Here you can see a few photographs of how we started our recording using the Casio SK-1 for click tracks to lay down the foundation for the songs we will be developing. We used our AKG C-12VR Vacuum Tube Mic run into our Millenia Stt-1 for this signal path to Pro-Tools. We found this path gave us a great recording of the full range and realistic quality we wanted to capture coming out of the built in 2" Casio speaker. As soon as we have the Casio recorded, we then will use beat detective to make our grids. As soon as the grid is in place we can start adding all the cool guitars and basses we will be recording with. There will be an exciting list of guitars and amps used as the sessions continue.

Session Notes :

Tom Peloso : Recording Artist

Abel Okugawa : Engineer

Raphael Wintersberger : Engineer

First let's view the contrasts between this show and their last New York appearance. Last time was a free outdoor concert in a picturesque setting, staged on 7/7/07 at 7 pm with 77 drummers. It was essentially a sun worship ceremony which took place next to the river in Brooklyn, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The band was also in the center of a circle of mass-audience for that event. This time, four main Boredoms played onstage (attended by a very diligent guitar tuning technician) in a huge indoor venue, vaguely resembling a maximum security prison, on a quite regular, early Spring evening, with tickets priced at $30. Two towering levels of balcony, running 3 of the venues 4 walls, contributed to the prison feel and made the event seem almost futuristic as well. In both situations the Boredoms were completely in control of the vibe from the offset. In both situations the band was able to teleport the audience to other dimensions and tap into the primordial forces of the universe.

The beginning of the show at Terminal 5 had Yamataka Eye, wearing some sort of light bulb mittens and scatting glossolalia towards the roof of the venue while passing his glowing hands through the energy field of some insane modified theremin, which issued forth harsh and beautiful edgy tones. This was followed by some awesomely choppy drum punctuations, more yelling in some alien language, then crescendoed until Eye's special 7 necked guitar instrument, dubbed Sevena was introduced.

This custom instrument was similar to the one used in last summer's "drum orgy", but was actually made of one solid body, like 7 guitars melted together. It was an improvement on an amazing concept, which creates a mammoth and ethereal sound in various odd tunings. This "percussive guitar" is played with thick sticks or else various staffs of different weights and made of different materials. The previously mentioned tuning tech spent the whole night tuning and retuning these guitar necks all night while Eye beat the living hell out of them. It seemed a Sisyphusian task for which this bloke deserved props. By the end of the show, the instrument was in total disarray, after some heavy climaxes, which left many a string broken and flying in every which direction.

Eye's presence throughout the whole night was epic. He truly is channeling some heavy shit. At one point he did the "rock and roll thing" where he encouraged all in the room to do the overhead clap to a steady beat. It felt like one thousand poly-rhythms at once and I saw him smile a very curious smile. He beamed completely and his face morphed into that of the Buddha. I swear I saw him for about 5 seconds in an incarnation which was more than human. I was further impressed, at the end of the spectacle when i noticed him limping off stage in a foot-boot-cast. Hardcore! Eye, along with the rest of his crew, has tapped into some cosmic space. He seems to be a medium, a messenger. They all are. The Boredoms are deeply spiritual and have a particular affinity for Sun Worship. On this particular night, using their drums, voices, triggers, turntables, synths, percussive guitars, samplers, cowbells etc. as vehicles, they tapped into the night energies, exposed the beauty of dark matter, and reflected the natural element of the human, bouncing their sound vibes off the audience.

The drumming was the part which truly floored me. Compared to the drumming of the "77 BOA DRUM" performance, the beats were more ferocious and fleet-of-foot: unencumbered by the extra weight of the 74 mortals who helped them out last time. There was times where the three drum kits in unison where churning out beats which seemed to me impossible. How could three humans interact so precisely and soulfully with such complicated patterns of poly-rhythms. I found myself screaming the "F" word uncontrollably as a reaction to my disbelief, while dancing, twitching and shaking my head like I was possessed. The rhythms were incredibly danceable, certainly tribal, and often had no frame of reference. I would consider some passages of their two hour set to be "alien rhythms". Drummers, Yoshimi, Senju and Yojiro all deserve "superhuman performance awards" as well. In his 2004 article about the Boredoms in the Village Voice Jason Gross, with a scholarly approach, dissected the art and origins of Boredoms drumming, "At times, the result evokes Taiko drumming, marching bands, funk, Latin disco, or gamelan and West African drum ensembles: Many Japanese today embrace the religious idea of syncretism, where many different beliefs are accepted at once..." This statement from 4 years back is still relevant, but I feel that the drumming mastery has come even further since. There are more influences mixed in and greater intensity: more improbable beats which work to lube the mind and open the heart.

In this era of war and ecological crisis, it is important for shamanistic groups like the Boredoms to exist. Most people are thoroughly disillusioned with institutions. In this scenario, sacred musical events can and should act as bridges between the people and the higher powers. Meaningful ceremony in our culture has been replaced by the ceremony at the end of the reality TV show when one unfortunate contestant is sadly sent home. Artists and musicians are magicians and provide portals for the imagination. The Boredoms are the most adept at bridging this gap. They are now and have been considered hip. The fact that they are channeling spiritual potency legitimizes feelings which are often dismissed. Something is brewing in the Zeitgeist. I recently attended an underground music event in Brooklyn, with hundreds of folks in attendance, mostly college aged. The bands were of the metal, dance punk and avant garde ilks. Before the first band kicked off, we enjoyed a solid hour of Grateful Dead hits. In between each band that night was heavy dub reggae. Before the Boredoms was 30 minutes of Mbira (African Thumb Piano) music through the house PA. I feel something going on. I remember when the Grateful Dead was the kiss of death for cool kids. Ha ha ha ha!

words by Matthew Clark

thanks to Trent Wolbe for the photos...check out his Flickr and homepage for more....

for the nerds...
Boredoms U.S.A. • Spring 2008

* 15/Mar/2008 (Sat) : SAN DIEGO, CA Cane's
* 16/Mar/2008 (Sun) : LOS ANGELES, CA Henry Fonda
* 18/Mar/2008 (Tue) : SAN FRANCISCO, CA Fillmore - in the round
* 20/Mar/2008 (Thu) : PORTLAND, OR Crystal Ballroom
* 21/Mar/2008 (Fri) : SEATTLE, WA Neumos
* 25/Mar/2008 (Tue) : MINNEAPOLIS, MN First Avenue - in the round
* 26/Mar/2008 (Wed) : CHICAGO, IL Logan Square - in the round
* 29/Mar/2008 (Sat) : BOSTON, MA Paradise
* 30/Mar/2008 (Sun) : NEW YORK, NY Terminal 5 - in the round
* 02/Apr/2008 (Wed) : PHILADELPHIA, PA Starlight
* 03/Apr/2008 (Thu) : WASHINGTON, DC 9:30 Club

Interview
interview audio

Audio Collage
Audio collage audio
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Track1
Track1 audio

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.

Have you subscribed to our RSS feed? Maybe you'd like to? You can do this from our homepage!

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

John Olson handles electronics, tapes, and horns. Nate Young handles vocals, electronics, and programming. Mike Connelly handles guitar, electronics, metal, and vocals. Wolf Eyes hail from the Detroit, Michigan area.

Wolf Eyes played the Satellite Ballroom in Charlottesville, Virginia with John Wiese and with Grand Banks on October 11th, 2006. Included here are live photographs of the Wolf Eyes set. Wolf Eyes then headed out to Monkeyclaus en route to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wolf Eyes toured the Monkeyclaus Studio and were gracious in agreeing to a rural photo session. Those photographs are presented here as well. Monkeyclaus was super-honored to hang out with Wolf Eyes. Monkeyclaus believes in the power of Wolf Eyes and that they are certainly part of the modern art Zeitgeist of today.

Be sure to catch Wolf Eyes on their current tour and let them crush your skull. You just might learn something valuable.

Wolf Eyes

2006-10-13 Club Downunder Tallahassee FL
2006-10-14 Common Grounds Gainesville FL
2006-10-15 TSI Jacksonville FL
2006-10-16 Social, The Orlando FL
2006-10-17 Bottletree Birmingham AL
2006-10-18 Lamars Restaurant and Lounge Chattanooga TN
2006-10-19 Mecca Lexington KY
2006-10-20 Southgate House Newport KY
2006-10-21 Little Brothers Columbus OH
2006-10-22 Grog Shop Cleveland Heights OH
2006-11-02 Dionysius Dance Club at Oberlin Oberlin OH
2006-11-03 Cactus Bar Milwaukee WI
2006-11-04 7th St Entry Minneapolis MN
2006-11-06 Loft, The Missoula MT
2006-11-08 Pats Pub Vancouver BC, Canada
2006-11-09 Crocodile Cafe Seattle WA
2006-11-10 Rusty Nail (basement of Copeland Hall) Portland OR
2006-11-11 Bottom of the Hill San Francisco CA
2006-11-13 Echo Los Angeles CA
2006-11-14 Casbah, The San Diego CA

Keep in mind that although the SDK was released in early March, the iPhone still is not an open platform for custom applications like this one. When that happens -- the current timetable has it happening in June -- it's going to be madness.

USAisaMonster - Monkey Session Audio
USAisaMonster Audio

Kites - Monkey Session Audio
Kites Audio

Download this podcast:

www.monkeyclaus.org/cms/pdsFiles/rss133361.xml

As a two piece band Usaisamonster boggles the mind with their overly ambitious amout of gear and how they integrate these tools into their rock. Drummer Thom Hohman sings thru his (Time/Life Books infomercial) operator style head set mic, while playing a Moog taurus foot pedal with his left foot, nimbly adding sporadic keyboard lines with his right hand (on the remaining keys not yet shattered to bits) , and deftly pounding out brutal beats. In the track we captured here at Monkeyclaus he also shows his skills with the african thumb piano. Guitarist Colin Matthews rocks an array of pedals thru a huge stack of amps supplying the bass register as well as the soaring guitar leads. Bouncing around like an yeti under the influence, Colin's guitar work varies from stoner rock riffs to delicate repetitive African inspired grooves. He is truly one of the more important lead axe men of this new century.

Due to time restraints the Monster was able only to lay down one 10 minute track, a jam with Kites and gave us an insightful interview covering topics ranging from the Iraq war to the struggle of the Native Americans to the magical powers of nature spirits. Monkeyclaus also shot video of the entire session and made a three part feature DVD documenting the session. The video also includes audio of a live version of their Bulgarian folk song recorded by Monkeyclaus the night before. The session overall is a fantastic portal into the weird and engaging world of these punk nomads in action...ENJOY

As part of the same session Kites treated us to a diabolically gorgeous dose of noise. Christopher can whip up a maelstom with the best of them. His wizardly approach and vast configuration of foot pedals create a signal chain tapping into time and space. As in his live set the previous nite he set the mood with an oscillator, giving a familar reference of moogish tones to henceforth begin deconstruction. With devices such as the "Kites Beast" and a homemade "King Tubby style" electronic handshaker Kites began a focused assault that was both calculated and well executed. Tired of everyone thinking they can be a noiseband? And delivering noise wonk? Stacking his three amps like a crucifix, Kites will school all amatuers!

If you have never seen .xml before, you will love it.Trust us .xml is the future. monkeyclaus loves .xml. If you click on the link rather than follow the instructions below you might see garble de goop depending on which browser your using. What are Podcasts

Monkeycasts/Podcasts
We like the name monkeycasts better than podcasts. After all it is distributed by monkeys for monkeys. The easy way to get these monkeycasts is to download the latest version of iTunes on your mac or your pc. Follow these directions to download our monkeycasts.

1. Launch iTunes on your computer. (iTunes needs be version 4.9 or greater.)
2. Click on the Advanced button at the top of the iTunes menu bar.
3. Choose subscribe to pod-cast under the advanced tab.
4. Paste the podcast link above .xml into the advanced window...
5. Watch the link appear in the podcast section of iTunes.
6. Click ' get ' to start downloading each of the mp3s to your computer.
7. Enjoy and check back regularly for more podcasts.

*You dont need iTunes, we just say that because it is easy and most folks have it