More info at
www.regimechangemusic.com

Here is Mathew Clark soaking up all the reptile vibes.

Interview
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Audio Collage
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As a quartet the Skeletons are just as striking and impressive, albeit with a more succinct and direct presentation. The excellence of their musicianship shines through and four distinct voices are heard. The band's love for R & B, free jazz, ethnic jams, and noise all comes together in the structure of a pop song. This idea sounds ridiculous but it works for the Skeletons and gives them a sound unlike anyone else, unstuck, free and forward moving. Inviting the "Skeletons" for a day in our studio resulted in some serious jams being captured in our studio and a chance to sit down them them in a meadow and contemplate their music.

The tracks laid down out at Monkeyclaus are frantic, kaleidoscopic, driving, and jangly. They are comprised of staccato stereo guitars, diminished jazz chords, Mingus-esque bass throbbing, kraut-ish drums, chutes and ladders, head bobbing euphoria, an awesomely trashy cymbal, oiled gears meshing, free horn howling, and stream of consciousness vocal meanderings. This is lanky rock, the sped up lullaby, some spastic elastic, controlled experimentalism, raging full on, channeling Beefhart, mocking the ice cream man in Brooklyn, dancing with "the Dead", and boarding Sun Ra's starship through the escape hatch.

Please explore and enjoy our presentation of the "Skeletons and Kings of All Cities Monkeysession". You will find the whole unedited interview from the back field, an NPR styled audio collage with a blend of studio tracks, interview and some ambient soundtrack augmentation, sourced from an analog recording of the Skeletons show in Charlottesville the night prior to the session. Also listen to one fresh new "Skeletons" song which is so fresh that it is raw and that it is fresher than the fresh new jams on their fresh new album Lucas. The new "Skeletons" record "Lucas" is now available from Ghostly/Shinkoyo Records, and it is damn good. Stay tuned and spread the word.

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visit some audio visual skeletons madness from their website!!!

Studio Recordings Engineered by Abel Okugawa

Words and interview by Matthew Clark

Audio Collage by Abel Okugawa and Matthew Clark

Music all by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities

Live at Starr Hill
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Kuti's political ferocity is what makes his story so compelling: every
horn riff was a fist, every drumroll a protest march, and every record
an amicus curiae brief -- "Coffin For Head Of State," for example, was
written for Kuti's late mother, who died after being thrown out a
window when the Nigerian government attacked his studio. On every
record, his ghost looms large enough to swallow you whole. Antibalas
has some enormous shoes to fill here.

They don't have quite as epic a biography yet, but their April 5th
performance at Starr Hill in Charlottesville, Virginia was spirited
enough to fool you into thinking otherwise. Following a fantastic
introduction driven by guitar and delay effects, Amayo catapulted
himself onto the stage, dreadlocks flailing all about like dancing
Koosh tendrils, and miraculously managed to subordinate the backline
of ten talented musicians that had seemed so captivating just moments
before.

But the most fascinating part of the show was the audience, which was
surprisingly receptive to Afrobeat despite being, like the band,
mostly white. At the risk of turning Afrobeat into the new reggae --
that is, the soundtrack to Sunday afternoons at the frat house, chosen
by people who don't actually care enough to learn about its history --
at least they were there, and at least they were paying attention: the
Antibalas merch table gives as much real estate to activist flyers and
anti-war bumper stickers as it does to the newest album, which bears
the tongue-in-cheek title "Security." That's a lesson in either
sarcasm or social responsibility, or perhaps both.

Admittedly, it sometimes seems a little ridiculous for Antibalas to be
taking aim at the West from within -- but then again, it's hard to
ascribe a sense of urgency to anything while reclining in a La-Z-Boy
and nursing a Coke With Lemon. Nevertheless, "Security" suspends
disbelief for eleven staggeringly effective minutes with the
blistering "Filibuster X," a compelling argument for progressive
politics which impales the Republican party on a deceptively playful
call-and-response chorus. The audience absolutely ate it up.
"There's no shortage of material," sighed baritone sax player Martin
Perna between songs, "But hopefully one day we'll run out of things to
talk about."

One can only hope. In the meantime, though, Antibalas might help it
go down a little smoother. As depressingly backwards as this society
can be, and as integral as that realization is to the Antibalas
identity, there are times during the show when it's very hard not to
smile. It's not Fela, but this is as good as it gets on this side of
the Third World divide.

For more on Antibalas visit Anti.com or their myspace page.

Contributed by Vijith Assar

And if you have not seen their mention on a Billboard Interview with Les Claypool at SXSW. Check it our here

art by nico and photo by konstantin sergeyev

The Casa de Chihuahua is an upscale bed and breakfast in Chihuahua Mexico. Ironically, it's also the name of the New York City / Nelson County, Virginia "street-grass" kingpins and queen. The band plays bluegrass music soaked in a punk aesthetic, and affected by urban surroundings. "The Chihuahuas" as we affectionately call them, conjure an earnest and cohesive sound from divergent places, the squats of New York and the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. Their live shows have become legendary whether it be as busking or on a stage. They have a certain captivating charisma and charm that won't allow folks to ignore them.

The Chihuahuas are now heading out on tour, in Monkeyclaus' Dirty Bird, a 1964 diesel full size bus. The Dirty Bird was the noble chariot of Virginia's Hackensaw Boys for many years and many thousands of miles, and has been passed along to Monkeyclaus and then lent out to the Casa de Chihuahua for their current adventure. A whole novel could be written about the saga of this bus alone, which after years of inactivity has been brought back to life by band manager "Ray Ray" and family / friend "Bones". The tour will take them from Brooklyn, through Virginia, and to points south until they reach the SXSW festival and leave their mark. Highlight's of the tour will include a gig at legendary dive-bar, the Abbey, in New Orleans (where the booze supposedly never stopped flowing throughout the whole Katrina fiasco) and a huge gig with close friends Leftover Crack in South Carolina, and of course the SXSW madness.

Check out a video Ray Ray made of the Chihuahua's kicking up dirt behind the studio.

The reason, I proclaim the Chihuahuas to be considered dangerous, is that they are a wild wrecking crew, who tear through cases of PBR like rabid dogs. They proclaim this to be their "Virginia Jihad" tour, a name appropriated from close friend and album collaborator Bobby St. Ours. There is danger also in their intensity and lack of pretension. Watch out SXSW. Music this passionate and real can hardly be contained. The Chihuahua's could really give a sh*t about the record business and corporate America itself who they proclaim to be a "reckless cunt." Whoa! Did i mention that they are also really sweet and endearing. You can't write tunes this sweet without a heart of gold.

In their own words the band explains themselves thusly, "Casa De Chihuahua was born in a heat lightning filled blizzard on 2/11/06 at Rockstarbar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The Blownout Boot Boys were supposed to play but Piggy got lost on the L train and Nico showed up out of nowwhere and joined the band. The name had to change cuz she's not a boy at all. Didn't had boots neither and they were'nt blown out. The band plays lots of quote unquote "gigs" and makes persons dance. They sing about trains and apocolypses or apocolypsi or whatever and enjoy taking long walks on the beach, going to the theatre, and f*cking."

The band includes, Nico Ramirez: washboard and vocals, Morgan O'Kane: banjo and vocals, Raphael Wintersberger: acccordian, dobro and vocals, Piggy: washtub bass, howls, and percussion, Zack Orion: vocals, guitar, harmonica, suitcase and tambourine and Bobby St. Ours lent his talents to the record on fiddle and vocals. For the current tour and beyond, the band is now joined by Jay Ridgley on drums for a fuller sound. Their album is called "Amat Victoria Curam" which translates to "victory favors those who take pains". They recorded at Monkeyclaus this past autumn. In the words of Nico, "We spent 4 days in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, located in beautiful Nelson County, Virginia...Many of us would say that the days spent there were amongst the best in our lives; the ones who say otherwise are probably lying for various reasons. What can be agreed upon is that we poured our souls into this one." Yet, another recording that has made the monkey's breast swell with pride.

TOURDATES

March 2nd @ Trash Bar in Brooklyn

March 3rd @ Starr Hill in Charlottesville, VA w/ Holy Bear and Accordion Death Squad

March 5th @ Gourmet Perk's in Asheville, NC

March 6th @ Ground Zero in Spartansburg, SC w/ Leftover Crack and Citizen Fish

March 9th @ The Abbey in New Orleans, LA

March 10th @ Dragon's Den in New Orleans, LA

March 16th @ SXSW Australian Cattle God Records Showcase in Austin, TX

March 17th @ SXSW TBA

March 31st @Starr Hill with Jim Waive and the Hackensaw Boys!

more dates coming soon....

Listen to:
from the Warehouse Next Door in Washington, D.C.

mp3

Listen to our exclusive interview with Zach Condon from that show.

mp3

This show had a very special feel to it, like being part of a rising phenomenon. Zach Condon - the 20 year-old who is Beirut by way of Greenpoint, Brooklyn by way of Albuquerque, New Mexico - certainly is a young, modern marvel. Innocence and worldliness combine to form a special place. Condon has managed to cause quite a stir recently in the American rock & roll underground. Condon takes his cue from traditional Romanian and Serbian music and blends it with influences such as Neutral Milk Hotel, The Magnetic Fields, and The Talking Heads and comes up with music and an atmosphere that is truly fantastic and moving. Beirut sounds simultaneously olden and completely fresh --how's that ? Zach Condon totally has it going on folks, that's how.

The most amazing thing about Beirut live is the displaying of the multi-instrumentalism. Each band member, it seemed, played at least three different instruments each. And Condon's voice, when he sang for each song, sounded starry and primary. Zach Condon just has an incredible voice that is very emotive.

The set featured the songs on "Gulag Orkestar" (Ba Da Bing Records, 2006).

Throughout the show, whenever the horn section went into action, the crowd freaked. When he performed "Postcards From Italy" and the horns kicked in,the whole crowd suddenly experienced a triumphant and victorious sensation that had the feeling of trophy-winning. During the encore of a couple of old Serbian folk songs, the crowd went all zany.

I am very excited about the possibilities of future Beirut recordings. This was one of the best and most exciting shows that I have ever seen. It was truly a moment.

Enjoy the following Interview and Live Set from August 23rd, 2006 at the Warehouse Next Door in Washington D.C..
Thank You: Ben Goldberg, Zach Condon, Jon Natchez, Amanda Colbenson.

Beirut Website

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