Followers of this podcast series know by now that members of the Taped Rugs family frequently gather together on American holidays. The unedited improvisation presented here, entitled: “Dean Martin’s Ether Breath,” was recorded on New Year’s day, 1991. It features the talents of George Gibson, C. Goff III, and Killr “Mark” Kaswan. It also served to initiate yet another new member into the Herd: bassist Matt Faivre. This is the only HOTES public release with Faivre on it. He went onto fame as a Death Metal star in the later 1990’s.

As for the star of the song, Dean-o himself can be heard mumbling “King Of The Road” from an off-center phonograph record toward the end of this ethereal romp through the sonic wilderness. The real star, however, is Kaswan, who’s babbly scat vocals at the beginning of the piece are particularly engaging as they wind around the Dadaesque rhythms and melodies created by the bass, woodwinds, guitars, and phonograph records.

“Dean Martin’s Ether Breath” was released to the public in 1993 by Taped Rugs Productions on the cassette album: “Audio Endurance Test” (see the previous podcast for more about this album). It is the only recording from that day’s session to appear on a HOTES album.

The next presentations will be focused on HOTES reactions to Operation Desert Storm. Stay tuned for an exercise in free speech American style.

On November 5th, George Gibson, C. Goff III, and Killr “Mark” Kaswan joined together at the Taped Rugs Studio in Oakland for what turned out to be the last Ether Space session of 1990. The two pieces presented here are unaltered improvisations from the session. They were originally recorded directly onto a stereo cassette tape and contain no overdubs nor added sound effects. Taped Rugs Productions released them to the public in 1993 on the cassette album: “Audio Endurance Test,” which was co-released by Don Campau’s California outlet of Kentucky Fried Royalty Tapes.

The most obvious sonic generators used in this recording session are cello, woodwinds, electric organ, and a variety of unconventionally played phonograph records. John F. Kennedy makes a speech to kick the whole thing off. Taped Rugs presents here:

1 “American Hero At Ground Zero”

and

2 “Walking Through Space With A Prospective Tenant”

The end of the summer in the USA is marked by a holiday for workers. The Labor Day of September 3rd, 1990, was marked by rally cries of cacophony created by George Gibson, C. Goff III, and Robert Silverman.

Having spent the previous months composing from pre-planned themes and performance-related plans, these members of Herd Of The Ether Space were ready to let loose with a heavy dose of unbridled free improvisation. They powered a variety of instruments, non-instruments, television feeds, phonograph records, and tapes into a four-track cassette deck, producing complex layers of audio disturbance.

Two compositions that were created that day were released by Taped Rugs Productions in 1992 on the cassette album, C4H10O (which is the chemical formula for Ether). “Retrograde On A Curve” is a blend of two improvisations recorded on opposite sides of a single cassette, one improvisation recorded forwards, the other backwards. Goff twiddled the knobs to create the mix for the cassette release. The reversed mix, however, as one might suspect, is equally as interesting as the one offered on the cassette, and is presented to the public here for the first time in its full glory (of about 17 and a half minutes).

“Infinitely Elastic” is a pure improvisation and was presented on the C4H10O cassette album unedited, just the way that it was made on that Labor Day so long ago. A noteworthy aspect of this recording is the bit of television news quoting President George H. W. Bush in a speech he made about Operation Desert Shield in Iraq. A few months later he took the world to war in Operation Desert Storm, which served as the subject for an Ether Show with a powerful punch. That show will be featured in a future podcast, but for now it’s:

1 (the reversed) “Retrograde On A Curve”

and

2 “Infinitely Elastic”

WARNING: THIS PODCAST CONTAINS SOME ADULT THEMES AND IS NOT MEANT FOR CHILDREN

As promised in the previous excerpt of this podcast series, here Taped Rugs presents a 45-minute recording from the August 11th, 1990, Herd Of The Ether Space performance at the Ohana Cultural Center in Oakland, California. This is the only surviving recording from the show and represents about half of the total performance. A significant portion of the beginning of the show and a slight portion of its ending were not recorded. Up until right now, this recording has never been made available to the public.

The recording began as members of the audience joined George Gibson, C. Goff III, Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and Robert Silverman for a marathon of paper and cardboard tearing. Prerecorded tapes of paper being torn, keyboard samples of tearing paper, and live ripping made up this cathartic collage, entitled: “Tears For Your Ears.” Goff has always had a nervous reaction to the sound of tearing paper, and this piece was intended to exorcise his demons. It left the venue in a huge mess, but after the show, all the bits of torn paper were collected and taken to the recycling center. As for Goff’s demons, they vanished briefly but returned after the performance.

An intermission followed “Tears For Your Ears.”

Next up, the Ether men hosted a Dadaist square dance entitled: “Psycho Hoedown.” Conjuring up a drugged cowboy rhythm, the group provided Goff with an appropriate backing for a throatful of very odd square dance calls. Silverman’s use of keyboard samples created from phonograph records colored this piece in a transcendent shade of gingham.

Ric E. Braden then joined the group to help provide some audio coloring to a Killr Kaswan lecture on Kegel exercises. Naturally, Kaswan encouraged the audience to participate in this threat to public morality, entitled: “Tipper Gore Aerobics Lesson.” Of course, in 1990, Tipper was not yet the wife of a Vice President/Nobel Prize Winner; she was, instead, the face of the “Parents Music Resource Center” which brought warning labels to the music industry.

George Gibson introduced the final piece, an unadulterated improvisation, which had all the elements needed to be named: “At The Space Bar (Version 3)”. Unfortunately, the ending of this ethereal piece was not recorded.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/DadasLittlePsychoandDadasLittlePsychosRelatives

As promised in the last excerpt of this podcast series, here Taped Rugs presents two more recordings of rehearsals for the Herd Of The Ether Space show that took place on August 11th, 1990:

1 “Mister Bojangles” (recorded at the Taped Rugs Studio July 28th, 1990)
&
2 “Dada’s Little Girl” (recorded at the Taped Rugs Studio August 5th, 1990)

Both of these pieces were included on the “Dada’s Little Psycho” cassette album released by Taped Rugs Productions in late 1990. “Dada’s Little Psycho” was co-released by IRRE Tapes of West Germany. The Ether Space members who played on and, thus, composed these pieces were: George Gibson, C. Goff III, Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and Robert Silverman. Variants of these compositions opened up the August 11th Ether extravaganza in Oakland, California, but, unfortunately, those portions of the performance were not recorded.

“Mr. Bojangles” is a Dadaesque tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr., who had died in the weeks immediately preceding the HOTES performance. During the live presentation, Gibson, wearing a suit which was covered in electronic buttons which triggered various percussive sounds, tapped out a vigorous dance which would have likely pleased both Davis and John Cage.

“Dada’s Little Girl” features Kaswan reading and improvising verbiage from a book which came from his daughter’s personal library: “Max’s First Word” by Rosemary Wells. Taped verbalizations from Kaswan’s daughter were incorporated into the performance of this piece as well.

The next podcast in this series will feature the portions of the August 11th show which were recorded.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/DadasLittlePsychoandDadasLittlePsychosRelatives

On August 7th, 1990, Herd Of The Ether Space members Charles Goff III, Killr “Mark” Kaswan and Robert Silverman joined John Gullak at the KPFA studios in Berkeley, California, to promote their first public performance. Gullak’s weekly “No Other Radio” program was legendary for showcasing avant garde composers and performers, and this was the second time HOTES had been invited onto the show (the first time is documented in Excerpt One of this podcast series).

Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman gave Gullak’s radio audience a verbal preview of their upcoming performance, enticing listeners with tales of a Dadaist tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr., a psychotic square dance, an audience-participation/paper-tearing marathon, and a lesson on performing Kegels exercises. They also presided over a couple of twisted trivia contests and the premier broadcasts of three recordings: “At The Space Bar,” “Happy Home,” and “Shaken By A Wild Hallucination.”

The actual performance that HOTES was promoting during this radio show was held on August 11th, 1990, in Oakland, California. The members of HOTES refined their presentations for this performance during a few rehearsals held in the weeks preceding it. Several of the recordings made during these rehearsals were later included on the cassette album, “Dada’s Little Psycho” (which was introduced in the previous podcast). As with all things Ether Space, chaos colors the production of this cassette album. “Shaken By A Wild Hallucination” was later renamed: “At The Space Bar,” and served as the opening piece on Dada’s Little Psycho. The piece presented here as “At The Space Bar,” retained its name and was released as an out take version in 1993 on the Taped Rugs compilation album entitled: “Fjaern” (along with the remixed version of Happy Home which was featured in Excerpt Six of this podcast series).

Just to throw a few more threads into this tangled mess:

The Dada’s Little Psycho version of “At The Space Bar” was recorded on July 22nd, 1990, and features Goff, Kaswan, Silverman, George Gibson, and tapes created by Vivianne Marc of Quintet De L’art (from France).

The Fjaern version of “At The Space Bar” was recorded on August 5th, 1990, and features Goff, Kaswan, Silverman, George Gibson, and Ric E. Braden.

A third version of “At The Space Bar” was publicly performed at the Oakland show on August 11th, 1990, by Goff, Kaswan, Silverman, Gibson, and Braden.

Here Taped Rugs presents the entire HOTES radio interview from August 7th, 1990.

The next podcast will feature more recordings from the Dada’s Little Psycho album.

If it has not been obvious in the previous podcasts of this series, 1990 was a busy time for Herd Of The Ether Space and Taped Rugs Productions. This excerpt from the HOTES podcast series features two compositions which both were included on the 1990 cassette album: “Dada’s Little Psycho.”

While many recording sessions took place at Taped Rugs studio during 1990, not every recording was released on a Taped Rugs cassette album. The session from May 12th yielded only one five-minute long production, but it stands out in its own unique dadaist/country/western dimension as something apart from all other HOTES compositions. “The Bible & The Bullet” was recorded on a four track cassette recorder in two takes. The first was a crude sort of cowboy-from-space instrumental improvisation; the second was a weird campfire sing-a-long thing, backing up an improvised dadaist Wild West narrative. The cast of characters involved in this production included two first-and-only timers: Jack Engard and Mary Reddington, as well as four old-timers: Jeff Faulkner, George Gibson, C. Goff III, and Viki O’Melveny.

In 1991, Goff layered “The Bible & The Bullet” into the collaged soundtrack for the Taped Rugs video extravaganza: “Life And Death Drama.” The nine minute segment of this video which includes “The B & The B” can be viewed on You Tube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gn6-ow6trA&feature=channel_page

“Cloaked Parameters” is a hefty eighteen-minute piece, collaged together from two improvisations. The first was recorded by Will Flanagan (now Will Marston), George Gibson, C. Goff III, and Viki O’Melveny on March 23rd, 1990. The second was recorded by C. Goff III, Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and Robert Silverman on April 28th, 1990. Nearly every instrument, non instrument, and sonic generator in the HOTES closet makes an appearance in this chaotically jarring production.

Here Taped Rugs presents both “The Bible & The Bullet” and “Cloaked Parameters” for your listening pleasure. As for the “Dada’s Little Psycho” cassette album, it and its many connecting threads will be the subject of the next few excerpts in the HOTES podcast series. These threads lead to a radio interview and the first HOTES public performance – stay tuned if you have the stamina.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/DadasLittlePsychoandDadasLittlePsychosRelatives

During the mid summer of 1990, another new member was initiated into Herd Of The Ether Space. “Pete,” as he was known at the time, had been trading experimental tapes with Charles Goff III throughout the previous year. These two sonic adventurers met at the Taped Rugs studio in Oakland, California, on July 8th for a fiery one-on-one recording session.

Pete is quite handy with electronics, and he has built several synthesizers and other noise gadgets from scratch. The devices which he brought with him to Oakland from his home base in New Jersey were a natural compliment to Goff’s collection of musical and non musical instruments.

A thirty minute edit from the July 8th session was later entitled: “60 Cycle Cell Anemia” and released to the public in 1991 by both Taped Rugs Productions and Pete’s Dancing Bear Audio Research recording label on the cassette album: “The Hills Of Home.” Here Taped Rugs presents the full dose of this powerful distillation of sonic madness.

A BIT OF BACKGROUND: Pete started operating Dancing Bear Audio Research in the late 1980’s. From the early 1980’s to the early 1990’s, Pete was a member of the recording and performing group called “60 Cycle Hum.” Taped Rugs and Dancing Bear together released the 60 Cycle Hum cassette album: “Space I/O” in 1989. Pete took on the nom de plume of “Crystal” around the turn of the 21st Century. He has continued to create electronic devices and sonic productions in various guises and locations. The Dancing Bear Audio Research website can be accessed at:

http://www.gardenofsensualdelight.com/DBAR.html

The poster which embellishes this podcast was used to promote a Dancing Bear Audio Research Halloween performance in 1990.

It’s hard to figure out where the HOTES cassette album: “Off Duty Beelzebub” should appear in the chronology of the group’s chaotic collection of recordings. It appears here because the final raw materials that it was composed from were recorded by George Gibson and C. Goff III on April 13th, 1990.

In producing Off Duty Beelzebub, Goff’s objective was to put together a cassette album focused around controversial readings and interpretations of evangelical Christian literature and Biblical prophesies. To create this heretical concoction, Goff employed a four track tape recorder as a makeshift cauldron, in which he stirred together carefully chosen vials of improvised Ether to serve up a tonic which flows with quirky and haunting sonic mystery. The recipe for this brew called for a stereo cassette recording made by Goff, Gibson, and Robert Silverman on November 18th, 1989, and a Frippertronics-style tape loop recording made by Goff, Silverman, Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and Stuart Sands sometime in 1988, to be boiled together with the April 13th recording mentioned above.

All of the members of the Herd express their candidacies for exorcism by preaching, petitioning, proselytizing, chanting, and speaking in tongues. The results likely forever denied them invitations to revival meetings hosted by Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson.

Off Duty Beelzebub was released as a 90 minute cassette album by Taped Rugs Productions in 1991. The album was co-released by ECTO Tapes of Oklahoma City.

Taped Rugs presents here two of the album’s big hits.

1) “Floss Your Soul” (This is actually one of the true stand-outs from the entire HOTES collection of recordings -- a Silverman-inspired twisted tale that positions every listener directly between outer space and hell.)

and

2) “Deities For Dollars”

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/OffDutyBeelzebub

Excerpt Four of this podcast series showcased two pieces from the cassette album: “Kumquat Over Again.” The album’s other two pieces: “Kumquat Jelly” and “Jellied Quat Kum,” were created at the Taped Rugs studio on March 18th, 1990, by George Gibson, C. Goff III, and Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and are both featured here in their entireties. As explained in Except Four, these two compositions contain elements which were recorded both forwards and backwards, and while one piece is theoretically the “opposite” of the other, they are not exact opposites, because each was mixed individually.

The vibrant tang and Vitamin C punch of kumquats often served as a propellant for HOTES recording sessions. At this particular session, however, they also served as a subject for the group’s Dadaesque improvised vocal bits. The potent kumquat fuel, in fact, had a near-explosive effect on the band during this session, and the walls of cacophony exhibited in these recordings have often overwhelmed listeners.

Al Margolis’s “Sound Of Pig” home recording label co-released “Kumquat Over Again” with Taped Rugs Productions in 1990. The Taped Rugs catalog described the tape thusly:

“For the totally nonserious, some core members of the Herd (Kaswan, Gibson, Goff, Silverman) slosh through germ transmissions and jellied quat kum in a sort of Warholish tribute to bizarreness. Each side of the tape contains both forward and backward material, which can be listened to in either direction, depending on which side of the tape is in the cassette deck. A good deal of attention is paid to a particular little orange fruit throughout the work. C-90”

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/KumquatOverAgain

In January, 1990, ECTO Tapes of Oklahoma City began circulating requests that read:

“Yo Four Eyes! ECTO Tapes iz putting together a Compilation of Residents cover songs. So send those eyeball songs on Hi-Bias Chrome tape now! “

The members of Herd Of The Ether Space were all fans of this heroic avant garde ensemble, and, naturally, they rushed to conjure up a contribution for this compilation project. On February 27th, 1990, Charles Rice Goff III, Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and Robert Silverman recorded a version of “Happy Home,” one of the pieces from the Residents album: “The Tunes Of Two Cities.” The HOTES interpretation is a seven-and-a-half-minute-long collage of randomized variants of the simple themes of the original song, played on Kaswan’s cello, Silverman’s digital synthesizer, and Goff’s electronic guitar. Goff sent the recording off to ECTO lickedy split. (Goff also submitted an ancient –ING tape-looped cover version of the Residents “Smelly Tongues” for the compilation).

Five years later, ECTO finally released a gargantuan three-cassette production called: “The Residents Unmasked.” This project has earned a somewhat mythical status in the home recording world since its release. The Residents themselves eventually approved of the production, and their Ralph Records recording label offered copies for sale through its “Buy Or Die” catalogs.

Since the time between the original recording and the ECTO release was rather lengthy, a shorter variant mix of the HOTES homage to “Happy Home” was created and included on the 1993 Taped Rugs compilation cassette album entitled: “Fjaern,” which was co-released in Norway by Jan Bruun’s Hypertonia World Enterprises.

Here Taped Rugs presents both versions (the ECTO first, followed by the Fjaern).

Two new members were initiated into Herd Of The Ether Space on February 17th, 1990, as Julia May and Viki O’Melveny bravely joined C. Goff III and George Gibson for a workout around the Taped Rugs four track cassette recorder.

The recordings made that day are unbridled celebrations of the primitive and Dadaesque elements that so often color HOTES sonic adventures. Improvised yells, chants, giggles, and rants are layered upon percussive rhythms, wind instrumental churnings, and electronic pulses, in ways that make the three compositions which emerged from that day’s session unique in many aspects. At the time, these recordings actually gave a bit of a shock to listeners who had grown familiar with the flowing tape-looped HOTES recordings of the previous decade.

After their initiations, both May and O’Melveny came back for more adventures into the Ether Space, and O’Melveny had a particularly ubiquitous presence and influence on HOTES cassette albums throughout the remainder of the 1990’s.

Here Taped Rugs presents the three recordings from February 17th, 1990, all three of which were released by Taped Rugs on the 1990 cassette album: “Other Than Random Modulation” (see excerpts #21 and #22 from the HOTES in the 1980’s podcast series for more about this cassette album):

1 The Revolving Door Of Storms (Gibson, Goff, May, O’Melveny)
2 Illumined For An Instant In Mayonnaise Money (Gibson, Goff, May, O’Melveny)
3 The Smokers Are Re-Upping (Gibson, Goff, O’Melveny)

The photo accompanying this presentation is of Julia May and George Gibson, taken at Gibson’s studio in Oakland, California, around the time that this recording was made.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/OtherThanRandomModulation

The HOTES rehearsal session of January 28th, 1990 (featured in the previous podcast), produced some recordings which were not directly related to the KPFA performances on January 30th, nor which were showcased in the President Nixon Fights The Dope Scourge cassette album. These bits were instead incorporated into a unique HOTES cassette album entitled: “Kumquat Over Again.”

To create Kumquat Over Again, Charles Goff III used a four track cassette recorder to juxtapose two recorded segments from the January 28th session onto a single tape, one running in the opposite direction of the other. This process used about a third of a blank 90 minute tape. Goff filled the remainder of this 90 minute tape with two similarly juxtaposed segments from another HOTES studio recording, made on March 18th, 1990. The March session featured the talents of Killr “Mark” Kaswan, George Gibson, and Goff himself.

Goff then played the first “side” of the 90 minute tape on the four track recorder to mix the forwards and backwards parts together onto a regular stereo cassette deck. He individually varied the input levels of the four tracks and individually panned the tracks live “on the fly.” He then turned the tape over and performed the same mixing technique on the second “side” of the cassette. Thus, side one of Kumquat Over Again is, in theory, the opposite of side two. However, because the two sides were mixed individually, they are not exact opposites.

Here Taped Rugs presents the two “opposite” mixes from January 28th, 1990:

1 Caused By A Germ Transmission
and
2 Germinated From A Transmitted Cause

The instrumentation showcased on theses pieces is similar to that used by Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman on the other recordings from the same January 28th, 1990 session. The recordings from the March 18th session will be featured in a future podcast.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/KumquatOverAgain

To wind up the trilogy of podcasts related to the Herd Of The Ether Space live appearance on KPFA January 30th, 1990, here Taped Rugs presents recordings from the rehearsal session, held on January 28th at Taped Rugs studio.

Charles Rice Goff III, Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and Robert Silverman prepared for their first public (albeit over the radio) HOTES performance with a desire to show off a wide variety of instruments and sounds. Electronic guitars, digital keyboards, cello, phonographs, tape players, and three unique collections of sound effects are on full display in this program. While both the rehearsal and the radio performance were improvised, a collection of prerecorded sounds was prepared specifically to inject into the soundscapes for the KPFA show. These prerecordings helped to build frameworks for the live improvisations and, consequently, created some sonic similarities between the recordings from the rehearsal and those from the live radio performance.

Not long after their creation, the recordings made during the rehearsal were released to the public on the cassette album: “President Nixon Fights The Dope Scourge.” The 90-minute tape also included some older, previously unreleased, HOTES material and was co-released by Nihilistic Recordings of the Netherlands (Peter Zincken’s label, later renamed: “New Noise.”) Here Taped Rugs presents most of the first side of the cassette:

1 Organ In My Car
2 Spiro Slugs Drugs

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/PresidentNixonFightsTheDopeScourge

The Herd Of The Ether Space cassette album: “Alternative Transportation,” was the first Taped Rugs production of many that were released on 30 minute-long cassettes. The tape was co-distributed by OOH OOH MUSIC of Ohio. Like many other HOTES cassette albums, the recordings presented on Alternative Transportation were created long before the cassette’s 1993 release.

Side Two features two mixdowns from the live four-track tape recordings created at KPFA on January 30th, 1990 (showcased in Excerpt One of this podcast series). The night of the KPFA show was haunted by specters who infected the radio station’s electronics and produced broadcasts that sounded quite differently to the radio listeners than they did to the HOTES performers. Alternative Transportation provided the public an alternative auditory view of a couple of the HOTES radio show performances from that dark and spooky night: “The Most Beautiful Orange” and “Organ In My Car.” Both pieces are presented here.

Yet ANOTHER version of “Organ In My Car” will be on display in the next excerpt of this podcast series, which will be feature recordings from the rehearsal for the KPFA radio performance – material that was eventually released on the HOTES cassette album: “President Nixon Fights The Dope Scourge.”

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/PresidentNixonFightsTheDopeScourge

During the 1990’s, Herd Of The Ether Space expanded into several different dimensions by increasing its group membership, by experimenting with new compositional styles, by exploring new locations for creating recordings, and by trying out new instrumentation and recording technologies.

The decade kicked off on January 30th, 1990, with core members Charles Rice Goff III, Killr “Mark” Kaswan, and Robert Silverman joining radio show producer John Gullak on KPFA’s “No Other Radio Network,” broadcast from Berkeley, California. HOTES performed some live improvisations during the program, incorporating a variety of instruments, tapes, phonograph records, and voices. The banter between Gullak and the space trio centered around the history of Taped Rugs Productions and the Herd’s various ongoing projects. Older pieces from the Taped Rugs catalog as well as HOTES and Disism recordings that had yet to be released to the public were showcased as well.

The radio station also experienced some unusual technical problems during the HOTES visit, which interrupted conversations and created some unexpected topics of discussion.

The live performances from the program were recorded on a cassette four track recorder, and some of the audio bits were later mixed down and released on a HOTES tape entitled: “Alternative Transportation.” These mixes, which sound quite different than what came out over the radio airwaves, will be presented in the next excerpt of this podcast series.

Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman’s rehearsal session for the show took place on January 28th, 1990, and was also later released on a HOTES tape – this one entitled, “President Nixon Fights The Dope Scourge.” Some of the material from that session will be featured in the third excerpt of this podcast series.

And this covers just the first month of the 1990s...

Taped Rugs presents here the entire HOTES No Other Radio encounter from January 30th/31st , 1990.

To wrap up the Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s podcast series, Taped Rugs Presents the last 1980’s HOTES recording to reach the public’s ears: “Verging On The Non Mellow” was recorded by Goff, Kaswan, Sands, and Silverman on the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system in 1986 (unfortunately, the specific day of the recording is not available). This piece remained hidden in the Taped Rugs archives until 1997, when Belgium’s Red Neon Tapes included it on its “New Hippies Volume 14” international cassette compilation.

Appropriately enough, this spacey bit of recording history recalls the early tape loop days of HOTES and wraps a nice historical circle around this podcast series. In the near future, Taped Rugs will begin the presentation of a “Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1990’s” podcast series. As one might expect, the Herd continued to evolve in its membership and methodology as the new decade brought forward a new society fueled by quickly advancing technologies. Stay tuned.

Oh yeah, and that mysterious man in the photo who's looking down upon this podcast--it's HOTES member Robert Silverman in a classic turn-of-the-decade pose.

Besides serving as the vessel for “Claws Longer Than Your Middle Finger,” (check the previous podcast for that audio gem), the cassette entitled: “Other Than Random Modulation” also features the first recordings that were actually “composed” on the Taped Rugs four track recorder. Goff hosted two sessions in late December, 1989, during which the recorder’s capacities for speed variation, backwards recording, and effects processing, were employed as compositional tools. The many tracks that were mixed down into compositions from these sessions were pure, improvised, first takes (not one “re-do” in the bunch). The results are true examples of “experimental” sound sculpture.

The first of these sessions, held on December 22nd, featured Goff, Will Flanagan (now Will Marston), and new Herd Of The Ether Space member Jeff Faulkner. Guitars, strange percussion devices, flutes, saxophone, toys, and vocals were combined in various ways into three compositions. The second session, held on December 30th, featured Goff, George Gibson, and another new Herd member: Ric E. Braden. Braden had been corresponding with Goff from his home in Oregon for the previous couple of years and had moved to San Francisco in late 1989. Four compositions were produced from this second gathering, which turned out to be even more experimental than the first.

The December 30th session incorporated prerecorded tapes, saxophone, synthesizers, percussion, lots of toys, and the voices of all three participants. Tracks were recorded at various speeds in various directions; often the performers improvised their noises while sequestered off in a room alone.

Presented here are:

1 Opera For The Slovenly Tourists Of Rome (12/22/89)
2 Warm Liquid Cake (12/22/89)
3 In The Cold Sunlight (12/30/89)
4 Squash Blossoms (12/30/89)
5 Prism Bars (12/30/89)

The next TAPED RUGS PRESENTS podcast will be the last excerpt in this series, wrapping up the adventures of Herd Of The Ether Space in the 1980’s and laying some groundwork for HOTES in the 1990’s.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/OtherThanRandomModulation

In early 1990, Goff melded the recordings from two very different 1980’s sessions to create the piece: “Claws Longer Than Your Middle Finger.”

One component of this melding is a Frippertronics-style tape loop recording from February 27, 1988, which showcases the talents of Stuart Sands, Kevin Pittman, and Goff himself. This is the only recording in the Taped Rugs catalog on which Pittman appears. Electronic bass and guitars dominate this session, but there are some other elements present, particularly some up-front, off-center phonograph records.

The other component of this melding is a non-tape loop session from December 2nd, 1989, featuring George Gibson, Will Tait, and Goff. This one is a no-holds-barred cornucopia of madness. Hand drums, kalimbas, off-center records, modified keyboards, a biofeedback machine, and a wildly blown saxophone light some of the sparks for this fiery jam. All three participants also read aloud bits of news reports and advertisements from various 1950s magazines.

Goff once again took full advantage of the controls of the four track recorder when mixing these two recordings together. The forty-five minute result: “Claws Longer Than Your Middle Finger,” was released by Taped Rugs in early 1990 on a cassette entitled: “Other Than Random Modulation.” The full recording is presented here.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/OtherThanRandomModulation

In December of 1989, the Taped Rugs studio became equipped with a fancy new four track cassette recorder. This new piece of equipment was used to record and/or mix all of the Herd Of The Ether Space cassettes that were released after its acquisition. The next few recordings that will be presented in this podcast series contain materials which were originally recorded in the 1980’s, but which were mixed and later released to the public in 1990.

The cassette entitled “Beyond The Confessions Of Hiss” contains recordings from three sessions featuring Goff and Silverman. One of those sessions predates all other Ether recordings, having been made during the days when –ING was still in its infancy. On June 7th, 1981, Goff joined Silverman for an electronic guitar tape loop jam at Silverman’s home overlooking Tilden Park in the Berkeley hills. In 1990, Goff blended portions of the recordings made that day with recordings that he and Silverman had made on November 2nd, 1989, to create the first side of the “Beyond The Confessions Of Hiss” cassette. The second side of the cassette contains recordings that Goff and Silverman created on September 30th, 1989.

Both 1989 sessions were recorded with a standard stereo cassette deck and did not employ any Frippertronic-style tape loops. However, a number of prerecorded materials were mixed “live” into both 1989 sessions. At a few points, a tape of prerecorded Goff vocals was mixed in through a cassette deck that Goff had redesigned to play tapes backwards. A tape of strange recordings made by George Gibson, entitled “Short Stream Long Dream,” colored the sonic landscapes in places as well. Guitars, voices, keyboards, toys, and several oddly-played record albums made up most of the rest of the source materials for the 1989 recordings. When Goff created the final mixes for the cassette, the controls of the four track recorder came into full play, as materials panned around, entered, exited, and even reversed themselves.

An odd bit of coincidence also came into play during the November, 1989, session. Silverman had brought a record of Edward R. Murrow news reports to incorporate into the session. As he and Goff grooved to Murrow’s historic reports about the Cold War and the building of the Berlin Wall, people in Germany were actually beginning to chip away at the Berlin Wall, which was finally breached a week later on November 9th, 1989. The “Hiss” in “Beyond The Confessions Of Hiss” refers to Murrow’s reports about accused Communist Alger Hiss, as well to the hiss of the old 1981 tape loop recording used in the mix. The finished “Beyond The Confessions Of Hiss” cassette was co-released in Norway on the Yecch Music Mania label of Anders Moe.

Here Taped Rugs presents from Side A: “Confessions Of Hiss” and from Side B: “Desperately Waltzing With Spock.”

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/BeyondTheConfessionsOfHiss

Throughout most of the 1980’s, the Taped Rugs Frippertronic-style tape loop system provided a major source of context and continuity for all of the acts on the Taped Rugs label: -ING, Disism, Herd Of The Ether Space, and Goff III’s solo endeavors. Some things started to change in 1989, however, and Taped Rugs Studio began hosting recording sessions that left the loops behind. By the early 1990’s, the system had actually burned itself out.

The Herd Of The Ether Space cassette: “Hardware Murals,” released in 1989, was the first tape on the label (#21 in the Taped Rugs Catalog) that included no tape loops in any of its 90 sonically-twisted minutes. Goff constructed “Hardware Murals” by running several tape recordings through a no-frills mixer into a stereo cassette deck. No effects, no panning, no changes of any kind were made to these recordings as they were blended together. In fact, the right and left stereo channels are completely distinct from one another, creating a unique listening experience.

Core members: Gibson, Goff, Kaswan, Sands, and Silverman made up the cast for this revolutionary presentation. The following five sessions (dates/personnel) made up the source material for the cassette:

5/7/89 (Goff/Kaswan)
5/28/89 (Goff/Sands)
6/30/89 (Goff/Silverman)
8/12/89 (Goff/Kaswan/Silverman)
8/20/89 (Gibson/Goff/Silverman)

Electronic instruments, oddly-played phonograph records, acoustic guitars, cello, modified keyboards, toys, percussion of various sorts, and, for the first time in the Herd’s history, the voices of some of its members, all come and go in various configurations throughout the tape. The presentation juxtaposes moods, atmospheres, words, ideas, and textures, creating both comfortable collages and disturbing dissonances. The experimental nature of this tape produced mixed reviews from the Herd’s listeners. A review in “Factsheet Five” stated:

“It’s a mix of found sounds...wandering somewhat aimlessly from style to style...A sprawling attempt at experimentalism.”

“Hardware Murals” marks a point of transition for Herd Of The Ether Space as the group prepared to move into the 1990’s. After “Hardware Murals” was released, no other HOTES cassettes were produced that contained tape loop improvisations that stood alone and were not blended with other recordings. “Hardware Murals” was also the first of several Taped Rugs Productions to be co-released by ECTO Tapes of Oklahoma City. The pieces from the cassette presented here are:

1 Lintball Sweater

2 All Of Shakespeare Twice

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.archive.org/details/HardwareMurals

Good old Ralph Records used to hold garage sales from time to time in San Francisco to offer defective merchandise, promotional items, new products, etc. to fans of The Residents, Snakefinger, and the other various acts who appeared on the label. On December 5th, 1988, Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman made a pilgrimage to one such sale, then returned to the Taped Rugs studio in Oakland to listen to their new Ralph acquisitions and create some new recordings of their own.

The dark and playful influences of Ralph Records can be heard in the three recordings from the session presented here. While these recordings are heavy with guitar, a variety of instruments are showcased, as well as a biofeedback generator and several oddly-played phonograph records. Kaswan’s cello and Silverman’s guitar particularly shine up this collection of shadowy atmospheres. The session was recorded on the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system. The pieces presented here are:

1) Ralphingism

2) The Census Vile

3) Residents Of The Bubble

These recordings comprised the entire Side A of the Herd Of The Ether Space cassette, “3 Of A Mind,” released by Taped Rugs in 1989.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol20

The last podcast featured a piece from the 1989 Taped Rugs cassette “Tut’s Slaves.” The other three recordings that make up Tut’s Slaves were recorded on February 19, 1989, by Gibson, Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman. This quartet became the core of Herd Of The Ether Space as the project moved into the 1990’s. The two pieces presented here are:

1 Dance For Our Amusement

(featuring vocal samples from Victor Buono in the roll of King Tut from the 1960’s Batman television show)

2 Level Four

Again, these recordings were made with the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system, and feature a huge variety of instruments and other sonic generators. Tut’s Slaves is one of the most popular of the Herd Of The Ether Space cassettes released by Taped Rugs in the 1980’s.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol14

“That Blast Of Noise,” which appeared in the previous podcast, peeks in here again to introduce yet another member of the Herd Of The Ether Space. The first piece on the cassette: “Antoo,” recorded on March 18th, 1989, features Gibson, Goff, Kaswan, and Will Tait. Tait is a visual artist who briefly popped into the Taped Rugs universe to leave behind a few graphic images for cassette cover art and a few twiddles of sonic magic in the Taped Rugs studio.

The March 18th session was recorded on the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system and features guitars, cello, keyboards, modified toys, oddly spun phonograph records, and much more, including several dosages of live manipulation of the tape loop itself. The second piece in this podcast was recorded during the same session, but was released by Taped Rugs on the 1989 cassette: “Tuts Slaves.” It is appropriately dubbed: “If The Will Is Spiriting.”

The accompanying photograph is a rare look at George Gibson.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol16

In the previous excerpt of this podcast series, we celebrated Steve Schaer’s initiation as a member of Herd Of The Ether Space. In this excerpt, Schaer returns, showcasing his ARP synthesizer chops on three pieces which were recorded on April 2nd, 1989:

1 Adrift
2 Hing Yer Swips
3 Invisible Handlebars

Once again, these improvisations were recorded through the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system, and once again, Goff was a participant in this session, playing modified keyboards, electronic guitar, phonograph records, and some other toys.

The new element in this podcast is the presence of George Gibson. Gibson is an incredible tinker who possesses the ability to construct impressive devices that make unique sounds, both electronically and acoustically. His knowledge of world music and his innate talents for improvisation led him into the Taped Rugs family in the late 1980’s. He quickly became a regular member of Herd Of The Ether Space and over the years contributed to several HOTES cassette releases. He also participated in HOTES performances before live audiences.

Here George showcases his talents on some of his electronic noise-making toys. He will be featured often in future podcasts as well. The three pieces presented here were released by Taped Rugs in 1989 on a cassette entitled: “That Blast Of Noise.” The cassette was co-released by the German branch of Kentucky Fried Royalty.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol18

On May 31st, 1986, Steve Schaer was officially initiated into the group that later became known as Herd Of The Ether Space. This was Schaer’s first session at Taped Rugs Studio since the breakup of –ING in late 1984. He brought his friend Tina Karel to join in the sonic fun with Goff, Sands, and Silverman that day. Schaer’s ARP Odyssey synthesizer is prominent in this presentation of the only surviving piece from the session: “Alternate Beginning.” As is the case with most of Taped Rugs productions during the 1980's, Alternate Beginning was recorded through the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system.

Sadly, Schaer took his own life in 1998. His work with –ING was documented in a previous TAPED RUGS PRESENTS podcast series. His work with Temporarily KY and a couple of his solo endeavors have also been presented by Taped Rugs in previous podcasts. He will always be remembered as a hero among Taped Rugs sonic explorers. The next podcast will feature more of his work with Herd Of The Ether Space.

Karel (now Christina de Souza) does not appear again on any Taped Rugs productions. She sings jazz now and still resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As for “Alternate Beginning,” it was the opening piece on the Taped Rugs cassette “Flexing The Musical Muscles” (see Excerpt Eleven of this podcast series). Flexing The Musical Muscles was co-released by the English branch of Kentucky Fried Royalty. KFR was a short-lived world-wide cassette distribution network, heavily promoted by the likes of home recording giants Lord Litter (Germany) and Don Campau (USA).

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol4

As promised in Excerpt Twelve, here Taped Rugs presents: “Swirling Factions,” the 42-minute second side of the cassette entitled: “The Kettle Is Boiling Over.” Please see the description of this deep space dadaesque adventure in the previous podcast. Listeners should expect an ever-changing tour of an exotic sonic universe. Keep an ear open for a young Ronald Reagan’s voice toward the end of the recording.

The graphic that illustrates this podcast was created by Goff as a piece of stationary to promote Herd Of The Ether Space in the early 1990’s. Taped Rugs exchanged its cassettes through the post with people residing all over the world in the 1980’s and 1990’s. There was no email during most of that time, so scribbled notes on such stationary were commonly included in packages that shipped out of Taped Rugs Productions headquarters. Goff also frequently put toys, souvenirs, and other strange little things in his packages.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol12

As promised in Excerpt Eleven, Taped Rugs here reintroduces the world to a recording session from September 3rd, 1988, which features the live improvising talents of Charles Goff III, Killr Kaswan, Stuart Sands, and Robert Silverman. This incarnation of Herd Of The Ether Space was full of enough creative fire that day to burn up two nonstop Frippertonic-style recordings of over forty minutes each. A cello, several guitars, various keyboards, digital sound samples, percussion devices, toys, sound effects, and a whole lot of record albums manipulated on two turntables—all of these sound generators melded into the tape loop’s rotations that day to stir up an ever-evolving cauldron of creativity. The subconscious communication that went on between the musicians at this session should be obvious to any careful listener.

Both of these hot, extended recordings were released by Taped Rugs in 1989 on a tape appropriately dubbed: “The Kettle Is Boiling Over.” This excerpt features the piece from Side A of the cassette: “Just Say Maybe.” And because this tape exhibits such exceptional and unique qualities, Taped Rugs will present Side B in its next podcast excerpt. Get ready to discover places that you can find no where except in the Ether Space…

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW: http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol12

On June, 13th, 1986, Charles Goff III and Killr “Mark” Kaswan performed as Disism before a live audience for the first time. After Disism’s set, they joined with Robert Silverman and Steve Schaer (of the then defunct –ING) for a live tape loop improvisation. They called their makeshift group: “The Musical Muscles.” Stuart Sands had been invited to join in the fun as well, but he didn’t make it. Unfortunately, there are no surviving recordings of the Musical Muscles performance. However, these sonic explorers did get together in various groupings at other points in 1986, and recordings from two of those sessions were released by Taped Rugs on a cassette entitled: “Flexing The Musical Muscles” in 1989.

This excerpt from the Herd Of The Ether Space podcast series focuses on a gathering at Taped Rugs studio held on March 1st, 1986. In attendance were Goff, Kaswan, Sands, and Silverman. Their afternoon adventures in sound were recorded on the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system. Most of the sounds they created originated in some way from electronic guitars, but a few other instruments, a couple of prerecorded tapes, and even some microphoned vocals also vibrated their speakers that day.

Here Taped Rugs presents two pieces from the session: “Photo” and “Up The Reverb Without A Paddle.” “Photo” was the first piece recorded that day. Goff had placed an usual photograph, which had been taken by his niece, Katrina Guiney, on the floor where all the musicians could see it, and asked that they look at it while they improvised. The photograph above that accompanies this podcast is a small reproduction of the picture that inspired the group’s musical muscles that day.

TAPED RUGS PRESENTS will revisit “Flexing The Musical Muscles” in a future podcast. But before that happens, we will take a detour to where the kettle boils over and unveil another session featuring Goff, Kaswan, Sands, and Silverman.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol3

As promised in Excerpt Nine of this podcast series, Taped Rugs here presents more Goff/Silverman Herd Of The Ether Space improvisations. These two pieces: “Synesthesia” and “Discontinuum,” were both recorded on March 26th, 1989, and were released to the public later that year by Taped Rugs on a cassette entitled: “Chaos Marches On.”

Silverman’s keyboard serves up some dramatic moods in both of these pieces, establishing appropriately ethereal accompaniments to Goff’s mind-stretching experiments. In “Synesthesia,” Goff is heard playing around with several record albums originally intended to be used as the soundtracks to filmstrips. The filmstrips were originally intended to teach school children the dangers of drug abuse.

In “Discontinuum,” Goff employs some different records, playing them at various speeds off-center as he bends the strings of his electronic guitar to fit within some warped Casio rhythms. At the end of the piece, Silverman fingers his own electronic guitar as Goff tinkles the keys of a toy piano.

Both of these pieces were recorded through the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system, and there are several points in these recordings where the tape itself becomes the lead instrument. The brand of chaos that Silverman and Goff cook up here is very much prescription strength.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol17

Robert Silverman and Charles Goff III first began exploring sound together in the 1970’s, during their college days at UC Berkeley. TAPED RUGS PRESENTS has documented how they performed and recorded with one another in Temporarily KY and in –ING, as well as in their 2005 “Opposite Of A Miracle” collaboration. The Ether Space, however, is where the great majority of their sonic interactions are documented.

Two Herd Of The Ether Space cassettes released by Taped Rugs in 1989 are exclusively devoted to Goff/Silverman improvisations. No other member of the Herd participated in the sessions that are documented on these tapes.

Here Taped Rugs presents: “Twentieth Century Bankhead,” recorded on March 12th, 1988, at Taped Rugs Studio on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California. Most of this piece showcases Silverman’s electronic guitar skills, although Robert does display his digital keyboard chops near the end of the recording too. Goff, for a change, plays no guitar at all on this piece. He is heard thumping a bass, twiddling a toy piano, squeezing sounds from a modified Casio keyboard, tapping rhythms on a bunch of plastic bottles affixed to a man-sized piece of plywood, and working a phonograph needle through the grooves of a few carefully chosen record albums. One of those albums features the powerful acting talents of Tallulah Bankhead, who delivers a bit of dialog that can make a listener’s ears stand straight up.

The name of the cassette on which this piece appears is: “The Chaos Of Bobby And Chuck.” The next podcast will feature recordings from “Chaos Marches On,” which is the other Goff/Silverman exclusive cassette produced by Taped Rugs in 1989.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol7

Excerpt One of this podcast series contains the long and twisted tale of how Herd Of The Ether Space came to life. “Moon River Walk” is the only surviving recording from the session of February 26th, 1989, which was the day that C. Goff III, Killr Kaswan, and Robert Silverman decided to give a name to their ever-evolving band of sonic improvisers.

NOTE ADDED, April, 2009! There are TWO surviving pieces from this session, both of which were presented on the Taped Rugs cassette: "Bowed But Unbulging." The other piece is called "Right Here In My Hand." Sorry readers--a case of pure oversight, now corrected for the ages.

The name they came up with was “The Order Of Chaos.” Eventually the name was mutated into “Herd Of The Ether Space.” For those hardcore people who would like to review the details of this story, Excerpt One is still posted on the main TAPED RUGS PRESENTS podcast page.

For those who would like to have a listen, the twenty-two minutes of “Moon River Walk” are presented here. A modified 1980’s Casio keyboard, a sampling Ensoniq keyboard, a couple of electric guitars, a few phonograph records, a music box, a cello, and several sound effects all fed into the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system to create this bit of audio history. “Moon River Walk” was released in 1989 by Taped Rugs on the cassette entitled: “Bowed But Unbulging.” (Yes, that’s the tape featured in the previous podcast. The tentacles of the Ether Space are tangled in several places.)

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol15

Only about twelve minutes of recorded material survives from the Herd Of The Ether Space session held on Halloween, 1988. The recording, dubbed “It Is Night,” was released by Taped Rugs on a cassette entitled “Bowed But Unbulging” in 1989. Kaswan’s cello, Silverman’s digital keyboard, and Goff’s guitar provide the sonic meat for this devilish feast. A 1960’s Halloween LP spices up the session with some spooky interjections. The recording was made with the Taped Rugs Frippertronic-style tape loop system.

Here Taped Rugs presents “It Is Night,” just in time for the Trick Or Treaters of 2008. As for the “Bowed But Unbulging” cassette, it will return in the next podcast to bring forth the recording that was created on the day that The Order Of Chaos was formed.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol21

Besides July 4th, another popular day of the year for gathering together members of the Taped Rugs family is October 31st, All Hallows Eve, Halloween. During the 1980’s, Herd Of The Ether Space created recordings on Halloweens in 1987, 1988, and 1989. Back in 2006, TAPED RUGS PRESENTS posted several excerpts from spooky improvisational sessions recorded on Halloweens past. Here Taped Rugs presents a twenty-five minute piece which was not included in the 2006 Trick Or Treat series.

The piece is entitled: “Giant Bat Flies.” It contains a mixture of recordings created on Halloweens in both 1987 and 1989. The line-up for the 1987 session was: Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman. The 1987 recording was made with the Taped Rugs Frippertronic-style tape loop system, and the scary sonic action all went down at the Taped Rugs Studio on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California.

The line up for the 1989 session was just Goff and Silverman. It took place at the home of Silverman’s friend (and future wife) Debra, in Berkeley, California, in a room where the walls were cracked and crumbled from the Loma Prieta earthquake, which had taken place less than two weeks previous (on Goff’s birthday). Trick or Treaters who came to Debra’s house that night were tricked and treated with some genuinely frightening noises. The recording was made on a stereo cassette deck; no tape loop system was used.

Goff performed the mix of the 1987 and 1989 recordings. “Giant Bat Flies” was released by Taped Rugs in 1990 on the cassette entitled: “Halloween Masks Look Almost Real!”

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HalloweenMasksLookAlmostReal

There was no gathering of Herd Of The Ether Space on July Fourth, 1988. Goff was in Rochester, New York, and other members of the Herd did not get together.

On July Fourth, 1989, however, a couple of sonic explorers made their first and only forays into the Herd and created some fresh audio textures for the summer holiday. Charles Goff III was joined by Jeff Easter, Will Flanagan (now Will Marston), and Matt Lauten. At that time, Flanagan and Lauten were co-workers with Goff at a grassroots nonprofit group called: “Citizens For A Better Environment.” Easter is the brother of another of Goff’s co-workers from that time period, Chris Easter. Other co-workers of Goff, Flanagan, and Lauten attended the session as observers. Lauten and Goff were sharing the living space at the Taped Rugs studio during that time as well.

Electronic guitar, electric bass, sound effects, and digital keyboards of various qualities (including one which had had its guts altered by Goff and which would now be referred to as “circuit bent”) all fed into the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system that day. A couple of record players infused prerecorded sounds into the mix as well, including Ronald Reagan’s readings from a history of the American Revolution entitled: “Freedom’s Finest Hour.” Ninety minutes of recordings from the session were released to the public in late 1989 by Taped Rugs on a cassette entitled: “Activism.”

Here Taped Rugs presents three pieces from “Activism:”

1) Revolution 4

2) (4 X 4) + Hiss

3) Before And After Pollution

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED TO ALLOW MORE EPISODES IN THIS SERIES TO BE POSTED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol19

On July Fourth, 1987, the United States Congress was in the middle of a long investigation of various illegal activities conducted by the Reagan Administration. The American public was being treated to a host of dark revelations about its government. US agents had sold weapons to the Iranian government for promises that American hostages held in Iran would be freed. Money received from this arms sale illegally circumvented the oversight of the US Congress and was funneled to pay the costs of an undeclared US war with the Sandinista Communists in Central America. The Iranians had used the weapons that they had received in the deal to fight the Iraqis, who at the time were considered allies of the United States.

Meanwhile, back in Oakland California, another gathering of Herd Of The Ether Space was taking place. The participants: Goff, Kaswan, Sands, and Silverman. Like the previous July Fourth sessions, this one was recorded through the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system. That day the members of HOTES were mourning the loss of one of their heroes, Snakefinger (Philip Lithman), who had died of a heart attack three days previous. Guitars, guitars, and more guitars meshed with the sounds of gibbons, drum machines, and voices projected through guitar pick-ups.

Recordings from this sonic gathering were released on the Taped Rugs cassette, “Declaration,” in 1989 (see the previous podcast for more about “Declaration.”) Here Taped Rugs presents two pieces from the cassette:

1 “Snakefinger RIP” (recorded 7/4/87)
2 “Full Force Of The Tidal Wave” (contains HOTES recordings from 7/4/86 mixed with HOTES recordings from 7/4/87)

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol6

On July Fourth, 1986, a huge ceremony was held in New York and New Jersey to unveil a big fix-up on the Statue Of Liberty. Meanwhile, back at Robert Silverman’s home in Albany, California, a freeform improvisational music session was taking place. The intersection of these two activities was a dadaesque poke at an expensive display of American nationalist pride.

Long time friend Stuart Sands joined Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman for this musical collaboration. His guitar and a live input from a television colored the soundscapes produced that day in a few new shades when compared to the July Fourth recordings of the previous two years. At one point, Sands actually fingered bits from the Star Bangled Banner as television reporters chatted up the big Liberty celebration. As in previous years, the entire session was recorded on the Taped Rugs Frippertronic-style tape loop system.

The group played off and on over the course of several hours that day. In fact, even after the less interesting portions of the recordings were discarded, there was so much music to showcase from the session that Taped Rugs needed to produce two cassettes to properly release it all. One of those cassettes, entitled “Liberty,” is filled with ninety minutes of sounds from the session. The other, entitled “Declaration,” includes another forty-five minutes from the session. Both tapes were released in 1989.

This podcast features three pieces, totaling about forty minutes:

From LIBERTY:

1) “Liberty” (spacey sonics, lots of Liberty Statue TV blah blah blah)
2) “Dance Of The Golden Monkeys” (rhythmic and intuitive finger pickings)

From DECLARATION:

3) “Three Molar Crown" (Silverman vocals, TV weirdness, wacky guitar noises, tape manipulations)

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol5

As in the previous excerpt of this podcast series, this excerpt presents material recorded on a Fourth of July. Members of the Taped Rugs Productions family actually got together for sonic improvising on several July Fourths during the 1980’s. In an effort to display a bit of continuity in this podcast series, the next few excerpts will feature July Fourth recordings.

For 1985’s midsummer rendezvous, Herd Of The Ether Space founders: Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman, gathered at the Taped Rugs main base on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California. Only four short recordings from this session survive in the Taped Rugs archives. They were released to the public (along with the recordings from the July Fourth, 1984, HOTES session) on the Taped Rugs cassette: “Independence Daze” in 1989. All four short recordings are presented here.

Cello, voices, prerecorded tapes, electronic guitars, and manipulations of the Frippertronics-style tape loop form the building blocks of these improvised audio collages. The moods, rhythms, and atmospheres shift around considerably, but the highly intuitive interactions among the participants glue the session together, exhibiting a consistent and inspired flow.

The illustration for this podcast is the first-ever Herd Of The Ether Space promotional poster, created in 1990 by Goff III.

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THIS PAGE. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol2

On the Fourth of July of 1984, Charles Goff III, Robert Silverman, and Killr Mark Kaswan got together at Robert’s house in Albany, California for an improvisational recording session. Guitars, keyboards, and a cello all fed into the Frippertronics-style tape loop system which had been the structural backbone for –ING and many of Goff’s solo projects for the previous five years. The three sonic collaborators didn’t know it then, but that day they made the earliest recordings of Herd Of The Ether Space.

The story of how Herd Of The Ether Space got its name is a long and twisted tale. Referring to this grouping as an incarnation of –ING was out of the question. After a year and a half of performing in local venues and appearing on various radio broadcasts, Goff and Steve Schaer had established the identity of –ING as a duo. (The history of –ING was presented in a previous Taped Rugs podcast series.) Silverman, Kaswan, and others had collaborated on some of –ING’s early works, but by 1984 it was clear that a recording session without Schaer could not be referred to as an –ING recording session.

-ING split up at the end of 1984. Goff and Kaswan started working as Disism in 1985. Disism was a duo from its inception. (The history of Disism was also presented in a previous podcast series.) However, Goff, Kaswan, Silverman and a wide variety of others (including Schaer) partook of occasional improvisational recording sessions for the next several years. The recordings were saved; sometimes copies were made for the participants or for listeners interested in Disism, but no effort was given to name or promote this loose knit band into something more until 1989.

On February 26th, 1989, after a particularly inspiring recording session, Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman decided that there should be a name for their ever-growing band of improvisers. They agreed that the group’s membership should be open to anyone who was adventurous enough to participate, that there should be no restrictions regarding styles of music, methodologies of composition, instrumentation, or anything else. They also agreed that all the recordings of improvisations which had been saved over the previous years could now be released by Taped Rugs Productions as products of this newly dubbed band. Appropriately enough, the band name that they came up with was: “The Order Of Chaos.”

At some point in early March of 1989, however, Silverman reported that another musical act called “The Order Of Chaos” was performing in the San Francisco Bay Area. During a phone conversation, he and Goff used a thesaurus to come up with a new name for their band to avoid any conflicts with this other act. Thus “Herd Of The Ether Space” was born.

The Herd remained active for years, despite members moving to different regions of the USA. It could be argued that the band still exists, although it has been in a dormant state for many years now. By 1998, Taped Rugs had released 34 Herd Of The Ether Space cassette tapes. Many of these are hodgepodges of recordings from various dates and/or involving various participants, physically exemplifying the “anything goes” attitude of the band. Tape labels from countries throughout the world co-released several of these cassettes. Herd Of The Ether Space also contributed material to a variety of internationally produced compilation tapes. The Herd even occasionally performed for public audiences. The last official Herd Of The Ether Space session took place in 2001.

This “Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s” podcast series will present a wide variety of recordings from the early HOTES days, most of which were made using the Taped Rugs Frippertronics-style tape loop system. This particular presentation introduces the band with a half hour long piece recorded on that fateful July 4th, 1984 by Goff, Kaswan, and Silverman. The piece is called “Independence Day” and was released to the public in 1989 on the Taped Rugs cassette entitled “Independence Daze.”

Future chapters in this podcast series will attempt to put a bit of order to the chaotic history of Herd Of The Ether Space, but in the spirit of this anarchic, entropic, unconventional recording act, that order may appear elusive…

THE AUDIO COMPONENT OF THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THIS PAGE. IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.archive.org/details/HOTESTapeLoopImprovisationsVol1