Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

The Fountain Of Uselessness by Ren, Iain & Martin

2010-12-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

This was the only track that we put vocals on. It also features an early 20th century pump-organ that got a great wheezy sound.

Number 6 by Iain, Ren, Luke & Martin

2010-12-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

This one sounds like "Life Stinks" by Pere Ubu but I don't think Iain , who came up with the bass line, had ever heard the Ubu song.

Ooze by Ren, Colin, Iain and Martin

2010-12-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

More weird piano music although something went wrong with tape recorder on this one and the piano did'nt come out. So Ren played saxophone instead.

The Time Flies by Ren, Iain, Colin & Martin

2010-10-05T23:17:00.000-07:00

I think this was the first song we recorded for the weird piano project. I like this one a lot. Some of the piano playing reminds me of Chinese music.

First Song by Ren, Iain, Luke & Martin

2010-10-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Another song from the unnamed project featuring the weird piano.

Saucy Boss by Ren, Iain, Colin & Martin

2010-09-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Song #2 of this project. Features the excellent guitar playing of Colin Wheeler. I like the sound of a lot of these songs. Its not often you hear music that is fast and quiet so it's kind of interesting. Most of these songs are instrumental. If anyone wants to download them and add vocals, feel free. Send me a cd of it and I'll post it here on this blog.

The Fix Is In by Ren, Iain, Colin, Luke & Martin

2010-09-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a song from a project that was based around a weird toy piano I own. The piano is about 1/2 the size of a regular stand-up piano but instead of strings, the piano's hammers hit chimes so it has a sound not unlike a marimba but not really at the same time. We recorded this in my basement and features Ren playing the piano, Iain on stand-up bass, Colin on guitar, Luke on Harmonica and me playing drums. We recorded about 7 songs and I'll be posting the others soon. We never came up with a name for the project but so what.

The Great Temptations Of Beyond # 738 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

The concept for these songs was arrived at in September 2002 and finally completed in September 2007.
The premise involved using the "shuffle" program on a group of compact disc players running simultaneously to produce unique arrangements of original music.
All of the pieces followed a few guidelines: the musicians should be recorded separately from one another with little or no idea what the other musicians had played.
They would be given a loose theme to improvise on and a rigid tempo to follow.
These recordings, (sometimes hours long) were transferred on to a computer and cut into short phrases and fragments.
The best of these were selected to be burnt onto cd-r's.
Once all of the music for as piece had been recorded, each instrument was then assigned a cd player of which there were up to six.
The cd players were then played simultaneously with the "shuffle" program activated, thus producing a unique arrangement of the piece each time.
Some of the voices were of a "found" nature but none of the music was sampled from other sources.

Lunar Snakes # 657 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

- In September the first song, it is important that finally completed in 2007 - will come in in September Blog. "It benefits the whole question Kourses shuffle? For the first time that the investigation only as disxpelers [treximatos]. It's all part of the study are: write a different department and one's promise other people to do things that need to share the responsibility to register the idea of the results under the first amendment which comfortably numb improvizes. the [Ellis] [] wrote a computer proteron (very long) and recently upgraded and spoke Vietnamese [detalia.] This is the "best record in, the election Fests; that bad character that is part of the competitive fire in registaram site in the Contant six seats in each Institution to improve kdspeler.? "Meanwhile, after kdspelers shuffle" konsultant search? on a plan to improve forever. "herein is believed to be reliable, so choose, to get? Nature knows that - [and] nibid otherwise, but determined in advance.

Lurk The Blue Crawfish by Martin Bland;s Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

2002 - arrived in September he was the first song, it is important to have finally completed in 2007 - will come in September. Bldg. "It benefits shuffle questions? Courses filled for the first time that the investigation only than discspelers [] treximatos. All part of teaching to be: write a different department and one other person promise to do things that need to share responsibility registar the idea of the results of first under the amendment that improvizes comfortably numb. This [eeis] [proteron] wrote a (very long), and computer recently refurbished and speeches free [detalya]. This is the "RA" record in the optimum, the Fes election; ? S. bad sign that competition is part of the fire site at registaram the contant during the six seats in each institution to improve CDspeler. "Meanwhile, after CDspelers shuffle"? Search Consultant on a plan to raise the issue forever. "Here , is believed reliable, so choose, to get? Nature knows that - [and] nibyd says otherwise, but determined in advance.

Oamtanlt #3 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

2002 - September she arrived at the first track, it is important to have finally completed in 2007 - will come in September. Bldg. "It's Advantage issues Shuffle"? Courses crowded with the first run, that just after the observation rather than discspelers [treximatos]. All components of the teaching observed: write a separate department to another to another individuality promised to do things that you need to share responsibility for the registar at the idea of lower first result of these adjustments improvizes comfortably numb. This [eeis] [proteron] wrote a (very long) and the recently refurbished computers and free speech [detalya]. This is a "r a" record of the optimum, the election Fez;? S. Bad sign that competition is part of the fire site at the time contant registaram six seats in each institution CDspeler improvement. "At the same time, after CDspelers Shuffle"? Counselor's request to issue the program and always have to activate it. "Here, it is believed reliable, in order to choose, found"? Nature knows that - [with nibyd] says otherwise, but in early to decide.

The Great Temptations Of Beyond # 656 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Importance in this song 2002 - September GOES arrived and was finished in last 2007 - GOES in September. BLDG. " problematic; benefit;? shuffle"? In the reason that discspelers is dense the program initially in notes of the place [of the treximatos] guided simultaneously that only. All the parts had followed the instruction of the pairs: Separate separate the notes go different notes 1 of the different personality of that it makes to the responsibility that will divide necessary to registar in the idea the minor. That it follows the adjustment comes to give to improvizes a question that convenient is rigid. These [of the eeis] [proteron] write, (of the time to the long time of the time) they computer and brevity had been adjusted of the expression and [detalya]. These are they optimum COMPACT RECORD of r' Of fêz select;? Badly S. where the games in the entire fire the notes it did not registaram in the part, this time contanto that the place for 6 not to come to repair as each body that CDspeler. " Of it was simultaneously a CDspelers there later that;? shuffle"? Guided that it has asked for it the program only occurs always and that is activated. " where it believes solidly; It voted;? found"? Nature knows that - [in accordance with nibyd] of notes the start that different was not selected.

Lurk The Blue Crawfish by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

Importance on this song 2002 - GO September arrived and it was completed in last 2007 - GO in September. BLDG. Problematic " benefit;? shuffle"? On the reason which discspelers are dense the program initially in the notes of the place [of treximatos] simultaneously guided which only. All parts followed the instruction of the pairs: Separately separately notes goes 1 notes of different persona different of what which it makes responsibility which it will divide necessary to register in smallest idea. It that follows the tuning it comes to give improvizes a convenient question it is rigid. These [of eeis] [proteron] write, (from time to time long time) they computer and brevity were set from the expression and [detalya]. These are they the best COMPACT DISK Of r' From he did select;? Hardly S. where sets on fire entire the notes it did not register in the part, that time as long as the place for 6 will not come to repair as each body which CDspeler. " From there was simultaneously one CDspelers later which;? shuffle"? Guided which part it only occurs always and program which it is activated. " where it believes solidly; It did vote;? found"? Nature it knows that -[nibyd] from the notes in accordance with different beginning it was not selected.

Oamtanlt #2 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

The importance for this song 2002 September arrived and was completed in 2007 September last. BLDG. Problematic use "? shuffle"? About the cause which discspelers is dense the program initially in the place [treximatos] music simultaneously the rule which is only. All pieces followed the instruction of pair: Separately separately music goes 1 the different person different music what which does the duty which will split must be registered in smallest idea. It which follows a tune comes to give improvizes convenient subject stiffly. These [eeis] [proteron] record, (from time to time long time) they the computer and short were delivered from expression and item. This them of best CD R' From was selected;? Hardly is s. where ignites all music were not registered in piece, that time until that place 6 comes to repair as each body which is CDspeler. " With simultaneously was one CDspelers after that;? shuffle"? The rule which piece is only happens always and the program which is activated. " where believes firmly; Was voting;? found"? Character knows anything of music in compliance with a different origin was not selected.

Lunar Snakes #840 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

The significance for these songs had reached September 2002 and was completed finally September 2007. The BLDG. in question utilisation "? shuffle"? program with regard to a compact cause of discspelers team where simultaneous unique regulations of initial [treximatos] music. The all pieces followed the directives of pairs: the musicians separately the one other with minimal or no idea should be registered what had played the other musicians. A relaxed subject that it improvizes and stiffly that follows a rythm is given. These [eeis] [proteron] recording, (sometimes long times) they were transmitted in computer and in the short expressions and the items. Bests this they were selected for in Cd-R'? it is burned s. hardly the all music was registered as piece, was fixed then each body CDspeler from which it was up to six there. Was CDspelers played then simultaneously with "? shuffle"? activated program, where a unique regulation of piece each time is caused. Certain was voting "? found"? the nature but nothing of music was not selected by other sources.

Autumn In New York #422 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

The concept for these songs had arrived in September 2002 and was definitively completed in September 2007. The bldg. in question using " shuffle" programme concerning a group compact discspelers cause which simultaneously unique regulations of original music run. All pieces followed a couple directives: the musicians separately of each other with little or no idea must be registered what had played the other musicians. They a loose topic to improvise and stiffly to follow a tempo are given. These prerecordings, (sometimes long hours) were transmitted on a computer and besnoeiing in short expressions and fragments. The bests of this were selected for on CD-r' are burned; s. as soon as all music had been registered as a piece, was then assigned each instrument CDspeler of which was up to six there. The CDspelers were then played simultaneously with " shuffle" activated programme, where an unique regulation of the piece each time is caused. Some votes were of " found" the nature but nothing of music was sampled from other sources.

The Great Temptation Of Beyond #629 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2010-09-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm clearing the decks of a whole lot of versions of these songs from the Randomised Control Trials project.
The concept for these songs was arrived at in September 2002 and finally completed in September 2007.
The premise involved using the "shuffle" program on a group of compact disc players running simultaneously to produce unique arrangements of original music.
All of the pieces followed a few guidelines: the musicians should be recorded separately from one another with little or no idea what the other musicians had played.
They would be given a loose theme to improvise on and a rigid tempo to follow.
These recordings, (sometimes hours long) were transferred on to a computer and cut into short phrases and fragments.
The best of these were selected to be burnt onto cd-r's.
Once all of the music for as piece had been recorded, each instrument was then assigned a cd player of which there were up to six.
The cd players were then played simultaneously with the "shuffle" program activated, thus producing a unique arrangement of the piece each time.
Some of the voices were of a "found" nature but none of the music was sampled from other sources.

The Confusement Park

2010-06-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here is an album I've been involved in recording over the last few months. It's called the Confusement Park and is supposedly a concept album about an amusement park but mainly seems to be about really messed up people. The songs are

Welcome To The Confusement Park
Fight The Bullshit
Animal Grease
Dippin The Ladle
Down In The Gutta
The Hole
Lord I Know
Ode To Speedy McFats
Dandelion Bouquet
Honeymoon Across The Stateline
Man With No Memory
After The Last Moonbeam Fades

The musicians are Jim Collier, Renastair EJ, Colon Wheeler, Fila McGann, Charlie Thunders, Iain Graham, Brandy Terrisi, John Gallagher and Martin Bland.
We pressed up 70 copies for our cd release party but they all went that night but we're going to press up another 30 or so. If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy, email me at mrbiand@yahoo.com. Probably $10 or so plus shipping.

This is the entire thing in one big 42 minute blob.

I Like Nitrous Oxide by Martin Bland

2010-04-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a "video" I found on YouTube of one of my songs. It's not really a video as it is just a still picture. I watched it at first waiting for something to move but I couldn't detect any movement. It is a song that was part of an "instant" album project. It was recorded on a 4-track cassette player. I took a 45 minute cassette and played drums for the length of the cassette, then a few weeks later when I had forgotten what I had played I put some bass on, then a few months later some guitar and then a few months later some vocals and synth and whatever else. Everything was done in one continuous take. I think there were maybe 6 songs or so on the tape which is long lost. The songs got progressively worse as the tape went along and as I ran out of ideas but this was the first song and featured what I think was a pretty nifty synthesizer solo. It was released on one of Lachlan Macleods Blackeye records compilations, either Waste Sausage or Leather Donut, whichever was second.

Six-Ten Phoenix by the Monkeywrench

2010-02-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Also, here is a review of the lost Monkeywrench lp translated from the original Greek

Have spent around 18 years since the Mark Arm eftyne blood while Steve Turner break the guitar strings to the refrain of "If I Think" of Mudhoney, one of the most simple and chaste love songs ever written ( " ... I forgot how to cry, I forgot I could die, If I think, I think of You ..."), which, precisely because of this paidikotitas (with the good sense), have won a place in the hearts and the discos us, which often dense dust to feel again 15 years old. 18 years have passed since then and the duo Mark Arm / Steve Turner made a double blow «come back», moving jobs in 2008 for Mudhoney and Monkeywrench simultaneously. Mere coincidence or evil blow below the zone in order to disrupt the global grunge / garage movement (what?) In the world?

The answer will certainly give you - do not wait for us to have a solution at all. The fact is however that the project remains the owner Arm watchful and active, albeit with periodic delay in the sequence tends to 8 (and only for mathematicians) - asvesti keeping the flame of Seattle and the activities on the beaches of. "Gabriel's Horn" is the third in a series of movement and follows the style and tradition of Monkeywrench, who wants atofio punk garage rock voutigmeno in their cynicism, pulling the hair and dragging the mantemenia riffoeidi into the mud.

Non Fooled you seemingly cool fusion beginning of the "Low On Air" - when the dust katakatsei, things will take their real dimensions and who did not saw Jimbo (the de Chentrix) and not the feared! «Prosefchitheite up otou sweatiness» and the truth of Music acquires flesh and bones. 70"That's What You Get" (. 70ila in foul, offensive filingk garage in which Voutas where to find opportunity (!) And the absolute boon comes groove and carefree through the laser of cd player, that situation continues and "That's What You Get" (statements) and obviously, and throughout the tablet, (ideal) lasting 51 minutes. «Nick Cave» bourbon / vermut / . Beloved (as we say polychronemeno) the "Magic Tarp" and the reason is I think obvious: deucedly klassikoura with «Nick Cave» (allow me) interpretation drawn, raw guitars and slips bourbon / vermut / 'liosporous.

The Salpinga of Gavriil meant on the opposite coast triumphantly last February. The religious tradition is in the Archangel Gabriel to fysa to announce the Day of Crisis, thereby connecting with the infinite God. Times are tough. The Toritseli (1608), the Kavalieri (1598) and Monkeywrench (1991) know well.

Maria Voutyriadoy

The Burning Of Crawford by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2009-07-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

"Among the prisoners taken by the Indians, were Colonel Crawford, the commander, and Dr. Knight of Pittsburgh, who had gone upon the expedition as surgeon. On the 10th of June, these gentlemen were marched toward the principal town of the Wyandots, where they arrived the next day. Here they beheld the mangled bodies of their late companions, and were doomed to see others, yet living, butchered before their eyes. Here likewise, they saw Simon Girty, who appeared to take infernal delight in gazing upon the dead bodies, and viewing the tortures that were inflicted upon the living. The features of this wretch, who had known Colonel Crawford at Fort Pitt, were clad in malicious smiles beholding the brave soldier in his preset strait; and toward Dr Knight he conducted himself with insolence as well as barbarity. The Colonel was soon stripped naked, painted black, and commanded to sit down by a large fire which was blazing close at hand; and in this situation he was surrounded by all the old women and young boys of the town, and severely beaten with clubs and sticks. While this was going on, the Indians were sinking a large stake in the ground, and building a circle of brushwood and hickory sticks around it with a diameter of some twelve or fifteen feet. These preparations completed, Crawford's hands were tied firmly behind his back, and by his wrists he was bound to the stake. The pile was then fired in several places, and the quick flames curled into the air. Girty took no part in these operations but sat upon his horse at a little distance, observing them with malignant satisfaction. Catching his eye at the moment the pile was fired, Crawford inquired of the renegade if the savages really meant to burn him. Girty coldly answered "Yes" and the Colonel calmly resigned himself to his fate..... For more than two hours did the gallant soldier survive at that flame-girdled stake; and during the latter half of this time, he was put to every torture which savage ingenuity could devise, and hellish vengeance execute. Only once did a word escape his lips. In the extremity of his agony he again caught the eye of Girty; and he is reported to have exclaimed "Girty! Girty! shoot me through the heart! Do not refuse me! quick!-quick!" And it is said the monster merely replied "Don't you see I have no gun, Colonel?" then burst into a loud laugh and turned away. Crawford said no more; he sank repeatedly beneath the pain and suffocation which he endured, and was often aroused by a new torture; but in a little while the "vital spark" fled, and the black and swollen body lay senseless at the foot of the stake."
From "The Life Of Daniel Boone" by Cecil B. Hartley, 1883

Bloodloss live part 2

2009-04-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Another steaming pile of live Bloodloss. The tracks on this one are

1) Fly Me To Uranus
2) Fishwife
3) Land Of Plenty
4) Friendship 7
5) Hated In My House

Bloodloss Live part 1

2009-04-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a blob of live Bloodloss recorded in the late 90's. The tracks are

1) Cueballs Of Idaho (edit)
2) The Truth Is Marchin' In
3) Gotta Change
4) Love Theme
5) Shiny Black Suit
6) Wino

Please excuse our hiss.

"One For The Hangman" by the Tom Price Desert Classic

2009-01-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

Continuing the "Hanging" theme of this band, here is another one. Features a neat organ line from Matt Wright and a cool fuzz solo from Don Blackstone. Not to mention the supple bass stylings, incredible vocals. And then there's the drumming.
As to the accompanying photo, I liked the hutzpah of the owners in light of the Mad Cow scare of a few years back. When I went in it was pretty empty.

"Hang Onto Your Hat" by The Tom Price Desert Classic

2009-01-17T21:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a song from a band I'm currently flailing in. This is some raunch from the pen of Mr Tom Price himself. The line-up of the band is
Tom Price- Guitar & voice
Don Blackstone- guitar
Matt Wright- organ
Joe Kilbourn- bass
Martin Bland- drums

"I Saw It" (demo) by Lubricated Goat

2009-01-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

This is a 4-track cassette version of a song later to appear on the Psychedelicatessen lp. It was originally written for an aborted Salamander Jim album, which was another band Stu, Lachlan MacCleod and I were briefly in. This was recorded on the top floor at Gracelands and features Stu on guitar, bass and sampler along with Ren on sax and me playing drums.

"The explainer" by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2009-01-04T22:14:00.001-08:00

A brief explanation of what the fuck I'm doing.

"The Great Temptations Of Biand #507" by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2009-01-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

Another stray version left over after burning the 120 cd's in the Radomized Control Trials where every cd is different. This piece in general is probably my favorite of the whole endeavor.

"Autumn In New York" by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2009-01-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me if this is some kind of 9/11 tribute or something. It definitely is not.

"It's Really Great To Not Be Here Tonight #487" by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2008-12-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here is another leftover version of a track from the 120 cd's project. The voices on here are from some old 78's that people used to record themselves as letters to friends and relations back in the 1940's and '50's. In fact, you can hear one guy complaining that the recording machine doesn't work and he's going to take it back to the guy that sold it to him. I would dearly love to find one of these machines today.
The musicians on this one are
Tom Price- guitar and organ, Steve Dukich- baritone guitar and bass, Mark Arm- piano. Martin Bland- drums, Jim Knodle- trumpet, Janis Wildy- electric violin.

Trailer for "Calimari Union" featuring "Love Theme" by Bloodloss

2008-12-27T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a trailer for a movie called "Calimari Union". The music is a track by Bloodloss called "Love Theme". The movie is by Richard LeFevre and is a recent remake of another older film also called "Calimari Union". This version seems to feature some familiar faces plus some that I don't know. Looks pretty "gritty".

"Oamtanlt #198" by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2008-12-26T23:23:00.001-08:00

Here is another leftover version of this piece. The voices are culled from a bootleg tape of the Altamont concert (obvious to some, maybe not to others). There's a lot more banter on the tape, both amongst the crowd and from the stage, but is usually accompanied by Stones music and therefore of no use to me.

"Lurk The Blue Crawfish" by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2008-12-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

Another tune. This one features the toy piano stylings of my Mother-In-Law, Dorothy Ramsey and a haiku by her husband, Jerry. The artwork accompanying this piece is by Alberta/Seattle/Louisiana artist Aaron Golson. For more cool fauna, check out his MySpace page under the nom-de-plume Deadly Devout

"Lunar Snakes #352" by Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials

2008-12-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a version of this piece where everything seemed to go right (I think). Sometimes that happens. The musicians on this are

Tim Kerr- guitar
Steve Dukich- bass
Martin Bland -drums, synthesizer
Mark Arm- synthesizer
Jim Knodle- trumpet
Tom Swofford- violin
Donna Brown, Jen Matson- voices
Renestair EJ- saxophone
Adam Weiss- saxophone
Chris Stover- trombone

Bloodloss "Soundtrack From the Musical 'Bloodloss'"

2008-12-24T22:57:00.000-08:00

Here is side 2 of the Bloodloss 10" "Ten Rock Solid Inches Of Rock Solid Rock". I assume this will never be released on CD so here it is in the "MP3" format. This was all done with good old tape technology. I'm sure computer sound programs such as pro-tools were available at the time but we didn't have access to them. I doubt this would not have been as much fun to make if we had used them anyway.

Martin Blands Randomised Control Trials on the radio

2008-10-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a podcast of an hour-long broadcast from 10/25/08. The show was called Sonarchy on the local Seattle station KEXP. The tracks are

The Exctasy Of Frank Thring
The Esplanade
Oamtanlt
The Great Temptations Of Beyond
Autumn In New York
The Exctasy Of Frank Thring #2

Oamtanlt #657 by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2008-10-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here is another version of this fan favorite. The violin is by Tom Swafford and the guitars are by Tom Price and Mark Arm.

Warehouse Fantasia

2008-10-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

An audio odyssey through a real live book warehouse. Strap yourself in for a journey as exciting and thrilling as ACTUALLY BEING THERE!

Nico Vassilakis "Visual Poetry In The Continental Review"

2008-09-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a series of "Visual Poems" by Seattle poetry guy Nico Vassilakis. He asked me to create some music to accompany them so I did. The videos have a real nice grainy quality to them which puts one in mind of classic early avant films by folks like Harry Smith etc.

Monkeywrench "On Your Arrival"

2008-09-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Ok. After many moons absence, I shall now attempt to link to some video footage that is on youtube that I have some relation to.
The first is a video of Monkeywrench performing a song off our album "gabriels Horn" entitled On Your Arrival.
The video was painstakingly put together over many months by our guitarist Tom Price on his laptop computer and an excellent job he did too.

Shake Your Leaves by Bloodloss

2008-06-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a song recorded live by Bloodloss. This is a soundboard recording from a not especially large venue and as such the drums and vocals tend to be the loudest things, neither of which were the strongest points of the band. But here it is anyway. The people in this band were Renestair EJ, Mark Arm, Guy Maddison and Martin Bland.

The Ecstasy Of Frank Thring by Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials

2008-06-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a version of new piece created in the RCT series for a radio broadcast on local Seattle radio station KEXP. The featured musicians are Tom Price (guitar), Dave Holmes (electric sitar), Guy Maddison (bass), Ajax Storm-Wood (voice) and Martin Bland (drums and synthesizer). The theme was written by Tom and is basically a D minor scale with an emphasis on half-tones. It uses repetition to create a structure, much like yer standard-issue rock song. You'll notice that the exact same guitar, bass, sitar and drums phrases reappear a couple of times throughout the number but always in different combinations and contexts.

Lubricated Goat In The Raw

2008-06-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

I've had a few folks inquire about other Lubricated Goat tunes so here is another from the Kardomah Cafe in Sydney. Stuart had a guitar synthesizer so that is why his guitar sounds like that.

Hi Squid/ The Rape Of Nanking by Laszlo Alexander

2008-05-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Another exhibit from The Museum Of Strange & Deadly Foods (MOSADF). This product is Hi Squid and is basically a couple of dried tentacles. The musical accompaniment is entitled The Rape Of Nanking by Laszlo Alexander. It was recorded in the late 40's or early '50's and come from a 10" lp called The Secret Music Of China. If you listen carefully, amid all the carnage you will hear an early use of the theremin.

Chicken In A Can/Blind Willie McTell

2008-04-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorites from the Museum Of Strange and Deadly Foods (MOSADF). Suspended cryogenic-style in brine and weighing in at 3lbs 2oz, may I present "One Whole Chicken In A Can". I've paired it here with a couple of Blind Willie McTell tunes. The first is "I'm Gonna Cross the River Of Jordan" and the next is Blind Willie's meditation on all things mortal "You Got To Die". Both are great songs and perhaps inside the can is a great chicken. Well, great tasting anyway.

Cry Cry Cry by the Kings Of Rock

2008-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here's another Kings Of Rock number. This one was written by some old 60's punk band whose name I don't know. The excellent singing here is by Tim "Purple" Hayes who nailed this baby in one take.

Rock & Roll Guitar by the Kings Of Rock

2008-03-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

The Kings Of Rock were a band that existed on and off for many years here in Seattle. The line up was Tom Price and Tim Hayes on guitars, Don Blackstone on bass and a revolving cast of drummers. I was designated drummer #7. This song is one that Tom heard on an old 50's teen flick featuring the actor Arch Hall Jr. You can read more about him in the re/search book on incredibly strange films which I think is called "Incredibly Strange Films".

Upcoming Show April 12th

2008-03-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

I'll be presenting the Randomized Control Trials as a sound installation at the Fantagraphics Books/Georgetown Records store on April 12th as part of the Georgetown Art Attack. There'll be lots of other stuff going on in the area but I'll be providing musical accompaniment to a 1/2 price book sale that Fantagraphics is hosting . The poster for this show is by excellent Seattle artist Tim Silbaugh. The piece of music attached to this post is one that didn't make it onto the cd but I'll probably play on the 12th. Drop in if you're in the area.

It's Really Great To Not Be Here Tonight by Martin Bland's Randomised Control Trials

2008-03-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is a version of the first piece that I created for the Randomized Control Trials project. It has a kitchen-sink quality that I think is quite nice- kind of frayed around the edges. One of the featured instruments on this tune is the trumpet as played excellently by Seattle jazz guy Jim Knodle.

L.I.E.S. by the Monkeywrench

2008-03-12T22:55:00.000-07:00

Another Monkeywrench tune. This is our version of the Saints song L.I.E.S. This track only came out as a B-side of a 45 in Japan. Whilst in Japan with the Monkeywrench I managed to find this action figure on a discount table in the middle of a shopping arcade. It's Pepsiman! He apparently smells like the soft drink pepsi taken out of his packaging. The front says "The Fuct Of Pepsiman". On the back it describes how he can "pop up Pepsi-Cola with 'Schwaaa!' action and deliver them around everywhere". He is also into"sideways-riding-sports such as surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding etc". It comes with accessories such as a snowboard and a cast and crutch. Judging from how many were on the table and the reduced price (980 yen), I guess no one gave a shit about Pepsiman.

Charles Ives- Fourth Symphony, 2nd Movement

2008-03-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

This distinguished-looking old bugger is Charles Ives. The attached mp3 is of the 2nd or "Allegro" movement from his fourth symphony. Allegro apparently means "cheerful" which I guess this is in a slightly off-the-meds kind of way. Certainly made me laugh out loud when I first heard it. If any music deserves to be played at full volume, this is it. He knocked this out after work (he sold insurance) in 1910 or there abouts.

The Great Temptations Of Beyond by Martin Bland's Randomised Control Trials

2008-03-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

Here's another version of this piece. I got a million of 'em. Really.

Autumn In New York by Martin Bland's Randomised Control Trials

2008-03-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

This is the standard written by Vernon Duke. It's a tune that I've always really liked ever since I heard a version by Dexter Gordon years ago.
My original idea was for a pretty straight run through of the tune but it never really seemed to work within the "randomized" concept so I decided to turn it into a "drone" piece. I isolated notes from the melody (which is basically a scale anyway) and looped them so when shuffled they would form constantly shifting chords, sometimes dissonant, sometimes consonant but always changing slowly.

Oamtanlt by Martin Bland's Randomised Control Trials

2008-03-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

This one is a re-imagining of a certain rock concert from the point of view of a heavily dosed audience member. No Rolling Stones music was hurt in the making of this track, unlike some people in the crowd from the sounds of it.

Lurk The Blue Crawfish by Martin Bland's Randomised Control Trials

2008-03-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here's another RCT track. This one features Oregon poet Jarold Ramsey's haiku about a crawfish that he caught for his kids which proceeded to eat all the other creatures in the tank. I gather they had to toss poor old Lurk back into the Genesee River.
I programmed a lot of silence into this one (12 seconds for each musical phrase) so as to try and create a series of miniatures within the larger framework of the piece. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Lunar Snakes by Martin Bland's Randomised Control Trials

2008-03-09T22:31:00.000-07:00

Hey, here's a bunch more songs from the Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials cd series. See an earlier post for a fairly dry description on of how this stuff is generated.
All of the following versions were created exclusively for this blog.
This one is called Lunar Snakes and features 3 ensembles plus soloists. The ensembles are

1-Guitar, Bass Drums
2-Sax, Trumpet, Trombone
3-Synth, Organ, Theremin

and the soloists are violin and sax. There are also some voices in there too.

Sugarman by the Monkeywrench

2008-03-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

I'm also in an occasional band called Monkeywrench, sometimes the Monkeywrench and sometimes Monkey Wrench. I have no idea which is correct. This noisy little affair was written by a guy called Rodriguez, and a fine job he did too. This was recorded in Green Bay, Wisconsin at an all ages club. The good news was that there was a bar next door. The bad news was that they served a specialty drink called the Lunchbox.
The image accompanying this post is of a tie I have been known to wear whilst playing in Monkeywrench. Those yellow dots are pineapples. If you happen to see me around town wearing this tie then I'm probably on my way to a Monkeywrench show. By the way, we have a new album out called Gabriel's Horn.

Fruit On My Hat by Bloodloss

2008-03-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a song from a band I was in called Bloodloss. The song is called Fruit On My Hat and despite the lyrics I should say that I don't really dislike Carmen Miranda. I don't actually know anything about her apart from having seen a photo of her when I was a kid where she was wearing a sombrero with bananas and pineapples on top. She was probably a top-notch entertainer in her field. This track was recorded for an unfinished lp in 1997 and is a rough mix ripped from a cassette but still sounds okay I think. It was our attempt at a samba or salsa or something.

James Brown Cookies

2008-03-04T17:27:00.000-08:00

Here we have a packet of James Brown cookies that I bought at the 3B's tavern in Bellingham Washington many years ago. These are the"Chocolate Sandwich Creameez" variety. Unfortunately, the 3B's is no-more and James Brown has passed on but a surefire way to join Soul Brother #1 in the funky afterlife is to eat a few of his cookies. The packet says cholesterol free but Trans Fats? Hmmm...

Lubricated Goat "Nerve Quake"

2008-03-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Like most musicians in Australia and the US, I was in Lubricated Goat on and off from the late 80's thru the early 90's. I was lucky enough to see the "classic" Goat lineup that had Brett Ford playing drums. Was sad to hear of his recent passing.
This was recorded at a ghastly subterranean rock dungeon called the Kardomah Cafe in Kings Cross, Sydney. Perhaps it was a cafe during the day although I never heard of anyone ordering food there. I believe we were opening for Mudhoney this particular evening. Guy, who is playing bass for the Goat here later joined Mudhoney, replacing Matt Lukin.
It's a pretty raggedy old version but this is what we sounded like and I guess I rather enjoy it...

The Great Temptations Of Beyond by Martin Bland's Randomised Control Trials

2008-03-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

And here is a version of one of the tracks you would find on the cd.
The point of this one was to achieve the most primitive sound possible. Some of the percussion was produced by playing various sizes of flagstones which a seems to be a most musical stone. The instrumentation was restricted to that used by the Stooges on their first lp, minus the viola because I didn't know anyone that had one.
This particular version was recorded live at Studio 1612 (I think that's the address) here in Seattle which is an arts space where boffins pedal their avant garde wares. Note urbane applause at the end. I know I did.

Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials Cd's For Sale! (The Explainer)

2008-03-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

This regal looking object is the cover for the cd editions entitled Martin Bland's Randomized Control Trials. This project has consumed my non-parenting time for the last 5 years or so. The cd case, which was designed by Steve Dukich, is hand cut aluminum with individual circular brush marks and hand numbered braille indicating the edition number (there are 120 cds in all). Each of the 120 cd's has different music on it so each cd is exclusive unto itself. That's 720 different versions of the songs.

If you are interested in buying one, email me and I'll set you up with one. Paypal is accepted. My email is

mrbiand@yahoo.com

Here is both an audio description of how the music was made and some long winded text. Click on the "Cd's For Sale" at the top of this post for "The Explainer" mp3

The Woofing Post

2008-03-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Addendum to Grand Opening

2008-03-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

Grand Opening

2008-03-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this blog is to document certain sound projects that I've been involved in over the last 10 billion years, from the distant foggy past through to the bright golden future. Actually, I'm not sure how much archeology I'll do as I don't have too much and that which I do have is often crap. Some of the bands I've played with are Monkeywrench, Bloodloss Lubricated Goat and some others that I can't think of right now. At the present time I'm involved in the Tom Price Desert Classic and my own Martin Blands Randomized Control Trials, but more on that later...

I'm also going to upload sounds from odd records I've turned up around the place too.
In addition, I want to document other interests such as my collection of Strange and Deadly Foods for which I hope one day to open a permanent exhibit at the Pompidou Centre.
This first posting is something of a test combining odd sounds from a 78 I found and what I consider one of the centerpieces of the Musuem Of Strange and Deadly Foods (MOSADF)- a large packet of WOW potato chips featuring the miracle oil Olean or Oleastra. There is indeed a warning on the pack that eating these chips could result in "rectal leakage" but that's the price to be paid for beoing able to stuff yourself with chips and not get fat.
The 78 is an acetate of a novelty skit called"The Woofing Post". It's pretty bad sound and not terribly funny but one of the supposed contestants is an Australian (Paul Boomer) which does tickle ones jingo bone. I couldn't be more proud.
By the way, many thanks to Cousin Creep for helping me set this blog up.