Gig #23: 100% LA as of 2012

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‘A good part of any day in Los Angeles is spent driving, alone, through streets devoid of meaning to the driver, which is one reason the place exhilarates some people, and floods others with an amorphous unease. There is about hours spent in transit a seductive unconnectedness. Conventional information is missing. Context clues are missing.

‘Such tranced hours are, for many people who live in Los Angeles, the dead center of being there, but there is nothing in them to encourage the normal impulse toward “recognition”, or narrative connection.

‘There are, in the pages of the Los Angeles newspapers, no Crack Queens, no Coma Moms or Terror Tots. Events may be lurid, but are rarely personalized.

‘A Redondo Beach woman apologized to her 7-year-old daughter, then apparently tried to take both their lives by driving over a cliff in the Malibu area Tuesday morning, authourities said. The mother, identified by the county coroner’s office as Susan Sinclaie, 29, was killed, but the child survived without serious injury. “I’m sorry I have to do this,” the woman is quoted as telling the child just before she suddenly swerved off Malibu Canyon Road, about 2 1/2 miles north of Pacific Coast Highway.

‘Many people I know in Los Angeles believe that the Sixties ended abruptly on August 9, 1969, ended at the exact moment when word of the murders on Cielo Drive traveled like brushfire through the community, and in a sense this is true. The tension broke that day. The paranoia was fulfilled.

‘When I first moved to Los Angeles from New York, in 1964, I found the absence of narrative a deprivation. At the end of ten years I realized (quite suddenly alone one morning in a car) that I had come to find narrative sentimental.’ — Joan Didion

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Secret Circuit
‘The axis field of Secret Circuit mixes Psychedelic and tropical, and started up by inviting one basic member, Eddie Ruscha, and various guest in the place where free Music was expressed and permanent Cosmic, Jam-Disco, Soul, Funk, and Jazz. Secret Circuit is a DJ and production unit of Eddie Ruscha in context of cosmic leanings and meanings featuring sometime members of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Tim Koh and Cole M.G.N. (the latter of which is also in like-minded outfit the Samps). Eddie Ruscha: “Dented drum machine overlords and also Technics power plays with adult oriented moat rock and synth VCO boats. I have drum machines and synths. Market value unridden to the test of earth salts and flats. I appreciate desert views and sunsets, but mainly I try to make new tribal surf music.”‘ — collaged

‘Nebula Sphynx’

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HEALTH
‘HEALTH is an American noise rock band from Los Angeles. They have been described as having “artfully crafted noise and raw synth, haunting monotone vocals, and drum skills that are borderline insane”. The band’s unusual sound can be partially accredited to the use of the Zoothorn, which is a permutation of microphone and guitar pedal and an occasional atonal sound without a symmetrical structure. Health plans to debut an internet television show entitled HealthVision, which will star members of the band. They also debuted a clothing line in early 2010, which featured high-quality, hand-sewn, one-of-a-kind designer items. On March 5 2012, it was announced that Health would be composing the score for Max Payne 3, a video game by Rockstar Games.’ — collaged

‘Tears’

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Steve Roden w/ Steve Peters
‘Steve Roden is a visual and sound artist from Los Angeles. His work includes painting, drawing, sculpture, films, and sound installation. The works are a combination of conceptual strategies and intuitive movements. Found structures and systems are lifted from their original intentions and used as the basis for improvisation and abstraction. In the visual works, printed language, graphic design, maps, and other forms of specific visual notation are lifted from their original intentions and abstracted to create open readings. In the sound works; objects, architectural spaces, and field recordings, are abstracted through electronics to create audio new spaces, or ‘possible landscapes’. the sound works present themselves with an aesthetic Roden describes as “lower case” – sound concerned with subtlety and the quiet activity of listening.’ — singuhr

‘Water Veins’

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Los Angeles
‘It could be said of [Los Angeles’ Michael] Cameron that he is not of this Earth and more so an ambrosial being. One could say that affixing a label to Michael Cameron, and trying to give his style and unique sound a name would be impossible. For he is indescribable and far too multifaceted to keep boxed in. If it simply had to be done, it would be said that Michael Cameron’s genesis as an artist has manifested itself in the form of an incomparable darkwave, dance, synth-pop sound, that feels strikingly familiar and yet distinctly fresh. Ever evolving and always challenging (to the man and to his dedicated following), Michael Cameron and his engaging [music is] the stuff longevity is made of.’ — The Secret Girls

‘R. Kelly

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OFF!
‘If there’s a punk rock Valhalla, then surely there is a spot at the head of the table reserved for Keith Morris. Morris shaped the very essence of hardcore punk when he cut the vocals for Black Flag’s seminal debut release, Nervous Breakdown, an EP that sent shock waves across the country and beyond. After a short love/hate relationship with the band, Morris split and founded the Circle Jerks with Greg Hetson, and released the frantic 15 minute Group Sex LP. Just a few months ago, Morris started a new band called OFF! which he is touting as a return to the short, snappy, vicious sound of early Black Flag. Since OFF! recently debuted live at SxSW (and tore the place up).’ — Punknews.org

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIJfFwsvUm8]
‘I Don’t Belong’

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Andre LaFosse
‘A self-described “turntablist/guitarist,” Andre LaFosse has released solo recordings of groove-based compositions, and has contributed to several motion picture soundtracks. He has looped exclusively with the Echoplex Digital Pro since 1995, and is considered by many to be its most advanced practitioner. “I find the Echoplex to be an incredibly deep and extremely intuitive real-time performance instrument,” says LaFosse. “My current rig is an Echoplex controlled with a Digitech PMC-10 foot controller, and, sometimes, an expression pedal. I occasionally use effects, but I generally feel that I get a more engaging musical performance just by playing the guitar and using various Echoplex functions to generate development. I try to think of the loop itself not so much as a specific sonic result—a static event that repeats over and over—but rather as a technical starting point to create extremely dynamic, evolving, structured musical events.”‘ — Guitar Player

live

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Ariel Pink w/ R. Stevie Moore
‘L.A. weird-pop scene leader Ariel Pink’s collaboration with one of his major influences, the lo-fi figurehead R. Stevie Moore, is finally getting an official release. The collection, which bears the exceptionally awful title Ku Klux Glam, has been floating around for awhile. Twenty of its 60 tracks will be released on April 30 as a cassette in an edition of 100 for London “stoner pop” label Stroll On Records. Each tape is numbered and accompanied by a fold-out poster. As you no doubt know, Ariel Pink is known as something of a lo-fi originator, and is often regarded (sometimes earnestly, and sometimes not earnestly) as a precursor to the genre known as “chillwave” or “glo-fi.”‘ — Nashville Scene

‘Why Can’t I Write a Hit’ live @ Villette Sonique 2012

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The Icarus Line
‘As a modern echo of the rock & roll terror that was inspired by Black Flag and the Stooges, the Icarus Line offered a screaming wake-up call to the West Coast underground in the late ’90s. Coming together following the demise of a handful of aggro-punk projects in their Los Angeles homes, singer Joe Cardamone, bassist Lance Arnao, and guitarists Alvin DeGuzman and Aaron North went through several different drummers before finding Jeff Watson a year after their formation. Never performing without their signature uniforms (black shirts and pants with thin, red ties), the band’s self-given nickname, Red and Black Attack, was a reference to their stunning live performances, which more often than not ended in bursts of chaotic destruction.’ — allmusic

‘Slayer’

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Los Angeles Free Music Society
‘The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) has been, since the early 1970s, the banner heading of a loose collective of experimental musicians in Los Angeles, California who were joined by an aesthetic based around radicalism and playfulness. Key players have included Joe Potts, Tom Recchion, Joseph Hammer, John Duncan, Dennis Duck, Juan Gomez, Kevin Laffey, Chip Chapman, Fredrik Nilsen, Jerry Bishop, Ace Farren Ford, Ju Suk Reet Meate, and Rick Potts. Notable band configurations have included Le Forte Four, Smegma (who relocated to Portland, OR in the late 1970s), Solid Eye, Airway, Monique Experience, Foundation Boo, Extended Organ, and The Doo-Dooettes. Their influence is seen most immediately in other Pacific-coast “isolationist” experimentalists like Caroliner Rainbow, Sun City Girls, and The Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, as well as Japanese noise projects like Hanatarash, Hijokaidan, and Incapacitants.’ — Wiki

live @ The Getty, January 20, 2012

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Cold Showers
‘Confidence isn’t always born of experience, as seen by the forceful debut by Los Angeles band Cold Showers. Combining influences of late 1970s post-punk with a sonic exploration closer to something from Neu!, it is the carefully constructed spatiality of the music that gives the somewhat minimal lyrics their weight; distant and atmospheric, it lends the hazy vocals a detached, ghostly cast. Moments of aggression and transcendence transform the songs from mere sound to rich sonic narratives: within the rise of the language lies a vision under restraint, a pent up joy that is like nothing else. The resulting sound is unexpectedly tough, vital, and contemporary.’ — Mexican Summer

‘I Don’t Mind’ live @ Room 205, 2012

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Sun Araw
‘Cameron Stallones used to live in Austin, but he now lives in Long Beach, where he chills and records both solo as Sun Araw and as part of smoked-out psych group Magic Lantern. He also pours on the mutant James Brown riffs in Vibes, a vertiable “supergroup” of Not Not Fun, a label and general posse whose tie-dye drone cassettes and tropical fuzz LPs have recently contained a buttload of great sounds. Sun Araw’s solo Neo-Primitive hits and neon pyramids fit right at home on the imprint alongside the likes of Pocahaunted (on whose recent Passage LP he contributed to), Mythical Beast, Ducktails, and Robedoor, but Sun Araw’s sonics have got to be the most visual.’ — Tiny Mix Tapes

‘Crown Shell’, live March 25, 2012

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DARGAR
‘DARGAR from Los Angeles is the black metal/noise side project of Pete Majors and James Brown III, who are both members of bloody black metal thrash band HARASSOR. Their dissonant, crusty, and atmospheric recordings are achieved using unconventional techniques, as the band members never actually performed together on the tracks. Under the ethereal blanket of kittens and candlelight, Pete’s vocals and guitars were recorded at Major’s Headache studios. James then meticulously cut, pasted and edited the raw recordings into tiny components, which were then re-arranged and looped to accompany newly programmed drum tracks. The results are dense, filthy and chaotic metal songs, with discordant moments of beautiful sorrow, and Pete’s evil, unnatural vocals tying it all together.’ — Rising Beast

‘Track 2’

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Abe Vigoda
‘If you want to know how kids can get so fucked in the head growing up in southern california, you gotta know about Abe Vigoda. Chino is the home of this sort of No Wavey sort of Pop oriented sort of twisted punked 4 piece. You can see it in the way they pound the living shit out of the instruments they play, and you can see it in the way they talk about things they are interested in, these kids are fucked, but in a good way. Fucked in the way that they can make a good record and play really good shows above all odds, like having terminal cancer and mental illness. Juan will kiss you if you ask and they are HUGE in England.’ — PPM

‘Repeating Angel’ live @ Coachella, 2012

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The Samps
‘Last year, Cole M. Greif-Neill (the sometimes-guitarist for Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and one-third of the Samps) made a simple admission in an interview with Vice about his sample-based collective: “I can tell you that we have no idea what we’re doing.” On the surface, we could take him at his word. Here are three Californians taking time out from their other bands to put together a little EP, often via web, with no desire to play any of the material in a live setting. Often, this sort of homemade pleasure project can be a little too indulgent, and as long as the day job is working out, there’s really little risk. But The Samps is a tight, wonderfully nuanced little outing where all that pleasure really shines through. Each experimental element here is firmly supported by genuine grooves and an ability to distill a variety of pop genres– from cartoonish electronics to hammy disco boogie– to their gratifying essences. And even if the result is sometimes unrefined, it’s anything but uninformed.’ — Pitchfork

‘Hyperbolic’

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LA Vampires
‘LA Vampires is the name of the solo venture by Amanda Brown, formerly one half of Pocahaunted along with Bethany Cosentino, who left to concentrate on her own project, Best Coast. Perhaps Brown, having watched Cosentino’s career take off in the last year, wants to match some of Pocahaunted’s local/blog acclaim with some commercial success, because with LA Vampires she has moved beyond the dark drones and goth-tinged psych-rock of her former base duo towards a more “pop” sound. She hasn’t moved all that much, actually. And “solo” isn’t exactly the right term. Because her three releases to date, which came out last year, were all collaborations of one sort or another, and when we say “pop” we’re not talking Britney, unless you think of Britney submerged beneath a mound of murk and diffused by dub.’ — The Guardian

‘Freedom 2K’
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p.s. RIP: Franz West. Hey. First, three alerts for you. (1) The new, long awaited issue of DC’s favorite non-USA-based zine in the world aka the mighty Yuck n Yum, edited in part by the very fine d.l. _Black Acrylic, is now online and ready to be perused by each and every one of you. This issue includes work by three unimpeachable local gods: the extraordinary artist Kier Cooke Sandvik, who made a magical reappearance here yesterday (!), the writer with the most cake aka James ‘Sypha’ Champagne, and Mr. _B_A himself, i.e. mega-multi-talent Ben Robinson. You’ve simply gotta see it, and it’s right here. (2) If you’ve never been to St. Marks Bookshop in NYC, you’ve obviously heard about it because it’s one of the world’s greatest bookstores and cultural treasures. They’ve been having serious financial troubles, as you might have heard, and they’re currently raising money to help them move in a more affordable location, and, if you’re in a position to chip in even a little bit, please do. You can find the fundraiser page here. (3) The superb writer xTx, whose most recent book was on my mid-year Best of list, and who has recently become something of a prized d.l. here, has a great short story entered in a contest called the South Million Writers Award, and she has a great shot at winning, and it would awesome if you would click this, and vote for her story ‘The Mill Pond’, which will only take a few seconds of your time. Thank you! Other than those alerts, I’m kind of hazy this morning due to bad sleep due to the current Parisian heat wave, so apologies for any vaguing out on my part today. ** Allesfliesst, Kai! Mister! How lovely to see you, maestro! I’m glad that here and I are not forgotten, and, of course, I understand, and don’t even feel you need to respond to this sort of query-type thing, but I’m hoping you’ll be in Berlin when I’m there with ‘Them’, and that I’ll get to see you, man. Lots of love back. ** David Ehrenstein, I still have positive thoughts re: being sick in bed too, knock on wood. They still make house calls here in France. Well, one’s personal physician doesn’t, but if you want or need a doctor to come to you, one is sent to you. Oh, uh, hm, I don’t know about the marriage thing. It wouldn’t help the visa, so probably not. We just found out this morning that Yury can apply for French citizenship now! So, we’re about to get all over that, obviously. ** Cobaltfram, Hey hey hey, John. Friday/Monday, that’s service. Crossed fingers for today. Ah, so you’re one of those Knopf dreamers, ha ha. It’s interesting that Knopf usually ends up the example publisher that people use in that kind of sentence. I think if I didn’t have publisher, I would dream about, mm, Farrar Straus. It’s probably not anywhere close to as hot here as it is where you are, but it’s miserable nonetheless, and there’s hardly any air-conditioning in Paris except at hotels and movie theaters, and certainly not here at the Recollets, so ugh. I haven’t forgotten about Banville. I want to read him. I’m just trying to go through the book pile that I have before I score new stuff. So, will do, man. Cool breezes. ** Alan, You get DC’s Nobel Peace Prize for luring Kier back in here. Sweet. I can’t imagine sharing versions of my novel before it’s finished. Never say never, but I never do that. Usually, I’ll have one confidant whom I can show it to if I really need some feedback in-process. It was always Amy Gerstler before I relocated over here, which made showing her work impractical. That said, this is an odd case because, as I said, a revised version of the first chapter is also the text for Gisele’s and my upcoming theater work ‘The Pyre’, and that’ll premiere before the novel gets published for sure, so I guess people who see that piece will see a version of a section of the novel early. If I do a scrapbook for this novel, and I’m not sure if I will, although probably, I’m pretty sure I’ll be making the pages here on the blog. Fine day, sir. ** Sypha, Understood about the draw of the Antichrist. I think things based in the Bible are just an immediate turn off for me. Too much baggage. There’s a new Godzilla movie coming out, if you haven’t heard. I don’t know if the big G is villainous or a good guy in it. I think it’s Japanese. I think it might be about the nuclear meltdown last year. That is an awesome Godzilla scene you linked to, definitely. My favorite is ‘Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster’. Nice to agree with Mr. Bennett. I guess I thought Heath Ledger was kind of always pretty sexy. ** Kier, Kier! Man oh man, it is sweetness incarnate to see you! Is this just a one-time drop in visit? How are you, if not? You’re hugely loved and always missed, my dear friend! ** James, Hey. I’m all right, just very wilted by this heat spell. I was a weird kid ‘cos I was always into heavy revision even when I was wee. Even my diary entries went though multiple drafts, ha ha. It’s true, though. ‘A queer Gordon Lish,’ ha ha, what a curious image. I edit my stuff constantly and continually along the way. I have to because my novels progress not because of the narrative but because of systems I devise within them, and I have to get the writing up to a certain level whereby the associations and internal rhymes and stuff are working properly before I can proceed. But then when the thing is fully written, the editing and revising becomes much more intensive. I don’t yet know how long this novel will be, assuming I keep writing it and don’t abandon it. I’m thinking it’ll be short, but I really don’t know yet. Congrats on the length of yours, man! Oh, and thank you a lot for sending those things to me by email, and, yes, I will use them on the blog as a post. I’ll give you the launch date soon. Yeah, thanks, man. ** Bill, The Ozon trailer does look good, right? It hasn’t opened here yet. I think my favorite movie in which CB appears would be, hm, well, ‘The New World’, for sure, and probably ‘Velvet Goldmine’ second. I’m imagining that your Dark Knight response won’t be very dissimilar to mine. ** Wolf, You caught the cameos! Excellent! Or most of them. Lukas Haas, Star Trek, Farrah Fawcett, Bugs Bunny, … None of the ‘Exorcist’ stills fit into my stacking plans. Gisele does Batman … hm. Well, she’s getting into doing operas, so that might work. I like that Bieber scene. It would be a good ‘end of Act 1’ point, don’t you think? ** Steevee, Shame about Toronto, but, yeah, I hear you. When does the Carax open in the States? It would be so interesting to talk to Carax, so I really hope you get to do that. Yeah, I heard about the St. Marks move. I chipped in some bucks. I’m just so glad if it can survive, and I remember St. Marks from its first, smaller, less fancy location, so the move doesn’t disconcert me so much. ** Flit, Oh, awesome that the Onda was crucial, cool. The only time I saw Moby live was in his early rave days pre-crossover fame, and he ended his set by striking a Jesus on the cross pose, so I’m guessing that he was totally fine with being on that pedestal, but who knows. Nice to hear that about Andrew, and it’s cool that you guys are such good buds. Give him my famous cyber-hug but, uh, over the phone, I guess, if you can figure out how to do that. Your new tumblr looks fucking amazing! Bookmarked! Yay! Everyone, the seriously ultra artist Flit has a new tumblr where new works both appear now and will be appearing in the future, and you must check it out, instantaneously if possible. Oh, and A himself has a tumblr too! Shit. Everyone, one last thing, d.l. currently in absentia Mr. Andrew McKinney also has a new tumblr that contains a batch of his (not merely) sexy collages, and you should take a look at it as well. Here. Wow, you’re nice, thank you, pal. ** 5STRINGS, Summer in Marseilles? Mm, I might have to retract my recommendation. It is hot and humid and horrible there in the summer. But if you come in August, it’ll already be cooling down because French summers are not the director’s cut. You know where I live? Well, I guess that’s not hard. The cafe here at the Recollets has become so popular and hip and the-place-to-be now than when people ask where I live, I can just say I live at Cafe A — that’s it’s name — and they know everything. Tar pit? Don’t know. Good question. Should I find out? Should it stay a mystery? What would GBV hire me to do? They do everything. I got nothing for them. ** Daveyhoule, Hey D yourself, fellow D! Nice book scores. ‘SAFE’ for $2? I think that’s money in the bank maybe. Let me check. Hold on. Yeah, Amazon is selling it for $176. And you get to look at my lovely ex-boyfriend faking an orgasm crossed with being murdered or something on the front cover. Wait, you’re sick? In the middle of the summer? Man, sorry to hear that. I feel sick in this heat and I’m not even sick. So I can’t even imagine. ** _Black_Acrylic, First, hooray about the new ‘Yuck n Yum’! I can’t wait to pore through it. Nice cover. Congrats! And I’m so happy to hear that your talk went well. Look forward to the photos. Was the talk videoed? Will we be able to attend it online? ** Will, Hi, Will. I’m Facebook friends with Basinski, and I have had really nice interactions with him there, but I’ve never met him, which is strange since I’m from LA, and he knows a lot of my friends, and I’m a big fan of his. How are you? What are you working on? ** Un Cœur Blanc, Hey there! It’s so very nice to see you! I know, summer is almost over. Thank goodness, if you ask me, but it’s boiling here right now. I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been ill in bed. I hope it’s something very flyby that will leave you alone immediately. I’ve never read ‘Mourning Diary’. Strange. I think I will endeavor to find it. Well, again, it’s wonderful to see you, my friend! Take good care and take lots of love too. ** Misanthrope, Actually, none of them were dead. I made sure. That’s just your sick imagination, buddy. And the gun in the baby’s mouth was just a drawing of a gun. I guess it kind of hard to tell from the photo, ha ha. Okay, so it’s anxiety. Good, well, okay, not good, obviously, but better than bad health shit. Wow, you’re actually asleep while I’m typing this! Between that and the return of Kier, this is quite the monumental occasion. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris. It inspired a story? Dude, who ask for anything more? Awesome. The only time I was in Houston, it seemed pretty hellish to me, and that was, fuck, forty innocent years ago or something, so I can only imagine. Faulkner, yeah. I should read him again. It’s been forever, but, yeah. I … don’t think I ever read the Snopes books, did I? Hm, I don’t think so. The Purdy to Faulkner thing is pretty astute. Nice. For years and years, I wanted to write a novel that would be a rewrite of ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’. Not in a post-modern way exactly, but … I could never figure out how to to do it, but, weirdly, the novel I’m working on now has a lot of ‘THiaLH’ in it, even though that’s not a point of reference for me at all. Anyway, thanks a lot for sharing your thinking, man. It’s always inspiring. ** Bollo, J, my man. Yeah, Bikini Kill started a record company. Interesting. They’re in an upcoming post here, and so I was roaming around getting their current scoop. Have you heard that new Jóhann Jóhannsson album? Maybe that’s what you’re listening to. I had lunch with him once. Nice guy on top of everything else. Yay, about the new video, very obviously. Man, I got even sweatier than I already was just from seeing the word bbq. I want whatever the opposite of a bbq is. A Black Hole? Enjoy the fire and food, if you can. We’re supposed to drop down to 24 degrees tomorrow, but I’ll believe when I feel it. ** Postitbreakup, Gosh, you’re most welcome, pal. More from me tomorrow too. What a coincidence! ** Okay, so I have the blog’s 23rd gig for you today, and it takes place in LA, and it has a ‘Made in LA’ guarantee, and everything you see up there happened in 2012, so it’s fresh and ready to go, if you are so inclined. See you tomorrow.