Noise Lore

This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound.

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Re: Noise Lore

Post by FAP »

I was recently contacted by the legendary PBK in regards to airing some of my work for a radio show of his, and we got on the subject of noise & experimental music in Wisconsin, my home state. This lead to me working on an exhaustive summation of all the knowledge I've gathered on the subject across many years, in one very long email. I think this information is important enough to warrant reposting here, with a few minor edits, for posterity.

Enjoy:
I've been researching noise in Wisconsin (specifically in the Madison/south-central area) on and off for years now, just gathering scraps of information here & there. While by no means am I a comprehensive source on the subject, I have gathered quite a bit of knowledge I'd like to share with you.

First, I'd like to paraphrase a quote from Jay Bauman (of RedLetterMedia fame) by saying there's really only three parts to Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Madison, and everything else. It's been called a "flyover state" as much of the land here is primarily used for agricultural purposes, with rural communities sprouting up in the surrounding areas. The only "big" cities are Madison & Milwaukee; two blue dots in a sea of red, politically speaking. I can only attest to the parts of the state I've visited and hearsay from parts I haven't, so keep in mind I may be missing some notable pockets of activity.



MADISON:

To summarize, there have been several brief & isolated periods of experimental music happening in Madison, but there has never been a strong, localized "scene" here like you see with noise in Pittsburgh, Lowell, Portland, etc.

Broadly speaking, Madison is known more for alternative rock than for any other genre.
Perhaps the earliest such example was Killdozer, a noise rock band active from 1984-1996.
The oddly comedic, proto-grunge sound of Killdozer would be echoed by later local bands such as Tar Babies, Kill Junior and more recently No Question, all of whom would take their sound in a more or less hardcore punk direction.
Famously, the band Garbage came from Madison and recorded their debut album here at Smart Studios; Smart Studios would later go on to help record a song for Nirvana's album Nevermind.

While alt. rock was/is arguably the predominant musical export of Madison, the city has played host to a number of non-rock noise acts in the past several decades.
Slave State, an oldschool power electronics group, was based in Madison; they released a couple of albums in 1988 and appeared on a tape by Intrinsic Action (Mark Solotroff). One of its founding members, Thomas Thorn, would later go on to found The Electric Hellfire Club.
Notably, Prurient's first live show was held in Madison in 1997 (see Noisextra podcast, "In Conversation with Dominick Fernow, part 1").
The highly experimental and extremely esoteric Mansfield Deathtrap Re-Recordings project would start circa 2000-2001, birthing a plethora of associated acts such as Right Arm Severed, Garage Indians and Craig Microcassette System. Concurrent and loosely affiliated projects would soon follow, including the Davenport Family (Clay Ruby of Burial Hex, Metrocide, Second Family Band, etc.), Mumber Toes and Loop Retard, some of whom were still performing on occasion prior to COVID-19.
Zola Jesus, known for her unique vocals and dark wave synth sound, lived in Wisconsin for years and graduated from UW-Madison.

What's important to note here is, while all these bands were active in Madison at one time or another, none of them ever really bumped into each other or attempted to establish a distinctive Madison-based noise scene.
This disunited state of noise and experimental music in Madison persists for the most part to this day.
There was a compilation put out in 2015 called Mesmerized in Madison that showcased mostly rock & electronic acts, though to the best of my knowledge this hasn't led to any more or less unity in the local scene.
One of the more notable acts from that compilation, Kleptix, has a penchant for modular synths and circuit bending. You can find his youtube channel under his real name, Troy Peterson.
Tone Madison is an organization that seeks to help book shows for underground artists of various styles.

Arguably the hardest working entity in Madison's experimental music scene today is Jocelyne "10564" Rodriguez, aka Victoria Lucas. She has previously gone under the name Durik The Temptress, as well as participated in a few collaborative efforts (winty, Drag Queens on Meth, Trash Squirt, etc.). Her modest label, Grandpa Spaceship, has been in operation for over a decade.
Admittedly I'm a bit biased: Jocelyne was responsible for nearly every live show I've ever done (granted I've only done a few). Truthfully, though, she really has busted ass booking local & out-of-state acts for a variety of shows over the years. One particular show, 2015's "Frotfest," saw around twenty acts performing, including Cock ESP, Bullshit Market and myself (as FAP).

Capitol Swizzle Credit, sometimes known as just The Swizzle, is a solo shred/math rock act that often dips into experimental territory. He's also collaborated with the drummer from No Question on at least one occasion.
Golden Donna is a solo synth/electronic project of note. He's put out some cool releases and did at least one live show that I know of.
Midwaste is an experimental ambient duo consisting of Spencer Bible & Epiphany Compton. Their setup usually consists of tape loops, a guitar and lots of delay.
Tar Pet, aka Taralie Peterson, is a solo multi-intrumentalist who does very striking & eerie avant garde music. I compare her to Poe, but without any of the pop stylings.



MILWAUKEE:

I've only ever been to Milwaukee once, to attend a noise show in 2011. At the time, from what I understand, THE place for noise in Milwaukee was a venue called the Borg Ward, a collective operated in part by Peter J. Woods (Raperies (like Draperies)) and Jay Linski (Blessed Sacrifist). In addition, they both played in a straightedge power electronics group called xALLxFORxTHISx. Sadly, the Borg Ward went defunct in 2016, so I don't know what's going on in Milwaukee now.

Generally speaking, there was a much greater effort to establish Milwaukee as a noise hotspot. There were several Milwaukee Noise Fests held and a huge 12x tape box set titled Milwaukee Noise 2005-2010, released by the FTAM and Starved Relations labels. It appears this effort mostly originated with Peter and the Borg Ward collective, however I'm not entirely sure.

Peter was also in the weirdo electronic free jazz group Phoned Nil Trio. Another member, Dan of Earth, has become somewhat infamous for his homemade electronic instruments, often housed in hollowed-out bibles.
Citizen 2-13, Custodian and Climax Denial, all noise projects of varying intensity, are (were?) based in Milwaukee.
One of my favorite groups to come out of Milwaukee was Hideous Replica, a duo comprised of Dan Hintz (not to be confused with Dan of Earth) and Frank Rose. Hideous Replica (not to be confused with the label of the same name) were unique in that they created noise by simply playing field recordings [and sometimes shortwave radio signals] through amplifiers, essentially making the amplifiers themselves the instruments. Dan Hintz has since moved to New York so I don't know if they're still active or not.



THE REST OF WISCONSIN:

Jason "Evil" Covelli, located in Kenosha, has been a prominent figure in midwest noise and early netlabel subcultures for over twelve years. He can perhaps best be described as the GG Allin of Wisconsin, often collaborating with artists like Patrick Harsh (RedSK, Trashfuck records) in confrontational live harsh noise & power electronics shows. He is also known for his solo spoken word work.

Anthony Shaw is based in Wisconsin, I believe in La Crosse (but I'm not certain). He's gone under various names including A Machine Called Orgasm, Burial Ground and She Said No, all more or less harsh noise. He briefly ran the Worthless Recordings label from 2011-2014, as well as some earlier labels.

There exists a small "noise" scene in Stevens Point. A compilation titled Pointers, released by Most Excellent Records, documented acts from the area circa 2017-2018. Admittedly I should research more of this, as despite the short time frame of the compilation, the record label that put it out has apparently been active since at least 2005.
Last edited by FAP on Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Noise Lore

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FAP wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 6:54 pm I was recently contacted by the legendary PBK in regards to airing some of my work for a radio show of his, and we got on the subject of noise & experimental music in Wisconsin, my home state. This lead to me working on an exhaustive summation of all the knowledge I've gathered on the subject across many years, in one very long email. I think this information is important enough to warrant reposting here, with a few minor edits, for posterity
.

Some other person snagged this before I could find it. I saw it in thier basket.

Probably worth tracking down!

Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave & Noise in Milwaukee, 1964-1984

https://shepherdexpress.com/arts-and-en ... punk-rock/

Or

https://www.boswellbooks.com/book/9781491046975
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Re: Noise Lore

Post by The Mysterious Creep »

FAP wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 6:54 pm In addition, they both played in a straightedge power electronics group called xALLxFORxTHISx.
Just wanted to chime in and say that sounds incredibly interesting, are there any recordings?
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Re: Noise Lore

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The Grizzlor

Post by Indeterminacy »

Is Grizzlor / Blood Eagle still active?
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Re: The Grizzlor

Post by crochambeau »

Indeterminacy wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:00 am Is Grizzlor / Blood Eagle still active?
I believe so, yes (Blood Eagle, I think the Grizzlor name is retired); though not at the breakneck speed of 2016's wall a day.
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Re: Noise Lore

Post by Fire of the Mind »

Griz+zlor holds an interesting place in the history of American underground black metal as well as HNW, as one of the earliest releases on the Jeshimoth Entertainment label was a collaboration between him and none other than Jute Gyte hisownself. Really hard to find that album!

By the way, FAP, that rundown of Wisconsin noise is fascinating. Also may have been worth making a nod to some of the super early Hospital acts in the Madison area as wellxe2x80x94Potassium Cyanide Dogbane Sentiment, after all, comprised the Prurient live band at that show, and Nuclear Pigshit's few releases are extremely uniquexe2x80x94but that is but a minor nitpick and anyone listening to that Noisextra interview can get the full Madison-era Hospital story as a further supplement to your own recollections.

I have no idea what the Philly scene is like other than that Lauren Pakradooni (Tether) is local and the Mausoleum of Contemporary Art and the late lamented R+D Vinyl held a number of noise performances back in the day. There was also a pretty healthy noise-punk scene last I checked which would occasionally bleed into full-on power electronics; I think NAH are among the best known, although they have more of a hardcore thing going on.
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Re: Noise Lore

Post by Indeterminacy »

Rubby wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:00 am I've got one, though it's not terribly exciting. The owner of a great underground venue here in Connecticut once tried to book Justice yeldham (the guy who pretty much chews broken glass with a contact mic in his mouth) after being pestered by yeldham himself who was looking to fill tour dates. This is a record store where the shows are free and donations to the artists are encouraged. He agreed until justice hit him with a guarantee/rider that was pretty much rock star ish. Not only did he want several hundred dollars to play in the back of a record store for a dozen people, he wanted tons of highly specific food and drink, and he also (rightfully) includes the costs for his medical treatment and venue cleanup after. So apparently he's pretty much like booking a Gwar show.
Book him and cancel when he gets there for that shit.
Indeterminacy wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:55 am
crochambeau wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:57 am
Indeterminacy wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:00 am Is Grizzlor / Blood Eagle still active?
I believe so, yes (Blood Eagle, I think the Grizzlor name is retired); though not at the breakneck speed of 2016's wall a day.
I should have also asked if he actively posts anywhere other than social media carcinogenics.
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Power and volume - Pete Townshend
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Re: Noise Lore

Post by crochambeau »

Indeterminacy wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:53 am
Rubby wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:00 am Justice yeldham
Book him and cancel when he gets there for that shit.
I guess we don't need to wonder why international noise tours on U.S. soil are a vanishingly rare thing, especially ones which flirt with the possibility of interaction with the U.S. healthcare system. Can you imagine coming from a civilized nation and having to deal with this shit? No thanks.
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Re: Noise Lore

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crochambeau wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 8:56 am
Indeterminacy wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:53 am
Rubby wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:00 am Justice yeldham
Book him and cancel when he gets there for that shit.
I guess we don't need to wonder why international noise tours on U.S. soil are a vanishingly rare thing, especially ones which flirt with the possibility of interaction with the U.S. healthcare system. Can you imagine coming from a civilized nation and having to deal with this shit? No thanks.

...and be lucky to get $100 for a show.
Does that apply to somebody who can draw a crowd(50 or more people) in any large city?

I feel blessed(to be silly about it) to have gotten $100 for my antics several times.
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