Lasercave Podcast

Episode 21 - Helsing Junction Sleepover 2008

2008-08-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

A select few of the performances at the 2008 Helsing Junction Sleepover. I just guessed at a bunch of song names for reference use. What a wonderful weekend! Leave a comment if you want any of the solo tracks.

Gary May - Go Billy Go
Powernap - E.T. Bone Phone
Mirah - Jerusalem
Jared Snyder - Woody Cover
Valet
Lake - Places We'll Go
Calvin Johnson - Sitting Alone (At the Movies (Acapella))
Pine Hill Haints - Starving on the Streets of Mobile
Explode into Colors
City Center
Madeline - Tie one on
Karl Blau - Let It Rot

Episode 20 - Bowlpack B: Live at Liberty Hall

2008-03-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

"Live" refers to the Ableton product. Liberty Hall is a sweet IWW/community space in North Portland. This mix is long, sweaty, and very danceable.

Episode 19 - Bowlpack B: Rave the Greymalkin

2008-03-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

DJ for a techno wizard duel at the Greymalkin. Put together on the fly, but polished a bit for syndication!

Episode 18 - Pompton Lakes Episode 3

2007-09-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

"Otto."

Final act in the radio play. Lovely work.

Episode 17 - Bowlpack III

2007-07-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

For those too lazy to manually download media:

Hey Friends! After an inexcusably long absence from the Lasercave community, I'm excited to present Bowlpack III from your favorite Lasercave mp3J, Senor Bowlpack B. This thick mix is a lot more hectic than the previous two, however, I only had the last 3 nights to work on it so it doesn't feel complete. Here's my excuse briefly: In January the software I use to make these mixes (Ableton Live 5) "phoned home" so to speak. In other words it realized that there was a copyright violation and very cleverly disabled the software and made it impossible for me to simply re-install it. Shortly thereafter, the computers power supply gave out. Once I moved out of Philly I finally took the thing to the Genius bar and got it fixed. This was 6 days ago. 5 Days ago I backed up and reinitialized my hard drive. 4 days ago I reinstalled some of my crucial software. And for the past three nights I've been laboring to bring you people the best that I can give in danceable party jams before leaving for a very epic roadtrip with Ms. Lena Sradnick tomorrow afternoon. Actually, I've gotten a lot quicker and more comfortable with Ableton Live recently and realize I can crank these jams out quicker than before. In fact, I bet I could do this shit live, at a party or something, if someone gave me the chance. You should all give a try at using Live if you have any interest.

Episode 16 - Pompton Lakes Episode 2: Tundraland

2007-07-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

Written and produced by Matt Wellins. A deeper trip into Matt's brain and some really beautiful sounds and soundscapes.

tun·dra (tndr)
n.
A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs.

Episode 15 - Pompton Lakes Episode 1: Magnus Hotel and Environs

2007-06-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

Written and produced by Matt Wellins.

This is Episdode One of a three episode radio play that Matt and his Pittsburgh homies made. Matt built a low power FM transmitter and broadcasted the whole thing on loop for two weeks in downtown Pittsburgh for two weeks. This is a very trippy ordeal, that gets deeper and deeper as it progresses. Part radio play, part word gymnastics, part immersive soundscaping and mythography. Stay tuned for two more installments!

actors:
ryan coon, olivio ciummo, angela biggs, josh tonies, adam grossi, maurice bajcz, jim storch, julia morrisson, jesse mclean, thad kellstadt, jessica fenlon, matt wellins, jocelyn hillen, and Edgar Um Bucholtz as "The Weather Commissioner."

addendum-having made the trip up 287/87 in upstate new york many times, I have always wondered what the hell the pompton lakes would look like, should i have taken that exit. now i wish i had gone to check it out.

Episode 14 - Chapter 5: The Unsettling of America

2007-05-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Chapter 5: Living in the Future: the "Modern" Agricultural Ideal

Read by Azure Akamay. Azure is a micro farmer who leaves gardens in her wake, gifted in friends' backyards as a gentle tweaking of priorities of that person. Johnny Appleseed style, but less Christian and she wears shoes more often. You can find a picture of Azure with some sheets over her head on the cover of the Mount Eerie Singers Long Player.

This chapter is really powerful.

Episode 13 - May Day Workast

2007-05-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

In celebration of May Day, I present a brief collection of IWW/worker songs. The first was a recording of a Pete Seeger concert, the rest were unmarked tracks on a LIttle Red Songbook comp I found on the torrents. Nameless is fine though, a song written by one is a song written by all.

Tracks:
1. l'International - Pete Seeger
2. We have fed you all for a thousand years
3. There is power in a Union
4. There'll be pie in the sky when you die (Thats a lie)
5. Solidarity Forever

Episode 12 - The Regime of Money

2007-04-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Jade, Jonah, Jeff, and Joel Kovel, present a J Palace Production: The Regime of Money.

An epic vodcast made from interview footage with Joel Kovel, a leading voice in the ecological socialist movement, found footage, and some basic beats. Joel Kovel is the Alger Hiss Professor of Social Studies at Bard College, where he teaches the classes "The Ecological Crisis: Marxist Perspectives" and "William Blake: Artist, Poet, Visionary". He also graciously donated money to Jade, Jonah, Tim, Adam, and others to travel to Venezuela in 2006 for the World Social Forum.

Joel is the author of such books as:

White Racism: A Psychohistory, Pantheon, 1970.
A Complete Guide to Therapy, Pantheon, 1976;
The Age of Desire: Case Histories of a Radical Psychoanalyst, Pantheon, 1981.
Against the State of Nuclear Terror, Pan, 1983.
The Radical Spirit: Essays on Psychoanalysis and Society, Free Association Books, 1988.
In Nicaragua, Free Association Books, 1988.
History and Spirit, Beacon Press, 1991.
Red Hunting in the Promised Land, Basic Books, 1994
The Enemy of Nature, 2002, Zed Books (essential)
Beyond Zionism, 2007, Pluto Press
Ongoing: Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly journal, Capitalism, Nature, Socialism.

From his very web 1.0 website:

As an activist, Joel Kovel has been engaged in struggles for peace and justice since the Vietnam War era. He has worked within the antiwar and antinuclear movements, the solidarity movements in Central America and the Caribbean, the movements for democratic media, and, increasingly, for ecological transformation. He lived in Nicaragua for a period in 1986, and accompanied Pastors for Peace as they broke the US blockade on Cuba in their 1994 Friendshipment. He has acted in films, worked frequently with the Bread and Puppet theatre, and lectured on four continents.
Kovel joined the Green Party since 1990. In 1998, he was the Green Party candidate for US Senator from New York, and in 2000 sought their Presidential nomination.
Kovel is married, has three children, three stepchildren and five grandchildren. He lives in Willow, a rural district of Woodstock, in Ulster County.

If this doesn't make you want to contribute your homemade artistic endeavours to this webzone, nothing will.

Episode 11 - Chapter 4: The Unsettling of America

2007-04-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

Chapter 4: The Agricultural Crisis as a Crisis of Culture

Read by Ryan Muller. Ryan made a beautiful, "classic Muller" guitar soundscape for this chapter. His voice is almost as lifting as his eyes. A very profound chapter! We're getting deeper and deeper into this great work. Ryan works with and for the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award winner Judy Pfaff. Building surely beautiful, significant items.

Episode 10 - Chapter 3: The Unsettling of America

2007-04-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3: The Ecological Crisis as a Crisis of Agriculture

Read by Gregg Dart. My (Tim's) minidisc broke, so Gregg had to read this twice. Many thanks. Gregg has a business called Totally Creative Concepts in Salem, OR. I am not sure entirely what it does, but Gregg does neat stuff very often. Enjoy. It is very possible that there will be weekly podcasts of this book, due to overwhelming enthusiasm from people reading chapters.

Episode 9 - Basement Show at J House

2007-03-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple selections from a show we did in our basement in Philly on March 12th. Most of you probably know Jeremy Butman, Liv Carrow and Powernap (Jonah Adels and Jeffrey Brodsky). Gabe Adels, Jonah's brother, is also featured in here doing an awesome song. Brandon Shmidt is Tristan Dahn's good friend from home and a member of the band The Pacemaker. The rock band featured after Powernap is a group called Microwave Background that Jeremy knows from his school in Indiana. Enjoy!

-Jeff

Episode 8 - Jesse Podcast One

2007-02-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

FINAL EDIT: maybe this works now? so i made this a while ago real quick and now it's finally hopefully available. i have a few new projects (audio and otherwise) that im working on (in addition to my senior project installations, which are on the may 18th. so. a lot happening. here is:

my first podcast. it is sort of a song and was improvised in about the time it takes to listen (maybe like seventeen seconds more). to quote part of the song/pod: "i hope that you like it/ i hope that you love it." it is in m4a 4mat because thats what apple thought was best. im not totally sure i agree and will certainly repost (replete with ---struck thru--- links and thinks).

EDIT in mp3 now and with a title that fits LC style guide. sorry.

EDIT (2) now? back to m4a. this hardly seems worth it now.

ANOTHER EDIT: maybe now it works?
you can email me jesse.malmed@gmail.com if this doesnt work and for some reason you need my voice but know i hate talking on the phone.

ps do you guys ever think about semiotics of hypertext ie signification relationships of links? a signifer that includes not just the baggage of its "definition" and whatever the reader brings to it and its context within the sentence etc but also both the place that it leads and the way the url for that looks in your status bar and and? i just did and i think its pretty interesting. maybe ill think about it in the shower or while pacing and come up with a bit more for you laserheads.

Episode 7: Chapter 2 - The Unsettling of America

2007-02-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

Chapter 2: The Ecological Crisis as a Crisis of Character

Read by Zach Wallace. Really great recording! Zach just finished doing some "radioactive" soil science research in Michigan, and is now going to tour and play music with a new band called Sun Circle. Peace Noise. Go support and enjoy it if you can!

Zach's Record Label
Zach's new band

Chapter 3: The Ecological Crisis is a Crisis of Agriculture is also apparently finished. Soon. Lots and lot of chapters to read, but this is really exciting. Volunteer for a chapter!

Episode 6: One and a Half Minutes of Mexican Bats

2007-01-28T21:10:00.004-08:00

This is just a little experiment in 'vodcasting' (is there no better term? I understand vlog, that almost makes a certain amount of sense, but vodcast...?). I just threw together a bunch of the clips from my trip to Mexico this past fall and set them to music. I'd meant to do this much sooner, but there you go. I love bats!

The podcast is in .M4v format, for which I apologize to those who care, but I figured it would be easiest to play in iTunes. VLC might also work. Also, the song used in the video is Leather Wings by Japanther.

Episode 5: Painless Eddie

2007-01-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

This is a wierd "interview" I (Tim) did in 2004 in Portland, Oregon. It was 2 AM, and I had walked to the Safeway on Woodstock to return some bottles and buy some chocolate. I brought my Minidisc® with hopes of recording some nice clacky bottle pops. I was immediately approached by an intriguing gentleman named Painless (Eddie). He was very intent on me listening to a blues guitarist named Robbie Laws. Since, like Jon Myers, I "fucking hate BB King," and Mr. Laws' music is very much like dubba B, it turns out (2.5 years later) I don't dig the music too much. But Painless had a very comforting vibe and voice, and we chatted for a while. He really did most of the chatting. The "interview" takes a weird turn in the bathroom. This might be suited best for listening to while going to bed. Immersive headphones tracks. Walking sounds. You all should record things in your neck of the world and put them up here. That would be cool.

The blues guitarist that is so often referred to is featured at the end of the 'kast.

Episode 4: My Name Is A Killing Word

2006-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Ya Boy's back! Ya Bowl's Packed! 2007 is destined to be the year of the Lasercave and there's no better way to prepare for it than with a wild dance party to our 3rd podcast of the week! Jeffrey Brodsky aka Bowlpack B (or any better moniker you can come up with) brings you his (my) newest powerhouse thick mix. Fun.

-Jeff

Episode 3: Chapter 1 - The Unsettling of America

2006-12-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

Whew. Double dip on the podkast this weekend. Here is the first chapter of The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture by Wendell Berry. Such nice prose...I only hope my stumbling voice can convey some of the text's heart. The audio is funky, as my once decent microphone is way dying. There's some inadvertent drone music made by my computer a few minutes in. Enough disclaimers, I think it rules. Chapter 2, "The Ecological Crisis is a Crisis of Character" should be dropping relatively soon, by an awesome guest reader. Stay fed!*

*this is actually a rss pun.

Episode 2.71828: Holophonics

2006-12-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

Not in fact, hollertronix. These are some recordings by Argentinian sound guru Hugo Zucarelli. Just like holograms reproduce a more 3D image, holophonics reproduce a more 3D sound. I believe Hugo thinks of it as 4D, however. Genius. For this to be enjoyed, headphones must be worn, and you should ideally be in a quiet place, listening deeply. The haircut is incredible. Matches, too real.

Anyone who's taken a class with Bob B., or has caught the rerun has heard the secret. A human head is replicated to the utmost detail, with sensitive mics where the ear drums would be. Other than that substitution, the plumbing is the same: hollow mouth area with fleshy cheeks, sinus passages, Eustation tubes, brain substance in a hollow, ear canals, molded ears (pinnae). The head is now a remote "head." You hear what it hears, as this particular head "hears" it. Dig?

Episode 2: Calvin Johnson at Jade and Jonah's house

2006-11-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

(fixed the link)
Calvin Johnson is an incredible performer, amazing musician. True, kind freak. Calvin makes Calvin Art. The microphone was placed on the ground, leading to some buzz(kindof Link Wray-vibe), but I think the creaks of the floor are nice. Khaela Maricich, who also plays as the Blow, performed a piece that she would later perform at the fancy Kitchen. Since it was rather visual, I didn't think posting the audio would be very fulfilling. This was a very lovely night, and it made me happy to hear it again.

Calvin is one of my all time favorite speakers. Both in show-time story telling, as well as in his very unique way of conversing and verbally digesting a topic. Here are a few snippets of an interview conducted by someone expecting a square interview:

When I called back at the appointed time, his responses were intelligent, but guarded and occasionally condescending. "The hidden assumption of your question was that if the answer was yes, that was a bad thing," replied Johnson when I asked if he felt that increased access to recording and distribution technology is making music more of a disposable art form. After assuring him that I had no hidden assumptions or agendas, he told me that on a subconscious level, I did.
"I think that you were assuming that if music was more disposable that was a negative, and I think music is disposable, I don't think it can get any more disposable. It just is," he reasoned. "I think that a better word than disposable is ephemeral, and the fact that the technology has become more and more accessible has made the gap between the creation of the music and its possible appreciation smaller and smaller."
His point is understandable, yet I didn't take well to his assuming I'd given him a loaded question. Further attempts to clarify his position were met with the same resistance.
"Well, I'm trying to avoid any aspects of your question which is calling upon me to make a qualitative judgment," explained Johnson. "What I'm saying is, I'm trying to just stick to what I see as observations, so as far as the ephemeral nature of music, I would define that as…it's not possible to hold on to it. It's like trying to hold on to a butterfly. You can hold on to a record or a CD, but the music itself is only there in the moment that it can be heard, and it's gone instantly."
Interestingly, Calvin wanted to avoid qualitative judgments, yet his position at K Records entails him to do just that. How else would he be able to decide which bands he wanted to work with? But apparently that isn't such a cut-and-dry question, either.
"I don't have an answer for you," Johnson said. "That's too complicated of a question to answer easily, and within one sentence or afternoon. Or, maybe more honestly, there is no answer to that question. We could talk all day, but I wouldn't be able to communicate an answer, and I probably don't even know the answer."

Songs:
Empty Cot in the Bunkhouse
When you are Mine
It's Just my Luck
When Hearts turn Blue (feat. Ms. Maricich)
I'm Down

Episode 1: DJ Bowlpack B Mix

2006-11-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

A thick dance mix by DJ Bowlpack B that poses the question: what is the lived reality of one who makes beats every day of the week?

Tracklist:

Biggie Smalls
Daddy Yankee
Ying Yang Twins
Grandmaster Flash
Arthur Russel
DAT Politics
Kurtis Blow
Ying Yang Twins
The Greatful Dead
Bowlpack B feat. The Clipse
The Clipse
Bowlpack B feat. Snoop
Mystikal
Ying Yang Twins feat. Bubba Sparxxx
Paul McCartney
Audion
Madonna
Brother D
Ciara feat. Missy
Afrika Bambaatta
Boys 2 Men
Onyx
Victor
Busta Rhymes
Smitty
Bowlpack B
Lady Sovereign
Murphy Lee
Ol' Dirty Bastard

Episode 0.5:

2006-11-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

The Unsettling of America - Culture & Agriculture by Wendell Berry: Preface.

Read by Tim Donovan. Wendell Berry is an essayist and farmer from Henry County, Kentucky. He is consistently one of the most eloquent voices of agrarian/agricultural, social, and political dissent in the US. For more information, visit:

Wikipedia Entry

Common Dreams Articles