Great stuff Damon. I was turned on to Dread Foole many years ago by a guy named Eric Gagne, who ran the music shop in Peterborough's Toadstool Bookshop. Eric started the yearly Thing In The Spring music festival (which has moved from Peterborough to Keene) and Dan was a big part of that.
I've got to dig into this re-release as I've never heard it. So exciting! Thanks.
I just saw Pere Ubu at The Lodge Room in LA. I had never seen them live and while I was up for anything I brought my unassuming wife along and so I was a little concerned that she would be left out. I was wrong but not wrong as David Thomas and Co. went all bluesy that night (which my wife appreciated) but damn did they deconstruct the sh*t (as well as play the sh*t) out of those songs!
I also can identify with your memories of In Your Ear as I grew up a stone's throw from Northampton, Mass' Main Street Music (Dynamite Music being their nemesis in our eyes) and spent many nights there combing the bins. I recall that the folks behind the counter were wizards that you didn't want to fuck with because they knew all of the incantations and you didn't know shit. Some time later I actually worked with one of their ilk but didn't even know it at the time. I was working security up at the Holyoke Mall in some corporate record store and I befriended the shift supervisor whose name was Bill. He spun Husker Du for me and other bands that I hadn't yet heard--and he played this stuff when everyone in the store is basically normal folks doing some Christmas shopping; I can only imagine what must have been going through their heads when Bob Mould's voice screamed across the room. Years later Bill would become a local fixture in NoHo walking around wearing his Pith helmet.
Jul 4, 2023·edited Jul 4, 2023Liked by Damon Krukowski
Thanks for this. Prompted me to dig out my 7" of Songs In Heat. I look forward to giving it the first listen since the 1980s! I bought it at the time for the Mission of Burma connection. My guess is I wasn't ready for it then. Your description makes me think I WILL be ready for it now.
Just listened. The single rocks. It actually sounds very contemporary, like a band you wouldn't be at all surprised to encounter at the Levitation Festival in Austin. I really hear the early Pere Ubu in there, the avant-garde friendly crate digger's reinvention of 1960s garage rock. The joy of bashing away at three chords on a guitar and letting the notes ring and chime against each other while airing out all your frustrations and aggression on the vocals. Primordial soup, yes, immersion in the pure sound joy. This really buzzes my aural pleasure center.
Thanks. Just another damn thing I have to spend money on! (There's an endless amount of great stuff out there.)
Great piece, Damon! I was turned on to Dredd Foole and The Din, this particular release, only a few weeks ago by Phil Milstein. I enjoyed the hell out of it, but somehow didn’t clock the Mission Of Burma backing band. Now it all comes together.
Great stuff Damon. I was turned on to Dread Foole many years ago by a guy named Eric Gagne, who ran the music shop in Peterborough's Toadstool Bookshop. Eric started the yearly Thing In The Spring music festival (which has moved from Peterborough to Keene) and Dan was a big part of that.
I've got to dig into this re-release as I've never heard it. So exciting! Thanks.
Had not heard them before. Awesome stuff, thanks!
I just saw Pere Ubu at The Lodge Room in LA. I had never seen them live and while I was up for anything I brought my unassuming wife along and so I was a little concerned that she would be left out. I was wrong but not wrong as David Thomas and Co. went all bluesy that night (which my wife appreciated) but damn did they deconstruct the sh*t (as well as play the sh*t) out of those songs!
I also can identify with your memories of In Your Ear as I grew up a stone's throw from Northampton, Mass' Main Street Music (Dynamite Music being their nemesis in our eyes) and spent many nights there combing the bins. I recall that the folks behind the counter were wizards that you didn't want to fuck with because they knew all of the incantations and you didn't know shit. Some time later I actually worked with one of their ilk but didn't even know it at the time. I was working security up at the Holyoke Mall in some corporate record store and I befriended the shift supervisor whose name was Bill. He spun Husker Du for me and other bands that I hadn't yet heard--and he played this stuff when everyone in the store is basically normal folks doing some Christmas shopping; I can only imagine what must have been going through their heads when Bob Mould's voice screamed across the room. Years later Bill would become a local fixture in NoHo walking around wearing his Pith helmet.
Thanks for this. Prompted me to dig out my 7" of Songs In Heat. I look forward to giving it the first listen since the 1980s! I bought it at the time for the Mission of Burma connection. My guess is I wasn't ready for it then. Your description makes me think I WILL be ready for it now.
The new version is remixed (really well) but I bet the single still sounds great
Just listened. The single rocks. It actually sounds very contemporary, like a band you wouldn't be at all surprised to encounter at the Levitation Festival in Austin. I really hear the early Pere Ubu in there, the avant-garde friendly crate digger's reinvention of 1960s garage rock. The joy of bashing away at three chords on a guitar and letting the notes ring and chime against each other while airing out all your frustrations and aggression on the vocals. Primordial soup, yes, immersion in the pure sound joy. This really buzzes my aural pleasure center.
Thanks. Just another damn thing I have to spend money on! (There's an endless amount of great stuff out there.)
So great! Picked up a CD. Thank you.
Great piece, Damon! I was turned on to Dredd Foole and The Din, this particular release, only a few weeks ago by Phil Milstein. I enjoyed the hell out of it, but somehow didn’t clock the Mission Of Burma backing band. Now it all comes together.