Sometimes, even I am overwhelmed with the vast quantity of new releases & great live gigs here in NYC! Like many of you, I was weened on them rock guitar gods-Zappa, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jorma...later blues & jazz & then noise/avant as well. No matter how diverse my taste gets, great guitar solos will always blow me away. Over the past 2 weeks, I've been on an amazing live guitar marathon, every night a different gem: Oct. 21 -my first encounter w/ the Scott Fields jazz/noise/improv trio; Oct. 22-first burnin' gig w/ Zorn, Ribot, John Medeski & Bobby Previte at the Knit; Oct.23-return of Link Wray, pre-surf, instrumental power rocker at Tramps; Oct.25- rare gig w/ Bill Frisell's new Nashville trio, acoustic & precious; later that night another rare gig-Thurston Moore solo noise guitar w/ home movies at Roulette; Oct. 26-one set of slow burn feedback blues drones w/ Loren Mazzacane here at DMG; Oct.27-the Derek Bailey fest commences at the Knit w/ 3 short sets the first night-Derek solo, trio w/ Zorn & Kramer and trio Zorn & Ikue Mori; Oct.28- Zorn improv fest w/ Bailey, Dave Douglas, Ikue, Andy Haas, Kato Hideki, Robert Dick...many great moments!; Oct. 29-Ruins/offshoot night w/ the hilarious acappella of Zubi Zuva & the wacky Akaten; Oct.30-an incredible night w/ the exquisite duo of Derek & pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen, odd Akaten solo set & one of the scariest sets of the year-the first US appearance of Derek Bailey & the Ruins!!! Oct. 31 brought the Phlegm offshoot duo to Roulette for 2 sets of fine noise/improv guitar/drums insanity; Nov. 1-a superb solo acoustic set from one of my heroes-Richard Thompson at St. Ann's; Nov.2-more wacky downtown improv w/ NC-17 (Ed Chang on guitar), plus a cool solo flutes set from my old pal-Robert Dick, here again at DMG.  

NEW DOWNTOWN RELEASES NEW DOWNTOWN RELEASES  
NEW DOWNTOWN RELEASES NEW DOWNTOWN RELEASES:  
 

• 1.SERGE GAINSBOURG-Great Jewish Music (Tzadik 7116) 21 track comp. & tribute to the notorious French pop star. This features-Elysian Fields, Ruins, David Shea, Fred Frith, Kramer, Cibo Matto, Shelley Hirsch, Wayne Horvitz & Robin Holcomb, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Medeski Martin & Wood. Not nearly as weird as the Bacharach comp. $14. 
• 2.FRANK LONDON-The Debt (Tzadik 7117) Outstanding & diverse comp. of varied film scores, encompassing latin & acid jazz, Mingus like modern jazz, Stravinsky-ish classical, great female choral parts...w/ Mark Feldman, Pablo Aslan, John Medeski, Mark Dresser, Anthony Coleman, Danny Blume, Robert Musso, over 40 players. $14. 
• 3.RONNY SOMECK & ELLIOTT SHARP-Revenge of the Stuttering Child (Tzadik 7117) Powerful & brooding journey of spoken word artist-Someck (born in Iraq, now living in Israel), with the music of multi-instrumentalist & composer E. Sharp. Evocative imagery & eerie music. Guest include-Zeena & Margaret Parkins and Anthony Coleman. $14. 
• 4.VIRGIL MOOREFIELD-The Temperature in Hell is Over 3000 Degrees (Tzadik 7026) Drummer for Glenn Branca, the Swans & E. Sharp, released an outstanding prog/rock/jazz cd on Cuneiform a couple of years ago. This is Virgil's new unit & it is often dense & challenging, dealing with microtonal tunings & improv on electric instruments. Penderecki & Xenakis fans take note. $14. 
• 5.NAFTULE'S DREAM-Search for the Golden Dreydl (Tzadik 7118) Amazing adventurous klezmer sextet from Boston, named after the legendary king of klezmer-Naftule Brandwein! Zappa like complexity & humor, Art Ensemble like flow of seamless inside & outside episodes. Outstanding solos by clarinets, trombone & el. guitar, w/ tuba as bass. $14. 
• 6.MARK DRESSER-Banquet (Tzadik 7027) Brilliant & serious composing & playing from virtuoso acoustic bass great, with two small chamber units." Banquet"is a double concerto for string qt. w/ flute master-Matthias Ziegler & Dresser on bass. "Loss of the Innocents" is a kaddish for the victims of TWA Flight 800, a piece of haunting beauty. The other musicians are Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, Chris Speed, Sarah Parkins, Ron Lawrence & Marcus Rojas. $14. 
• 7.KEN BUTLER-Voices of Anxious Objects (Tzadik 7402) Bizarre! Ken is a master of el. hybrid instruments, that must be seen & heard to be believed! Currently on display in the front bar of the Knit & in the great 16 page color booklet of this cd. Each piece features a different hybrid or two, w/ it's own distinct sound. Ken's qt. includes two members of the ever cool mid/east/euro groovesters-Paradox trio, w/ the wonderful Stomu's el. bass (from Threadgill's current unit) $14. These aforementioned releases will be the final Tzadik cd's for 1997, there will be six more new releases in Jan. '98! 
• 8.BOBBY PREVITE'S LATIN FOR TRAVELERS-My Man in Sydney (enja 9348) Solid, smokin' fusiony live all-star qt. featuring dual guitar greatness of Marc Ducret & Jerome Harris, w/ Jamie Saft on keys. Great fusion still exists. $14. 
• 9.(WAYNE HORVITZ'S) PIGPEN-Daylight (Tim Kerr 154) This will be their last effort & it reminds me of the last President cd-"Miracle Mile", restrained beauty yet weird & great, Wayne's solos & writing are consistently great! w/ Zony Mash's el. bass god-Fred Chalenor, now NYer Briggan Krauss on alto sax & Mike Stone on drums. $14. 
• 10.(ELLIOTT SHARP'S) BOODLERS-Counter Fit (Tim Kerr 110) Second release from this oft brutal, throbbing power trio consisting of the old Tonedogs rhythm team of Fred Chalenor on bass & Henry Franzoni on drums, along w/ Carbon's Joe Trump on tubs too. Massive!! $14. 
• 11.PACHORA-s/t (KFW 207) Excellent first disc by this all-star downtown qt., w/ Chris Speed on clarinet only, Brad Shepik on eastern sounding guitar & el. saz, Skuli Sverrisson-el. bassist supreme from Mo Boma & Bloodcount's amazing drummer-Jim Black. Seems to be a trend of mid/east/euro grooviness w/ the Paradox Trio,the Tiny Bell Trio, Shepik's new solo cd & this superb offering! $13. 
• 12.JOE MORRIS TRIO-Antennae (AUM Fidelity 004) Wow!! The out-jazz el. guitar trio of the decade! Telepathic cosmic densely flowing streams ...w/ Nate McBride on acous. bass & Jerome Deupree on drums. Check out the excellent Joe Morris article in the Voice by Gary Giddins in early Nov. and check out this incredible cd! $14. 
• 13.MYRA MELFORD & HAN BENNINK-Eleven Ghosts (Hatology 507) Two very different players come together & pull off eleven great tracks. Anywhere that Myra goes- swinging on "Maple Leaf Rag", dishing out the blues on a Leroy Carr cover, going totally free, playing inside the piano, Han can shadow her every move. A warm exchange. $17. 
• 14.ROBERT DICK JOHN WOLF BRENNAN DANIELE PATUMI-Aurealis (Victo 052) So nice to hear my old pal & favorite flautist-Robert Dick back in NYC. He wowed the crowd at a Zorn/Bailey improv nite on 10/28 at the Knit & here at DMG the next Sunday. Currently living in Switzerland, along w/ Irish born superb pianist-John Wolf Brennan, and also Italian master acoustic bassist-Daniele Patumi rounds out this fine trio. All three push the boundaries of their instruments on great compositions and outstanding improvisations as well. $15. 
• 15.EUGENE CHADBOURNE-Country Music of Southeast Australia (Entropy 002) A deranged long lost reissue w/ 20 extra minutes (over 73 in all) of Eugene's '83 tour of down under w/ Jon Rose, David Moss, Rik Rue & Jim Denley. Hilarious, ridiculous, twisted & fun simultaneously. Tortured covers & looney bin like jamming. Cheap thrills for only $11. 
• 16.LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS-Calloden Harvest (Road Cone 018) Twice as long as the usual & even darker! Loren's totally unique feedback blues dirges get more molasses like as time presses down on each of our miserable lives. $10. 
• 17.ALAN LICHT & LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS- Mercury (Road Cone 019) A 47 minute sojourn to hell? You bet! Actually, excerpts from this brave duo's northern tour of the Knit, Pittsburgh, Chicago & Toronto. A dark mass for a $10. 
• 18.WILLIAM HOOKER BILLY BANG DUO-Joy (Within)! (Silkheart 147) Live at the Knit in June of '94 & '95, an immense & powerful improvised duo that continually keeps us at the edge our seats. Often intense & great! $14. 
• 19.IVO PERELMAN JOE MORRIS DUO-Strings (Leo 249) First time together & a radical departure for both, w/ Ivo playing cello (his first instrument) & Joe playing acoustic guitar only. An odd choice that worked out well anyhow. $15. 
• 20.IVO PERELMAN BORAH BERGMAN DUO-Geometry (Leo 248) Tenor sax & piano, two often aggressive players go at it, often pushing each other to extremes. Often dense & exhilarating, sometimes too much... $15. 

• 21.ROBERT WYATT-Shleep (Hannibal UK 1418) A masterpiece & obviously my favorite cd of 1997. Eno & Manzanera did a perfect job of producing this gem. Wyatt's distinct voice, odd songs & pataphysical philosophy, make this stand above most current pop. Even Paul Weller lends a hand. Not released in the US until January 20th. A British import for $23. 
• 22.DEREK BAILEY & TONY OXLEY-Soho Suites (Incus 29/30) A two cd set, a London studio date from Feb. '77 & a live set from the Knit in Sept. of '95. Two masters of the Euro style improv, completely focussed & making each sound count. The studio date from '77, finds the pair w/ a large array of acous. & electric percussion & guitars & is often more restrained. The live set has only one el. guitar & drum kit, but is much heavier w/ Derek letting out large explosions of feedback!! $25. 
• 23.(CAVEMAN) HUGHSCORE-Highspotparadox (Tim Kerr 109) The long awaited 2nd cd by a magical combination of Seattle's Caveman Shoestore w/ Hugh Hopper-el. fuzz bass god from the legendary Soft Machine. Two amazing el. bass players are out front, w/ Fred Chalenor being the other great bassist from the previously mentioned Tonedogs, Boodlers, Pigpen & Zony Mash. That seductive Softs like hypnotic/drone groove flows throughout. Fuzz bass heaven!! $14. 
• 24.MASHU-Elephants in your Head? (Voiceprint 188) A fine trio w/ Hugh Hopper, Mark Hewins- a great later Canterbury el. guitarist & Shyamal Maitra from one of Didier Malherbe's bands on Indian percussion. More hypnotic Softs-like drone grooves, tastey jazz solos by Hewins & guest saxello player-Elton Dean, also in the Softs same era as Hopper! $17. 
• 25.KAZUTOKI UMEZU-Desert in a Hand (KFW 215) Second Umezu cd on KFW in the past month, not forgetting his two fine klezmer orchestra cd's on DIW also of recent, and our pal Kat says this one is superb, too! Instead of the downtown all-star backing of his previous cd, he utilizes a cast of great Jap players. Diverse as usual w/ spiritual double reeds, two saxes at once warped funk, subtle Euro movie soundtrack coolness & wacky noise elements also. Another winner. $13. 

• 1.SONIC YOUTH (all instrumental) & TOM VERLAINE guitar duo @ Avery Fisher Hall @ 8pm on Friday November 21st. THE EX post/punk/prog insanity from Holland!! at the Knit, same nite @ 8 &11pm. ALVA tortured munchkins/female trio from Florida w/ bizarre & cool cd out on Avant @ Roulette @ 9pm 
• 2.THOMAS CHAPIN Benefit for our ailing friend w/ Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Ned Rothenberg, Marty Ehrlich, Mario Pavone, Kenny Baron, Tom Harrell, Billy Hart...Sunday Nov. 23rd @ 8pm @ the Knit, please come out & help heal... no gig @ DMG that evening 
• 3.HENRY THREADGILL'S MAKE A MOVE @ the Knit, 2 sets per night, Tues. Nov. 25th-Sat. Nov.29; an amazing band not to be missed w/ Tony Cedras on harmonium & accordian, Brandon Ross on el. guitar fury, Stomu on beautiful el. bass & Pheeroan akLaff guest star drummer. Their '97 release-"Where's the Cup?" is one of the year's best. 
• 4.GAWK w/ Marc Sloan el. bass god from Carbon, Gregor Kitzis-violin master & Steve Moses on perc. & DMG @ 7pm, free! 
• 5.OTHER DIMENSIONS IN MUSIC w/ Matt Shipp @ the Knit on Tues. Dec. 2nd, always outstanding live!! MARC EDWARDS UNIT w/ Daniel Carter @ the Alterknit @ 9pm, Edwards recently blew me away, incredible drummer!! 
• 6.ELLIOTT SHARP & CHRISTIAN MARCLAY @ the Knit @8pm on Wed Dec 3rd, a rare duo gig from these downtown masters!! 
• 7.ENVIRON CELEBRATION @ the Knit @ 7:30 on Thurs. Dec.4th w/ Oliver Lake, David Eyges, Ellen Christi trio, Interface, William Parker & more, 20 years after the heyday of the loft jazz scene, free jazz lives!!! 
• 8.THIRD RAIL & the Last Poets w/ Blood Ulmer, Bill Laswell, Amina C. Myers, Bernie Worrell & Jerome Brailey. First NYC gig at the Knit Fri. & Sat. Dec. 5th & 6th at 9 & 11 pm each night! A rare appearance by our fave bassist/producer... 
• 9.BLAISE SIWULA & HAL ONSERUD sax & bass duo here at DMG @ 7pm on Sun. Dec. 7th for free 
• 10.VINNY GOLIA & MARK DRESSER DUO @ the Alterknit @ 7pm on Tues. Dec. 9th two great spirits worth checking out! 
• 11.BURT BACHARACH/TZADIK TRIBUTE w/ Chimera, Marc Ribot, A. Coleman, Guy Klucevsek, Gary Lucas, Duck Baker, Joey Baron & Greg Cohen @ the Knit on Fri. Dec. 12th & Sat. Dec. 13th @ 9 & 11pm 
• 12.TIM BRADY experimental/jazz guitarist @ Experimental Intermedia @ 9pm 224 Centre St. @ Grand, 3rd floor $4.99 
• 13.ROBERT FRIPP soundscape solo el. guitar @ the Bottom Line on Sat. Dec. 13th @ 8 & 10:30 pm @ W.4th & Mercer 

That's about it-bubbies, take care, love & peace & happiness maybe- 
Bruce Lee Gallanter.  

Hey, welcome to another episode of MIKESSPACE. Distance yourself from logic and dive in; the cheeseball's fine.  

This one is dedicated to train rides through fall foliage, places where a guy can live on my salary and KC at BMG, write soon.  

We'll begin with ACTUALLY SEEN. OK, so I'm in Cincinnati visiting my girlfriend and we drop by her job to say hello. As we pull into the parking lot she points out that the Chinese restaurant in the nearby shopping center is going out of business. What it seems that everyone failed to notice (including the restaurant owners) was that it was right next to a pet store. No wonder they were so cheap; "Did anyone here order the Puppy Pu-Pu platter"? LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! Let's see... oh yes, the other day I saw some old guy YELLING at a tree. That's about it. The old guy gave me quite the chuckle, though.  

Next up is DESERT ISLAND _________. My DI_________ this time out is BOOKS.  
 

• 1. Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. A Gonzo classic that's just sick. 
• 2. Naked Lunch (Junkie or Queer) 'Cuz you gotta have Burroughs. 
• 3. The Roaches Have No King. Poignant book in which you root for roaches. 
• 4. Random Acts of Senseless Violence. Sad, sad, painful story of a young girl's undoing in NYC. 
• 5. The Road Less Traveled. Some thing to keep hope alive. 
• 6. A Clockwork Orange. Do I need to comment? 
• 7. Slaughterhouse 5. They made me read this in high school, I read all the others because of it. 
• 8. Something by Tom Clancy. 
• 9. A phone book just in case something like that Gilligan's Island episode with the phone cable happens. 
• 10. The Holy Bible (Contemporary English Version). To counteract all the stuff on my DI Black Metal list 

Vapourspace- Sweep [FFRR/LONDON]  
(RIYL: progressive techno)  

Mark Gage returns knobs-a-twiddlin'/producing a disc that's fair to middlin' analog stuff that's pretty darn tranceable/engaging and deep if not always danceable  

Meshuggah- The True Human Design [Nuclear Blast America]  
(RIYL: Machine Head, Living Sacrifice, regular beatings)  

So damn good I'll forgive that it's late/it truly was worth the 2 month wait for this sick, brutal disc that shreds like a tornado, pounds like a boxer, explodes like a... grenado  

Maggie Estep- Love Is A Dog From Hell [Mercury]  
(RIYL: wit)  

Maggie, I love you  
your brilliance outshines the sun  
and the music's good  

Alpha- Come From Heaven [Melankolic/Caroline]  
(RIYL: Portishead, Sneaker Pimps... you know)  

Noir-ish and dark with beats and samples/these types of bands are now more than ample they're everywhere now and standouts are few/but take one more chance and trust this review  

Sacramentum- The Coming Of Chaos [Century Black]  
(RIYL: Dissection, "The Gothenburg Sound")  

Heavy production and aggressive presentation on a black metal disc is always a "pleasant" surprise (for me, anyway) but when you add a 12 minute paean to the Cold Meat Industry sound at the end of your disc in the form of the title track, well, you've sold me. Ugly and essential and I'm sorry that it didn't rhyme.  

Various Artists- Gummo OST [Innerstate/London]  
(RIYL: Extremity in varied forms of music)  

A soundtrack featuring black metal bands?/a flick my girlfriend would never understand heavy as hell it blows off the lids/this new one from the director of "KIDS" (was that really a music review?)  

Various Artists- Beauty In Darkness vols. 1&2 [Nuclear Blast America]  
(RIYL: sub-par My Dying Bride)  

Goth/Metal once great  
now sadly overrun  
with bad wannabes  

Pilgrimage- 9 Songs Of Ecstasy [Point Music]  
(RIYL: Chant, Hildegard von Bingen, Enigma)  

You either like this or you don't/you'll either buy this or you won't good enough to stock it, not great or hot or dear/it's filler in my collection but you can get it here  

Incantation- The Forsaken Mourning Of Angelic Anguish [Relapse] 
(RIYL: Cryptopsy, Immolation, Kataklysm, Sinister...)  

Wow, this is heavy  
crushed-by-boulders type heavy  
Mortician with skill  

Mass Hystereo- S/T [1500 Records]  
(RIYL: Big Beat, i.e. Chemical Bros., Crystal Method, Supersonic)  

Phat is Phat and that is that. Kickass!  

Mayhem- Wolf's Lair Abyss [Misanthropy]  
(RIYL: True Norwegian Black Metal!!!)  

Famous now for more than murder/this dark disc is a true hurter well, I'm done, this one's absurd/reviews are dumb when you make up words  

Dismember- Death Metal [Nuclear Blast America]  
(RIYL: old school Euro-death)  

Left Hand Path set the standard/Dismember now carries the banner ripping up concrete to make a path/leaves you the bloody aftermath  

Celestial- Spirit House [Domo]  
(RIYL: Enigma style rip-off)  

See the above "Pilgrimage" review/and note here that the same holds true with these so-so releases I can't be funny/but it's here on the shelf waiting for your $ 

The Holidays are coming the air outside is freezin' 
the chill it makes my joints ache and gets my friend a wheezin'  

The turkeys will be gobbled and thanks will be given 
Yuletide depression's next and some won't feel like livin'  

Our wallets will be screaming as our credit takes a reaming 
to get our loved ones presents and keep the season pleasant  

But the joys are worth attaining and so I'll stop complaining 
and think of them as jolly days and wish you happy holidays 

EM2K- Emperor Mike  

P.S. Just for the sake of filler I'd like to offer you the chance to play the exciting new game I invented- America the Boring. Below you will find a list of words that one could use to name almost every town in America. Put 'em together in new and exciting combinations. Hey, add your name to some of 'em. It just never ends!!! (yawn). Call you friends and see who can come up with the most actual town names in this soon to be great again country of ours (remember, my day is coming soon).  

Oak, Elm, Branch, Pine, Cedar, Ash, Maple, Beech, Briar, North, South, East, West, Wood(s), Glen, Vale, Dale, Glade, Valley, Grove, Knoll, Land, Plain(s), Meadow(s), Clear(ing), Acre(s), Town, Ville, Village, Burg, Bury, Stead, Heights, Peak, Mount(ain), Summit, Point, Hill(s), Cliff(s), Ridge, Terrace, Crest, View, Spring(s), Creek, River, Pond, Lake(s), Brook, Stream, Beach, Water(s), Junction, Fork, Branch, Port, Cove, Harbor, Nook, Bay, Quarry, Farm(ing), Place, Bridge, Corner, Station, Crossing, Run, Road, Mill, Forge, King's, Queen's, Middle, Pleasant, Shady, Old, New, Hot, Cold, Long, Grand, Fair, Green, White, Blue, Lawn, Gate, Pike, Alley...