Warehouse Next Door

Clavius Productions presents:

Friday, May 5
Warehouse Next Door
1017 7th St NW WDC
$7, all ages
doors at 9, show at 9:30

Experimental Dental School (no wave/noise rock from Oakland)
Kohoutek (DC improv psych)
Human Host (Baltimore improv ensemble, ex-Charm City Suicides)
Saladbar (member of DC's Facemat solo madness)


Experimental Dental School
http://www.experimentaldental.com

With Shoko Horikawa on organ and sampler, Ryan Brundage on drums, and Jesse Hall on guitar-o-bass and vocals, the distorted Oakland California trio Experimental Dental School began to carve a solid niche in the Bay Area's thriving art rock scene in early 2002.

The band's unpredictable sonic approach led to the sharing of stages with other creative bands such as Deerhoof, Numbers, Hella, XBXRX, Mae Shi, Erase Errata, Coachwhips, and Trans Am. Touring regularly in the United States and Europe, (in addition to numerous West Coast swings) the trio swiftly earned respect throughout underground circles.

The full-length CD Hideous Dance Attack!!! was released in 2003, as well as many singles and split records on labels in Sweden, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Portugal. With Hall's zealous vocals and bizarre guitar approach, Horikawa's Fellini-esque organs, and Brundage's choppy spliced meter drumming, the band's circuit-bent art-wave pop has earned the group much praise and adoration. EDS was honored the S.F. Guardian's Best Of The Bay award, as well as #1 spots on local radio stations.

2006 brings Experimental Dental School a US, European, and Japanese tour, as well as their much anticipated Cochon Records release, 2 1/2 Creatures. All songs are mastered by Weasel Walter (Flying Luttenbachers, XBXRX), and four songs feature the drumming and production talents of Deerhoofâ??s Greg Saunier. 2 1/2 Creatures captures the chaos and enthusiasm that ensues at their live shows, and also reveals a sophisticated studio album. Fusing musicality with colorful test tube ideas, E.D.S. has created and cultivated a sound that is both cohesive and entirely unique.

"…providing the evolutionary link between Deerhoof and Devo, and sweeping up the Talking Heads in the process, EDS kick up a furious racket over the 10 tracks of Hideous Dance Attack!!!." (Matt Fink, Skyscraper)

"2 1/2 Creatures confirms that EDS are more than capable of making themselves equally at home in indie post-rock and no wave basements, jazz joints, and circus tents." (Aquarius Records)

Jesse Hall:
Plays "guitar-o-bass" (a custom-built low-tuned guitar with bass strings) run though a pile of pedals and gadgets (overbro, miditard). Lyrics involving animals, machines, and ice cream tears. Sings like bear.

Shoko Horikawa:
Sings like bird. Plays Casiotone organ with a fractured, careening and churning, disjointed "Flight of the Bumblebee" style. Dr samples.

Ryan Brundage:
Drums like octopus in spliced meters, vacillating between gloomy disko and violent, rollercoaster-y polka. Tape loops, found sounds, noizes of all kind.


Kohoutek
http://claviusproductions.alkem.org/kohoutek/

Improvised psych with noise tendencies and abstraction. Sonic explorations in any combination of drums, percussion, guitar, bass, laptop, homemade electronics, field recordings, chord organ, and household appliances.

"…we were stoked to get our mitts on this self-released CD-R of smoke-blowing, heavy noise-inflected psychdrone. There's two tracks on hand, both instrumentals, with a total half hour running time: the opener, "The Burning Sea", starts off by invoking some gorgeous, bleary psychedelic noodling and skittery improv percussion with vaporous Middle Eastern melodies and twinkling chimes in the background, then slowly builds into a pulsating acid drone rock mantra akin to Skullflower hijacking Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold", throbbing single-note bass and muscular drumming laying down a limestone foundation for burning feedback-soaked guitar action to get down in an ocean of reverb. The second track, "Four More Years", is a swarm of helicopter electronics and rapid-fire improv drumming, a crackling free noise jam shooting sparks onto basement walls, sleigh bells and snakey bass drones squirming through a blizzard of buzzing cables and oscillating tones and noisy skree. These jams are righteous drone/improv/noise workouts, can't wait to hear more from Kohoutek. There's definitely much to like here for fans of Skullflower, Can, Acid Mothers Temple, etc. Comes packaged in an exquisitely handpainted/screened wallet, with the CD-R itself blasted with spraypaint." (Crucial Blast)


Human Host
http://www.mt6records.com/humanhost.htm
http://www.myspace.com/humanhost

In December of 2002, Human Host was formed by ex-members of the celebrated Baltimore, Md. band Charm City Suicides almost immediately after that bandâ??s dissolution. Their goal: to create a multi-media amalgam of punk, psychedelia, spirituality, and theatrical performance. The creative core of the group includes ex-Charm City Suicides Mike Apichella & Josh Marchant, and New Flesh's Rick Weaver, as well as Mike Garber, Kim Cafuir (a.k.a. Kim++), Marc Rothe, Brian Averill, Jessica Reifler, Cory Davolos, Alex Strama (a.k.a. New Age Hillbilly), and Mike Gittings. They have presently released two CDs: a split with the Baltimore band Fridge A on the Baths Of Power label in summer 2003 and a collection of 11 tracks titled Invisible Arteries released by MT6 Records in October 2004. In February 2006 Human Host will release Exploding Demon – their second full-length record on MT6. A series of promotional tours/appearances by the group will follow the release of this CD. Learn more about Human Host at www.angelfire.com/ultra/hh.

"…this is sci-fi horror synth-pop! Singer sounds tortured and blood-curdled (although he is an actual good singer), while strange keyboard processions wind their way underneath and a drum machine progresses at a funereal pace. And the lyrics! 'Blood shot skull drone/Greased arm kontrol/Mind mend pill, rising sphere/The color pyramid appears…' This is some pretty weird complex synth-punk-something, I feel like I've barely gotten started with it." (Blastitude)

"Baltimoreâ??s Human Host got their start some four years ago. Combining electro, punk, and rock with abrasive guitars and vocals Exploding Demon seems to be a noisecore fanâ??s favorite. But itâ??s not all loud and balls to the wall, often itâ??s just downright odd with psychedelic elements that will have you reaching for that elusive good tab of acid. On occasion there can be some disjointed parts but thatâ??s the charm of Human Host -â?? it could also be a result of having eleven revolving contributors to the band." (Smother.net)


Upcoming Clavius events:

at 611 Florida:

5/19: Mike Tamburo (Music Fellowship)/Keenan Lawler (Eclipse)/Nick Schillace/Seahorse Staircse
6/18: Will Soderberg/Roxanne Jean Polise (MI noise)/Adam Mokan/John Dikeman (free jazz sax player)

at DC9:

5/23: Green Milk From The Planet Orange (Japanese psych/prog/space rock)/Kohoutek/Black fire Revelation
6/26: Espers (Drag City)/Brightblack Morning Light
6/29: Drunk Horse (Tee Pee)/Birds Of Avalon (ex-Cherry Valence)

at Warehouse Next Door:

5/11: Shoplifting (Kill Rock Stars)/Mecca Normal (Matador/K/Kill Rock Stars)
5/14: Year Future (GSL, ex-VSS)/With Love (from Italy)/The Picture Is Dead
5/15: Mandarin Movie (mem. of Chicago Underground Duo)/DCIC/Na (Japanese electro-acoustic improv)/Supernatural Hot Rug And Not Used (guitar/bass duo from Japanada, ex-Nimrod) *in the Warehouse Black Box Theatre*
5/17: The Old Haunts (Kill Rock Stars)/Partyline (ex-Bratmobile)/Raccoo-oo-oon (Time Lag)/Woods (mem. of Wooden Wand)
5/29: Excepter (Load/5R, ex-NNCK)/The Amoeba Men
6/1: Outputmessage (Ghostly)/FFFFs/Mimeth
6/4: Sound Of Urchin/Pink Mountaintops (mem. of Black Mountain)/Catfish Haven/Benjy Ferree
6/5: Nudity (ex-Tight Bros)/Triple Burner (Harris Newman w/ mem. of GYBE!)
6/8: Black Cobra (ex-Cavity/-16-)/Dragon Green
6/11: Residual Echoes (Holy Mountain)/Mammatus (Holy Mountain)
6/15: Conifer (maine math-metal)/VOG (VA doom)
6/30: The Good Anna/The Blizzards/Knife Crazy
7/12: Carla Bozulich (of Geraldine Fibbers)/Dead Science
7/16: Vetiver
7/19: Genghis Tron/Drugs Of Faith

Thursday, May 11
$8, all ages
doors at 8:30, show at 9:15

Shoplifting (Kill Rock Stars, ex-Chromatics)
Mecca Normal (Kill Rock Stars/K/Matador)
Cataract Camp


Excessively straightforward song lyrics can be cringe-inducing. Fans of abstract artistry might not take a shine to a singer who declares, "I want cold impersonal sex during which Iâ??ll be pretending Iâ??m with someone else" and "I hear him stretching the condom like heâ??s making a balloon animal." Yet, somehow, Mecca Normal, aka vocalist Jean Smith and guitarist David Lester, get a pass. A unique offshoot of skronky, delay-drenched â??80s No Wave, the pair has enjoyed a 20-year reign as Vancouver, British Columbiaâ??s generally drum-free art-punk duo. Their latest, The Observer, is a desperately personal record inspired by Smithâ??s Internet dating experiences. (Yep, you read that right.) The LP is more immediately pop than earlier efforts – Lester focuses less on hypnotic guitar loops than honest-to-goodness chord progressions -â?? but Smith burns through songs like "Iâ??m Not Into Being the Woman Youâ??re With While Youâ??re Looking for the Woman You Want" in a casual, no-nonsense Sprechstimme thatâ??s as awkward as it is compelling. Watch these legends continue their unusual journey through the avant-garde -â?? always on point but comfortably north of hip -â?? at 8:30 p.m. at the Warehouse, 1017 7th St. NW. $8. (202) 783-3933. (Justin Moyer)


Shoplifting
http://www.myspace.com/shoplifting
http://www.killrockstars.com/bands/factsheets/shoplifting/

An even smarter and more uncompromising set of songs than Shoplifting's self-titled EP, the band's debut full-length, Body Stories, expands on their sound and attitude. Shades of Slant 6 and Sonic Youth can still be heard in their music (particularly in the dark tangles of guitar on "What About a Word?"), but Shoplifting takes advantage of having an album's worth of songs in which to hone their originality. "Male Gynecology," for example, uses dense but not exactly hard-hitting guitars and drums to underscore the uneasy feeling of lyrics like "Open wide to my own gynecology/There's no shame if the self-exam is bloody." Chris Pugmire and Hannah Billie's dual boy-girl vocals remain one of the band's greatest strengths, particularly on the album opener, "M. Sally." On paranoid, hypnotic tracks like "Talk of the Town" and "Cover to Cover," Shoplifting plays with ideas about music and society with enough wit to keep them far from pretension. And though the band is more than accomplished on moody pieces such as the instrumental "Flying Factory" and the spooky-sexy final track, "Claude Glass," they really excel at loud, fearless punk like "Illegalists" and "Syncope Riders." Equal parts brains and brawn, Body Stories finds Shoplifting growing into their possibilities. (Heather Phares, AMG)


Mecca Normal
http://mecca_normal.tripod.com/

A seminal influence on Northwestern indie rock (and especially on the riot grrl movement), Vancouver's Mecca Normal was the bridge between female post-punk primitives like the Raincoats and the Slits – not to mention Patti Smith's punk poetry – and the more explicitly political, feminist noisemakers of the '90s. Lo-fi, amateurish, and decidedly minimalist, Mecca Normal was essentially a duo, with occasional studio help; vocalist Jean Smith (also a poet, novelist, and painter) declaimed her stream-of-consciousness, aggressively topical lyrics over guitarist David Lester's clattering cacophony. Their prolific partnership lasted over two decades, during which time they earned a reputation for fiery concert performances and enjoyed stints on some of the era's most notable indie labels, namely K, Matador, and Kill Rock Stars.

Smith and Lester formed Mecca Normal in Vancouver in 1981, at which time both were working in design for print media. After several years of rehearsing, the duo made its first home recordings in 1984, and completed its first album in 1986; simply titled Mecca Normal, it was released on the band's own Smarten Up! label and sold chiefly at live shows. It helped lead to a friendship with Beat Happening frontman and K Records honcho Calvin Johnson, who signed the band for its 1988 sophomore effort, Calico Kills the Cat. A stream of albums on K followed, including 1991's Water Cuts My Hands, 1992's prettier and more subdued Dovetail, and 1993's Flood Plain. 1993 also brought Jarred Up, a compilation of the band's singles for various indie labels over the past six years.

Mecca Normal subsequently signed with Matador and debuted with 1995's well-received Sitting on Snaps, which featured musical involvement on drums and piano from New Zealand producer Peter Jefferies. Smith and Jefferies formed a concurrent side project called 2 Foot Flame, which released two albums over 1995-1997. Jefferies stuck around for the next two albums, 1996's The Eagle & the Poodle and 1997's more acoustic Who Shot Elvis?. Mecca Normal subsequently went on hiatus for a few years while Smith and Lester pursued other creative activities; in 2000, Smith signed to Kill Rock Stars and issued her self-titled solo debut. Mecca Normal returned in 2002 with The Family Swan, also on Kill Rock Stars. Album number 13, The Observer, appeared two years later, along with a spring tour of both U.S. coasts. Shoplifting joined them for the East Coast dates.

Saturday, May 13
$8, all ages
doors at 9, show at 10

Say Hi To Your Mom (NYC indie pop)
Old Time Relijun (K Records)
Person (mem. of Stamen & Pistils/Metropolitan)


Say Hi To Your Mom
http://www.sayhitoyourmom.com/

Say Hi To Your Mom simultaneously defies and enforces physics. We're the mumbling in your head while you're crunching the numbers. We're the apparitions, ticks, gut wrenching, suspicion and glee too. We're the reason you rolled a nineteen for charisma, the cat's meow, your least favorite aunt. Touch us and we'll touch you. Watch us and we'll watch you. You once tried to call us and the line was busy, but that was actually just us making busy signal noises with our mouths. If you would have called back we would have cooked you some pasta. What you're looking for right now is going to evade you forever. Fish don't speak but squirrels do. It all depends on your longitude. You should start from the beginning, but ignore the prequels. We like minimalism, broken robots, granny smith apples, sneakers and the mundane. We like make believe vampires but the real ones scare us. We don't care too much for your boss and the fact that you're starting to resemble her. You should work on that. You'll find us to be very reasonable if you'd just give us a chance. You can paint us by numbers. You can tell us to your shrink. You can consume us up to three times daily but you shouldn't ever exceed twelve doses in a four day period, unless you have a note from your mother. We definitely detest mom jokes. Seriously. We don't need to be reminded of what we resemble. We named ourselves after Midwestern dairy queen civility. We usually involve a variety of livestock running rampantly around. We think sideways motorcycle helmets are all the rage now that sideways trucker's hats are out. We are live, fleshy human beings attempting to recreate these sounds in real life. We put out our own records. We speak in binary code. We're in the market for an A-team van. We strive for muzak and custom made slip n' slides. We write under pseudonyms. We play for keeps. Our grass is always greenest. Our hair is unkempt.

Brookyln's Say Hi To Your Mom is the vehicle for the idiosyncratic songwriting of Eric Elbogen, whose geeked-out, but loveable, songs straddle the line between mopey bedroom pop and the quirk of bands like The Flaming Lips and Built To Spill.


Old Time Relijun
http://www.krecs.com/oldtimerelijun/

CONFRONTATIONAL DANCE MUSIC TAKES OVER THE WORLD!
The End of Oppression!

From the backwood jungles of Olympia, Washington, Old Time Relijun is the barest of the "bare bones" you will ever meet. With a nearly incomprehensible blend of primitive swamp stomp 'n' swagger meets gutsy fucked-up free jazz and throat-singing punk gospel, they are the true and original American Primitive Deconstructionist Visionaries. That this mélange is blatantly, infectiously danceable in a "this world is an illusion burning up so let's get sweaty" kind of a way gives further evidence of Old Time Relijun's claims to prophecy in a new era of fiery, sexy, soul-punk rebellion.

Drummer Jamie Peterson thumps furiously against the tyranny of the ages, while upright bassist Aaron Hartman underpins the erotic earthquake with a sinister subliminal groove that unlocks the trap door to hypnotic oblivion. These Forces of Nature are conducted by the bug-eyed brilliance of preacher's kid-gone-bad Arrington de Dionyso's symbiotic churning of one-note guitar scrapings within the hallucinatory world of yelps, yawps, howls and other proto-musical utterances that make the bulk of his lyrics. (Arrington is an acknowledged master of Tuvan throat singing, with a degree in ethnomusicology!)

A little angst goes a long way, and in Arrington DeDionyso's case, he got a whole career out of it. It would be foolish to expect him to be mellowing out after more than a decade in the business, and Lost Light delivers the tense goods you'd expect. The stripped-down-sounding trio of DeDionyso, double bassist Aaron Hartman, and drummer Rives Elliot plays taut funk-punk rhythms behind the frontman's yelps, which sound like a fire-and-brimstone sermonizer who's definitely taken a turn for the darker side. It's music of integrity, but not of great variety, recalling some of the more atonal aspects of the early New York punk-new wave scene, perhaps with a funkier bent and an even gloomier outlook, as if Jandek had decided to get a real band together. Images of closed doors, vampires, immersion in threatening waters, "10,000 tigers gnashing teeth," and the like permeate the songs, the hellish organ of "Cold Water" adding to the sense of impending doom. Not a cheerful listen, no siree. But the band isn't all about vocal thrash, throwing in arty instrumentals to keep listeners a little off balance â??- "Music of the Spheres" has some eerie upper-register tinkles and wildly upward zoom guitar slides atop the thud, and "Cold Water, Deep Underwater" is a little like the most way-out early Velvet Underground instrumentals in its gnarly guitar textures. (Richie Unterberger, AMG)


Person
http://www.personmusic.com/

Person is the D.I.Y. pop brainchild of guitarist Miguel Lacsamana of Stamen & Pistils (Echelon Productions) and Metropolitan (Crank Automotive). The band aims for a similar territory of danceable indie rock – such as the Notwist, LCD Soundsystem, and the Postal Service – but with a more soulful approach, reaching the likes of the Neptunes, Timbaland, and beyond to create a glitchy, electro/hip-hop backdrop.

The Person full-length, Entitled, is a comment on the fallibility of humanity, and many of the songs play off of one another in an ostensibly contradictory fashion. It follows a protagonist who is in search of truth, but fumbles along the way. Entitled starts off with an almost cautionary sci-fi epic tale, "The Fall of Perception," produced by Outputmessage (Ghostly International/Melodic/Echelon Productions). Throughout the album, Person denounces, then succumbs, to the insatiable desires of the sensory overload within this hyperreal environment. "Valid Concerns," an indie rock/IDM club jam, voices thoughts of what he should do to find that special someone, even if just for one night. "You Ain't Hot," featuring Young Rae (Echelon Productions), is a scathing criticism of today's pop world, achieved by successfully imitating the tried and tired formula of today's pop charters. Motives takes a Phariseean approach to the one-night stand: by giving in, yet placing the blame on the other person. "Who Do You Want Me to Be?" explores how we all adjust our personalities to satiate what we desire. "Neither Forgiving Nor Forgetting" is an angry banger calling out the shortcomings of a former lover and by doing so, calling out his own. Although there are critical lyrics, Person concedes that he still surrenders to the ideals of todays consumer-driven culture in the album closer, "Business Class."

The album will be released by Echelon Productions on June 27, 2006.

Sunday, May 14
$7, all ages
doors at 8:30, show at 9:30

Year Future (GSL, ex-VSS/Angel Hair/Dead And Gone)
With Love (no wave/psych from Italy)
The Picture is Dead (dark synthscapes from DC, ex-From Quagmire/Laconic Chamber)


Year Future
http://www.yearfuture.net/

Year Future is:

Rockey Crane - guitar
Sonny Kay - vocals
Pete Lyman - bass
Paul Christensen - drums

Year Future was formed in early 2003 by Rockey (Dead And Gone/Creeps On Candy) and Sonny (The VSS/Angel Hair), with Jim Andersen (drums) and Sam Ott (bass). The four members knew one another
having each moved up and down the California coast a few times, and once all in L.A. at the same time, nature took its course. This founding lineup toured most of the U.S. and Europe in 2004, and released two EPs on Sonny's GSL label: the first self-titled 4-track (2003) and The Hidden Hand (2004).

In early 2005, Pete Lyman replaced Sam on bass guitar, and Gabe Serbian (of The Locust) joined temporarily as drummer. In March 2005, with Gabe on the skins, Year Future toured to Austin's annual SXSW festival, along with Some Girls, 400 Blows, and the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower. Chris Hathwell (of Moving Units, and previously Festival of Dead Deer) then took over the drums, and songwriting commenced for what eventually became Year Future's first album, First World Fever (GSL, 2006). YF toured Europe in November and December 2005 with The Locust and 400 Blows, supported by a limited-edition 4-track EP of early mixes of some album tracks entitled Strictly Ampersands (Monorhetorik, 2005).

Hathwell's duties with Moving Units forced his early retirement from the band in early 2006, replaced for the time being by Paul Christensen of the L.A. band Qui.


With Love
http://www.thewithlove.org/

WITH LOVE is a quartet formed in the Italian countryside sometime in 1995. The band shortly made a name for themselves with their wild and aggressive live shows in every type of venue, from squats to clubs, friends' gardens, in the woods, and even at folk festivals. After many shows around Italy and the rest of Europe, the band managed to record their first album With Love (Green Records, 1998) followed shortly by I Love Cul De Sac (Green Records, 2000), both considered essential releases for the Italian punk scene. WITH LOVE combine a range of influences – from American bands such as HEROIN, ANGEL HAIR, and CRIMSON CURSE, to Italian bands like NEGAZIONE and INDIGESTI. In 2004, the band released the critically acclaimed Tuoni Fulmini Saette (Heroine), an insane mix of violent and fast hardcore with ambient, noise and progressive edges. In 2005, they completed recording of the follow-up, A Great Circle – essentially a single, long track created to accompany singer Nico Vascellari's short film of the same name. Based on three live performances created and staged in three locations (an art gallery, a museum and a forest), it will be released by GSL on DVD in June 2006. For more info, please check also www.goldstandardlabs.com and www.thewithlove.org


The Picture is Dead
http://pictureisdead.com/

THE PICTURE IS DEAD. Any detectable visual or audio data is a remnant, an echo from a now extinct epoch. Happily, there is still a wealth of information to be obtained from these signals and, thanks to the cooperation of a consortium of international institutions, an approximate model of THE PICTURE IS DEAD is beginning to take shape. However, it is important to be reminded that all present THE PICTURE IS DEAD shows are painstaking reconstructions of prior performances and must not be confused with actual live performances. THE PICTURE IS DEAD. For less information visit www.pictureisdead.com

RIYL: early New Order, early OMD, Kraftwerk

Special Clavius event in the Warehouse's Black Box Theatre!

Monday, May 15
Warehouse Black Box Theatre
1019 7th St NW WDC (between the cafe and WND)
$7, all ages
doors at 8:30, show at 9:30

Mandarin Movie (Aesthetics, mem. of Chicago Underground Duo/Isotope 217, featuring Alan Licht)
DCIC (DC's premiere avant-jazz ensemble)
Na (electro-acoustic improv from Japan)
Supernatural Hot Rug And Not Used (experimental guitar/bass duo, ex-Nimrod, from Canada/Japan)


Mandarin Movie
http://www.aesthetics-usa.com/artists/mandarinmovie/bio.html

Mandarin Movie is the new project from Chicago native and current Brazil resident Rob Mazurek, a cornetist, composer, painter, improviser, and multi-media artist whose unique musical style draws from free jazz, hard-bop, experimental electronica, and minimalism. Mandarin Movie's debut release is a full frequency audio assault, dense and beautiful at times, unrestrained, chaotic & hard at other times, with an almost sculptural quality, always preparing us for the beauty of sound and silence. The name 'Mandarin Movie' stems from a dream Rob had in 2003, evoking an artist's vision of singular clarity similar to Sun Ra's Space Is The Place. At the dream's end, Rob found himself atop the highest building in the world where 'It was all light beams and flying discs and dense beautiful sounding explosions which put a good feeling in the back of your head'." Includes Alan Licht on guitar.

Rob Mazurek (Chicago Underground Duo/Isotope 217) - computer, electric eels, Moog, pianette, cornet
Alan Licht (Run On) - guitar
Steve Swell - trombone
Jason Ajemian (Born Heller/Dragons 1976) - double bass, electronics
Matt Lux - bass guitar. electronics
Frank Rosaly (Dragons 1976) - drums

With contributions from members of:
WILCO. TORTOISE. ELEVENTH DREAM DAY. CALIFONE.

"The brutal metal industrialism of God and the electronic freakout of Merzbow." (The Wire)

"This thing moves like a ton of lubricated metal." (Sunday Herald)


DCIC
http://dcic.alkem.org/

Jonathan Matis - guitar/electronics:
Jonathan Matis is a composer and performer whose work actively combines the practices of composition and improvisation. Matis has composed music for dance, incidental music for theater, and a variety of concert works. Performing with electric guitar, a small collection of low-tech preparations, and live signal processing, Matis coaxes textures from the instrument – in addition to the occasional tried-and-true plucked string approach. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Washington DC Chapter of the American Composers Forum. His last name is also Morris. It's kind of a funny story.

Mike Sebastian - tenor & soprano sax / bass clarinet:
Mike has been playing reed instruments for over 12 years. His passion to play grew when he first heard the spirituality of John Coltrane's music. Mike plays improvised experimental, jazz, rock, gospel, and any other type of music that encourages creativity. His experience includes playing in a gospel orchestra, as well as with various local improvisers. Recently Mike played improvised music for dance with Jon Matis and Mark Merella at the DC Improv Festival. A particular thrill was playing with Peter Kowald and local Baltimore musicians at the Red Room in 2000.

Daniel Barbiero - double bass:
A native of New Haven, CT, Daniel has been involved in creative improvised music in the Baltimore-Washington area for several years as a performer, composer, and sometime bandleader. He has worked in a variety of contexts, including modal and post-bop jazz, free improvisation, and world fusion drawing on the Indian classical and Middle Eastern musical traditions. His solo music has been used as a background for contemporary dance exercises.

Ben Azzara - drums/percussion:
As a child Ben saw Kenny Clark play with Dizzy Gillespie and ever since he has been seduced by all things drums. Jazz trained but seasoned in rock clubs across the North America and Europe, he has been the progenitor of numerous groups including the emo-punk innovators Junction, the infamous Delta 72, and most recently Dischord's Capitol City Dusters of whom the UK's Q magazine said, "…Dischord has struck another vein of precious musical ore." Ben continues to perform with his wife SARAH AZZARA and has produced three full-length releases with her. You can listen to MP3s from all of Ben's various musical excursions at his website benazzara.com.


Na
http://homepage.mac.com/noriakiwatanabe/na.htm

"Na is that exceptionally rare experimental act that is actually interested in…experimentaion. Their music, a strange quilt of aural patches woven from guitars, mouths, childâ??s drum sets, keyboards, xylophones, computers, drum machines and piles of ancient, dented cymbals, gives the distinct impression that it is choosing the direction, not the players. While playing, Na take themselves on many strange and unpredictable journeys and good-naturedly invite the rest of us along to share in the fun. They are honest, humble, and very, very weird. If your spirit has been suffering from cabin fever, Na would be happy to take it out for a long, wild, and frantic walk." (Sean Molnar, Signal to Noise)


Supernatural Hot Rug And Not Used
http://gule.pupui.jp/

A fixture on the Osaka avant-rock scene, Tim Olive is a veteran of numerous projects, including recordings with Nimrod, Twerdocleb, Soap-Jo Henshi, Jeffrey Allport, and Nishikawa Bunsho, and live performances with Alfredo Costa Monteiro, Ezaki Masafumi, Guilty Connector, Otomo Yoshihide, Martin Tetreault, Unami Taku. New CD forthcoming with Nishikawa Bunsho (Supernatural Hot Rug And Not Used); sounds at http://gule.pupui.jp/

Nishikawa Bunsho (guitar, record player) and Tim Olive (bass) have been playing together as a duo since August 2003. Nishikawa has performed with Alessandro Bosetti, Annette Krebs, Andrea Neumann, and Martin Tetreault. Olive with Nakamura Toshimaru, Otomo Yoshihide, Sugimoto Taku and Unami Taku, and a long-term duo with Jeff Allport. However, their music as a duo is perhaps louder and noisier than their previous collaborations.
Based in Osaka, they have roots in the Osaka noise scene, and a non-doctrinaire approach to music making. A guitar, a broken record player, and a bass with one string are used to create a wide range of textures and dynamics. Not noise, but sometimes noisy. Not "reductionism," but sometimes quiet.

For more information (including Real Audio), please visit the Gule Disk website or contact Tim Olive.

show is gonna rip. are NA still getting around on greyhound buses? HA! i remember where i know Rob Mazurek from now - he's on that touch & go 25th anni. dvd. he recounts an amazing story of seeing SUN mmuhfuggin RA for the 1st time at a really young age and it totally scaring the shit out of him coz of the absolute storm of sound that they started their set with. according to him, best musical minute as well as scariest minute of his life. im curious to see how,if it at all, translates to his playing. then again, what free player hasnt been cast under sun ra's spell at some point in their life?

cool fact id like to share -
alan licht's rock band Run On once opened for THE DEAD C and HARRY PUSSY at the old black cat in like 95 or 96. thats one of those, id happily trade a few years of my life to have seen that, shows.

i saw run on and harry pussy separately in 1996/1997. run on were an underrated indie supergroup with sue garner, rick brown, and alan licht. dead c are one of the few bands that i worship that i've never seen live.

Wednesday, May 17
$7, all ages
doors at 8:30, show at 9:15

The Old Haunts (Kill Rock Stars, ex-Excuse 17/Two Ton Boa)
Partyline (ex-Bratmobile, mem. of Hott Beat)
Raccoo-oo-oon (Time-Lag, Iowa psych/noise/folk rock)
Woods (Shrimper, mem. of Wooden Wand)


The Old Haunts
http://www.oldhaunts.com

Fallow Field is Old Haunts' Kill Rock Stars debut, consisting of two previous EPs from the Olympia stomp rockers with six new tracks added. It's sorta country, this band's stuff, with Craig Extine's slippery yowl out front of spindly guitars and the kind of rhythm that only requires one big kick drum. (Though there's a snare too, and at least one cymbal.) "Deflect It" and "Boots Are Clubs" are great distillations of this. But Old Haunts also have a punk sensibility in the vein of the Wipers or Chicago's Drapes – intriguingly rough edges, and songs that are tossed-off but still dangerous. "By the Bay"'s pace is hyper and impatient, "Old World" adds rickety farmhouse piano to a typically tense pacific northwest indie rattle, and "You Could Never Know" only needs slashing guitar and the choppy reports of a snare to make Extine's vocal sound perfect and urgent. Fallow Field is only about a half-hour-long, and rarely wavers from its favorite sound, staccato guitar notes pecking at muddy but expressive basslines. (See "Cult Baby.") But despite their limitations, Old Haunts bring a cool sense of creakiness to their songs. "Walk Through the Woods" is aptly named – Fallow Field sounds like hill people's punk rock. (All Music Guide)


Partyline
http://www.partylinedc.com/

Formed in Washington, D.C., in 2003, Partyline are singer Allison Wolfe, guitarist Angela Melkisethian, and drummer Crystal Bradley. Though very much a political band – all six of the songs on its self-titled 2005 Retard Disco debut EP chronicle social injustice and discontent through a girls-with-glasses eye view – what's best about the band is its commitment to carrying on the fast and furious tradition of classic punk. Though it's leavened with a dose of riot grrrl snarliness (sample lyric: "I don't wanna marry/I don't wanna have your brats/Yeah I had a mother/She taught me to want more than that"), a BS-busting Ramones-era sensibility seeps through; these girls came together not just to revolutionize, but to rock. Bands in Partyline's past include Bratmobile (Wolfe), Hott Beat (Melkisethian), and the Applicators (Bradley).


Raccoo-oo-oon
http://www.raccoo-oo-oon.org/

"Hot new real CD reissue of the CDR version that went instantly out of print last year…Raccoo-oo-oon are one of those bands that can somehow shift between seemingly divergent genres, while the whole time keeping a sound very much their own. The disc launches with a speed-blasted, noise-fueled, psych/punk rocker, slides into nearly grooving free jazz territory, then into a gorgeous, buzzing/floating/tinkling bliss mantra, and that's just the first three tracks. Things continue unfolding from there, but the overall sound constantly slips back to the sort of mantric, damaged rock thud these guys are clearly fond of. A rather thrilling and quite great ride…remastered by Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans) for extra punch. Packaged in a full color off-set printed tri-fold art paper cover, reproducing Shawn Reed's original eyeball frying art, inside and out. Woven Japanese innersleeves. Limited edition of 1000 copies." (Time-Lag)

"Raccoo-oo-oon fits in nicely with the Bügsküll, Jennifer Gentle, and Animal Collective branch of noise rock, but while those groups take the music into more pop directions – Bügsküll sounding more indie rock, Jennifer Gentle sounding more Barrett or Zappa, and Animal Collective sounding more Beach Boys or Olivia Tremor Control – Raccoo-oo-oon keeps the music close to the soil.

Hailing from Iowa – a little further south in the prairie from Davenport – Raccoo-oo-oon creates a similar sort of nature-based communal jam. However, while Davenport organically search for the zen-like groove hidden in the din, Raccoo-oo-oon follow a bit more closely to the rules of rock and roll. Riffs are the foundation for them to build ecstatic clutter on top, not the other way around.

The riff on "Forever" is tremendous. It's a great, sludgy psychedelic sound, the riff just chopping away, again and again for 9 minutes. Raccoo-oo-oon don't have to play heavy to sound good, though, as the soft sounding "On the Roof" is a great ode to morning, as gentle notes drip off the electric guitar, like the sunrise hitting the grass.

While guitar is the focus of a lot of songs, saxophone is also used heavily, and it gets its own song in "Under the Deck." The mix of hard rock drumming and the slow, harsh sax tones build the tension until it lashes out, chugging forward with hard, trilling notes.

While the songs are very rock, the influence of primitivism is still profound. The vocals on the opening track, "Cave of Spirits," are a jackal-like howl, with fast, aggressive drums spinning the cries into a dizzying whirlwind. Loud, thick guitar provides the pounding beat for Native American chants on "Stick Eaters" before the song devolves (or rather evolves!) into the most delicate electric guitar part.

This melange of hard guitar, crazy sax, and primal grunting makes the band seem much more punk rock than those directly before them. But unlike Magik Markers, they can actually thrash. (Fakejazz)


Woods
http://www.fuckittapes.com/woods.htm

Woods began in the woods, at the foot of Bear Mountain. In the earliest days, it was a collaborative improvisational group with two core members and several guests, known as "woodsists." Shortly thereafter, Jeremy Earl and Christian DeRoeck emerged from the woods, dusted themselves off, and began to walk upright. The two woodsists immersed themselves in human culture, learned to craft a melody, to wield a tambourine, to construct a crude phonograph from spare bicycle parts. They learned the value of a cassette. Jeremy and Christian returned to the woods and shared their newfound knowledge with the other woodsists. The result was Woods, songs and improvisations by outsiders, inspired by the human experience.

Clavius Productions presents a very special event in the Warehouse Black Box Theatre. This one will probably sell out, so get there early!

Saturday, May 20
Warehouse Black Box Theatre
1019 7th St NW WDC
http://www.warehousetheater.com
$8, all ages
doors at 9:30, show at 10:30

Thrones (Kill Rock Stars, Joe Preston of Earth/Melvins/High On Fire)
Growing (heavy guitar/bass drone duo, Kranky/Troubleman)
Alasehir (mem. of Bardo Pond playing improv psych)


Thrones
http://www.killrockstars.com/bands/thrones/
http://www.southernlord.com/thrones/

Joe fuckin' Preston!!!! Need we say more??! The man has the burliest resume in the history of heavy:

â?¢EARTH

â?¢Melvins 1991-1992, played bass on: Lysol, Nightgoat 7". Not to mention a solo EP that was released along with Buzzo and Dale's. Also featured on the DVD Salad Of A Thousand Delights.

â?¢The Whip 2001-2002: played guitar in this band with former members of Karp.

â?¢Thrones 1996-present: Thrones is the "solo project" of Joe Preston. Thrones features all instruments. Including bass, drums, vocals, and synth performed by Joe Preston.

â?¢SunnO))) 2002-2004: played on both Sunno))) albums White 1 and White 2. Played a multitude of instruments on these albums including bass, vocals, and drum machine programming.

â?¢High On Fire 2004-2006: joined High On Fire for their summer 2004 tour. Also played bass on the latest recording Blessed Black Wings.

In underground music circles, the name "Thrones" has become synonymous with the amplifier-worshipping one-man thunderfuckery of Joe Preston. Which is handy, because Thrones is Joe Preston. His musical career can be traced back through the early '90s, when he played bass for those twin Northwestern pillars of de-tuned slo-mo indie-metal, the Melvins and Earth. In fact, one might say Preston first codified the mondo disturbo aesthetic that would become Thrones when he recorded the Joe Preston EP in 1992 (in homage to flash-metal queens KISS, each member of the Melvins released a solo joint with his own Chevy Chase airbrushed on the cover), but to that assertion Preston would undoubtedly reply, "Give me a break." In fact, he sort of did. Apparently, he's not particularly fond of those days.

Regardless of his past affiliations, Preston has been referred to in these very pages as a "Viking Tornado," which is as befitting a description as one could imagine – assuming that person has an affinity for the kind of robo-metal/blast-beat disco/vocoder hell that only Thrones can deliver. (J Bennett)


Growing
http://www.growingsound.com

Growing evolved out of two bands, Joe Denardo from Black Man White Man Dead Man and Kevin Doria from 1000 A.D., in Olympia, WA. in the fall of 2001. Joe Denardo moved from Chicago to Olympia and helped operate the Thin The Herd label with Zack Carlson, which released early material from Vaz and Total Shutdown. Eryn Ross joined to make Growing a trio. Moving from hardcore towards something slower and more expansive the band played around its hometown and up and down the West Coast of the United States. The first Growing release was a 7-inch single on the Nail in the Coffin label.

Growing played in a variety of settings and contexts, from art galleries to hardcore all-ages shows. The group has arranged quadraphonic sound installations and lugged stacks onto a stage. Growing have made soundtracks for videos (most recently a project for continuous two channel video and multichannel sound installation with Lisa Darms) and often play accompanied by Denardo's photographs. Growing self-released a number of cassettes of music.

After a tip from Paul Dickow of Strategy, who played a show with Growing and was struck by their quadraphonic sound environment, Kranky began the process of releasing the debut Growing album in spring 2003. The Sky's Run Into The Sea came out in August 2003. As Denardo described the recording process, "We recorded the record with a friend, so the atmosphere was very laid back and cheap, this was long before Kranky decided to put it out. It took place over three months, but mostly because of equipment failure. Since it was winter it rained a lot."

Otis Hart described the nature of the band's music in Dusted: "Reach for an initial word, a label – say Doom Metal – then watch, as the demonic guitars slowly morph into demonstrative bliss. Drone may come a bit closer to the truth, but only slightly, as silence plays an equally significant role in the proceedings. Alas, Growing's anomalous sounds dwell in perpetual nigh-fidelity, permeating the gaps between equalizer settings with evasive intent, frustrating any attempt at optimization, and therefore, classification."

Clavius Productions presents:

Sunday, May 21
Warehouse Black Box Theatre
1019 7th St NW WDC
$7, all ages
doors at 8:30, show at 9:30

Mêlèe (mem. of Graveyards, trumpet/cello/percussion trio from Detroit/NYC)
The Cutest Puppy In The World (DC improv)
Slim Castle (DC experimental solo guitarist, ex-Kohoutek)


Mêlèe

Mêlèe is Nate Wooley (trumpet), Ben Hall (percussion), and Hans Buetow (cello). Together this trio has formed compositional strategies for new music street-fights where everything is fair but with a pugilist's sense of decorum. The group's collective interest in extremes in
dynamics, timbre, and instrumental techniques points to their association with players as diverse as Anthony Braxton, Wolf Eyes, Steve Swell, Hair Police, Faruq Z. Bey, and Jack Wright. Their kitchen-sink, "it's not all good," (but it all counts) approach to sound is not so much reductionist or minimalist but more topiary in
their music's regard to finding the compositional shape in the shrub and then pruning it back to essential elements. All of the normal signposts are there: Feldman, Dixon, Coleman, Ayler, Messiaen, and Webern, but interests in industrial sound, black metal, and ethno-folkloric music brings out quite a different articulation of
attention.

Hans Buetow: Based in Detroit, Michigan, improvising cellist and bassist Hans Buetow attended Bennington College where he graduated
with a composition degree in the spring of 2004. While a student, he studied and played music with Anthony Coleman, Kitty Brazelton, and Milford Graves. Upon graduation he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he now lives and plays with a variety of improvisers including John Olson, Double Leopards, Jeff Arnal, John Voigt, Philip Wofford, Alberto Braida, C. Spencer Yeh, and Giancarlo Locatelli. His current project, Graveyards, a trio with Ben Hall and John Olson, recently completed a tour in support of their newly released LP Vulture's Banquet on brokenresearch. Mr. Buetow also has recordings on labels Gods of Tundra and American Tapes.

Ben Hall: b. 1973, Detroit, MI. Ben Hall received his bachelor's degree at Bennington College where he studied with Randy Neal and Milford Graves. Previous to that, Hall played in jazz, free jazz, and noise groups in Detroit with such local luminaries as Faruq Z. Bey, Blue Dog
(Knitting Factory), Jumma Santos, Northwoods Improvisers, and a variety of pre-Wolf Eyes John Olson groups including his long-standing Graveyards group which closed No Fun Fest 2006 in NYC and included C. Spencer Yeh, Greg Kelley, and Chris Corsano. Hall has also played and/or recorded with Blaise Siwula, Jeff Arnal, Peter Kowald, John Voigt, Katt Hernandez, and Tatsuya Nakatani. Hall has also composed and arranged for dance for Keith Thompson, Brendan McCall, and Susan Sgorbati.

Nate Wooley: Nate currently resides in Jersey City, NJ and performs solo trumpet improvisations as well as with his trio Blue Collar with Steve Swell and Tatsuya Nakatani. He has also performed regularly with Anthony Braxton, Bhob Rainey, Alessandro Bosetti, Fritz Welch,
Herb Robertson, Kevin Norton, Tony Malaby, Randy Peterson, Scott Rosenberg, Matt Moran, Chris Speed, Andrew D'Angelo, Tim Barnes, Okkyung Lee, Assif Tsahar, and other improvisation greats.


The Cutest Puppy In The World
http://www.questionthetruth.com/noise/cutestpuppy/

The Cutest Puppy In The World is the vehicle of Bryan Rhodes (piano, analog synthesizers, and combo organ) and Layne Garrett (guitar, bass clarinet, thumb piano, kora, et al.). Based out of the Baltimore/Washington DC area, the two create a hermetic, contained sound that evokes an otherwordly urban landscape at 3:00 am, dark alleyways that are simultaneously sinister and strangely familiar and welcoming. The bandâ??s spare arrangements are often about space, but not necessarily wide open space; there is always something of the closed in, the claustrophobic. And not about silence either for even though the instrumentation can be very sparse and minimal, there is always something going on even if it is just a quivering hum. Rhodesâ?? constant background of subtle activity helps to balance Garrettâ??s occasionally more violent outbursts but the discâ??s finest moments occur when the tension between these elements is temporarily held in abeyance in an uneasy peace ("Yugen Gracehopper", and "Wu-Men Koan"). The recordings that comprise Finfolk were taken from two performances in Washington DC, one on-air at community radio station Radio CPR (in November, 2005), and one earlier at The Warehouse Next Door (June, 2005) and come housed in a slim DVD keepcase with a cleverly surreal cover image by local artist Joe Mills.

The November, 2005 set starts off with "Sordomutics" in which spare piano chords punctuate hovering loops to form a hypnotic base while guitar feedback and a plaintive bass clarinet weave in and out. Eventually the clarinet and piano follow each other around in a spiraling crescendo before subsiding back to their creepy saunter. "Yugen Gracehopper" starts in a squeal and roar of billowing clouds of guitar scrape and wind. Plucked semi-detuned strings seesaw against a menacing background deep synthesizer hum at first slowly, then picking up steam as they plunge headlong into the thicket. The smoke clears to reveal a vibrato laden serpentine slide guitar figure that enters Tom Carter territory in short order. In fact itâ??s hard not to hear the echoes of Charalambides here albeit slightly darker in its formulation. Things get a bit noisier over the next few tracks, regaining that sublime middle ground halfway through the closer "Olold Arcadian" only to be swallowed by a spastic guitar that kicks up the volume into thunderheads of clangor that collapse into a darkly ambient coda.

The June 2005 set begins with "Nangen Cuts The Cat In Two" which starts out as the soundtrack to a conjurerâ??s performance in a small village in the countryside before very restrained percussive piano and clarinet lead each other into the submerged Chinese opera of "Three Pounds of Flax." The crowning achievement of the set has to be the gorgeously balanced dance of "Wu-Men Koan" with its shimmering slide guitar, creaking attic piano rumble and glistening bells. A beautiful din arises only to be led away from the precipice by the re-emergence of slide and lyrical piano.

The one annoying thing about the mastering on the disc is the insertion of a second of silence between each track disturbing the seamless flow of the performances. However, that is a small price to pay for such consistently inventive and lovely compositions rendered with the utmost care. The Cutest Puppy In The World may sound nothing like their name, but thatâ??s exactly why you should be paying attention to Finfolk. (Steve Rybicki, Fake Jazz)


Slim Castle
http://www.myspace.com/slimcastle
http://www.socketscdr.com/

Sprawling and lush guitar, atmospheric electronics, and genre-bending sound that's accessible. Like an aphrodisiacal sonic cocktail of Kevin Shields, Robert Fripp, and Richard Thompson.

Can you get advanced tickets for Warehouse shows?

nope. unfortuantely, it's first come, first serve. which show(s) are you curious about?

Originally posted by snailhook:
nope. unfortuantely, it's first come, first serve. which show(s) are you curious about?

There's a Beirut show on 8/23 posted in the Just Announced thread. I'm thinking there might be a large turnout considering the hype.

it's going to be hard to tell with that one. i booked it knowing that there is a growing buzz about them. curtains (chris from deerhoof) and get him eat him are the openers. it's also a wednesday.

just get there early. at this point, i doubt 150 people will show up for it, but you never know.

Clavius Productions presents:

Sunday, June 4
Warehouse Next Door
1017 7th St NW WDC
$8, all ages
doors at 8:30, show at 9

The Sound of Urchin (mem. of Moistboyz)
Pink Mountaintops (mem. of Black Mountain, Jagjaguwar)
Catfish Haven (from Chicago, Secretly Canadian)
Benjy Ferree (fantastic DC singer/songwriter, recently signed to Domino)


The Sound of Urchin
http://www.soundofurchin.com/

Since the release of their first EP in 2000, and through 2002â??s You Are The Best, The Sound of Urchin have been hell-bent with their goal of total world domination. The band has toured incessantly, gathering a rabid cult following that will travel anywhere to get their "Urchin F*cking Rock" fix, and will trade anything to get CD copies of live Urchin shows. SOU has also toured with a diverse group of artists like Tenacious D, Ween, North Mississippi Allstars, Mike Watt, Cracker, Cobra Verde, and The Ziggens. "We even went out on the Deep Purple, Dio and Scorpions tour," says lead singer/drummer Tomato. "To have Ronnie James Dio come up and tell us to â??keep the rock nâ?? roll flame goingâ?? was just insane. We had beers with Dio! That was huge!" Now comes the release of The Sound of Urchinâ??s ambitious and extremely ass-kicking new album, The Diamond due out in April on Hybrid Recordings. "This is the big rock record weâ??ve always wanted to make," Tomato enthuses. "The Diamond is a totally new phase for the band. Thereâ??s still the Urchin vibe and diversity, but our main objective for the album was to make a very focused record, capturing the energy and passion of our live show and the duel lead guitar attack of B-ill and Seahag."

"We embrace so many different styles of music and our influences are constantly growing," he continues. "Not to generalize, but songs written today seem more like commercials. Maybe a little individuality squeaks through, but for the most part, everything sounds the same, so compartmentalized. Bands that influenced us were always searching for, and finding, different kinds of songs from one record to the next. Thatâ??s where the mystery of rock nâ?? roll comes from."

Searching for a producer who could crystallize its many influences and fine tune the songs that would become The Diamond, The Sound of Urchin chose to work with melodic power pop maestro Adam Schlesinger (founding member of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy). "Adam was the perfect producer to help us make this record," says Tomato. "He brought out elements in our music that we didnâ??t see, and his relaxed, yet meticulous, production technique really captured the Urchin spirit onto tape." The Diamond was recorded at Stratosphere Studios in Manhattan and features two guest performances: Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha appears on the track "Blown Away" and Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister guests on "The Jack Oâ?? Lantern."

Though a New York City-based band, The Sound of Urchin met through mutual friends in the surprisingly musically fertile town of New Hope, PA. "New Hope is a place people visit to go antique shopping," Tomato offers, "but itâ??s also an incredible community of rock musicians who get together and jam all the time." A "drummer by birth" who writes songs obsessively, Tomato spent years drumming for many other bands before realizing his heart wasnâ??t into being the drummer for someone elseâ??s musical vision. "I decided to go out on my own and start something that could be a vehicle for the songs Iâ??d been writing. When we put this band together, it was just natural that I would sing and play drums," he says. It was in the formative stages of Urchin that the band met New Hope resident, Dean Ween, who became a mentor, co-producing Sound of Urchinâ??s first EP and helping the band find it's way through the music industry. Tomato and B-ill also play in Dean Ween's side band, The Moistboyz.

Looking over the 11 tracks listed on The Diamond – with titles like "Police Helicopters Over Brooklyn," "There Are People In The Clouds," "The Door," "The Jack-O-Lantern," and "Dracula Bite" – itâ??s clear that The Urchin's abstract vibe remains intact. However, Tomato's songs weigh much more on the personal side, and are more direct and immediate than on the previous albums. "The Urchin has one main philosophy," Tomato states. "We will never write the same song twice; we are always finding new ways to keep our creativity alive. Once you stop growing, you're done. That simple thought is more important than anything when it comes to making music. And for this album, we all had one of the most brutal winters ever in NYC: All our friends were out of jobs, the music industry was suffering, we were at war, it was 8 degrees everyday, etc, etc. I was writing songs to make it through the winter, trying to shed some light on it, and knowing that someday spring would pop up and put us back on our feet."

The Diamond also captures the unpredictable energy of an Urchin live show. "Weâ??re a loud guitar band, with two of the best lead guitarists on the planet! We also have a classic rock vibe in the sense that we change the set every night and extend some of the songs into improv jams," says Tomato. "We never use set lists and weâ??re always off-the-cuff. Iâ??ll call out songs from the drum kit, and thatâ??s how we go. Rock nâ?? roll is supposed to be spontaneous. Sometimes thereâ??s that element of danger where you feel like you donâ??t know whatâ??s going to happen next – we take the crowd on a ride! That's what it's all about!"

Ultimately though, Tomato believes The Diamond is an album for music fans: "We mean everything we say, every note we play, and we show our passion on this album. We believe in rock nâ?? roll, and we want to ROCK, no matter how silly that might sound. Rock is not an ironic thing to us, it is our life. We all grew up wanting to play music more than anything…sitting in our rooms, listening to our favorite records, turning up the stereo and playing along with the music. Now that weâ??ve got our hardcore fanbase together, we hope The Diamond will get our sound out to more music fans. This is the Sound of Urchin, right here."


Pink Mountaintops
http://www.thewaxmuseum.bc.ca/jwab/
http://www.jagjaguwar.com/pinkmountaintops/

If you measure every human act or expression as some manifestation of our hard-wired propensity to have sex, survive, and spread our genetic junk around, you could be labeled a Darwinist. And they seemingly come in all sizes and shapes: economic and literary Darwinists, evolutionary psychologists and biologists, and, paradoxically, creationist-leaning conservatives, to name a few. Unwittingly, then, those kind rock journalists out there who have summed up the music of Pink Mountaintops as being all about sex have fallen into the same age-old trap of oversimplification (for which we are partially to blame). The desire is for everything to be in a neat little box, much like the variously configured Darwinists out there would prefer that everything we do be explained by just one simple and powerful idea. But what is real and true in the world does not work like that, we humbly believe. Yeah, you may express, with a wink, that you know what the "pink mountaintops" are all about. Perhaps you can fuck them, both literally and figuratively. But we'd maintain that you can't put your hands around these mountaintops. No, because these mountaintops are unreachable. You can't measure them. You can't know them or neatly dissect them. You can't possess them. All you can do is look at them. And, hopefully, having gazed on them, you'll come to the realization that you can think about them in more than one way.

Pink Mountaintops is Stephen McBean (and also many of his friends when the full band is assembled to play live). McBean has been in numerous groups over the last two decades. As a thirteen-year old, he played in a band called Jerk Ward, playing hardcore influenced by the Neos, Discharge, Crucifix and whoever else was fast or the fastest. His other bands to date have been a straight-out punk outfit, a crusty punk/metal band, and, most recently, a psych-tinged maximal rock group whose self-titled debut record, Black Mountain, captured a great amount of critical acclaim (and meteorically became Jagjaguwar's best-selling title.) With Axis of Evol, Pink Mountaintops' second full-length record, McBean has once again created something much greater than the sum of his influences. Axis of Evol begins with a forboding spiritual called "Comas," the kind that McBean and only a very few other songwriters of this generation could pull off. It includes the tone-setting lyrical phrase "I have been wrestling a dead angry deer, and she is still with me after all of these years." The record then almost immediately ramps up into a thumping, buzzing, blissful haze, at various parts sounding like the Velvet Underground or Spacemen 3 or the Jesus and Mary Chain circa Psycho Candy. And at the end, the album then segues into a hypnotic, Smog-like meditation called "How We Can Get Free." Throughout the record, McBean sings about love and war, the love of war, and the war of love – on the body, on the mind and on the soul. Home-recorded and largely self-produced, Axis of Evol is a further testament to the vital prolificacy of Stephen McBean. His mind, body and soul have once again created something that can't be simply measured, coded or decoded. Experience it, then think about it in more than one way.

SONG LIST:
Comas
Cold Criminals
New Drug Queens
Slaves
Plastic Man, You're The Devil
Lord, Let Us Shine
How We Can Get Free


Catfish Haven
http://www.catfishhaven.com/

"Catfish Haven's debut EP, Please Come Back, is a surprisingly poignant ode to the innocent hedonism of youth…their music eschews hipster irony for earnestness, channeling Buddy Holly and Del Shannon as opposed to the Standells. In fact, standout cuts like "You Can Have Me" and the blistering title cut show a band with both heart and soul, both of which are the only true benchmarks for rock & roll longevity." (All Music Guide)

"This is soul music for future generations of rowdy rustic types, and when singer George Hunter proclaims "Iâ??m down on bended knee," with his raspy wail, we learn that the Midwestern trailer-park-born reincarnation of Otis Redding is a white kid strumming the shit out of his acoustic guitar…Catfish Haven have put together a mighty portrait of a band musically going for broke." (CMJ)

"On the title track's searing rave-up, staccato emotive bursts get swept up in a tide of concisely pounding percussion and stately rhythm guitar. Projecting from the diaphragm without overselling the memorable melody, Hunter's voice can crank up like a lawnmower or suddenly dip into bluesy melancholy with equal facility, and on this track in particular he belts like Van Morrison at his amped-up best. But this isn't his only register. On the smoldering dirge "Crying Shame," Hunter trades his exuberance for a sinister theatricality á la Nick Cave, dragging the last word of each line over infernal embers. Both styles find purchase on "Madelin," as whining string bends and a diabolically distressed "whoa" suddenly let out into winsome, clattering rock. Take away quirky instrumentation, genre experiments, and yelping vocals; what's left in the modern guitar band's arsenal? Catfish Haven remind us: Tuneful, passionate singing, lucid songwriting, and engaging riffs." (Pitchforkmedia)


Benjy Ferree
http://benjyferree.com/

Benjy Ferree may hail from our nationâ??s capital, but his real inspiration seems to come from across the Atlantic. His debut EP Leaving the Nest suggests nothing so much as an American take on the upbeat acoustic pop concocted by Paul McCartney and Ray Davies. While there are certainly elements of Americana in Ferreeâ??s sound – plaintive fiddles, out-of-tune harmonicas, and a Johnny Cash cover ("A Little at a Time") -â?? his sing-song melodies clearly owe much to his British forbears. Hints of Davies and early Marc Bolan also shine through in his vocal delivery, while the plentiful backing harmonies that populate the album have Beatles written all over them.

Luckily, Ferree is a strong enough performer to keep Leaving the Nest from feeling like mere homage. Despite being only 26 minutes long, the album makes an uncommonly strong impression. Ferree has a clear gift for fashioning hooky melodies, and each track contains a surplus. The musical ground covered here is considerable as well: not content to settle with one memorable motif, Ferree delivers up several at a time by dividing his songs up into clearly distinct but coherent sections, consistently throwing out enough melodic ideas to keep things interesting. The title track, for one, shifts between a George Harrison-inspired slide guitar lead, a bluesy droning verse, and a sing-along chorus: the elements seem irreconcilably different, but somehow Ferree manages to stitch them all together.

Leaving the Nest is most impressive due to its density: Ferree crams into 26 minutes a wealth of melodies and hooks to make most full-length LPs look dull in comparison. Itâ??s idyllic and upbeat without being sappy (complete with two whistling solos), comfortably familiar and yet well-executed enough to merit a listen even from the most jaded pair of ears. Benjy Ferree may not have a particularly unique or innovative sound, but heâ??s clearly hit on a winning formula. (Michael Cramer, Dusted)

Clavius Productions presents:

Monday, June 5
Warehouse Next Door
1017 7th St NW WDC
$8, all ages
doors at 8:30, show at 9:30

Nudity (ex-Tight Bros From Way Back When/Dub Narcotic/Two Ton Boa/Behead the Prophet)
Triple Burner (mem. of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and featuring acoustic guitar wizard Harris Newman, from Montreal)
Pup Ten (DC post-punk a la Mission Of Burma and Wire, mem. of DCIC/Sarah Azzara)

from the Washington City Paper:

By counterculture-fashion-trend-longevity standards, the recent resurgence of gingham, empire-waist dresses, and commune beards on the music scene should have faded faster than junkie chic. Yet, the latest wave in a seemingly endless stream of indie psychedelic bands continuously manages to keep the hippie-look both hip and relevant by dutifully kicking out the jams of their forebears. And when it comes to keepinâ?? on keepinâ?? on, Nudity knows what it takes to really go the distance: sitars and congas. Led by former Tight Bros From Way Back When guitarist Dave Harvey, Nudity has a sound thatâ??while certainly psychedelicâ??is decidedly dashiki. Still, the bandâ??s not to be pigeonholed (even in such an obscure-to-the-point-of-nonexistent genre), and their recent EP features songs such as â??The Nightfeedersâ? that venture into krautrock-esque territory. (Imagine Comets on Fire with restrained guitars and a motorik beat.) Get your be-in on when Nudity performs with Triple Burner at 8:30 p.m. at the Warehouse Next Door, 1017 7th St. NW. $8. (202) 783-3933. (David Dunlap Jr.)


Triple Burner
http://www.harrisnewman.com/tripleburner.html

Harris Newman is one of the most diverse guitarists to emerge in the last 10 years and Bruce Cawdron is most notably known as the drummer for Godspeed You Black Emperor. Together they've both played as Esmerine with Beckie Foon of A Silver Mt. Zion, and without her, the duo has released their first album as Triple Burner.

Their debut album sounds more like one continuous performance: like a concert in various movements. It starts quiet -â?? very, very quiet â??- and from the first real full song, "The Wherewithal," it seems as if this duo is going to head down a more languid Esmerine-like path: with Cawdron bowing the marimba to the serene notes of Newman's guitar. Things are still calm by the start of "Roundabout" but they build in volume, intensity, and pace, with Cawdron fully engaged in the hand and malleted percussion. By the song's end the duo are blazing at a lightning pace, and the energy is maintained more or less throughout the rest of the disc.

I don't know if Bruce is playing the plastic spoons at the beginning of "Bride of Bad Attitude" but this song is a distinct turning point in styles for Harris. Whereas before the guitar playing was more in line with the sort of new folk sounds coming out of people's guitars like James Blackshaw or Ben Chasny, "Bride" looks south of the Mason-Dixon line, with a Kentucky Bluegrass tinge, and by the next song, "Wall Socket Protector," the train-like snare drumming from Cawdron matches the piercing slide guitar in a very Mississippi Blues manner.

Although the serenity returns for the most on the nearly 14-minute "The Pulse of Parc Ex," it sounds as if Bruce has built his drumset up, piece by piece, with either cymbals or cymbal-sound producers (you can never tell with this guy). The song naturally progresses between the quiet and more moderately paced playing, never quite getting out of hand, leading naturally into the closer "Regresso," which echoes "Wall Socket Protector" with a much more complete drumset in the hands of Bruce.

Newman and Cawdron are excellent players but they clearly work well with each other: Newman's playing is fantastic but a guitarist needs something more to make the sound a little more full without becoming a complete distraction. With the flood of new folksters it's becoming hard to keep up but thankfully Newman doesn't look like he's planning on getting lost in the shuffle. It's a perfect time now to catch up with Esmerine and Newman's solo releases (see Strange Attractors) and those lucky enough to live in the Northeast US and Canada can catch them on the road in the next few weeks. (Jon Whitney)

Damn! I wish that I could get down to see The Pink Mountaintops.

Somebody go for me, please.

I'm going to try to get to the Pink Mountaintops show. Snailhook, are they 2nd on the bill or headlining? I'd rather not stay out too terribly late since I have a couple other shows this week.

kurosawa, pink mountaintops are playing third, for 40-45 minutes. sound of urchin is headlining, which is good for you because they're not that great and will allow people to see PM before the metro closes. PM should be on from about 10:30-11:15. they will definitely be done by 11:30.

y'all should've shaken off the sunday night doldrums and made it out for pink mountaintops. very good stuff, and there was actually a pretty nice crowd there too. take one killer riff, half spacemen 3/half velvets (with just a pinch of stones), add plenty of percussion, including multiple tambourines, and lots of backing vocals, repeat, repeat, repeat. great druggy music but without being so over-the-top druggy, like the warlocks can get at times. i actually like 'em a little better than black mountain. less "interesting," perhaps, but they sure do that one thing they do very well.

catfish haven was a pleasant surprise, too. straight up bar band indie rock; not like the hold steady, but just power chords and stompin', catchy stuff.