Gazilcher and the new music page

I changed the Music link on the main menu at bobkurthy.com

It now leads to a basic page (work in progress) of my music related stuff (music players, videos, links, etc.), rather than funneling directly into the semi-moribund MySpace profile as before.

My solo-plus-guests music project is now called Gazilcher.

Gazilcher can be found on MySpace, Soundcloud and Facebook.

BlowUpBlow videos

Paul Zanzler has assembled 2 videos of our band BlowUpBlow* (2003-2008) compiled from photographs, video and artwork.

One is for It's Time; a song that was often a live show closer/favorite. We did a great recording of at The Compound studio in Long Beach, CA. Unfortunately it was never finally mixed, mastered nor released...



The 2nd video features an audio track that for a song we were laboring over off and on for a long time during the twilight of the band's run. It may sound trebly, but, hey, it was just a practice recording, quite possibly on cassette...Visually, this is a pretty good nostalgic overview slide show. Personally, I felt that we were creating music better than that of each our previous bands.




*If you're new, I was the drummer in this band, and did the artwork for the releases, merch, flyers, etc.

New studio toys...

Used. An off brand no one's heard of.
But they were affordable, they work and they're mine.
Thanks, Jesse.

[click on thumbail to enlarge]



If you look closely, past the Play Sand, you will see that I am now The Man with Two Brains.

Lake Dolores

Lake Dolores is the musical duo of Eric Dunn and Andy Wenger. They mostly just write and record songs (using a drum machine). But once in a while they will get a live show and I sit in on drums.

I was glad to have at least one full band practice with them for our show next Sunday (4-25-10)

This should be a relieving deviation. Normally my requests for a practice, a CD, or even a mere list of songs I will need to know remain unfulfilled until the night of the show, leaving me to play it by ear. I have their older material on CDs, but which songs will they pick for the set?

The funny thing I realized at the practice session is that the 2 guys who wrote and recorded the songs don't seem to know the material any better than I do!

I may be exaggerating, but in regards to any material recorded in the last couple of years: a typical Lake Dolores song is written and recorded in the same evening session. After that, it's in the can. Since they generally don't gig, they have no need to rehearse or even relearn their own songs. Additionally, the songs aren't written and recorded with the intention of playing live, so it's not guaranteed (for example) to be physically possible to sing and play certain parts in a song simultaneously.

So, although I was armed with a CD of most of the songs for a couple of weeks, as well as the practice...Lake Dolores is not in danger of losing it's loose charm. And with those two guys, it's always a riot.








And in case there is any question:

This is not "my new band." I have been sitting in with these guys on the semi-annual gigs for many years now, concurrently with the other bands I was in.

I still have yet to join/form a new band. But I'm still looking and hoping to...

Dust off the drums

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I will be playing drums on a stage in front of people soon.

Jeezus, has it really been 9 months?

The idea was to find a new project to play in; not to stop playing drums. I still have not found/formed/joined a new band. Not being in a band and playing regularly has in several ways contributed to daily anxiety and frustration.

Anyway...

I'll be sitting in on drums with Lake Dolores (Eric Dunn & Andy Wenger).
Here are the details:

Sunday, April 25th

FREE show

LOST CABRAS (3rd)
PROJECT SHEPHERD (2nd)
LAKE DOLORES (1st)

(1st band may start around 9pm?)

@ Alex's Bar
2913 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA 90804
(N/E corner of Anaheim & Gladys)
Entrance in back
Do NOT park in the Auto Zone parking lot; you will probably get towed
562-434-8292
21 & over

I'm still working on the flyer...

Stuff in the works

Just a few things have come up:

1) A piece of artwork I did a few years ago may finally see the virtual light of day.

I did a piece for Mars Volta keyboardist Ikey Owens' solo project Free Moral Agents (MySpace, Facebook).

Rumor has it that the title (and therefore accompanying artwork) caused a bit of controversy resulting in the project being shelved. But, now it's going to be used for digital/online-release-only album art, if all goes well.

I'll post links on where to get it as soon as it's available.

2) I'm going to play drums with Lake Dolores on Sat. April 25 at Alex's Bar. It's been a long time since I played a show, especially with them. It should be fun.

I will ask (since I'm only what one would call a touring member) repeatedly when we are going to practice and what songs we are going to play. Knowing this band, these questions will probably not be addressed until the night of the show. Hopefully this time will break the stereotype! :-)

We're honored to be opening for (what I consider to be an all-star metal band) Project Shepherd.

More details, and *hopefully* a flyer later...

3) I may be doing some lettering and production work for Paul Sharar's forthcoming graphic novel opus Manning Town. Although my work on this will be subservient, I am a big believer in Paul's talents, and so it's an honor.

Bozzio Holdsworth Levin Mastelotto

I went to see Terry Bozzio, Allan Holdsworth, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto do a 2 hour, entirely improvised set of music last night in Whittier, CA.

Video recording was not allowed, but here are some of my very-amateur pics...

[click thumbnails to enlarge]

Adrian Belew Power Trio @ Brixton South Bay

I saw the Adrian Belew Power Trio show last night at fairly small club venue called Brixton South Bay in Redondo Beach, CA.

The new stuff he played from e was pretty good. All instrumental stuff, not quite as gnarly as some of the 'Crimson stuff, but will definitely appeal to the Krimhead. Good enough for me to buy the CD, so I did.

I was blown away with a song that I didn't recognize, but after looking up some lyrics I remembered, I believe it was Big Electric Cat. Great song, and an unbelievably cool guitar tone (as if Ade's guitar could ever sound less than cool). The solos in Of Bow and Drum brought a tear to my eye!

I was impressed as the rest of the world with the young brother and sister rhythm section of Julie and Eric Slick. Eric seemed to have flawless technique to the point where I could barely detect any human idiosyncrasy. Disturbingly good, and from what I could see, he barely broke a sweat.

I didn't take down the set list, but some songs I recall were (in no particular order):
a, b, c, e
Big Electric Cat
Neurotica
Three of a Perfect Pair
Of Bow and Drum
Futurevision

The opening band was called Death & Taxes. Never heard them before, but they were pretty good. They were prog with a sense of humor, kind of like King Crimson meets The Minutemen. A guy I met there pointed out that the keyboardist (who I gathered was new to the band) also plays in a local Genesis tribute band called Gabble Ratchet. Good player, although he seemed to still be learning the material, and a pretty darn good singer from what I heard.

The 2 things I forgot to do were a) bring my camera and b) charge my cell phone. These pics were from taken on the phone, and it ran out of juice 3/4 into the show. The sound quality of my phone videos is crap, so I didn't bother filming. I'm there to enjoy the music, and so the photos reflect their own priority level...

[click thumbnails to enlarge]

Death and Taxes...


Ade's gear....


Eric's drums...


Adrian Belew Power Trio...

CalProg 2009, Part 1

I went to CalProg last weekend.

Once again, most of my photos were out of focus, and not worth uploading.
But I got some good video of Karmakanic and It Bites.

The opening band Touch Stone did not win me over.

Although I was a little disappointed in the Agents of Mercy album in light of the players and concept, I thoroughly enjoyed their live set. And, although Karmakanic was exactly the same personnel as Agents of Mercy, they played a set that was equally very emotional, and totally shredding, as any good prog show should be.

One of my favorite drummers Nick D'Virgilio sat in with Agents of Mercy/Karmakanic, and did an amazing job. Especially considering his only actual practice with the band was several hours the day before. There was only 1 moment out of the 4 hours or so that he was onstage where I sensed that they might have made a mistake & been slightly off.

[click thumbnails to enlarge]


Here are some videos I shot of Karmakanic. I will be uploading It Bites videos later...

Four Drummers

Last night I got to play percussion with 3 of the greatest drummers in Long Beach: Tim Bender*, Brandon Laws** and Chris Clawson***.

Bender has had the idea for an orchestrated 4-drummer project for a few years. One of the concepts was for it to be very division-of-labor; 4 cogs in the same machine, rather than 4 guys trying to dominate each other in chops or volume.

But last night was completely improvised, getting a feel for how we all can play together, the collective setup, etc.

I believe it was Chris who commented that it was probably the quietest jam session he ever had with multiple drummers involved. I agree with this, for in my experience, even with only 2 drummers, often dynamics quickly go out the window, and the whole thing turns cacophonous and unbearably loud.

[click thumbnail to enlarge]


It went well enough for us all to agree to meet up again in a week.

Pretty cool for me, 'cos not only is it an honor to play alongside these guys, but it was nice just to play music with some other people. I haven't played since I retired from The Bolides, so I literally had to brush some cobwebs off a drum.
(Well, they are in a garage, so it doesn't take long for those to form, but...)

---
* Project Shepherd, KNAC/DC, The Ringleaders, ex-Death By Stereo, ex-One Eye Open
** Forcefield On, Slippers, Mister Mister Miyagi
*** Telomere Repair, Look Daggers, The Year Zero, ex-Sexytime Explosion/Knives of the Eternal Disappointment

Phil Collins' Statement Regarding Injury/Drumming

Phil Collins has posted a statement in reaction to an article in The Daily Mail Online regarding his spinal condition effecting his ability to play drums.

In the UK press today, there appeared some articles about Phil's physical state, with some slightly misleading headlines. Here, in Phil's own words, are how he describes his situation:

"There isn't any drama regarding my 'disability' and playing drums.
Somehow during the last Genesis tour I dislocated some vertebrae in my upper neck and that affected my hands. After a successful operation on my neck, my hands still can't function normally.

"Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano. I am not in any 'distressed' state, stuff happens in life."

Phil

Phil Collins is my favorite drummer and my main inspiration in blowing my savings on my first set of drums (which I still play) at age 17. People age, and things like this happen eventually. Phil and his fans are fortunate that this, along with his ear infection, did not happen earlier in his career.

Progressive Nation Tour 2009

I went to the Progressive Nation Tour 2009 concert at The Greek Theater last week.

My camera still hasn't returned from being fixed, so I could only use my phone camera, which isn't worth much at a concert.

Here are some shots of the smoke clouds from our friendly neighborhood wildfires, as seen on the way to the show...

[click thumbnails to enlarge]



...as well as a Masonic Temple with dilapidated brickwork...



First band: Scale the Summit. Progressive metal ripping young transplanted Houstonian lads with at least 2 extra strings on their guitars & bass. I enjoyed them enough to buy a shirt* & CD...



Unfortunately I have no pics of Bigelf. They rocked. They were underdogs, because they have a very retro 70's rocksound**, rather than being technical shredders like all the other bands. Most bands would sound sloppy next to the other bands on this bill. They did use real Mellotron 400, Hammond C3 & Minimoog.

Zappa Plays Zappa was awesome. Very impressed with and inspired by drummer Joe Travers...



And then there's Dream Theater. Part of me thinks they are total, over-the-top cheese, but I can't shake some strange fascination with them. I had to see them once before I die.

Here is a shot off the big screen, showing Jordan Rudess actually playing his iPhone onstage. Sonically, you would never know it wasn't a professional synth, or his Continuum fingerboard...


(Note: I later found the app he used. It's called Bebot, and you can click here to see a video of JR demonstrating it on YouTube.)

Besides getting onstage to play 1 song with each of the 1st 3 bands, Mike Portnoy called out all the other drummers one-by-one to jam with him side-by-side. This all seemed like support & comradery, but partly to prove that he's the big dog. The first 2 guys seemed nervous, but he couldn't pull a single g*dd*mn trick over on Joe Travers. That guy more than kept up with Mike, and was visibly smiling & laughing his way through. Tearing sh*t up!

Here's Portnoy getting ready to call out Steve Vai & Dweezil Zappa for an all out guitar shredonomitronathon...



Cheesiest keytar ever...
Looks like a Klingon weapon prop from Star Trek The Next Generation. Rudess used it for some psuedo-guitar shredding, ala Jan Hammer...



I enjoyed the whole show; sublime beauty & cheesewank alike.

------

* Designed by Dan Mumford.
** Ala Black Sabbath, Kiss, The Beatles, Alice Cooper, '69 King Crimson

The Bolides: Help Find Stolen Equipment!

Here are a couple of things posted on The District Weekly website. First, a bulletin regarding equipment stolen from my bandmate in The Bolides...

Music Blog

HELP THE BOLIDES LOCATE MISSING EQUIPMENT!

by Bryan Gerhart
Wed. July 01

After a killer and possible final show at Alex’s Bar on the night of June 26 (which was this past Friday, for those that don’t like dealing with numbers), Long Beach garage-geeks The Bolides had a less-than-pleasant weekend. Turns out someone made off with two major pieces of singer/guitarist/synthesizerist(?) Dr. Mikro Fiche’s equipment.

Not cool! The next time you’re Craigslisting, at a pawn shop, or hanging in your shady friend’s garage, be on the lookout for the following:

- Roland KC500 Keyboard Combo Amplifier (looks like this)

- "Fender The Twin” With red knobs and a glow-in-the-dark painted meteor on the grill. The wooden tube protector on the back is broken off.

Just remember, stealing from a scientist is a Cardinal Sin. Stealing from a scientist who doubles as the singer and guitarist in a new-wave-garage band? Now that’s just mean.

Contact The Bolides at their Myspace or drop a note here if you have any information.

[Link to original article: http://thedistrictweekly.com/2009/daily/staff-infection/music-blog/help-the-bolides-locate-missing-equipment/ ]

Or let me know, and I'll pass the info to Mike.

Also, here is the farewell article on The Bolides that I linked to in an earlier post...

Features

CLONE COLOGNE

by Alex Roman
Wed. June 24

The Bolides: Goodbye, friends of science and technology (sort of)

PHOTO by DAVID THORNTON

Whether it was laughing hysterically at an impromptu mosh pit that broke out (in 2002!) or wondering how long it would take for their robot to break as people kicked it across the dance floor, each Bolides show was as good as the first time I saw them, when I became an instant fan because of their shared affinity for Jon Spencer and Devo. Now, after hundreds of shows, a record on Dionysius and countless hours of scientific experimentation, they are going away for a bit. The science and Long Beach music communities will mourn solemnly.

The District Weekly: The first time I saw the Bolides, I instantly thought of Jon Spencer and Devo—this kind of melding of old punk, garage rock and the new sounds that kind of naturally derived out of these two genres—is that close to the basic idea of the Bolides?
Dr. Mikro Fiche (guitar, synthesizers and vocals): Indeed, spot on! Early on (1996) I placed an ad in The Recycler—does that date this band or what?—looking to start collaborating and recording ideas. I listed that the project would be as if Pussy Galore evolved into the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in outer space.

How difficult has it been to separate your important scientific research from playing music?
Music definitely clears the head, so we can get back to discovering the perfect Clone Cologne or figuring out which came first, T&A or DNA.

So this isn’t necessarily goodbye, but where are you guys going?
The Bolides are going on an ‘extended sabbatical.’

What memories stick out over the years you guys spent together?
One of the craziest times I remember was when we played at Alex’s Bar and a local punk— whose name is pronounced the same as a recent former president—jumped on stage and called for a huddle. He proceeded to let the band know that he wanted to administer mushrooms to us, right away. I laughed; one of us considered taking him up on the offer.

Are you scared one of your old lab rats may come looking for you after you set them free?
No way! Those rats always left B > I > R <>

THE BOLIDES WITH FUNGUS MUNGUS AND THE SHROOMS, PROJECT SHEPHERD AND BLOB ALEX’S BAR | 2913 E ANAHEIM ST | LONG BEACH 90804 | 562.434.8292 | ALEXSBAR.COM | FRI | $8-10 | CALL FOR TIME

[Link to original article: http://thedistrictweekly.com/2009/print/music/music-features/clone-cologne/ ]

A Band Done

Having played my last show with The Bolides last night, I can say that "I'm not in a band."

...for the first time since (gulp) the '80s.

I didn't start really playing shows until about 1990, but I had been messing around in at least some larval form of a band since the late 1980's.

For the record, The Bolides is officially on an indefinite, extended sabbatical. We agreed on a "never say never" thing, meaning we are free to get together to play whenever we all agree to. So we're not necessarily crying wolf.

Also, as a side note, if the band were to reform without me, they would have my blessings & support as well.

...and so...

Now I'm looking to play drums in a new band, writing new songs with new folks. Possibly angular, prog-influenced yet catchy SONGS. But definitely I'm open to ideas...

Bolides show June 26

I am playing drums with The Bolides next month.
This will be the familiar lineup and material (no new songs or members, despite rumors you may hear).

This will be the last show before the group goes on an indefinite sabbatical...

Friday June 26 - 8pm

BENEFIT SHOW
for the Family of Keri Barron
featuring:

FUNGUS MUNGUS & The SHROOMS
The BOLIDES
PROJECT SHEPHERD*
The BLOB

@ Alex’s Bar
2913 E. Anaheim St.
Long Beach, CA 90804
562-434-8292

$8 - 21 & over
Click here to buy tickets

Alex’s Bar is on the corner of Anaheim & Gladys
Next to the Auto Zone
Entrance in the back
Don’t park in Auto Zone parking lot..

(I deleted the flyers because both of them had the wrong address on 'em)

* New metal band featuring: Tim Owens (aka Tito), Tim Bender (both Ex-Death By Stereo / Ex-One Eye Open), Mike Cody (of Slippers) & Mark Ho !

If Thine Enemy Wrong Thee...

"If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum."
- Chinese proverb

My son exposed to real drums for the first time...

[click thumbnail to enlarge]

The Latest from the Studio

I haven't had much time to work on music lately...as if I ever do. But no cobwebs have formed.

I did get a better gtr/mic-->computer interface. Unfortunately, my computer is falling behind. New software, hardware, larger files are all weighing heavily on the old thing. I doubled/max'd out my RAM to a whopping 2g, which is about 25% of what I probably need.

I recorded a cover version of Robert Calvert's The Right Stuff, complete with samples of an F104 and my son's toy spaceship, as well as vocals by (=gulp=) me. My pipes ain't made o' gold, but I did it anyway. Since my hardware is slowing down, I resorted to recorded them on a handheld digital recorder and transferred them later. Another sample I recorded and deployed was a rhythmic, looping 'industrial' sound. Is it a swirling Spacerock vortex, the Galaxy Express 999, or merely my laundry spindrying? (Perhaps an inadvertant tip of the hat to Andy Kaufman and Geddy Lee)

I had the opportunity to record a legendary local guitarist a few weeks ago. He was there, axe plugged in and ready to rock. Unfortunately, the session was tragically defeated by the sluggishness of the computer.

Tim has set up a drumkit in the house, so I've done some recording experiments. The drums are somewhat muffled, and struck with 'rods'* to cut down the chances of police knocking on the door. But, some interesting sounds can be created regardless, mic'ing from other rooms or recording via cellular phone/voicemail.

Besides research and development, I hope to finish remixing Menthol Ziggurat. I found a manufacturer so that I may make it available as a proper CD, rather than a homeburned CDR.


*"Rods" are basically drumstick-length bundles of thin dowels, bound together by a plastic sheath. They yield a volume somehwere between sticks and brushes. The word 'rod' is usually preceded by a silly word denoting the specific production line, like "hot," "wham" or "lightening."

Long Beach’s 9th scariest...

A friend commented to me last week about me being in one of the scariest bands in Long Beach, and it went over my head. I was a little confused and embarassed 'cos I didn't get the joke. But then yesterday, Tim (another Owens) asked if I saw the article in the The District Weekly mentioning The Bolides (I hadn't). Apparently, it was the Halloween issue, in an article listing the 13 scariest people in Long Beach. Ooooooh, now I see!

From the article:

Features
A TORTOISE, A HANKLA AND AN ICE CREAM MAN, OH MY!
The District Weekly, Wed. October 29

Our first-ever list of Long Beach's scariest!

In Long Beach, there's the scary—ghosts on the Queen Mary, Igor's Alley and the unfettered power of people like Chris Pook—and the really scary—Measure I, the parking lots at any of our Trader Joe's outposts and, 30 days out of 31, Colorado Lagoon. So, while it wasn't easy for us to whittle down Long Beach's scariest into just 13 winners—Rich Archbold, the Navy sailor statue and the guy who blew up his house with fireworks, sorry, you won't be moving on toward becoming this season's scariest person—we're confident in who (and what) we ended up with. Then again, a tortoise tops a list bookended by an ice cream man, so maybe Long Beach really isn't as scary as we thought. Wait—we forgot about Jim Hankla. Never mind.
...
9. THE BOLIDES
Seriously. What is with those masks? Are they surgeons? Are they fit to operate? Are they made of science? Does science make a man? Who are these masked men who play songs like "mind ctrl alt del" and "relaxative"? They have names. Here are the names: Dr. Mikro Fiche, Dr. Shrink Wray, Dr. Drummond (he's the drummer, you see) and Dr. Phillip de Chi Chi's. Without the masks, you might recognize them—but do you really want to know what's going on behind those masks? We don't want them to take them off. God only knows. It's scary. (And they're obsessed with robots. Are they going to make us all into robots? Will there be a mind probe?)
MITIGATING FACTOR: Sometimes we like to play nurse.
...

Regarding the "MITIGATING FACTOR:" Sometimes they play nurse, themselves...

A few pics from 11-1-08

Here are some of my lame pics from Nov. 1st, 2008 (see my previous blog entry for event details).
I'm sure some better pics will pop up from other people with better cameras who put more effort into capturing the event.

[click thumbnails to enlarge]



The Homeland Cultural Center allows people to come and paint murals on the walls without being arrested...



There are many more photos from this event, taken by someone else, but I don't have any links at the moment!