Riff Raff Riffs

The last session of 2011 - from 12/29. Click for Track 6

Free Association

Here's a clip from Track 1.

The Pageboys

This is The Pageboys. Frank Goode: percussion & Jon Arnold: Soprillo sax, gtr/bass, electronics, looper. This video shows our standard procedure - Jon-A gets something going on the looper, and off we go. We have been at this for maybe 8 or 9 years, sporadically. Originally it was sax over djembe versions of Led Zep tunes - hence the name "Pageboys". That was the 'Snakecharmer Punk' era. In early 2010 we began practicing more regularly. Frank, a student of all worldly percussion music, started to assemble a multi-ethnic array of drums, bells, shakers... and I (Jon-A) eventually added the looper, a Shredder mini-guitar modified with a couple bass strings, and some mini-synth devices to my Soprillo (sopranissimo or piccolo) saxophone. We started recording the sessions and, to amuse ourselves and keep our archive organized, I made cd's complete with titles and artwork. These, typically the results of one or two practices, currently number 40, about 20 per year. And we really like a lot of them, esp those from 2011, after the gtr/bass completed the sound. And what is that sound? Well, it's a pretty diverse stew. Frank has drumming reference points I couldn't hope to list. We might aspire to the fury of details of the Evan Parker Trio, or a pastiche of the unhinged mayhem of Hound Dog Taylor. We might betray a fondness for Greg Ginn's brutal Black Flag guitar or Sun Ra's reveling in electronic noise. Traces of Ornette's guttural vocalizations from the Atlantic years might jostle with crude borrowings from the Evan Parker toolbox of techniques... Thrash Jazz? Stoner Improv? It's a mess, but it's our mess.
This blog is an effort to further catalog the proceedings, and maybe, at some point, to scare up interest in what we are doing. For downloadable music go to: http://soundcloud.com/jon-a
For video: http://www.youtube.com/pageboys123 For art: http://jonarnold123.blogspot.com To contact: jonarnold123@hotmail.com

It's the Pageboys

Here's the 3rd track of 3 from 11/17/11 session, It's...The Pageboys. We're pretty happy with it. This long tune starts w Jon-A solo, Frank joining in after a short rest. Kaossilator is the synth used. Click here.

Hawaiian Boogie

The theme for the day was big, tremolo infused slide guitar, inspired by Hound Dog Taylor, whose cover of an Elmore James tune supplies the (unlikely) title. Also featured is the recently reactivated Kaossilator mini-synth. The K is the most versatile of my gizmos, but also the most over-programmed: you have to try to avoid sounding like the techno geeks who designed it. Click for Track Two.

Hawaiian Boogie video

Pageboy Panic

Wig Out

A combination of two sessions (9/29&10/6/11), is relatively long (62m) and features the new 'vocals' (yowling thru sax) on some tracks, including the opener, which is a sustained blast of angry agitation. Probably one of our most substantial outings. Click here for Track One.

Making Waves

Whole Hog

1-27-11

The duo now functioning efficiently, with the sonic elements that would define 2011 for us. The improvs seemed stripped-down, souped-up and purposeful, which is reflected in the title and the image. Click here for Track Five.