archives: Top Players Choice: #9 for Keith "Krash" Adams - session 354

 

As was mentioned in a previous blog post, Instagon played an epic Sunday night residency at the Liquid Den in Huntington Beach,CA between 2002 & 2004.  One night, in December of 2002, a southern gentleman from Louisiana named Kieth Adams wandered into our Den..had a saxophone and said he wanted to jam, and so he was invited to play..and well, he just stuck around and came out nearly every week after that! We played a bunch of shows over the time of 2003 and when it was all said and done Keith had played 36 sessions with Instagon, giving him the #9 Top player spot.  Currently Keith is on the East coast.. he still plays sax occasionally, but spends most of his time training and running in marathons.  I got a hold of Keith recently and asked him what his most memorable show was.. and right away he started telling me about a night that Yod played.. and that we played a REALLY long version of Jazz for Satan and that it was really crazy...so I started comparing dates that Yod & Keith played together and there were only a few, and then narrowed in on a session from 2003, that also included David Chetkin on drums, & Zak from The TAINT playing with us too.  I showed this data to Keith and he confirmed this was indeed the show he was thinking of.. and so .. now we present it to you for your enjoyment.

Instagon Top Player's Choice #9
for Keith Adams
session #354
August 17, 2003
Liquid Den, Huntington Beach,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2003-08-17.flac16

This was a Sunday night at the Liquid Den.  We came to jam and drink beeeer.
Sometimes we would have a 2nd band play with us on a Sunday, this night was night that kinda night.  The session was made up of players who had all experienced Instagon previously, so there was no new blood for the deamon that night...but we all were there and ready to have a good time.. well all except Zak Olson..who arrived late and only played for the 2nd set.  The band consisted of DAVID CHETKIN (of the local band Frogdog) on drums, SEAN CAMPEAU on guitar, KEITH ADAMS on sax, LOB INSTAGON on bass & vocals, and later on ZAK OLSON on keyboards. The first set was pretty typical of sessions from this time period of Instagon...a couple of covers.. a couple of originals.. something new.."Ubertracker" was a song that we played during the summer of 2003 that only had 3 or 4 outings.. (this may be the final appearance) Also in this set there is a rare cover of The Who's "Boris The Spider", which only appears in the set every once in awhile (mainly if Chetkin is on drums), there was also a unique space/noise piece called "Area 51" that is exclusive to this set.  For the 2nd set we got Zak all dialed in and added to the stage.. and he started playing around with his key board and playing the opening notes, with the right effects, for Pink Floyd's "Echoes" .. and so we joined in and explored into that calling it "Echoes23"..this is the ONLY time Instagon has attempted to play Echoes. The set continued on with one of Keith's favorite jams, "Thee Little Turtle" ...then a "Rock Lobster" ..a nice relaxing version of "Spider"...and THEN it happened.. the epic "Jazz for Satan".. it clocks in at 21 minutes!..during this jam there was lots of switching of instruments and people.. Sean played bass.. Lob played guitar.. keyboards.. Zak played bass..Sean played keyboards.. Zak played drums.. David played keyboards..and so on.. only Keith played Sax for the entire jam.  The show closed in standard fashion with a jam on The Germs' "Shut Down".. but then came back for an encore with another noise/soundscape piece called "Liquid Dream" ..and then a cover of America's "Horse With No Name".  This is one of my (lob) favorite songs ever..and I had totally forgotten about this rendition of it until i started uploading this recordings.  This is the ONLY time Instagon has played this song by America. This session was recorded in the audience.. with a Mini Disc recorder..it was transferred to CD at home, and then just this month the original CD recordings were re-mastered for this posting.  This is the entire show, it will require 2 discs if you are burning it.  Click on the link above to stream or download this classic Liquid Den session from Instagon.   THANKS KEITH!

archives: Top Players Choice: #8 for Don Rawlin (RIP) - Red Devil Lounge, SF,CA 2006

Don Rawlin
1960 - 2010

 I first met Don Rawlin in 2002 when I started booking shows for Jim Cline & the LIQUID DEN bar in Huntington Beach,CA.  He was soon to be the sound man after our original sound man, George, passed away.   He was a smokin' guitar player that had played with the local HB band POSSUM DETH, and also (he told me) had spent some tweaker time with Kerry King from SLAYER, and such had learned some amazing licks.  We played over 35 shows together at the Liquid Den before he moved away to San Francisco at the end of 2003.   We did not see each other again until 2005 when Instagon had relocated to Northern California and we invited Don to play with us in Oakland...it was great to hook up with him again and play a few more shows.  Earlier this year, the news came that Don had passed away in 2010, another victim to Cancer.  We were pretty blown away and sad by this news.  Don was always a man with a big smile and warm energy. I am sure that there are those that were close to him that are missing him a lot.  I knew him pretty good, but we were not "close" or anything.. and I miss him.  Don played 38 sessions with Instagon, giving him the #8 Top Player position.  I chose the show listed below as it was my first memory that came to play when thinking about Don playing with Instagon.  It was the last show that he played with Instagon.  He invited his friend Mutt to be a part of the festivities too.. and we had a blast.   Chris Van Huffel of Sub-Arachnoid Space held down the beats for this show.. it was pretty silly, and fun. ..I wish we (Don & I) had gotten to play more shows before he moved away to Oregon...but it was not to be.

INSTAGON Top Players Choice #8
for Don Rawlin (RIP)
Session #422
February 17, 2006
Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2006-02-17.flac16

Instagon applied and was accepted to play as part of a "Battle of the Bands" happening being promoted by a company called EMERGENZA Productions. The bands were coming from all over Northern California and the battles were happening in various locations.. the winner would see a show at the Warfield in SF, and get some sorta recording deal.  (or so they said) .. the first round for Instagon was to happen in SF at the Red Devil Lounge.  The Red Devil is a pretty nice venue, and so I was excited to play this show.  I invited a group of ringers, hot players that would bring a great band to the stage and clinch our WINNING! . The band included Chris VanHuffel from SUB-ARACHNOID SPACE on drums,  DON RAWLIN from the Oakland Raiderheads (official band of the Oakland Raiders) on guitar, and myself playing bass.   Don suggested that we include his friend Andrew "mutt" Masonetti..    Mutt's plan was to put on devil horn's ..paint his body red.. and dance around on stage playing Kazoo while Instagon jammed.  it was a good plan. i liked it.. and we went with it.     We arrived and it was already pretty crazy.. , but they had a backline for us.. no load in.. just guitars and drumsticks.. it was cool.  I explained to the MC what was about to happen.. and he was pretty confused. but took my word for it and introduced us.   The ritual Invokation was short (as we only had 20mins to play in this battle) and launched into Deamon's Tube..which was solid..but slow paced.. followed by a wild & crazy Jazz for Satan.  Mutt was totally into this tune for obvious reasons, and was chanting "Jazz for Satan" by the end of the jam.  Don was playing amazing smokin' shredding guitar riffs, it was hot! We closed the set with a fun and bouncy exploration into Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust".. a song we have been playing occasionally for years, and the place exploded..  goes to show just what the power of familiarity and recognition is all about!    There were probably 8 bands that fought it out that night.. we placed 3rd !! We were shocked and amazed...and we were accepted to move on to the next round!!    We found out later that the next round involved us coming to the Bay area 3 more times before the actual gig for some reason or another...and that was kinda pricey (gas prices were soaring at that time) and so we kindly declined to participate in the rest of the "battle"  ..but who knows..we coulda been a contender.. 
Click the link above to stream or download this show in its entirety, or listen to a song or 2. 

the recording is an AUDIENCE recording.. and the crowd was loud and active, placing the recording device someplace safe and strategic was very hard, So there IS a bit of crowd noise on this recording.. but it is the only recording we have.
-/\-

archives: Top Players Choice: #7 for Chris TM. - "PITTSBURGH!"

Chris TM. is one of the original 4 members of the "first" Instagon session.  He was the local contact person representing TOPY in the area of Orange County when I first moved to Huntington Beach.  We began our friendship, i think, in the mail.. me writing and introducing myself as an Active TOPY member that had just moved to OC from Las Vegas. Eventually we actually met in person...Our first encounter...i think...was a TOPY meeting that took place at the home of a friend..and then possibly at Vinyl Solution Records..but I remember the first time i went to Chris's apartment in Fullerton (where the first Instagon session happened).. it was this old 1970's apartment building..and the hallways were long and dim and it reminded me of scenes from Pink Floyd's "The Wall" film...and then this guy with dark black hair in a white shirt, like something Jim Morrison would wear, opened the door with this mysteriously mischievous grin.  Chris was a fun person...and was very much part of the early conceptual passion that was Instagon in the first few years..  Chris TM currently holds the #7 position for top players with Instagon..he has played 43 sessions.. Which is pretty impressive when you realize the last time he appeared with Instagon was in August 1997 (session #147). Chris was there when the deamon was brought forth.. he was part of the ritual that unleashed the beast...Chris and I are still very good friends, even though he lives on the East coast now and we never hardly see each other (except for facehook). He lives a happy family life with a beautiful wife and daughter. we all here on the west coast, that remember the Chris tm. who was.. ...the shadow that lingers behind that mischievous grin wearing a leather jacket and boots...and we still scratch our heads and try to figure it out.
   But the chaos and and mischievousness of the Chris Tm legend still continues as far as things involving Instagon is concerned...14 years may have passed..but that has not changed things much..  This show posted is actually Chris' 3rd choice.  The first 2 choices were BOTH not found in the archives and may not have been recorded at all (although that is unlikely)...none the less neither of the original shows he asked for are currently available for posting. ..we are still searching..but they are not in the "official" archive location at this time.  THOSE SHOWS are session #63, 11-25-94 Anomoulous Records,Whittier,CA - "T.V. DEATH",  and session #55, 10-22-94 Metropophobobobia, Phoenix, AZ. . (these shows are NOT available)   SO.. THIS show.. is TM's 3rd choice.. 

INSTAGON Top Players Choice #7
for Chris TM.
session #68
"PITTSBURGH"

January 15, 1995
Concourse Bowl, Anaheim,CA
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon1995-01-15.flac16

We somehow were booked to play a Sunday night "Rockin' Bowl" in Anaheim,CA.  I am not sure if Opus booked this gig, or if I did.  Also on the show were a band called BIG HIPPY PARTY, & our label mates from Insta-Noise Records, THE IRON ONS.  The photo above is an ACTUAL photo of the inside of Concourse Bowl.  The guy that we had booked this show with was the son of the owner of the place. He ran a weekly Sunday night gig that he booked local bands for, and he had no idea what he was getting when he booked Instagon.   Ken Tuntison, who later worked a lot with Instagon at Club Mesa, he was there with other bands and was involved with the sound system too i think.. and so this was HIS first exposure to Instagon!!  For this gig.. we planed to be very minimal..sort of a tribal sludgy dirge was planned.. it was going to be myself and Dan Young on percussion.. Opus23 & Myke Quest both on guitar.. Crow Mayhem on keyboards, and Chris TM on electronics and loops.  BUT..on the way to the gig.. we were in a van.. i think it was Dan's van...we were driving down Beach Blvd. on our way to the show.. and we saw Charles Ardinger walking down the street.. we pulled up and told him to "get in the van" ..and kidnapped him into this performance.  Upon arriving at the gig.. I proceeded to introduce myself to people sitting around the bowling alley.  The question of the day was "What is your favorite football team?"  I asked probably 3 or 4 people ..who refused to reply at all.. but finally one girl responded "Pittsburgh, that's a team...  right?"  and so this was to be our subject matter for the vocal.  I returned to Charles and told him his topic for the night was "Pittsburgh" ..that is ALL that he was told.  A few moments later we started.. and is what happened. About 15 minutes into the set.. the guy who had booked the show attempted to pull the plug and stop us.. as we were so noisy that it was chasing away customers..his Dad, who owned the place, thought it was a riot that we had duped his son into booking this "band" and forced him to deal with us and let us finish our set!..it was pretty funny.. eventually someone came forward with a tray of beers for us and Opus23 drop his guitar and rushed for the beer and the set was ended...in the 23 minutes or so we played we had nearly completely emptied this 80 lane bowling alley (that was full when we arrived) to only band members and a few die hards..  the other bands played to nearly no one (sorry).  Another side note is that there were a few young girls (like 13/14 yrs old) that were at this show by chance one of them was a girl named Aileen Holmes, and a few years later she would actually become involved and play in a few Instagon shows herself!    There IS video documentation of this performance, and perhaps if there is interest and a good way to share, this will be come available sometime in the future too..  but for now..here is the audio!  Click the link above to stream and download this epic and legendary performance.  Thanks to TM for choosing this session.  PITTSBURGH!  -/\-

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]
-/\-

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)

set lists/recap - October 2010 - Shows 548-551 Norcal Noisefest & more..

NFXIV logo

October was a fun month.. we had 4 shows lined up..all of them were pretty different.. and so it was gonna be a good time.. the month seemed to get away from me.. and so i neglected to get this blog updated.. but here I am now to do just that..  so.. October started with Instagon's annual appearance at Norcal Noisefest in Sacramento, CA.   Instagon has appeared at EVERY Norcal Noisefest.. this one was #14.  This year's Instagon set included  Lob playing with members of Fraud, Cast Iron Sinks, Smegma, (waning), Delayed Sleep, Dental Work, & also included hidden imported elements of Return of the Jedi.  The performance was to be a MIXER SET, one of a larger size than is normally done when Instagon does this sort of performance. We had a few quick technical problems..but they were just ignored and we were off.. the set was pretty awesome as far as noise sets go.. it was LOUD.. we were bombastic.. it was screaming with feedback.. and it was contained and creepy.. it was a pretty good noise set from instagon

INSTAGON #548
10-2-2010
Sol Collective, Sacramento, CA
NORCAL NOISFEST XIV


"Thee Return ov thee Loud Jedi's"

Instagon 548 was:
LOB
CHARLES ARDINGER
SEAN CAMPEAU
SUSAN HUNT
MATT KRETZMANN
PAT MABIE
JAY WATSON
DONKEY FLYBYE

photo by Yvette Lucas

Our next adventure in October happened the following weekend, when we played outside of a Log Cabin in Davis, CA and got to appear with a classic SF beat poet too!  It was the Annual Davis Jazz & Beat Festival..   Instagon appeared this year as a follow up to our debut appearance in this festival last year. This year we had a smaller ensemble, and we were asked to play some music behind the poetry of Beat poet David Meltzer.  Which was really cool and fun,  I we we had had a chance to chat. He arrived while we were playing, and he left while were were playing.. and I never had a chance to say give a proper hand shake and hello.
It was outside.. on ground.. no stage.. to a handful of awesome listeners.. (most of the Festival goers were at the OTHER stage across the street where Mike McClure and Ray Manzarek were playing.)  Instagon played about half an hour.. then David Meltzer joined us.. he finished and we closed with Echophobic.   This show had a new drummer that had not played with Instagon previously named Graham Roggli... we all had fun.. i did not force him to play Insta-gadda-da-vida.

INSTAGON #549
10-9-2010
DAVIS JAZZ & BEAT FESTIVAL 2010,
Log Cabin Stage, Davis,CA

Invokation>
The Flux,
Spider,
Log Cabin Jam  [improv, fresh riff]
Buzzkill,
Jazz for Satan> (no vocal)
Orgone Collector,
We Own This Corner,
poems with David Meltzer**>
Echophobic


** poems by David Meltzer

INSTAGON 549 was:

LOB - bass, CHAD E. WILLIAMS - guitar, JAROBA - sax
GRAHAM ROGGLI - drums, -- special guest: DAVID MELTZER - poems*

Photo by Yvette Lucas

On the following weekend we somehow were able to pull off one of the wonders of being Instagon.. and we appeared inside the center of the Downtown Plaza Westfield Mall.. outside, under the dome..in the middle of the afternoon.. with a full sound system on a nice stage.. it was very very wonderful.. this show was for the Sacramento News & Review's 3rd Saturday Art & Fashion show .  Unfortunately someone forgot to explain that to the Fashion part... and they were a no show at the end of the day.  but there was some great art.. I even bought some. .. and we were allowed to play 2 sets and enjoy our selves greatly..  at some point during out set the mall manager asked the sound man to turn us down, and he had to explain to them that this was OUR volume on stage.. not his.. we attempted to play at a decent level.. i guess we were still probably a little too loud for some people. In the first set Thruster was really really sweet.. and the Simpsons was also something pretty special and different this time around.  The 2nd set opening "Trip23" had some great stuff and Cosmic was also very much so.

INSTAGON 550
10-16-2010
Downtown Plaza, Sacramento, CA
SN&R 3rd Saturday Art & Fashion Show

1. Invokation>Red Planet Landing>My Little Red Planet, Orgone Collector,
   Deamon's Tube, Spider, Echophobic, Thruster, Simpsons
   (42:00)
   
2. Trip 23, Forward, The Little Turtle, Cosmic, Thela*,
   Jazz for Satan (backawards remix)
   (38:00)

*last time played 2-16-08 (84 shows), riff by King Crimson

LOB - lead bass, vocals, CHAD E WILLIAMS - guitar,
JOHN KEELING - guitar, JON BAFUS - drums

photo by Yvette Lucas

Our last show of the month happened during the middle of the week in the East Bay city of Albany.. at a monthly happening called the HOOTANANNY. .. it is something organized by Suki O'Kane of the bay area.. and its a conjunction of musicians learning how to play and lounge together.. and is one of the funnest and most special happenings I have gotten to play at so far.. the line up I assembled for this set was comprised of member of OTHER projects that were already appearing that night at the Hootenanny. which was renamed the Shakenannny in tribute to the 20 anniversary of the bay area quake that damaged the bridge and stuff.   Instagon was an amazing line up of really fun and special people.. this grouping was a one off happening.. and that it was captured and can be re-visited is simple bliss..  Thee Sickness was amazing.. just fucking amazing..

INSTAGON #551
10-20-2010
Kingman's Ivy Room, Albany, CA


Invokation>
The Flux,
The Sickness,
Orgone Collector,
Deamon's Tube,
Cosmic

Instagon #551 was:
LOB- lead bass,
MOE STAIANO - drums,
DARYL SHAWN - guitar and loops
LUCIO MENEGON - guitar /effects,
PHILLIP GREENLIEF - saxophone
JIM KRULL - saxophone,
WHEELCHAIR RICKY - vocals

photo by Chad E. Williams

THIS SESSION NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE STREAMING AND DOWNLOAD
http://www.archive.org/details/instagon2010-10-20.flac16

courtesy of Michael Zelner

set list - session 538 - IN THE FLOW Sacramento Jazz Festival, Beatnik Studios, Sacramento, CA - 5-16-2010

INSTAGON 538
May 16, 2010
Beatnik Studios
Sacramento, CA
IN THE FLOW FESTIVAL III

Riddled with obstacles.. but once again Instagon appeared at this 3rd annual happening presented by Ross Hammond and the Greater Broadway Partnership called IN THE FLOW FESTIVAL. .. We were a late addition to this event, not on the original press release, but generously offered a morning spot on the 3rd day of the event, which we gladly accepted.  (thank you Ross!)..a Sunday morning..11am opening spot..   ( BROTHERS AND SISTERS.. please come in and sit your selves down and be ready for the morning revival of the daemonic chaos Sunday morning ritual and possession of the garage jazz virus..)  So .. as i was saying...riddled with obstacles.. we arrived on time....a little after 10am for an 11am set... there was no one at the venue yet to let us in.. .we waited.. finally around 10:25 we were let in and started to setup..  about 10:40 we realized we had no snare or cymbals for the drum kit.. this was fortunately taken care of quickly by there luckily being another drum kit on site being used for the Festival.   ..about 10:50..my bass was plugged in, and it did not work. ..we went frantic looking for a Phillips screwdriver to open the beast up.. and when we finally got inside, i had broken a connection wire.. an easy fix with a soldering iron .. something we did not have available.. a bass was borrowed from someone we are told was actually in Texas and did not know i was using his bass for chaosmagickjazzrituals.. so better not to tell him i suppose.. and after a quick visit by THE CAPTAIN we were off to feeling better about this whole thing and ready to pull some whoop-ass on the Sunday Morning easy vibe..
Joining us for this session were local favorites CHAD E. WILLIAMS, DEX LOPAZ, & D.RAY GRISHAM, who just tears up the wind with a trumpet in our mix.. Its great to be able to add that element to the shows lately...also playing horn, but Saxophone was our special guest of the morning RENT ROMUS (Lords of Outland) from San Franscisco!  Rend came to play.. and play he did.. just taking the stage by storm and playing a firey set for such an early morning time window!
It was a short set by normal show standards..but it was a LOT of fun and some really awesome grooves happened..  the "Deamon's Tube" from this set is nearly 11 minutes and just MOVES!!. 

this show is available for download for only $3

.. share it with a friend ...spread the virus..

INSTAGON 538
5-16-2010
Beatnik Studios, Sacramento, CA
IN THE FLOW FESTIVAL 3

Invokation >
In The Flow,
Deamon's Tube,
Undoing,
Orgone Collector
(40:00)


LOB - lead bass
RENT ROMUS - saxophone
CHAD E. WILLIAMS - guitar
DEX LOPAZ - drums
D.RAY GRISHAM - trumpet

--------------------------------------------------------------------
photos by Yvette Lucas
IN THE FLOW poster design by Lob

Feb.2010 - 17 years of thee Deamon!, new releases, news and stuff..

So.. its February 2010.. and Instagon has now reached its 17th year as a continual project.. can you believe it?   17 YEARS!...its almost old enough to vote!.   Its amazing !  .. next month we will once again do a live web radio international broadcast collaboration with BIG CITY ORCHESTRA.. that will happen in the early part of the month.. and then the last weekend of the month we will host a show in Sacramento with our good friend GREG GINN and his Texas Corrugators.. should be good times for sure.

This month we released the 2nd installment in the FRESH CUTS series.. featuring new songs that have not previously been released on any other collections.  The track is called "We Own This Corner", performed by Instagon Session 489, featuring Jim Willig and Susan Hunt from (waning), and Mark Rocha from the band SWIMS. It was recorded in January 2009 at Java Lounge,Sacramento,CA.  Java Lounge (now called 16th Street Cafe) is located near the corner of 16th Street and Broadway in Sacramento. This is a very popular and busy corner, also on this corner, or near it are R5 Records, Records on Broadway, Tower Theater, Tower Cafe, and other places...we now play this song whenever we appear at any of these venues.. so far the song has been played 3 or 4 times since this appearance.  This track is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD for a limited time thru the month end of this month, February 2010 from our page at bandcamp.com, (http://instagon.bandcamp.com) or via the link at the bottom of this blog.

also this month at the bandcamp.com page we have also released a full length live recording of INSTAGON from the Fall fo 2009 recorded outdoors in Sacramento,CA.  GARAGE JAZZ AT HOUSE OV MU is a collection of songs taken from 3 sets of music played live by a trio (session 519) featuring Lob with Chad E. Williams & Mark Halverson.  This trio was SO HOT during this performance that it has gone on to become the current and solid line up of the GARAGE JAZZ ARCHITECTS (another project that Lob & Chad E. WIlliams have dreamed up) This session rocks.. tracks that are stand out and worth every moment are "Cosmic" and "Deamon's Tube".. also a smokin' garage jazz cover of the main riff of the theme from The Simpsons, and the final epic track "Mu"  is outstanding improvisation.  This entire release, 12 tracks, over 60 minutes of music is currently available for FREE via our bandcamp.com site or this direct link:



This release is also available now at all live Instagon AND Garage Jazz Architects performances for only $5.00.
As a special limited release in conjunction with Instagon's 17th Birthday this month, a VERY VERY LIMITED edition of 17 COPIES of "Garage Jazz at House ov Mu" have been created.

These limited versions are hand numbered with silver ink on the inside of the cover art.  They also include a very limited edition signed and numbed art print of a piece by Lob called "Buddah in Snow".  (show at right). This piece of art was released as a limited print in various sizes.  Only 23 of them were made, each numbered and signed on the back by Lob.  17 of these were for this limited edition of "House of Mu" by Instagon, and the other 6 have been dealt with in other ways.  Many of these have been given away as gifts to friends (after all it was for the Deamon's birthday!).. but a few are available for purchase or trade. If you are interested in this limited edition of the CD, with the art print, please visit the TIForg DistroBlog.

The bandcamp.com project will continue with a new FRESH CUTS track posted sometime in March, and also a new full length from the archives coming in April.

Placenta Recordings in Michigan has supposedly released a compilation called "Placenta Family Recordingd Volume 2" that features a live outsider sound art recording from Instagon done at Luna's Cafe in 2009, but we have yet to see this one.

1019 Records out of Santa Cruz,CA has also supposedly released a 60 minute cassette featuring 2 shows recording at Java Lounge in Sacramento during 2007.  the release is called "Double '07" and is limited to 50 copies in a hand made paper package.  We have yet to see this one too.. when we do, we will post a new blog with images.

Paper Cuts Records out of Ventura County, CA will be releasing the first recordings to see the light from the 520 SESSION done at KDVS in Davis,CA last Fall.  It will be a 4 track, 30min CDep titled  "Echophobic".  It will be limited to 50 copies and it has some of the strongest recordings ever done by Instagon as a "band".

okay.. so that 's the news
oh.. sorry.. that link we promised.. it expired on Feb 28.