{"id":13880,"date":"2012-06-14T14:02:53","date_gmt":"2012-06-14T18:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/?p=13880"},"modified":"2012-06-25T20:39:47","modified_gmt":"2012-06-26T00:39:47","slug":"the-enlisted-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/the-enlisted-man\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enlisted Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>You know David Pajo<\/strong>, or you know of<\/em> him.<\/p>\n

I can barely think of a more Zelig-like character in contemporary rock, swiftly changing identities as he works his way through so much of what we listen to.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/13-Good-Morning-Captain-1.mp3|titles=Slint: Good Morning Captain]\n

Pajo played multiple instruments in various hardcore outfits in his native Louisville, rising to prominence as a founder of the dynamic Slint<\/strong>. He is a restless musician, consistently in the habit of packing his guitar case, and making stops with the likes of Tortoise<\/strong>,<\/strong> Stereolab<\/strong>, <\/strong>Will Oldham<\/strong>, Royal Trux<\/strong>, The Yeah Yeah Yeah\u2019s<\/strong>, Interpol<\/strong>, Mogwai<\/strong> (aka the Scottish Slint Fan Club), and in the ill-advised Zwan<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/12-Wedding-Song-No.3.mp3|titles=Papa M: Wedding Song No. 3]\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/13-Krusty.mp3|titles=Papa M: Krusty]\n

He is no less chameleonic with his solo peregrinations, recording under the monikers Pajo<\/strong>, Evila<\/strong>, Dead Child<\/strong>, Aerial M<\/strong>, Papa M<\/strong>, and simply M<\/strong>. Depends on the day of the week, and his music can range from lonely corn-cob pipe musings to Math-rock instrumentals to whispered Eliot Smith-style vocals to living-room black metal to acoustic Misfits <\/strong>covers that make you do a double-take with the liner notes.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Hex-I.mp3|titles=Evila: Hex I]\n[audio:http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Attitude.mp3|titles=Pajo: Attitude]\n

I admire and enjoy the guts in Pajo\u2019s music, and that it is somewhat unclassifiable. There\u2019s a certain kind of hard to pin down nomadic Americana to his sounds. Regardless of the setting he\u2019s playing in, it\u2019s music that has a vibrant force, speaking from an emotional and experiential basis.<\/p>\n

Do you<\/em> hear it?<\/p>\n

Here’s Dave Pajo with Tortoise.<\/p>