BlackLodgeProductions

-Upcoming Events-

Paul Green School of Rock Music presents:
A Soundtrack Workshop

    This season our students will endeavor to compose, arrange, and perform an original to the Classic silent era masterpiece NOSFERATU by German Expressionist, F. W. Murnau. The focal points of this project will be on creative composition for a large ‘rock ensemble’, Accapella vocal, instrumental song writing, and improvisation.

    The film, released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Following a heated lawsuit, a court ordered all existing prints of the film destroyed. Fortunately, around the world, distribution had already begun and these remaining prints were then copied over the years, helping Nosferatu gain its current reputation as one of the greatest movie adaptations of the vampire legend.

    This workshop is open to all ages and skill levels. It will run through the spring season and feature composition seminars, guest instructors, and tutorials on gear and equipment. Two live performances of the finished piece while viewing the film will be presented in The Black Lodge on Friday May 09 and Saturday May 10 at 8:00pm. Tickets will be available from the office for $10. Live recordings will be produced throughout the rehearsals and a DVD of the final performance will be pressed for each participating student.

    -Dylan Sherwood Mcconnell
     Director

BLACK LODGE PRODUCTIONS:
Steve Howe @ the Black Lodge
FRIDAY 4/11/08

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Guitar Workshop with STEVE HOWE from YES
Friday, April 11th 5-7PM
Black Lodge
1508 Brandywine St.
Philadelphia, PA 19130

Steve Howe, guitar player from YES, will be conducting a guitar workshop at the Black Lodge in Philly this Friday April 11th from 5PM till 7PM. Please spread the word and make sure your school is here for this fantastic and unique opportunity!!

** FREE ADMISSION ** $10 SUGGESTED DONATION **
This is open to Rock School Students, Families and Staff only.
No photography, press, or recording of any kind.

Friday Feb 22 6:00pm @ The Black Lodge

Modern Composition Workshop
featuring Evan Lipson and NORMAL LOVE

Join us at SOR Philly in the Black lodge with NORMAL LOVE for an indepth discussion and demonstration of their compositional processes, use of musical thematics, narrative, and interperetive prowess.

NORMAL LOVE (Evan Lipson-bass, Carlos Santiago-violin, Alex Nagle-guitar, Amnon D. Freidlin-guitar, and Eli[minator] Litwin-drums) has been described as “poised and polished”, "loud and brutal”, and “a breed apart, ripping through hypercomplex scores with the chops of a chamber ensemble and the intensity of a metal band”.(LISTEN HERE)

This workshop is free to ALL SOR Students and is manditory for all students participating in SOR Philly’s Spring Soundtrack Project in which students will compose and perform an original musical score for F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film masterpeice NOSFERATU.

Following the workshop, there will be a live performance at 8pm.
$8 Admission-All Ages featuring:

NORMAL LOVE
Black Lodge Ensemble
Seven Twins
Dre Time
Ryan Jewell

@ The Black Lodge 1508 Brandywine

REVIEWS

REVIEW - The Black Lodge 07/19/07

Thursday nights Black Lodge show highlighted
collaboration, songwriting, arrangement and
song-craft. A quartet of performers in a mostly
acoustic setting presented the craft of
songwriting and the discipline of collaboration
in its most direct form, performance on stage.

PAUL GREEN and SARAH ZIMMERMANN(listen)

After a long hiatus and some personal turmoil Paul Green

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once more focused on his creative output. Such long periods
away from the process of organized creative thought often
result in a complacency and artistic inhibition.
I don’t want to say laziness, rather a dulling of ones
creative radar often sets in allowing the mundane, and
clichéd to creep by unnoticed or unchecked.
The higher one aims, the more detritus has accumulated
and settled. The harder it is to see. These are the cobwebs
so often referred to and they are not easily expelled.
One simply has to work thru them. Paul Green and Sarah Zimmermann
performed a set rich in content with songs and instrumental
compositions that were mostly on the mark with one exception,
a misplaced ballad with keyboard accompaniment that left me
standing on the bow of a large ship with my arms outstretched.
Its placement in the set indicated it was meant to be an emotional
high point in the show, but it weakly leaned on overt pop cliché’s
and detracted from an otherwise good performance of hard earned material.

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Sarah Zimmermann’s voice was clear and contained as she
delivered lyrics filled with questions, regrets and
second thoughts. Well tread upon territory by some
of the very best songwriters and most of this material
holds it’s own. The duo’s acoustic playing was tight.
Some of the songs deserve larger instrumentation and
all of it sounded like a work in progress.

The Black Lodge is very much a workshop for performers.

We hope to see this project back again in our fall season.

MEG CALLEN and DMC(listen)

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Second time on our stage for this duo, who in their first
time out brought us rich and textural songscapes. This is a
strong project that gets better each time out. Their
collaboration has developed a vocabulary that is unique
and instantly recognizable as their own.

Their songwriting is strong but most impressive the arrangements
felt absolutely integral to the content being performed.
Weather performing covers or original material this duo
has a sound that belongs completely to them. The best set of the night.

JAMES SEWARD and DMC(listen)

Always rewarding to listen to these two present traditional
folk and bluegrass music.

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James Seward is one the best pickers around and this
duo’s set is never without a surprise or two.
Tonight’s surprise: James Seward’s powerful voice.

PLANET Y(listen)

Yanni Papadopoulos and Charles Cohen collaborate on
this improvisational joint venture.

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I was very pleased to see these guy’s in The Black Lodge
and even more so to see that most people stayed on to see them.
This kind of improvisation is rare and these two are
in fine form right now with upcoming CD release in October.

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Their performance was mature, often funny and rich in ideas.
Planet Y will celebrate their CD release with an October
performance at The Black Lodge. Don’t miss it.

mdl

REVIEW - BLACK LODGE SHOW 07.06.07

PADS AND STEEL(listen)

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Pads and Steel provided a refreshing fun filed jazz flavored
set of originals with some silly satirical twists and a free,
loose performance style.
Engaging and intelligent their set was my favorite of the night.
Once again, strong musicianship, but it's their candor, honesty
and directness that make this trio unique and engaging.

-mdl

PWRFL POWER(listen)

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Oh Boy� What to say about this?
We often have unknown quest simply show up and
ask to perform at The Black Lodge.
We always accommodate.
Such is the case for KAZ the tiny Japanese
man-boy with his big guitar
and little yellow suitcase of miniature
and impenetrable homemade T-shirts.
Kaz also known as PWRFL POWER
performed a Sesame Street like set
of simple minded, self indulgent,
self-help, feel good regurgitation to small
built in crowd of enablers.
By evenings end I witnessed most of
this crowd carrying gear for one or more
of the other three acts of the night,
so I can only assume they are in on the secret.
These are same people who understand the Teletubbies.
Kaz performed 8 songs from his personal diary
of whimsical observations.
Feel good about yourself.
Try to feel good about others.
Eat your vegetables.
Kaz is from Seattle (of course)
were this kind of thing is a common cafe experience.
Oh Brother�

-mdl

**PRFSR*DRSZ**(listen)

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EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA:
iPHONE!We love youtube!
SCISSORING!
Be my advisor!FORESTGUMP!
Field of Cream!Couples counceling!
Paris Hilton GO TO JAIL.
Do not collect $200.
Goodnight.

-dmc

DEAD SCIENCE(listen)

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This trio came to the Black Lodge, like so many of its
wayward visitors, drawn into our harbor like a lost
and rusty schooner bobbing along in the black and
watery night.
Steeped in melodrama and swathed in vintage
dandy-garb, this group laid out a buffet of
goth-tinged crooner-tunes which, despite its fierce
chain-rattling, failed to spook the usual creeps who
feast regularly at the Black Lodge.
These silly aesthetic aims (read: RESTRICTIONS), leave
the players, Sam Mickens and Jherek Bischoff (guitar
and bass, respectively) and Nick Tamburro on drums,
kicking against the inside of a pine box with
little-to-no room to stretch out.
The band is lacking neither in talent nor in vision
but it tragically choses to task this vitality in
service to a predictable and theatrically adolescent
construct. There it is left to claw at the lid and
gasp soundlessly in the dark.
These boys could stand to throw their maps overboard
and spend a few nights lost at sea. But, as is often
the case with a trio, there seems to be an unfortunate
fixation on the destination rather than the long haul
itself.

-dmc

CAPILLARY ACTION(listen)

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CAPILLARY ACTION began their fall tour at
The Black Lodge Friday night
With a managerie of stone skipping,
genre pond hopping post-rock.
Jonathan Pfeffers material and musical direction
were explosive and tight.
His guitar was a little overstated and
showy but held in check by very good
trio led by Ricardo Lagomasino's high-speed percussion.
Ricardo was the real show for me as
his percussion was a flurry of touches
that reminds me of Denardo Coleman
with the impact of late 80's speed metal.
This quartet rounds out with Spencer Russell's frantic bass
and the deep amplified sax of David Fishkin.
These genre jumping post-rock bands always seem
to attract the best and brightest and
CAPILLARY ACTION is no exception.
The problem lies not so much in what's
there but rather who's there.
Who is CAPILLARY ACTION?
I dont know.
All I heard was an impeccably presented
resume of references.

-mdl

Black Lodge Productions presents:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDHA BASH!

$7 donation ALL AGES Thurs 5/24 8pm

featuring School of Rock All-Star graduates

Sarah Zimmermann Trio w/Eric & Julie Slick

Parachuting Apostles

The Joe Reno Band

The Feathertop$

TEDDI

BLACK LODGE 05/18/07

siLTmaN (listen)- the second incarnation of BO is running along the edges of song destruction but with a somewhat uncertain plan in mind. However, they move fearlessly onward from the wreckage of the ‘mission impossible’ theme to ‘iron man’ to ? Gina Gleason splits her time between self referential guitar work and enthusiastic drumming while Zack Block manages to always inspire laughter and applause. their performance is a chinese fire drill of changing personnel and instrumentation which always pitches a big sneaky curve when you find yourself asking “what's next?”

Sioux City Pete and the Beggars (listen)- Satanists sure are sweethearts and gracious to the very end! A LOUD (LOOUUUDDDD!!!) four piece (3 guitars/1 drummer) came all the way from Iowa and delivered gutsy, muscular guitar playing. A glorious r&r spectacle...
“you think im a very nice man...YOUDONTFUCKINGKNOWME!” ...Something BAD happened to this man, which is GOOD because NOW he makes sludgy swamp-rock full of swagger and sneer with zero pretense and reminds me what i love about r&r and its legacy of raunch, volume, depravity and goat-heads.

Rasputin’s Secret Police (listen)- Wynne Record’s darlings (guitar and drums duo) served up a long winded set of seriously limp wristed suburban anthems. Brendan’s simpering vocals were barely audible but whose content, from what i gathered, were as pointless, boring, and noncommittal as his guitar playing. Josh, on the other hand, beat the living crap outta our drums, screeched and slobbered like a maniac and all the while, kept it inna nice tight pocket...excellent work. Suprizingly, ambivalence is a GOOD thing to inspire in your listeners, kids.

Black Lodge Ensemble (listen)- The second installment of WDCD’s “Teeth” was a complete 180 degree turn from the previous evening’s disastrous performance. The group read each other well and moved fluidly through a clear collection of scenarios which they constructed with staccato sound assemblage, analog sequences, magnetic tape manipulation, and good old fashioned electric guitar, to name a few. The strengths of this band lie in a broad accessibility to instrumentation, acute listening skills, and ultimately their fearless approach to new ideas.

New Ghost (listen)- Elliot Levin (vocals, flute, soprano & tenor sax), Rick Iannacone (guitar), Steve Testa (bass), John Testa (drums)...this group unleashed a blistering 2 hour set of cutting-edge free jazz and avant-funk pieces many of which acted as formidable under structures for the Beat poetry of Levin. Elliott swapped sax for flute for word all night without missing a step.
The Testa brothers held court confidently with a choppy and thickened rhythm section but loosened the reigns a bit when they invited Eric Slick to sit in on a second drum kit for a portion of the set. Rick Iannacone’s work on guitar clearly illustrates 40 years of technique and attack, speed, feel, funk and squeal.
There is an immense and specific satisfaction which comes from watching musicians work at this level. They easily move beyond the formal aspects of the piece at hand and can draw stylistically from many sources at once without succumbing to the trappings of affectation. The result is an intense compression of time/history and the multiplicity of forms created in this heated environment by the hybridization of improvisational styles of melody, rhythm and attack.

-dmc

Thursday May 17th
Review Black Lodge 5-17:

Thursday May 17 saw a totally different kind of animal come through the Black Lodge.
An ALMOST entirely acoustic evening was enjoyed by a comfortable and appreciative crowd as the Lodge was filled with VERY new sounds.

JAMES SEWARD (listen)- began the evening hacking through his severe allergies to deliver a beautifully arranged set of traditional bluegrass, jazz, and origional material. He was accompanyed by an enthusiastic, if somewhat unprepared, dmc on bass. It had been over 3 years since the two had played together but both fell into stride with the opening phrases of Irving Berlin’s “Russian Lullabye”.

James’ playing style is steeped in old school flat-picking, peppered with muting and popping, and yet his phrasing constantly reaches outside the modal limitations of the material. There is always a sense that he has gone off the deep end during his quick and angular solos, but always manages to use a more traditional hook to swing back onto the bridge, winking slyly to the audience and leaving them wondering; “Are you psychic? ...or psycho?”

FLOATING STONE (listen)- Guitarist Jeff Aug and percussionist Niko Lai delivered an A-List performance of entirely origianal work. Jeff’s unique style is at times aggressive and terrifically brutish and, at others, sensitive and tactful. His finger picking technique is an entirely homegrown, and baffling spectacle and reveals very little about its lineage.

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Nico sat surrounded by an arsenal of interesting, small, sometimes hilarious percussive instruments (the thing that goes ‘doo-weeee!’ and the one that sounds like a door creaking....and that can-thingy that sounds like thunder!). His main axe, however is the African udu, a simple clay sphere with two sound holes. In the hands of its master, it propelled Floating Stone through a 60+ minute set of extended compositions, storytelling, and humorous on stage inter-play between the two who clearly enjoyed themselves beginning to end.

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Black Lodge Ensemble- An ‘off’ night for the BLE performing an origional piece called ‘TEETH’ by WDCDRADIO. Volume issues, missed cues, and good old-fashioned stage fright successfully unwound the cummulative efforts of the eight ensemble members and weeks of rehearsals. Chalk it up as a ‘learning experince’ because this performance by the BLE paved the way for its total and collective redemption the following night (see Review 05/18/07).

-dmc

REVIEW-BLACK LODGE SHOW 4/27/06

BO
Percussionist, Baseball addict,
and doorman extraordinaire
Dave Papp has joined Black Lodge Productions
as a manager at large.
His first project was the unlikely pairing
of All-Star Gina Gleeson and
heretofore-unknown
Zack Block in the instant group BO
(pronounced like Moe).
This project took two weeks of preparation
and culminated in a very good performance
of a couple of originals and one cleverly
placed piece of “Song-Destruction”.
Guitarist/Composer Gina Gleeson
is quickly building an impressive resume of work.
As a member of The Black Lodge Ensemble,
and a regular guest of wdcdradio
Gina has been asked to stretch out
and take on some difficult music.
These experiences, her hard work
and natural leadership is evident in BO.
I like this bands ideas and want to hear more.

**PRFZR*DRSZ**
The narrow view of eighties pop culture
is a pervasive virus among many students of
The Paul Green School Of Rock Music.
Third rate sub-culture co-opted and force fed
to eager and willing stooges who happily
gobble and regurgitate it over and over
without bringing much to it and,
in my view, taking very little from it.
Cultural placeholders, droogies of the status quo,
unwilling and perhaps unable to grow.
Hand-me-down kids wearing second hand
ideas and dressing up to a vanguard
that comes with an instruction book.

Fortunately, every three months or so, depending upon Brandon King’s latest career, PRFZR*DRSZ sends a memo
to remind us of what was yesterday and what today is.
The Professors craft their influences (see above)
to their own agenda.
Concerned with all that is overexposed detritus
PD feeds on eighties DNA, and the nature
of recycled culture. PD are never aloof or cryptic
and always “of their time”.
PD uses the same toolbox available
at every eighties lending library.
The difference is in the leaning, and PRFZR*DRSZ
always lurches forward.
So the next time your bobbing your head
and extending your index and pinky at The Black Lodge
consider that these guy’s just might be talking to you.
Have A Nice Day.

MAX THE DORK
A simple idea, cleverly presented and well performed.
Maureen Hayes, Brett and pre-recorded drums.
Highly entertaining stuff.

THE FEATHERTOP$
The Feathertop$ performed a very professional set of
slightly southern sounding blues-rock songs
airmailed from the 1970’s
For all I know these guy’s are from South Philly or New Jersey
so lets not get to carried away
with how well they copped their sound.
A good set from a band that has been working hard
on well-developed material.
Good song writing, well delivered
with a classic southern rock approach of dual guitars.
When they run out of steam they tend to rock out
and lose the focus of their sound a bit.
A nice set.

THE JOHNSON-MARUZELLA TRIO
A competent rock trio
with ever so slight progressive leanings
A bit to common for my taste but well performed.
It’s tough to go on last at The Black Lodge and these guy’s
Did a good job of keeping people in the house.

REVIEW – THE BLACK LODGE 3/30

MEG CALLEN
Meg Callen and dmc started the evening with a set of songs
which included guitar, bass, vocals
and live interactive Reel-to-Reel tape loops.
We here at Black Lodge Productions
have been looking for ways to get students
who have composed songs but do not belong to a band,
on stage to present their
material in new and interesting ways.
To that end thanks Meg for your good faith
and especially for a great set of songs.
Last week MoeJiggetts and Aaron Sheehan
delivered equally interesting sets of non-hop hip-hop
and solo bass respectively.
Two weeks prior to that show Foster Longo performed a wonderful solo piano exploration along with his ipod.
Matt Hollenberg, Dylan McConnell and Yanni Papadopoulos each performed with solo guitar and effects.

It is time that more Rock School students
get involved with developing, recording
and performing their ideas.
You don’t have to be in a band to do it.
I would much prefer to see a good performance
then a poorly pre-paired band.
If you would like to perform but are not in a band
Black Lodge Productions is currently developing 2 new programs for performance.

SONG DESTRUCTION – Sign up now and begin destroying songs immediately

EXQUISITE CORPSE – What is it? Send us an e-mail and find out.

THE TRIO NERO
A very nice set delivered with the kind of command
we love here at The Black Lodge
The Trio Nero like The Allen Holdsworth Trio
sounded great in our little room.
With a nod to Carlos Santana’s mid 70’s guitar work
Nero Catalano and company explored mostly new territory kept the quotes to a minimum and played their
material extremely well. Quite an enjoyable set.

ELLIOTT LEVIN and The Black Lodge Ensemble

Finally, and with great effort, The Black Lodge
has a working ensemble.
The purpose of this working group is to develop
original material, perform with special guests
and to go where no band has gone before.
The first fruits of this project were performed
onstage Friday night with Elliott Levin.

Elliott Levin is a Philadelphia native, published author
and renowned performer on saxophone, flute
and spoken word. Elliott has performed throughout the
US and the world with many groups, including: Cecil Taylor’s Unit Core Ensemble,Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Scram!, New Ghosts, Atzilut (Fourth World)
and Talking Free Bebop.

Elliott graciously joined our project
approximately one month ago
at the request of Eric Slick.
We then did a series of live improvised radio
broadcasts from the studios of wdcdradio.
These included solo performances and ensemble improvisations with Rock School students alumni and quests.
This workshop stressed improvisation, extended technique in all instruments as well as the use magnetic tape loops, pre-recorder Reel to Reel tape and studio as instrument applications to live performance.

Friday night’s performance was a seamless
forty-five minute exploration of avant-free form music, delivered with energy, wisdom, humor and confidence.
A mesmerized crowd of mostly students (about time!)
and guests cheered Elliott and company to
The Black Lodges first ever encore.
Hands Down, the best performance
I have ever seen in The Black Lodge.

For this project The Black Lodge Ensemble was:

Elliott Levin – Saxophone, Flute, Spoken Word
Eric Slick – Drums, Percussion, Sheet Metal, Ladder, Organ
Dylan McConnell – Bass, Guitar, Tape Loops, Keyboards, Magnetic Tape
Dominic Angelella – Guitar, Percussion
Daniel Nitz – Guitar, Water Bottle, Percussion
Gina Gleeson – Guitar
Foster Longo – Keyboards, Prophet 5

The Black Lodge Ensemble’s next project will a be:
THREE COMPOSITIONS
Works by Dylan McConnell, Eric Slick, wdcdradio

Anyone interested in joining The Black Lodge Ensemble
need only an open mind.

CETUS
It’s no secret that I feel that The Black Lodge
has seen too much metal.
However if Matt Hollenberg’s band had joined us sooner
I may not have been beaten to the point of
metal fatigue so quickly.
This is a smart inventive and original band that,
although not “out” enough for my tastes
are very good. They performed in a tough spot
Friday night yet kept me, and many others,
in the room, and attentive.
After my brain recovered from the volume.
I was glad I stayed.

WOMEN
Women took a stab at being whimsical while
performing a set of originals
and some covers. I like the concept and I believe that
the talent is in there somewhere,
but this band needs to work harder.
Bill Rooney’s a smart guy
who needs to be using both sides of his brain.
Write some material, practice, and get back to us.

mdl
wdcdradio

REVIEW: Black Lodge Productions Friday March 30

The Mighty Third-

Agent Moe (aka: rock school alumni Moses Jiggetts) and DJ PHSH

set up and threw down with a conservative set of songs.

Crafty, edgy yet eloquent, deliberate and delinquent...

no one escaped when PHSH began to cut wax.

Few things please me more than the ritual slaughter of a sacred cow now and then....

thanks, Mighty Third, for taking the first few bars of 'Stairway' down that long walk and offering its throat to the blade.

In a genre entirely dominated by virtuosity (and thats HIP-HOP, by the way,

not RAP), Moe most definitely has skills.

Despite the lack of hands in the air waving as if they had not a care in the world,

he delivered without the least hesitation, apology, OR bravado (!)

Crisbie and the Original Recipe-

Ive been a fan on CATOR for years and they played all my favorites last

night, as well as some fresh material (...new album soon?!).

While the horse they have been beating has long long since flat-lined,

they manage to overcome the rancid fumes of its reanimated frame with a brutish and pre-pubescent vigor remenissent of many early So-Cal punk bands.

m'gusta mucho!but please...More snot and less posturing...

and NO MORE STICK TWIRLING!!!

Stone Mountain ? (aka: Noizy Ahboorshinz)-

Arron aggressively annoyed and entertained the Black Lodge crowd by cursing, stomping on disobedient effect pedals, pulling his hair, playing bass,

and demanding calisthenics from the audience.

A MASSIVE leap from his last appearance (up? down? sideways?)...

IMPOSTOR-

Despite a scathing, mean-spirited, and totally wrong-headed review

of myself AND the Black Lodge (WTF, Brian?), I still stand by my original

impressions of this three piece. Who needs a bass player when you have a 7-string and a formidable vocalist belching out gut rattling roars in a thundering, inexhaustible peal! Their compositions were lengthy and complex but executed with precision...

really, not bad for a first time out!

This band would have KILLED if not for two things:

1) a drummer who clearly knew the material yet lacked the confidence and BALLS to actually hit the drums and be heard over the HEAVY guitar...WHICH IS WHAT THE GUITAR IS SUPPOSED TO BE, FOR CHRISSAKES!

and

2) a blind inconsistency in vocal delivery (seriously, stub-zilla, learn how to use a mic!) all that fake screaming never translates in a live setting unless you know what your doing.

I'll let you know when we have the 'screamo' seminar!...so you can come, you can take notes, (NOT thank me for it) and you can have even MORE cheat-sheets to fumble through on stage next time.

DYSLEXICON-

Princeton SOR ran out their 'best-in-show' last night with a clean but

somewhat bland array of genre hopping.

This steam-table buffet contained:

a slab of 'maiden' song here, a little 'baby-face', some 'beetles' ...

(you know what I like to do? I get the meat and mashed potatoes and peas?

...mix it all up and have a shepards pie! yum...now thats good!)

The members of this band are WAAAYYY qualified to play whatever is on the menu, and do so with competence and flair and enthusiasm.

Kaleen, I hope IMPOSTOR's drummer was watching you closely

cause you beat those drums like they stole yer purse, WITHOUT MERCY!!

(in fact, you could stand to play a few of those songs with a little more feel

and a little less fury...).

And singer (Andy?) clearly knows how to finesse a mic, as well as a crowd.

What this band needs a direction, an identity, some glue to stick the pieces together...I say, look to your name...'DYSLEXICON'...the answer is in there...whatever that means...

REVIEW - ALLAN HOLDSWORTH TRIO
The Black Lodge

Jazz and Rock Guitar Innovator Allan Holdsworth
stopped by The Black Lodge with his Trio of
Jimmy Johnson on bass and Chad Wackerman on drums.
Allan Holdsworth has always been outside the mainstream
His resume includes numerous historically important recordings
and he brought much of that resume to The Black Lodge.
Holdsworth’s rich harmonic swells and sonic craftsmanship
were attentively appreciated by a sold out crowd of devoties.
Considering Holdsworth sparse touring and lack of live recordings
This was a special glimpse into what this important guitarist can do
live onstage. If your interested in Jazz, Fusion or Progressive rock
you should explore Allan Holdsworth’s vast catalog of recordings.

BLACK LODGE 2/23/07

FOSTER LONGO performed a full

set of classical gymnastics

 on piano (a few too many in my opinion)

and held the confidence

and and ears of everyone in the

room for a full 30+ minutes...

a determined and classy act all the way.

foster tipped hes cards a bit with an original

composition utilizing pre-recorded

'found sound'  in an elegant

but poorly mixed deut (piano & ipod).

i hope he pursues this path with vigor.

DYNAMIC MONOTONE started off

on the wrong foot

with a limping zeppelin cover

complete with pedal failure,

underwhelming guitar solos

which were stepped

on by the rhythm section,

and apparent lack of footwear.

they more than made up for this with

a broad collection of original material

which drew heavily upon the

curriculum of rock school (hendrix/zappa/metallica/etc)

without stinking of plagiarism. the stitching they

use in piecing this monster together, however, is

heavy-handed and abrupt.

MATT H delivered a solo set of undulating

sound slabs produced by a 7-string guitar

and an array of effects through a very very loud amp.

a froth of psycho-delic aggressive relentless

harmonic sequences poured over a packed room.

while some realized the wisdom of sitting down

for this, most scratched there heads raw trying to figure

how one guy could actually be heavier

than all the bands on the bill combined...

i, myself, wonder what a full band may

sound like under this impressive guitarist.

for those of you that dont know, matt has been

teaching guitar at rock school philly for years.

after friday nights performance,

there should be a line of you suckaz around the block .

THE ASSTRONAUTS (seriously...) are here to have fun! a

trio with plenty of 'pop' with none of that annoying 'edge'

performed well crafted and well executed songs about girls.

some cover material makes sense in its context:

beatles = yes

check berry = yes

outcast = no!

rethink these smash and grab shots at pleasuring a crowd...

your own material has legs, guts, and above all, heart.

these guys had the best draw, by far,

and as soon as the 'fun' was over, they took the party with them.

(note to bands performing in future shows:

bring more people out to see your band, besides yer two friends and yer mom).

SCYTHE OF ASRAEL...

q-tip once asked:

"What is a party if it doesn't really rock?

What is a poet? All balls, no cock

What is a war if it doesn't have a general?

What's channel nine if it doesn't have Arsenio?

 What is life if you don't have fun?

What is a what if you ain't got a gun?

What's Ali without Shaheed Muhammad?

Nothing.

What is a Quest if the players ain't willing?

What is a pence if you don't have a shilling?

Excuse me if I'm chillin, hey what, say what

What's a fat man without food in his gut?

What's a child birth, without the umbilical?

What's United Parcel, without the deliverer?

What's momma-san, without poppa-san?

What's martial arts without Daniel-San?

What's Rasheed without Tonya, Tamika?

What's orange juice and Doug E. Doug without Shaniqua?

Not a not a not a, not a damn thing

What's Duke Ellington without that swing?

What's Alex Haley if it doesn't have roots?

What's a weekend if you ain't knockin boots?

What's a black nation, without black unity?

What is a child who doesn't know pubery?

What is my label when I exit boom status?

What's menage-a-tois, or, that is What is sex when you have three people?

What are laws if they ain't fair and equal?

What's Clark Kent without a telephone booth?

 What is a liquor if it ain't 80 proof?

What are the youth if they ain't rebellin?

What's Raplh Cramden, if he ain't yellin at Ed Norton?

what is coke snortin?

What is position if there is no contortin?

What is hip-hop if it doesn't have violence?

Chill for a minute, Doug E. Fresh said silence

....

What is a glock if you don't have a clip?

What's a lollipop without the Good Ship?

What's S&M if you don't have chains?

What's a con artist if he doesn't have brains?

What's America without greed and glamour?

What's an MC if he doesn't have stamina?

What's music fractured without Mr. Walt?

What's Trugoy without a phrase called torte?

What's Kris Lighty if he wasn't such a baby?

What is a woman if she didn't say maybe?

Baby laid down, I removed the frown

What would be my penal cord if it wasn't brown?

What is a paper without a president?

What is a compound without a element?

What is a jam if you don't spike the punch?

Was it Bruce Lee if you don't like brunch?"

to which id add.... whats an indian if he aint the big chief?

whats a hamburger without any beef?

whats a vampire without any teeth?

... scythe, thats what.

in the mornings, i cough up oysters scarier than these guys.

a major disappointment considering

the pomp and posturing leading up to this show...

and because of the fact that i know they can

do better than that, musically. maybe im just a jerk.

TREASON...you have made it official.

NO MORE COVER BANDS IN THE BLACK LODGE!

(unless it is an exercise in parody, satire,

'song destruction', or a work d'homage).

-dmc

BLACK LODGE 1/26/07

Best crowd yet at The Black Lodge Friday night

as Cherry Hill really turned out in support of their bands.

First up DMC showed off his old school tie

and gave us a genre hopping tour of improvised avant-punk solo guitar.
More about him later…

Next up HYSTERIA set up and delivered a set of one or two originals
and a bunch of covers. I give credit to anyone who shows up to perform
at The Black Lodge and these guys did a great job.
More originals please.

The highlight of this night was the down but not out
returning champions PRZR DRSZ who sought and found redemption
with a searing non-stop set of punk-jazz wathefuck.
Guitarist BK dropped his Yoko, picked up his health insurance
and Manned Up with an endless variety of quickie-jams, quirky melodies
and amusing facial expressions.
ES filled the fills and MC’d the evenings theatrical content, which was the usual
tabloid dressing up and dressing down. I like complete drummers and
Eric has certainly grown into that. I wish his drum kit would grow with him.
The real treat of this DRSZ set was DMC who elevated the formula with
an intense, complete and full on bass clinic. Colorful heated and nuanced.
I share the airwaves with DMC once a week and I like to think
I know when he’s good and when he’s great.
Friday night he was great.
The traditional PRSZ DRSZ set ends with an apology.
No apologies necessary for this one.

RIPLEY WRIGHT and HAGAR followed with set of progressive jazz
somewhere between Weather Report and The Weather Channel.
I love most things that begin with the word progressive, but this had no edge,
and no soul, lost in endless and repetitive noodleing.
These guy’s live too