Project-updates, part 2.

Music-




I currently have two records and a brand-new live band in the works.



First, the third record from my solo experimental electronic project LeVautourEnsemble is well underway. This one’s called “From the Sketchbook.”

Like the first two (2010’s “…whose wings are a dull reality”, and 2011’s “Machinique Meltdown”, both available for free download [with a whole lot of other neat stuff] on Headhat Records) this one is also a bit of an oddball repurposing of the idea of the “concept-record.” This time around, as the name of the record may imply, I’ve assigned myself the task of navigating a sketchbook where I had been jotting down fragments of transient ideas over the course of several years… and writing songs based on those fragments… even if (or, especially if) I have NO idea what the hell the initial note meant. To throw myself an additional layer of challenge, I’m tracking this record entirely on an ancient Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. (Special thanks to Dan Holmes for loaning me this phenomenally monstrous device).

I’ve nicknamed him “Brutus.” If anyone remembers tracking audio with these things, add about twenty-five years to let Brutus’s physical parts get downright-elderly in electronics-years, and you can begin to imagine how beautifully cantankerous and temperamental he is now. Working with Brutus is much like riding an ornery rodeo-bull; I’m definitely not in charge here. (I’ve always joked that the other members of LeVautourEnsemble’s “Ensemble” are machines and robots… this has never been more true.) By design, this record will sound NOTHING like what I envision it sounding like in my head. (Special thanks for this one are also due to the guy who owns "The Music Connection" in Manchester, NH, for having had the foresight to stock-pile the Type-II cassette-tapes that Brutus requires back when they stopped making them, while everyone else's response when I was trying to track them down was more like "You're looking for what? WHY??")



Some sneak-peak sample of tracks from this record can be heard here-

.. streaming/ download from a recent charity-compilation...

…and here-

Additionally, this album will be the last material I’ll release under the “LeVautourEnsemble” name. My plan is to consider the three records some odd sort of a “trilogy” (maybe even make some sort of limited-edition packaging of them as such available) and retire the moniker. This isn’t to imply that I’m going to stop making this sort of music (who knows), but more that the idea of maintaining false separations between various sorts of solo-content has run its course.



The second record I am working on is a recording of a live-DJ megamix-set of sorts… It’s called “Vulture From The Vaults”… basically, I spin and remix a collection of my back-catalog material from a variety of projects that were never officially released, linked together with improvised live shards of my particular breed of lo-fi indie-electronic music. This is sort of like a bizarro take on a B-sides/ rarities/ out-takes/ greatest (non)hits collection, mashed up with my sort of gadfly take on the “live-mix” records that DJ’s more traditional-style than myself like to release. My plan is to release physical-copies of this disc in such a way that make it very unclear whether it’s more of a CD that comes with a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork, or a piece of art that comes with a free CD… or something in between, or both.



My new live-band is called Snazzmobb.

Expect a crazy-high-energy explosion of indie-dance-rock madness. We’re brand-spanking-new (and dealing with an unforeseen early-lineup restructuring issue at the moment) so we’re not playing out yet, but we will be soon. (I’ve already given my band-mates an ultimatum; if this isn’t going anywhere by early spring I’m heading someplace warmer). In the meantime, follow us on Twitter (@Snazzmobb) and “like” us on Facebook… we’ll be dropping plenty of teaser-content soon enough. Peel your eyes.

Snazzmobb is currently a trio; I'm on bass and vocals, Adhesiveslipper (solo-artist/ Headhat Records boss-man) is on electronic-noise-wizardry and vocals, and Alex Hurschman is on drums and vocals. Think high-energy noisy funk meets post-punk? This will be a fun show, I promise.



(the third installment of this update-series will cover visual-art and odds-and-ends, soon.)

Pull Trouble news/ updates.

Thanks to everyone who made the Pull Trouble From the Fire record-release show (AKA "Occupy Dodge Street") in Salem, Mass last weekend amazing. Lots of pictures, footage, etc is still coming in, but you can check out some stuff from my own collection from the night here. (special thanks to Crooked Streets and Harvey Mapcase for making the bill for the night that much more awesome, and Dodge Street for putting it on.)

And, oh hey, guess what? The CD-release event is passed which means... the record is now available! The initial run is fairly small and entirely self-released with no distro or support, so if you'd like a copy, for a mere $5, email me and we'll make it happen. In the meantime, take a listen and download a couple tracks from the album on Soundcloud.

... and now onto the next one. We've got a big show coming up that we're really excited about- We'll be opening for Marco Benevento at The Red Door in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (legitimately, no hyperbole, one of my favorite venues on the planet). This show is part of Marco's 3-week residency stint at the always-amazing Hush Hush Sweet Harlot music-series, and we are EXTREMELY honored to be a part of it. 

Thursday, October 27th, The Red Door. 107 State Street, Portsmouth, NH. Doors at 7, show at 8. $17 in advance, $20 at the door.

Advance tickets are now available here. This is a tiny, intimate room for this kind of show, and there's definitely the possibility that it will sell out, so purchasing tickets soon would be a very good idea if you'd like to join us for an amazing evening. If you're coming, or for added details and conversations about the show as it approaches, stop by the event-invite, RSVP, and share it with your friends!

Pull Trouble From the Fire CD-release show (and a fan-made video!)

My band Pull Trouble From The Fire's CD-release show for our self-titled debut EP is fast approaching! Friday, October 7th, at Dodge Street, in Salem, Massachusetts, with our good friends Crooked Streets and Harvey Mapcase. Be there.

Yeah, that's right. It's a Friday night in October, in Salem. So, yeah, it's going to be pretty insane. You're not going to want to miss this one.

Get details, and let us know if you can make it here.

This is the cover to the forthcoming record. The artwork is by Bill Fennel. Bill also recently decided to make a music-video/ short-film to one of the songs off of the forthcoming record, and did a great job. Check it out, it's pretty neat.

Pull Trouble From The Fire debut-show video-collection!

Thanks to everyone who helped to make our debut live show a very fun night.  Here are some videos.

Intro/ Roach-tree-

Gaslighting-

Long Shiny Black Hairs-

Trainwrecks-

Dead Wait-

Stay Awake (courtesy of Bill Fennell)-

Outro-

Arrangements for the Pull Trouble From The Fire show...

The show is this Thursday. Like, less than 3 days away. Let's get our situations straight, make sure everyone who wants to go can, and know how we're getting it done.

As of the current moment, it looks like I still have one seat that has yet to be officially claimed in my car. We're heading down early, aiming to leave Portsmouth for Salem around 6, to spend some time in that awesome city, and not feel rushed, prior to the show. Earlier in the day, I will be in Nashua and driving through Manchester. So, if you're off from work that day, and want to tag along, be in touch.

Other than that, I know that several other people are heading down from NH, and I've heard much talk of car-pool options and available ride-situations. Be in touch, I'll put you in touch with some people, we'll make it happen. Consider this an open-thread for ride arrangements.

Also, I'm vaguely considering booking a room in Salem, as a sort of a crash-pad for the NH kids that "accidentally" drink too much to get home that night. A sort of "throw in whatever you feel" arrangement. So, if you're driving down, throw a sleeping-bag or a blanket in the car, just in case.

Either way, be there. It's not that far, and Salem is a SUPER-fun city. It's destined to be a crazy night.

Pull Trouble From The Fire, flyer and event-invite.

 ...and check out our event invite on Facebook, let us know that you're coming!

Music updates, part 1

Big news on the music-front (well, big to me, anyway.)

After a year hiding out in our clandestine studio on the New England coast, my first "real" band in years, Pull Trouble From The Fire, just finished our debut record (as of yet untitled), to be released soon, after a string of phenomenal sessions with Richard Marr at Galaxy Park Studios. It sounds amazing, I promise. Stay tuned.

We have also just booked out debut live show, staying true to our word that this would come as soon as the record was complete. We'll be headlining a show at Dodge Street in Salem, Massachusetts (yes, THAT Salem) on Thursday, July 14th, with Cardinal Law. The show is at 9, it's FREE, and it's "Thirsty Thursday," so, you know, drink specials and shit. Plan to come and get crazy with us. (I'm totally willing to help set up caravan/ convoy/ carpool options from various New Hampshire spots, [as well as possibly going in on a room or something, for those of us who don't have to work too early on Friday], so if you're considering making the trek down, be in touch. It's not that far, and Salem's a super-fun city. [Duh.]) I'm working on a flyer and a facebook event-invite today, I'll post it as soon as it's done.

In other music news, the second record from my solo-project, LeVautourEnsemble, "Machinique Meltdown," is coming along, slowly but surely. I dropped a new video of a track from the record this morning. Check it out.