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Paul & Valerie Webb - Trees,
Chants and
Hollers LP (Eclipse, 2006)
"Duo weaves a cautious, dreamy folk spell, reminiscent of the vocal
impressionism and effected acoustic sonics of Charalambides, beautiful
stuff charged with a sense of desperation and love lingering on the
edge of loss. Ties to Sunburned Hand of the Man and other Boston area
ensembles, like Bright." - Lee Jackson. "Cold nights roll in during the
early parts of spring, reminding us that we're not quite out of the
woods yet; there is still work to be done. The contrast of warm,
sun-filled days and nights where you can still see your breath is a
microcosm for what we all consistently feel in our lives. It's the
temporary gratification and beauty that keeps us hopeful, but the
desolate darkness that keeps us honest. Valerie Webb and Paul Lebrecque
offer up ten meditations on this consciousness divided. 'Trees, Chants,
& Hollers' is a magical ride through thick and thin. It's the
culmination of knowing that in order to reach the place you long for,
you have to do the dirty work first. Webb's angelic voice lifts the
spirits of the record, offering a delicate balance to some of the more
workmanlike music. These two forces work as a brilliant partnership as
a banjo that finds itself high in the leaves of majestic oaks,
searching for the haunted flute squeals that float overhead. This is
embodied perfectly in 'High Country Jig,' where Webb's voice seems just
out of reach, but always present. It reminds me of the days when I was
a kid and I would spend the entire day, dawn until dusk, outside in the
warmth of Mother Nature's arms. But these moments don't last forever.
This much we should have learned by now. On 'The Valley,' the
warmhearted kindness is replaced with fear and despair. Lebrecque joins
Webb on vocal duties, and in conjunction with his great banjo playing,
I am reminded of the mighty Timothy, Revelator. There is a distinct
connection between Timothy, Revelator's music and Paul and Valerie's.
'The Valley' is like the journey down; down to where exactly, remains
to be seen. But with recorder notes changing from pleasant to
disdainful, and the pace of the song seemingly getting more rapid, it
is like an aural snowball effect. By the time you realize the downward
velocity, it's too late to stop. As you continue picking up speed, the
skies darken and you fall directly into the 7 1/2 minute rumination,
'An Acre of Stone (for Rachel Corrie).' 'An Acre of Stone' is the
highlight of 'Trees, Chants, & Hollers.' Dense, low-end drones for
the basic foundation of the track, while a solemn drum keeps a slow,
steady beat. Spiritual graces flicker in the distance, but this night
will be spent fending off your own personal demons. This track is the
full embrace of the above prescribed scenario: hope trying to abstain
from being done in by darkness. Lebrecque and Webb are in full-flight
on 'An Acre of Stone,' and it segues into 'Amish Nights' wonderfully.
That is a reoccurring theme on 'Trees, Chants, & Hollers': all of
these songs melt perfectly into each other. 'Trees, Chants, &
Hollers' has cohesion that most albums only dream of. By the time you
reach the lost edges of 'Swift River Blues,' you are spent. You've been
on a long journey, searching for yourself within the confines of light
and dark. 'Trees, Chants, & Hollers' offers up a spiritual journey
intended to explore differences within a strict set of confines. Like
Timothy, Revelator, this album uses banjo as its main instrument of
choice. That gives it an organic feeling that pervades each rift and
crevice. This is a beautiful, dense album in so many ways; it offers up
something new with every listen.- Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis. Originally
self-released in a deluxe edition of 100 copies.
Pelt - Heraldic
DBL LP (Eclipse, 2006)
"Intense 2 LP survey of Pelt geography around the turn of the century,
compiling live recordings the band issued on cdrs in tiny editions or
on comps plus some unreleased material. Combines the most all-out
electric attacks Pelt's ever deigned to release, plus some of the
growling drone float that preceded/coincided with the band's jump into
acoustic material. Off the hook gatefold packaging that maybe offers
hints of sources, etc. Full list of recording dates/locations/prior
releases is supposed to be posted on www.klang.org soon." This dbl lp
set is sure to blow some minds - especially those who have come to know
Pelt in the past 2-3 years. These early recordings (1998-2003) are
heavy and sure to please those who have been waiting patiently for
this. The packaging is incredible, too - with beautiful artwork and a
very sturdy gatefold sleeve. Dig it.
Machines - Live at Tzompantli LP (Eclipse, 2006)
The a side was recorded at the first No Fun Festival in March 2004
(Brooklyn) and features a little comedy to start with and then things
get heavy...and the second side is the very first VG Kids/Wolf Den Ypsi
Street Level throwdown....our set was live on a 6 color shirt screen
press and Nate brought a fog machine that blasted out the room and into
the parking lot night of the VG complex...near the end you can hear
people chucklin cause its absurd..that night was also the first
"offical" Sick Llama, and MI debut of Failing Lights...great
night....DM had a weird 7 small speaker set up on the heads of the
press and spun it slighty for that dead-universe dying electronic
creeping blast sound....." Printed covers with the back cover featuring
a demented John Olson collage - killer!
Foster, Josephine &
The Supposed - All the Leaves are Gone
LP (Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2006)
"Last Spring, you may have gotten a dose of opera school dropout
Josephine Foster's startling mixture of avant arrangements &
acoustic mountain folk as ? of the spare twisted up Appalachian duo,
Born Heller. To many, the effect of her voice - on record and in
concert - has been nothing short of chilling since the duo's locust
debut. After a 180 degree shift in style only, Josephine Foster &
the Supposed offer up a 12 cut blow out that's exuberant and hard
hitting. On All the Leaves Are Gone, Josephine embraces her rock and
roll heart and intuitively summons up the mojo of legendary songstress
Patti Smith as she rides the crest of a fluid and angular rhythm
section that's as triumphant as the sound of classic Television and
trebly west coast psychedelia from decades gone by. Lyrically,
stylistically and musically, this is a fearless, soon to be classic
post-punk rock and roll record that delivers the goods from start to
finish. All the Leaves are Gone was originally dreamed up as a rock
opera. Before visions of Jesus Christ Superstar start dancing in your
head, play this record - just for a minute - and you'll know there is
something happening here that's unlike anything else you've ever
heard." - label. "This album utilises a traditional group format but
the results are no less disquieting. This is disturbing, inward-looking
stuff, reminiscent of west coast psych if Fly Agaric had been the drug
of choice. Patti Smith is a very loose starting point but Foster also
appears to be channeling the aforementioned Galas, K.U.K.L period Bjork
and hippy folk visionary Tom Rapp. Opener Well Heeled Man could well be
Shirley Collins picnicking with the Manson family." - Peter Redmond,
Mojo. Reissue of CD version on Locust featuring the excellent (same as
cd) artwork by Plastic Crimewave.
Nick Castro and the
Poison Tree - Further From Grace LP (Eclipse, 2006)
After many long delays the 2nd lp from Nick Castro is finally
available! This is the follow-up to 2004's excellent debut lp 'A Spy in
the House of God' and it is currently available on cd from the superb
Strange Attractors Audio House label. This vinyl version is a limited
edition pressing. Check out the impressive review below that is on the
Pitchfork Media website: "On Further From Grace, the second album from
Nick Castro, the hirsute L.A.-based troubadour has wisely taken full
advantage of the extensive network of inspired folk eccentrics
currently mushrooming across the countryside. Featuring appearances
from Josephine Foster and Espers' Meg Baird, in addition to the
uniformly stellar work of his crack(ed) band the Poison Tree, Further
From Grace positively shimmers with willowy, sun-dappled ensemble
playing, and firmly establishes Castro as yet another noteworthy voice
of the present acid folk resurgence. As is the case with Philadelphia's
Espers, Castro's music hearkens less to old-timey American forms of
Appalachian folk or country blues than it does to the golden age of
60s-70s UK folk-rock, as practiced by groups like the Incredible String
Band or Mellow Candle. Inching softly away from some of the more
blatant Donovan/ Syd Barrett solo emanations of his 2004 self-released
debut A Spy in the House of God, here Castro and company employ an
ambitious menu of exotic acoustic instruments to forge a verdant,
medieval-tinged sound, one which draws on any number of pan-global folk
traditions. And though there are times when the album threatens to
capsize beneath its own preciousness (such as on the delightful,
flute-centric "To This Earth", which incautiously risks floating away
like a puff of new-agey Celtic Myst) the strength of Castro's melodic
compositions and the group's deft musicianship should manage to enchant
any but the most Hobbit-phobic listeners. With his clear, refreshingly
unmannered vocals on straightforward tunes like "Won't You Sing to Me,"
Castro strikes a figure recalling Tom Rapp of Pearls Before Swine or a
young, more starry-eyed David Gilmour. In Castro's lyrics, cheeks tend
to be white as snow and eyes are apt to shine like diamonds, which is
perhaps another reason why most of the memorable passages on Further
From Grace are instrumental in nature. The opening "Sun Song" combines
Baird's lap dulcimer with Otto Hauser's nimble hand percussion and
Foster's mesmeric, wordless vocalizing to create a full-scale gypsy
swoon, one that could easily continue on weightlessly for miles before
you realize your gas tank is empty and your watch has lost its hands.
Even further transporting is the brief "Music for Mijwiz", a whirling
Middle Eastern dervish on which Castro plays the titular Arabic,
double-reeded woodwind over a sandstorm rhythm, or the epic "Deep, Deep
Sea", a captivating piece whose lengthy intro is adorned with Adam
Hershberger's lyrical, surprisingly jazzy flugelhorn, before Castro
eventually leads the whole company back into more familiar Soft
Machine-like canyons and valleys. As the album closes with the
aptly-named acoustic soar of "Walk Like a Whisper", the seasoned
folk-rock traveler will undoubtedly recognize many a feature of this
tranquil landscape, but will also likely be helpless to resist the urge
to continually retrace Castro's every step, reluctant to miss out on a
single contour of this varied and beguiling album." -Matthew Murphy,
July 19, 2005. www.pitchforkmedia.com.
Plastic Crimewave Sound - No
LP (Eclipse, 2006)
Recorded under harsh conditions with a dark-cloud backdrop of freezing
tempatures, car wrecks, personal strife, illness and even
bulletcrossfire, at last this 2LP paranoid song cycle from Plastic
Crimewave Sound is upon us. A space-punk epic of formation and
devastation, it travels from the devotional light of 'the beginning' to
the virus of technology and even darker future urban hells. This is
PCWS's second long-awaited LP, a limited edition dbl lp housed in a
beautiful, sturdy gatefold sleeve, and it features the last recordings
by the line-up with Andrew Ortmann (Panicsville) and Cat Chow, (just
wait til you hear the new line-up..) with the core of Plastic Crimewave
(Galactic Zoo dossier, Million Tongues, many japanese collaborations,
etc), Mark Lux (Temple of Bon Matin) and Lawrence "Skog Device" Peters
(of countless No wave and country ensembles). All but the cosmic
kitchen sink were thrown into this one; harp, bells, sitar, washboard,
shrieking harpies, oodles of fuzz, an entire string section, doomed
spoken passages, and cameo appearances by Michael Yonkers, Devendra
Banhart, Josephine Foster, Fur Saxa, Spires that in the Sunset Rise,
Chris Connelly, and more. Sure, PCWS can't hide influences like Pink
Fairies, Can, German Oak, the Monks, Silver Apples, Simply Saucer,
Hawkwind, Loop, Factory records, Trad Gras Och Stenar and even a splash
of blissed folk strains, but who'd want to? Features art (and handy
colorful gatefold) by PCW.
Samara Lubelski - In The
LP (Eclipse, 2005)
Reissue of cdr released on the Child of Microtones label in 2004.
Samara Lubelski is a member of the groups Hall of Fame and Tower
Recordings (to name a few) and ëIn The Valleyí was her
first solo release available in a numbered edition of 99 copies. This
vinyl reissue features Samara playing only violin and it is really
stunning. Recorded at the Rare Book Room "to record these works that
include pre-drone, ballads, and avant spirituals. The two most
hyperbolic tracks are her duet with the ëmoon moanerí and
her darked Suzuki version of the Blind Boy Grunt classic ëAll the
Tired Horsesí, both blues songs and examples of 20th century
music played for Delta enthusiasts, major label deletions, and country
blues connoisseurs. However, it is her originals and stark
unaccompanied playing juxtaposed with gorgeously overdubbed
synchronistic timbres that are truly over the moon on this recording.
The amorous tonal gush that radiates from ëI Love Thlowthí
is a vibrating omnichord of spectral abundance as spooked as
Freenyís Barn Dance AND as intricate as the dual fiddles of
Andrew & George Carter but done on a single viloin. In short these
revolutionary compositions recall an iconoclastic frolic where she is
wielding a magic bow and waving auroral pizzicato spirit spells over
the triangulated eye mind of Kosugi, Henry Sims / Flynt and Clark
Kessinger." ' MV. Comes housed in a eye-catching full color sleeve and
includes an insert.
Leopards - Out Of One, Through One, And To One LP
2005) ºOut of Print
2004 recordings from Brooklyn's skull-crushing Double Leopards. 3 cuts
recorded at the Rare Book Room housed in a beautiful silkscreened
jacket. Limited edition of 1000 copies.
Sunburned Hand Of The Man - Wedlock DBL
LP (Eclipse, 2005)
"Wedlock captures Sunburned in its 2003 suit when they took it to the
west coast to tour their way up to Wasilla, Alaska to attend and
perform at Paul & Val's wedding on the longest day of the year,
June 21, 2003. Under the bright midnight sun, Sunburned recorded this
document, a testament to irony, omnipotence, moisture, pain, and the
weight. Come and dine at this one, clear table. Double LP." August 2005
release taken from recordings in Alaska on the Summer Solstice.
Features a beautifully designed heavy duty gatefold sleeve with two
inserts featuring many photos from the trip to Alaska as well as some
pictures from Northern California from the same tour. A truly stunning
Nadler - The Saga Of Mayflower May CD / LP (Eclipse, 2005)
"Marissa Nadler's 2004 album Ballads of Living and Dying was a
burnished gem of entrancing, spectral folk, and with her follow-up she
not only returns to the luminous musical landscape of her debut but
also to her enigmatic character Mayflower May. Though not the cohesive
narrative its title implies, The Saga of Mayflower May again finds
Nadler skillfully echoing the forms of traditional English balladry as
she crafts another captivating collection of songs steeped in the
melancholy of distant, half-forgotten passion, doomed love affairs, and
various crimes of the heart. As a vocalist Nadler is considerably less
idiosyncratic than such peers as Joanna Newsom or Josephine Foster, and
here her dusky, lived-in soprano settles diffusely between
contemporaries like Hope Sandoval and Chan Marshall, and 60s-era
folkies like Vashti Bunyan or Mimi Farina. On these 11 tracks her
arrangements are kept simple and powder dry, typically featuring only
her 12-string guitar and the occasional flourish of organ, ukelele, or
flute as accompaniment. With this spare instrumentation providing an
understated backdrop, Nadler sounds increasingly relaxed and confident
throughout the album, and each performance sparkles with haunting,
rain-swept emotion. Tracks like "The Little Famous Song" and "Horses
and Their Kin", are further distinguished by mesmerizing wordless
passages where it almost sounds as though she's attempting to use her
voice to approximate the lonesome shimmer of a singing saw. The
significance of the character Mayflower May to these songs is unclear.
Nadler has previously described May-- who also made a couple
appearances in the lyrics of Ballads of Living and Dying-- as a lonely
old woman of faded beauty. And though May is never mentioned by name on
any of these songs, perhaps one is to assume that nostalgia-laden,
first-person accounts like the opening "Under an Old Umbrella" or the
rapturous "Calico" are intended to feature May as narrator. Also a
talented visual artist, Nadler naturally fills her lyrics with color,
and these songs abound with azure skies, turquoise eyes, and
(especially) ruby red blood. On tracks like "Yellow Lights" and "Mr.
John Lee (Velveteen Rose)" Nadler fearlessly enters traditional murder
ballad territory, exquisitely depicting a world where love is forever
shadowed by loss. Curiously, for the dramatic "Lily, Henry, and the
Willow Trees" the album's lyric sheet includes a final, particularly
gory verse that leaves little doubt as to the fate of poor Lily.
Perhaps finding these lines out of keeping with her music's otherwise
deft, subtle touch, Nadler leaves them unsung, one of the few instances
on this enthralling album where she pulls any punches whatsoever." -
Matthew Murphy, Pitchfork. The cd is housed in a tip-on style gatefold
sleeve - sort of a mini-version of the LP gatefold. The lp is housed in
a heavy duty gatefold sleeve and is limited to 1000 copies.
City Girls - Folk Songs of the Rich & Evil / Exotica on $5 a Day
DBL LP (Eclipse, 2005) ºOut of Print
The fourth volume in the Cloaven cassette reissue program. This one
begins with Folk Songs of the Rich and Evil - recordings from 1985 -
"Tragedy is comedy as this diabolical collection of essay-lecture
monologue songs will prove. How far this journey takes you from the
supposed values of our world depends entirely on when you stop the
tape. All tracks recorded whenever, here and there, written, improvised
or hijacked by Sun City Girls at will." As usual, some tracks have been
edited out from the original tape release but there is also an
unreleased track included on this album taken from the recording
sessions back in 1985. The second album is Exotica on $5 a Day - "The
Terrorism Music is made of. This tape is ethnic eccentricity at its
most fragrant, but don't forget that many foreigners despise Americans.
Recorded in a kitchen, side rooms, etc. in 1985 – except '9 Sides of
Air' and 'Ride Nomad Burn!' recorded 1983 in a hallway. Some
instruments on 'It's Ours' courtesy UNICEF." Limited edition of 1000
Six Organs Of Admittance
/ Jack Rose / MV&EE Medicine Show / Dredd Foole / Fursaxa / Joshua
Burkett & Kemiallset Ystävät - By The Fruits You
Shall Know The Roots 3LP (Eclipse, 2005) ºOut of Print
At long last this spilt label, triple lp monster is unleashed... a
hexagonal wonderama of otherworldly sides from some of the most
brilliant musicians/groups working in the underground psychedelic
folk/blues realm, elegantly dressed in a 2 sided 6 panel foldout poster
of bacchanalian design. A fabulous document of tone and album art
containing some of the best exploratory compositions captured in
beautiful fidelity... featuring a full lp side each from: SIX ORGANS OF
ADMITTANCE, JACK ROSE, MATT VALENTINE & ERIKA ELDER with CHRIS
CORSANO, DREDD FOOLE, FURSAXA, and JOSHUA with KEMIALLSET
YSTÃVÃT... packaged in a full color, fabric textured,
triple gatefold cover, that unfolds to reveal a huge 25" by 37" poster.
mind seed planted by ben chasny, cover art and design by Erika Elder,
label artwork by Joshua Burkett, poster art by Nemo, fable by Matt
Valentine, and printed by Clint Simonson of Destijl. Limited edition of
1000 copies.
Ilya Monosov / Preston
Swirnoff - Seven Recorded Works (Volume 1) LP (Eclipse,
"The sound of two souls, all alone in claustrophobically infinite
space. These two volumes see disenchanted Californians Ilya Monosov and
Preston Swirnoff whittling out their own autonomous spaces far from the
surf and sun, then climbing in and nailing the door firmly shut behind
them. Seven Recorded Works comes over like someone has leached the
spirits of Ennio Morricone, Eric Satie and Pauline Oliveros, stuffed
them in a leaky wooden barrel, and set them rolling out to sea on a
spring riptide. Uncertain, hesitant piano and melodica miniatures
undercut with the evil drone of harmonica and hurdy-gurdy. It's a
creaking and queasy trip, guaranteed to heave underwater, piratical
nightmares out of some long suppressed substream of your subconscious."
- Alan Cummings. "Our collaborative effort is our search for new models
for what people call 'song', 'improvisation', 'dub', and 'composition'.
The first volume documents a difficult pairing, I play Hurdy Gurdy and
Harmonica, Preston Swirnoff plays piano and organ. I used a harmonica
on the last day of our Blues sessions, and with that we ended the
recording of Volume 1. We would like to thank Ed Hardy for offering us
creative freedom over a span of four vinyl records, the last of which
we plan to record in 2005." - Ilya Monosov (2005). Edition of 500
Monosov / Preston Swirnoff - Two
Recorded Works (Volume 2) LP (Eclipse, 2005)
"Two Recorded Works opens in equally brooding, cinematic fashion with
Swirnoff's 'air organ' slow gasping its weighted way through magenta
dust-clouds of bowed guitar. Later, sea-shanty bellows underscore the
spectral traces of whistles and ghosted vocals and whistles to
particularly melancholic effect. But the final side, credited to
Monosov and Swirnoff's rock unit The Shining Path, is a whole other
kettle of herring. It rockets upwards into the fuzzed out expansive
zones of the Rallizes sound, but is tethered to an on-edge, speedfreak
shake of a Suicide rhythm, just too fast for comfort. Bliss handily
circumvented, higher mind tied to delerium tremens. I think they're
trying to tell us somethingÖ" - Alan Cummings. "Time passed, and
we began recording Volume 2 which contains our experiments with song
form and our rock band, The Shining Path. We would like to thank Ed
Hardy for offering us creative freedom over a span of four vinyl
records, the last of which we plan to record in 2005." Ilya Monosov
(2005). Edition of 500 copies.
Tar Pet - The Artist Is Tarlie Dawn
LP (Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2005)
In dark times, brave figures raise their weary heads to speak the
utterances no one else can--scrambled, multi-dimensional, and even
'fried' might describe these prophets--Skip Spence, Jandek, Skip James,
Syd Barrett, Patty Waters.....Who knew this voice would arise from a
rather thin, wild-eyed young lady, one Tar Pet (or is Taralie Dawn-
even I'm not sure). Stretching out into the dusty wasteland and
untapped parts of the psyche, these are the bedroom meditations of
magnificent fractured beauty. Broken hearts, souls, and landscapes fill
these uniquely-voiced tales. This is truly where strong, expressive
songwriting should be at. Taralie is also a member of Spires That in
the Sunset Rise, who have an Lp on GZDisk/Eclipse, and a new Cd due on
Secret Eye, and have played with Faun Fables, Pelt, Charalmabides, etc.
Edition of 500 copies.
My Cat Is An Alien - When The
Windmills Whirl Dies LP (Eclipse, 2005)
"ÖHere we are/ Dancing with the dark shadows/ Here we are/ Dancing
with the dark shadowsÖ" This is the incipit of the first side of
"When the windmill's whirl dies", the new work by the space-brothers
Maurizio and Roberto Opalio, alias My Cat Is An Alien; and here we are
indeed, ready to dance with the shadows which surround the Light, as
the intimate and vividly estranged mood originated by the floating
guitar tunes will enter the furthest meanders of your mind. Both the
words, recited and shaped by Roberto from his own homonymous poem that
suggested the title of the album, and the oblique minimalism of the
complex musical texture made of flowing space sounds, represent the
abstract neo-expressionistic substratum of the whole corpus of the
work. Moving throughout a nebula of space dust and debris, the starting
spoken-word vocals alongside the percussive section sound as powerfully
impressive as the violent imagery of trees beaten down by the storm,
while the whispered silence of "Perspective of time" and "Fallin'", on
side two, discloses the emotional and existential universe of an
isolated broken soul, lost in a world of inanity. This is the center of
the No-thing Universe, where each single word or sound assumes the
aspect of a sort of pagan prayer that speaks the language of astral
folk-blues. In this context, MCIAA's outer space becomes a re-found
uterus, meant to be the form of a new self-biogenesis. At the same
time, space is conceived as symbol of the eternal theatre surrounding
the mysterious cycle of life & death; such infinite space, despite
such limited time. This cosmic-chant of the new millennium may heat our
nights like a flame left to enlighten the shadows of the coldest
darkness. At the end of it all, some words will still be ringing in our
minds: "ÖSo, we'll never forget the light". After 2004's key-work
"The rest is silence", MCIAA's "When the windmill's whirl dies" comes
as the second act of a trilogy dedicated to the Great Void. A beautiful
recording housed in a thick, heavy duty gatefold sleeve. Edition of 600
Leopards - Halve Maen DBL CD (Eclipse, 2005) ºOut
of Print
At long last (and I really mean it - this has been 9 months since the
dbl CD project started) and after numerous delays and manufacturing
errors this DBL CD has seen the light of day! And it was worth the wait
after I was finally able to hold one of these. This digital version
contains the exact same tracks as the DBL LP (now out of print) and is
a mini-replica of the gatefold LP version. This gatefold CD package
came out real nice and even has an insert with it (like the vinyl
version, too). If you're not familiar with this release, read this
great review Pitchfork gave it (an 8.2 rating): "Nigh on a decade, I
have been trying to figure out what the fuck I took that fateful night.
Cloyingly labeled as a 'pharmaceutical hallucinogen,' a handful of
pills opened portals to the most intense, frighteningly realistic
phantasms I've ever experienced. One symptom of overdose, as the
Pharmaceutical Handbook explained so succinctly the morning after, was
that every electrical appliance malfunctioned in my presence: the LCD
displays on my watch and alarm clock were helpless brambles of blinking
bars of broken time. The carpet breathed and rippled its fibers. The
walls sweated. I continually had the physical sensation of having
something clenched in my grip, yet looking down, my hands were always
empty. I bring this trip up because I think the Double Leopards (Mike,
Maya, Marcia, and Chris) might have ingested the same shit. At the very
least, they show similar symptoms on their second album for Eclipse.
Housed in a dark and heavy sleeve, replete with an Indian skull and
foreboding forest branches, it opens into a gatefold that evokes a
satellite dish-addicted Bridget Riley illusion. Halve Maen is sprawled
across two heavy discs, the only format through which the finest, most
oblique musical messages can properly be conveyed. I am tempted to
shove this in alongside such shadowy double albums as Wickham &
Young's Lake, The Dead C's Harsh 70s Reality, Charalambides' Market
Square, and Twenty-Six's This Skin Is Rust, but even those gave you a
little breathing room now and then; Halve Maen smothers all light from
the get-go as it burrows into the bowels of the earth below. Very
tactile from the first needle-drop, the everyday objects at the old
loft space move of their own volition, at the edges of the feverish
eyes. Household items like chord organs, plastic toys, and wind chimes
suddenly lurch to the fore during 'The Fatal Affront', before all the
room's paraphernalia disintegrates into the more solemn and murky
affair, 'Druid Spectre'. Here appears a drum more akin to the undead
pounding at a cardboard door, somehow thudding along from beyond the
grave with an elongated guitar. Side B gets swallowed by 'A Hemisphere
in Your Hair', which is time enough for a perm or other long scalp
treatment. On this track, time is stretched and lulled until finally
being rendered meaningless, and the listening brain is melted in slow
undulations of sinewaves, primitive swirls of effects, bowed strings,
prayer bowls, Melodica, and otherworldly drones. Small shivers of
cricket-like feedback rise and fall with the slow, labored breathing of
the beast, as if the inhaled pink goo from The Abyss were replaced with
Graffix bong scrapings. The rattles that arise nearer the center of the
spindle give the proceedings the woozy feel of an ancient ceremony
coming to an end. Turns out we're only halfway there, though, and from
this point forth, the travail gets veritably muddy, the group dynamic
verging on unconsciousness. Discombobulation and a heavy, pervasive
dread of being very lost permeates this record. 'The Forest Outlaws'
spins the tape, mid-sÈance, into a paralyzing bout of
self-inflicted ether damage. A blustery white-noise wind blows through
the bundled layers of guitar and organ, freezing up the gears on the
Leopards' zamboni right at the inner-circle of the inferno, where it's
always most frigid and frightening. The last side is given over to 'The
Secret Correspondence 1 & 2', plopping us into the vertiginous
tides of the Dead Sea, where the silty, unseen bottom is stirred up
something fierce. Cymbals are struck but quickly sink below the briny
waters. Tremors of ghostly orchestras are constantly conjured by the
guitars, a mass grave of vindicative strings that howl and die only to
be resurrected for the finale. The instruments and processed moans of
the group commune with a far more surly and slurred spiritual world
than previously glimpsed, heavily sedated and hovering with a menacing
glint just at the threshold of sanity. As it all slips away at record's
end, I'm left questioning the mental stability and half-life of this
trip. What I believed to be firmly in my grasp slithered away, a
disquieting residue left behind on my hands and in my eyes and ears.
Overwhelming in its morose synesthesia and downright bleary at times,
Halve Maen is like those little yellow pills I popped so long ago:
Ingestion will definitely fuck you up." - Andy Beta, September 16th,
2003. Edition of 1000 copies.
- Ballads
Of Living And Dying CD / LP (Eclipse, 2004)
Hailed as a smoky chanteuse both sultry and captivating, Marissa's
songs are mostly mournful dirges and melancholic ballads. Delving into
influences of old-timey americana folk, portuguese fado, psychedelia,
and country, the songwriting is gripping and unique. Pursuing the
persona poem, most of the songs are stories of tragic deaths, forbidden
fates, and jilted love affairs, and stormy suicides, as well as some
introspective first person songs. In concert, the melodrama is obvious,
and each performance is dripping in vaudevillian nostalgia. Marissa's
intricate finger-style guitar comes through on six string, twelve
string, banjo, ukelele, and autopharp. Her voice is velvety and
resonant and soaring with ethereal reverberations. Over the past couple
of centuries, the definition of "ballad" has been stretched to include
virtually any slow-tempo sentimental song, even on those occasions when
it merely means Tommy Lee is coming out from behind his kit to play the
piano. But once upon a time the word indicated a more specific,
codified form of verse. In the days before widespread literacy, a
ballad was a dramatic (frequently tragic) story-poem that functioned as
something of an oral newspaper, constructed simply with recurring
rhymes so that it could be easily remembered and repeated. And on her
captivating debut album, Ballads of Living and Dying, Marissa Nadler
does her small part to return balladry to its vivid and illustrious
past. On the surface this might not sound like a compelling
proposition, but fortunately Nadler has the sort of voice that you'd
follow straight to Hades. Her luxurious, resonant soprano is
immediately transfixing, and throughout these songs it envelops the
listener like a dense fog rolling in off the moors. Nadler's vocals are
highly reminiscent of Hope Sandoval's-- with perhaps the faintest
glimmer of the languid phrasing of cabaret chanteuse Marlene Dietrich--
and her unadorned arrangements recall the rain-weary solitude of early
Leonard Cohen met with Mazzy Star or Opal at their most hazily
narcotic. Nadler is clearly savvy enough in her material to know that a
true collection of ballads must include a body count, and the most
obviously successful auld school example here is her arrangement of
Edgar Allen Poe's poem "Annabelle Lee". As you might recall from junior
high English, this is a classic tale of ill-starred love with a
stretched-by-your-grave finale that fits the ballad form to perfection,
and Nadler's melodic rendition here is flawless. And poor Annabelle Lee
is not this album's only casualty; there's also "Virginia", which
respectfully chronicles the death of Virginia Woolf, as well as
dreamier, more ambiguous songs like "Undertaker" and "Box of Cedar"
which certainly contain whispers of foreboding for their subjects. Each
song on the album comes lightly-dressed, usually borne along by little
more than Nadler's voice, her finger-picked guitars, and ornamental
flourishes from the occasional accordion, autoharp, or blurry wisp of
feedback. On "Hay Tantos Muertos", one the album's loveliest tracks,
Nadler branches out from the strict balladic format, quoting lines from
Pablo Neruda's haunting "No Hay Olvido" ("There Is No Forgetting") in a
manner resembling a traditional Portuguese fado, and on "Days of Rum"
she busts out a banjo and takes an enchanting turn at a Dock
Boggs-style country blues. It's worth noting that, aside from the Poe
and Neruda quotes, all of these songs are original compositions rather
than the traditional works they appear. Throughout the album Nadler
writes and performs with a weathered maturity that belies her young
age. In fact, several tracks ("Mayflower May", "Days of Rum",
"Fifty-Five Falls") seem to be narrated from the perspective of older
women looking back upon the adventures and mistakes of their youth.
Also an accomplished visual artist, Nadler's lyrics showcase a
perceptive eye and a genuine empathy for her creations; and when
coupled with that intoxicating voice the resulting landscape is one you
may want to get lost in for a century or two. - Matthew Murphy,
December 16th, 2004 - Pitchfork
500mg - Vertical Approach
LP (Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2004)
Michael Gibbons, of monolithic sounds-great-on-any-substance rockers,
Bardo Pond, delivers all the fuzzed out good you'd expect on his 1st
solo LP. However, Gibbons really is hitting the true loner path here,
forged by weirdos like Deuter, Sandy Bull, early Robert Wyatt and even
Neil Young's dusty Dead Man soundtrack. Yes, these are
cyclical, even largely stripped-down meditations - call it komische
raga folk, maybe? Whatever the case, that staring-into-the-sun / Skip
Spence vibe prevails-this is a headswirler with feeling, from an
underrated and understated guitar god. Sitar, plaintive acoustic
guitar, electronics, sampled snatches of manipulated vocals, and that
glorious trademark FUZZ. Is it for late nights or early mornings? That
is for you to ruminate on, Artwork also by the talented Mr.Gibbons!
Michael Yonkers - It's Only Yonkers
LP (Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2004)
So what does a NEW Michael Yonkers record sound like? I was as
skeptical as anyone might be, having heard a lot of bad 30 year gap Comeback
and Reunion LPs....but my jaw dropped on the first 2 bars of
this baby! The good news is that not much has changed, Yonkers is still
defiantly kicking out monster-distorto-blooz-addled ROCK. Gutsy howls
with melodies underneath that stick to your ribs, and of course the
trademark guitar buzz n scrape! This is savage yet stripped down pure
Yonkers-recorded straight to 4-track with no overdubbing or trickery!
The past 30 years are a mere blur, as this is fresh vital music that
blows away the current trendy 'garage band' in an instant!!! If you
enjoyed the Microminiature Love record or are even the most
casual fan of R n R, punk, post-punk, rockabilly, power blues, etc. you
will go as nuts for this as I did. Eye-poppin cover art by Plastic
Cat Is An Alien - The Rest Is Silence DBL LP (Eclipse, 2004)
"The rest is silence" is 'till now the most complete and varied work of
My Cat Is An Alien. After some totally improvised works, such as
"Landscapes of an electric city" on Ecstatic Peace and "Il Segno" on
Starlight Furniture Co., with this debut release on Eclipse Records
MCIAA start a more complex and oblique studio-modus operandi, in which
the instantaneous composition is now a basement open to stratified
extraterrestrial fluxus of sounds, often permeated by melancholic vocal
inserts. The title of this new double album is taken from the last
words spoken by Hamlet before his dying in the homonymous
Shakespearian's tragedy. The whole corpus of the work is an ectoplasm
of sounds flowing from the earth surface towards the sky; with their
electric and acoustic guitars, some pedal effects and a series of weird
space-toys, MCIAA light a candle as a bright beacon in the darkness of
the Great Void. From the "Infinite Spaces" incipit, a sad whispered
voice delayed through a toy-megaphone, moving on isolated guitar
strokes going downhill, defines "The rest is silence" vocabulary: a new
intimate alien folky-blues mood expanded on the avant-space sounds that
have marked MCIAA since their beginning. Self-recorded and produced in
Torino at their own "Space Room" headquarters during the cold winter
time, "The rest is silence" speaks the same intimate and desolated
language of Tim Buckley's "Lorca" and reflects the same suffering of
some primitive folk-blues masters such as Blind Lemon Jefferson,
projected in the deepest outer space. Each track is dedicated to the
mystery of the 4 elements (air, earth, fire, water), as surrealist
metaphors involving the mystery of life and death. When all is over,
things vanish in the quiet brilliance of the Cosmos; MCIAA will stay
'till "Silence will come to stay forever"Ö "Italy's MY CAT IS AN
ALIEN is the finest two-brother band from Italy since the end of the
Great War. Their sounds move through the air the way that a tub of fine
Roman butter moves through a circus ape..." - Byron Coley and Thurston
Moore. This double LP is presented in beautiful fashion with a lovely,
heavy duty gatefold sleeve with full color artwork by the band.
Fursaxa - Mandrake
LP (Eclipse, 2004) ºOut of Print
Originally released on the Acid Mothers Temple label as a CDR in 2000,
limited to 100 copies. This material was recorded between 1997 and 1999
by Tara Burke playing guitars, organs, dulcimer, accordion and vocals
and was remixed and produced by Kawabata Makoto. Now 'Mandrake' has
seen a proper limited reissue in a beautiful full color sleeve with 2
sided color insert a reproduction of the original artwork that came
with the CDR release.
Womb - Womb LP (Eclipse, 2004) ºOut
of Print
Improvised free jazz from San Diego featuring Josh Quon (satellite
member of Upsilon Acrux and member of Children of Gauhd), Christopher
Williams (just released duo CD with Derek Bailey on Incus /
Compatible), Ray Raposa (the creative impetus of the Castanets, with an
album out on Asthmatic Kitty in the fall), Dan Bryant (member of the
Skaters), Ilya Monosov (various solo and collaborative releases - plays
guitar and vibes on this LP), as well as Connor Kirkwood and Gabe
Sundy. Limited edition of 200 copies with full color front and back 12"
x 12" inserts not attached to a plain white jacket inside a resealable
plastic sleeve.
The Anaksimandros - River Of Finland
LP (Eclipse, 2004) ºOut of Print
Finland's Anaksimandros play avant-folk music that is improvised and
psychedelic. Some of the members are involved with other groups you may
be familiar with such as Kemialliset Yst"v"t and Avarus. These
recordings from 2002 feature strummed and plucked strings, clattery
percussion, chanting vocals, reeds, hand percussion, bowed instruments
and more that I cannot properly describe. With printed jackets
featuring some great black and white artwork from the group. Highly
recommended for fans of Finnish folk, Jewelled Antler label, Sunburned
Hand of the Man, No Neck Blues Band, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Sunroof!,
Vibracathedral OrchestraÖYou need to hear this!
Orchestra - WFMU LP (Eclipse, 2004) ºOut of
This is the WFMU recording session from September 11, 2003 featuring
Adam Davenport, Bridget Hayden, Julian Bradley and Michael Flower
featuring special guests John Godbert (Total), Matthew Bower
(Hototogisu, Skullflower), and Tom Greenwood (Jackie-O Motherfucker).
Two side long tracks of shimmering drone. Edition of 400 copies with
silkscreened jackets by Alan Sherry (SIWA).
Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - The Day Before
the Sky Fell In America 9/10/01 LP (Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2004)
ºOut of Print
By now Japan's notorious freak-rockers need no introduction - they've
conquered the world with relentless touring, an endless number of
releases, and countless side-projects. There's even quite a few live
recordings at this point, but I will insist that this is unique. The
in-store at Reckless (yes, the day before the cataclysm) was simply
magical with perhaps the greatest dynamics I've yet witnessed (and I've
seen over a dozen AMT shows) with pin-drop quiet acoustic passages to
wall-shaking bombast."" - Steve Krakow. This is a one time pressing of
1000 copies.
Hiroshi Higashi - Solo LP
(Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2004) ºOut of Print
ìGorgeous soundscapes by Acid Mothers Temple wildman Hiroshi
Higashi. As 2nd guitarist in AMT (donít dare say ërhythm
guitaristí heís so much more!) and synth abuser holy man
extreme, heís dazzled audiences the world over with his mixture
of controlled acidic sounds and utter reckless abandon damaging nearly
as many instruments as master Makoto. We are granted this gift from the
same gods that oversaw the experiments of Florian Fricke, Rudolph Grey,
and some Pink Floyd worshipping stoners throughout the ages. Yes folks,
these are some shimmering meditations that test the boundaries of
electronic equipment, while maintaining a creamy center. Call them
ëaudio hallucinationsí or ënew ageí if you
must, just donít blame me when youíre looking down at
your body. To support his numerous travels and devil-may-care
lifestyle, most of the sound-generating devices are in hock now so
donít expect another anytime soon or ever. Blessed are ye, and
limited is this here disk (300 copies) presented in a real purty
colorful-type cover designed by one Plastic Crimewave and the fair
maiden Min Song.î -Steve Krakow. The jackets were silkscreened by
the peerless Alan Sherry (of SIWA Records fame) who did an amazing job!
This was originally available as a CDR on the Acid Mothers Temple label.
Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Wild Gals A
Go-Go DBL LP (Eclipse, 2004)
Reissue of 1999 CD released on the bands own Acid Mothers Temple label,
which has been out of print for several years. This double vinyl issue
has been pressed on HQ 180 gram vinyl and is housed in a thick, sturdy
gatefold sleeve, which makes this a beautiful piece to hear and hold.
There has been an additional piece added to this reissue that was not
included on the original CD release. This is a one-time pressing of
1000 copies. Following is a review of the CD version by Forestter
Cobalt that was taken from supersphere.com: "Makoto Kawabata is the
notorious guitarist leader of Acid Mothers Temple, a dexterously
fingered member of Musica Transonic, Mainliner, and Toho Sara. Together
with Mainliner member Koizumi Hjime, Mardi Gras Blue Heaven member
Cotton Casino, and ten other musicians, Kawabata has created the third
release of the psyche rock freak out system by Acid Mothers Temple that
will burn holes in your ears. Ow! Ow is this good, and it just keeps
getting better. Acid Mothers Temple fuse krautrock, psychedelia, now
sound, folk, pop, noise, soft vocals, soaring melting wails, dissolving
tablas, crunchy sitars, twinkling synthesizers, obsessive channel to
channel panning, thundering guitars, and drone outs to end all drone
outs. The effect is as difficult to imagine as it is to describe.
Sometimes the overall effect of the album sounds like a repetitious,
brain wrinkling drone out of a Terry Riley record. Sometimes there are
moments that pass like a soft, sexy romp with Gainsbourg and Bardot.
Sometimes there are moments that sound like Blue Cheer colliding with
Ike and Tina Turner, wiping out a small village in Vietnam. Sometimes
there are moments that sound like Gong meets Nurse With Wound meets
Tangerine Dream takes an interstellar voyage. This is an amazing
soundtrack that is never-ending, and incredibly successful at driving
all the best elements of psychedelia and noise forward to heretofore
unseen dimensions. No drugs necessary to lose your mind."
City Girls - Fresh Kill Of A Cape Hunting Dog / Def In Italy
DBL LP (Eclipse, 2004) ºOut of Print
This is the third release in the ongoing ten volume Cloaven cassette
reissue series. All volumes are double vinyl issues pressed in editions
of 1000 copies (no represses) featuring photos and artwork from the
time of the recordings housed in a thick, sturdy gatefold sleeve. Some
notes about Fresh Kill...: "A great sampler of the SCG spectrum from
cut-ups to ambient genocide to Wagnerian trash to tropical
hallucinations. This 'music' was captured from a moving truck in a
Sierra Vista on a cloudy day. Horns by Charlie Parker. Guitar by Moses.
Drums by N Rockefeller. Sex by ??." Recordings are from 1983-1985. Def
in Italy comprises live recordings from a 1984 US tour and features
many cover versions! Liner notes by BonBan.
P"iv"ns"de - Puhalluspelto
LP (Eclipse, 2004)
Following their impressive CDR release on the Dutch label Whistle
Along, comes the debut vinyl release from Finland's avant folk group
P"iv"ns"de. Members of this group also perform with Rauhan Orkesteri,
Lauhkeat Lampat, and Kiila which some of you may be familiar with. The
sound? Well, you hear strings plucked and scraped, hand percussion and
drums, woodwinds, vocals (sometime wailing), and other instruments I
cannot identify. If you dig the Anaksimandros, Kemialliset Yst"v"t,
Avarus, Pylon, etc., you'll want to hear this. I was not familiar with
P"iv"ns"de when they, without any previous contact with me, sent me a
cdr of this album back in January. I listened to it and was immediately
stunned from start to finish so I listened to it again to be sure I
heard what I did. After that I sent an e-mail to the address provided
with the cdr and asked if I could issue this on vinyl. Finally, this is
now available and it is one of the best Eclipse releases to date - one
I am very proud to release. Beautiful full color printed sleeves.
Taurpis Tula - Taurpis Tula
LP (Eclipse, 2004)
"Taurpis Tula from Glasgow, Scotland is the duo of Heather Leigh x
(Charalambides and Scorces) on pedal steel / vocals and David Leigh x
on guitar, navigating rivers of steel string with their fists and
throats. Their all-improvised music works loops of spectral sound into
beautifully fucked tonal hymns." "Examining drones and loops from the
epic cragginess of The Dream Academy and Terry Riley to its currency
amongst laptop popsters and free-guitar types has long been a passion.
To create improvised, trance-driven music with subtlety, emotionalism,
hymn-like melody and physicality is rare. Glasgow, Scotland's Taurpis
Tula is that precious find. Guitarist/shortwave radio operator David
Keenan (also the editor of the British mag The Wire) and vocalist/pedal
steel guitarist Heather Leigh Murray make a highly charged,
soul-soothing music, borrowed and blue. Atop wave-generated ambience an
opera of muffled tones influenced by Holger Czukay's experiments in
church music and oblique sampling and haunted vocal reveries, they
scratch, scrape and caress their guitars. This technique, adapted from
the pounded-meat playing of Fred Frith, has become sensuous in their
capable hands, resulting in the crying sounds of steel strings that any
country cowpoke would envy." - A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia City
Paper.net. "Taurpis Tula's new disc, Sparrows Eclipse), sometimes
sounds like futuristic gamelan-folk music for 250 years down the road."
This is such a beautiful and haunting record from a lovely duo. Pressed
in an edition of 700 copies and housed in a stunning silkscreened black
on black jacket with insert (also screened black on black) by the
unparalleled Alan Sherry of Siwa Records.
- Raag
Manifestos LP (Eclipse, 2004) ºOut of Print
This is Jack's third LP release on Eclipse. Raag Manifestos was issued
on CD this summer by the excellent vhf label. Now that the CD is out of
print, you can still get this incredible album on vinyl which is housed
inside a classy, beautiful gatefold sleeve (heavy cardboard stock).
Limited one-time pressing of 1000 copies. "Hard to know what to write
about this record. It's just so personal and lovely, dark and
mysterious, and darn near perfect. Appalachian guitar stretched into
droning, dense ragas, steel strings that go from delicate melody to
prickly nests of intertangled notes and buzzing overtones. Always
completely hypnotic even at its most fierce, and always intense and
compelling, even at its most ethereal. Rose (also a member of drone
rockers Pelt) has definitely become one of our favorite guitarists and
record after record he never fails to blow us away." - Aquarius
website. "Compiled from a variety of sources, Raag Manifestos cuts
across various acoustic styles much like Rose's Opium Musick LP, but
with a more aggressive attack. 'Black Pearls from the River' and 'Hart
Crane's Old Boyfriends' are dense, serious assaults on the 12-string,
with the intensity of the latter enhanced by Ian Nagoski's roaring
electronic backdrop. With subtle tabla accompaniment by Eric Carbonara,
'Crossing The Great Waters,' is another epic modal journey in the style
of Pelt's 'Road To Catawba' and Rose's own 'Red Horse.' The traditional
'Blessed Be the Name of the Lord' finishes off the album on a calming
note." - vhf website.
Migrantes - Monsoon
Moods LP (Eclipse, 2003)
This is the 2nd LP by Migrantes (Jason Bill {guitar, air organ, Hammond
organ, cymbal} & Caroline Vickers {Hammond organ & vocals}) of
Tucson, AZ. Pressed in an edition of 536 copies and housed in a lovely
printed full color jacket, this is a sublime record! "For those that
have never been there, the desert signifies space, sand, and nothing.
When I (who live nowhere near any deserts) first visited Jason &
Caroline (who live smack in the middle of one), that was what I had
thought too. I was a bit surprised that the desert in fact looks
nothing like its platonic counterpart - it is in fact interlaced with
ropy thorned plants, crawls with life of every species, and is
inevitably circumscribed by distant mountains. For some, Monsoon Moods
may capture the real desert, the one where home fires burn under
looming stone, where love and life flourish in austerity. For me though
this LP somehow encompasses sweaty nights in 100 degree summer
warehouses, ghostly drives through Norfolk shipyards, the slow crack of
datura pods drying in the sun, and all the other things that have grown
inside j&c to buoy them up into this warmly inviting space
illuminated by their big hearts. A stunning record that camouflages the
simplicity of its ingredients with songs of glowing precision and
vox-laced Hammond drones of vertical majesty." - Tom Carter
Plastic Crimewave - Flashing
Open LP (Eclipse, 2003)
ìIt wasn't easy to contain this monster on vinyl folks, but here
it is, at last, the debut LP from Plastic Crimewave Sound, a monster
excessive concept piece that wraps your head around devotional drones,
snarling biker punk, scuzzed out sewer dirges, blasts of power
electonix, even some lilting shoegazer-new wave moves, and then topped
off with some astal folk....this one has it all! Plastic Crimewave has
collaborated with many Japanese psych-undergrounders as well as
'locals' like Charalambides, Six Organs of Admittance, Comets on Fire,
Pelt, etc. and does the Galactic Zoo mag. Bass player Mark Lux bashed
it out in the early Temple of Bon Matin days. Is the world ready for
this yet? Comes in a fancy silver sleeve designed by PC.î Yes!
This is the debut vinyl full-length release by Chicagoís premier
acid-punk band. Repressed in an edition of 250 copies.
Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Troubadours From
Another Heavenly World DBL LP (Eclipse, 2003) ºOut
of Print
Second in a series of four reissues from Nagoya, Japanís Acid
Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. on Eclipse Records.
This has been licensed from PSF Records in Japan as will the
forthcoming self-titled release slated for a late 2003 or early 2004
release. Eclipse will also be reissuing Wild Gals A Go Go licensed from
the Acid Mothers Temple label. This reissue should be released by
Summer 2003. Troubadours From Another Heavenly World was the third
release on PSF from AMT and was originally released in October 2000.
This double vinyl reissue includes all the tracks from the original CD
release and also includes another track (which shares the same title as
the album), which has not been available previously. This is a
beautiful album to behold! Featuring new artwork, a heavy duty gatefold
sleeve, two records pressed on HQ 180 gram vinylÖthis is the way
AMT should be heard and seen! "Third PSF album from the Nagoya-based
(but always heavenly-bound) Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting
Paraiso U.F.O., led by Japan's current king of the long-hairs and
mystic rock-guitar guru Makoto Kawabata (also of Musica Transonic,
Mainliner, Toho Sara). Their previous releases were delirious communal
Gong/Hawkwind patchouli collisions, colorful as a Life with the Hippie
Jetsons cartoon, but with an acid punch that proved their music was
beyond any idea of pastiche or irony. For this flight though, the Acid
Mothers have stepped back off the delirium pedal, and bumped up the
luminous folk-mysticism faders. To be sure, the space synths, guitar
supernovas, and stoned cosmic mumble are still present. It's just that
now they're deployed to entirely different effect - this is no longer
the soundtrack to your first highschool acid 'n' beer party, it's more
like a solitary roadtrip seeking enlightenment, a hermit's cell halfway
up Magic Mountain, the cosmic butterfly gently enfolding its
pan-dimensional wings over your bruised psyche. It's a slowly hypnotic,
deeply meditational platter of god-honest real-time wonder." - Alan
Cummings on the PSF CD release of Troubadours.
/ Keenan Lawler / Eric Clark - Keyhole
II DBL LP (Eclipse, 2003)
On May 13, 2001, at the Louisville (KY) Visual Arts
Associationís gallery at the Water Tower was host to the Keyhole
ensemble. Ensemble members include Eric Clark, a metal worker who made
some of the singing bowls and the bronze didgeridus played here,
Patrick Best, Mike Gangloff, and Jack Rose, who also play as the trio
Pelt, and Keenan Lawler, who is known for electronically modifying the
sounds of a cello and National steel guitar. This performance was
completely acoustic, however, with the only sonic treatment being the
reverb lent by the galleryís high ceiling. ìMy memories
of this show are of the incredible resonance of the Water Tower
gallery, just an amazing alive quality to the air that let each note
linger on and on and that filled the quieter moments with breath and
inevitability. At one point I remember being lifted, compelled to climb
to a balcony over the room and lean out to play a singing bowl. If this
drops, I recall thinking as I stirred the heavy brass, we may lose an
audience member...but this sound is necessary. Awhile later, a man fell
out of his seat and a woman who had been lying on the floor sat up
suddenly and cracked her head on a glass table.î Mike Gangloff.
This is a beautiful recording pressed in an edition of 514 copies with
printed color sleeve.
Christina Carter - Bastard
Wing LP (Eclipse, 2003)
"Christina's first solo piano recordings, begun in a rotting boathouse
in the shadow of the Southwest freeway, Houston, 1995; and finished
with guitar and vocal overdubs over the course of a half dozen or so
years' of long Texas living room nights and a half dozen disintegrating
master tapes (lovingly restored & remastered by Rob Vaughn).
Inviting, quietly (and not so quietly) turbulent, and thick with inner
mystery and self invention." - Tom Carter. This is a lovely LP now
repressed in an edition of 250 copies with printed jackets.
Scorces - Vivre
Avec La Bete LP (Eclipse, 2003) ºOut of Print
"Scorces is the improvising duo of Heather and Christina (both of
Charalambides) utilizing (among other things) whirling guitar and vocal
threads in their construction of charged electrical masses for total
immersion. Their newest LP departs from the layered pulse of their
self-titled debut into realms of repeated cyclical gestures, finely
drawn with Heather's voice & cuatro (a Peruvian string instrument)
and Christina's densely spiked guitar. All is then spun slightly off
axis with gentle fluency for maximum perceptual elevation."" - Tom
Carter. Numbered edition of 525 copies with beautifully screened
jackets by Heather Murray, this is a beautiful LP.
- Root
King LP (Eclipse, 2003)
"Second solo release (first if CDRs don't count) by Charalambides
member Tom Carter. White Les Paul copy, lap steel, and a purloined bell
collection layered into three long tracks of string moan and slithering
hum. A manifesto of grounding during an uprooted time, an attempt to
bend in the wind. A slice of a long winter and a momentary flash of
cranially pooled guitar sound suddenly scattered by unexpected freedom.
A guitar album (mostly)." Tom Carter. Really great LP pressed in an
edition of 533 copies with printed sleeves and very nice artwork by Tom
Carter. This is highly recommended!
Sun City GIrls - God
Is My Solar System / Superpower DBL LP (Eclipse, 2003) ºOut
of Print
Reissue of the first two cassettes self-released by the band in the
late 1980ís. These are the earliest Sun City Girls recordings
from 1982 & 1983. Featuring a heavy duty gatefold sleeve with
archived photos from the time period of the recordings, and some liner
notes, this is the first in a series of ten double lpís
reissues. Limited, one time pressing of 974 copies.
Hand Of The Man - The Trickle Down Theory Of God Knows What LP
(Eclipse, 2003) ºOut of Print
Released nearly a year to the day of the recording itself, this full
length LP from Massachusettsí own Sunburned Hand of the Man is
truly brilliant! It features 5 cuts recorded at the top of a rickety
red staircase on June 20, 2002. One time pressing of 1000 copies
featuring full color jackets with artwork done by the band. Also
includes insert. ìWelcome to the latest chapter in the Book of
Hand - an lp documenting a private performance from June of 2002, in
which we further explore the art of investing emotional surplus into a
trust that yields the fruit of mad, naked passion. Hear the voice of
Reason backwards, the drum that dreams are made of, and the tunnel at
the end of the light. All pressed into two sides that are guaranteed to
keep you happening. Yours truly, Out of Handî
Leopards - Halve Maen DBL LP (Eclipse, 2003) ºOut
of Print
After two full length LPs and a handful of CDRs comes Double Leopards
magnum opus, a tome to the alveoli, paranormal science, and murderous
intrigue on the high seas. A rueful journey that they are all still
recovering from, the Leopards had to boldly ingest substances that
while harmful to their original earthly containers, turned the ghosts
of Panthalassa from transparent to opaque, allowing them to see with
their mortal eyes the horrible shape of the enemy. With guitars, tapes,
piano, drums, and a craggy heap of rusted electronics, they went to
battle, and like the early grainy photographs of America's Civil War,
the document is poignant and will only gain significance as time passes
and the medium improves. One time pressing of 1000 copies, this is the
best yet from Brooklyn's Double Leopards! Housed in a heavy duty full
color gatefold sleeve with incredible artwork (and insert) designed by
the Leopards themselves.
- Opium
Musick LP (Eclipse, 2003) ºOut of Print
In the year and half between "Red horse, White Mule" and "Opium Musick"
Mr. Rose spent the majority of his time honing his Ragtime and Jass
skills. He met Dr. Chattanooga Red soon after recording his 1st LP and
he revealed the secrets of Ragtime and Jass to Jack in ancient
ceremony. Roy Palmer, Blind Blake, Blind Thomas, Sidney Bechet,
Sylvester Weaver, Johnny Dodds and Louis Armstrong (all doctors) are a
few of the noted musicians who had undergone the secret rites of the
Ragtime. It's rumored that these rites take place in the old Irish
Alley section in New Orleans. Rose, Kisan Nagai and Dr Red travelled to
New Orleans in March of 2002 (while on an extensive tour of Shakey's
Pizza houses) to meet with his Red's mentor, Dr Jumpy, about
indoctrinating Jack and Kisan (now Dr Cutiepie) into the order. It was
there Jack recorded the Dr Ragtime cdr which included unknown Rag
pieces "Gage Blues" and "Flirtin' with the Undertaker". You can hear Mr
Red shouting in the background on "Undertaker" and it's the only known
recording of Dr Red that we have. He released a 78' in the early 50's
for the Jumpy label out of Nashville, but a copy has yet to turn up. On
that recording Red recorded his signature rags: "Lord I've got the
Jumpy" and "You know it's Jumpy Time". Red came down with the jake in
Philadelphia and died shortly after their tour. On his deathbed he told
Jack not to let the ragtime die and to bring it into the 21st century.
Jack returned to Virginia to bury Red in his family plot at Hollywood
cemetery in Richmond, VA. And now we have "Opium Musick" as a result of
Jack's studies and travels, a lovely tribute to Jack's beloved teacher.
But I ask, where's the goddamn ragtime on this recording. Known Ragtime
hounds like Dr Lick Mountain Rambler and Dr Jonesy the Owl appear on
the record, yet the only "hot" syncopation occurs on "Linden Ave Stomp"
which isn't even a rag. It's rumored that strands of the "Lord I've got
the Jumpy" and "You know it's Jumpy Time" melodies are woven into the
tune. This was mentioned to me by Jack who has claimed to have heard
these lost rags and if anyone turns up a copy of the Jumpy rags, please
in get in touch with me. As for the rest of the Album, it seems that
Jack spent a little to much time smoking his Marijuanas, I guess that's
the reason for the drug reference. With the exception of "Linden Ave
Stomp" I think "Nut Sweat Musick" is a better title for this recording
which accurately describes how I feel about the other 3 cuts. - Joe R
Sack, Blues Scholar This is Jack's second LP following the now out of
print and critically acclaimed debut Red horse, White Mule LP.
Opium Musick comes with full color artwork by Jack Rose himself and is
in a strict edition of 1000 copies. Also featured on this LP is Glenn
Jones on guitar on one track as well as Pelt's Mike Gangloff on tampura
on one track.
Sun City Girls - Bleach
Has Feelings, Too / To Cover Up Your Right To Live DBL LP
(Eclipse, 2003) ºOut of Print
"Propagandizing 13 tonal music? We all need something....sexy religion?
Where were YOU when the blue was BLUE? You'll never check-out OR leave
Fog Hotel...'it's like being in the middle and blowing both sides off
the map'. You could still smoke on an airplane when these cuts were
recorded. Listen to the quiet moments of track D-4 and hear one of the
first PZM microphones rattle against the wall as it hung around a nail.
What about the limiter on that old boom box as it won't allow the
signal to continue recording on track C-6? Good thing they didn't have
any money because everything would have sounded like shit! Some people
say I should be shot for writing about this music. I met them in
Malaysia when I was selling Asmat wood carvings from Irian Jaya. They
nicknamed me 'Mikey' which referred to Michael Rockefeller who had his
interest in Asmat art cut short by angry tribal leaders. One of them
told me years ago that 'we're ALL Sun City Girls'. Was he modest or was
he lying? I don't know how many homosexuals ARE in the book of
Revelations but I DO KNOW that the bible is always lying. And its
fairly well documented that Satanists launder money to cover up your
right to live. Just remember: Bleach has feelings, too!" - Harold
Wayne. Limited, one-time pressing of 1000 copies housed in a heavy duty
gatefold sleeve with amazing photos from the time of these recordings -
which was during the time period between October 1982 and November
1985. Volume 2 of 10.
Mystic Solis - Heavy Acid Blowout Tensions Live! LP
(Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2003)
Together for only one US tour, this transcontinental supergroup
featured Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner, Nishinihon,
Musica Transonic, countless other projects), Sasaki Hisashi (Ruins),
Shimura Koji (White Heaven, High Rise, Mainliner, Miminokoto),
mastermind Nanjo Asahito (High Rise, Mainliner, Red Alert, etc.) and
Plastic Crimewave (Utopia Carcrash, The Unshown, Plastic Crimewave
Sound) who organized the at times tension-filled tour. These two
concerts from Chicago and Detroit feature barnstorming acid rock
blowouts that eerily stop on a dime and escalate to dizzying heights
just as easily. Some frames of reference might include Ash Ra Tempel,
Amon Duul II or Japanese psychsters White Heaven and Fushitsusha. The
album features equally excessive lysergic artwork by Plastic Crimewave.
Alan Cummings from The Wire proclaimed upon hearing, 'It's much better
than most of Nanjo's releases.'
That In The Sunset Rise - Spires
That In The Sunset Rise LP (Eclipse/Galactic Zoo, 2003) ºOut
of Print
For two years now, the Spires That In The Sunset Rise have been wowing
Chicago audiences playing with everyone from Pelt, Charalambides, Faun
Fables to The Strangulated Beatoffs. Their music is truly their own,
perhaps spiritually recalling bands like the Raincoats, Angelblood,
Current 93, The Ex, Comus, Plastic Ono Band or Erica Pomerance. The
group is made up of three Manson-esque young harpies who hail from
southern Illinois. They utilize a creaky blend of cello, guitar, pedal
steel, bells, banjo, and other generally more organic sounds to create
a totally unique environment - a cracked brand of evil / punk / psych /
raga / folk that is as un-categorizable as that sounds! Are you ready
for the truly new music?
MCMS - The Great
Golden Hive of the Invisible DBL Lathe LP (Eclipse, 2002) ºOut
of Print
The Great Golden Hive of the Invisible is culled from the final MCMS
session, summer of 2000. For whatever reason, this one came out
different than all the others; less of a collection and more one great
cosmic rawwk-out! Banks of over-sized keyboards, wasted guitar and
bongo-mania! Preserved on extremely limited edition lathe-cut ensuring
continued anonymity for this already defunct Nebraska based ensemble.
Edition of 50 copies lathe cut by Peter King with awesome screened
Jack Rose - Red
Horse, White Mule LP (Eclipse, 2002) ºOut of Print
Red Horse, White Mule documents the too
rarely attempted, too rarely captured sound of sustained unemployment
-- for more than a year, Jack Rose deprived himself of that soulache
usually called 'the job'; instead scouring flea markets for rare
records to sell on eBay to pay for his booze and cigarettes and
spending the rest of his time in incessant guitar practice: 8, 9, 10
hours a day guitar practice. The results, of course, are staggering.
Jack's always far-past-competent finger-picking turned monstrous, and
his subject matter migrated from straight country blues to a highly
personal exploration of outer, inner and other-dimensional space --
there are nods here to his heroes (I'll let others pick names), moments
of ecstasy and dread, and an enviable sense of overriding peace: This
is what the man was meant to do. And Kisan Nagai's liner notes are a
headtwist in and of themselves. If listening to this record doesn't
make you junk those thoughts of career and promotion and paycheck,
you're fucking lost, man, lost." - Mike Gangloff
Ian Middleton - With
And Without Late LP (Eclipse, 2002) ºOut of Print
"This is some more music I made, some with LATE, to make myself feel
good. I played an obsolete late 1970's analogue synth and LATE played
various instruments on one track. Side one takes a quasi-psych drone
form while side two veers off into stranger waters, playing off some
unexpected juxtapositions and combinations of sounds."" This is a one
time pressing of 110 copies from the Czech Republic featuring paste on
artwork on both the front and back covers. The artwork is very cool and
detailed made by Ian who is a wonderfully talented artist."
Charalambides - IN CR EA SE
DBL LP (Eclipse, 2002)
"A long glimpse at a special and hazily documented node of vibrational
warmth taken from Charalambidesí shifting history, recorded with
the original duo of Tom & Christina Carter in the Heather-less
interlude between their 2000-2001 tours. IN CR EA SE is four side-long
escavations of the auditory plane defined by interweaving threads of
lap steel and chord organ and swept by intermittent currents of
breath-born voice and serene modalities cycled upward into towering
microtonal dissonances, then flung down into corners of dark intimacy.
And summoned back up again (once you flip the record)." This is one
time pressing of 1000 copies in a printed black and white sleeve. Looks
and sounds beautiful!
Kawabata Makoto - I'm
In Your Inner Most Lathe Cut LP (Eclipse, 2001) ºOut
of Print
This was recorded in October of 2000 by Kawabata (electric organ,
electric harpsichord, violin, percussion, tambura and electronics) and
is complimented by Audrey Ginestet (voice, cosmos). Edition of 100
copies lathe cut LP manufactured by Peter King in New Zealand.
Acid Mothers Temple &
The Meltin Paraiso U.F.O. - Pataphisical
Freak Out MU!! DBL LP (Eclipse, 2002)
First in a series of four reissues from Nagoya, Japanís Acid
Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. on Eclipse Records.
This has been licensed from PSF Records in Japan as will the
forthcoming Troubadours From Another Heavenly World and the self-titled
release. Eclipse will also be reissuing Wild Gals A Go Go licensed from
the Acid Mothers Temple label. These four reissues should all be
released before the end of 2002. Pataphisical Freak Out MU!! was the
second release on PSF from AMT and was originally released in 1999.
This double vinyl reissue includes all the tracks from the original cd
release except that ëBlue Velvet Bluesí has been restored
to its original 40 minute version for this reissue that spans sides C
& D. This is a beautiful album to behold! With new artwork, a heavy
duty gatefold sleeve, two records pressed on HQ 180 gram
vinylÖthis is the way AMT should be heard and seen!
"Announcing the long-awaited 2nd album from Makoto Kawabata's
millennial hippy-group Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso
UFO! The band slip even further into cosmic overdrive with the addition
of Atsushi Tsuyama (Omoide Hatoba) on bass and Haco (ex-After Dinner)
on vocals!! Core-meltdown is guaranteed with their raging psychedelic
acid-trip, spacey hard rock!"
Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - In C / In E LP
(Eclipse, 2001)
This LP features two side long tracks. In C is a cosmic krautrock
version of the Terry Riley composition and In E is a heavyweight
freakout jam! In E was performed every night on the Acid Mothers Temple
US tour in September 2001. Features Kawabata Makoto (electric guitars,
violin, zuruna, synthesizer), Tsuyama Atsushi (monster bass), Higashi
Hiroshi (electric guitar, synthesizer), Cotton Casino (voice), Ichiraku
Yoshimitsu (drums), and Terukina Noriko (vibraphone, glockenspiel).
Supreme Council - Oastem! Vibe Orchestra LP (Eclipse, 2001)
Document of a big band made up of the entire lineups of Pelt and Rake
(+ additional miscellaneous players) that gigged several times in 1996
and 1997. Whether clearing the room at the Fredericksburg Centre for
the Arts or emptying the hall at the Black Cat, the band always kicked
it with uncompromising true love and substantial Oastem! vibe. The long
improvisations performed varied wildly from show to show, often
starting with a bang and slowly expanding into open space where the
interesting little details emerged. This LP is an extract from the
center of a two hour performance recorded in April 1997 at Tommy's in
Richmond. The players are: Mike Gangloff (guitar, shenai, electronics),
Jack Rose (lap steel), Patrick Best (guitar, bass resonator, conga),
~SKB (bass and percussion), V2G2 (nylon string guitar, percussion,
shenai and voice), Planet C (moog, sax, percussion), Mick (dumbek and
dijembe), Beth Jones (dijembe), and ??? Edition of 330 copies.
Leopards - A Pebble In Thousands Of Unmapped Revolutions LP
(Eclipse, 2001) ºOut of Print
Follow-up to their debut album The Axe Helve, this album is a cosmic
space adventure through a melange of sounds, bringing to mind the
organic sounds of Taj Mahal Travellers or contemporaries Pelt. Plenty
of Kraut references and drones speckled with pockets of unknown
languages whisper throughout. The Double Leopards are well equipped in
creating extremely subtle huzz interspersed with sudden attacks of
heightened blasts and dense electronic surges. No overdubs on this one.
Comes with fine packaging designed by the band members of an offset
printed foldout cover. Numbered edition of 500 copies. If asked, I
would say this was the best record of 2001.
Migrantes - Moon
Journals LP (Eclipse, 2001) ºOut of Print
Migrantes is Caroline Vickers and Jason Bill (ex-Charalambides). Based
now in Tucson Arizona, Migrantes recorded Moon Journals in Houston, El
Paso, Newport News, Hampton and Tucson. On Moon Journals, Migrantes
create psychedelic folk music using voice, acoustic and electric
guitars, air organ, kalimba, clarinet, and found sounds. Results are
both traditional and experimental. Released in an edition of 336 copies
with printed jackets featuring photographs by Jason Bill.
/ Keenan Lawler / Eric Clark - Keyhole
12 July 2000 LP (Eclipse, 2001) ºOut of Print
This album is drawn from a pre-dawn session in a stone silo at Mount
Saint Francis, a Franciscan friary just north of the Kentucky-Indiana
state line. Four of the musicians, Keenan Lawler and Pelt members
Patrick Best, Mike Gangloff, and Jack Rose, had played earlier that
night at Rudyard Kipling's CafÇ in Louisville. They were joined
by Eric Clark, a multi-instrumentalist and metal worker who makes
musical instruments, such as singing bowls and bronze didgeridus. Mikal
Dimmick used a stereo microphone to capture events as they unfolded in
the early morning hours of 12 July 2000. Only acoustic instruments were
played and no electronic effects or processing were used.
Charalambides - Branches
Lathe Cut LP (Eclipse, 2001) ºOut of Print
Edition of 100 copies. These recordings are from May 2000 and consist
of four electric guitar/voice duets, one solo guitar track, and one
solo vocal piece. Beautiful black and white artwork on front and back
cover of jacket with insert, too, to go with this beautiful record.
Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - La NÚvia
LP (Eclipse, 2000) ºOut of Print
Studio recording from May 2000 features Tsuyama Atsushi (bass, vocals,
acoustic guitar, recorder), Koizumi Hajime (drums, percussion), Higashi
Hiroshi (electric guitar), and Kawabata Makoto (electric guitars,
violin, bouzouki, bowed peacock harp, synthesizer) playing Occitanian
trad music. This LP features two beautiful side-long 20 minute tracks
and is possibly the finest yet released by this collective.
Floating Flower - Floating Flower
Lathe Cut LP (Eclipse, 2000) ºOut of Print
Beautiful acid folk featuring Kawabata Makoto (acoustic guitar,
electric guitar on side A - track 2), Yuki (vocal, violin, electric
sitar), and Kaneko Tetsuya (tabla, electric guitar). 8î x
8î color artwork on black jacket. 'Shamanic trip folk stars on a
quest for the ultimate looseness and acidness!" Lathe cut by Peter
Middleton - 5 Pieces 1998-1999 LP (Eclipse, 2000) ºOut
of Print
Psychedelic drone. "5 pieces is quite a varied assortment of tracks all
recorded with the same instrument. I'd describe them as 2 expressions
of hope and wonder, an eerie layered drone, an 11 minute improvised
solo and a study in late night aural hypnosis. I use a Korg MS10 - a
pretty basic monophonic one oscillator synth augmented by a small array
of effects which are 'played' real time as well as the many versatile
dials of the MS10 itself. I'm based in semi-rural Scotland and also
draw pictures, some of which are shown on the jacket." The LP is in an
edition of 293 copies with black and white artwork (12î x
12î) spray mounted on the front and back sleeves.
Moo & The Black Sheep - Father
Moo & The Black Sheep Lathe Cut LP (Eclipse, 2000) ºOut
of Print
"Demonic scriptures of dubious eroticism and cultism, performed by the
heretical guru Father Moo and his female disciples. Minimal acoustic
works using just female chanting and drones." This is a remixed version
of the original AMT label cd release (and subsequent LP release on
Swordfish). Lathe cut by Peter King.


text:
By BETHANY ROLFSON
The Western News
James Lee Reid, 38, of Troy, was recently arrested for his fourth offense of allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Sheriff Deputy Benjamin Fisher, Fisher was asked to help locate Reid for failing to check in with his probation officer. Reid�s probation officer informed Fisher that Reid was to be arrested upon contact for a probation violation.
While checking a residence in Troy, Reid pulled up in his vehicle. Fisher wrote in the affidavit that, when Reid saw Fisher and his probation officer, he started to back up and then stopped. Reid then exited the vehicle and started to walk towards the rear. Fisher then stopped Reid and placed him into handcuffs.
Fisher wrote in the affidavit, that while Reid was speaking with his probation officer and Lincoln County Detective Nate Scoffield, Fisher could smell an odor of alcohol.
After transporting Reid to the detention center, Fisher conducted a DUI investigation based on the strong smell of alcohol coming from Reid. Reid�s breath sample was reportedly a 0.104.
Reid has three prior DUI conviction in 2004, 2005 and 2010.
If convicted, he could face a minimum of 13 months to the Department of Corrections to complete a residential alcohol treatment program. Once the alcohol program is completed, he may serve the remainder of the 13 months on probation. The initial 13 months could be followed by a maximum of five years to the Department of Correction or the state prison, with fines up to $10,000.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
But the caption under the photo is bizarre:
|Handy skill: Actress Rachel Shenton signs learned sign language after her father became death
The first weirdity, "signs learned sign language", is almost understandable - she is signing the sign language that she has learnt. But, I mean, obviously she learnt it, you don't need to distinguish between learned and unlearned sign language, usually. Seems like a straightforward cut-and-paste fail: they started out saying what she's signing, and then changed it to "learned sign language" and just botched it.
The second weirdity is interesting: "after her father became death". Now you might think it's just a simple substitution of "death" for "deaf" - it means after her father became deaf. But in fact, she didn't learn it after he lost his hearing; she learnt it after he died. So it really does mean death. But you can't say that he "became death", of course. So what's happened here? Did the sub-editor think to themselves, "no, it was after he died, not after he became deaf", and then have a total language malfunction? Is it really a typo and just a coincidence that it reflects the facts? Either way, I think I shall refer to people becoming death instead of dying from now on.


text:
There could, for example, be possibilities in European stocks that are depressed in price or in stocks of the U.S. multinational companies most likely to gain from European misfortune.
The primary risk is that ongoing problems involving not only
"For investors who haven't had exposure to European stocks, it looks like we're entering a period of some nice buying opportunities," believes
The Vanguard European (VGK) exchange-traded fund that tracks 443 European stocks is down slightly this year following last year's 32 percent gain. Patient investors would be wise to watch closely for ongoing negative news that could push its value down a bit further and turn it into a true bargain, DeLegge said.
That ETF's mutual fund sibling is Vanguard European Stock Index (VEURX). Both funds include primarily large- and mid-cap companies in 16 developed European markets.
He'd look to the top 100 companies in the
With a stronger dollar and weaker euro, U.S. companies can seek European acquisition candidates or expand their European businesses, he said. U.S. companies haven't been aggressive in such overseas expansion, but a weakening euro could set the stage.
"Weakness and doubt in
Among multinational leaders he finds attractive,
The potential for broad-based world fallout from the European situation remains the big caveat.
"There could be an effect on world markets because they're still fragile right now and reacting to reports--both good and bad--so it wouldn't take much bad news to send them into a sharp decline," Fitzpatrick said. "Yet that's less likely because regulators and officials in
There is still investment value in
"The No. 1 risk that could send European investment reeling and prompt a global aftershock would be a major failure of a country such as
But he puts the likelihood of that worst-case possibility at about 20 percent, which isn't enough to squelch thoughts of future investment bargains.
"U.S. investors who are underweighted in stocks now have a good opportunity to rebalance their portfolios and increase stock exposure in rock-solid companies," he said. "In terms of
DeLegge considers putting money into single-country European ETFs too tricky for the time being and is confident that the smartest move is to play the overall region whenever fear pushes prices down further. Thus far, the fear has been focused more on currency and government debt issues, but not so much on the equity markets.
"The problem with the
The EU has learned that while there is strength in numbers, there can be weakness in numbers as well, he said. The biggest flaw is the EU's lack of one centralized Treasury, which causes unavoidable structural problems whenever trying to cope with an economic crisis, he concluded.
- Healthcare Reform Could Have Positive and Negative Effects on Drug Stocks
- Investing: What to Do About Inflation and What Not to Do
- Kick-Start a Portfolio With Just a Little Cash
- Exchange Traded Funds Offer Low-Cost Diversification
- Fresh Look at Socially Responsible Mutual Funds
- Technology Opens Doors for Investors
- Make the Most of Your Mutual Fund Money
- Fiduciary Standard for Giving Investment Advice
- 'Investment Rewards' Credit Cards Well Worth A Look
Investing - Weakening European Stocks Offer Some Bargains for U.S. Investors
(c) 2010 Andrew Leckey


text:
Infant Don Balthasar Carlos with Horse, 1635/1636
The six-year old crown prince, sitting here on his pony in his representative function, would die only eleven years later. Velazquez portrayed him often, showing him as a hunter as well with a rifle and two dogs. In this setting, he gallops through the mountain range lying north of Madrid which symbolizes the Spanish kingdom with the vastness of the earth and the skies.
The perspective
makes this small animal with the strange
proportions look even more absurd, and the point
of view is quite low - supposedly delivering the
impression as if this beloved young prince and
future representative of the kingdom sets from the
ground with more grace and more altitude of flight
(however short).
The boy is set apart from life as he fills his place in the system of his royal society. Still, one can discover the real child wondering in his smallness about the splendour and the magnificence and the enormous responsibilities lying ahead of him (of which, of course, he is quite aware already) ...


text:
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For unique touches internally, aluminium structures can be themed by coloured swagging, overlay and indeed a star cloth lining.
We also supply and source all sorts of accessories to kit out your marquee.


text:
Moscow Agrees To Georgia Truce
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
TBILISI, Georgia, Aug. 12 -- Russia said Tuesday that it had ended its five-day tank and bomber assault against Georgia and agreed to a French peace plan by which most Russian forces would return home and international mediators would work to settle the long and explosive conflict between Georgia and Russian-backed South Ossetian separatists.
"The aggressor has been punished and suffered very significant losses; its military has been scattered," said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, speaking to his defense minister in a meeting aired on state television. He added: "If there are any emerging hotbeds of resistance or any aggressive actions, you should take steps to destroy them."
Whether a cease-fire had taken hold was unclear. Georgian authorities and foreign journalists reported that Russian forces continued to attack after Medvedev's words were broadcast, bombing the frontline city of Gori inside undisputed Georgian territory. There were reports of South Ossetian paramilitary fighters killing Georgian civilians, unrestrained by Russian troops.
Yet with his statement Medvedev appeared to be taking a significant step toward accommodating Western demands that Russia not translate its military superiority on the ground into annexation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another Georgian breakaway region, or the overthrow of the government of Georgia, which is a close U.S. ally. The injection of an international element into resolving the conflict, which carries the possibility of international peacekeepers in the two disputed regions, is a significant departure from previous Russian policy.
The plan would require Georgia's military to remain at its bases at distances that don't threaten South Ossetia, restricting the movement of the country's troops within its own recognized borders. And it did not include a reference to Georgian sovereignty over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which the government in Tbilisi regards as sacrosanct.
But in Georgia's capital, which Monday night was rife with fears that Russian tanks would advance into the city, citizens celebrated what they took to be a major Russian step-down. Tens of thousands of people came together in the mood of a victory rally to hear President Mikheil Saakashvili, who spoke proudly of a David-against-Goliath confrontation.
"We don't yet have peace," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters in Moscow, where he had gone to present the plan to the Russians. "But we have a provisional cessation of hostilities. And everyone should be aware that this is considerable progress. There is still much work to be done." Sarkozy secured Medvedev's signature to the plan and then flew to Tbilisi, where Saakashvili said he agreed to the document's "general principles."
Text of the agreement was not released. But its apparent lack of specificity on next steps carries the significant risk of a renewal of full hostilities in a region where cease-fires are agreed to and broken with head-spinning velocity.
Russia's move suggested that tough talk from Western leaders in recent days had succeeded in making Moscow fear a rupture of political and economic relations with their countries. Russia's relations with the West, already buffeted by a series of issues including a murder case in London and U.S. plans for missile defense in Eastern Europe, seemed on the verge of collapse because of Russia's offensive in Georgia.
The presidents of five East European countries, four of them members of the European Union and the NATO alliance, flew to Georgia on Tuesday to demonstrate support for Saakashvili. "The Russian state has once again shown its face, its true face," said Poland's Lech Kaczynski, who was joined by the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.
Ossetians are a separate ethnic group from Georgians. They broke away from national control in the early 1990s, and tensions have remained high since then. The chronology of events leading to full-scale war remains in dispute, with the Georgians and Russians each claiming that the other was the first to take major aggressive action.
Despite Western governments' public statements of support for Saakashvili, some Western diplomats now privately say that the Georgian leadership or military made a serious and possibly criminal mistake last week by launching a massive barrage against the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, which inevitably led to major civilian deaths and casualties.


text:
You're here because you want to use Do Nation to inspire others to take action for a healthier, happier and more sustainable world. Because, like us, you believe that making the world a better place is about actions, not cash.
You want to ask your friends and family to support you - not with money, but with action.
So you create a campaign page that explains what you're doing and why.
Then you share it and watch the pledges roll in. That impact? You created it. Those good habits? Down to you.
Everyone using Do Nation wants to inspire their friends and family to take action.
We can take care of the action bit: the inspiration is down to you...
Alex did the Great North Swim. He does that kind of thing a lot. This time round, he didn't want to ask his supporters for money. Instead, he asked for action.
26 people pledged to support him on Do Nation - including his whole team who started walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift to their office - on the 9th floor! Their small actions added up to 2,002 kg of CO2 saved - that's about 11 flights from London to Glasgow.
"What a great idea. It's made me think more about the issues. I'll gladly do my bit for the cause."
- Grant, pledging Tea timeRead more about his swim here
Having swung a place on the London Marathon ballot, Hannah found herself facing hours of long training runs, right through the depths of winter. She needed motivation.
The environment is something that she cares passionately about, so what better form of motivation than knowing that each step was helping to inspire someone to try out a new habit, shifting towards a more sustainable lifestyle?
Through her campaign on Do Nation, 43 friends supported Hannah - from Dave who pledged to Walk on, to her boyfriend Jonny who pledged to do Veg out, going cold-turkey free for two months.
"Good luck Hannah!!! Will aim to eat meat only at the weekends! Not going to be easy, but nor is running a marathon!"
- Rach, pledging Veg out.Read more about it here
Lindsay and Paul were getting married; they had everything they needed and so instead of setting up a wedding gift list, they decided to break tradition and ask friends for pledges, not presents.
"Paul and I wanted to make our wedding as environmentally friendly as we could. We wanted to give our friends and family the option of giving us a gift which had a positive effect on the environment. And this is where the Do Nation came in!"
- Lindsay
You'll get your own campaign page from where your supporters can make and share their pledges. Customise it to meet your needs, and share it with those you'd like to excite and engage.
We make it easy to measure your ongoing impact. As people make pledges, we'll estimate the cumulative carbon, water and waste their actions will save. We'll adjust that figure to make it more accurate as each supporter reports on how they got on.
Changing a behaviour is hard! We'll make sure your supporters have everything they need to complete their pledges. Each of our 45+ Do Actions comes with its own fun, informative and carefully timed set of emails, tips and collection of online resources.
We'll help you share your campaign online via a wide range of channels. Our nifty widgets are a great way to embed a little snapshot of your progress onto your website, blog or intranet.
Making pledges has to be simple, smooth, and enjoyable - otherwise, let's face it, who'll bother? Facebook login, human-centered pledge forms, and the ability for supporters to add a range of pledges to their 'basket' before making their final commitment are just a few examples of how we're achieving this.
We spoke to a few of our past campaign owners - and had a think ourselves - about how to make a campaign as inspiring and successful as possible.
When creating your pledge page, make sure you explain why you're asking people for their support. Perhaps you really care about the environment, or you're tired of asking people for sponsorship money, or maybe you just really need their support to get you through whatever crazy challenge you've signed up for!
Telling a story about your motivation will make your campaign more appealing - make it personal, use photos, and don't be afraid to ramp up the emotions!
When you ask your friends and family to make a pledge, make sure they understand just how important their support is. Make it clear. Donating actions instead of money is quite a new idea. When asking people for their support, try to explain the pledge process as clearly and simply as possible - we can help with this bit!
To celebrate our most enthusiastic and inspirational Doers, every month we reward the person or team who collects the most pledges with a year's supply of Ben & Jerry's!
Here's our most recent Doer of the month. Could you be the next? Get some inspiration by checking out our previous Doers of the month.
Jon Moore: changing job, changing habits
This isn't our usual campaign. Jon wasn't running a marathon, cycling 100km, or getting married. He was simply starting a new job. But this life change gave him a chance to reflect on things, and inspired him to ask friends to make a pledge to have an impact together. It goes to show - we can all make a difference in our own way.
in total
Create a basic pledge campaign, perfect for personal use or for trials within your organisation.
Best for:
individuals and small teams
raising support for challenges or events
alternative gift lists


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txlegz necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 43 diseños de 17 diseñadores freelance.
Architects of Fate is a personal development site that is aimed in helping people identify their choices in life, and taking responsibility for their actions.
Architects of Fate
I need an inspiring logo that is eye catching and gives an uplifting and modern vibe. I want to bring new life to an old idea and the logo should reflect that. That is my theme let me restate that. I want to bring NEW life to an OLD idea and the LOGO should reflect that idea!!!! I would like it to not only have the words incorporated in the logo but also allow brand name recognition without the words present. Something that when people look at it stands out from other logos they have seen!
Modern and sleek, almost high tech web 2.0, uplifting vibe, COLORFUL, something that looks good in white and black, logo that is recognizable with or without words incorporated. logo that can be used as a header on a webpage.I would also like something creative that incorporates architecture theme into the logo such as a blueprint or pyramid for the A you know almost like a play on words designed into the logo. I am looking for a designer that is thinking outside the box!!
Nothing too busy, but not bland or boring!!. No neon colors, no hard to read or cheesy fonts. No clip art.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Press Release from Les Echos Du Chanvre
A shipment of 100% hemp clothing from Crucial USA, worth $5000, was seized by French customs in May. The clothes were ordered by La Maison du Chanvre in Lyon, a non-profit organization, which publishes the French hemp journal Les ?chos du Chanvre.
Although Crucial had already shipped clothes to France many times before, and without any trouble, this time a zealous custom officer at Roissy airport in Paris "felt obliged" to report to the district attorney that he saw the pot leaf on the clothes. The reason: article L630 of the French law.
In France, freedom of expression is restricted by article L630 of the Public Health Code (part of the law dated Dec. 31, 1970, the cornerstone of the government's policy on drugs) which condemns the "presentation in a favorable manner of narcotics". This means that anything seen as instigating drug use is banned – such as the cannabis hemp leaf. And according to the context, government officers decide whether the presentation is incitement or not.
This is not the first time that hemp products face this silly law. Two years ago the British company The Body Shop had some trouble because of its new range of hemp cosmetics, featuring the hemp leaf on the packaging. But today, The Body Shop continues to display and sell these products.
The law in France is a nonsense when one knows that France is the major hemp producer in Europe. And there are many hemp museums and companies using the cannabis hemp leaf as a symbol.
* Les echos du Chanvre; email: [email protected]; website: www.Echosduchanvre.com
* Crucial USA; email: [email protected]; website: www.crucialcreations.com/