DISCUS - 1ST

• discus: 1st
  (1999, cd, indonesia, mello records mmp 365)

Indonesian prog-rock band Discus was one of the highlights of the latest Zappanale festival. The band had been announced a couple of times the last years, but this year, they were finally able to make it.
Discus played a well balanced and well rehearsed set at Zappanale. And I'm not even mentioning the gorgeous female singers...
I was glad that I was able to catch them live.

Discus' first album, "1st", got released in 1999, which is almost ten years ago. It's difficult to understand that the band only has two albums out...
"1st" is a very fine album. It mixes ethnic elements, lounge jazz, angular rock, and more. Despite a couple of weaker moments, the album also presents some of their best pieces.

DISCUS - ...TOT LICHT !

• discus: ...tot licht
  (2003, cd, france, musea fgbg 4500.ar)

The second Discus album is entitled "...Tot Licht !" and got released in 2003.
Compared with "1st", "... Tot Licht" shows a band that has evolved, that has matured.
All the influences and all the different musical styles are still present, but they're mixed / incorporated in a better way.

I was told that the album has been out of print for a while already, but you should try to find it. It's an impressive album.

ZAPPOSTROPHE 115

Our Czech friends recently released issues 115 and 116 (!!) of their Zappostrophe fanzine.

Issue 115 included an article with pictures of ZpZ in Prague. It also has some pictures of the "Zapa Cafe", plus an article on Jimi Hendrix.

ZAPPOSTROPHE 116

Issue number 116 of Zappostrophe talks about The Grande Mothers Re:Invented concert in Prague. It has a huge Zappanale 20 report (with great pictures), and it has an In Memoriam piece on Les Paul.

And as you can tell by the cover, Zappanale was fun. Just ask Bohous.

MR.BUNGLE - BOWL OF CHILEY

• mr.bungle: bowl of chiley
  (1997, cd, usa, rastacore records)

In my opinion a website that wants to talk about Zappa, Beefheart, Sun Ra and such, should also mention Mr.Bungle.
Mr.Bungle played rock / avant-garde / metal mixed with a variety of other musical styles and released three full-length studio albums between 1991 and 1999.
However, the band's discography counts four albums.

In 1997, Rastacore Records released "Bowl Of Chiley", one of the band's demo tapes with recordings from 1987.
Mr.Bungle wasn't too happy with this and made Rastacore pull the record out of the shelves.

I think "Bowl Of Chiley" is a nice album, even if it's just for the historical value.
It has been added to the UM Files.

ADRIAN BELEW - E

• adrian belew: e
  (2009, cd, usa, abp-60109)

The latest Adrian Belew album is called "E". It's the Adrian Belew Power Trio recorded live in the studio: Adrian Belew on Parker guitar, Julie Slick on bass, and the Eric Slick on powerful drumming.

It's quite astonishing to hear how tight this trio sounds. They have been playing together for a number of years now, and that shows.
"E" is a very impressive album. If you're into the recognisable sound of the Adrian Belew Power Trio, this is a must have.

MICHAEL CLAY & ADRIAN BELEW - A CUP OF COFFEE AND A SLICE OF TIME

• michael clay & adrian belew: a cup of coffee and a slice of time
  (2009, cd, usa, abp-5189)

I don't know if this is becoming a trend as we have had Mike Keneally performing Steve Vai compositions on the piano last year, and now we have Michael Clay bringing Adrian Belew songs on the grand piano.

Trend or not, the result is very good. The piano shows how beautiful the melodies of Adrian's songs are. The album also includes two King Crimson tunes!

Great stuff!

Available through www.adrianbelew.net

MIKE KENEALLY UPDATE 2009 09 24

• Dethklok will be touring again
• the new Keneally album, "Scambot 1" will be available for pre-order one of the next days. It will be available as a standard one album edition, or as a limited edition 2CD set.

Upcoming Keneally Shows:

Dethklok
(featuring Brendon Small, Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller and Gene Hoglan)
plus Mastodon
Tour 2009
with Converge and High On Fire

October 2 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
October 3 Seattle, WA WaMu Theater
October 4 Vancouver, BC Orpheum Theatre
October 6 Calgary, AB Big Four Building
October 7 Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference Centre
October 9 Salt Lake City, UT Great Saltair
October 10 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
October 12 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
October 13 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
October 14 Des Moines, IA Val Air Ballroom
October 16 Minneapolis, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
October 17 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
October 18 Milwaukee, WI Eagle's Auditorium
October 20 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion
October 21 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
October 23 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
October 24 Buffalo, NY The Fairgrounds
October 25 Albany, NY Armory
October 27 Boston, MA House of Blues
October 29 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
October 31 Washington, DC Patriot Center
November 1 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
November 3 Norfolk, VA The Norva
November 4 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
November 5 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
November 6 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
November 7 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
November 8 Pompano Beach, FL Pompano Beach Amphitheater
November 11 Dallas, TX House of Blues
November 12 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
November 13 Austin, TX Austin City Music Hall
November 14 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater
November 16 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center
November 17 Mesa, AZ Mesa Amphitheater
November 18 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
November 20 Los Angeles, CA Palladium
November 21 San Jose, CA Event Center

TONY MOLITERNI

2009 09 26

October 3, 2009, Tony Moliterni's 'Aceitunas Negras' will be performed by a classical trio.
Tony is the man behind Sul Divano, a band from Argentina that performs original music as well as the music of Frank Zappa and of Astor Piazzolla.
(At one of their 1997 concerts, Steve Vai and Mike Keneally were in the audience. Keneally joined the band for the encore.)

2do.Concierto Ciclo SADAIC 2009
Sábado 03 de Octubre de 2009 a las 16 hs.
Auditorio de la Facultad de Derecho
Av. Pte. Figueroa Alcorta 2263
Entrada libre y gratuita

• Tirso de Olazabal > Homenaje recordatorio, palabras de Enrique Beloc
• Jorge Sala > Sonatina
  [para Piano]
• Mariano Vitacco > Cuaderno de Vera
  [para Piano]
• Antonio Moliterni > Aceitunas Negras
  [Estreno Mundial, trío para Clarinete, Violoncello y Piano]
• Luis Arias > Motivación o Desconstrucción
  [Estreno Mundial, para 2 teclados]
• Mariano Etkin > Distancias
  [para Piano]

Intérpretes:
Clarinete: Griselda Giannini
Violoncello: Jorge Pérez Tedesco
Piano: Irene Amerio, Jorge Sala, Alicia Lastra, Diego Ricciardi y Bruno Mesz

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE - ARE WE EXPERIMENTAL?

• acid mothers temple & the melting paraiso u.f.o.: are we experimental?
  (2009, cd, usa, prophase music pmcd03)

The output of Kawabata Makoto and the Acid Mothers Temple is enormous. I don't have a clue as to how many albums the die-hard Acid Mothers fan owns, but it must be a lot.

"Are We Experimental?" got released on the Prophase Music label only a couple of months ago.
The album presents eleven rather short tracks on which the AMT quartet explores the boundaries of psychedelic and experimental music.

I really like this.
With the Acid Mothers Temple, you know what to expect.
Contrary to other AMT albums the compositions are kept rather short, which makes them way more powerful.
I still think that it's a pity that Kawabata Makoto doesn't add more Hendrix and Zappa in his playing. The influences and references are there. I just wish he would add more of a rock element into his playing.

As I said, I really like this.
"Are We Experimental?" is an excellent addition to the Acid Mothers discography.
If you never heard of the AMT, this might be a good place to start.

recommended listening.

http://prophasemusic.com/default.aspx