Soul birds of a feather

[Doug Alan <nessus>]

This is an article I posted to net.music several days ago:

From: nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan)
Subject: Birdsongs of The Mesozoic fly in The Church

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic rock the era!

I went to see Birdsongs of the Mesozoic again (for the third time) on
Saturday August 31 at The Church in Gloucester, MA.  This was their best
show I've yet seen!  This time they did not play with other bands, so
they had more time (about 2 hours) to play their wonderful music, and
with Birdsongs *more* is definitely better!

They have just completed their new EP, which is called "Beat of The
Mesozoic", and it should be released in October or November.  My
impressions of what they played from this EP at the concert indicate
that this should be their best album yet!  Two pieces stood out in
particular: "Beat of the Mesozoic, Part 1" and another piece who's name
escapes me (was it called "Babel", or am I just making that up?  And is
this really something that will be on the EP or is it from some obscure
compilation record that I haven't heard of?  Oh, I hope it's on the new
EP!)

"Beat of the Mesozoic, Part 1" starts off as all keyboards and guitar,
but as the piece develops, the band members start switching to
percussion, until all four are pounding out the amazing beat of the
Mesozoic.  After a while, the piece then evloves back towards keyboards
and guitar.

How often do you get to see a band where the keyboardists play drums
with one hand and their keyboard with the other?!?!

Another interesting technique demonstrated at the concert involved
pulling directly on the strings (or was it the hammers?) of the electric
piano.

According to Eric Lindgren, who plays Memory Moog and drum machines and
the side of his equipment rack with a drumstick, for Birdsongs:

	Birdsongs of the Mesozoic is a trendy instrumental combo which
	surprizingly made the rock-oriented Ace of Hearts roster.... Our
	sound has been described most accurately as
	"punk-classical-jazz-car-wreck music" by the Boston Globe.  We
	perform out somewhat frequently but do not go over very well
	when people mistake us for a dance band.

Their version of Brian Eno's "Sombre Reptiles" is so inspiring, though,
I cannot help but dance around my room when I put it on my stereo!  Does
anyone know where the rhythm in this is derived from?

Birdsongs of The Mesozoic consists of Eric Lindgren (of the Space
Negroes, Arf Arf Records, etc.), Roger Miller (who plays electric piano
and drums and writes the majority of the music -- he composed and played
guitar and sang for Mission of Burma), Martin Swope (who plays electric
guitar, cymbol, and hubcap -- he did tape effects for Mission of Burma),
and Rick Scott (who plays electric organ, maracas, drums, and clarinet
mouthpiece).

The Church, where Birdsongs played, is certainly the strangest setting
I've ever experienced for a concert.  It's a little theatre that can
hold maybe a hundred people built into a house that has been decorated
to look like a death art worshipping cult church.  In front of the stage
was a huge rotating minotaur and a baby minotaur that was covered with
newspaper clippings saying things like "People sharpener", "Revolution",
and "Perfection to extreme".  Along the ceiling were all sorts of
grisly sculptures, such as mumies with lobster claws growing out of their
heads and skeletons whose arms were replaced with vacuum cleaner hoses
and heads replaced with track lights.  On one wall was a painting
declaring "I am. Become.  Death destroyer of worlds."  The guys in
Birdsongs seemed highly amused by the decor!

I talked to Eric Lindgren and Roger Miller for a tiny bit, and they are
both very nice.  When I told Roger Miller that I had written some
articles about Birdsongs of the Mesozoic for a music newsletter he said
"Oh, is this the thing that goes over computers?"  Apparently Eric
Lindgren's brother works for DEC and gives the band copies of articles
about them (Hi guys!).  They've seen both the reviews by me and by
Joshua Marantz!  It's a small net.world, isn't it?

To sum everything up, it's worth killing your grandmother to see
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic!  Go see them!  Buy all their LPs and EPs.
Buy "The Arf Arf Contemporary Music Sampler, Volume 1"!  Birdsongs of
the Mesozoic are way ahead of their time!

			"Soul birds of a feather flock together"

			 Doug Alan
			  nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)


P.S.  Look ma!  I made it through a whole long article without *once*
mentioning Kate Bush or "The Dreaming"!  .....Oops, I just ruined it....
oh, well...  in that case, I might as well tell you that Roger Miller
said that what he's heard of Kate Bush is interesting.  Apparently a
friend of his is a big fan....