NEW ADDITION, STUDIO, etc.

from top to bottom:

-pancake - new addition to the clan as of xmas 2008
-isis in the studio - contemplating snacks while "listening" to mixes
-isis in the studio - the reliable series of masks
-isis in the studio - maintenance
-isis in the studio - aaron harris hitting some things
(isis studio photos: faith coloccia)

someone asked about a title for the new isis song that we "debuted" in our live set on our recent trip to europe. since there are already some lo-fi videos of this on youtube i figured we could share the title: "20 minutes/40 years". so that's that. i'll spill more as the time gets closer. all tracking is finished at this point, 6 or the 8 songs are mixed. closing in on it. artwork to commence shortly.

holiday cheer: pancake + robot + orange, xasthur "all reflections drained", krallice s/t, cat power "jukebox", desert christmas, T.R. vs the GZA, TJ's chocolate covered peppermint jo jo's, the golden noose around my neck, lustmord "other", boris "smile", james hollis "under saturn's shadow", dreams of flight, yoga songs from split with ghäst, etc.

TORCHE 12" etc

above - images form the forthcoming torche 12" ep. top to bottom: front cover with sticker (black ink on gold metallic foil stock), back cover, A + B side LP labels. the photos were supplied by reed segovia and mark thompson, and the background watercolors were made by faith coloccia.

a quick response to comments left in regards to the last post about the election of barack obama and my related enthusiasm: to clarify, i don't think obama is a savior of the world or even the US, nor do i believe him to be perfect. i don't believe that all or most of the massive problems we currently face (globally and nationally), will be solved quickly and cleanly in the next 2, 4 or even 8 years. that said, i do believe that obama is a far sight better than what we've suffered over the last 8 years, and certainly can't make things worse than they already are - and even provides a formidable prospect of improvement. i am perfectly aware that he is fairly middle of the road as far as his record is concerned, as was the rhetoric espoused during his campaign, and also as exemplified by his choices for his cabinet. he is however the first presidential candidate in my lifetime (to have had a real shot at the presidency), that i have found in any way inspiring or truly promising. considering there was widespread slavery in the US a little over 100 years ago, and rigid segregation in many parts of the country well into the 1960s, the election of barack obama is a significant statement in historical terms for that reason alone. another important aspect that i've considered in regards to prospect of an obama presidency is this: while a really radical shift is needed on many levels in this country, it is highly unlikely that a candidate with equally radical views would and could be elected to the presidential office. obama may be able to affect at least some perceptible level of change due to the fact that he IS fairly middle of the road and therefor won't draw continual and vehement resistance from the right. it's inevitable that the post election enthusiasm will wane and a visible degree of cynicism will set in once he takes office - the reality of his presidency cannot possibly live up to the idealistic expectations that many have pinned on him. there is a long hard road from this point forward towards a recognizable degree of ascendence, but i remain optimistic that obama is a truly capable catalyst for raising us up a good measure from the depths we're in which we're currently treading.

cause for celebration

it's a few days after the fact now, but i just wanted to express my profound elation in regards to the election of barack obama. like many other people of my generation this seems to be one of the only truly positive socio-political events to occur during our lifetimes, and perhaps the paramount one - at least as far as this country is concerned. as i watched the poll results roll in i felt a greater sense of joy than i would have even imagined possible in the final moments of a presidential race, and that feeling grew even more pronounced when his victory was declared. i was lucky enough to be able to share these moments with others who are not only dear to me, but shared similar feelings of happiness and great relief - my girlfriend, brother, and my sister-in-law (as well as a good many other folks via phone and text message). all were in agreement that this was a profoundly moving and important occasion, perhaps unlike any other we had known.

though obama has certainly been handed one enormous pile of shit to shovel (far more than any other president in the last few decades), he seems more than capable of the job, formidable as it is. i've never had much confidence or enthusiasm about any major US politician (let alone president), and perhaps i'm pinning too much hope on our new president elect, but if he does even half of what he has proposed, our currently dismal situation can only improve from here on out.

thank you mr. obama for providing a glimmer of light in this uncertain age. thank you to everyone who helped make this possibility a reality.

MUSIC UPDATE: mamiffer, isis, jodis, greymachine

MAMIFFER: i am pleased and honored to announce that i have been asked to become an "official member" of mamiffer . i gladly accepted the offer, and while i'm not sure what form the results of this venture will produce i imagine that i will contribute to upcoming recordings in some capacity as well as to select future live performances of the group. though i have collaborated with mamiffer in the past i was not at all expecting to be invited become a more involved part of it, and i'm very excited about this opportunity.

ISIS: someone left a comment from a previous asking about isis news - here's what's happening at the moment: 8 tracks have been written for our upcoming recording session in november. most likely 6-7 of them will be used for the next album, and the remaining tracks will be used for an EP that will be released some time there after. we are recording with joe barisi at various studios in los angeles with the expectation that the whole thing will be mixed and mastered by mid january or so. if all goes according to plan that means a spring time release, though no specific date has been set yet. the album will be released by ipecac in the US, conspiracy in europe, and daymare in japan. album and song titles will be forthcoming shortly.

JODIS: after much hesitation, accidentally choosing a name that was already taken, and arguing amongst ourselves, james plotkin, tim wyskida and i have finally decided on a name for our new project. the group will be called jodis, named after a type of moth commonly found in woodland areas across the british isles. the debut album ("secret house") has been finished for some time now and a preview track from it can be heard here . the album is set for release via hydra head in early 2009.

GREYMACHINE: another project long in the works is the debut album from greymachine (justin broadrick, dave cochrane, diarmuid dalton, and myself), which is finally in the finishing stages. titled "disconnected", the album will be out on hydra head sometime in the first portion of 2009. in the meantime you can hear a track from the album here . there has been loose talk of live shows at some point in the future, but the only concrete plan at the moment is to get the album out, an event all the participants have been greatly anticipating to despite our inability to get it done in a timely fashion.

fall supplements: "the psychic soviet" ian svenonius, xasthur "all reflections drained", prurient "cocaine death", helms alee "night terror", "memories, dreams, reflections" c.g. jung, "gotham central" brubaker/rucka, the monorchid "let them eat", deathspell omega "fas...", kayo dot - live in los angeles at the knitting factory, modern jazz quartet "pyramid", the bug "london zoo"....

"HIRROR ENNIFFER" & "HOLLYWOOD SQUALLS" & "CATALYST" 1

see post below for info & more images

"HIRROR ENNIFFER" & "HOLLYWOOD SQUALLS" & "CATALYST" 2

pictures (from top to bottom - cont. from post above):

1. mamiffer "hirror enniffer" - a new hydra head release coming out 9/23 (tuesday). masterminded by faith coloccia (former participant of everlovely lightningheart, current participant in pyramids, and collaborator for upcoming house of low culture recordings), with contributions from chris common, brian cook and ryan frederiksen (these arms are snakes), myself, and annie and ben from helms alee (who also just released a new album on HHR). the album can be preordered from HHR here and sampled in its entirety here .

2 & 3. house of low culture "hollywood squalls" cassettes. 2 tracks, roughly 30 minutes, culled from a live recording from 2007, mixed and mastered by james plotkin. handmade cassettes produced in in conjunction with the most recent HOLC shows. edition of 50, the remaining copies of which made available through the hydra head webstore, and possibly live HOLC or isis shows if any are left by the time those actually roll around.

4, 5 & 6. snapshots of my installation in the "catalyst" group exhibition at the fifty24sf gallery in san francisco (more info/pics here ). consists of wall painting with 40 framed drawings from the old man gloom "christmas" album artwork. the gallery will continue the exhibition through october, so if you are in the area go check it out. there are prints and posters available at the gallery from myself (see past post for print image), as well as many of the other participants (seldon hunt, aaron horkey, justin bartlett, stephen kasner, etc). there is talk of bringing this show to LA in 2009, an event which would be pleasing to all involved.

7. seldon hunt licking a cookie in front of his piece at the "catalyst" exhibition. alluring.

8. "catalyst" group shot (from left to right): exhibition curator brett aronson, florian bertmer, a.t., justin bartlett, seldon hunt, stephen kasner. 5 out of 6 wearing t shirts with skulls on them and/or unreadable logos.

nourishing supplements: carcass - live in los angeles, like a kind of matador "halfway to dangerous", bergraven "til makabert väsen", are mokelbost "omni 4" (collage 2007), the wire - season 1, carl jung "dreams", "secret invasion" #5 & 6, empire auriga "auriga dying", irr. app. (ext) "perekluchenie", modern jazz quartet "pyramids", boris w/merzbow "rock dream", etc.

HOUSE OF LOW CULTURE/MAMIFFER/HEMINGWAY live in the northwest!

*

this coming weekend house of low culture will be doing 2 (possibly 3), live performances in the northwest along side mamiffer and hemingway, and in portland with trees as part of their record release show. here are the specifics:

9/12 Portland OR @ Someday Lounge w/ Hemingway, Mamiffer, Trees
9/14 Seattle, WA @ Rendevous w/ Hemingway, Mamiffer

house of low culture will be performing unreleased material, and to the best of my knowledge mamiffer will as well, and possibly hemingway too. i'm hoping to have a new HOLC cassette release ready in time for the shows, but we'll see if those come into being before the deadline. mamiffer will have the new "hirror eniffer" album available to the "public" for the first time to coincide with these shows - record release performances of sorts, even though it may be an unintentional coincidence. more on/from mamiffer here . more on/from hemingway here


this comment was left in response to my last post:

"...until we are all ready to make real sacrifices I just see us spiraling downward.

I mean, are we ready to curb oil consumption in everything we do?

Touring bands burn a lot of fuel, so does shipping records around the world. Know what I mean? We're all implicated to an extent, myself included.

And then let's say I make drastic changes and sacrifices and stop buying glorious colored vinyl, and get rid of my car, will everyone else? Or is it all for naught."

in response to that chain of thought i would say this: i am certainly implicated in the problems i addressed in that posting, and i didn't mean to imply otherwise when i chose to quote the info that comprised the bulk of the content therein. in order for change to occur we must make sacrifices, including in regards to the things we hold dear, and it seems crucial to me that we should do so regardless of whether or not everyone else is going to do the same. it's unlikely that we are going to collectively make drastic changes that will halt these ever expanding problems, but if we can individually make steps towards lessening the current rate of damage it certainly seems worth doing so. whether that means trying to drive less, consuming fewer commercial goods, voting for a candidate with more sensible energy policies, remembering to turn the lights off when we leave the house, or committing to studies in the realm of alternative energy sources, every choice and action we make in this direction (seemingly insignificant though they may be), is a step towards a future of greater promise.... though as someone else alluded to in reaction to the same post, the world may be better off if we wipe ourselves out sooner rather than later. it is worth considering that humans are only temporary blip in the grand scheme of things and that our time may be drawing to a close. that said, my (possibly) selfish wish is to be able to continue on, with the belief that we can and will better our current situation by stepping forward conscientiously, rather than downward thoughtlessly into oblivion. i don't know whether this makes me an idealistic optimist, a human-centric narcissist, or just utterly naive, but i feel increasingly compelled to contribute (albeit in a very minor way), towards the struggle to be a less destructive presence on this planet...


*flyer: faith coloccia