Howe Gelb, Sno Angel, Giant Sand, Band of Blacky Ranchette, Arizona Amp and Alternator, OP8, etc.
Sounds Like
TRAIN SINGER SONG
Video of recording session for 'Down Home 2007 - Return To San Pedro'
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"It's remarkable how organic and right (as opposed to gimmicky) the church voices sound on these 14 melodic folk, spare soul and various-tempo blues songs." Mojo, 5 stars
"Fans of Gelb's have to be excited about this because it's perfect, a career high. " All Music Guide, 4 1/2 Stars
"Some of the best music of his career." The Guardian, 4 Stars
"With its subtly joyous tones and lustrous songwriting, 'Sno Angel Like You turns out to be a labor of love with endless rewards." Pitchfork, 8.3
"The idea here is simple and brilliantly executed... The overall effect is the kind of relevatory experience that Gelb, who has been working on this project for three years, obviously hoped for." Harp
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Another amazing poster from Kathleen Judge for the recent shows in Ireland and the UK! This beautiful design is a continuation of the Europe 'Sno Angel tour poster and blends several layers and colors including deep red, gold and transparent. Get one while there are a few left in the store!
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The ever-talented Kathleen Judge created an incredible 4-color hand screened poster for the European tour. Each one is an individual work of art - signed and numbered by the artist - and each features a unique Howe Gelb signature. If you missed your opportunity to buy one at the show... there are a few left... now for sale in the store.
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OW OM Finished Recorded Products is please to announce the following albums (and more!) now available from iTunes (USA, CAN, UK/EU, JAP, AUS):
Also available via Rhapsody, Napster and Sony Connect.
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RETURN TO SAN PEDRO
- train singer song - world stand still - the hangin' judge -
- all done in again - return to san pedro - four door maverick -
- explore you - notoriety - the wild frontier -
- lonely man you are - seldom matters - down on town -
hello. i have put off putting out a tour only type cd because i didn't want to stock it with out-takes or scrapheap supplement. after 'sno angel, it seemed like a bar was raised, or i just finally got too old for wasting any time, mine or yours. jim blackwood kept coaxing me to come record some acoustic stuff on his new digital device. he is a good man and has worked hard at saving many old recordings through the years that would have just remained in a backyard box, melting there and crusted with a thick desert coating of dust and adobe muck. so i tend to give his requests more then a little merit. he first set up his gear in my home studio, which is just an adobe walled room with a 4 track cassette machine from 1988 i bought a few years ago at a yard sale for 35 bucks. the original price tag was 2000 dollars apparently. but i digress. we didn't use it at all on this recording. i love the sound of that cassette recorder, but jim was eager to try his new piece of digital yippity.
ok then. thøger lund sat in on upright bass and joe novelli stopped by the house to slip and occasional slide. i used an old 1959 martin 00 E that my wife got me for my 50th birthday. she knew i always wanted a martin, but never gotten around to affording one. this one came with a factory installed d'armond pick up innit. it feels like i always have had it, which might have to do with the notion that we were both made in pennsylvania in the 50s and ended up here in the desert.
for the second session, jim suggested we try going back to where rainer recorded a record 15 years ago; the san pedro chapel. it is also the place we held his memorial 10 years ago just after his death. i had not been back since. being in there again made me dizzy. i could not really think in terms of this world. the walls are also made of adobe, which is a substance i have grown to favor for making any kind of sounds. when i was young, it had always been my plan to eventually settle into an old adobe house one day because of the lack of true right angles, since there are no right angles in nature anyway, and because of the way those rooms sound. but i digress again.
here we were back at san pedro. the air was thick was rainerism. first i picked up my old national duolian and let my heart slide out for him. on that one, thøger just played a sound he came up with on his new old cheap tiny casio sampler thing from a thrift shop. it reminded me how rainer used to loop himself while playing way before there were real loop pedals. that song was the burning of the sonic sage i suppose, then it was back to the martin. we continued with some other songs that were still arriving. i, myself, arrived late as usual, well stuck in tucson time. so in between that moment and having to drive across town to fetch the kids from school, jim captured a few more songs done up by me and thøger. now, thøger is my favorite bass player ever. that boy breathes music. he can't help it. we locked into some grooves that were impossible to conjure without percussion or drums. but they happened anyway.
some songs were old and desperately wanted a dusting off.
other songs happened to just be there waiting for a bus. and some others wanted "in" even though they had not been written yet. i tried to pick the ones with the most 'event' in them. i suppose at this age it's good to hear something just acoustic and drumless. i dunno. it did that day anyway. so. some days it gets very hard to play music. there is a tragedy that gets attached to it all that tends to weigh down the process. other times we bust on through that gravity and thrive on its buoyancy. busting a hole though gravity is always a good idea for as long as it lasts. after those two sessions, jim and i sat down to clean up the tracks and send em over to roger at sae to master up proper.
upside down home 2007.
it's just a hole in the donut of gravity. a desert dessert.
thanks to jim, thøger, joe, roger and celia blackwood for putting this thing together. otherwise it would still be not.
made good use of a grand lack of ambition.
developed a lobe that could determine sonic development 12 minutes into the future.
relocated to tucson arizona in 1972 post hurricane agness flood smashing previous pennsylvania home.
lived 1 year in new york's lower east side in 1981.
lived 2 years in hollywood CA in 1984 and 1987.
lived 3 years in pioneertown CA in 1989.
discovered rainer before billy gibbons and robert plant did.
discovered grandaddy and m. ward before you did.
oozed yippity ju ju for his past drummers future:
drummer tom larkins = johnathn richman
drummer winston watson = bob dylan
drummer john c.. calexico
drummer jeremy gara = the arcade fire
drummer peter dombernowsky = isobel campbell + mark lanagen
has recorded/produced over 40 albums.
still likes tape hiss and thinks its good for you.
prefers to record at his adobe home on a $ 35 yard sale 1988 fostex 4 track cassette deck with original cost of $ 2000.
a believer in lombardi microphones.
will attempt first full album recording on pro tools this autumn to prove it sucks.
the end.
again
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Hi, how are you? 6 new Songs in TORTUGA BAR’s Myspace Player!
TORTUGA BAR “Narcotic Junkfood Revolution” - DEBUT ALBUM -
SPECIAL GUEST APPEARIANCE BY PHILLIP BOA, SPORTFREUNDE STILLER, THE MISSING LEECH, MUFF POTTER, AHEADS, DAVID CUNNINGHAM, VIRGINIA JETZT!, RUMMELSNUFF, KATE MOSH, SEDLMEIR, GITBOX!, BERNADETTE LA HENGST, KATZE, CYRENA DUNBAR, WRONGKONG, NAVEL, WILLIAM HONDA, DAVID LOHDI, GISBERT ZU KNYPHAUSEN, POPULATION CONTROL, VON SPAR & many lovely folks more.
PRODUCED BY THE STRIKE BOYS
TORTUGA BAR’s Version of “ALISON’S STARTING TO HAPPEN” with KATE MOSH & WRONGKONG appear on the "SQUEALING FANS - A TRIBUTE TO IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY & THE LEMONHEADS" Compilation. Exclusively via Download from: www.lemonheads.co.uk
Cheers, Mark Kowarsch (TORTUGA BAR, SPEED NIGGS, SHARON STONED, ELEKTROSUSHI)
Hey guys! Longtime fan & supporter! My girl just entered her 1st pin-up contest but we don't have as many work friends as our competition does, so we're forced to scrap for votes the hard way. If you or any fellow fans could help out it would be much appreciated! You can vote for her (Tenayah Sioux) once a day from now thru July 19th @ pinupvixen. com. It only takes a second & doesn't make you sign up for any crap or join anything. Thanks for any help & support!!!!!! -Aaron
Hi Howie, thanks for the friend add on. I hope I will see you again in Valencia enjoying your music, we were dining together 3 years ago, do you remember the "cogollos de tudela" you ate. Best wishes.
Your way of making music it's a inspiration! "Hey man"... what a song! Keep doing music so well... It was amazing to see you last year in Braga-Portugal, just with the guitar and the piano. Now I wish you come back with you project Giant Sand, with Convertino and Burns.
Cheers friend, an honour having you here, be well, and do enjoy the library/blog's contents, here's hoping that it'll inspire you, as your creative spirit has inspired mine, sweet dreams then...
july 16 HOWE GELB plays Downhome Santarcangelo, Piazza Ganganelli ore 21,30 ingresso gratuito
july 17 THE GILGAMES’ TALES a visual project by Heriz Bhodi Anam original live soundtrack featuring: MUD ensemble with Bill Elm, Howe Gelb and more Santarcangelo, Piazza Ganganelli ore 21,30 ingresso gratuito
july 18 Desoto Caucus with Marie Frank GIANT SAND ALEX CHILTON Rocca San Casciano, Piazza Garibaldi, ore 21,30 ingresso gratuito
Hey! Thanks for the add Howe. Have always been a big fan of Giant Sand and saw you guys in Vancouver some years back so definitely look forward to the new release in Sept.
Have just discovered your solo stuff too and really like it so far.
Hey there Mr. Gelb, Thanks for thinking of me as your friend....after all these years. So when you coming back to Chicago? It's been a might too long since your last visit.
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