Compost Modern Art

CHEVEU! OSLO!

2011-10-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right! Cheveu are coming to Oslo for the first time.

They will be playing at Revolver on the 18th of November.

Cheveu have a track on the Stuffs vol. 1 LP compilation and atleast 1 member will be contributing a solo project track for Stuff vol. 2 which will be out sometime soon-ish.

If you don't know Cheveu; here is a short introduction.

The show is 120kr and in the basement at 9 PM. Faxmaskin opens the show!

Here is a track from Cheveu latest LP out on Born Bad (europe) and Killshaman (US):

This should not be missed.

Fantastic live band and all-around nice guys.

See you there!

Crash Normal & Le Corbeau at Revolver

2011-05-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, long time no see! Currently working on the Stuffs vol. 2 LP.

Lots of great new bands in the works. More info sooner then later.

While we wait, Crash Normal are flying in for a short scandalnavian tour!

Be there or be square:

June 2 at Revolver with Le Corbeau + djs Team Antiharrs
June 3 possibly with Tundra Fucks in Gothenburg (house party)
and June 4th in Stockholm opening up for Abe Vigoda at Fritz's Corner/Strand

In Oslo I am happy to have Le Corbeau joining Jerome and Etienne for the big thursday party.
It will be a great night for only 100 kr. I'll be in terrible shape after a week of rum & cokes in Spain. You get a couple of cool dudes from Paris AND one of Oslo's best bands. Worth the money for sure ya'll! Then the trip continues to Sweden. Wish me luck.

Oh, and here is some great fottage from the PRICKLYpeaBOWLS festival "somewhere" on a beach in Italy last year. If you watch closely you will see yours truly drunk at 5pm...at a show...on the beach...in Italy......classy.

Scummy!

2011-05-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note. I will be djing this cool gig at Mir on saturday:

It's cheap. The bands are good. The club is nice. No reason not to show up. Word.

STUFFS reviews

2010-12-15T03:52:00.000-08:00

Here are a few nice reviews of the STUFFS LP.

From Terminal Boredom:

V/A "Stuffs Vol. 1 " comp LP
Oslo's Compost Modern Art with an international extravaganza of a comp, featuring some pretty hip acts (and a couple unknowns) mainly from the US and France with a couple of random Euros as well. Mostly unreleased cuts, let's try and grade this thing out...Side One: Matt K. Shrugg with a Pizzas-esque speeder, Ty Segall and a bounding garage-siker, Agent Ribbons (Austin,TX) do a very very nice garagey girl-group number, Sic Alps mail it in for yet another comp with a sloppy noise cut, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth sound a fuck of a lot like Mayyors (which isn't bad), Bipolar Bear prove they sound as bad as their name implies with a boring synth-gurgler, Sneakers do a falsetto-voxed New Wave indie-pop cut that's equal parts irritating and catchy. Side One Score: 4.5 out of 7. Side Two: Dictaphone serve a killer Cheveu/Teasers hybrid (that also appears on their LP), De La Cave do some video gamey synth that reminds me of a female voiced Digital Leather ("Black Flowers" in particular...there's quite a resemblance), Cheveu offer up a riveting synth/guitar spy theme instrumental, Crash Normal make a deathdrone synthstrumental, Feeling of Love's track is actually pretty poppy, Bungalow Ranchstyle (Oslo) play aggro-wave, and Don Vito do deconstructed noise rock. Side Two Score: 4 out of 7. Total Comp Score: 8.5 out of 14, which is somewhere around 65% choice cuts. Which isn't that shabby for the comp game these days. Best Cut: I'm going to say it's a tie between Cheveu and Dictaphone. France fares very well as a whole on this LP. Worst Cut: Bipolar Bear or Don Vito. Best "Unknown" Act: Agent Ribbons. I'll give bonus points for sleek gatefold packaging and exceptional art design, with a small bit of art from each band inside and a clever tracklisting concept. Scum stats: 750 copies.(RK)

From Still Single:

"I’ll take this over the Hozac dumpers any day; this sort of panic is much more my speed – a new import collection of a “state of scene” for bands with a little more ambition to go with their violence. Side A collects the mostly West Coast-based American contributions (When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Sneakers, Matt K. Shrugg, Ty Segall, Bipolar Bear, Agent Ribbons and Sic Alps), almost all of which turn in quality material. Since it’s a comp, you half-expect throwaways, and since it’s Sic Alps, you know they’re the ones who send in two minutes of electrified/contact mic’d dick-helmet touch, but the manic Sneakers and Matt K. Shrugg tracks make up for any shortcomings, and the rest fall in place. Side B focuses its attention on France, with contributions by the Dictaphone, De La Cave, Cheveu, Crash Normal, the Feeling of Love, Don Vito and Bungalow Ranchstyle. Only Don Vito and De La Cave scrape the bottom of Sic Alps’ shoes and consider it something. Everyone else here performs at a moderate-to-high level, and we’re presented with a reasonable survey of a specific and exciting time for lo-fi/DIY or die music. Glad this exists! Gatefold sleeve, 750 copies. (http://www.myspace.com/compostmodernart) (Doug Mosurock)"

From Permanent Records in Chicago:

"About a year ago Compost Modern Art Recordings wrote us asking about putting a Sneakers track on a compilation LP. We were happy to oblige the label and we put them in touch with Sneakers. It's been a long time coming, but the LP is finally here, the jacket is a gatefold, and the line-up is incredible. Here's the list: Cheveu, Bipolar Bear, Agent Ribbons, Don Vito, Crash Normal, Sneakers, The Dictaphone, Bungalow Ranchstyle, Ty Segall, When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth, The Feeling of Love, Sic Alps, De La Cave, and Matt K. Shrugg. We've featured records by nearly all of the bands included here in previous updates and we can honestly say that there isn't a throwaway jam on this slab. One of the best comps of the year! It's recommended for newbs looking to get into some of this stuff and weird punk veterans alike!"

From Maximum Rocknroll:

"Usually compilations fall flat because the person putting them together just throws some toss-off songs together, sticks a nice price on it and calls it a day. Then there are those comps that rise above the rest; we all know of incredible compilations that have helped shape a genre or, at the very least, have been thoughtfully curated. This one, featuring a slew of songs from lo-fi and noisy pop artists, does in fact rise above most others. Even if it’s not your favorite style of music. Stuffs does an excellent job of showcasing some standouts in a somewhat drowning style of music. On a small label from Oslo, Norway, Stuffs includes mostly French and American bands signing on with mostly unreleased songs. The artist list includes CRASH NORMAL, TY SEGALL, the FEELING OF LOVE, the DICTAPHONE, and SIC ALPS to name a few, and these aren’t a bunch of sloppy whatever tracks. It’s good, and put together with thought and care—including the packaging, which is very nice with a gatefold sleeve. (AL)"

And one in french!
http://etrangeressac.wordpress.com/

Il y a des éclipses aussi en Norvège. En voilà une bien belle, scrutée par le label Compost Modern Art d’Oslo. Les groupes When dinosaurs ruled the earth et Sneakers ouvrent fort bien la scène, avec fracas et conviction. Bien vite on tombe sur un roulé boulé de Ty Segall puis sur la pop clair-obscur d’Agent Ribbons. Bipolar Bear fascine de minimalisme bruitiste avant de laisser place aux fulgurantes exactions anihilatrices d’un Sic Alps total. Le Dictaphone de Tours fait des merveilles en ouverture de face B suivi par De La Cave aux charmes électroniques et nordiques. Cheveu cultive le mystère d’une fête foraine dans le grand nulle part sur un instrumental. Et un grand huit lunaire de Crash Normal avant le nouveau tour-de-force de Feeling of Love, télépathie supersonique sur des rivières de feu.Fin de B tout en noise avec notamment la déstructuration post-hiver de Don Vito déchaînés.

See? I'm not lying when I said it was good.
Listen for it on WFMU, KEXP, KDVS, KXLU, Radio Nova and other good stations where it's been getting airplay:)

Distros!

2010-09-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

STUFFS is now available from the fine people at Killshaman Records, S-S Records and Permanent Records (Chicago) in the US, and X-mist in Europe. A few others will have copies soon.

On the 13th of September I will be live on the radio making an ass of myself playing several songs off the record on the Bra Trommis show on Radio Nova 99.3 FM in Oslo. Tune in to learn some Norwegian and hear me ramble on about good music. It can be streamed/downloaded on the Radio Nova website afterwards.

Some super 8 promo videos from the STUFFS LP can be seen here: www.youtube.com/user/stuffslp

Here is a clip of The Dictaphone track Mummmers:

This track (in another version) appears on the fabulous new The Dictaphone Self Titled LP on Killshaman. Buy it.

I will also be spinning STUFFS and a whole lot of other stuff(s) at Garage on the 10th of September with the Team Antiharrs dj crew. Siste Dagers Helvete play in the basement also.

Be there or be square.

It took forever, but here it is:

2010-07-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Compost Modern Art Recordings proudly presents: STUFFS

750 x gatefold LP with music and art by all 14 bands.
12 euros + shipping & fondling.

ORDER STUFFS COMPILATION FROM:

http://compostmodernartrecordings.bigcartel.com

or crashnormal.bigcartel.com/

I heard it's pretty good....

STUFFS!

2010-02-06T03:41:00.000-08:00

Right. It's finally time for STUFFS. The new Compost Modern Art LP compilation.

It's full of good stuff(s). The lineup is as follows:

Crash Normal (Fr), Cheveu (Fr), Sneakers (US), Bungalow Ranchstyle (No), Agent Ribbons (US), The Dictaphone (Fr), The Feeling of Love (Fr), De La Cave (Fr), Bipolar Bear (US), Don Vito (Ge), Ty Segall (US), When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth (US), Sic Alps (US), and Matt K. Shrugg (US)

That's 14 freaking bands. Some short bursts and some long tracks of varying styles...best of all, they are all good. Hand picked by yours truly.
A few other bands were in the running as well, but have dropped off and/or changed in the last few months. It's taken over 6 months to get it all together.

Almost all songs have never been released and some have been made especially for this compilation!

This means you should buy a copy. I know people will download this as they always do...but its worth getting for the artwork alone....atleast let me break even eh? All bands have contributed a piece of art that CMA team have put together.

I am amazed and honored that all these bands are a part of this.

So look for this record somewhere sometime soon. More info in a few weeks.

Oh, and I made a (soon-to-be) super-fancy website: http://www.cmarecordings.com/

All Ears 2010

2010-01-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

So, I'll be dj'ing one night at the amazing All Ears festival for improvised music this year with the Soft Bondage gang. Should be fun. The lineup is pretty incredible:I'll probably play a track or two from the upcoming LP comp, but you really want to come to see Zach Hill, Han Bennink, Johannes Bauer and the rest of the amazing musicians during the weekend long festival. See you there if you know what's good for ya.

Quick cma pre-release party recap

2009-12-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

So here is some footage from the CMA pre-release party. Good times.

The Feeling of Love:

Hell Shovel:

Bungalow Ranchstyle:

....................................................

Info about the 12" compilation release soon!

12" Compilation pre-release party!

2009-10-29T03:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, cma#003 is on the way. 14 band compilation; mostly american and french. Bands include Crash Normal, Cheveu, Bipolar Bear, The Feeling of Love, The Dictaphone, Bungalow Ranchstyle, Sneakers, Don Vito and a bunch of others.

The list is not "official" yet.

To celebrate the eventual release; The Feeling of Love and Bungalow Ranchstyle will be playing at Funhouse on the 13th of November with Hell Shovel. Cost is only 50 kroner. Freakin cheap people!

US Distribution.....

2009-08-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

Sending records to the states turns out to be insanely slow and a bit expensive from Oslo...

SO, if you are in the states/canada you can now order the records from these fine people:

s-s, permanent, floridas dying, kill shaman, roccoco and possibly your local record stores and others establishements.

Europeans know what to do.

Get to it. The next release (12'' comp.) will be great too, I promise.

Not dead yet...

2009-07-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

Yes it's very quiet here. Been busy partying at jazz festivals and what not.

The 7 inches are selling well. (and downloading well it seems) so I should be sold out in not too long. Looks like I will break even, so that's a plus.

New record in the works with alot of great bands. Its gonna be a 12'' compilation.
Who doesn't love a good comp? Well I do. Good way to check out new bands and to get some exclusive tracks by bands you might know. Hoping to announce an official release date by the end of summer.

Here are some videos from the last few weeks:

First up, OFFONOFF at Mono in may:

Here are The Intelligence and Crash Normal from the Compost Modern Art 7'' release party that I don't remember much from. Glad to have the video:

Oh, I'm spinning records at Garage on the 24th.
Should be noisy.

CMA Interview: The Intelligence

2009-06-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

So, I've become a full fledged juuornalisst.

Lars from The Intelligence was nice enough to let me "interview" him.

Basically, I sendt him some not so great, and some good questions by mail, and he answered. (Photo taken in Barcelona last week at the Primavera Sound festival..more on that later)

So here it is in all its Pulitzer price winning glory:

CMA: Tell us a little about your background. How and where did you get started playing music?

Lars: I started playing guitar in high school. I got grounded from my skateboard trying to impress these scumbags by trying to steal some poor kids skateboard, trying to look tough in the sheltered burbs. So I spent the summer playing the intro of Metallica's One and the intro to Purple Haze in a 100 degree garage in Bakersfield, California.   

CMA: You have done a lot of varied covers over the years. What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

Lars: I was listening to Red Red Wine by UB40, tell my friend when 'what the fuck are you doing buddy, and gave me a recorded tape of the Dead Kennedys.  I heard most stuff from skate videos. That informed a lot of stuff I liked. Those old videos in the 80's had Black Flag, Sonic Youth, firehose, Bad Religion. I liked that kinda stuff.  I got into that 2 tone ska stuff for one summer. Shit, I even dug this Lenny Kravitz tape! My last year in high school was when I really got into music more though because I started hanging around with the dopers you know. Black Sabbath, The Breeders and Abbey Road I remember listening to a lot. The grunge got really big and I liked most of that stuff.   

CMA: How long have you been Intelligence? 

Lars: Since the day I was born son! Just kidding. I think our first single came out in 2000, but I'd been doing solo 4-track stuff two or three years before that - which was more fun and satisfying than the real band I was doing with some friends. We liked The Jesus Lizard and stuff but stunk on our instruments. Then I heard The Country Teasers and realized we were doing it wrong.    

CMA: You have played in a number of bands before (A Frames, Dipers, Unnatural Helpers etc.), why did you decide to focus on this "solo" project? 

Lars: The Intelligence has always been what I cared about most but the other bands were easier live for quite a while. I was denying being 'the boss' for years so we were pretending to be a band for years and since I was always disappointed and hated giving direction, it was my excuse to party first and play some shit songs second. The long time drummer quit and I was finally free to record by myself. Also Matthew Ford from Factums and Love Tan was my best buddy and was really encouraging and played drums and I got the first band I really dug together. The other bands just kinda died as far as my involvement. A Frames gave me the boot, Unnatural Helpers reformed without telling me or the bass player. Dipers personalities clashed too much I guess.

CMA: You seem to have done most, if not all the recordings yourself. Do the other band members have any influence on the writing? 

Lars: The funniest part for me is recording. I don't' want to just sing and play guitar, I get to do that live. I like playing drums and the other stuff. I like recording alone. I went to recording school which taught me I hate recording. I like being a side man in a band but if I'm 'the boss' I like doing it alone. It's faster.    

CMA: You have also been known to change member a lot like The Fall's Mark E. Smith.  What is the story behind that? 

Lars: Some people don't like the set up, or they are great but they move to San Francisco or L.A. , or they aren't good enough, or they aren't fun to tour with, or the band would be better with someone else, or they bend all the guitar notes trying to show off. making them and us sound awful. If they want to write all the bass parts or write songs together in a rehearsal room democratically there are papers full of other bands for them to join with sympathetic parties. I am the first one to say this band is probably really boring to be in as a 'musician' because there isn't room for and individuals 'personality'. We are all four working towards ONE simplistic personality.   

CMA: How great are The Fall by the way? You have opened for them?

Lars: They are great. We played two shows in New York with them but we forgot to pay attention, I didn't know any of their new album and we were too excited to be flown to New York. I listen to them far more now than I did then though.   

CMA: Intelligence seems to be released on a ton of labels in both America and Europe (including one here in Oslo). Do you prefer these kind of limited vinyl 7 inch releases?

Lars: No not really, I really like to work on an LP. But we have friends ask us for stuff or stuff laying around that doesn't fit on records. I do like having 7" on the merch table for sure, but after the Oslo 7" we're going to chill out, I don't want to have too much stuff out there, it's a turn off to me. I don't think being 'prolific' is the greatest compliment.   

CMA: What is your writing and recording process like?

Lars: Pop in a cassette tape and start layering stuff usually. Start with drums and just stack stuff on. If it grabs me then I'll sing over it or toss it in the shoebox to be dug up six months from now when we're out of ideas. Lately since we get to go into a real studio, I've been using a lot of the home recordings as 'demo's' since I love the big drum sounds we get at the distillery. I'm tired of 'lo-fi' I like sounding good with the windows rolled down too.  Tell us about your studio setup. -  Just a 7 track Tascam cassette that has the tape door punched in out of frustration. I use this piece of garbage peavy PA head I guess as a 'preamp' to boost the signal and put the fakest reverb since Van Halen on there.    

CMA: Some people might react to the extreme "lo-fi" sound and the mix of garage and electro of your records... is this sound a concious decisions?

Lars: I guess so, it was the necessity of our environment. Stuff recorded like garbage sounds really lousy quiet so we mixed it really loud. I like that our Icky Baby record literally destroyed the editor/owner of terminal-boredom.com's speakers. But the mix is not conscious at all, there's no plan it's just what's quick and close and fun or inspired. Some songs you don't want to get the drumset out of the garage so you use the drum machine inside a cheap keyboard and you have a song like Cheer Up Switch. Other times the whole band laughs at you when you try to get them to all play this one dumb riff so you find and old tape of a surf beat and slow it down and play the riff yourself and you get a song like The World Is Not a Drag. We do try to approach each song differently just to have a more varied pallet of sound - sorry that's the most pretentious sounding thing ever.    

CMA: How do you feel about the label garage punk or glue wave and how its becoming "hip" these days? Do you label your own music in some way?

Lars: They say it's hip but I see all of us playing to three people on plenty of stops on tour so I think just because it's on the internet and trickels into some magazines it doesn't.  I like the term glue wave actually. I hope it get really hip and really big so we can all make some money and be on 'NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL GLUE WAVE VOL. 3" compilations by Time Life.

CMA: You have a new record out on In the Red Records called Fake Surfers. How does this record differ from the earlier ones? 

Lars: It's pretty similar to the last record but better and weirder. With Deuteronomy (In the Red) I wanted a good rock record with good sounds but pretty stripped down. I wanted to keep it simple since I was nervous about blowing it in the studio for the first time. But this one I wanted to mix good rock songs with some more weirder stuff. Like a hi-fi version of our first record (Bordeom and Terror, Omnibus/Draget Records) but weirder. There's more layers and lots of different sounds. On Deuteronomy we got a good drum sound and used it for all the songs, same with the bass/guitar/vocals, this one we had more time to make it all different. My favorite day was the guitar day where we set up a little station with four different amps and guitars and pedals and made different combinations so they weren't' ever the same. The Hunches new LP was somewhat of an influence on that, there's 1000 different guitar sounds on that usually within the same song. The singing was more fun this time too, I had some of my favorite singers come in, Brad from this great band from LA Wounded Lion sings some back ups and so does Brian from Christmas Island, another of our favorite new bands. Monty Buckles from the Lamps 'sings' on another and plays some guitar and synth. Susanna is on there again too.      

CMA: Tell us a little about the people who are playing with you now and where you found them. 

Lars: Our guitarist Perve Bird was a fan and in a good band The Professional Man from Portland; he sent me this really nice email when we were playing as a three piece after the Icky Baby (In the Red) version of the band split up saying how he loved us but it's better with two guitars and asked for an audition; he drove up and learned all the songs fast to, we practiced and he was good enough so he played a show with us that night. He's been leaving his luggage in airports and outside of cars all over the world since.  Our bassist Susanna is 'my old lady'. We were together for a while and she'd dated a touring musician before and it didn't work out with the time apart so I'd been thinking of having her play keys so we could tour together. We had this great guy Shannon McConnell from the Fall-Outs and The Pulses playing with him who I loved but he couldn't' really tour so he had to quit. Maybe the idea came from Volt, and a lot of our songs I recorded the basslines on keyboards so we gave it a shot with her playing them. Turns out she's one of the best musicians we've ever had, I guess all her piano lessons came back and she's great. -  Our drummer Beren, this is a funny story: We were on tour in the US and our drummer quit, I loved him but we'd broken up the first band I was in 10 years ago in kind of the same way, we got on great but there was a kinda tension underneath sometimes. Anyways we blew up at this great show in NYC and he quit the next day. Meanwhile Beren was on tour with Eat Skull and had tried to give her notice, telling the band she'd finish the tour but when they got home she was done. I guess they booted her on the spot and left her stranded in NY. I'd already been a fan of her drumming (and she played in Perve Birds band) so we called and asked if she'd finish the tour with us. We picked her up the next day and she listened to our songs on an Ipod for the 9 hour drive to Toledo and we played this god awful show with her not having any practice, I'd beat box the beat of the song and we'd go for it. It was pretty messed up but she did great. The next day we got to practice in Detroit all day and she ruled. She's the best.    

CMA: Do you still like touring and sleeping on floors?

Lars: Mmm, I love sleeping on floors. Man whenever I see one I just get drowsy it looks so dirty and comfy.

CMA: Do you prefer touring in the states or in Europe?

Lars: I think everyone likes Europe better cause you can't eat 'get the fuck out of here' for dinner. Seems like we do the best in Paris which amazes me and my parents. I like Spain a lot. We had a blast in Eastern Europe last year in Croatia and Serbia. It was really cool to get go to Macedonia where 15 people ate and drank their nuts off at this great restaurant for 30 Euro.   

CMA: What other then the Karate Party Helicopter LP would you recommend everyone to have in their record collection? 

Lars: We're really into Tones on Tail Pop right now for some reason. Coltrane's Lush Life I love.

CMA: Any new bands that excite you these days? 

Lars: Oh yeah lots, its' a great time I think. The best since we've been playing for sure. Christmas Island, Wounded Lion, Thee Oh Sees, Sic Alps, Meth Teeth, Eat Skull, The Growlers, Hospitals, The Spits, Cheveu, Soft Pack, Ganglians, Crash Normal, I forget...  

CMA: Are you tired of these lame questions? 

Lars: No these are good and I can't wait to read my coffee wave brain from the start, confused- stoked- kinda stuck up- confused- rambling-shamed- lighthearted.. 

CMA: Wanna plug some more releases, projects, zines, blogs, books, films etc? 

Lars: Oh Calvin Lee Reader our old bassist makes great films, Little Farm is great and Piledriver too. His new one Pina Colada something is great too.  I do interviews of bands I like on www.terminalboredom.com    

CMA: Are you a fan of any Scandinavian bands?

Lars: Maybe I am, I can't think of any right now though, isn't LLiamannaria Finnish? I love them.

CMA: Lars Finberg is a very Scandinavian sounding name. Where is your family originally from?

Lars: Finland and Sweden. It was changed to Finberg from Ooupoula or something.    

CMA: Dragnet Records, which I guess you helped run, seems to be defunct. Are you running any other labels? 

Lars: We started Dragnet because back then there weren't little labels to send it to it didn't seem like. 'hey think Universal or E.M.I. wants to release this 7" recorded on a wet VHS tape?' So we just saved up and did it ourselves. Once someone else offered to put it out we jumped at the chance. If I had money I'd do it again, maybe in the future it'd be nice to have a little label but there's so many these days I don't see the point really.

CMA: Anything you want to say to people in Norway (other than buying the records and coming to the show June 6th at Gloria Flames)?

Lars: Just hello and we're really excited to be coming, we didn't' have time to make it that way last year so we chose you over Eastern Europe this time, you and your running water. And it's your birthday on the 5th and mine on the 8th so lets take it really easy and reflect. Just kidding. Last time our (Swedish) promoter jumped through a plate glass buss stop so we're kind of expecting a lot. Thanks for your time and/or interest!

Originally posted on groove.no May 2009. (Thanks Bjørn)

The Intelligence are on their european tour now. Saturday is the big CMA release party in Oslo with Intelligence, Crash Normal from Paris and local heros Bungalow Ranchstyle. AND its my birhtday...it's gonna be a good weekend.

Forest City Rockers Part 3

2009-05-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

The Forest City Rockers Motorcycle Club part 3 is out. It features music by the mayyors (as always) and a live performance from Crash Normal.

The Forest City Rockers - Episode 3 from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

The story is reeeally deep, so you should watch episode 1 and 2 first. (Posted below or at http://www.forestcityrockers.com/)

The Crash Normal Unrealistic Tracks 4 song 7 inch is out now on my label. Feel free to hit me up on gmail and buy a copy. 5 euros + shipping. I'll try to make it a little less painfull for overseas shipping and multiple copies.

Primavera Sound

2009-05-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

So I'm headed for a full week in Barcelona. The Primavera Sound lineup is disgusting. It might be the best line up ever....anywhere. Shellac, The Jesus Lizard, The Vaselines, Dan Deacon, The Intelligence, Liars, Lightning Bolt, Sonic Youth, Zu just to name a few of the 100+ artists. Lots of "up and comers" as well. There is even an ATP and Pitchfork stage. The indie kids all have hard-ons. The festival starts thursday, but there is a ton of bands playing in the days before as well. Also, Barcelona are playing the Champions League final on wednesday, so if they win we might be in the middle of the biggest party in years. God knows how I'm gonna survive this. The weekend after is my big releaseparty for Crash Normal and The Intelligence in Oslo. I don't know when I will be able to get a full nights sleep again...maybe by the end of june.

Anyone with Primavera tips? I'm drowning in bands and not sure what I'm gonna see. So much too choose from. I'm sticking with the small bands, although it would be cool to cross Neil Young off my list. He's like a legend or some shit.... anyway, which me luck.

The Intelligence & Crash Normal.... in Oslo!

2009-05-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

You're still here? How are ya? Gooood.
So this site has been neglected again, but I got an excuse.

2 records are ready for release within the next 1-3 weeks!
If you are in Oslo there will be a releaseparty at Gloria Flames on June 6th. The first record is out in a week and the other june 6th.
I've paid for planetickets for Crash Normal out of my own pocket. They are THAT great. The Intelligence are also playing as part of their Scandal-navia tour, pluss local dudes Bungalow Ranchstyle play AND myself (if I'm sober enough) and HJ aka (Team Antiharrs) will be spinning records between and after the bands.
This is gonna be a good show, so you should fly your ass up here to the great viking north.
It's also gonna be free! (or close to it) I'll be selling 7 inches and the bands will have some goodies too. And if that's not enough, it's my birthday (sort of) and Lars from Intelligence birthday (sort of) so it's sort of a birthday party as well.
No gifts are needed, but I will take your money. (Paper money only please)
I will also take other gifts that can be discussed at a later date. (No, not hookers and coke, but good guess)

That's it, you say? Well, NO! Crash Normal are doing a SECOND gig (free!) outside of Sound of Mu during the day on June 6th. It's a big "day of music" here that day, so it's a good day to be in Oslo as a music fan...or really as a human being.

If my liver survives the previous weekend (one week sucking down caprinas at Primavera Sound in Barcelona) this is gonna be the greatest weekend ever.

Be there or be □.

Video marathon...

2009-04-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

So I took a daytrip to Gothenburg Sweden to see Cheveu and Tyvek last sunday. They played at this cool little place called Utmarken. I don't need to say much more, just look at the proof that Cheveu are one of the greatest live bands touring right now: (Ignore the shaky drunken filming)

Also filmed a few other shows over the last few weeks including Thomas Function at Funhouse and Skull Defekts at Revolver.

So I guess it goes without saying, but check these bands out live. And as you probably can tell my camera isn't worth a damn in the dark, but you get the idea.

Oh and I'm spinning records at Gloria Flames tonite...hurrah! You'll probably hear some of the formentioned bands.

While we wait...

2009-04-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

So the 2 releases are a bit delayed....
One didn't have good enough sound on the test pressing, the other is just delayed. Hope to have atleast one ready for the release party.

While we wait you can download the Mayyors full set from WFMU. Mayyors has to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Mayyors are not on my record label, but if someone involved reads this, I'm game.

Mp3's: Mayyors recorded live at SXSW 2009.

Video from the show (the mp3's have good sound):

http://vimeo.com/3791118 from FFT on Vimeo.

Man, I wish I was there....

2009-03-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

lucky bastards...

Woe is you and me

2009-03-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

So things have been slow like a right wing talkshow host around here, I know... Nobody seemed to miss me though, so it's cool.
Been a combination of illness and lazyness...but I will be back with new stuff soon. The first record (by Crash Normal) will be out on CMA in a couple of weeks; and the second one is in the works already.

In the meantime you can enjoy this video by The Strange Boys from Austin Texas who just put out a new record on In The Red Records. Buy it. I did, and you wanna be cool like me right? Riiight.

CMA #001: Crash Normal - Unrealistic Tracks 7''

2009-02-25T04:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, we are getting closer to the release of the first 7 inch on my new label. I am excited like a little fat school boy chasing the ice cream truck.

The record will be called Unrealistic Tracks by Crash Normal.

The cover is by an Italian artist called Massimiliano Bomba

There will be 4 dirty punk rock tracks on it.

These were recorded in 2006-2007 when Crash Normal were a 3 piece.

These are not the songs I was originally gonna release, but these are still solid. The other songs will be spread out on a 10'' and a few other 7''s on other labels in the near future.

If you head on over to my million dollar myspace site, you can listen to the first track from the 7''; its called "cute".

There will only be 300 of these released so be quick or something...

Release date, price and info on ordering will be available soon. (Basically the 7'' will be available from the band and from me on myspace/paypal.)

Forest City Rockers!

2009-02-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

Episode 2 of The Forest City Rockers is out!
It features Thee Oh Sees!
Check it out:

The Forest City Rockers - Episode 2 from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.
Episode 3 will feature Crash Normal whos 7 inch ep will be out soon on Compost Modern Art. Snacks.

Oh, my brother made me a new logo. Looks alot better than the one I made in 5 minutes (see earlier post)

The Ex Guitars live at the All Ears Festival 2009

2009-01-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

Here is alittle exclusive treat for you improv nerds.
Terrie Ex and Andy Moor live at the All Ears Festival in Oslo last week.
All Ears is a festival for improvised music put on by a bunch of talented local musicians including Paal Nilssen-Love (doing the introduction on this video) Don't mind the crappy filming by yours truly...
The sound quality is decent. According to Terrie, lots of stuff is in the works, including Ex shows with their favorite Ethiopian: Getatchew Mekuria. He also hinted that all (or some) of the old records will again (and in some cases for the first time...?) come out on vinyl. Hurrah!

Here is the entire set from The Ex Guitars:
Enjoy!

As a bonus treat here is a clip from Borbetomagus. This old NYC band have been playing almost as long as The Ex. (That's 30 years folks.) They put on an amazing show. Not quite the same effect on my poorly shot video, but they were amazing to watch:

I generally don't sit at home and listen stuff like this, but live it's something special.
Do yourself a favour and go see some improv sometime. (Bring earplugs)

New record label!

2009-01-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

So, I guess it's official: I am starting a record label. I have had the pleasure to get to know Crash Normal (Jerome and Vince) who are a great couple of guys from Paris. I was at Jeromes place this summer and he played me some demos and seemed to have no plans for releasing them. These are some of the songs they played live here in Oslo as well as on their last US tour. The songs are killer. So I asked if I could put them out, and the rest is history.

Look at these guys..what's not to love?

Hopefully I will release lots more stuff in the future...A couple of other bands are in the works as well. So save your pennies and keep an ear open. I will need your money for more records. More money, more records you see? An amazing concept. Oh and I will only be releasing those black round things with deep grooves in a very limited number...perfect for all the collector scum out there. Release dates etc is still not set, but it will be soon(er or later). Hurrah.

Join the cult here.

Merry Newyear!

2008-12-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

2009 is here. 2008 has been good, but 2009 izz gonna rulez yo! Word homeslice.

There will be no best of 2008 list, but everyone should own the Cheveu record that came out this year:

Maybe this Agaskodo Teliverek video for blood club is the best of 08? I haven't been paying attention. The video is good though:

Seeya in 09

Next Life at Garage, Oslo 29.12.08

2008-12-30T23:48:00.000-08:00

Tested my new video camera. Brought it to the Next Life cd release party. The band was nice enough to edit and use the footage for a litte video.
Take a look:

The new Next Life record is called The Lost Age and is out January 5th on Fysisk Format. Purchase the record here.

Merry Xxxmas

2008-12-20T02:47:00.000-08:00

Here is your xmas present. If you got yours last year...sorry it's recycled.

It is the greatest xmas song ever, so really what are you complaining about?

So merry christmas, happy kwanzaa, hannaka, boxing day, anti-corporate day, drunk day, or wednesday or whatever you might be celebrating.

Mistreaters - Santa Stole My Baby (rapidshare)

Rebel '77

2008-12-19T02:29:00.000-08:00

The Rebel - The Idiot (rapidshare)
(stolen from 7 year glitch. thnx...)

Werner Herzog - Stroszek (1977)

The Idiot is availabe (in a different form) on
The Country Teasers Live Album available on In The Red

Out now; two new records* from The Rebel/Country Teasers :

* CT/Ezee-Tiger split LP on Holy Mountain
* The Rebel - Northern Rocks Bear Weird Vegetable LP on Sacred Bones
(recorded live at wfmu -listen here)

That's it. Doodelidup!

Pale Young Gentlemen

2008-12-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm not just into noisy punk, I also like pretty indie rock type stuff. Got an email from Pale Young Gentlemen. They are a 5 piece from Wisconsin. At times like Clap your hands, Arcade Fire, and Black Heart Procession all rolled into one. Yet the singing is much better, there is'nt a freak folk vibe and its not so depressing. (Nothing against those 3 bands) This is solid songwriting heavy on the strings. Sometime I feel like they should just rock hard as the song builds, but it quietly rolls along until it ends...which is really just as good. Maybe they are louder onstage...couldn't guess it from this band photo though:

Anyway, this is worth checking out. Here are two tracks from their latest album Black Forest (tra la la) out on Science Of Sound Records.

mp3s:

Pale Young Gentlemen - I Wasn't Worried (Rapidshare)

Pale Young Gentlemen - The Crook Of My Good Arm

To hear more you can stream their two albums on their website :

Visit PYG

Myspazz

Buy PYG

The Feeling Of Love

2008-12-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

So...It's been dead here for a while. Well, I haven't felt like going to shows. My tinnitus is getting worse and I'm trying to cut down on the insane numbers that show up on my creditcard bill after a night on the town.

A big annoncement is coming up soon on this here blog thingy. What you ask? Well, it's a secret...so far. There will also be a nice xmas gift for you. Just for you because I love you sooo much.

In the mean time you can enjoy the sweet sweet sounds of The Feeling Of Love. This is another great Seb Normal project. I think he has played in about 42351.4 bands. Seb Normal is the brother of Jerome Normal from Crash Normal. Crash Normal miiight have something to do with my big announcement in the near future. Stay tuned or whatever.

The Feeling of Love - Tounge Tattoo

Posting just one, but you can find tons more of his stuff by clicking the links below.

Also, enjoy this bonus "behind the scenes" video from Crash Normal in Oslo last year. Hey! you might even see yours truly in the video:

Spread the love here:

Visit The Feeling of Love
and here (warning not for epileptics!)
Buy from Seb Normal or Phil Scrotcum
Visit Crash Normal

Oh Seattle how I miss you...

2008-11-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

..well, only when I remember what great bands (like the ones below) are playing there every night.

Tiny Vipers and...

Damien Jurado at Betong tonight.

Should be a nice monday night.

USA! USA! USA!

2008-11-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

Sanity prevailed. Lets hope Barack can clean up the greatest mess in American history...it's not gonna be easy.

In other news, I'll be djing with HJ after the Fuck Buttons show at Mono tomorrow. It's gonna be a barackan party.
GZA tonight and Lightning Bolt this weekend. hurrah!

God hates smalltown values

2008-10-30T01:57:00.000-07:00

I'm not voting this year. It's pointless. Obama will win Washington State anyhow. If you live in Texas or Alabama or some other rightwing state; please vote democrat. I moved to Europe...not my problem anymore.
How fucked up is this country? Church groups organize movie trips to see The Passion while the "elite" skip out on voting to smoke pot. No wonder morons are running the country. So anyway; I've been robbed by the electoral system before, so I've just give up and besides, this time sanity will prevail. On nov 4th I'll be drunk; celebrating.
Yes I know, I'm no better than them; and your point is?

The Usaisamonster - Anal Lies

New record out on load
myspazz

No Oslo!

2008-10-14T03:54:00.000-07:00

No Nebraska! and Don Vito were in town a couple of weeks ago at Revolver.
Revolver are continually putting on great shows. (sic alps, lightning bolt etc coming up) Second time seeing the amazing Don Vito.
The small (but appreciative) crowd even got the bands to do 2 nights in a row. Here are some top quality cellphone photos! Thanks Nokia! you bum.

New No Nebraska! out this month on Sk Records
Check out mp3: No Nebraska! - le coût du prix libre

Mp3: Don Vito - Electric Mayhem
Touring England in February; check em out.

This is good stuff. Buy it. It's that simple.

Buy Don Vito
Buy No Nebraska! here:

Forest City Rockers Motorcycle Club

2008-10-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

Do you like parties? Do you like karate? Do you like badass cartoons?
Then you will like The Mayyors:

Mayyors are not on the web. check at S-S
Buy Karate Party from S-S
Jay Howell - more great animation here

Bad Deer

2008-10-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone else notice the Bad Company "All right now" riff in the new Deerhoof song Tears and Music of Love? I did.

It's ok. I still love Deerhoof.

Offend Maggie is out now (today!) on Killrockstars.

Sic Alps

2008-09-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Videos from Description of the Harbor:

mp3: Sic Alps - Bathman from U.S. EZ

Buy "Description of the Harbor" from Animal Disguise
Buy "U.S. EZ" from siltbreeze
Info: Sic Alps

RRR: Ranheim Release Record

2008-09-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ranheim has a new record out this month.
Official release date in Norway for 'Norwegian Wood' is 22. September.
19 kroner at Platekompaniet.
There is a release party at Mono tuesday the 16th.
I'll be spinning some records there too...
Steve Albini recorded this in Chicago, so it sure sounds good.

Here is some exlusive (oooh!) footage from this summer:
Ranheim - Boycout (clip)
(sorry, not from the new record)

Ranheim myspace
Buy from Kong Tiki

Permanent (brain) Damage

2008-09-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

My good friend (and former boss) Al Milman is re-releasing his classic punk rock masterpiece from 1977. (Actually its been out since july..I've been in a drunken haze all summer so I didn't realize it before now. He actually sang a few songs at Funhouse this week!) The 30th Anniversary compilation includes the complete first two 7-inch EPs, unreleased studio tracks, and live recordings - restored by none other than Jack Endino.

Check it out:
Alan Milman Sect - Stitches in my head/I wanna kill somebody

Alan Milman Sect/Man-Ka-Zam 30th Anniversary CD is now out on Flotation Records out of Seattle.
Buy it now or get spanked.

Sunshine for Shady People

2008-09-13T04:04:00.000-07:00

So on September 18th Three One G will release Arab on Radar: Sunshine for Shady People on DVD. This is the documentary of one of the most explosive bands of the last 15+ years.
Sunshine for Shady People DVD Trailer:

I got my copy in the mail yesterday, so I put on my thinking hat, opened a bottle of wine and put it in my ol' dvd player. This aint no VH1 rockumentary bullshit. This was short and noisy. Not so much a story about a band, instead it's random clips thrown together without much structured history. No explanation about why they broke up (there was no mention of Eric's cartoon) or any concrete info. In other words, it was just a taste of the 7+ year fury that was Arab on Radar. The only disappointing thing was the live footage. The sound quality is pretty mediocre. Strange that they did not use better video (like for example the 2002 Michigan Fest DVD footage), or any of the many youtube clips out there. I never did get to see this band; but they split into The Chinese Stars which I saw and have written about earlier. Made in Mexico and Athletic Automation are the other projects that came out of AOR. All worth checking out. So here is some footage of Arab on Radar:

Live:

God Is Dad video:

Empeethrees!
Arab On Radar - Number 5
Arab On Radar - Number 3

Buy Arab on Radar from Skingraft
Buy Sunshine for Shady People dvd from Three one G

Slothbear

2008-09-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

So I get alot of stuff in my mailbox from bands...well, not alot, but some. I've been meaning to write about it all, but never gotten around to it. So with that said, I just got an email from a New York band called Slothbear, and I instantly liked it. Lo-fi noise pop. This gives me alitte Sic Alps feeling; which is a good thing. According to their myspace page, the songs "were recorded on a broken four track with no microphones."
Great. Keep using it.

I stole this one from their myspace page:

Slothbear - The Exceptional Bastards (rapidshare - right click etc)

You can contact the bears here,
and if you ask nicely they will send you a free cd-r. Neato!

Info:
www.myspace.com/fuckinslothbear
Slothblog

Question.

2008-08-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Why do bad things happen to good people?
More importantly, why do good things happen to bad people?
Man, I loose sleep over that.

But then I listen to this song and I forget about everything for a few minutes. Part Deerhoof, part Melt Banana, ice cream sundays, butterflies, rainbows , and part, oh lets say Boredoms...it's instant happy times in just over 4 minutes. Enjoy!

Ponytail - Beg Waves (right click/open in new window)

Weee! happy! Ponytail!

Ponytail myspazz
Buy here

Next stop...Madrid!

Drink...listen...repeat.

2008-08-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Country Teasers/The Rebel here

Dj whore

2008-08-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ok it's time to whore myself out again.
I will be djing two nights this week.

Friday at Revolver...

...and Thursday at Mono.

Please don't come; the music is gonna suck balls.

Nobunny - Boneyard

2008-08-26T01:39:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love bunnies?!?

Bunnies are great, especially when they rock.

Visit Nobunny here. On tour in the states now.

Not to be confused with Unbunny. On tour in Europe in september.

Go Sweden!

2008-08-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've been kinda harsh with Norwegian bands in my last post.... well they sure are beaten by their Swedish neighbors. Here is an example.

Buy Skull Defekts here.

To noisy? try this one:

Monica Zetterlund - Trubbel (1968)

If you don't get the picture, go rent Trading Places for fuck sake.

Øya recap

2008-08-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

OK, so I guess it's time to write something here. The Øya Festival is over, and I'm still tired. Generally it was a pretty weak year with alot of bad Norwegian bands, over-hyped foreigners, and a lot of repeats; but there were some highlights. Pictures below!

Wednesday

The festival really started on Tuesday night at Last Train with an excellent set from local heroes Bungelow Ranchstyle. They probably will be playing the main festival next year. They get better every time.

First up Wednesday was Mogwai, who I've possibly seen to many times, cuz it really wasn't all that exciting. It didn't help that it rained and the band looked bored. It did pick up at the end, but I've seen better Mogwai shows. I'll still buy the new record that's out soon on Matador Records.

The Mae Shi was disappointing. They called themselves the dumbest band at the festival and well, it showed. I like some of their stuff, but it didn't work with the constant spastic screaming. Maybe it was the bad sound. Good stage show though.

I could continue writing about all the bands that disappointed me at this festival, but as you know, I'm all about positivity you assholes!

No negative thinking.

Grinderman (sort of pictured above) also suffered from bad sound, and me being too tired to enjoy myself at this point. Enjoyed the Bad Seeds show earlier in the year more.

Thursday

One of the few surprises of the festival was Lightspeed Champion (who includes one of the guys from Test Icicles) It was one of the few shows where I stuck around for the whole set.

The other ones were Best Fwends and The Death Set. Both bands I've listened to before, but never really got into. Man was I wrong, they both put on fantastic shows. I saw them 3 or 4 times during the festival...they seemed to play everywhere. I skipped Sonic Youth to see The (motherfuckin') Death Set, if you know what I mean.

Thursday night I went to Rockefeller to catch Original Silence. This is a "Thurston Moore side project". He should just drop the Sonic Youth thing and do this full time. I saw Original Silence at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival without him, and the energy was even higher now. This band includes the best musicians playing right now: Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) Terrie Ex (The Ex), Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Paal Nilssen-Love (The Thing, Atomic etc.) and Massimo Pupillo (Zu). The big surprise of the night was the Japanese trio Nissennenmondai who opened the show and blew me away. Noise grooves straight outta Compton.

Friday

Health played a frantic set; not as good as at Spasibar, but still worth seeing. That was about it at the festival Friday. (No negativity here folks!)
I did however finish up the night at Blå where Noxagt and Årabrot (pictured below) put on a good show.

Saturday

Saturday was all about seeing The Sonics. Being a former Seattlelite, it was fun to see them, even though the energy wasn't all the high. They did get a mosh pit going from their greaser fans though.

The Night Marchers (ex Hot Snakes) did not start out so good, but I stuck it out, and it turned out to be a good rock and roll show (with some guitar strap modifications).

A great supprise saturday was Janelle Monaè. Mark my words, she's gonna be huge. Outcast style funk, soul, r&b, rock and a fantastic live show, with dance moves that even got me going.

Several mediocre bands later it was time for another show by The Death Set. This time at camp indie; the smallest stage. This turned out to be the best show at the festival. They played Operation Ivy (Bombshell) and Nirvana (Tourette's) covers and constant samples from the beastie boys and dizzie rascal mixed with intense electro-punk madness. Ok, it might sound stupid, but it was stupid good. I was lucky enough thanks to The Death Set, to get into a private party for the volunteers that worked the festival and both The Death Set and Best Fwends played again. By this time I had reached blackout (due to champagne and cheap drink prices at the party) and I lost my camera. I also (almost) lost my molded earplugs earlier at camp indie where Johnny jumped me at the start of the set. The rest is a blur. If you want a real professional recap of the festival, you've come to the wrong place.

Maybe some videos and a recap of the Kongsberg Jazz festival later...maybe.

Dj at mono tomorrow.

AAARGH!

2008-07-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's too fucking hot here to update this site.

Doing the Soft Bondage dj night at Mono Thursday.

Come and dance/buy me drinks or something...

Next week is the Øya festival. More info later.

KGB Jazz

2008-07-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

Spendt the week at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival. I saw alot of good shows including Original Silence (picture above by stein hofve)
Original Silence (with Thurston Moore) will also play the Øya Festival in August. Good times.
Pictures and video from kgb soon. Next stop: Paris.

It's over...

2008-07-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Spasibar closed it's doors last night. A bunch of bands, no bartenders, and an open bar where you served yourself. People were encouraged to tare the place apart...and they did. The owners built a fire onstage at about 3am. 6 arrests and a firetruck later; it was all over. R.I.P.

Tornadoes...

2008-06-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Life is sorta shit right now. So what's better than some soothing depressing music? Well, it used to help, but no more. Still I will be seeing Bonnie Prince Billy tomorrow. On the positive side, I just had my birthday and it's one year closer to death. Good times!

Bonnie Prince Billy - Death to everyone set to tornadoes

Music is for the birds...

2008-06-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

I really like Guided By Voices.
Everyone should own Mag Earwhig!.
GBV - Running Off With The Fun City Girls
(Japanese bonus track from Mag Earwhig!)

That is all.

More birds at Indietits
Buy the Guided by Voices record here.

PJ at the Opera

2008-06-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

So Pj Harvey was here last night. She played in the brand new wooden Oslo Opera to a packed house of hardcore ecstatic fans. She played a varied set of old and new songs. Among the standouts were White Chalk, The Devil, Bring You My Love, Send His Love To Me, Man-Size, Snake, Down By The Water, When Under Ether and the last song (and my personal favorite) The Desperate Kingdom Of Love. It was fucking loud. Too loud in some parts. I thought we would have "opera sound", but instead we got a rock and roll show in the opera. A kick ass rocknroll show. Polly wasn't shy about using pedals and making loud loud noise with her guitars and voice. The only thing that was louder last night was the crowd. The acoustics in the opera were superb.
Here is the world famous Crappy mobile phone picture extravaganza:

Yes she looks like an angel.Took a short video with my crappy crappy phone (thanks nokia!

So yeah, fun was had by all. Nothing but great reviews in the papers. "The show of the year" etc. The summer isn't over yet. Lots more great stuff on the way. Ignore or keep reedin' dear reader.

Time of the Season

2008-06-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

I see it's about time to update this damn thing...

So it's summer here in Oslo and (almost) all is well.
Concerts galore. Burn out city.
A trip to Paris very soon and deafening music all summer long.

BRH - Spring and by Summer Fall (rapidshare) buy

The Zombies - Time of the Season

-----------------------------------------------------------

One very sad note from Oslo. Spasibar, hands down the best music venue in Oslo is closing their doors. Where the hell will bands like Vialka, Gay Against You, Dj Scotch Egg, and Crash Normal play next time they are in Oslo? I was lucky enough to dj there too (takk!)...always a blast. No one took a chance on the bands Spasibar did over the last 3.5 years. It was totally unique. Not only with its Russian theme bar, but also with its clientel, bands and employees. A big hole will be left in the music scene here. Hopefully something new will come out of it. There is a desperate need. Spasibar closes its doors on June 30th. There will be a big blowout party though...

Some Siberian punk for you:

Grazhdanskaya Oborona - Mertvie (rapidshare)

Soft Bondage at Mono

2008-05-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Yep, its about that time again. Thursday 29th of May Soft Bondage will be spinning some rock and/or roll at Cafe Mono. This time its myself and Per Gisle. Per Gisle happends to (among other things) play in Ranheim. Ranheim just got back from recording their new record with Steve Albini of Shellac fame. Check out Ranheim here.
Ranheim will aslo be releasing have a 7 inch release party on june 28th at Spasibar here in Oslo. Good times.

Other than that....Nick Cave was great. Health was one of this years best shows. Health will also play at the Øya Festival in August. Årabrot also played at the opening of Revolvers new club in the basement.

Guess what? I suck at updating this thing with any fun info.
Anyway, here are some more crappy cellphone photos: Health at Spasibar Årabrot at Revolver.

Somewhere in this photo is Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...Yes I'm old. Sitting in the old people section.

XYX - Hey

2008-05-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hey!

This band is from Mexyxco.
Info here: Nene Records

Myspazz

Buy 7 inch from S-S Records

17 May

2008-05-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Gratulere med dagen folkens.

It's about that time again:

Dancing spastic to weird music.

The 17th of May is the national day of independence,

and you get a team antiharrs gig.

What a deal! It's free if you wear your bunad.

Some shows over the last week+

Grainy cellphone extravaganza:

Street party outside the blitz house.

Skeletons & the Kings of All Cities outside at Spasibar
Grabba Grabba Tape and Margartia at Spasibar
Nick Cave tomorrow...lots of other good stuff on the way. Maybe I'll actually post something of value/interest (like mp3s) when I have some time.

Last week in music

2008-04-20T03:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been sort of M.I.A again...

Alot of concerts as usual.

Here are some grainy mobile phone photos for you:

DJ Scotch Egg

I was lucky enough to dj a bit before his gig (his plane was delayed) He's got a really good varied taste in music I found out. He's even got a soft spot for Norwegian noise bands. (Anders Hana from Noxagt plays on his Drumized record on Load Records)

Japanese New Music Festival

Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins Alone) and Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mother Temple) did 4 sets of noise, punk, and everything in between.
Toothbrushes, a camera, and a giant chinese carrot were some of the things used to make noise. This great night was put on by the good people at Dans For Voksne.

Blonde Redhead
Also Blonde Redhead played a nice set at Rockefeller.
That was this week.

Just got back from Paris. Hung out with some friends and bought French punk and new wave. What an amazing town.
I am currently obsessed with BIPPP French Synth-wave 1979-1985.
Go buy it from Born Bad Records here. Seriously.

Polyrock: My favorite video (this week)

2008-03-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

Oh, this is an oldy but a goodie.
Did you ever hear of Polyrock? No? Me neither until I read about this band somewhere, some time ago in a galaxy far far....anyway, Polyrock was a New York new wave band produced by Phillip Glass. They put out 2.5 records and dissapeared. All you ever want to know or hear by Polyrock you can find here. If you're not a total souless jerk, you can buy it from Wounded Bird Records.
Check out this video for the brilliant track Bucket Rider.
Don't forget to do your eighties dance infront of your computer.
Go ahead, no one is looking.

More info: http://www.myspace.com/polyrock

More shameful self promotion...

2008-03-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

SOFT BONDAGE
(djs tomb + hammers)

noise/avantrock, indie, sleaze, folk/frifolk, plingplong, jazz, punk etc.
Cafe Mono, Thursday 27th of March.

Show up at Mono on thursday or just quietly enjoy it from afar.

Plague of Frogs

2008-03-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

It's time for another lazy music post here on CMA.
This time out it's Chicago supergroup Lake Of Dracula.
Why they weren't a top 40 MTV hit, I will never understand...

If this crazy shit is your thing, go buy from Skingraft.
If not, buy it anyway and send it to me. thnx.

Polly to Oslo

2008-03-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

I just got front row center tickets to PJ Harvey at the Opera House in Oslo June 19th....I think I just wet myself.

Shameless self promotion....

2008-02-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

Or is it shameful self indulgence? You decide.

Ugh

2008-02-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

You know, you hope for the best in life but then your dreams are crushed and you lie bloody in the gutter; dissapointed......again. Life is a cruel joke.
Oh, and my TV quit working...anyone got an extra one?

-------------------------------------------------------------

This week is the By:Larm festival here in Oslo.
Lots of bands and junk. Kinda like the SXSW of Norway, only a hell of alot further north and crappier. Some recommended artist this year are Shining, Next Life, and Jason Forrest. Should be a good time.

Jason Forrest - Stepping Off

"Gay Hussar" by Agaskodo Teliverek / video by Weirdcore

2008-02-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Take your seizure medication before this one:

The last few weeks have pretty much been like this insane video.
I need a break. 3 dj gigs and more concerts are coming up.
No rest for the wicked.

Goodies from Agaskodo Teliverek can be found here.

WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

2008-01-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

Hayden

USA! USA! USA!

2008-01-20T17:35:00.000-08:00

It was cold and rainy in Seattle. Spent most of my time indoors with family or at the pubs anyhow. On the music front I saw some great local music at the Rendevous. Kazutaka Nomura played som quirky tracks, followed by Flexions (which is a prosject with members of Shoplifting and The Blood Brothers) - or if was Teflon Don (I'm not sure really). Either way, both guys were on stage. Followed by some jazzy beats by E.R. Don. These are the kinds of shows I miss while living in Oslo. There are great shows here too, but never more then 1 or 2 acts on the bill.
This show was sponsored by The Journal of Popular Noise

I also saw the old Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed. People danced and sang every word. It didn't excite me that much, but it was good....I was starting to get sick.

The rest of the shows I had to cancel, including seeing The Intelligence, because I got a ill. I also missed seeing some friends because of it. I have 3 weeks of vacation, and I spent the last 10 days in bed with a fever....nice.
The legendary Crocodile cafe has also closed. The city looks like its in a depression...closed places everywhere. I miss the Crocodile whiskey sours.

R.I.P

Oh yeah, I'm sorta back now...I'll fill you in on all the happenings in my little insane world. Thanks for reeedin'.

twothousandandsevenisover

2007-12-16T03:34:00.000-08:00

So it's been along time since a real post here at cma... Well, truthfully I haven't felt like it, and I've been really busy and burned out. Tons of shows I haven't written about here (listed on the right) and a bunch of other stuff going on as well. I'm ready for a vacation. Speaking of vacation, I'm heading for my old hometown of Seattle in a couple of days. I will visit some family and friends as well as partake in a few rock and or roll shows. The Intelligence is playing somewhere as well as Mahmoud Ahmed who is an old Ethiopian singer will rock the Showbox on the 29th. I will also be doing alot of record shopping (you know, actually buying records and cd's and not just leaching off the internet...old fashioned I know...) So merry christmas, happy kwanzaa, hannaka, boxing day, anti-corporate day, drunk day, or monday or whatever you might be celebrating. I will be back and better than ever next year. (no, really I will)
I fucking hate 90% of the christmas music (and don't get me started on the other traditions) so I will leave you with the greatest xmas song EVER:

Mistreaters - Santa Stole My baby (rapidshare)

Ok, here is an extra present:

The Intelligence - Secret Signals
from Duteronomy on In The Red Records.

See you all at the pub on the 25th.

AAAOOOOUUGGGGH!!

2007-12-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

YIKES - BLOOD BOMB

Add to My Profile More Videos

mp3: YIKES! - Blood Bomb

Buy: www.killshaman.com

Ok I'm not back yet...almost.

sorry for the lack of updates...

2007-11-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

Been too buzy and my computer is slow. Someone get me a new one.

If anyone cares, update is coming soon.

Musical marathon week

2007-11-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Aaah, I can already smell it...it's the weekend!
And this weekend is special. Happy to have two crazy guys from Paris for a visit. Crash Normal play at Spasibar on friday night with Firefly Effect and others. This show is sponsored by none other than Redyellowcab.....did I mention they rule? Well now I did.
Maybe another show saturday...
Sunday, Arcade Fire are back in town. Saw them at Garage a few years back and yes they might be over hyped, but they are still a great live band.
The week continues Tuesday with Music For A While (a great Kurt Weill cover band), and wednesday Liars play at John Dee. If I have any energy left by then, there are several more shows later in the week.
Pictures, music, and maybe some video will be uploaded when I'm conscious again.

My new favorite video (this week)

2007-10-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday is a great day for youtube.
Here is something pretty cool.
Just found this on Last Days Of Man On Earth:

Reesa and the Rooters - Vix Bidet Party

Info about this Philly band here and here, and search
youtube for two more videos...
.............................................................

I ended up missing the Slaraffenland show because I got a free ticket to the biggest nerd fest in town: Play! A Video Game Symphony . They played a couple of old favorites and alot of stuff I could care less about. Fun to see weirdos in capes and masks though. KORK (The Norwegian Radio Symphony), plus a choir and some guest made it watchable.
Next weekend is the start of a concert marathon...can't wait!

Bush League

2007-10-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Toronto's Bush League are either ex or current members of Teen Crud Combo, The Killer Elite, Pecola, Picastro, Ugly Stick, No No Zero, and No Dynamics. Not much info on them as they seem to refuse to use the web.
They have released a 10'' record on a french label: http://yakisakana.free.fr/ It's LOUD and LOFI.
Don't know alot about them, but they do include members of Pecola...so that's all you really need to know.
Here is a Bush League video called "Krush my skull"
Go here for the original article on tobescene.

---------------------------------------------

Tomorrow I'm heading for yet another Redyellocab show:

Don't know much about either band, but that can be the fun part of going to a show. You might get blown away by something you've never seen before....or run screaming with your ears bleeding. I'm sure it will be the formentioned tomorrow.

Slaraffenland and Pow Pow on Myspace.

#s @ Spasibar

2007-10-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

Numbers put on a good show. Lots of new songs.
HJ and I (Team Antiharrs) also got to dj! Fun had by all.
Here are a few photos:

Catch Numbers on tour all over Europe now.

Numbers

2007-10-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

This is a lazy post (nothing new there), but thought I would mention that Numbers are playing tomorrow at Spasibar. Numbers are from San Fransisco and according to Tigerbeat records: "they play fast primal punk disco beats, while trading detached boy/girl vocals back and forth amidst intermittent bursts of noisy guitar and fuzzed-out buzzerk bass." ahem ok, that was the old Numbers. Not better, not worse, just different. The new records is slower and more moody. New record out on Kill Rock Stars called Now You Are This.
Here is some old and new Numbers you can check out:
Make up your own damn mind what you like best.
From old to new:
Numbers - I'm Shy
Numbers - Hot Fire
Numbers - Beast Life
Numbers - Mind Hole

BUY: Tigerbeat Records
BUY: Kill Rock Stars
Band info: www.myspace.com/numbersmusic
More info: www.numbersmusic.com/

Future of Vialka

2007-10-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Future of the left was great last week. Found out Falco hates Paris. Go see them there and start a fight or just buy him a drink and give him some kind of response in the audience (i.e. don't sit on your hands) and he will be happy.
Vialka put on a great show for way too few people. According to Eric their future includes doing an east coast US tour soon. The new material is great.
Here are some pictures and a short video from the Spasibar show here in Oslo:

My future includes NUMBERS at Spasibar next week (sponsored by the good people at redyellowcab.com. See you there.

Vialka

2007-10-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

Vialka are back in Oslo to play at Spasibar October 11th. This is going to be great. I saw Vialka a few years ago. It's an insane mix of balkan rock, and french. What can I saw about this band....its got be be witnessed.
They are playing all over Europe in the next few weeks.

(right click save, listen, buy, repeat)
Vialka - Village Mentality Part 2
Vialka - Trop Tard

Purchase info and more sounds:
http://vialka.com/
http://www.myspace.com/vialka

Future of the left

2007-10-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

So I've been to some shows in the last few weeks, and there is more to come. I saw Grazhdanskaya Oborona who are an old punk band from Siberia, Russia. Sounds cool right? Well it it's better on record. The band seemed bored and just going through the motions. The booze was cheap so I didn't mind.

I wasn't going to go see Against Me! but I found out Future of the left is opening. Future of the left include ex members of some band called Jarcrew and Scottish legends Mclusky. Like me, I know you love Mclusky. (what? no?) If there is one band I regret not going to see it's Mclusky. Didn't know anybody that was able or cared to go when they played in Seattle a few years back (this happened several times) Instead of going I sat at home...I've regretted it for years. One thing Ive learned is to just say fuck it and go to shows even if its by yourself. So basically Future of the left is as close as I am going to come to seeing Mclusky. It might not be as intense as Mclusky, but worth the Tuesday outing.

Here is some ear candy:

Future of the left:

Here is Mclusky on some teenybopper TV show:

Mclusky - To hell with good intentions

Future of the left is playing with Against Me and Steriogram at Garage in Oslo on tuesday.

Info: www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft

What makes the grass grow?! Blood, BLOOD, BLOOD! What are we gonna do?! Kill, KILL, KILL!"

2007-10-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Yes Yes Y'all!
Back from vacation in London. While in London I got drunk with Matyi from The Fighting Cocks....a weekend well spent.
The Fighting Cocks are a bunch of lunatics from Essex who play Gypsy electro-punk. (They haven't robbed or killed me yet on my visits.)
The Balkan music craze is sweeping large parts of the world now, but these guys (and gals) have been doing it for a long time in one form or another. First as the legendary Szeki Kurva, and now as The Fighting Cocks.
Some noise:
The Fighting Cocks - Love Somebody, Yes I do
The Fighting Cocks - Dance of the Fighting Cocks
The Fighting Cocks - King of the Street
Szeki Kurva - Ramraid
Szeki Kurva - Happy Shopper
Szeki Kurva - Chicken Head
Szeki Kurva - Balkan Express
When I last checked The Fighting Cocks are: Matyi, DJ Assassin, Pinky, Anna, Cherry, Ilaria and Molly.

Some videos:

The Fighting Cocks are ready to play your barmitzva, graduation or dog fight anywhere anytime. I heard there miiight be a Sezki Kurva reunion this xmas too!
Band info:
www.myspace.com/thefightingcocks
http://www.f-cocks.demon.co.uk/
BUY this shit

Bonus:
You can listen to lots more here

Direct flight: Paris - Nomeansno

2007-09-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Got off the plane at 9:45 PM and stood with my bag in hand at Garage in Oslo at 10:30 just in time for Nomeansno. Eventhough I was a total mess, it was fun. Lots of new songs; in other words no greatest hits show.
A couple of pix etc:

They have a new-ish record out called All Roads Lead To Ausfahrt.
Have a listen or whatever....
Nomeansno - In Her Eyes

On tour in Europen now.

info: http://www.nomeanswhatever.com/

--------------------------------------

Paris was nice. Did not make any shows... All I saw was a bunch of neo-hippies dancing their freak trance dancing through the Paris streets.

Next weekend I'm heading for London. Good times!

Paris!

2007-09-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

CMA is heading for Paris for the weekend! Maybe I'll find some good music; who knows. Maps played tonight, it was ok. Reminded me alot of Mew. Maps are probably gonna be big with their easy listening electro rock. Next weekend: London! I got the extra mile(s) to find you good music. Don't say I don't love you.

I still got you Icecream

2007-09-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

So, it seems like "grunge" is back at Sub Pop. Pissed Jeans sounds like a cross between Tad and Paw...anyone remember those bands?

I don't mean that as a bad thing...honest. I was raised on that type of stuff (for better or worse).

Sub Pop still got it.

Pissed Jeans - I Still Got You (Ice Cream)

Can you believe they still can't say the word "pissed" on american radio? What a bunch of shit.

info: www.myspace.com/pissedjeans

Purchase: www.subpop.com/megamart

My idea of fun...

2007-09-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

So the Stooges were great....obviously. Nice to see Mike Watt on bass. Don't think I've seen him since he played the first ever foo fighters gig...? I don't remember. Anyway, Iggy was a wildman on stage as expected. They played in the square of what looked like an old castle. A prefect setting. The Setlist was as follows: * Loose * Street * 1969 * I wanna be your dog * T.V. Eye * My idea of fun * Dirt * Real Cool Time * No fun * 1970 * Mind Room * Fun House / L.A. Blues * Skull Ring * Trollin' - Extra: * Not right * I'm fried * Little Electric Chair * She took my money * I wanna be your dog. (played twice) Well that's the official setlist, I have no idea what really happened due to being in an alcohol fuled state. I do remember Raga Rockers doing a decent opening set and Liliedugg (an old Norwegian punk band from 1980) doing a great set at the after party.
Here are a few terrible pictures and some useless video. enjoy!
Worst video I ever shot, but hey, I could barely stand.

Stooges

2007-09-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

Seeing The Stooges in Fredrikstad tomorrow.
I can't wait.

Iggy is 60 and is in better shape then I ever have or ever will be in my life.

Full report at the end of the week.

Let the sleigh-bells ring!

I wanna be your dog

G.A.Y.

2007-08-26T03:49:00.000-07:00

Gay Against You are from Glasgow Scotland.

According to the press release they "inhabit the middle ground between Cyndi Lauper and the Locust." I'm not sure that fits, but they do put on an insane show. Last night at Spasibar there was wire strangling, blood and spastic dancing. This show was organized by the good people at http://www.redyellowcab.com/

Check out Gay Against You - Sooo Heat

Band info and more downloads: www.myspace.com/gayagainstyou

Buy: http://www.adaadat.com/

Locust

2007-08-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

So the Locust played here the other week. Good energy and a pretty good turnout. Opener was Otto Von Schirach who's insane disco metal was filled with references to farting, puking, buttsex and zombies. In other words, real sophisticated humour.
Somebody filmed some of the Locust show.
Take a look:

I've been a bit burned out lately, so I've missed alot of shows (including the Oslo jazz festival), but I promise to destroy more of my hearing for your reading pleasure very soon. Added a link to http://www.redyellowcab.com/ on my list. This is a new booking company you will hear alot about in the future. Lots of exciting stuff on the way...

Øya Festival wrapup.

2007-08-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the festival is over; people are back to their boring lives at work. What a letdown. I started my week of loud noise watching GTUK at Spasibar who also played later at the festival. He's a wild German guy who screams over insanely fast Nintendo beats....great stuff. Tuesday Magnus Moriarty, Ranheim and Bungalow Ranchstyle rocked Internationalen. Wednesday it all started in the park with expensive drinks and lots of good music. Boredoms were fantastic. 3 drum sets and a wall of noise. Fuck hippie drum circles, Boredoms are the real shit. Tinariwen played heartwarming African desert blues, followed by Woven Hand who's intense singer ...always gives a good performance. GTUK put on a great second set of the day followed by about 3 NIN songs before I left. Thursday opened the day with a Norwegian band called Real Ones and one called Deadends...a nice suprise. Followed by Gogol Bordello. Man, this Balkan rock thing has really catched on lately....where were everyone like 5 years ago? It was just as good then. Malajube played a solid set (not as wild as at garage, but still good) followed by CocoRosie who frankly annoyed me. I like it on record, but got bored quickly live. Justice then put on a great set of hits...the kids went wild. Would have been much better in a club though...they pretty much got kicked off stage for playing too long. The sad thing about festivals is that when a show is great and the crowd is dying for an encore, they cant do it because of the tight time schedule. New Young Pony Club followed Justice....then Tool played. I lasted 3 songs before I left. (I was a fan ca. 1995...I guess I'm getting old) Later that evening I witnessed one of the best shows I've seen in years: (and if you've been paying attention, I've seen alot). Patrick Watson at Øya Night. (Come back to oslo Pleeease) Patrick Watson is a genius...enough said. Norwegian singer songwriter Ingrid Olava opened up and put on a touching show. This turned out to be a brilliant combination and a fantastic night. Woke up Friday really hungover and made it just in time for Architecture in Helzzzzzz.... Later, Spoon put on a good show, although they looked confused by the sunlight in the middle of the day. Can't be the most fun time to play.... Next up Devandra Banhart bored me with mumbling burnout hippy music and I quickly moved on to the best show of the day: Battles. I first saw Helmet in...91-92 wish I'd seen him more often. Hypnotic intense beats. Tight like a drum machine. Other members are from Don Cabellero who I've been a fan of for some years. These guys can play! Next, ...And you won't know us by the sound of our songs played and it didn't do much for me. Keep in mind at this point I'm a wreck so I'm alittle extra critical. The Jesus & Mary Chain was disappointing, yet played an ok set. The sound was horrible and they looked like they were sleeping onstage. They seemed to just be going through the motions. I guess I would do the same if I got alot of money to reunite and play...OK maybe not. Rocky Erickson finished off the night. Where the hell did all these Norwegians hear of this guy? The crowd was insane. Personally I've only heard the 13 Floor Elevator stuff....This guy got to play 3 encores and people would not leave the area. Even the stagehands and people in the back were frothing at the mouth. Good to see and old rocker get his day. I ended the night at a local club where Shining played a"secret" gig. Intense and great as always...as far as I can remember. Should have stayed at home Saturday...hungover and the music was not as great as the previous days, but I fought on trying not to loose the little sense of youth left in my body. Listened alittle to Rockettothesky followed by a set by The Melvins (including Big Business). Good mix of old and new, but the guitar and vocals drowned a bit in the 2 drum sets. Canadian band The Besnard Lakes who I'd never heard of were pretty decent, so was The Go! Team afterwards, but I was mentally and physically far from enjoying live music by that time. The obnoxious Lady Sovereign; who was the only English solo artist that showed up (Lilly Allen was sick, and Amy Whinehouse was hanging out at a rehab in London) played something while I tried to sleep; followed by more female hip hop with Yo Majesty who are famous for playing topless.....meh. I stayed the entire day to check out Primal Scream but I went home after 3 songs this night too. Seems like I cant handle a full week of music and drinking anymore. Oh well, I'll be back next year.
Below are a bunch of pictures and crappy video clips that I took.
Better videos are on Youtube and several full show are here: http://rita.nrk.no/community/oya07/ (read post below for how to see them if you don't speak Norwegian) You can watch em and tell me I'm wrong about some of the shows if you like.

Patrick Watson:

Woven Hand:

Tinariwen:

Spoon:

Rocky Erickson:

Ingrid Olava:

Melvins:

Malajube:

Justice:

GTUK:

Gogol Bordello:

Battles:

Vidoes are below.....

Øya wrapup 2: The grainy/bad video cliporama!

2007-08-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a few short clips I took at this years Øya festival:

Battles:
Tiiight!

Justice:
This kids went crazy even in the afternoon....

Boredoms:
Definetly not boring.

Patrick Watson put on the best show of the festival:

Patrick Watson:
Record out in Europe very soon.

Spoon:
Great, but too early in the day.

Only 11+ months until the next Øya festival...

Øya video!

2007-08-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Go to http://rita.nrk.no/community/oya07/
and click on your favorite artist (not all were filmed unfortunately.)
Listed by day (onsdag, torsdag, fredag, lørdag) on the right.
Then click on "spill" and woahla! there you go.
I'll post my own 30 sec crappy video clips and some nice pictures later this week.
I've got to catch up on email at work first.
Bonus: If you click around on the same page you can also find live shows from the Hove Festival...but then again who wants that? Oh you do? OK.
The quality is good....but it's not up for too long. Rip the audio and video for fun.
They festival was pretty good; lots of solid performances and some not so solid.
Highlights included: Patrick Watson, Spoon, Battles, Boredoms, Woven Hand, Malajube, GTUK, and Justice among others... Pictured above: Battles.
A good week had by all...more soon.

Øya Festival

2007-08-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's finally time for the Øya festival here in Oslo. Øya has one of the most eclectic lineups on the festival circuit. Basically, they have good and varying taste.
Some of the highlights for me this year are Bordoms from Japan, Tinariwen from the desert in Mali, Spoon, Gogol Bordello, Justice (FR), Shining, Patrick Watson (CA), Woven Hand, Battles, Malajube, plus a whole bunch of bands of different styles and sounds from all over the world (plus a bunch of local bands I'll be skipping...well most of them). Headliners are Tool, NIN, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain etc. go here to check it out. Monday I'm starting with GTUK at Spasibar followed by a dj set at International before the serious fun starts on wednesday.
If you feel like watching some of these sets live on your computer http://www.nrk.no/ will be streaming a good portion of the gigs online. Some of it will be available afterwards as well. I will post a link when I wake up sometime next week.

Good and bad news...

2007-08-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Yup, still here... The bad news I just found out my parents have to put my dog to sleep. She was a great dog who really saved the family though some tough times. I'm not gonna make you cry now so I'll get to the good news. The good news is I'll be deejaying at Internationalen in Oslo on tuesday during Øya Festival Club night. More about Øya festival very soon. Tuesday, Bungalow Ranchstyle (ex- cato salsa experience / ex-Fairfuck.) and Ranheim (Norway's answer to shellac) are playing. Gonna be a insane week. 6 days of music and drinks.

This one is for Marte:
Miles Davis - Blue in Green

Silver Daggers

2007-07-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've been asleep at the wheel. NO post for over a week? I'm sure you're crying yourself to sleep. So I've decided to post about the Silver Daggers, or as I like to call them, the silver dags. "Joy" is the new "single" from the new record on Load Records. I saw this band a few years ago in Seattle, and they rule. Spazz Jazzcore from LA or something....I'm too drunk to write any more info, they are just great.

Just look at this: JOY Yes, lots of balloons.

And dl the track here: Silver Daggers - Joy
Rate this track:

Band info:

http://www.silverdaggers.tk/

www.myspace.com/silverdaggers

Purchase: http://www.loadrecords.com/

Crash Normal

2007-07-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Crash Normal is another great band from Paris France. If you liked my Cheveu post earlier, this is for you. This band is all over the place. From speed metal, to electro noise, to art punk.
Here is a little taste:

Crash Normal - 2 Bonsaïs Dans Mon Assiette
Crash Normal - Nothing I Can Tell
Crash Normal - Cook Some Meat
Crash Normal - Audioradio 2
Crash Normal - Pink Panty

...and the number one hit on all the top 40 charts (at least mine):
Crash Normal - Flying To New York (demo)
Go here to download it yourself (sorry, can't link to it)
This post is really just about this great track.

Purchase from Byte Burger Records.
and rococorecords.com and s-srecords.com

Band info:
crashnormal.free.fr (with a lot more mp3s)
www.myspace.com/crashnormal

Enon

2007-07-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

New Enon record October 9th 2007 according to uber-indie pitchfork.
You heard it here last.

The record is called "Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds" and is guaranteed to rock.

Read the article.
Listen to some old hits:

Enon - Natural Disaster

Enon - Conjugate The Verbs (temp link)

A tour is in the works (hopefully here)

Go see this excellent live band.

Band info: Enon.tv

www.myspace.com/enonmusic

Kongsberg Jazz Festival (Ornette Coleman, Offonoff, Wilco etc etc)

2007-07-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

So, it's been quiet here, I know. I've been at 15+ konserts last week in a little Norwegian town called Kongsberg. The National Guard was called in to try to limit damage from flooding. It was the biggest flood in 50 years. It did not ruin the festival though. I got what's called a "særings pass" loosly translated a weirdo pass. This gets you in to all the avantgarde shows. First up was Gjerstad & Nilssen-Love 4tet. Frode Gjerstad started Ultralyd, a great Stavanger band. (Some of the people in Ultralyd play in Noxagt)
Paal Nilssen-Love is one of the best drummers I've ever seen.
(Han Bennink beeing my other favorite.)
Anyway, lots of free jazz and a good start to the festival. Saw a Kurt Weil cover band also that day.
Ornette Coleman kept asking people to come join him on stage. Pretty cool stuff; they even played a Vivaldi cover/interpretation. This was followed by Norwegian band Huntsville, part jazz, part country, part techno, part noise. Joining them onstage was couple of guys from Wilco for a one time colaberation...pretty cool. More avantgarde jazz by Big Satan, some great stuff by the drummer from Shining (Lofthus/Eilertsen/Storløkken), Bull of the year, Triacria (metalheads enslaved+Fe-mail) and Erika Stucky Trio who rocked the house tuba and jodeling style. I don't listen to free jazz on cd, but live it is a pretty amazing experience.
Wilco played a fantastic 2 hour+ set with a ton of extra numbers. You can get the show here or on http://www.dimeadozen.org/ (or so I read).
Here is the Wilco setlist:

01. Side With The seeds 02. You Are My Face 03. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart 04. Kamera 05. Muzzle Of Bees 06. Handshake Drugs 07. A Shot In The Arm 08. Impossible Germany 09. Sky Blue Sky 10. Shake It Off 11. Hummingbird 12. War On War 13. Jesus, Etc. 14. Walken 15. I’m The Man Who Loves You
Encore 1:
16. The Late Greats 17. Via Chicago > 18. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Encore 2:
19. Heavy Metal Drummer 20. Hoodoo Voodoo 21. Outasite (Outta Mind) 22. I’m A Wheel

Not bad eh?
Jeff Tweedy seemed to enjoy himself immensely, wearing a king Olav T-shirt and proclaiming himself the king of Norway...which people seemed to be OK with.

The festival highlight for me was OFFONOFF. Offonoff is Paal-Nilssen Love (The Thing, Atomic), Massimo Pupillo from the Italian band ZU and Terrie Ex from Amsterdam's The Ex. Hard to describe this stuff, but its great. Part jazz, part punk, part noise, all good. Seen them a couple of times before, plus I'm a huge fan of their other projects as well.
According to Paal, the record will be out in November. I didn't ask what label, but my guess is on Smalltown Superjazz. (They released Original Silence with Love, Thursten Moore, Terrie Ex, Massimo Zu, Jim O'Rourke and Mats Gustafsson..check it out.)

If you ever find yourself walking around Norway in July, I highly recommend this festival. A lot of variety of excellent quality.

Here are some photos and videos from Kongsberg:)

Huntsville and Wilco

Paal Nilssen-Love w/ Offonoff

Terrie Ex

Massimo Pupillo

Terrie/Massimo

Offonoff

Offonoff

Offonoff

Ornette Coleman and band

Wilco

Wilco "Heavy Metal Drummer"

Wilco

Erika Stucky Trio

Erika Stucky Trio.

They also did My Sharona and a Brittney cover.

Sounds horrifying, but it was great.

(I can post more if someone requests it)

So that is just a taste of the great week I had at the Jazz festival.

Good times!

Deerhoof at Cafe Mono, Oslo

2007-07-10T14:44:00.001-07:00

OK, I'm back from vacation. I've gotten millions of angry letters wondering why I haven't written anything in a while so here goes. Lets start with the great Deerhoof show last Tuesday.
The atmosphere was top notch. They played both old and new "hits". Some of the most intense and wild drumming I've ever seen. It was Deerhoof's first time in Oslo, and they seemed to have a great time. They did learn one Norwegian syllable: "Takk".
Here are some short video clips and random photos I took.

Photos!

Videos!

HJ and I deejayed before and after the show and had a blast...looks like we will do it again soon. We played what we wanted, got paid and got drunk for free. Yeah, I miiiight be up for that again.

Stuff on the Kongsberg Jazz Festival and other news soon.

Vacation/Jazz/Deerhoof

2007-07-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Deerhoof were fantastic. A fun night had by all. Today I am heading to the Kongsberg Jazz Festival to see Wilco, Ornette Coleman OFF ON OFF and many many others. I promise lots of pictures from both Deerhoof and the jazz festival. Probably no update until next week...I've got the rest of the week off from work. Meanwhile, spend some time looking at my links or something....

ChooChooChooChooBeepBeep - Hello, this is DEERHOOF

2007-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 3rd here in Oslo, Deerhoof is playing at Cafe Mono.
I'm excited like alittle schoolboy chasing an ice cream truck.

I am also lucky enough to get to DJ with my friend HJ at this show.
I'm no DJ, but I look forward to playing all kinds of shit.
I would think Deerhoof fans have an open mind.
So get ready for Japanese noise, art punk, Balkan, Ethiopian Jazz, French sleaze, beats, indie rawk etc etc. This could be my first and last "gig" so I'm going all out. You might find my bloody and beaten body outside in the gutter for playing the wrong thing at about 3am. (What? You don't like Hungarian digital folk-hardcore?!?)

If you don't know Deerhoof, they are a San Fransisco band who have been around forever putting out top quality art pop. One of my favorites.
You can listen to a ton of tracks in good quality here:
http://puzzle.suchfun.net/deerhoof/
I recommend "This Magnificent Bird Will Rise", "Gore in Rut" or "Milk Man" for a first listen.

Band info:
http://www.myspace.com/deerhoof
http://deerhoof.killrockstars.com/ Buy from Killrockstars.com

A post on Hungarian digital folk-hardcore at a later date. Enjoy your weekend!

Pecola

2007-06-25T15:48:00.001-07:00

Alright. It's time for some Canadian music eh.
Pecola: probably the best screamo noise punk jazz band ever....what ever that is. I guess it's classified as "math rock". Whatever. Anyway, I've literally worn through my copy of the Dat Hoang 12" and only got mp3s left of it. I have The Mexican on cd, but its also seen better days.
I think both are out of print at this point.
I've worked really hard to get my tinnitus to where it is today thanks to those records (and a split 7 inch or two).
Pecola was Gideon Steinberg, Zak Hanna, Craig Thompson, CATL and were based in Toronto.

So here are Pecola - Class XXX from Dat Hoang on www.teenageusarecordings.com/

Guess all the words and win a prize!

Buy it if it's your thing, or just buy it for me. (I like gifts)

The band went on to projects such as Picastro, No No Zero, Minaret, Shut-In, etc.

All worth checking out as well.

Read aboot Pecola here:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0nfwxqrkld0e~T1

If anyone wants to hook me up with the cassette release or any demos or dvds feel free to contact me. I will pay you lots of money or wash your dishes.
I wish I had a copy of the Tag Team Anniversattack live show on Brave New Waves (Canada's best radio show...with sexy voiced Patty Schmidt - ...is it still on the air?)

I don't use torrents and I'd hate for you not give them any money (they are no longer welcome at the Rush mansion) but I'm not sure where else you can find it. Check ebay or some shit or contact Phil Klygo over at teenageusa.

Bonus:
I have been bugging this guy in Toronto about sending me stuff, but I never got anything. Happened to run across a live show on the same guys website. Hope he doesn't mind me posting a track.
It's not great quality, but you can hear the intensity and rawness of the live show; which they were famous for I read somewhere. Haven't spent much time in Canada, so I never saw them play.

MP3:
Pecola - Track 5 (live Atop a Hill January 1995)

You can listen to some other songs from Dat Hoang here:

www.myspace.com/pecolatheband

The full length cd The Mexican was released on Kosherrock Records. I think it's out of print, but you can try to email Alex from Deep Dark United who runs the label. The Shut-In record was also released on Kosherrock.

The Vaz

2007-06-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Originally from Fargo ND; Vaz started as 2 thirds of the Amphetamine Reptile band, Hammerhead by Jeff Mooridian Jr. (aka Deft Garlands) and Paul Erickson(aka Apollo Liftoff). They have been a two piece for most of their almost 10 years of existence but have been playing as a (three or?) four piece for a while now. This is noise rock at its best. You like noise don't you? Of course you do.
Here are a few cuts:

The Vaz - Collar

The Vaz - White World Of Death

The Vaz - Treble Noir

The Vaz - The Infinity Club

If you really feel like it you can download a live video of Unfinished Pair Of Brains and watch Jeff hit the skins like a madman. (Right click save this puppy it's 94 megs) or just go to youtube....

They have been on Load, Golden Standard Labs, Essay, 5rc and Narnack Records to name a few. Spend your crack money at the websites mentioned above.

As a bonus here are Seawhores who are on a split with Vaz on Essay Records.
Seawhores - Sweaty Men Attack

and why not, here is a Vaz youtube clip:

Remember to give them money, lots of it.

Band info:

http://www.thevaz.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thevaz

http://www.geocities.com/vazhead/main.htm (I helped make this site a few years ago, neat-o eh? well not really....not been updated this century)