Matthew J Barnhart
I just ran sound for Jandek
It just hit me. Considering my long-term affair w/ the man’s records and his place in Texas music history, this was a monumental event for me.
The band was fantastic: a lot of drone with solid rhythms, and Ralph White and Susan Alcorn winding their way between each other in a most magnificent way. The man himself was engaged and seemed to really enjoy himself. Except the monitors arriving three hours late and me having to do some re-wiring and tracing, things went smoothly. I think it sounded pretty good, if I do say so myself.
All involved were wonderful people who were a pleasure to work with. I hope to do it again some time.
More insomnia
3:10 AM. I can’t sleep, even though I’ve put in over 60 hours at work this week, on top of school, band practice, and the usual day-to-day. I’ve barely looked at my email for the past week, which is sort of a relief.
Running sound for Jandek in about 10 hours. Yes, I’m nervous. Very exciting, too. Will Johnson and Ryan Williams are playing with him, so it should be a hoot.
Tre Orsi 1/2″ tapes are on their way to Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service. The lacquers should be at United on July 24th. Hopefully we’ll have 7″s by the end of August.
Flippin’, June 2007
The only thing worse than being a record dork is blogging about being a record dork. Jeezus.
I’ve actually bought a lot more than this, but haven’t been keeping good track so far. I can tell you’re heartbroken!
End of an Ear, Austin, TX, 16 June 2007
Howrad and I met up with our friend Jon for a bit, then browsed. I looked for maybe 20 minutes and had decided not to buy anything when I spotted the Homosexuals box. WTF, I’m on tour, right?
Tlahnoun Gèssèssè: Éthiopiques 17
Homosexuals Astral Glamour 3xCD
Os Mutantes A Divina Comedia CD
Toxic Ranch, Tucson, AZ, 18 June 2007
Like stepping back in time to the mid-1990′s. Not in a bad way, tho.
Oblivians Kick Your Ass 7″ and Rock and Roll Holiday: Live in Atlanta LP
Seeing Red Marinus 7″
Melt Banana MxBx1998/13000MILES AT LIGHT VEROCITY CD
Jackpot Records, Portland, OR, 23 June 2007
Colleen Les Ondes Silencieuses CD
Oxbow The Narcotic Story CD (The first listen didn’t do it for me, especially after their terrifying SXSW performance. I will give it another shot, tho.)
Sonic Boom, Seattle, WA, 24 June 2007
Harvey Milk Special Wishes LP
Dog Faced Hermans Mental Blocks For All Ages LP
Geraldine Fibbers Butch LP
999 promo 12″
Glass Eye Bent By Nature LP
Dirtbombs Ultraglide in Black LP
Truman’s Water Sub Pop Singles Club 7″
Forced Exposure + Aquarius Records, pre-tour
Melt Banana Bambi’s Dilemma LP
Kletka Red Hijacking CD
The Dead C Future Artists CD
Getatchew Mekuria + The Ex Moa Anbessa CD (finally arrived at Aquarius)
Silver Daggers New High & Old CD
Shannon Wright Let In The Light CD
Untitled, a 3xCD box of noise artists
How not to write lyrics
Last night, Tre Orsi was in the studio tracking vocals and additional overdubs for the two songs that will be our first single. Howard was first up, doing his vocals for “The Illustrator”. He got in a few takes before Bubba (our producer) showed up and began tweaking things for the better.
After they were settled in, I ran off to the lounge to re-work the lyrics to “Faulkner’s Blues”. I had such a clear idea in my head of what I wanted to say when I first wrote the thing, but over time the lyrics became a jumbled mess of imagery that stopped making sense. I did what I could with them, swapping a few cringe-worthy phrases for more innocuous ones, but before I knew it, t’was time to sing. I did three takes and will comp them together when I mix the thing tonight or tomorrow. Bubba and Bryan also worked out a tiny little chimey guitar thing for the 2nd verse, which I think is really nice.
When on a bit of a buying spree these past two weeks, picking up the new Shellac, Dan Higgs, and A Hawk and a Hacksaw @ Good Records. Have a couple of good-sized orders on hold at Aquarius and Forced Exposure, including the Ex/Getachew record (finally!).
The new Shellac is really doing it for me — funny, rocking, weird, all in the right doses. “Be Prepared” might be my favorite Shellac song ever.
Had my first real assignments and quizzes for my art class, my first college course in a decade. Very, very nerve-wracking, I must say. Studying is such an unfamiliar process to me now, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. Honestly, the writing is the hardest part, because I’m used to short, descriptive bursts of writing, rather than longer, well-formed and composed essays.
Leaving for the Shearwater/TNY dates on Saturday. Hell drive to Tucson on Sunday, but it’s better than stopping in New Mexico for the night. Meeting up w/ my New Year brothers in LA, and leaving Shearwater to fend for themselves the rest of the way up the coast. I will meet back up with them in New York on July 5th for the big ol’ Castle Clinton show.
Step Across The Border, TFUL282
Spent most of yesterday listening to Thinking Fellers Union Local 282′s Admonishing the Bishops EP. “Hurricane”, dude. “Hurricane”.
Tre Orsi should be finishing up the 7″ in the next couple of weeks. Howard is finishing up his own solo 7″ with a couple of older songs. Do we have a new label in the works? Maybe!
The New Year and Shearwater both hit the west coast in a couple of weeks. I may well meet Meriln Mann in SF. Excitement abounds.
From the excellent Fred Frith & pals film, Step Across The Border:
Now playing: Original Silence, The Dead C, + more
Original Silence
The First Original Silence
Smalltown Superjazz, 2007
(buy it at Forced Exposure)
Katey picked this up at End Of An Ear while visiting Austin last weekend. A real group of heavyweights is assembled here: Terrie Ex, Mats Gustafsson, Pall Nilssen-Love, & Massimo Pupillo (of Zu), Thurston Moore, and Jim O’Rourke. Pupillo and Nilssen-Love are the stars for me, providing a sturdy foundation while throwing enough curveballs to keep things interesting. Highly recommended.
Also playing around the house:
The Dead C Tusk (Siltbreeze, 1997)
Daniel Francis Doyle Who Are Your Customers? (Furniture, 2007)
Scharpling & Wurster Chain Fights, Beer Busts And Service With A Grin (Stereolaffs, 2002)
A BLCKSMTHS body war!
BLACKSMITHS played the Rubber Gloves 10th Anniversary show this past Friday, our first show since December of 2005, and our third show ever.
We spent two days practicing upstairs in the apartment at the Echo Lab. (We managed to record one song up there, “4″.) Practice always seems to go pretty well but the moment the actual set starts, everything becomes unhinged. Bodies and guitars start flying all over the place, guitars becomes unplugged, little brothers are shoved into the stage, and it’s so god-damned oppressively loud that we sound more like Wolf Eyes than a hardcore band. Was it Patton that said, “Every battle plan works until you meet the enemy?”
I spent most of the day at Office Max, where I bought a printer, blank CD-Rs, and all of the other stuff required to press up some DIY copies or our EP, which we ended up titling The Line To Piss On Your Grave Forms To The Left. Instead of prepping for the show, I was burning CD-Rs and printing covers until 9PM, when my brother and his new girlfriend (?) arrived to caravan to the show.
Anyhoo, good times, and thanks to those who endured our set. Congrats to RGRS on 10 years of success.
(If you’d like to buy a copy of our EP, PayPal $5 to mb@theecholab.com and I’ll get one out to you ASAP.)
Video by Merritt Martin:
Kara Zuaro’s book in the NYT
Our friend, Kara Zuaro has a new book out called I Like Food, Food Tastes Good, a collection of recipes from dozens of indie rockers, including Mikey of Silkworm.
And lookee here, she’s in the New York Times! Holy christ!
+100 drinky points for me
After sublimating my agoraphobia (thanks, Tito’s vodka!), I stumbled over to the Fra House last night around 11:00 to see Nouns Group and Dan Doyle play. Dan, late of Plano chauvinists Early Lines, does a one-man band w/ drums and looped/sampled guitars, which is pretty impressive. The cops came about halfway through Dan’s set, so the show was moved to SHQ, where more drinking and dancing and craziness ensued. The Nouns Group were louder than fuck and incredibly energizing. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve heard from them so far.
Afterward, went to Dan’s, caught up w/ Cripps, and then the lot of us convened @ Martin’s and had a nice ol’ silly time. I was reminded of the “Guy With An Orange For A Head” joke, which was at one time one of my favorites.
An aside: two dreams Friday night: 1) Jeremy Piven married Kittenpants. Not Darci, but the actual web site, kittenpants.org. 2) I was a movie producer pitching a combination of Air Bud and Sea Biscuit: Air Biscuit. Howard prefers Sea Bud, but he’s funny that way.
Splitting for Atlanta tomorrow to start the JV tour. All of my stuff is ready, actually! Now to have a quickie band practice before dinner & my stories w/ the lady.
Rosemarie likes to go to big places…
Still have “Going to Alcupoco” (The Crust Brothers version) stuck in my head. Such a great rock song.
Shows w/ Shearwater & Xiu Xiu & Casiotone went well. It’s always disorienting joining a tour halfway-through — relationships & inside jokes & routines have already been established, and I feel like an interloper. The other bands were pretty great, and meeting Owen (CFTPA) and his friend Emma was a real treat. Hope we can stay in touch in the future.
Finally managed to pick up a Brooks B66 & cork grips for the Univega. Jacked the bars up a little bit, now it is damn-near dreamy to ride. Will still take the Bianchi fixie to work and back, but the Univega will see a lot more action now.
No band practice in a couple of weeks — I hope we can actually get it together enough before I split for the JV tour. Tentative plans for shows later this summer. Mostly focusing on how to Russian-doll Bryan’s drums so we have even more room in the TDI Wagon.
Other crap: planning on buying a Telecaster, actually. Warmoth will make me a body w/ contours, which fits my fat gut much nicer. Also, have lost about 15lbs since my birthday, and if all goes to plan, I’ll be at my goal by my next birthday. My personal debt is going down at quite a clip as well, and i just recently managed to pull all of my cards’ interest rates out of the stratosphere. So great.
Katey is in San Antonio for the week, attending the TLA conference. She called to tell me that a bunny rabbit licked her. That & the Alamo sounds like a party to me.