Funny Rat

[king ubu]

I'll check it out, but the "Fallhöhe" would be quite huuuge after all the crap I have listened to this morning...

[couw]

Thanks for the link, John, but, regretably, .

John B might like this.

that's what I was thinking.

the SFeQ dudes did better.

[Guest Chaney]

Again thanks for the reinforcement. Going from what I read about "Thesis" that's one of the few currently available hats that I definitely won't get. I am rather fond of Eskelin, though I haven't caught up in recent times.

Now how about that Lacy?

Let me offer another .

The playing is at such a high level that it's almost frightening. It's really amazing the level of self-assurance exhibited on this disk; all play as if one and everything just clicks.

[king ubu]

Again thanks for the reinforcement. Going from what I read about "Thesis" that's one of the few currently available hats that I definitely won't get. I am rather fond of Eskelin, though I haven't caught up in recent times.

Now how about that Lacy?

Let me offer another .

The playing is at such a high level that it's almost frightening. It's really amazing the level of self-assurance exhibited on this disk; all play as if one and everything just clicks.

Thanks. It will stay on "the list"! The Eskelin as well, by the way. I never heard anything by him that I didn't at least consider solid.

ubu

[Guest Chaney]

Words from DMG on the two latest Erstwhile releases:

KEITH ROWE/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/THOMAS LEHN/MARCUS SCHMICKLER - self/titled (Erstwhile Erst Live 002) This Erstwhile all-star quartet was recorded live at the Amplify Festival in Cologne in May of this year by the WDR. As if you didn't know, the quartet features Mr. Rowe on guitar-on-table & electronics, Nakamura on no-input mixing board, Lehn on analogue synth and Schmickler on synth & computer. The four sonic specialists sat in a square formation with the audience surrounding them, much like a few of the sets at the Victoriaville Fest over the past few years. Thus begins a new series of live recordings on the controversial Erstwhile label, which some folks love and some do not. Considering there are four musicians involved, the overall sound is often sparse, yet extremely well crafted. High pitched sounds and delicate static, snippets of radio samples, fragments of noise, mysterious drones, the rubbed or tapped strings of an electric guitar, electronic slivers, humming, shimmering and eventually evolving into fascinating layers of electronic soundcapes. This CD includes just one long (38 plus minute) piece/performance and it is a marvel of well-selected sonic sorcery. 

KEITH ROWE/BURKHARD BEINS - self/titled (Erstwhile Erst Live 001) Another fascinating set taken from the Amplify Festival in Cologne in May of this year. This duo features former AMM guitar-on-table player and sonic scientist, Keith Rowe, with Burkhard Beins on percussion. Over the past few years, Keith Rowe has changed from being a more reclusive player, formerly only doing the occasional gig with AMM to becoming an international traveler and main man for a series of Erstwhile festivals. After almost forty years with British improv legends AMM, he has recently left their fold (allegedly) due to some unfair criticism in Eddie Prevost's recent book. Fortunately for many of us, we have gotten a number of opportunities to witness Keith's unique sonic sorcery in general and his distinctive guitar-on-table manipulations in particular. Thanks to labels like Erstwhile, Grob and Potlatch for capturing his performances and releasing them on CD.

     This new Erstwhile series features one short (28 minute) set. Noisier, spookier and often filled with immense suspense. Keith's fascination with random radio transmissions is a recurring theme/dream or even nightmare. Sounds like Burkhard is playing bowed cymbals and short bursts of percussive noise. This is one of the busiest, most dense and most frightening of any Erstwhile disc yet. While a jazz or classical critic might not want to call this "music", it is one of the most effective and intense experiences I've heard recently. And at less than the half hour length, it is just right for one episode our own "Human Drama". The inclusion of the long excerpt of "Son of a Preacher Man" is rather funny, especially when it becomes submerged in louder noises. It reminds too much of real life in New York City.  

John: You have these two. Might a non-appreciator of the typical Erst fare enjoy either of these? (I'm especially thinking of the second title and the presence of Beins.)

ON THE EDIT: I've just listened to the sound sample on the Erst site. I may have answered my own question.

Edited November 19, 2004 by Chaney

[Д.Д.]

Now here's the soon to be OOP I'm still looking for (or need a bit of advice whether to spend big $$ on them or not):

hatOLOGY 504 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Misha Mengelberg

The Root Of The Problem

hatOLOGY 506 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Matthew Shipp Duo with Joe Morris

Thesis (I can live without this, I remember your comments...)

hatOLOGY 511 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Guillermo Gregorio

Ellipsis

hatOLOGY 514 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Joe McPhee

As Serious As Your Life (I guess this I need to hunt, right?)

hatOLOGY 528 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

ICP Orchestra

Jubilee Varia

hatOLOGY 2-535 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Misha Mengelberg

Two Days In Chicago

hatOLOGY 536 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Steve Lacy Seven

Clichés (is this one good? essential?)

hatOLOGY 545 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Anthony Braxton

Quintet (Basel) 1977 (I have and like the Dortmund, so I suppose I'd like this one. isn't it OOP already?)

hatOLOGY 551 / MIDPRICE / LAST CHANCE, SOON SOLD OUT

Ellery Eskelin

Ramifications

And here's the OOP one I'd like to find...

hatOLOGY 523 / SOLD OUT

Clusone 3

Rara Avis (I know, I know, I might never have this...)

Any comments welcome!

On my to get list of the above discs currently are: Ramifications, Basel 1977, Rara Avis, Clichés, and As Serious as your Life. Not sure about the Gregorio and the Mengelberg/ICP's.

ubu

Mengelberg is skippable, IMO.

Gregorio I found too dry and academic - will have to listen to it some more.

McPhee is essential.

ICP is very very good.

Eskelin & Braxton I haven't listened to yet. As I mentioend, I hv a spare copy of Braxton's "Basel" available, so let me know if you hve problems findng it.

[king ubu]

I will let you know about the Brax. I might be gladly take up your offer, as that disc seems to be hard to find already (same applies to the ICP), and I can't afford those two right now. Will have to wait a bit, and wait for the arrival of several open orders first anyway.

I got an earful of this (or another?) Gregorio disc in a store and had that same impression. Probably one to skip.

ubu

[Guest Chaney]

GADS! I'm listening again to Lacy's Cliches right now. (Day off from work. OH BOY!) Ferocious music but in a highly structured way. (In no way noise with the only purpose of being noisy.) And the Aebi Danger Index is very low. I make it a ONE.

No reason to believe that a great many of the members of this board would not like this one.

[Д.Д.]

GADS! I'm listening again to Lacy's Cliches right now. (Day off from work. OH BOY!) Ferocious music but in a highly structured way. (In no way noise with the only purpose of being noisy.) And the Aebi Danger Index is very low. I make it a ONE.

No reason to believe that a great many of the members of this board would not like this one.

I would be interested in hearing more Lacy of this type. I have quite few of Lacy CDs (alhough what is "quite a few" when it comes to Lacy's discography? I have 20 or so CDs - it is about 5% of his output, I guess), but most of them are solos-duos-trios, and this large band recording shows a totally new aspect of Lacy's approach to me.

[John B]

John:  You have these two.  Might a non-appreciator of the typical Erst fare enjoy either of these?  (I'm especially thinking of the second title and the presence of Beins.)

ON THE EDIT:  I've just listened to the sound sample on the Erst site.  I may have answered my own question. 

the sound clips on the Erst site don't do a whole lot for me, as most of these pieces really benefit from being heard in their entirety, as they slowly develop and "expand."

I really love the Rowe / Beins disc. Judging by the smiley you used, I'm going to guess it's not your cup of tea. For someone who was interested in dipping their toe into the water, so to speak, with Erst, it is not a bad place to start at all. The disc is relatively short, Rowe and Beins are both in fine form and, relatively speaking, the music is extremely accesible. The quotes from other songs that Rowe drops into the mix via his radio are very well done, and quite amusing. I disagree with DMG that there is anything spooky or frightening about this disc.

The quartet disc is a lot more abstract and I would hesitate to recommend it to someone like you describe.

Edited November 19, 2004 by John B

[Steve Reynolds]

I also love the new Rowe/Beins disc - as far as to whether it is accesable compared to other "eai" stuff - who knows!

I still think the best place to start with Rowe are the classic trio AMM recordings - Newfoundland, Live in Allentown and maybe Generative Themes

The World Turned Upside Down is also wonderful - though completely different from the more immediate approach on the new duo recording - maybe some of Harsh - one of his solo recordings - comes near the intensity and verve of the Rowe/Beins disc

fwiw - I do think there is something frightening about this disc - when the radio is playing "Son of a Preacher Man" and the two of them overwhelm it with a cacophony of sound, it is breathtaking - yet also very eery.

[John B]

fwiw - I do think there is something frightening about this disc - when the radio is playing "Son of a Preacher Man" and the two of them overwhelm it with a cacophony of sound, it is breathtaking - yet also very eery.

That is one of the single most beautiful moments I have heard on an eai disc, imo.

I would second the recommendation for The World Turned Upside Down. For someone who wasn't sure about eai, I would recommedn checking out Dark Rags, his duo disc with Evan Parker. It might be an easier point of entry for someone coming from jazz.

[J.A.W.]

so, I've been relistening to this disc today:

Rudresh Mahanthappa - Black Water (Red Giant)

Mahanthappa - Alto

Vijay Iyer - Piano

Francois Moutin - Bass

Elliot Humberto Kavee - Drums

This is a fantastic album!  It reminds me a lot of the Pullen / Adams discs I have heard in its balance between "out" and "in" playing, although I feel that it stays more in the pocket than not.  Great playing and nice tunes.  

I'm listening to this disc right now. I'm not sure I like what I'm hearing, it's Mahanthappa's tone that's increasingly bothering me; it has a kind of "nagging" or "whining" quality that doesn't appeal to me.

I have to revise my earlier comment: once I got used to Mahanthappa's tone I liked this disc a lot better. I will have to play it again soon, though.

I've just listened to this CD for the third time now, and I have to revert to my original opinion, or even worse: I don't like it. I find Mahanthappa's playing flat, nothing special, and I don't like his tone. Time to sell this one and the Vijay Iyer CD Blood Sutra.

[Guest Chaney]

Just an FYI for anyone waiting for the re-release of Cecil Taylor's One Too Many Salty Swift And Not Goodbye: IT'S OUT and available from Cadence for $26.

[Guest Chaney]

Hello,

Is it possible that we'll see other past Beak Doctor efforts released on CD?

Thank you.

Tony

Buffalo, NY

Dear Tony,

  Well, if you heard anything already released on The Beak Doctor, then you know anything IS possible.  But let me be helpful for a change:  I have BIG PLANS!  Well, O.K., I have some small ideas.  But maybe they will clear the air, if not our brains.  Let me try again:  Along with a release this next Spring (05) of Woody Woodman's Circus Of Construction (unless you or somebody else changes that name) with Greg Goodman, George Cremaschi, and Garth Powell, I am attempting to reissue two old Beak Doctor records: Evan Parker At The Finger Palace (BD3) and ABRACADABRA, with Greg Goodman & Evan Parker (BD2).  I plan to issue this as a double CD, as both records were performed and recorded on the same two nights in 1978 at The Finger Palace.

    Of course, so far, I havent FOUND the old tapes of these recordings, but HAVE found (at least) two unopened records of same, so I may have to use them for making new masters.  Oh hell, I did my best; I recorded the damn things in the first place!

    The problem with all of this is my time, and, as always, the money.  I usually make 1000 of these little CDs and then they sit on my floor waiting for the 8 people who will buy them to make up their minds over the next 9 years.  But it does keep my floors warm.

  So now you know everything I do.  The above are my plans, but you know how those things go.  If you have any ideas about how I can make my life work better, or what you would like me to do otherwise, it would be best to keep it to yourself.  O.K., you CAN write, but understand, my computer is on the other side of the room, and those CDs..................

                    Thanks for reminding me to do SOMETHING,

                                          The Beak Doctor

[Д.Д.]

Hello,

Is it possible that we'll see other past Beak Doctor efforts released on CD?

Thank you.

Tony

Buffalo, NY

Dear Tony,

   Well, if you heard anything already released on The Beak Doctor, then you know anything IS possible.  But let me be helpful for a change:  I have BIG PLANS!  Well, O.K., I have some small ideas.  But maybe they will clear the air, if not our brains.  Let me try again:  Along with a release this next Spring (05) of Woody Woodman's Circus Of Construction (unless you or somebody else changes that name) with Greg Goodman, George Cremaschi, and Garth Powell, I am attempting to reissue two old Beak Doctor records: Evan Parker At The Finger Palace (BD3) and ABRACADABRA, with Greg Goodman & Evan Parker (BD2).  I plan to issue this as a double CD, as both records were performed and recorded on the same two nights in 1978 at The Finger Palace.

    Of course, so far, I havent FOUND the old tapes of these recordings, but HAVE found (at least) two unopened records of same, so I may have to use them for making new masters.  Oh hell, I did my best; I recorded the damn things in the first place!

    The problem with all of this is my time, and, as always, the money.  I usually make 1000 of these little CDs and then they sit on my floor waiting for the 8 people who will buy them to make up their minds over the next 9 years.  But it does keep my floors warm.

   So now you know everything I do.  The above are my plans, but you know how those things go.  If you have any ideas about how I can make my life work better, or what you would like me to do otherwise, it would be best to keep it to yourself.  O.K., you CAN write, but understand, my computer is on the other side of the room, and those CDs..................

                     Thanks for reminding me to do SOMETHING,

                                           The Beak Doctor

indeed.

I am looking forward to these.

Edited November 27, 2004 by Д.Д.

[king ubu]

Friends, I've just returned from the first night of the third annual "unerhört" festival here in Zurich. The last of three concerts, and definite highlight of the night, and one of the best concerts I ever witnessed, was Doppelmoppel (both Bauers-tb; Joe Sachse-g; Uwe Kropinski-g). Here's a crappy review I wrote to our friend "couw" in a mail I just sent:

Now Doppelmoppel: the Bauers: Johannes: looks like an old Indian chief that's

a bit pale in the face. Terrible horrible shirt he wore. Conrad: as stoopid

and tongue-out-of-mouth as always. Sachse: looks like a cross between Schraubenzieher

(yup, he used one, and a knife too) and Korkenzieher (now don't ask me why).

Kopinski: looks at least 20 years younger than all the others, and a bit

like a maniac and Sean Penn.

Now on the music: !!!!!!!!! Holy shit! These guys know to play. You can't

label that music, no chance! It's not jazz, it's not free improv, it's not

free jazz, not rock... not even flamenco, hillbilly, classical and folk,

though all of that is part of it. Kopinski is a virtuoso master of the (electrically

amplified) acoustic guitar, playing everything from classical, flamenco,

to folk and hillbilly stuff, and some bluesy stuff. Sachse is just as wild

as he always was. The Bauers, wow! I definitely need to check out their Bauer-Bauer

duo disc on Intakt! They're both great (although I really find Conrad quite

irritating to look at). I've seen/heard Conrad twice (once with an old-fashioned

boring dutch/german free jazz quartet, once with the GREAT Barry Guy New

Orchestra, just half a year back). He is a clown with tons of musical ideas,

gimmickry and all. Johannes is very serious, yet funny in his own way. His

circular-breathing and singing thing is terrific, and much more impressive

(sorry!) than what I've heard of Mangelsdorff. He is THE trombone master,

it seems to me.

You can rest assured that I enjoyed it!

The first concert was a duo of Barry Guy (impressive as always) with a singer, Sabine Yannatou (sp?) (annoying to death). Guy was wonderful, I'd love to hear him perform solo! He does real wonders on and with his bass.

The second concert was a trio of Chris Wiesendanger (p), Christian Weber (b), and Dieter Ulrich (d). They played a few standards, but mostly they played very nice early Carla Bley compositions, as well as an Annette Peacock tune from the sixties. A rather restrained, but very lyrical concert.

ubu

[John B]

I just returned to my in-laws house from a nice visit to Brooklyn, followed by a pilgrimage to Downtown Music Gallery. It was amazing to be able browse a store that stocks Hat Hut, FMP and all of those other labels that I am never able to see "in the flesh.". I picked up some nice discs, which I'll comment on when I have a chance in the next few days.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[couw]

thanks for the review Ubu, reads like you had a great time. Still haven't found the cool Doppelmoppel vinyl from the times differences still mattered.

[cannonball-addict]

Have you guys heard Groundtruther?

[cannonball-addict]

By the way, how did this thread go from Funny Rat to what it is now? Why is it so heavily posted to?

[J.A.W.]

By the way, how did this thread go from Funny Rat to what it is now? Why is it so heavily posted to?

The answers to your questions are hidden in the thread, i.e. you can only find the answers by reading the whole thread.

[Guest Chaney]

One day Hollywood will call wanting to make a movie of this thread and then we'll all be rich!

Answer

~~~~~~~~~~~~

John: What's the inside of DMG look like? Is there a shrine to Zorn?

[Д.Д.]

One day Hollywood will call wanting to make a movie of this thread and then we'll all be rich!

Answer

It will also be acocmpanied by a multi-volume hard-cover Complete Funny Rat Transcriptions (with original spelling intact), with comprehensive index (that Hans is working on), indivual posters' taste evolution trees (like Chaney's unimpressive flirting with eai - the story of constant doubt and apprehension, or on a degenerative side - John B's and Д.Д.'s heavy metal deviations), list of naive innocent victums (Clunky buying Gebbia's "Arcana Major"), and illustrated biographies of all participants.

[Guest Chaney]

I'm having my doubts about Hans and his index.

He's been working on the thing for several months and every time I ask to see a draft, he's replies by asking for additional funding for his project. While I've always complied -- by this time having sent nearly $2k -- where's the index? (Maybe it's my imagination but Hans seems to mention the purchase of new CDs just after I send him money. What's up with that?)

I've even sent him all of the CDs I've mentioned owning in this thread! Why does he need my CDs?! "Research", answers Hans. (I may be mistaken but with that answer, I believe I heard muffled laughter over the phone line.)

I won't be played for a fool. I'll give him another six months but after that I'm cutting him off.