John (Jack) Clarke (1933 – 1991) and Charles (Charlie) Keil were recorded at least three times performing as “Skald/Song” in the mid 1980s, and we have located two of the tapes. Paul Kluger recorded the performance at Nietzsche’s in May 1984. It’s not known who recorded the performance at TheatreLoft in 1985, nor the additional musicians involved. We have not been able to locate a third recording, made at Central Park Grill on May 23, 1986. These recordings have imperfections, such as bleed-through and tape hiss, which couldn’t be eliminated. On the recordings, Charlie plays beaten string bass, hi hat cymbals, barrel drum, finger piano, oriental gongs, rattles, and piri. He’s the author of Urban Blues (U Chicago 1968) and Music Grooves (with S. Feldman, University of Chicago 1994) as well as other books. Jack’s books include The End of This Side (Black Book 1979), From Feathers to Iron (Tomboucto 1987),and In the Analogy (Shuffaloff 1997). Thanks, Charlie, Cass Clarke, Mike Boughn, Mike Basinski, Jim Maynard, the Poetry Collection/Rare Book Room at SUNY Buffalo, Jeff Davis, Paul Kuglar and the Analytical Psychology Society of Western New York for help locating tapes and seeing us through this.
Edited by Bruce Holsapple. Photo of Jack by Paula Satow. Copyright 2009 Charles Keil, the Estate of John Clarke and Vox Audio PO Box 594, Magdalena, NM 87825. Note that on Cut 40 Jack identifies a poem as “American Syntax Without A Sentence.” He later corrects himself. The poem is “At The Edge Of Night.”
Tracklist: John Clarke (1933-1991) and Charles Keil in Performance At Nietzsche’s, May 20, 1984 1. Paul Kugler, Introduction 2. Dismantling The Nominative 3. Step Onto The Monogenous Corner 4. The Church Of The Phenomenal 5. Neolithic Man Without A Fravarti 6. Completing The Circuit Of Circe 7. God, The Urgent Requisite 8. Aeonic Residue 9. Climbing The Statue Of Liberty Prior To Her Repair 10. Cut Nominative Crap 11. Relational Destiny 12. Keil, Excursion 13. The Seeds Of The Future 14. The Kouretes Reach The Bedchamber 15. The Bridge 16. Sirian Phallocentrism 17. Ground Zero 18. Xvarnah 19. Keil, Excursion 20. Ice Chips Dark 21. (H)areMan 22. The Man Who Looks At The World 23. Hesiodicity 24. The Calm Before The Storm 25. Dim All The Lights 26. The Rekindling Of The Planet 27. Love Is When One Frees 28. Beginning The Other Side
At TheatreLoft March 13, 1985
29. Dismantling The Nominative 30. Hotspur 31. Basking In The Beams Of Life And Love 32. Ground Zero 33. “I’ve Had Enough Of This Lunar Movement” 34. Keil, Excursion 35. Completing The Circuit Of Circe 36. Through Through Through (Take One) 37. Through Through Through (Take Two) 38. Through Through Through (Take Three) 39. The Furnace Of Ophelia 40. With Wide Open Eyes She Strides Forth To Adventure 41. The Torn Leaf 42. The Return Of Hecate 43. Although I Don’t Compete With Herman Melville 44. At The Edge Of Night 45. Beginning The Other Side 46. Maruts 47. Finished For My Friend 48. If This Be Heat 49. Through Through Through (Take Four) 50. Ice Chips Dark 51. Cut Nominative Crap
CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)