Moscow mules, topiary art, learning things, having the fun times, eating sushi, falling to my fate in a pit of love.
Music
faggy 80's dance noisy free improv brutal prog shred no wave, salsa. LATELY: Kid Sister, Flosstradamus, Animal Collective, Agent Ribbons, Tera Melos, Justice, Marnie Stern. SHOWS: Ornette Coleman, Man Man, Quasi, the Locust, Joanna Newsom, Ravi Shankar.
RECORDS: can't go wrong with Rotary Connection, Cecil Taylor, early James Blood Ulmer, Marclay, Monk....Erasure....Ruins....Luc Ferrari, Nancarrow......Serge Gainsbourg, the Meters, Bow Wow Wow, "White Horse"....U.S Maple, DNA, Josef K....Stevie Wonder, XTC, Shuggie Otis....Jonzun Crew, Mantronix, Perrey & Kingsley...Yowie, Orthrelm. Ornette. Beefheart. Mavis Staples.
Movies
Movies featuring Wilford Brimley, Sam Elliot, Fred Willard or Lars Ulrich's father. Eternal Sunshine. Aristocrats. DOCUMENTARIES! Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. Anchorman. Magnolia. All That Jazz. Rushmore. The "shreds" series. Bub Rub.
Television
VH1 Classic.
Books
BIOS, FICTION, MANUALS.
Heroes
STEVEN MCDONALD!!!!!!!!! Tina Weymouth. Christian Marclay. Alan Abel. Mike Watt. Orson Welles. People who do things.
About me: CHEEZY LONG-WINDED NAME-DROPPING MUSIC BIO!!!! I play electric bass with an emphasis on preposterous antiquated synth basses and ridiculous effects pedals and other gadgetry. Grew up in Nebraska, been playing since jr. high. Took lessons from local legend Andy Hall. Haven't studied music formally since high school, but have had one-on-one educational run-ins over the years with people like composers Pauline Oliveros and LaMonte Young, bass master Richard Davis, and guitarists Marc Ribot and David Tronzo. Played in a bunch of bands in Nebraska (Pablo's Triangle, Roosevelt Franklin, Plastik Trumpet, Puggy), recorded with pre-'buzz' Saddlecreek bands Lullabye For The Working Class and We'd Rather Be Flying, and for many years served as musical director/sound designer for the esteemed avant-garde group The Omaha Magic Theatre (led by Joanne Schmidman and Obie-award winner Megan Terry). This was a good experience, and took me to South Korea and around the U.S. performing and workshopping.
Moved to Chicago in 1999 and played with many people, including the legendary Flying Luttenbachers, (d)orch-pop wunderkind Head Of Femur, absurd My Name Is Rar-Rar, ex-Mercury Rev voice David Baker, glamorous Bobby Conn and The Glass Gypsies, un-glamorous Lovely Little Girls, the way-too-glamorous Strawberry, the suave and handsome Harvey Sid Fisher, prog lifers Cheer-Accident, avant composer Olivia Block, noisy-noise Panicsville, and on and on... criss-crossed the country many times touring during this period, often the bands supporting artists as varied as The Locust, Rilo Kiley, Lightning Bolt, Trans Am, M. Ward, and Moving Units, amongst many others. At some point during all this, started a productive and inspiring association with drummer Zach Hill that has resulted in my involvement in many projects with him, including Holy Smokes (with Rob Crow of Pinback), Tough Guy Fantasy, Arctic Boys, Damsel (with the incredible Nels Cline and the remarkable Matt Zivich), Friend/Enemy (featuring members of Make Believe and Joan Of Arc), Zach's Ipecac solo debut 'Astrological Straits', Marnie Stern's 'This Is It And I Am It....',and the forthcoming 'Cryptomnesia' by El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (omar, cedric, juan, zach, jonathan).
2005 was a big year for me: throughout the year, I was a member of the expanded 4-piece touring lineup of Hella and enjoyed many new experiences, such as European and Japanese tours, playing the Mars Volta-curated All Tomorrows Parties, and tours supporting System Of A Down, Mars Volta (the arena experience can be seen on the Hella dvd documentary "Portals", by filmmaker R.T. Thomas), Dillinger Escape Plan, Les Claypool, Outhud and Fantomas. In the midst of this, I also recorded with The Ssion and played a Chicago show as a fill-in member of both Yoshida Tatsuya's legendary duo Ruins, and opening act Yowie. One of the most exciting evenings of my life! Also played improvisation shows with people such as Mike Pride, Andrew D'Angelo, Brian Chase, Cex, members of Need New Body and members of The Sun Ra Arkestra.
In 2006, I relocated to northern California, and have since played on records by Big Sir (with Juan Alderete and Lisa Papineau) and Look Daggers (with 2Mex. Busdriver and Ikey Owens). Also have performed/recorded with Kings And Queens, RaRaRabbit, Mariee Sioux, Casual Fog, Aaron Ross, Lee Bob Watson, Madame and the Moustache, Neal Morgan, Cobra's Choice, Renee Wilson, The Stilts, Of Aire, Flowers Of Doom, Vato Negro, and Ikey Owen's free improv collective The Just In Case Mantra Orchestra . JUST MOVED TO L.A.!!! Began a band with Josh Klinghoffer, Clint Walsh and Eric Gardner temporarily called Dot Hacker, busy recording and plotting.....otherwise I'm just writing, waiting for that call from Mike Watt for a wrestling record session, and looking forward to what's next!!!
Who I'd like to meet: Lovers, loving people, those who love, love-meisters, sowers of love, crop-dusting love planes, lovey-doveys, perpetual fountains of magnificent love, people to have lunch with.
I just made this Free dj mix for friends and enemies. This was made with software, no mixer or phones. I have also only bought 2 records all year. Think timeless, not trendy. I know I use the looper too much but, that my shit. I love to ham it up. Hope you're well. Let me know when you play in the Chi. Ben
