I saw the following post on the iheartnoise messagboard:
Lots going on…
1.) new address.
NIHILIST
210 Duncan Ave.
Jersey City, NJ 07306
2.) Moving Sale! $3 off all CDs & LPS $1 off all 7"s
3.) Nihil 32: Spires That in the Sunset Rise/Panicsville split 7"
After several delays, this 7" is finally almost done. 400 hand numbered copies on marbled vinyl. Should
have them for my final Chicago show (see # 4) All pre-
orders will ship Nov.12. (Sale does not apply to this item)
4.) My final show in Chicago is Nov.5th (in conjunction with the 2 Million Tongues Festival)
-WHITEHOUSE (UK, only midwest appearance)
-JOSEPHINE FOSTER (who sings on the aforementioned 7" and
will perform this song live as an ultra-rare appearance)
-ANDY ORTMANN
-HAPTIC
-(side stage performances by Chris Connelly ((ex-
Ministry/Revolting Cocks)) & Travelling Bell (aka Spires
That in the Sunset Rise)
5.) New releases slated for early winter are:
THE BROKEN PENIS ORCHESTRA testicle difficulties LP
FIRE IN THE HEAD come closer, cut deeper CD
Anyone else hear of this? Is Connelly doing noise now? wtf is this shit I hate underground music sometimes because the information about these festivals and shit is so fucking vague!!
For example, this past summer I tried to see The Sightings in New Haven, CT because it was listed on the Load Records Tour Page and it turned out the address listed was a residential home. I saw two old ladies sitting on the front stoop and asked them when the concert started and they seemed puzzled and offerred us pizza. Needless to say I didn’t see the band perform and I have no idea what the fuck the deal with that show really was.
Anyway, is this really what Connelly has been reduced to? Working at a record store…touring as some side stage act at some random festival where the biggest name is apparently Whitehouse?!?
What a fuckin moron! Maybe he should have played his cards right and stuck with Ministry instead of fading into obscurity…
Yeah thats kinda sad. Haha, old ladies and pizza instead of a noise concert? Tough call heh, jk, that blows dude.
Why in the flying shitfucking fuck isnt he in Revolting Cocks?? Doesnt seem like hes doing much anyways. I know he doesnt want to “beat a dead horse” or whatever but come on, at least go on the tour to play older stuff with them for at least some nostalgic value. Its been over 10 years, in the music world, thats the perfect time for a phatty reunion tour. I heard he was sick for the Pigface tour as well, so its like he hasnt toured with a harder band in forever.
Turns into Princess Leia
Please, Chris Connelly, you’re our only hope. End transmission
There is a series of 4 shows at the empty bottle in chicago with artists such as whitehouse, jackie o mutherfucker, and tony conrad (he also happened to be a professor where i went to college and everyone acted like he was god… quite annoying). It should be a good time for noise/experimental lovers and it’s a great small venue. I’ve never heard of connelly doing “noise” work so i’m not sure what he’ll be doing at the show. He’s also opening for john cale (velvet underground) next week, so i’d say he’s doing okay.
Has anyone heard any of Connelly’s solo stuff? Is it worthwhile? I’ve heard it’s folky, but how so? I mean are we talking Death in June folky? (which would kick ass, although Connelly’s vox aren’t deep enough and personally I couldn’t see him singing in that style as it might sound like shit)
The best I could do for describing Connelly’s solo stuff is to say say David Bowie / Scott Walker in a piano bar drinking martinis folky. I haven’t heard all of his solo stuff, but everything I’ve heard has been fantastic. He’s one of a few artists that I trust implicitly that whatever he does is going to be worth checking out.
He plays here in Chicago every now and again. Usually the advertising is very low key. He works at a record store here, for fun, and they’ll put up a poster in the window or something. That, and him announcing it on his forum, are the only ways I ever learnt he was playing. So it’s easy to miss it…
I saw him about a year ago at a venue that held maybe about 100 people. People traveled from other states to check it out. It seemed to be die-hard fans only.
When he played live, it was folky music: his voice and acoustic guitar. For what it was, it was brilliant. Though, not all his releases are like that. Shipwreck, is a great album, I think, and that has a full backing band and even guest vocals.
I also think he is an underrated musician, though, people who know about music, would have heard of him, I’m sure. Here, he’s very well known.
Hes a great musician, and his solo acoustic stuff is great, but Id just wish he wasnt so “Im too cool for anything faster than 100 bpm and distortion pedals.” Connelly is great in any genre of music hes been in though, so at least hes doing what he loves and making it work. My East Is Your West is such a great song, I love that double album “Initials C.C.” he put out, proves his varied awesomeness. There were about 2-3 songs on there that were very much so in the “noise” genre, so thatd be cool to see where hes going with that live.
Id recommend “Initials C.C.” for anyone interested in hearing him in pretty much in every genre hes ever been in with a bunch of the bands hes been in. Every band hes been in (minus Ministry) has gone way downhill without him.
I can’t stomach his Nick Cave via John Cale schtick - it’s just so pretentious. And so pedestrian.
Sorry, but that’s just the way I feel.
A friend of mine bought that compilation of Chris Connelly material. The entire album was absolutely impossible to sit through. His entire creative output (even the arly stuff) sounds as if he can’t decide what (or who) he wants to be. And the side projects that he partakes in are just abysmal. Especially all that Murder Inc / Damage Manual shite. Give up now, Chris. Really.
Credit where credit is due - he sounds like a lovely person (in interviews) and all, but artistically speaking…well, that is another matter.
The Damagae Manual stuff on that compilation is ok but it does not give the listeners the true sound of Damage Manual, making them probably the worst DM songs ever, but the two DM ablums that are out are fantastic. I love Murder Inc., not sure why, but theyre just bitching. Fini Tribe is was horrible without Chris though, weird dancey almost pop-ish stuff. His acousticy lounge whatever stuff does get a bit repetetive, but its not too bad. I probably wouldnt buy any of his solo albums aside from whichever that song “Ignition Times Four” is on though. Wanna get his book though (Confessions Of The Highest Bidder), hes got awesome poetry and it apparently has stuff from all the bands he’s been in including RevCo.
forgive my ignorance… how did the fact he works in a record store come from this? i find it interesting that he does. as far as him “losing it” and “fucking up” i disagree. they say that you ultimatly become successfull when you get to do what you want - and it seems chris IS doing just that.
as far as his solo stuff goes - to me its hit and miss. i started losing track of him after the “swinging junkies” stuff. he wasn’t in the cocks anymore - no pigface, and Murder Inc was becoming a memory.
I’ve always liked Chris. Some of his stuff is hard to listen to, but most of it is damn good. when i say “hard to listen to” i’m reffering to the fact that you’d put his disk in, hang out around the house, and walk past the stereo (20 mins or so later) and be like WTF is this?? oh yea - its chris connelly" kinda thing.
i just don’t have the time anymore to sit down and digest intensly a CD or record like i used to. i miss those days though. damn i do.
forgive my ignorance… how did the fact he works in a record store come from this?
I was saying how hard it is to know he’s playing stuff as the record store would advertise it but not really any place else. his shows are pretty low key…