some (slightly altered) excerpts from
The "Official" Wafer Face Record booklet
+ some updates
These notes are far from a complete copy of the booklet. Time, resources, & energy don't permit such an undertaking. Thus the "Some Social Philosophy" section is missing - as are complete scores & contributions from other band members. These aren't EXCLUDED as censorship, they're simply unavailable as electronic files & I haven't gotten around to retyping them &/or haven't current access to a scanner, etc..
Official History
The "Official" Project was cofounded in April, 1990EV by Neil Feather & myself, tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, as a sound-producing group. We were soon joined by Brian Wolle & Courtney McCullough to form the quartet that premiered publically on May 5th. Brian dropped out after this 1st uncert & the band expanded to a quintet by including Jake T. Unclean & Laura A. Trueseal. After 7 months of substantial activity, the quintet took a vacation for 5 months w/ the majority of the activity originating from the cofounding duo. The Widémouth tapes entitled Official May 5th, 1990(ev), 31st St. Between Barclay & Greenmount Block Party Combo; Official June 23, 1990ev, Patapsco Park, McKeldin Area, Paul & Cindy's Wedding Trio; Official July 10, 1990ev, Punch Night at the B Uhouse Trio; & Official Business - 6 Months of +/- 37 Public CAMUs are from this period.
In June of 1991EV the "Official" Project changed again by having Laura drop out & by having 16 new players join - thusly becoming the "Big Band". This configuration stabilized into a unit of 15 &, after 2 months of practice (during 1 of wch a sequence for the "Beach Party" cable tv show was shot), made the recording that the 1st side of the "Official" Wafer Face Record is from. The tape entitled Official Tweedle Dum-Dee-Dee-Dum is culled from these practices. Another vacation for the majority of the project participants occurred while the cofounders & "Big Band" member John Berndt concentrated on a trio uncert for the end of August. the Official August 23rd, 1991E.V. Bughouse Apex Roto Zither Auxillary is from this uncert.
The big band resumed practices in September w/ a reduced memebership of 12. 2 gigs were planned: 1 at an elementary school & 1 at a prison. Both of these were cancelled by people connected w/ these institutions & , after 5 months of this 'Big Band' w/o any gigs, morale was low. It was during this era that the Official October 18th, 1991E.V. Vermin Supreme for Mayor Sound Assault Committee / the Official October 20th, 1991E.V. Vermin Supreme Campaign Managers tape was recorded. Finally, we presented ourselves to an audience of 70 or more in the warehouse where we practiced, on Friday, December the 13th, 1991EV.
During the next few months an A Capella smaller group was formed to experiment w/ the ordinarily instrumentally 'performed' material. The 1st side of the 2 Duets tape was recorded by the 2 cofounders during the hiatus preceding the next 'Big Band' phase. The 'Big Band' started work again in March of 1992EV with 2 new members trying out & 2 ex-members rejoining - in preparation for our big uncert in a concert hall at the University of Maryland - BalTimOre County Campus. This ensemble stabilized into a membership of 12 after Jake dropped out & 1 of the auditioning members didn't manage to practice with us enough. The selections on the 2nd side of the "Official" Wafer Face Record come from rehearsals for that uncert & from the uncert itself. That brings the history up to the date of the assembling of the LP.
The "Official" Project labored forward thru various phases, including a version in Berlin in the spring of 1994EV - after wch it basically ended except for a few tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE solo synthesizer efforts. The details of these post-LP phases have yet to be chronicled.
The Name
The "Offcial" Project is the Official group for every situation in wch it presents itself. In the earlier days, during the rehearsals, we simply referred to ourselves as PDT-TBA - wch stood for "Place/Date/Time To-Be-Announced". During the pre-'Big Band' phase, we were otherwise known during practices as:
the Official, Most Often Played Something Else Radio Show in Baton Rouge Tape Makers From BalTimOre
the Official, Sunday, August 26th, 1990EV, Ringing Rocks Ensemble - 10:15 - 11:00 AM
the Official, Oh You Know the One I Mean, Sound-of-Pig Warmed-Up Band
the Official, September 14th, 1990EV, People Who Send People Back Somewhere Without Having Been There Before Twins
the Official, World Receiver, Dad's New Slacks, Xenophonic, Audacity, Duo
the Official, October 5th, 1990EV, Fledgling Worm Charming Usicians
the Official, October 10th, 1990EV, Off Beat Off Worm Charming Usicians
the Official, October 21st, 1990EV, Jim & Chele Forever Personal Saviours
the Official, That Time of the Month Sound Choice Sounders
the Official Band That Czech Mike Likes to Play the Tapes of on his Radio Show in Atlanta called "Checkers" - & We're Also Usicians - & There's Probably Alot of Other Things That I Could Fit Into This Name Quin- &, Oh, Quin-Fuckin'-tet
the Official "I Only Have Ice for You" 3 to 5 Inchers
& during shows as:
the Official, May 5th, 1990EV, 31st Street Between Barclay & Greenmount Block Party Combo
the Official, June 23rd, 1990EV, Patapsco Park, McKeldin Area, Paul & Cindy's Wedding Trio
the Official, July 10th, 1990EV, Punch Night at the BAUhouse Trio
the Official, July 11th, 1990EV, Punch Night at the BAUhouse Trio
the Official, July 21st, 1990EV, Displace, 1220 Curtain Avenue, Sextet
the Official, Friday, August 17th, 1990EV, Displace, 1220 Curtain Avenue, People That Play as a Part of Approximately the Same Event That Features Bands From BalTimOre, Philadelphia, & New York, Sextet
the Official, Sunday, August 26th, 1990EV, Ringing Rocks Ensemble - 12:30 - 1:15 PM
the Official, August 28th, 1990EV, Shattered Wig Review Night at the Bow-Wow House One Man Band of Slip-Shods
the Official, October 12th & 13th, 1990EV, 14 Karat Cabaret Hungry Rabbit Touring Colony
the Official, October 25th, 1990EV, Only Band in Town w/o Courtney McCullough in It Quintet
the Official, December 31st, 1990EV, Kinko's Office Party, We-Miss-You-Neilers
the Official, May 18th & 19th, 1991EV, Open House in the Garage at 3PM Solo Quartet
Any number of bodies implied by the ends of those names was deliberately inaccurate to generate a cognitive dissonance for people & to, hopefully, encourage them to imagine that the number refers to something less tangible than the body count (such as history, potential, etc..). That aspect of the naming has been deleted during the 'Chamber Orchestra' phase (wch includes various smaller units) so that during practices we've been:
the Official, Friday Night, June 7th, 1994s
the Official, June 9th, 1991EV, Electronic Cottage Doormats
the Official, June 14th, 1991EV, Saxophone Fingering Chart
the Official, June 16th, 1991EV, Something or Another Beach Party Sand Fleas
the Official, June 23rd, 1991EV, Tic Toc Club Reliable House Band
the Official, June 28th, 1991EV, Double Dutch No One Fuckin' Here Treat
the Official, June 30th, 1991EV, Hard Listening Up Over Hot Water Heater
the Official, July 7th, 1991EV, Michelle Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
the Official, July 13th, 1991EV, Factsheet Five So-Called Whateverers
the Official, July 14th, 1991EV, Bastille Day Except for the Ones Who Were Late
the Official, July 21st, 1991EV, Council of Neo-Anti-Disestablishmentarianism Hot-Headed Expi-Ali-Docious Opinions
the Official, July 23rd, 1991EV, Sunburnt Orchestra
the Official, July 27th, 1991EV, DAT-Day-Eve-ers
the Official Krononautic Protectors of Media Executives & Their Families Orgestra
the Official, July 31st, 1991EV, Logs That Refuse to Float Downstream
the Official, August 12th, 1991EV, Inseperable Pair of Loners
the Official, August 20th, 1991EV, 0.0.017 + or -
the Official, August 21st, 1991EV, Can You Guess Whose Recording This Is?
the Official, September 23rd, 1991EV, Autumnal Anti-Prosac Conspirators
the Official, September 29th, 1991EV, Aerial Suck-Ups
the Official, October 6th, 1991EV, Marathon Beast Wiglaps
the Official, October 11th, 1991EV, Warren Burt Fan Club
the Official, October 13th, 1991EV, Senate Judicial Entity Freak Show
the Official, October 18th, 1991EV, Vermin Supreme for Mayor Sound Assault Committee
the Official, October 20th, 1991EV, Vermin Supreme Campain Managers
the Official, November 3rd, 1991EV, Pitch Selection Expanders
the Official, November 17th, 1991EV, Dawn of the Wet Elbows
the Official, November 21st, 1991EV, Demonstration Record
the Official, November 24th, 1991EV, Unemployed MuthaFuckas in Search of an Escaped Wonderhorse, Amen.
the Official, December 1st, 1991EV, Shhhh..
the Official, December 4th, 1991EV, Fill It Up & Check the Tires, Baby
the Official, December 8th, 1991EV, All Male Revue
the Official, December 12th, 1991EV, Important Jazz Musicians
the Official, December 20th, 1991EV, Unisex Barbershop Quartet
the Official, January 2nd, 1992EV, Barbershop Campfire Giraffe
the Official, January 15th, 1992EV, Seaver, Fingers get Hall Nod
the Official, January 17th, 1992EV, Official, January 17th, 1992EV
the Official, January 18th, 1992EV, Fake Partiers
the Official, January 31st, Barbershop Quartet
the Official, February 7th, 1992EV, Symphony Orchestra
the Official, March 6th, 1992EV, Sarmad Hazing Party
the Official, March 8th, 1992EV, Snow Day
the Official, March 11th, 1992EV, Meta Tuesday Welds
the Official, March 15th, 1992EV, Ides of Pitch Specific Drelso W/ Blenders
the Official, March 16th, 1992EV, Incredibly Persistent People
the Official, March 19th, 1992EV, People From the Future Who Couldn't Make It to the Party
the Official..
the Official, March 23rd, 1992EV, 3's a Crowd
the Official, March 27th, 1992EV, People in a Big Hurry
the Official, March 29th, 1992EV, Iron Ball Direction
the Official, April 3rd, 1992EV, Melissa A. MacQuarrie Support Group
the Official, April 5th, 1992EV, Shattered Wig Nukers
the Official, April 7th, 1992EV, Boot Campers
the Official, April 10th, 1992EV, I'm Not Nervous Tonight
the Official, April 12th, 1992EV, People Who Love the Shattered Wig Review
the Official, April 17th, 1992EV, Spice of Life Game Rules
the Official, April 19th, 1992EV, Tax Evaders
the Official, April 24th, 1992EV, Tardy Overworked & Underpaid Off Their Rockers
the Official, April 26th, 1992EV, Chris Astier Spankers
& during shows we've been:
the Official, August 23rd, 1991EV, Bughouse Apex Roto Zither Auxillary
the Official, October 28th, 1991EV, Pixilatin' Deadly Drolls
the Official, Friday the 13th, Generic Neuro-Linguistic Programming Party Band
the Official, December 14th, 1991EV, Oh, I Forgot..
the Official, March 21st, 1992EV, 14 Karat Cabaret, We're Not as Intense as John Duncan, but We're as Worth Paying Attention to for Reasons More Complex Than There's Time to Explain in This Measley Band Name Band
the Official, April 29th, 1992EV, Band That Does Accept Money From Institutions
The Structure of Our Playing
We primarily play with what we call CAMUs. CAMU is an acronymn for Cue Activated Modular Unit. CAMUs are categories. CAMUs are generally unusual restrictions on playing wch are meant to discipline the player, focus the player's attention, unify the group's playing in some self-conscious way, & stimulate ways of playing that the player might not be ordinarily inclined to. These CAMUs are Modular Unit because they can be used at (almost) any point in the playing - they're Cue Activated because the playing of them is initiated by certain signals. CAMUs can be triggered by (almost) any player at their discretion. CAMUs are conceptual building blocks, elements of a common language "open" enough to give the player satisfactory (hopefully) leeway & "closed" enough to provide a framework for intentional coherence.
Given the premise that all actions perceived within a linear (ie: past to present to future) time span have a history wch influences, & therefore structures, their future, their future (ie: the "cause & effect" theory - ultimately disposable, but, herein temporarily accepted) then the distinction between "composition" & "improvisation" is of a usefullness limited to relativity issues (ie: a certain number of elements are restricted consciously by consensus prior to the playing in contrast to the infinite field that they help frame w/in the restrictions taken somewhat for granted [eg: the range of the instruments, the language, etc..] etc.., etc..) - ie: whether a playing is called a "composition" or an "improvisation" is determined by how many "pre-determined" elements the observer identifies in contrast to how many "un-pre-determined" elements the observer identifies. If the observer is of the mindset to declare that all elements (or, at least, all "significant" elements) are "pre-determined" then, to that observer, the playing is a "composition", etc.., etc..
These philosophical/semantic/whatever meanderings are an attempt to imply in microcosm a broader "Fortean" approach to existence that the players may or may not (etc..) be attempting to express, clarify, & explore through the playing. Simply put (there's that relativity again), we play Aleatoric "Fortean" Novelty MYTHO-GOSSIP Usi(al Service Industry So-Called Whatevers (ie: the latter is a terminology meant to help the observer "objectify").
CAMUs Used by April, 1992EV
Conducting
Coordinating
Hip Shake" - A player who shakes their hips prior to cueing something indicates that the players are to continue playing whichever CAMU(s) they're already in the midst of simultaneously w/ whichever new CAMU is being cued.
Spatial
Footlights" - Players have rheostat foot-pedals wch turn on & off (a) light(s) in the vicinity of 1 or more players. Players only play when the light in their vicinity is on. More recently these lights are controlled by the players closest to them simply as a dramatic effect & not to control when the playing occurs.
Ordinary" - Using the cue stick or their hands, the conductor indicates who can play when by pointing to them. Often groups are designated by using an encircling motion. Subtleties of playing can be indicated by evocative gesture - ie: the conductor's dancing can become the other players' instructions.
"Panning"
"quad" [etc..] - A conductor uses encircling hand motions to divide the players into 4 [or more..] groups/"channels". The conductor then indicates wch channel can play at wch volume by using the cue stick or their arm(s) to point to the "channels". If the cue stick or an arm is being moved in a 180o arc over the head of the conductor between 2 groups then there's "panning" between the 2. Thus, when the pointer is at 0o only the "channel" pointed at is playing & they're playing at their maximum chosen volume. When the pointer is at 45o the group pointed at plays at 2/3rds their volume. When the pointer is moving from 45o to 90o the "channel" that the pointer is moving away from lowers its volume & the "channel" that the pointer is moving toward starts to play - gradually increasing its volume. Thus, when the pointer is at 90o both "channels" are at the same volume - ie: balanced. Obviously, when the pointer moves to 135o the group at 0o has decreased their volume to 0 & the group at 180o has increased their volume to 2/3rds of their maximum chosen level, etc.. The pointer can also be moved in a circle parallel to the floor - in wch case the point at wch the pointer is halfway between 2 adjacent "channels" corresponds to the 90o point in the above instructions, etc.. If both arms of the conductor are used or 2 or more people are conducting then the number of "channels" & the complexity of the relationship between them can increase appropriately.
"stereo" - The same "rules" apply as in the quad panning except that there are only 2 channels.
"Splits"
"atomizing" - A player divides the group into 2 halves w/ encircling hand motions including theirself in 1 of the groups & then cues the group that they've included theirself in to play a different CAMU from what the whole group was previously playing. The group that the cuer split off from must continue playing whichever CAMU(s) they were playing until a split occurs w/in their group. The above protocol continues w/ each of the groups splitting into smaller & smaller groups until the whole group is "atomized" into individuals all playing different CAMUs. A player can only split apart whichever group they're currently in - ie: they can't cue a split in a group that they've already been split off from. Whichever individual left when the complete "atomizing" has happened has never initiated a split or been in a group that's initiated a split will still be playing whichever CAMU(s) the whole group was playing when the atomizing split was begun. When the group is completely "atomized" & has been playing as such for a while the group can be reunified w/ a whole group encircling hand motion.
"ordinary" - This is a Split in wch there is only a division into 2 groups & in wch the groups are welcome to change their CAMUs w/o splitting further. The cuer who splits the group calls out "ordinary" or makes an "O" sign w/ their hand(s) in order to distinguish this Split from the "atomizing" variation.
Tonal
"Ascending/Descending" - This is cued by a player holding a metal cannister w/ slots cut in it called the "Steel Gherkin" & then playing a single note on it. If the Gherkin is held upright then the other players respond by playing an ascending sequence (often a scale). If the Gherkin is held down then the players respond by playing a descending sequence. This CAMU is most often cued a few times in succession. If the 2 positions of the Gherkin follow each other the players usually repeat their previous sequence in reverse.
"Register Specifying" - If a player conducts by holding their hands together above their head it indicates that the players should play in their upper range. If the hands are held together near the floor then the players play in their lower range. Any gradations between these 2 positions indicates the appropriate mid-range.
"Tremolo" - This is cued by a player's holding their hands in the shape of a "T" (as in a "Time Out" signal). The players then play Tremolo - wch for these purposes means a quick reiteration of each note played.
"Vibrato" - This is cued by a player crossing their arms in an "X" - ie: forming a "V" w/ the forearms. The players then play Vibrato - meaning playing their notes w/ a slight ("microtonal") fluctuation in pitch or, perhaps, dynamic.
Counting
Alternating" - A player cues this by playing a prolonged 1 stroke roll after wch all players play the following sequence in sync: 10 counts of "silence", 5 counts of playing, 10 counts of "silence", 10 counts of playing, 20 counts of "silence", 20 counts of playing, 40 counts of "silence", 40 counts of playing, 80 counts of "silence". The tempo of the counts is visually demonstrated by the cuer (usually a drummer) in an increasingly exaggerated way. Other CAMUs are often played during the 20 counts of playing or the 40 counts of playing or both.
"Countdown" - The Countdown is an extension of the "1,2,3,4,". A player cues it by calling out "Countdown" in order to get the other players' attention & then calls out "Engage" to indicate that the "countdown" is going to begin. The player then counts down from "any" number greater than 5 (usually between 6 & 13) &, usually, the other players join in the countdown. The number that is being counted down from indicates how many beats there will be per measure. That number minus 1 multiplied by 2 indicates how many measures there will be. The 1st beat of each measure is always accented. The 2nd accented beat of each measure "drifts" through each measure thusly: in the 1st measure it's on the 2nd beat, in the 2nd measure it's on the 3rd beat, etc.. When the 2nd accented beat is the last beat of the measure it moves back to the 2nd beat in the next measure - thusly causing there to be 3 accented beats in a row. Only the accented beats are played.
"Debacle" - A pulse is cued by a player pointing at the player designated to start the pulse while holding their wrist. After the pulse is started, each player plays a cycle for the duration of a specific number of pulses. The number of pulses determining each player's cycle can be determined by the player or by a conductor's individualised hand signals. The more different the cycle numbers, the better. The player must play the same cycle repeatedly until someone cues an increase or decrease in pulses per cycle (either individually or collectively) or an increase in rests (either individually or collectively) - at wch point the player(s) can change their cycle either by just appropriately changing the 1 they've already been playing or by playing a new 1. This CAMU ends when a player points at the person playing the pulse & makes a lengthwise slashing motion as if they're committing suicide - at wch point the pulse stops.
"Dialectical Immaterialism" - A player cues this by calling out "Dialectical Immaterialism" & pointing at another player (usually the 1 opposite them when the group's playing in a circle formation or to a player who shd centrally position theirself if the group's arranged in a "horse-shoe"/"U" pattern) to designate them as the conductor. The cuer then calls out 3 numbers. The 1st of the 3 numbers indicates how many cycles there will be. Each cycle has 3 measures. The 1st number also indicates how many beats there will be in the 1st measure. The 2nd number indicates how many beats will be in the 2nd measure & the 3rd indicates for the 3rd measure. Eg: If the cuer calls out: "5, 6, 2" there will be 5 cycles of 5 beats/6 beats/2 beats or: 5/6/2, 5/6/2, 5/6/2, 5/6/2, 5/6/2.
This is further complicated by the cuer's role & the conductor's role. The cuer plays "Free Form" during the 1st & 3rd measures of each cycle & measure duration determining pulse during the 2nd measure. The other players (other than the conductor & the cuer) play the measure duration determining pulse during the 1st & 3rd measures & "Free Form" during the 2nd measure. During the 1st measure only the group to the conductor's left is playing the pulse. The group on the conductor's right stays silent.
The conductor indicates when a pulse is played by pointing at the group for the number of beats indicated by the 1st number called out. If the beats are regularly spaced the conductor is simply acting as the tempo determiner as wd a metronome. If the conductor pulses erratically then, in conventional terms, either the tempo is erratic or the beat durations are variable.
The conductor then points at the cuer holding their arm steady & the cuer plays the pulse in whatever manner they want to as long as the number of beats is the same as the 2nd number called out.
After the correct number of beats has been played by the cuer, the conductor points to the group to their right & gives them their pulse as was previously done w/ the group on the conductor's left. During this measure the group to the conductor's left doesn't play. Thus ends the 1st cycle. Each succeeding cycle follows the same pattern.
"Dispersal" - A player stands in the conductor position (ie: somewhat central & visible to the other players) & holds their upper arm flush to their body w/ their forearm pointing at a 90o angle from their body & w/ their hand in a fist. When this cuer is sure that all the players have noticed this cue, the cuer starts conducting increasingly dispersed accents.
The conducting is as follows: piston/punch-like motion of fist forward to indicate 1st accent; piston forward: 2nd accent, fist up to shoulder (ie: forearm against upper arm) to indicate penultimate beat before next accent; 3rd accent, fist swung to right (ie: away from the body if right hand is used) to indicate the 2nd beat of this sequence, penultimate beat indication (as before); 4th accent, 2nd beat (as before), fist swung to left (across abdomen if right hand is used) to indicate the 3rd beat of this sequence, penultimate beat; 5th accent, 2nd beat, 3rd beat (as before), 4th beat (fist back to the left), penultimate beat; etc.. - Each new beat added per sequence is counted by having the forearm swing back & forth from left to right as before. The players are "free" to play however they want to during the non-acccented section(s) but must play the accent(s) in unison. The conductor ends this CAMU by leaving the conducting position & ceasing to function as the metronome.
"Off Beat Off" - A player starts playing a steady pulse (ie: a repeated beat w/ no accents). The player to their left plays triplets for every beat of the cuer's pulse. The next player in the clockwise direction plays beats of the same duration as those of the triplets but plays an accent on the 1st of every 4 beats.
The next player plays a pulse in unison w/ the player to their right's accents - thusly playing a pulse 1/3rd the tempo that player 1 is playing at. The next player continues the repetition of the cycle by playing triplets for every beat of the pulse being played to their right, etc.. If the 4 beat part gets so slow that the pulse to be taken from it will be too slow in the opinion of the next pulsemaker, the pulsemaker has the option of sounding the pulse in unison w/ all of the beats of the previous player (rather than just the accents) - all unaccented, of course - thusly tripling the tempo in relation to the pulse of the player 3 players to their right.
When a large group plays this, a player stops playing when the person 3 players to their right starts playing & listens to what that person's playing in order to deduce what they'll have to play when it's their turn again. They begin playing again soon after when the player immediately to their right starts playing. During some players' pause periods there's an inclination to introduce other sound elements (such as radio or sine/square wave generator) in order to "spice up" the mix.
"1,2,3,4" - This is cued by a player shouting "1,2,3,4" in typical "rock" fashion. The speed at wch this is shouted hypothetically indicates the tempo. After this cue the players play 8 measures of 5 beats w/ the 1st beat of each measure accented & the 2nd accent of each measure occurring in a drifting sequence - ie: 1,2,3,4,5;1,2,3,4,5;1,2,3,4,5;1,2,3,4,5..
"Roto-Debacle" - A rotating light (eg: a flashlight on a turntable) is used to indicate when the players can play. This is cued when someone turns on the light (centrally located) & sends it rotating (ie: turns on the turntable). At this point, as w/ the "Debacle", the players either choose or have given to them by conductor hand signals, a cycle w/ a specific number of pulses determining its duration. The difference between the Roto-Debacle & the "Debacle" being that in the "Debacle" everyone's pulse occurs at the same time - whereas in the Roto-Debacle the pulse occurs when the light points in the direction of the player & therefore at a different time for everyone. If the band is playing in horseshoe formation facing an audience (rather than in the circular formation typical of practices) the light will be pointing at the audience half the time - thusly cueing the more perceptive of them to participate when the light points at them. Variations in speed can be induced by changing the speed of the rotation (ie: adjusting the turntable). This CAMU ends when the light is turned off.
"78 (Diminishing Puceno)"
"circular" - This is cued in the same way as the "ordinary" 78 except that the player makes a circular motion w/ their hand to indicate wch direction the playing shd go in (ie: clockwise or counterclockwise). The cuer then plays the 1st line but, unlike the "ordinary", instead of having all of the players then join in from the beginning, the next player in the circle (ie: the player to the cuer's left if the progression is to be clockwise or the player to the cuer's right if the progression is to be counterclockwise) plays the 2nd line (ie: the 11 beat line), etc, etc.. After the 12th player has played their 1 beat, the next player has the choice of starting the process over again by playing the puceno (ie: the 1st 12 beat line) or to start a new CAMU.
"double circular" - This is cued in the same way as the "circular" variation except that 2 circles are indicated by using both hands. This means that after the cuer plays the 1st line, the players on both sides of the cuer play the 2nd line. Then the player to the left of the player to the cuer's left & the player to the right of the player on the cuer's right play the 3rd line, etc, etc.. - ie: 2 circular motions are set in play: 1 moving clockwise & 1 moving counterclockwise.
If there are an even number of players then the 2 circles will meet & pass in the player opposite from the cuer - meaning that the cuer will play 1 (or more - if the group is small) line solo & so will the person opposite them but everyone else will be playing a duet. If there are an odd number of players then the duo opposite from the cuer will play 2 lines in a row.
"ordinary" - The "Puceno" is a 12 beat "asymetrical" rhythm commonly used in Bulgarian music. In the 78 this 12 beats is extended to 78 beats by progressively diminishing the number of beats per sequence until there's only 1 beat left. As usual, the bold number ones indicate accents:
1 2 3, 1 2, 1 2, 1 2 3, 1 2
1 2 3, 1 2, 1 2, 1 2 3, 1
1 2 3, 1 2, 1 2, 1 2 3
1 2 3, 1 2, 1 2, 1 2
1 2 3, 1 2, 1 2, 1
1 2 3, 1 2, 1 2
1 2 3, 1 2, 1
1 2 3, 1 2
1 2 3, 1
1 2 3
1 2
1
In this ordinary variation the cueing player calls out "78" (w/ the optional "Diminishing Puceno" following) & then plays the 1st 12 beats (ie: the puceno) solo to set the tempo. Then the entire group plays the 78 beats in unison. This can either be done w/ all players playing throughout or w/ players selecting to only play certain parts (eg: only the accented beats or only every other line or only the 1 2 3 parts, etc..) or w/ a pre-arrangement (eg: the horn players only playing the accents, the string players only playing the 1 2 parts, etc..).
After the 78 beats have been played, a player can initiate a playing of another 78 w/o calling out its name by simply playing the 1st line solo - thusly setting the tempo for another run-through.
"SS#s"
"work it short" - This is cued by a player raising their fist in a "worker's salute" followed in suit by the other players. A pulse is then set in motion either percussively or automatically (eg: by a delay). After all players have raised their fists & the pulse has started, the cuer shouts "Work it short!" & counts down "4,3,2,1" in sync w/ the pulse (usually the other players join in the countdown at its end). Starting on the 1st beat after the end of the countdown each player plays their SS# as rhythmic notation treating each individual number as the amount of beats per measure - w/ the 1st beat of each measure played & the succeeding beats as rests.
"work it long" - Same as the above except that the 1st beat of each measure is sounded thruout the length of the measure rather than being restricted to the length of 1 beat.
Disrupting
"Bass-Ackwards" - The players play their instruments in a way physically contrary to their usual position. Eg: drummers might play w/ their feet or w/ their sticks in their mouth, a wind player might hold the instrument up-side-down, a string player might hold their instrument behind their back, etc.. The purpose isn't so much to encourage expanded technique as much as it is to handicap the player.
"Just show us your bathing suits & eat your " - An excuse for the players to show off the bathing suits hidden under their clothes & for them to have a snack break - thus "eat your ____" has be filled in w/ "doughnuts", "pretzels", etc..
"Mysterious Preparation For An Ill-Timed Encore" - Cued by a player stopping playing & leaving the space, other players follow them out of the playing area & disperse into surrounding areas until they can't see each other (on the street, perhaps), each do something furtive or enigmatic, & then return to the space to continue playing.
"Normality" - This is cued by someone stopping playing, drawing attention to theirself & yelling/saying something to the effect of "Aw...hell.. this is too god-damn weird...I don't know if I can be involved in anything this weird..." in an idiotic fashion. This cues everyone in the CAMU to stop playing & theatrically represent some stereotype of Normality, making it more & more frenetic (ie: women combing their hair, men flexing their muscles or counting money, gay stereotypes, etc..). The CAMU is ended when everyone has reached a pitch or frenzy, reaching Hebephrenic proportions that can't be considered "normal", & boils over into something else.
"1 Note Per Instrument"
"(m)usical instruments" - Cued in the same way as the "ordinary" variation, this variant is activated when someone plays the instrument they happen to be on (unless it's 1 they ordinarily play) for more than 1 note. This cues everyone in the original "ordinary" variation to stop playing the 1 Note per Instrument CAMU & to play regularly (ie: other CAMUs) on the instrument they've stopped on - indefinitely, until they are returned to "their" instruments by another 1 Note per Instrument cue.
"ordinary" - Each player runs around acting silly playing only 1 Note Per Instrument. This is cued by 1 player doing so. This is a pointillistic tone color section.
"Tuning"
This is cued by a player holding aloft a tuning key. The players then concentrate on "microtones" thru "tuning" or pitch "bending".
"Wreck"
Players appear to lose control of their motor functions - sometimes knocking over their instruments & usually simulating falling to the ground. A siren often sounds & 1 or more player(s) may get "carried away". At least 1 wine bottle & a clock have been broken during this 1.
Miscellaneous
"Atavistic Electronics" - This is cued by a tone of approximately 300cps being played on a sine wave generator wch plays constantly throughout. A 2nd generator (wch also plays constantly throughout) is played at almost the same pitch so that beating occurs. This beginning continues unaccompanied for at least a minute (ideally). This pitch has been selected because it's the pitch of a bull's horn that's often sampled & played during this CAMU - thus, in different circumstances (ie: w/ different instrumentation) the drone pitch cd be different.
Pitch specific instruments then play only the notes in the whole tone scale that includes the 300cps pitch (at concert pitch this is: A, B, C#, D#, F, & G). Non pitch specific electronic instruments (wch can include synthesizers on "noisier" voice settings or "noisier" samples or tapes or radio (a dubious inclusion), etc..) play non-constant swatches/intrusions. The use of percussion is discouraged.
This CAMU ends when the sine waves are turned off.
"Hillbilly" - A Jaw's Harp player stands centrally w/ 1 foot off the ground. When their foot stomps down, all players play the following rhythmic pattern 4 times in unison: 1 2 3 4 [5] 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 [5] - w/ the bracketed beats as rests.
After this is played the Jaw's Harp player plays a solo while the other players shout encouragement like: "Whoah Daddy!" or "Suck my Ass, Motherfucker!" or "Yee-Haw!". As the solo reaches its end the soloist raises their foot again as a signal to the players that'll soon be time to play their unison rhythm again. As before, when the player's foot hits the ground, the rest of the band plays the unison 4 times.
This cycle is repeated until the soloist finishes a solo w/o raising their foot & walks away from the central position (Hey! Wait a minute! Does that mean that they have to drag their feet while leaving?)
"Imitative Unison" - The cueing player circumscribes a section of the group or addresses theirself to the whole group & points w/ both thumbs to herself & then plays/performs. The so-circumscribed (or uncircumscribed) players then immediately try to imitate & play along as closely as possible the sound(s)/action(s) that the cuer is playing. It may be passed around w/ the thumbs as w/ the "Drelso" so that the person being imitated changes.
"1 Note Per Breath"
"ordinary" - All players except for 1 play wind instruments. Each of these players plays only 1 Note Per Breath - prolonging the note as long as their breathing ability allows. Fluctuations of the pitch, tone color, & constancy of the 1 Note Per Breath are permitted only if they don't involve fingering changes during the playing breath (ie: flutter-tongueing & breathing intensity changes are permitted). Fingering can be changed between playing notes. Generally, the players weave in & out of the overall "texture" by not starting & stopping their 1 Note Per Breaths at the same time as each other. Who the exception player is determined during the beginning. Either a person chooses to be the exception by cueing the CAMU by handing a wind instrument to another player not currently playing 1- at wch point all the other players start playing as described above - or a player ends up as the exception by being the last player to notice that the 1 Note Per Breath has started - in wch case it's possible that the CAMU was cued by someone's simply playing their horn in the appropriate manner - perhaps acting in some way to try to attract attention to their doing so.
"shortening variation" - Same as the "ordinary" 1 Note Per Breath except that the the wind players shorten each breath length by half until they're incapable of a shorter duration at wch point they start over again w/ a full breath. This is most often played w/ simultaneity of the shortening.
"Rewind/Playback"
The cuer moves to the center, attracts the attention of the cued group, & makes a very visible motion of cranking a big crank (eventually a "real" prop crank?) & then "lets it go". During the cranking back, the other players make fairly quiet "backwards tape noises" w/ their voices, mentally counting backwards through their last playing as much as possible. When the "crank is released", the players try as much as possible to recreate the sections of playing wch were "rewound" over - including entire CAMUs - & continue playing into "the present" unless the "operator" rewinds them again. Obviously this will be improbable to occur accurately, giving rise to the usual revisionist history (ie: variations of the rewound sections). Multiple Realities? Parallel Universes?
Mouthing Off
"Description" - The players describe their surroundings &/or their state of mind. A precursor to MYTHO-GOSSIP.
"Digression(s)" - Constantly changing the subject.
"Direct Mail" - Players pre-select a text (ie: some words) & perform it as part or all of any of the following CAMUs: "Free Form", "Roto-Debacle", "Panning", "78", "1,2,3,4", "Countdown", "Dialectical Immaterialism", "Lurch", "Alternating", "Shimmy, Shimmy", "2 Note", "Oom-Pah-Pah", "Ascending/Descending", etc..
"Explaining" - Explaining what we're doing sometime around the time of our doing it.
"Free Association" - A player says 1 word into a microphone & then cues another player to say a word as response to it by putting the mike in front of their mouth. This can be done 1 or more times.
"Mime Pathos Verbally Articulated" - An outgrowth of a proposed Mime Anti-Defamation League, each player describes (usually in a semi-dramatic declamatory way w/o using mime) what mimes usually evoke thru gesture. Absurdist extrapolation encouraged.
"Meloperatic Intro" - Players sing the agreed upon intro (ie: "We're the [followed by the name as of this playing]..) w/ out of sync Melodramatic/Operatic "excess". Players can choose to only sing a few of the words rather than the whole intro but the whole intro shd be present collectively.
"Mytho-Gossip" - The vocalisation of fantastic ideas about people that we want to seduce into feeling that it's worth their while to pay attention to us. This usually begins w/ the vocalist intoning in a prolonged way: "Have you heeaaarrrrddddd?". This is usually performed simultaneously w/ 1 or more other CAMUs.
"Neuro-Linguistic Programming Intro" - A main speaker recites a monolog in wch are embedded the words of the intro. When 1 of their hands gestures off to the side it cues the other players to say the next word of the embedded intro in unison.
Eg: "I was running w/ a friend the other day when I suddenly stopped & said "You know, WE'RE probably wasting THE red blood cells of some amoeba-like alien somewhere w/ all this running". Not that that wd ever be the OFFICIAL story of course.." - etc..
"Phoneme Chemistry Variants" - Players pre-select different phonemes from the Phonetic Alphabet. The following CAMUs may be cued by players using the phoneme as their sound: "Debacle", "Roto-Debacle", "Off-Beat-Off", "Free-Form", "SS#s (work it short), etc.. - ie: rhythmically periodic playing w/ the possibility of syncopation occurring between the players.
The goal is to create a situation in wch "words" can form among the phonemes. It may work better if entities cluster for this so volume levels can be matched & maximum tightness achieved.
"Simon" - This is based on a "child's" game (as is the "Shimmy, Shimmy"). A player says 1 word. The player to their left repeats that word & adds another word to it. The next player repeats those 2 words & adds another. This process continues until someone decides to stop it by not participating.
"Wavery Voice Intro" - The players say an agreed upon intro in unison all using a wavery voice.
Passing
"Drelso/Hot Potato"
"multiple" - This is the same as the "single" variation described below except that it's cued by passing it to 2 players at once who can then each only pass it to 1 player at a time - thusly doubling the number of players playing from that of the single variation.
"pitch specific drelso w/ blend"
"single" - A player plays a phrase & points in the direction of another player. The 2nd player follows suit. The other players stop playing in the meantime & wait for the Drelso/Hot Potato to be passed to them. This ends when the player playing passes it outside of the players rather than to someone else.
"Shimmy, Shimmy"
"accompanied" - A player cues this by playing "Shimmy, Shimmy, Coco Pop, Shimmy,Shimmy, Pop, Pop." - ie: a specific tune that corresponds to this rhythm. This is repeated by the cuer until the other players have "caught on" - at wch point the player to the cuer's left plays the same melody thru once - starting (as w/ a round) after the cuer's "1st" "Shimmy, Shimmy" (ie: the 1st 1 in whichever repetition of it they happen to be playing at the time). When the 2nd player has picked up the tune, the 1st player stops playing it as soon as they've played the last "Pop" in their sequence. The 3rd player starts their 1st time playing of the melody as soon as the 2nd player has played their 1st "Shimmy, Shimmy" etc.. This round continues until it's gone around the circle of players twice. Players can play quiet "accompaniments" (not necessarily conventionally related to the theme) when they're not playing the "Shimmy, Shimmy". The number of "Pop"s at the end indicates wch variation it is.
"unaccompanied" - Same as the above "accompanied" Shimmy, Shimmy except that the players must be silent when not playing their "Shimmy, Shimmy" part & that the "Shimmy, Shimmy" melody ends w/ 1 "Pop" only.
Simple-Minded
"Big Snore"
This is cued by a player playing a Mexican Friction Drum - after wch all of the players do the same. This is ended by a player holding both ends of the Friction Drum & plucking the string between - after wch, again, all of the other players do the same. When all the players have plucked their strings a new CAMU can be moved on to.
"Blades of Grass/Screamers" - This is cued by a player playing either a Blade of Grass or a Screamer - after wch all of the players do the same. This CAMU can stop anytime after all of the players have been playing the same instrument.
"Lurch" - This is usually cued by a string player playing a slow descending glissando. At 1st, the other players respond by playing a clumsy "flumphfing" accent at the end of the descent. W/ each new glissando the players play more & more complexly beginning earlier in the descent. This process is likened to a cart rolling downhill in slow motion in a reverse of the labors of Sisyphus w/ more & more parts of the cart falling off w/ each trip until the cart has more or less collapsed.
"Oom-Pah-Pah" - Players play rhythmically in sync w/ each other in cycles of 3 beats - playing 1st a low note & then a higher note twice w/ each note having the same duration. Wch notes are played can vary w/ each new cycle of 3 notes.
"Shake a Leg" - For ankle bells & the like.
"Squeaky" - Playing only w/ the mouthpieces of reed instruments or similarly sounding objects such as crow call, deer grunt, hydroencephalaphone, etc..
"2 Note"
"atomizing split" - This is a hybrid of the "Splits" ("atomizing" variation - described in the Spatial Conducting section) & the 2 Note ("ordinary" variation). The 2 Note is cued as usual. Then a player signals the dividing of the group into 2 approximately equal groups - including theirself into 1 of the 2 groups. This 1st cuer then cues a different 2 Note (ie: in a different rhythm from the 1st) wch their group then plays in sync w/ - while the group that the 1st cuer's group has split away from continues playing the initial 2 Note. Splits of this nature continue to occur until the group is completely atomized - ie: until every player is playing a different 2 Note. Then, unlike the "Atomizing Split" CAMU, rather than ending, the process is reversed. Ie: the last player to cue a split (& to, thusly, complete the atomizing process) uses an encircling hand motion to signal their reunification w/ the player that they'd separated from - at wch point this last cuer plays (once again) in the same rhythm as that of the player that they've rejoined w/. This reversal process continues until all of the players are reunited & playing in the same rhythm again.
"change(ling)" - While the 2 Note is already in progress, 1 of the players takes the role of the conductor & cues the change(ling) by either holding a real coin or an imaginary coin (ie: "change") up & making sure all the players notice. Then the cue stick is held by the conductor in either an upright position or a position pointed at 1 player w/ 1 hand capped over its tip. When the tip is pushed thru the conductor's hand in the vertical position it cues all the players to change their 2 Notes simultaneously. When the tip is pushed thru the conductor's hand while it's pointing at a specific player only that player changes. The rhythm stays constant.
"ordinary" - All players play any alternating 2 Notes rhythmically in sync w/ each other. After the players have somewhat overcome whatever cliché desire they may have to "break" overtop the others or out of the CAMU altogether, a player may do just that.
"Whistling Beating" - A player holds their index finger vertically in front of their mouth (ie: in the traditional "Be Quiet" position) wch signals the other players to be quiet so that they can hear the cuer whistle a steadily sustained pitch. The other players then begin to whistle steadily sustained pitches that are close to the cuer's pitch in an attempt to create beating. This CAMU can end after all of the players have whistled for awhile.
Song(s)
"Aroma" - This has lyrics. Each verse ends w/ the word Aroma more or less sung as a chorus. Each line is preceeded & followed by playing w/ a fairly obviously recurrent rhythmic inclination. The climax spells it out. This song doesn't stink.
"Worm Charming Usic" - This is a cheesy reductionist rip-off of a Pakistani Folk Romance Snake Charming piece entitled "Momil Rano" - as such, it's bound to be 1 of our more popular CAMUs. It shd be very driving. It's cued by a player playing the basic up-tempo rhythm (1/8, 1/8, 1/16, 1/16, 1/16, [1/16 rest]) after wch some of the players join in sync w/ the rhythm while others play a drone pitch. After this has gone on for awhile, the horn players play a simple "theme" in sync w/ each other 4 times in a row. Then each of the horn players take turns being the "featured" player - during wch time the other horn players can either be silent or play the rhythm or play the drone or play more complex material - as long as it's more subdued than what the "featured" horn player is playing. After each horn player has been "featured" the horn players reunite in 4 restatements of the "theme". The CAMU finally ends by having the rhythm gradually transform into something else.
Traditional
"Pratfall" - A quick crescendo made by an often erratically ascending glissando played by 1 or more slide whistles followed by a loud crash followed by a pause.
The Players on the "Official" Wafer Face Record
the Official Krononautic Protectors of Media Executives & Their Families Orgestra: {July 28th, 1991EV - 1st Take}
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - "Erector Set" Percussion {snare drum, tambourine, bongos, small african drum, indian drum, 3 south american drums, 2 cow bells, agogo, 7 frying pans, approximately 10 cymbals, wind chimes, triangle, etc.. - mounted on an approximately 4' X 4' X 6' metal frame} + miscellaneous other Percussion such as: Chime Tree, Bass Drum, Floor Tom, Kick Tom, High Hat, Cabasa, Mexican Friction Drum, Bracelet Bells, etc..; Voice; minimal cheap Electronics; etc..
Scott Larson - Small Accordion; etc..
John Dierker - Clarinet; etc..
Walt Novash - Alto Sax; etc..
Chris Astier - Fretless Bass; etc..
John Eaton - Alto Sax; etc..
Courtney McCullough - Tenor Sax; etc..
Jake T. Unclean - Violin; Tire-Rim; etc..
Neil Feather - Bendy Guitar {a 2 string guitar capable of 3 octave note bending}; Recombinant Electronics SK1 Sampler Keyboard {ie: a "randomly" rewired SK1}; Small Instruments Rig; etc..
Jimmy Hedges - Synthesizer; etc..
Dawn Culbertson - Bass; etc..
Steve Berson - Cello; etc..
Clark Snell - Insektar {guitar w/ small keyboard, distortion unit, microphone, radio, squeeze toy, etc.. mounted on it}; standard Drum Set {snare drum, mounted tom, floor tom, bass drum, high hat, etc?}; etc..
Peter Williams - Bass; Pans, Pots & Pot Lids; etc..
John Berndt - Former Guitar {see "Bendy Guitar" description above}; DX7 Synthesizer; etc..
the Official, April 5th, 1992EV, Shattered Wig Nukers:
Eric Myers - Cello; etc..
Sarmad Brody - Ensoniq VFX Synthesizer; Voice; etc..
Dawn Culbertson - Bass; Percussion; etc..
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - "Erector Set" Percussion {same as the "Official Krononautic.." description + woodblock} + miscellaneous other Percussion {same as the "Official Krononautic.." description}; "Terrence Dougherty" {3 mixers, "Gnome" synthesizer, 4 tape-players/radios, ring modulator, sine/square wave generator, analog delay, chorus, etc..}; Vibraphone; etc..
Chris Astier - (Fretted) Bass; etc..
John Eaton - Alto Sax; etc..
John Dierker - Alto Sax; etc..
Courtney McCullough - Tenor Sax; etc..
Neil Feather - Former Guitar {see previous description}; Bell Tree; SK1 Sampler Keyboard; Recombinant Electronics SK1 Sampler Keyboard {see previous description}; etc..
the Official, April 24th, 1992EV, Tardy Overworked & Underpaid Off Their Rockers:
Neil Feather - Former Guitar; Recombinant Electronics SK1 Sampler Keyboard; Bell Tree; Small Instruments Rig; etc..
Sarmad Brody - Ensoniq VFX Synthesizer; Voice; etc..
John Berndt - DX7 Synthesizer; VSS-30 Sampler Keyboard; Soprano Sax; Violin; Stephanie Palmer Apologetica; etc..
Peter Williams - Bass; Pans, Pots, & Pot Lids; Pipe Xylophone; etc..
Dawn Culbertson - Bass; Didjerido; etc..
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - "Erector Set" Percussion + miscellaneous other Percussion; "Terrence Dougherty"; Lap Guitar; Vibraphone; Euphonium; Recombinant Electronics SK1 Sampler Keyboard; Pipe Xylophone; Pans, Pots, & Pot Lids; etc..
Scott Larson - Medium Accordion; Abomination; etc..
John Eaton - Alto Sax; etc..
Courtney McCullough - Tenor Sax; Voice; etc..
the Official, April 29th, 1992EV, Band That Does Accept Money From Institutions:
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - "Erector Set" Percussion + miscellaneous other Percussion; "Terrence Dougherty"; Small Nondo {an invention of Neil Feather's that's basically a piece of sheet metal bent by piano wire}; Vibraphone; Trumpet; Vaudeo Mixing; etc..
Chris Astier - Fretless Bass; Euphonium; Tom; Voice; etc..
John Eaton - Alto Sax; Flaming Alto Sax; etc..
Scott Larson - Medium Accordion; Abomination {miscellaneous string instruments (in some cases oddly strung), kalimba, & reverb (etc?) arranged horizontally & played percussively (usually)}; Flaming Sink; etc..
John Berndt - DX7 Synthesizer; VSS-30 Sampler Keyboard; Soprano Sax; Violin; Dry Heaves {a metal bowl w/ rolling metal balls inside}; Stephanie Palmer Apologetica {a reed instrument similar in sound to a bass clarinet}, etc..
Peter Williams - Bass; Pans, Pots & Pot Lids (occasionally flaming); Pipe Xylophone; etc..
Sarmad Brody - Ensoniq VFX Synthesizer; Voice; etc..
Courtney McCullough - Tenor Sax; Bass Clarinet; Voice; etc..
Eric Myers - Slinky Reverbed Cello; etc..
John Dierker - Clarinet; Bass Clarinet; Alto Sax; etc..
Dawn Culbertson - Bass; Didjerido; Flaming Brad-A-Lon {a horizontal metal cyclinder w/ metal tynes welded to the sides made by Brad Hwang}; etc..
Neil Feather - Former Guitar; Apex Roto Zither {an invention of Neil's made from piano wire strung around the cylinder of an Apex mangle iron w/ various moving pick-ups, plectrums, etc..}; Bell tree; Small Instruments Rig; Recombinant Electronics SK1 Sampler Keyboard; etc..
The Recordings
W/ the exception of perhaps 2 or 3 practices & 2 shows all of the "Official" sessions have been recorded. Thus, as of the end of April, 1992EV, there were slightly over 100 hours of recordings from this project. As such, it was difficult to choose wch to excerpt from to make the record.
1 priority was to make sure that all of the players who dedicated a substantial amount of their time to playing w/ the "Big Band" wd be included. I wanted to insure that some of the "finest" playing is represented. Then there was having the recording quality be the best available in the archives w/o having to go to the expense of renting studio time. Yet another priority was to insure that most of the CAMUs be present. The last main thing was to guarantee that the record wd be different from the previously publishedtapes from this project.
The 1st side of the L.P. is an excerpt from the 15 member core group of the 1st 2 months of practices that led up to the D.A.T. recording made by Tony French. Unfortunately, this recording session was intended to be both an 8 track & a D.A.T. session but something went wrong & only the D.A.T. turned out. Even though the D.A.T. is somewhat unsatisfactory (primarily because of the excessive stereo separation - but partially because of player mistakes like a sympathetically resonating snare) it still is the best fidelity (& last) recording of this 1st phase of the "Big Band". The portion excerpted includes a substantial number of the CAMUs used up 'til this point & is a good example of what they sound like in the flowing sequence that they're intended to be part of.
The 2nd side has some of both the older & the newer more "multi-faceted" CAMUs taken out of their typical flow in order to make them more suitable for airplay & to make their qualities more obvious in isolation. This side starts w/ the "Dispersal" & ends w/ "Worm Charming Usic" as played in practice by the "Official, April 5th, 1992E.V., Shattered Wig Nukers". We called ourselves the "Shattered Wig Nukers" because we found out that the Shattered Wig Review was planning a show on the same night as our U.M.B.C. show even though we'd been planning our show for 8 months. {At a later rehearsal, after the Shattered Wig group changed their schedule, we named ourselves: the "Official, April 12th, 1992E.V., People Who Love the Shattered Wig Review"} This group & the group playing on the 2nd track include Eric Myers who played briefly w/ the 1st incarnation of the "Big Band" but isn't represented on the 1st side & who rejoined in preparation for U.M.B.C.. All of the selections of side 2 include Sarmad Brody - the newest member.
The 2nd track, "2 Note ("atomizing split" variation)" is from the U.M.B.C. show & is distinguished both because it was recorded in front of an audience & because it was recorded on 2 track reel-to-reel. All of the other tracks on side 2 were recorded w/ a "professional walkman".
The 3rd & 4th tracks, "Off Beat Off" & "Atavistic Electronics", are from the 2nd-to-last practice before the U.M.B.C. show. Even though, as w/ the 1st & 5th tracks, only 9 members of the current group were practicing (rather than the full 12), these cuts were picked because they present some of our favorite versions of these CAMUs.
This side ends w/ the "Worm Charming Usic" not so much "because" it's considered to be a stunning aural climax but "because", in contrast to most records meant for airplay, we've put our "hit single" last instead of 1st. Besides, what more fitting finalé cd there be to the 1st L.P. published by "the Plagiarist"'s label than a paraphrasiarism.
THANK YOU, WAFER FACE RECORDS!
Other "Official" Recordings Commercially Available
"the Official, Sunday, August 26th, 1990ev, Ringing Rocks Ensemble / the Official, Oh, You Know the 1 I Mean, Sound of Pig Warmed-Up Band" {SOP #296} - Sound of Pig
"Scrape 2 (Side 2, Selection 13: "MYTHO GOSSIP, Relevant"){more correctly: "the Official That Time of the Month Sound Choice Choice Sounders"}" - Plutonium Press
Contact addresses:
Sound of Pig - c/o Al Margolis - box 150022 - Van Brunt Station - Brooklyn, New York, 11215, us@
Plutonium Press - box 61564, Phoenix, Arizona, 85082, us@
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