Doug Carroll – electric cello | Drew Gardner – drums | Tony Passarell – sop/tenor/bari saxes, pocket trumpet | Rent Romus – alto/soprano saxes, voice
Recorded live at the Hotel Utah SF, CA 11/7/1995. Artwork by C.J. Reaven Borosque. Front cover by Psiman. Layout by Gert Rude Music Marketing. Recorded live to DAT by Doug Carroll. Mastering by Scott Looney. All compositions by Guniea Pig.
Tracklist: 1. Dark Highway [13:15] 2. Hitchcockville [12:50] 3. Red Leather Lounge [6:57] 4. The Communique [4:09] 5. Out of Town [12:48]
This rare recording thought to be lost
was presented live from the Hotel Utah in San Francisco. The group was specifically formed for this performance presented by the late great Dark Circle Lounge Series in the mid ninties. Now the band has reformed and is armed and dangerous with their first release, Out of Town, mixing free form noise, jazz, and grunge funk beats.
This is the legend of a certain red sofa
in a certain red lounge, at a certain red hotel, which had the curious tendency to emit a ringing sound whenever a person sat on it.
One night a sax player with salt and pepper hair, tired from a very long drive on the highway, sat down on the sofa and was pleasantly charmed by its ringing noise. He pulled out his sax and accompanied the ringing noise, standing up and sitting down to make sure the couch was properly prompted to ring at the right moments. People of all ages gathered around to listen to this unique sound. They invited others from the midnight street to come and listen. The salt and pepper man couldn’t stop playing, for the beautiful ringing enchanted him so.
The very next day, people woke up to frantic knocking on their doors. “Come! Come quickly to the hotel!” the strangers cried out. “Come listen to the sax-man and his sofa band!” Soon, the little lounge was full. People stood outside the open rear windows just to hear the sax player and his ringing couch. Even the birds flew down to listen.
The sax player still didn’t stop, for he felt no hunger, no thirst, and no sleepiness. All his needs were satiated by this saxual release. He played on through breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And as the evening passed, a drummer, cellist, and trumpet player joined him. The audience danced as much as their limbs were able in such a tight space. Some looney called out “Sax man! Louder!” The evening’s music rose to a climax.
Suddenly, there was a loud ringing that crashed against the music. It turned out to be the hotel’s phone. As soon as the musicians heard it, they stopped playing. The people stopped dancing and stood there, breathless. The phone’s ringing continued. Someone shouted to no one in particular, “Answer that damn phone!” So, the sax player put down his horn and answered it. It was for him. A nearby record company heard about the commotion and wanted him to sign a recording contract. All the musicians, overjoyed with their new future, left that certain red building with the certain red lounge and its certain red couch. Immediately, a small boy tried to sit on the couch. The couch didn’t ring. He tried sitting again and others tried with him. The couch most certainly would not ring. Ever since the salt and pepper man went out of town, the couch has stopped its ringing. But there is no reason to think this is the last time we will ever hear a couch express itself musically. For when we jpnsider all the certain hotels and a all of their certain lounges with all of the certain couches, we must remember: all the world is an uncertain place. – Ezra Barany and Beth Dora Reisberg
…consciously toys with boundaries, defining them and then post-haste ripping them to shreds…percolating grooves: from a cool, jaunty strut to heavy, sweaty funk. – Nils Jacobsen, All About Jazz
The results are somewhere between Coltrane’s Village Vanguard live recordings … and, um, freaky deaky free jazz…This stuff blazes a hot trail in the night. – J. Worely Aiding & Abetting
This Rent guy is a character & he’s one helluva reed player! – Rotcod Zzaj
CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)