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

DOWN with the UPdate

This blog now has, enough posts to have multiple pages! Scan the sidebar (and click the topic) for things you once saw, that don't appear to be here any longer. They're just on another page.

A Time Capsule

Alright, here's another video clip for those of you interested in the history of the Wherehouse. This one was made last year, and comes from Eric Jackson. After a veritable exodus of tenants from the building (some got married, some bought houses, some went to boat building school, etc); JB took out the old and brought in the new (as he is famous for doing). In the process, they discovered a time capsule stashed away in a wall; perhaps by the sneaky prankster Jon Courtney. Yes, the Wherehouse is all about creation and music and art, but if you don't get the importance of destruction, or finding a plastic Easter bunny full of tiny babies...you're probably missing the point. (Music by Aaron Bachelder's Enrichment Center Percussion Ensemble.)

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