Hey freaks-
Long time no noise. There have been many things happening in Chemlab’s world that you may or may not have been aware of. Some of you have been out of this loop for a while and it seemed only right that I get in touch with you to let you know a bit of what’s happening. Throughout this letter there will be, for those of you that have not been off balling gears elsewhere for a tick, some information that you’re bored of reading for the nanoteenth time. Tough. There are some aspects that are fresh and have only recently come to fruition and that you may well be intrigued by.
So, read on HAL 9000.
As you may or may not know, or care, Chemlab’s going out on tour for the first time in 8 years (I’m not spelling it out as it’s freaky enough numerically). It’s been far too long that I’ve languished in this unreal and deadening silence, only releasing records from the edge of grim. Certainly it’s been FAR too long that I’ve used the inferior tool of Pigface as a way to get my rocks off. So, here we go again as the machine thrums once more to life.
We’re supported on this run by two very interesting bands. Main support comes from USSA. This is the new collab from Paul Barker (MINISTRY, REVCO yadda-yadda) and Duane Dennison (JESUS LIZARD, TOMAHAWK etc etc). Their sound is dark and disturbing and much more reminiscent of The Blackouts than anything I’ve heard in a while. It’ll groove and harm, all at once, and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing what they really can do on stage. A new chapter dawns and we get to be there early on. The other band supporting us is SKELETON KEY, the veritable Barkers of The Dupes. They’re weird and sonically agile with a bizarre killing streak. There’ll also be cool openers including SMP for some of the West Coast dates and we’re looking for dates from Cyanotic and others.
The city list has shifted and changed chimerically as it’s been a constant shell-shuffle to get the best deal for the tour. I’m not taking eight (there, I spelled it out) years off ever again. It’s a solidly cool selection of dates, but there are a couple of frustrating let-downs woven in as well. There’s no show in Detroit. Don’t ask, don’t tell. I hate that we’re not playing there as some of the best shows of my life have been there, launching myself off of the balcony of St Andrews Hall with the mic jammed deep in my mouth, arms spread eagle-wide. Next tour, I promise. Come see us in Cleveland! Currently there’s also no show in New Orleans. We’re still working on that at the moment, but if you happen to have any ideas then please drop them to me here. If we can’t get a show there then I’m shooting to do the sort of solo, broken-word show akin to the shows that I unspool in Londoom and have done in SF and NYC recently. Might even meld in the profound talents of the rest of the
band. It’ll be intimate and off-color and far superior to a night off for all concerned. I hope that, if you live near-by, you’ll haul your ashes down there for the light bruise we deliver when somewhat undressed.
I’m joined on the tour by stalwarts Gabriel of mindFIELD ([url “http://www.myspace.com/mindfieldebm”]http://www.myspace.com/mindfieldebm) and Sleepy James. The line-up is being fleshed out by some superb musicians. Wade Alin from Christ Analogue ([url “http://www.myspace.com/atomica”]www.myspace.com/atomica) will be behind the mixing board doing live sound and noise and having his knowledge of how to hammer nails into the forehead with a guitar riff and truncated loop combo will make the shows thunderous. Jason Bazinet from SMP ([url “http://www.smphq.com/”]http://www.smphq.com) is going to be replacing Servo ([url “http://www.fugedaboudit.com/”]http://www.fugedaboudit.com) behind the drums kit and I’m blowing a fucking fuse over that one. He’s a quintasonic machine of deadly proportions and he’s gonna drive that copper-conducting wire right through the back of your head. I’m dead pleased to have both of them on deck with us, pumped and jumped and ready to molotov. It’ll be a miracle if I make it off this tour without a series of broken bones and knocked-out teeth.
We’re recording the whole tour, every show, though we have yet to decide exactly what we’re going to do with that mountain of material once we’re done. Some of it may well find its way onto the sites before the tour is done so that you can dissect the shards and shreds. I was looking into a CD burner that we could bring with us so that we could sell copies of the show every night, but that’s for the next tour. You’ll just have to wait until we decide what’s going to happen to that stream of digits once the flesh is cooled off.
I’m also going to be compiling a strange and off-world collection of sound-scapes from the days and nights that unfurl above and around us. This complex web will encompass both visual and auditory recording mediums. What exactly the finished beats will look and sound like is still veiled to me though certain aspects are starting to reveal their sultry curves. We’ll be filming some segments of the shows and the audiences every night, off stage and on, so dress up. They’ll get posted on YouTube, and there’s the chance that you can riff off the cuff to the camera and see yourself an hour later from home. We’ll be recording a collection of sounds, songs and shreds of the as-yet-unknown as well as interviews with the audiences as well as friends of ours and all of the bands, late-night truckers, shiny strippers, blackout boys and jet-fetish girls, spaced-out cab drivers, pimply gas pumpers, blackplastic rock stars, hitchers, twitchers and bitches. Think of something interesting to spout
or you’ll crash to the cutting room floor. In the end, it’ll be the fabric of a road movie and diary. What will become of it is anybody’s guess, but it will be there. It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for years, and now, with the advent of technology and its growth curve at an almost vertical climb, it’s actually something that I can pull together from the random threads of the tour and the things that happen when I’m deep in the nights of it, as the road uncurls ahead dark and hungry and full of the tense unknown, lights ahead.
SHAMELESS PLEA FOR HELP:
Now is when your web skills come into play. Here’s the poster that we’ve been using to promote the tour. We need the support of all of your knowledge of the ins and outs of the byways of 1’s and 0’s we know as the 'net to spread the virus further. Post this fucker everywhere and irritate the shit out of everyone. If anyone can do it, it’s you, the embedded tribal conceptual art-terrorist threadists of the deep core.
[url “http://pics.livejournal.com/jaredlouche/pic/00017gsb/”]http://pics.livejournal.com/...louche/pic/00017gsb/
You may have to type in .jpg to the end of it to get it open up in bulletins if you’re mass mailing it. If you want a hi-res pdf I can send that to you as well.
E-mail me here.
I may very well be writing in a day or two to ask you to help out with getting Black and White flyers to the actual clubs and into other venues. There will be payola in it for all.
Make endless noise!
It’s going to be a leg-breaking, white-knuckle blast to be out there again and we’re hoping to share a cocktail of blister and break with you. You make it happen.
Stay wired, and we’ll see you under the lights soon!
-Jared
