archives: Players Choices: #6 for Charles Ardinger

Instagon Player's Choice #6
for CHARLES ARDINGER
session #53
"A Live Noise Experimental Tribute to Theodore Giesel/Dr.Seuss"
September 23, 1994
The Natural Fudge Cafe, Los Angeles,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1994-09-23.flac16

Charles Ardinger, the Punk Nerd.. has been involved with Instagon since very very early on appearing in his first show in Spring of 1994...since then he has continued to be a part of the instagon experience whenever we have the chance to include him...he has a regular standing invitation and is always welcome.  Currently, according the most recent records, he has appeared with Instagon in 46 sessions.. giving him the #6 position currently in the 10 Top Players list.  Charles is a one of a kind person.. a unique character to say the least (and that is actually nearly an understatement) He is one of the very special people that has been drawn into the magickal vortex that is Instagon whom we are seriously happy to have been given the chance to work with.  THIS show, that Charles chose, was actually a pretty easy guess as to the show that Charles WOULD pick..hehe  it was his 9th appearance with Instagon.. He was the front man for the band.. we were doing Giesel .. if you know Charles, this is obviously a show that was conceptualized for him..and so it is one of his favorites..

During the first few years that Instagon was doing live appearances...we used to do this thing called a "noise/experimental tribute" ..and we would pick a subject, and they would be the subject matter that a conceptual based performance would be created around..  we did them for W.S.Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Richard Nixon, Charles Manson, David Koresh, and a few others... THIS recording is just one such of these performances.. with our honoree being Dr. Seuss.  The plan was to have a few sound artists with random instruments play accompaniment while a poet, Charles Ardinger, the punk nerd, reads 3 books by Dr. Seuss...this was the entire concept for the performance.  But what happened was so much more.. and this recording does so little to convey just what really happened on that day.  A few close friends and allies were present for this nights performance..
  We drove into the heart of Los Angeles.. the east hollywood/silverlake side of town..if you are familiar with a venue called the IL CORRAL then this is exactly that same part of town..but long before the days of Il Corral.  The space was called NATURAL FUDGE CAFE.. it was an underground legend in the LA area.. it was owned and operated by a woman and her husband.. and i cannot for the life of me remember thier names..  the husband passed and the woman continued to run the space.. renting to bands ..rockers, punks, mods, whatever.. she also sold cold sodas and was really quite an animated character in her own right. We, meaning Instagon, somehow got on a show with a few other bands.. i think Opus might have set this show up.. the other bands were high school aged pop punks.. we did not think this was gonna go over well.. but we proceeded anyways.  On the mound for the deamon with me (Lob) was Sharon444 playing floor tom percussion.. Opus23 playing guitar.. and Reverend Andy Warthog (RIP) mixing noises and samples live with a 4-track cassette machine. .on the microphone ..reading the Seuss, Charles Ardinger.   When Charles stepped out onto the stage space he was wearing his signature fedora hat..glasses.. a sports coat.. and black & red speedo underwear. .black socks.. hard shoes.   it was QUITE the site..  (ANY PHOTOS THAT MAY EXIST HAVE YET TO BE SEEN)   Charles took the mic and told us some fun facts about Dr. Seuss.. and then read Cat In The Hat, Green Eggs & Ham, and Hop Up Pop..  while the teenage crowd from the other band gathered and gawked in disbelief.. I remember there were a group of  young girls.. barely of legal age i am sure.. they gathered together in front of the stage and got on their knees and bowed and praised Charles as he read the Dr. Seuss..  it was most incredible to behold.. and these sort of things really just cannot be made up.  The performance ended.. I tried to engage the crowd in some dialogue about Dr. Seuss..but they were not really up for it..  Andy played some great samples and we faded away into the Los Angeles night never to been again at the Natural Fudge Cafe. 

   You can click the link above to hear this session or download it and hear it later. The recording is not the best..as its an old school walkman style cassette recording.  you can hear me messing with the microphone in the beginning trying to get the best placement for sound before we start. So I apologize for the not so listenable quality..this posting is mostly for historical fact and documentation, which is just how it should be anyways..  enjoy the show!

Instagon 579 at The Distillery, Sacramento,CA 8-27-2011

INSTAGON
Aug. 27, 2011
The Distillery, Sacramento,CA
session 579
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2011-08-27.flac16

Megafauna are an awesome band from Austin,TX.  They came thru Sacramento last January and played a show with Garage Jazz Architects.  This time thru we set up a show with Instagon.  The show was really fun for those that were there..but the turnout was not as happy as anyone would have liked. ce la vie.. we still played a strong show.  The night started out with BUK BUK BIGUPS doing a ripping 20 minute solo set of really Dan Deacon inspired performance art... Instagon was next on the stage.. this time around it was all first time players.. with Kim Aparicio from The COMMON MEN on drums, Robert Kuhlmann from chikading! playing guitar for a change.. and Jasynte Harris from Set Theory916 holding down the keys.. Of all 3 of the new players, Kim was probably the most nervous at the start..but she did great and we had a blast!  The show started sorta slow..but quickly built up pace and was pretty hot with Joyride leading the way.. Buzzkill followed, it was not as upbeat as past versions, but still cool..there was a really fun version Orgone Collector ..and I pulled out a riff called "Peaches" from the band The Stranglers for the first time. (its Hugh Cornwell of the Stranglers birthday this weekend), and a long rocking version of "Sound of the Night" to close out the set. . Little Black Bats were supposed to play next.. but they did not show up at all for the gig for some still unknown reason.. so Megafauna took the stage and mopped up the night.. Dani's shredding guitar and dreamy vocals made for  great time .. thanks to everyone that DID make it out.  Click on the link above to hear this set from Instagon.

Instagon 579, photo by Kevin Ian

here is a link to a video clip of "Peaches"
http://youtu.be/TrxfiNI8xz0

here is a link to a video clip of "Sound of the Night"
http://youtu.be/Tr-VpiX3b5w

here is a 2nd clip from "Sound of the Night"
http://youtu.be/QHyv6JSSIzw

archives: Players Choices: #5..(tie) Robert Fisher & Sean Campeau

When we started this series of show postings,..these 2 players were NOT tied...but with last week's gig at Vega's in Old Sacramento (session #577) Robert Fisher has moved up one more notch and now he and Sean 'Yod' Campeau are both tied for the #5 spot.. The Fifth largest number of shows played by any individuals is 58 shows and currently both Yod and Robert are tied with this number to be proud of.  So we asked both of them to choose a show that was their favorite memories of playing with Instagon.
 Sean's first choice was a show from 1994 in Fullerton,CA at the Muckenthaler Museum. (session #37,4-29-94). This was a show that involved a procession of percussionist walking up the street to the Museum and into the grounds to the stage area...where we continued to create a tribal percussion with drums and wind instruments...soon a small crowd gathered that included random children that were VERY excited and into what we were doing.. soon we had the kids on the stage playing the drums and other instruments and WE were sitting on the grass watching. It was very very fun and well.. because of the nature of it..there does not seem to be a recording. This is one of those rare shows that does not appear to be found in our immediate archival collection.  IF someday this show DOES find its way to materializing.. we will for sure share it.. but it does not seem to be available. ..and so ..we asked Yod what his SECOND choice would be .. and he came up with this

Players Choice #5 (tie)

for Sean 'Yod' Campeau

session #314
Dec. 22, 2002 -Liquid Den, Huntington Beach,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2002-12-22.flac16

The Liquid Den was a bar in Huntington Beach that was owned by Jim Cline, brother to Opus23.  He hired Lob to book the bands for his bar...we had live music 7 days a week (when we could make it happen).  Instagon played an 28 month Sunday night residency at the Liquid Den...nearly every Sunday night for almost 2 & half years , with a different line up and stellar shenanigans. Sean also worked at Liquid Den at the end of the run in 2004 as the sound man there.. but this show is from the early beginnings of this epic residency in December of 2002.. a holiday show. We played 2 sets. The players included all regulars to the Sunday night happenings, The band was Lob, Sean Campeau, as well as Liquid Den's then current sound man Don Rawlin (RIP)...sax man Keith Adams..and members of THE TAINT..Zach Olson & Jack Johnson. ..Sean said he chose this show because during the show at one point I turned to Don and asked him to start something from the guitar.. to begin the next jam.. and he started to play the xmas tune "Carol of the Bells" and it was the funniest thing he remembers ever happening during an Instagon... and we indeed continued on and played Carol of the Bells... as well as Little Drummer Boy...just to be sure everyone understands that the Deamon has xmas spirit damn it!  Because it was the holidays, this show was played to nearly an empty bar..probably under 10 people witnessed this glory...the sounds of frogs and crickets you hear on the recording are put there.. We used to run this looping track of that audio behind us during shows like this just to add to the empty atmosphere as a joke.  This show has been digitally remastered from the original recordings. It was previously released as TIF058 a 2CD package .. limited to probably 10 copies or less.  This show as also dedicated to JOE STRUMMER (of THE CLASH) who passed away on the day of the show.   Lots of great riffs.. first time songs.. songs we don't play any more.. and fun times in this Players Choice.   Click the link above to download or stream this show.

Players Choice #5 (tie)
for Robert Fisher

session #173
Sept. 12, 1998 - PCH CLUB, Wilmington,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1998-09-12.flac16

The P.C.H. Club was a run down shack of a warehouse space in the industrial area of Wilmington, CA. near the waterfront on Pacific Coast Hwy. It was a DIY Punk venue that was run by a number of local Long Beach/San Pedro punks and was able to house shows for a few years before it closed or was shut down..I cannot really remember...but it WAS a place where a LOT of really great 1990's hardcore and indie punk shows happened in So Cal..it also was friendly to grindcore, noise, and just about everything else.  It was across the street from an oil refinery that had flames bursting from the top of it continually around the clock..so the place for sure had that underground, anarchistic hidden clubhouse feel to it.. it was perfect.  Instagon only played the P.C.H. Club 4 times, this was our 2nd visit. The line up was amazing for an experimental show at the time.. opening the show was PARAMECIAL WEDDING from Los Angeles (Joseph Hammer, Mitchell Brown, Tom Grimley!), followed by Huntington Beach locals THEE AHMISH (featuring Charles Ardinger,& Dr. Oblivious), and also the power of San Francisco's SUB ARACHNOID SPACE.. one of the greatest west coast space rock bands ever. Instagon also was happy to be including Mason Jones from SAS on guitar joining the band as well as EDDIE NERVO (DOG,DESTROY DATE), BRETT RUBIN, and also 2nd guitar ROBERT FISHER. Even though we are long time friends, this show is one of only 2 sessions that Mason Jones (Trance,SAS,Charnel House) has played (as of yet) with Instagon.
Robert said this show has always stuck with him as just being super spacey and groovy and a fun time..it was very lo-keyed and fluid and we just jammed hard. The first half of this show (up until "Forward") was full improvisation and without boundaries. Its not the longest show in the archive.. nor is it the shortest..but its very very spacey and worthy of your adventurous ears.
click the link above to experience this show.

Remembering Scott Wannberg 1953-2011

photo by Mark Savage

Electric.
There are many words i would use to describe Scott Wannberg, but the one that i keep coming back to is Electric.  He was a poetic Tesla Coil..he transmitted word energy.. when he came into a room.. you KNEW he was there.. when he took a mic into his hand.. your attention was commanded ..when he did the wiggly dance .. all the hippies swooned.  When I was hosting poetry readings in 1993.. i became familliar with the Carma Bums and invited them to appear at Jam's Coffee House...right away when I met Scott we got along because we are both Deadheads..so we had that Jerry Garcia bond of life that Deadheads have.. and we were instant brothers.   I had the pleasure of seeing Scott read numerous times and the honor of inviting and having him appear with Instagon .. twice!  At the news of Scott's passing this past weekend, we decided that it would be the honorable thing to do to post these shows up to share them with those that are also feeling this horrible loss.. and also to share with those that may not have had the opportunity to experience the great mountain of a man that was as warm as sun-rays and as kind as music in the morning dew. Both of these shows are now posted and available for free streaming and downloading, just click the links below.


Session 194
June 6, 1999, Club Mesa, Costa Mesa, Ca
THEE WORD THING featuring Scott Wannberg & Raindog w/ Instagon
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1999-06-09.flac16

Thee Word Thing started in 1993 at Jam's Coffee House in Huntington Beach,CA. it continued on thru various changes and locations to become one of the longest running poetry series in Orange County history.  In 1999, Thee Word Thing was happening on Wednesday nights at a great bar in Costa Mesa, CA called CLUB MESA.   We had a great stage, awesome sound, a beautiful bartender, and a great place for fun and poetry.   On a night in early June of 1999 the featured poets scheduled to appear were SCOTT WANNBERG of the Carma Bums, & Raindog from Lummox Press. .with music provided by INSTAGON.

The reading begain with Raindog doing a long reading first.. then a short break while we set up musical instruments on the stage.. Raindog also brought a Yamaha Electronic Saxophone that he had played with Instagon previously.   Scott read next and Raindog accompanied him with the electronic sax..  Scott read 2 of his poems  "Scarecrow" (for Matthew Sheppard), "No Mercy"...and then slowly as they continued on together..the rest of the Instagon band players appeared on stage behind him.. and then we were off together.. like Peter Pan on the wind.. nothing to hold us back.  Instagon slowly crept into the stage and presented the Deamon Crawl.. and Scott dropped words about the monkey's in the brain of the president...and the "Crawl of The Monkeys In the Presidents Brain" was born..
This track appeared later that year on the Instagon "SPACE 1999" CD release...but that is not where this adventure ends.. Scott also goes on to drop something involving Radioactivity in the Lunchboxes of the Poor during a great version of "Forward".   and then lays down lyrics, Ginsberg style, over "Orgone Collector" about how Strom Thurman Came Thru his Chimney last night!    ALL of these recordings are seriously classic Wannberg..true word slinger, slinging words and not holding any verbs or punches at all. ..The evening closes out with a slow moving rendition of a Pink Floyd riff "One of These Days", and an improvisational excursion called Heavy Mental (only time played) Band players included Lob, Brian Comerford (guitar), Cary Pealer (percussion), Brett Rubin (drums), & R.D.Armstrong (electronic sax)
 

Session # 256
March 21, 2011
Club Mesa, Costa Mesa,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2001-03-21.flac16

Still going strong in 2011, Thee Word Thing invited Scott Wannberg & Raindog back for a second round of poetry and musical interaction. This time around however, no recordings of the poetry readings were made, and the band's set was not mixed very well and the vocals sorta are lost in the music...they ARE there. But for sure, there is no mistaking the voice of Scott Wannberg has he pierces thru the evening's chaos and groove searching with words and hidden political agenda. This show, poetry wise, is not as strong as the 1999 show., but the music is pretty strong and so we wanted to share it anyways. This session features the first time Instagon attempts to play Hendrix's Manic Depression.  As well as the only appearance by local OC musician George Fryer, who created a new riff for the night we called "Red Spokes".  Also included in this session Lob & Cary Pealer. Click the Link above to reach hear/download  this show.

Instagon 577 at Vega's Nightclub, Old Sacramento

Instagon
Aug. 19, 2011
session #577
Vega's Nightclub, Old Sacramento,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2011-08-19.flac16

Instagon played a SMOKIN' show to a room of a few friends and lucky peeps who happened to have stumbled upon it this past weekend in Old Sacramento for our friend Rick Vega of Vega's Nightclub.  The session players consisted of long time friend Robert Fisher(Gospel Swamp Blues Band) from Huntington Beach (who happened to be in town with his wife and could play a show), Chad E. Williams, Tony Passarell, D.Ray Grisham, and local drummer Joe Carusi(Fish Cat Fish) playing his 2nd show with Instagon.  This show was pretty amazing all around.. A new riff called "Obliviate" made its debut.. as well as a floppy excursion into The Dead's Shakedown Street (last time played 8-3-03 ses#352...225 show!) ..Brainwashed Love & Jazz for Satan were both pretty outstanding.. and a great version of Pink Floyd's Set The Controls (Robert's request) was also let loose....The night closed with Robert Fisher's traditional rendition of the blues classic "Cocaine (runnin all in my brain)"  which had not happened since session #406 (171 shows) in November 2004. Click on the link above to hear this show. Free streaming and downloads are available

photo of Instagon577 by Tracy Fisher

archives: Players Choices #3 & 4: Opus23 & Dr. Oblivious

As we continue our collection of favorites from the top players choices.. we move on to the number 3 & 4 positions.. and CURRENTLY at this time, they are a CLOSE race!!.

Players Choice #3
for Opus23

session #27
February 18, 1994, KUCI FM, Irvine, CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1994-02-18.flac16

Opus23 (aka Justin Cline) was one of the early conspirators involved with the expanding the Instagon project into the hands of reality. He was involved with the planning and booking of the first live public performance.  Currently Opus rides the #3 position of those that have played the most with the Deamon.. having appeared in 69 separate documented sessions.. and probably some that are not documented. He was a major player in the early days of the project and the many wild and crazy "conceptual" performances that Instagon did in those first 3 years were due directly to Opus' influence on the Deamon. He has not appeared with Instagon since Eugene Noise Fest in 2007.  He currently lives in Seattle,WA with his wife and child and runs a wonderfully successful Ice Cream parlor called "Full Tilt Ice Cream".  When contacted and asked about what his choice for his most memorable adventure with Instagon ..he choice a show from the early days that has become known to the initiated frequencies as "NIRVANA".
  During those first few years of Instagon we were very lucky to meet and befriend a local OC collage radio DJ named Brian MacDonald (who also happens to live in Seattle now). Brian was hosting a 3 hour late night weekly show called "%$#&YER&*%TV" (Yer TV)..it happened on Friday nights from 2am to 5am.. it was live...and it was pretty much anything goes. Brian was open to having live sound artists come and do odd sounding weird stuff on his radio show.. and when we found out about it.. well, it seemed like a match made by destiny!

Instagon made 4 separate appearances on Brian's show and he pretty much handed over the show to us and let us freak out in the studios and halls for KUCI, with as many people as we wanted, for the entire time the show was on air for each of the times it happened...it was RADIO CHAOS.. and we enjoyed the hell out of it.. it was one of those experiences that helped to establish the "no boundaries" attitude that Instagon developed as a growing Audio Deamon.   Session #27 (aka Nirvana) was a live on air performance over the FM airwaves of KUCI at the University of Irvine in Irvine,CA. It was the 4th and final appearance of instagon on Brian's show. It lasted 2hours and 40mins and was epic.. This recording is sometimes hard to listen to.. but its also really amazing the things we did for fun in 1994.. boys up late at night.. with radio waves to entertain an audience that may or may not even be there.  As we were loading in for this show around midnight.. we heard drumming coming from across the college campus.. and upon further investigation found 5 guys playing big Japanese style Taiko drums.. so we asked them to join us on the radio and they agreed.  So this session now had 5 drummers, Lob, Opus, and also the late Rev. Andy Warthog, Wm Rage (BlueSabbathBlackCheer), Daniel Bremmer, Dan Young, Christoher Bradbury (aka Xtopher Robin) (who also now lives in Seattle.. what is this a conspiracy??), & Brian MacDonald...and we were chaos incarnated over the air for hours. Towards the later part of the session.. there was a moment of vocal interplay between Lob & WmRage.. and one of them said the word "Nirvana".. and this led into a frenzy of sillyness surrounding Nirvana..
and making fun of the band, the members, in a very very childish way and it was very fun and infectious.. by the end of the night we were all screaming and yelling "Nirvana" like it was some crazy drug.. we left the studio and defaced the office, hallways, & elevator at KUCI with black markers.. leaving the Instagon symbol, the number 23, psychick crosses, the word Nirvana.. and Opus even signed it.
It was not a very nice thing to do..but it WAS loads of fun.. and the following Monday we were called and told we had to come back to the college and clean up our mess.  I asked a photographer friend, Alexis Grimler, to join us and she documented some great photos of our chaos and shenanigans.  At least one of these photos appeared inside the debut CD by Instagon later that year.. and the title of that CD was also taken from this "clean up" session....While we were cleaning up our tagging.. a well dress woman walked by and stopped to look at us.. we asked her what she thought of our art?  she replied.. in a slight English accent that "It was the most creative thing she had ever seen.."

So.. this session..has TONS of history and story behind it..  Rage & Lob still joke about the "Nirvana Incident" occasionally to this day..  and the track "Nirvana" itself later appeared on the "THIS IS INSTAGON" collection released later in 1997 on cassette.  This recording is the ENTIRE performance as captured AT the station to cassette using their equipment...the tapes were transferred to large audio files and all of the titles, EXCEPT for "Nirvana" were created for this digital remastering in 2011 for this etree posting to make it easier to explore.
[All photos from session #27 by Alexis Grimler-Donato]

Players Choice #4
for Dr. Oblivious

Session #136
February 2, 1997
The Chameleon, San Francisco,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1997-02-02.flac16

Dr. Oblivious (aka Alan Urbany) is right behind Opus in regards to the number of sessions he has played since his first appearance in 1995..which is currently 68 sessions. But he has played as recently as 2010 and is scheduled for an appearance later this year... so his numbers are likely to change before the end of the universe (towards the end of next year supposedly...).  Dr. O was a gift given to Thee Instagon Foundation by the late Reverend Andy Warthog (RIP) and to this day, continues to be one of his greatest gifts every given to the Deamon's cause. Dr. O is very much a part of the "NOISE" personality of the Deamon Instagon.. and this too adds to his race with Opus..as they are both probably the players with the most "noise" involved Instagon shows as their accumulated appearances. Dr. O was also one of the FIRST RESPONDERS and so his FIRST choice was a show that was already previously posted..this is his 2ND choice we have taken for his Player Choice pick.

Session #136 happened at a bar in the mission district of San Francisco called The Chameleon, it has closed long ago. This was a late afternoon session..Lob & Dr.O were on Instagon's first Tour or Northern California and playing shows with people from the cities they stopped.  This was Instagon's first public appearance in the San Francisco Bay area. For this session we enjoyed the company of Crow Mayhem, of the band GALAXY CHAMBER, (who was an old friend from OC), also Wm.Rage (BlueSabbathBlackCheer), Gravity Goldberg ..who attempted jumping rope with a live mic cord during the appearance.. and who also played accordion.

This was Gravity's ONLY appearance with Instagon, although she was a very close friend to the original crew and still remains a good acquaintance to this day.  This show also happened to fall on the 4th birthday of the deamon Instagon.. it being the 4 year anniversary of the first ritual in Fullerton,CA.  This show was attended by many friends from the bay area from 23rd Current and TOPY circles. The session was just under 40 minutes long.. it consisted of 3 improvisational drone based sound sculptures..2 of which were named by members of the audience upon request and these requests can be heard on the recordings.  This was Dr. Oblivious' 2nd choice from the year 1997, so it seems that was probably a good year for noise. These recordings are the best available using the equipment that was on hand to capture and document the event.

[session #136 photos taken by Unknown person]
-/\-

"Scary City" review from Vital Weekly

VITAL WEEKLY is a weekly journal of reviews of audio releases by experimental sound artists.  In issue #793, released this week.. they had mixed comments to say regarding "Scary City"... read for yourself...  do you agree?  have you heard Scary City yet?  what are your thoughts??

http://www.vitalweekly.net/793.html

archives: Players Choice #1 & 2: Cary Pealer & Chad E. Williams

as stated previously.. we will continue on with the aforementioned plan and postings of sessions from the Deamon's Archives. ..for the next series of sessions to be posted we thought it would be nice if we asked the individuals who played the most shows what their choices were? ...seemed like as good as an approach as any other.. i mean we are dealing with over 550 recordings spanning 2 decades and on at least 3 different formats!!  So we bring to you now.. the first 2 in this series of 10 ..the Instagon sessions as chosen by the players who have played the most Instagon sessions! (not counting me - Lob)...
CLICK LINKS BELOW FOR STREAMING AND DOWNLOADING OF THESE LIVE RECORDINGS.

Players Choice #1
for Cary Pealer

Session #243
November 1, 2000 - Club Mesa, Costa Mesa, CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2000-11-01.flac16

Cary Pealer has been a repeating player throughout the history of the Instagon experience.. currently, at the time of this posting, our data shows Cary with 150 sessions with Instagon.. that is over 25% of all Instagon sessions.. and gives him the extreme distinction of being the top session player for Instagon...Cary is a drummer.. he currently lives in Riverside,CA,  He has played drums for a band called Punk As A Doornail for nearly 10 years...and has a new project forthcoming.  When asked what Instagon show stands out in his mind as exceptional and worth being shared with the world before any others.. Cary's choice was this show from a Wednesday night in Costa Mesa,Ca.   Club Mesa was home to a weekly drunken poetry/spoken word open mic type happening on Wednesday nights hosted by Lob (me) .. and so Instagon would make regular appearances..  This occasion was during a featured reading appearance by a good friend whom is no longer with us, Mr Gary Tomlinson (RIP)...who also played the hammer Dulcimer on this recording.. which IS one of the reason it stands out.  Besides Lob, Cary, Gary & his Dulcimer.. Robert Fisher played guitar for this session.. and when asked for HIS choices.. this was ALSO his choice!..(so he got to make another pick...more on that at a later time...)  Both Robert & Cary had the same thing to say.. that it was the only time they had ever gotten to play with someone playing a Dulcimer.. and it was so unique and had such an interesting sound.. it remained a really strong and fun memory.  ..and I really cannot agree with them more.  Check this show out and you can be your own judge.. near the end of this show.. we tried to play the song "Speed"..which normally would not have really been a problem..but something went wrong and we fell into something else.. and the first "Speedwobble" was born.. and this version, the first version, is amazing...and this riff went on to appear many more times in the session sets.

Players Choice #2

for Chad E. Williams

Session #515
September 12, 2009, Flux 53, Oakland,CA

http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2009-09-12.flac16

When Instagon moved to Sacramento area in 2005, Chad was one of the first musicians that was interested in finding out more and how to become involved.. here we are 6 years later and currently Chad has accumulated the 2nd most number of sessions on record with Instagon. He has currently played 73 shows (just under half of what Cary has played!)..and he continues to play regularly (even will be playing with Instagon at the end of next week.) Chad is a staple in the CURRENT revolving roster of players for Instagon ..and has been the "go to" guitarist for the past few years.. He is an amazing guitarist with a flow and tone that strike thru the deamon's grooves and accents the sessions he appears on every time. In 2007, Chad was part of the founding of GARAGE JAZZ ARCHITECTS ..a sort of Instagon side project that has taken on a life of its own!! When asked what HIS choice for an Instagon that he remembers as being powerful.. he responded with a request for this show from Oakland in 2009, session #515.  

In 2009 Instagon appeared on a CD compilation on Edgetone Records called MUDWAGON VOL. 1.  .. this Oakland show was a release party/event for that CD.  There was also a group art show that featured original work by our good friend C.J.BOROSQUE.  Instagon played very late and many were tired...(but we woke them up hehehe)...the ensemble featured Free Fargo on drums (from Vernian Process), Rent Romus on sax and electronics (Lords of Outland), and Chad E. Williams on guitar (Garage Jazz Architects).

The band made it to the stage and sonically took off and right away was breaking new territory.. an new riff was born at this show as well called "The Flux" and it too has continued on to appear on future set lists..the energy was super high...and the musical connections on stage were powerful.  Free mentioned before the show that his drums had been in storage and this was the first time he had played them in over a year!!  It hardly showed at all.  on fire and really using the silent space more than he regularly does ...this show ranks up there and you should take the time to really check it out.

Next Players Choice postings to be from OPUS23 and Dr. Oblivious! We supposed this COULD be taken as some sort of warning.. so there you have it.
-/\-

FIRST RESPONDER'S CHOICE SHOWS

so, as mentioned in the previous blog we have begun a new archive for live shows.. the question was put forth to the fans of our facebook profile for what Instagon performances would they like to have first available.. ..the first 3 responses have been posted, and we would like to give a little back ground on those shows here.

The first three shows that were requested (in order) are:
session #568 - 4-30-2011 @ Poo Frog Ranch, Clipper Mills,CA (requested by Matt Conklin, Sacramento,CA)

session #76 -  3-25-1995 @ Club Sin-a-Matic, Hollywood,CA (requested by Sharon444, North Hollywood,CA)

session #141  - 5-2-1997 @ Impala Cafe, Los Angeles,CA (requested by Dr. Oblivious, Phoenix,AZ)

Poo Frog Ranch
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2011-04-30.flac16

Show #568 was late at night.. Instagon played the headliner spot of the Saturday night in the 2 day musical event that happened over May Day weekend at the Poo Frog Ranch.   PFR is a place in the mountains outside of Marysville,CA...sorta between Marysville & Grass Valley somehow...They have a nice big piece of land & have built a very cool stage to invite bands to appear on.  Because we played last on Saturday night...and there were issues during the early part of the show with time scheduling.. we played really really late at night.. and it was rather cold for those left in the crowd to hear us...many had already retired to their sleeping bags to await the warmth of the sun.  This was a large ensemble with 2 drummers  (Mark from GJA, & Moe from Set Theory), 4 guitars (Chad from GJA, John Keeling, Stephen Elliot, & Gary Piazza from Redding) and a trumpet! (Nicole from Upwords Movement) ..it was really great to see Gary.. we met him a few years ago when he toured with Greg Ginn's band...the last time he had played with Instagon was for show #500.  We started the set very psychedelic by flowing out of the Invokation into a cool version of Dripfall..  the recording really features the trumpet.. as it was turned up a little louder than everything else it seems.  Over all its a pretty smokin' performance. The stand out track for me on this is the version of "The Sound of The Night" which just tore it up, features lyrics (rare) and Gary Piazza's opening guitar work is outstanding.  (great choice Matt!)

SIN-A-MATIC
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1995-03-25.flac16
session #76 is probably one of THEE most unique shows and recordings of Instagon..which is saying a lot actually..i mean we ARE talking about Instagon.  This show is a dance show.. a techno dance show.. 40 mins of blistering beats pumped by DJ OSST and pounded on by tribal drums and guitar assaults...it was at a really popular industrial dance club in Hollywood at the time and it was PACKED!  there were probably 300-400 people there that night to boogie to the deamon grooves.  Tribal drums were provided by Sharon 444 and members of the Drums of Pangia, and the guitar work was from Opus23 and the late Rev. Andy Warthog.   This show also featured a dancer girl in a bikini wearing a Nixon halloween mask (Gretchen Del Villa, who has also passed away since then) .. it was a visual and sonic spectacle....we are lucky to have this soundboard recording.. if only personal video was happening in 1995!  This one is like NOTHING else you will hear in the entire Instagon archive.. we promise..
(thanks to Sharon for the request)

IMPALA CAFE 5-2-97
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1997-05-02.flac16session #141 this is a noise show.. its not a great recording.. but its all the documentation that we have.  Instagon played a number of really great noise and live sound art collage type shows at the Impala Cafe during the time it was open.  Dr. Oblivious is a toy collector.. and so for this show we let him bring toys.. he brought a zube tube, and other fun weird little wind up and electronic noise making toys.  This show also features the only appearance with Instagon of local Orange County filmmaker and straight edge music enthusiast, Evan Jacobs.   (Evan returned the favor later by including a short interview with Lob in one of his films on OC hardcore music!).  This show has some really sharp moments of feedback and super heavy sonic drones laid down by this trio.   An odd choice.. but not so odd when you think about it coming from Dr. O.   (thanks for the pick!)

so these are the first 3 shows, as requested by the Facebook fans of Instagon.
they are now available for free download and streaming..

the next group of shows that are going to be posted will be the PLAYERS CHOICE picks.. and we will ask the 10 individuals who have played in the most Instagon shows over the years what their picks are..  first up Cary Pealer.. next Chad E. Williams.. followed by Opus23..  stay tuned in .. more great moments in the archives are coming soon.   -/\-

NEWS - NEWS - NEWS - NEWS

SO.. did you miss the Tube?  its only been 4 months since the last pathetic posting,..no comments?   Facebook has seemed to become our most active outlet for sending out news and information.. so if you are not a fan there.. you should sign up..

INSTAGON HAS BEEN VERY BUSY this has been a fairly busy year so far...we have played 22 shows so far this year.. and there are another 5 or 6 already confirmed as coming!   the schedule on this blog has been updated.
There have been 2 new releases so far this year.. and there are 3 more that are forthcoming..  TIF released "Thee Speed ov Infection" a studio CD.   LOVE EARTH MUSIC released "Scary City" a collection of live recordings with a poetry book by Lob. .. coming soon there will be "Pink Eye" from Placenta Recordings, a split CD with The Transhumans from Ventura,CA on Paper Cuts Records, and a full length CD on Aurricular Recordings as well.. so its a busy year!

also we have been doing some networking and building the web presence up a bit.
you can now find Instagon on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Myspace, SongKick, & Reverbnation.

ALL of this news and these links can be found at the instagon web page menu

http://www.tif.org/instagon/menu23.html

but the BIGGEST NEWS is that INSTAGON has joined the etree at archive.org!!
a collections page HAS been posted for LIVE RECORDINGS of full shows by INSTAGON for streaming and download..  the floodgates have opened.. and the sounds of the deamon are flowing..  select shows are beginning to be posted by Lob.. as well as others that have live recordings..  this can be found here

http://www.archive.org/details/Instagon

INSTAGON will appear at CURTISFEST (9/10), NORCAL NOISEFEST (10/1), & IAMINDUST FESTIVAL,SF (Nov)