set list - session 530 - IDES OF MARCH @ On The Y, Sacramento, CA - 3-15-2010

Instagon 530
March 15, 2010
On The Y
Sacramento, CA

The IDES OF MARCH..  we got offered a gig.. and well i just could not turn it down.. lucky for us too.. as The Humans (from Reno) were a no call, no show.. and so we got to play extra long..  like a full 90 minutes extra long!!!  Also, the deamon had new players for the mix that night!!  new friends from the local Sacramento band called THOUSANDS , DAVE STONE, and DREW WALKER..joined Lob and DEX LOPAZ from CHIKADING! for a rippin' rock set at this local rock bar establishment.   The set was SMOKIN' from the get go .. could have something to do with this bar giving us a pitcher of Arrogant Bastard Ale!!!  It did not have a lot of people there.. but the people that WERE there really mattered and made it fun.  As mentioned we played a long ass time.. unfortunately it seems that there were no photos taken.   Thanks to Grant for giving us the spot and letting us rock out for so long. 

INSTAGON #530

March 15, 2010

On The Y, Sacramento, CA

Invokation>
Joyride,
Speed of Light,
Deamon's Tube,
Jazz for Satan,
In Thee Key ov Y,             (fresh improv, new riff, 1st time played)
Echophobic,
Dust >                               (riff by Queen)
Insta-Gadda-Da-Vida,       (riff by Iron Butterfly)
Thee Little Turtle,
Undoing,
Thee Sickness,
Space Walk,
Brainwashed Love,
Shut Down                      (riff by The Germs) O

Instagon 530 were:

 LOB - lead bass, vocals
DEX LOPAZ - keyboards   (Chikading!)
DAVE STONE - guitar        (ThouSands)
DREW WALKER - drums   (ThouSands)

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handbill design by Lob

setlist & details, session 529 - UBRADIO appearance / collab with Big City Orchestra - March 3, 2010

Instagon 529
March 3, 2010
UB RADIO STUDIOS
Alameda, CA

UB RADIO SALON is a 2 hour weekly radio show that happens from a secret location in Alameda, California hosted by Ninah Pixie & dAS of Big City Orchestra that is broadcast live over the web via a radio server in the Netherlands.  Its quite the technological feat actually, hosting a weekly show. 

This was Instagon's 2nd appearance on this show (last was session 479), and this time out we brought Chad E. Williams with us from Sacramento.. and BCO brought Tom from UNIVAC ..and together we made a force to reckoned with.  Chad and I drove from Sactown to Alameda thru 2 ugly rain storms.. and another one greeted us upon arrival and downpoured on top of us as we unloaded our gear..  Our studio space was warm and welcoming..

Ninah was already set up to play with her Alesis and so she was able to greet us and be a wonderful hostess. She offered us towels to dry off with..and some beverages.. she is always the best host.  Tom was also already set up with his gear. The last time Instagon happened on UBRADIO, Tom also appeared and this was the first time we had seen each other since then.. it had been nearly 2 years!  So it was great to have UNIVAC involved once again with our radio shenanigans..

Chad and I came in out of the rain as quick as we could and got our gear set up.. Chad had come with just his guitar and pedal board..so he was set up quickly..  I on the other hand came with a bass, a mixer, some effects, a set of marching bells, and a piece of metal that was salvaged from a Moe! Staiano performance..so I took the longest to set up.. which gave opportunity for everyone else to say hi and take these nifty pictures that you are looking at .   The show was loosely based around the notion that I was gonna read some of my "kids" poems.. i did read some of my rhymes.. but we never ever got to a point where reading one of my children's pieces ever seemed like it would work.. i did read numerous poems.. probably the most poems in one sitting that I have read in over a year. I also played some bass, and made some noises.... and hosted the radio show.. the show was continuous for 2 hours.. there was short break at the half way point.. and then another shorter break while Tom did his monthly "science" spot for the show. So in all actuality there were 3 sets.. one long one. and 2 shorter ones. There was not really a set list in regards to the music.. it was very experimental and improvisational with what we had to work with., but there were appearances of a few standard Instagon riffs.. 

Instagon 529

March 3, 2010

UB RADIO STUDIO, Alameda, CA

songs:
My Little Red Planet,
Thee Sickness,
Echophobic

poems:

Where Are The Baby Pigeons,
Plastiphobia,
When Shit Becomes Food,
Have You Ever Smoked A Bowl? 
I'm Stoned & This Poet Sucks,
Poodle,
I Could Have Been Hit By A Bus,
Lirbrary,
Waiting for a Ride,
Postcard from Italy,
Fidel Castro,
Whale,
My Favorite Song,
Jesus Has A Sampler

Instagon 529 was:
LOB - words, bass, metal, bells, shenanigans
CHAD E. WILLIAMS - guitar
NINAH PIXIE - Alesis Synthesizer
TOM UNIVAC - samples, keyboards, toys
DAS UBI - master control mixer, samplers

all words, original poems by Lob.

==============================================
photos by Chad E. Williams
Flyer art and photo of Chad by Ninah Pixie

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.

Set Lists - Sessions 527 & 528 - Double Dose Monday, - Feb. 8, 2010

 Instagon 527
February 8, 2010
Luna's Cafe 

Sacramento, CA

Instagon Double Dose Monday!!

This was the first time that Instagon had been booked to play 2 shows in one day since 2005.  Originally we booked this show to be our birthday show at Luna's Cafe for the Nebraska Monday weekly series, but then we got the opportunity for a 2nd show at the Press Club.  We had not played the Press Club before, so we really could not turn it down... and the show was with UBERKUNST making their triumphant return to the performing stage, and a great out of town band.. but first lets recap on the first performance of the night and get to the 2nd one later.

 

Nebraska Monday's is a weekly series of jazz and improvisational music booked by local guitarist Ross Hammond at Luna's Cafe.  Originally Ross had booked his trio to appear on this bill with Instagon, but as the date approached it was changed to be his band RACE!! appearing instead featuring Tony Passarell, Tom Monson, and others.  The plan was to play Luna's early.. starting by 7:30pm, play a 30-40 minute set, and off to the next location.   This plan was helped along by Tom Monson allowing us to use his drums for our set, but he forgot his rug and ran home to get it.. Tom rules, we were on the stage by 7:40pm.
This ensemble was a trio.. with an odd configuration.. bass, drums, horn.

On the drums was Dex Lopaz from CHIKADING!, who is a monster on the drums..all over the place.. hard to keep up with.  His energy on the skins is just amazing and his wild time signatures kept Lob off balance for most of the show.  On the horn was our new friend Marco Fuoco, playing various saxophones, and other instruments throughout the night. He also at one point broke into a political rant about artisans and the economy. 

Overall the show was okay.. the begining was much stronger than the end.  The first jam out of the invokation was something that just eneded up being called "527".. it was a free form improv with lots of energy.   The Deamon's Tube was also really hot...but during the Joyride, Lob lost his timing due to trying to follow Dex and the deamon fell from the mark, and of course the clean up was quick and hardly noticable (except to those paying attention)

INSTAGON 527

February 8, 2010

Luna's Cafe, Sacramento, CA

Introduction,
Invokation  >
527*,  (improv free form jam)
Deamon's Tube,
Joyride,
Manic*,  (new riff, first time played)
Marco's Speech,
Thee Little Turtle,
New Virus* >
Thee Sickness,
Deamon Panther (Pink Panther REALLY fast)

Instagon  527 was:
LOB - bass
DEX LOPAZ - drums
MARCO FUOCO - sax & other elements

 

====================================================

Instagon 528
February 8, 2010

The Press Club
Sacramento, CA

We were asked to play this show by friends from Boston,MA with the band PROBLEM WTIH DRAGONS.   Robert from PWD had previously lived in Sacramento and played at Noisefest once with his project Jihad years ago.  He had also been part of a band called SHIZMO or something like that that had played with Instagon during the epic Liquid Den residency in Huntington Beach from 2003.   He also asked Sacramento legends of noise and mayhem, UBERKUNST, to play on this show.. they did not let anyone down.. they were full on KUNST.
By the time we left Luna's and headed for the press club it was raining..not really raining hard.. but raining none the less.. this was not a good sign for a Monday night show. But when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to find a full bar of drinking people who were ready to rock and we came to give it to them.  We were also totally blown away to find OUR name on the marquee outside of the bar.. not the headliner, nor the other band.. but us.. the opening band.. Instagon.
For this show, Instagon consisted of the same band that had played the earlier show at Luna's with the addition of Chad E. Williams on guitar... and Chad came to rock the house down.   This performance was stellar.  Instagon was in rare form and tore up the stage from the moment it was invoked.  The Forward opener was shredding.. and the rest of the set was just as blistering.  Jazz for Satan was the highest point in the set for crowd response.. but that is really no surprize. There was a calming point in the set where one of the new songs, "Sleepwalking"  from the 520 session, was played live for the first time. It included elements of "Dripfall"  in the starting parts, but that quickly faded away and the trance like flow of the riff took over the crowd. ..a run into Echophobic finished out the night.. and there was a funny joke of a tease for Speed of Light at the very end of the session.  It was on fire.. there are no photos that we have seen of this live performance so far.. but there is this really cute group photo taken by Andrew Wayne of CHOPSTICK.

 Instagon 528
February 8, 2010
The Press Club, Sacramento, CA

Invokation,
Forward,
Cosmic,
Jazz for Satan,
Sex Bomb (song by Flipper, aka the punkrock Freebird)
Rock Lobster (song by B-52's)
Sleepwalking
Echophobic
Shut Down tease (song by The Germs)
Speed of Light (blink of an eye version)

Instagon 528 was:
LOB - bass
CHAD E. WILLIAMS - guitar
DEX LOPAZ - drums
MARCO FUOCO - sax

 

======================================================

all photos of 527 at Lunas by Tommy VanWormer

photos of Press Club marquee, and flyer art by Lob

group photo of Instagon 528 by Andrew Wayne.

Happy Birthday to thee Deamon

TODAY is Instagon's 17th birthday! All hail the lesser feast of Instagon !!

New Releases at Bandcamp !

instagon.bandcamp.com

We have launched a new online site with streaming and downloads of recordings of Instagon thru the wonderful site called bandcamp.com
Our first release was a download version of the INSTAGON - LIVE AT TRUE LOVE title that came out on CDr last summer (limited to 50 copies).

In November, we released the entire live performance of the Instagon Noise Quintet from Norcal Noisefest 2009. This session features Blake Edwards from VERTONEN, Rent Romus from LORDS OF OUTLAND, Steve Davis frm +DOG+, and Mark Soden of PHOG MASHEEEN playing noise with Lob at NF13. Right away we had a few copies move from the bandcamp page.. it was a really great feeling to have music posted and purchased within a short time. thanks!

In December we released a digital remastered edition of an old title by Instagon, our first collection of live songs from 1999. 

The "SPACE 1999: 10 year Anniversary Edition" features digital remastering of the entire original release that was before only available on cassette., plus a 20 bonus track, and extensive liner notes regarding each track.  This is an amazing document of the early band recordings by Instagon ,and features standards like "Forward", "Orgone Collector", & "Joyride".. plus the debut performance of "Rock Lobster", and an amazing version of Bauhaus' " Bela".   This release also marked the first in a series of FULL LENGTH releases planned for the bandcamp page to happen BI-MONTHLY.  The next full length will be posted in February 2010 and will feature a live recording from Fall 2009 from Sacramento,CA.

for 2010 we also have unleashed the FRESH TRAX series which will feature a new song, EVERY MONTH available for FREE download. Each track will ONLY be available for a limited time until the end of each month it is posted.  The track for January is a new track called "Dripfall" recorded at the UFO Club in Folsom,CA during the COSMIC HOOTENANNY (session 524). This track is currently only available for a limited time...now through Jan. 31, 2010.   A new track will be posted a few days later.

At the end of the year all 12 tracks will be available as a collection with exclusive art work and probably a bonus track or 2.

Set List - session 526 - Jan 25, 2010 - Marilyn's On K St., Sacramento, CA

Instagon 526

Jan. 25, 2010

Marilyns on K Street
Sacramento, CA

First just let me start by saying that we like Marilyn's!.. the sound there is great, Jeff, Jay, and everyone else there are really great people.  They always treat us like friends rather than just another band thru the door, and that really goes a long way for sure.   Instagon played a couple of shows last year at Marilyn's and like is said, we like it there, and so we were happy to be back in 2010.  This show came together rather short notice, and the tails of the headlining band MOO GOT 2 from Arcata,CA.  They are a cool jam band and had a show booked for that Monday, we asked if there was room and Jeff said we could play a 30 min. set.   Then we got notice from the cool guys from MG2 that they wanted to let us use their backline, so we didnt have to bring drums or a bass rig.. and so it made the night way easy to deal with.  Thanks again to the guys from MG2.   It was a Monday.. and it was raining!  so getting a lot of heads out was probably not gonna happen.. so we make the best of it and rocked hard for the people that were there.. it was a small crowd of about a dozen or so people, including our friend Stefano Zeroli (Ink On Suit), who came out in the rain to support the show... (thanks Stefano!)

We took the stage a little after 8pm and was told, to our surprise that we had til 9pm to play.. and we did!.. playing a 50 minute set!  This ensemble had not one, but 2 new players in the Instagon mix for the first time.. John Keeling (Volcano School) who has seen Instagon a few times made his debut on guitar as player 537, and our new friend Marco Fuoco (Marco Fuoco's Illumination) came in to fill the horn position playing both tenor and alto sax throughout the set.  The core was once again filled by the Garage Jazz Architects (Lob, Chad, & Mark).  The show started a little wobbly.. the Invokation did not just melt into the first riff.. it was a bumpy jump off into the Joyride...but once it was going, the flow was on..the Deamon's Tube got great response from the small audience.. and the "Cozmic" was just ..uhm..out of this world..lol.  The Little Turtle wasnt as jumpy as it has been recently.. but the Echophobic, was really very cool and had lots of great fluidity to it....Thee Sickness closer was a jazzy version of this riff, similar to the version from Davis Jazz Fest back in October (session #517).  Everyone seemed to have a great time.. and then Moo Got 2 came on and played 2 sets of great jams and tight songs and got the small crowd off their feet and onto the dance floor.. even Stefano and Jeff were out there tearing it up!

INSTAGON  #526
Jan. 25, 2010
Marilyns On K St, Sacramento, CA


Invokation >
Joyride
Deamon's Tube
Cozmic
The Little Turtle
Echophobic
Thee Virus >
Thee Sickness  (with Pink Panther tease)
(51:00)


LOB  (lead bass/vocals)
CHAD E. WILLIAMS (guitar)
JOHN KEELING (guitar)
MARK HALVERSON (drums)
MARCO FUOCO (tenor & alto sax)

=====================================================
photo by Jennifer Jacobsen
tour flyer from MooGot2

Set List - session 525 - Jan 23, 2010 - Vega's Nightclub, Old Sacramento, CA

Instagon 525
January 23, 2010

Vega's Nightclub, Sacramento,CA

Well it was a cold and rainy night as the deamon descended upon Old town Sacramento for our first excursion there..but that did not prevent us from having a great night of fun and chaotic acid jazz in our new favorite place in Old Sac, VEGA'S NIGHTCLUB!  The line up was set to be Chikading, followed by THE POLYMERS, and then Instagon, session 525. All of the early sets were really great. CHIKADING was a little more relaxed than they have been at recent past shows.. but they were still on fire as usual with their great new fusion grooves that they are getting a reputation for laying down.  The POLYMERS followed with a great set of psychedelic edged garage pop.. great catchy riffs and awsome songs, plus some cool covers like "Quinn the Eskimo" and Pink Floyd's "Lucirfer Sam".

 

 Instagon took the stage sometime around 11:30pm and played til nearly 1am.

This session was a 6 piece ensemble featuring the Garage Jazz Architects (Lob, Chad E. WIlliams, Mark Halverson) at the core of the beast.. and with Dex Lopaz from Chikading playing some keyboard... also Matt Kretzmann from DELAYED SLEEP came out and played guitar for this session. It was his first session since Jan. 2009 (session #490), over a year!.. and it after many times asking, but not having our schedules make it available, this session was the debut Instagon set for local jazz man Tony Passarell.

The set was really drenched in thick gooey chaos from the very start.. and it stayed that way throughout the adventure.  Chad, Dex, & Tony were doing really great things between them and it was really awesome. Thee Sickness was probably the hot spot in the set.. but thats just from my opinion.. your could very.

INSTAGON # 525
Janurary 23, 2010
Vega's Nightclub, Sacramento, CA


Invokation>
The Flux,
Jazz for Satan
Brainwashed Love
The Little Turtle
Spider
Rock Lobster  (song by B-52's)
Buzzkill
Speed of Light
The Virus>
Thee Sickness
Deamon's Tube
Echophobic


Instagon #525 was:

LOB  (bass/ vocals)
CHAD E WILLIAMS (guitar)
MATT KRETZMANN (gutiar)
DEX LOPAZ (keyboards)
TONY PASSARELL (sax)
MARK HALVERSON (drums)

 

 ====================================================

photos by Yvette Lucas and Kathleen Le Mer

photo collage by Lob
flyer art by Lob & Kathleen Le Mer

2009 Statistics and retrospect

Well, another year has closed on the Instagon history and data files and I must say that this has been a really fun and productive year. There were lots of shows in lots of places and lots of new and wonderful faces! I think my favorite show of the year was easily Instagon #500 which happened in the spring.. it was a clusterfuk of a good time.. It was great to play with so many old friends like Greg Ginn, Robert Fisher, Dan Kaufman, Scott Huestis, Zack Olsen, and of course Cary Pealer, and many others.. (Charles Ardinger opening the show was probably my favorite part of that night)..it was a great time and I have a scar on my knee from when I bashed it on the stage to remind me of it for the rest of my days. Also this year saw the re-birth of the GARAGE JAZZ ARCHITECTS project which had taken the shape of a trio and is moving along nicely.. so that is my new BAND.. its a real band.. we have practices and set lists and everything.. LOL. Cary Pealer also made a norcal appearance in the Fall when we recorded the new material at KDVS (Instagon #520).. those recordings done by Fenris Wolf at KDVS are amazing.. and we are currently shopping them to labels! All and all it was a great year.. it was the most shows we have played since 2004, and moving north to Sacramento.
2009 also saw the release of 4 NEW full length titles, 1 amazing re-issue, and 7 compilation releases.. we were busy.. the new titles were, if you missed them.. "DEAMON ROCK" - on Auricular Records, "Thee Scream ov Angels on thee Deaf Ears ov Man" on LOVE EARTH MUSIC, LIVE AT TRUE LOVE on TIF, and LIVE AT NORCAL NOISEFEST 2009 from TIF/BANDCAMP.. and the SPACE 1999 -10 year anniversary edition digital remaster on TIF/bandcamp is something very special
So here are the statistics for Instagon for the year 2009.. the deamon and I both thank you for your continued support. - Lob

Instagon 2009
TOTAL NUMBER OF SHOWS PLAYED - 35

number of NOISE shows - 9
(5 trios, 1 quintet, 3 mixers)

TOTAL NUMBER OF VENUES PLAYED - 24
(7 repeated)
festival appearances - 3

TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAYERS - 58
number of NEW players - 22

TOTAL NUMBER OF SONGS/TITLES PLAYED - 114
number of NEW titles - 64
number of NOISE titles - 13

NUMBER OF COMPILATION APPEARANCES - 7
NUMBER OF FULL LENGTH RELEASES - 4

Detailed information about every set from Instagon in 2009 can be seen at the Instagon web site and the data base for 2009.

if you need any further detailed info on anything mentioned.. please make contact.
============================================
photo of Lob by Yvette Lucas

Set List - session 524 - Jan. 2, 2010 - House on the Hill Cosmic Hootenanny, UFO Club, Folsom, CA

Instagon #524 January 2, 2010
House on the Hill - Cosmic Hootenanny
UFO Club, Folsom, CA
(3 sets)

The UFO CLUB is an organization that was started in the UK in or around 1966 and was founded by the founding members of Pink Floyd. Syd Barrett's sister is still involved with the original group in England. A number of years ago a local man named James and his brother David began a project to re-create a version of the UFO club here in California.. they became involved with the UK group and opened an "official" West Coast chapter of this International collective for creative happenings in, of all places, Folsom, CA. ..the House on the Hill. Each years since its beginnings the West Coast UFO Club has hosted an annual end of the year celebration and party. This year marked the 10 year anniversary of the first West Coast UFO happening and a 3 day event was planned. Our good friends DELAYED SLEEP, played the festivities for New Year's Eve night.. and we were honored to be invited to play the closing night, Saturday Night, as the live band entertainment.. and so armed with Pink Floyd riffs we headed up the hill from Sacramento to Folsom ready to party

.

We arrived at the House On the Hill to find no one home.. not a soul.. the lights were on but no one was there.. we were at first sorta worried.. but then, after a phone call to Jimmie James , the event planner, we were told to hang on for a few minutes and he would be there to let us in. The band that was playing as Instagon for this session was all 3 members of the Garage Jazz Architects (Lob, Chad Williams, Mark Halverson) and also 2 of the members of Karmada (Stephen Elliot & Matt Conklin). This would be the 2nd time playing with Instagon for both Matt & Steve, but the first time Steve was on his main instrument, the guitar. (last time Steve played drums, Instagon #501). The house was a smallish house with old hard wood floors and lots of great visual effort to make it look like an old English party flat.. rounded archways.. hard color painted walls.. a mirror ball.. a liquid light.. and we brought trippy projections, and all of a sudden this show was a rainbow more colorful than Liberace throwing up on himself.

The first set was truly like an Instagon set from the past with the set list featuring songs that were played during the Liquid Den days & Lob even sporting his infamous "space pajamas" shirt . "My Little Red Planet," "Joyride", "Speed of Light", even Black Sabbath's "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (not played since NYE 2008, 36 shows). The only song that was something that has been added into the shows more recently was the theme song for "The Simpsons." That was mostly because that has become a GJA standard, and it was easy to make happen with the 3 of them all there. The set ended with a botched attempt into "One of These Days" by Pink Floyd that quickly went south and became closer to The Doors' "LA Woman". Also at this sets end, Stephen complained that his back hurt and took a break and so Matt was playing guitar for a short while.. and it was really cookin'! This first set lasted about 40 minutes.

The second was the shortest of the 3 sets we played that night, only about 30 mins.
It started with a new song "Dripfall" that was written in the studio this past Fall.. This was the first time it had been played out live...followed by another old school song, "Space Walk".. by this time the band was starting to calm into a place where really nice grooves and interaction between the players could happen..this "Space Walk" was really nice. Then, with twist of the old effects knob, Lob added this fat wah sound to his bass.. sounding like Jerry Garcia playing "Shakedown Street", and busted into a seriously funky version of "Thee Little Turtle".. deep disco dance version. After some boogie time, it was time for more Pink Floyd.. this time "Let There Be More Light" was the subject of the sonic garage jazz exploration.. it was a first time for this song to enter the deamon's realm and it was taken seriously.. finally to close the set we tore up a hot swingin' "Jazz for Satan" and then it was time for a bite to eat.

The 3rd and final set was the epic set of the night.. closing out at just around an hour, it started with more Pink Floyd with "Set the Controls...." we were at the UFO Club after all! This set was mixed with old songs and new songs.. and another first time Pink Floyd outing for Instagon with "Interstellar Overdrive". "Thee Sickness" was dedicated to Chad, who was ill but came to play anyway. The "Rock Lobster" brought down the house! This set was the sonic power set of the night.. all the way around great stuff. Only real moment worth mentioning was during the middle of the "Interstellar Overdrive"...it seems that the NYE weekend of party happenings got to Stephen and he fell asleep into a nod and a wall of feedback.. just nodded away.. to the point where Chad had to nudge him awake to cut the feedback from killing all of us.. it was something you seriously needed to see to believe it happened.. but alas.. it did.. supposedly there is a video that was shot .. maybe we can get to see that again someday.

All and all it was a pretty fun show.. there was some frustration and some chaos, but it was Instagon.. and the first show of the year too.. The deamon had a great time and looks forward to the next time we are asked to play at this interesting and special location.

Instagon #524
Janurary 2, 2010
House On The Hill Cosmic Hootenanny
UFO Club, Folsom, CA

set 1
Invokation>
Red Planet Landing>
My Little Red Planet
Joyride
Speed of Light
Behind the Wall of Sleep (song by Black Sabbath)
Simpsons (TV Theme song)
One Of Those LA Women* (Pink Floyd/Doors live mash up)

set2
Dripfall
Space Walk
The Little Turtle
Let There Be More Light**(song by Pink Floyd, 1st time played)
Jazz for Satan

Set3
Set The Controls (song by Pink Floyd)
Undoing
Spider
Echophobic
The Sickness
Interstellar Overdrive** (song by Pink Floyd, 1st time played)
Brainwashed Love
Rock Lobster (song by B-52's)



session 524 was:
LOB (lead bass / vocal )
CHAD E. WILLIAMS (guitar)
MARK HALVERSON (drums)
MATT CONKLIN (keyboard / guitar)
STEPHEN ELLIOT (guitar)
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flyer art by Lob
group photo by Kati LeMer
all other photos by Yvette Lucas

thanks to UFO CLUB West Coast !

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Set List - session 523 - El Rincon, San Francisco, CA - Dec. 22, 2009

INSTAGON #523
December 22, 2009
El Rincon, San Francisco, CA

It was a cold winters night in San Francisco.. no rain, just cold with some wind.. but not as cold as we had thought it was gonna be .. so I guess that's a good thing, right?

We arrived early to the venue, Bob from Xome had traveled with us and was going to be involved with the Instagon set that was planned so it was cool to have come as a group. Instagon was planned to be another mixer set and basically the same set that was played last week at Luna's Cafe, but obviously with different players. This time around we had planned to included Free Fargo from SF, but he declined. We also invited Cory Thrall from Shrew Florist & E-Yard to join in the festive fun.. he was very excited to play, it would be his first Instagon session. We also asked the project that played before us called Bonus Beast if they would like to be involved and so we grew to a 5 piece group with the addition of Ryan King and Josh Thomas

Tonight we started with "Foundation" .. as this was more as a NOISE show and not leaning on the season for its inspiration.. (the show last week had an xmas themed title)..it was really heavy and full of steam really early on. This piece has truly evolved since its first appearance in 2007 and this evening rendition and players were all on their game. Bob Scott was really watching Lob as he manipulated the mixer and found what channel he was on and really watched for moments he was being mixed forward in the chaos. We finished "Foundation" and the crowd cheered and thought we were done.. Ryan started to pack up his gear..and had to be stopped.. we announced.. "no no..its not done yet.. we are just getting started" .. a quick change of the cd for direction.. and we started into "So This Is Chistmas".. it was loud and over the top.. and went only about half way thru the actual foundation track of the 1994 original mix. . so this was a shorter live version of this song than the one played last week in Sacramento.

At the end of the set it was discovered that the audio recording device was unplugged at some point during the ritual and so no audio recording was captured. Jared from Shrew Florist made a video recording and so this is the only known documentation from this session that exists besides photos. Free Fargo, who came to support the show even though he did not play, mentioned that it was timely and it was happy we had played "So This is Christmas.." its nice to have someone give feedback for a change.. feed back is always welcome.

Instagon #523

December 22, 2009
El Rincon, San Francisco, CA

Foundation
So This Is Christmas...

523 was:
LOB
BOB SCOTT
CORY THRALL
RYAN KING
JOSH THOMAS

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photos by Yvette Lucas
flyer art art possibly by Grux
photo art by Lob

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We really would like to know if anyone reads this.. are you there? anyone?

Set List - session 522 - Luna's Cafe, Sacramento, CA - Dec. 18, 2009

Instagon #522
December 18, 2009
Luna's Cafe, Sacramento, CA

'twas the NOISE before Xmas... at least that what it said on the flyer. and so it was.. it was a really fun show.. you should have been there! Those who were there got to see some really great sound art and noise improvisations. All of the sets that happened were really strong. The sound system hand some issued a few times, but we overcame them and moved forward with each set in a timely fashion, letting loose the audio brutality that we came to unleash.

By the time INSTAGON took the stage it was easily 11pm.. and that 'ole end of the show energy had taken the room by storm.. there were only a few die hards left.. you know who you are and you are wonderful for staying.. thank you! The set was to be a MIXER SET.. the 2nd one of this year. (the first one was session 512 earlier in the year, also at Luna's). The MIXER SET , involves each player giving a direct line feed to a Mixer.. no amps, no headsets.. and then Lob conducts the sound from the Mixer controls live... sonic sculpting the set as it moves forward. Involved in this set were CHAD E. WILLIAMS, WES STEED, ANDREW WAYNE (of CHOPSTICK), and STEFANO ZEROLI (Ink On Suit)...with special guest ART LUNA playing a blender!

(Art Luna of Luna's Cafe behind the counter)

Earlier in the week Instagon had released a download of a 15 year old track called "So This Is Christmas" . This track was an audio collage done in 1994 live, and then re-mixed in the studio. For this session (522) we used this collage as the foundation of the performance, with Lob then adding the performer's live noise and electronics on top of it, making for a really nice live re-mix of an old old friend. The last time this track saw any action was a radio broadcast at Xmas time in 1996.. previous to that the only other LIVE happening of "So This Is Chistmas" was the original performance from 1994.. Instagon session 64! But we did stop there.. we closed the set with a rendition of "Foundation" a piece that was written for the Mixer Set but had not been performed since session #473 (49 shows if your counting)...we figured hell, while we were dusting off old tracks.. why not play this one too! it was well worth it.. this version of "Foundation" was really hot with Lob adding bass lines as it progressed into the swirling chaos.

Instagon #522
December 18, 2009
Luna's Cafe, Sacramento CA

Ghost of Xmas Present Visitation / So This Is Christmas
Foundation

522 was:
LOB - mixer control, bass, metal objects
CHAD E. WILLIAMS - guitar
ANDREW WAYNE - electronics
STEFANO ZEROLI - electronics
WES STEED - electronics
ART LUNA - blender


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photos by Bobby Almon