Folks, and ladies and gents!  The Noise Circus has started, and its more like an avalanche…But never-mind that, just concentrate on the bizarre sound fields rotating inside your head for a minute and pray for at least one more guerrilla show!  Thats right folks!  This band may never play again, and if you watch the video, you will know why.  This has me a little upset, because I was feeling like I just got to know these freaks, and now this news.  We will call it the ton of bricks news.  This just may turn 2010 into a dud year.

And now for the weather…

Spring has been launched and is about to hit its target, so get out side with a cool brew, and your favorite fanboy phone of choice and watch/listen to the noise this band Spirals Over Norway has produced!  Its perfect for an intoxicated flight through the end-zone of reality, so do yourself a favor and take the trip!  As a journalist, I have one hell of a job before me.  First of all, who the hell is this super underground “Hipster” band that they keep talking about in this video?  Woodchip?  After doing a google search this is what you come up with:  BULLSHIT!

We will get to the bottom of this people!  Send in your comments if you know who the hell this band is!  I may buy you a beer if you can point me in the right direction.

I got to Spirals HQ right after they finished up session 7 and asked them a few questions, but they were in no mood to discuss the drama, so hopefully when I see them this coming Sunday, I can pour enough liquor down their throats to lubricate their juicy speech glands!  What I did find out is this…

They started the practice off with a jam they now dub “Chewing on Vicodin”.  Its a little bit more up beat than some of their stuff, and dare I say a little poppy even!?!  The vocals are reminiscent of Bauhaus at times, and Talking Heads at others.  Don’t get me wrong though, there is plenty of noise and ambiance to drown out anything sounding even remotely traditional, and it is just a jam.  But I asked Dr. Gamage about any plans on using the jam in the future.  “Well Mr. Sunday, I think that there are some great parts in that song, and after listening to it, I believe we will take some parts of it to sample in a future song…Probably in a loud outdoor amp, at 200 decibels and with as much distortion as we can muster.”, he said.

I then asked Griffnasty what plans the band has for the future.  He replied,”We are working on an album, in between random guerrilla shows…and we really want to make the album into something that is its own, its very own…Not some copy of another bands music, or ideas, but our own.  The band seemed to all agree with this statement as they left their practice space skipping towards the local Mexican restaurant for chips and tequila.

The band as a whole, from my perspective at least, seems to have taken on a  private, and more secretive MO these days.  Who could blame them after their cradle has been rocked so!

Here is the Webisode followed by “Chewing Vicoden”.  Enjoy, and feel free to leave some feedback, or any information you might have on this developing situation!

-Corporate Sunday

Chewin’ Vicodin- Feb 19th, 2010

Machinegun – Guitars

Dr. Gamage – Drums

Griffnasty – Bass/vox/synth

I have been in the lab experimenting with noise and sound lately, and the result is a little bit weird.  I have been introduced to some new music recently (See Mike Patton), and I have felt a little inspired to go off the beaten track and just let the sound do what it wants.  I let it use me, like I am music’s instrument.  I am very obviously not a singer, but I want to be.  So these sessions are sort of the gateway to me trying to find my voice and style and maybe even refine it a bit as well as learn how to incorporate effects and ambiance into music effectively.

The first track is called, Snake Venom.  I used a Boss Dr. Rhythm  for drums and ambient synth.  Then I ran a bass through an effects processor with mild distortion and a very short delay.  The vocals are ran through a Behringer Virtualizer Pro, a pretty awesome effects processor that I just picked up at Richards music shop downtown.  This was actually the toy that inspired this track.  I had to test out my new toy!

-Snake Venom

The drums on the next song were done with the built in drum machine on my br600 digital recorder.  It was a preset song that I used so I could just jam out something short and simple.  Then I just added bass, and synth and some crazy effects and blended them to make an eccentric collage of futuristic sounds.  Perhaps that’s what a digital jungle at night would sound like.  Can’t forget the angst fueled  lyrics!  The vocals were recorded using the BR600′s built in preamp and effects.    Here is the song, Tired of checks.

– Tired of Checks

This last one is more of an angsty little dity, so enjoy it!

It’s Fucked Up

Things to look for soon…The next Spirals Over Norway Webisode, Episode 4, as well as a few jam sessions from the band! Feel free to leave some comments!

-Griff

Here are some interesting videos for you to watch involving noisy experimental music!  If you live in or around Lawrence Ks, and are into weird music, hit me up!  It would be cool to meet other artists who might be interested in building a community or scene involving noise rock/punk, experimental music, and various other “non-traditional” forms of art.

I have a new song for you to listen to today by the one and only Spirals Over Norway!  Its possibly one of the most evil songs written by the band to date!  It comes just at the right time too, for winters still bringing people down and the sun rarely shines like it did today!  This song has a history with the band and is sort of, for the time being, the bands baby!  Its been in the lab for weeks, having multiple bypass surgery on it.  Shes a real trooper, and obviously has a lot more work to be done on her.  But for now, they are offering you an exclusive listen in on what the hell this secretive band has been doing since you last heard from them!

The sad part of the tale here is, the band has recently lost their midi keyboard!  It was the jewel that kept this song alive… have no fear they are working on procuring one soon, and can still edit patterns containing synth power that is craved from the east coast to the west coast!

Here is the latest from Spirals Over Norway, the coveted song entitled, Come On In…

Spirals Over Norway – Come On In (February 2010)

Machinegun – Guitar/Vox

Dr. Gamage – Drums/Synth/Vox

Griffin – Bass/Vox/Synth Ambiance

If you haven’t heard the loud static-y synths and delayed screams in and around Lawrence lately, you probably are already deaf, or in a trance.  All that noise is due to the fact that local sound freaks, Spirals Over Norway(SON), have been rocking at least weekly and writing music like a rabid dog bites neighbors.  Already with 5 practices and a few Noise Lab sessions, they have 3 songs with a couple on the drawling board.  “We wanted to create something that sounded like Kansas was on fire and screaming.”, explains SON’s drum doctor, Dr. Gamage.

I had the privilege of sitting in on a few of their sessions, and can agree that it sounded pretty close to Dr. Gamage’s description.  But that’s not what grabbed my attention.  It was the fact that they were practicing with twenty or so different species of reptiles and amphibians on the loose in their giant practice space/terrarium.  “It gives us inspiration and drives us to be better every time we work on a song.”  Explains the bands only female member, Machinegun Night Queen.

Though their videos rise to anger some film majors, and their music is far from perfect,  they are still more than happy to showcase the process of forming a band and none of the naysayers really bother them.  From the writing process to  the recording aspects, and the bonding friendship that is growing as a result, its all there and out in the open for you to watch.

But some listeners have complained that the music is just a little sloppy and eccentric.  Perhaps it would be better for them to get the songs down perfect and recorded at a higher quality before posting them to the web.  Bassist Griffnasty comments, “We know its not the average sound that a lot of people are looking for, but we are really trying to come up with something a little fresh, and really loud…think T-rex humming the 1812 Overture.”.  Dr. Gamage adds, “We don’t really care what people think about the music, for us, its not about that…we know we suck, but the lizards really like it!”

All in all, I think this band is really trying to find themselves, and in the long run it will be interesting to look back at these rough puberty stricken days, and see how they progressed and formed their sound.  For now check out their latest Webisode, The Duct Tape Sessions, and leave them some feedback!  Send them questions, or trash talk them, or film your self in weird positions around your house while listening to their music and post it as a video response to their webisodes on youtube.com!  Also stay tuned for more “smaller” video updates of the band, and actual blog posts from the band….Done rambling, here’s the webisode!

Click “Continue Reading…” for an exclusive audio clip from their fifth practice session…its a goofy one

Download I’m A GM (GOD and Master) – A goofy byproduct of a sound check before practice…all in fun…never serious!

Its been three whole days since we (Spirals Over Norway) have practiced, and its killing me.  All I can seem to think about is playing music, and the next practice isn’t happening until this coming Sunday.  That’s alright though, for on Friday, Bobby and I are going to get together and plug in the synths, drum machines, and other noise makers and figure out just how we are going to incorporate these fun toys into our music.  To get into the spirit I have been listening to some good music to help inspire the fuck out of me, and put me in the mood.

If you have been following my Twitter updates, you will have seen some of these You Tube videos that have been been filling my mind with creativity.  If not, here’s your chance to see some of the music that’s pumping me up during these first few practice and recording sessions.  And thanks to Bobby for getting me into some Mike Patton.  It was only a matter of time!

Click continue reading for more vids!