Listening to The Stuffings is not a casual undertaking. Their, um, sound (music doesn’t seem to apply) is disorienting, maddening and ultimately exhausting. Using the same tools as a million other bored kids with crappy gear and loads of time, this amorphous, amoebic ensemble (apparently led by the mysterious C. Gregory), through sheer purity of vision and boundless imagination, produce works of sublime strangeness. Much of it is funny, in a juvenile way, but the bizarreness is so persistent and strong that you can’t mistake it for fooling around. Deny it if you will (and I know you’ll try), but this is Art with a capital Dada. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to have a lie down.

PERSONNEL:
I Strangle People
Released April 1, 1995
At this time The Stuffings consist of:
C. Gregory, Scott P, M. Sorriero, K. Joy G, D. Pratt, J. Wilcox, A. King, R.T. Pollard, Salinger Lewis, K. Werner
recorded and mixed March 31, 1995-April 17, 1995, Stuffings Studio, Boston

“I Strangle People” is what I’d like to do, have done, will do right now, have read about, think about if I knew any, dream about, if I cared enough, do to myself if I didn’t keep passing out.

— Chris Gregory

Macro Metal
Released June 1, 1995
The Stuffings on this album:
C. Gregory
M. Sorriero
D. Pratt
K 10 Joy G
J. Wilcox
M. Etheridge on “Window’s Remix” (w/o permission)
Guest vocals on “Militracey” – Mark Tracy
Keller was supposed to guest…but did not…
Recording and engineering – C. Gregory
Cover art – C. Gregory
Other Stuffers not included but still influencial:
Scott P, Salinger Lewis, R.T. Pollard, A. King, S. Gentile, D. San Angelo, O. Irretrievable

TRACK LISTING:
Yeah, no. Not doing it. There are 70+ “songs” on this two tapes, and you can’t make me!

To my shock, amazement, and to be perfectly honest, relief, both of these insane recordings are, at this writing, available on Bandcamp, along with 50+ more, all of which are probably unlistenable, but hey, it saves me the trouble (and SSD storage) of digitizing two cassettes that, again to be frank, I don’t even know why I’ve held onto for more than two decades.

I Strangle People and Macro Metal were the first tapes I received from Chris Gregory (my original review, above, combined them, just as I’m doing now), but hardly the last: January 1996 brought Lumber (“This tape documents the patient…in an advanced state of decay”); and October of that year saw the arrival of four cassettes: Hhhuuurrh…glover by The Stuffings (“Disturbing soundscrapes and straitjacket pop flash by like scenes from a half-forgotten nightmare”), Physical Planting by Fuscillage (“Toxic folk songs by C. Gregory and Miss K10 Joy, whose vocals squirm like caustic worms into your ear…”), Walker, by Ear Or Cincture (“Handy to have if you ever need to torture a prisoner”), and a shockingly normal solo tape by Stuffings member Damien Pratt.

March 1997 brought two more: a live album, (the Power of) The Right Angle (“Ya gotta be a big Stuffings fan to dig it, and I don’t know if such a creature exists.”) and Martha’s Mutation (“Can I sit and listen to more than a few minutes of this? No.”); and finally, in 1997, Easy To See (“Only the most hard-core lo-fi lunatic will last more than a few minutes”). Most of these and more — so much more, more than anyone can bear — is up on Bandcamp, and I’ve added links for them.

Curious? Have at it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

The post The Stuffings, I Strangle People & Macro Metal, 1995 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

PERSONNEL:
“The Ant-Bee”/Billy James: all vocals, drums, percussion, mellotron, tablas, tambora drone & tape manipulations
“Herman Monster”/Roy Herman: guitars
“Mr. Lambchops”/Paul Lamb: bass, French Horn, Gismo
“Lunar Egg Clips”/Greg Brosius, keyboards
with…
“Purple Plastic Penguin”/Rick Snyder (from Captain Beefheart): bass on “Do You Like Worms?”
“Millet Rantin”/Bob Harris (from Zappa): noises

Songs recorded at DH Studios, Hollywood, CA 1990–1991.
“Who slew the beast” — 1/2 studio / 1/2 live material
“Uncles mannequin” — 8 track recording, 1/2 studio / 1/2 rehearsal material with heavy tape manipulations

*Written by Billy James
All songs produced, arranged and struggled with by Billy James

TRACK LIST
Side A
The girl with stars in her hair*
Do you like worms
Here we go’round the lemon tree
Who slew the beast*
Uncles mannequin*

Another wildly ambitious and imaginative outing by Billy James! Three original compositions are included, as well as covers of “Do You Like Worms” by the Beach Boys (often confused with the original recording on Smile), and The Move‘s “(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree” from that band’s self-titled 1968 debut.

Typically, James pulls in a couple of guests from the Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart demimonde: Bob Harris, who worked for Zappa from September to December 1980 (not to be confused with the Bob Harris who played keyboards with Zappa from May until August 1971 and was married to & played with Judee Sill); and Rick Snyder, who played with The Magic Band as “sudden guitarist” for Beefheart’s 1980 Doc At The Radar Station tour and as bassist on 1982’s Ice Cream For Crow.

Ant-Bee hasn’t released any new music in many years, but he’s still keeping busy; you can learn more by visiting his delightfully antiquated web site — his bio is quite a trip! Speaking of which, dig this trippy video (directed by Fred Goss, who went on to write and direct many episodes of the popular network comedy series Sons & Daughters)!

The post Ant-Bee, New Material, 1991 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

PERSONNEL:
Side A: Mike Verna: drums, vocals; other performers unknown.
Side B: Mike Verna: everything

TRACK LISTING:
Side A: (flicker.)
Hell Toupee
Fearing The Combine
The Tension Relieve Me
So Scared
Just A Thought
Two Strokes, A Cardiac, And A Marriage
Pressure

Side B: (M. Verna solo)
Pit Of Stew
Lazy Suzy
I’m The One
WGM Blues
I’m A Flag

All information that came with this tape is lost to history, leaving me only with a hand-written J-card and 55 minutes of very strange music. However, thanks to the “magic” of Google and my own well-honed research skills, I’ve located the ancient home page of Mike Verna! Lo and behold, at the very bottom of his Press page are two links to a very early version of this here website, and the URLs helped me dig out my original review from the DemoBase:

Six months to the day after their first review in Demo Universe (for the Play It By Ear cassette), Flicker. returns with We’re Not Aliens and the magic is still cookin’ like good soup. As before, Flicker. expertly disguises itself as a lo-fi indie-rock band, but we know better: they are abundantly talented musicians, driven to push the padded mailer with all the power in their mighty hands. Apparently these boys catch a load of doo-doo for their production values, or lack thereof. What fools these mortals be! Are 64 pristine digital tracks needed to convey the burgeoning creativity of this bold threesome? I think not! The band’s death-metal-on-drugs cover of of Billy Joel’s “Pressure” perfectly encapsultes the Flicker. sound: free, confident, funny and completely wacked. So guys, like, what’s with the period after your name?
Side two of this tape is solo work by drummer-singer Mike Verna and a different ball of wax entirely. “Pit Of Stew” sounds like Tom Waits on an assortment of unmarked pills. “Lazy Suzy” is a goofy little ditty that owes five bucks to the Bonzo Dog Band (whether Mike knows it or not). “I’m The One” sucked a bit too much helium than is healthy, “WGM Blues” is a crud-encrusted homage to (or mockery of?) scratchy old records and “I’m A Flag” is lugubrious and warped. He says the band can’t do this stuff, and he’s probably right. But I’d like to hear them try.

Jim Santo’s Demo Universe, 1996

Mike’s Music page hasn’t been updated in 15 years, and this tape isn’t listed, but there’s a lot more to listen to if you are so inclined. (He’s got two full albums on Apple Music, as well.) The site also includes many examples of his photography, as well as information on his film work, most notably Access Nation, a 2004 documentary about local public access television. Verna’s iMDb page reveals that he’s been a Reality TV show editor in Los Angeles ever since, jobbing on two Real Housewives series, most recently on the Emmy-nominated Below Deck. Lastly, his Links page (remember links?) confirms my suspicions regarding the influence of the Bonzos on “Lazy Suzy.”

Ain’t the innernet wunnerful?

(Provided in lieu of J-card artwork, the image above is a Google Street view of 422 Admiral Street, Providence, Rhode Island, and I gotta admit, this looks exactly like how I’d imagine the house where these sounds were recorded. Maybe the place was in better shape in 1995, but I doubt it.)

The post flicker. We’re Not Aliens…But If We Were, Would We Tell You? / M. Verna, Life’s Too Spicy, 1996 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

PERSONNEL:
Troy Fiscella
Tristana Fiscella
Mark
Frances
Scott H.

TRACK LISTING:
side once
i’d like to live on the sun
destroy what you may
a fly gollum’s mantra
prosperous cannibal
casino
how’d he doo-dee time
the cheez-whiz entropy coatrack theory
a [drawing of a wormlike thing with a human head] ate my [drawing of a snail]
flintstone kids, etc.
stop language
head in the sink for forty years
the mock turtle swings
lonely with you
a nation of dreamless sleep
la debilidad
give bell-bottoms a chance
the fly’s prayer
a song to come home to
pee-jig of a pug
nworb eilrahc
this mortal tool
i feel sorry for the children
omar turns and returns

sighed twice
in the playground
atlantis rises from the middle of kansas
7 year old centenarian
thee tooth ov thee matter
private enemy
a spray-painted tree
marshmallow chandelier
billion letters in no meaningful order
splashing barns
snuggle with slothes
crawled into as hell
charlie brown is a skinhead
aurora paralysis
an ode to aunt rosemary’s tattooes
all the things a tree must know
charlie brown is a deadhead
tape-worm
meat me in the playground
all the time a tree must wait

Eeyore Termite Temple was one of many noms fous of the band Eeyore Power Tool (Eeyore Fiend Magnet, Eeyore Prayer Tool, and Eeyore Ass Guzzler, etc.), a mad creation of the Fiscella siblings, founders of the then-San Franscisco-based label Eerie Materials (now operating out of Singapore), home of fellow chaos agents Caroliner, Negativeland, Man Of Astroman? and, infamously, the Evolution Control Commitee. As you might expect (or should IYK) Eeyore Termite Temple is a wild and wooly, ultra-lo-fi mindtrip, scuzzy and weird in the best possible way. An essential slice of mid-period cassette culture, gloriously half-assed, naive and knowing, artsy as fuck and a total hoot.

WFMU in a bottle, basically.

Listen to more Eerie Materials and buy some crazy-ass shit at the label’s web site.

The post Eeyore Termite Temple, S/T, 1992 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

PERSONNEL
The Ant-Bee: (Billy James) Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Mellotron, Tape Manipulations
Bunk Gardner: Saxes, Snorks, Wheezes, Assorted Screams
Dom Dewild (Don Preston): Keyboards, Vegetables, Assorted Tranzformations
The Indian of the Group (Jimmy Carl Black): Dialogue, “Are You Shaauugg!”, Assorted Munchkinizms
Motorhead: (Euclid James Sherwood): Snorks & Dialog
Pachuco Falsetto (Roy Estrada): Bizarre Laughter
Herman Monster (Roy Herman): Guitars and “La-La’s” on “Moonpie”
Lunar Egg-Clips (Greg Brosius): Keyboards Run Amuck and Freaky Laughter
Purple Plastic Penguin (Rick Snyder): Bass on “Worms”
The Tragic Sunbeam (Marc Oxindine): Bass, Sulter and Swiss Poverty
The Mod Martian (Rod Martin): Backwards Guitar
Reoccuring Schizms (Scott Renfroe): Assorted Tape Manipulations
Mr. Lambchop (Paul Lamb): Bass, French Horn, Marriage
Mr. Crisp (John Criss): Piano on “Worms”

All Material produced, arranged, & struggled with by Billy James
All Material written by Billy James © 1991/1992 ANT-BEE Muzik/BMI Except:
Motorhead Snorks – Speaks © 1993 Jimmy Sherwood
Jimmy Carl Black Speakin at Ya © 1993 Jimmy Carl Black
Bunk Speaks 7 A Gardner Variation © 1992/93 Bunk Gardner
Pachuco Falsetto Laughs © 1994 Roy Estrada
Dom Dewilde Tranzforms, Speaks, And Speaks Again © 1992/1993 Don Preston
Do You Like Worms © ® 1967 Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks – Capitol Records
Here We Go Round the Lemon Tree © ® 1967 Roy Wood – Westminster Music
Recorded on 16 track recorder at DH Studio, North Hollywood, CA 1990 – 1992
Engineer: Scott Kolden
Re-Edited & Cleaned up at: Sonic Cafe Studio, Charlotte, NC
Engineer: Scott Renfroe
The “Live Jam” recorded on DAT live at Weat LA Studios, West LA, CA, June 1992
Engineer: Dan Simon
“Who Slew the Beast” comprised of 1/2 studio material & 1/2 live material with various tape manipulations.

TRACK LISTING
Side A
Lunar Egg-Clips Runs Amuck
“The Live Jam:”
Once The Clothes Are Off
Stringbeans, Greenbeans & Other Assorted Vegetables
Moonpie – Cooked I
The Girl With The Stars In Her Hair
Dom DeWilde Speaks

Side B
Geronimo Black Speaks
In A Star
Live At The Trip:
The Fungus
Lunar Egg-Clips Walks With The Fungus
Do You Like Worms?
Who Slew The Beast?
Bunk Speaks
Dom DeWilde Tranzforms (Before Your Very Ears)
Dom DeWilde Speaks Again

Wherein Wilmington, North Carolina, underground music legend Billy James a/k/a Ant-Bee assembles most of the original Mothers Of Invention for an off-the-rails psychedelic trip. It’s all the goofy, sunny, and beautiful bits of Freak Out! stripped of Zappa’s sardonic snarl. An absolute must-hear for fans of Zappa and The Mothers, this rare, self-released 1993 cassette was re-issued as a CD and vinyl LP in 1994 on the UK’s Divine Records. That release is long out of print, but you can pick up used copies from the usual sources. I’m gonna disable downloads on this, unless Billy gives his blessing.

To learn more about Ant-Bee, visit his amazingly retro web site.

The post Ant-Bee: With My Favorite “Vegetables” & Other Bizarre Muzik, 1993 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

PERSONNEL:
Julie Joslyn: Alto saxophone, live electronics, violin, vocals, percussion
Leo Ciesa: Drums, percussion, orchestra bells, congas, synthesizer, live electronics, vocals

All compositions by ICONOCLAST
Produced by ICONOCLAST

Recorded and mixed by Chris Howard
Recorded at New Breed Studios, NYC, 1988

Graphics, photo and design by Josh Brown

TRACK LISTING:
Side 1:
1. Itschwings
2. Six Feet Below
3. Beat Generation
4. Sugar Pops
5. Messing with the Boss I

Side 2:
1. Something and Eat
2. Bermuda Triangle
3. Waves of Tears
4. Take Off Your Shirt and Scream
5. Messing with the Boss II
6. Scotch and Eggs

“…like Iconoclast, a New York-based avant-garde jazz duo, who’ve definitely got a distinctive sound. What does it sound like? Imagine you’re a hard-core speed freak. You haven’t slept in weeks. Psychosis is setting in. You begin to hallucinate. There are millions of little bugs beneath your skin, crawling madly over your ruined veins. Now imagine if each of those bugs was playing an alto saxophone. That’s Iconoclast. Pretty cool, huh?” — The Music Paper, 1989

Yeah, I’m not proud of my original review, published in the pre-Internet days under the nom de plume “Andy Glass.” What can I say? I was just a dumb rock guy. Now that I’m a crusty old fuck, I can sagely point to the influence of Coltrane, Sun Ra, James Chance, John Lurie, and so forth. Or not.

The duo remains very active, and released their latest CD, Driven To Defiance, in April 2017. Find out more at the band’s web site, or hit ’em up on Facebook and Youtube.

I believe Iconoclast is still selling this cassette, so no downloads here.

The post Iconoclast: Sins of New York, 1989 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

“I’m Henry Ocansey and I’m extremely interested in making records. Thank you.” Why Ocansey feels the need to introduce himself again, after sending four tapes in less than three months is beyond me, but I’ve grown accustomed to his peculiar ways. Two Songs the latest in the series that includes One Song, Side (One) Song and 3 Songs, introduces a new tune — as always, unnamed — that I’ll call “Blazin’ Hot.” More sophisticated than previous efforts, this summery number boasts a four-chord progression, although Henry, true to form, repeats it endlessly. “Blazin’ Hot” segues abruptly into a remake of “Would You Like To Come Along With Me” from 3 Songs that benefits from the clearest vocal track Ocansey has recorded to date, as well as a slight reworking of the lyrics that requires me to retitle it, “Do You Want To Baby Come Along With Me.” Much sexier, no? — Demo Universe, 1998

OK, well, Happy New Year! I’m not quite sure what led me to hang on to this tape, but here it is. From Ghana by way of Danbury, Connecticut, Henry now resides in Miami, where he wrestles with Big Questions.

The post Henry Ocansey: Two songs, 1998 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

PERSONNEL: David Hull, everything?

TRACK LISTING:
Side One/Two
1. Word Game
2. Wealth

Side Two/One
1. Sprechen Sie Deutsch
2. Blue
3. Talking

This may have been the first recording I ever received from David “Davey” Hull, well prior to his move from Essex to Berlin. “Sprechen Sie Deutsch” skates on crude oil. “Blue” pleads, drones, and unravels. “Talking” actually rocks. “Word Game” is all clawing, crabbing Syd-guits; “Wealth,” a secret ceremony, shrouded in anxious fog, pummeled mad by drums. Just beautiful and weird.

Note: The sides are reversed on the J-card; my track listing follows markings on the cassette.

“This degree of strange might be intolerable to some, but it’s sweet music to these mutant ears.” — Demo Universe, 1995

The post Davey Hull: Five songs, 1995 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda excited. Let’s assume the 2 means side 2, flip the tape over and listen to the (un-stickered)…

Side 1:
Silence

Hmm, OK, I guess I should have expected that. Fine, let’s go on to…

Side 2:
Silence

Well. Alright, then.

I feel like my past self is pranking me.

The post Not Mystery Friday: Chaos Oblivion appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.

PERSONNEL:
Shane Baker: Everything

TRACK LISTING:
Side A
1. Song For Neal
2. Do You Think Of Me?
3. When You Go Home, His Hand Comes Down Again
4. 1st Aria

Side B same as A

“Cessna 21, a/k/a Shane Baker, is an old friend of Demorandum, having appeared in issues 66, 69, 77 (as Loveseat Glider) and 78. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard from him, though, so I was happy to get these two tapes in separate mailings a week apart. Shane is now married to Jennifer and the father of Sylvia Marie, and these cassettes represent his return to music after a period of inactivity. Like his earlier efforts, both are very lo-fi, having been recorded on a Singalodeon; but past timidity has been replaced with unfettered noise, especially on Noise Ethic: with its dinosaur bedsqueaks and softly entombed vocals, “When You Go Home” gives MBV a run for their money, while the wordless “Aria” features the nastiest guitar I’ve yet heard from Cessna 21.” — Demo Universe, 1995

Loud and noisy and crudely recorded on a cheap karaoke cassette recorder, Noise Ethic will be too much for some listeners. I find it fascinating and real, and exciting — which is why I’ve held on to it for 20+ years! What can I say? I love the sound humans make, even the ugly, painful ones.

I never heard from Shane again. Hope he’s doing OK.

The post Cessna 21: Noise Ethic, 1995 appeared first on Jim Santo's Demo Universe.