Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Great Work Begins on booking the Wonder Valley Experimental Festival...


In the dark days of winter, spring in the desert seems impossibly distant. However that is when we begin to assemble the line up for the WVE8 (Wonder Valley Experimental 8). It also seems amazing that this is the eighth iteration of this event.

Pulsating Cyst will be headlining this year. I am very excited about this his performances are ambitious and amazing.

The rest of the lineup will be released closer to the event date.

We are hosting performers from near and far.

The Event page on Facebook is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/868337689946912/

Stay tuned for updates on this page, twitter and facebook.

There is a badge to follow phog masheeen on twitter to the right of this post, just scroll down to find it.

Stay Tuned....Mark the calendar for April 9th!

Saturday, December 19, 2015

A new festive holiday song from phog masheeen!

https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/12373168_10207475224311646_4968000761256668737_n.jpg?oh=4d69de585e7bfcd0bc8e4267d3e1b5c1&oe=5719DABF
Festive shotgun shell wreaths at the Yucca Valley Swapmeet.
Yes ladies and gentlemen there is a new festive holiday song from phog masheeen!
You can download it here for FREE! Here is the link:
http://tinyurl.com/AlwaysBChristmas

The song is titled "It Will Always Be Christmas (In Hell)."

Yes, I sang the chorus into my phone while crossing the parking lot leaving the Home Depot.
I recorded it this afternoon while cooking a ham for a Solstice party.

Enjoy!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Santa Ana Noisefest declared a victory, done complaining about my gear....

Photo by Mikey Ortega
The Santa Ana Noise Fest 7 was glorious fun!  A convivial supportive crowd in attendance! Great Sets all around.

William Almas supplied amazing visuals for many of the acts!

My gear wanted a more aggressive  set, so it made one. I am feeling even more distantly involved in the proceedings. I am in a mood to take it all apart and rebuild it again. After spraying it down with contact cleaner.

Now I am done  complaining about my gear.

this years noise cake after the frosting settled in.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Minor change to the line up for Santa Ana Noisefest 7....






There is a minor change to the line up. I traded with Virons.
Don't forget to RSVP to get in FREE!
Do that here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sanf7-santa-ana-noisefest-7-tickets-18659206188?aff=eac2


/// SANF7 11-21-15 LINE UP rev.1///

10:40 PM:: Endometruim Cuntplow
10:20 PM:: Diclonius
[10:00 to 10:20 Set up]

9:40 PM:: X-Bax
9:20 PM:: Virons
9:00 PM:: Colony Collapse
[8:40 to 9:00 Set up]

8:20 PM:: Cold Grey Eye
8:00 PM:: see through buildings
7:40 PM:: Sean Saraf
[7:20 to 7:40 Set up]

7:00 PM:: Phog Masheeen
6:40 PM:: George Bates
6:20 PM:: Charles Sharp
[6:00 to 6:20 Set up]

5:40 PM:: Small Drone Orchestra
5:20 PM:: Jesus is Dead
5:00 PM::Justin Scheid
[4:00 Load in]

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Go where the gear takes you...Some notes on performing at La Cita Bar....

The noise genre has alot to do with gear....as such...I made an odd decision a while back that has continued to guide my performances today.
A couple years ago I performed at the Dung Mummy in Jawbone Canyon, out past Mojave. The weather was harsh and as it turned out I performed in a downpour of rain. Sheets of rain. Horizontal rain. Rain like a firehose. I saw water cascading off my samplers and mixer onto my pedals below. The event is presented in the video Phog masheeen live Jawbone Canyon 4-25-2014, The Edge of Electrocution. Available for your perusal here.
https://archive.org/details/PM_Jawbone_4-25-2014

Some notable attributes of that performance were, which devices failed and when they failed. The photo at the top of this post is the gear drying in the sun. After which, I placed it in plastic bags with white rice to draw out the remaining  moisture.

The key point here  is this is all the gear that I still use now. It is not the same as it was before the rain and it has developed some issues about what it will and wont do. Stated differently, it has not and will not forgive me for my lapse in judgement.

I was reminded again at La Cita Bar that the gear has a will and direction of its own. I tested the gear at home and was confident that all was well. I have seen this ruse before and have fallen for it before.
As the show at La Cita progressed the sampler stopped filtering external sources. It didn't stop. It just stopped filtering. It passed the signal unfiltered. The pedals jumped in on the fun by developing a hair-trigger attitude about all their functions. As if they were bad employees that had a mindset of "you want more gain, I got your gain! Right Here!" Clearly the mechanical bull was off the pedestal and was trashing the bar.

So what was the take away from this event. Or this change of terms of employment of these devices.
Here is the list:

Planning is a myth. You may have an idea of what you would like. That will have no bearing on what is delivered.

The machines are more than equal partners. It is my job to transport them to the gig, provide them with power and beyond that they do what they want.

Finally, It can sound better if I get out of the way of my damaged goods and let them do their thing.

This is what happens when you don't replace the gear and watch as it ages and develops character.

Friday, October 30, 2015

TONIGHT! Phog masheeen in downtown LA!
We will be packing the dry ice for this one!
Come on down and dig it!

Monday, September 21, 2015












The line up is out for Santa Ana Noise Fest! Here it is:

/// SANF7 11-21-15 LINE UP ///

10:20 PM:: Endometruim Cuntplow
10:00 PM:: Diclonius
[9:40 to 10:00 Set up]

9:40 PM:: X-Bax
9:20 PM:: Phog Masheeen
9:00 PM:: Colony Collapse
[8:40 to 9:00 Set up]

8:20 PM:: Cold Grey Eye
8:00 PM:: see through buildings
7:40 PM:: Sean Saraf
[7:20 to 7:40 Set up]

7:00 PM:: Virons
6:40 PM:: George Bates
6:20 PM:: Charles Sharp
[6:00 to 6:20 Set up]

5:40 PM:: Small Drone Orchestra
5:20 PM:: Jesus is Dead
5:00 PM::Justin Scheid
[4:00 Load in]

Here is the link to the event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1440963149562823/

Here is the link to RSVP at Eventbrite:
 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sanf7-santa-ana-noisefest-7-tickets-18659206188?aff=eac2

Monday, August 24, 2015

A big THANK YOU to all the performers at discoNoise, then on to Norcal Noisefest!

A big THANK YOU to all the performers at discoNoise!
Jack Pharaoh, Big Epoch, Sumako Artist, Phaul, Skunk Puppet, Jorge Martin, Potar and ... phog masheeen.
Thanks again to Maha and Company for dancing (especially Edgar and Deseree who filled in for the July show).
Thanks again for William Almas for the amazing Video.
Thanks to Eric Strauss for covering the Video in July.
Thanks to the extra percussionists in August, Mitz, Mel and Francene.

Thank you Edgar for the very cool video you put together!
You can see it here:
https://youtu.be/XCU2yZ0fu-s
And Here:














Moving right along....
Next stop the Norcal Noisefest!
http://www.norcalnoisefest.com/index15.html













Phog masheeen will be performing on Saturday October 3rd. At Cafe Colonial. If you are in Sacramento we would love to meet you. Come on Down!

Monday, August 10, 2015

DiscoNoise TOMORROW Friday 8-14-15! Last chance this summer!

The final discoNoise of this summer occurs TOMORROW!

Performing August 14th, Potar, Jorge Martin and phog masheeen. For this show we are inviting our hand druming friends to join us. So Bring your Djembe and come on down. Maha and company will be dancing. Video by Bill Almas. Sumako of Toaster Music will be the Third Stage Groove Navigator for this session. This is the last one of the summer! If you have been procrastinating this is the one to see.

Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/911211265568558/

Potar interview here: https://youtu.be/378rimMtFFk


Saturday, August 1, 2015

Potar Interview Is up!

Performing at the third and final discoNoise of summer is the pre-eminent circuit bender Potar! Here is interviewed regarding his history in circuit bending and his current projects.
Mark your calendar! August 14th, CALB 729 Pine St, Long Beach. Doors at 7:30 Music at 8:00. $5.00 suggested donation (no one turned away for lack of funds!) 

You can check it out with the link below. Thank you William Almas for the amazing video. If you start watching it in the blog. Hit the "F" and go full screen. It is lovely!

https://youtu.be/378rimMtFFk




Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Changing it up in August!





After a splendid show with Phaul & Skunk Puppet and dancers Edgar and Deseree we are moving on to the third and final discoNoise of Summer 2015!  In another inovative twist, we are inviting hand drummers to pack up their djembe and come on down and jam with us. More beat = more fun!
Performing in August, circuit bender Potar, modular synthesist Jorge Martin and phog masheeen!
Come on down and join in the fun!

Thursday, July 9, 2015

A change in the lineup....

There has been a change in the lineup to discoNoise tomorrow. Emily Hay will now be joining us.
You can check out Emily at her web site: http://www.emilyhay.com/




http://www.emilyhay.com/

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Long Beach Post article on this Friday's discoNoise!

http://lbpost.com/life/music/2000006530-disco-noise-brings-experimental-noise-and-circuit-bending-to-pine-avenue

Sound to Pine Avenue








disconoise
The second installment of DiscoNoise, a three-part summer series of sonic events featuring an adventurous program of music and dance beats created by “noise artists” for your curious ears and toe-tapping tendencies, will take place on Friday evening, July 10.
Bent circuits, plug-ins, sine wave generators and video projections will fill the Bungalow Art Center on Pine Avenue for all those interested in an evening of experimental sound.  
Sonia Fierce of GataTECH, who discovered the open-ended universe of electronic music while taking classes to learn the recording trade, will be taking the stage during DiscoNoise.
With a background in punk rock and her self-described "mad scientist" inclinations toward her musical art, Fierce breathes new life into thrift store toys by re-wiring their circuits to make strange new sounds, which become the building blocks for musical structures made with live sampling and manipulation to build her set.
SoniaFierceMark Soden, DiscoNoise’s organizer, explained the science and art of circuit bending, Sonia Fierce’s specialty.
“Circuit bending is the craft of opening a noise-making device such as a child’s toy and soldering jumper wires on the circuit board to get it to malfunction in interesting ways or ‘glitch,'" he said. 
Skunk Puppet is a Long Beach local immersed in the all-digital realm of sound production. Using a collection of myriad applications, plugins and digital audio workstations, this noise artist’s act is a combination of performance-based composition and algorithmic layers.
“One of his mainstays is a software that filters sound through a virtual trachea," said Soden. "This lends a vocal or animal sound to his work. However, the virtual trachea offers attributes that are not found in the animals on our planet. So in many cases these are animals you have never heard before.”
Another local to Long Beach, performer Phaul rescues sine wave generators and other electronic test equipment to use in ways they were never intended. According to the announcement, “these tools produce amazing sonic results that will blow your mind.”
This event will be staged at the Cultural Alliance of Long Beach “Bungalow Art Center,” 729 Pine Avenue. Doors open at 7:30PM, music begins at 8:00PM. A $5 donation is requested, however no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information and performer interviews, click here. The next and last Disco Noise will take place on Friday, August 14.
Images courtesy of GataTECH and Disco Noise.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Sonia Fierce interview up on YouTube!

Sonia Fierce will be joining us on July 10th at discoNoise. We interviewed her and discussed her roots in punk rock, her path to noise and her gear. It is a great interview! Stunning video by William Almas. Check it out!

https://youtu.be/CRLTBNAJ6Ug


Monday, June 15, 2015

DiscoNoise Opening Night! Pics from Richard Shimizu!



Big Epoch
Sumako
Jack Pharaoh

William Almas, Video Projections
DiscoNoise was out of the gate with great sets from Jack Pharaoh, Big Epoch and Sumako. William Almas activated the walls with video and Maha and Company electrified the room with dance!

Disco Noise will be back July 10th for the second edition featuring, Skunk Puppet and Gatatech with Sonia Fierce. Check back here for the Sonia Fierce interview!

All photos by Richard Shimizu!

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Counting down to the first discoNoise of summer!

We are counting down to the first discoNoise of summer.
William Almas is projecting video!
Dancers from the world famous Maha and Company dance troup will be joining us.
And we have an amazing line up of artists for this first discoNoise!

Jack Pharaoh!
Is a Long Beach local that specializes and produces : Trip Hop, Experimental Electronica, Performance based beats, Electronic Jazz, Dance, and more!
As stated in his bio, "Jack Pharaoh continues to pursue the magic of making music through technology and bringing live performance to the stage to show that DJing and electronic music is not just pressing play."
http://jackpharaoh.com/

Big Epoch!
To watch Big Epoch perform is a revelation of what can be done with various DJ tools and groove boxes. His fluidity on these instruments is like watching one of the musical legends at the top of their game. The Big Epoch performance is not just about technique, it is his freshness of approach that sets him apart!
http://bigepoch.bandcamp.com/ 

Sumako Artist will be stepping in for Pulsating Cyst this evening.
Sumako is a respected noise artist in Long Beach. His work has been featured with Toaster Music in an ongoing set at the Expo Design Center at the first Friday art walk. He is a legend of texture and sound design!


Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/444061499096175/



Thursday, May 28, 2015

Disco Noise comes to Long Beach! Dancing to Noise is the Dance of the Future!




After field testing in Wonder Valley last August, Disco Noise is coming to Long Beach on the second fridays of June, July and August. Mark your calendar!

Monday, May 11, 2015

Pics from Jawbone Canyon....

The Duodenum in action!




Warming up the horn...

These are pics from last Friday's (5-8-15) JaWboNeE 2015 Dust strEams and FiRe! in Jawbone Canyon (By Mojave California) put on by the Hop-frog Collective. We hit the stage at midnight and rolled out all the toys, dry ice included.

From time to time I get someone asking me what I am up to, or "How's retirement?" The Dust Streams and Fire event in Jawbone Canyon is a fine example of "what I'm up to..."


The short version is to drive past Mojave to Jawbone Canyon. Where the "wild west" is now portrayed by quad runners and people exercising their AK-47s. Arriving at a rocky outcropping that is shaped as a "stage" where the rocks form a ring and it is easy to perch the generator out of earshot. This little enclosed area the Hop-frog collective have chosen as the site for their annual tribal gathering. Titled JaWboNeE 2015 Dust strEams and FiRe! this years event is the most recent in a succession of events that started in the early 90's. 


What I do there is to create a moving texture of sound using modified loops and then to play wind instruments that I have made from exhaust pipes over the top of that. Dry ice is involved.


Retirement is great! I recommend it for everyone! 


Thanks to Carl Off for the photos.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Phog masheeen tracks on Ass Jazz Vol. 3


It is with great pleasure that we remind you that phog masheeen has been included in Pet Goat Records release Ass Jazz Vol. 3
The Ass Jazz series features the cutting edge of Noise with a Jazz lilt to it.
The phog masheeen track "Hard Liquor and Reruns" features some fine dry ice work.
So if you are a fan of the phog masheeen affectation for dry ice this is a fine sample of that work in a "quasi-tonal" noir setting. It is an excellent soundtrack for a stifling afternoon in a lowrise hollywood tenament, with the mood enhancers wearing off and nothing to replace the void...
Dig it here:
http://www.thepetgoatrecords.com/AssJazz3.html

Wednesday, April 15, 2015


Phog masheeen performing this Sunday 4-19-15 5:30 PM at CALB 729 Pine Ave. Long Beach, CA 90802.
Performing with Andrea Pensado and Isolde Tough. These Performers are ending their tour in Long Beach and are not to be missed! They killed it big time at Wonder Valley Experimental last weekend and you will forever live in regret if you miss their Long Beach show!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Calb Video Now up! WVE7 and Jawbone coming! We are promoting Andrea Pensado/Alien Ajenda @ the Beatnik Lounge in Joshua Tree

William Almas outstanding new video of the phog masheeen large ensemble is up on YouTube here:
https://youtu.be/fiZdQEv_Ur0

It is a stunning work not to be missed! Click the title (phog masheeen live at the CALB) in the upper left to watch full screen on youtube. Some of the wide format is cut off on the blog page.



Upcoming Shows! WVE7
Jawbone Canyon...

And we are promoting Andrea Pensado and Cat Livingston (aka Alien Agenda) at the Beatnik Lounge in Joshua Tree. April 12, 2014 at 7:30PM. The Epic Flyer is by Rik Livingston. Truely a work of Genious!



Thursday, January 15, 2015

Phog masheeen large ensemble to close William Almas art show in Long Beach 1-25-15


At long last phog masheeen returns to Long Beach on 1-25-15, 1:00 pm, 729 Pine Ave. Long Beach CA. FREE!

This is a unique gig in that phog masheeen is augmented with the talents of Shauna Toh, Tom Neas and Jeff Bostock as well as the regular phog masheeen contributors Eric Strauss, Dr. Kaplan and Mark Soden Jr.

More people = more noise.

Mark your calendar and come on down!

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Why you will be a better person when you purchase the SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassette!

The SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassette was spawned when Eric Strauss and I were walking to get coffee during this years NorCal Noisefest. We saw a short phrase written on diamond plate steel with an arc welder. SMUD was the term that caught our eye. We concluded that it was a great name. Eric recorded the SMUD side and I recorded the Sludge Oven side. A cassette seemed to be the proper form for such an endeavor, only four are available on EBay from a run of ten copies. If you want one, you can get it here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMUD-Vs-Sludge-Oven-noise-power-electronics-2015-C-30-Limited-Edition-Mint-/321634020903?
Don't delay, buy today!
  

Both SMUD and Sludge Oven are individually the preeminent arbiters of the highest order of sonic experimentation and noise music. On this rare occasion they have come together to produce a cassette that is at once cleansing, therapeutic and brutal. Although initially SMUD Vs Sludge Oven may appear to the uninitiated to have much in common with the tools of sonic warfare used to extract unreliable information from non-state actors and enemy combatants. This cassette offers you and your family so much more.

First let me describe what you get!

The SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassette is a limited run of ten. That’s right! There are only ten of these cassettes made and of that ten, only four are being offered on for sale on Ebay.

With the cassette you will receive two stickers and a button. A person can never have enough stickers and a button will offer new ways to accessorize whatever outfit you choose.

With the  stickers and a button you will receive a small plastic action figure locked in perpetual battle.



But that’s not all! In the decorative sealed plastic wrapper you will receive a copy of this ad to describe to your descendants the importance of the SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassette and with create a lasting family heirloom to be handed from generation to generation in perpetuity. At family gatherings during the holidays, imagine the warmth of gathering by the antique boom box to experience the SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassette together! These are priceless memories that can only be had with your purchase of the SMUD Vs Sludge Oven Cassette.

But wait! There’s more!

The therapeutic aspect of the SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassette cannot be over stated. The audio program on the SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassette is packed with uplifting subliminal messages that in some cases have cured constipation, flakey skin and over sensitive hearing. However, the subliminal messages are many and varied so there is no telling what it will cure for you!

Act now! There are only four SMUD Vs Sludge Oven cassettes available! Do not hesitate and miss this once in a lifetime opportunity! 

All Sales Final. 

No returns.