Sugar Skulls //\\ Hobbledeions -- Split Release

Hobbledeions (Scott Martin; Hands Off Cuba, Forest Bride, Fever Queen, Lambchop) and Sugar Sk*-*lls (Ben Marcantel; Hands Off Cuba, Forest Bride) are teaming up to "bring you a slice of your summer sound track." They are busy preparing a new cassette tape release, Secret Fugue Machine, and are having an in-store at Grimey's Saturday, May 28th at 5pm. 

The Sugar Sk*-*lls video (the first of a pair) was shot on kodachrome super-8 film stock around 1998 by Kelli Shay Hix. It was shot on super 8mm film stock. This track was taken from the critically acclaimed* digital album Another Micheal Mann Film which can be downloaded HERE via his bandcamp site.

About the footage, she said: "the water footage was originally intended for use in an imaginary geography collage piece, in which a wild geographical landscape would be created using footage shot all over the world.  In order to keep the landscape imaginary, I'd rather not say where I shot the footage.  I will say this:  It's all shot street photography style, though-- no shots set up, no effects, etc.  Just a nuts n bolts camera that I used to carry with me through my travels."

Here is the video:

sugar sk*-*lls: c. de gualle rilye'd up from Kelli Shay Hix on Vimeo.

*Ryan "I am smiling" Norris: Local album of the year? Nay, album of the year. 

Rangda Follow-Up

Wow!

That was a hell of a show!

John Allingham of legendary Nashville psych outfit Cherry Blossoms opened up the set with a solo electric set, also playing the staple kazoo and harmonica. The last two songs he performed, he asked Chris Corsano (Corsano Flower Duo) to join him. What a treat it was to see that occur. John's style of guitar is so fresh and expressive. He holds nothing back.

As it turns out, no one holding a guitar tonight had any other idea in mind but to play to the bitter end! It was a night full full full of incredibly talented and inventive guitars ... and more.

Following John's set was Seattle, Washington's Diminished Men. Just read these reviews to get a feel.... I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. Indeed it was a really wild carnival-surf-psych-dub event. A great and talented trio. These guys had a great connection which lent itself to some impeccably braided guitar and very physical drumming. Pretty seamless and space surfy....truly the best of combinations.

If it could get better than that, something along the lines of Rangda would have had to follow-up. Headlining convincingly, they jumped right into two great songs off of their record, False Flag. Long, endless, swimmy, mile-deep guitar drones of Ben Chasny and Richard Bishop. Chris Corsano behind them choreographing a distant battalion of independently moving boulders and lightning bolts somehow steeped in the wold's finest improvisational music. Kudos to both of these touring groups, Best of luck on the Road, and everyone should check them out. They're coming up to NY in a couple of weeks and many points in between.

The last set of the night was the other local bookend for the evening. Two more highly motivated and talented artists we've got on lock-down here in Nashville - Leslie Keffer (Laundromat Squelchers) and Scott Martin (Forrest Bride, Hands Off Cuba) finished the night off with some swervy electric music from deep within their individual foggy skulls. Just how we like 'em.
Thanks to all, to Open Lot and Chris Davis.

Rangda does Nashville, Monday September 13th

Rangda is an incredible psych and rock trio consisting of Richard Bishop (Sun City Girls, Eddy Detroit, Alvarius B), Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Comets On Fire), and Chris Corsano (Flower Corsano Duo, Jailbreak). They have released their only record so far on Drag City records, and goddamn it is beautiful! The trance elements and rough, swelling compositions are hypnotic and enchanting.

Rangda is coming to Nashville to play Open Lot fresh off of this year's Boomslang Fest courtesy, I hear, of the ever hard-working Chris Davis.

Rangda was Reviewed this year by the BBC in May, and Here is a whole slew of video of their live performances.

The performance is to start promptly at 9 and the suggested price is $15, $10 if you can't. Though, you are way welcome to pay more than that. 

It is incredibly important for Nashville to be able to get shows like this, so come out and if you're not in the area, spread the word. This is gonna be big!

Rounding out the evening we have many great sonic treats!

John Allingham (Cherry Blossoms) will be playing. John is one of my top guitar players locally and otherwise! His style is so real and uninhbited, a pure and free guitar sound certainly folky and pretty surfy to boot!

Leslie Keffer (Laundromat Squelchers) and Scott Martin (Hands Off Cuba, Forrest Bride) will also be duo'ing it up! Two great minds and busy busy hard-working artists coming together! Together, they're going to fry your mind, or what's left of it, just as separately they never fail to impress.

Diminished Men on Abduction records will be sharing the bill with them all. Their lp Shadow Instrumentals is sold out on Forced Exposure (they only pressed 500), so you gotta come and see if you can get one! They're on their way down on a tour that will be putting them back up in Brooklyn here shortly. I am very excited to see what they're showing around the East Coast these days.....

Among this constituency of John, Leslie, Scott, and Chris, one has an irreplaceable production unit generating some of the best music programming in the city currently. Thank you guys for all you do -- officially! Thanks!

Second Live Projection 2010, Betty’s Nashville, July 22nd

Live set that evening at Betty’s Grill, 49th & Charlotte:
Sugar Skulls [Ben Marcantel]
Black Patch [John Adams, Joe Garcia, Nathan Vasquez, Adam Bednarik]
Doberman [Scott Martin, Ryan Norris]

Scott Martin and I had talked one evening after a set of his at Betty’s about doing some video projection during one of his shows. He asked me if we could work that out because he wanted to play with some images really going on around him.
I lucked into it really. Only one other time has Scott called me accidentally, but one Sunday morning, Scott called and woke me up, asking if he could get in my liquor cabinet on a dry, eventful Sunday. I had to refuse because I currently don’t have a liquor cabinet, and was not who he thought he was talking to. I got the opportunity to ask him if he had any shows coming up though, and right then and there we made arrangements for Alcamy Henriksen and I to provide video for his show that following Thursday. I agreed immediately on our behalf.
The next few days were set-up for Alcamy Henriksen and I to get together to view, shoot, compile, and edit something for the occasion. With two laptops, two projectors, and two screens, we shot many films on top of and beside one another. Some of these films being paired had already gone through various multiple exposure, performance, and re-filming processes.
The images we worked with were both commercial and generated by working artists we know, a lot of which was work of Alcamy’s. My awareness of the film work being done among Ben Marcantel, Dustin Zemel, and Alcamy Henriksen is that upon which my enthusiasm and ability to create such a live video environment are contingent.

Stills from film;
Compiled by ABA & ASPHH; edited by ASPHH, 2010.

The show was a great success. The music, all around, was yet another incredible showing of just some of Nashville’s immense pool of dedicated and extremely talented artists and musicians. I am amazed, as usual, and dually honored to have been a part of it. Having heard and seen the progression of these musicians over the past ten years, there is hardly any effort left to lacking. The opportunity to collaborate with these artists to create a more succinct environment in which their work can be experienced is an opportunity not to be turned down.

Alcamy worked crazy hours and by her determination we were well over prepared with footage for the show. My heartfelt out to she and Scott for the great work, initial invite, and the desire for collaboration. Let’s fucking do it again!