There’s serious rock and roll firepower at play in this inaugural disc from three grizzled, amp-damaged veterans. You know Bill Orcutt from his noise-jamming youth in Harry Pussy or his more recent coruscating solo electric albums or his generation-spanning and revelatory Four Guitars Quartet with Wendy Eisenberg, Shane Parish and Ava Mendoza. Steve Shelley comes direct from drumming through free-form grooves with Winged Wheel and, before that, from his work with Sonic Youth, the acknowledged acme of cerebral guitar interplay. And Ethan Miller is the man behind the 21st century’s last practicing classic rock band, Howlin’ Rain and, before that, the sky-scorching Comets on Fire. He’s playing bass here, as he did in Heron Oblivion, of which the only bad thing to say is that it didn’t last very long…
Category: Bill Orcutt
Bill Orcutt :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Guitarist Bill Orcutt has expanded past genre, throwing blues or jazz or noise into the experimental blender that is his distinct guitar playing. Whether the jagged notes jutting out of his Telecaster, the algorithmic waves made in his open-source synth program, or his layered compositions with the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet, he continues to subvert expectations time and time again. Ahead of his live release, Four Guitars Live with the aforementioned group, we sat down with Orcutt, talking about Steve Reich and Phill Niblock, improvisation, and using algorithms to find songs to cover.
On the Duo Format: An Interview Series :: Chris Corsano, Bill Orcutt, and Tashi Dorjii (Pt. 2)
Bill Orcutt, Chris Corsano, and Tashi Dorji join Aquarium Drunkard to discuss the lasting appeal of the two-piece band in improv and experimental music.
Transmissions Podcast :: Devendra Banhart/Kristin Hersh/Bill Orcutt
Equinox edition. Welcome to the September episode of our monthly Transmissions Podcast, our series of conversations with musicians and artists about why—and how—their art exists. This time out, Aquarium Drunkard founder Justin Gage sits down at AD HQ with Devendra Banhart to spin selections and discuss his new album, Ma. Then, Jason P. Woodbury joins Throwing Muses founder, solo artist, and writer Kristin Hersh backstage to discuss future sounds from Throwing Muses and Don’t Suck, Don’t Die, her book about her friend, the departed Vic Chesnutt. And to close out, Jason rings up Bill Orcutt, whose latest release, the sparse electric guitar noir, Odds Against Tomorrow, sees release October 11th.