Shorty - Thumb Days (1993)

"Presto" by Shorty

The Miracle of Levitation brought together assorted noise outfits from both the Midwest and Tokyo. The next sequence of Tour stops will hit as many of the bands and artists (or related groups) featured on the compilation as possible. Starting stateside, track 3: U.S. Maple...but not actually. U.S. Maple was a convergence of two separate bands. The first, and the first we'll be covering, is Shorty—an early 90s, Chicago-area noise rock band. Shorty released their only LP Thumb Days in 1993 on the German label Gasoline Boost Records.

Al Johnson sings out of the side of his face. Not "sings" really, he screams. He contorts his mouth in a Two-Face fashioned and screams sidelong. He holds the microphone not up to his lip distortion but further askew pushed against his cheek and pushing harder when the notes shift slightly deeper. Johnson's screams come out of the greatest possible vocal restriction, full throated but strangled. This unique delivery mutes Johnson's lyrics and limits his range as he rends each song with snarls and indistinguishable provocations. He's Shorty's frontman and showman but also the final touch to a calibrated sound. At the foundation of this calibration are Luke Frantom on bass and Todd Lamparelli on drums. Frantom in particular plays a near-metronomic (and very baggy) bass that fastidiously loops his lines. He and Lamparelli deftly control the time-signature changes that adorn the compositions on Thumb Days. The two of them create a breakneck but calculated drive with a level of darkness that matches the metal roots of the nascent Alternative sound.

Mark Shippy, however, makes Shorty a noise rock band and a very good one. Shippy's style mixes traditional chord progressions with abrasive textures and a deft control of feedback. Within his style, he can line up both a song's central hook as well its frenetic solo. He can both groove with the drum and bass and also match Al Johnson rip for rip. On an album where each song outputs the same speed and energy, Mark Shippy separates each one with his guitar just as, with his guitar, he ties the band together.

Here is Shorty's discography:

We Bopped Your Mama (1990 demo tape)

Mungo (1990 single as Snailboy)

We Bopped Your Mama (1990 tape as Snailboy)

Spoo Heaven (1991 single as Snailboy)

Last One in My Mouth Is a Jerk (1992 single)

Dynamite Lover (1992 single)

Kaput! (1993 single)

Thumb Days

Fresh Breath (1994 EP)

1979 / Really Pointy? (1995 compilation song)

"Coopie and Me" by Shorty

Shorty Live at McGregor's, Elmhurst, IL

"Kept Turd" by Snailboy

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Gentle Giant Records - The Miracle of Levitation (1995)

With Brent Gutzeit and Michael Hartman's return form Japan, they worked with Thomas Deater to gather recordings from their friends in both the Midwest and Tokyo improvised noise scenes. The resulting compilation The Miracle of Levitation came out in 1995 on Gentle Giant Records.

The album features established titans of the genre like Otomo Yoshihide and Jim O'Rourke alongside newer acts inspired by them. For many of the Japanese acts on the track list, this would constitute their first "US release." Noise rock bands lead into ambient synths lead into textural guitar solos: no track sounds the same, and the album shows off the breadth of what improvised music can sound like.

Here is the discography around Gentle Giant Records's compilation album:

The Miracle of Levitation

The Miracle of Re-Creation (1997 VHS compilation)

The Miracle of Re-Creation

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Cult Junk Cafe - Cult Junk Cafe (1995)

After graduation, Michael Hartman found himself pulled to Tokyo in the wake of his friends, moving there and enjoying the tail end of Japan's nineties "bubble economy." The experimental noise scene in Tokyo was friendly and open and inviting to collaboration, and Michael and Brent Gutzeit soon ended up performing with some of the transcendent names of the Tokyo scene. Michael was also invited to join the improvised music group Cult Junk Cafe. The band released their debut tape Cult Junk Cafe in 1995 on Gentle Giant Records.

Cult Junk Cafe is another improvisational band playing under the influence of John Zorn's Cobra, a musical composition that randomly prompts a band to follow musical instructions via cue cards. Like Michael and Brent's group Pencilneck, Cafe follows a simplified version of Cobra where any performer could cue a change in musical direction through just hand gestures. The tape is made up of live performances made throughout early 1995.

Like any band, Cult Junk Cafe is defined by its members and instruments: Michael Hartman on drums, Yoshigami Kyota and Otani Yasuhiro on guitars, Sakamoto Kazutaku on synthesizer and founder Tsunoda Tsuguto on turntables/sampler. Brent Gutzeit (bass) and Agata (guitar) guest on certain sessions. The earliest tracks, recorded with Agata and Brent on February 3, 1995, are pure chaos from start to finish. Every instrument plays at once, seemingly all on different pages of the same book, and actively disassembling any musical idea that might cohere. The only voice that really makes itself heard over the others in these tracks is Agata's unmistakable guitar (but that might just come from familiarity.)

After two months (recording on April 3,) the group favors more cinematic and less abrasive improvisations. The songs from this set also seem to follow one musical "director." Sakamoto's synthesizers are the foundation for "Open the Gates", a more environmental sonic piece that sounds apiece with the science fiction cityscapes of the 1980s. The excellent "Improvisation (4395)" follows Tsunoda's squirrelly turntables that establish an elastic sound that coils up and releases energy throughout. In both cases, the lead guitar matches the energy of the song's "leader" to create a more cohesive and pointed template for everyone to play off of.

After two more months on May 30, Cult Junk's tracks favor a slower start. Any music, sound, concept and comedy comes less from a clash of personalities (as they did when the band first started recording) than a synthesis of them. On the tape's sprawling tracks like "Improvisation (53095)" or "Theme from the Action Theme Song", the compositions are a journey of wandering musical paths. Any member could suddenly guide the band out of one sonic direction to follow and react to their own musical leads. These shifts can be smooth or jarring but keep the tracks moving and unpredictable. Occasionally, these shifts fall flat when the rest of the band doesn't quite know what to do sonically with an idea another member is introducing. It's an easy enough trap to get out of, though, given the conceit.

According to Hartman, the hand gestures used by the band to cue a shift in musical direction became less necessary over time as improvisation improved. And it's clear from listening to this tape, a compilation of three live sets across a couple of months, that improvement goes hand in hand with trying out different ways to improvise. Of course, there is no right or wrong way about it...just what works best for any given band on any given day.

Note: Special thanks to Brent Gutzeit and Michael Hartman for answering my questions about their music and their time in Japan.

Here is the discography surrounding Cult Junk Cafe's debut tape:

Cult Junk Cafe

The Jackson Stomp (1995 compilation song from The Miracle of Levitation)

"The Jackson Stomp" by Cult Junk Cafe

Pass the Headphones!!