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\nThis is my inaugural essay post under this auspice, and an extension of what I was trying to do with a blog I was running for 2 years. (R.I.P. “What Do We Have For Entertainment?”)<\/p>\n
\nThis is my inaugural essay post under this auspice, and an extension of what I was trying to do with a blog I was running for 2 years. (R.I.P. “What Do We Have For Entertainment?”)<\/p>\n
My wish, is to come crashing into RTH’s bedroom, shouting “You have<\/strong> to listen to this!”<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to introduce drummer Jonathan Kane<\/strong> by way of 3 interwoven genres that appear in his music. I\u2019ve laid out some notes on paper, in which drone<\/strong>, the blues<\/strong>, and New York No Wave<\/strong> funnel into each other, kinda like an upside down delta, in fact.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/02-I-Looked-At-The-Sun.mp3|titles=Jonathan Kane: I Looked At The Sun]\n Which is appropriate, since Kane\u2019s music (and I prefer to think of him as a bandleader<\/em>, rather than the mere and often derogatory the drummer<\/em>. Same way I think of Charles Mingus) draws so much from the delta blues perpetual motion boogie of John Lee Hooker, and the minimal chord structures and hypnotic vamp of Mississippi Fred McDowell. The latter\u2019s blues, from the north hill country of his name-state, is marked particularly for sticking to the I chord rather than making the change to the IV or the V. Sometimes this blues will stick to dwelling on the IV chord. The harmonic shift gives a suspended sound, a minimalist drone.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/1-09-Wandering-Blues.mp3|titles=John Lee Hooker: Wandering Blues]\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/15-I-Looked-At-the-Sun.mp3|titles=Mississippi Fred McDowell: I Looked At the Sun]\n Perhaps the blues could be considered a minimalist form. Regional, rustic, but with close ties to the minimalist compositions of the downtown New York scene of the ’60s: La Monte Young, Tony Conrad, Terry Riley, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich (see also: John Cale). The constant harmonies, steady drone, lock-groove, and gradual transformation are not a million miles away from the boogie of ZZ Top\u2019s La Grange<\/em>.<\/p>\n Fitting then, that Jonathan Kane provided chops for La Monte Young, playing 3-hour long pieces. Likewise, he has been the rhythm for experimentalist Rhys Chatham\u2019s legions of guitarists.<\/p>\n Kane was also a founding member of the post-punk noise leviathan Swans, with Michael Gira. Kindred spirits to the fledgling Sonic Youth, Swans hit you with an abrasive wallop, a percussive assault. Theirs is not music for the faint of heart, conjuring some kind of unholy alliance of Joy Division and the hammer-strike drumming of Ginger Baker.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/1-01-New-Mind.mp3|titles=Swans: New Mind]\n Kane played in Gary Lucas\u2019 Gods & Monsters for a bit, and these days he heads up his own solo excursions, often with an ensemble he calls February<\/strong>. The band, also composed of guitarist Peg Simone and members of Clara Venus aid in coalescing Kane\u2019s history to convey a sort of unstoppable machine, making music for the ultimate muscle car road trip down Fred McDowell\u2019s 61 Highway<\/em>. It\u2019s the same groove we find in krautrock and motorik music like Neu!, but laden with Spanish moss, cold beer, and the occasional alligator.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/06-Thank-You-Fallettinme-Be-Mice-Elf-Agin.mp3|titles=Jonathan Kane: Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin]\n Personally, I love to get lost in the whole propulsive behemoth of this music, let it enter my bloodstream, and enjoy the ride.<\/p>