Club d’Elf on Earth Day…and the return of Brahim Fribgane
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
Club d'Elf Bloggings 