better duos than john's

i agree with "no age" being a great new honest cool hip cute duo but john missed some important ones:

The Dagons (LA) - a band who list their genre as "other other other" on the space of my... gertie fox played with them years ago at the knitting factory the band was mesmerizing. dreamy guitar and drum duo, brutal and beautiful, creepy and fragile. all things i love about the most fucked people i'm drawn to. they made me think marriage isn't that bad. They're in france right now and i'm jealous.

The (motherfucking) CARPENTERS - brother sister duo featuring the late Karen on drums and one of the most smooth, honest, and full of matronly affirmative charmed voices ever; she could tuck me in, sing sweet songs about killing me in my sleep, and i'd dream about having warm tea with milk with her in the morning. we've only just begun.

The Kris Special (LA) - started as a duo, nick and ann. they grew over the years into a full band with full releases, longer tours, and complications but seeing them sing their ragged songs through the miserable, dry post-torrential cry throated angst-howl of ann on a monday night at mr t's bowl left a beautiful scar forevz. i love them and feel everything they sing. if elliot smith grew up in the desert and still managed to be miserable yet beautiful, he might have ended up being a third member.

there are my groups of twos that impacted me...

World Citizens

Last night a wildflower cafe collaboration-
Gina Ferrera - Jyil (jeel), Kalimba, Percussion
Rene Uzzardi - Tabla
Elliiot Levin - Flute, Saxaphone, Assorted Wind Instruments
Lil' Kim - Trap Drums


This was a remarkable night and I love all of you!. Not everyday do you get to be apart of something diverse and eye-opening in good ol' beflum. Its a testament to how powerful music can be. I had never met Gina in my life and it was the type of night where it didn't feel like work at all. On set break we all sort of went our separate ways to talk to our friends. We saw each other and instantly embraced. Its not everyday that i feel like ive known someone a lifetime without verbally speaking to them. It felt rather refreshing to feel so close to someone musically without any extra baggage. Also feeling very close to Elliot and Rene strictly on musical terms, it was hugs all around!

Some video footage of last night



myspace.com/tablarenee
myspace.com/ginaferrera
myspace.com/elliotlevin

Urgent Information about the Jyil from Gina's site -

The gyil is made from fourteen wooden slats that are suspended on a frame of gourds (calabash) resonators. Each gourd can have anywhere from one to three holes. A spider egg sack casing is stretched over these holes. This process is what gives the gyil its distinctive buzzing sound.

Originally the keyboards were played over a hole that was dug in the ground. The “earth” underground (rather than the gourds) would produce the resonance for the keyboard. This process called “Kpa Pol” is still practiced today by gyil players (especially beginners) in many villages in the north of Ghana.

The gyil music in its beauty and virtuosity demands as much respect as might be held for any classical music. Mastering the vast and extensive gyil repertoire will be a lifetime commitment of ongoing cultural exchange. Ferrera is an American delving into the music of far removed cultures. She is a woman and a percussionist, an ethnomusicologist, and educator making creative, historic and cross-rhythmic demonstrations by recording and blending various cultural music with the gyil.

Here's a serious mother fucker and his Gyil

pretty world

Duos and such

We cut 2 new songs the other day. As bare as drums and guitar can be, we managed to make it work. A house party minus matty love is reasoning behind the duo configuration. Trying to sound as big as possible with out bass is an interesting challenge. Its parallel to being naked in front of a crowd people that are maliciously judging your every imperfection(that is if it doesnt work). There are some groups that pull it off with ease.

Hear some of my favorite duo configurations -
1. Hella - Spencer Seim (guitar) and Zach Hill (drums) reside in Sacramento CA. Genre - Avante Garde Math Rock. I like the early recordings. They have now expanded to a larger band. Check out "hold your horses."
2. Death From Above 1979 - Toronto based duo Sebastien Grainger (vocals, drums) Jesse F. Keeler (bass, synth). Genre - Dance Punk Check out "your a woman im a machine"
3. Lymbyc Systym- Jared (Keyboards) & Michael Bell (drums, glock, sampling) By far my favorite duo. Check out anything by these guys!
4. Benevento Russo Duo - Marco Benevento - (keyboards, circuit bent toys, etc) Joe Russo (drums, guitar, loops, etc.) Genre - Rock Check out "Best Reason To Buy The Sun"
5. No Age - L.A. based noise punk recently signed with sub pop. These guys are on there way to giving the mainstream a nice taste of organic honest music that bites.

Wildflower-All Good Festival

Our first bona fide wildflower show went off like a massive explosion. People finally showed there faces at that place after a bout with poor attendance for at least a few months (with exception to metal night. It was nice for us to see old friends and have them enjoy your music. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Next day we rolled into Masontown, WV in our post-wagon to play the AllGood Music Festival. Lots of great music at this one. We had to drive through seas of people to get to the ropeadope stage which was conveniently placed at the top of a mountain. Before our set I slaved over handmade flyers to pass out. This obviously went over very well considering the infinite number of people at our set. We stayed for a while, I played some glockenspiel for To Be A High Powered Exectutive, and then left at a reasonable hour to our combined 17 gigs in 9 states the next day.