Errors-To: ecto-owner@ns1.rutgers.edu Reply-To: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu Sender: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu From: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu To: ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu Bcc: ecto-digest-outbound@ns1.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto #866 ecto, Number 866 Tuesday, 16 November 1993 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Re: Australia, and stuff Sam Philips Cruft for today contraband dead can dance interview some notes ectopics Yet another CD binge ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1993 17:15:44 -0500 (EST) From: HOLLY@umbc2.umbc.edu Subject: Re: Australia, and stuff > > Yngve enquires; > > Me??? What have I done now ? :) Just to clear it out - I never wrote the > following :) Hmm, or is there any other Yngve on the list? :) But thanks > for the info anyway ... > > > > > It'd be nice if there was a place one could obtain small bios on some > > > of these people. For instance, I've always wondered where Dead Can > > > Dance are from. For some strange reason I think I remember hearing > > > once that they're from Australia, but I'm certain I'm totally worng on > > > that one. Are they English? Irish? I don't know. Neil K. (bless 'im, the dearheart!) wrote the above. Holly ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Nov 93 15:06:47 PST From: "John Relph" Subject: Sam Philips Anybody in the Ecto-ether listen to Sam Philips? I am trying to get some information on guest musicians on her albums. If you can help me please send me e-mail. Thanks, -- John ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Nov 93 17:03:43 CST From: U15289@uicvm.bitnet Subject: Cruft for today I have heard from Stuart Rosenberg at WBEZ, who wrote me: >Loved Happy- now I'm looking for a cd to play. IMHO WIVH, New York ought to fix this man up with a CD to play PDQ. Kudos to Meredith for explicating the nature of the bottleneck in Susanne's shop. I was beginning to worry that Ed Rollins, while in the tri-state area anyway, had inexplicably included Susanne among those he allegedly employed to sit on their hands :-). WRT the trans-pond transposition of design elements in the TRS cover: could it simply be that the art director at Kate's US label was a hard-core car buff, who somehow concluded that if the elements of American instrument panels are reversed from their British counterparts, so should Kate's cover art? :-) Let me second Doug's reminder that there's now less than a month to get in your contributions to HGP93. HBP93 having been as boffo as it was, let us be inspired by the great words of Ernie Banks: Let's play two. Mitch ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Nov 93 15:44:20 PST From: Neal R. Copperman Subject: contraband I saw a really stupendous dance performance this weekend, and wanted to give a heads up to anyone who might have the opportunity themselves. The group was called Contraband and are based in the San Francisco Bay area. The thing that seemed most dramatic about them was that they incorporated live musicians into their performance. There were two people whose roles were essentially to create music, but the six dancers at any time could be playing an instrument or providing some sort of vocal accompaniment. I thought the music itself, without all the theatrics, would be worth owning, and plan to buy their disc when it is released next year. They were very tribal, and the second section of the piece involved everyone banging out rhythms on the floor with sticks and cans, as well as repositioning themselves and the lighting. The dancing was often very acrobatic, involving a lot of lifts and moves requiring a lot of strength. The instruments used were often quite bizarre, including a chinese bass (mounted on a golf cart!), and a horn that was about 20 feet long made of tubing. The woman played it like a Tibetan long horn and the guy played it like a didjeradoo (according to the discussion afterward, not based on my universal knowledge of all instruments). Talk about a bass note of doom. I am not a good one at interpreting modern dance, but I learned that the piece (Mira Cycle 2: the fall) was based on the life of Mirabi(?), a holy woman that brought about a spiritual age to India. It started as a linear work about her life, but that wasn't working, so they ripped it apart, saving the essential spirit but losing the storyline. Whatever the storyline was was irrelevant to enjoying it, as the stunning music, dance and images were worth seeing for their own sake. I thought it was so marvelous that I saw the show again the next night. Neal ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Nov 93 21:46:19 EST From: woj@remus.rutgers.edu (the horizon you run to) Subject: dead can dance interview [scarfed from another list...] From: supermo@Nyongwa.CAM.ORG (Muhanned Al-nuaimy) Subject: Dead Can Dance article Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1993 02:11:52 GMT Some people were asking about the new Dead Can Dance album. It's called Into the Labyrinth. It's an all new piece that they put together over the course of the last nine months. Personally I find that it's almost, but not quite, as good as Aion. Some of the songs have almost the exact same structure and tricks. And like on Aion, Brendan Perry keeps popping up and singing his own dull lyrics (sheesh, I wish he wouldn't keeps doing that). It's definitely worth buying if you're into that stuff. On the same subject, I interviewed the band last Friday. Perry absoluley loathes giving interviews, and Gerrard won't give them, but 4AD managed to convince Perry to set aside a couple of hours for Canada; I was assigned ten of them (thats right, they were giving 10 minute interviews about their life's work... sick isn't it?) Anyway, half an hour before the interview I got a call from the PolyGram head office saying that Perry was exhausted and wouldn't be giving any interviews, but would I mind talking to Lisa Gerrard? Would I?..!! Anyway, I interviewed Gerrard for over 20 minutes (She felt that it was impossible to encapsulate all that work into 10) and realized why she doesn't give many interviews... She can't speak succinctly. I realized just how bad the situation was when I got around to writing the article that afternoon. She rambles on for ages and it's very difficult to pull a decent quote out of any of it. I have included my last edit of the interview below, althouth the final copy, which is due to be published in this week's HOUR magazine, contains a couple of minor cosmetic changes. You luck people get to read this before the rest of the world; I hope you appreciate it :-) A freind of mine is transcribing the interview to be released on the 4AD mailing list. I'll get a copy from him and post it here when he's done. It's quite a bit more informative than the article below, even if it isn't as well written . --------------------------------------- Dead Can Dance "Silence is so important when you're working," says Lisa Gerrard, Dead Can Dance's enigmatic chanteuse. "You must have periods where you don't hear anything, just to reflect on you've already done. Otherwise you traumatize your relationship with the piece that you're working on." The haunting soundscapes that Dead Can Dance weave have become so demanding in both their conception and execution that Gerrard has little time to listen to anything else. Then of course there's the punishing schedule to contend with. After 15 years and seven albums together Gerrard and her partner Brendan Perry have built themselves a tremendous following, and when not on the road playing sell-out shows, they're either writing the scores for movies and plays, holding singing and percussion workshops, or working on the next album from their homes on either side of the planet. Gerrard's home is in Australia and Perry's is in Ireland. Between them lies a planet-full of culture from which they cull the influences of their music. Reaching deep into the crypt of time they pull out influences from ancient traditions both Eastern and Western, dusting them off and piecing them together, before bringing the result to life with a puff of their own musical magic. One of the results of the great distance between the two musicians is the presence of two distinct faces to their work. Gerrard sings without words, while Perry writes and sings English lyrics and rarely do both their voices grace the same song. Instead of sounding schizophrenic however, under the therapy of the music the two characters are woven together, giving a greater scope to the album on the whole. Despite their growing repertoire of recorded material, most of their material has never been recorded. Gerrard and Perry create much of their concert right on stage, spontaneously weaving tapestries of scintillating sound. "We always have a basic structure for a piece of music," explains Gerrard, "but we encourage the musicians to elaborate on whatever they feel at that particular moment. There's a definite conversation happening on stage. I think it is very important for us as creative musicians, to instantaneously describe any energy that is visible at that time." Those moments Gerrard reserves exclusively for their live performance. "There are some pieces I would never want to record, because I don't ever want to imprison them with permanence. I want them to be subject to change. In a sense they measure where you are musically at that time, and that reveals yourself to you." ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1993 22:12:31 -0400 (EDT) From: Suspended In Duct Tape Subject: some notes Hi! A few quickies: 1.) Dead Can Dance were featured on the American Public Radio syndicated show Music From The Hearts Of Space last night (well, that show is on Sunday nights on the public radio station here, anyway). An uninterrupted hour of music spanning their career- it was pretty cool. (Brendan and Lisa weren't there, just their CDs...but it was still wonderful to listen to.) 2.) Christine Lavin will be doing four shows at The Bottom Line in NYC this weekend, two a night on Friday and Saturday. woj and I will be at the 10:30 show on Friday- anybody else planning to be there? ***woj, you're not going to like the next few lines, so skip them*** 3.) Varttina will be at The Bottom Line on December 8, or so the ad in the Voice said. (Hey everybody, pick up a copy of the Village Voice this week and check out the dance reviews- one of my good friends has another piece in there this week- I think it's her third published review, or maybe her fourth, I can't remember... :) 4.) I discovered a neat new group at the radio station yesterday- they're on a label in Florence, Italy, but I think they're from London. They appear to be a duo (no liner notes, so I'm just going by the cover), and they call themselves Ordo Equitum Solis. A lot of their song titles were adulterated Latin. Their music reminded me quite a bit of the Bel Canto sort of thing, so if you're into that, you'd probably enjoy this. I'll try to remember to write down more information from the CD booklet next week. (I bet a large sum of money this post gets followed by yet another "Oh yeay, I have three of their tapes and know every last detail about them" from woj. :) :) :) Meredith meth@delphi.com "If money can't buy you love, then what are you saving it for?" - Meryn Cadell ======================================================================== Subject: Date: Mon, 15 Nov 93 23:36:14 -0500 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu For the last two weeks I've been completely overloading on _The Red Shoes_ (particularly the title track, to which, in an odd bit of synchronicity with mjm, I've been listening over and over and over again in preparation for using the song in an open quad ballet event at a regional stunt kite competition this coming Saturday; if you're near Annapolis, drop by and say hi! (write for directions)). (what was that recent mini-thread about writing parenthetically? I've been doing it for *years*, long before I had net.access! I must say that's it's a joy having emacs checking to see that I've got () agreement.) Anyway. Whilst not driving or kiting or otherwise walking about with my walkman, I've been trying to give myself a variety of music at home. Tonight I happened to pull out _Rearmament_ because for some reason I'd been thinking about Vickie (hi, Vickie!) and it just seemed like the right thing to do. I don't think I've listened to the album in the last...ooh, maybe a whole month! Anyway. Happy is *brilliant*. As much as I absolutely adore _The Red Shoes_, there's no question that _Rearmament_ just completely blows it out of the water. Well, almost. I still don't really care for "Box H.A.P." (or at least that repetitive WW-esque synth sound) and I don't think there's a comparable track on TRS that I would consider skipping. But oh, "'Til the Dawn Breaks," "Friend You'll Be," "The Issue Is," "Crystal Orbs," "Because I Learn," "Baby Don't Go," and on and on and on! I still don't think Happy emotes vocally as well as KaTe does. I honestly don't think Happy could pull off the strangled scream "Alright, just go then" from "You're the One." In Happy 's songs, her voice doesn't crack at just the right strategic moment to make that lump form in your throat. On the other hand, her lyrics, with their intense personalism tend to make up for a lack of vocal expression. I wonder if 7 years from now Happy will have the same problem with reaching high notes that KaTe seems to be having--if she'll be writing music in a lower register to avoid having to try. It's not that Happy can't pull it off. _Warpaint_ almost seems like an experiment in concentrating on her deep voice, as well as trying to lose a lot of the folky elements of the 1st4. I suppose that's all for now. I've just been enjoying _Rearmament_ so much and felt like sharing. Jeff |Jeffrey C. Burka | "When I look in the mirror, I see a little clearer/ | |SAFH Lite [tm] | I am what I am and you are you too./ Do you like | |jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu | what you see? Do you like yourself?" --N. Cherry | ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 16 Nov 93 00:21:40 EST From: woj@remus.rutgers.edu (the horizon you run to) Subject: ectopics Suspended In Duct Tape sez: >***woj, you're not going to like the next few lines, so skip them*** >3.) Varttina will be at The Bottom Line on December 8 yeah. grrr. i'm trying to track down a tour listing which was recently posted to rec.music.folk even as i type (i multitask, you know ;). unfortunately, it seems to have expired off the rutgers newserver so i guess i'll have to call green linnet. for those who are wondering, i'm not supposed to like those lines since i'll probably be off in spain working at the beginning of december. damn damn damn. of course, i'll be in castellon, a most excellent and warm city on the mediterranean coast so i'll make up in weather what i lose in music. not sure if that is an even bargain though. anyone spaniards on ecto in that area of the country want to get together? >4.) I discovered a neat new group at the radio station yesterday- they're on >a label in Florence, Italy, but I think they're from London. They appear to >be a duo (no liner notes, so I'm just going by the cover), and they call >themselves Ordo Equitum Solis. i don't know too much about them but they are on my too find list. they toured the states recently (or are touring as we speak). there was supposed to be a show in new brunswick in, um, october but it was cancelled. sigh. their records are only available as imports in the states and, as a result, are hard to come by. hence, i have't gotten them yet. >(I bet a large sum of money this post gets followed by yet another "Oh yeay, >I have three of their tapes and know every last detail about them" from woj. >:) :) :) well, almost. should have taken you up on the bet. :) i believe i have blathered about ani difranco in the past here. for those who were getting snacks from the fridge and missed my nonsense, she's a singer/songwriter from buffalo, ny who has been described as "punk folk." i dunno if i would go that far but i would say that she is hard-edged in her stances and her politics (rather leftish) and that it comes through in her acoustic music. she's an incredible lyricist, has a very interesting and distinctive guitar style and has a very distinctive vocal style as well. i finally got copies of her first three albums last weekend which have been taking up time in the tape deck lately (not surprising since the cd player is still out of commission). the first impression is that, while they are good, they are not as good as _puddle dive_ which is what i would recommend to anyone wanting to take a sampler to her work. i still need to get a copy of her latest though. here's a post from rec.music.folk listing current tour dates and contact info: >From: megazone@obsidian.WPI.EDU (MegaZone) >Subject: ani difranco tour - new dates & changes >Date: 8 Nov 93 18:10:36 GMT > >I received a tour update in the mail Friday, some new dates and a >cancellation.. > >ani difranco >like i said tour '93 >m 11/8 Berkeley, CA freight & salvage >w 11/10 San Francisco, CA great american music hall >th 11/11 Santa Cruz, CA kuumbwa jazz center >fr 11/12 Davis, CA palms playhouse >sa 11/13 Auburn, CA gold country fairground >w 11/17 Portland, ME raoul's >th 11/18 Orono, ME university of maine, orono >sa 11/20 Somerville, MA somerville theater >su 11/21 Bennington, VT bennington college >sa 11/27 Pittsburgh, PA artery >su 11/28 Charleston, WV (cancelled) >th 12/2 Fort Collins, CO colorado state university >fr 12/3 Denver, CO mercury cafe >sa 12/4 Boulder, CO september school >w 12/8 Little Rock, AK juanita's >fr 12/10 Dallas, TX chumley's >sa 12/11 Austin, TX vortex theater >tu 12/14 Houston, TX mcgonigel's mucky duck > >albums available: >like i said (1993), puddle dive (1993), imperfectly (1992), >not so soft (1991), ani difranco (1990) > >$10 per cassette / $15 per cd ($12/$18 canadian) >ny state residents please add sales tax $.80 per cassette / $1.20 per cd > >mail to: >righteous records >429 richmond ave., >buffalo, ny 14222 >(716) 884-0248 tribe is playing at some club in plainfield this thursday...and i just found out tonight that the bulgarian choir is performing in new york city that night as well. augh! decisions, decisions. stereolab played live on wfmu last night of which i managed to record the last 30 minutes of the 45 minute set. pretty nifty stuff. neile, a tape will be in the mail before you can say rumplestilskin. :) think that's it for now. +woj ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1993 21:59:30 -0800 (PST) From: Neile Graham Subject: Yet another CD binge Rumplestiltskin! Which reminds me, has anyone else read Jonathon Carroll's _Sleeping in Flames_? A wonderful book, which was recommended to me by none other than Mary Lou. A contemporary, dark fantasy based on the Rumplestiltskin story. Big cd scores in the last few days: Went to my local used disc place and found Arson Garden's _Under Towers_ for $2.99, a Betty Boo single for $.99, and Eve's Plum, _Envy_, Lava Hay's first, and Over the Rhine's _Patience_ for their usual used disc price, $9.99 each. In the mail, Big Hat's _Selena at my Window_ arrived, as did Holly Coles new one and a Capercaillie that I'd bought from folk over the net. Then we went to Portland on Saturday, and scored big: Mae Moore's _Bohemia_ for Jens for $4(!), Thomas Dolby's _The Flat Earth_ for $8, Altazor's _Concurrencia_ for $4, a Sandi Shaw single for $4 (haven't even listened to it yet), Momus's _Circus Maximus_, which I've been looking for since I first heard it ($15), and Jim found new two Seefeel discs (not my favourites) and the too Pure Peel Sessions, with live material by Th' Faith Healers, Stereolab and P.J. Harvey. Now I just need to find the time to listen to it all! --Neile's ears in heaven. ======================================================================== The ecto archives are on hardees.rutgers.edu in ~ftp/pub/hr. There is an INDEX file explaining what is where. Feel free to send me things you'd like to have added. -- jessica (jessica@ns1.rutgers.edu)