Taped Rugs Productions Presents

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Twenty-Three: Verging On The Non Mellow

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:39:09 GMT

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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Twenty-Two: Other Than Random Modulation

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:13:44 GMT

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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Twenty-One: Claws Longer Than Your Middle Finger

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:50:44 GMT

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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Twenty: Beyond The Confessions Of Hiss

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:19:39 GMT

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.”

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Nineteen: Hardware Murals

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:41:30 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Eighteen: Odes To Ralph

C. Goff The 3rd — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:06:15 GMT

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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Seventeen: Tut’s Slaves

C. Goff The 3rd — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:28:11 GMT

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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Sixteen: March 18th, 1989

C. Goff The 3rd — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:59:31 GMT

“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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Fifteen: That Blast Of Noise

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:25:33 GMT

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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Fourteen: Alternate Beginning

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:34:53 GMT

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).

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Thirteen: Swirling Factions

C. Goff The 3rd — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:31:59 GMT

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.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Twelve: Just Say “Maybe”

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:54:02 GMT

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…

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Eleven: Flexing The Musical Muscles

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:04:56 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Ten: Chaos Marches On

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:08:39 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Nine: The Chaos Of Bobby & Chuck

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:47:25 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Eight: Moon River Walk

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:44:01 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Seven: Halloween 1988

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:12:34 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Six: Halloween Masks Look Almost Real!

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:08:46 GMT

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 WILL LIKELY BE MADE AVAILABLE AGAIN FROM A DIFFERENT SOURCE. CONTACT TAPED RUGS AT SCHMITALY@SBCGLOBAL.NET FOR UPDATES ON THIS PROCESS.

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Five: Independence Day 1989

C. Goff The 3rd — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:05:01 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Four: Independence Day 1987

C. Goff The 3rd — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:03:01 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Three: Independence Day 1986

C. Goff The 3rd — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:59:44 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt Two: Independence Day 1985

C. Goff The 3rd — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:23:25 GMT

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

Herd Of The Ether Space In The 1980’s: Excerpt One: Independence Day 1984

C. Goff The 3rd — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:15:33 GMT

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