Moonchild & Melvins Lite
The upcoming Moonchild record will be the first to feature lyrics that John Zorn has written for Mike Patton to sing. Prior Moonchild albums have been trio affairs of noise/jazz metal glossolalia from Patton, Trevor Dunn (bass) and Joey Baron (drums) with a smattering of guests musicians like Ikue Mori, Jamie Saft and Marc Ribot. The sixth (!!) Moonchild release is set for a 2012 delivery on Zorn’s Tzadik Records. Based on info from Chippy (Tzadik’s art designer), the album name may very well be called Templars.
Here’s some more tidbits from the mixing/mastering crew:
Other related news… Trevor Dunn is also involved in the new stripped-down Melvins Lite band with the Melvins “core” members: King Buzzo and Dale Crover. The debut album from this evolution of the band comes out in June 2012 on Patton’s Ipecac Recordings…
Source: Ipecac
Oh, Freak Puke… such lovely imagery…
~Dan – np: Celldweller – Soundtrack for the Voice in My Head Vol 2, Ch 2
Tomahawk – Eponymous to Anonymous (RSD 2012 vinyl)
On Record Store Day 2012 (aka 4/21/12), Tomahawk will release its first three albums on vinyl – their first time ever in this format. The vinyl boxset sleeve for “Eponymous to Anonymous” will also contain a space for their upcoming fourth record on vinyl as well (currently TBD)…
Source: Tomahawk FB page
For those not in the know, Tomahawk is the super-group led by Duane Denison on guitars/songwriting (The Jesus Lizard, U.S.S.A., etc) that features Mike Patton on vocals (Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Fantomas, Mondo Cane, Moonchild, etc), John Stanier on drums (Helmet, Battles, etc), and Trevor Dunn on bass (Mr Bungle, Trio Convulsant, MadLove, Moonchild, etc).
Their breakout debut (Tomahawk out on Ipecac in 2001) is amazing… the other two vinyls in the RSD2012 set are Mit Gas and Anonymous… also great from the ever-evolving group:
Again, Record Store Day 2012 is April 21. Find out about more RSD2012 releases HERE.
REVIEW: Trevor Dunn & Travis Laplante @ Wandering Goat (Eugene, OR – 1/31/12)
PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW AT THE BOTTOM
I’ve been a fan of Mr Bungle/Fantômas/John Zorn collaborative bass player Trevor Dunn for a while. When I get a chance to see him, especially within biking distance, I go. From Trevor Dunn’s website, the “Double Solo” tour was noted as a “West Coast spit-roasting agenda. I’ll be playing a 30 min solo bass piece & Travis [Laplante] will play a set for solo tenor saxophone.” Ah, a night of avant-garde jazz… yum!
Ryan A. Miller from Portland was up first… he played about 30-40 minutes on solo acoustic guitar. A lot of loops, noises, and a little bit of what might seem like “futzing around,” but I dug it. There were definitely some odd parts, but I definitely thought his set was more interesting than not. You could tell he had skills, just couldn’t tell how they were going to evolve and manifest. Update 2/8/12: Ryan’s band (U SCO) was the opener for the Secret Chiefs 3 show in Portland the very next week. U SCO is a wicked, rad schizophrenic proggy, jazzy rock trio. Excellent stuff!
Travis Laplante (Battle Trance) took his spot on the floor just off stage and gave us an initial onslaught of loud, raucous alto sax. His first piece reminded me of Peter Evans solo trumpet show from 2008. Ballistic, unfocused melodically, intense… what avant-garde jazz is meant to be. His second piece was gentler and more melodic at first. It was contained but not necessarily restrained before he finally let loose at the end. His third and final piece was a dronier delight.
Trevor Dunn played last and gave us the 30-minute piece that he’s tentatively calling “The Pentagram.” He dedicated it to Pisces. It definitely had a “composed” feel to it (later confirmed with Trevor), but it was open and free enough to let him explore where it could go. He plucked, he scraped, he bowed, he played below the bridge, he played with clothespins on the strings. To sum it up in a word: fascinating. You’ve gotta love it when he makes a few of his other bands (Mr Bungle/Fantômas) seem “too mainstream.”
Update 2/7/12: Check out this East Bay Express write-up of the Oakland show by Rachel Swan… waaaaaay better write-up (she’s a journalist and rightfully gets paid for it). Gives you a better feel for the Dunn piece as a whole.
Trevor and Travis are wrapping up this tour this coming weekend… tonight in San Francisco, then Friday in Oakland, Saturday in Los Angeles and Sunday in Santa Cruz. Check his Tour Page for more info.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Trevor Dunn’s Site (bass)
- Travis Laplante’s Site (sax)
- Ryan A. Miller’s Site (guitar)
- My Other Trevor Dunn-Related Reviews~
- Nels Cline Singers @ Doug Fir (Portland – Jan 2011)
- John Zorn’s Moonchild @ Moore Theatre (Seattle – Nov 2007)
- Wandering Goat’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Next show for me… Thee Silver Mt. Zion (splinter group from Godspeed You! Black Emperor) at Mississippi Studios on 2/4.
~Dan – np: Frank Zappa – Them Or Us
TREVOR DUNN & TRAVIS LAPLANTE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2012 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
John Zorn w/ Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn & John Medeski
These posts from Tzadik mixer extraordinaire Marc Urselli made me giddy…
Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn & John Medeski together on a future John Zorn release?! Excellent! It’s not listed on the Tzadik upcoming releases page, yet…
~Dan – np: Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra – MTO Plays Sly
REVIEW: Nels Cline Singers with Yuka Honda @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 1/30/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I had heard of Nels Cline like many people… via Wilco. I had even seen Wilco at some point on the A Ghost is Born tour (Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, 2000-and-something). While I dig Wilco enough, more adventurous music is where it’s at for me nowadays. I had heard of Nels and knew of his free jazz group, but I had only actually heard a little bit of his music – which gets me to my interest even being piqued in this show… enter Yuka C. Honda.
I dig Yuka’s Japanese/American sugar-pop of Cibo Matto (with fellow Japanese ex-pat Miho Hatori), but I also dig her experimental acoustic-electronic albums on Tzadik. My love of Yuka’s solo work led to her Portland tour date popping up on my radar…and I saw “oh, and with Nels Cline, I’ve heard some of his stuff.”
Boy, was I in for a surprise.
I found out about a week before the show that Yuka was actually playing with the Nels Cline Singers (the next generation of his NC Trio). I found out later that they’re married ; so the joint tour totally made sense to me now.
Then I found out that one of my favorite bassists, Trevor Dunn, was playing in the group for this short West Coast tour. Trevor played/plays with Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Moonchild, Trio Convulsant, Electric Masada, et-fucking-cetera (tons upon tons of groups).
Then I found out that Scott Amendola was drumming with them… he’s the drummer for Mike Patton‘s fantastic Mondo Cane big-band. Then, after seeing the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger* on Friday 1/28 in Portland, I thought… “hey, GOASTT is wrapping up their tour in Seattle on the 29th, and Nels Cline is starting their tour on the 29th in Seattle. Sean Lennon (of GOASTT) & Yuka used to be together as a couple and still work in bands together, Sean & Nels are on the same label, I bet something’s up.” Well, yeah, something was up…
*GOASTT is Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl‘s band (to the R of Nels).
As evidenced above, Sean & Charlotte watched from side of the stage during the first set, until Sean disappeared only to come up on stage to tambourine with the group for the last song in the first set.
So, now that my mind was thoroughly blown with all of the players on stage – let’s get on with the music.
Despite the “Singers” namesake, it’s an instrumental band. Actually, it’s an instrumental force with which to reckon. The first set started off with just the trio of Nels’ guitars and the battery of Trevor & Scott. The first song “Forge” swooned and swelled before crashing down on our ears.
The group seemed to me to be a great mix of what I love about both free jazz and post-rock. You don’t know what to expect, and you don’t want to know what to expect. The wave-like rise and fall is part of the enjoyment. If the wave doesn’t take you to where you wanted to go, well, you have to give in… it’s not your wave to control.
After the first few songs, Yuka came on and joined them on keyboards and percussion. I think she evened out the sound a bit… less chaotic, but still adventurous.
1st Set: 60-70 minutes
- Forge
- A Mug Like Mine
- Dedication
- Thurston County
- B86 (Inkblot Nebula)
- Thoughts on Caetano [with Sean Lennon]
Brilliant wall of sound and magic coming from the Singers. Alas, I had to call it a night. They took about a 30-40 minute break before I threw in the towel (around 11pm). They were going to come back on and do a 2nd full set. Sunday night, long drive ahead of me… I headed back to Eugene. I sooo very much wanted to stick around for the second set. The cards were stacked against me; so I scurried to my car and hit the road… if any readers caught the second set – how was it? what did they play?
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Nels Cline’s Site
- Nels Cline’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Yuka Honda’s Site
- Yuka Honda’s MySpace / Twitter
- Trevor Dunn’s Site
- Trevor Dunn’s MySpace
- Scott Amendola’s Site
- Scott Amendola’s Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- Other Related Reviews~
- GOASTT / Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl (Portland – Jan 28, 2011)
- Nels Cline Singers by Karina (Seattle – Jan 29, 2011)
- Doug Fir Lounge’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates below.
Next shows for me… Sir Elton John in Eugene on 2/17 and then Godspeed! You Black Emperor the next day in Portland.
NELS CLINE SINGERS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Winter 2011 West Coast Tour Dates
- Jan 29 – Seattle, WA – Is That Jazz? Festival
- Jan 30 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
- Feb 2 – Arcata, CA – Arcata Playhouse
- Feb 3 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
- Feb 4 – Santa Cruz, CA – Don Quixote’s
- Feb 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Getty Center
Nels Cline Singers – Portland (photos on Wednesday)
Last night’s show at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland with the Nels Cline Singers (Nels, Trevor Dunn & Scott Amendola) with Yuka Honda was rad. Due to my schedule, I won’t be able to post the review until late Tuesday Wednesday (Go Here for the Review/Photos). Here are some teaser shots… one with Sean Lennon…
More to come… check back Tuesday night Wednesday morning! Sorry, utterly swamped at work…
~Dan
Sean Lennon
For fans of Sean Lennon… or potential fans of Sean Lennon… his 2006 album Friendly Fire was one of my absolute favorites that year. It’s short, but it comes with a DVD that’s ostensibly the entire album set to a music video (and shot very well with real artistic, movie-making direction). Anyway, check it out…
http://www.myspace.com/seanlennon
I just recently stumbled on a few more Sean Lennon projects…
The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger: Sean and his girlfriend (Charlotte Kemp Muhl) have a new pop project… the band name is The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger. They go by “Amatla & Zargifon” instead of Sean & Charlotte, and they have four songs available on their MySpace page. My favorite as of now is “Robot Boy.”
http://www.myspace.com/theghostofasabertoothedtiger
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead: Sean’s done the score for this upcoming movie… apparently Ralph “Karate Kid” Macchio has a role in it (thanks for the heads-up Steve)… http://undeadflick.com/
Live at The Stone, Jan 2008: The Stone is John Zorn’s club in NYC’s East Village (C Ave a few blocks from the Bowery). I went there for a show last March. It’s an amazing, but small, space dedicated to the arts. 100% of the proceeds each night go to the artist. There is no food/drink vending. They have artist curators every month (artists pick who they want to perform). They usually have two performances a night. The way they bring in money to maintain The Stone is by having annual benefit concerts and by selling their annual benefit CDs (Volume 3 is a Lou Reed/John Zorn/Laurie Anderson improv set and it’s available at thestonenyc.com).
Anyway, Sean Lennon and some friends had a gig at The Stone in early January 2008. I’ll warn you that it’s avant-garde / experimental — and not his usual pop fare. It features some of my favorites in the downtown NYC scene (Trevor Dunn from Mr. Bungle & Fantômas, as well as Yuka Honda from Cibo Matto & her wonderful solo releases). The show is available as streaming and downloadable (low quality mp3) at http://seanonolennon.com/music/stone/mp3player/
Enjoy!
~Dan – np: Bar Kokhba Sextet – Masada Book Two: Lucifer