justin atkinson(prof), curtis bohner, william boyle, lauren camarata, orion rigel dommisse, thomas doran, michael edwards(deuce), devin jimmink(laotree), joshua kopit(crow), matthew mottel(spacenoodle), jim mulhearn, joe quinn, eric swanson, simon thrasher, jennifer tuttle
"Holy Haunted Head: A Kali Yuga Opera" is a cycle of songs that came through to me in a series of radio transmissions from the dead 6661-2004 & then played/sang by 13 friends (who all wrote their own parts) and i. Curtis recorded/engineered/mastered & did some mad scientist stuff on his 8-track cassette recorder & then the last parts on his girlfriend Kari's computer, in his bedroom at the Mustard House, New Paltz, NY. there were so many chords & wires to untangle as we went, and lots of Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce being used (i would usually cook curries while Curtis fiddled with knobs and got things set up just right). this took place in all seasons of 2004. some preliminary tracks were recorded on Kabir's 4-track cassette recorder in our house above the Rosendale Cafe, Rosendale, NY, and on my handheld cassette recorder onceuponatime: at 143 Main Street in New Paltz, NY & at my parents house during a thunder storm in Binghamton, NY. the recording process was really exciting and we all wanted to play together for a while anyway (the idea to even record was my secret plan to try to get everyone together and create a group to play music with each other), so those of us that were living locally formed a live ensemble out of the Holy Haunted Head material, practicing in the attic above my house/the cafe. Curtis played bass and was the general conducter/dad, i sang and played acoustic guitar, Jennifer sang and played cello, Deuce and the Prof played electric guitars, and Lauren played drums and beamed awesome energy. Thomas Doran appeared in the attic one night, blown by a cosmic wind into the midst of the 'head ensemble (well, i might have i tipped him off to what was ensuing/accruing up there), so he sang, played synth, samples, trumpet, a drum, and anything else we needed. after our first show in the attic (perfect night magic dream i could have dreamed forever please let me go back someday never end), we played a handful of other times, under a clock tower, or with candles stuck in stale bagels, all mostly in the hudson galaxy region, with friends and for friends and hopefully not losing any friends when Tom's mixer went apeshit and destroyed the whole room, etc., and each show it seemed like things were getting more intense (louder and more frantic & heavy, & with blood ending up all over my guitar) but also we were getting better at playing together and starting to listen to each other more, even when Deuce cranked his amp to 11. we were just on the cusp or verge of starting to collectively write new songs together, and maybe become a different project or band together, and kick total ass, when things just up and dissolved due to people moving away or breaking up or getting all indecisive and other entropic forces. the hudson galaxy has a lot of vortexual energies, it is easy to get lost or lose everything, at the perfect wrong times. our collective spirit lives on, though, and we have all kept, and will continue to keep, making music in different formats and configurations, the links to which are below. maybe some day, the holy haunted head will play again. i would like that very much. somewhere in there, i got CD's together to give to people, and with Jennifer's help, i made 222 of them, and we gave them all to friends. someday, i may get my shit together and make another 444 copies of the CD's to give to friends new and old and whoever never got one or whoever's copy has crapped out. i will let you know. until then, three or four of our songs and a tiny piece of us will live here (without me knowing it, Thomas put this MySpace page up onceuponatime ago, pulling me & us unwittingly into this strange world of which he himself and his Nana Nona have recently escaped without trace. i think we'll stay here for the time being, though, because it is really nice to share these songs for free with strangers and to see all of our friends faces glowing on the screen, all part of the collective radiation). Love and Light, Simon Thrasher 6/14/07
..................................................... here are links to some projects from members of hhh and the (((force fields forever))):
.......dreamhouse.................................................................................
.......echoesfromelba.................................................................................
.......explodingturtledream.................................................................................
.......theflagpoles.................................................................................
.......grainofsalt.................................................................................
.......happyaccidents.................................................................................
.......thejacksonbrothers(JBC).................................................................................
.......laotreejackson.................................................................................
.......lebutterface.................................................................................
.......orionrigeldommisse.................................................................................
.......pensandpencils.................................................................................
.......sevenswords.................................................................................
.......talibam!.................................................................................
.......victorybeard........................................................................................
.......guardian owl is what i call stuff i have been doing since hhh & the title which i will be releasing an album under, this summer, on limited edition cassette tape only & available for creative exchange (please write to me for details)....................................................................
.......best friends:
jessica beechler, kabir de leeuw, kate larsen,
.......ambivalentelephant.................................................................................
.......jacktung.............................................................................................
.......kiteoperations.............................................................................................
.......laserawesome.................................................................................
.......l'hiver.................................................................................
.......lovers.................................................................................
.......redsledchoir..................................................................................................jordaan mason..................................................................................................
nana nona, and synaesthesia.
things are pretty hectic right now but I'll have some remixes off to yall soon! thanks to Curtis for the break-down tracks. When you gonna send me the real deal album, I need some cover art!
I cut class and listened to the HHH/FFF record the other day. Oh boy, it's a slice of beauty out of a world where I've never touched my feet. I really love it like I haven't loved a record in a long time. It's like when you love a record like you'd love a person, you know? And it's not just because I know all the cats on the record. It's much more than that. When I listen to the album a curious thing happens, a thing that happens, I suspect, to people who know Jeff Mangum well. It's not Simon Thrasher, my old friend, singing to me. It's just this very beautiful person. It's not Simon my buddy anymore, though he still feels like a good friend. A friend in a different dimension, Simon might say.
The band's getting better and better. release show was super. i am cutting my mpc4000's teeth on hack'n'slashing 'which branch'. we might be coming up this weekend/watch out.
go look at Flagpoles myspace. collin is a california king(snake).
Hey Thrasher, love the album! As for the homework assignment, way ahead of you. Le Butterface songs are my dreams and Bee Tee Dee music is straight from my nightmares.
