Dan Clucas | Mark Weaver | Dave Wayne | Hotend | Do Tell play the music of Julius Hemphill | Amirani Records

Julius Hemphill’s music is about digging under the facts, pulling out the stops, revealing the insides, telling the truth. His groove-oriented pieces (Steppin’, The Hard Blues, Otis Groove) seem to be a function of his having internalized the essence of the blues, so that the feeling, the ache of that music, is imbedded in the soul of these songs. Contrarily, his more compositional side is less about rhythm and more about sound, timbre, and tone. But always, his compositions value improvisation; even his most thoroughly notated works call for the musicians to collectively improvise within the parameters of that piece and there again lies the spirit of the blues in Julius Hemphill’s music, which is perhaps the most revealing truth of all. Continue reading

Mark Weber | Precarious | Zerx

“One great record if I do say so myself. Everything’s coming up roses. You got Ken Keppler on here, and Jeanie, and Mark Weaver’s nocturnal tuba, and Lisa Polisar’s clandestine flute, and Courtney Smith’s nautical harp, and Alicia Ultan’s eternal viola (we love you Alicia), and Stefan Dill’s auto transported flamenco guitar, AND AND AND ! Janet Feder (!) and her prepared & sautéed guitar.” — Mark weber (guitar & vocals & all songs & text & linocut) Continue reading

The Bubbadinos | The Band Only A Mother Could Love | Zerx

“As it sez right there on the slip cover, Ultra Americana Deluxe. And may I just add to that, here and right now, that these here Bubbadinos continue to explore the EXTREMELY alt. Western kinda canyons even Johnny Dowd merely peers down every now and then… provide more than their fair share of Uneasy Listening Pleasure… Turn it on, tune in, drop far out.” — Gary “Pig” Gold, In Music We Trust, March 2003 Continue reading

The Bubbadinos | Yup, We’re Beating A Dead Horse | Zerx

As much as Bubba D loved playing the tracking sessions Dino loved the mixing sessions with the post crew DQW (dino/quincy/weber). When we finally dug into the studio “concept album” (#4- yup, we’re beating a dead horse/the sargent bubbadino sessions), we used George Martin’s book (with a little help from my friends), about the making of Revolver/Sgt. Pepper’s/Magical Mystery Tour, as the script for the entire project.– J.A. Deane Continue reading