance jams are these synth explorations that beg for scrutiny and consideration, and that doesn’t even address the ebb-and-flow soundscape that eerily weaves through the various performances, almost hinting at a Haunted House. This is a dense track, not exactly a great entry point if you were hoping to be eased into this artist, but is perfect for getting to know the mind of Four Dimensional Nightmare.

“Beta Tonic” shakes with a low-end pulse that really caused my head to turn, another track I love, but I’m not sure if it is the way “into” the oeuvre of this artist. Certainly, you are better off trying to catch one of their rare performances, as that, I think, better lets you get a sense of where this stuff is coming from, and perhaps, how you can get in synch. But “Beta Tonic” builds in a way that feels like something new, and I was excited to let it have it’s way with me.

It’s with repeated listens that this album really shines. The hallmark of any Four Dimensional Nightmare album is certainly density. There are layers and layers on any given song on any given album, and there is a weight to a 4DN track that seems heavy with multiple, nuanced performances. You need to re-listen to really get a sense of what’s going on.

What feels new this time around is there is a clarity to the layering, either through careful production or higher quality facilities, that gives you a chance to focus on the different synth lines as they dance around each other. This is a great record for leaving in your car, so you have to return to it over and over again, without needing to change anything. Each time through, something else sticks out, and these bits that catch your attention give you something new to dig into.

The production seems unmistakably first class, and to my ear, this is a major evolution. It’s no wonder Four Dimensional Nightmare makes regular appearances on Mike Watt’s program, as this album illustrates the strengths and boons that are the hidden gems on every 4DN release.

Certainly, the nerdiness is worn on the sleeve of this group, and that is probably never more apparent than on the opening track, “Pi,” which contains some of the first lyrics I’ve heard on a release is years. This comes with the territory; someone playing around with this many synths for this long is bound to get wrapped up in some of the more science-informed subjects, as time goes on. But there are also moments of pure joy and frenzy, like on “Beta BonZyard,” where the ferocity of the Nightmare comes into sharp focus, only to have moments of almost beautiful sounds come forward out of the burbling chaos.

If anything, this is the work of someone who has been at it for a while, and this release not only highlights the expertise with which Four Dimensional Nightmare produces new work, but the repeated listenability of a record that is as experimental as the genre actually suggests.

Four Dimensional Nightmare – 4DN 2020

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Four Dimensional Nightmare – 4DN 2020 (Kill Pop Tarts)*

Reviewing the last decade of Four Dimensional Nightmare releases offers a wonderful glimpse, and incredible insight, into what they have accomplished on this most recent release, 4DN 2020. And even that narrow window into the career or this artist probably omits some of the more impressive, and compelling, work. But that does us no good if we are looking for an entry point into this album. To suggest that we should examine the scope and sweep of their career to fully understand what this album is about is akin to saying, “You need to see 23 movies before this one will make sense.” ­

Consider it this way: if you’ve been following their carrer for any length of time, then this album continues themes and tropes that you’ve been picking up on for a while, and certainly is rewarding in that respect.

But that doesn’t do a new listener much good, does it? To say that 4DN is continuing to explore places they hinted at in previous releases is not a decent map for someone about to enter into the kind of darkness predicted by track 5, a beat-driven track almost unlike anything else you’ve heard on a Nightmarish release like this. Layered over the industrial rhythms and strange dance jams are these synth explorations that beg for scrutiny and consideration, and that doesn’t even address the ebb-and-flow soundscape that eerily weaves through the various performances, almost hinting at a Haunted House. This is a dense track, not exactly a great entry point if you were hoping to be eased into this artist, but is perfect for getting to know the mind of Four Dimensional Nightmare.

“Beta Tonic” shakes with a low-end pulse that really caused my head to turn, another track I love, but I’m not sure if it is the way “into” the oeuvre of this artist. Certainly, you are better off trying to catch one of their rare performances, as that, I think, better lets you get a sense of where this stuff is coming from, and perhaps, how you can get in synch. But “Beta Tonic” builds in a way that feels like something new, and I was excited to let it have it’s way with me.

It’s with repeated listens that this album really shines. The hallmark of any Four Dimensional Nightmare album is certainly density. There are layers and layers on any given song on any given album, and there is a weight to a 4DN track that seems heavy with multiple, nuanced performances. You need to re-listen to really get a sense of what’s going on.

What feels new this time around is there is a clarity to the layering, either through careful production or higher quality facilities, that gives you a chance to focus on the different synth lines as they dance around each other. This is a great record for leaving in your car, so you have to return to it over and over again, without needing to change anything. Each time through, something else sticks out, and these bits that catch your attention give you something new to dig into.

The production seems unmistakably first class, and to my ear, this is a major evolution. It’s no wonder Four Dimensional Nightmare makes regular appearances on Mike Watt’s program, as this album illustrates the strengths and boons that are the hidden gems on every 4DN release.

Certainly, the nerdiness is worn on the sleeve of this group, and that is probably never more apparent than on the opening track, “Pi,” which contains some of the first lyrics I’ve heard on a release is years. This comes with the territory; someone playing around with this many synths for this long is bound to get wrapped up in some of the more science-informed subjects, as time goes on. But there are also moments of pure joy and frenzy, like on “Beta BonZyard,” where the ferocity of the Nightmare comes into sharp focus, only to have moments of almost beautiful sounds come forward out of the burbling chaos.

If anything, this is the work of someone who has been at it for a while, and this release not only highlights the expertise with which Four Dimensional Nightmare produces new work, but the repeated listenability of a record that is as experimental as the genre actually suggests.

* When I firsts reviewed this album, it was self-released. Now, Four Dimensional Nightmare has moved to Kill Pop Tarts.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-24T08:45:33

And, while I’m at it, let’s make one more push for the show tonight at Rooted Space in Eugene! This is going to be a wild show, with spoken word, noise, free jazz, experimental, and even the kitchen sink, I’m sure. These shows start promptly, and wrap by 10:30 PM. You could even do something else before and after. The Olsen Twins Ghostlight Ensemble are on the bill, our first time in Eugene and only our second show. We are honored to be joined by the incredible Xeres of Xeron (Robert Shepard), who will be adding his horns and other acoustic instruments to the Twins free-improv milieu. This should be a lot of fun. I understand one of the acts is interactive, so why not come on down, and be a part of the show? See you there.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-19T05:54:39

Hello friends. As many of you know, I work for Autism House, with William Davenport. Some of you may know him from his films about autism. Others may know him for his music (Problemist), his zine (Unsound), and his music documentaries about tape traders, Negativland, and other compelling artists.

With the new year upon us, Autism House is looking to make some upgrades and improvements to the equipment they offer, and the resources that are available to the students there. Your donations help get some new computers, cameras, and tripods for budding filmmakers on the spectrum, and gives us the resources to keep these classes going.

If you can, spare a little dough for Autism House, and help out a very excellent cause.
https://gofundme.com/f/autism-house

Facebook Post: 2020-01-15T10:53:57

Okay, our first release of 2020 is now ready for you to enjoy: A Novel-Length zine, from our good friend Jeremy Hight. 100 Pages limited to 100 copies, with stories of the lives of ghosts, as they wrestle with the scarier elements of everyday life. Comes wrapped in a special vellum cover, with editing and design by Austin Rich. $11 will ship this anywhere in the US. Message me for International or hand-delivered options. Have you confronted The Ghost In You?
http://wtbc.bandcamp.com/merch/the-ghost-in-you-by-jeremy-hight

Facebook Post: 2020-01-14T21:54:13

“The Vultures were originally going to be voiced by The Beatles. The band’s manager, Brian Epstein, approached the Disney studios about having The Beatles appear in the film, and Disney had his animators create the Vultures specifically to be voiced by the band. But when Epstein took the idea to the Beatles, John Lennon vetoed the idea, and told Epstein to tell Disney he should hire Elvis Presley instead. The look of The Vultures, with their mop-top haircuts and Liverpool voices, are a homage to The Beatles; one bird’s voice and features are clearly based on George Harrison’s. When the Beatles departed the project, the song was rewritten as a barbershop quartet, to make it timeless.”

Facebook Post: 2020-01-13T18:11:14

Nigel Tufnel: Well, I suppose I could, uh, work in a shop of some kind, or… or do, uh, freelance, uh, selling of some sort of, uh, product. You know…
Marty DiBergi: A salesman?
Nigel Tufnel: A salesman, like maybe in a, uh, haberdasher, or maybe like a, uh, um… a chapeau shop or something. You know, like, “Would you… what size do you wear, sir?” And then you answer me.
Marty DiBergi: Uh… seven and a quarter.
Nigel Tufnel: “I think we have that.” See, something like that I could do.
Marty DiBergi: Yeah… you think you’d be happy doing something like-…
Nigel Tufnel: “No; we’re all out. Do you wear black?” See, that sort of thing I think I could probably… muster up.
Marty DiBergi: Do you think you’d be happy doing that?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, I don’t know – wh-wh-… what’re the hours?

Facebook Post: 2020-01-13T15:59:00

Did a lot of work in the office today. Cleaned it top to bottom. “Prepared The Way” for me to start filing at my Cassette Station. (Could still use help with any drawers or other cassette storage you may have / want to get rid of.) I also cleaned my standing desk, and The Archive. (My closet.)

I’ve almost done everything I could possibly do except make a new recording or write anything.

Huh.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-11T11:57:26

I’m pretty proud of this one. Sometimes, the forces of the universe align in your favor, and you get to play with some very cool, and very talented folks. I’ve been following Kevin Van Walk and his approach to drums for a few years now, and Scott Eave had been lurking in my periphery, but we hadn’t met – let alone, play together – until last year.

What grew out of those jam sessions was this project, The Olsen Twins Ghostlight Ensemble, which includes the room to be very narrow in the definition of what it is that “we do,” while at the same time allowing us to be broad enough to include excellent guest performers, like Chris Rorrer Music, who just happened to be in town the day this show was going down, and happened to be traveling with his cello.

I never imagined that I would become a musician to start this exact band, and with each of these people. When I me these folks, I was seeing them perform; the notion that we would all work together on something like this was far from our minds.

In fact, when we would rehearse, it wasn’t with a specific goal. We just knew we wanted to see what this might turn into. And when we had to name it, we went with what sounded right. And even at the point when we started saying, “Hey, we have this opportunity to play here, or there, or wherever,” it carried with it this idea of, “yeah, sure, that’s great and all, but that’s in the future; we’re in a Session right now, what are we doing today?”

And even leading up to the show, there was that same attitude. We were joking, keeping it light, checking our gear, paling around with Stan about the setup. Sure, we can play long. Sure, we can start whenever. We’re flexible. We’re good.

Somehow, by not thinking about it too much, it all just… worked.

I might finally be ready to call myself an artist. For real, this time.
https://wtbc.bandcamp.com/album/live-from-the-space-concert-club-8-january-2020

Facebook Post: 2020-01-09T16:55:43

I did another test run of Ronald’s luggage at the Eugene practice space today, and it really is a game changer. Being able to throw these on a table and just start making noise is a big deal, and I can see this helping out tremendously as time goes on. I can already imagine a few re-designs I will make if I re-wire it, mostly small change here and there. (I would love to actually measure and cut some permanent wooden pieces to replace my cardboard and duck tape, etc.) But I think this is gonna work.

Also: we turned a corner today with Problemist practice. I have a feeling we’re getting things together in a way that you will enjoy live.

Looking forward to days off. I’m feeling a little beat up.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-08T11:53:42

Tonight! The Olsen Twins Ghostlight Ensemble make their Salem debut! Free improv for the free-minded person in your life. We have merch, we play first, and the lineup is great! Social Stomach/Olsen Twins Ghostlight Ens./BodShame/ Biospheres at The Space Concert Club tonight! Show starts promptly at 7 with us kicking off. See you there!

Facebook Post: 2020-01-07T22:04:34

Up until the point I began doing radio at KMUZ, I never brought my own gear to a radio station, and I only occasionally performed music with other groups, so I often wasn’t bringing much gear. But when I got my CDJs in the first month of me starting to spin at KMUZ, very soon after I started using this piece of luggage to carry my gear around.

This same case – one I took from Marla, who wasn’t using it after she upgraded to something better – was the one I used continuously from that point until I retired it today. The three tours, countless radio gigs, and other shows all over the place, I would cram everything into this case, unpack it, plug everything in, play my show, and then pack it back up, often in a worse state than when I started.

I’m always nervous about change. I like to keep things nice and brown, and routines are easy. So I’m not sure how I’m gonna use this case, and for what, and why. But for now… at least for now… I’m gonna have to keep it around.

Too many memories to just throw out.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-06T22:08:53

My friend Katrine saw my post about Ronald’s luggage that I bought, and within a few minutes she managed to find an obituary, and then quite a bit of other bits and bobs, about his life. Both he and his wife have passed, and while it is likely that several of their kids are still alive, I still feel a little weird about being more specific than this. Still, here’s a few details:

Born in Estacada the same year as the famous Stock Market crash, Ronald moved to Washington with his family to complete his early education, then to Stayton in the 9th Grade, where he stayed until graduation in 1947.

He was your average student – not particularly great, and by his own admission, was only allowed to remain in school through his gift of gab, convincing instructors to let him stay in spite of his poor academic performance. This was probably because he excelled in sports, specifically football, and often led his school team to victory.

This, unfortunately, made him prime drafting material for the Korean War, where he served with the Air Force until the end. When he returned, he took a job with the Freres Lumber Company, where he worked for 32 years. He married Carmela “Kay” Smith during the war, which begs the questions: was she in the service, too? Did he meet her in Korea?

After the war, Ronald spent his time doing the usual middle-aged-man activities: Golfing, Fishing and Clam Digging, which suggests that he did this on the coast. But in all the research I was able to do / read through Katrine’s sources, nothing suggests why he might have matched luggage, and for what reason he would travel. (His Lumber Company job was near Stayton, and did not offer him travel as part of his work.)

It’s probably very simple, really: Ronald probably didn’t travel much after the war, having seen a lot already. He probably didn’t take very many vacations, in spite of Kay’s insistence. Then, for a holiday gift – maybe a birthday – Kay decides that the way to get him to travel is to get him some luggage. Something that really fits his style.

So Ronald puts his name tag carefully inside this gift so as not to disappoint his wife, and he fills the luggage up with Hawaiian shirts and a travel bathroom kit, and sure, they probably even traveled a bit, in the late ’60’s, and throughout the ’70’s, taking very normal summer vacations. But I’m sure by the time their marriage was entering it’s third decade, I could imagine that this luggage stayed in a closet, unused. It’s not that Ronald didn’t appreciate the gift. It’s just that he is a creature of habit, and the golf course is calling, and he has trouble sleeping at night because of the things he remembers from the War, so he’d rather get up early and tie flies, and then go out early, to see if they are biting.

That luggage probably only got used 15, maybe 20 times. They remained dormant for years – not to be mean, that’s just his way – and even well after Ronald’s passing in the early 2000s, they probably remained stationary, unused, immobile.

Kay outlived Ronald until a couple years ago. In my mind, her kids – unsure even the provenance of the luggage, put the smaller one inside the larger one, and sent them off, to be found by someone else in search of a new mission…

Facebook Post: 2020-01-06T21:19:31

If you missed our appearance on Guitar Shop Radio Show with DJ Victrola (Vicky Mazzone), now you can enjoy it on the podcast! Our friend The Ramen City Kid is lurking around throughout the show, we plug the upcoming Olsen Twins Ghostlight Ensemble shows (and play a sample of our tunes), and so much more! Two hours or New Year’s celebrations! Click through if you want to watch the show show, or just listen! Thanks again Vicky! This was too much fun.
https://midvalleymutations.com/2020/01/04/the-guitar-shop-4-january-2020/

Facebook Post: 2020-01-06T19:00:32

I was out thrifting a few days ago and I found this set of matched luggage. The photo perspective makes them look the same size, but one is slightly smaller than the other. There wasn’t much wrong with them — basic wear and tear for a 70’s set of Skyway luggage — and for $5, I was worried there would be a lingering smell, or some other problem. But the more I inspected them the more I realized they were essentially fine, if not way out of fashion and a little neglected since they had gotten to the thrift store.

These used to belong to someone named Ronald W. J———-, from Stayton, who seemed to take pretty good care of them, considering the age. I’d been thinking about a project like this, but hadn’t quite figured out what to house it all in, and what form it would take shape. My general tendency toward keeping everything “nice and brown,” made me finally cave in and buy this set after FAR too much deliberation.

Here’s today’s progress. As you can see, there’s cardboard props in front of the CDJ, so you can prop it up, and load a CD in. (I almost never use it for that, but since I want this to be functional, I’m trying to think of all the ways I could use this arrangement.) The cables on the right are all labeled; I can fly in the peripheral devices and plug them all in quickly.

The towels are just hiding the cabling. Everything is tired down in Velcro, and hopefully I’ve included enough secure pieces of wood and cardboard to keep everything from shifting in transit. I might lay down more cardboard to cover the cables, but the towels also keep the gear from sifting / offer padding, so who’s to say? I’ll see how this works at shows, and go from there.

My hope is to set the other gear in the other case, and I can just set the cases next to each other, plug everything in, power it up, and I can be ready to perform fairly quickly. It would offer me a lot more time to worry about performances rather than franticly plug gear into each other before a given show.

Up until now, I have been “table-full-of-gear guy” at nearly every show I’ve played as an experimental artist. I’m looking forward to being, “prepared guy with a really weird set” instead, which is a good way to move into 2020.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-05T16:15:19

Sometimes you take a chance on a thrift store record, and it turns out to be nice and weird. “Freakout!” Is the title of this album by “Freakout Guitars,” a band that performs only instrumental versions of “well-known” to “known-to-them” songs. Certainly less “freakout” guitar playing than one would expect from a band with this name, but In the end, a very solid album.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-05T12:02:31

Those born in the year of the rabbit are steeling themselves for the tasks that are ahead of us. For the Warrior Rabbit has always known, “All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.”

Facebook Post: 2020-01-03T09:23:13

Strange Adventures #218, May/June 1969.

Another solid issue. Lots of silly Sci-Fi stuff, that smacks of the Atomic Age in a fun way. The main character in the second story looks like Jeff Goldblum.

Adam Strange “The Planet and The Pendulum!” Story by Gardner Fox / Art by Mike Sekowsky & Joe Giella.

Our story picks up with Adam off the Malayan Coast, south of Singapore, 62 Days, 16 Minutes and 5 Seconds later, where he in in a boat, getting ready to catch the Zeta-Beam. However, on Rann, he finds himself among a group of barbarians, who think he is a sorcerer. They put him in The Tower of The Rainbow Doom, where he is transported away to Anthorrann, where he finds that Sardath and Alana have also wound up. He discovers that many people from Rann have wound up here, and founded “New Ranagar,” under a dome. However, the people of New Ranagar are being attacked by invaders from Morleen, using a giant pendulum-like device to cut through the dome. Adam Strange saves the day, and is immediately transported to the Australian desert, this time in a Ranagarian spacesuit.

“Interplanetary Insurance, Inc.” Story by Sid Gerson. Art by Carmine Infantino & Sy Barry.

Through a series of “Spacegrams,” Bert Brandon relays to his post, William J. Emory, his efforts to sell insurance to the people of Gllyn. The Lullies live in sophisticated cities that get lots of sun, and are beautiful. The Kroques live on the dark side of the planet, and look like monsters. Bert easily convinces the queen to buy life insurance for herself and all her people, netting the I.I.I. a huge profit. However, their people “die” and are “reborn” in new bodies, and they plan to collect life insurance each time, crippling the solvency of the I.I.I. However, Bert saves the Lullies from an invasion of The Kroques, and in return, the Lullies promise not to collect on the life insurance when they go through a “molting” process. They also discover, at the end, that the Kroques were merely trying to get some sunlight, so they can go through their final molting process, and turn into beautiful angle-like creatures. Bert concludes that he can return to the planet later to sell insurance to The Kroques.

The Atomic Knights “The Rise of The Atomic Knights!” Story by John Broome, Art by Murphy Anderson.

Gardner Grayle rallies a group of people to put on the Atomic Armor, so they can take back the food stores from The Black Baron. Douglas introduces Marene, his sister, his is protective of Bryndon, a scientist, who joins the Knights. Gardner and Douglas have six suits of armor, but one is too small. So they get Bryndon and two brothers to join in, and invade the Black Barons base of operations, easily getting in and defeating his men. Gardner goes to stop The Baron himself, only to find himself backed into a corner by the Barons old-fashioned guns. Suddenly, a small Atomic Knight saves Gardner, who happens to be Marene, upon reveal at the end. The Atomic Knights decide to remain the only force for good in this post-apocalyptic world without laws or government. In the final panel, Marene reveals she might be in love with Gardner.

Facebook Post: 2020-01-03T06:04:13

I’ve always wondered exactly what the long-term effects were when Viki finally learned about her life as Niki in the lost underground city of Eterna. Now I can find out.

Also: it turns out a lot of Lost was just “One Life to Live” storylines, reworked. The whole time travel / old west bit was eerily like Jonah Hex, too…