Chuck D, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sun Ra, Milt Jackson, Mile Davis, Thelonius Monk,
BAD BRAINS, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, The Meters, P-Funk, Curtis Mayfield, Dexter Gordon,Cal Tjader, William S. Burroughs,Paul Bowles, The Flaming Lips, Led Zeppelin, Deer Hoof, Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, Merle Haggard, Bobby Hutcherson, Ween, Carl Finch, Brave Combo, Aloke Dutta, Bill Hicks, Sabbath,Butthole Surfers,Can, The Cats and The Fiddle,Elvin Jones,Joe Henderson, Tito Puente, Lightning Bolt,Nick Drake, Ornette Coleman,Eddie Palmieri, Tribe Called Quest. Norman Spinrad,Mr. Bungle,Pancho Sanchez,Trouble Funk, D.C. GoGo,Sonny Rollins,Johny V,Kim Pruitt, Art Blakey, Messiaen, Mingus,The Minutemen, Mat Hoffman.
Rock Star Bench Press - Mike Dillon's Go Go Jungle
David Paul Kleinman
2009-02-17
Hyena
Read Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language.” The old bastard teaches an important lesson: crisp, new language is the secret to good writing. Tropes are our foe, professes Orwell, and who are we to challenge his assertion? Apply this idea to music, but not to an extreme, as is too often done so. The music either becomes so “new” it ceases to be pleasing to the ear, or it sounds dull, trite, and Nickelback. Rock Star Bench Press, the sophomore release by Mike Dillon’s Go-Go Jungle, thumps a fine balance betwixt old and new, creating crunchy modern music.
Chicago’s thriving and incestuous jazz scene—Tortoise, Ken Vandermark, Isotope 217—can be heard, but so can Jane’s Addiction. Think of a punk band whose name would earn you 25 Hipsters Points if you dropped it at a loft party. Now think of a band who would be spuriously described as “seminal proto-punk stalwarts” whose name your dialogist could then drop for 75 Double Hipster Points. There are six possible answers, and each band’s influence can be heard on Rock Star Bench Press. Marco Benevento lends some piano on “Chemtrails,” and it would be super spurious to not acknowledge The Duo’s influence as well as Medeski, Martin & Wood’s—who influence the album individually and collectively. Harry Partch, yes, crazy old Harry Partch: luthier, microtonalist, hobo, inside-outside composer, the man who could out-weird weird America, can be heard, or rather seen nodding his head in agreement as Dillon’s vibraphones and xylophones slide, tap, and crawl their way around the album’s seams.
There’s a bit of yelling here, like on the title track and “Redneck Tie Down Your Ladder,” and the first reaction is the same to seeing the rear cover illustration in real life: a clothed man going all in on a wedgy. Ewww. But after listening to the album several times, the yelling, which ultimately comes off as tongue-in-cheek, fits. “Redneck” eventually slows down and spaces out into Nick Cave territory. “Sack O’ Sheet” is fuckin’ hilarious: “You’re a liar. You’re a cheater. “You’re just a sack o’ sheet.” “Surfin’ with You” demonstrates dance music can be emotionally-intense, spooky, and harmonically-probing all at the same time. About the album, Dillon has said: “We wanted to hit people with something beyond what they could have imagined.” And he and his mates, JJ Jungle and Go-Go Ray, have done just that: they have a recorded an album that may indicate a tidal change in progressive music. They have created a crisp, new language for music-makers—no small feat. And considering the album is just plain fun to listen to, I applaud them and remain eager for more.
New CD "Brave New World" is on sale now at CDBaby and iTunes. It will be coming soon to Rhapsody and Napster. Check out new songs on my page. Guitar players everywhere will like "Feels like a Gun".
Our new CD "Brave New World" is on sale now at CDBaby. It will be coming soon to iTunes, Rhaphsody and Napster. Check out new songs on my page. Guitar players everywhere will like "Feels like a Gun".
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
NEW TRACK!!!
ACTUALLY JUST a NEW IN myPLAYER..
/DROP THE GUN/
/DROP THE GUN/
/DROP THE GUN/
/DROP THE GUN/
/DROP THE GUN/
Hey Mike, I tried to catch your show at Dulcinea's tonight. I had like 5 other people meeting me down there but I got turned away at the door because we weren't 21. And since no one else was 21 no one got to catch your show man. I hope it went well, but I was wondering if you come back, can you at least play an 18plus show so my friends and I can get in? Keep killin on the vibes man, and I can't wait to see you play tabla.
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