"IT'S A DAMN OPUS, AND I DON"T HAVE TIME FOR THIS." - Ms. Bel Flotto ...................
As Chief Dietician for HipBone, my 1996 menu usually offered drive-thru McDonald's, Parmalat milk or Milwaukee's Best in cans, corn curls, and beef jerky. We, usually & collectively, went with the swineburgers. I am almost certain that this cud-knawin' power-improvisation shortly followed such Bacchanalia. . . . HipBone was in its third year as a wayfaring and sometimes vituperous power-trio; trying to figure out what kind of band we were (because people would ask), what to do next (rather, which of the 10 new songs since last month NOT to play), how to best record ourselves using a cassette 4-track, and why we were still batting away like Hank Aaron at near-absolute indifference in the 2nd largest city in New England. . . . Prior to recording some demoes and unbeknownst to Rev. Keith and I, our recordist/bassist, Peter Zolli, rolled tape on this straight jam . . . . Everything is as real and heartfelt as Dick Cheney's sneer . . . . Listen for nods to 'Within You Without You', Rachmananov, Wetton-era King Crimson, Henry Mancini's 'Pink Panther Theme', and 50's sci-fi soundtrack music . . . . At this time in my life, I was quite divorced, making decent salary writing curriculum for dangerous people, residing in a self-built residence /rehearsal space/painting studio in a Fitchburg, Massachusetts WWII-era ex-munitions factory, and making art in four dimensions . . . . Life was really EDGY for me, beer, tobacco and non-perishable foods were staples, and I was, for the first time in my 37 years, totally and completely free to do anything I imagined with my life, and was indulging, perhaps a bit headily, down that very steep trajectory . . . . This is a slice of that time. . . .I'm playing the one and only (thanks Pete) BARSTOOL-O-CASTER, a one of a kind brute cobbled together by a NYC fringe-luthier named 'Gino'. It's got an actual maple barstool (legs sawn-off) body, Mosrite neck, Grover tuners, 70's Telecaster pickups and electronics--through a Digitech pedalboard, a Whammy II, and my trusty DOD analogue delay. Peter's playing 5-string fuzz-bass (a la Soft Machine), and Reverend Keith Prescott is being doing the resident Drumbo-cum-Bruford thing he excelled at . . . . I hope your ears and mind-bones like this. TRY LOUD WITH SOME HEADPHONES!
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It was very good, I have liked a lot. Thanks for sharing! As you said, you and your friends did this on a regular basis. Any other recordings has survived? Would be nice to hear!
zahy,
heck yes! there are TENS of hours of live and studio recordings by HipBone. We endeavored to document every utterance and have nearly the whole evolution on tape.
bret