Trio from Hell

From whence this came I know not...three of the great gods of avantgarde rock today have joined forces, and are releasing a record of a live performance some time this month! We can expect almost anything from Tima Formosa considering the trio's varied backgrounds. Keiji Haino is Japan's most renowned and legendary king of the underground, and has been for nearly 40 years, releasing endless amounts of ever-changing, mind-blowing music. Haino is a master of vocals, guitars, the hurdy-gurdy, various percussions, digital theremins, flutes, etc. etc.
Oren Ambarchi is probably best known nowadays for his work with Sunn O)))'s Southern Lord record label, but Ambarchi has worked for over 20 years in the field of noise, having been a member of Phlegm with Robbie Avenaim. Ambarchi hails from Sydney, Australia and comes from a Sephardi Jewish background. He utilizes a large variety of instrumentation in his arsenal, but it seems he'll act as the percussionist in this particular trio.
Jim O'Rourke should need no introduction. As producer and musician, O'Rourke has crafted a unique legacy over the last two decades, but is probably best known for his work as a brief member of Sonic Youth, as a founding member of Gastr del Sol, as a collaborator with Nurse with Wound, John Fahey, Derek Bailey, Henry Kaiser, Mats Gustaffson, as a producer and mixer for Joanna Newsom, Tony Conrad, Stereolab, etc. etc.! O'Rourke has also worked reputably in cinema, having worked on scores for two Werner Herzog films (The Wild Blue Yonder & Grizzly Man) and Koji Wakamatsu's United Red Army. I presume O'Rourke's position in this trio will amount to bass duties, but his mastery of the standard guitar along with synthesizers is well renowned.

Whatever happens, I can't wait for this one - check out the video of these guys rippin' it up down below!

I Have No Eyes, and I Must Read!

Harlan Ellison is one of the most influential and prolific science-fiction authors of all time, and here's a collection taken from a cassette tape (The Voice from the Edge, Vol. 1) of the unique author reading some of his novellas aloud. Hearing the man read his own work is almost better than reading them, largely due to Ellison's charismatic attitude and reading style.

Includes Ellison reading...

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
Grail
Paladin of the Lost Hour
A Boy and His Dog

and others...

ALSO here are some other links relating to Ellison...
- A Point-and-click game emulator which includes a version of Ellison's I Have No Mouth CD-ROM game!
- Ellison's own website, Ellison Webderland
- Wiki page on The City on the Edge of Forever, the episode of Star Trek Ellison wrote

Download The Voice from the Edge, Vol 1 HERE

Get your hands off my Beefheart!

John "Drumbo" French has just had his book about life with the Captain published, and the 880-page memoir looks like it's gonna be my book o' the year already! If you liked the liner notes to the Grow Fins rarities box set (and this is basically more of the same) then pre-order now now now!

Drumbo was the man who transcribed the Captain's piano lines, whistles and rhythms into something tangible for the Trout Mask Replica sessions. Drumbo's love-hate relationship with the Captain is the stuff of legend, with Beefheart infamously forcing Drumbo and the rest of the Magic Band into near-clinical states of depression, anxiety and anger until they each collapsed in tears in submission to the Captain...the communal house where the band lived and breathed the Trout Mask sessions for eight months became a "Manson-like" cult according to friends of the group, with the musicians ending up in states of poor health, forced into shoplifting food (when they were caught, Uncle Frank bailed them out!). Drumbo was the only member to leave before the album's release, and remained uncredited on the initial release of the album at the wishes of a raging Beefheart. Drumbo returned in time for Lick My Decals Off, Baby, and would return on and off to the Magic Band throughout its career, notably even playing much of the guitar and marimba on Doc at the Radar Station. Word is the Captain is now wheelchair-bound and suffering from a long-term illness (his painting habits ceased in the 1990s too), so it's as good a time as any to learn more of the man's past before he departs!

John Peel said (∞) that Beefheart was the genius of pop music. Tom Waits' masterwork, Swordfishtrombones, was simply the result of discovering Beefheart's music. But John French was the man behind the genius...

I'm Gonna Booglarize You, Baby, Live on the Beat Club show in 1972 (it's actually Art Tripp on drums, and bizarrely, Roy Estrada on bass)

What's in my ears...

Billy Faier - Travelin' Man (1958)

Tracklist:
1) Travelin' Man (3:04)
2) The Downfall of Paris (2:55)
3) Billy the Kid (3:52)
4) Bahaman Lullaby (4:21)
5) Wind in the Trees (3:36)
6) The Dying British Sergeant (3:06)
7) The Great Assembly (2:10)
8) The Galveston Flood (2:45)
9) Soldier's Joy (1:45)
10) Miner's Lifeguard (3:29)
11) Payday at Coal Creek (5:06)
12) Nine Pound Hammer (3:34)
13) Diane's Reel (2:37)
14) The Hellbound Train (2:47)

Billy Faier - banjo, guitar, vocals

I first heard Billy Faier's banjo playing on his 1973 album (the inventively titled Banjo), which - as it was released by John Fahey's Takoma label - I got ahold of in the midst of a Fahey binge. At the time, Faier's solo banjo playing didn't overwhelm me (particularly when compared to the lyricism of a single Fahey song), but overtime I grew to wholly enjoy Banjo. Further investigation led me to Faier's website, which is an excellent resource about the man, but it also includes several of his albums (including the aforementioned Banjo) free for download straight from Faier himself along with some great notes on the songs. His second album, recorded one year after his debut LP, The Art of the Five String Banjo, is a collection of impeccably performed traditional and original songs Faier added to his roster during his late-50s. The banjo and guitar accompaniments are far from simple, but take a back seat to Faier's wonderful singing. Highly recommended!

www.billyfaier.com

For fans of - John Fahey, The Incredible String Band & Eugene Chadbourne

Download it HERE