| |
Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson "Live Improvisations" (Megaphone 002)
The title says it all. One heavily involved 33 minute track and 5 fascinating
shorter excerpts. Noisy, raw and telepathic. (Order Form)
Fat "Magnetizer" (Megaphone 003) 8 live in the
studio improvs with guitar/bass/drum by Canadian, Fat. Noisy is an
understatement about this record. The sound is bombastic and the
interaction is intense. Even within the course of one song it's amazing
that the steam doesn't subside at least slightly. (Order
Form)
Valentina Ponomoreva, Tim Hodgkinson
and Ken Hyder "The Goose" (Megaphone 004)Valentina is a famous gypsy singer
from Russia, though her vocals are far from traditional here. Ken Hyder plays
drums and Tim Hodgkinson plays alto saxophone. Two long studio and two long
live tracks inspired by shamanic music and completely improvised. (Order Form)
The Work "See" (Megaphone 005) Their latest record with a much more polished
sound than "Slow Crimes". Without sacrificing an energetic rock sound they integrated
a computer in an unusual way. Highly recommended to fans of This Heat and vice
versa. (sold out)
The Honkies "All My Screws Fell Out"
(Megaphone 006) The Honkies (from London) combine the spirit of punk/pop with
influences from Albert Ayler and Ornette Coleman. Andy Diagram- trumpet/vocals
and Richard Harrison- drums(both from Spaceheads), Caroline Kraabel-baritone
sax/ vocals(X-ray Eyes), and Kathy Hulme- tenor sax/cello/vocals. Guest appearance
by Marion Coutts of Dog Faced Hermans. (GREAT HAND-MADE COVERS) (Order Form)
The Molecules "Down Under the Blacklight" (Megaphone
007) This record is like a hyped-up, stripped-down "Uncle Meat"(Mothers of Invention).
Complex, raw, noisy, tangled songs by Ron Anderson- guitar/vocals, Chris Milner-
bass/vocals and Tom Scandura- drums.
(LIMITED QUANTITY) (Order Form) (sold out)
Jac Berrocal "Fatal Encounters" (Megaphone 008)
Jac is a trumpetist /vocalist/actor from Paris. "Fatal Encounters" is a collection
of rare tracks spanning '71 to '92. The music ranges from dark jazz to punk
rock to cabaret to ambient to new wave to sound sculpture. Vince Taylor, Steven
Stapleton and Pascal Comelade are some of the many musicians on this record. (Order Form)
Jon Rose "The Virtual Violin" (Megaphone 009) Jon Rose
(from Australia ) started in the 70's playing free music and inventing instruments.
Now he's into something even deeper, involving free music interactive computer,
audio theater, a continuing saga of the legendary Dr. Rosenberg and his family
tree and outrageous political satire. (Order Form)
Vacuum Tree Head "Excel (Eye Eye)" (Megaphone 010) Lurching, dissonant, dreamlike
tunes from Californian Vacuum Tree Head with instrumentation like
didjeridoo, sitar, space junk, piano guts, and baritone sax as well as
guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Produced by Ron Anderson(Molecules). With Jason Berry, Thomas Scandura and Gino Robair. Their first
record. (Order Form)
Happy New
Year (Megaphone 011) Happy New Year is Ron Anderson-bass/vocals,
99 Hooker-sax/vocals and Glen Sorvisto-drums/vocals. All tracks are
improv, live in the studio, drunken, over the top, off balance, raw as
hell and rockin'. First record. (Order Form)
Jason Willett, Jad Fair and Gilles Rieder
(Megaphone 012) This record sounds like aliens from another planet
listened to radiowaves from Earth and decided to have to have a go at
making rock, jazz, funk, new wave, punk, ska, reggae, march, country,
etc. 46 songs by members of Half Japanese. (Order
Form)
Vacuum Tree Head " The Oob Eye Works" (Megaphone
013) Vacuum Tree Head's 2nd record is much more arranged and varied.
Surf meets Arabic music, reggae/pop meets 12 tonal music, and more. (Order
Form)
Tim Hogkinson "Each In Our Own Thoughts"
(Megaphone 014) Tim's first release of complex classical/rock oriented
music since Henry Cow. Also included is a Henry Cow song written in 78'
which has never been recorded until 92'featuring Dagmar Krause and Lindsey Cooper.. (Order
Form)
Honkies "Who Eats" (Megaphone 015) The Honkies
3rd record is just as fresh as when they first started. Now added to
their line-up is John Edwards (X-ray Eyes)on bass. "Who Eats" expands their
extremes of catchyness and cacophony.(GREAT HAND-MADE COVERS) (Order Form)
Jon Rose "Violin Music For
Supermarkets" (Megaphone 016) A perverse satire on shopping and it's
effect on society. Many soap operas written by Jon Rose appear within
many diverse moments of music and sound. Guests include Fred Frith
Eugene Chadbourne, Sainkho, Chris Cutler, Otomo Yoshihide, Lauren Newton and others. (Order
Form)
99 Hooker: White Music For Jazz People
(Megaphone 017) 99 Hooker from Happy New Year's first solo record.
Free sax blowing, poetry, electronics, sound collage and more. A
traveling record. With Ron A. and Glenn S. from Happy New Year and guest Jim sauter from Borbetomagus. (Order Form)
Happy New Year "Live" (Megaphone 018) Bad boys
across Grenoble, Bordeaux and Oakland, California. Disintegrating rock
structures and anti-social attitude from Ron Anderson, 99 Hooker and
Glenn Sorvisto. (Order Form)
The Recordings: <<Recordings>>
(Megaphone 019) John Dierker, sax; Jason Willett, bass; Bob Wagner,
drums; and John Berndt,sax and guitar. Their horns make them seem like a
kind of ()()()() The substance beneath the them seems like a kind of
don't like any thing else. (Order Form)
Kraldjusanstalten: Voodoo Boogie/Nu Ar Det All Var (Megaphone 020) 13 examples of music played with the high-speed intensity of Russian ice hockey. Michael Maksymenko ended his promising hockey career from a bicycle accident at age 14 and began composing music with the same technical skill, improvised choreography and telepathic collectivism as he used on the ice. Teamed up with twins Thomas and Stefan Agaton, Maksymenko recorded these first two in '80 and '81 and has more recently played on Crazy Backwards Alphabet w/ Henry Kaiser and John French. (Order Form)
The Exiles(w/ Jon Rose) The Exiles (Megaphone 021) If this were almost any other musician I'd say Jon was rediscovering his roots. Problem is, I think his roots are Brahms and J. S. Bach. Redardless, this album is fast, raw and youthful. Constantly morphing speed improv mixed with low-fi pop cliches, this CD is one of Megaphone's best and a guaranteed pleaser for J. R. fans. (Order Form)
Ron
Anderson: Anything is Possible (Megaphone 020) Ron Anderson (from
The Molecues and NYC's PAK) is joined here by 27 muscians from New York, San
Francisco, Europe and Japan. Including Daniel Carter, John Myers, Yoshida Tatsuya,
Shelly Hirsch, Jason Willett, Gino Robair, Seijchi Yamamto. (Order Form)
Sejayno: Laity (Megaphone 023)
{attempted description}
sejayno invites you to go skinnydipping with them in the middle of the night. the river will take you to a murky lake in a canyon with an undercurrent that will suck you down to an underwater cave where you will be taken in by a primitive magical tribe of italians that will chant "a-hay! a-hay! a-hay!" & perform for you with their invented electronic instruments while you are fed hallucinigenic cave mushrooms that fills your head with images of ruined cities, cavernous horn solos & radio transmissions of civil war soldier bands. peter blasser (baltimore, md) severiano martinez (oakland, ca) & carson garhart (baltimore, md). (Order Form)
All Megaphone
Limited Releases are packaged with handmade art and are limited to an
edition of 500 copies.
(light blue descritions by jason willett & yellow descriptions by benb gallaher)
The Dramatics (Megaphone Limited 001) Spazzed
out drumming, nihilistic guitar and bass, trashy electronics and unusual vocals.
Sometimes they rock, sometimes they throw up- often both simultaneously. Lots
of surprises (not for the faint of heart). The Dramatics are Martha Colburn
and Jason Willett.
(SOLD OUT)
This duo of Martha and Jason explodes with a somewhat-dissolute barrage of ideas and attitudes; far from tentative, it's devilish in its tchotchke brashness, and feels rather like the excitement of peeling a scab without knowing whether the skin beneath it has healed.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Reviews) (Order Form)
The Pleasant Livers "From the Land of Pleasant Living" (Megaphone
Limited 002) Fred Collins- vocals, Jason Willett- bass, John Dierker- saxophone,
Charlie Chadwick- guitar and Lyle Kissack -drums(with guests Glen Sorvisto-
drums and vocals and Paul Hoskins baritone sax). The Pleasant Livers are one
of the most bizarre "rock" bands in the world (especially if you see them live).
Songs about microwave ovens, day care, bar-b-que sauce on your penis, benadryl
and stress. Truly capturing the essence of Baltimore.
A stupendous relic, and a sorrowful reminder of how stiff and guarded people were during the dismal (and now nostalgia-prone) 1990s . This album is a life-affirming day at the carnival that sometimes veers into sinister realms for everyone's amusement.
(Reviews) (Order Form)
The Can Openers (Megaphone Limited 003) The
Can Openers are pop yet inaccessible, catchy yet nihilistic, flashy yet naked.
There is a 'No Wave' spirit as well as a "No Genre" spirit present in their music that taps deep into the human nervous system. The Can Openers are Bob Wagner and Jason Willett.
People do lovely things sometimes, and this record is ever the unexpected treasure. Bob Wagner and Jason Willett deflect and surprise and choke and sputter with tacit purpose and fulsome absurdity. John Dierker's contributions are instrumental (i.e., essential).
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Reviews) (Order Form)
The Jaunties: Asthma (Megaphone Limited
004) Jason Willett and Benb Gallagher's second record. The Jaunties are a very
strange hard to explain punk "band". Upon hearing The Jaunties some people have
run in fear whereas others have become addicted for life.With guest John Dierker on sax.
The Jaunties are Jason Willett and Benb Gallaher (who's 15 on the record). They're reasonably straightforward. This, their second album, gets very "punky" and abrasive; the result is full of inchoate gnashing, but good-humored even at its most willfully malformed.
(Reviews) (Order Form)
The Attitude Robots (Megaphone Limited 005) First record
by both members of the Jaunties plus Andrew Barranca. The only way to describe
them is if The Shaggs were brothers instead of sisters and played punk rock.
Andrew Barranca (bass, saxophone), Benb Gallaher (drums, organ), and Jason Willett (guitar, trumpet) made this record. It's a rabid affair, bursting with eager impudence and a poignant contempt for refinement.
(Reviews) (Order Form)
The Dentures: 40,000 Warriors
(Megaphone Limited 006) Andrew Barranca and Jason Willett's first record.
Free Jazz/Punk/Surreal short/medium length songs as well as VERY long songs
that dig into the Earth's crust.
The Dentures are Jason Willett and Andrew Barranca. They are obese microbes, and it's easy to tell from exposure to this record's easter-hued aridity. This is as daunting as it is invigorating. It's also "cute."
(Order Form)
X-Ray Eyes (Megaphone Limited 007) Caroline Kraabel (from
The Honkies) and Jason Willett's first record. Raw music that for the most part
fits into the "other" category.
(LIMITED QUANTITY) RARE HAND-MADE COVERS
(SOLD OUT)
Depictions on several surfaces of a brilliantly inexplicable collaboration. This is Caroline Kraabel (The Honkies, Shock Exchange) and Jason. This was made in December 1994; this is utterly individual (albeit gently so), and there's an affectionate detachment and robust clarity that conspire to imbue the entire record (and even its packaging) with a timeless distance.
(Reviews) (Order Form)
The Dramatics: This is International Telecom (Megaphone Limited 008) With numerous guests including: Eye Yamasuka, 99 Hooker, Jon Rose, Jad Fair, and Caroline Kraabel.(SOLD
OUT)
This is an alleged culmination of what The Dramatics were about, but it's really nothing more than a thrilling record; somersaulting, stained, and very much at the helm of itself. Guests appear everywhere, and people wet themselves in infancy as well as in old age.
Jason Willett and Ruins (Megaphone Limited 009) Seven songs played with HIGH energy and a 35 minute OPERA that should be listened to with all the lights turned off. Not a typical Ruins record. RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (LIMITED QUANTITY)
Jason got into the minds of these poor fellows, and the results are suffused with high-octane eccentricity that is sure to mock any listener's attachment to the familiar.
The Jaunties: "Myoclonic
Twitch in the Key of H" (Megaphone Limited 010) Very caffeinated punk, retarded
garage rock and a heavy mysterious atmosphere. Recorded from September to November
1994 and should only be listened to then. Their 3rd album.With guests 99 Hooker and John Dierker.
You know how autumn feels surreal and cosmic and full-stop magical, especially with the arrant knowledge that hindsight will render it bewildering and somewhat ghastly? Well, that permeates this record, which happened in autumn of 1994. Stunning moments.
The Can Openers: "Sherbet" (Megaphone Limited
011) 21 songs by those swinging larvae, Blob Wagner and Jason Willett. With guests 99 Hooker and John Dierker. The CanOpeners
use their antennae and various other instruments (from guitar, drums and voice
to trumpet and packing tape) to locate stinging insects and beautiful poisonous
flowers. Their tentacles strum out shrill psychedelic jazz as well as chaotic
pop songs. Serve this CD with DDT.
All things are on the sleeves of the cans opened by this sherbet record. Don't be sad about the weird feelings that this record generates; it's somewhat akin to an "in the bathroom with" ilk of up-close-and personal documentary matter, except without the burden of fact or even rumor. Bob Wagner makes us love him as much as we wish that we could love ourselves.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Order Form)
The Attitide Robots: Iron-on t-shirt (Megaphone Limited. 012) This record wil make you: want to smoke a lot of cigarettes, think something's wrong with your stereo and punk out. This record is everything you want, provided that everything you want is this record.
This record is a graceless buffoon, self-conscious at a party and behaving obnoxiously, not realizing the transparency of it all. Not sad, but depressing.
The Dentures: "10 Inch Voice"(Megaphone Limited 013) 2nd. album. Shorter songs and a few very long songs, like the first album. The difference between the two is that 10" Voice is more violent and strange.
Andrew Barranca and Jason Willett burrow straight down, doubly amplified and sodden with arcane volatility, emerging in the basement of a house on fire.
The Dramatics: Hypnotist Geese (Megaphone Limited 014) 100%
An elaborate set of songs, unified by atmosphere and essence; a cascade of subconscious splintering, punctuated in unison with wholesome hilarity and menacing disarray.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Order Form)
Jason Willett and Jad Fair: It's all Good
(Megaphone Ltd. 015) The first one-with-one record by these people. Jad
not only sings, but plays a lot of instruments. Jason not only doesn't
sing, but plays a lot of instruments. It's original.
A fine collection, the first of legion, from these two. It has an excitable quality to it, but textures and nuances surface with acquaintance. 'It's All Good' is likeable, until you've recalibrated yourself in light of it; once you've done that, you'll love it like spicy food.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Order
Form)
X-Ray Eyes: Bone Meal (Megaphone Ltd. 016) X-Ray Eyes 2nd record featuring a bigger band including Martha Colburn of The Dramatics on drums, John Edwards of the Honkies on double bass and guest drummers Bob Wagner (from The Can Openers) and Mike Evans(from God as my Co-Pilot).
Martha Colburn, John Edwards, and Michael Evans convene with Jason and Caroline for a gorgeous revision of boundaries between creatures and sounds. A startling negative-space portrait of post-modern intimacies, 'Bone Meal' fluctuates constantly, but never relents.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS. (LIMITED QUANTITY) (Order Form)
The Jaunties: Yes Lord! (Megaphone Limited 017)
the jaunties 4th album yes lord! starts with a shredding rythym section surfish monster instrumental, then a face slappingly strange "punk" anthem, then a free jazz fuzz bass swing gospel jam, then a bombastic garage rock farfisa & "touched" wah echo guitar ditty, then an angular no waveish song about wooing a girl with exceptional grilled cheese sandwiches, then a springtime sunny fresh happy organ guitar nonstop melody extravaganza instrumental, then a splitting at the seams punk attitune that distracts you from the pansified richness, then a full bodied phasing fuzzed bad ass rocker, then a gloriously terrifying rock explosion supporting vocal ejaculations regarding stupid adolescent vampire obsession, then a squeaky clean tight & fast "is this the same band?" song, then a synth/piano melody swingin' neon wonderland, then a fully satisfying obnoxious ivigoratingly grating song about "real musicians", then a happy go lucky doo-wack-a-doodle tight mess that's like joyfully slipping in a puddle of vomit while wearing a 3 piece suit, then a spaghetti western telstar space organ driven extravaganza, then a jazzy bombastic partytime typewriter-spiced swing, then an ultra deteriorated fake- live- in concert jam reminiscent of road kill , then a collaboration with joe meeks spirit, then a late night strange dream jam that toggles back & forth between two dimensions via sneezing, then a baroque masterpiece, then an ugly gospel freakout with ornate beautiful melodies.
The Jaunties became an irresistible outfit, broadening to offer a dazzling plenitude of sudden departures and unannounced arrivals. 'Yes Lord!' comprises the first glimpse of whatever they were doing. It's wonderful.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Order Form)
The Attitude Robots: Kings (Megaphone Limited 018)
Don't let anyone (including you) tell you otherwise: 'Kings' is some sort of pinnacle. Diverse, playful, and tangibly ripe, this record is a feckless testament the definite existence of intrinsically finite things. It would be better known if they'd died.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Order Form)
Jason Willett and Jad Fair: We're Going To The Moon (Megaphone Limited 019) RARE HAND-MADE COVERS
Jason & Jad continue, but with session playing on drums and piano by Benb Gallaher. It's punchy and shrill all at once. Benb's 18 by this point, but very little actually matters. This record is stilted and claustrophobic, but is honestly intended to be fun, so please have fun. (TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK)
Jad Fair and Jason Willett: Wild (Megaphone Limited 020)
this is one of the most quickly produced "everything-falling-into-place" records i've worked on. jad, bob wagner & myself filled two 40 minute tapes without ever pausing, at maximum energy level. later that night i worked well past sunrise to edit the session into song forms. jad then came along with nothing witten on paper & proceeded to make up the lyrics on the spot while the tape kept rolling, changing subject matter from song to song. the result is a record that i can loudly play first thing in the morning & feel as if i just downed 5 espressos on an empty stomache.
Potency and precision rule this outing, with Bob Wagner on drums. It doesn't get much more urgent and attuned than this, and any attentive listener will feel implicated. This record will unseat you in every good sense of that word.
RARE HAND-MADE COVERS (Order Form)
THE PLEASANT LIVERS: BIG HEADED BABY ( MEGAPHONE LIMITED 021)
the pleasant livers, over the past decade & a half, have slowly developed into what they are now, which is a higher level realization of themselves as a band. part of this is due to the addtion of bob wagner & glen sorvisto on drums & the rest is due to the pure maturing process that's been in effect since 1989. this is their second record, recorded between 2002 & 2003. file under organic free space/stone age baltimore "rock".
