Starving Weirdos and Other 2009 Musical Edge Conditions

Starving Weirdos LIVE in Tilburg at ZXZW


So far this year, Starving Weirdos have released the astonishing "Blue Heron" hand-crafted LP, and the even-more-amazing "Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate" live in Brussels cassette. Above is a 13-minute excerpt from GGPP.

We know that the year in mainstream music already has started out strong, with Bruce, Neko, U2, Antony, A.C., Morrissey, etc. At the same time, the year in improv is starting out riotous, with remarkable new stuff from Pelt, Ashtray Navigations, Astral Social Club, at least nine releases in two months from Sunburned Hand of the Man, and of course, Starving Weirdos. Even if the mainstream music industry melts down with the rest of the global economy in midsummer, handmade recordings will get us through a very healthy (in ideas, if nothing else) 2009.

Sunburned Hand of the Man and Gang Gang Dance in Denver

No, not together, nothing in Colorado could be that rational. Sunburned Hand of the Man was scheduled to make their first Colorado appearance at Hi-Dive Nov. 7, and I absolutely had to put highest priority on that. This is the first effort at touring since band member Adam Nodelman died. My only regret in capturing a few short clips (drum destruction above, along with this, this, this, this, and this) is that the lovely and talented Sarah O'Shea, playing electronics on an ironing board, is barely visible. Learned after I had gotten the ticket that Gang Gang Dance was making a return appearance at Larimer Lounge the same night. When the Sunburned show ended at 12:30, I raced over to Larimer and caught the last 30 minutes of Liz and the drum gods, including the clip of "House Jam" below.

What suddenly struck me last night is how much women have taken a crucial role in the experimental noise scene of late. A year ago, Craig M. got me the 4-CD Women Take Back the Noise collection, and since then I've watched women form their own collectives, like Leslie Keffer and Valerie Martino in Nashville, while women have taken lead roles in previously all-male avant-garde collectives: Bridget Hayden in Vibracathedral Orchestra and Telescopes, Inca Ore/Eva Saelens in Jackie-O Motherfucker, Michio in No-Neck Blues Band, and Sarah O'Shea in Sunburned. Personally, it seems that women are more innovative and precise in using noise than all those dorky men. I'm just glad the Tom Greenwoods and Dave Nusses of the world are willing to step into the background a bit, as women take back the noise.

RIP Adam Nodelman

I was just relishing the trio of live-in-Leeds CDs - Glik, Glak, Gluk - of the Boston bizarro collective Sunburned Hand of the Man, when I learned that Sunburned member Adam Nodelman died last week. You can find his obit on the band's MySpace page. Interesting to see that Adam also was a member of the legendary early-1980s jazz ensemble Borbetomagus when he was only 18! He leaves behind three daughters, how sad....Wow, even Pitchfork had a nice obit.

Sunburned Circle

Oh, boy, here's the collaboration album of the year - Finland's Circle and Boston's Sunburned Hand of the Man got together in late 2006 for a session that resulted in The Blaze Game, part freeform noodling, part percussive nonsense, part Deadhead hippie jam. Wacky, sophisticated, and goes well with intoxicants of all types. Two. Thumbs. Way. Up.

Black Moth Super Rainbow

BMSR stumbled through Colorado for the first time the weekend of Sept. 15. In full regalia with stage props, they are like the bastard child of Caroliner Rainbow and Sunburned Hand of the Man. Here, they are stripped down in the studio, and are without the talents of Maureen "Seven Fields of Aphelion" Boyle. Still, you get the idea. Fun stuff!