Scrap Heap (and related musings)

5:46pm: A Virginia cyclist wearing a helmet and bright yellow reflective vest was hit and killed by a driver, from behind. The driver's all, "oops I didn't see him" and therefore won't be punished. Apparently it is okay to kill people as long as the person you kill is riding a bicycle at the time.

So I'm going to try to get people I don't like riding. I'll talk up the benefits, and when they fall for it, WHAM!

"Yeah, cycling has many health benefits, you asshole."

This plan is invincible.

4:34pm: JAM TOMORROW & other cool stuff on the weekend
(jam below)

First of all, this is not specifically related to me and my projects and stuff, but I have to reiterate how much I love Screen Vinyl Image. Not only do I love their music, they're some of the nicest people in DC, and through them, their influences, friends, and bands they've played with, I've come upon so many other great bands in various reaches of the post-punk, shoegaze, noise pop, dream pop universe: Ceremony, Ringo Deathstarr, A Place to Bury Strangers, Soundpool, Skywave, Ports of Call, The Vandelles, Averkiou, I could go on and on. Actually no I couldn't, that's about it. Anyway, none of this diminishes their own music at all and they're bringing their amazing live show to the Basement Speakeasy, a conveniently located house venue in Arlington, tomorrow night (Saturday, 4/18). I can't recommend it enough. If you don't go, you'll be crying.

So stuff going on this weekend includes the following:

1. I'm putting on a secret bang-on-the-walls type jam in a tunnel tomorrow at 5. It's a reverby place with extremely convenient Metro access where you can bring an acoustic instrument (no electricity!) or play the room. Originally only a very select group of lovely, wonderful people were invited, but they were all busy so I'm opening it up a little. Email me (scott at oceanbase dot org) very soon for directions.



2. After that is the Screen Vinyl Image show at Basement Speakeasy. You can email basementspeakeasy at gmail.com for the scoop. It starts at 9, and the openers are We Are Hex and Teething Veils, who I don't know, but expect good things.



3. On Sunday night there are two cool things totally conflicting with each other because life just sucks that way: the monthly NoiseHouse jam versus a show with my man Pilesar, Corpus Callosum, and others. The world needs more jamming, but it also needs more Pilesar, because he kicks ass. A true dilemma.

1:14am: new scrap heap site
Dig it. Trimmed the fat. Up late, got the idea for this unpretentious (or maybe very pretentious) red on white, and half an hour later, there it was. Only two months late.

Also: Scrap Heap, having been quiet those two months, will return triumphally in May in ways not yet known to me.

10:04pm: reconstruction of a monument w/ tape
Chester H./Intangible Arts has great photos and video of this sound installation done in the woods in Rock Creek Park. Right on.

1:26am: I don't know where to whine about this but I want to whine so I'll whine here --

I noticed NIN have announced a bunch of new tour dates for this year. However, they are once again skipping both DC and New York City -- in fact this time they're avoiding all major cities on the fucking East Coast.

The closest show to DC they're doing is in Columbia, Maryland. More than 30 miles away with no public transportation.

It's a huge fuck you to those of us who don't drive. Fuck you too, Trent Reznor.

"But Scott, most of your friends have cars. You could meet up with someone and carpool."

I could do that. I could also not fucking go.

Oh well -- just a sign of a band that's past its prime. All the aging former yuppies can hop in their SUVs and go see NIN. Enjoy, shitheads. You can have 'em.

Thanks for humoring me.

11:12pm: Extremities
So a photo from the Extremities set at Luck of the Draw in southeast Washington, DC has surfaced after all, thanks to Jason Mullinax. We looked like this:



Again, a recording of the show can be downloaded as well. Enjoy.

1:56pm: does the blog thing
Coming across someone who does the blog thing better than me, like Mr. Hawkins of Intangible Arts, always produces a tinge of envy. And it's not a difficult feat. Stuff happens, I write about it, then comes a long stretch where stuff doesn't happen and I forget to wrap up the loose ends of the stuff that happened.

Although it is way too late to be writing about this, I have media from my two performances (solo as Scrap Heap, in duo Extremities), thanks to the efforts of some fine, fine people.



Chester Hawkins supplied the above photo of me at Electric Possible. Aw, I'm being bashful with my back turned to the audience! Of course the actual point was to create feedback by holding the mic up to the, um, "PA". This set was recorded thanks to Chris Videll. Turn it up to the max, then turn it a little louder than that; it's recorded quietly.

No photos of Extremities, unfortunately, but Steve Sanford taped our tomfoolery. Despite lots of audience chatter, I prefer it to Pat's board recording since it actually sounds like a live performance.

I've been digging Pilesar's work (audio, video) and last week I saw Screen Vinyl Image, who were incredible.

10:49pm: sold out
I have sold out, not to the man, but of copies of the CDrs "Diverge" and "Incomprehensible". Actually nearly all of them were given away for free. Someone took me up on my only half-joking request for a quarter for the laundry room, and one woman insisted on paying me $5, but she's the only one who got both releases, so fair enough.

Fret not, though, because I do intend to produce more limited-edition noise discs. These were put together quickly for the shows. I like the idea that every time you see me, I'll have new recordings available and the old ones will be all gone.

On another note, I owe a great debt to Jeff Carey, noise musician from Odenton, Maryland. Last month I saw him at the Lighthouse orchestrating delicious sounds with, among other gizmos, a joystick. And I thought that was such a cool idea I decided to get my own joystick. Thinking back, not only was that a great idea, but it probably pushed me over the edge to start performing live at all. It would have happened eventually, but "use a joystick" planted the seed for what I was going to do.

So tonight at Pyramid Atlantic, after enjoying another performance by Jeff, I got to thank him for inspiring me. Wouldn't you know it though, the silly guy left before I could buy any of his CDs.

12:08am: Extremities
So my band Extremities, which is me + Pat Gillis from TL0741 (and Northern Machine and Croniamantal), did our first show tonight. Our postmortem went something like this:

me: I think that was really awesome. How did you think it turned out?

Pat: Well, we didn't seem to alienate anybody, to the point where they'd say, "Oh, they're playing again, I'll just stay home."

me: You're right, unfortunately. But in spite of that, I thought it was pretty good.

Pat: *nods*

We got an even more useful reaction though when a former ethnomusicology student approached me on the Metro. She said she'd seen us in the tent and didn't get the noise thing at all and asked with genuine interest what it was meant to evoke. Only in Washington, right? I tried to explain that "noise" and "experimental music" are broad categories, it's not all abstract, and a performance like this one was mainly an experience, a matter of zoning out and getting into it. Not that I know the answers myself. Pat and I have never played together before, not even a rehearsal, so this was truly an experiment.

Our sound was totally different from my solo performance Wednesday. Not sedate, not subtle, no acoustic sound sources or feedback, just out-and-out computer and synth generated noise.

I didn't have time to make any more Scrap Heap CDrs to give away, as it turned out. Apologies for the false advertising! If you want a copy of "Incomprehensible" or "Diverge", find me at some future noise-related event and talk to me. I look like this. This weekend, I'm hoping to attend as many of the following shows as time allows:

Luck of the Draw Saturday evening (Violet, Blue Sausage Infant)
Andrea Parkins, Susan Alcorn, Janel & Anthony at Velvet Lounge Saturday night
Luck of the Draw Sunday afternoon (Doug Stailey & Dan Barbiero, Pilesar, others)
Sonic Circuits Presents Music for Heartaches (Mattin, Moon Pie, Jeff Carey)

11:14pm: just wait till the weather gets better
Man, the wind out there is insane. Maybe I shouldn't have shrugged off the advisory in the weather report. Riding home tonight was, shall we say, interesting.

But enough about that. My new band Extremities is playing a show Friday night! Extremities is a duo with Pat Gillis of TL0741. We're playing as part of a 3-day art and music festival, Luck of the Draw: An Art and Music Experience in the Capitol Riverfront Neighborhood.

We're playing at 8 pm. Take the Metro to Navy Yard (Green Line), Half Street exit, and we'll be in the tent on Half Street between L & K Sts SE. That's southeast, yo. The announcement email emphasizes this, so I guess there's potential for some confusion.

The whole schedule for the event seems to be still up in the air and/or just not posted anywhere but here's the rumors I've heard so far:

Friday:
6pm: Rifle Recoil
7pm: Layne Garrett
8pm: Extremities (TL0741 and Scrap Heap duo)
9pm: Sejayno

Saturday:

7pm: Violet
8pm: Blue Sausage Infant

Sunday:
2pm: Shadow Farm
3pm: Dan Barbiero & Doug Stailey
4pm: Pilesar
5pm: Janel & Anthony

Edit: Updated some of the above with newer info. Don't quote me on the above. Pat and I are definitely booked for 8 pm Friday, though.

I'll be making some more Scrap Heap CDrs for the show. I sold out of free CDrs at Electric Possible, and this will probably be your last chance to own "Diverge" or "Incomprehensible", because I think these are records for the now. Any shows I do after February, I'll probably have a new album. A new snapshot.

1:28pm: show report
All the musicians I played with last night were excellent, check them out: Nine Strings, Pilesar, and Soft Pieces. I especially liked the unnamed song Pilesar did (someone suggested "Steve").



Scrap Heap's set went well. It was nothing like I expected. The idea was to create crushing walls of drone and feedback using my voice, a thrift-store bongo, and a singing bowl as sound sources. It turns out the speakers I brought (the venue has no PA), while more than sufficient for disturbing my roommates, actually become wimpy-quiet when you put them in a big theater where people have been laughing and chatting loudly. I felt like I was playing the drums really badly with an echo. My skill at playing my instruments qua instruments is questionable at best (do I get Scrabble points for saying "qua"?).

In the end, a few people congratulated me for pulling off a quiet, sedate set, and didn't understand why I found that so funny.

I completely forgot about recording it, except for a 2-minute slice. Listen once, then delete it:

Scrap Heap - Live at Electric Possible (excerpt) (1:59)

Thanks to everyone who came out!

5:40pm: this Wednesday!
I'm scheduled to play at Electric Possible on Wednesday, the 11th. It's at the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan. Joining me: the very talented Nine Strings duo, who sound nothing like me, Pilesar (pronounced pi-LEH-sar), a noisemaker who might sound a little like me, and Soft Pieces. I'm the only first-timer on the bill, so expect my set to suck the worst. :)

You can't really rehearse for an improvised performance, right? You can practice, though, and I'm trying to perfect a sound that's harsh and droney, yet interesting and in some twisted way pleasant to listen to. A CDr collection of some of my failed attempts will be available at the show.

I envision a merch table with CDs labeled: "Unlistenable noise - $5 NOT to get a copy." If you take one, no charge.

5:01pm: show update
Idea borrowed from conure_ifau, who goes to more shows than I do.

*planning to attend
#am performing at

Wed, Feb 11#: Nine Strings, Pilesar, Soft Pieces, Scrap Heap @ Electric Possible, DCAC, DC

Fri, Feb 13#: possible DC collab with Pat of TL0741, details TBA

Sat, Feb 14: Screen Vinyl Image w/ The Vandelles, AUDN, Violet Hour @ Vanishing Point Studios, Brooklyn, NY

Sun, Feb 15*: Mattin, Moon Pie, Jeff Carey @ Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring

Fri, Feb 20*: Screen Vinyl Image w/ Sik Sik Nation, Payola Reserve, Nerd Parade @ Velvet Lounge, DC

Wed, Mar 5: The Mathematicians w/ Equinox, The Gagged, Imperial China @ Kansas House, Arlington

Fri, Mar 13: The Vandelles w/ Screen Vinyl Image, Ringo Deathstarr, Averikiou @ The Basement Speak Easy, Arlington

Sat, Mar 21*: John Vanderslice & The Mountain Goats @ Sixth and I Synagogue, DC

4:51pm: amazing local music
I've been in love with the DC-area shoegaze/psych/disco/whatever band Screen Vinyl Image since seeing them at a house show in Arlington. They are amazing and will change your life. Thought I'd mention them, since I'm falling deeper in love and they have a new CD out this month, Interceptors, which I can't wait to hear.

You can download "Deathdream" for free.

3:54pm: oceanbase release: Broken Waterfall


Kris Raney's Broken Waterfall album is available right now via torrents and very soon for direct download.

This one has been in the works for a while... to my great embarrassment, it's been at least a year I think since I pitched the idea to Kris of collecting some of his best tunes (he had a bunch of stuff on MP3.com back in the day) as a proper LP. Most of the delay has been me having "other" "important" things to do, like getting admitted to college, moving, and uh, I don't know, eating and sleeping? Anyway, it's worth the wait. He even pulled some extra gems out of the vault, just for you and me.

The music is what I would call electronic instrumental rock. There is a modern classical influence visible on some tracks, though. Good stuff, check it out.

Oceanbase will be releasing some more, brand new goodness in the near future.

6:28pm: inauguration
Sorry, guys. I'm too exhausted to blog about it.

No, seriously. I am wiped out.

It was fantastic, though. Watch this space.

9:59pm: peppermint


I wanted my room to smell like peppermint, but couldn't have smoke getting into the rest of the apartment, bugging my roommates. Enter oil-based incense.

As you can see, it looks pretty flippin' elegant sitting there burning (which makes it kinda out of place in the mishmash of furniture that is my bedroom). What you can't see in this photo is the neat crescent moon shape visible against the flame.

The holder, oil and candle are from Fragrance World, a little shop in Clarendon. Good stuff.

11:06am: the joys of apartment living
Some weirdos in a black car with DC plates are staring at me through my window, pointing, and making wild gestures.

7:06pm: cold
It's the coldest day we've had in two years. Right now, 13 F-ing degrees. I just came back from a 9-mile bike ride. I took my coat and gloves off, but the 69 degree apartment feels REALLY hot.

I'm out of shape. Even seemingly shallow hills were murder. Granted, it's my first ride in a while, and I haven't been running for two months, but then again, case in point: I'm out of shape.

But I want to be in shape. Doing this has given me something to strive for.

Breaking out the bike in arctic weather was never my plan, but I looked at the calendar and realized since tomorrow is kinda busy, this was my last day to get proper headlights and tail lights for my bike so I can ride in on inauguration day. Bailey, the owner of Papillon Cycles, is really nice and helpful. He helped me install lights and pump up my tires more fully so hills would be easier (still tough for me, though). Nobody else was crazy enough to stop by in this weather, so I got plenty of personal attention.

It was a great ending to a somewhat more bizarre and unpleasant ride over.



(Note: The map doesn't work here because LiveJournal sucks. Open the "View Larger Map" link in another tab to see it.)

Up till Glencarlyn Library (the "i" on the map), the ride was nice. Route 50 has a frontage road off to the south side that's convenient and safe for cycling. It was my first visit to this library, to drop off a book borrowed from another library in Arlington County, and I found it settled in a quiet, otherwise residential neighborhood. As I got inside, a middle-aged fat woman leaving barked, "Out of the way" and I stood there a bit stunned while she added, "Asshole." I shot the librarian a bemused glance. An awkward introduction to a new library.

Riding Columbia Pike was insane. Huge hills and nowhere to go to roll along at the two miles an hour I could barely manage. At the intersection with the nameless road just east of Four Mile Run Drive, my life flashed before my eyes. Some idiot turned right from the second lane over, cutting me off. I screamed like a girl. But at least I didn't get hit. After that, I timidly walked my bike and rode on the sidewalk when it was downhill and clear.

Bailey showed me a much better route on the Arlington bike map: north on Walter Reed Drive to Route 50, which has a side road almost all the way. Still hilly, but quelle difference.

I feel awesome.

3:30am: Tonight I couldn't sleep, so I wrote a really boring and pointless post on my LiveJournal. It was all about how I couldn't sleep and had therefore decided to write a boring post. I'm not sure how this was intended to help me get to sleep, but it made sense at the time. I was pretty bored as well as being unable to get to sleep, which is probably why I decided to write the boring post. The sad thing is that even though the post was boring, it didn't go on long at all. In fact it managed to become tiresome within just one paragraph, and that's no small feat.

2:40am: poem: "tired"
i am so so so tired
like imagine a 448 MB .pdf file
that is a pretty big .pdf file
that's how tired i am
if that makes any sense
but i guess it doesn't make any sense
and that's how tired i am

4:19am: New year!

Same old shit.

4:03am: Score
My new apartment has a Walk Score of 80, or "Very Walkable". Most types of amenities are within a half-mile, with many in a quarter-mile radius.

In contrast, my parents' house south of Vienna had a Walk Score of 48, or "Car-Dependent". It's neat that some clever buggers with a website managed to quantify why I'm way happier living here.

What really excites me is moving my bike over here (or getting a new bike -- it may be time). I'm in the center of everything. Ok, this is not true at all, but as someone fond of what Virginia's inner 'burbs have to offer, I'm close to a lot of things. Da City border is under 6 miles and most of my hangouts therein are within 9 miles.

Trafford noted the gentle whirr of freewheeling bicycles as they passed by the crowd, which was gathered by the side of a bicycle path.

"This is the sound of freedom we hear," he said. "These people have stopped being slaves to their cars by choosing to live close to work, to church and to school."

Yeah, this is not quite Portland, but I'm pretty excited.

10:16pm: The problem of isolation
I feel so great right now! -> Nobody's around to share this happiness with. -> I'm in a bottomless pit of despair.

Which is weird of me, to be honest. I don't think most people get this lonely after a mere 24 hours of not seeing anyone. What's wrong with me? Am I such a vampyre (with a lowercase Y, yo) that I can't survive without drinking the energy of others? Maybe I just need some lack of space to figure some things out.

7:58pm: last night's dreams
Originally posted in a comment on beatings's journal:

I had a dream where people were attaching bombs to birds, and blowing them up by remote control once they got into the sky. I realized this was cruel to the birds, but also thought remotely blowing things up was pretty neat so I was trying to think of an alternative that didn't involve living creatures.

Tom 7 has an awesome new album out, sk7 or die!!!.

Also in other news, I will be starting a new record label soon. Releasing physical products, not just files to download. Details to come.