Friday, December 3rd, 2004 ... 3:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM
With special guests Amy X. Neuberg
and Herb Heinz,
two local musicians who've produced some fabulous avant-cabaret-pop music
during the past several years.
We chatted about their
new CDs (Residue and Another) and their recent trip to
New Zealand (check Amy's "Shows"
page for a link to her New Zealand debriefing) ... and I
gave them a chance to play DJ and share some of the music in their own
collections. They brought in some awesome stuff (thanks guys!)
Amy also plugged a Dec. 5 benefit show for
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation.
Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)
* Art Ensemble of Chicago -- "Everyday's a Perfect Day" -- Sirius Calling (Pi Recordings, 2004)
* Faruq Z. Bey and Northwoods Improvisers -- "Gemini" -- Auzar (Entropy Stereo, 2004)
* The Revolutionary Ensemble -- "Berlin Erfahrung" -- And Now ... (Pi Recordings, 2004)
Reunion album of the '70s loft-jazz trio: Leroy Jenkins (violin),
Sirone (bass), Jerome Cooper (drums). Includes a breathtaking 20-minute piece by Cooper
about 9/11, which I'll play during some future show.
* Makanda Ken McIntyre -- "Mambooga" -- In the Wind (Passin' Thru, 2004)
Woodwind quartets recorded by McIntyre overdubbed. McIntyre is best
known for his free jazz work (such as appearing on Cecil Taylor's Unit
Structures, and some of that freedom shows up in the soloing here.
But the compositions harken back to the earliest days of jazz, with clear
blues and ragtime ideas. Really nice posthumous release full of
energetic, jaunty pieces.
* Ben Schwendener and Marc Rossi -- "A&P Swing #2" -- Living Geometry II (Gravity Arts, 2004)
A 2-CD set of two-piano pieces.
It's jazz with a classical recital feel, with lots of pieces showing some
overt swing.
* Paul Dolden, composer; Julie-Ann Derome, violin -- "Gravity's Stillness, Resonance #6" [excerpt] -- Seuil de Silences (Empreintes Digitales, 2004)
A piece for violin and tape.
-- 4:00 p.m. --
Amy X. Neuberg and Men -- "Naked Puppets" -- Sports! Chips! Booty! (Racer, 1999)
My favorite of the "& Men" repertoire. Do a search of this site and
you'll probably find I've played it more than a dozen times on-air.
* Kahil El-Zabar and David Murray -- "Groove Allure" -- We Is (Delmark, 2004)
Amy X. Neuberg -- "Stone" -- Residue (Other Minds, 2004)
Residue, Amy's latest album, consists of Amy's own looped and
overdubbed vocals with electronics and electronic beats. There are also a
couple of a capella tracks, as I recall. Really enjoyable stuff -- one
thing to note is that the loops don't last for minutes and minutes at a
time; rather, Amy shifts from one effect to another, creating structures
closer to "pop" than "experimental."
Herb Heinz -- "Hole in the Head"/"Attitude" -- Another (IsToo, 2004)
Herb is one of the "& Men" in Amy X's band. His solo stuff consists
of lots of overlaid guitars, effects, and vocals, in an "experimental pop"
brew.
Amy X. Neuberg -- "Every Little Stain" -- Residue (Other Minds, 2004)
Hmmm... -- "Box People" -- I Only Want Love (IsToo, 2002)
The duo of Herb Heinz and Mark Briggs. Wacky stuff with guitar parts
that were crafted around improvised vocals and backing.
# Zuuki Mu -- "Leave Me Alone" -- Zuuki Mu (Opal, 1989)
Weird Russian rock that Amy & Herb picked up after hearing that
Brian Eno produced it.
# Spratleys Japs -- "There's Good Cud" -- Pony (self-release, 1999)
An offshoot band of Cardiacs:
# Cardiacs -- "There's Good Cud" -- Guns (Alphabet, 1999)
Exciting and strange rock from Britain, with some ties to prog.
Andee
at Aquarius Records calls it "The Pixies meets The Sweet meets
the Toy Dolls meets Uz Jsme Doma meets Queen meets the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack meets XTC." Cardiacs are, apparently, cult favorites that
put out records only every few years. Herb discovered them on a
mailing list for the classic prog band Gentle Giant.
# Hedningarna -- "Tuuli" -- Tra (Silence, 1994)
Swedish/Finnish band that builds songs from traditional folk pieces.
This particular track features Wimme on vocals. Amy calls it one of her
favorite albums.
# Kevin Gilbert -- "Waiting" -- thud (PRA, 1994)
Prog/pop hero of San Jose, Gilbert and his band Giraffe got
lots of props from local DJ Greg Stone back in the early '80s, when Stone
ran a weekly prog show called Stone Trek. Gilbert eventually moved to
L.A., and there's quite a bit of "L.A." in his sound, but I've got to admit
to an affinity for his stuff, including the overly slick "Toy Matinee"
band that preceded this album. Amy and Herb say they love the production
on this album and use it as a model for their own sounds.
Amy X. Neuberg -- "Just a Sound" -- Residue (Other Minds, 2004)
# Inna and the Farlanders -- "Twilight" -- The Dream of Endless Nights (Shanachie, 1999)
Rock based on Russian folk/roots music. A CD Amy & Herb picked up
when the band rolled through town a couple years back.
* = Item in KZSU rotation
# = Music from Amy&Herb's collection
-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.