Tag Archives for zs

Byron Coley and Thurston Moore’s “Bull Tongue” column from Arthur No. 30 (July 08)

BULL TONGUE
by Byron Coley and Thurston Moore

from Arthur No. 30 (Oct 2008) [available from Arthur Store]

This new Little Claw 7” on the Physical Sewer label which they had on their last roadtrip doesn’t even sound like them. But what do they sound like anyway? They sounded like the greatest goddamned fucking band on the planet the time we saw ‘em. Two minimalist drummers, a guitar dude with a nice underhook rhythm rip and a girl with a badass no wave slather tongue tearing hell out of her slide guitar given half the chance. And not all hellbent rage either—some nice licorice melt drizzle crud groove too. Fuckin’ awesome. This 7” sounds amazing but like some other weirdness was at play in the living room or wherever this beautiful session went down. You’re fucking nuts not to locate this—try their myspace roost.

Although the material is clearly posed, the new Richard Kern book, Looker (Abrams), is as voyeuristic as Gerard Malanga’s classic Scopophilia and Autobiography of a Sex Thief. Kern’s volume combines a feel of chasing a subject and photographing her without her knowledge, with some purely 21st Century tropes (dig the upskirt end papers), but the feel seems to also be a tribute to the ’70s Penthouse mag vibe. The nudes and font and the introductory essay by Geoff Nicholson all combine to create a volume with a much more gentle charge than Kern’s last book, Action. On the virtual opposite end of the photographic spectrum is David B. McKay’s Yuba Seasons (Mountain Images Press), which has some of the best nature photography we’ve seen in a long time. McKay has spent 40 years photographing this Northern California river and the area around it, and he has captured something really mind-blowing about the interaction of water and light and stone. The landscapes are great, but the river shots are beautiful, mysterious, fast and deep. You can feel them as much as you see them. Really fine.

There’s been a whole ark-full of gospel comps the last few decades and Lord yes they are always welcome but just when you think the well is dryin’ up along comes this motherfucker of a manic backwoods backstreet romper Life Is A Problem (Mississippi Records, 4007 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland, OR 97227 tel.: 503-282-2990). It’s been out a while and is even in a second pressing (without the first pressing’s bonus 7”) and is compiled by Eric and Warren from the Mississippi record store and label in Portland, OR and Mike McGonigal, who also annotated. It’s a 14-song set with some really raw guitar blowouts, handclap n’ chant fever stomps and sweet as ‘Bama honey singing. Some names on here we know like the lap-steel slasher Reverend Lonnie Farris but there are some straight up surprises. Particularly “Rock & Roll Sermon” by Elder Charles Beck, where he rails against the devil’s music, all the while kicking rock n roll ass. More sanctified sounds promised from this label in the future. Before this LP they issued a comp called I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore 1927-1948 which is also sheer beauty digging into tracks released by immigrants to America delivering early Zydeco, Salsa, Hawaiian slack key, etc.

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TONIGHT, Wed June 2, Brooklyn 8pm: $8 ALL-AGES BENEFIT for the victims of BP's oil catastrophe (co-presented by Arthur Magazine)

Bruce Vilanch still has his hair, as far as we know… but Willie Nelson cut his pigtails? Hmm. Well, every follicle counts in mopping up this BP mess.

Also counting is this emergency benefit concert going down tonight, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2 at Shea Stadium in Brooklyn, pulled together with care and attention by Solid PR.
More info on all the bands, the cause and the beneficiaries follow.

Do Earth a solid and attend if you can. It will be CATHARTIC. Transport by bicycle is encouraged. T-shirts and posters will be available for benefit purchase, courtesy Enemy Ink.

And if you can’t attend, do your own. Cuz there are a whole lotta victims, and it’s gonna get even worse when the Gulf of Mexico catches fire, like the Cuyahoga used to in Cleveland…

Who: Zs / Child Abuse / Controlled Bleeding / Cellular Chaos / DJ 1000TimesYes
What: A benefit to help the victims of the Gulf oil spill disaster
Where: Shea Stadium (20 Meadow St) Brooklyn, NY
When: Wednesday, June 2nd, 8pm
How much: $8
ALL AGES ALL AGES ALL AGES

Over the past few weeks, Solid PR has been saddened to hear of the devastation brought on by the recent oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and have tried to think of ways we could help those affected and shine a brighter light on the situation as a whole.

It’s been reported that to date more that 30 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf affecting an area of more than 4,900 square miles, and leaking at a rate speculated at being hundreds of thousands, to millions of barrels of oil per day. It’s also reported that there is a likelihood of the oil making its way into the “loop current” taking the spill from the Gulf, around the Florida Keys and Miami, and up the East Coast. Just today, yet another major news source reported the size of the slick to be that of a small country, currently threatening Louisiana’s fishing and coastal tourism industries, in addition to destroying its various nature reserves, and possibly affecting the state’s fragile marshes for decades.

We at Solid PR care about the delicate ecosystem of our planet and have decided to put together a last minute event to help raise awareness and help those affected by the Gulf oil spill disaster. All proceeds from this event will go to The Greater New Orleans Foundation put in place to offer assistance to those in need of help. If you’re interested in learning more, please visit http://www.gnof.org. More information on The Greater New Orleans Foundation below.

* This event is being presented in conjunction with our friends at Arthur Magazine.
Please feel free to spread the word and we look forward to seeing you.

About the bands:

Zs
Brooklyn’s veteran avant-garde band Zs have been causing quite a stir and raising a ton of eyebrows as of late with its brand of jazz-fusion, prog, industrial, punk, no wave, and drone stylings, most recently catching the attention of The NY Times who said of the band’s new album, “These pieces are all brain-benders; they’re conceptual art objects that set form and content against each other – like, say, a perfect birthday cake made out of sawdust, or a perfect hammer made out of bird feathers.” – Zs latest album, “New Slaves,” is out now on The Social Registry.
myspace.com/zstheband

Child Abuse
New York’s Child Abuse have just released their latest album, “Cut and Run,” on Lovepump United (currently home to the likes of Health and Clipd Beaks, and run in part by Genghis Tron frontman Mookie Singerman) to wild accolades. The band plays a completely twisted and manic form of industrial-strength grindcore and put on one of the most brutally unreal live shows around. Child Abuse is a definite must see each and every time they take the stage.
myspace.com/childabuse

Controlled Bleeding
Dating back to 1987, New York’s Controlled Bleeding are probably best known as being one of the earliest pioneers in the industrial and noise scenes, which included their appearance on the legendary Wax Trax “Black Box” box set alongside bands like Coil, Ministry, Clock DVA and others; although, as stated on the band’s Wikipedia page, “Controlled Bleeding’s sound is confusingly varied from album to album and has contained elements of dub, free jazz, noise, prog, sacred music, dark ambient, classical and musique concrète. To their own detriment, the group has never cared much about generating or maintaining an audience, but just sort of does whatever inspires them in the moment.” We have a feeling we’re all going to be treated to something extra special as the band is recently back together and performing as a duo for the first time.
myspace.com/controlledbleeding

Weasel Walter’s Cellular Chaos
Very little is known about the latest project from experimental hero Weasel Walter, dubbed Cellular Chaos, but if Mr. Walter is involved you can pretty much guarantee mind-blowing great times are in your future. The band has already performed alongside the likes of Liturgy and White Mice, and we hear the material shreds, so needless to say we’re very excited.

About The Greater New Orleans Foundation
The Greater New Orleans Foundation is one of the oldest and largest philanthropic organizations in the region. Every day, the Foundation joins other foundations, nonprofit organizations, community leaders, and government officials to address the needs of the community and build consensus for solutions. Together with our family of donors, the Foundation has invested over $100 million in our region since it opened its doors over 25 years ago to respond to community needs. The ultimate goal of the Greater New Orleans Foundation is to create a resilient, sustainable, vibrant community in which individuals and families flourish and in which the special character of the New Orleans region and its people is preserved, celebrated, and given the means to develop. We believe the Foundation has a critical role to play in attaining this goal, as community leader and convener; as champion of civil society; and as supporter of effective nonprofit leaders and organizations. By serving as a philanthropic partner to members of the donor community, we can help add meaning and value to the giving of individuals, families and institutions, increasing the effectiveness of their philanthropy and connecting them with the very best nonprofit work in Greater New Orleans and surrounding regions.
gnof.org

For more information, visit:
www.solidpr.com

DAILY MAGPIE – February 12th at ZEBULON

Have you heard Skeletons‘ new album Money yet? If not, pick up the gatefold LP version and open it for a little surprise courtesy of apocalyptic soothsayer/painter Justin Craun. Then listen to it and allow your mind to spread and wander…over to Zebulon on February 12th… to see it in the flesh, like this, alongside their comrades in arms Zs.

Date & Time: Thursday, February 12th – 9PM
Venue: ZEBULON (BROOKLYN)
Location: 258 Wythe Avenue between N. 3rd and Metropolitan / Brooklyn, NY 11211
Price: Free