:: Hollow Earth Radio ::

For listeners of Taste the Rainbow, the following will include Aural Stimulation

Yes, that was Crispin Hellion Glover singing “These Boots are Made for Walking”…
As for the Crispin Glover story, I first heard about it on This American Life. It’s no longer available on YouTube, & goddamnit I never saw the whole thing!

The Heatlamps song “Have It Your Way” reminds me of the Academy Award winning short “West Bank Story”. You can watch the trailer or the first 4 minutes… but you’ll wanna see the whole thing.

Levi Fuller, creator of Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly, is putting out Volume 11! It’s very special and somewhat complicated, so I believe it requires some explanation.

For Ball of Wax Volume 11 (Winter 2008), the Seattle Beep Repaired Collective, Levi, and some other friends* did a pretty cool thing - based on a musical game called Harry Candy invented by some of the Beeps - where 30-odd folks met up in the morning of November 17th, split into random groups (the only rule being that no one who was actually in a band together could collaborate), and each group wrote and recorded a song all in one day. In addition, an affiliated group from New York put together their own piece on November 25th. The resulting collection is incredibly diverse, with the songs ranging from spastic noise experiments to country-rock to glitchy electro pop to lo-fi bedroom rock and more . . . sometimes all within one song. This collection will be Ball of Wax Volume 11, which will be a fund raiser for Hollow Earth Radio.

Here are some of the songs to listen to:

1. Motorcycles in the Rain - Motorcycles
2. Free Reed Aerophone - Punjabi
3. The Silent En-yay - The Medicine/Red Line of Flight

There’s always have a big release show for each volume, and for this one our plan is to do two shows: one with all of the made-up bands playing their made-up songs (and maybe making up some more songs for everyone’s enjoyment); and one with sets from some of the bands whose members were involved. Both will be Hollow Earth benefits:

Thursday, February 28th: Ball of Wax 11 at the Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. NW
w/Webelos; Beast, Please Be Still; Corespondents; The Luna Moth; Snowman Plan; Seth Howard; Sweet Potatoes; Mike Dumovich; and Virgin of the Birds
$6 / 21+ / 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 2nd: Ball of Wax 11 Harry Candy reunion at Healthy Times Fun Club (contact for address)
w/Dental Dude Donkey, Daughters of Darkness, Purple Ether Molasses, The Silent En-yay, The Heatlamps, Beach Carnival, The Sunday Toppings, Motorcycles in the Rain, Knowledge Masters, The Gweducs, Free Reed Aerophone
$6 suggested donation / all ages / 7:00 p.m.

All proceeds from these shows will go to Hollow Earth Radio, and anyone that comes gets a copy of the mind-boggling Ball of Wax Volume 11. Come to one or both!

P.S. You can purchase this album for a sweet deal of only $4 at www.ballofwax.org

*Johanna Kunin, Mike Dumovich, Bill Patton, Seth Howard, and members of Webelos, Lake of Falcons, Beast, Please Be Still, Corespondents, Joy Wants Eternity, Library Science, Cock & Swan, The Luna Moth, The Curious Mystery, Moraine, Twizzle, Snowman Plan, Sweet Potatoes, Virgin of the Birds, Unlearn, Hecka Ar, The Graze, Rosyvelt

Garrett and I are releasing an album “Analog America: A Four Course Meal of Found Sound” on the noise | order label www.noiseorder.com March 11th. We are celebrating by hosting “Cabinet of Found Curiosities,” an art show & cd release party at Windows Art Gallery (Dearborn Show venue - 42nd/Woodland Ave N.) on March 7th during the Fremont Friday Art Walk.

KUOW, 94.9, our local public radio, interviewed me about our curious found sound hobby. This 13 minute story will be aired on Friday, Feb 29th at precisely 2:06pm for one of their Sound Focus stories! Tune in to hear a few sample tracks and hear me try to explain why the hell we do this sort of thing. It will be archived on their website for a short while. To find out more about this art show and other events during our first ever Hollow Earth Magma Festival, go to www.hollowearthradio.com.

Go here to listen to the archive of this show.

Hollow Earth Radio is hosting Magma Festival in March, a month’s worth of live musical performances at diy venues around town, a found art show with a cd release of found sound, and a live in-person radio play! We have been around for more than a year now, and we’d like to celebrate with the community. We hope to raise funds during this Festival to keep HER sustained throughout the year and beyond. Check out the Hollow Earth Magma schedule of events here. Consider buying a $30 Magma Pass to attend all Magma Festival Events. This is a really great deal, and you’ll feel good purchasing a pass to support the coolest online community radio in the Northwest! If you don’t live in the area, consider making a donation to support Hollow Earth Radio programming. Thanks for listening and for being a part of our community.

This is one of the first shows for Hollow Earth Magma Festival! Tell all of your Friends!

live performance today from our good buddy Jonathan McIntyre… see below for more information on Jonathan! perfect day for his songs…

FEBRUARY 14TH & FEBRUARY 16TH: JONATHAN MCINTYRE

Jon is a long-time buddy of mine and a dedicated B’hammer. I have been lucky to watch his songwriting progress from its infancy, as we used to play open mics together years ago, and he continues to be one of the most heartfelt, passionate and articulate songwriters I know. I have known him to be a big fan of The Secret Stars/Geoff Farina, Ida, Pedro The Lion/David, Joni Mitchell, among many others. He counts many local bands as good friends and played with the now-defunct Snow Cuts Glass. His songs are emotional, often filled with spaces, sometimes electric/sometimes acoustic but always honest, sometimes brutally so. He has well over five albums/ep’s he has self-released, including two christmas albums, and has toured the country more than once. You can find him in a couple incarnations on the ol’myspace here: www.myspace.com/jonathanmcintyre, www.myspace.com/stenographer (a concept-based solo project), www.snowcutsglass.net.

just outside the door to the control room at hollow
earth radio, there is this 5′ tall bookshelf full of
5″x5″ reel-to-reel boxes (1800ft of tape sized). this
bookshelf has maybe five shelves and is about 3′
across. looking at this bookshelf, its a bit daunting
to calculate how many hours of listening are sitting
there, waiting - especially when you realize those
shelves are 10″ deep. yep, there’s actually twice as
much tape there as you can see at once.
my job at the station (which i happily volunteered
for) is to organize, catalog, and digitally archive
this tape. or whatever part of it seems of interest.
home recordings, live concerts, radio programs, stuff
that’s not recorded in some other format. those reels
that have four of herb alpert’s, or nancy sinatra’s or
bob dylan’s albums recorded on them are not that
valuable to those of us who are intrigued by original
local sound recordings. those boxes marked ’standard
school broadcast, 1968′ or ‘christmas concert 1970,’
or ‘ron and leslie’s wedding’ or ‘nature lectures on
the olympic national forest,’ or ‘JFK speech–cuban
missile crisis’ or (im not kidding) lt. col. glenn,
astronaut, between 4am and 5am on january 27th 1962,
those are the ones that make me want to strap on a
good pair of headphones and attach myself, and the
reels, to one of the 4 dinosaur reel-to-reel machines
strewn about the studio and stay curled up with eyes
closed for hours.

time traveling. feeling the intervening years impose
their crackle and hiss on these transmissions from a
time before i was born. a time when everyone’s
handwriting on the labels was the palmer method–that
old-school script with the flowy capital
letters–always impeccable, like grandma’s. a time
when this kind of 1/4″ magnetic tape was made by
companies like scotch, irish, and shamrock. when track
listings might have been mimeographed or typewritten
and the clear tape that affixed them to the box hadn’t
yet yellowed and flaked.

im excited to bring you along for the ride. this
process of discovery fills me with awe, and i hope
soon to bring you some jaw-dropping aural experiences,
but before that, i want you to taste the pleasure of
rummaging thru these forgotten recordings, seeing for
yourself what its like to get your hands dusty from
these crazy bits of history, these dead ends of
technology, these throw-backs to a time before digital
media. come with me, this stuff is too good not to
share.

-ray vanek, reel to real volunteer at hollow earth radiooo

this photo captures one of the oldest “mixtapes,” i mean, mixreels ever.

Reposted from one of our volunteer’s (Arianna Davlos) personal blogs:

Like most people, I have had this vision of what my life would look like when I’m all grown up since I was a kid. It involves a big house in the country, with big bay windows, a big kitchen, a big garden with lots of fruits, veggies, and herbs, and tons of art facilities to make stuff. There are natural waterways very close by, forests, mountains, warm summers, and cozy yet mild winters. What completes the image are the people: friends and family blending to become one. Stories told around the fire pit outside. Gardening and art making sessions happening while angel headed children run around barefoot outside, climbing trees and picking blackberries for pie. Communal meals at a long table with everyone helping out to cook and clean the dishes afterwards.

As I read and read and read about what’s happening around us, reports of the events of the day, and predictions for tomorrow, I cannot help but wonder what the answer is to all of these social/political/environmental struggles/catastrophes with which we are faced. As much as I search for answers, an immediate solution is never apparent, but a long-term inevitability is: we’re going to have to live a simpler, more local life. We are going to have to cooperate with our community, and support each other. We’re going to have to condense our use of resources in our living situations. The end of suburbia means an end to every family’s home/castle. Higher density living is eco-friendly, cheap, and I think a refreshing change from the real life isolation that has seemed to develop with internet social networking devices. People will be people again, instead of profiles on the internet.

It seems like a long way away, but I guess my dream of the future might come true. Last night I saw Survivorman for the first time and I have to say that finding a way to buy some remote land and start a little self-sustaining compound sounds nicer and nicer. But I don’t want to live in isolation, giving up friends and communication and culture. Maybe the solution is co-habitation. Sharing houses. Giving up the monster house with rooms hardly used and having a cozier, more communal situation. Can you imagine actually knowing (and maybe even liking) your neighbors? Having a community farm to work at? Entertainment provided by your friends down the street? We will have the ability to create our own culture collectively. I think the future is a great opportunity to change the way we relate to each other. And to make everything we do not about money or selling things. It won’t be about making it big because there won’t be a big to make. Or at least, there will be less of one. Anyway, I’m ready to be friends with people I talk to face to face, on a regular basis. It’s way harder to hate people when you know them and cooperate with them.

Honestly, I figure the best way to prepare for whatever comes next is to start this local cooperation now. See who’s part of your community, reach out, get to know your neighbors. We are our greatest resource.

That said, I want to let you all know about this little project I’m starting. It’s a skillshare. Every month, we will gather at Fremont Abbey Arts Center in Seattle to share some skills. Each month, three volunteers will lead a short demonstration, workshop, or other lesson type thing. It will be a way for us to come together and spend some time as a community to explore our collective knowledge in a casual learning environment. It will be fun. (Hollow Earth Radio will re-air or live broadcast some of these skillshares!)

First Ever Skillshare!
7pm, February 14th, 2008
Fremont Abbey Arts Center
4272 Fremont Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103

Questions? Comments?
Email: seattleskillshare@gmail.com

Here are some of the beautiful gems I played on the St. Rainbow Show Tonight.

TUES. FEB. 12 @ 8 PM - CD release concert with Jason Kopec (field
recordings, electronics) with Mark Johnson (guitar, electronics, vox),
Amber Kai Morgan & Garrett Kelly (found sounds), and Correspondents
(guitar duo)

Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center
50th & Sunnyside, in Wallingford
gscchapel@gmail.com; 206-789-1939

Details and links here.

Amber and Garrett, founds of Hollow Earth Radio, are releasing an album of found sound entitled “Analong America: A Four Course Meal in Found Sound” on the Noise | Order label, and this event is a cd release of other musicians on this label. We are going to perform with Jason Kopec and Mark Johnson, using found sounds, field recordings, and live instrumentation. It’ll be fun! If you ever listen to the St Rainbow Show Improv on Hollow Earth Radio, it’s similar to that. Come!! Yay!

You can find more about our found sound album by going here: www.noiseorder.com

we are super-stoked to have one of bellingham’s brightest songwriters as on of our early guests on the new corner pocket local music radio show! two chances to tune in to this gifted songwriter:

thursday 2-4pm
saturday 5-7pm

(listen online at www.hollowearthradio.com)

find her online at:
www.jennipotts.com
www.clickpoprecords.com
www.myspace.com/jennipotts

here is a review from three imaginary girls of her EP “The Fourth”:

“What came first, the music or the misery?” asks John Cusack’s character Rob at the beginning of High Fidelity. For Jenni Potts, a twenty-year old singer-songwriter from Bellingham, the answer is clearly the latter. She has taken the misery plus angst, depression, denial, and uncertainty, and rolled it into one very compelling record.

The Fourth is Potts’ debut record and it strikes all the right chords. It’s introspective and personal but never whiny and always accessible. It’s also a thing of beauty. Potts has a soft, delicate and gorgeous voice that suits her songs very well.

The album opens with the title track which, according to her bio, refers to the date of her first suicide attempt and the due date to the child she miscarried. It’s a remarkable song both for its lyrical content and execution. In a voice that sounds like she could be Chan Marshall’s estranged younger sister, Potts delivers the most chilling line I’ve heard in a song in many years with a harmony that sounds like she is on the verge of crying (“Do you even mind that I lost our baby?”). Yet throughout the song she tries to remain optimistic. The song (like pretty much the rest of the record) is very stripped-down and focuses almost exclusively on Potts’ voice and her acoustic guitar.

“Friends” is another song similar to “The Fourth”; it’s raw, minimalist and revelatory. She sings about a friendship going south when sex gets in the way (“You were the one I made myself think I could trust; I don’t know how it happened but somehow it turned into lust”). She assigns herself much of the blame and wonders how the snap decisions she’s made could have played out if she followed the different path. The final line of that song (“What happened to you, you used to love me? What happened to me, I used to love me?”) is personal yet, like lots of great pop music, for a lot of people wholly universal.

Similar to a then-23 year old Liz Phair on her epic first album Exile in Guyville, Potts uses her music to deal with anxieties and reveal an important elements of her personae that are not always easy to tell someone about. The songs show a complex individual channeling her anxieties through her songs. The Fourth can be an emotionally-challenging record to listen to. It’s also the work of an extremely promising young artist trying to figure out her life through song. While listening to this record I kept thinking of the line from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind where Kate Winslett shouts to Jim Carrey, “I’m just a fucked-up girl looking for her own piece of mind. I’m not perfect.”

I think Jenni Potts (who has a full-length due shortly) is getting closer and closer to finding hers.” (ChrisB, Three Imaginary Girls)