I first met Joseph Gabriel Ester Maneri in the late ’80s when his son Mat began playing with the world jazz group Natraj, with whom I was playing bass. Joe was like no one I had ever met before, or since for that matter. I had always been attracted to musical mavericks and lunatics – people like Harry Partch and Don Van Vliet aka Captian Beefheart – and Joe was the closest I had come to such genius and raw, create-your-own-world-from-scratch originality. Plus he looked like the snowman from Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer and was about as jolly and life-affirming an individual as one could hope to meet.

I became one of the moths who were attracted to Joe’s ever-burning flame and began to spend as much time as i could at his Framingham home, which seemed to be a never-ending hang, where folks drank coffee and talked about music and played music at all hours of the day and night. His lovely wife Sonja would bustle about, taking care of the real world,  like was everyone fed and watered, and leaving Joe to his more otherworldly one, one of spirit and  holy communion with the ineffable. His laugh was just about the most glorious sound I had ever heard, and it would ring loud and clear and often. And that voice of his…as classic as Miles or Satchmo or Orson Welles. He took me under his wing as he did all of the other bright-eyed moths, and I was honored to be asked to play in his group along with Mat and drummer Randy Peterson. It was the most challenging musical environment I had yet experienced, and remains to this day some of my deepest, take-me-out-of-my-comfort-zone music lessons. I can’t say I “killed it”, but I tried to keep up with him and endeavored to absorb all of the information that flowed out of him like lava from Mt Maneri.

Over the years I spent a lot of time at his house, rehearsing with Mat for Natraj or Persona or later on, House of Brown (in which I first met D’Elf drummer-to-be Erik Kerr), and though I wasn’t playing with Joe’s group any longer I would still linger after hours for a “Joe hang”. He would usually come down to the basement to check out what us youngsters were up to and make comments and suggestions, many of which would just leave us with our mouths hanging open, trying to comprehend the profundities and idiosyncratic logic that was his and only his. I fried the cones of a lot of speakers in that basement and popped many a blister on my fingers, mostly due to Joe’s cajoling and insatiable energy. With one of his many horns in hand, he would always be ready to sit in and coax us to try and keep up with him. I couldn’t believe how lucky Mat was to have such a hip dad, though for him it was no big deal, just Joe being Joe.

Joe was all about Love. Love, and Soul, if the two are actually different. He wanted you to play with soul rather than control, although the highest thing one could aspire to was soul control. As lofty and spiritual as he could be (and he was a deeply religious man) he always had an air of utter unpretentiousness about him. He was as earthy and real as could be, at the same time being entirely unreal, like some star stuff come to earth for a time and made, for a brief time, into human form. It seemed as if his body was never his friend, but the twinkle in his eyes belied any difficulties his mortal form may have given him.

When I finally got around to putting a band of my own together years later and Club d’Elf emerged out of the black mists of chaos, I started trying to figure out a way to get Joe involved. Mat had been playing with the band from the beginning and was open to bringing his Dad down, so we finally hooked it up for a show at the Lizard Lounge. Anyone who has seen the band knows that I do a lot of conducting, using hand gestures and signals as a way of directing the players through the music and cueing parts, but with Joe there was nothing i could do, or would want to do. How could i put myself in the position of trying to direct this man, who with eyes closed and horns to lip or voice unfettered and calling to the spirits, was deeper into the zone than i could ever hope to be? I relinquished any control I had over the music and would, along with the other players,  just ride the wave that he created. The other players understood  Joe’s unique place in the pantheon, him being the spiritual grandfather of the band and deserving of the respect one pays to the Elders.

This video was shot at our first trip to NYC, when D’Elf played the Knitting Factory on 4/20/00. John Medeski had been a student of Joe’s at New England Conservatory in the mid 80’s and held Joe in great esteem. I knew that they had never played together since John’s graduation, and I looked forward to making this happen and witnessing the magic that would occur when these two finally got to play together. Mat, Brahim Fribgane, Erik Kerr & myself filled out the rest of the band and the show went so well that we ended up releasing it a few years later on Kufala Recordings. Joe’s vocalizing in this scene from the song Jungle Adagio never ceases to give me chills. Even when not playing Joe still lead the charge, always being totally present in the moment and tuned into some deep energetic source.

This one came from a couple of years later when we played the last gig of a tour that took us down as far as Atlanta, at the Mercury Lounge in NYC on 3/31/02. The touring band of Medeski, Mat, Brahim, Mister Rourke, Eric Kalb & myself were joined for this show by Joe, something we had all been looking forward to during the run. Brahim had taught us a Gnawa song called Challaban, and Joe added his tenor stylings to the mix.

Two of my favorite memories of Joe:

In late ‘99 I got it into my head that a nice line-up of the band would include then-David Bowie guitarist Reeves Gabrels along with Joe and Mat. Joe and Reeves had never met and probably never heard each other’s music (although Mat was a big Bowie fan and Joe may have heard some sounds wafting through the house), and while on paper it looked kind of unlikely, with the Rock Star guitarist playing with the Microtonal Mad Man, but that show yielded some amazing music. Some of it wound up on our first CD, As Above: Live At The Lizard Lounge, with the last track called Divine Invasion. It was an improvisation that Joe began as i ended was to be the final tune of the night. Joe didn’t think so apparently, and launched into a soliloquy on his clarinet, joined after a minute or two by Mat. Their duet gradually gave way to the whole band joining in, and the energy rose into a crescendo of heart-aching beauty and intensity, and then just as quickly died away into silence, with the final sound being Joe’s laugh. I will always treasure that moment.

On one of the occasions that we played Club Helsinki (which sadly closes this Monday) in Great Barrington, Joe joined a band that also included Mat, John Medeski, Brahim Fribgane & Erik and myself. Our friends the Zukowski’s put us up at their lovely home in nearby Otis, and Richard, a world-renowned practitioner of Hoshino Therapy, a form of deep skeletal-muscular acupressure, had set up an appointment to work on Joe the following morning. We were all staying in the clinic, which is a beautiful Japanese-style structure with walls made of rice paper and sliding doors, none of which allows for much sound-proofing. Basically you hear anything that is going on upstairs or down from anywhere inside. We awoke to Joe’s exhortations as Richard worked on him, crying out in that familiar way of his and saying to RZ, “Oh! Oh!!! You’re like Beethoven! Bach! Oh! Ohhhh!” It was the funniest thing, and we were all in tears.

I love you, Joe and will miss you so much on this earth.  I will continue to take what you have given me and try to do something worthy of making you laugh that laugh of yours. Those of us fortunate to have been touched by you have been left a legacy that we will have to reckon with whenever we hold instrument in hand or lift voice in song. May your pain now be eased and may you travel safe, now that the star stuff of which you were made returns to The Source.

To end this I’d like to include a poem that Erik Kerr wrote for Joe. His words say what I wish that mine could, and I think Joe would really dig this.

For Joe

Prelude to bliss and you sprung up, prelude to a kiss.

A wild, unwieldy beast of a plant; a fragrant ragamuffin of a weed –

infectious and giddy and brooding and troubled.

Sown widely in love,

Behold! The fields you have planted have grown up to greet you!

On earth, your voice caught the current of the stream,

carried the wind with Funk so deep:  Ruach HaKodesh.

Deeply rooted, singing, wounded,

stretching, calling, culled from Stone.

Speaking cleverly in riddles, unknown tongues

from laughing lips and mischief-eyed dancing stars;

adventurous and cantankerous, provoking us

to taste and see.

Unless a kernel of wheat dies…

And so you have, planted in twelve-tone rows,

before our unbelieving eyes,

wishing once more to hear Your microtones.

You swashbuckler! You rogue prophet! You swinging trickster!

Disabling disability, now you play the head!

Blowing over new changes and new forms! New sounds! And new worlds!

Clouded over eyes now crystal clear,

while we cry glasses full of tears!

And you play on and we play on and Life plays on.

And the bitter is sweetened somehow

by the remembrance of you,

sealed with a kiss,

a prelude that never dies.

Nobody laughs

but everyone smiles.

Farewell for now!

Farewell, my friend!

On the anniversary of Mark Sandman’s passing from this earthly plane to a more ethereal one, my thoughts this day are on my fallen friend and comrade. I first met Mark around 1987…i wasn’t keeping much in the way of records back then, and there wasn’t this interweb thing. Alas, I have no hard drive to reference info off of other than my faulty memory. I was playing in the Either/Orchestra at the time, and Russ Gershon and Tom Halter from that band were also playing with Mark in his group Hypnosonics. Sandman seemed to have an unlimited amount of bands, including Treat her Right, which was his main focus at that point. Hypnosonics played when he had time off from that band, soon to sign with RCA, and allowed him to access musical ideas what didn’t fit with that group.

Hypnosonics played a kind of psychedelic, avant garde funk that was very rootsy and primitive, as minimal as could be. The drummer, Jay Hilt, played a wooden cymbal that was Mark’s creation. Though the band didn’t really sound like him, Sandman was a huge Prince fan, and his Black Album was a template for a lot of Mark’s explorations at this time. I should add that he was an incredibly hungry man, hungry for a widely varied array of musics that would probably surprise people who only know him for the Low Rock that Morphine would later create. He turned me onto a mind-expanding palette of sounds that still resonate and influence me to this day, including Hassan Hakmoun’s Gift Of The Gnawa and the Luv ‘n’ Haight compilation Evolution, which was filled with obscure funk and soul rare grooves from the 60’s & 70’s. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Russ recommended me to Mark for bassist in Hypnos (as we called the band…he named it after Hypnos, god of sleep, and later Morphine was named after the god of dreams) after the old bass player Vince started not showing up to gigs one too many times. I met Mark for an audition in his apartment on Williams St outside of Central Square, and entering it was like stepping into the realm of the guy with the coolest collection EVER. Place was a mess with LPs and cassettes falling off of shelves, and books, books, books everywhere. I was just awestruck at the immense pile of data that assaulted my senses (plus we had no doubt tasted of the muggles by this point), and the thing that really blew my mind was that he has listened to all of this…he had read all of these books. These weren’t just decorations or result of an obsessive collector who acquires things and then puts them behind glass and never accesses them. These were tools to him, just like the guitars and keyboards and 4 track cassette recorder and the myriad pile of gear that filled every corner and available space. That’s the way I remember it anyway, but like I said there is not data to go back and look at. I don’t even have any photos from that time.

The audition became a rehearsal pretty quickly, as he threw tunes and riffs at me which i tried my best to keep up with and document on my little Sony cassette recorder. I was fresh out of Berklee and even though i wasn’t perhaps as inclined to needless displays of technique as some who come from there are prone to, i was still as green as they come and in need of a proper education from someone who had been around as much as Mark had. He was about 10 years older than i but his knowledge and experience of the world gave him an even greater edge than a mere decade. He saw in me a kid worthy of playing in his band, but oh man, i had some learning to do.

One of the first things Mark instilled in me – or tried to (the lesson was re-taught every gig as he would turn around and yell at me) – was don’t fill. “Fills” are little breaks in the groove that musicians often throw in at the end of 4 bar phrases or multiples of 4. I had a tendency to take these opportunities to spin out some little variation that i thought was cool, but what in reality just breaks up the trance quality of the groove. When you really get into exploring what it is that makes a James Brown or Fela groove so deep and so compelling is that no one is filling. Everyone is just playing the same thing, over and over and over again. I was still prone to that jazz mentality that is prevalent at Berklee and other institutions that teaches us that playing the same thing repeatedly is boring and not creative. How wrong i was, and Mark was my first drill sergeant in the army of the groove. Trance by necessity requires repetition, and the little filigrees i was throwing out – as hip as i thought they were, and as much as i was trying to be like Bootsy or Jamerson – were not compatible with Mark’s aesthetic. And he let me know about it, over and over. It was painful, I’ll admit, and i rebelled and would often sulk and grumble with the other guys during breaks or after…”fucking Mark….blah blah gripe gripe….yelling at me….grumble moan….embarrassing me on stage…the nerve…” But it was one of the greatest lessons i learned, and i owe it all to him.

Citing influences is often an excuse for people to trot out names that on close inspection bear no resemblance to the playing of the person calling upon that hallowed individual or band. I’ve been guilty of it, and i got humbled once by Dave Holland when i was studying with him, when he casually remarked that he didn’t hear any of so and so’s playing in my own after i had name-checked a famous bass player. I realized then that the only way you can really call someone an influence is to immerse yourself in their world – in the case of a musician, in their sound. You need to transcribe and learn how to play what they do, put on their shoes and walk around in them. For over 10 years i had the good fortune to immerse myself in Mark’s sound, in his world. And he, along with Mr Holland and later my Club d’Elf band mate Brahim Fribgane, became part of the Big 3 in my hierarchy of musical influences.

He was like a big brother to me as well as a mentor and band mate. He reluctantly let me take CDs from his collection (I never gave him Gift of the Gnawa back and still have his copy…sorry, Mark) and would invite me over to listen to music. And play. There seemed to be a non-stop recording session going on at his house, especially once he moved to Norfolk St and Hi-N-Dry was born. The Tascam multi-track cassette recorder (he had graduated to 8 tracks by now) was always on, always recording, Kyle. Always recording. A dizzying array of local players were in and out and at all times, as he would ask for the groove du jour.

It would be a disservice to deify the man, for as anyone who worked closely with him found out, and found out pretty quick: Mark had a dark side. One of the best ways to call that dark side forth was to engage him in the “writers conversation”. Sandman was a practitioner of the age-old artistic philosophy of the master not sharing credit w/ the apprentice. When you went in and did something in his realm, he owned it, plain and simple. And after a while i started to get uppity and brought the subject up, and He…Shut…Me…Down. And looking back i can sympathize. I have since learned what it’s like to have a band member over-estimate the essential nature of their contribution and feel that they have written something that they did not really. I know this is what Mark felt, and he could prove it in his own way, in that just about every song he ever wrote he performed in multiple versions, with multiple bands. “You think your part is essential to this song? Well, here’s another version that doesn’t have it and it’s still the song.” It’s a lot easier to do that when your songs mostly consist of one chord. So yeah, best not get to talking about writers credit if you wanted to stay 0n good terms with Sandman.

We had our falling outs about that, but it was impossible to stay away from the guy. He had that…charisma. He had charm like you have never experienced.  I’m not gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but i have to admit that he was just a very sexy man, and it was intoxicating just to be around him. Exhilarating. To be liked by Mark and invited into his realm was just about the coolest thing, and to be treated like an equal in the creation of music (as long as, you know, you don’t expect your name attached to it) was…the best. I would call him up, usually to bug him about when he was going to book some more Hypnos gigs (Morphine had begun by this point and we was often away touring the world for long periods), and he would laugh that wry laugh of his, and then pause. He was the king of the pause, often accompanied by the sound of him inhaling on his cigarette or just taking a deep breath. And you would wait for it…and then out would come some snippet of zen hipsterism that just summed everything up as perfectly as you could ever hope for.

One time i was on the phone with him after he had just gotten back from Brazil, and finally he said, “Rivard…(sucking in sound)…(exhale)…why don’t you come over?” (Mark never traveled to your house. You came to his). And of course i was down for it, and told him that i was just going to jump in the shower and i’d be right over. He laughed when i said this, and i couldn’t figure out why at the moment. I arrived about an hour later and he smiled and showed me the latest episode of his on-going Twinemen comic, in which one of the characters was using a shower like a means of transportation. That’s what he did: he used all of the information coming into him – from friends, from records he was listening to, from art he was checking out – and put it into his work, but he added something that transformed it and made it identifiably Sandmanian. I can see that more clearly now, and understand his perspective on his territory and how threatened he was when others impinged upon it. For as much as i value what i added to the music, it was Mark who really gave everything he touched validity and brought it into a place of timeless beauty.

The day he died was one of the hardest days i have experienced, right up with there with the passing of my mother. Jerome Deupree gave the call, and my wife at the time, Dyann, took the call. I was devastated, as were all of his friends. It just simply seemed impossible that he could be gone. Though if he had to go, what better way than to have his bass feeding back through an SVT while the sound washed over him as his soul began it’s journey into the next world. It seemed like such a fitting end, like the finale to some dark fairy tale, with the noble death of the king. We all gathered some days later for a memorial concert out in front of the Middle East, battling torrential rains. There was a sense of solidarity and community that i don’t think i had ever experienced until that moment. He had touched us all so deeply, bringing together a village of people that all revolved around his commanding center axis. But now he was gone.

Not gone entirely. He came to me in a dream a short time after he died. Like a David Lynch movie – like the scene in The Elephant Man, where John Merrick’s mother appears in space, in the clouds – Mark came to me in a white, white space devoid of sound. I could see in his eyes that he was dead, and i wept like a child. I cried and cried, telling how much i loved him, as he smiled that wry smile of his, and played his 2 string bass. The sound erupted out of the silence and he looked me in the eyes and i felt that he was passing something on to me. I’ve always been an avid dreamer, and this one stands as one The Big Ones. He came to me again recently, but this one was weird, with him still alive and having faked the whole thing (the same thing another friend dreamt about him, recently too) in a kind of Truman Show way, where he was both Jim Carrey and Ed Harris.

I miss him so much. Today i think of him and toast his memory, and later, along with some other mutual friends & Orchestra Morphine alumni – Russ, Tom & Christian McNeill, and my cohorts in Club d’Elf, Dean Johnston & Paul Schulthies and other guests, will pay tribute to the man with a set of his music. Mark always said “rehearsal is death”, so we’ve kept true to his philosophy, and though it won’t be the most tight set of music ever performed, it will be done from the heart. If you’re in Union Square in Somerville this evening, don’t be surprised if you hear the strains of Buena or Wishing Well or The Night coming out the doors of Precinct. Thanks for the music, Mark. Thanks for teaching me what I needed to learn, and for being my friend. I love you, man.

Greetings and Salutations,

Sometimes you just got to lead with some Jack Handey, because that’s the way it just has to be:

Why do people in ship mutinies always ask for “better treatment”? I’d ask for a pinball machine, because with all that rocking back and forth you’d probably be able to get a lot of free games.” – Jack Handey

Ah, now where were we? We’ve all made it this far, with only 1345 days left until the winter solstice of 2012 and the collapse of this time vector into something as-yet-to-determined, so pause for a murmured “well done”. Yeah, yeah, end of time scenarios are always bogus and cause for a good laugh, and this one probably, too. But…we’re not taking any chances. Not that we’re, you know, out stocking up on water & canned goods (though maybe…we…should….be….nah, it’s sunny outside and there’s people playing out there!), but the idea that There May Not Be All The Time In The World Left has given us, your friendly alien band Club d’Elf, a little fire under our rump to finish this dang studio project we’ve been on about for some time now. Yay! (pause for collective silence. Cue crickets.)

Now wait a second, yes we’ve been the boys who have cried wolfman before, and yes, Now I Understand did take 8 years, but we’ve gotten better! At least a little bit. And hey, this is TWO friggin’ discs we’re talking about here. So, c’mon. Wait til you hear this shit, folks. This is some Pre-Apocalyptic, ride-the-snake music and it’s going to cause you to…do things. We won’t say what. I had hoped to have the sneak preview sample ready to unveil when i came up at you this time, but…next time. (“oooowwwwwwoooooo……wolfman!) Seriously. So, yes the world is getting crazier and crazier every day but rather than panic & freak-out, we are tying up loose ends, and channeling all of our energy into this project of mad hope and surreal, face-pelt-gathering fun, in the cause of Just Fucking Doing It. Because when the world is running down, you just got to start Jack Handey-ing shit, and go with the “doing something positive matters”-type optimism, and if it doesn’t, at least our pockets are full of arrowheads – thanks!

Alright, now that micro’s obligatory weird opening is done with (and notice how i’m capitalizing shit….just trying to be a better person, man), what we have coming up this week is a show tomorrow night that sees the return of Brahim Fribgane – in town for some details related to the completion of disc #1: the Moroccan suite. And who should also be returning, also for said reason, is none other than the King of Beaver (um, because he lives in Beaver now…Beaver, PA), Erik Kerr. Dave Fiucznski is also along for the ride tomorrow night, casting a double-necked shadow of goodness. And maybe evil, too. Because it’s all about the play of opposites…dark and light. It’s sunny out, so right now we’re focusing on the light and thinking about those whales we saw on the cape recently. Yep, every note some bass player plays tomorrow night is going to explode like air from a blowhole, man. And then on Sunday…Earth Day, w/ D’Elf playing at one of our favorite spots, Tyrone Farm, perched right on the edge of the last dark place on the east coast. An early gig, one that that whole family can go to, like Mister Rourke’s, who will all be there. Seems like the weather is going to be nice, so…nice.

SHOWS

Thursday April 16, 2009

Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138. 9:30 pm – 1:30 am. 2 sets. $10. 21+. 617-​547-​0759/​1228. Featuring Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Dave Fiuczynski (guitar), Paul Schultheis (Rhodes & Moog), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Vicente Lebron (congas & perc) & Erik Kerr (drums), w/ Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Sunday April 19, 2009

Earth Day Show! Tyrone Farm, 89 Tyrone Rd. Pomfret Center, CT 06259. 3pm. 2 sets. $15. All Ages! info@​tyronefarm.​com.​ 
w/ Randy Roos (guitar), Paul Schultheis (Rhodes & Moog), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Friday April 24, 2009  

NEiA Cyberarts Festival w/ Club d’Elf, Vadalna Tribal Dance Co & New England Institute of Art Web Design & Interactive Media (WDIM) students led by Chris Florio @ Arts in the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA. Club d’Elf (w/ Mister Rourke – turntables, Dave Tronzo – slide guitar, Mike Rivard – bass & sintir & Dean Johnston – drums) & the Vadalna Tribal Dance Company led by Shakti Rowan will collaborate with visual artists, programmers, animators and interactive designers from the Art Institute to create real time interaction between the performers and an arsenal of digital technology. Chris Florio. 7:30pm. $7 (free with a student ID). Advance Tickets.

Upcoming shows @Lizard Lounge: 5.22.09, 6.05.09 & 6.19.09.

11TH ANNIVERSARY POSTER

We are a little nervous that this insane, don’t-look-it-in-the-eye-darling CD project will put us in the poor house, but…No! That’s not going to happen! Right? Because everyone will buy this sucker, right? Or at least download it for free. NO! Don’t do that! See, we haven’t wanted to ride this band wagon of “fan-funded” recordings, not that we don’t think that’s a good idea (it is just a little bit…cringeful though), but rather who the fuck has money to give to some little band that plays music no one knows what to call, just so that their vision of a world where people dance naked in the woods and grandmothers eyes are SO big can come to musical fruition, as filtered through a lens of moroccan trance and funky dub? Who? Probably not you. Yeah, it just didn’t seem right in these times of economic frown to do that.

So instead we’ve gotten resourceful and down-sizzle, with the sale of an upright bass financing the last round of the recording sessions, and the sale of our 11th Anniversary commemorative poster – hopefully – financing the mastering and all the myriad other stuff that comes after. Here’s where you come in: the artist known as A. Minor, has come up with a real beaut, which we debuted last time. We now have about 50 copies left, all autographed by both artist and the band. However, typical of the bass-akward way we run things here at D’Elf HQ, we don’t actually have them available online…just yet. But soon they shall be, like, next time! And they will be available at our shows until then. So think about purchasing one, OK? This will not only help us out – A LOT – it will also be a collector’s item. In this day and age of 1’s and 0’s this is something “real” that you can put your hands on and use to roll up and smack that strange insect that is crawling up the wall – what IS that THING?!

D’ELF RELATED SHOWS

Sat April 18, 2009

Grand Fatilla @ Amazing Things Art Center, 160 Hollis St, Framingham, MA 01702 8 – 10 pm. $15. All Ages.  Tickets available with credit card by phone Tues – Sat Noon – 6pm : 508-405-ARTS. Grand Fatilla is Roberto Cassan (accordion), Matt Glover (elec mandolin), Mike Rivard (double bass), & Fabio Pirozzolo (perc & voice). Modern Global Music on shuffle…Argentine Tangos, Italian Tarantellas, Turkish Sufi sacred songs, Irish reels, Moroccan trance, Bulgarian dance music, and music from composers Hermeto Pascoal & Astor Piazzola. Also originals from the band members. 

Monday April 20, 2009 (420, dude)

Scarecrow Mobius @ Outpost 186, 186 1/2 Hampshire Street, Inman Square, Cambridge, MA. 8:00 $10 or b/o.  zeitgeist-outpost.com. Featuring Dave Bryant (Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time)– keyboards,  James Merenda – alto saxophone,  Mike Rivard – bass,  James Kamal Jones (Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time) – drums.

Wed April 29, 2009

Rakalam Bob Moses & Heart Breath (Stan Strickland, Andrew Urbana, Tupac Mantilla Gomez & Rakalam) @ Johnny D’s, 17 Holland St, Somerville, MA 02144. 617-776-2004. $10. 10 pm (Eric Dahlman’s Little Mystery @8:30).

Thursday April 3o, 2009

Giant Kings (Chris Cote – Singing, Duke Levine – Guitar, Kevin Barry – Lap Steel & Guitar, Marty Ballou – Bass,  Andy Plaisted – Drums,  Paul  Ahlstrand – Tenor Sax, Mark Earley – Bari Sax) @ Precinct, Union Square, Somerville, MA. 10 pm. Free.

Friday May 1, 2009

Either/Orchestra at the Regattabar, Cambridge, MA. 7:30 pm. Tickets: $16.  All Ages.  Tom Halter, Dan Rosenthal – trumpets, Joel Yennior – trombone, Godwin Louis – alto saxophone, flute, Russ Gershon – bandleader, tenor & soprano saxophones, Charlie Kohlhase – baritone saxophone, Rafael Alcala – piano, Rick McLaughlin – bass Pablo Bencid – drums, Vicente Lebron – congas, percussion.

Sunday May 3, 2009

Natraj @Brighton Allston Congregational Church, 404 Washington St.,Brighton, MA 02135. 3:00PM. $10 (general admission), $5 (students, seniors), free (low income). For tickets and information, call (617) 254-4046. Natraj: Phil Scarff – soprano saxophone, Mike Rivard – string bass, Jerry Leake – tabla and multipercussion, Bertram Lehmann – drums and percussion.

MISC RAMBLINGS AND STUFF

Can you believe that it has taken this long for the senate race in Minnesota to be decided, but  your humble narrator (and former Minnesotan) did a nice legs-up-and-clicking-together when he heard the news yesterday that a judge yesterday ruled  Al Franken the winner – finally. It’s embarrassing to see a fellow Minnesotan acting like a dick. C’mon, Norm. Hang that shit up.

It may have been mentioned earlier…something about notes and blowholes…and i know i’ve gone on this “gotta stay inspired” rant before, but you know, you just gotta. I got a big dose of Inspirado the other day when watching  whales at sunset on the cape, and damn, that shit is going to come out, is all i’m saying. Just don’t stand too close to the stage.

That poster i was talking about – the one you’re going to buy to support The Cause Of Finishing the Studio Project (Zontar demands it!), right? well,  the artist what drawn it – A Minor- has a couple of new animations up on youtube: New animation #1 &  #2. Music by Sun Ra. Nice.

Poet and author  Michael Brownstein has a new piece on Reality Sandwich about how maybe we shouldn’t be too starry-eyed about the new pres. Call him an old curmudgeon, but he’s got some good points. But we still love Obama, sorry.

Awhile back a Facebook was created for Club d’Elf by a nice guy named Stu, and maybe you’ve noticed it by now. I’ve been so busy i haven’t really had a chance to do anything about it (and i will admit, i’ve only checked it out once, awhile ago), but the time is coming. I have avoided it until now because i just don’t want to end up like the cat “…looking up the cheerleader whose shapely legs fired your imagination in geometry class, whose smile could heat the gymnasium, whose jojoba-enriched hair you smelled when you broke into her locker and pulled some strands from her brush, dropping it in a Ziplock baggie, taking it home to fashion an effigy for your hair-doll shrine.” You know? But i do wish to promote this little band, so look out for more involvement on this tip. But not that much, because it is kind of idiotic and we should all be outside….dancing naked in the sun. Or watching those who are.

We love us some Christopher Walken, and thanks to Brian for reminding us of this clip:

Other stuff that has caught my eye of late: & Carbon Atoms in Action & Jazz musicians & the FBI.

And this looks like fun…

Molten Iron Throwing

Greetings and Salutations,

They said it couldn’t be done, and maybe they were right…maybe this is all a dream…a crazy, crazy dream. Wait a minute…no…no, it seems to be “real” – at least it hasn’t gone away when we stopped believing in it, like Philip K. Dick’s definition of “reality” anyway. So yeah, 11 years of Gas Music From Jupiter at the Lizard Lounge began in early ‘98 and continues to this day, as we buck all trends and thumb our collective talon at the “norm”. We hope you can join us for this special event – an event so special that we commissioned noted poster artist A.Minor to create an awesome, limited-edition poster commemorating it. She did not disappoint, and you can see with your own eyes (or those of the face you are borrowing at the moment) this “awesomeness” of which we speak. It will be signed by the musicians and offered for sale at the show – and if any are left – via our merch page for those who can’t make it to Cambridge. Huzzah! See you in d’Elfland!

SHOWS

FRIDAY March 20, 2009: 11th ANNIVERSARY SHOW!!!

Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.

9:30 pm – 1:30 am. 2 sets. $10. 21+. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com. Advance tickets @ brownpapertickets.com. w/ Tom Hall (tenor sax), Paul Schultheis (Rhodes & Moog), Mister Rourke (turntables), Jerry Leake (tablas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Upcoming shows @Lizard Lounge: 4.16.09, 5.22.09, 6.05.09 & 6.19.09.

Sunday April 19, 2009 Earth Day Show!

Tyrone Farm, 89 Tyrone Rd. Pomfret Center, CT 06259. 3pm. 2 sets. $15. All Ages! info@tyronefarm.com.

D’ELF RELATED SHOWS

Saturday March 21, 2009

Duke Levine Group w/ Duke Levine - The Guitar,  Kevin Barry - The Lap Steel & The Guitar,  Mike Rivard - The Bass & Lorne Entress - The Drums.                                                                                                                                                                  ”Chuck & Mud’s 30th Musical Anniversary”

The Hanover Theater in Worcester, MA 8:00. $25 – 35. All Ages. DLG plays 20 min set amidst cavalcade of stars. 

(Duke has this to say…)Well, it’s been a while, but we’ve been coaxed ever so gently out of our winter “Instrumental Hibernation” to be a part of this musical extravaganza. Thanks Chuck & Mud! Nice coaxin’. “Instro Hybo ‘09″ officially over. But if Kevin sees his shadow… So, we’ll be there, as well as hosts Chuck & Mud and The Hole In The Dam Band, Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band, Riverbend, and guests Valerie & Walter Crockett, Ric Porter, Chet Williamson, Paul Della Valle, Fran McConville, and Lydia Fortune. Nice!!  There appears to be a mess of pickin’ afoot. We plan to do our usual schtick with the navel gazing, introspective, semi-retro, sensitive guitar goo. However, if these bluegrass guys start coming at us with the hot licks and whatnot, we may have no choice but to “bring” some good old-fashioned guitar goonery. See you there…

Monday March 23, 2009

Grand Fatilla w/ Roberto Cassan (accordion), Matt Glover (elec mandolin), Mike Rivard (double bass) & Fabio Pirozzolo (percussion & voice). The Beehive, 541 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116. 7 – 11 pm. Free! 617-423-0069. www.beehiveboston.com. Modern Global Music on shuffle…Argentine Tangos, Italian Tarantellas, Turkish Sufi sacred songs, Irish reels, Moroccan trance, Bulgarian dance music, and music from composers Hermeto Pascoal, Astor Piazzola, as well as originals from the band members.

Friday April 3, 2009

Narada Yoga w/ Mike Rivard (solo sintir)

Exhale Spa, 28 Arlington Street at the Heritage On The Garden, Boston, MA 02116. 6 – 7:30 pm. $22. 617.532.7000. Mike Rivard provides sintir accompaniment to yoga instructor Amy Leydon’s Narada Yoga class. Narada Yoga is a journey into sound and movement. Luxuriate in a one and a half hour class with breath work, meditation, and Amy Leydon’s signature Vinyasa Flow style of yoga. Practice your karma yoga by offering support to innocent children in South Africa infected with the AIDS virus. With minimal instruction and lots of flow, Narada yoga will delight your senses, free your body and uplift your soul. Proceeds to benefit Our Journey Inc: Our Journey, Inc. is a non-profit organization currently working in South Africa with The Valley Out-Reach Program, a community-based program providing for families decimated by AIDS. 

RANDOM RAMBLINGS AND RUMBLINGS

a wiser person than us once said that humanity is involved in a race against time, with things getting better at the same time that they are getting worse.  it seems that all we hear about in the mainstream media is of the worse variety, and it’s easy to sink into a collective state of panic and fear, innit? we take heart from news such as this, about an artificial leaf. mmm…liquid sunshine. bet that would make a nice cocktail.

and speaking of photosynthesis, we like plants. a lot – and singing to them, too. we were turned onto this blog recently, and it seems steve beyer does, too. of course we went to this posting first. i mean…hallucinogens and porn…c’mon.

Ways to Waste Your Time On Youtube

over 2,000,000 folks have enjoyed the sweet, sweetness of this james brown dance instruction video, but if you are not one of them, get up, get into it & get involved:

and yeah, most have seen this, but it still really freaks us out every time we watch it. why not share the freak…why not risk redundancy so that we can bring little superstar into your life? thank you geoff for bringing it into ours:

being a bass player, your humble narrator is rather partial to that instrument, but bassist or not everyone should be partial to this man: mr. willie dixon. the man played with howlin wolf, muddy waters, etc, etc and wrote some of the most covered songs in history by (insert your favorite band here). man plays a mean bass, yo. check it:

our own dean johnston has been shedding his squarepusher, and spent 11 months transcribing the drum machine part to squarepusher theme, which if you think is easy to play then you are just not thinking, son. no, this is difficult to play, and the dux does an admirable job:

and in case you didn’t know, d’elf has a youtube channel, which has delights galore (take out the “al” and it might be more accurate), to which you will no doubt wish to subscribe to, so you can see the likes of this and more:

alright, that’s all i have time for now, and besides…don’t you have something better to do than sit in front of the computer? however, if you are going to sit there a little while longer, we are very interested in your feedback as to how to make this better, if you feel like giving any. the cave man needs it, and promises to improve things. until next time, keep it surreal and remember to breathe. and don’t forget: we’re all in this together.

happy spring, everyone.

- micro

Club d’Elf on iTunes

greetings and salutations,

we hope that you are warm and snug wherever you are, and not shivering as we are here at d’elf hq. winter is all up in our grille here with some pretty bitter cold, but that’s ok. because you know why? we’re still coasting on the vibes of a pretty sweet weekend which saw club d’elf take “best jazz act” honors at the Boston Music Awards, and yours truly getting to play sintir along with 50 bass players at a concert honoring christopher guest at berklee. the tune? why, Big Bottom, natch. in a sense my life was leading up to that moment, having of course spent countless hours watching this is spinal tap, and absorbing lines from the movie and entering them in my own personal lexicon like just about every other musician on the planet. standing in front of the stage and looking back at sir christopher as the line “each velvety cheek day” was sung…you know what i mean? it was pretty special. and then the next evening getting a text from mister rourke (who representedd’elf at the BMAs) that we had won the BMA…not a bad weekend. thanks to all of you who voted for us. regardless of our feelings about such things it is an honor, and we appreciate your support. to celebrate we thought we’d have a little throw down at the lizard lounge tomorrow evening.  if you are in the 617, please join us, won’t you?

SHOWS

Thurs Dec 6, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Paul Schulteis (keyboards), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Thurs Dec 27, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more.

Friday Dec 28, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.w/ Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Thurs Jan 10, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:00 pm – 1:30 am. 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.Special Double Bill: Club d’Elf & Guvna (CD Release Party). Mister Rourke & DJ Axel Foley open.

Fri Jan 25, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.

D’ELF RELATED

Friday, December 7, 2007

LAMINE TOURE‰ & GROUP SALOUM

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.DON’T MISS OUT! Lamine will be traveling to Senegal, so you won’t be able to hear the band again until well into 2008! http://www.laminetoure.com. http://www.myspace.com/groupsaloum

Fri Dec 7, 2007

Billy Martin & G. Calvin Weston : Percussion Duets:Cambridge YMCA Theater, Cambridge, MA http://www.cambridgeymca.org/theatre_events.htmlfull

tour schedule:

Dec.2 Club Helsinki, Great Barrington, Mass. http://www.clubhelsinkiweb.com/

Dec.3 Maxwells, Hoboken, NJ http://www.maxwellsnj.com/

Dec.4 Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA http://www.johnnybrendas.com/

Dec.6 The Stone Church, Newmarket, NH http://www.thestonechurch.com/

Dec.7 Cambridge YMCA Theater, Cambridge, MA http://www.cambridgeymca.org/theatre_events.html

Dec.8 Riverspace, Nyack, NY http://www.riverspace.org

Dec.21 Issue Project Room (special guest: author, Paul Auster) Brooklyn, NY http://www.issueprojectroom.org/

Tues Dec 11, 2007

CD RELEASE PARTY!!!

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson)

Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. $5 (tix available online @ www.myspace.com/dukelevine). www.atwoodstavern.com.

Tues Dec 18, 2007Public House feat. Geoff Scott, Timo Shanko, Mike Rivard & Brian Sayers.

Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188.11 pm – 2 am. 21+. Free! www.mattmurphyspub.com.

D’ELF PRESS

Keyboard Magazine/Review of Perhapsody (Kufala Recordings)

The musical collective known as Club d’Elf came together when bassist/composer Mike Rivard started a biweekly musical night at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA. On “Perhapsody,” Rivard brings together a stellar cast of musicians including keyboardist John Medeski for some improvisational magic. Medeski cuts loose on an overdriven Wurly on “Life of the Mind” and B-3 on the percolating “Berber Song” amongst other keyboard highlights, giving this stellar collective a high-powered dose of funky keyboards. Drummer Erik Kerr keeps things solid underneath and a host of horns, guitars and turntables add flavor from across the musical spectrum. There are elements of jazz, trance, Moroccan grooves and soul/funk that make Club d’Elf a cool hybridization of styles. Whether you’re a casual fan or a music head, Club D’Elf is a cool journey to send your mind and booty on! This Club is open for business. – ROBBIE GENNET

Beyond Race Magazine/ 11.18.07 Perhapsody – Live 10.12.06 (Kufala)

Club d’Elf is not exactly your average band. First off, there’s only one permanent member of the ever-changing club: bassist and bandleader Mike Rivard. Second, d’Elf dropped their first studio album, last year’s Now I Understand, after eight years in existence; previously, they had released seven two-disc live albums. And now, less than a year since the release of Understand, we have Perhapsody, another two-disc live album, this time documenting their CD release party for Now I Understand. In the case of almost any other band, Perhapsody would be redundant. But this is another reason that d’Elf is not your average band. Perhapsody is a must-have, a killer album that is as different as can be from their excellent studio record. Plus, you’ll flip when you find out who’s chillin’ in the clubhouse this time around: keyboardist John Medeski and slide guitar monster Dave Tronzo joined Rivard that night for two sets of explosive music. Under thebassist’s careful supervision, they were free to roam the countryside of whatever distant land sounds they pleased, like a cross between James Brown and Medeski, Martin and Wood, with not-so-subtle dashes of dub, hip-hop and world music thrown in. Highlights include “Berber Song,” Rivard’s “The Tingler” and Steven Bernstein’s anthemic “Caveman.” An album worth checking out for its eclectic variety and unpredictability. – Brad Farberman

MISC

*Peter Barrett*

the artist whose work adorns the covers of our Kufala cds is part of a show in miami beach this weekend, for anyone in that area (and we wish we were because as mentioned previously it is butt-ass cold in boston right now, yo).

Dec 5 – 9, 2007 : Aqua Art ‘07Eyewash (Brooklyn, NY) exhibiting at Aqua Hotel, Rm 120, 1530 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FLwww.barrettart.com. www.eyewashart.com.

*Brahim Fribgane*

we were deeply saddened to hear of the recent death of brahim’s father, Mohammed Fribgane. everyone in the club d’elf family & community send love and prayers to him and his family at this time of great loss. salam, my friend.

peace,

micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

we hope you have been enjoying the post-hallowe’en season as much as we have. those jack-o-lanterns that begin to sag and fall in on themselves and become even more freaky and disturbing…nice. it’s a shame that folks don’t continue to light them and extend the season a few weeks longer, like the way x-mas decorations are left up until like feb, but if we were running things we assure you this is what we would do. but we’re not. yet. and hey, we had a great time playing up in montreal at the festival du monde de arabe, thank you very much, and send a big up to all the folks who helped us out up there, like richard & penny, sofia, renee, kenza, as well as the very receptive audience. we also enjoyed hooking up with Checkpoint 303, whom we shared the bill with, and look forward to collaborating with them on some insanity sometime soon (http://www.myspace.com/checkpoint303).

there are new tracks up on our myspace (www.myspace.com/clubdelf) and at www.clubdelf.com, and some other additions thanks to the efforts of web-guru jeremy v. so relax, take off those pants and have a listen. also, we have been nominated for a Boston Music Award, so we have that going for us, which is nice. see below. in a matter of hours we will be returning to our familiar haunt, the lizard lounge, and as the weather is not entirely cooperative we must get our sh*t together, and so without further ado, on to the matters at hand:

SHOWS

Thursday Nov 15, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Randy Roos (guitar), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Vicente Lebron (congas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums). our first lizard show in over 2 months! don’t let a little weather keep you away. we won’t.

Monday Nov 26, 2007

David Friend Recital Hall, Berklee College Of MusicGenko Uchida Bldg, 921 Boylston St, Boston, MA. 02115.4 pm. Free! Open to the public, all ages. w/ Randy Roos (guitar), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Jerry Leake (tablas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums). i have been invited by my old alma mater to bring d’elf in for bass alumni week. it’s an early show, i know, but a good excuse to skip out of class or work early, or escape from the asylum or whatever!

Thurs Dec 6, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Alain Mallet (keyboards), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Thurs Dec 27, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.

Friday Dec 28, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.

D’ELF RELATED

Monday Nov 19, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson) Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

Tues Nov 20, 2007

Public House feat. Geoff Scott, Timo Shanko, Mike Rivard & Brian Sayers. Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188.11 pm – 2 am. 21+. Free! www.mattmurphyspub.com. congrats to timo and his wife romi on the birth of their daughter sophie. nicely done!

Sat Dec 1, 2007

Natraj with Indian classical dancer Gretchen Hayden. Springstep, 98 George P. Hassett Dr., Medford, MA. 8:00 pm. $19 general admission and $16 student/senior. All ages. 781-395-0402. www.springstep.org.w/ Gretchen Hayden – kathak dance, Phil Scarff – soprano saxophone, Rohan Gregory – violin, Mike Rivard – string bass,Jerry Leake – tabla and multipercussion, Bertram Lehmann – drums and percussion.What happens when Indian raga, tabla, and kathak dance meet jazz and world music? Breathtaking melodies, dynamic rhythms, scintillating footwork, and swirling grace. This performance pairs Natraj, which melds classical Indian and traditional West African music with contemporary jazz, with Gretchen Hayden, Boston’s premier kathak dancer, for an East-meets-West fusion that is not to be missed.

*Boston Music Awards*

club d’elf has been nominated in the 2007 BMAs under Best Jazz Act. while we don’t fit neatly into that category – nor do we fit neatly into ANY category, which is our whole problem…but that’s a story for another day – and find the whole concept of determining who is “best” kind of silly, we are honored to be included amongst such a fine list of musicians, including Dominique Eade and Hiromi, who both rock. i mean, “jazz”. personally i think the best local jazz act is the Fully Celebrated Orchestra, but i guess they didn’t get nominated because you don’t exist in this industry unless you have recent “product”. if you would like to cast your vote for club d’elf here’s where to do so: www.bostonmusicawards07.com

*The Wire*

new hampshire’s arts newspaper reviewed our october show at the stone church and had some nice things to say about the band…

 http://www.wirenh.com/Music/Field_Recordings/Club_D%92Elf_at_The_Stone_Church%2C_Oct._20_200710242487.html

*DJ C*

dj c has moved to chicago and it is boston’s loss, though he seems to be making quite a few trips back to the 617. he’s been up to a lot these days, as his latest mashit news reveals:…Last month we released the first album in our new Mashit download shop: DJ C “Sonic Weapons”. Next Tuesday we’re releasing Murderbot’s “Ruff In The Bunny Fizness” album…This, the first full-length album from Murderbot, contains super-crisp, remastered versions of his notoriously wicked 12-inch singles, along-side a few never-before-released super-exclusives, and the most adorable conquering lion of judah cover-art ever to exist…And many more tracks and remixes by: Aaron Spectre, Bong Ra, Cardopusher, Debaser, DuoTone, DJ C, DJ Flack, DJ Sux, EOSS, Ghislain Poirier, Local Fields, Murderbot, Pacheko, Sammy Bananas, Sosolimited, Wayne&Wax, Zulu, and others. Please visit the Mashit MP3 download shop: http://mashit.com/shop

*Surveillance on civilians by the gubment*

our man frank c sent us this story, which because we pretty much live under a rock we had missed. maybe you did, too. just so you know, privacy does not equal anonymity anymore. the story:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071112/ap_on_go_ot/terrorist_surveillancewhat frank says:”Buried halfway down in this story is the REAL story, which is this: ‘The central witness in a California lawsuit against AT&T says the government is vacuuming up billions of e-mails and phone calls as they pass through an AT&T switching station in San Francisco. Mark Klein, a retired AT&T technician, helped connect a device in 2003 that he says diverted and copied onto a government supercomputer every call, e-mail, and Internet site access on AT&T lines. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed the class-action suit, claims there are as many as 20 such sites in the U.S.’So, despite all assurances that they’re only going after limited surveillance against people with links to known terrorists, the truth finally comes out. The Bush Administration is copying EVERY phone call, e-mail and web browsing trail of EVERY SINGLEAMERICAN. I don’t understand why there isn’t rioting in the streets over this.”  

hmmm. maybe because the spell they are putting us under is working.

*The Kind of Sh*t That F**ks Sh*t Up Dept*

sometime d’elf conspirator oren bloedow sent us this article, and while we hate to end on a bummer, it’s worth a read. maybe if enough of us really, finally, truly GET it, we can avoid the doo doo that surely waits for us coiled up and ready-to-be-stepped upon in the road ahead:http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/103107O.shtmlalright, if that puts you in too dark a mood, this will help:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNwhey, thanks for reading and for your continued support. we’re all in this together, and heck, even though things gets scarier and grace and compassion seem to be harder and harder to find, there still seems to be so much in this world that is so un-f**king-believably sublime and beautiful that we are left agog and humbled. it is this realization which helps inspire us to play this crazy trance music with even more fervor and passion, because time is so precious. you dig? we hope you continue to join along for the ride, cause we’re all going to the hole together.

on the “one”,

micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

we’re in the final push for our big show in montreal tomorrow and have a million and one things to attend to, but we wanted to get up in your grill one last time and offer you the final mix of our special hallowe’en track. we tweaked a few things and combined the vocal treatments. enjoy the sweet, sweetness created for YOU especially at this spooky time of year by erik “kerr(s) of frankenstein” (vocals & drums), randy “re-animator” roos (guitar, studio wizadry), gavin “dracula’s castle”ton (fender rhodes, synth), mister “rawhead rex” rourke (turntables….see below for more rourke goodness), and yours truly, “monster” mike rivard (bass).

also, this just in at press time: club d’elf has been nominated for a boston music award in the “best jazz act” category. yes, it’s all just an act. hope to see some of ya’ll in montreal…

HALLOWE’EN: THE FINAL MIX

www.clubdelf.com/mp3/Halloween_10-23_final.mp3

SHOWS

Friday, Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Theatre Corona, 2490, rue Notre-Dame O., Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.$33 (Canadian). 514-931 2088, 514-790 1245. Info: http://www.festivalarabe.com/fma/content.jsp?sid=31177834210738050241828728902&ctid=ARTICLE&cnid=1000761w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Dave “Fuze” Fiuczynski (guitar), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Erik Kerr (drums).

Thursday Nov 15, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Alain Mallet (keyboards), Randy Roos (guitar), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more.

Monday Nov 26, 2007

David Friend Recital Hall, Berklee College Of MusicGenko Uchida Bldg, 921 Boylston St, Boston, MA. 02115.4 pm. Free! Open to the public, all ages. w/ Randy Roos (guitar), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Jerry Leake (tablas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

D’ELF RELATED

Monday Oct 29, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson). Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

*Mister Rourke*

Whats up crew,I have a new podcast posted on Ropeadope.com full of bugged out scratch music: http://www.misterrourke.com/scratchcast.Check it out if you have the time,-Jeff/Rourke

*More micro movie recommends*

it was late when i sent out the last ish and forgot to include another fave: dario argento’s Suspiria (1977) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0076786). i watched this one quite a bit a few years ago when hanging out with john medeski & scotty hard at shacklyn, playing on their suspiria project. rats running around the place only helped to make the atmosphere more appropriate. the soundtrack is by argento’s band Goblin, who we happen to pay tribute to with a track from Perhapsody called Goblin Garden, which you can hear on our myspace.

also, i forgot to mention one of the best scenes from Freaks: there’s a guy called prince randi, who is only a torso – no arms, no legs. grizzled popeye-type face, and at one point he rolls, lights, and smokes a cigarette, all without the use of any limbs, just his mouth! it’s NUTS! watch it!

from all of us at club d’elf, happy hallowe’en/samhain/scorpio full moon!

- monster micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

it’s getting to be that scary time of year again, and here at d’elf hq we are gearing up for that most sacred of high holy days, hallowe’en. and we have a special treat for ya’ll. allow me to provide some back-story: when drummer erik kerr was a little tike his mom would sing to him a little ditty around halloween, with words by harry behn. it would scare the young erik to no end, which probably made mom pretty satisfied. flash forward many years to a halloween d’elf gig where erik sang to me this song, providing me with the idea that we HAVE to record it someday with him singing it, for in addition to his considerable drum skills he is a fine singer. we even performed it impromptu at a lizard gig several years ago.

this past july erik was in town and we took the opportunity to book some time at randy roos’s fine studio, Squam Sound (www.squamsound.com), nestled in the bucolic environs of ashland, new hampshire. it overlooks squam lake, where On Golden Pond wasfilmed…not exactly the sort of gothic setting for the song one might envision, but we made do. there in the warmth of a july day we cut the basic track, and added “special flavors” to it over the last month or so, and now we reveal to you the result for your listening and scalpel-slashing pleasure. we present 2 mixes, each w/ a different vocal sound, and ask you, dear reader, to vote for which one you prefer. we have a few other tweaks to do and a final mix will be created and offered in the next newsletter. here’s where to go (and thanks to web guru jeremy v for taking time out of his vacation to upload these): 

SPECIAL HALLOWE’EN MP3Mix 1 : http://www.clubdelf.com/mp3/Hal_10-16_mix1.mp3

 Mix 2 : http://www.clubdelf.com/mp3/Hal_10-16_mix2.mp3 

and if you’d like to sing along, here are the lyrics:

~ HALLOWEEN ~By Harry Behn

Tonight is the night when dead leaves fly

Like witches on switches across the sky,

When elf and sprite flit through the night

On a moony sheen: it’s Hallowe’en.

Tonight is the night when leaves make a sound

Like a gnome in his home under the ground,

When spooks and trolls creep out of their holes

All mossy and green: it’s Hallowe’en.

Tonight is the night when pumpkins stare

Through sheaves and leaves everywhere,

When ghoul and ghost and goblin host

Dance round their queen: it’s Hallowe’en!

while you’re in the mood, we recommend the duplex planet’s hallowe’en tribute. originally a print-only ‘zine with transcripts of interviews done with residents of jamaica plain’s own duplex planet nursing home (no longer around), you can now find it on the world wide interweb. larry green’s definition of hallowe’en is one of our faves:

LARRY GREEN: To make pranks. Scarecrow. The Devil. Skeleton. Witch. Goblins. That’s all. Play pranks. Set fires. Empty wooden barrels. Bonfires in the middle of the street. Once I got arrested for setting fires, put on probation for the rest of the summer. Set fires. Stealin’ apples. Breaking and entering. That’s Halloween! You always had it in for your enemies. Take a baseball bat and get behind a hedge and wait for your enemies. Your enemies would turn out to be witches and they gave you a bag of candy. That’s where you met your wife. I met her Halloween, took her to a party. It was rainin’ like hell. Soakin’ wet! Put me to bed, gave me a couple of aspirin tablets. I got pneumonia. they put me in Lynn Hospital. That was twenty years ago. It was rainin’ like hell! http://www.duplexplanet.blogspot.com/

SHOWS 

Sat Oct 20, 2007…

TONIGHT!!! The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+.FridayF www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums). note: we will have for sale AWESOME, suitable-for-framing posters created by artist alicia lavigne specially for these stone church shows. she designed a TRIPtych of alien-oriented eye candy that you will be proud to display in your space ship, boudoir or s&m chamber. check her out at http://www.myspace.com/allbrightmoments.

Friday, Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Theatre Corona, 2490, rue Notre-Dame O., Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.$33 (Canadian). 514-931 2088, 514-790 1245. Info: http://www.festivalarabe.com/fma/content.jsp?sid=31177834210738050241828728902&ctid=ARTICLE&cnid=1000761  Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Dave “Fuze” Fiuczynski (guitar), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Erik Kerr (drums). this is a big gig for us, and it would be most delightful if some of ya’ll could make it. feel free to email me and let me know if you have a ride to offer anyone, or are in need of a ride and perhaps we can hook folks up. it’s quite an honor for us to be invited to play at this festival, especially when such illustrious groups as The Master Musicians of Jajouka are also performing. they have been a huge inspiration to us, and if you’re not familiar with them check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jajoukamasters. brahim will be playing again at the festival with malika zarra (www.myspace.com/malikazarra ) on nov 3, so if you’re feeling it check that show out as well.

D’ELF RELATED

Tues Oct 23, 2007

Public House feat. Geoff Scott, Timo Shanko, Mike Rivard & Brian Sayers. Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188. 11 pm – 2 am. 21+. Free! www.mattmurphyspub.com.

Monday Oct 29, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson). Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

MISC

*d’Elf on Youtube*

scott byrnes continues his documentation of our stone church shows with these youtube clips from the august gig w/ dave tronzo, mat maneri, tom hall, mister rourke, dean johnston and mice elf. 2 words: face pelts. enjoy.8/16/07 Pt 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijfmUzFgvG48/16/07 Pt 2 (Sand): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=630MqFdjje48/16/07 Pt 3 (Sand cont.) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m29YWaZfSW8

*Perhapsody*

we ARE going to get you to buy this sucker, this, our most recent live cd. why? because it is almost 160 min of what allaboutjazz calls “Pure magic.” and why wouldn’t you want THAT in your life? exactly. not that you need such things as “quotes form the so-called experts” to get you to purchase anything, being the sort of free-thinking freakazoid that populate this e-list, but JUST in case it will help to push you over the cliff, we include a few. then go to www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190 and do the right thing. you’ll be glad you did. now for them quotes…

“Plowing through dub, world beat, funk, jazz, and just pure sound (both acoustic and electronic), Club d’Elf are an unstoppable, far-out musical force…Duke Levine and Dave Tronzo’s dual-guitar attack leaves heads spinning with their casual virtuosity and restraint…sounding like The Meters jamming with R2D2 after downing a family-size bottle of Robitussin…For those seeking new funky music that isn’t afraid to color outside the lines, this is a great place to start.” – Ben Taylor, Transform Online

“A fun, slightly jocular take on rock-meets-jazz (with) moments of tape-recorded lunacy…Lots of heat, some relative calm, e.g., the smooth/Milesian “Goblin Garden,” even a taste of some 6/8 Eddie Harris tucked into the funky “That Is My Voice.” – John Ephland, Relix

“… suggestions of Northern Africa and superimpositions of charming timbres materialize which let us catch a glimpse into an urban jungle of which each of us dreams in the enchanted mid-summer nights, projecting into the future of its personal world at the limits of possibility…The telepathic contact that is created between the rhythm section and the other musicians engaged on stage is by now legendary…an unending journey to slowly see the surrounding panorama change, like a train which floats weightlessly on magnetic tracks and moves between mysterious worlds of the collective imagination…the formidable empathy which comes to be created in these by now mythical evenings makes every negative tension dissipate and lets only positive energies emerge. Pure magic.” -Maurizio Comandini, AllAboutJazz

*Now I Understand/Bass Player review*

alright, i admit it: i geek out to my favorite “bass porn” mag every month: Bass Player. and one of my favorite writers is this cat bryan beller, who is also a smoking bassist who plays w/ steve vai, dweezil zappa, mike kenneally and others. so i must admit i was pretty giddy when the latest ish shows up at my door with a review of our studio cd, Now I Understand, reviewed by none other than bryan. and not just the usual 3 or 4 lines, but a whole bleedin’ paragraph! yeah, baby! plus in this biz a record is considered non-news if it’s more than a few months old, let alone a year old, so even cooler to get coverage. here’s what bryan had to say:

“More than just a band, Club d’Elf is a rolling consortium of killer players (featuring John Medeski, Billy Martin, Dave Tronzo, Reeves Gabrels, and many more) organized and produced by acoustic/electric bassist Mike Rivard. Their tasty take on trip-hop jazz-rock-funk takes the John Scofield Uberjam and late Medeski Martin & Wood concepts to the next level of experimentation, with samples, unusual instruments, turntable scratching, curious noises and unique timbres scattered across the stereo spectrum, darting in and out of a late-night out-of-control party-jam-band atmosphere. The hat Rivard wears on this project is much more producer than bassist, but the tones and grooves he puts down in the middle of this long strange trip are greasy enough to keep the party going and then some (check out “Vishnu Dub” for a deep low-end carve). Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.” -Bryan Beller, Bass Player magazine

if you don’t own a copy and would actually like to support musicians by BUYING a copy (and i don’t mean a “used copy” from amazon…that gets us nothing…), you can order it from us at clubdelf.com, or one of these fine outlets:* iTunes : http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=194113152&s=143441* AMAZON : http://www.amazon.com/Now-Understand-Club-d-Elf/dp/B000H5U6C0/sr=8-1/qid=1158699621/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1036424-8682212?ie=UTF8&s=music* NEWBURY COMICS : http://www.newburycomics.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=103&upc=74343150542* BEST BUY : http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=15153511&st=club+d‘elf+now+i+understand&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1562731* BARNES & NOBLE : http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&EAN=743431505422&itm=1you can download a free track from NIUat AllAboutJazz.com: Introduction/Bass Beatboxhttp://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=1712

*Micro recommends*

i am, as anyone who knows me will attest to, a bit of a horror movie aficionado. i love ‘em all: cheesy, classic, gory, leave-it-to-the-imagination, new, old, big budget, low budget…bring ‘em on. not too much into bland slasher flicks, and the eli roth/new school of “torture porn” leaves me feeling kind of dirty and sullied, but everything else is pretty much right up my strasse. here are some suggestions for you to consider here at hallowe’en time:

Donnie Darko (2001) (www.donniedarkofilm.com) – a no brainer. if you haven’t seen it already, make sure you look for the original, NON-director’s cut. trust us on this. this is one of my all-time favorite movies, and i will watch it again and again. and again.

The Descent (2005) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625)- UK film directed by neil marshall who also did a good werewolf movie called Dog Soldiers. the descent slayed me. saw it first in the theater with the original US ending (not so good), and then later on dvd w/ the original UK ending (much creepier). plays on archetypal fears of darkness, being trapped in confined spaces, and being consumed by cannibalistic, cave-dwelling, humaniod creatures. 6 buff, outdoorsy women go spelunking in an unchartered cave, and these ladies are no bimbos, but rather kick-ass climbers with great personalities. so when things begin to go wrong (and they go VERY wrong), you really feel for them. gives me chills just thinking about it.

Night Of The Demon (1957) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0050766) – also known as Curse Of the Demon. features a totally non-cheesy monster for the time, and a great story about an aleister crowley-type black magician who conjures up a demon to smite his critics, and as someone who also has to deal with “critics”, i must admit i wish i could do the same sometimes. watch this one and then check out our track Hungry Ghosts from NIU. hmmmm…

The Evil Dead (1981) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0083907) – an old favorite. sam raimi’s first, done w/ some help by the coen brothers. low, low budget but oh-so good. what happens when some young kids rent a cottage in the woods, find a dusty copy of the necronomicon along with a taped translation, and raise ancient evil from the woods. it’s hard when your girlfriend becomes a pencil-wielding ghoul and you have to dismember her. great claymation effects and the awesome talents of bruce campbell. if you’re in the boston area check out the latest The Dig for a hilarious rant by a disgruntled movie-goer who had to contend with some drunken frat boys at a recent showing at the coolidge corner moviehouse.

The Dunwich Horror (1970) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0065669) – based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft, and we love us some HPL. pretty bad movie, but has nostalgic value for your humble narrator, as i first saw it on a hallowe’en night when i was about 10, and was enthralled by the psychedelic effects used to represent yog sothoth, the eater-of-souls, he your basic invisible space god. also the sight of bare female breasts in the orgy scenes was quite a treat for a young lad, and must have escaped the fun-killing eyes of the censors. plus it has dean stockwell totally over the top in the lead role as wilbur whately. nice.

Equinox (1970) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0067055) – another blast from the past, first seen around the same time as the dunwich horror, and with a plot similar to the evil dead: bunch of kids in the woods find a copy of the necronomicon and – you guessed it – call forth nameless forces of ancient evil. features frank bonner from wkrp cincinnati and has some great stop-motion effects, ala ray harryhausen. for some reason this movie just really scared me, and my sister, too.

Dawn Of The Dead (1978) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0077402) – forget the remake. the original is unbeatable for mood and social commentary and – for the time – good gore effects, c/o tom savini, who also plays a cycle gang member. also stars ken foree who we loved in From Beyond (am i geeking out here or what?). directed by the great george romero and filmed -as were/are all of his films – in pittsburgh. will never get that shot of the zombie husband taking a chomp out of his wife’s arm out of my head…oooh, that HAD to hurt.

The Funhouse (1981) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0082427) – i can’t quite explain why this movie has become fodder for my nightmares, but the mutant geek who terrorizes the lovely elizabeth berridge and her 3 friends after hours in a carnival funhouse just shows up quite frequently in my dreams and scares the sh*t out of me. dude, this monster will freak you out, i am so serious.

The Tingler (1959) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0053363) – starring vincent price as a doctor doing studies in fear, and includes possibly the earliest cinematic portrayal of an acid trip! william castle directed, and coming from vaudeville as he did every picture had to have a gimmick. the gimmick for this one? Percepto: certain seats in theaters would be wired to give an electrical charge to the unwitting patron, eliciting shrieks of pain! ah, the glory days of pre-osha. this movie inspired 2 club d’elf tunes!

Freaks (1932) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0022913) – what can one say about this classic? it was diane arbus’s favorite movie. it features REAL circus freaks and totally was too much for people at the time, who could not handle physically deformed actors being used. it’s still too much for some folks. tod browning directed this a year after he did Dracula w/ bela Lugosi. he died the month and year i was born and i have often wondered if his soul found it’s way into my body. gooba gabba, one of us, one of us!and speaking of Dracula (1931), you can’t go wrong with those old Universal flicks, esp. Son Of Frankenstein. so put some of these on your netflix queue and add some new twists to your nightmares.

pleasant….dreams?

micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

usually we’re on the late tip in letting you know about the latest show, as in the DAY OF, but not this time. we want to give you some space out front (mmmm…..space….) to plan your calendar for this coming tuesday night, for it is then that we will be joining forces with Rudder from nyc to take over the refined environs of the regattabar in cambridge for a night of unbridled groove mayhem. face pelts will be taken and displayed, and then lovingly returned at the end of the night, thank you, here’s your face back. where else would you want to be? ok…besides there? right! nowhere else!

if you’re not familiar with Rudder, chances are you may have heard of some of the members, as these “cats” is among the baddest of the bad that the big apple has to offer. chris cheek (http://chrischeek.net) plays the sax – often through effects – and when not playing with these guys he can be found with bill frisell, or charlie haden’s liberation music orchestra or paul motian,and the list goes on. henry hey (www.myspace.com/henryhey) plays the keys and besides being rod stewart’s musical director (!) he has played with bill bruford & bill evans, amongst many others. i’ve been aware of bassist tim lefebvre (www.myspace.com/skipherbertson) for some time now, first hearing him in the awesome live drum’n'bass group Boomish (www.myspace.com/boomish )years ago (before they went lounge/comedy, though they are still sweet, sweetness), and digging most excellently his fat & juicy low end, because there’s nothing wrong with that. he also plays with wayne krantz, the sat. night live band, chris botti and tons more folks. drummer keith carlock plays with steely dan, so he has that going for him, which is nice. also, sting, wayne krantz and lots more. so check these guys out, s’what i’m saying. and us, too.

i’m told jim sullivan may be giving us some “ink” on his site about the show(http://www.jimsullivanink.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1&limit=6&limitstart=18). here’s where to find us:

SHOWS

Tues Oct 9, 2007

Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, One Bennett St, Cambridge, MA. 02138. 617-661-5000.Co-bill w/ Rudder from NYC feat. Chris Cheek, Henry Hey, Tim Lefevbre & Keith Carlock.$15. All Ages. Rudder plays 1 set at 7:30 pm; Club d’Elf plays 1 set at 9:15 pm.d’Elf: Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).http://www.getshowtix.com/regattabar/moreinfo.cgi?id=1275http://www.myspace.com/rudderbandnewyork

Sat Oct 20, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH  03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & mo’!.

Friday, Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Theatre Corona, 2490, rue Notre-Dame O., Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.$33 (Canadian). 514-931 2088, 514-790 1245. Info: http://www.festivalarabe.com/fma/content.jsp?sid=31177834210738050241828728902&ctid=ARTICLE&cnid=1000761  Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Dave “Fuze” Fiuczynski (guitar), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Erik Kerr (drums).www.festivalarabe.com.

November 15, December 6 and 27, 2007: Lizard Lounge.

D’ELF RELATED

Mondays Oct 15, 22 & 29, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson). Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

A TREAT

28 days… 6 hours… 42 minutes… 12 seconds. That… is when the world… will end. the countdown to hallowe’en begins. look for a special treat in the next issue for all of you from club d’elf. and frank.

PERHAPSODY ……is of course the title of our most recent live cd, and plays pretty well in italy, thank you very much. got to love them italian reviewers and their florid, poetic use of the language. wow, we got some pretty sweet quotes from this one, you betcha. thanks to tasoula for the translation. i think he likes it…

*Perhapsody/AllAboutJazz, Italia review*

“Mike Rivard’s Club d’Elf continues its work of the deconstruction and expansion of improvised trance music unperturbed with this optimal double live album which their friends at independent and progressive Kufala records are promptly putting on the market. In this case we find ourselves in front of an extended version of the band (which, however, is unavoidably a mutable entity by design of the project), which was reunited October 12, 2006 at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, on the periphery of Boston, to celebrate the release of their studio album Now I Understand. By now a locale well known to fans of the American band, it is a true and just friendly territory insofar as the Lizard Lounge can be imagined as the home base of the group, who have played there practically every Thursday from 1998 until today. Next to the bassist Mike Rivard, the true democratic leader of the band, we find John Medeski, the two excellent electric guitars of Dave Tronzo and Duke Levine, the turntables and samples of Mister Rourke, the original drummer of the group Erik Kerr, the saxophonist Tom Hal and the trombonist Tom Halter. A festive and exciting occasion renders the habitually incessant groove even more lively and wriggling. In the air, suggestions of Northern Africa and superimpositions of charming timbres materialize which let us catch a glimpse into an urban jungle of which each of us dreams in the enchanted mid-summer nights, projecting into the future of its personal world at the limits of possibility. The telepathic contact that is created between the rhythm section and the other musicians engaged on stage is by now legendary and finds no obstacle in the fact that its lineup is, for this occasion, much wider than usual. Indeed it could be said that the major availability of colors is an ulterior element which Rivard knows how to employ to capture the minds of listeners and drag them sweetly and lightly onto his unending journey to slowly see the surrounding panorama change, like a train which floats weightlessly on magnetic tracks and moves between mysterious worlds of the collective imagination. In the end we can justly see this group as an expanded rhythm section which moves incessantly and with extreme fluidity surrounded by a thousand colors manifested through links of phrases and of solos which seem to come from nothing, only to disappear magically behind a corner we never would have considered. The great quality of the soloists involved (above all Medeski and Tronzo) is such that the recipe will always be tasty and exciting and the formidable empathy which comes to be created in these by now mythical evenings makes every negative tension dissipate and lets only positive energies emerge. Pure magic.” -Maurizio Comandini, AllAboutJazz, Italia

sweet…sweetness. if you don’t have it already you can buy it here: www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190). nice.

MISC

*Youtube*

…is where we all spend way too much time. but why not spend just a little more, AND trip balls while doing it without actually ingesting anything. can it be true? thanks to the artist formerly known as ALL for “turning us on” to this one:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzSRVgF501M&mode=related&search.

and while you’re at it, you can viddy this clip of our last lizard lounge show back in sept, shot by thompson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4bCdmpC5Lg. awww yeah.

*Peter Barrett*

it’s peter’s art that graces the covers of all 7 of our kufala releases, as well as our very first cd, As Above, which you can still order from our website, natch. his work is pretty frickin’ cool and we’re totally stoked to be able to use his images, and if you’re lucky enough to be in brooklyn for the next month or so you can peep his show. take it away, peter…

“Supreme Trading is pleased to announce Morphologies, a show of paintings by Peter Barrett. This is his second solo show in New York, and his first in Brooklyn. His work has been included in two previous group shows at Supreme Trading. The title of the show refers to the study of forms across many disciplines- among them astronomy, linguistics, biology, and architecture- all of which inform Barrett’s work. The pieces on view in this show continue his exploration of shaped paintings on cut and routed MDF that push painting into the third dimension without quite becoming sculpture. Spanning a wide range of forms, and encompassing opposing visual languages- organic/geometric, natural/synthetic, analog/digital, and scientific/psychedelic- Barrett’s work creates an elegant tension between these extremes, with each piece offering a unique combination of references that reveal new relationships between far-flung visual vocabularies and disciplines. Included in the show will be Mycelium, a new site-specific wall installation that continues Barrett’s practice of painting walls around multiple relief elements that are composed on site. Mycelium involves elongated, rounded forms of MDF painted in gradations from black to white arranged on a wall painted with different concentric bands of modulated color. The effect partially dissolves the wall, enabling the viewer to enter into a space of uncertain scale and finite depth; Barrett refers to this as “optical space” and its creation is a trademark effect of all his work, regardless of scale.

Morphologies will run from September 28 through October 30. Gallery hours are Monday- Friday from 5-9 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 1-9 PM. Supreme Trading, 213 North 8th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-599-4224. judy@supremetradingny.com

*Passings*

with great sadness we greeted the news of the deaths of joe zawinul (www.zawinulmusic.com) and bobby byrd (http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/latest/lat_091307_ByrdObit.shtml) this past month. i first saw zawinul with weather report back in the day after first hearing him on miles davis’s bitches brew, and his music has been a big influence on mice elf and the band. though i never got to see bobby perform, his presence on classic JB tracks like Sex Machine and my personal favorite, Since You’ve Been Gone (http://www.amazon.com/Motherlode-James-Brown/dp/B00009EJC7) have helped us get on the good foot on occasions too many to list. we were also saddened to hear of d’elf friend and web-helping-guy neil larson’s fiancee maggie losing her mom to a long battle with cancer. and though we didn’t mention it last issue, RIP Max Roach, one of the absolute greats of the drums. our lives are less rich because these people are gone.

D’ELF RECOMMENDS

here’s some north african stuff for you to check out when you’re next on myspace. nass el ghiwane are known as the “moroccan beatles”, not because they sounded anything like the fab 4 but in that they were as popular as the beatles back in the day. they hail from the same neighborhood in casablanca that our own brahim fribgane is from, and it was brahim who turned me onto them. they were the first to combine their own lyrics – often politically charged – with various forms of moroccan indigenous music using traditional instruments. look for our version of one of their songs on our upcoming studio cd, and we’ll be performing it in montreal at the end of the month, too when we play The World of Arabic Music Festival (see shows above).

dimi mint abba recorded a cd with khalifa ould eide called Moorish Music From Mauritania (http://www.sternsmusic.com/disk_info/WCD019), which is to this day among our favorites. she has a voice that will seriously make you glad to be alive, if for no other reason than you are hearing her voice. wow. if only she toured. and Gaada Diwane de Bécha are a band we just discovered, who are also playing the festival in montreal. enjoy!

*Dimi Mint Abba* http://www.myspace.com/dimimintabba

*Gaada Diwane de Béchar* http://www.myspace.com/gaadamusic

*Nass El Ghiwane*http://www.myspace.com/nasselghiwane

BURMA

like most we have been watching the unfolding events in burma with shock and concern, and send the monks and all burmese people our energy and prayers. may there be an end to the violence and someday an end to the repressive regime of than shwe. some recent articles that have been informative:http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100307L.shtml, http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100207A.shtml, http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100107R.shtml.

we’re all in this together.

-micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

hello seekers! all of us here at d’elf hq (and there’s only one of us at the moment, but i am “channeling” all of the rest) hope that you and yours had the kind of summer that you will look back upon and go “sweet…sweetness”. we’re not really sure what happened to ours but we think there may have been some kind of alien abduction involved. mostly we remember watching a lot youtube and laughing until the milk came out our nose. YOU try watching sh*t like this and see if you can hold onto your dairy…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPiGJBHVadA … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iju-FaYOAok.

sweet…sweetness. ah, but there is no time to dwell upon such memories of those warm, lazy days of summer and large-eyed grey beings. no, we have a show to put on. and guess what? it’s TONIGHT! you’d think that we could get these missives out a little sooner – you’d think that, and you’d be right. but enough of such “practical talk”. we’re very excited about this evening’s “non-denominational revival meeting” (that’s what the boston phoenix said they were, yup) not just because we haven’t been sleeping well and keep having these crazy flashes of being in some kind of space ship with bright lights and chilled probes, but because our old pal alain mallet will be joining us tonight, and he hasn’t for some time, being too busy traveling the globe and other such non-essential, non-d’elf oriented activities, but tonight he’s ALL OURS.

and so is brahim fribgane, making the driveall the way from harlem just to play music for YOU…well, if YOU are in the 617 and make it to cambridge tonight, then yes, YOU. and duke levine….come on, it’s just silly how crazy this line-up is. but enough of my yacking. there’s music to be played and milk to be spilled…

SHOWS

Thursday Sept 6, 2007 (NOTE: NOT the 7th as previously -erroneously- mentioned. not insane! not responsible!)

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Duke Levine (guitar), Alain Mallet (keyboards & melodica), Jerry Leake (tablas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Sunday Sept 9, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm, though it may start earlier so call the club, yo or check our myspace.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Randy Roos (guitar) Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Tues Oct 9, 2007 

Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, One Bennett St, Cambridge, MA. 02138. 617-661-5000.Co-bill of Club d’Elf & Rudder from NYC. Still getting details so stay tuned.Rudder is: Chris Cheek – Saxes, Henry Hey – Keyboards, Tim Lefebvre – Bass, Keith Carlock – Drums. Members play with Sting, Wayne Krantz, Boomish, Steely Dan, Rod Stewart, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian…you get the idea. http://www.myspace.com/rudderbandnewyork

Friday, Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.www.festivalarabe.com.w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Dave “Fuze” Fiuczynski (guitar), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Erik Kerr (drums).

November 15, December 6 and 27, 2007: Lizard Lounge.

PERHAPSODY

if you happen to understand italian you can read this review of our latest cd, Perhapsody, which from the title of the review we can only assume was written by some kind of italian pirate… “har, me mateys, i’ll be listening to parhapsody now, ciao bello”. if you don’t already own your personal copy, you can order it here: http://www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190. do it now! zontar commands it!!!

 All About Jazz Italia: Parhapsody/ http://italia.allaboutjazz.com/

D’ELF RELATED

Monday, Sept 10, 2007

Scarecrow Mobius, Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188. www.mattmurphyspub.com.11 pm – 2 am. 21+. Free! Saxophonist James Merenda of the Masked Marvels and bassist Mike Rivard of Club d’Elf join forces with keyboardist Dave Bryant and percussionist James Kamal Jones, both veterans of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time for an evening of music adventurous and esoteric, earthy and engaging.

Tuesday Sept 11, 2007

Public House w/ Geoff Scott, Timo Shanko, Mike Rivard & Brian Sayers. Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188. www.mattmurphyspub.com.11 pm – 2 am. 21+. Free!

Monday Sept 17, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson)Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

MISC

ATTN: COLLEGE STUDENTS!!! if you want us to play at your school, we’d like to do that. let us know who to contact and if it becomes a “reality” (we just always have to put quotation marks around that word, never wishing to be so presumptuous that we actually know what it is…all we know is everything you know is WRONG! but um, i’ve gone off on a tangent, haven’t i) we will shower you with some swag, like cds or shower gel or something. hook us up, mclovin.

*Gavin…Castleton*

gavin is one of the newer additions to the d’elf family and, like most of these crazy folks, is ridiculously talented and has a whole solo thing apart from d’elf. he’d like to let you know about something, so take it away, gavin…

Hey there… I’m sorry to hit you up somewhat impersonally like this. Just a quick note to let you know my new album For the Love of Pete (a collection of warm folk/electronica songs written for my lovely ex-girlfriend of the last 6 years) is finally for sale/listen at iTunes. I’m not necessarily asking you to buy it or anything, just to consider buying it, and more importantly, to force someone in the same room as you to buy it. I grew impatient with finding an ideal label to put this out with, so I’m releasing it myself (with help from Five One Inc.) – therefore I have to approach even my own mother (hi mom!) for a little bit of fiscal support to help pay for the extravagant artwork that I insisted on… at the board meeting with… myself.

Speaking of illustrious artwork, a physical copy of the same album, and a secret one called A Bullet, A Lever, A Key will both be available at the Integers Only Online Store in two weeks or so – if you’re one of those types.I greatly appreciate you reading this, and being in my life. Please pass this on to anyone you think may enjoy my music!Gavin CassssssssstletonPS> If you’ve somehow spared your ears from my work until now, feel free to break those chains of love – myspace.com/gavincastleton

*Mahow! Mahow!*

back in the day we used to collect and trade these quaint little plastic things called “video tapes”, which we would fill with the most insane, funny little snippets friends and fellow travelers of the bizarre and insane would pass along. duke levine passed this one on to me, having received it from the guy who wrote the starland vocal band’s classic hit “afternoon delight”, and now – like everything else – it can be found on the old worldwide interweb. peep this…if you dare. http://www.mojunkprod.com/mahow/

*For Conspiracy Buffs Only*

hey, what IS it with the denver int. airport, anyway? thanks to alicia for alerting us to this one: http://www.westword.com/2007-08-30/news/dia-conspiracies-take-off/2

*WWN*

we leave you with this bit of news that passed us by when it was happening in july, being busy with the abduction and all. maybe it passed you by, too. we find it sad that we now live in a world where the weekly world news is no longer around to alert us to such important stories as BUTTERFLY MAN INVENTS HUNGRY SPACE ALIEN! or CRAZED DIETER MISTAKES DWARF FOR CHICKEN! we are now are on our own, and it’s a little scary knowing that there are probably bat boys in caves that we will never know about…http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/06/AR2007080601293.html

happy almost-autumn. see you at a show.

peace,

micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

alright, we really have to get better about sending these missives out in a timely manner. we really have to. but we don’t seem to. we hope everyone’s summer has been nothing short of a magic kiss, and will cut to the chase, as this is time-sensitive material, you betcha.

SHOWS

Thursday August 16, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), & Dean Johnston (drums).

the return to the lizard of mat maneri after a long absence, and a meeting with tronzo for good measure. anyone who has been witness to the awesome energy that is created when these 2 men come face to face in d’elf combat conditions knows that this is not a show to miss. their first encounter back in ‘03 was captured and released as 100 Years Of Flight (Kufala), and if you don’t own it, well dear seeker YOU CAN! through the wonders of the worldwide interweb and a credit card, it can be had like a shad right here: http://kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=94.

Friday August 17, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.2 sets starting at 10 pm. $10. 18+. 603-659-6321. www.thestonechurch.com. w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums). Maybe even the parasol of lights of will make an appearance…

Thursday Sept 7, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Sunday Sept 9, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Friday, Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.www.festivalarabe.com.

D’ELF RELATED

Monday August 20, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson), Berklee Performance Center, 150 Mass Ave, Boston7 pm. $5. All Ages.

Monday August 27, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson)Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

Monday, Sept 10, 2007

Scarecrow Mobius, Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188. www.mattmurphyspub.com.11 pm – 2 am. 21+. Free! Saxophonist James Merenda of the Masked Marvels and bassist Mike Rivard of Club d’Elf join forces with keyboardist Dave Bryant and percussionist James Kamal Jones, both veterans of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time for an evening of music adventurous and esoteric, earthy and engaging.

MISC

*Healing Dick*

michael brownstein is the poet/author who can be heard on the track And Shadow Saw the Gods on our cd Now I Understand, and has written a book everyone should read called World On Fire. his most recent project involves shamanic drumming and vocalizing in an attempt to heal dick cheney’s heart. which is a pretty admirable task. it would be much easier just to hate the man and all that he has done, but like it or not, he’s one of god’s chil’n just like the rest of us, and needs to be healed. michael has just released a cd of this work, and you can find our more about it as well as ordering a copy here: www.healingdick.com.

*Willie Alexander*

i was asked recently to contribute to a piece on local music legend willie “loco” alexander, who amongst his many accomplishments over the years was a member of the late-version Velvet Underground. i’ve only met willie on a few occasions, and had the honor of playing with him at a tribute to mark sandman show in ‘99, but those few times definitely stick out. you can find a link to the article here (http://flavinscorner.com/bostunes.htm), as well as some stuff about sandman and more.

*Phil Stiles Photos*

phil has been photographing club d’elf since almost the beginning, as well as having heavily documented MMW, DJ Logic and many others. his work is excellent, and you can check out how he’s lovingly captured our ugly mugs here:http://picasaweb.google.com/PhilStiles/ClubDElf

*Perhapsody*

our new live cd, Perhapsody, has done rather well at radio, making it to about #31 on the CMJ jazz chart, as well as coming in at #12 (just after the bad plus) on the jambands.com chart (http://www.jambands.com/RadioCharts/content_2007_08_10.00.phtml), which is nice whether or not you subscribe to the philosophy that we are a “jam band”. Relix magazine recently reviewed it, which i guess cinches that question. though we of course frown at the “insipid” adjective and have promised ourselves that we will open up the reviewer like a ziplock bag full of lasagna when we meet him (just kiddin’!), the rest of it is, well ok. see for yourself and decide whether he should live to see another day (and if you haven’t bought it already, what are you waiting for – buy it NOW, fer mervgriffins sake: http://www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190.):

Relix Magazine/Club d’Elf, Perhapsody (Kufala)

This two-CD live set from The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA, in October 2006, is chock full of jamming. Some of it’s inspired, some of it’s a tad insipid. So what? What makes Perhapsody a fun, slightly jocular take on rock-meets-jazz are the arrangements that couch some great solos. There are moments of tape-recorded lunacy mixed in the producer/leader Mike Rivard, guitarists Dave Tronzo and Duke Levin, keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Erik Kerr and turntablist Mister Rourke reprise their “intro/Bass Beatbox” from last year’s Now I Understand (Accurate). The music is relatively seamless, one selection flowing into another, everyone sounding like they know where they are and where they are going. Lots of heat, some relative calm, e.g., the smooth/Milesian “Goblin Garden,” even a taste of some 6/8 Eddie Harris tucked into the funky “That Is My Voice.”  - John Ephland

*XM radio*

we love michelle sammartino, she who has played the sh*t out of our music on her show jammin’ jazz on xm radio. we were only too happy to answer her request to submit a response for her 100th anniversary show, and got to pay respect to one of our heros, Dave Holland to boot. you can check out a brief video of john medeski’s wurlitzer solo on the the d’elf track that i talk about, Life Of the Mind from Perhapsody, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E72zKPCTmos. here’s what michelle has to say:

“Jammin’ Jazz is turning 100! Ok not really… but I am coming up on my 100th show for XM and am working on a special to air the week of Labor Day! In this special I gathered all my favorite jazz musicians together and asked them four questions:

Who do you think is your biggest musical influence in JAZZ (modern jazz please)?What tune comes to mind when you think of that musician? What tune of YOURS do you attribute that influence? Tell me a little about why that is and what you dig about that musician? I got a GREAT response!!! So the show will be their answers interspersed with the tune they picked of theirs… plus some interview segments. Some of the artists you will hear are: Stanton Moore, Galactic, Mike Dillon, Craig Klein of Bonerama, Marco Benevento, Skerik, Jamie Masefield, Karl Denson, Mocean Worker aka Adam Dorn, Jeff Berlin, Paul Richards of Ca Guitar Trio, Bert Lams of Ca Guitar Trio, Robert Walter, Greyboy Allstars, Scott Amendola, Kai Eckhardt, John Gros of Papa Grows Funk, Mark Mullins of Bonerama, Will BernardDr. Lonnie Smith, Mike Rivard, Jason Smart of JFJO, Javon Jackson.You can hear this show in three parts that week:

Part One : Tuesday August 28th at 9pm est/ 6pm pst. Part Two: Thursday August 30 at 9am est/6am pst. Part Three: Sunday September 2 at 7pm est/4pm pst. And the entire three hours in one shot on Labor day Monday September 3rd at 4pm est/1pm pst. Tune in and come celebrate Jammin’ Jazz’s 100th show!And thanks for listening!”

-Michelle, Host XM 72 – Beyond Jazz (http://www.myspace.com/gowiggle)

*One more reason to live*

at last, it is coming….http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44353-miles-davis-ion-the-corneri-given-box-set-treatment

*Duke Levine & Friends*

this past tues night saw an impromptu merging of club d’elf w/ the duke levine group at one of our favorite local haunts, matt murphy’s pub. i’ve had the pleasure of playing with duke & friends most mondays this summer at a place in cambridge (see above for show details) and it’s been a blast. we even did a gig up in brownfield, maine at a gorgeous place called the stone mountain art center, and if you want photographic proof, then here: http://smac.dmg-photography.com/DLB-Aug-2007.

duke is no stranger to the d’elf cosmos of course, having played on our very first gig and many, many in between and is all over our studio recordings as well as Perhapsody, and will incidentally be playing with us at the lizard on sept 6. so there. anyway, duke, kevin barry, dean johnston and myself all showed up to murphy’s and kicked it with a “program” that saw us playing everything from duke’s originals and some d’elf staples, to covers by sufjan stevens, the beatles, country greatjoe maphis, and even some moroccan trance music, with the usual assortment of crazy-make-em-ups thrown in just because. jason from matt murphy’s has posted a blog about the night with a link to an mp3 of our cover of the rarely-played beatles track flying. where? here:http://theweeklyvibe.blogspot.com/

*Earthquake in Peru*

having recently been to peru and having many friends there and a deep love for the culture and people (and plants) of the country, i received the news of yesterday’s earthquake with deep concern. our thoughts here at d’elf hq are with those struggling with the aftermath and we send our love and prayers their way. this on the heels of the bridge collapse in mnpls (where i am from and will always have a soft spot in my heart for) and the utah mine collapse have us in a very sober, contemplative state and will strive to send some good energy from tonight’s show out to all of those who suffer from and endeavor to persevere through these hardships, and all the other calamities which affect our brothers and sisters.

peace out,

micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

we interrupt your regularly scheduled summer activities to announce that the hyper-dimensional jalopy that is club d’elf will be returning to the big apple this week, and then back to the 617, with some studio tracking in between. we welcome back the king of beaver himself, erik kerr, for these shows, as well as brahim fribgane and a host of other fine folk. so what we’re saying is if you’re in the 212 and/or 617 we will be making with the crazy, serpentine trance funk for your listening and dancing pleasure. chilled beverages will be served. nice.

SHOWS

Tues July 17, 2007

Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery St (between Spring St & Rivington), New York, NY 10002. 212-982-0740.One set at 11 pm. $10. 21+. www.crashmansion.com. w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Oren Bloedow (guitar), Matt Kilmer (elec perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Erik Kerr (drums).

Thursday July 19, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard & Erik Kerr.

Thursday August 16, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Friday August 17, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Thursday Sept 7, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Sunday Sept 9, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.www.festivalarabe.com.

D’ELF RELATED

Mondays July 16 & 30, August 13 & 27

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson), Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

PERHAPSODY

there is a very nice review of our new live cd Perhapsody on transformonline, written by ben taylor, who the astute reader will recognize as the same guy who reviewed Now I Understand so favorably last fall. and ok, so he is a former bass student of mine, he’s still got his own opinions and doesn’t tread the company line. see for yourself: http://www.transformonline.com/music/reviews/006460.php. and if you haven’t already why not pick up a copy or several? you can order it directly from kufala here: http://www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190.

MISC

*Manos*

if you’re like us and into bad, bad movies you may enjoy this, as it involves one of the absolutely mind-meltingly bad movies of all time: Manos, The Hands of Fate. “manos” meaning, of course, “hand”, so it’s Hand, The Hand of Fate, which is nice. ohmygod, is there a better character than torgo in bad cinema? we don’t think so. um, check it: http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2007/07/liner-notes-for-hkcfns-manos-eegah-and.html.

*Micro on sintir*

got a new vid up on youtube, of yours truly playing the sintir backstage at the ouro preto jazz festival in brazil back in 2000, shot by dana colley when orchestra morphine was in town performing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA2oU0K0_X8

*RIP Mr. Butch*

we were saddened to learn of the passing of one of boston’s icons, mr butch, the self-proclaimed king of kenmore square. someone gave him a vespa, which may not have been the most well-informed decision…sorry to see you go, butch.http://bostonist.com/2007/07/12/boston_has_lost.php

*Other passings*

long-time d’elf friend rich ehrman said goodbye to his mother lillian recently as she set sail for shores on the other side. we send our love and sympathy to him and his family at this difficult time.

thanks for your support of d’elf, and we hope to see you at a show. we’re all in this together.

peace.

micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

today marks the 8th anniversary of the death of my good friend and former band mate, Mark Sandman, and to honor his memory some friends are getting together to play his music this evening. see below for details. mark taught me a great deal in the 12 years or so that i knew him, and his influence becomes more pronounced as time goes on. older than me by 10 years or so, i looked up to him like a big brother, and was always amazed at the full scope of his artistry.

besides inventing several instruments (including the 2 string slide bass and the tritar) and developing a singular musical vision that incorporated these new sounds, he also possessed a poets affinity for language and a sophisticated visual art aesthetic which he applied to the world that was Morphine. he was also one of the funniest guys i have ever met. i miss him terribly, and was honored to be a part of Orchestra Morphine, the band that mark’s band mates in morphine – dana colley, jerome deupree andbilly conway – put together to play mark’s music on a tour that took us across america in 2000, and to festivals in italy and brazil. dana shot some footage at the ouro preto jazz festival in brazil and put together this little film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9ToI6JC8AU. for some vintage morphine check this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP8QhblSkRI.

another fallen bass player friend, scott palmer from john brown’s body, will be remembered as well. if you’re in the boston area come on down and help us celebrate the legacy of a couple of great musicians.

SHOWS

Tues July 3, 2007

Tribute To Mark Sandman w/ Mike Rivard & Friends (Dana Colley, Mike Keenan, Mister Rourke, Tommy Benedetti w/ special guests Monique Ortiz, Christian McNeill, Jerome Deupree, Tom Halter & more). Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188.11 pm. 21+. Free! www.mattmurphyspub.com

On the 8th anniversary of the passing of Mark Sandman, friends (incl. former Morphine band mates) & admirers will gather to pay tribute to the legacy of this amazing musician. Bassist Scott Palmer will also be remembered, with music from Guvnor, the band he co-lead with drummer Tommy Benedetti, being played as well.

Thursday July 5, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com. NOTE: NEW early start (no soul low). 9:30 pm. DON’T BE LATE!!! w/Roger Miller (keys), Matt Glover (elec mandolin), Jerry Leake (tablas & perc), Vicente Lebron (congas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), & Dean Johnston (drums).

Friday July 13, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. Haale (www.haale.com) opens at 9 pm, and then 2 sets of d’elf beginning at 10:30. w/ Randy Roos (guitar), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Matt Kilmer (ac & elec perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Brian Sayers (drums).

Tues July 17, 2007

Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery St (between Spring St & Rivington), New York, NY 10002. 212-982-0740.One set at 11 pm. $10. 21+. www.crashmansion.com. w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Oren Bloedow (guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Erik Kerr (drums).

Thursday July 19, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mike Rivard & Erik Kerr.

Thursday August 16, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.Friday August 17, 2007The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.

upcoming:

Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.www.festivalarabe.com.

D’ELF RELATED

Mondays July 9, 16 & 30, August 13 & 27

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson), Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! www.atwoodstavern.com.

PERHAPSODY……is the title of our new live cd on Kufala, which dropped just recently, like some kind of crazy hyper-object from the deepest realms of dreamtime. we’ll be offering it off of our site shortlips, but for now you can order it directly from kufala here:http://www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190. the BOSTON GLOBE recently ran this review of it: http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2007/06/19/many_moods_for_two_discs/and speaking of press, Now I Understand got some love from none other than the village voice:

* Village Voice Jazz Consumer Guide column*

Club D’Elf/Now I Understand (Accurate)

As the name implies, this is less a group than a meeting place, with a website listing more than 100 conspirators beyond a core-bassist Mike Rivard, drummer Erik Kerr, and oudist Brahim Fribgane-that favors fast grooves and world fusion. Special guests abound, with keyb whiz John Medeski, avant-violist Mat Maneri, and turntablist DJ Logic the best-known. My faves are the kids on the reggae track “Just Kiddin’” and the rapper who sounds like Dr. Dooom.  A MINUS (http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0726,hull,77050,22.html)

have a nice independence day, and we’ll see you in dreamland.

peace,

micro

www.clubdelf.com

www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

we did not lie to you. we realize that we have cried wolf many times in the past before our studio disc dropped, telling you that it was “coming”, and then it did not. come. eventually of course it did, and no doubt you have your very own personal copy sitting there on the dash of your spacecraft, but still you may smart from all of the shouts of “hey! balloon!!!”, when in fact there was no balloon. people can change, and so can aliens, and we have. changed. no more shouting about illusory things. when we say a cd is coming, by gum it’s coming. and it has. introducing our new live cd, Perhapsody. coming out june 19, just like we said it would. but don’t take it from me. take this from our “official press release”:

“When Club d’Elf released its first studio CD of its nine years of existence, Now I Understand, it was only fitting that the band should hold its official release party at the Lizard Lounge, where it had been playing most every other Thursday since ‘98. For this special evening leader Mike Rivard gathered together a heavyweight ensemble of MMW keyboardist John Medeski, the dual guitars of Dave Tronzo (Daniel Lanois/Sex Mob) and Duke Levine (Shawn Colvin/Jonatha Brooke), Mister Rourke (Soulive) on turntables and samples, and original d’Elf drummer Erik Kerr. Joining this stellar cast (with Rivard on electric and acoustic basses and the Moroccan sintir) were horn players Tom Hall, Tom Halter (Either/Orchestra) and Sam Kininger (Soulive). Fortunately the music that evening was recorded, captured in all of it’s detail on multi-track. The result is the live CD that sounds like a studio CD, Perhapsody, the band’s seventh release on LA based Kufala. The album captures the intense energy that d’Elf bring to their live shows, which have become the stuff of legend, featuring telepathic improvisations adorning relentless grooves, played by musicians at the top of their craft…”

we will be celebrating the release of Perhapsody (a double cd, with over 150 min of REAL GAS MUSIC FROM JUPITER!) with a special show at a new venue for us, the Regattabar. we are also collectively gleaming like toy potatoes at the prospect of an evening that will see us on a co-bill with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. can your heart stand it? of course we will have copies available for you to purchase and put next to that copy of NIU, making you the envy of all of the slime molds and gaseous entities colliding with you as you orbit jupiter. and isn’t that what it’s all about? that, and leonard nimoy covering the bad brains (http://www.seanbonner.com/blog/archives/002748.php). if you can’t make it to the show, you can order your copy directly from kufala here: http://www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190. and remember: it comes in a clear, cellulose (ie: paper!) baggie, which you can, um roll your smoke in. natch!

read on for info on this show and other summer shows, including our long-anticipated return to the big apple in july. also we would like to extend a big up to tabla player Aditya Kalyanpur for joining us at the lizard lounge for our show there this past may 17. those who were there got quite a treat, and we look forward to playing more with this exceptional musician when he returns from india in august. lastly, these newsletters are now being blogged, if you’re into that. http://blog.clubdelf.com/

SHOWS

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CD RELEASE PARTY!!!
Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, One Bennett St, Cambridge, MA. 02138. 617-661-5000.
Co-Bill w/ Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (www.jfjo.com).
7:30 pm. Club d’Elf plays first, followed by JFJO. Both bands will play 1 set, aprox 60 – 75 min.
$18. http://www.getshowtix.com/regattabar/moreinfo.cgi?id=1169
w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Roger Miller (keyboards), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Friday June 22, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.
w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mister Rourke, Mike Rivard & Dean Johnston.

Friday July 13, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. Haale (www.haale.com) opens at 9 pm, and then 2 sets of d’elf beginning at 10:30.

Tues July 17, 2007
Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery St (between Spring St & Rivington), New York, NY 10002. 212-982-0740.
$10. 21+. www.crashmansion.com. w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & voice), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Oren Bloedow (guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Erik Kerr (drums).

upcoming:

Oct 26, 2007
Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal
Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.
www.festivalarabe.com.

VIDEO HELP NEEDED

hey all of you aspiring video production types! want to help the d’elf out? we recently came upon a box full of mini DV tapes of our spring ‘01 tour w/ john medeski, brahim fribgane, mat maneri, micro, erik kerr & friends. some very cool moments from what little we’ve been able to watch. we need someone with a camera and/or playback device to transfer the tapes and compile some clips for youtube and whatnot. we’re also looking for someone with a camera to help us out with a video blog idea, so if interested respond to this email and all of your wildest dreams will come true. not responsible for disappointment, pain and suffering due to dreams not coming true.

D’ELF RELATED

Mondays in June (6/18 & 6/25)
Duke Levine Group (Duke Levine – Guitar; Kevin Barry – Guitar & Lap Steel; Mike Rivard – Bass; Per Hanson – Drums)
Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792. http://www.atwoodstavern.com
9:00 pm – 12 am. No cover!

Tues July 3, 2007
Mike Rivard & Friendly Monsters
Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA.
617-232-0188. 21+. Free!!!

WORLD RHYTHM BOOT CAMP
Internalizing Musical Time and Mathematics, Using Indian and African Rhythm Systems, Movement and Recitation

Jerry Leake, director and percussionist o Lisa Leake, dancer, vocalist

Sunday July 22-Saturday July 28, 2007
New England Conservatory, Boston, MA

For further information on scholarships, scheduling and housing:
Contact Liam Malloy, Program Coordinator at 617-585-1190

Presented by the NEC Summer Intercultural Institute
http://www.newenglandconservatory.edu/summer/institutes/rhythm_boot_camp.html

peace,

micro

www.clubdelf.com
www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

another last minute missive from d’elf hq. starting the summer off right with a show tonight at the lizard, so if you want to hear the angel trumpets & devil trombones, you know where to do it. come and join us as we engage in a group accessing of the same parts of your brain as eating chocolate, having sex and taking opiates (see daniel levitin article below). lots going on in this world of ours, and not all of it is too cool, is it? 40 years ago we had the summer of love & sgt peppers, but now with our current administration we seem to have the summer of shove. as usual we have been seeking out those things which still help us to laugh through the dark, and 2 of the better finds of late are our hero george meyer’s (you know, the simpsons guy) recent piece in the new yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2007/05/28/070528sh_shouts_meyer) and gareth marengi’s dark place, which is a bbc series that combines a cheesy 80s quantum leap look with some h.p. lovecraft
supernatural horror, and quite simply took us through our own dark place and into one that was considerably lighter (http://tv-links.co.uk/show.do/1/36). wow. thanks to peter for turning us onto that gem.

the elves have been busy, and when next we rap at ya in the next ish we’ll be announcing our new cd, Perhapsody, which drops on june 19. if you’re the type who just can’t wait to get your grubby little hooves on a copy and have to have one NOW!!! you can order it online at http://www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190. otherwise we will have them for sale at a most special show on 6/19 at the regattabar, so make sure you put that one on your calendar. we’ll be joining jacob fred jazz odyssey for an evening that promises to kick some arse. we’ve taken this opportunity to spruce up our myspace and website with some new tracks & other goodies, so if you haven’t peeped in awhile it’s worth a visit to www.myspace.com/clubdelf & www.clubdelf.com. more to come.

SHOWS

Thursday June 7, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com. NOTE: NEW early start (no soul low). 9:30 pm. DON’T BE LATE!!!
w/ Geoff Scott & Randy Roos (guitars), Jerry Leake (tablas & perc), Vicente Lebron (congas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CD RELEASE PARTY!!!
Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, One Bennett St, Cambridge, MA. 02138. 617-661-5000.
Co-Bill w/ Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (www.jfjo.com).
7:30 pm. Club d’Elf plays first, followed by JFJO. Both bands will play 1 set, aprox 60 – 75 min.
$18. http://www.getshowtix.com/regattabar/moreinfo.cgi?id=1169
w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Roger Miller (keyboards), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard & Dean Johnston.

Friday June 22, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.
w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Tom Hall (sax), Mister Rourke, Mike Rivard & Dean Johnston.

D’ELF RELATED SHOWS

Friday, June 8, 2007
World-jazz group Natraj features tabla virtuoso Aditya Kalyanpur
Dakshin, 672 Waverly St., Framingham, MA. 508-424-1030. http://www.sulekha.com/cities/city.aspx?nma=BOS
7:30 pm. $15 (general admission) and $10 (students, seniors); ages 8 and under are free.
Dinner with the show (starting at 8:30 pm) is $8.

Pinpoint rhythmic precision, bold and clear execution of syllables, and a colossal repertoire of compositions and
improvisational techniques are the hallmarks of special guest Aditya Kalyanpur`s virtuosic tabla playing. A highly sought-after
percussionist, he frequently tours with icons of Indian classical music, including santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma,
Ustad Shahid Parvez, N. Rajam, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhat.

Aditya Kalyanpur – special guest, tabla; Phil Scarff – soprano saxophone; Mike Rivard – string bass; Jerry Leake – tabla and multipercussion; Bertram Lehmann – drums and percussion.

Mondays in June (6/11, 6/18 & 6/25)
Duke Levine Group (Duke Levine – Guitar; Kevin Barry – Guitar & Lap Steel; Mike Rivard – Bass; Per Hanson – Drums)
Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792. http://www.atwoodstavern.com
9:00 pm – 12 am. No cover!

*Lamine Toure & Group Saloum

Upcoming Group Saloum dates:
Thursday, June 16, 10 pm @ Tazza Cafe, Providence, RI
Tuesday, June 26, 7:30 pm @ Berklee Percussion Festival, Boston, MA
Saturday, July 14 @ Zebulon, Brooklyn, NY
Thursday, July 19, 6:00 pm @ Battery Park Concert, Burlington, VT
Saturday, July 21, 7:00 pm @ Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, Montreal
www.laminetoure.com or www.myspace.com/groupsaloum

*we mentioned in a previous issue the plight of fellow bassist/sintir player vir mccoy, who fell ill to an infection related to lyme’s disease. thankfully he is doing better but has accrued some serious medical bills, and so friends and band members are having a benefit for him. if you’re in the bay area you may want to check this out and help a brother out:

Sat June 16, 2007
Heal the Real McCoy: Benefit for Vir McCoy
Ursa Minor Studio, 4318 Redwood Hwy, San Rafael.
Doors at 8 pm. $20 requested donation. www.ursaminor.com
Featuring Hamsa Lila, The Goddess Alchemy Project, Kid Beyond, DJ Dragonfly & more!

OHIO “HI” HALL

all of us in the d’elf family were deeply saddened to learn of the passing on may 22 of saxophonist tom hall’s father, hi hall. our thoughts and prayers have been with him and his family at this difficult time, and i’m sure all of you out there are sending vibes their way as well. we love you tom, and grieve with you. you are not alone, my friend.

Ohio “Hi” C. Hall, 86, was a resident of Summerdale, Alabama. He was born in Ohio and raised in Georgia. He joined the Georgia National Guard in 1941 and served in the U.S. Army through all of WWII. He served in the Pacific area and made the invasion of Okinawa in 1945. He then went to California and married Barbara May Johnson. They lived in Long Beach, California where he owned his own Grocery store and worked for Smart and Final Wholesale Grocers. He was recalled into the Army for the Korean War in 1951, spent 25 years in the Army and retired as a full Colonel. He served in the Korean and Vietnam wars and was stationed in many states as well as Germany and Okinawa. When he retired from the Army, he worked as a Field Underwriter for New York Life Insurance Company. In 1986 he fully retired and started RVing. He and Barbara traveled full time for 6 and 1/2 years when they bought a lot and built in Rainbow Plantation where they continued to live while
still enjoying travel in an RV.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years Barbara as well as six children, Diane Hall of Melbourne, FL; Becky (Larry) Viel of Newport, NC; Ernie (Barbara) Hall of Cleveland, GA; Linda (Kevin) Hall of New York City; Thomas (April) Hall of Boston, Ma. and Victoria (Mitch) Green of Wyckoff, NJ. He is also survived by grandchildren Larry Viel; Chris Hall; Deborah Viel; Jaime (Brian) Landrum; Justin McClure; Malinda Meyers, Kristina Hall-Long; Tracey Hall; Kamaria Bullock; Forest Hall; Stephanie Green; Josh Baker; and Ashley Smith as well as 4 great grandchildren Scotty, Savion, Abigail, and Vaughn.

His burial with full military honors will be at Arlington National Cemetery on August 8, 2007 at 9 AM.

MISC

*i’ve had this guys book This Is Your Brain On Music on my stack of “to reads” for awhile now, so now i really have to get around to reading it. this was in the washington post recently (thanks to commissioner gordon for bringing it to my attention), and since it’s all about sex, drugs & rock and roll and the brain, we thought it might be right up your street. plus it gives props to the beatles, and that ain’t bad, seeing as how they changed the world and all. check it:
It Was 40 Years Ago Today By Daniel J. Levitin, Washington Post, Friday, June 1, 2007

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053101848_pf.html

*way, way before dan brown made a pile of dough with the davinci code, the ideas which he presents in that book were floating around, but one had to search a bit deeper than just walking into a barnes & noble. we were reading about freemasons, the knights templar, the illuminati, etc in the books of robert anton wilson & others back in the day, and if you’re interested in this sort of thing – and have a bit of time on your hands (it’s pretty lengthy) – you may enjoy this article by rick flavin:
http://www.flavinscorner.com/scibadly3.htm

peace,

micro

greetings and salutations,

to all of you mothers out there, happy mother’s day. and to all of you muthas, just talking about shaft. damn right. we’re off to the woods for a few days of wood-shedding and elf-spotting, but just wanted to alert you before going off the grid to the impending conflagration of d’elf energy which will be occurring at these particular coordinates in this space/time continuum. ahem. be seeing you?

SHOWS

Thursday May 17, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com. NOTE: NEW early start (no soul low). 9:30 pm. DON’T BE LATE!!!
w/ Brahim Fribgane (oud, perc & vocal), Geoff Scott (guitar), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).
www.myspace.com/brahimfribgane
www.myspace.com/duxxy
www.myspace.com/gavincastleton

Saturday May 19, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.
w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Tom Hall (sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard & Dean Johnston.
www.myspace.com/misterrourke
www.myspace.com/tronzo

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CD RELEASE PARTY!!!
Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, One Bennett St, Cambridge, MA. 02138. 617-661-5000.
Co-Bill w/ Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (www.jfjo.com).
7:30 pm. Club d’Elf plays first, followed by JFJO. Both bands will play 1 set, aprox 60 – 75 min.
$18. http://www.getshowtix.com/regattabar/moreinfo.cgi?id=1169
w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Mister Rourke, Mike Rivard, Dean Johnston & more!
www.myspace.com/dukelevine

Friday June 22, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.

Thurs July 5, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.

PERHAPSODY: YOU CAN SMOKE IT

the release date for our new live cd Perhapsody is june 19. this of course is the recording from the lizard lounge 10.12.06 cd release party that we have been telling you about for the past few issues. we plan on a whole series of releases of release parties, like we could record the release party for the disc of the release party, then have a release party for THAT one, and…you got it – RECORD THAT one, and so on and so on. or maybe not. did we mention that you can SMOKE the cd baggie? yup, you heard it right. here’s what brady from kufala has to say on the matter: “From today on we are shipping everything in our new smokeable baggies. I developed a wood cellulose CD baggie that is 98% transparent, non-toxic, chemical free, no plastic, biodegradable, and smokeable (it is made out of the same paper as the clear rolling papers. You will be able to buy the new d’elf album and roll a joint with the shrink wrap (or I should say our alternative to shrink wrap). It
is a total trip because it looks like plastic but it is paper. We have an exclusive on the technology and will be announcing it in a big way in about 2 weeks. We now have the first truly non-plastic CD packaging model and people are loving it. Yeah….” so now you know! buy the cd, rock to the crazy sounds, support d’elf, get your smoke on AND do something for the environment. look for it soon…

D’ELF RELATED

Saturday May 12 2007
A fundraising event for the Agassiz Preschool.
THE AGASSIZ PRESCHOOL presents PRESHOOLAPALOOZA 2007: an evening of music, food, and entertainment.
North Prospect Church, 1803 MASS AVE. o Porter Square o Cambridge MA.
FEATURING ENTERTAINMENT BY TIM GEARAN roots folk singer songwriter; JIMMY RYAN mandolin legend; MISS TESS modern vintage; THE BOSTON HULA HOOP TROUPE the name says it all! BABES IN BOINKLAND burlesque and more!
and a very special concert with one of Boston’s most exciting new bands…THE EVERYDAY VISUALS
6:30 doors / 7:00 show. $30. Tickets on sale at www.virtuous.com.

MISC

*Vir McCoy*

we have been sending out healing vibes to bassist & sintir player vir mccoy from the west coast band hamsa lila, who has been battling for his life. never met the man, but had some correspondence with him, and brahim did a little playing with him and word is he’s a solid dude. we support our brethren of the sintir, natch. seems like he’s doing better but could still use some support, so if you feel like sending some energy his way, i’m sure he’d appreciate it. we received this from him:

Family and Friends,

I want to express so much gratitude and thankfulness for all who sent out prayers, came to the hospital and kept me fed, held space, and wiped my brow and kept me laughing. I am overwhelmed at the amount of love that poured in. Sometimes we really need help. I really needed help (still do) and help came. Thank you. The experience was a harrowing one – Intense 104 fevers for 10 days, nerve pains, delirium (I didn’t sleep for 10 days) meningitis, headaches and nausea etc… All I could do was breathe. A couple of times it felt like I was not going to make it – couldn’t walk- I was completely in the hands of my body, will to live and all your prayers that poured in. There was a moment where I sat up in bed and put my hands up. I felt what seemed like Niagra falls pouring into me -a river of prayer and energy from all who were sending it to me. I realized that we really can effect people through our thoughts, prayers and sending energy. Thank you, Thank You,
Thank you all so much. Thanks for not letting a brother slip through the cracks. We all need each other.

Many of you know I have been working with lymes disease in my body and the final diagnosis was a confection called Erlichia, which I knew little about. On some deep level though I think the high fevers burned it all out – even the docs thought so- but I am being cautious just in case-Lymes is tricky- time will tell. I have learned so much about lymes disease and have a ton of information (I think I will call the manuscript “From Ayahuasca to Zithromax!”) There has been a profound intuitive quality that has come with this. I can share with others who may need help. Just send them my email and I can send all the info I have.
I am still quite weak and have residual nerve damage in my arm and hand, but feel like a new baby. Just working on getting stronger everyday. That hot lava in the belly. There were so many of you who sent emails with prayers, suggestions and doctors I haven’t been able to write everyone back individually but I will as I am able. Any further suggestions or good doctors is always helpful.

Life is precious- don’t let your dreams slip by- stay funky
Sending you all health and courage
In living loving gratitude
Vir

Virmccoy@yahoo.com
415-370-5146

A special thanks to Angela Layton and Elana Vollen -two Angels who helped save my life amazing!

*Club d’Elf at the Stone Church 4.21.07*

our man scott b has shot yet another d’elf show at the stone church and put some footage up on youttune, where of course we all spend way to much time. hey, what’s another 4 minutes? waste it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDcbl4Q4XBw

*John Cage on TV Game Show 1960*

this was just too much fun to see the father of chance music on tv’s “i’ve got a secret”. he’s a great sport and has a wonderful sense of humor and childlike glee as he goes about knocking over radios due to a union squabble. see for yourself:

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/04/john_cage_on_a_.html

*10 Most Magnificent Trees In the World*

what do trees have to do with club d’elf? well, nothing. and…EVERYTHING. besides the fact that most of our instruments are made from them (but only criminal trees who deserved to die), i spend as much time as possible practicing outdoors and derive much inspiration from them. and yeah, maybe even hugged one or two. love to see one of these up close:

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/03/21/10-most-magnificent-trees-in-the-world/

*Lifting the Veil*

um, we like elves. and grandmother. you might find this interesting if you do, too.

http://www.liftingtheveil.tv/

until the next time, i hope we’re all still here, and if not that we’ll meet again in some better place. fight the good fight, and may you and yours have as much peace as you envision in your dreams….the good ones.

micro

www.clubdelf.com
www.myspace.com/clubdelf

greetings and salutations,

we’ve gotten word that tonight’s paradise show with john brown’s body & club d’elf IS going on, despite JBB’s drummer tommy benedetti’s breaking his collarbone in a bike accident. tommy is a trooper and we are all sending him tons of good bone-healing vibes and energy to get through the night and heal as quickly as possible. come on down on this rainy friday and support tommy and both bands because hey, it’s the weekend! no school or work tomorrow! yay! unless of course you work or go to school on saturday, in which case you should just shut up and come out. we’ll actually be getting a longer set, for due to tommy’s accident JBB will be playing a shorter set (75 min), giving us a full 90 minutes with which to lovingly rip some faces off, through which we will watch as they watch us wearing their faces, watching them. and then of course lovingly re-attach them at the end, and hey, my pockets are full of arrowheads! thanks! what i’m saying is no one gets hurt. don’t
miss this rare chance to see d’elf on a big old rock stage on a friday night. we even rehearsed.

SHOWS

Friday April 27, 2007…TONIGHT!!!!!
The Paradise Rock Club, 969 Comm Ave, Boston, MA 02215.
617-562-8800. $16.50. 18+. http://www.thedise.com/rockclub/index.html
Opening for John Brown’s Body (www.johnbrownsbody.com/).
w/ Randy Roos (guitar), Gavin Castleton (keyboards & beatbox), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Thursday May 17, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.

Saturday May 19, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.
w/ Dave Tronzo, Mister Rourke, Mike Rivard, Dean Johnston, Agnes Moorehead & more! Only, no Agnes. We wish…we wish…

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, One Bennett St, Cambridge, MA. 02138. 617-661-5000.
Co-Bill w/ Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (www.jfjo.com).
7:30 pm. Club d’Elf plays first, followed by JFJO. Both bands will play 1 set, aprox 60 – 75 min.
$18. http://www.getshowtix.com/regattabar/moreinfo.cgi?id=1169

Friday June 22, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.

2007 PHOENIX/FNX BEST MUSIC POLL

it’s still not too late to vote for club d’elf in the best jazz category. not that we, you know, care about such things. and what IS “jazz” anyway? and what is “what”? and what is “is”? and…
http://www.thephoenix.com/bmp/boston/1/default.aspx

MISC

*New Live CD*

it is coming. for a sneak preview check out our myspace: www.myspace.com/clubdelf. and speaking of live club d’elf, you can download most of our shows from the last few years (except for 10.12.06 lizard lounge, which is the one we’ll be releasing, because what, do you think we’re stupid? don’t answer that), or if you don’t want to wait for the enormous files to download, you can stream tracks, incl our last lizard show on 4.12.07 which was a pretty good one, with david johnston singing a few songs, and dana colley and duke levine rocking SO hard. here, hear, here’s where it’s all at: http://www.archive.org/details/ClubdElf

*On Dreaming*

thanks to twood for this one. we like the dreaming one, and the role playing one, and pretty much all of them: http://xkcd.com/c203.html

*James Jamerson*

we make no bones about our devotion to this man. a lot of folks got to know his mostly-unsung name FINALLY through the film Standing in the Shadows of Motown. james was the bassist on most of the classic songs from that label, and is pretty much recognized as being one of the major innovators on the instrument. his sound, feel, touch, note choices, vibe, groove, etc etc have influenced me so much that i have to silently thank him every time i pick up the instrument. this may be for only true jamerson geeks, of which i am happy to include myself in the ranks of, but just might be worthy of the perusal of non-bassists as well. it’s a site with isolated bass tracks from such classic tunes as marvin gaye’s “what’s going on”, the four tops “reach out”, etc. thanks to rick suchow for posting them, and ben t for turning me onto it: http://www.ricksuchow.com/music-group-111.html

*Goodbye Tonic*

alas, tonic is no more. long live tonic. marc ribot has started a campaign to bring about awareness of the lack of ANY kind of venue in nyc that holds more than 60 people for avant/creative/whatever music and culture. who knows if this will bring about any changes in manhattan, which seems well on it’s way to shutting out the artists and creative types who have for years been part of it’s essential cultural make-up, but we can hope, can’t we? if you would like to sign their petition and stay abreast (we just love saying that word) of their endeavors, here’s the link:
http://takeittothebridge.com/cgi-bin/petition_tonic.pl

peace,

micro

www.clubdelf.com

greetings and salutations,

hey, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it? been one long minute since we last came at ya, and may we just say that we hope all is dandy in your world. some pretty crazy sh*t since the last ish, but no sense re-hashing it here. we all know what it is. pretty weird, though, innit? like we’re just careening as a species towards some…whatever, some BIG THING. something big, alright. been reading daniel pinchbeck’s 2012: The Return of Quetzlcoatl, and there’s a lot to chew on, alright. so far don’t like it as much as his Breaking Open The Head, but we’re keeping an open mind. since we last came at you your humble narrator has been on an adventure in peru, breaking open my own head with the help of a shaman, not to mention gramma. whoa daddy! no time to go into it here, cuz we got a show tonight and i have strings to change and gear to schlep. pay no heed to the weather, all ye in the 617. come venture down to the cozy confines of the lizard and all shall be made right. come
here angel trumpets and devil trombones…you are INVITED!

SHOWS

Thurs March 15, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA. 02138.
617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.
8 – 9 pm (Soul Low): Hostfalt and Raberg (see below)
10 pm – 1:30 am: Club d’Elf w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Jerry Leake (tablas & perc), Vicente Lebron (congas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums), w/ Tom Halter sitting in on trumpet. maybe we’ll have bruno and sten sit in as well. never had 2 basses on a d’elf gig before….hmmm, you never know.

Hostfalt and Raberg (http://www.myspace.com/hostfaltandraberg)
Labeled “groundbreaking, virtuosic innovators on the cutting edge of the NYC scene” and “lyrical, graceful, jazz impressionists of the highest order”, guitarist Sten Hostfalt and bassist Bruno Raberg are known to create a highly unique, original sonic universe whenever they join forces and merge.

“Sten Hostfalt has developed his own repertoire incorporating microtones. May be considered groundbreaking work, expanding the sonic continuum available to the guitar ” – Don Williamson, Jazz Review

Råberg has 5 recordings as a bandleader featuring artists such as Mick Goodrick, Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, Chris Cheek, Matt Wilson ands Bob Moses. He is currently a Professor at Berklee College of Music.

Friday March 16, 2007
Brandeis University, 415 South St, Waltham, MA. 02453.
Chums Coffeeshop (inside Usen Castle). 18+. Free and Open To The Public
http://my.brandeis.edu/btime/item?item_id=494683&user=&group=
Supporting DJ Logic.
8:00 doors. Baldi & Suburban Graffiti @9 PM. Club d’Elf @10:00PM – 11:00PM w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Tom Hall (sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums). DJ Logic @ 11:15PM. maybe we can coax logic into joining us for a little hot, dj on dj action. yeah daddy!

Thurs March 29, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.
w/ Randy Roos, Mister Rourke & more!

Friday March 30, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.
603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com.
Club d’Elf begins a new monthly residency at the Stone Church!
w/ Randy Roos, Mister Rourke, Mike Rivard, Dean Johnston & more!

Friday April 27, 2007
The Paradise Rock Club, 969 Comm Ave, Boston, MA 02215.
617-562-8800. 18+. http://www.thedise.com/rockclub/index.html
Opening for John Brown’s Body (www.johnbrownsbody.com/).
w/ Randy Roos, Gavin Castleton, Mister Rourke, Mike Rivard & Dean Johnston.
NOTE: this show has been changed from the original date of April 28. just to vex you.

D’ELF RELATED SHOWS

Friday, March 16, 2007
Lamine Toure & Group Saloum
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge (between Harvard and Porter Squares).
$10 at door (21+ show), $8 in advance (www.virtuous.com). 9:30 pm. www.laminetoure.com or www.myspace.com/groupsaloum

Group Saloum is: Lamine Toure (sabar and lead vocals), Paa Seck (sabar), Moha Seck (sabar), Michael Lewis (drums), Raja Kassis (lead guitar), Akili Jamal Haynes (bass and backing vocals), Patricia Tang (keyboards and violin), Kimani Lumsden (percussion), Josiah Woodson (trumpet, flute and guitar), Iginaijah Maxwell (backing vocals), John Vanderpool (sax) and Sarah
Privler (trombone).

Tuesday March 20, 2007
Public House w/ Geoff Scott & Johnny Trama (guitars), Timo Shanko (tenor sax), Mike Rivard (bass) & Brian Sayers (drums).
Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, Ma.
21+. Free. www.mattmurphyspub.com

Thursday March 22, 2007
Natraj Featuring special guest Senegalese master drummer Lamine Touré
Ryles Jazz Club, 212 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge, MA.
8:30PM. 617-876-9330 or visit www.ryles.com.
The world-jazz ensemble Natraj celebrates 20 years of fusing Indian classical music, West African music, and contemporary
jazz with a show at Ryles Jazz Club. This program features special guest
Senegalese master drummer Lamine Touré on sabar, djembe, talking drum, and taasu (rhythmic recitation).
$12. Validated parking is available. All ages.

Featured guest Sabar master drummer Lamine Touré comes from a long line of musicians from the Wolof people of Senegal.
He has toured extensively in Senegal, Europe, and North America, and was featured at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Leader
of the Afro-pop band Group Saloum, he is known for artistry in fusing traditional Senegalese rhythms with jazz, rock, and
Afro-pop.

Lamine Toure – West African percussion, Phil Scarff – soprano saxophone, Rohan Gregory – violin, Mike Rivard – string bass,
Jerry Leake – tabla and multipercussion, Bertram Lehmann – drums and percussion.

Monday April 2, 2007
Gwa Gwa featuring Mike Rivard (bass), Brian Ales (laptop), Matt Kilmer (perc & electronics) & Dean Johnston (drums).
Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, Ma.
21+. Free. www.mattmurphyspub.com

Friday April 13, 2007
Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mike Rivard (bass) & Dean Johnston (drums).
Brookline Tai Chi Center, 1615 Beacon St, Brookline, MA. 02446.
617-277-2975. www.brooklinetaichi.com. 8 – 10 pm. $10. All Ages.

MISC

*New Live CD

we’re hard at work on the next installment in our series of live recordings on the kufala label, this one from our cd release party show at the lizard lounge on oct 12, 2006, with john medeski, mister rourke, erik kerr, tom hall & the incendiary dual guitars of dave tronzo & duke levine. wow. it sounds really good, thanks to the musicians of course, but also to dan cardinal who recorded and mixed it. we’re in the final stages and it should be done and ready for you to run not walk to your computer to order this sucker, no doubt. anyone who was at the show and has some good photos, we’re looking for some. what’s in it for you? if we use yours we’ll not only give you a free copy, but your name will go in the credits, spelled right and everything! so hit us with what you got.

*Northeast Performer

speaking of dan, he wrote an article on us from an “insiders perspective” for northeast performer magazine, and it’s available in print form for all you old-schoolers, as well as online here: http://www.performermag.com/neperf_sp02.php.

*Now I Understand on XM radio

well, they said it couldn’t be done, those nay-sayers, those suit-wearing, radioactive, vegetable-based life forms who inhabit the interior world of our heads…they said “no way can a weird, gas-music-from-jupiter-soundin

g cd by an obscure group that doesn’t even stay the same from performance to performance get played on the RADIO!” and then they made some unintelligible sounds that seemed to indicate we were supposed to kill our whole family. but we didn’t listen to them! nor should you, because you know what? we made it to #2 on XM radio. not that we have a player or anything, but we’re told it’s good, and they’re playing us, so they gotta be good! take THAT metheny & mehldau! oh, sorry about the #18… suckers! hahahahahahaha…………………………….
um, thanks to the lovely michelle sammartino for loving us and helping to spread the word on xm. soon the world shall be ours!

GR8 NEW MOJA*ON XM72 BEYONDJAZZ
For Wednesday, 28 February, 2007
NOW…THEN…ARTIST…CD TITLE…LABEL
1…10…Mike Mainieri…Northern Lights (NYC Records)
2…3…Club D’Elf-Now I Understand (Accurate)
3…4…Michael Wolff-Love And Destruction (Wrong Records)
4…5…Javon Jackson- Now (Palmetto Records)
5…1…Stanton Moore-III (Telarc)
6…2…Don Byron-Do The Boomerang (Blue Note)
7…9…David Gilmore-Unified Presence (RKM Music)
8…6…John Medeski/Matthew Shipp-Scotty Hard’s Radical Reconstructive Surgery (Thirsty Ear)
9…17…Donald Harrison-The Survivor (Nagel Heyer)
10…18…Kyle Eastwood-Now (Candid Records)
11…19…Michelle Rosewoman-The In Side Out (Advance Dance Disques)
12…16…Mitchell Forman-Perspectives (Marsis Jazz)
13…ADD Ornette Coleman…Sound Grammar (Phrase Text)
14…7…Al Di Meola-Consequence Of Chaos (Telarc)
15…8…Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood-Out Louder (Indirecto)
16…12…Mike Stern-Who Let The Cats Out (Heads Up International)
17…11…Patricia Barber-Mythologies (Blue Note)
18…13…Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau-Metheny Mehldau (Nonesuch)
19…15…Stefon Harris-African Tanatella: Dances With Duke (Blue Note)
20…ADD David Grisman-Dawg’s Groove (Acoustic Disc)

*YouTube

thanks to our man rob, all of the videos from our website are now on youtube. if you’ve wanted to relive some moments of glory and face-pelt wearing from the past, and don’t have the time to wait for them to download on our site, AND you enjoy wasting time on youtube, then go here ye intrepid traveler: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=CLUB+DELF. check out especially poppa joe maneri in the jungle adagio clip from the knitting factory. wow. joe was channeling the spirits that night. incidentally, this show was released as 4/20 NYC (KUF0067) and is available from kufala (http://kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=69). nice.

*3/7/07 Stone Church review

there’s a write-up of last weeks set from tronzo & micro, opening for benevento/mathis/dillon at the stone church. it marked the first installment of their Mind Find series, and we hope to be participating in more of those in the future.
http://www.wirenh.com/Music/Field_Recordings/Marco_Benevento%2C_Reed_Mathis_and_Mike_Dillon_%40_The_Stone_Church%2C_March_7_200703131960.html

*Tyrone Hill (RIP)

we were saddened to learn of the passing of the late, great trombonist from sun ra’s arkestra. there doesn’t seem to be any obit on the web yet, but here’s something to check out, as well as the official sun ra. if you are unfamiliar, then start checking out the amazing universe of sound that was created by these cats. seeing ra live on many occasions as a young whippersnapper influenced your humble narrator in a big way, for what it’s worth. all the best to you tyrone as you travel the spaceways from planet to planet. http://www.eticomm.net/%7Ekbillert/TyHisStory.html. official Sun Ra website: http://www.elrarecords.com/links.html

*Leroy Jenkins (RIP)

we lost another great musician recently, the great jazz violinist leroy jenkins, whom succumbed to lung cancer. i listened to him extensively in my “formative” years, especially his work with the Revolutionary Ensemble. sorry to see you go, leroy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_Jenkins

*Beatbox Recipe

we love some good beatboxing. you do too, right? of course you do. and if it makes you laugh as well? that’s just bonus time then. we got sent this link from several sources all at once, so you may have seen it, but if not do yourself a favor and check it:
http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/kitchen/video/x12565_beatbox

geez….it’s after 4 and i still haven’t gotten this thing out. enough already! more for you in the next ish. until then we wish you continued breathing of oxygen and an increased sense of the incredible beauty that exists in this world of ours, even with all the f-ed up sh*t going on. wow. no time to lose. we’re all in this together!

greetings and salutations,

happy new year, ya’ll. from all of us here in d’elf land, we hope it is filled with peace and much goodness for you and yours, and hope that you let the sounds of d’elf be part of the soundtrack of your life this year. we lost a lot of good folks at the end of ‘06 and early ‘07, and we miss them all (see the bottom of this message for some of those we miss). here at d’elf HQ we shall endeavor to keep the fires burning as we keep smelting them tracks in our subterranean laboratory, filled with the necessary incantations to help you keep the cthonic forces at bay. and we will try to take physical shape more and more and play in a town near you, in’shallah. yes, we have lots in store this year, and much new music to lay on you, so stay tuned. you’ll be seeing lots of new tracks and videos showing up on our myspace (www.myspace.com/clubdelf) and website (www.clubdelf.com), so don’t say we didn’t warn ya. as for now, we have a show this evening at the lizard lounge, and
it’s last minute as always, so without much further do-do, on to the shows…

SHOWS

Thurs Jan 18, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.
8 – 9 pm (Soul Low) : Rivard/Cassan/Glover. Mike Rivard (ac bass), Roberto Cassan (accordion) & Matt Glover (elec mandolin) play originals and music by Hermeto Pascoal, Astor Piazolla, as well as folk music from Bulgaria, Turkey, and all over this big old planet of ours.
10 pm – 1:30 am : Club d’Elf featuring Gavin Castleton (Ikeyboards & beatbox), Randy Roos & Geoff Scott (guitars), Vicente Lebron (congas & perc), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums).

Thurs Feb 8, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.
Special 9th Anniversary Show! w/ Duke Levine, Alain Mallet, Mister Rourke, Mike Rivard, Erik Kerr & more!

Thurs March 15, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.
w/ Dave Tronzo & more!

Thurs March 29, 2007
The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
617-547-0759. 21+. $10. www.lizardloungeclub.com.

Friday March 30, 2007
The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857. 603-659-6321. $10. 18+. www.thestonechurch.com.
Club d’Elf begins a new monthly residency at the Stone Church!
w/ Mister Rourke & more!

D’ELF RELATED SHOW

Saturday, January 20, 2007
Natraj featuring Indian classical violinist Tara Anand
Chinmaya Maruti, 1 Union St. (Rt. 28 South, opposite Burke Funeral Home, off I-495), Andover, MA.
7:00PM – 9:30PM
$14 (general) and $10 (students, seniors); $2 discount for advance purchase; age 6 and under free. For tickets and information, call (781) 729-9170.
Tara Anand – special guest, electric violin; Phil Scarff – soprano saxophone; Mike Rivard – string bass; Jerry Leake – tabla and multipercussion; Bertram Lehmann – drums and percussion.
This concert showcases guest Tara Anand’s Indian classical violin magic on original works, as well as contemporary treatments of traditional Indian compositions. Tara has toured the US and India, performing with esteemed artists, including T. R. Subramaniam, M. L. Vasanthakumari, Prof. Ramanathan, Sudha Raghunathan, Nookala Satyanarayana, T. Rukmini, and
NEA Choreography Fellow Jothi Raghavan.

PETER BARRETT

peter is of course the guy responsible for all those cool images on our live cds. now folks in the 617 and vicinity can peep what folks in nyc, miami, europe, etc have been privy to : peter’s work in the “flesh”. he actually paints on some kind of flesh canvas, but don’t tell anyone i told you. he’ll be at the opening of his show, and a bunch of us d’elf folks will be there, so come on down. if you can’t, it runs for a few months so you have some time.

January 26, 2007
“Big Bang: Painting for the 21st Century”
DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA
http://www.decordova.org/decordova/exhibit/2006/bigbang.html
peter@barrettart.com
www.barrettart.com
quisimangiabene.blogspot.com

AN APPEAL

- we are looking to hook up some college gigs, as those usually pay rather well and allow a band like us to tour and play dates where we don’t make so much money. if you can hook us up with the students activity folks at your college or just one that you know about, and it leads to a gig, well we will shower you with some d’elf goodies, like cds and whatever indulgences we can muster. help us out! Cthulhu demands it!

RECENT PRESS & ARTICLES & STUFF

- Pop Matters reviews Now I Understand. But do they get it? Sort of.
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/club-delf-now-i-understand/

- AllAboutJazz.com has a nice review of Now I Understand, so if you are still looking for a good reason to buy this album, try this out:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=24314

- Glide
the folks at glide magazine asked me to contribute to their end of the year “best of”, which is always an honor. if you want to see some of the things (which are fit to print) that gave me a chubby this year, check this:
http://www.glidemagazine.com/bo2006/clubdelf.php

- Green Arrow Radio
mister g and i had been going round and round, trying to figure out a time for he and i to have an on-air chat, and we finally worked it out at the end of dec. he plays a few tracks from NIU, and we talk about some aspects of this thing called “d’elf”. warning : face-wearing may be mentioned.
http://www.greenarrowradio.com/2006/12/18/mike-rivard-of-club-delffinally/

- XM Radio props

Michelle Sammartino (host of Jammin’ Jazz) listed Now I Understand as one of the BEST OF 2006, and it was her Staff Pick for 12/15/06. You go, girl! She had this to say:

“An incredible combination of seasoned talents together for their first ever STUDIO release after putting out NUMEROUS live recordings over many years. Under the sophisticated direction of Mike Rivard you’ve got phenomenal players like John Medeski, Billy Martin, Mat Maneri, Adam Deitch and a list too long to add here. This is a mixture of jazz, funk, electronica, electric bass, beatbox, viola, samples, laptop…. And heart and soul and rhythm and jazz….A great addition to any number of collections of various genres… it fits everywhere!”

late-breaking news : as we write this we just got a comment from michelle on our myspace in which she says :

“Ok I just gotta tell ya… I mean I know you know that I love this friggin CD but I purposely took it out of my car so I would listen to all the other CDs I am supposed to be checking out for the channel… so it’s been a while… like a month…And then there it is…. Like a drug… so I pop it in and all over again I am hooked! What have you done to me!!!??? Seriously though this is one of my all time desert island CDs… you can quote me on that too! “

wow, thanks, michelle! now go out and get yourself a copy of this cd! available at iTunes, amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Now-I-Understand-Club-dElf/dp/B000H5U6C0/sr=8-5/qid=1157417150/ref=sr_1_5/103-1260675-4680612?ie=UTF8&s=music), the merch page on our site (where we still have our special offer available to you, our discerning readers : http://www.clubdelf.com/nl_special.html), to mention but a few.

- State Of Mind
the dec ‘06/jan ‘07 issue of this magazine has an article i wrote on my appreciation of the music of Hassan Hakmoun. the article is only available in the print version of the pub, but i blogged it on the d’elf myspace. this link may take you to it (if not go to the link at the top of this message and scroll to blogs):
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=51135571&blogID=218438141&MyToken=630a3696-7b50-416b-b140-3ca237ce0d55

PHOTOS & YOUTUBE

- bill t. miller took some nice shots (and a short video ) or our last show at the lizard lounge with roger miller (no relation). if you were there, you can relive the magic of the evening all over again, if you weren’t, you can see what a bunch of folks who had been doing some drinkin’ were up to…
12.28.06 Lizard Lounge : http://billtmiller.com/clubdelf/lizard2006/

- our new years show at the stone church was a pretty groovy night, and if you’d like to see a 2 min clip of tronzo collecting some face pelts, our pal scott b shot this: 12.31.06 Stone Church : www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzBKTmxzrxk

MISC

- lady v turned me onto this, and this is just so…so…i don’t know what it is. just another reminder of what a strange and wondrous world we live in, where moths drink the tears of birds: http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0701,tate,75451,22.html

- erik kerr, our erstwhile drummer & the king of beaver is a really weird guy, but weird in that way that we love. recently i got this from him, and it sort of sums up a lot of things:

..and oh i mean sweat, baby…drinking down that salty body ale that does a body good – especially the lower jaw mandible; the gulping skull without sinews…oh yeah he loves to slosh it through his cheek slots, like the seal tank at sea world. drippity droppity goes the frothy perspiration cola. wuh, wuh!!

uh, yeah.

PASSINGS

we are sad to see these folks leave us, and the loss of RAW especially hit me hard. reading his books when i was a teenager growing up in a conservative midwestern bible belt town did more than just about any other human being to help shape the way i perceived the world (that, and some really interesting plants), and provided a much-needed antidote to the dogmatic religious beliefs and close-mindedness that existed all around me. he taught me that we all perceive reality through our own personal “reality tunnel”, as well as turning me on to various mind-blowing concepts from quantum physics, such as that the universe is being created by it’s participants. he is truly one of the patron saints of club d’elf, right up there with philip k. dick, terence mckenna and rod serling, and i will miss him. i will also miss michael brecker, alice coltrane, and still feel the sting of the loss of james brown and will for a long time to come. there’s a good obit by greg tate from
the village voice if you haven’t seen it, and you should really check out some of the clips of prime james showing up on youtube, like this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMQZNMjqqM

ROBERT ANTON WILSON

Robert Anton Wilson (RIP)
David Pescovitz: Robert Anton Wilson–philosopher, author, visionary, Discordian, Fortean, and bOING bOING patron saint–died early this morning. From his final blog post on January 6:

Various medical authorities swarm in and out of here predicting I have between two days and two months to live. I think they are guessing. I remain cheerful and unimpressed. I look forward without dogmatic optimism but without dread. I love you all and I deeply implore you to keep the lasagna flying.

Please pardon my levity, I don’t see how to take death seriously. It seems absurd.
Fnord

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/74033093/robert_anton_wilson_.html
http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/01/11/robert-anton-wilson-1932-2007/

MICHAEL BRECKER

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–obit-brecker0113jan13,0,95642.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

ALICE COLTRANE

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/13/alice_coltrane_rip_1.html

JAMES BROWN EULOGY

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0701,tate,75451,22.html

thanks for your time. stay safe, have fun, and see you at a show sometime soon. we’re all in this together.

-micro