A little something from back in February.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
There's a new call for submissions on the Richmond County Archives site...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Happy summer -- hope we saw you at The Spit on the 4th of July!
As luck would have it, we made it into the Spring '09 issue of one of the more rarefied rock mags in town.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Greetings all --
Welcome to the new website, courtesy of EYESYTE. If you find anything non-functioning, drop us a line.
To celebrate, April and May are "The Months Of The Strops". For a limited period, we offer The Third of the Strops: "Gavin's March To The Sea". The First and Second of the Strops will also be available during this time.
Thanks again to Dini St. Onge for designing our first site back in 1999 -- we're going to keep this yellow-lined news page design in her honor.
Stay vigilant!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
"Papa Doc" Laasoko is a master of Fitchburg's infrastructure...the proof is right here.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Swirlies -- "Sunn" (live in Philadelphia) from Matt Graves on Vimeo.
That's a little Uniform Choice at the beginning for all you kids.
==================================================================
Swirlies -- "San Cristobal de Las Casas" (Excerpt -- live in Philly) from Matt Graves on Vimeo.
It's really 'Sounds of Sebring'!
===================================================================
Swirlies "Bell" Mercury Lounge NYC Feb 27th 2009 from sean Dack on Vimeo.
Master Dack made the end of our night very special -- and filmed this crazy thing.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Many, many thanks to all the sneakyfluters who came to the recent shows and/or wrote kind and/or faintly mocking words beforehand and afterward. Special thanks to soundman Jeff Zeigler, guitar tuner Eric Provonsil and Swirlie buttresses Sean Dack, Landon Wong, Mike Walker, Mikey Vader and Mark Erdody for joining us onstage on various tunes or digressions. And to the Kudgel boys for coming out of hibernation early to chimp it up with some lard rock. Thanks as well to Mahmood for booking these crazy things.
In the coming weeks, we'll be revamping this website and putting up a new Swirlies Magic Strop entitled 'Gavin's March To The Sea'. Maybe we'll stick up the previous two for a while, just for s&g. There's some talk about printing up more t-shirts -- we'll post the ordering specifics here if that happens.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
SWIRLIES
Scituate or Bust 2009
Thu 2/26: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
w/ Gregory & The Hawk and Arc In Round
Fri 2/27: NYC @ Mercury Lounge
w/ Gregory & The Hawk, Takka Takka and Autodrone
Sat 2/28: Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs
w/ Gregory & The Hawk and Bullpen Catcher
Courtesy of Matt Sheppeck!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Former Swirlie and Canadian bacon aficionado Christina Files is featured in the latest issue of TapeOp (#69) -- the article is not on their website as of this morning, but it surely will be in time. She'll always be our beloved Otter, there will nary ever be another.
In other news, there is a new Strop in the works -- this one inspired by former Swirlie and new dad Gavin McCarthy. That one, plus the first two, will be up around the time of our February shows.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Were you at our very first show? It was with Cheater Slicks on 25 January 1991 at 107 Brighton Avenue in Allston, MA....known as the Allston Mall or The Alcove.
If so, drop a line with anecdotes, photos and tangentially-related memories to iwasnotinscituateon012591@gmail.com
Reading this might jar a fragment loose.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Some strictly east coast Swirlies shows have been scheduled w/ Gregory & The Hawk (and others to be announced). Depending on the Doctor's largesse.
Thu 2/26 - Phila, PA (Johnny Brenda's)
Fri 2/27 - New York, NY (Mercury Lounge)
Sat 2/28 - Our Beloved Cambridge, MA (Middle East)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Greetings you people,
The Doctor (a/k/a Rob Laakso) is now an AMAZING BABY.
There is some Swirlies business soon to be available here courtesy of our man Dave Merson-Hess of Reverse Engine Records.
Damon recently purchased this very BLONDER-TONGUE AUDIO/BATON:
Stay vigilant for word of three late winter evenings in the northeastern US.
And another Strop.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Best Summer Greetings!
Monday, April 07, 2008
No shows anytime soon, of course. Or recordings. But here's an article in National Geographic about the World Series of Birding -- the birdiest Swirlie is on Team Bristlehead.
If you want to learn more about the WSB, Team Bristlehead, and perhaps make a donation towards bird conservation, be sure to check out www.bristlehead.org
===========================================================================
Team Bristlehead in Cape May, NJ (May 2007). From left to right: Andy Bernick, Mike McGraw, Tony Croasdale, Dave Rosenstraus, and Bull. Team member Rob Hynson not pictured. Photo by Catherine Kenow.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Hey all -- a friend and contributor (Dave Merson Hess of The Starry Tides) asked that we post the following message about a comp he is putting together. We're honored! FYI - you can visit our discography page...the original tracks reside there for your use, abuse, deconstruction, and grand improvements.
NB: We don't have anything to do with this comp, of course, but will certainly enjoy hearing the fruits of his/your labor.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas from Damon and Noam!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Damon and Mew (our kind hosts) mewl together in Denmewl in Jumewly 2007 - exciting voice-over!
A young man from Mexico seems to have intuited Damon's craven intentions with Mew, and wrote the following in response to the video above:
"I really dont like that Damon gay at all... im not agree... he is not from mew... i don`t want to hear to him... and i don`t like that he are participaiting with the ideas... i think that they can do it. by themselves... damn"
Brilliant!
This might to be a good opportunity to post an old collaborative piece between Damon (in his other form, The Yes Girls) & some of the Mew gentlemen:
Mew and the Yes Girls - Bones.mp3
From Richmond County Archives 001
Nevah Have I Evah: A Sneaky Flute Family Album (2001)
The whole release is available free here.
But warning -- it contains no other Mew, Mew fans.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
'just birds and words--that's all you guys are anymore'
someone wrote this to us recently, triggering this bi-annual correspondence. sure -- so there was some kind of internal 'shows w/ no age in february' rumor happening for a little while there...adam being manny? who can say. so there's jorge elbrecht's cover nights someplace in manhattan where rob occasionally appears with his piercing guitar daggers. damon is lately hell-bent on transferring a videotape of our first show (allston mall w/ the cheater slicks on 25 jan 1991) to a digital format. it's currently in the hands of the famed u.s. postal service, but to what end this transference? mired in some secret drive forever? perhaps the next strop? only he knows. and if you need someone to survey your woodlot, then just fix your fucken drumsticks, dick.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Hello you people!
So the MySpace page is back up here. And so on.
All of our old releases (minus 'Cats of The Wild Volume Two', which is still fairly available from Bubblecore) are still up on our discography page for the proscribed period. As 128 kbps-encoded mp3s, for all of you who can tolerate that.
Some seriously great action over in Frank's Mom World.
Other than that, I suppose we'll just continue making no new music and bothering other people. As usual. At least until July.
Happy Vernal Equinox!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Some post-hoc utilizations we've recently stumbled across..
Pancake in the trailer for Francois Miron's 'The 4th Life'
...this 'Sapphic film noir' will apparently be screening at the Boston Underground Film Festival in March 2007
and
House of Pancake in Foundation's 'Art Bars' video -- that's our young old friend Judd Hertzler there:
and
A very entertaining fellow being free to Adam Pierce's remix of Sunn:
Whoever you are, we'll see you on The Spit in '08!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
For those of you in the vicinity of Quincy, Massachusetts these days, get thee to:
Dee Dee's Lounge
297 Newport Ave.
It's across from the Wollaston Red Line station -- equidistant from Andy's mom's house and Sheppeck's grotto.
on
Friday 2 February 2007
Starts at 8:30pm
for
Padded Hell (featuring remnants of the Groinoids, Anal Cunt, and Penis Flytrap)
Superpower
26 Beers
The Definite Article
it's sure to please, I wonder if these knuckleheads will be there:
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Montreal residents Wassili Dudan and Sylvie Peguiron have completed their film 'Il Faut Tuer Willy' -- features a song by the Mud & Lace Sedentary Marchers (Richmond County Archives 005). Wassili was kind enough to send us a delightful description of his cat (the one that groans like a bee) long ago.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Something on the brain for 2007 -- a show in Mexico D.F. w/ Lavender Diamond, Lilys, and Swirlies? Spring mini-tour? We shall see.
And check this:
Coming soon...more about this film here
Monday, December 11, 2006
Old things:
1. Some recent attention to Blonder Tongue Audio Baton, courtesy of Crackers United
2. We've been told of some video (Tall Ships) and audio (Jeremy Parker) live from Minneapolis in May 1996 (Damon, Christina, Andy, and Gavin McCarthy on drums) -- courtesy of The Sound of Indie website. Remembered something from this tour...we started most nights out with a bit from 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' (i.e., unkind words about Madonna, kind words for Priest) played from a cassette player through pickups...in the grand Swirlie tradition, dating back to the coyotes preceding Tall Ships...
3. Found this taped to an old cassette, a skeletal tour schedule from Oct/Nov '95 (with the same lineup as in spring '96):
Translation with remembrances, and additional comments from Damon:
The tour began with a long drive from Boston to San Francisco...we stopped in Denver for a night, perhaps in Lawrence as well? [D: We actually drove straight to Denver. Gavin was really into conspiracy theory stuff and had us all spooked out on UFOs and the Hollow Earth Theory. This was to later become a motif for the trip. We visited Roswell and wrote something like “do you see what we see?” in the grime on the back window of our van. The Sabalon Glitz CD and its hidden track received many plays.] On one road, a freshly killed deer was spread across two lanes...it was steaming in the cold (hence one tour catchphrase 'steaming carcass') [D: I am the one who hit the steaming carcass… it looked like a moose, actually. It was steaming hot. I hit it. Given that I could barely drive in those days, I was pretty freaked.]. Played pinball at one in the morning in Denver in a laundromat with Gavin's friend and the homeless. We had a sound person (Adam from Baltimore, MD) travelling with us on most of this trip.
26 Oct 1995 - San Francisco, CA (Kilowatt)
--Ben Drucker visited, first time in a while we had seen him, it was good. [D: I think Gavin was a bit unhappy that he had to play the first show of our tour, and his first show with us ever, in front of our old drummer. We practiced in the van while driving: each of us hummed our parts while Gavin tapped out the beats on his legs etc. I can still remember how funny Sunn sounded. Gavin ended up doing great at the show. The sister of the drummer from My Bloody Valentine was there. She said her brother told her to go or something…]
27 Oct - Los Angeles, CA (Las Palmas?)
--Red velvet curtains...preceded by a swim at Huntington Beach earlier in the day. At least two of us drank spirits and retired to view the population from the roof of the Taang store on Melrose Ave. We all slept in the store, under and on the pool table, on the floor, etc. [D: There is a little more to say about this...but it perhaps best remains in the Swirlies vault. One note about the Taang store...the floor was covered in astro turf… not very cozy.]
28 Oct - 'open'
29 Oct - San Diego, CA (Brick By Brick)
--[D:all the usual suspects came to see us from Tijuana and environs.]
30 Oct - Phoenix, AZ
--Played with a mid-80's style metal band (not poseurs, they really meant it) with a song called 'Rock 'n Roll Dreamers'....the bass player looked like Sebastian Bach, the singer/guitar player had a thinning Prince Valiant and was pretty stout. Stayed in Flagstaff that night with a young guy who was at the show and his kind and welcoming family. [D: Also played with Alison’s Halo and maybe even did a set at Stinkweeds records...can’t remember. We got in a big fight with the soundman for being too loud or something. A: Are you sure it was with AH? I am pretty sure that was on an earlier tour at the same place. The record store I vaguely remember as a less than positive experience.]
31 Oct - Albuquerque, NM (Golden West Saloon/El Rey Theatre)
--With Supersuckers and Yo La Tengo, a Halloween show...many costumed audience members....good bagels at a place that used to give touring bands a meal, can't remember the name of that place. [D: a couple of costumed ladies tried to drag me in the women’s bathroom to get high… I remember thinking this was pretty weird and running away… I guess I wasn’t very rock and roll…I think we also played with Flake… I don’t see why we wouldn’t have, they owned the scene. I think the bagel shop was called Freddy’s or something with a F… anyone??? We must have visited Roswell at some point around this show.]
1 Nov - 'off'
--Drove from NM to Kansas...visited a big crater [D: most of us were too cheap to pay to actually go into the crater and stood like dummies outside and unable to see anything, A: I paid, it was about $15 -- it was a deep, round hole, essentially. I remember enjoying it, after stifled feelings of being a rube.]. At one point, we were standing behind a McDonalds with train tracks behind it, in a desert town. A stray gray-and-white dog eating fries in the parking lot, a train with open boxcars started passing by, one of us started running towards the train, dog followed, dog ran even with band member and seemed to encourage him to hop in an open car...band member had hand on metal door railing, ready to swing up, thought the better of it, returned to drive another several hundred miles.
2 Nov - Kansas City, KS
--This might've been Lawrence, at the Replay. But we stopped over at the Bottleneck at some point to watch Yo La Tengo...they were playing a CS-50 at the time, or had just purchased one, or something. They were kind to us. [D: Some nice chap took us on a little drive to see one of the Gates of Hell. There were supposedly two in the vicinity.]
3 Nov - St. Louis, MO (Ciceros)
--Pizza joint...Joan Steck, Jamie, and Chris in attendance. Stayed at Joan's mother's place, one of us read by sewing machine light.
4 Nov - Cincinnati, OH (Sudsy Malone's)
--There's something about a laundromat with beer and music...death metal band with the guy with a cross in his forehead played across the street...Deicide! Stayed with the bartender (who claimed to have been a pitching scout for the Reds), he lived downtown in a huge and very cold warehouse with cat shit peppered all around the floor. Some 'woke' to get coffee at 5:30am, the bar around the corner was still serving alcohol & the place was filled with hobos. [D: For the record, as I soon as I saw this guys flat, I shuffled off to sleep in the van (which I suppose I usually did anyways). This was by far the most disgustingly filthy hive we ever stayed in on any tour, and the guy was a complete freak. We all left the place really early and drove to FL, 'Stranger Than Paradise' style.]
5&6 Nov - 'off'
--no idea
[D: Someone knew someone who had a beach house in the panhandle on this deserted beach in a tiny town on some peninsula. It was amazing. No one was there. I remember running down the beach and frolicking in the waves until our host ran out of the house yelling, “what are you crazy? Stop!” I looked down and saw that there were all these weird prickly looking fish all over the beach. Apparently I was very lucky not to have stepped on one. We tried to sleep in our bags on the sand but little crabs or the like burrowed up out of the sand and attacked us at night. A: Right! It was Christina's friend...that fellow with the dark hair. The house was pink, eveything in it was pink, the owner (who I think was a grandmother) had some sort of political involvement.]
7 Nov - Pensacola, FL
--Wandered around before the show, looked into a Freemason building lobby with no lights save the one in an elevator...a couple in their 80s (the man in full bib and gloves, both dressed in white), looking confused, were lead into the elevator by two middle-aged men. Pensacola.
8 Nov - Gainesville, FL
--With the band Meringue...bass player with corks in his earlobes. Found a Palace set list on stage when we were setting up, they had played the night before...one of those situations where you tail a band for a while around the same circuit but never see them. [D: Gavin had much to say about UFOs in this town… a very fitting stop for the tour. Meringue sounded like the Descendents, right down to songs about coffee and stuff. XXXX woulda loved it.]
9 Nov - Tampa, FL
--Don't remember what 'Rub' refers to...think we played some ghastly huge club that had a beachy feel to it. [D: The Rub was in Deep Ellum (or am I mixing this up with Texas?). Anyway, it was in whatever that fancy part of Tampa is called. It was owned by Johnny Depp or River Phoenix or someone like that. Anyways, it was really, really fancy and we had some outrageous guarantee because the owners clearly had not idea 1) how to book a club and 2) that we don’t draw. While waiting in the fancy dressing room some crazy girl barges in. We have no idea who she is, but she immediately starts talking about how her parents were abducted by UFOs etc. so we let her stay. Turns out, she works at some federally funded institution which studies E. She is clearly also on E. We got a lot of fuel for our conspiracy fire from our conversation with her. I believe at this point Gavin started referring to our trip as Sherman’s March to The Sea. A: Yes! Sherman's March! We started making stickers with a crudely drawn burning plantation, the words 'Swirlies' above, and 'Sherman Lives!' below. Put them in bathrooms and handed them out to the kids. It was a learning experience for me, to gloat about the Civil War and have people actually take offense? Never expected that.]
10 Nov - Atlanta, GA
--[D: We stay with Carter and visit Emory U. A: And a 'Sherman Lives!' sticker I put in a bathroom somewhere, later I returned to find it covered with most unkind epithets.]
11 Nov - Athens, GA (Atomic Music Hall)
--Few attended to see us play Misfits songs. We stay with Leigh and Erin, old college cohorts from Rhode Island, who had gone to Gainsville to see us a few nights before.
12 Nov - Chapel Hill, NC
13 Nov - Richmond, VA
14 Nov - Washington, DC (Black Cat)
--[D: I believe we played with the Ropers and ate lots of Seitan. The Velocity Girl chaps came out for hellos. Nobody really came...the club was a little irritated.]
15 Nov - Philadelphia, PA
--We always played the Khyber in those years...that tinny little coffin. People were kind to us in Philadelphia, which we forever appreciated. Mon was probably there.
16-18 Nov - ?
--Not sure, but it may have involved a trip to Montreal, where we played with Big Drill Car for some reason, and were hated by the punks (as usual), and Christina got to have Canadian bacon for breakfast on our way out of town. [D: Christina actually made us drive like an hour out of the way to get the bacon...crazy gal, she Otter have known better. The reason we played with Big Drill Car (and other bands of the sort) was because the only booking agent that would take us for this tour was some punk dude from FL.] Whatever happened, the tour terminated on Governor's Island in NYC, where we stayed with the Cynthesizer tech's parents around the 18th, then drove back to Boston.
Feel free to write with comments, corrections, additions to the above list.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
bounce thisaway for some new unseemly non-swirlies tracks, courtesy of richmond county archives
in other news, our boy ron has a (kinda) new book and plays drums in lavender diamond--check it (and naw he ain't the one singing, though he's fond of a dress):
Monday, October 16, 2006
Five long months and no word? These things happen...look to our old comrades for signs of breathing, and back here periodically for signs of life.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
OK, so we really don't have anything going on as of late (in terms of shows/recording)---just to verify that.
But you may know that some of us are enamored with Marmite...Goode Swirlie Landone Wonge just sent this incredible link to a real Marmite TV commercial, much to my joy and amusement.
And Damon has set up a Swirles myspace site, the latest in a series of related myspace endeavors that have appeared in the last few months---to wit:
Swirlies
XXXX
XXXXX
Jack Bucky-related
XXXX XXXXXX
And a nice 16-y.o. fan even made their own myspace site for The Swirlies, with songs from Blondertongue and even our only video (for 'Bell')--how kind, and from a tree so young in the bark.
Enjoy your spring---see you at The Spit!
Monday, April 17, 2006
Why not? A 'new' video for the Diamond Nights song 'Destination Diamonds', in all its bare-chested glory here. Glad someone is holding up the fort. And word on the street is that Adam has made a move to Highland Mills (across the river from our man Pete Seeger) and is fervently building the latest in a series of household recording emporia.
And in case you feel Called: _______
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
nay, not true! The linguistixs never was. But Svampen is coming soon... I feel it... that is... if i ever finish my homework... (can I still call it that?)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Damon is slaving over arrangements with his new group, the lingui-stix. Rob is slaving over piercing guitar daggers, as usual. Andy is slaving over Black-crowned Night-Herons and their filthy ways. Adam must be slaving over high-powered musical endeavors. But a tour of European city-states? The long awaited Damon bootlegs? Oshun Oxtra? The year is long, and no one can say what will happen.
In the off time, watch this fancy video of Rob's band, experience eine kleine vogelmusik, or peruse some dice trick insight courtesy of Shep.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Enjoy this holiday season with a very special countdown, courtesy of the fine folks of Rob Knows!
Monday, November 14, 2005
FITCHBURG PHYSICIAN DECLARED "FUTURE OF ROCK AND ROLL"
By Nicholas Coracks (AP)
CALIFORNIA, Nov. 15--Donning a floral-patterned mask and cap that only partially obscured his shaggy locks, a young man climbed upon a Los Angeles-area rock stage early this morning and rained piercing guitar scalpels and other hot licks down on an unsuspecting yet rapt audience. It was none other than Fitchburg, Massachusetts' own Dr. Robert Laakso, referred to by many of his contemporaries as "The Doctor".
Laakso, who completed his residency at the S.F. Empire Mental Hospital in 2002, baffled both colleagues and family last year, leaving his lucrative practice in shock therapy and moving to the Big Apple. In short order, he was drafted into service by the NYC-based rock band, Diamond Nights, where he is currently in charge of both guitar and keyboard duties.
In recent weeks, a media fervor has surrounded the spry, Fawcett-haired axe-wielder, culminating in a new fan site, Rob Knows, boldly declaring him "the future of rock and roll". Although not without his detractors, many close to Laakso feel he has finally been given just recognition after many years of hard toil.
Representatives at the S.F. Empire Mental Hospital could not be reached for comment.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
XXXX---know them? Care? Learn more here. The link actually works now.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The long out-of-print release 'DAMON ANDY ROB RON: THE YES GIRLS' (Pehr/SFE) will available as a free mp3 download on our discography/audio page. See and hear what made Zamula wield her critical hammer.
Check out the recently rediscovered art-film deconstruction of the air industry, (entitled 'LA 1979'), courtesy of Richard Lonsdale/Red Leader Industries. Features 'You're Just Jealous' from our Brokedick Car EP--link to it from the discography page
or here.
AND---Kevin Shea (of PEOPLE, TALIBAM, COPTIC LIGHT, STORM AND STRESS, and beloved drummer on the fateful SWIRLIES tour of England in Fall 2002) has seen fit to let flee his mysterious, clothing-optional side. The unfettered 'SEXY THOUGHTS' (RCA011) is available here!
Strops 1 & 2 are gone again, and this time for good---onward to Strop #3 (the ship sank by itself).
Monday, October 24, 2005
Have been alerted to an interesting article by Nitsuh Abebe on the "lost generation" of 90's music. A strange amalgam of bands, certainly. And Abebe also tackles "indie pop"!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/The_Swirlies
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
The Tentacles debut album (RCA010) is now available at Richmond County Archives. Sound from the firmament by way of a dirty white flag waved furiously by the hand of a chimp.
A slew of other music, including the out-of-print 'Nevah Have I Evah: A Sneaky Flute Family Album' (featuring a load of Swirlies music and odes to both Norm Nathan AND John Bull), is also available there. Free as usual, free as always.
For actual Swirlies sounds of yore (as opposed to the other gar-baj offered these days), stay alert for Damon's promised 'The Ship Sank By Itself'. At least the cover is finished. ---Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps--five on a side, the old bubblehead style---
Friday, June 24, 2005
RCA 004-Love and Scientific Communication Volume One is now available here. Features sounds from Holy Sons, The Yes Girls, St. Jude's Infirmary, the Nova School Animation Class 2005, and a very strange track that goes 'every single day i walk by the chocolate factory and it makes the whole neighborhood smell like chocolate'. strange.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Strop #3 will most likely be a couple of old Boston college radio sessions from 1992ish and not the demo disc. I think it will be funny/fun to release this during my return trip to Boston this summer. Especially given that I will be taking some classes at one of the institutions. Look forward to more hues of PINK on the cover ;)
The new MEW CD is done and my jaw dropped when I heard it. They have truly outdone themselves this time. Can't stop listening to it. Mewsite.com is their website. I think it is coming out in September. I made the final cut on one track - the first single (phew). J mascis and Rege's lady sing on it too.
If anyone out there feels the urge... please invite me into one of these exclusive indie torrent sites. sigh. :(
See you all in Scituate on the 4th! (the spit). Look for Mr. Bernick running the grill while we're cutting our feet on the rocks.
Friday, June 10, 2005
A Strop, not a Strop? The designation of this release is somewhat blurry. Let's call it, for the sake of continuity, Strop O----in reference to the main element (Struthio camelus). Make your silent leap to the discography page to find:
VN/A: (Do the Ostrich * 11) + others
a/k/a Strop O
This compilation features 11 versions (and then some) of 'Do the Ostrich', a song by The Primitives. Contributors include Tentacles, the Progress Report, Swirlies, the Lizzies, Non-Alignment Pact, Landon Wong, Simon Murphy, Dildo, Defcon Five, St. Jude's Infirmary, Daydream Electric, Esotronica, the Mud & Lace Sedentary Marchers, and Pronking. Three years in the making (where 'making' is defined as waiting for people to render their version of the song and mail it), it will exist in perpetuity on these very pages (unlike past and future Strops). Many thanks in advance to Misters Reed, Philips, Vance, and Sims for their former (and we hope current) enthusiasm for this fine, large, and very complicated bird. A joint Richmond County Archives and Sneaky Flute Empire affair.
NB: Strop #2 has been struck down one day earlier than scheduled (with apologies to you 11th hour types).
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Strop #2 will stay afloat a bit longer than planned (until 11 June), to be followed by either #3 (The Ship Sank By Itself) OR a special, as yet undefined 'Strop O'. This will depend on various factors: Swedish hiking, linguistic fervor, banishment to a soggy basement, and/or night-heron behavioral descriptions. Be patient if you can, crusty and irritated if you must, and kind if you please. End transmission.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Say goodbye to the first Strop, and hello to the second Strop. Head over to the 'Discography & Audio' page to download this live Yes Girls performance from 2000--it will be available through 1 June 2005.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Coming 10 May 2005: The Second of the Strops, entitled 'Swirlies’ Magic Strop: Winsome Zamula’s Hammer of Contumely'
This features The Yes Girls in 2000, documented live on KVRX at their level best. Back when they were so young in the bark. For those of you who have panned outright The Yes Girls and all their works, you could be converted by this very free recording. Or not. Snazzy artwork will make you long for the days of illicit raves in S. Plainfield, NJ. Features bonus encoded linguistic messages and titular conundrums to amuse and beguile the listener.
The Third of the Strops, entitled 'Swirlies’ Magic Strop: The Ship Sank By Itself', is a collection of tracks from Damon's voluminous archives (e.g. his promised burns minus any new songs...stay vigilant for those in the future). Noise, mysterious demos, possible chocolate factory references, and certainly all the babies singing.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
this is really cool... a swirlies cover, handled with much more finesse than the original! Now lets see some XXXX covers! http://www2.hawaii.edu/~andyiida/colorpixel-onelightflashingiloveyou.mp3
Friday, April 08, 2005
SWIRLIES' MAGIC STROP: AT THE SALON OF WBCN
Available through 9 May 2005 on our Discography and Audio page.
Be vigilant for more live releases every few weeks....next one will be up on 10 May 2005.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Free .mp3 downloads of:
RCA 005: The Sedentary Marchers Play For You
RCA 006: DELETED
RCA 007: BUCK WILD! The Saga of Jack Bucky
are available here in the 'sounds' section.
As as always, feel free to submit to the next RCA compilation 'Love and Scientific Communication, Volume 1'. Details may be found here, and a spontaneously generated sample track here. Liberal concepts of 'love' and 'science' will be accepted.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Hello all,
Richmond County Archives can now be found at rcarchives.com. Soon we will start posting a series of moldy and exciting swirlies live shows (from Damon's vaults) and other ephemera for free download, as well as more marmite-style surveys, bird photos, and eventually my thesis on Black-crowned Night Herons. And for those of you waiting for Damon's collection of swirlie cd-rs, progress is slow but you WILL receive them in due time. Linguistics can kick the shit out of a fellow, so try not to be cross with him....
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Whilst searching for Chantal Goya CDs on HMV.co.jp (japan) i found this amazing review for our "they spent their wild youthful days" CD:
The highest!
When by his imagines the kidnapping and others place "in the alien, when you hear, you call, the album of feeling. Or the American whom the snow accumulated with the mountain inner part of countryside, UFO which falls could be found becoming, the album! sound stopping foreward by your, pulling pulling moving, - the . "
Teak,
2002 April 01st
i hope it sounds as equally poetic pre-babble fish!
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Stack o' burns update:
many may wonder: " When will this come?"
the answer: "uhhh..."
I have a very nice neat little list of people signed up for the free (almost) burns... the thing is, I haven't finsihed it yet. In fact, i won't finish until january. i'm sorry. But i promise, each and every one of you will get it... eventually. thing is, I'm thinking of adding the vocals on some of songs that don't have them. just thinking...
if i told you it was free, it is still free. the rest are still 2 dollars to cover the little bubble thing and postage..ok!
as i have said before, this compilation will not be for the weak of heart. if you didn't like the yes girls, you will hate half of this... (imagine the yes girls, half finished...yikes!) but the other half is live and demo stuff that all will enjoy.
I am still taking new orders on my two dollar list daily...this will at some point be cut off when the number gets too high for my creaky burner.
HUGE thanks to Nayma Gonzalez in Mexico for sending me NINE live swirlies shows on disc. some will be included on the set. as we used to say in the stinkin van of fashion mags: shit the fuck yeah!"
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Swirlies stack o' burns unboxed set update:
Alas, the magic number has been reached, and my sorry empty wallet can no longer offer this for free. All new requests will need to pay 2 dollars... yes, a big fat 2 dollars for postage.
THIS IS TO BE PAID AFTER YOU RECEIVE THE BURNS. (I'll send you my address when I send the discs)
Why? Because I am really behind in getting them done... in fact, I haven't sent out any beacuse I am loading new found old stuff into my computer. I'm trying to make it a little nicer than the earlier copies I sent people. It might even have a cover and stuff.
So, send me your name and address and I will put you on the 2 dollar cd list (I'm keeping a list... kinda like Santa), then you pay later... kinda like a Swirlies credit card.
anyways... thanks for all the responses. Please be patient... I will get this done eventually.
Damon
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Hello,
Ok, regarding the CDs of funny/half finished/live/demo/home recording stuff i am burning people:
After the next ten orders I will have to ask for 2 dollars, mailed to me AFTER you recieve the burns Otherwise, I'm gonna be droppin a lot of money on postage. If you don't want to pay postage, send me some burns of swirlies live shows...if you got em.
DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY UNTIL YOU RECEIVE SOMETHING IN THE MAIL.
But, the next ten people will still be free... to kind of stick to my promise. sorry about the postage thing.
and for all the people on "back order" already - i have written emails to all of you- it will still be free.
Friday, November 05, 2004
oh yeah...
if anyone wants some burns of some swirlies junk (open to interp) or cats japan just write me an email. simple.
sneakyflute@hotmail.com.
numerous lucky junksters have already got it. each mix is different depending on what I've dumped into my computer or think is entertaining that day. most include some nice demos of old stuff, half finished songs, neat live versions that are kinda different etc.
Assuming a mere trickle of request price is gratis (as usual).
In return, if anyone out there has any swirlies shows on disc, I'd appreciate some copies... if you don't no sweat (not at all mandatory).
PLUS, doesn't anyone have the red fish dreams cover by linsey herman? I recently spoke to her and even she does not... plenty were made... who the heck has em? Ben...........??????? I just want to see it.
New Mew record nearing completion. I got to play on a few tracks as usual and it truly should be a wacked out prog rocking piece of art. Though, maybe I'm not supposed to say that.
http://www.mewsite.com/site_fr.html
I encourage everyone looking for inspiration to visit this site I found. I found the lyrics particularly... particular.
http://www.howsyouredge.com/youthxattack/media.htm
an example:
I HATE LIES
fuck you and your life
you stupid fucking asshole
i hate you
yes all of you
i hate lies
yes yes i do
i hate lies so thats why i hate you!
I thought the edge was about being.. uh.. positive. But really, I like this. I think they are scarred. i like that. I mean, not that it wouldn't be nice for THEM to not be scarred... but it sure keeps things interesting.
If I ever got a indelible ink tattoo, I sure wouldn't do it in providence.
sorry to come out of hibernation for a sort of swirlies irrelevant post..but...
Friday, October 01, 2004
Soldiers--
We need but one more version of 'Do the Ostrich'. Read about it here. Send it to XXXXX. Also, you may check out (using any browser but Mozilla) some flat crazy RCA noises & upcoming noises here.
And, lastly, find out about Amsterdam's October US onslaught in the form of Persil and Zea
Monday, August 23, 2004
Hey you--we're still accepting submissions for two Richmond County Archives/SFE compilations ('Do the Ostrich * 11' and 'Love & Scientific Communication Volume 1'). Find out more about it here.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
A big sneaky flute congratulations to Damon, who will be linguistically Ann Arbor-bound in the fall to attend graduate school. Be as happy for him as we are, and stay vigilant for increasingly esoteric and structurally complex lyrics from this once and future academe.
Initially unrelated but now somewhat related to the aforementioned departure, Swirlies shows are being mulled over and hinted at for the month of June. And planned. Boston (through the auspices of Polaris Mine) and perhaps an NYC one? Read on at a later date.
Lastly, the Mud and Lace Marching Band (a 5-person, S.I. based "marchcore" group) is in need of NYC-based brass and woodwind players for occasional noisemaking sessions and live recordings--specifically in the realm of the trumpet, the oboe, and the clarinet. Seventh grade proficiency in reading sheet music would be lovely. We can play 'Iowa Fight Song', 'Copacabana', 'Start Me Up', and several more. Next time, polkas are being threatened! Only serious takers should contact bernickaj@yahoo.com.
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Your next and last chances to see Persil in the US (at least for now) will be:
Sunday 4 April
AS220
Providence, RI
(eve)
Monday 5 April
Flywheel
Easthampton, MA
Go!
Friday, April 02, 2004
If you are in NYC, go see Persil tonight (4/2):
Tonic
Norfolk St, Manhattan
12am
$5.00
or
Sun (4/4)
AS220
Providence, RI
Listen:
www.persilmusic.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
andy is back... penguins cry foul, puffins rejoice!
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Hello all...
Swirlies are NOT playing at Coral Room in NYC tonight. However, we very much appreciate getting pick of the week in the Voice for a show we were not booked to play. Sorry for any and all confusion.
Monday, January 26, 2004
You gotta love Bob Weston... an email from our buddy Andrew Demster in Scotland...probably the closest I'll ever get to the venerable Fire Engines:
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to let you know I went to see a reformed-for-one-show-only Fire Engines on Saturday night in Edinburgh. It was a great show. They were a beautiful shambles. Sounded exactly like I imagined they would; the less hair and wider girths (Scots like the girth-Damon) didn't detract from their enthusiasm at all. I have a bootleg of their 1st ever show and another one from a year later (also in Edinburgh). If any of you are interested, I'll send a copy on. They were on sale at the show.
The point of this story though, is that the first song that came on after they left the stage and before headliners The Magic Band came on, was "Sterling Moss" from ...Salons. They also played another track from the album, I think. i was quite drunk. I took great pleasure in telling anyone in earshot that this was the Swirlies playing (Andrew can drink-Damon). Fire Engines followed by a Swirlies track. it could only have been better if Kylie Minogue was doing a lingerie fashion show after (Andrew likes Kylie... he thinks she's hot..in case she's reading...he likes cheerleaders too-Damon), but sadly that didn't happen.
Just thought I'd let you know.
Andy
PS-the Magic Band sound guy was called Bob Weston. I am not sure if it was 'the' Bob Weston. Do you know if it was the same guy? He loves you guys, doesn't he?
Thursday, January 22, 2004
thanks for coming to the show..we had a "wicked good time." We didn't even fight that much before it. mazzarin, or however you spell it, are excitingly excellent...don't you think? Their clothes fit very well. Please sign them.
You can read a really silly interview with me here it's done by some crazy guy who thinks he's a cat... i kinda like that.
I hit a big ice cube with my car cause it's so friggin cold..and I ripped off that stupid little oil line the swedes put too close to the ground in the front... lost all my oil and my little volvo died. Thanks to the little old lady (mrs. smith or something) who let me push it into her driveway while I went guitar shopping with the guy from Mew. Thing was a ftank (fuckin tank)...sniff. Bought it on the day my auntie died. If anyone wants to donate an old volvo (240, 740, 760) to the sneaky flute empire, you know where to find me... it's kinda cold up here on the old bike.
New lansing dreiden cd is out... also excellent i don't play on it...but were gonna hit the studio soon to do a collaboration...or so I'm told. Perhaps we will have another live show (nudge nudge, boyz)??
The new persil (holland) cd is out..i sing on one track... otherwise it's an really nice record with foxed out girl vocals, noisy guitars and blip and bloop programing...
Rob Laaxo, the doctor, has completed his rock-lord-band's demo... The diamonds. email him for copies, I'm sure he'll make them.
that's all for new news.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
CATS OF THE WILD VOL 2 reviews:
cornerstone
shmat
indiepop vol. 6
earlash
pitchfork
one buried in the vessyl
junkmedia
losing today
brown university daily herald
pop matters
How to find Cats of The Wild Volume 1
a link to ostrich manipulations courtesy of mark gordon
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
attn:
DIAMONDS (a group featuring the inimitable robert laakso) will hopefully be playing on olde Staten Island in the next month or so, all parties willing. keep looking for such an event right here. until then, you may find some of their efforts here.
Sunday, October 26, 2003
Greetings Marmite Soldiers!
Our good friend Adam Barnes has passed along the following review of the Japanese release of Cats of The Wild Volume Two. As usual, Babelfish has provided the reader with an amusingly incoherent (but somehow spot on) block of text:
"Thought you might like to read the review of CotW2 by Bounce on the Tower Japan website:
The new * album which is after 7 years of XXXXX. The shoe gay
the which is warped - it had the psychedelia and the anxiety which are
woven, to be fleeting in introspect melody in a trance, and the XXXXX losing
XXXXX which is done. Wild (but the kitten XXXXX it is) with adding
Venn char (but miniature garden) the spectacle...... their unexpected
phases are shown! To be favored the band which is tend shoots, the charm
also heart of the new listener will be designated as the XXXXX, it is the
work which overflows.
If you aren't satisfied with the review (but who wouldn't be),
I encourage you to:
* You scratch your review by all means and densely are please
be!
And the track listing, of course:
1. One light/write flashing eye love u
2. XXXXX ground moon locks!
3. XXXXX dance XXXXX bubble music
4. Lu bag
5. Indian ocean nose-dive
6. Three tweet the time
7. Rare moment
8. Little tail
9. Crash
10 True D
11. XXXXX love just XXXXX
12. Cat's of the wild XXXXX
"
Sunday, September 21, 2003
there are several requests for submission still well open at richmond county archives compilation hovel--why not take a gander at them here ? that is all...
Monday, August 18, 2003
They appear to be an anonymous art collective that's obsessed with esoteric ephemera, but really they are just three Miami Pahty Boyz who wear Prada. That's why I love em. Listen to Lansing-Dreiden's new songs here .
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Cats of the Wild is out in Japan. Here is the possible end to your search to find it...
www.bls-act.co.jp/newrelease/p_vine/0305.html
www.bls-act.co.jp/order.html
Warning... the last of the bonus tracks isn't what it is supposed to be. oops.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
good god! check these photos from the most recent dallas, texas show:
here
here
and here
courtesy of sean padilla!
Monday, July 14, 2003
check out the more detailed liner notes from Cats CD:
http://evil-office.net/swirlies/discography/cats-credits.html
Monday, June 23, 2003
an interesting interview with two swirlies may be found at under the radar magazine's website.
and to reiterate, the latest richmond county archives release, entitled 'vn/a: thirty minutes on the world map', is now available.
74 minutes of songs and sound created/recorded in less than thirty minutes by the likes of THE YES GIRLS, SHANKS,
BURNSIDE PROJECT, PALOMAR, PERSIL, and many others. ordering info can be found here!
Saturday, June 14, 2003
Tour over. Lilys free
participate in our yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/swirlies/
Monday, May 19, 2003
A few things:
1. Revised swirlies/lilys tour dates (as of 19 May):
***Please note that the show in Montreal has been cancelled***
Fri, May 23 NYC, NY Knitting Factory
Mon, May 26 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
Wed, May 28 Ferndale, MI Magic Bag
Thr, May 29 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Fri, May 30 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Sat, May 31 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar
Tue, Jun 3 Seattle, WA Crocodile Caf??
Wed, Jun 4 Portland, OR Black Bird
Thr, Jun 5 Sacramento, CA Old Ironsides
Fri, Jun 6 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
Sat, Jun 7 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland
Sun, Jun 8 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland
Mon, Jun 9 San Diego, CA Casbah
Wed, Jun 11 Austin, TX Emo's
Thr, Jun 12 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
Fri, Jun 20 Boston, MA
OK, in plain English:
http://home.attbi.com/~ddemay/fatdaycatalog.html
= Cats of the Wild (Volume One)
Friday, May 02, 2003
our kind hosts, Mew, have a couple of new singles out in the UK and Japan (and soon to be released in the US.) Most of the tracks were produced by Mr. Rich Costey, who helped with the old Swirlies records and some of the B-sides were produced by me(and I play a little too). Mew info is at mewsite.com -you need Flash 6 player to view it.
Thursday, May 01, 2003
my sista's art. lovingly known as "Boog" http://www.319studios.freeservers.com/
not to mention that the original title of "chimp is dead" was "chimp is dead(guess who killed it)"
apparently we are playing the Mid East in Cambridge on the 20th of June. Also, I believe another Canadian show has been added, though i don't know where or when yet.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
NB: the term 'chimp rock' was not coined by swirlies, rather we absorbed it from its kudgelian roots. witness kudgel's displeasure at our absorbing of the term on the seminal track 'chimp is dead!', prominently featuring someone playing bits from 'what to do about them'. we may have not been the originators of chimp, but we still are pretenders to the throne. 'nuff said.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
if you are so inclined, there are a few active submission requests to be found at richmond county archives. take a look, sailor. come up and see us sometime. 23 skeedoo.
Monday, March 31, 2003
the fabulous danish band MEW, our friends and kind landlords of evil-office, will be playing:
tonight (31 march)
mercury lounge, houston st., mannahatta
~7:00 pm
go give them a voluble cheer if you have the opportunity. that is all.
Thursday, February 27, 2003
Swirlies' tour new's:
We just remora-ed ourselve's onto two leg's of the Lilys US/Canadian tour. May 24th to Friday June 13th(how lucky). Somethin like this':Philly to NYC to Boston to Canada to Midwest to Cali to Texa's. Thats all I know. Debs(vox) gettin married right when the tour start's. so if she come's it won't be til mid-tour.
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Swirlies will be playing at the SXSW festival--here's the info:
Thurs 13 March 2003 @ 11pm
Maggie Mae's
321 E 6th St (21+)
Austin
w/ Nautilis, Murcof, Tony Morely, Seen (aka HiM), and DJ Alex Knight
Thursday, February 20, 2003
The Japanese release of 'Cat's of the Wild' will include four bonus tracks culled from old Swirlies' rarities. The extra track's will be: "Dolphin's Dance With our Music(from the Yes Girl's CD), His Love Just Washed Away-4 track(from the Vent's of the Ocean Floor 7'), Trudy(from the Working Holiday 7"), and Crush(from the Red Fish Dreams 2x7").
The reissue of Damon Andy Rob Ron: The Yes Girl's is out of commission for now.
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
a new swirlies ep (entitled 'cats of the wild volume two') will be out on bubblecore records on 25 march 2003. it features: 1) studio/amped up versions of 'one light flashing i love you', 'rare moment', 'le bag', 'sleepytime', and 'give us moon rocks!', 2) the semi-unheard songs 'little tail' and 'indian ocean nosedive', 3) customary bonus strangeness, and 4) artwork by ron rege (in tasteful red and black). check it out at bubblecore in coming days.
lastly, you may now take a peek at the beginnings of the richmond county archives site
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
vn/a: thirty minutes on the world map
release date: apr 2003
a hearty thank you to all 80+ persons/bands who submitted
tracks for this compilation. below is the final track list:
1. miracle johan and allies: on the world map
2. the progress report: i smell
3. nepenenkoya: hi there, nice pants
4. sexy thoughts (featuring kevin shea): that’s the sound
5. yes girls/timonium: 10:15 on a saturday night
6. burnside project: who died and made you richard dreyfuss?
7. worcester county archives: audio notes on an epidemic
8. the stigmatics: speeding
9. logan jonathan and josh: everything is scarey
10. tresvant: bus tickets
11. jordyn and joel/the hickman interview tapes: soapbox/you can't buy lotrimin
12. pronking: hoffman island stomp
13. the progress report: welcome back to the punks
14. candycane: untitled
15. land, bravo!: 16 incher
16. 6S: pishing
17. drekka: drekka goes on a monkey walk, nepal 1999
18. cup o' jehovah: a treatise on masturbation
19. alvin buenaventura: fugged by fugger
20. the gutterpipe ensemble: gregor's theme
21. jeff zeigler: octopus
22. palomar: charm city
23. landon wong/damian leibold: a warmth that’s true/mama cradled me
24. emaily john wayne: i’ve got a joy (traditional)
25. the scientifics: love theme from the upcoming documentary on the scientifics
26. persil: 28? give me that mouse!
27. shanks: o baby
28. mixel pixel: holsters got u to bolster your culture
29. thomas dean: tremolo birdbath (break-beak)
30. frank’s mom: excerpt
31. thee hollow bodys: spacecraft down
32. le ton mite: take it away
33. staten island ramblers: snug
34. cup o' jehovah: felafel
35. heidi hackworth: walking
36. on the metal field recordings: on the metal
37. the stigmatics: tba
Monday, November 11, 2002
richmond county archives/sfe are ready to embark upon a second call-to-arms:
vn/a: (do the ostrich) * 11
DO THE OSTRICH is a song originally recorded by the primitives (featuring lou reed) in 1964. we began covering it a bit over the past year, due to our admiration of that selfsame bird---it seemed a logical step at the time. as it turns out, we are but pretenders to the ostrich throne! a true friend brought to our attention the existence of a 1983 version of DO THE OSTRICH by new order (over eight minutes of strangeness). read on:
OBJECTIVE: to find bands/individuals who have a version of OR are willing to record the song DO THE OSTRICH
THE RESULT: a compilation of 11 versions of "DO THE OSTRICH" for cassette /cd release by richmond county archives/sfe
DEADLINE: way open until further notice
SUBMIT TO: XXXXX ATTN: DO THE OSTRICH
if you have yet to hear this magical song, check out this page dedicated to lou reed
you can hear it there & let your mind run wild! over and out.
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
hey there---we've recently lost our web mistress (sniff), so if anyone would like to help us work on the site, please send an email to: bernickaj@yahoo.com
bad news: plans to release a 7" on amberley records are dead. further, you would be wise to not have anything to do with kristen lound, amberley records, or happy robots.
good news: we are planning to release an ep on bubblecore in march 2003 or thereabouts. think about it!
Wednesday, October 09, 2002
for the curious, a list of all the songs we played on this tour. there was one more(a new one), but we never got around to doing it.
do the ostrich/sex bomb
you can't be told it
rare moment
give us moon rocks
tree chopped down
wrong tube
le bag
bell
sarah sitting
vigiliant always
one light flashing i love you
ocean
in harmony new found freedom
two girls kissing
the vehicle is invisible
subway(c+w!!!)
dolphins dance with our music
san cristobal de las casas
pony
march of the sneakyflutes(ok, we only did it on a piano in reading..but we meant to include it)
my own personal highpoints from the tour(in addition to andy's, which I share with the exception of marmite):
finally understanding all of the manchester references in smith's songs-eg salford; playing king of the mountain on the top of a volcano in edinburg and later eating wild blackberries(for which i still bear scars); knowing more about the nottingham lion than everyone in england; stalling out in front of the dutch police in that little car; pole dancing on the ferry; maoz falafel bringing me back to old barcelona; persil; good arnold's broken bike; those amazing rathmore donuts from netto; picking kevin's hairs off the tub on the isle of dogs; andrew d's texas calender girl; lstening to andy exclaim "those kids had dirty hands" over and over; oding on mint menthos(vegan in eu) and getting jacked on diet pepsi.
Monday, October 07, 2002
the infamous netherlandal review(with "translation"):
the infamous netherlandal review!
Subject: hah! i can read dutch!
Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2002 10:30:54 +0000
After it premier from Amsterdam act of Pavement, if voorprogramma suffered of The Breeders years in the galaxy, gone astray their immer beschonken drummer Gary Young in the nocturnal capital. I reminding me still how is halfopen, squinting eyes some seconden the dancing floor of Korsakoff explored to verify or the the place to be which. According to the overlevering he hotel never has is reached, spent he after a lot of omzwervingen the night in a kleedkamer of the galaxy and has he the next morning it staff is helped during their advancement activities. It is surprisingly how well he during it succeeded acts is instrument remained to master in spite of intoxication and acrobatic trucjes (he might have juggled readily with drumstokjes and a cogcog cog does in the middle of a song). To be onberekenbaarheid cost him eventually however the head because him nagged Pavement from the link.
The drummer of The Swirlies put Gary Young expired Thursday to the crown in the OCCII. An evening rather saws we him during the noodlanding strange dancing treads tries out in the small room of Paradiso. The concert which he with bandmaatjes area for that it had is given more certainly was not weaned of chaos. As the acting progressed layman the anarchy more and more whined and was zowaar beautiful songs descry under the waas noise from jet ears and keyboards. Only the that charge seemed to has of (checked) gekte which the boy behind the electronic drumpads. He played fanatical and imperturbable and tapped mainly the rods against each other, something that only to if hear which you stood vooraan. As special attraction he stepped of the podium in order use houten the floor as percussie-instrument to. He did not attract himself nothing of three drank witnesses those area beside him stood. Two jongens sent each time their blonde girlfriend to the link with or an other inept task. An other Swirlie, the boy with the optical device behind keys and sometimes on bass, become very very timid of as much attention. It enige that he could do to do which to bloom and the head to shake.
A day later in the OCCII which the drummer this way far heen who it public got mainly stuurloos crash concerning himself poured out. It could make a difference the link members little that them songs piece for piece succumbed. The Swirlies was a ruïne to the building. They found obviously that as it had to sound bad also well bad had to be. The five men lay in a knock then the drumming drunkard for a number behind the drumpads went to stand. He did not beat himself hard on, blijkbaar aware that the volume from stood and therefore nothing to hear which of his labour. He had a confused can behind its thick optical devices and a large piece toilet paper hung from its rechteroor. When the volume bud was found, the boy attract own rhythm rammed, hardly something of the planned structure those it numbers himself to be ever had must. The loud puinhoop savage but not coherent become and thus silted up it extra from Amsterdam acts of The Swirlies in misted umbilical point starening file. The idioterie even continued during the closed set of britse Alphastone. Or Alphastoned, because ly the old-fashioned spacerock of these Spacemen 3-afsplitsing which in fume wrapped in.
By the room the drifting about Swirliesdrummer had not only a Badly Drawn Boy-hoedje on his head also and paper in his ear, hung a trail WC-rol to a shoe and behind from its trousers. Then it did not succeed to sleep on the merchandisingtafel snatched he the blue tape there gone and stuck he blue buzzs and eyebrows on his face. He used plattegrond of Amsterdam as a harnas. To be maatjes confirmed ondertussen unseen papiertjes on their back with texts as: Take me home, please! in order make it then photograph of to. In the bald room a bezopen briton danced in order the drummer heen, him inviting dance. The drummer did a halfslachtige effort to he an illumination got. He caught the tape at voorschijn, kneeled again area slightly for the blind heaving Alphastone and made to a face of around that the floor shone on. He returned a couple to step and looked at to the result. What it concerning what to publicly hung or zat against the wall of the OCCII, waiting to the aubain and warrige evening to an end came.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday 26 September Badly done, boy
Between the hullabaloo I find an empty chair tacking on the balcony or Paradiso. Precies in it in the middle or or the pace path achterin, the access to the highest balcony ate. A good for a tiring traveller sneers. < End or Translation > I am late and link just when Damon Gough sings a song in which he the lichtman asks all derisions and lamps in the room on full sterkte to meddle to seem. It appears the only funny moment which I see during the too long action. Previous year amused Badly Drawn boy a full galaxy Max by a small three hour long the clown to hang out. Full of pleasure he it teased publicly constant, both for, during as after each number. Also is own link had it regularly on playfully wise to pay for. Helped by the kind light songs of his debuut The Hour or The Bewilderbeast ensured he for misfiring because I had not suspected that the repertoire with as much relativising humour brought. It worked wonderwel.
This Wednesday evening does not have Damon an own way. What previous year playful which changes now to disturbing rommeligheid. More than he a number once interrupts, frequently because he it once is not with the tempo. It goes him too slow or he reminds to the drummer annoyed that it too much vaart is set in. The zanger excuses itself and explains against the end of the set that he is too long of house and for this reason not great feels itself. Area for that it he interrupted a song abrupt. To be microphone cog nature lies against the layer and boos paces up and down the zanger concerning the podium. The accompaniment link waits quiet and gespannen to the zanger to calm down is come. The voorman with the funny hoedje and the dingy barbule put up frustrated a new cigarette. If the wire is picked up to see I in order me heen many men them be based on abandoned for an early excursion direction lives. Their patience is. The new songs of Badly Drawn boy can to more captivate. Left for me demonstrates an Italian little girl noisy the functioning of a greenness light radiating computertje. The apparaatje have the format of brilkoker. Her vriendje look at, a shoulder leaning against her arm. In his linkerhand dangles a large beer glass. To be rechterhand make typbewegingen in the air. Thus to see he understands her uitleg.
I run meanwhile to the bovenzaal. The Swirlies gives their first of Second from Amsterdam actions. After expire look at H. and I during the noodlanding to their game dancing drummer. Uncontrolled he jumps and steps and mows he with its poor this way well and this way angry as can do it on the rhythm of the blades. We see to be him happy in the small world which he for this night for himself created. Later, after we have our voices schorgepraat, against the end of the night, dance we ourselves still even until a small, broad man summons us to leave. The lights contract. We step the rain. On the angle of the Sarphatistraat we take farewell. The night changes in a beautiful memory.
(is continued)
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
the swirlies uk/netherlands tour is at an end! high points included: (1) visiting stonehenge and meeting the nottingham lion, (2) eating vast quantities of marmite (one member only) and more than one bombay bad boy, (3) backing the microphones (i.e. phil) for four songs in london (if someone taped it, contact bernickaj@hotmail.com--we'd love a copy), (4) scaling arthur's seat, (5) playing some song called 'crazy world' (which sounded surprisingly like wrong tube) with an 8 year-old irish kid on guitar, and (6) coining the new slang term: "cheers anyways dude".
many thanks to all of the people who were kind: the telescopes, mew (for the amps and cast-off levis), slowloris, tacoma radar, boyracer, rich & sara lucas, arnold de boer, david & martine (of the lovely band persil), the gringo records fellows in notts, max&collum&alice in leeds, gary in cardiff, the nanochemist in manchester, andrew in edinburgh, liz & hannah & the one lonely fellow who played with us in margate, those who purchased dr. laakso's magical optical theremins, the olive oyl looking for her popeye in amsterdam, the rising sun folks & andrew/denny & jamesezz in reading, pippa in exeter, lucy & rare pleasures & josephine in london, all who participated in the yeast extract interview, bdb for wearing that hat. special thanks to vanessa, kevin, and ron for playing with us this time around--they were all excellent additions.
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
hey there--the absolute most recent uk tour update:
7th Sept - London toynbee hall arts cafe (with the telescopes)
10th Sept - Leeds (with 65 days of static and boyracer)
11th Sept - Manchester (with the telescopes)
12th Sept - Bury St Edmunds (w/ the white trash, the visit)
13th Sept - Cardiff Dempsey's (with the telescopes)
14th Sept - Reading Rising Sun arts centre (with slow loris)
15th Sept - Nottingham Social (with the telescopes and los planetos del agua)
17th Sept - Exeter Cavern (with the telescopes)
18th Sept - London toynbee hall arts cafe (with the microphones)
20th Sept - Margate Lido cliff bar (with others)
23rd Sept- Edinburgh Bongo Club (w/ tacoma radar and slow loris)
25th Sept- Amsterdam, Neth. The Paradiso
26th Sept- Amsterdam, Neth. Occii (w/ zea and alphastone)
we will be damon andy rob ron kevin shea (of storm and stress and sexy thoughts fame) and vanessa downing. sadly, adam will be busting his hump back at bubblecore headquarters.
Friday, June 21, 2002
RE: 'V/NA:THIRTY MINUTES ON THE WORLD MAP' SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
DEADLINE: 30 September 2002 (i keep a-changin' it 'cause the goods are still flowing in!)
SUBMISSIONS: We are requesting, via the honor system, that any submitted recordings are created within thirty (30) minutes. They may be structured songs, improvised music, conversation, noises, field recordings of natural sounds (i.e. bird vocalizations), and so forth. You may use any recording device, instrument, noise maker, or organism to create your piece. Perfect aural clarity, as you can
glean from our (swirlies/yes girls) past recordings, is respected but certainly not required. Don’t feel obliged to produce something of a particular genre or type---all submissions will be given equal weight.
The thought behind a time limit is the desire for you to capture your chance activity, first principles, mundane activity, and/or momentary brilliance. Sometimes, the greatest sounds are captured effortlessly, and within an instant. The time frame (30 minutes) was chosen arbitrarily. There is no significance to that time period, other than it seemed not overly restrictive, but still tidy. It will also (I hope) speed up the return time from this request to submission.
FOR SONGS: As songwriters generally have some sort of idea of a song before they press the record button, the guidelines pertaining to ‘songs’ are less rigid. Ideas developed before the recording time may be used, but all aspects of recording and mixing should respect the thirty-minute ceiling. Of course, attempts at creating songs within thirty minutes from nothing are highly encouraged.
FOR OTHER PIECES: No limits other than the thirty-minute ceiling.
LENGTH: In the interest of space, we ask that you keep them between ten seconds and seven minutes. You may submit recordings up to thirty minutes in length, but these will be edited down to a logical fragment.
ACCEPTED MEDIA: You may submit your completed piece on cassette, cd, or as mp3/wav/cda files on a PC format zip or floppy. Send an SASE along if you want your submission returned.
THE FINISHED OBJECT: All submissions will be reviewed in August 2002. The pieces that fit logically together will be sequenced into a unified whole, meant to be played from start to finish by the listener. We will release this compilation on cd (hopefully) or cassette (if cash poor) before the end of December 2002. As was the case for NEVAH HAVE I EVAH (our first compilation), each person making it onto the compilation will receive two copies of the finished thing, and an even split of what remains after manufacturing costs are covered, be it cash (ha!) or more copies of the compilation.
Send your submissions to:
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
Re: XXXX
Friday, June 07, 2002
the Yes Girls have a brand new song.."I can't wait to taste the fire(parts one two and three)". If you all pester Andy, maybe he'll put it on the new comp!
Imagine this: hair raising vibraphones bubbling under a simply electrifying riff, powerful "who done it" vocals, all the might and feeling of Springsteen, all the sincereity of Young...I don't know about you, but "I Can't Wait To Taste The Fire!"
Wednesday, April 03, 2002
our love affair with stefan gruber continues. check out the torrid results at this link here---
BIG GULP!
Thursday, March 28, 2002
the following swirlies records (some in v. limited quantities, like 1) are now available:
7"s
slumberland-'didn't understand/sarah sitting/chris r' red vinyl **make offer**
slumberland-'didn't understand/sarah sitting/chris r' red vinyl, hand painted cover **make offer**
simple machines-november working holiday series w/ swirlies 'trudy'& pitchblende $4+shippin'
flygirl/blue bunny 7"-swirlies 'indian ocean nosedive' w/ ruby falls, lou barlow, john davis $5+shippin'
taang-brokedick car ep 'wrong tube/labrea tarpit/you're just jealous', blue vinyl $4+shippin'
bubblecore-vents of the ocean floor 7" 'his love just washed away demo' w/ iris $4+shippin'
LPs
taang-'...salons/strictly east coast' double LP $12+shippin
if you are interested, email XXX
Thursday, March 21, 2002
stefan's animation of 'calling dr. funk'
that there's right, brothers and sisters. stefan gruber has taken another song from NEVAH HAVE I EVAH and given it
visual properties---and abstract ones at that. check the link above to have the experience of sporadic shape changes in your frontal lobe, all to the far out sounds of rob laakso's analog magic. how's that?
IN ADDITION, mr. gruber animated a little piece from a forthcoming untitled album (plowing the sea 002)---a collection of songs or noises made in 30 minutes or less--no subsequent fiddling allowed! that is the only requirement---they don't necessarily need to be grand. length of songs can vary from 5 seconds to 29 minutes. noisy or cute--it don't mattah. send your contributions on cd, cassette tape, or paper to:
XXX
XXX
staten island ny XXX
re: XXX
---this is an animation for a song called 'takin a bird for a walk' from that forthcoming thing
right here
@@@
and if you haven't seen the first one (for 'XXXX' from NEVAH) by stefan, check it:
everything whispers cockroach!
Tuesday, March 12, 2002
a dream recounted by andy bernick. occured on 3.12.02 between 6:01-6:17am
I was walking down 5th avenue up near 79thstreet—ran into a friend from high school (john devine) who was in the area. we started chatting a little, and I asked him if he had seen what the whitney looked like today—he said 'it's empty' I said 'you wanna go to the whitney biennial?—I have a friend whose in it'.' he said 'sure, before the schoolkids get out and fill up the place'. it was 2 pm. we get to the front lobby, to buy tickets. there is a hip looking skinny woman with long black hair behing the counter—my friend begins to talk to her, goes through a ticket transaction while I am searching through my pockets for my school ID. I'm having a hard time, and they start watching me search. I flip through my whole wallet last, but it isn't there. I close it, put it in my pocket, and realize my ID is in my right hand. I give it to her, she examines it, hands me a ticket, catalogue, and a dime across the table, and states 'you're a preacher'. I say 'uh ok' and walk away towards the basement staircase, where I feel they are watching films. I ask my friend 'why did she say I was a preacher?' he says 'oh, it's because you're not a threat. she and I are looking at the same job, but you aren't. that;s just the way she uses to say you arren't threatening to her.' I seem to understand that this makes sense, and nod agreeingly. we get downstairs, and there are wo hallways adjacent to each other—one is very long, the other short & foyer-like. and I say 'look for my friend brian frye's name. we want to see his film.' but there aren't any names before you get to the foyer/theatre---just oil portrait paintings in ornate gold frames, one of each artist who made the films showing that day. but they are so badly painted, there are three that kind of look like brian (short black hair, horn rimmed glasses, black suit)e are very convincing. I am staring at them, thoroughly confused. my friend john says, hey, fuck this let's go down the long hall. I agree, and as we approach the room at the end of the hall, the wall is covered with gold pinstripe wallpaper, and huge sports photos from our high school—Boston College High School—all over the wall. like players tackling others in a 1965 football game, fuzzy varsity letters in frames, all that. I say 'hey it's OUR high school. how weird.' john makes no response, and disappears. huge noise is coming from the room at the end of the hall. I wander there, and the room is filled with long rows of mismatched chairs---some are folding chairs, some are big fancy wooden chairs with red velvet seats. the room is packed with people, and at the center, there are hundreds of very old people at round banquet tables, eating and talking at some awards ceremony. there is a man at an old ribbon microphone talking in the corner, but it is muffled and inaudible. everyone is watching this banquet. I walk to the center of the room, and start turning around. on each turn, everyone at the banquet changes---the room is the same, but all of the elderly people change. I am spinning around and around, and then i wake up.
Saturday, February 09, 2002
hey ho:
go check out a picture of rob here
and for further ridiculous shit, go to links below:
damon de swirlies--solo shows w/ timonium
'Art Bars'-a skate video featuring Grotonian Judd H. trickin to House of Pancake
swirlies play a "punk rock" fraternity house in Phila
Wednesday, February 06, 2002
hey all--
i received a cryptic message today stating that an old archived swirlies website exists(the first and only site until this one)--it includes lyrics, lineups, and other things pre-1998. to the best of my recollection it was created & operated at various times by very kind fellows named brandon and erik. here is the link.
and you may also find some old live photos here
Tuesday, February 05, 2002
from damon in barcelona, a quote of the day (re: learning about home remedies in context of illness vocabulary)
teacher:what´s one way we can cure hiccups?
student:(in thick accent) 8 seconds without breath?
t: huh? egg sandwich what?
s: without breath.
t: egg sandwich without bread..uh..ok, I´ll have to try that.
Monday, February 04, 2002
hi all--
if you have a fast computer box, go forth and look at:
www.stefangruber.com/mysteriesexist
stefan kindly used a tune off of 'nevah have i evah' as inspiration/sound for his lovely piece 'mysteries exist'. Here is a description of it in his own words:
Mysteries Exist: A rock video in Flash format featuring a human’s visions as he comes in and out of waking life. He makes company with some of Echelon’s space age inhabitants---first a cockroach, and then some cat twins. In each case, the animals investigate damaged portions of the human’s persona & cause deluxe emotional breakthroughs. He is inspired to record his learnings in a mystic notepad, creating a blueprint to work from in waking life. But will he be able to read the marks when he wakes up? Inspired by and set to ________’s ‘XXXXXX’ off of SFE 008 ‘NEVAH HAVE I EVAH’, Stefan Gruber makes an animated parable for modern age nocturnal nature embracers living in a science obsessed land, whose senses are kept alert to all the mysteries that still exist.
Saturday, February 02, 2002
Eh:
A couple new mp3s are up at http://www.bakedbean.net. No plans to issue them otherwise just yet.
Dr. Laasoko
Thursday, January 17, 2002
greetings people of homeland
I still kind of suck at spanish, but i sure know how to step in dog shit. ah, spain.
please contact andy for copies of nevah, as I am no longer handling the orders. I do like getting all the nice mail though, not certain where it´s coming form or why, but it´s nice. As Andy has mentioned we have completed some rough demos of new songs which we are currently shopping. these songs are full band and not particulary yesgirlish. My apologies to the Yes Girl coterie(sp). Look out for the latest Swirlies related project YSM(You´re Sooo Mean). we don´t quite know what it sounds like, but it wears red and cool sunglasses and is led by the enigmatic Doctor Laasoko. the rest, I trust, will follow. If you´re thinking this sounds like the Yes Girls then you´re wrong. the Yes Girls never wear sunglasses.
so that´s all. At least all the swirlies are in the same hemisphere again, right!
Damon Tutunjian
BCN, Spain
Monday, January 14, 2002
greetings you people
damon's off in spain for the next few months, rob is busy compiling an aural history of the recent mission of burma shows & keeping down the s.f.emp., adam is hopefully still money earnin' in mt. vernon, and i just returned from a long foray to the antarctic penninsula/elephant island to study seabirds/wee krills & am currently weeping about missing the aforementioned mission of burma shows (though i hear there are more to happen in boston soon). the sum total of these four things is that:
1. not much will be happening with swirlies/yes girls in the US before march (except for a select dissemination of new demos recorded summer-winter 01 w/ major z in phila)
2. you may once again send mail requests for nevah have i evah to:
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
re: nevah!
for prices/details, see the discography page. if you sent one recently, i'll get right on it kap.
thanks you people
Thursday, November 29, 2001
hey all--
for those of you who really want it, contact damon at sneakyflute@hotmail.com
for copies of 'nevah have i evah'---don't send anything to XXXX ave until after 15 jan 2002, or you'll get squat.
take care people
Sunday, November 18, 2001
hey all the latest on upcoming shows:
tuesday nov 20 2001-nyc-brownies-with spectrum and lockgroove
**this set will be webcast LIVE on www.dcn.com**
you can examine the show that night, or later when it is archived (along w/ our 4/20/01 brownies show) on the same site.
also, thanks to mazarin & lockgroove for the shows over the past few days, and also to mike walker who took time out of his baby-rescuing schedule to play bass in DC w/ swirlies. look out for some december shows as well.
Monday, November 05, 2001
[11/5/2001 2:34:08 PM | Andrew Bernick]
to all you potential 'nevah have i evah' mail-order purchasers:
no mail-orders will be processed between 20 november 2001 and 15 january 2002.
so send 'em now quick, or hold off for a while.....
Thursday, November 01, 2001
Don't forget ladys and gents of the Empire: Damon's(me) birthday is coming up and he still needs a new tire for the sneakyflute mobile(see Dr.L's passage for details).
Andy will be off to Antarctica after the shows in November, so be sure to bring him funny going away presents.
After extensive travel and research, I have concluded that Barcelona is in fact located on the EAST COAST. Members of the Empire are therefore more than welcome, and even encouraged to reside and visit there.
Sunday, October 28, 2001
News on the recording front: Work on my solo debut is
now in progress. Should be out this spring on
Kimchee Records. Love to all.
~Seana
Friday, October 26, 2001
DON'T STEP TO THE EMPIRE
...at least after a day in the recording studio
Word to the wise: If you are driving down the mean streets, cut off a Sneaky Fluter, and the Empire responds w/ justifiable anger, causing you to pull out a machete the size of your forearm and warn us not to step to you again, we will not hesitate to immediately do that which you warned against. If you proceed to use the machete in a partly successful attempt to render the Sneaky Flute Mobile immobile, we will throw you in the slammer and make you cry like a little baby! One young punk found this out the hard way the other night so you don't have to. (I swear that's really how it all happened).
Friday, October 19, 2001
greetings aliens
if you happen to live in barcelona, take care of our damon, who will soon be a ripe age, and is wandering through your coastal areas. look for a plastic wrapt person reclined on your local sandy area. that is all
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
greetings folks--here again are the near-future swirlies shows:
thursday nov 15 2001-boston-mideast up-with mazarin
saturday nov 17 2001-philly-khyber pass-with mazarin and lockgroove
tuesday nov 20 2001-nyc-brownies-with spectrum and lockgroove
Thursday, October 11, 2001
Ciao a tutti -
I've added some MP3s to the Discography page so you can now listen to sample tracks from some of the albums. Thrilling, no?
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
hi all---
had a good time at the benefit show on the 8th, despite the noticeable lack of
ron rege, who was stuck in portugal somewhere due to airline difficulties. the helms & ivory coast were above reproach! oh don't worry ron, i gave yr glasses to neevie. many thanks (again) to ken bernard, who beat the skins hard and provided us with a nice practice space (anyone need african hair gel? i know where there's alot of it...) & his usual chivalrous attitude. adam is off fluttering around yerp, but will be back for the november shows i hear tell (see below for dates).
take care kidz
Friday, September 14, 2001
please note:
Monday, September 10, 2001
I added a search box to the site (bottom of the front page). Cool, huh? Write to me if you have any other suggestions for things you'd like on this site: dini@popstar.com
Hello all. Swirlies are looking to tour the west coast in mid January 2002. As countless Swirlies tours of days gone by have proven, to tour without a headliner(aka band that people actually go out to see in droves(e.g. not the Swirlies)) means touring without an audience. I post this notice in the hopes that someone out in sneakyflute land might be able to hook us up with a band that we could support for this little dream tour of ours. email sneakyflute@hotmail.com or XXXX with suggestions, comments etc. thanks! Damon
Monday, September 03, 2001
CANCELLED? PROBABLY....
Tomorrow's show @ Don Hill's, through no fault of our own, will
most likely be swirlies-less. we heard that they had
'prior commitments' to someone else---why this happens to us in nyc on a regular basis,
i have no idea. i think we'll be setting shows up at knitting factory again (if they'll have us)--
they are always solid and respectable and kind to us, even when we blow.
so call don hill's tomorrow eve to see if we are, in fact, playing. however,
i sincerely doubt it. sorry folks----
next tentative shows 15 16 17 Nov in boston nyc philly--more later
Monday, August 20, 2001
*******NEW PRICES----PLEASE CHECK BEFORE ORDERING**********
Due to higher than expected shipping charges, there are new prices listed below:
NEVAH HAVE I EVAH: A SNEAKY FLUTE EMPIRE FAMILY ALBUM CD
on sneaky flute empire records/100% breakfast records
a compilation--73 minutes in length (including 11 new swirlies/yes girls jams--starting at 4 track recordings and working up). cd art by ron rege, handmade packaging, 500 pressed.
TO ORDER:
XXX
XXX
US Postal Service money orders or cash ONLY
make 'em out to: XXX
& send to:
XXX
XXX
XXX
OR:
buy them at shows
questions or bulk ordering: contact XXXXX
Friday, August 10, 2001
hello all---
disclaimer: just would like to inform you all that the 'nevah' compilation contains new swirlies/yes girls songs that were not born in studioland, but in quiet places around the country, using modest means to capture them. if you think this may disappoint, maybe waiting for another thing is the way to go. no complaints as of yet, but we wouldn't want to deceive.....
stay alert for new photos from the uniform recording session, the motowife set in boston, swirlies/NOA canadian tour, and others to replace the dusty ones that presently exist...
a bientot
Sunday, July 15, 2001
hey killahs
the yes girls show with am radio is still on for sat 21 july. we'd love to see you there---especially you gluttons for punishment, as we appreciate how you appreciate how we never learn from our mistakes. you have special places in our hearts. lineup: damon.andy.no rob.no adam.seana?maybe.jack b?probably. the next swirlies show in nyc? september X, 2001.
we are spending the weekend recording swirlies demos in phila, in jeff zeigler's ye olde sweat lodge (le bag.rare moment.give us moon rocks!)---will a 'real' album come out of this eventually? we hope yes---although this depends on how you define real. note: if it includes gastronomical delights and old rambling men and references to wild deer and scituate ad nauseum and the unbridled and tragic passion of our doctor laasoko's piercing guitar daggers, you will be pleased. if not ah well. stay alert for photos from this adventure, soon to replace the dusty basement shit covering our photos page. hello to mother.tayt.aeroll.karger.father:
the much-lied-about record 'nevah have i evah' will soon be back in our greasy paws and ready for dissemination (shows and mailorder only). all promises indicate that it will be back from the plant by the time our boston show occurs on 27 july. but by now, only the most masochistic of you even give a hoot. ordering info to follow (when they are in hand).
speaking of which, there was an eastern screech owl nesting in the woods behind a house (at the junction of sherman and north central aves) in wollaston ma this spring/summer. communication terminated XXXX
Thursday, June 28, 2001
Hello!
A little more info on the yes girls show on Sat 21 July---
Come see:
Al Lee Wyre
Christian Cringle
the yes girls
A.M. Radio
Where?: Freddy's Bar (485 Dean St. (@ 6th ave., Bklyn)
Directions: 2,3 to Bergen or N,R to Pacific
What time?: 9:30pm
Phone:718.622.7035.
Cover?: probably not much
We'll see you there! Wear red!
Wednesday, June 06, 2001
Hey--here is a list of upcoming swirlies/yes girls shows:
Sat 21 July 2001--the yes girls/am radio at freddies bar in bklyn,ny
Mon 23 July 2001--swirlies at brownies, nyc
Fri 27 July 2001-swirlies/lockgroove/bright/juliet at TTs in Cambridge MA
(juliet is seana's new group)
Sunday, May 27, 2001
christ!
so the 'nevah have i evah' comp is not pressed, not even mastered yet.....a few of you have been asking (a/k/a axing) for it lately. we ran into some problems, where the master was littered with l'il digital skips and farts. it is currently being fixed, so just be a little more patient my pretties. you know we endeavour to keep our recording quality standards high at all times.
ack ack ack
Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Greetings,
There is a good show coming up on Staten Island, and it's happening within a 5 minute stroll from the ferry terminal:
**AM Radio**
at The Real McCoy (on Bay St-diagonally across from the St. George Post Office)
Sat 9 June 2001
11:00PM sharp
FREE
SEE THE FLIER
Their raging song 'Banana Splatt!' will appear on the upcoming sneaky flute empire compilation 'nevah have i evah', and I hear tell they recently recorded some songs with lee ranaldo. It's worth the trip, wherever you are coming from.
***To get to The Real McCoy from Manhattan, take the SI Ferry, come up any ramp to the street level, walk straight towards the building with a clock tower on it (si borough hall), cross the street, hang a left, pass by a large bus stop, keep on the right hand side of bay street, pass by the st george hairstylist and barber shop, note the post office on the left hand side of bay street, pass by a weird empty bar (formerly gibbs b-b-q), and continue until you see that welcoming wood sign on the right that says 'the real mccoy'.
Saturday, May 12, 2001
hello all,
to reiterate, the only swirlies shows with north of america are:
05/22 London, ON Call The Office
05/23 Windsor, ON The Press Club
05/24 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
05/25 Montreal, PQ Bar St.Laurent
05/26 Halifax, NS The Marquee Club
the lineup will be: damon, rob laakso (aka dr. laasoko), ken bernard from the wicked farleys on drums, and special guest mike walker (from the lilys) on bass---there should be some squalling noise happening.
as far as news on future swirlies/yes girls shows, check this site to confirm any dates we may/may not be playing. if a show we are supposedly playing isn't listed here, we aren't going to be there--we'll also try to keep show listings current. thanks.
Thursday, May 03, 2001
friends:
our 4/20/01 swirlies show at brownies will soon be archived at the following music-related website:
http://www.dcn.com/index_flash.html?page=/bands/bands_pages/swirlies.html
if you would like to see it, by all means do so---after all, it may be the only chance you get to see us at our worst! ha!
Wednesday, May 02, 2001
hey:
here is the latest skinny on swirlies dates with north of america:
05/22 London, ON Call The Office
05/23 Windsor, ON The Press Club
05/24 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
05/25 Montreal, PQ Bar St.Laurent
05/26 Halifax, NS The Marquee Club
enjoy
Thursday, April 26, 2001
hi
here are some confirmed dates for shows with north of america (clubs to be added later--check local listings too).
mike walker from the lilys will be playing bass at these shows, just so you know.
05/21 Windsor o venue tba
05/22 London o venue tba
05/23 Toronto o el mocombo
05/24 Ottawa o venue tba
05/25 Montreal o venue tba
05/26 Halifax o venue tba
later
Sunday, April 22, 2001
allo
Thanks to anyone who spend a little time with us over the last three days (in NYC, Phila, or New Haven)--especially lockgroove & north of america, who elevated these evenings. thanks also to hopewell, who were incredible at brownies that night. For those couldn't make it, here's a rave review sent to me by dr. laasoko--it's for the Brownies show, penned by one of our many friends:
"Well, I've now seen the Swirlies four times over the last five years,
and each time they've gotten progressively worse. Personally, Friday's
show at Brownie's in NYC was the last straw. The first problem is, Swirlies tunes are very delicate balances of noise and melody. Live, unfortunately, the melody evaporates. I found myself recognizing a song and then trying to remember how it went, while they were playing it. "This is a GREAT song -- how does it go again?" I kept wishing they'd stop playing so I could just hum the songs to myself.
(And I'm no music expert, but some of the notes sounded pretty weird,
and/or clashed with stuff other people were playing. Is it that hard to get
everybody in the same key?)
The second problem is, Damon is a fun-loving guy. So fun-loving, in
fact, that he doesn't care what they sound like to the audience. I'm a
fun-loving guy too, but if I go to, say, a Mstislav Rostapovich concert and he
spends the evening playing Abba tunes on a vibraphone, well, I'm going to be
pissed. So I go to see a group with an unparalled collection of great songs and
hear eight tuneless things (four brand new, which means at no point will
you have any idea whether they possess melodies in real life or not), two
great songs that nearly retained their melodies (San Cristobal for one and the
best Yes Girls song the other) and three pieces of crap -- some short
punk thing, "Do the Ostrich", and "Jack Bucky." What makes this so annoying is, last time I saw them they playing an amazing twenty minutes as an opener -- loud, fast and hardcore. Then they stopped and joked about how it was like a bad AC/DC impression. Um, excuse me, but it was GREAT. Swirlies songs played loud, fast, and *professionally* are INCREDIBLE. It's pathetic that the opportunity to experience this in person is around zero."
Now don't you wish you had made it after all? Thank you and good night.
Sunday, April 15, 2001
jes letting you know, the following swirlies shows (w/ lockgroove) are still happening:
19 April---phila PA @ khyber pass
20 April---nyc NY @ brownies
21 April--- @ Women's Center @ Yale University, New Haven, CT
with Arcaro and North of America--FREE
get ready to do (the ostrich)
Thursday, March 22, 2001
ie ie
note to you: XXXXX----
***re: the sfe compilation CD 'NEVAH HAVE I EVAH' will be released May 15*****
On this, you will find swirlies, seana carmody, shanks, am radio, girlz nite out, mew and the yes girls, duck attack, pronking, XXXXX, several sneaky flute field recordings, [DELETED], dr.laasoko, burpee, and many other members of the extended sneaky flute empire family. it will also include a link to free mp3 downloads of all the tracks we wanted to fit on but couldn't.
These CDs will be sold via the mails & at shows for now---check back in a few weeks for ordering info.
adios
ps--swirlies/lockgroove are playing April 19 (Khyber Pass, Phila) and April 20 (Brownies, NYC)
pss--for all you brave soldiers at the March 13 Yes Girls show @ Brownies, bless ye. expect a more energetic version of '(do the) Ostrich' at future shows. that is all.
Thursday, March 15, 2001
ei ei
just found that you may view our one and only video (for the song 'Bell' off of 'Blondertongue Audiobaton' LP) with the help of realplayer or windows media. it features the ineluctable morgan andrews. enjoy!
http://www.launch.com/musicvideos/view/not_start/1,,158917~1057,00.html
Friday, March 09, 2001
Hey all--
i was just informed that the lockgroove/swirlies shows are a go!
April 19 in Philadelphia @ Khyber Pass
April 20 in NYC @ Brownies
**also, there is a possible show on April 21 in New Haven (@ Yale) w/ North of America
Did you all know that there is a place in Brooklyn located at the southern terminus of Flatbush Ave. (just before you cross the Marine Parkway Bridge) across from the entrance to Floyd Bennett Field. It's know these days as Dead Horse Bay---on account of the fact that it used to be THE spot to cart dead horses (and other such materials) in NYC all the way up to 1936. You can't find dead horses there now, but it's a good place to walk around and admire Jamaica Bay. And many fancy birds pass through there.
Thursday, March 08, 2001
we cordially invite you to the--
YES GIRLS show
Tuesday March 13 2001
8pm sharp is when we go on
@ Brownies
w/ three other bands assuredly less annoying than we
In other news, the long-awaited (by me) first sneaky flute empire compilation 'NEVAH HAVE I EVAH' will be mastered next weekend and sent off to press shortly thereafter. featuring songs and sounds recorded in staten island and also in areas that roughly resemble the outline of staten island. please be as excited as i am that this is finally coming to fruition.
Also, there is a distinct possibility of a late April swirlies/lockgroove show @ brownies, an also the potential for some kinda swirlies/yes girls amalgam travelling with the Canadian band NORTH OF AMERICA on their US/Canada tour in April/May. We'll tell you all about it if it happens!
PS: Damon was in a Lenscrafters advertisement! For the ladies.
Tuesday, February 13, 2001
now again you people
word around the isle is that a recent trip to PCNY resulted in the transfer to digital of all the little cassettes floating around in my rumpus room over the past year. one step closer to the consolidation of a messy mess into one pseudo-cohesive packet. prepare for the retelling of a dream thus far unparalleled in any mind, hawaiian style musik singing the praises of a secret island inhabited by the effluent of the bay area, and noxious fumes from many countries.
did you know that monk parakeets fly freely in many of our nation's largest cities?
Friday, January 26, 2001
now you people
i wish i could inform you of upcoming shows in the near future---but i cannot. however, with a little luck, the yes girls will perform on the staten island waterfront in february, powered by an automobile's cigarette lighter and planetary light. most likely location you axe? in some forgotten parcel along raritan bay i reply. this is serious business.
have you ever heard of centralia, pa? it is a town of very few, inhabited largely by smoke (via underground chains of fiery anthracite) and sinkholes. our next show will be here next to the big sinkhole. the following? next to ancient petroglyphs on the pacific coast. the following? underneath 'the rock' in the backyard of 7 strawberry lane, scituate, ma. the following? evening, the ruth gordon ampitheatre, off southern artery, quincy, ma.
that is all, except the 'staten island and beyond' comp is crawling slowly toward completion, and don't forget to stay alert for the radio play 'Buck Wild!' a/k/a 'the life and times of jack bucky', conceived of in oregon while listening to 'Unshackled!' in a rental car with ron rege present. Be-wary cause deer can chew and they eschew criticism.
XXXXX
Saturday, January 06, 2001
for you photo enthusiasts, here is a site with a few photos of some past Middle East swirlies show, solo Damon from 2000, and seana too:
http://dangpow.com/~ashland/irpg/swirlies.html
http://dangpow.com/~ashland/irpg/syrup.html
hey again,
that brownies date of 2/22 (swirlies/lockgroove) -- it ain't happening. and even worse, no Staten Island show either (although if you are looking for a funky good time on SI, go see Blackadelica every Friday night at 'The Real McCoy' (Bay St., across from the St. George Post Office)--it's free and totally SI-style!). we'll keep you up to date if a show does come down the pipe.
in other news, the bass-playing debut of the mad scientist tarquin katis (swirlies/Dec 30/Middle East) was deemed a success! thank you big T, and welcome to the extended family. big kisses.
Wednesday, December 20, 2000
Hey---
Enjoy yr new year>>>>it's looking good for a bit of a swirlies/lockgroove jaunt in mid/late-February--
we're talking nyc (Feb 22 @ Brownies possibly)/phila/boston/providence.
*Including* a show in a special bar on Staten Island (a close walk from the ferry)--a slim possibility, but one nonetheless.....
See you
Thursday, December 14, 2000
Just a reminder for all you Bostonians:
Skibber-Bee-Bye 'Happening'
w/ Yes Girls,Bumblebee, Seana Carmody, and many others
Fri 15 Dec 2000
At: INFRASOUND
7 Sherman St. #2 Sullivan Square Charlestown
on: 12/15
from: 8PM-Midnite
call Tom 628-.2583 for info or Sam 241.8201 if lost day of show
Wednesday, December 06, 2000
Hey Bostonians! Go to this thing:
***************************************************
SONGS & SOUNDS
will be made by CARTOONISTS and their PALS to CELEBRATE the recent
HIGHWATER BOOKS publication of RON
REGE JR'S new book: "SKIBBER~BEE~BYE"
Performers may include:
THE YES GIRLS
{Ron w/ Damon of swirlies}
TILTMASTER
{Darryl of Turkish Delight & Neptune}
JEF CZEKAJ
{of Anchormen & Hypertruck}
THE ROCK WICKED LONG COALITION AGAINST MELODY & STRUCTURE
{Jeremy of Cottin K's}
DJ SBRTX
{Ms. Omoe of Eloe Omoe}
PISS KARAOKE
{Jodi of Runway & Secret Stars}
BUMBLEBEE
{CF & Ben Jones of Paper Radio}
W.A.C. S.A.C.
{Matt of Fat Day}
SEANA CARMODY
{of Swirlies & Syrup USA}
It will happen at:
INFRASOUND
7 Sherman St. #2 Sullivan Square Charlestown
on: 12/15
from: 8PM-Midnite
call Tom 628-.2583 for info or Sam 241.8201 if lost day of show
directions:
CAR:
*Get yourself to Washington St. in Somerville heading towards Sullivan
Square
*Go under 93 (It's called Cambridge St. now)
*Keep to right & go under overpass
*Keep to left & go around rotary (Schafft's building will be on your
right)DON"T GO OVER THE BRIDGE!!
*Go almost all the way around rotary & go right on MAIN ST. There is no sign
that says Main street go right
before you go back under the highway, or turn right at the little
playground
*Sherman St. will be on your right.IF YOU GO OVER THE BRIDGE OR SEE A SIGN
THAT SAYS ENTERING SOMERVILLE YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!
FEET:
*Go to Sullivan Sq. stop on Orange line
* Go left out door and down ramp to street
* cross right underneath that highway overpass in front of you
*BE CAREFUL and cross Main St. onto sidewalk and go left.
*Right before the overpass meets the street you'll see SHERMAN ST on your
right
It looks like a big scary pile of broken down cars
*Go straight down Sherman You'll se a little brick shack w/ a big white
triangular building behind it
*walk on left side of big building and enter
*go upstairs to find INFRASOUND
*
PHEW!
Tuesday, December 05, 2000
WARNING!
The Yes Girls show on December 5 @ West End Bar has been cancelled!!! This is due to a number of confounding factors, the largest one being the loss of Damon's voice on account of a bad cold. Sorry!
Saturday, December 02, 2000
So chilluns, come to this show:
The Yes Girls
Tuesday Dec 5 circa 8pm
West End Bar
2911 Broadway
at: Between 113th and 114th Streets.
New York
10025
tel: (212) 662-8830 Call ahead to make sure it's still going on
DIRECTIONS:
1, 9 at 110th St.; 1, 9 at 116th St.
Wednesday, November 29, 2000
Two shows:
The Yes Girls w/ some funk bands
Dec. 5, 2000
Barnard College somewhere---
More details soon
and probably(but not yet definite):
Swirlies
Middle East Downstairs
w/ Luna
Dec. 30
See ya
Wednesday, November 22, 2000
You are cordially invited to:
The Yes Girls
December 5, 2000
somewhere in Columbia U.
More details soon----and you must wear red (at least some red).
Also, for those of you who hate/don't get the yes girls, but still like the other stuff, swirlies may be playing next month in Somerville, MA...more to come on that as well.
Bye
Saturday, November 18, 2000
Greetings:
Sadly, we won't be playing with Mew in NYC after all---it seems as though these plans have been shit-canned due to unknown (to me) but important reasons. Some day...
Our next swirlies show will most likely be in the early days of 2001, but the potential for a yes girls show in 2000 is fair to great. Check back in a week or so.
The new sfe compilation tentatively titled 'Staten Island and Beyond: Is this the push you need to enact saftey measures?' is nearing its final stages---available on cd in 2001.
Enjoy your tofurkey, hippies.
Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Hello folks,
If you would like to read a scathing dump on the debut Yes Girls record, go here.
Also, be reassured that the saga of Buck Wild! is long from dead. Much to the consternation of those around us. See you.
Sunday, November 12, 2000
Hello all---we should be having a show in December with the band Mew (from Denmark) in NYC. They are the group that the Yes Girls toured with overseas a few months ago. We will keep you updated as to when and where this will happen.
In other news, Damon is officially a resident of Hoboken, NJ as of last weekend! I think we will be replacing ostriches on future cover art with images of the Bayonne Bridge. Just so you are aware.....
Until later.
Friday, November 10, 2000
Welcome to the new Sneaky Flute News list! If you missed something you can still see the old news (May 31 through Sept 26, 2000).
