Posts

The Gospel Of Fahey’s Christmas Soli

Holiday John FaheyPosted on

As the Turkey-fare winds down and the boxes of Christmas decor make their way from the basement, a transition is needed. Ringing in the holiday season in subtlety requires a look no further than America’s finest composer and most innovative maestro of steel string. With a discography expanding beyond 40 titles, it’s possible to overlook the holiday offerings among masterworks like Fare Forward Voyagers, The Yellow Princess, and those first five Takoma releases. Smack dab in the middle of John Fahey’s first decade shifting around the tectonic plates of traditional music came The New Possibility . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Holiday John Fahey

Billy Talbot of Crazy Horse :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Billy Talbot Neil Young The AD InterviewPosted on

It’s been more than 50 years since Neil got together with Crazy Horse, but still — nothin’ else matters. Young has just released the Rick Rubin-produced World Record, his third album with the band in as many years, and the heart of the group remains the same as it was back in ’69: drummer Ralph Molina and bassist Billy Talbot, who together have provided the elemental rhythmic bedrock that Neil has relied on for all these years. Aquarium Drunkard caught up with Talbot from his South Dakota home to get the lowdown on the Horse’s past, present and . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Billy Talbot Neil Young The AD Interview

Sylvie :: Up On The Wind

SylviePosted on

Shot in the southern California mountain range surrounding Big Bear lake, "Up On The Wind" serves as a teaser of what's to come next year on the Sylvie front . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Sylvie

Masaru Imada Trio + 1 :: Planets

Masaru ImadaPosted on

Yet another inspired ride in BBE’s masterclass series highlighting the golden age of modern Japanese jazz from the late 1960s – early 80s. Helmed and curated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, this installment shines a light on the Masaru Imada Trio + 1 lp, Planets. Originally released in 1977 via private press, the seven track set finds pianist and bandleader Masaru Imada joined by bassist Kunimitsu Inaba and drummer Tetsujiro Obara, along with sympathetic percussion courtesy of Yuji Imamura . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Masaru Imada

Loner Folks :: Robert Lester Folsom, John Fizer, Trevor Beales

John Fizer Robert Lester Folsom Trevor BealesPosted on

The so-called “loner folk” genre has become a bit of a record collector cliché over the past decade or so. The danger of hyperbole when it comes to this music is always near; you know, “unknown genius singer-songwriter makes a masterpiece, only 30 copies ever made!” Caveat emptor, of course! But the attraction remains. When it comes to the best of it, we’re given a glimpse of some alternate timeline where the dreams of these outsiders come true, and the high quality of their tunes is finally recognized and celebrated. History re-written in a small but . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on John Fizer Robert Lester Folsom Trevor Beales

Bitchin Bajas :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Bitchin Bajas The AD InterviewPosted on

We spoke with Bitchin Bajas' Cooper Crain just before Thanksgiving, as the band was preparing for an East Coast tour and moving forward on two new recordings: a second collaboration with Natural Information Society and a 12-hour improvised jam made last spring in the Azores. We talked about how these three make their music and how their audiences receive it, about starting over after a setback and about how music works best when it’s a bit of a mystery . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Bitchin Bajas The AD Interview

Groove Orient: South Asian Elements in Psychedelic Jazz

MixtapesPosted on

Jazz's engagement with South Asian musical ideas and instruments in the 1960s and 70s didn't just make 'spiritual' or 'world' jazz. Out of the extraordinary variety of jazz experiments with Indian musical traditions came all kinds of funky, soulful, groovy, exploratory and just plain far out sounds. We collected some of our favorites . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Mixtapes

The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PST, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

Outré California. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.

34.1090° N, 118.2334° W . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on SIRIUS

Erasmo Carlos :: 1941-2022

Brazil Erasmo CarlosPosted on

Yesterday, legendary Brazilian musician Erasmo Carlos passed away at 81. Simultaneously proto-Tropicalia and post-Tropicalia, his trilogy of releases from 1970 to 1972 embody an indie aesthetic of twangling guitars and cosmic laid-backness that, rather than merely mimicking (and being subsumed by) American trends, may fit completely in an admirable tradition of obscure para-country balladeers, with Robert Lester Folsom, F.J. McMahon, and others . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Brazil Erasmo Carlos

Ernest Hood :: Back to the Woodlands

Ernest HoodPosted on

Recorded in the '70s and early '80s like his exceptional album Neighborhoods and presented again by the Freedom to Spend label, Back to the Woodlands by experimental composer and public radio explorer Ernest Hood layers field recordings from his neighborhood in Western Oregon with washes of zither and synthesizer . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Ernest Hood

Happy Thanksgiving :: Doug Sahm And Friends – Austin, TX 1972

Doug Sahm ThanksgivingPosted on

Tradition runs rampant around Thanksgiving: generations of old recipes, football, Alice’s Restaurant . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Doug Sahm Thanksgiving

Earth Girl Helen Brown :: Feed Me

Earth Girl Helen BrownPosted on

...the EP finds the Heidi Alexander-led group embracing all manner of sinuous funk, particularly on Earth's second track, "Feed Me". Reminiscent of ESG/Talking Heads/Slits, the near seven minute embrace drips with pathos as Alexander's double tracked vox breathe in and out over a muscular bass line, polyrhythms, mellotron, sax, flute, Korg, and beyond . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Earth Girl Helen Brown

Celtic Guru :: Van Morrison In The 80s | Beautiful Vision

Celtic Guru Van MorrisonPosted on

The string of releases to follow Common One would serve as companions in staking out a New-Age Celtic spirituality built on channeling legacies as far flung as Jimmy Rogers, Ray Charles, Christmas Humphrey, and L Ron Hubbard. Critical as any of these to Van’s Celtic Guru years was an interpretation of Alice Bailey’s theosophy. The ideas were laid out on Van’s 1980 masterwork, but the seven rays never radiated as brightly as they did on Beautiful Vision . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Celtic Guru Van Morrison

Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: November 22

Radio Free Aquarium DrunkardPosted on

Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard, every third Sunday on dublab. Up first on our four-hour broadcast, Tyler Wilcox's Doom and Gloom from the Tomb, sliding into Jason P. Woodbury's Range and Basin and Chad DePasquale’s New Happy Gathering. To close the show out, a special airing of an episode from our weekly podcast: a chat with iconoclast, Jim Jarmusch. Tune in Sunday, November 20 from 4-8 PM PST on dublab . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard

Videodrome :: Let’s Get Lost (1988)

Chet Baker VideodromePosted on

Rather than characterize Baker as the trumpet-wielding James Dean or a playboy jazz rebel, Weber shows Baker for who he was: a deeply flawed man, with bruises and blemishes and all. The contrast between Baker's personality and musicality makes Weber's profile of Baker that much more heartbreaking. How could someone of so few words be so lyrical and poignant in their musicianship? How could someone who lived so crudely play so gently and sing so sweetly . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Chet Baker Videodrome