NOT ABRAHAM RODRIGUEZ the salsa music guy but ABRAHAM RODRIGUEZ the writer of three books called THE BOY WITHOUT A FLAG(Milkweed Editions), SPIDERTOWN(Penguin Books) & THE BUDDHA BOOK(Picador Press)
check out THE ABRAHAM PAGE at http://www.myspace.com/rodto
(it's a black shimmer Marilyn month)
My new novel is called SOUTH BY SOUTH BRONX and is published by AKASHIC BOOKS.
This is also the ABRAHAM RODRIGUEZ who was founder of a HARDCORE PUNK band called URGENT FURY for ten years(1982-1992)
To all of you who have contacted me about URGENT FURY: Thanks so much for reaching out and making me feel GREAT. To know that this band affected(and still affects)people is the grandest sensation there is. THE URGENT FURY WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING!!! It's also a Myspace page. Just click the UF in my top friends or go to www.myspace.com/urgentfury616. I'm working right now on putting out a CD this year of URGENT FURY. From time to time, watch here and at www.soundclick.com/ropeburns for FURY songs from the 10" that I've digitized for download. (Still perfecting it, but for now these do pretty good until I get the CD put out.) The CD will have a variety of live tracks and rarities. If you are interested in this kinda thing, please find a way to let me know as it pays to see that there are people out there that want it...
That's right, SOUTH BRONX meets EAST BERLIN, that's my story, that's where it is, Puerto Rican kid from the South Bronx comes to live in Berlin. The old hunger for music and for doing something with it. Okay, yeah, some OTHER people might say "South Bronx meets East Berlin," but screw that, run away, BECAUSE it is not THIS Puerto Rican dude and if you want SOUTH BRONX in your EAST BERLIN than this is the place right here.
Myspace Comments, Hi5 & Friendster graphics: CoolMyspaceComments.com
AUGUST is gone, here's SEPTEMBER! Fall weather already rearing its chilly head here in Berlin. Going to NY in a few weeks, planning to show up at the NAIBA book fair because my book's been nominated for a HAMMETT PRIZE and I'm going over there to see if I get it. My real plan is to go just because I got nominated, don't think too much about the winning, but meeting people, book stores and book sellers and writers in this "other" world of NOIR. Basically, I plan to party. I'll see if I remember anything later...
7 NEW tracks up for you this month, from the split CD with LAST DAYS IN THE BUNKER: "Killer Pill". This is the first time I've made music like this, so rhythmic and keyboard based(and I even use the synthesizer, YIKES!). Every song took me to a different place, and I'm pretty glad I went there, in every case. I don't know what to call it. It's not techno or dance music, I don't think, it's somewhat dubby tho many times the dub acts as an intro that soon falls apart, becomes something else, maybe more vicious like in "My Fear". These are mostly instrumentals except for "Killer Pill", "Grip", a basic acoustic number, and "Lump Of Coal", which has a backwards backing track..."Fall Into the Hole" has my little son Ernst Wilhelm doing vocals, check them out!! The song is a basic noise-fest for me based around a loopy riff and lots of feedback, until the end where a song appears. This happens often with these songs. Hope many of you can stick around for those sudden bits at the end that develop from solid repetition, because I think it's damn worth it for that sudden "trip to somewhere else"...guaranteed. I guess it's a time of few words, this batch of songs covers a rough period of transition. The thought of writing words was totally OUT. And the songs work for me because of that very inarticulateness, their ability to project my feelings with sounds, an audio landscape of sorts...Louis Ramos (LAST DAYS IN THE BUNKER)and I put our songs together, and the result is this 18-song double-CD , including a pair of new songs he put together from our tapes. He's posting his songs on his MYSPACE so click on the button in my friend's space to go to LAST DAYS IN THE BUNKER and enjoy the genius of Louis! (Of course by now he has maybe a hundred new songs up on his page, but screw it, they all gooood.) I take too long to post songs and too long to send out packages to my friends!! Sorry to all of you who have been waiting. You haven't been forgotten, I promise.
ROPE BURNS demo CDs are always available.
FINALLY: Thanks for all the people writing in asking for music. Your packages are in the mail!! And YOU: if you like it, it's free, just ask and drop me an address.
Well hello Abraham- thank you SOOOO much for the wonderful package and letter you sent! What a wonderful treat. I'm so glad to hear things are happy in your life, and I will be bringing the CDs in my car to listen to while I drive- I drive for a living so portable music is always quite a huge treat for me! Of course I'll share the sounds with Baron too, but I gotta sneak my selfish ears on 'em first...;-) Anyway I actually am in the process of making you a nifty T-shirt- you know I'm horrible with getting around to finishing stuff...but you are always in mine and Baron's hearts and we'll send a package along- hopefully sooner than later. OH and you did mention that you had trouble playing the one disc I had sent you? Maybe cos it was a weird brand I bought at an office store so perhaps the quality wasn't great or something...I bought some new ones of a different brand and I will make you another one. XO
How nice to hear from you, and we're so glad that you got the package, and that you dig it! OH and just to let you know, Baron isn't able to log into his Distant Neighbor page so if you've sent him any messages, he isn't ignoring you...we're trying to get it sorted out- we have no idea what happened- ugh, myspace...anyway take care love, keep rockin'! :-)
Hey doll! Just to let you know, Baron FINALLY mailed you that album he's been promising you! So you should get it sometime this week hopefully. I know we're filthy rotten horrid little people for taking so damn long...;-) But hopefully it's worth the wait- it's a great bit of vinyl for sure! :-)
Hello rope burns. We thought you might be interested to know, our debut album When We Were Invented is now available for pre-order from our MySpace site at the special price of £9.99, with world-wide postage and packing free. Albums will be shipped shortly before the release date of May 18th. Very best wishes, Dean and Andy.
Hey man!Diggin Street Brats now! Playing anywhere? Any UK shows? Play LOUD! Missing some good stuff!Gonna try and catch Mental Abuse even if I have to take bus and train! Cheers! the Ann Berettas still got it going too!!! rockin out man!
Hi hon, just thought I'd drop you a line and say hi! We're keeping busy lately, mostly with the mundane stuff that needs done like work and other annoying things...when we get all that stuff taken care of we hope to make time to get doing the fun stuff, like working on more music! Hope you and the family have been well. :-)
..
