Revolt of the Apes

THE ENTRANCE BAND

“Nothing You Can Make That Can’t Be Made”

It would seem impossible – or at least unnecessary – to give much introduction to The Entrance Band in this arena. There’s probably not much I can say that singer/guitarist Guy Blakeslee doesn’t say in the 6,000+ word interview below.

So instead of an intro, let us just advise you to make a point of listening to the band’s self-titled album, see the band on tour, and read the interview below – not necessarily in that order. Not necessarily stoned, but The Entrance Band is beautiful.

It would seem appropriate to start an interview regarding The Entrance Band with some notions of formation, origin and the like … but instead, can we ask you about your “entrance” into the creative sphere in general? What are your earliest memories of having an urge or a desire to create? What types of things captured your interest as a child? And today? Do you hold any distinct strategies for keeping your creative fires burning?

This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently. For as long as I can remember, the “creative sphere” has been the center of my world, a special realm within existence that helps me get through life and access the “source,” the energy that (I imagine) creates everything. I remember being drawn to music and singing very early in my life, though I can’t pinpoint many exact memories from my very young days. I do clearly remember my grandmother lying on the couch napping while I rambled for hours all over her piano, finding notes that I thought were friendly to each other through endless experimentation. She always urged me to keep playing, not to stop, and she just lay there peacefully soaking up my earliest adventures in sonic expression. This is one of my clearest and dearest memories. I have always felt -“different”- and until I began to explore my creativity with confidence, this “difference” felt like a problem, a disease even- uneasy in the world, unsure of my surroundings, seeking the meaning behind things in a way that seemed to ask more questions than it could answer. At some point, maybe I was 9 or 10, a confluence of influences and inspirations brought me to a point of “conscious creation”- knowing in some deep, unexplainable way that in order to keep myself sane and relate to the world I just HAD to create and express myself. I was fortunate to be turned on to Skateboarding culture by a baby-sitter I had, my mother’s friend’s son, who would look after my younger brother and I in the summertime. Skateboarding culture was so vibrant at that time, a kind of outlaw subculture that had its own music and art and fashion. Through skating, I met other kids, mostly older than me, who were “different” in a defiant sort of way, and I learned to replace meekness with a kind of arrogant intellectual rebellion. Hip-Hop and Punk-Rock/Hardcore music were a part of this culture and through these mediums I really began to find inspiration from seeing people find their own Voice and create their own Culture. I remember many phases of identity seeking, trying to find my own Voice, which led me through many styles and ways of thinking. Sharing in and belonging to subcultures helped me to take my empathy and social compassion and channel it into something that others were a part of; I had always cared so deeply about other people and animals and political and social justice and the right ways to act in the world, spirituality, etc., but before I connected my energy with the related energy of others, it all felt too overwhelming and hopeless to even know what to say or what to do, where to begin. Punk Rock as it existed in the early 90’s was an alternate reality that saved my life and gave direction to my energies. I remember visits to a Baltimore record shop where the store owner would turn me and my brother on to some new music every week, like Minor Threat, the Misfits, Crass. I remember playing a tennis racket as if it were a guitar for a long time before I had a guitar of my own. I was an obsessive draw-er too and was really aware of the grafitti around my town and longed to add to it, which I soon began to do. My parents were really supportive of my creativity and I don’t know where my enegry would have gone if they weren’t so helpful and encouraging in my beginnings as an artist. My love for music was nurtured by them and now I can see they both had/have really good taste in music- I was inspired by their love for Dylan, Lennon, Marley, Guthrie, long before I discovered Punk Rock and began to forge a creative identity of my own. My father would take me to secluded spots, like this one bridge in Baltimore, where he stood guard while I spray-painted huge butterflies on the wall; he would take my brother and I to concerts and he would rollerblade around while we skateboarded at busy spots in Baltimore and DC. He gave me LP’s by Love and Leonard Cohen when I started writing songs, and my mother even gave me specific songs like “Jesus Christ” by Woody Guthrie and “Working Class Hero” by John Lennon, along with early topical Dylan songs, as guidance in how she thought I could inhabit the persona of the songwriter. Rather than trying to sway me I know they could see what an impact these things would have on me and how much they would resonate with me. (I know this answer is epic, but I hope you’ll appreciate my attempt to fulfill the deep nature of these questions!). One Christmas my parents bought a Harmony electric guitar and a snare drum, the drum for me and the guitar for my brother. In older brother fashion, I laid claim to both and finally found my calling in life with the guitar. I remember having bands with other kids when I was 10 or even younger, and the bands had names and I would make cassette covers for imaginary albums and dreamed of having a band. But mainly I just spent every possible hour hunched over a guitar. I would break strings and then play for weeks with 5, 4, 3, 2 strings, until my dad would take me to a music store in the city to get new strings put on. I played for at least a year without knowing how the guitar was normally tuned, how to put on a string, or even that I was playing it “upside-down” – playing a right-handed guitar, but left-handed. By the time the old man at the music shop pointed out my error, it was too late to change my style, so I learned how to tune the guitar and kept teaching myself, refusing the slightest suggestion of lessons. I remember feeling like lessons would be some kind of really negative, limiting force upon my untrained but very disciplined sense of the guitar. I gained confidence from figuring it out myself and again I’m fortunate that my family could put up with the noise and allow me to pursue music so full-on without technical guidance or instruction. So for years, I just played for hours every day. I would sneak away from classes at school and find a place to play, and I just tranced out in my own musical world, teaching myself the language of sound. It took the friendship of some older kids to get into playing with other people. Nobody my age that I yet knew was as obsessed and immersed in music and art as myself. Some older kids who I really looked up to asked me to join their band, at this point I must have been in 8th grade, and I started performing at all ages clubs in Baltimore, in friend’s basements, and at school “talent shows” and assemblies. Performing for others is what really brought my energy together. The underground scene at this time, pre-internet, was about more than music, and I immersed myself in organizing shows, making flyers, making “zines,” networking with other kids who did the same, often by mail (!). The culture was totally handmade and it was empowering to take it all in and be a part of it.Somewhere along the way Nirvana happened, and amplified my desire to make some kind of noise in my world through music and art. I devoured the Beat writers, and went on a quest in every library i could find for inspiration through literature, poetry and art, manically seeking out the lineage of “revolutions” in the arts -Dada, Surrealism, Situationism, Punk, the 60’s counterculture and pop-culture, visionary art, outsider art -I was always looking for more and more movements and creative energies I could relate to, things that were different or against-society in some way. I made collages with revolutionary slogans on them and posted them all over my school. I stayed up all night writing and laying out my Xerox magazines. I guess the point of this answer is that NOW, I am a lot older than I was then – almost 20 years older than when my full identification with a creative way of life really blossomed. And it really hepls me to keep the “fires burning,” as you say, to remember the initial sparks that got the fire started, the epiphanies, the awakenings, the moments when something CLICKED and I knew I had to be this way; I had to approach life creatively. Those first moments of inspiration are the seed of all moments of inspiration that follow. That sense of DO OR DIE, that there’s either liberation, freedom and fulfillment on the one hand through creating, and on the other hand in the absence of creative thinking there is only stagnation, depression, confusion. This crossroads of inspiration is the place that all creative magic comes from. It’s easy as we get older to become jaded or lazy about this spark, to take it for granted. I am doing my best to keep it burning by recognizing the LIFE or DEATH nature of how I live, of what I do – to take the gift of inspiration and never let it get tired or lazy, always pushing the edges of reality around, exploring ideas, trying to get into a state of mind where the words just FLOW from my mind and heart, where my TRUTH can manifest and be captured and shared with others. Most important is never forgetting that as artists, first of all we create for OURSELVES. If artistic expression didn’t fulfill us, we would have abandoned it, but it does, and to keep creating things that we truly believe in, that can satisfy our souls, we have to remember that before anyone reads or hears or sees our work, we are making it for ourselves. It keeps us from going insane. From there, we can inspire others, but if we are not inspired to create then we’re not going to force ourselves to do it. So inspiration, being conscious of what we put into our minds, and of how we manifest our ideas, is most important. It’s a struggle, to commit your life to art over making money. It puts us in many difficult situations in this world, and I am always trying to remain aware of what a blessing it is, and how much bravery it takes, to live for art. Sacrifice is such a part of this, and appreciating the freedom we have chosen to allow ourselves, knowing that however difficult it can be in some ways, there is a deep fulfillment in art and in pursuing visions and dreams, so often against the advice of the world, even against our own logical judgement. Creativity has always beena state of mind for me, an open-flowing-trance of immersion. These days I find myself working hard to keep this state of mind going, learning how to protect and cultivate it so that I can always take refuge in that space.I didn’t used to associate creativity with discipline, but now I’m seeing more and more that the creative impulse needs to be nurtured, and we have to nurture it ourselves, through practice, through using thats pecial muscle that powers the creativity. We were just on tour for over a month, and each day I had my appointed time to get on stage and tune in to the full-on creative force, creating in front of other people. Now that the tour is over, I’ve been obsessed with how to maintain a pattern for myself to harness that energy every day, when there’s no appointed time and no audience. So this is a timely question! And I really hesitate to do an interview like this unless I am going to really give it my all, since this is just another aspect of the total creative lifestyle I aim to lead.So thanks for offering me some worthy things to think about and rant about!

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And now for something completely different. Having spent the last few days listening to far too much White Hills and having far too much fun last night taking in the “Dropout Boogie” tour of The Black Angels and Black Mountain, it seems appropriate to take some time to reflect further on the black and the white … and nowhere to we have quite the same opportunity to do so as when staring at the illustration art of the enigmatic NAGA WIKA.

Staring at the Frenchman’s artwork is something we’ve spent hours doing. Like the best comic artists, the real talent of Naga Wika lies in his ability to capture something authentic about the situation being portrayed on the page – something beyond physical perspective or setting. Given that most of Naga’s work relates back to underground music, many readers will be immediately drawn (pun, sadly, intended) to his ability to capture the personality, nuance and utter familiarity of a life spent seeing bands, playing shows and collecting records. The two issues of his comic masterpiece, “Bestial Avenger,” may be the greatest neo-tour diary in the history of one boy and one girl destroying the world, one riff at a time.

Or something. Really, this is all just an elaborate excuse to spend even more time looking at his artwork. We’ll let Naga provide a little cross-hatched detail on the rest.

At what age did you develop an interest in illustration? At what age did you decide you have talent in this area to go along with your interest? Or are you still deciding if you have talent?

Well, I never thought about it that way. I’ve always drawn since I could hold a pen. So drawning about music came very naturally, as I listen to lot of stuff everytime. Talking about “talent” is a bit embarassing to me, haha … it’s none of my business.

I think of your drawings as showing some of the “fun” that is still inherit in underground music … and a fun that has always been there? Do you agree? You also seem to find the fun or silliness within a type of music, without necessarily mocking it. Would you agree?

You’re pretty much correct, sir! I never think at first about doing it funny or goofy; I want to make something cool and fun. With “Bestial Avenger,” I want to make something as cool as listening a Bathory record! I basically try to make a comic I would love to find. Strangely enough, there are no metal comics around, which is odd. And the few that I have come across weren’t done by real fans but were all about the clichés.

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It’s Sunday. A reading from the book of Hawkwind (via Ol’ Al Whitehead): “Give up illusions about ideas of order, accept nothing of inherited norm. Spread joy and revolution. It is the business of the future to be dangerous.” Our reading today invokes the spirit of the psychedelic warlords, a spirit that encourages us to head for the hills. Head for WHITE HILLS.

Give up illusions about ideas of order: the vinyl version of the  self-titled album (brought to you by Thrill Jockey Records) from these New York freakazoids offers a different experience than the CD or digital version: different artwork, different tracks, different sequencing. We hold the vinyl in our hands and marvel at the reflective, extraordinarily elaborate embossing that graces the cover, a flawless execution of an idea that would have Uriah Heep sobbing into their thick, thick mustaches.

Of course, it’s the flawless execution of the music held within the grooves that really counts – and you can really count on being held within the grooves of music that is flawlessly executed. Actually, “held” is probably too gentle a word. Entombed within? Brainwashed by? Closer. There’s really no way to fully describe the mind-stretching, expertly-throttled, riff-space-doom-kraut-Brooklyn-acid-art-heavy-psych-freak-roomful-of-mirrors-goddamn-mirrored-cover journey offered by the band on this album. This album planted a flag in my brain, claiming it in the name of White Hills. You have to listen. Head for the hills and pick up steel (or vinyl) on your way.

WHITE HILLS – “In Circles Too”

P.S. – the same day I got the White Hills album that got this weekend off to a great start, I saw some guy named Roky Erickson play a show. It was awesome – and afterwards, I found what you see pictured below. I’ll describe it the only way I can: a psychedelic Shrinky-Dink. Approximately two-inches by two-inches and apparently colored by hand, it’s a find a shall cherish for the rest of my life. Or until one of my sons destroys it (it is the business of the future to be dangerous). Tonight, I will take in the “Dropout Boogie” tour in my nation’s capitol, where I will indeed dropout and boogie. In celebration of this fact (one has to assume), the excellent Drone Magazine has posted an excellent interview with The Black Angels. Man, those guys do drone on, don’t they?

The rarest album in my collection, surpassing my Spazz 7"

There’s a mystery to the music of WARPAINT and it’s a mystery that shouldn’t be unraveled. Their songs are questions without answers, riddles without clues, jeux sans frontiers and war without fear. We don’t want to examine their motivations – we just need to listen to their songs, and wrap ourselves in the cloak of their secrecy.

Of course, longtime readers of this blog – both of you – will know that this is patently untrue. Of course we want to examine their motivations. Of course we want to know everything about them. We want to interview them, to ask them stupid questions about their desire (or lack thereof) to cover “Spill the Wine,” to know what makes them tick, to read them our favorite poems and show them our collection of astrological sign black-light posters.

We want to – we don’t need to. The push-pull between our wants and our needs can be heard as the heart that pumps the blood through their wonderful debut full-length, “The Fool.” “Set Your Arms Down” sets the pace as the opening track – magical, yearning and while you may or may not be able to dance to it, you can certainly sway like a motherfucker.

WARPAINT – “Set Your Arms Down”

No strangers to mystery themselves, fellow Californians APACHE have given the world a gift, the size of which is enormous – even if the title and run time are not. But if you can figure out how to have a better time in less than two minutes – the time it takes to watch their video for “Pint Sized Punker – then I’m guessing your idea of fun doesn’t include angry girls, knives and playing guitar with a cheese grater. I’m happy that Apache are all the way across the country from the “Revolt of the Apes” headquarters in Virginia. This way, I am less inclined to become an Apache groupie. Marginally less inclined.

Speaking of the home front, things continue to be highly awesome. You could do yourself a favor by heading over to see Richmond’s most mysterious man, Mr. Atavist, and download the superior Halloween edition of his mighty “Sunrise Ocean Bender” radio show. The only thing spookier than a DJ who goes back-to-back-to-back with Pink Fairies, Black Sabbath and Monster Magnet is trying to figure out how I stole his Kinski shirt.

And if THAT weren’t enough, Thanksgiving comes early for Richmond-dwellers, with local venue/restaurant/arcade Strange Matter playing host to more than their fair share of great shows in the month of November. Not only do you have the death-of-reality combination that is NAAM and LA OTRACINA together on November 13 [which … is actually at local venue/restaurant/billiards room, The Triple … ], you also have the opportunity to cleanse your psychic palette on November 21, when the must-see-to-believe SPINDRIFT saddles up and brings their guns to town, flanked by local locos THE DIAMOND CENTER. What could be better?!? Word is that some clown who does a blog – a blog! – called “Revolt of the Apes” will be providing the soundtrack for the evening. Yikes. Pack up your T. Rex albums and go back home, old man!

PURPLE RHINESTONE EAGLE

“Shining Metallic Purple Armor”

It’s difficult to write much about PURPLE RHINESTONE EAGLE without coming across as some sort of riff-crazed evangelical, invested in spreading the message of these psych-metal witches far and wide, heaping scorn on the non-believers.

So far, no one has been able to conclusively say whether or not the band can walk on water or raise the dead. But you should have supreme confidence in their ability to save your soul, as proven by their new LP, “The Great Return.” Massive aural riches await all listeners, as the band ably navigates between the cosmic sphere and the part of rock & roll that preaches empowerment over enslavement.

And they do it all through pegged out amps that You can bet are covered with stickers proclaiming their love for Saint Vitus and The Gits. We’ll let the power trio take it from here.

Listening to “The Great Return” immediately after “Amorum Tali,” there seems to be what – for lack of a more descriptive term – might be a progression in the sound. Does it feel like a progression to the members of PRE? Or are you too distant already from even the latest album to offer an assessment?

Andrea: Oooh, yeah. I feel like we have traveled light years since “Amorum Tali.” Our playing and song writing has gotten so much stronger since then. I think “The Great Return” exemplifies that very much.

Morgan: Definitely. “The Great Return” is much more of a cohesive album this time around … it was actually really exciting to be able to see progress by comparing the recordings. It’s hard to tell sometimes when you’re in the midst of a thing.

Ashley: We are constantly progressing as musicians and songwriters. “The Great Return” is an accurate documentation of this.

The (possibly phantom) “progression” is evident from the start, with the opening track, “No Space Nukes,” being nothing if not an anthem for riff-crazed lovers and inhabitants of the third ring of Saturn. What is the origin of this song? At what point did it become clear it should be the lead track? Push comes to shove, what’s the best lead track in recorded history?

Andrea: “No Space Nukes” is primarily about the moon bombing that happened a few months back. I think we were all pretty shocked when we heard about NASA’s plan and really surprised that such a huge event was getting such little media attention. The lyrics are really just a reaction to, what I feel, is an incredibly irresponsible act. So much could have gone wrong. We had this whole concept of the album as a return to many things. Lyrically, sonically and even visually, we wanted the album to have a feel of a circle or a cycle completing. To us, it made sense for the album to start with a nightmare scenario (moon being destroyed) and end with a fantastical dream (astral flight to another world).

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There are only three groups we can reasonably expect to not enjoy Halloween: fundamentalists, nutritionists and those who have had a co-dependent relationship with a Pumpkin. There is no evidence that members of THE CULT OF DOM KELLER fall into any of these categories.

Just what category do these UK-based mind-melters fall in to? Easy categorization eludes us, as it should. But on this Halloween, we want to salute a band that will help us – for lack of a more ridiculous phrase – get our creep on. The Cult of Dom Keller can help us there, not garishly but not quite subtly, either.

Mysteriously? Perhaps. They are the kind of band that allow us to reflect on the fact that both Black Sabbath and Spacemen 3 hailed from the same mighty island, and the tradition of channeling those weird, foggy mysteries of Albion directly through the magic of electric amplification shows no signs of dying. The cult is alive, fer’ sure, as evidenced by the debut EP – “EP1” – from the Dom Keller cult.

Maybe it’s just the Halloween spirit talking. Maybe. But these are the voices we hear when The Cult of Dom Keller start speaking in distorted sound waves, and we’re going to keep listening.

Stream the entire “EP1” by The Cult of Dom Keller here, courtesy of Apollo Audio.

(Speaking of Albion … and yes, I have been reading Rob Young’s amazing and enlightening book, “Electric Eden,” thanks for asking … have you seen THIS?!? Super rad. It almost makes me want to play a video game. Almost!)

Happy Halloween!

KING DIAMOND – “Halloween”

HELICON

“She’s Got a Ticket to Ride”

Waste no faith on stereotypes – they’ll only be proven wrong. Case in point: the psychedelic haze & gaze merchants from Scotland known as Helicon.

Maybe you’ve gone through your life thus far under the impression that the great Scots are … shall we say … a tight-fisted bunch. Maybe you’ve gone through your life thinking the Scottish scene begins and ends with Mogwai and their epic paeans to Zinedine Zidane. You would be wrong.

But you can turn your song of wrong into the light of being right by turning on to Helicon. Offering their epic, engaging EP – “Take the Ride” – as a gratis download. Not since The Edgar Winter Group has a group made it so easy to take a free ride.

A link to download the three-track, twenty-two minute and eight-second slice of shimmering joy that is Helicon’s “Take the Ride” EP is hidden down below. Before you get there, take the time to learn more about the band, courtesy of guitarist/vocalist John-Paul Hughes.

Who is the one person for whom you have the highest degree of respect for when it comes to musical recommendations? If that’s not possible to narrow down to just one soul without offense, what one person, magazine, radio show, etc. has provided to biggest influence on your musical life thus far?

Christ, there’s way too many to name just one. I guess without wanting to sound predictable Anton Newcombe would probably be to blame. The first time I heard the Brian Jonestown Massacre way back, I decided with my brother Gary, “Fuck it! That’s the shit for me. I’ve no idea what I’m doing but I’m getting myself a fucking amp, a hollow body guitar and we’re putting a band together.” I was introduced to them by our friend Gary Sharp who now also looks after us for all things Helicon related; he’s turned us on to some incredible bands. As well as sniffing around by ourselves – we love keeping up to date with what’s going on in other peoples heads through various shows and podcasts and hearing what guys like DJ Stodmeister (Keith Stodart) and Valis Hertel (Trip Inside This House) are tuning in to. This seems to work for us.

The reason the question is asked is that, like others, we first became aware of Helicon’s “Take the Ride” EP based solely on the “available for download” status read on the excellent blog, Trip Inside This House. This sort of almost blind discovery is one of the pleasant benefits for the modern-day music nerd, with only moderate technical and financial resources needed to explore a world of music. Agree or disagree?

I totally agree. If it weren’t for people, shows and blogs such as these then nobody would have a fucking clue who we are or what we do. Not only is it a brilliant and invaluable method of keeping in touch with what’s going on elsewhere, for us it acts a huge source of inspiration. You hear something new, you’d never otherwise have discovered, and you’re mind races with new ideas and you just want to get together as soon as possible to start jamming and writing away to hopefully come up with something even better.

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JEFFERTITTI’s NILE

“THE WIND IS LOW, THE BIRDS WILL SING THAT YOU ARE PART OF EVERYTHING”

“Hypnotic River of Sound,” being the title of the stellar EP by JEFFERTITTI’s NILE, is more than that – it’s all you need to know to fall for this band.

Be thankful it delivers on the title’s promise. Interstellar California vibes, burning up a Stones classic with the dare of a solar flare, and setting fire to new classics in the process. It’s really killer.

You may never get your head around the name – it’s not necessary. The river ride is just the same, either way. Pick it up, take the ride, and let our friendly river guide – Mr. Moon himself, Jeffertitti – show us the way.

Where does the journey begin for Jeffertitti’s Nile – meaning, where does the inspiration and ability to make the music that you make together come from? Do you find the creative urge – for lack of a better turn – is relatively consistent and of comparable strength among the band members and that you are – much like the Wu-Tang Clan and Voltron – more than the sum of your parts?

The desire to unite & explore sonic frontiers, dance & rejoice is deep seated with in our DNA strands. What a perfect way to tune into the positive vibrations and send love beams to outer space.  Oh, and yes we are exactly like the Wu-Tang Clan!

There is no doubt that this is among the most routine question that could possibly be asked in the standard interview format, but in special circumstances, duty calls. So … how did you come up with the name Jeffertitti’s Nile? More important, how did the band manage to agree on the name? What does the name mean to you? What is the most egregious misspelling you have ever seen of your unique band moniker?

I was given the name Jeffertitti in Big Sur, California at the “Festival in the Forest” by Danielle (our drummer).  In the early stages of our band, we were playing in NYC under another name.  The two of us sat together at a cafe drawing & writing out our vision for “J E F F E R T I T T I ‘s N I L E. ” The misspellings and mispronunciations have been highly entertaining … “Neffertitti’s Jile”, “Jeffertities Nile,” “Jeffertitus” … We all get a kick out of saying the band name to someone for the first time and seeing their reaction!

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WARNING: You should be aware of the following opportunities to enjoy some great music!

Let’s start with that bewitching group of L.A. locos, THE WARLOCKS. Out this week on Zap Banana Records is a re-release of the band’s debut EP from 2001, and the “Rise & Fall” LP from 2001 – now combined on a double-disc set that also includes eight – count ’em! – eight unreleased bonus tracks. But before you get eight miles high on this news, take a ride over to The Warlocks’ page on Bandcamp for a free download of three tracks – one of the unreleased and two remastered. Your mirror might not explode, but your head will.

Not to be outdone (and to be fair, not in any sort of competition, anyway), the Richmond, VA (by way of GA) gem of a band known to the world over as THE DIAMOND CENTER recently recorded a live session for the mighty Daytrotter, which – like all Daytrotter sessions – is yours to download and enjoy for nothing, nada, zippo, zero, zilch (and if you have an iPhone, you owe it to yourself to download and install the Daytrotter app – also free). I feel comfortable saying this is the most inexpensive way to enjoy a diamond. More than that, I feel comfortable saying that The Diamond Center’s session is beautiful, understated and haunting but still propulsive – the perfect accompaniment to a drive through the October night, music spilling out of your window in serenade to a low hanging moon, resting in the sky like … yes, a diamond.

Moving all the way from the East coast to the West … treat your eyeballs and earholes to a taste of Midday Veil. On the heels of the recently concluded “Escalator Fest II” – curated by the good folks over at Portable Shrines – and in anticipation of their upcoming release, “Eyes All Around,” (out soon on Translinguistic Other and – SPOLIER ALERT! – it’s a stunner), here’s a video shot by the Seattle Rock Guy of Midday Veil performing “Asymptote (Part 2).” Try not to be hypnotized. Actually – don’t try. Let yourself go …

And … why not? … treat yourself to a glimpse of the force of nature that is California’s JEFFERTITTI’S NILE as well, also from Seattle Rock Guy’s “Escalator Fest II” footage, also with a new release you need to score (the incredible “Hypnotic River of Sound”), also hypnotizing … all SO hypnotizing.

More on these bands – and many more – coming up soon on “Revolt of the Apes.” Until then … the rock and/or roll book learnin’ club is ON.

Reading is FUN-da-MENTAL ...

BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE – “God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot”