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.

The Descendents Interview (not Wherehouse, but still great)

In a previous incarnation I was known as Sam Slam. I worked at a college radio station for one year before I dropped out. By the end of that year, I was basically living at the station. Sleeping on the couch in the lounge, so that if someone didn't make their shift, I could substitute. Not like I didn't have my own show, but the more airtime the better, as far as I was concerned. My show was called The Slam Show, and I was Sam Slam. I played whatever Hardcore and Punk I could find without cursing and eventually convinced them to let me play that after midnight (with an announcement made at every break).

Since I was always around, I ended up taking the station's mobile recording set-up to try interviewing The Bangles, who were playing our Spring Fling concert. The microphone was ridiculous and attached to the charcoal grey cinderblock of a recorder by a stiff industrial grey cable. I looked like a reporter from a 1970s Monty Python skit, but it was 1986! Needless to say I have no recording from that interview, because the infernal machine didn't work right. Lesson #1: check your equipment BEFORE you try to interview someone. It's just as well, as the interview with Susanna, Vicki and Debbi lurched to a stop when bass player Michael walked in. The fact that she had been in The Runaways and an obscure New Wave band I liked called Slow Children, had absolutely nothing to do with it. I stopped breathing and was literally struck dumb to such a degree that I had to leave the dressing room. Interviewus interruptus. I felt like the DJ on Northern Exposure who lost his voice to a lovely stranger.

I ditched the ten pound antique station equipment and bought a Walkman with a built-in microphone the size of a pencil eraser. It worked beautifully. I interviewed a band called The Sociopaths that I attempted to manage for about a month. In a primitive attempt to produce it for airing, I played a song off their demo cassette, then the unedited interview and then back to the demo on my next Slam Show. Then I transcribed it and got it published in Tate Harmer's Psychedelic Print fanzine out of Charlotte. The print version is all that remains. Lesson #2: edit and polish the thing BEFORE you put it on the air.

I added a nice compact little disc camera (an outdated format from the 1980s) to my equipment list for snapping live action shots and pics of me with famous musicians. LOL! Whenever I could, I'd go with anyone that was driving to shows in other towns. I ended up doing interviews with the Canadian band D.O.A., the drummer for Reno Nevada's 7 Seconds, the drummer for California's The Descendents and the Athens Georgia band Mercyland. I got to talk with The Dead Boys on their final tour, but can't honestly remember why I didn't have my walkman with me. (Though I did manage to get some righteous photos.)

The interview with Bill Stevenson of The Descendents was recorded @ the Brewery in Raleigh, North Carolina; March 4, 1987. My best friend from highschool Jimi 45, had also become a Punk & Hardcore DJ at a college station up in Boone, North Carolina. We traded questions so we could play the interview on both stations and have it make sense for our separate shows. I took a picture of him with Bill and he took the one of me. At this point the picture of Jimi seems lost to the ravages of time, though a negative could still potentially pop up one day. I've gone ahead and put a watermark on the pictures, just to protect them from ending up in someone's book or documentary or on a bootleg cover without my knowledge or permission. If you legitimately need to use them contact me:
sambson@gmail.com

Much respect to Bill for being so gracious as to let us corner and question him while still sweat-drenched from smashing out an awesome show. And yes, I'm aware that the audio for the songs is shaky, and I could have replaced it so very easily with a personal computer. My respect for the Descendents is such that I wouldn't want to in any possible way infringe on them or impact their publishing rights. So the songs have been left as crappy bootleg quality on purpose. Thanks to The Brewery for being there and supporting the scene. This one's for Jimi.

If you enjoy the music, the songs are: Hectic World, Der Weinerschnitzel, Hurtin' Crue, Kabuki Girl. Buy the Descendents music.

Get the interview HERE.

BOOM! EXPLOSION!

In 2005-06, Savannah, Zach and Devin kick out some of the most primal Pop ever heard in Winston Salem. Though they were technically not Wherehouse residents, their first 13 songs were recorded there, and with the amount of shows they played there; it seemed to be an unofficial home base. I'm hoping to do a much talked about interview with Zack and Savannah, so we can post their entire output titled, TALES FROM THE 14TH DIMENSION here on this blog!

Recognize.

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?

Why You Should NEVER Talk To The Police

Alright Ya'll this is a new post, but it's completely off the topic. This has nothing at all to do with The Wherehouse, except that an old skool Wherehouse alumni (Melanie) sent it to me. Watch and learn.

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...

Hell Bombs for Christmas

Hell Bombs

Invisible States | Myspace Music Videos
Hey! It's still Christmas time! I just discovered a video for the Invisible States song "Hell Bombs"! In case you're unfamiliar, this is a solo project Of Haydee Thompson's. Haydee's has sung and / or played keyboards in more bands than I can probably name off the top of my head...but here goes: Three Chicks & A Jew, Squatweiler, Angramainyu, All Astronauts, Skull & Bones Harmony Song, Tetragrammaton, and all those I'm forgetting. You can also hear her on the Golden Dawn track featured on the Krankies Winter 2010 compilation, if you're wanting to help support the local scene and get into the Christmas spirit.

Oh! And you can also watch Haydee perform the song live on the Psychic Revolution tour here:

Hell bombs

Invisible States | Myspace Music Videos

Krankies Winter 2010 Compilation

Wow! It's been a long time since I blogged here, but I think about it all the time. It's not that I'm being slack, it's that I'm still working on finishing rooms in my house...while I'm living in it (yuck).  So you may be wondering what could possibly interrupt my progress and make me blog today.  Well, if you don't already know, Krankies has released  a Winter 2010 Compilation, which is now available for purchase @ Krankies. It features 18 local WSNC bands, and  half the proceeds go to Arts For Life!
 Not only did I have to make sure to promote this fabulous recording, but I thought I'd add some history and a little more.

Back in 2005, local restaurant Mary's Of Course couldn't afford to pay the $900 to BMFI, ASSCAP and other sundry extortionists, to be allowed to play music in their cafe. So, a plan was developed to play ONLY local musicians who's material wasn't registered with any publishing company and who wanted to help MOC. As you might imagine, when Christmas rolled around that year there was some concern. An attempt was made to put together a compilation of all local artists doing Holiday songs. Heck, Raleigh has been doing it for years with their Have a Holly Raleigh Christmas series. However, in this case there wasn't enough knowledge, experience or resources to make it happen. But, in the effort, two songs were created that have never been released! These are not affiliated with the actual Krankies Winter 2010 Compilation. They were not mastered by Ryan Pritz. They do not reflect the recording quality or any of the other tireless effort that went into producing that excellent and long overdue compilation. They are merely an historical addendum...an appetizer perhaps, to get you in the mood to go out and get the amazing Krankies Winter 2010 Compilation!  For more info on that you simply must go to Phuzz Media

The Christmas 2005 Addendum:
Jahdai Jeffries (with Eric Glenn) - "Santa's On The Bridge"
Sambson - "Christmas Chimes 2005"
are (HERE).

Merry Christmas!

All Chopt Up & Nowhere To Go

Choptsicks - All Chopt Up & Nowhere To Go (1999-2000)


1. Great Flood
2. Walkin' Choptsicks Blues
3. Horsey Broken Man On Fire
4. Intestinal Florae
5. Loop A
6. Operation Gravyboat
7. Quasi...
8. Loop B

Aaron Bachelder - drums
Eric Jackson - bass, trombone
Michael Thomas Jackson- guitar, vocals, synthesizer, clarinet
Kemp Stroble - guitar, vocals

Michael Thomas Jackson moved from Asheville to attend North Carolina School of the Arts as a composition major. After school he used the Wherehouse as his default home whenever he was between renting homes; living in the basement and later in a tiny, oddly shaped room with one window and a small wooden platform for a mattress (now part of the America Suite). At the time they were gutting the building across the street from The Wherehouse to make the new Government Center, and he would wake up every morning covered in soot. "It was summertime, and you had to have the window open, cause it was hot as sh*t. So I'd wake up with concrete dust shoved up my nose, when they started with jackhammers at 6:30 am."

At school Michael had put together the Spool Ensemble, with fellow composer Aaron Bachelder, who'd also made the Asheville to NCSotA move. After another project with NCSotA students  called Rompecabezza, he formed Choptsicks in 1999. Originally it was a quintet with Michael, Aaron, Kemp (on keyboards), Eric and Speight Rue (who had also been in Rompecabezza). After their first gig, opening for The 1985, Speight moved to Wilmington and they continued as a quartet with Kemp on guitar. Michael started the project as a way to release more of his material that hadn't been used in Rompecabezza, with intentions that it be a recording project, and not a working band. That soon changed, and they began playing gigs regularly in Winston, Greensboro, Raleigh and Virginia (at The Pudhouse).

The band mainly revolved around songwriting, as displayed on their single; but were also comfortable improvising, as is evident here (along with some goofing around in the studio). All of Choptsicks recorded material (except some overdubs) was captured from December of 1999 to January of 2000, in the old Wherehouse basement studio on 16-track tape. Chief engineers were Brian Doub and Chris Leiser, although Will Dyar and Mark Linga helped out when needed. The ALL CHOPT UP & NOWHERE TO GO cassette existed in three editions of varying sizes and packaging: 1st edition of three (in a soapbox with a sticker), 2nd edition of thirteen (in a slipcase with a sticker), 3rd edition of twenty-three (in a Norelco box with a J-card). They also released their only 7-inch, TYPICAL OF TRADITIONAL GLONOUS HISTORY AND CULTUAL; on Burning Fight Records in 2000.  The rest of the recorded material remains unreleased instrumentals, as Choptsicks disbanded before finishing the vocals.

The first two tracks of ALL CHOPT UP & NOWHERE TO GO are the only composed pieces, and reflect Michael's interest in plagarism and re-appropriation of existing material. Kemp sang and wrote the lyrics to, "Great Flood", and Michael added synthesizer. "Walkin' Choptsicks Blues" was written around a line from the song "The Walk" by Prince protege group The Time. Michael played clarinet and synthesizer (Eric's Roland SH-101) and they assembled anyone and everyone in the building to shout the lyrics. The third track features Kemp on drums, Eric on trombone, Michael playing one of Chris Kennedy's homemade 2-stringed 'banjos' that was lying around (from a Divine Morsel session), and Aaron on smoke break. Michael also contributed some feedback guitar and everyone moaned and chanted. "Intestinal Florae" is a high energy piece that was used live as an intro to another song. "Operation Gravyboat" and "Quasi una Fantasia..." are straight group improvisations with some vocal overdubs and the tuned-down guitar of Kemp. Michael says, "I love how the tape runs out on "Quasi una Fantasia..." just as we seem to settle on a rendition of "Another One Bites The Dust". Eric is solely responsible for the two loops.

Choptsicks lasted for over a year. Kemp got busy with Malabaster, Aaron and Michael had young children and Eric wanted more harmony than dissonance in his musical and daily life; so they split. In their short existence Choptsicks released 4 songs, recorded eleven unreleased instrumentals and released this set of improv compositions. Others in their repetoire (like a medley of Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" and "The Nile Song") didn't make it to the studio. On listening to this set I told Eric I especially enjoyed "Walkin' Choptsicks Blues", but that his final loop put me on edge. "Choptsicks could do that to people" was his reply.

http://www.4shared.com/dir/21748744/2f5bb557/Choptsicks_-_All_Chopt_Up.html

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

Rah' Beefalips: Intergalactic Man of Mystery

Rah Beefalips (known on his home planet as Rob E. Philips) is admittedly one of the more interesting characters associated with The Wherehouse. His contributions to the mental landscape of the place kept things closer to the surreal than the real. One of Rah's most endearing ideas, was putting large, red, hardback journals in the coffeeshop for people to doodle, journal and create in. These journals were a mainstay of Krankies for many years, and may have inspired some of the strange material on this disc. This set is one of the mystery recordings that Rah left lying around the building for further confusion. These three tracks display a small measure of the strange infectious humor Rah was capable of, as he gets further into his status as an intergalactic diplomat and stand-up comedian. I particularly enjoy the old vinyl atmosphere on the first track, since this was only ever released on compact disc. This is 'clean' by Rah standards, but the rest of us should probably download this only if we don't mind the 'A' word, the 'F' word, the 'V' word, the 'P' word or the 'A-hole' word.


 http://www.4shared.com/dir/21311240/843149/Rah_Beefalips.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

Finks Clowns!

Hey I just re-discovered this clip from the Invisible States footage! (Thanks Frank!) I'm currently polishing up a Malabaster post and a Brandon Bigelow post. Stay tuned for more Psychic Revolution!

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