IQ9's "Pushover" in a 1993 Skate Video!

Yes! The Winston Salem band IQ9 featuring Mister Will Safrit singing "Pushover" along with Brian Doub, Eric Jackson and John Bryan can be heard on this clip taken from an October 1993 skate videotape known as 411 VM #3 - Houston Shut Up & Skate! Fo Realz!

George Steeltoe Ensemble - No Labels Session FIRST OFFICIAL RELEASE (3.18.2011) (pt 1 of 5)

George Steeltoe Ensemble - No Label Sessions (2005)
1. 8:30
2. 11:11
3. 12:25
Jay Dunbar - bass, cover art
Peter Evans - trumpet
Daniel Carter - sax
Lathan Hardy - sax
Brian Osborne - percussion, package sticker
Jeffrey Shurdut - guitar, engineer
Recorded in Brooklyn, NYC; September 20, 2005.

Jay Dunbar was born in Pittsburgh and moved around a lot until he attended middle and high school in Kentucky. He earned a degree at NC State and then returned to get involved in the Lexington scene while fulfilling his scholarship to attend graduate school. While living in Kentucky he met Brian Osborne through a friend of a friend. They started exploring and playing 'Jazz stuff', because Brian was heading in that direction with his drumming and Jay had just gotten a double bass. Jeff Chapple came on the scene there and the three started playing together with others in an informal weekly gathering that became known as CHURCH. These gatherings were the seed for the GEORGE STEELTOE ENSEMBLE, with saxophonist Lathan Hardy joining the trio whenever he would come through town about once a month.

"This is a GEORGE STEELTOE disc called the NO LABELS SESSION that was originally intended to be a release for selling on tour, but when Lathan Hardy listened to it he said, 'Man, that's not just me on sax!' So we realized it was most probably Daniel Carter. We had already made up all the CDs and hadn't credited Daniel. My idea was to just make new labels or something, because these are great cuts, but it was put together last minute before tour and we decided we just couldn't put it out. Definitely not without a clear credit to Daniel who is such a huge influence on our sound and approach. As a result I don't think ANYONE has a copy of this! It's a great release because it has this beautiful abstract watercolor cover and the sounds are pretty strong. So, I think it's high time we correct this long forgotten oversight and put it on the WBTPR Blog. Daniel is a good friend, so he's gonna love to hear that the music is finally out there, and I think Brian would be pretty excited, too. As far as the Free Jazz world is concerned, Peter Evans is a superb trumpeter and Jeffrey Shurdut is an excellent yet controversial artist and guitarist. It was a great cast of players and a memorable session."

"There wasn't really a lot of GEORGE STEELTOE stuff that was released anyway. There's the one LP which was the most carefully constructed release. We made 500 copies and did the covers with something like 4 passes on a letterpress. So, it was time consuming but turned out to be a really beautiful product. That was the big one, and this one that was never released was intended as a followup tour piece. I think there is one more release Brian has more recently put together with a different cast of characters, because he still does STEELTOE jams in Brooklyn. The way I always envisioned GEORGE STEELTOE was as a franchise if you will, where if we wanted to; me, you, Eric Jackson and John Bryan could do a STEELTOE show. Me (Jay), Brian Osbourne, Jeff Chapple and Lathan Hardy invented it together, but we always brought other people in and it's always been pretty loose. It's not as much like a band as it is a concept. It's an approach, which is; totally Free, wide open, careful listening, with a Jazz aesthetic involving bass and horns. GEORGE STEELTOE is always a push and pull between a players project and an audience driven experience. Meandering can be great, but it doesn't necessarily lend itself to a good recording or listening experience. The LP that we were able to get so much good material on, was from 2 full days of recording. Something like 5 hours of tape.

"This unreleased recording is going to be great to hear, especially in the format you're working with on the WBTPR Blog. It's a complete package that's beautiful, and I'm really proud of it. Brian made the brilliant see-thru stickers and I did the coverwork. I had these big sheets of paper, and I would put these various watercolors on a roller, and just roll along the paper. So you would have this strange continuity, where 4 or 5 would look similar with little variations. Doing this stuff for me has always been about how can you make it aesthetically interesting without spending any money. That's the challenge; can you do it really cheap but cool?"


Text transribed from interview conducted with Jay Dunbar by Samb Hicks, October 22, 2009. This is Part One of Five; releasing the information & recordings of Jay Dunbar on the Wherehoused By The Psychic Revolutiuon Blog.

One:    GEORGE STEELTOE ENSEMBLE
Two:    MARK THE SCHIZOPHRENIC
Three: COWBOYS & INDIANS
Four:   BLASTOCYST
Five:   CAKES OF LIGHT

Download the George Steeltoe Ensemble - No Labels Session: HERE

Corndawg update

Corndawg was this super-awesome Alt Country singer /songwriter who first played The Wherehouse when Blake Tesh booked him for the Free Texas festival. For those of you who haven't kept track of Corndawg lately, he was in Philly for a long while (and brought The Extraordinaires down to play the building), moved to Nashville for a bit, and is now based in NYC. This week (March 7th around noon) he posted "I'll be at Rolling Stone Magazine for my video appearance with Moddle Brother for the next hour. Thank you. (not kidding)" on Facebook. And on top of all that his birthday is TODAY. Which is funny, cause mine's tomorrow! I know nobody's got extra cash laying around right now, but at least watch his video and chip in a couple of bucks if you can.

Eltron John performing "Benny & The Jets"

Well, several years later, look what we have here...It's Eltron John performing "Benny & The Jets" @ The 2009 Wherehouse Halloween Party! The opening act was fabulous, but terribly underlit. Please excuse the dark footage, but enjoy the show!

MB Two! (on Facebook)

Here's Will''s second video of MB around 1996. (still have to be a Facebooker to watch)
Midget Barmitzvah Vid #2 (on Facebook)

Will Safrit To The Rescue! (He's my fweind)

 Will and I have been talking about this footage forever...and today...it is DONE! Now, forever digitally encoded and archived...rare footage of  High Point's Midget Barmitzvah performing at the Wherehouse!
Midget Barmitzvah
(I'm afraid you must be a member of Facebook to view this)

P.S. Willie D is one of the dancers, help me out everybody; who's the other? Jon Courtney? JB?

Crazy Neil & Young Horse - Loose Again

Crazy Neil & Young Horse is a 2010 Wherehouse Halloween Party cover band that reunioned for the Capricorn Party @ The Garage, January 14, 2011. The group features Winston Salem's own Brian Doub (as Neil), Jay Dunbar (as Poncho Sampedro), Eric Jackson (as Billy Talbot), Ryan Pritts (as Ralph Molin) and Susan Snow (as a Nicolette Larson style singer). It was a costumed Capricorn Party, which explains why Susan is dressed as Dolly Parton. Jay Dunbar, Brian Doub and Eric Jackson are all currently in Cakes Of Light; who I hope to be profiling here very soon.


 
There may be a little off-key singing from where I was positioned, but what the hell; it's Rock & Roll right? BTW. Ryan dedicates "Lookin' For A Love" to Jelaina.

...and finally...

Brian Doub Reborn

So, Brian Doub has been in an almost impossibly long list of bands (IQ9, Bilsheeoh, Bell Brothers, Podunks, Malabaster, Finks, Odes, Bright Leaf, Cakes Of Light, etc.), and has been releasing material under the alias Ray Cathode for many years. This October 1, 2009 performance opening for Richard Buckner was at The Garage in Winston Salem, NC. It is his first performance under his own name. No other cohorts or pseudonyms; just Brian in all his naked glory. Enjoy!

An Imaginary Dialogue

Michael Thomas Jackson - Space Projective 1 (2004)
 
1. Space Projective 1
2. Feldspar In Ballast

Local avante garde composer Michael Thomas Jackson and other artists, were commisioned to construct sound pieces by Project Space 211 for a May 7, 2004 Art Installation. Joe Morgan was on the board of directors for P.S.211 at the time, and conceptualized the exhibition entitled; ECHO CHAMBER. A West Coast artist was flown in and received his commision, but there were not enough funds to pay Jackson as planned. This change compromised his resources and original intentions, resulting in a shorter, more simply fashioned piece. However, what was created might be of greater historical value for our purposes than the originally planned piece! Jackson captured sounds within the building, in several separate sessions; mainly in the empty room beside the performance space. Previously this room had been the site of the Creature Tease experiments (which we hope to feature later), and become a storage space over time. By this point it had been cleared out and a hole cut in the wall, for a second floor doorway leading to the back lot. This was in anticipation of future plans for an art gallery, and artist studio space (which is what currently exists there). In the empty concrete shell with a gapeing hole into open space; Jackson rolled objects around the floor, captured toilets flushing, water in pipes rushing, snippets of conversation, and other sounds. These sources became the sound collage titled, "Space Projective 1". In Jackson's own words:

"Space Projective 1 is a work of musique concrète. I assembled a variety of sounds from inside The Wherehouse with a variable-speed cassette recorder and realized the composition on a multi-track hard disc recorder. In a way I guess I was trying to breathe sentience into the walls and floors of the space or create an imaginary dialogue between its many ghosts, but that proved a ridiculous idea. It is what it is and was composed asystematically with the intention of providing some sort of dramatic trajectory. The title is a bit of a pun since the work has nothing to do with geometry. The term projective was borrowed from the lexicon of psychology, thus considering the work a subjective commentary on the space emerging from my subconcious. Whatever, right?

The exhibition aspect of the piece consisted of a CD player and 2 speakers mounted on one of the space's mighty wooden posts. Ah, so many nights spent leaning on that post. The same source recordings were used in the concert I performed the night of the opening, a piece entitled "Feldspar In Ballast." In addition to the tapes I also employed a deer hunter's call, a short wave radio, some signal processors, and both electronic and acoustic feedback. This is a slightly edited version of the piece...I kinda like."

http://www.4shared.com/dir/21312264/276a383c/Michael_Thomas_Jackson.html

As Brown As It Gets

Malabaster - self titled (2000)

1. This Does Not Work This Does Work
2. In The Early Days
3. Lungbrush
4. Starts To Melt
5. Southern Lights
6. Steak Pie Please

Brian Doub - guitar
Will Dyar - drums
Kat Lamp - bass, vocals
Kemp Stroble - guitar, vocals
#5 live on WXDU.
#1 done on a digital 8-track.
All others recorded @ The Wherehouse studio on 16-track. 

In 1999 Kat Lamp and Kemp Stroble's group, Teratoma was laid to rest; with the untimely passing of the drummer. While Kemp was living at the Wherehouse, he and Kat found themselves in the communal kitchen discussing what their next musical move might be. Kitchen lurker and drummer, Willie D, offered to join forces with them and a legend was born. The larval three piece asked fellow resident Mark Linga to name the band. He immediately broke out a brown marker and a piece of paper, creating a long list of possible names. Of them all, Siamese John Cale and Malabaster, were the favorites. They said they knew what the one meant, "...but what's a malabaster?" To which Willie D slyly quiped, "It means; as brown as it gets!" After a few early practices, Brian Doub and Chris Leiser sat in, with Brian eventually joining. Kat says it was the most effortless writing arrangements she's ever been involved in. "Someone would bring in a riff, someone else would add something and before you knew it, the tune had evolved into something new." The group practiced in the Wherehouse basement studio; consequently it was easy to capture the sessions on tape. Songs developed as demos, and were re-recorded by laying down single instrument tracks (not as a live group recording). The self titled album engineered by Brian and Willie D, also featured one track recorded at a practice, and one recorded live on WXDU (hopefully, more about that later).

Live Malabaster shows involved plenty of improvisation, lengthening and modification of their compositions. The band played the Wherehouse, several Malette Street house shows in Chapel Hill, Greensboro's Onion Cellar, Go Studios in Chapel Hill, and house shows in Asheville. One show was in Baltimore at the OttoBar with Oxes and Erase Erata. Drummer for Oxes, Chris Freeland, even performed a solo set dressed like a pimp and talking about himself over some pre-recorded tracks. He stayed in character all night, except when playing with Oxes. This gig was a showcase where some record execs had come to scout. One approached Willie D at the bar with a slick spiel along the lines of, "Hiiii, I'm (insert name) from Monitor Records, and weeeee came down tonight to check you guys oooout..." which Will cut short with, "Whoa! Relaaaax man! I'm just here to get a drink."

Malabaster was the first Wherehouse band to play at the Pudhouse in Charlottesville, Virginia; eventually performing there at least three times. This connection happened when Raw Dog Rex & the Family Nads played the Wherehouse. Kemp was booking the Bellabaster tour and asked Family Nads members, Tom and Colin if they could recommend a good place to play. Colin replied, "We have a place called The Pudhouse." This venue was a wild and totally unscturctured scene of people dancing and freaking out inside, as well as roaming around outside on the train tracks, uncoupling the cars and making them collide with one another. Kat remembers waking up to that sound and thinking, "Really? First thing in the morning?" It was at these shows that they witnessed the gestation of USAisAmonster. In the beginning Tom played keyboards and guitars, Sara was the drummer and Colin would wail on his guitar while running around the room, sliding on his knees and generally freaking out. Alot of Rod Stewart was listened to in the van on the Bell Brothers and Mabaster tour, and became a running joke amongst the two groups. In an interview for the Wake Forest college paper, The Old Gold & Black, they were asked what advice they would give to record companies. Willie D blurted, "Listen to Rod Stewart!"

There was a Go Studios show with Engine Down, and another with Mile Marker, Oxes, and Fin Fang Foom; as well as a weekend mini-tour to Greensboro, Asheville and Durham. The first of these was in Greensboro at a shortlived warehouse space near some railroad tracks called, Track 13. The show was with Damad, Zegota and Catharsis; the last two being part of the Crimethink family. These band's radical roots brought a clique of Washington DC fans down, including some who were working on a benefit project. After the show Malabaster were asked for a contrubution to that compilation. By the time the, WITH LITERACY & JUSTICE FOR ALL: A BENEFIT FOR THE DC AREA BOOKS TO PRISON PROJECT disc came out, Malabaster was already broken up. The second show was in Asheville at Vincent's Ear, where they stayed the night with college buddy Reed and it snowed. The nasty storm caused numerous accidents, which Malabaster avoided as they crept from Asheville to Durham to play live on WXDU. They also played three shows at the Cedar Street House in Greensboro; one of which was their last show (as well as the last Bell Brothers show). Another Cedar Street show with Zegota was a particularly great one, where everything gelled for the packed crowd (Zegota were also featured on the same Literacy compilation). The other was with Wherehouse band Cobra Clutch, when lead singer Steve Tesh crawled under the carpet and sang, then rolled himself up in it like a burrito. Of course, there were plenty of Wherehouse shows like; with Fin Fang Foom & Oxes (2.19.2000) and Mercury Birds (7.16.2000).

Malabaster dissolved in the late Fall of 2000, when Willie D moved to New York City. Of all the different bands, projects and groupings from The Wherehouse; Malabaster is easily one of the most talked about, marveled over and sought after of recordings. On October 25, 2005 a special pre-Halloween Reunion show brought several old Wherehouse bands back together; namely Rompe Cabezza, Bell Brothers and Malabaster.

 http://www.4shared.com/dir/21285042/a420a288/Malabaster.html

Brandon's Baltimore Four

Brandon Bigelow - Early 4 track Bigelow (1999-2000)
 
1. Nipples Like Pancakes
2. Lame Little Boy
3. Iron Maiden T-shirt
4. You Do Not Know
 
Brandon Bigelow - vocals, guitar, metronome, electric air-organ
Gaby Cardall - vocals (1)
Rand - clarinet, vocals (3)

Brandon Bigelow hails from Kernersville, but lived everywhere from Germanton to Virginia. By 1997 his parents had moved to Illinois. That year he traveled to Las Vegas, lived in the desert, checked out the Pacific Northwest, went sightseeing in California and meanered back to Illinois; breaking down in Nebraska before he got back home. Out of money, he lived in Illinois for 6 months.

Meantime, Steve and Blake Tesh, and Dave Franklin moved to Baltimore from The Wherehouse in October, and invited him to join them. Brandon moved in New Year's Eve; and stayed till September 1998. They lived at the Adler Gallery; which was a three story split row-house managed by Bill Adler; the first floor Gallery owner. Blake and Steve lived on the second floor, Dave and Brandon on the third; and their new friends James & Jasmin in the basement on the other side of the split house. At the beginning they had all day jams on Wednesdays, but over the course of the nine months these became 'whenever'. A number of tapes exist, mainly when Blake would lay down tracks on his 4-track & bring the others in to add parts. This group of recordings was eventually given the group name; The Baltimorons (which we'll get to later). In September 1998, Blake and Steve, Dave Franklin and Jeff Chapelle moved into a squat called the Laugh & Spit. Brandon moved into what has been described as, "the most depressing little two room apartment ever". It had only two windows, which both looked into the alley; and was located on the opposite side of town from everybody else. He only lived there a few months, before moving into a place in the middle of town occupied by Gaby Cardall, who he'd met at Louis' Bookstore Cafe. They stayed at this location for a little over four years, before moving to The Wherehouse at the end of 2002.

This quick history sets the stage for some 4-track tapes with a strange destiny. Although Brandon had a 4-track when he was in the Greensboro band Creamy Velour (before the whole Illinois thing); these tunes were the first solo material recorded on a 4-track in Baltimore. For this session, he had aquired a black Electronic metronome, with only four beat settings and borrowed Jeff Chappelle's portable 4-track. "Nipples Like Pancakes" is his first (and only) musical collaboration with Gaby; and features him on bass & guitar. The vocals were ad libbed with Gaby in a single take. "Lame Little Boy" features an electric air-organ and more ad libbed lyrics that he says provide; 'a scary window into my mind'. "Iron Maiden T-shirt" features a panned radio, chorus and delay pedal 'zooms & farts', Brandon's pal Rand on Gaby's clarinet and both guys on vocals. "You Do Not Know" is a quick number composed of layered guitars and vocals by Brandon.

The reason you might say this tape had a strange destiny, involves a fire at The Werehouse on April 15, 2003. A guest at the house accidentally left a candle unattended, resulting in a fire that consumed a room and severely damaged those to either side (the kitchen and Chris Leiser's room). This left the house unoccupiable for several months, while cleanup and renovating took place. Brandon and Gaby lived in such a small room at The Wherehouse, that they used another to store many of their possessions. This was the room that caught fire, and many of their things were destroyed. A few (like a block of melted cassettes) were so invaluable they remained as a heartbreaking keepsake. On the off chance that something could be salvaged, Samb and Brandon broke open an unidentifiable test tape, installed it in an empty shell, and discovered that it was a playable 4-track tape containing these four songs. To this day, Brandon continues the process of salvaging magnetic tape from the withered shells (for future release here, perhaps)! If that story doesn't make you want to listen to this stuff; I got nothing else for ya.

 http://www.4shared.com/dir/20898359/e0492da7/Brandon_Bigelow_4-tracks.html

A Milkjug moment & pre-Finks flavors

John Blackburn - Earliest Demos (1998-99)

1. Speedneck
2. Wake Up
3. Doin The Dance To Work

John Blackburn - vocals, bass
Daniel VonSeggen - bass
Andy VonSeggen - drums

What we have here is another super-rare item; the first recordings of John Blackburn. The blossoming of John's love for music. Leftover magic moments in their rawest state. He readily admits; it's music that's not near as much fun to listen to, as it was to make.


John Blackburn met what would become the Wherehouse crew, at the Morning Dew Coffeehouse when they still lived on the edge of town at 4196 Ebert Road. Though John's brother Darrell had a store right next door to 4196 called, WHERE IT'S AT, John never made it out there while the group was in residence.


Milkjug was a group that formed from Andy Von practicing his drums in a shed behind Kendall's place off Healy Drive. John and Dan would drop by, and soon were jamming together. This moved to 4196, after the guys moved into the Wherehouse, Darrell got the place for himself, and John moved in with him. Milkjug's "Doin' The Dance To Work", is one of the earliest 4-track experiments, recorded on a Tascam John bought from Darrell. The threesome jammed it out, and then John added vocals after the other guys left. This version of "Speedneck" is THE first recording he ever made. That might become obvious once you hear it, as John has noted; "Now, with extra garble." With the next track "Wake Up", we get a much better idea of where he was going, and what he was aiming for. Both feature John playing all the parts, and eventually became Finks songs (soon to be posted here).


The point of mixing these three items down to a dub tape, was to share with Chris Leiser, who had given John some of his solo Red Leader tapes. This resulted in a Milkjug performance, in what is now the Green Room at The Wherehouse, for an art opening. This room was originally part of an incinerator shaft, and had metal grates for the floor and ceiling. It barely had space for the band, so people stood above and below them to witness the performance through the grates. The group that would become the Bell Bros also played as a nameless combo, upstairs by the glass block wall. A room was set up in the other incinerator shaft (what is now the stairwell), with a coffin that's lid was wired open to serve as a table. A homemade dream machine was mounted to the makeshift table for people to gather around and interact with. This was Milkjug's only public performance.


This pic shows Andy VonSeggen and John Blackburn in a different grouping than Milkjug, jamming on Andy Von's PVC drumkit; at an entirely different art show at the Wherehouse. The completely homemade drumset was constructed of various things with unique acoustical properties, collected from a screen printing job Andy and Daniel worked at.


 http://www.4shared.com/dir/20682648/e049463f/Blackrabbit.html

Rho your Zenta one Iota across the Omicron

Sambson - Core To Harmonization (2004)

1. Alphagion
2. Betaric
3. Gammallah
4. Deltadaross
5. Epsilonifon
6. Zetarus
7. Etabo
8. Thetallus
9. Iotaprox
10. Kappaupa
11. Lambdadurion
12. Muklouten
13. Nuq
14. Xij
15. Omicronos
16. Rebirth Of The Ruthless Republic
 
Tracks #1-15: recorded solo in 2004 in one long improv
 from 1am until there was no more space on the
 disc. Burnt straight to CD with momentary pauses
 to contemplate.
Track #16: "Rebirth Of The Ruthless Republic" from 1998. 

100 years ago, the Italian Futurists attempted to expose the elements of noise within pure sound. They believed that noise was richer in harmonics than pure notes and contended that if audiences failed to understand this, they should be trained through concentrated listening to hear the musicality of noise and understand its emotional effect. There are a number of moments I cannot explain in this recording, as there are no overdubs. They are 'extra' notes that don't seem to belong to the guitar, but there they are. At low volume these notes sound like faint chimes or bells. At high volume they are piercing tones that go beyond the tone of the note played.

I don't know where creativity comes from. When something truly unique and wonderful is created it moves beyond this realm and into another. We don't own any words to describe this place. I dare say we never will. Perhaps magical will do. When I have been in this situation, it is as if I am no longer human, no longer me, no longer here. I am a funnel that music pours through. The beauty is not mine, nor the mistakes. Somehow this makes the mistakes seem beautiful too. I cannot own this thing; it is beyond me.  At this moment I am in love. I am a life. Perhaps you will feel the same.

The name of each of the 15 songs/pieces is based on a letter of the Greek alphabet. I picked the names of the 4 Greek letters I found most pleasing, and anagramed them. The result was, "Core To Harmonization".

The setup for this recording was an electric guitar (strat) through a practice amp (epiphone) with built in echo. This went through an old 5 channel mixer (radio shack). The guitar was stereo in 2 channels, and I made an additional channel looped back into itself. This channel produced feedback when turned up. This effect becomes evident in #8. My controls were; guitar volume, amp volume, mixer volume, feedback volume, echo, string tension, plectrum, screwdriver and vibrator. The vibrator becomes evident on #10 & 11.
  
Alternate anagrams:
Mohair Icon Tarot Zone
Aromatic Horizon Note
Coronation At Rhizome
Too Notarize Harmonic
Atom Horizon Reaction
Razor Tooth Mini Canoe
Motorize A Thin Racoon

Thanks to John F. Szwed for the Futurist info.

http://www.4shared.com/dir/20535096/da4112c1/Sambson_-_Core.html

From the Golden Age of the 14th Dimension They Came

Tetragrammaton - Unreleased EP (2004)

1. Black Mass
2. Werewolf
3. Glass Dagger
4. Guidance
5. Five-Sided Star
6. Glass Dagger (bonus Sambson Remix)

The Glampyre (Blake Tesh) - vocals, guitar
The Werewolf (Brandon Bigelow) - vocals, bass
The Clown From The Underground (Marty Rogers) - drums
The San Francisco Frogman (Eric Jackson) - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
The Wizard (Andy Mabe) - trumpet, backing vocals

guests from other galaxies:
Ghoul Girl (Haydee Thompson) - keyboards
The Philosopher (James Sarrsgard) - vocals, stage character
Imp Of The Perverse (Steve Tesh) - childrens turntables, vocals, stage character
The Abomination (John Blackburn) - stage character
The Blob (Gaby Tracey & Rebecca) - a white sheet sewn into a sphere that molested the audience

Pentagram originated in the Anagram Program at The Wherehouse, along with Billy Gram and Hologram (see Psychic Revolution Compilation below). Initially, it was planned as a one time project that ended up being so well received by audiences and so much enjoyed by the members, that the plans were changed. Their first show was opening for the Ground Monkeys at The Wherehouse, the week before they left for the Winter of 2002 trip to Baltimore, Maryland; where the Anagram Program was performed several times. After that trip only a few more shows were played at The Wherehouse before they changed their name. The core of the group were lifetime Heavy Metal fans, and at least for cousins Brandon and Blake; it felt like the band they should have been in when they were 15 years old. Instead, they had tried other projects together throughout the years, that never quite gelled the way this one eventually did. Blake had been in numerous bands in the area, most famously as a member of Naked Angels. Likewise, Brandon's most successful project up to this point had been as a member of Creamy Velour. Marty had come from the Prog Metal group, Japan Air; and Andy Mabe had most famously played bass in the Glamrock band, The Brothers Grimm. As a founding member of The Wherehouse itself, Eric Jackson had been in a number of groups (IQ9, Pop Equations, Bell Brothers). This key lineup, were also the majority of a sister group called Golden Dawn; which in many ways was the antithesis of Pentagram. The five core members were oft times joined at live shows by guests from other galaxies. 

Ghoul Girl manifested for several shows, as did The Philosopher and The Imp Of The Perverse for the 2004 Mystic Carnival Halloween Show in Greensboro. Then there was the infamous Abomination show at which the Abomination came for The Frogman, and The Blob made it's one and only appearance. There was also an 'in house' show one night when there was a Rave going on in the performance space at The Wherehouse, which involved the band telling all the members of the house they were having a show in the basement practice space. Though Eric eventually left the band, he was able to read a text, go into a trance and contact the 14th dimension, for several performances of channeling The San Francisco Frogman; who played drums and keyboards to pre-recorded backing loops.

The 5 songs presented here were recorded in the last week before the Psychic Revolution tour, for product to sell. Over the lifespan of Pentagram/Tetragrammaton there were a number of songs that never made it to tape. "7 Winding Spiral Stairwells To The Mystic Circle" was inspired by the occult roots of the Nazi's and the underground meeting place at Himmler's SS Fortress; of which there are said to be extant live recordings (not present here). During the Psychic Revolution tour, a trance inducing chant called "Wicken Rise" was written, as well as "24-Karat Golden Zombie" which featured a short rap based on the film, The Serpent & the Rainbow. Both of these unrecorded songs were filmed on the grease bus, and may one day appear somewhere online. There was also "The Blob" which accompanied the singular appearance of The Blob, at the finale of the Abomination show (June 1, 2003).

On a metaphysical level, these entities assembled to bring about transformation. From origins shrouded in the mysteries of the Ancient Age came The Glampyre and The Werewolf, whose history of transformation had already attained legendary. Then there was The Clown From The Underground, The San Francisco Frogman and The Wizard; whose powers were more esoteric. Taken all together, these entities formed a five-sided covenant of harrowing proportions. After 5 Pentagram performances, a transformation was commanded. At The Garage on January 30, 2003; the five creatures performed an arcane ritual and transformed into Tetragrammaton. In time, The San Francisco Frogman was called back from whence he came, on the first day of June, 2003. The Wizard used the knowledge from his earlier mystical betrayal of the Glass Dagger, to call forth the Abomination; who dispatched The Frogman's ascension to the 14th Dimension, and the the land of no responsibility. Like a two sided coin, the balance flipped to the side of Golden Dawn and eventually the remaining members of Tetragrammaton ascended back into the 14th dimension and the Golden Age. Luckily for us, we have this document of their visitation on this plane.

 http://www.4shared.com/dir/20379924/b1656bcc/Tetragrammaton.html

Bilsheeoh: where it gets Tasty!

Bilsheeoh The Redundant - Bob Barker's Charisma (1995)

1. track 1
2. track 19 (#2 in full stereo 4 track)
3. track 2
4. track 3
5. track 23 (#5 in full stereo 4 track)
6. track 26 (#6 in full stereo 4 track)
7. track 7
8. track 8
9. track 9
10. track 29 (#10 in full stereo 4 track)
11. track 31 (#11 in full stereo 4 track)
12. track 32 (#12 in full stereo 4 track)
13. track 13
14. track 33 (#14 in full stereo 4 track)
15. track 15
16. track 37 (#16 my way close to 35 with treble) (Samb's treble mix)
17. track 17
18. track 06 (extra - see #26-28 the instrumental)
19. track 27 (extra - #6 straight vocal only)
20. track 28 (extra - #6 effected vocal only)
21. track 30 (extra - #10 vocal only)
22. track 10 (extra - see #29 the instrumental)
23. track 11 (extra - see #31 - direct w-o room mics)
24. track 14 (extra - see #33 - guitars only)
25. track 34 (extra - #14 drums only)
26. track 20 (extra - #2 bass & chime elements only)
27. track 21 (extra - #2 active elements only)
28. track 24 (extra - #5 active elements only)
29. track 25 (extra - #5 low key elements only)
30. track 16 (extra)
31. track 17 (extra)
32. track 35 (extra - #16 keys & guitar panned out . bass & drums in)
33. track 36 (extra - #16 keys & guitar panned in . bass & drums out)

nonexistent song titles all


The Legend Lives On:
Bilsheeoh was a 4-track solo project by Brian Doub, begun before the Wherehouse existed as such, when the core group of what would become the Wherehouse boys lived in the 4196 house. The name Bilsheeoh comes from a lyric in a Bob Seger  song, refering to the bills a woman owes. "The Redundant" refers to his first  cassette cover, wherein a bank statement reveals that his savings account was begun with "0.00" dollars and ended with "0.00" dollars. Brian continued exploring songwriting, recording techniques and equipment, eventually leaving  Bilsheeoh behind to release his solo efforts as Ray Cathode. Consequently, Bilsheeoh has come to signify the 4-track stage of Doub's recording career; which is obviously not his best work, but it definitely has it's worthy moments. You will be amazed later, when I drop some Ray Cathode on this blog; so dig the humble origins! 

BOB BARKER'S CHARISMA is a mixture of noise experimentation, sound collage, and pop songs. It bears the catalog number 001, as it was WDYO Records first cassette release.
 
Notes on the Remastered 14th Anniversary Edition:
This file is a direct digital dub from the original 4-track, which had no titles as such. The result here, is the best 33 dubs resequenced for re-release. Tracks #1-17 are the best "master" takes available, and #18-33 are "extras" of various types; from good 2-track versions to singled out instruments from various tracks. A perfectly good explanation...but let's go further.

The actual digitizing process, without titles, became a bit confusing. This is where it gets tasty. What was originally tracks #1-33 (missing a couple of flubbed takes, ie; 2,5,12,22), have been resequenced as #1,19,3,4,23,26,7,8,9,29,31,32,13,33,25,37,18 for the major work and #6,27,28,30,10,11,14,34,20,21,24,25,16,17,35,36 as the order for the extras. These were then re-labeled to bring them back into 'order' (if such  a thing actually even exists at this point).

Bilsheeoh was always about puzzling out something new; so since we gave away the secrets of his name, this gives the listener something important to grapple with. This puzzling process is entirely necessary for proper engagement with the recording; do NOT ignore the number sequence, as your ability to appreciate the music could diminish! To fully understand this number sequence may even require psychic contact with master numerologist Eric Jackson during a nap (when his Embyonic Crusader personality is present). Don't bother him with it while he's in an awakened state, as that part of his mind is not dominate then. It wouldn't help to psychically contact Brian while he's napping, as he long ago received a hypnotic treatment to block the Bilsheeoh personality; and he needs his rest. Otherwise, enjoy the recording.

If you're a math whiz, and master the number sequence before you finish listening to the recording, please calculate the significance of their first street address (4196) in conjunction with the Remastered 14th Anniversary Edition of this rare historic recording. It might also be important to include the 33 tracks, which is a multiple of the 17 original tracks minus 1, rooted by use of a 4-track tape machine. Your Bilsheeoh pop equation should look like this: 


Turn in your solution for extra credit... and don't forget to show your work!

P.S.- There's nothing MORE redundant than a remix of a perfectly good song, and we think it high time Bilsheeoh be downloaded and remixed, so Brian can pick his favorites and add a new number sequence to even out the confusion. Then again, maybe you'd like to take one of the extra tracks and create your own collaborative composition from it. That's cool too, just have fun and send us your results!


http://www.4shared.com/dir/20303472/f034959b/Bilsheeoh.html

 

The Genesis of Oakley Hall

Crazee & Heaven - Crazee & Heaven (2001)

1. Furrow Of My Brow
2. (I'm Not The) Other Woman
3. Runnin' After You
4. When You've Got A Broken Heart
5. San Antone
6. Have Another Beer
7. Drinkin' & Cheatin'
8. Stolen Fruit
9. After Hours
10. Whiskey Drinkin'

Crazee (Pat Sullivan) - vocals, acoustic guitar, writer
Heaven - vocals, electric guitar, writer
Hills (Will Dyar) - drums
Fame & Fortune (Jesse Barnes) - bass
West Virginia (Claudia Mogel) - fiddle
Kai McBride - National guitar

Guests:
Andy "Ain't" Mabe - bass (2,3,5,8)
Debbie Gitlin - fiddle (4,8)
Brain Sides - lead guitar (8)
Rick Nathey - pedal steel
Mark Linga - accordion
Brian Doub, Hills, Eric Jackson - engineers
Recorded @ The Wherehouse, Fall 2001; Winston Salem, North Carolina. (ps211.org)

Jesse Cannon - additional vocal recording and mastering @ West West Side
Peter Katis - mixer @ Tarquin Studios
Tony & Joel - mixers @ Studio G
Album design & printing by Kayrock (www.kayrock.org)



New York's Oneida had played five or six times at the Wherehouse by the time of this recording. Papa Crazee fronted that band, but had been exploring Country music outside the group. The Bell Brothers (from the Wherehouse) had played the Knitting Factory with Oneida and stayed at drummer Kidd Millions' place in Brooklyn, where they met Heaven for the first time. Soon after Papa Crazee invited Bell Brothers drummer Hills, to come up and play a show with the Country project he had formed with Heaven, Jesse, West Virginia and Kai. When they were ready to record Crazee & Heaven (as they were known) wanted Hills drumming, so they came down and recorded at the Wherehouse studio. As is evident from the credits, they used many local musicians to fill out the songs they had written. Much of this transpired from the desire to beef up the studio for the out-of-towners, as most Wherehouse recordings up to this point had been done with a cassette 4-track. This was accomplished by borrowing an ADAT machine from Robert Kirk, who had connections that put the project in touch with Gitlin and Nathey. Nathey in particular floored Papa Crazee when he arrived at the studio and was told no more about the first song than the key and 'swing-style'; at which point he laid down a track in a single take that had Papa doubled over giggling with delight.

Several weeks before the group arrived, the Wherehouse hosted a film night, screening the films of resident filmmaker Frank Eaton; starring members of the Wherehouse and surrounding community. From that night a woman lodged a complaint with the Winston Salem Fire Department, who soon arrived to inspect the facilities. It appeared the issue was being dealt with, but several weeks later (about half way through the four day recording session) the Fire Department and their inspectors arrived in mass for a full frontal surprise inspection, that ended with the building basically being declared a fire hazard. The band had only a short amount of time alotted to record anyway, so with the basic tracks finished, they took the tapes back to NYC for mixing and vocal dubs. Before they left, the group moved their equipment upstairs to provide an evening of entertainment in the kitchen. This was not the first or last time the Wherehouse had to hunker down, regroup and figure out a way to keep moving forward.

Crazee & Heaven were together long enough to come down and visit several more times, including for one of the infamous shows at the Seed Gallery with Oneida and Malabaster (October 5, 2002) ! Eventually, Heaven ended up moving to California, while Hills moved to New York (since the Wherehouse was barred from occupancy for a while). After Heaven left, the group changed their name to Oakley Hall. Steve Tesh (who'd been doing a Country project at The Wherehouse with Rachel Cox, called The Podunks) wasn't far behind Will, and also joined the band. So what we have here, is basically the genesis of Oakley Hall, who went on to have a successful four album career worth checking out.

An ironic footnote involves Rachel Cox having been in The Podunks with Steve Tesh (who took a number of their songs with him to Oakley Hall), but she didn't move to New York till a bit later, eventually singing with Crazee in the subways and ultimately joining the band in 2004 (after Steve had already moved back to the Wherehouse). Years later Papa Crazee and Rachel Cox backed up M.Ward on Late Night With David Letterman (February 17, 2009)! The album art for this release was an early screen printing by the now quite famous New York graphic designer and artist; Kayrock.


http://www.4shared.com/dir/20205328/86ee123c/Crazee__Heaven.html

California meets Carolina through Hendee, Dyar & Jackson

Eric Jackson & Will Dyar - Presence Control (2001)
1. Presence Control 9:40


The soundscape by Eric Jackson and Will Dyar titled "Presence Control", was created at artist Stephen Hendee's request for his art intallation at The Laguna Art Museum in California. Being from California himself Stephen chose earthquakes as the theme, and asked for a musical soundtrack for accompaniment. In the end, what was delivered was a sound collage of numerous tracks laid atop and conjoining one another. The source materials for "Presence Control" were field recordings from around North Carolina; of the train at The Werehouse, from the woods at Jeff Foster's house, water from the banks of the Yadkin River, and pots and gongs at Mike Callahan's place at Moore's Wall. These were captured on Mark Linga's borrowed DAT machine with a stereo mic, then looped and mixed throughout the fall of 2000.

Stephen Hendee's "Presence Control" appeared January 21 – July 8, 2001 at the Laguna Art Museum. Hendee’s site-specific constructions are built out of foamboard, wood supports, tape, and fluorescent lights. They are glowing, tunnel-like, room-size installations that exist somewhere between outer, mathematical or electronic space, or even intestinal space, if the body in question were an android. (curated by Tyler Stallings)


http://www.4shared.com/file/131603038/a7c2f06/Eric_Jackson__Will_Dyar_-_Presence_Control_2000__192_.html

One of many 'Ground Zeroes'

Various Artists - Psychic Revolution Compilation (2003)

1. Hologram - Superficial 3:08
2. Embryonic Crusader - Fire 4:50
3. Invisible States - Still Making Music 2:51
4. Auto Pilot - Lethargy 2:17
5. Andy Freaking Mabe - She Believes In Me Now 3:01
6. Billy Gram - Stardust Mist 5:39
7. Flat Black - Tom's Got Problems 2:47
8. Tetragrammaton - Five-Sided Star 5:54
9. Praise The Beast - Leviathan Learns To Dance 1:52
10. Finks - Sentimental 3:40
11. Golden Dawn - Love Is A Giant Circle 0:28
12. J. Edgar Funeral - Live 3:18
13. Red Leader - #5 5:25
14. Ray Cathode - In The Morning 4:00
15. Odes - Angel On The Stairs 3:44
16. Moon And Star - Outro 3:18
 

This blog serves a single purpose; to make the music of the Wherehouse available. Or you might know it as The Werehouse, PS211 or even Krankies. In any case, perhaps the best place to start is several years into the whole thing. 
This is a compilation produced for the 2003 Psychic Revolution tour; wherein an old Greyhound bus was upfitted to run on discarded restaurant grease so a group of 14 people from the Wherehouse in Winston Salem, NC could tour to California and back. 

A series of events evolved from an idea born at the Wherehouse in Winston Salem, NC. Planning began on the fall equinox (September 23rd) of 2002 when the seeds of the grease bus odyssey, which became the Psychic Revolution tour were planted. The idea, known as the "Anagram Program", was based on a group of musicians who would change instruments and musical styles, along with the band name. Hologram was the Disco entity,  Billy Gram the country group, Pentagram the metal band, and so on. This concept was first executed in the Winter of 2002 during a trip to Baltimore, Maryland. The first show was at James, April & Neeley's loft andthe second show was set up by Chiara at Tarantulla Hill; the base of operations for Twig & Carly from Nautical Almanac. From the success of these events, a larger idea evolved in which the group of anagramic musicians would cross the country on the "Ronald Reagan Highschool" tour. This involved writing a musical to be set during Ronald Reagan's terms in office; with the anagram bands performing all the tunes.

Other people in the household had fully formed bands of their own with no connection to the "Anagram Program" that were soon incorporated into the grease bus tour. The Ronald Reagan Highschool musical idea was eventually dropped and replaced by a strategy of deciding which bands would play each night of the tour based on the show location, local crowd and surrounding atmosphere. A performance stage was built in the backlot of the Wherehouse where a promotional and fundraising event was held in the Summer of 2003, under the name Golgonooza. This disc was created for that event with leftover copies for selling on tour. In
September 2003 (one year from it's inception) the bus left town for a month, to return in time for the annual Wherehouse Halloween party.

Embryonic Crusader, Invisible States, Praise The Beast, Red Leader, Ray Cathode, Andy Freakin' Mabe and Moon And Star are all solo projects. Auto Pilot were new residents to the house at the time, eventually changing their lineup and name to Autopassion. Finks was comprised of two couples (at the time), one of which had a duo project named Flat Black, the other a duo called the Odes. Golden Dawn centered around yet another couple, with a rotating lineup of supporting players. J. Edgar Funeral was a project created for an art show, that intended to continue, but ended up being a one time only event.

Most of the people featured here went on the tour. Some people not featured here went instead. The 14 were: Ed Venard, Jason Mecum, Marty Rogers, Andy Mabe, Blake Tesh, Haydee Thompson, John Blackburn, Teresa Blackburn, Brian Doub, Liz Simmons, John Bryan, Brandon Bigelow, Gaby Cardal and Frank Eaton (who filmed the entire thing).


http://www.4shared.com/file/131608935/ac1def35/Various_Artists_-_Psychic_Revolution_2003__192_.html