Litany: Music News Covering Skinny Puppy, Download, ohGr and Related Projects

Cast your minds back to the heady days of August 2006. A world of Plutonians mourned the loss of their globe's planetary status. Mel Gibson endeared himself to police and Semites. A young Samuel L. Jackson entertained us all in Snakes on a Plane. Amidst this swirling maelstrom of history's tapestry being woven before our very eyes, a user in Litany's IRC chat room named TheParanoid (aka Noid) did two things that would impact this very post you are reading here and now. First, he stole my pizza. Second, he had an idea for a compilation album of Litany's members' music and shared it with the channel. It's been a long time but that idea has finally come to fruition in the form of the downloadable Litany: a User Compilation album collecting the musical and visual efforts of a number of Litany readers and forum posters. The compilation has been assembled, mastered, packaged, and hosted freely all by Litany readers. Go here to get it and to find out more information about all the many folks responsible for putting this thing together.

For absolutely no good reason at all that I can recall, I somehow skipped over posting photos from the Austin tour stop back in those crazy days of fun, frivolity, and goopy stage-blood. This has now been remedied. Visit the Litany.net Facebook Page to wax nostalgic along with me and get yourself excited for that town's March 5th cEvin Key, Phil Western, and Dead Voices On Air show.

And, hey, Sasha, that guy up there in the hat who has worked very hard to bring you those shows tour after tour and kept me alive on the road, is going to be undergoing some more neck surgery in the coming weeks. Please send some positive energies his way.

A new cEvin Key DJ set / Dead Voices on Air combo gig has been announced for Denver on March 6th at the Larimer Lounge.
Go here for tickets.

In addition we also now have some gorgeous fliers for the previously announced Dallas and Portland gigs below.

After the monthish out on the road with Skinny Puppy I returned to the dusty quiet normalcy of my real life greeted by a small pile of accrued junk mail. Somewhere amidst that stack of shredder-destined wastes of postage was a most welcome copy of Collide's new album, These Eyes Before. The record consists entirely of covers. Although I tend to enjoy these outings (I've been hoping for an ohGr covers record for years), I was initially surprised at the selections that reach further into the classic rock world than I had anticipated. But the band allays any fears about the song choices with the superb treatments they offer these tracks. Statik's programming depth, familiar to Puppy fans from his co-authorship of songs like I'mmortal and Pro-test, subtly married to live instrumentation as a setting for kaRIN's singular voice remains the strength of Collide's sound, here applied as a vehicle for some inventive reinterpretations. With its subdued, slinky groove, Collide's Come Together is easily the best cover version of the song ever set to tape. Nights in White Satin, featuring Curve's Dean Garcia on bass, is majestic and ethereal, kaRIN's voice propelled by searing live guitar. It's a pairing that will make you forget classic rock radio ever existed. Bowie's Space Oddity is reborn as a tour de force of programming and effects. Throughout the album, they manage to highlight the strengths of the originals. Their rendition of Radiohead's Creep draws out the song's inner shoegaze core while Depeche Mode's I Feel You writhes in sexy tension. The blistering Comfortably Numb finds the retroactive crossroads of industrial and progressive psychedelic somewhere in the style of a late seventies Eno record. Few artists can pull off a Bowie or a Pink Floyd cover without descending into self-parody and embarrassment, let alone add something unique and interesting of their own. With These Eyes Before, Collide avoids cliches and breathes fresh life into songs that you might have thought too familiar. It only further demonstrates how far above the crowd this band remains.

These Eyes Before is available now from Noiseplus Music.

In addition to the March 5th Austin combination gig featuring cEvin Key's DJ set, Phil Western's live set, and Mark Spybey's performance as Dead Voices on Air advertised by the gorgeous flyer above, another such three-way show has been added for Dallas on March 4th at The Church. Go here for tickets and info.

There's also been a further Key and Dead Voices On Air set (without Phil) added for Portland on March 7th at Fez Ballroom. Get tickets here or via Corrosion Records.

Mark Spybey's Dead Voices on Air will be joining a three-date tour in Slovakia and the Czech Republic later this month. The Music Laboratory meets Ear Chewing tour features a large lineup of aural and visual artists.

January 22, 2010 Zilinia Stanicia Zariecie 20:00
January 23, 2010 Bratislava A4, 20:00
January 24, 2010 Praha XT3, 20:00

Go here for complete information on the tour dates with artist links and an offer for a free CD compilation.

Click here to view the new video from WDIHTF.com

Sorry for the late notice on this, but if you're in the LA area, do try to make it to this one tonight. Baseck and Wet Mango (alter ego of Sonic Death Rabbit) will both be performing tonight at the Downtown Independent. You know and love their Creatures album from Subcon and you hopefully heard Baseck's super-impressive turntable meets Gameboy set opening for Puppy in LA.

Here's all the details c&p'd:::

Baseck & So Simple present:

PARTY AT THE MOVIES!!!
a night of experimental audio and visual art!

featuring a screening of LASKFAR VORTOK'S (NABOA) piece of audio/visual destruction, "HOLOGRAPHIC WATERMELON"

with performances by:

WE ARE THE WORLD
(manimal vinyl)
http://www.myspace.com/wearetheworldthecult

BASECK
(darkmatter, sub-conscious communications)
http://www.myspace.com/baseck

WMX
(so simple)
http://www.myspace.com/wmx667

TED NAVA
(so simple)
http://www.myspace.com/teddynava

WET MANGO
(darkmatter, sub-conscious communications)
http://www.myspace.com/thisiswetmango

MR WENSDAY (humboldt)
http://www.myspace.com/mrwensday

this is also a celebration of WET MANGO and BANNAH HAILEY's birthdays!!!
so come rage it at the movies!

9pm-2am
$8 all night
21+ (id required)
$3 beers and birthday goodies!

The Downtown Independent
251 S. Main St
LA 90012

the facebook page is here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=235002084685&ref=mf

Litany forum member Smee posted a link to a newly posted interview with Ogre from Wisconsin's Maximum Ink. Conducted partway through the In Solvent See tour, the interview offers some insights on the show's theatrics as well as Ogre's film roles and his current political views. Here's a teaser regarding the tour costumes:::

It's two-fold. There's a hint of a scarecrow and a KKK semblance to it and also a dunce cap so that's a very astute observation. At the end, it becomes more of a dunce than angry. I see a lot of hidden racism and when it explodes, it's very violent and not really being talked about or dealt with. When I do that costume, I really wanted to touch on that and there's visual elements going along with it that are very blatant about that but the idea of it just being that is not true. It's more abstracted and polarized between both of those realms, the realm of something powerful and the realm of something stupid.

Read the whole interview here.

The mysterious ohGr website, wdihtf.com, has been updated to include two new areas, a Store and a teaser for a Live section. Debuting the Store in style is a free downloadable remix album of versions of Welcome to Collidoskope all created and assembled by members of the Litany forum. Major props go to the folks who put this thing together. Topping the set off is artwork by our very own Simon Paul, the man who so graciously dresses the fine pages you are reading at this very moment (and whom I had the pleasure to meet for a few unwashed minutes in Toronto). That's two discs worth of mixes of the song including a mashup megamix of them all.

Download it here and keep watching the site for more intriguing morsels. Can you put the pieces together...?

I get to welcome 2010 with some fantastic news. Phil Western has signed onto the bill for the Key / Dead Voices on Air gig mentioned below. The show will include sets from each of the surviving original members of Download, making it a truly historic evening.

Purchase advance tickets here.

With luck, 2010 will allow me to bring you many more updates with good news for your ears to celebrate.

There's been a surprise addition to the aforementioned March 5th Dead Voices on Air performance in Austin, TX. None other than cEvin Key has joined the bill with a DJ set at the Elysium.

Normally, this is where I'd pout and sob and wax nostalgic about how much I miss Austin and haven't been there since SXSW '06, but that's no longer true. Instead, I'll fondly reminisce about my walk to and from Waterloo Records before the Puppy show in town there just a few short weeks ago, where I purchased The The's Mind Bomb, as inspired by Ken Marshall. I just might make it to this show, too - stranger things have happened. You should endeavor to be there yourself if it is within your means. Your ears will thank you and your ass will demand it be shaken.

Purchase advance tickets here.

Proving once again that this fanbase is exceptionally talented, two new fan-made videos have been created for songs from the Beyond the Vault series.

Take a look at The Tear Garden's Nothing's Set in Stone from Have a Nice Trip created by therezident:



And here's a rough cut of BananaSloths's Future 4059 Fun from Zombie Battle 2019 created by Tenguzame99:

For the past few years, around the time of the various holidays, solstices, turning over of the calendar pages, and champagne fueled festivals of fun one member of our forum has gathered charity donations from various readers around the globe in the name of Litany. Leviathan has set this all up by herself and made it very simple for you to donate something to one or a few hand-picked, worthwhile causes at a level that you can afford.

If you've enjoyed what Litany has brought you in this past year and feel that you'd like to give something back, please do it by giving to these charities. It'll be far more satisfying than spending those few bucks on that Secret Santa at work that you secretly despise. This is the one time a year we here at Litany will ask. Thanks for reading and thanks to Leviathan for doing this.

To donate, please follow these instructions.

I have some sad news to share. Mark Nugent, who was responsible for the visuals on the European leg of the Download tour of 1996, has apparently passed away suddenly. Mark Spybey posted this on our forum:::

JOIN US IN A TOAST TO THE LIFE OF MARK NUGENT:
many of Mark's friends met on irc many years ago. We have created an irc channel and will meet to celebrate Mark's life on Wednesday 23rd of December at 7pm est, thats 12 midnight gmt. You need to go to www.efnet.org and register a username and input this as the channel name: #nugenttoast
More details soon.

Pass this on.
Thanks.

I know that many of you have been keep up with the goings on, innuendos, and puzzles regarding ohGr's new record over at WDIHTF.com. The site continues to evolve with the first real-world manifestation of the upcoming work being realized in a unique and creative form. Rather than taking the route of mass-produced and cheaply merchandise, ohGr has teamed with an independent jewelery designer to create a limited run of necklaces that are unique pieces of art. Each necklace features a segment of the lyrics from the upcoming album hand-typed on the now infamous Oliver typewriter. Take a look at them right here.

But rather than just have me talk about it, I thought we should have Allison of RockLove tell the story behind how it all happened herself:::

As some of you may know, I am the creator of the Repo Scalpel Necklaces - the limited edition 1000 sterling silver scalpels that helped raise money to take the film "Repo! The Genetic Opera" on tour. Since Lionsgate refused to fund such an endeavor, Darren Bousman and Terrance Zdunich were left fending for themselves, paying to bring their film to fans out of their own pocket ... and when word got to them that I've made merchandise for independents, they asked me to join the Repo team.

Of course this led me to meeting and befriending Ogre; I've been a SP fan since high school so I was thrilled when he and Mark Walk asked me if I could be a part of the Mr. Brownstone narrative and other ohGr projects at hand. Coming from the land of vapid Hollywood A-list customers, getting screwed over by the Teen Choice Awards, and some other unsavory big-whigs, Ogre and Mark were refreshing. Making music and new media for the love of their fans, and choosing to collaborate with other artists that shared their artistic vision - this humble dedication is RARE in the music industry!

I can't leak too much now, but keep your eyes to the www.wdihtf.com website - the necklaces will make more sense as new videos and media are released. It's all a puzzle, and these lyric necklaces are one jigsaw piece of the whole. Set into sterling silver frames are a unique piece of the actual lyric sheets Ogre hand typed on the Oliver typewriter... these are his thoughts as he wrote the new unreleased songs on the upcoming album. And technically, if you put them all together in numbered order (#1-100 are etched on the back) you get the words to a never-been-heard track... no two necklaces are alike.

Consider it a shiny jewelry bake sale - though instead of something as transient (though delicious) as cupcakes, you are getting a special keepsake encompassing a little bit of Ogre himself. Play with the pendants online and see if you can piece together the lyrics with other fans, or when the new OhGr album comes out, try to spot your own little unique piece in the songs. And as always, the proceeds go back into the production of this multi-media project, helping to fund the creation of the music you know and love.

You may have even seen some of the SP crew wearing these on tour. This sure beats the days of shoddy t-shirts that fall apart after two washes, eh? Take a look and order a necklace for yourself or someone else you know with style at RockLove.

It's hard to believe that the LA show ended a week ago in an explosion of plexi-glass. I spent a few days thereafter enjoying the city's scenic traffic-clogged highways hanging out of the passenger side window of a truck returning the tour's gear around town with Danny Panda in the pouring rain. Good times.

My experience on this tour was nothing short of incredible. As a listener, as a participant, as a guest, as a chronicler, as a consumer of shrimps, as a dancer, as a taper of cables, as a wiper of stage blood - I'll tell you all about it at some point when I can wrap my brain around it enough to put the right words in order to do so. Until then I wanted to take some time to point out all of the fantastic people who brought you this tour and to whom I owe a debt of thanks.

Alex Scull is the stage manager. He treats the show as if it were his firstborn, taking great care to make sure that what you witness as an audience member is an impeccable piece of theater. He feels he has done his job well when he's remained invisible. He is also responsible for setting up cEvin's rig each night. His wit is biting and his advice is always worth heeding. Skully took the time and care to teach me a great deal about the stage and the road. He knows a lot about both.

You may remember Ashley from the merch stand on the ohGr tour. On this tour she juggled a thousand tasks, from taking care of Ogre's wardrobe to keeping the crew well fed to organizing various details with each venue. She is perpetually in motion and constantly working and yet still finds the time to do the little things for each person to make their day easier. I can't tell you how many times she lifted my spirits with a kind word or well-placed Dove chocolate.

I got to hear cEvin Key rock out with this band every night for a month. What struck me the most about touring with him was how much of a charge he still gets from performing this music live after all of these years. He speaks with reverence about the feeling of certain shows and certain moments of songs. He also likes to share amusement and fun offstage and made sure I was no stranger to this. The elaborate story of his back lounge disco is a tale for another day.

Danny was the friendly face you met at the merch stand but he also did much more you didn't see, including often directing the unloading of the trailer. He was given the nickname Danny Panda by Skully and it stuck to him like glue sticking to something to which glue tends to stick. He was the first one in the door of the venue and the last one out at the end of the night. Danny's sense of humor kept everyone on the bus roaring with laughter but he also kept me sane, guiding me through the confusion of touring.

Frank is an extraordinarily conscientious driver who has toured the world as a musician in his own right. He kept us safe and shared thoughts on touring with me on a few scenic nights at the front of the bus. He also found a contact lens that I dropped on the bathroom floor and thought I'd lost forever. For this I still owe him a beer.

Jill is the tour manager. No matter what the situation, she can handle it and has probably seen it before. She also just happened to have the right materials and know-how for wrapping a bloody carpet up in plastic in the middle of the night in a hotel room, which proved valuable to me.

Justin Bennett is simply one of the greatest drummers on the planet. Chief among the myriad treats I enjoyed over the course of this tour was getting to hear him play nightly at soundcheck, sometimes from under his drum riser, and then during the show itself as the musical backbone of the phenomenal live band that Skinny Puppy has become. Every night he would do something new that would surprise me. He's also one of the kindest, most unassuming musicians I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Today (or yesterday, depending upon your time zone) happens to be his birthday. I wish him a million crossword puzzles.

Ken Marshall exemplifies engineering as an art form. In many ways, he is the fourth member of the band, performing offstage behind the mixing board. He controls the live effects, making him integrally involved in every moment of the show. He's also a pure joy to witness at work as he rocks out to each song, chanting along with every word. Ken is pure positive energy. He never has an unkind word. His enthusiasm for life and experience is infectious, making the tour immeasurably brighter with his presence.

I don't think I have ever witnessed Ogre in greater command of his powers as a performer or as a singer than on this tour. The visuals offered him a new kind of playground. As each show passed by, he grew further inspired by the results and the potential present in the next performance. His excitement and creative satisfaction with the show was a joy to behold. Ogre is now singing with a power and depth that put his performances of even just a few years ago to shame. I owe him a great deal personally, perhaps the least of which being my first pair of black vinyl pants (it's true; there are pictures).

Sasha is Justin's drum tech and is in charge of Ogre's props. He mixes up the stage blood and sets up Ogre's smoke hat, among taking care of a million other things that happen during the show that you might never notice. He almost immediately adopted the role of big brother to me on the tour. He showed me the ropes and had my back in a number of ways. I could not have done it without him. Even though it isn't his birthday, I wish him many Starbucks mocha doubleshots and crossword puzzles all the same.

Tim Hill is responsible for all of the video content you see during the live show. He uses video projectors exclusively as onstage lighting in conjunction with independent backdrop video, all manipulated and processed live along with the musical performance. This creates a visual environment that is true to Skinny Puppy yet eschews any cliched retreads or references to their past efforts. I worked most closely with him throughout the tour. He not only offered me the opportunity to learn his setup but to make creative contributions as well. I cannot speak more highly of Tim, personally or creatively, and owe him endless thanks.

Meeting us at every stop were Dapose and Seth of VVerevvolf Grehv. I'll admit that at first I was not a fan of the music, but by the end of the tour I was won over. Litany readers should check out the link above and give the recordings a listen. Some of the programming is especially impressive. Dapose told me that he really enjoyed playing for the Puppy audiences. He and his right-hand man Seth were a joy to talk to throughout the tour and I know Seth single-handedly kept Danny sane at the merch booth.

There are two other important individuals who brightened our every day on board the bus. I speak, of course, of Ogre's extra special canines, Batbat and Charlie Ice Cream. It doesn't matter how difficult a show might have been, how badly your feet might ache, or how intensely you might need a shower that you know full well will not come for another two venues, when one of those dogs hops into your lap all is right with the world. I miss them already.

Each of the people I have mentioned worked tirelessly every day to make your show experience the best it could possibly be. It was a privilege beyond words to be a part of their family for a month. I'm damned lucky to have somehow ended up with this particular group of people. I simply cannot imagine how I could have done it without any single one of them.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the many other fans and friends that I met up with and got to spend time with over the course of the tour. One of the unfortunate trade-offs of working to help put the show together was that I had precious little time to socialize and meet up with the Litany crews before and after the show. My sincerest apologies if I seemed rude. To everyone who said hello or thanked me for Litany, I want you to know that it truly means a lot and it's why I keep doing this.

Pictures from the last few shows are now up on the Litany.net Facebook. Now that the tour is over I'm debating whether to put all of the pictures (including the previously unpostable spoilers) in some sort of gallery right here on Litany or keep them on Facebook where people can comment. Let me know what you think. Also, I realized that I somehow forgot to upload pictures from Austin. I'll remedy that soon enough.

Tonight is the last show of the tour. Words can't properly express the hectic insanity and myriad emotions racing around and within me at the moment. Suffice it to say that I did just briefly don patent leather pants.

If you are at tonight's show, I ask you to please take a moment to thank any of the fine individuals that you see on the crew tirelessly working their proverbial and literal asses off to bring you this show night after night. They are all fantastic people with whom I've had the privilege of sharing the past month or so of my life. If you happen to see anyone working for Skinny Puppy tonight, thank them on behalf of Litany. If you buy anything from the merch booth, and you should, I expect all Litany readers to tip Danny Panda generously.

Some pics from Tempe are now up on the Litany.net Facebook.