Matt Hartman Breaks Arm! Sic Alps Tour Cancelled!

SAN FRANCISCO-Late last week, Sic Alps Matt Hartman was involved in a bicycle mishap which resulted in him sustaining a broken arm. Rumors that he was rushing to meet friend's Jack (last name unknown) & Diane (likewise) to suck on some (tofu)chili dogs behind the Tempeh-Freeze remain unsubstantiated. Hartman is a known carnivore & there is a contention that if in fact he was speeding to meet vegetarians, it was the result of him being-in the words of Hemlock Tavern booking agent, Anthony Bedard-'a good guy'.
'Matt has a lot of friends' remarked Bedard, 'it's possible some of them don't eat meat. This is San Francisco after all, you have to expect that'.
Hartman & fellow band member Mike Donovan have decided in light of this untimely accident to cancel their upcoming May tour of US. Said tour is expected to now take place in July. Stay tuned to Siltblog for further details.

Sic Alps On Tour! New CD Out Too!

Hey, just quick plug for Sic Alps & Animal Disguise to let y'all know the band is about to embark on a US TOUR in support of their new cd on the aforementioned label entitled 'A Long Way Around To A Shortcut'. This collects all the band's (now entirely out of print) output to date, barring the work on 'Pleasures & Treasurers' (of course). So if you've missed out on any're all of of it, here's your chance to catch up. It is a jewel of a release, no long way around that! For ordering info, look below. In the meantime, get on down & check'em out LIVE!

04.25.08 SF, CA {@ Hemlock Tavern w/ Crash Normal, Mayyors}

04.26.08 DAVIS, CA {@ The DAM House w/ Crash Normal, Mayyors, Vampire Hands}

04.27.08 DRIVE DAY

04.28.08 DENVER, CO {@ the Rhinoceropolis w/ Happy Jawbone Family Band }

04.29.08 DRIVE DAY

04.30.08 IOWA CITY, IA {115 N. Dodge st. w/ Wet Hair, U.S. Girls, Coyote Blood}

05.1.08 MPLS, MN {@ The Hexagon Bar}

05.2.08 CHICAGO, IL {@ Empty Bottle w/ Tyvek, Mannequin Men}

05.3.08 CHICAGO, IL {@ Hotti Biscotti w/ Jason Soliday, Mykel Boyd, Druids of Huge}

05.4.08 URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, IL {@ Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center}

05.5.08 MEMPHIS,TN {@ Odessa}

05.6.08 BIRMINGHAM, AL {@ Bottletree Cafe}

05.7.08 ATLANTA, GA {@ Drunken Unicorn}

05.8.08 KNOXVILLE, TN {@ the Pilot Light w/ Fecal Japan, Brain Lesion}

05.9.08 PHILADELPHIA, PA {w/ Psychedelic Horseshit, Blues Control}

05.10.08 NYC {EARLY SHOW!!! (doors 7pm, 2 for 1 before 8pm) @ The Cake Shop w/ Religious Knives, Mark Morgan}

05.11.08 NYC (@ Union Pool w/ Golden Errors, Fakers)

05.12.08 BOSTON, MA {@ the Abbey w/ Heathen Shame, The Reports, The Black Clouds}

05.13.08 PITTSBURGH, PA {@ Garfield Artworks w/ Harangue, Centipede E'est}

05.14.08 CLEVELAND, OH {@ Pat's in the Flats w/ Nate Scheible & Matthew Wascovich Duo, Stephe DK}

05.15.08 COLUMBUS, OH {@ Bourbon St w/ Psychedelic Horseshit, CPC Gangbangs, The Feelers}

05.16.08 DETROIT, MI {@ UFO FACTORY w/ Midlife Vacation, Gardens (EARLY SHOW 8pm to 12 ALL AGES)}

05.17.08 CHICAGO, IL {WHPK Festival @ U of Chicago w/ Talibam!, Wolfden, Animal Law, Bird Names}

05.18.08 AIMES, IA {@ the Practice Space}

05.19.08 LAWRENCE, KS {@ The Jackpot Music Hall w/ Witch and Hare}

05.21.08 DENVER,CO. {@ Rhinoceropolis w/ Foot Village}

more information here:http://www.sicalps.com/

THANKS.--ANIMAL DISGUISE

P.O. BOX 2191

DEARBORN, MI48123 USA

info@animaldisguise.comhttp://www.animaldisguise.com/

No Animals Doing People Things.....Some Lp's (& a 10" & a 7") I heard In April

I was hopin to get a longer column together this weekend fors all you Blog readers but I done went & forgot yesterday was National Record Store Day. I'd been asked by the fella's what run the Record Exchange here in town to come & guest DJ for the afternoon, the only stipulation was 'make it original'. Comin from a couple've geeks what used to be in Strapping Fieldhands I wasn't necessarily sure what that meant, but I donned my Punsutawney Phil ballcap 'n sweatshirt, went down there & played Tony McPhee records till the cows come home. Seemed to be just the ticket. Course they couldn't pay me (cheap bastards) but I did get these here records & maybe you will too;



Car Commericals seem to feed 'n feast on a particular lost part of my youth, specifically the fuzzy grey area I encountered just after hearin Jad Fair's 'Zombies Of Mora-Tau' for the 1st time. Listenin to the 'Judy's Dust' lp it's as though them zombies which seemed so menacin & filled w/ petulance didn't wander too far from home but seemingly procreated & encouraged their spawn to go forth & if not conquer, well, at least be a nuisance to the status quo. Let's face it, zombie college is expensive but then what college ain't these days? Um, so.......yeah, Car Commercials come across on this 1st lp like charmed replicants w/exact DNA to match Jad's mythical zombo's of yore. True, this generation's 'disturbance' might seem mellower, but somethin tells me if you scratch a little harder there's a hornet's nest of dread under there that'll stand your hairs on end while your runnin for the hills. So go on, dig deeper. A case've the creeps can only do you some good. Check out www.geocities.com/leafleafrecords/ or www.cenotaph.org for ordering info.



And while's I'm on the subject of myths, the ellusive Billy Bao has hit for the vinyl cycle recently w/a lp, 10" & 7" all in the space of 6 months. I'll be goddamned if he ain't somethin of a modern day Matty Bower w/all that hoopla. But it ain't just the line formin to release work what's similar, to my ears Billy Bao's soundin somethin like a latter day Skullflower. There's also a bilge like fodderstomp that bring to mind Flipper or someone of that ilk too, 'cause on the 'Fuck Separation' 10" it feels like they meatballed Ted Falconi's guitar into a jackhammer & pulverized the Xaman lp into smithereens while the 'Accumulation' 7" hoists 'Brainwash' onto a petard, detonating it into a billion sub atomic particles that seem so toxic, you'd swear the air was filled w/a sinister amphetamine powder. Guess what? It isn't. Both of these most likely available from; http://www.s-srecords.com/ or if your just lookin for the 'Accumulation' 7" try; xeroxmusik@gmail.com





I have seen some of the best minds of my generation get downright dippy when they talk about this new lp by Hospitals entitled Hairdryer Peace. That said, some of these yappers would also say 'no' to a Kobi beef burger or Porterhouse steak cause they is scared of meat while others have confided they could eat nothin but confit of duck everyday for the rest of their life. So the lines is drawn. Which side is you on? All's I know is that this here lp ain't nothin like the previous 3 outings what bore the name Hospitals. Personally I think Mr Stonehouse's time in Sic Alps (or at least what he took from the Pleasures & Treasures lp) made an outstanding impression. The punk yap that always felt so unfocused (or raucous for the sake of raucousness, aka 'break shit & be somebody') has been given the boot on Hairdryer Peace. There's a trebly high end fuzz encircling this like an anxious halo which led me to suspect that it was more a solo work than a band effort. And I was sort've right, but I was also wrong at the same time. Two of the participants said they could hear no discernable contributions on their part, even though they agreed they was on there. The final verdict was that Mr. Stonehouse made this lp a personal catharsis & while there exist's a skeletal framework of how the album started, what come out in the finish was a completely different animal. Way too many folks nowadays set out to make (what they think is) weird lp's the results of which are almost always terrible, dilletantish, ego driven affairs. Intending to use classic outsiders like 'Oar' or 'Twin Infinitives' as template's for your masterpiece in the making might seem like a good idea, but in the immortal words of Tony Baretta, 'Don't do it'. Take your 4 track down to the pawn shop, sell it & invest that money in a good lawn mower. I'm not kidding (you can thank me later). However, what if someone unintentionally fused the two works together, ventral & dorsal like, creating an awkward yet remarkably unique vertebrae of sound? You don't have to be Julian Cope (10 years from now) to know that's what's happened on Hairdryer Peace. It don't exactly sound like neither, yet I see both them apparition's drivin this buggy just as clear as day. As far as best of list's go, the year's still young but if your askin me about singular & detached, hell, the 'competiton' is but a cloud of dust in Stonehouse's rear view mirror. Give that man a beer. Or at least a hug. Reach out to http://www.hairdryerpeace.com/ & procure a copy.


'The Howling', release numero deux by Jerusalem & The Starbaskets, sees the erstwhile duo of Kim & Jeremy embarking on a journey out of the virtual port of Christchurch into a pastiche of many seas & shores, none of which seem to have either onset or offset along their coastlines. Nor do I see any nuns flying overhead though there is the occasional flutter of the sails that might betray the lonliest sailor to pine otherwise. One might conjure that somewhere in the horse latitudes between this & that 1st split lp, JAtsB misread their sextant. For some that can be fatal, but these guys came out of it okay I reckon. Sure there appears to be a Magnum force drivin the ship that I'd hoped wouldn't happen but at least it weren't no mutiny where they was turned into slavery as a White Stripes derivation. Thank heavens! Cherish the good, cherish the good. So with that sentiment in mind, if these two wanna cavort w/a collective of elephants, who am I to question? I should say I really dug the last track on side A which sounded like they splayed Tommy James & The Shondells 'Draggin The Line' & used it for catfish chum in the Big Muddy. 300 pressed, get it via www.myspace.com/jerusalemandthestarbasket

If You've Got Nothing Nice To Say, Well, What Else Is New?.....Some Readers Speaketh!

Lot's of folks been writin in complainin about the lack of post's & offerin up their 2 cents. Normally I'd take it in stride but they's got a point about the truancy of my opinionatin. So I figured I'd turn over the spotlight to some of the one's that seemed most....concerned. Nice to know I got such vociferous readership & I'll admit it's a relief that none of'em is within hatchet distance either. And I mean that literally. I'd hate to have to show'em up w/my backwoods prowess. You ain't gonna get many smartass letters wrote w/yr head chopped off is all's I got to say in my defense. But I ain't nothin if not democratic, so's I'll turn the forum-such as it is-over to the huddled masses. Read'em & weep!




Dear Siltblog-
I have been a loyal reader of your blog as well as a longtime supporter of the Siltbreeze label but sometimes I have to wonder about some of your executive decisions. No, I'm not talking about the Resineators cd (though an explanation of that WOULD be appreciative), but whose idea was it to have your blog controlled by such a narrowminded jackass as Roland Woodbe? Is he really an idiot or does he just play on for this blog? I don't mean to get personal, but I (for one) am getting tired of seeing my borough-Brooklyn- get trashed on such a continual basis. Let's not forget, the New York Times penned Philadephia as the 6th borough not so long ago. Maybe Mr. Woodbe was too busy sucking off a goat to notice that one. I think it's criminal that Siltblog has never made mention of the amazing Religious Knives who are far & away the best band in the area. But I guess rising from the ghetto of new weird america doesn't count. Too band for you guys as you are missing out on a unique assemblage of sounds that access classic NYC minimalist's (Conrad,Niblock), vintage Krautrock (Cluster, Harmonia) as well as some of the veritable keyboard driven South Island artists you all seem so giddy about (Scorched Earth Policy, Snapper). Their most recent release is even recorded in Philadelphia, at Big Jar Books. Oh, I get it, you probably don't read books. Well, this isn't a book asshole's, it is a fucking AMAZING cd & I'd bet almost anything that neither of you were in attendance because, who knows, there was probably paint drying somewhere in town that you had to inhale. Get over yourselves! Listen to Religious Knives, I think you'll like what you hear. And you'd come to the hard conclusion that not everyone in Brooklyn is clueless & full of shit. Like you!

Sephora Nash-Bensen, Brooklyn, NY (Religious Knives cd via; http://www.archivecd.com/)


Hey Woodbe-

I likeded it when that guy called you a hillbilly ratfuck. Cause u r 1 duuude. Who else would completely miss the boat on such an amazing 7" ep like the one by Mayyors that just came out? What's the matter, you didn't get one for free, you cheap toothless snakeshit! Man, I'm hear to tell your retard ass Mayyors is takin over. My boy Chris Woodhouse OWNS on this one. Forget what you don't know about Karate Party & everything else he's been involved in, this one is the massive donkey punch that kills the lights & the fun. Front-bro John Pritchard ain't no slouch either (that's your job), these 2 Sactofornicators fuckin shred it w/all sorts of effects & shit, sounds like the Pop Group & Killing Joke beating each other with lacrosse sticks inside the engine of a 747. But what the fuck do you know about partying? Tell Psychedelic Dogshit they can suk a dikkk. Sacto punx rules, Siltblog drools!
PS-thanks for the tip on Titmachine. Those girls r HOTTTT.

Conner Peterson, Kirkyville, CA (Mayyors 'Marine Dot Com' 7" via; http://www.s-srecords.com/)



Hallo-

Many welcomes from Sweden where some of us love the writings or musings for Roland Woodbe. Not so much to read about on us from Siltblog, we can hope that new 7" by Black Bug will make this okay. If you do not know, Black Bug is dangerous & dark 2 piece of Lily & Ruslav playing very LOUD guitarr, drums & synthesizers. Also singing, who can forget! Lily is most intense vocalist but is also with dark humors I think. 'I Don't Like You' is fantastic loud punker but 'You A Grave' is death dancefloor hit of 2008. For me, is darkest, funniest song from Sweden since Leather Nun's 'Slow Death'. I am not for saying anything negative about Brainbombs who are of course legends, but is hard to know now how important the 'No Rules' ep was when it was unleashed so long ago. Black Bug have same blood pouring through veins & for only 2 people, you can be amazed how menacing sound can be. Funny, is available from Italian label who only to make 250 copies. I think is criminal, so hurry to get one. Keep up best works.

Gottfried Einar, Malmoe, Sweden (available via; www.myspace.com/avantrecords)


S'up Siltbuggy-

Hey, why so lame? There for a while you were like the best thing to read on the internet but what happened, you start takin that shitgaze shit seriously? I really wanted to read what you had to say about the new Eat Skull cause I hear Siltbreeze is putting out the lp (I'm personal friends with Rob, the main punk of the band). I remember some sadassballsac writing you a letter or something about the 7" on Meds. I couldn't tell if he liked it or not, but I'll assume it was a good review. Not that it matters a fuck to me. Eat Skull are the BEST! I like Little Claw alot too, but it's like comparing weed & hash, you know? Just depends on where your head's at. Mine is way up Eat Skull's ass, especially after this great 7" ep on Skulltones you seem to know NOTHING about. Dude, you are so missing out. 'Dead Families' is only the ravest tune yet this yr & while I love the bleating organ fills that sounds like a monkey's stuck dying inside it, that bass bridge is just too cool. And who the fuck does a Psycho Sin cover in 2008? And kills it? Take a wild guess you east coast turd gobbler. If anybody could be counted on to nail a cover of the Nubs classic 'Job', Eat Skull get my vote. The last track on here is really amazing, reminded me like that tune 'Whiter Shade Of Pale' that my dad used to listen to after he fired up a bowl in our basement when I was a kid, except this version sounds like someone ripped out the dude from Procol Harum's vocal chords, dredged them in cocaine, fried them up & fed them to Rob after him & Rod had polished off a case of beers. And he would have eatin them too, cause NOBODY embodies the true PUNK spirit like Rob Enbom. Fuckin 'ay. I know that lp is going to rule, so don't fuck it up or I will hunt you down & roast your fat carcass over a spit. EAT SKULL + PDX 4EVER.

Tammi Tearduct, Portland, Or (sold out at source, try http://www.midheaven.com/)