http://www.archive.org/details/glassgoblins2010-05-30.EchoCountryOutpost

http://www.archive.org/details/glassgoblins2009-08-28.amandasbasement

Woody Frank (guitar), Evan Strauss (bass), Scott Keil (drums), 5-Track (guitar and sing)

plus guests Jym “The Snake” Fahey (harmonica, sing), Cricket DeManuel (sing), and the mysterious Lady Die (sing on Love Buzz etc)

Longtime followers will understand that having Woody and Evan at a show is significant and awesome … some may recall certain Seattle Glass Goblins configurations, and/or nights and nights of Snoose Junction overload, let alone Neon Brown Presents / Woodlands Acoustic Orchestra / Juggler’s Challenge. (Mayhem at the Chai House, yo…) Not to mention VARIETY PACK!!

This was the first killer house party that I have encountered in the wicked and inhospitable environs of Los Angeles. Props to Amanda and Matthew for supplying the necessary good vibes to make it a reality. We had plans to hold this shindig at WHERE but WHERE is having trouble, so Amanda said, “Let’s have it in the basement! I’ll make grilled cheese!” and lo, it came to pass.

I’m very psyched about this recording, because I LOVE 2 guitars, bass, drums … We got to play some songs that I don’t usually get to play (The Gypsy’s Curse, Tacoma Motel) and we got to give Cricket a proper rocknroll band for a song or two and we got to explore the outer reaches of space and time. Dig it…

here’s to the next one
5

5-Track vs Evan-S
SEAMOO: A Moose, Remixed

I made this album during my first six months in Los Angeles, when I was afraid to leave the apartment. I had the multi-tracks from Evan’s album on my hard drive, so I devoted myself to building something new out of every song from “A Moose Supreme” … This is the result.

…Or you can go and look at the catalog page, which is green and includes an mp3, in case that helps your decision making process.

http://www.5-Track.com/SecretMooseTapes.html

…nuff said!

9-3-2008
NOTE: This album has just been remastered to good effect by Adrian Woods of Neon Brown. It sounds fine in Los Angeles, especially through a home stereo. Also through home stereo in Seattle. Haven’t tried it in the car in L.A. yet.

I’m just sitting here listening again to “Variety Pack Destroys Everything,” because I am updating their SonicBids EPK

(hint: Variety Pack has a SonicBids Electronic Press Kit. You can hear some songs there and read about them and like that. I think they also have a Myspace page, but the less said about that, the better. You can probably get to it from their SonicBids EPK)

and I listened to it a bunch when they gave it to me back in December, in fact I drove all over Seattle listening to it, and then I played it a bunch in Idaho. But I don’t know that I’ve tried it out in L.A. yet, which I really ought. I’ve got it on headphones, and not very good ones, they bump on the low end and don’t give you much room on top so it’s sorta like listening through cotton balls but it’s what’s available, right now. And it isn’t hurting much ‘cos they sound GREAT.

“I Was Born To Be A Cagefighter” is an instrumental by Woody - Guitar. It rocks. “Funk Song” is a tight jam with a low-key vocal condemnation of brainless media culture, courtesy of Charles - Keys. “Max The Hydroxide” is a sweet instrumental, also from Charles. “Soggy Tennis Shoes” is a kickass Woody song with a great melody. “Cadillac Walker” is a narrative groove-ballad by Charles, in which I especially like the vocal harmonies. “When You Wake Up” is an epic weirdness, credited to Evan - Bass. “Camel Song” is a twisted little pop song boogie from Charles, to wit: “Eat with the camel before he eats you.” And “Lightly Salted” is another epic, this one credited to the whole band.

But that’s a just a surface glance at the form. The content is really what it’s all about. And to get to the content, you should put on headphones, sit back in a dimly lit room and stare at the insanely detailed Buddhist iconography on that calendar, or the weirdo abstract painting on the dining room wall. And dig the tones. The electric guitar, for example, sounds like it’s made of wood. Which it is. It’s warm and thick and it talks to you like it knows what it’s saying. The keys are thick and fat. The drums (Patrick - Drums) do much more than tick and tock, and sometimes they even hum. The bass is big and round and the percussion (Luke - Congas, Timbales) rattles and clatters joyfully.

I engineered this recording (and I keep wondering if Evan did much eq when he mixed this all, anyway I’m just curious how much of this tone is my doing, for an answer to which I can always check the original tracks which I think I still have.) But I didn’t play any of the instruments, and I had nothing to do with the mix, so I can’t take any credit for how boss cool the music on this disc is. 

This is a good CD. Taken as a whole, not just as single tracks. And it’s good in a car, as I said. Probably not great for washing dishes or background music at a tea party. But then again, why not? It will help to clean the air.*

*Especially good for cleaning the air is a tune called “The Larynx” which is found I think only on the Cadillac Walker E.P. Long jam in 6/8. Super-ambient epic nice-ness. Oh, wait, it’s on their myspace page. Alright, here’s how you get there: http://www.myspace.com/varietypack40

ps - the way to hear this band is live, should you find that you have the opportunity to do so.