alias pail http://virb.com/aliaspail currently working on projects with my pal foot foot in japan, and steve dacosta (plinth) in the uk. circuit bending instruments and designing new ones for performance. playing in twi and humble feather. also rehearsing alias pail material with hiko hektor so that we can finally play live soon.]]> Virb 2.0 (@aliaspail) en dollboy http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/230405 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:15:30 -0800 http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/230405 friendly ghost http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/230403 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:12:57 -0800 http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/230403 toys we made http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/102928 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:28:34 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/102928 three little stones http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/102923 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:22:53 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/102923 cubes http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/70186 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:07:40 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/audio/70186 dollboy promotional video http://virb.com/aliaspail/videos/1748263 promotional video for 'dollboy' on 'my pail split split.' spit cd release with my pal foot foot.

]]> Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:06:03 -0800 http://virb.com/aliaspail/videos/1748263 Glassy Cassie Evil Eye http://virb.com/aliaspail/videos/1736389 performance at bent fest 2007 in new york city

]]> Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:43:12 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/videos/1736389 DSCF2749 http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307746 ]]> Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:33:48 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307746 live at bent festival @ EYEBEAM http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307743 ]]> Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:32:39 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307743 live at bent festival @ EYEBEAM http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307742 ]]> Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:32:28 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307742 live at bent festival @ EYEBEAM http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307741 ]]> Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:32:15 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307741 live at bent festival @ EYEBEAM http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307740 ]]> Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:32:06 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/photos/1307740 stocking stuffer album review : 1-bit music http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/945540 altback from the blogworld deadlands. consulting with utanapishtim and hunting for the boxthorn, i came up empty handed. but serious: blog time has shrunk, the master distraction, the important piece of procrastination in a stacked pancake of delicious duties, this once weekly blog has become a petrified tree.

so now i'll live vicariously through belated intentions with a present tense child post. vicar of the ghost of blogging past. that means i get to experience what it would be like posting as if i posted regularly, and this was an 'active' blog.

in that spirit, i always intened to write about tristan perich's release on cantaloupe records, 1 bit music.

i met tristan orignally through his rag tag projector martha stewarty audio IC cooking show, the loud objects, when alias pail shared the performance night at bent festival 2007. For anyone never exposed to loud objects, hmm. how to describe. not a band, a performance installation? education by example? man and machine sharing the same paris spleen? their performance content varies, but here's a taste when we played together opening up for lullatone.[ watch video]

altgoing back to being a vicar, i'd say the same about tristan perich. i do have a level of envy for his works. myself having an electrical engineering background, i always debate about what i could have done with that career path if it was more related with my passion for music, rather then defense contracting. music for me, now serves more as an escape from that world. in tristan, it feels like the alternate path in which those two worlds are fused. i mean, sure, i circuit bend, but i don't think it can compare to the level of intellectual involvement in his music/art pieces. i romantically view circuit bending as a caveman curiosity with electronics and found sound. curiously strong.

altthe sheer concept of programming some IC's from assembly code scratch and putting them in a cd jewel case is mind boggling. originally i thought he must have written the music first in some software, and found a way to translate it to assembly. tristan said, nope, everything is written originally in assembly. that's insane. now i'm scared. very scared. for loops and shit in assembly to create compositions? i don't even wanna think about it. i've met tristan alot, through shows and parties, all good intentions to rap, but haven't really dive chatted. you know: kicked brewskies, confessed to the pope, unraveled the shrek onion. his head is always spinning, and he's in a rush to get to the next place. in favor to his mystique, i wonder if he's an insomniac.

so, this is like the concept album of all concept albums? i guess, the next question is what is the greater form, a conceptual presence or a emotional impact. i'm not gonna get into that. it's a matter of preference. listening to the whole album straight through is intense though. on the brains and on the ears. some songs a little more melodic, others very noise or rythmic. for his live shows, he humanizes it a little more by playing live drums to it.

it's just a great art piece too. something amazing to behold. thinking about all the kinky collectable electronic toys for christmas gifts this year, it's perfect for any gearhead. it used to be really expensive, because it's something hand made, but now it's alot more affordable at the bang on a can store.
]]> Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:36:15 -0800 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/945540 performance :: alias pail and twi the humble feather http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/776540 alt
sets by alias pail, twi the humble feather, and then an improv set between twi and alias pail w/ tomoyuki kage. curated by liberated matter, cross pollination series. last show for alias pail for awhile as shared members focus on twi. alias pail will play first. bring your grandma. we're doing a "soft" set.

+++

last.fm
going.com
facebook.com

Pianos

158 Ludlow St
New York, NY 10002-2211
United States
Show on Map

Tel: 212.505.3733
Web: www.pianosnyc.com

7:30 PM - Cross-Pol Doors Open + soundcheck/set up
8:00 PM - Alias Pail
8:45 PM - Twi the Humble Feather
9:30 PM - Cross-Pol Set 3-4 songs (twi and alias pail improv)
10:00 PM - Guitar Hero
]]> Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:29:56 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/776540 interview :: love like deloreans http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/590880 alt
i admit it, i have a local band crush on love like deloreans. i'm kinda scared about the honeymoon phase ending, but we'll just fly for now. for a brooklyn band, LLD is a refreshing diversion from the scene, sporting a 3 person synth/keyboard onslaught rather then the neo-no wave, tribal avant psyche attack i'm used to for brooklyn [which i love too, no haters]. their music is a keyboard synth dream. instrumental and uplifting, i find myself strangely happy after every set. their sound conjures the dreamy traveling vibes of krautrock, evoking comparisons to cluster and old kraftwerk. other songs take on a more direct synth pop vibe via gary numan's tubeway army, or peter's current closet admiration for 80's italian funk. [ watch video]

:: listen to how to get along with others [DEMO]

we sat down with lorna, derek, and peter to catch up with an alias pail / love like deloreans brunch. i sported english muffins and lorna made this unforgettable keesh. band history, escaping the neu music school, and derek's father's notable korg career were of topic:

alt alt alt

+++

[ap]: originally, you guys are from wisconsin right?

[lorna]: peter and i met in music school in milwaukee. we were score reading partners. he brought candy to class, so i'd sit next to him and we'd read stravinksy scores.

[ap]: so your backgrounds are in classical?

[lorna]: he's compositional, i'm piano performance. we were both into the neu, experimental music classical scene at the time.

[ap]: but you're kinda burnt out from that now...

[lorna]: definitely. i just felt there was a limiting aesthetic to it, i felt uncomfortable going to concerts and being careful about stripping the brochure away from my palm, fearing it would make any noise.

[peter]: it's more fun to drink beer and yell loud and bump into people and sweat.

alt[ap]: a little too proper i guess. in your songs so far, i pick up the krautrock vibes, and yet it other's it's a little more synth pop derived, is there intention to choose one over the other or a direction?

[peter]: we're just having fun with it.

[lorna]: all our influences come in. peter has more of a funk background, i like the sugar poppiness, and he likes the drones. it all mixes up. minimalism is definitely a huge influence for all of us.

[derek]: i have a neu music background too. my dad was always involved in synths and electronic music. this now, makes a lot of sense for me.

derek's father's job was a designer at KORG USA. he's credited with writing a lot of the preset demos in old korg synthesizers.

[ap]: how did you meet derek?

[peter]: lorna got into banglewood, bang on a can, and steve reich was the mentor.

[lorna]: it's this intense training on neu music. we played a 6 hour marathon. i played steve reich pieces for steve reich. that's how i met cool new musicians then decided to move to nyc. there was a whitney birthday celebration for steve reich and that's how i met derek.

[ap]: are you specific about the kind of keyboards you like to use for LLD? any favoritism?

[derek]: i'm interested in any instrument, they all have their own quirks.

[peter]: we get to a point where we program one sound on one keyboard for one song, and yet we bring the one keyboad for the whole set.

[lorna]: peter's obsessed with mini-keys now.

[peter]: there's no fucking way i'm taking a fafisa to play in a club. it's retarded. we're tailoring it down.

[lorna]: the instrument that brought us together was my first keyboard, the casiotone 701.

alt

[ap]: the band name? love like deloreans?

[lorna]: that's derek's genius.

[derek]: i like deloreans.

[ap]: hektor said he was researching john z. delorean, and said he was a real punk rocker in the automobile industry. the kinda outsider / genius character. since your song are instrumental, are they story line based? one of my favorites is 'how to get along with others,' what's the story behind it?

[lorna]: we were recording on a shoe box cassette tape recorder and ran out of cassettes. we pulled out my old tapes from high school. i had a cassette, from when i was skipping out on church. mom made a recording of the sermon and fed me the tape, "how to get along with others."

[peter]: if we'd pull out the original, you could turn up the other tracks and hear this sermon in the fuzz.

[lorna]:it's pretty funny. it's a very spacey sound, and i'm really into ufo's, so it takes a new meaning for us.

+ + +

we finished with other off topics, coffee, cigs, and mimosa's. filled our bellies on home cooking and lazied the rest of sunday away.



]]> Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:01:50 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/590880 preparation :: bent festival 2008 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/544371 alt
many of the alias pail circuit bends are very primitive on the technical side of circuit bending. but that's what's great, most circuit bending is very simple. just takes a couple of tools and a little curiosity. the real jewel is finding the right toy to bend. i found this little tikes toy drum off of eBay for a really low price. as the subject of a circuit bend, it's perfect. easy access to the inside and tons of empty space. the color scheme is already perfect, no needed improvements for product design.

altthe cool thing about the toy is that along with individual electronic sound for each of the four buttons, there's an alternate mode in which each button plays a programmed beat. some subjects for circuit bending don't allow too much variance on tweaking the pitch or the processor speed, but for this one, i was able to find the highest and lowest variances. on the high tip, the beats sound really aphex twin-ish, and the low level, you can hear and follow the low fi sound bit processing come to a grinding halt and stutter. the lfo circuit adds a little choppy start and stop effect to the beats.

alt alt alt

fitted with a quarter inch output, if you send the signal into a delay or reverse pedal, it's amazing. the toy is also a fun showpiece for younger kids, since it's made as a necklace, inspired by flava flav's obnoxious clock wearing habits. feel free to ask to play with it after our performance at bentfest 2008 in nyc.
]]> Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:53:48 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/544371 performance :: true primes http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/535467 alt
true primes took home court advantage last night at glasslands gallery, opening up for samara lubelski. this will be the last nyc true primes show for awhile as che is traveling abroad for a couple of months to help save the declining bee population in europe. go che! che's last appearance will be hosting his o'sirhan o'sirhan zine release party at PLNYWN, april 2nd.

alt alt alt

their set is always a suprise, not one ever repeated. lately, their development seems to be more song oriented with moments of improv, where before, it seemed like pure improv. rolyn's fx were keyboard and building abrasive atmospheres from looping. her prominence as a vocalist in true primes is becoming more evident. che's fragmented trash can beats pumping in and out through her layering. their music is adventurous, primal, dark, and sexy.

:: listen to first song*
:: listen to second song
:: listen to third song

*fragmented recording my MD shut off
]]> Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:27:21 -0700 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/535467 release :: my pail split split http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/484946 alt
my pail split split digipak [sh-07|fg-07]
 release date 2/26/08


if you build it they will come; if you don't build it where will they go? suffering hiatus withdrawal from cult twee masters, the pastels, alias pail searched for any remnants of amateur underground pop that didn't involve a. Cues from a geographic records compilation and tokyo gig guide led to the scene of tenniscoats, maher shalal hash baz , and nagisa ni te. alias pail eventually stumbled upon my pal foot foot in japan. a pen pal relationship between musicians developed for many years and a split cd between the two bands ensued.

my pal foot foot create a more mystical, dark form of underground pop. they enjoy a fractured amateur form of melody and pop, claiming their strongest influence from the infamous outsider band, the shaggs. this playfulness is most noted on tracks such as 'best friend.' 'my pail split split' also finds my pal foot foot with some of the most upbeat songs they've released thus far; their previous catalog includes releases on majikick (home of tenniscoats) and flangehouse.

alias pail's involvement began with the cover of my pal foot foot's 'dollboy.' after a positive response, the idea to release a split cd came about. alias pail audaciously promised to keep writing songs in japanese for the release, originally as a language learning tool. the song writing approach took on new meaning after a death in the family. hidden in the second language and twee sound is a sobering, intimate document of the grief and contemplation that arise when suffering a great loss. now lost in translation, as a metaphor for how certain emotions remain indescribable and alienated.

sonically, alias pail's songs are unabashfully twee and playful with a little mix from psychedelic folk. Pulling strong influence from my pal foot foot, the pastels, and flipper's guitar (cornelius's high school guitar pop band), this mesh of influences shine through most on 'friendly ghost,' the closing track. alias pail also collaborated with an array of new york city and brooklyn artists to complete the songs, including pandatone (music related, neo oujia), julianna barwick (florid), and sawako (12k, anticipate).

a suitable dose of amateur twee and underground pop for fans of beat happening, the pastels, and tenniscoats.

]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:17:27 -0800 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/484946 video release :: dollboy http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/428607 alt
alias pail's first music video is officially out for viewing. directed by jim turner and camy lee, the video is for "dollboy," an unabashful, joyful twee alias pail rendition of my pal foot foot's original. warning! total tweeness. as twee as alias pail will ever be, i promise. "dollboy" is on the upcoming split cd release by alias pail and my pal foot foot, called "my pail split split."

of course i want to thank camy and jim's hard hard work. making this video was harder then i ever thought, and i'm happy it's finally completed and ready to share. of course thanks to my friends who showed up to be my imaginary band: julianna, andrew, and anthony. [at the time i had no real members]

:: watch video ::

if you view the youtube version, and like it, rate it!]]> Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:26:39 -0800 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/428607 performance :: ches smith and xiu xiu http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/403944 alt
a chilly night in greenpoint, in the most unique location for a show, a lutheran church. set up by todd p, i've been missing the shows set up there, but was happy to finally check one out. it was a great hall to experience a stripped down set of xiu xiu songs by jamie stewart and ches smith. ches opened the night will a solo drum performance. his jazzy avant garde instrumentation of the drums is a great live spectacle to witness, and the natural hall reverb from the church was a great sound setting. he's a true artist. the walls lined with candles, low lit green lights on stage, and the audience just shadowy movements sitting indian style on the floor.

alt alt alt

a very respectful and pensive audience for xiu xiu and ches smith. the concert was a release party for david horvitz's polaroid book. jamie's songs were beautiful, sailing from whispers and empty space guitar to yells, in the classic xiu xiu dramatic style. the dark church hall added to the eerieness and wonderful emotional experience of his songs.

listen to ches smith set

:: first song
:: second song
:: third song

listen to xiu xiu set
:: clover
:: master of bump
:: the fox and the rabbit
:: f.t.w.
:: don diasco
:: brooklyn dodgers
:: helsabot /you have killed me [morrissey cover]
:: clown town
]]> Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:53:44 -0800 http://virb.com/aliaspail/posts/text/403944