Newsletter No. 47: I SHALL IMPERSONATE A MAN "The fight itself is essential and permanent; the aims of that fight are temporary and changeable. There can therefore be no question of success in our fight�the yardstick of the new code of morality, therefore, is not its content�not 'what' but 'how'." - Dr. Werner Best "IN THE SOVIET ARMY IT TAKES MORE COURAGE TO RETREAT THAN ADVANCE." - STALIN "Shine (Glimmer), is the perfect song to fuck a fat girl in the ass to. Is that what you were going for?" -- Raymond J. Justin Jones Jr. Todd Skier. That was his name. Pretty sure that was his name. He'd sit there and it would all accrete. You know, IT ALL. And Todd would absorb it all, quietly, quietly absorbing it all and we'd watch with a mix of dread and fascination. He'd be offered more and he'd take that too, his silence an encouragement for even those who should have known better. And then in a killing sweep of suddenness there was that last piece, that last slide of all the pieces into all the places and he'd launch himself into an orbit of rage and tearing terror. Then he'd repair to wherever temporary lunatics repair to, returning only when it seemed he was no longer a threat to himself or others. And almost immediately, infernally, it began again so that he was always either on his way to or just had gotten back from some insanity or another. Todd Skier. And so we sit and do everything. Everything and take it all. Le Grande Bouffe. Goddamned straight. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? NOVEMBER 12, FRIDAY THE TROUBADOR, LOS ANGELES with THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, and ISIS So where were we? Before the last few newsletters of Acoustic Duo'ing, where were we? Oh yeah, back into fevered rehearsals, and catching up on everything that had started to slide to shit in our absence. Now it's all back on track, which in an OXBOW context means that it's getting worse and not better and so it is that ISIS and that hot bitch Suzanne at Flower finally made this happen and so we're driving down SANTA MONICA toward the club. But the fuck have we really been doing? Hanging out with the drummer of Stone Temple Pilots at his studio. We love these rich fucking rock fucks. Love these guys. Seriously. We drive up to his studio in the OXBOW-SANFORD & SON van and he steps out and sees us, readjusting equipment, shoving guitars in the back. Niko walks in carrying his Martin for god'ssake and does the guy ask if we're in a band? Hahahahahahaha�.Fuck NO. Perfect. This guy is nails. Eric Kretz I think he's called and his place is all Snoopy-doghouse cool: graffiti'd outside and then two feet inside millions and millions of dollars of shit. And pictures of Che Guevara (another aristocrat. Of course). He walks us through and when he says "this is my new HD system" we hear "this is my new CASH." And when he says "it sounds really good" we hear "my cock is looooonnnggg." But driving down Santa Monica toward the Troubador we see LA: The Incredible Hulk standing on the corner with a sandwich board touting the benefits of a nearby car dealership. Jesus it's tough all over. But The Troubador is looking dangerously like it's going to be the best show in LA that we've ever played. It runs like we fuck: smoothly. Tickets have sold out. Jesus, we even find a parking spot right where it'll do the most good. And the club fills. No In and Outs for anybody under 21 and so we have 300 people all there to see ISIS but of course totally fucked in regards to possibly choosing to NOT see OXBOW. Trapped. Like rats. And the stage is made of compressed rubber. Like a schoolyard. We play. Was it good? Was it bad? Well whatever it was, it was enough of that that we couldn't tell. Like a lot of nights anyway. But the biggest thrill, of course, is that we finally get to share our balls with LA. Much better than the bowling alley with the band dressed like clowns, the stand-up comedians clowning us and an audience of 12. Much better. Thanks to ISIS, who we're convinced God is smiling on. Post-show we drive for hours and hours and no hotels will take us and no motels will either until the one that had remnants of crime scene tape still around it found us a room. We walked in the door and fell where we lay. NOVEMBER 13, SATURDAY SOME PLACE IN VENTURA, with THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, and ISIS We're no strangers to Ventura. Our old punk rock band had played here a bunch. Our old guitar player from our old punk rock band had lived here. Our old guitar player from our old punk rock band had lived here and lived in a treehouse on the beach so he could surf here. And so here we are. Walking into the club, which also houses a skatepark and BMX emporium, we see signs that DISCHARGE is soon playing. And then soon after that THE ADOLESCENTS. And even THE EXPLOITED. What the fuck is going on?!?! (Translation:What the fuck is going on?!?!?) Everything old is new again and in the midst of playing Eugene looks out into the audience and says "Last time we played in any form in Ventura was in 1982, do you know what that means?" "Yeah. You're OLD." "Hah. Yeah. It also means I was punching guys like you in the face when you were born�which means�.I could be your Dad. Can you imagine that? Imagine that I WAS your Dad. Wouldn't that be cool?" There seems to be a shuddering thought as to what exactly the ramifications of this might be. But the rest of the show continues and we have a stunning realization half way through: this is the first All Ages audience that hasn't walked out when we've played. These kids are alright. Ah. Our kids. So the show screams to a stop, we meet and greet with the great Peter Davis who we haven't seen since Minneapolis in 1983 and driven by Greg's insane need to do insane things we begin driving back to San Francisco through I-5 fog so thick all you see is death. Great. Two days, 6 hours of sleep. Perfect. NOVEMBER 14, SUNDAY GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, with THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, and ISIS And now three days with 8 hours of sleep. Back in San Francisco. The last show of a mini-tour and though THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES and ISIS are going on, OXBOW stops here and so: terrible feelings of impending loss. Because ISIS, or as we've come to call them IS-IS, are a good band. But I don't really care that they're a good band. Competent players are common. You can find them in any wedding band. But IS-IS is INTERESTING and it seems like they're working on creating something that answers the dictates of their own souls and so these shows have been great. THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES are a-ok too, real fine fellas and always good for a good show in the three we played with them and so, it will be sad to not go on as they go on. But people are here filming all kinds of OXBOW shit because Hydrahead is expanding the OXBOW DVD and so apropos of the occasion Eugene huffs a bunch of stuff delivers a chaotic and stumblingly mumbled intro before Niko, Greg and Dan play him the fuck off like he was Sinatra at the Grammys. And the show is great. Eugene's pants get torn off. There is no Plan B and so he spends the rest of the evening after the show in underwear and shirt and jacket. We get paid, say our goodbyes. Don't get stabbed. Don�t get knived. And then officially declare we will play no more shows until we finish THE NARCOTIC STORY. A promise we keep right up until Mark from Hydrahead says "we want you to play SXSW." To which we say, "OK." Apropos of this we have been told that the men in AMPLIFIED HEAT and DIXIE WITCH (see last month's newsletter) have been telling people that they're going to "GET US" when we get there. Which means that SXSW will see their first killing ever in 2005. NIKO SPEAKS�ABOUT SNIPS & SNAILS The Interview Continued (http://www.crimesagainstart.com) CRIMES AGAINST ART: On your website, it reads, "CONFRONTATION is Oxbow's thing." After watching the DVD and seeing your "duo" set in DC, recently, I'd have to agree. But, I think it's interesting that this statement wasn't placed in the "story" section about the band but in the "shows." Placing the statement there almost seems like a disclaimer, a warning for those attending an Oxbow show. What does the statement mean to Oxbow and does everyone in the band feel it's true for them as part of the group? NIKO WENNER: Yeah, we've got to change the website. Confrontation really has nothing to do with what I am trying to do with Oxbow. Confrontation is not part of the way that I see the music - live or recorded. The music, the playing, the band's performance, is sometimes loud and aggressive, but not confrontational in the sense I believe you mean. I see the sound aspect of the band, like almost all music, as being about communication, non verbal, or verbal inclusive. The quote about confrontation is part of a written review and has prominence on the website probably because it is titillating. As a digression and present company excluded, I find that those that do not have the vocabulary, or interest, or both, to talk about the sound of Oxbow - we are a musical group - tend to spend a lot of time on the non musical aspects of the band. Eugene's voice for instance merits far more verbiage than any action by him that is not aural. Further to that and again present company excluded, it's actually part of a continued, low level vexation for me that those that write about popular music (as opposed to classical music) predominantly have no helpful training in the language of music or in music itself, and as wordsmiths often focus nearly exclusively on the elements they can easily understand or describe: the printed lyrics, the visual. I'm thrilled anybody gives a damn about us, really! But it is doubly thrilling when attention is paid to what a listener's ears tell them about Oxbow. CAA: If I'm correct and obviously it has become much more. What made the group decide to tour and keep moving forward as a "band" rather than a project? NW: Well, I guess we had more success than we anticipated - we sold a record - and we also enjoyed the process of writing and performing the music, so we continued. Had one of the above three categories not been satisfied, we probably would have created a different music project and continued there. We actually were planning to do a soundtrack for an imagined film next, when Oxbow became a viable entity. We will finally satisfy that soundtrack interest next year in 2005, but as Oxbow. CAA: Do you ever feel uncomfortable with what happens at the shows, Niko? NW: Yeah sometimes. But you know, I think Eugene is sometimes uncomfortable at how long it takes for me to tune my guitar between songs, or at loading in all the equipment that he doesn't use - so discomfort is not exclusive in the larger sense. I don't really like to see anyone beat, choked, whatever. I do sometimes feel a similar aggressive urge for various basic human reasons, in the context of performance, so I also have some sympathy for those actions by Eugene. But, let me outline it this way: What we do in the band generates a lot of adrenaline for us. When we play that adrenaline is nearly 100% focused on our instruments as the method of communication. Eugene's instrument is his body, his voice is part of that communication. The challenges of performing the music often require us to watch our instrument. What's more, whatever Eugene is doing is mostly distracting to the technical performance of the music for the instrumentalists. CAA: Every member of Oxbow has their shit together. Excellent players. Niko's playing really stands out to me. The mix of blues, rock, and noise kind of reminds me of Chris Haskett's playing Rollins Band years ago, but you're definitely heading down a more experimental path, in my opinion. What are some of the things that has influenced and inspired your playing? Does Oxbow have any collective influences among the band? NW: When I was in Junior High I bought a copy of Van Halen I, it had just came out. Nobody I had heard at the time was playing guitar like that. My hero Jimi Hendrix did not play like that. I was really into the record for the mix of metal bravado, and technical innovation on the guitar, etc. But as the 8 track tape wore out, I started to get tired of the format of the music, the way everything lined up vertically - by which I mean the rhythms specifically, but it's more than that. Anyway I remember riding on the school bus at the time, passing under some trees, sunlight flickering between the leaves, bright light, shadow, flashing in a completely unpredictable pattern. I remember thinking to myself "What if Eddie Van Halen played a guitar solo with rhythms like the sunlight and shadows I'm seeing?" Now, I don't play guitar like that, but that was part of the start for me of wanting more from music. Django Reinhardt, Andres Segovia in addition to Hendrix are among my lasting favorite guitarists. Olivier Messiaen, Gyorgy Ligeti, Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Bartok, Bach, Brahms... all are great musical nourishment. I really like the Sleep record Jerusalem. The list is endless of course. �AND EUGENE BRINGS YOU DOWN Excerpted from a review in a Polish fanzine Polish Magazine: Is Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" an accurate diagnosis of American society? In Poland the movie was found as a critical look at its mass-consumption. In my opinion the message that movie carries was, by many, misunderstood. It's usually the case with pictures detached from cultural context. Same thing happen to(in Poland, at least, but I guess in the rest of Europe, as well) Toddie Haynes' movies. To me "Elephant" was a metaphor of social rejection, living in isolated environment, and mainly miscommunication and fear. The picture becomes even clearer now, in the epoch of war of that bastard with monkey's face - president of the world. What's your take on that? Eugene: My take on the war? Or the movie? Or Gus Van Sant? I haven't seen it, it, or him since he directed me in a beer commercial a few years ago. Well as I said the movie I haven't seen either. But the war? Well I'm a big fan of war...not THAT war in particular but ANY war. In fact wasted and the wasting of human life seems to me to be a misnomer. That is, I don't think it IS being wasted. I think it's being spent quite well: making more room for ME. For me and my cock to fuck what they all leave behind. I am not a humanitarian. WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY YELLING? OXBOW SUCKS!!! TWICE!!! In the relatively short time it took me to travel to that gleaming, nostalgic diamond of the West known as the Great American Music Hall in Downtown San Francisco, I realized a couple of things. One, I would be exposing my girlfriend to the utter chaos and fury and bliss of a live performance by These Arms Are Snakes. Two, I would be exposing my girlfriend to, what I had heard was, stoner metal mayhem a la Mastodon. The other thing I realized, sadly after the fact, was that I would be exposing my girlfriend to the disturbing train wreck, psycho freak-out opening act, care of Oxbow�s lead singer, and his meanderings with his genitalia, his bottle of booze and his assortment of tattoos�tattoos that would put Ralph Fiennes� character in Red Dragon to shame. Oxbow, whom I had never heard of or seen before, sauntered onstage and immediately provoked the curious towards their unique, experimental metal tinkering. A rather large frontman dressed in a dirty three-piece suit situated himself in front of the microphone, bottle of red wine in hand, and proceeded to recite some sloppily poetic jargon, unaccompanied until a wall of noise joined his rambling prose after around two minutes. What became apparent rather early in the group�s set was that this particular frontman had aspirations of near full nudity on his mind and continued to discard clothing left and right during each song. The band played at a slow pace, peaking only when their haphazard singer began to writhe and wail and throw whatever was left of his clothing at the unsuspecting, and probably utterly confused, audience. Soon, his pentagram tattoos were being displayed to the 300 strong, and when there was nothing left to take off, he decided to flash the crowd. What resulted was a performance that I�m sure few will forget, and one that amped the crowd to a fever-pitch of excitement for the main reason of my journey, the buzzworthy These Arms Are Snakes. http://www.synthesis.net/music/feature.php?bid=2832 The Head-Banger's Football http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2004-08-04/music/downinfront.html "�Meanwhile, Jarboe, respected doomy diva who hooked up with the band on last year's Neurosis & Jarboe disc, took the stage for a several-song mid-set collaboration. She injected an intermittently welcome bit of Frontwoman Charisma to all this, murderously towering over us like the grown-up TV-hopping little-girl killer from The Ring. She bellowed, she howled, she hyperventilated, she screamed louder and more forcefully than either of the Neurosis dudes. But she also literally recited the Hail Mary at one point -- an overly pungent block of Broadway goth cheese. Marilyn Manson rendered this particular field fallow years ago, alas. And the Jarboe section climaxed when Eugene Robinson, frontman for SF metal outfit Oxbow, staggered onstage and rehashed his now-infamous stage trick: flaunting his unbuttoned pants and threatening to pull his schlong out. Thankfully, he did not. Instead, Jarboe read the lyrics scrawled in radiant ink on Eugene's back. This was not particularly necessary." OXBOW DON'T SUCK. NOT EVEN ONCE. "That's the vibe garnered from the contributions of Tarantula Hawk, Oxbow, Sabers, Isis, Zeni Geva and Neurosis themselves, at any rate -- all of whom work within suitably disparate yet curiously kindred-spirit templates of sentient rock cataclysmia. Neurosis deliver a stellar Albini-recorded opening with "Burn"'s powerhouse percussion and searing, circular riffery, while Oxbow issue a suitably confrontational, bone-chilling improvisation in the previously unreleased "Time's Up, Sailor Man", in which frontman Eugene Robinson intones, with terrifying post-sex grimness: "In a few minutes, you're gonna have one of two things happen to you... You're gonna have a mouthful of cock, or a mouthful of broken teeth... and cock." The more voluminous entries are offset by the presence of several altogether more restrained contributions that are no less moody, cathartic or emotionally weighty. Portland post-rock troupe Grails, for example, perform the tense-yet-frail instrumental chill of "Reprieve", The Lotus Eaters deliver a warping, ethereal drone on "Untitled II", Neurosis guitarist Steve Von Till issues the solemn, nocturnal acoustic ballad "Breathe", and Culper Ring (another Von Till project) appear with the somnambulant instrumental "TRK3_4:38", an eerily tearful strings 'n' bloops amble. Even on these relatively calm inclusions, a bleak Neurot aesthetic, a prevalent "mood", somehow bleeds through. If the loud likes of Zeni Geva, Tarantula Hawk, Oxbow et al provide this compilation with its cathartic, apocalyptic rock, then Culper Ring, The Lotus Eaters and Von Till are weeping from the wreckage, surveying the devastation with a grim sadness that groans at their cores. If this were a deal that needed clinching, the second disc would do it. It features a wealth of fascinating DVD and audio footage, including Josh Graham's epilepsy-inducing video for Neurosis's "Stones From The Sky" -- a bleak, dark and (yup) apocalyptic mesh of crows, nimbus clouds, jump cuts and pylons. If the imagery here seems a little clich�d for what is ostensibly a hard-rock video, fear not; Graham outdoes himself with the stunning, kaleidoscope-meets-Koyaanisqatsi video for Tribes of Neurot's "Duality I". Most enticing of all, however, is a 23-minute excerpt from Music For Adults - A Film About A Band Called Oxbow, in which Eugene Robinson & company's live show is at last captured on film in all its aggressive, terrifying, cock-out glory. There's also a fascinating live performance from VHK (Galloping Coroners) in which a 3000 year-old Hungarian melody is given a transcendent, tribally rhythmic brute-rock makeover. _Nonetheless, if Neurot Recordings 1 so far sounds a little one-dimensional, humorless or none-more-black for an exhaustive two-disc set, then that's too damn bad. The artfulness, innovation and stylistic cohesion evidenced here is enviable to a fault. There's not a single dull moment among the twenty-seven audio/video tracks, and the whole lovingly-compiled package seems hell-bent on giving hard-rock, post-rock, art-rock, doom-core, apocalypse 'n' roll, tribalist rhythms, electronic sound-art and apocalyptic balladry a gloomy shot in the arm. All in all, miserably invigorating stuff." -- Allan Harrison http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=1095070514539461 THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PAVILION OF LOVE & GENERALIZED ABUSE OXBOW "Serenade in Red" (ruminance) Pas �tonnant que le label Ruminance ait d�cid� de ressortir "Serenade in Red" pour redonner une nouvelle vie � ce qui fait figure de monument de la musique barr�e. Et je vous garantis que ce ne sont pas que des mots. Il suffit d'�couter cet album pour se rendre compte � quel point le chanteur vit, ressent et j'allais dire souffre ce qu'il chante. Et ce qu'il exprime ,ou plut�t essaie d'exprimer, n'est que douleur, peine, d�s�quilibre et mal-�tre. Quant � la musique, elle est tout aussi tourment�e. Cyclothymique pour le moins, voire schizophr�ne, elle alterne passages tr�s calmes et soubresauts �lectriques, s�r�nit� fragile et crise d'angoisse, esquisses de m�lodies et convulsions noise. Compl�tement d�jant�s, les morceaux sont impr�visibles au possible tant l'�quilibre psychique du chanteur parait instable. Carr�ment inclassable, vous l'avez compris. Sans concessions. Sombre. Souvent imit� mais rarement �gal�. Bref de l'Oxbow dans toute sa splendeur. Eprouvant mais indispensable ! [sullivan] http://www.positiverage.com Musique pour Adultes. De ces groupes qui ne conna�tront de la lumi�re que celles de n�ons gr�sillant dans une pi�ce borgne et b�tonn�e. De la chaleur du diable comme un onanisme coupable. The Oxbow continue d�explorer les pentes glissantes de la r�clusion musicale. An Evil Heat� Pochette jaune non moins opaque. On joue l� une musique b�tarde de ce qui a du �tre un jour du blues, tout en cercles concentriques, lent, sinueux et rampant. Un white noise port� au fer rouge. Ma�trise technique parfaite et production rugueuse et bruyante. Pas de vraies compositions, de � chansons � au sens conventionnel, en fait, mais une ambiance pesante qui enveloppe les cris et geignements et voix sourde de ce sale grand gosse d�Eugene Robinson qui n�a de cesse aucune de consid�rer le lit comme des draps poisseux ( � I f.... like I prey � ) Pour ceux que le pressentiment imm�diat de ce qui est malsain fascine. Et�un tr�s bon album pour les autres, si un certain effort d��coute, d�immersion totale, ne les rebute pas ! Oxbow - Serenade In Red [cd, Ruminance] Sommige mensen vinden dat Steve Albini (Big Black, Shellac) een slechte producer is. Hij zou bands teveel zijn wil opleggen en het geluid van de bands verpesten. Ik heb toch erg veel goede cd's die zijn stempel dragen. Ook een aantal van Oxbow. Serenade In Red is ook van zijn hand, toevallig ��n die ik nog niet had, terwijl het album stamt uit 1997. Het is ��n van de meest felle cd's van de groep, die uitblinkt in emocore en harder met een soort rare castraat-metalstem. Het Franse label Ruminance doet graag aan bands geproduceerd door of klinkend als Steve Albini. Oxbow past daar prima bij en vandaar dat ze deze fijne plaat nog eens de revue laten passeren. Zelfs Marianne Faithfull is te gast. Doe er je voordeel mee! OXBOW Titre : Serenade In Red Label : Cd Ruminance 2004 OXBOW tache le surf. Qu'on ne confonde pas ce caviar musical avec la marque de nouilles en pull. Cette r��dition sur le parisien RUMINANCE est une bombe vieille de 7 ans. "qui c ka vu la k�kette � g�g�n ?". Ce disque est la meilleure retranscription de leurs monstrueux concerts, Eugene Robinson en slip, pardon en calesson, tout dans le muscle, j'ai bien dit tout. Tatoo, touche pipi, un voodoo en partance pour le rock, pas celui de "l'exorciste chinois" mais bel et bien celui qui hante tes nuits. Blues Noir, incantations glauques, rock rampant, blues suintant, celui qui �clate � grands coups de guitare, celui qui t'ass�che la langue en un temps trois mouvements... Noise pour tous, tous pour Noise. Production Albini, apparition de Mariane Faithfull, ceux qui ne veulent pas faire l'effort disent souvent experimental, moi je dis hant�, violent, tordu et bandant. Oui bandant. Et quand le fant�me d'Eugene vous poursuit depuis 1997, inutile de dire que cet album est un �norme classique du rock...de tous les rocks... Oxbow : Serenade In Red Initialement sorti en 1997 ce disque est aujourd'hui r��dit� par le tr�s audacieux label nantais Ruminance � qui l'on doit d�j� de nous avoir fait conna�tre des groupes comme Chevreuil et Cheval De Frise. De plus ce n'est pas la premi�re fois que Ruminance fait cet effort puisqu'en 2003 nous avions eu le bonheur de voir � nouveau disponible le � Let Me Be A Woman � paru � l'origine trois ans auparavant. Ce groupe qu'on peut facilement mettre dans la famille des Shellac et autres Fugazi a toujours cette r�putation de groupe intransigeant, qui ne fait jamais dans la demi mesure et qui est toujours sur la corde raide. Ce cinqui�me album est comme ses pr�d�cesseurs, sous tension permanente. Souvent proche de l'apoplexie, les membres d'Oxbow savent jouer avec nos nerfs en utilisant ce rythme lancinant et tout en distorsion. On pourrait presque parler de non-rythme ou de pilonnage sonore car chaque riff de guitare, chaque moment de batterie ou de basse est comme une r�p�tition brutale qui se prend comme une douleur violente. C'est comme si on recherchait un point de rupture. On s'y attendrait presque d'ailleurs. On a toujours cette impression que le groupe est tellement sous pression que tout va imploser. Pourtant Oxbow tient bon et entretient ce sentiment de malaise obsessionnel. Le pire c'est qu'on aime �a. Faudrait-il �tre masochiste pour aimer Oxbow ? Quoi qu'il en soit ce � Serenade In Red � a parfaitement travers� les ann�es et a gard� une certaine forme de fra�cheur qui ne d�note certainement pas avec les productions actuelles. Bien au contraire, ce disque appara�t comme bien plus original que toute cette vague revival post-punk dont on nous abreuve depuis bient�t trois ans. Cependant le combo de San Francisco appara�t bien seul, comme si il pr�chait dans le d�sert. Oxbow serait-il devenu l'un des derniers groupes authentique ? L'un des seuls, en tout cas, qui n'a pas cette faiblesse de regarder en arri�re et faire du vulgaire pompage ? Oxbow devrait �tre ainsi d�clar� d'utilit� public et fort heureusement les gaillards ne sont pas pr�s de baisser les bras. L'espoir tient toujours. http://www.liabilitywebzine.com/?ac=non&contenu=chroniques AND FROM A SPANISH GIRL LIVING IN FRANCE "Hi, how are you doing? Here you are the the link to Serenade in Red review , as you asked me for: http://www.millefeuille.fr/Modules/Chroniques/Fiche/?c_id=430 Basically it says that Serenade in Red is really good and one of those records everyone should listen to, so you can include it in your site without caring about its content or even trying to translate it! Thanks again, Ana" MAIL SCROTUM CABINET MAN SPEAKS " http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/offer-listing/B00006JSSV/qid=1105638064/sr=1-3/ref=sr_pb_a//103-9363459-5725412?condition=all check this out..oxbow has officially entered the 'collectable' range�--David Ennis" IF THE TRUTH BE TOLD: MISERY HAS AN EXACT MEASURE "Hi just wanted to say I just read NO 46 and it's hilarious. By the way I was one of 15, 35 year olds watching you guys play in Buffalo, actually I think it was closer to 6 people watching after the first 3 songs but whatever. My room mate and I (we're from Rochester NY) were the guys who bought 2 DVD's from you. Not sure if you remember us or not, not like it fucking matters. I'm also good friends with John from Conifer who you guys played with in Maine. So yeah I just wanted to write to say thanks for the fun show, the fun read and hopefully I'll get to see you guys again next time you head east in tour mode, be it acoustic or not. Oh and you guys are always welcome here in Rochester NY for a show if the inclination hits you. Cheers, Lon." SOUTHERN MAN "I was getting your newsletter at my old email address, and actually enjoying it somehow. Anyone who really gets enjoyment out of your ramblings and verbal exorcisms surely must have a little something missing in the brain, and I suppose I fall into that category. You're probably wondering how this effects you huh? Well, now it looks like you should add this email to your ever growing mailing list so that I can still keep up with the events in the Oxbow/Eugene universe, which by all accounts is spiraling out of control into a black hole, but I want to see the disintegration Goddamn it. BTW: I, being the boring redneck that I am, and living in the amazing state of Georgia, decided i should fly my ass all the way to LA in sunny California a month or so back to see the Isis show at the Troubadour. Oxbow just happened to be opening, which was the deciding factor for my arrival. Truth be told, I really, really enjoyed your set. Exactly what I was expecting, and perhaps a little bit more. I saw you standing around with some vinyl in your hand talking to some other fans there, shoulda said hi, but life is full of regrets, and this is no exception. Did you guys play a new song in that 30 minute batch of songs? Being the artificial Oxbow fan that I am, I only own An Evil Heat, so I didn't really recognize much of the shit you played. One song kicked a considerable amount of ass with a badass groovy guitar riff that I got the feeling was new, but what do I know? I suppose the point of the extended paragraph was to say 'nice show', 'play again', 'come to the fucking southeast so you can witness some of the fun racism and shitty fans', and umm....put out a fucking new cd man. Great show, I had fun, sort through this rambling mess as you will, add me to your list, have a shitty day....eric" THE LAST PICTURE SHOW "I watched the live video on http://www.tubevision.com/ and really liked it. Way more intense than the acoustic show I saw at Aquarius-which was good, but a little introverted for oxbow..." REGRETS, HE'S HAD NONE "I have just finished reading, and thoroughly enjoying, your tour diary. Your comments on New England were priceless. Really a shame we couldn't have hosted you guys here in Boston. In reading this, and especially after finishing the bit on Washington DC, I have come to the following three conclusions: 1) I am reminded of why I have no desire to ever play in a band again, and am still reassured of my reasons for walking out of the Takers in June of 2002. 2) People really do not have any fucking clue of who they are dealing with when they book Oxbow and have no real understanding of what it means to agree to and sign a contract. 3) I again must stress that I had a thoroughly wonderful time (save for the day we got cancelled in Brooklyn, but I have been trying to forget that since it happened because I will k...let me move on) and absolute blast touring with Oxbow in 2001 and really wish The Takers had had the chance to do some more shows with Oxbow before the inevitable happened to my band. It's good to know at least that you guys have not given up. Happy New Year my friend and cheers- Nick" FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE "So, After looking, being a little too lazy to bother possesing a real copy of it, I find Let Me be a Women, in of all places Moscow. Downtown on Tverskaia not far from the Kremlin...you know less than a klick from Stalin's bones. Anyhow, Oxbow is a nice soundtrack to me silently nodding when getting the constant "Vy nas ne ponimaete!!/YOU (meaning anything non-Russian) don't understand us". In perfect honesty I think I understand them too well, hence the urge to BURN THEM a copy of <insert OxB record here> and ask them to understand this. Anyhow, come to Eurasia and collect...bones. Actually come to collect on whatever royalties owing of yours that may have been laundered through here. Do it before the ruble graduates from US dollar's ho to overpriced escort. Ian in Moscow" I AM NEW TO OXBOW. IS THAT SO WRONG? "Hello Oxbow folks, I was reading your newsletter (just read that piece that Eugene wrote for vicemag and found myself wanting more) and wondering if the music was any good (as one might expect from the fine writing). When I checked out the link to that video of you performing at Futility Fest to give Oxbow a listen I was hooked. Dear god, how I have gone for so long without that noise in my ears? I must hear more, because if that clip is any indication, you are providing the world with some much needed music. Delightful indeed! Please keep at it, as your efforts are greatly appreciated. -D" VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR "Sorry that it's taken me so long to get back to you about getting you guys copies of the video I shot of the show in D.C. I sort of ended the year in a pool of slackness where I fell behind in getting tapes out to bands, etc. I kept seeing and recording lots of great shows - just didn't have time/energy to do anything with the video afterward. Anyway, I'm trying to get caught up and so as part of that effort I put a package in the mail to you today that has some Video CD's in it with a copy of the show from that night at The Warehouse Next Door. Didn't know what else you might want - if anything - as filler on that tape. If you care, you're welcome to go shopping on the list of stuff I recorded this past year and let me know if you see anything interesting there. Be happy to set you up with something if you'd like to check it out. Here's the list: http://www.tubevision.com/Log2004.html A couple of more things about the show in D.C. (as if you're not sick of that by now): Don't know if you know but I did put up a video on my tubevision site that is one of the songs from earlier in the set. There was some expressed interest in knowing what "acoustic Oxbow" was all about. The address for that download is: http://www.tubevision.com/Oxbow101704.rm if you want to check it out or link to it. I hope you don't mind me putting that out there. As for The Incident itself - I read your update on the tour and the stuff that happened and was said afterwards. I thought it was pretty crazy for Jim to not be aware enough to know that standing next to the stage and blabbering while y'all were performing was not the right thing to do. I believe he got what he deserved and was responsible for the whole incident. As someone who has been going to see music shows for over 20 years, I've had countless experiences ruined by a seemingly infinite number of douchebags who just will not shut the fuck up. For years I put up with but I was finally inspired by seeing one of my all-time favorite bands - Bad Livers - stop a show and tell people in the audience to stop their lip flapping or they'd stop the show. After that I was less bashful about confronting idiots who disturbed me with their yakking and started asking people to be quiet or move on. So far no one has ever gotten physical over it. Danny Barnes of the Bad Livers will still stop and ask people to be quiet in bars and stuff if their talking bothers him while performing. So those guys and Oxbow are really the only two bands I've ever seen who made it a point to deal with people in the audience who are interrupting the show or apparently want to be part of the show. As a fan, I find this pretty damn appealing and so even though I would have loved to have seen the whole set you and Niko had worked out - I was more than happy to have as a substitute the pleasure of seeing some fucking blabbermouth who was disturbing the band and the show I'm trying to enjoy FINALLY get his due. Hope that doesn't sound too ass-kissy. Later, Greg" AND SO BEGINS ANOTHER ASSAULT CHAPTER "after i was warned "not to set foot in austin", we loaded-in the venue we were playing, and i saw them (both bands) inside the club. after acting all tough from afar, i walked up to them and they just started talking some shit to me about the incident in dc, like it was my fault or something because i did my job as an agent and had the promoter sign a contract for oxbow. i loudly stated my obvious case in a kinda socratic way, and other than a few nasty looks, i suffered no ill effects and they pretty much shut-up immediately. even though i felt i was ready for it, nobody punched anyone or even alluded to anything like that. i did my drugs, played my set, did my drugs, got paid, and all was fine. concerning oxbow, they said something like "well that dude [you, eugene robinson] better watch himself if he comes down here".... -- Erik Jarvis Tone Deaf Touring [ Newsletter ]