DECEMBER 31ST, 2017:
LOOKING BACK ON 2017 AND HERE ARE THE RESULTS:
TEST APES: CHICKEN PIE VORTEX ep
TEST APES: PEACOCK RADIO SESSIONS *NWSS 2017* 4-SONG LIVE EP
TEST APES: Live at the 16th Annual Northwest String Summit-6 song EP
TEXAS-TRASH NETWORK, VOL. 1: WE Are The Asteroid/Test Apes split single
TEST APES: "An Evening With" 4-song live EP-05/12/17-Portland, OR
CREEPY STICK***VELVETEEN STRAIGHTJACKET EP
MAX BRODY: HIGH STRANGENESS IN STEREOPHONIC SOUND LP
SMEDLEY'S RACKET: NEVER LETTING A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE - EP
GOOBERSMOOCHERS: 101, INTRO TO "GOOBERSMOOCHERS" - LP
MASQUERADE AS ANGELS COMPLETED AND DIGITALLY RELEASED 8 SONGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR SOME TIME...WWW.MASQUERADEASANGELS.BANDCAMP.COM
I ALSO STARTED ANOTHER LONG DISTANCE PROJECT, THIS TIME WITH TOBIAS ERIKSSON (LIGHT SCREAMER) IN SWEDEN. IT IS IN THE EARLY STAGES, AND LOOKS TO BE IN A ROCK VEIN.
SMEDLEY'S RACKET CHANGED FROM BEING A ONE-TIME CONCEPT LP, TO A FULL-BLOWN, LIVE, SOLO, CONCEPTUAL, MULTIMEDIA-JUGGLING-ACT-ONE-MAN-BAND-DJ/VJ-THING, WHICH PERFOMED SEVERAL SHOWS IN THE SEATTLE AREA. LOTS OF PREPRODUCTION IN A SHORT TIME ON THAT ONE.
TEST APES PLAYED A COUPLE OF PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY SHOWS IN OREGON THIS YEAR, ONE BEING A 3 HOUR PERFORMANCE at AL'S DEN AND ANOTHER BEING 2 APPEARENCES AT THE NORTHWEST STRING SUMMIT -- WERE VIDEOTAPED FOR A LIVE BROADCAST BETWEEN SETS ON THE PEACOCK RADIO STAGE WHERE WE UNVEILED OUR 'SKIFFLE-BAND' VERSION, AND PERFORMED OUR NORMAL ELECTRIFIED SET ON THE KINFOLK REVIVAL STAGE.
JAMES BURNS INTERVIEWED ME FOR ALTERNATIVE NATION, AND URB THRASHER INTERVIEWED ME FOR 420 RADIO.
NATHAN ESPEN OUT OF THE BLUE REMASTERED MY OLD LP "PASSOUT", WHICH I HAVE THUS DECIDED TO RE-RELEASE, AS WELL AS A 10-SONG RETROSPECTIVE OF GOOBERSMOOCHERS SONGS ON THE 5 YEAR MARK OF MIKE SCACCIA'S PASSING.
MEANWHILE, TEST APES AND CREEPY STICK EDGED CLOSER TO FINISHING THEIR NEXT RELEASES.
I MADE AND RELEASED SEVERAL VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE:
"PREACH" FOR SMEDLEY'S RACKET
"THE FUTURE IS HISTORY" FOR MASQUERADE AS ANGELS
"PEEL OUT" AND "DEVIL SEX" FOR TEST APES/WE ARE THE ASTEROID (TEXAS TRASH NETWORK, VOL 1)
TEST APES LIVE AT NORTHWEST STRING SUMMIT + A VLOG ABOUT IT
"STRAPPED TO A SLAB", MYSELF ON ACOUSTIC (GUIT)AR-15.
"PEEL OUT" FOR MY SOLO LP HIGH STRANGENESS IN STEREOSCOPIC SOUND.
I want to thank everyone for their interest and support, and look forward to taking it up a notch in 2018
LOOKING BACK ON 2017 AND HERE ARE THE RESULTS:
TEST APES: CHICKEN PIE VORTEX ep
TEST APES: PEACOCK RADIO SESSIONS *NWSS 2017* 4-SONG LIVE EP
TEST APES: Live at the 16th Annual Northwest String Summit-6 song EP
TEXAS-TRASH NETWORK, VOL. 1: WE Are The Asteroid/Test Apes split single
TEST APES: "An Evening With" 4-song live EP-05/12/17-Portland, OR
CREEPY STICK***VELVETEEN STRAIGHTJACKET EP
MAX BRODY: HIGH STRANGENESS IN STEREOPHONIC SOUND LP
SMEDLEY'S RACKET: NEVER LETTING A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE - EP
GOOBERSMOOCHERS: 101, INTRO TO "GOOBERSMOOCHERS" - LP
MASQUERADE AS ANGELS COMPLETED AND DIGITALLY RELEASED 8 SONGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR SOME TIME...WWW.MASQUERADEASANGELS.BANDCAMP.COM
I ALSO STARTED ANOTHER LONG DISTANCE PROJECT, THIS TIME WITH TOBIAS ERIKSSON (LIGHT SCREAMER) IN SWEDEN. IT IS IN THE EARLY STAGES, AND LOOKS TO BE IN A ROCK VEIN.
SMEDLEY'S RACKET CHANGED FROM BEING A ONE-TIME CONCEPT LP, TO A FULL-BLOWN, LIVE, SOLO, CONCEPTUAL, MULTIMEDIA-JUGGLING-ACT-ONE-MAN-BAND-DJ/VJ-THING, WHICH PERFOMED SEVERAL SHOWS IN THE SEATTLE AREA. LOTS OF PREPRODUCTION IN A SHORT TIME ON THAT ONE.
TEST APES PLAYED A COUPLE OF PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY SHOWS IN OREGON THIS YEAR, ONE BEING A 3 HOUR PERFORMANCE at AL'S DEN AND ANOTHER BEING 2 APPEARENCES AT THE NORTHWEST STRING SUMMIT -- WERE VIDEOTAPED FOR A LIVE BROADCAST BETWEEN SETS ON THE PEACOCK RADIO STAGE WHERE WE UNVEILED OUR 'SKIFFLE-BAND' VERSION, AND PERFORMED OUR NORMAL ELECTRIFIED SET ON THE KINFOLK REVIVAL STAGE.
JAMES BURNS INTERVIEWED ME FOR ALTERNATIVE NATION, AND URB THRASHER INTERVIEWED ME FOR 420 RADIO.
NATHAN ESPEN OUT OF THE BLUE REMASTERED MY OLD LP "PASSOUT", WHICH I HAVE THUS DECIDED TO RE-RELEASE, AS WELL AS A 10-SONG RETROSPECTIVE OF GOOBERSMOOCHERS SONGS ON THE 5 YEAR MARK OF MIKE SCACCIA'S PASSING.
MEANWHILE, TEST APES AND CREEPY STICK EDGED CLOSER TO FINISHING THEIR NEXT RELEASES.
I MADE AND RELEASED SEVERAL VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE:
"PREACH" FOR SMEDLEY'S RACKET
"THE FUTURE IS HISTORY" FOR MASQUERADE AS ANGELS
"PEEL OUT" AND "DEVIL SEX" FOR TEST APES/WE ARE THE ASTEROID (TEXAS TRASH NETWORK, VOL 1)
TEST APES LIVE AT NORTHWEST STRING SUMMIT + A VLOG ABOUT IT
"STRAPPED TO A SLAB", MYSELF ON ACOUSTIC (GUIT)AR-15.
"PEEL OUT" FOR MY SOLO LP HIGH STRANGENESS IN STEREOSCOPIC SOUND.
I want to thank everyone for their interest and support, and look forward to taking it up a notch in 2018
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DECEMBER 14TH, 2017:
LOTS OF MERCH...and PASSOUT LP gets RE-MASTERED In November, my first "solo-EP" called PASSOUT with 6 extra songs was re-mastered by the amazing NATHAN ESPEN! (THANK YOU, NATHAN, GOOD WORK!) It sounds so much better, that I've gone ahead and printed up physical copies. If you'd like one, contact me, at: [email protected] or visit the store, HERE. Although I wrote the songs and played all the instruments including some of the guitar, I had help big time from Jimbo Yongue in that department, and this stuff is sort of like a precursor to the SHIT SHERLOCK project where we got creative and actually wrote songs together. The song CHARLESTONED was co-written with him. Mike Scaccia makes a cameo as well on BUNCHA FLIBBERTY-GIBBERTY... here is a snippet from a review that the EP got in 2007: "if Max Brody had a good producer behind him this shit would be "cooked" perfectly and I wouldn't have much to say in this review except "zomg steak drool", which I often do when I come across a really, really good collection of songs...4/5 stars" --bannedpromotions.com True dat! And never forget, that digital downloads are available for TEST APES ...HERE, and for the rest of my stuff, HERE. I have also got a number of other cds available, as well as 2 TEST APES shirts in M, L, XL or XXL...A full list and ordering information is available in my store HERE. |
OCTOBER 31ST, 2017:
Happy Halloween! Its my pleasure to announce the release of the next of hopefully many more releases from CREEPY STICK!
CS is a band I'm in with Chris Ballew (PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/CASPAR BABYPANTS) and Dr. Dave Thiele (a PROFESSOR) that has had a re-re-boot of sorts... Here is a quote from Chris' website, which is killer and you should visit and explore! (https://chrisballew.org/):
"Creepy Stick is a long time collaboration with my oldest friend and musical collaborator Dave Thiele. We had our first band in 1975 when I was 10 and Dave was 6 called David and The Overtones which was me on piano and Dave on drums. Over the years we ended up with the name Creepy Stick after an instrumental I wrote and turned into a three piece for a while in the early 90s with Max Brody on sax (ex-Ministry drummer). [An] EP came out in 2005 and will be followed up soon by a series of releases of previously unreleased music from Creepy Stick. The new version will include Max on drums and sax and other noises as well as production and stuff."
VELVETEEN STRAIGHTJACKET is now available as a FREE DOWNLOAD! click HERE to check it out!
CDs are also available, directly from ME! send me a note to: [email protected]
Happy Halloween! Its my pleasure to announce the release of the next of hopefully many more releases from CREEPY STICK!
CS is a band I'm in with Chris Ballew (PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/CASPAR BABYPANTS) and Dr. Dave Thiele (a PROFESSOR) that has had a re-re-boot of sorts... Here is a quote from Chris' website, which is killer and you should visit and explore! (https://chrisballew.org/):
"Creepy Stick is a long time collaboration with my oldest friend and musical collaborator Dave Thiele. We had our first band in 1975 when I was 10 and Dave was 6 called David and The Overtones which was me on piano and Dave on drums. Over the years we ended up with the name Creepy Stick after an instrumental I wrote and turned into a three piece for a while in the early 90s with Max Brody on sax (ex-Ministry drummer). [An] EP came out in 2005 and will be followed up soon by a series of releases of previously unreleased music from Creepy Stick. The new version will include Max on drums and sax and other noises as well as production and stuff."
VELVETEEN STRAIGHTJACKET is now available as a FREE DOWNLOAD! click HERE to check it out!
CDs are also available, directly from ME! send me a note to: [email protected]
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SEPTEMBER 23rd, 2017:
Geez, I've been slacking on updating my website since April-PFFFFT!! My apologies! Been staying active, though; In May, TEST APES indeed played a big 3-set show down in Portland, OR. at Al's Den as part of a week-long residency that Danny was doing there. Then, in July, we performed at the 16th annual NORTHWEST STRING SUMMIT music festival, which was absolutely fantastic. I'm still at a loss for words. What a great festival and a great memory! While there, we also performed on the micro radio station for the festival grounds called PEACOCK RADIO, where Mark Burgin and Co. set up a mini stage for bands to perform on-air between sets on the main stage. TEST APES were proud to be asked and the entire set is presented on its album. That performance, by the way, was the unveiling of the SKIFFLE incarnation of TEST APES! All 3 performances were recorded and parts have been released for download on the TEST APES bandcamp site. Click an album cover to give it a listen! In August I performed my first ever solo performance, and TODAY I am releasing an EP of some of this material. You can click on the picture of THAT album cover to give it a listen, too! I am going to go ahead and start using the moniker, "SMEDLEY'S RACKET" for these type performances and releases, although my Austin buddies John Hawkins and Jason Craig will sadly not be involved. Its ok, because part of the reason I'm into doing this is that I am able to perform solo or expand if I want, and I am fully in charge. It is a bit of a DV/VJ affair, except, the rule is NO LAPTOPS or TURNTABLES allowed! ...and there is a bit of an X-files/military/conspiracy theory theme running throughout, in respect for the namesake of the band, Maj. Gen. Smedley Darlington Butler, a most interesting historical figure... Next show is Thursday, Oct. 12th (Friday the 13th EVE, if you will) at good ol' DARRELL'S TAVERN in Shoreline, WA! 9pm. MASQUERADE AS ANGELS also released a few tunes over the summer, which you can check out by clicking HERE! |
APRIL 21ST, 2017:
I'd like to send a shout out to Ed and thank him for a great 4/20 adventure...because last night we searched out and found THE ORIGINAL FRUMUNDA HOUSE!
Last month I released a 25th anniversary edition of the IT CAME FRUMUNDA music compilation. My old buddy Ed was especially excited about its re-release and suggested that we go on an adventure to see if we could find the old Frumunda house where it all went down. I've used the monikers "FRUMUNDA" and "FRUMUNDA MUSICK" for a long time and started using it there in 1991.
Ed was in that scene back then, but neither of us could remember the actual address. So we went on Google Earth and searched the neighborhood and the general area that we thought the house should be and couldn't find it-- but were'nt sure.
Having not had good luck with Google Earth, and knowing that the house was pretty old (made in the early 1900's) I just figured that someone had razed the place and rebuilt on the lot... A month went by, and we finally gave in to the tempation to simply drive through the area to see if we might get lucky. Besides, just seeing the old neighborhood dusts off enough memories to be interesting anyway.
As we entered the neighborhood, old memories came into play... driving home late nights after so many shows...automatically took me to the general area...Then, we thought we might have found the right spot, but there was a new house there...we were considering giving up. Then suddenly, surrealistically, there it was!
While it looked like it had the same crumbling paint job, it had obviously had quite a bit of work done to it--a couple of balconies added, skylights, a back yard covered workshop area, a bridge across the back 'yardlet' to the back street curb from the upperstory deck, and, according to the neighbors who were out playing with thier kid, the basement had been converted to a separate apartment that the homeowner rents out. Too bad we were not able to go inside. They were highly entertained by our story...
So, there you go! the Original Frumunda House still stands at 210 NW 52nd St. in Seattle (Fremont/Ballard area)! Now go get your copy of IT CAME FRUMUNDA, for free, from my bandcamp page!! (LINK BELOW!)
I'd like to send a shout out to Ed and thank him for a great 4/20 adventure...because last night we searched out and found THE ORIGINAL FRUMUNDA HOUSE!
Last month I released a 25th anniversary edition of the IT CAME FRUMUNDA music compilation. My old buddy Ed was especially excited about its re-release and suggested that we go on an adventure to see if we could find the old Frumunda house where it all went down. I've used the monikers "FRUMUNDA" and "FRUMUNDA MUSICK" for a long time and started using it there in 1991.
Ed was in that scene back then, but neither of us could remember the actual address. So we went on Google Earth and searched the neighborhood and the general area that we thought the house should be and couldn't find it-- but were'nt sure.
Having not had good luck with Google Earth, and knowing that the house was pretty old (made in the early 1900's) I just figured that someone had razed the place and rebuilt on the lot... A month went by, and we finally gave in to the tempation to simply drive through the area to see if we might get lucky. Besides, just seeing the old neighborhood dusts off enough memories to be interesting anyway.
As we entered the neighborhood, old memories came into play... driving home late nights after so many shows...automatically took me to the general area...Then, we thought we might have found the right spot, but there was a new house there...we were considering giving up. Then suddenly, surrealistically, there it was!
While it looked like it had the same crumbling paint job, it had obviously had quite a bit of work done to it--a couple of balconies added, skylights, a back yard covered workshop area, a bridge across the back 'yardlet' to the back street curb from the upperstory deck, and, according to the neighbors who were out playing with thier kid, the basement had been converted to a separate apartment that the homeowner rents out. Too bad we were not able to go inside. They were highly entertained by our story...
So, there you go! the Original Frumunda House still stands at 210 NW 52nd St. in Seattle (Fremont/Ballard area)! Now go get your copy of IT CAME FRUMUNDA, for free, from my bandcamp page!! (LINK BELOW!)
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Also, the TEST APES released an EP on April Fool's Day! Its called CHICKEN PIE VORTEX! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN We are focused on a couple of shows in the Portland, OR area this summer: MAY 12th at AL's DEN in the Crystal Hotel--billed as "An Evening With Test Apes", with an extended set time... and July 13-16 at the STRING SUMMIT music festival! (not sure which day and time...more details as soon as I get them...) In the meantime, Danny is back out on the road in support of his new amazing, straight-ahead bluegrass album, "STOVE UP", which you MUST GET! Its awesome!! CLICK HERE TO HEAR |
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FEBRUARY 20TH, 2017:
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT... It seems like there is no more appropriate time to spill the beans then Presidents Day: No, the band PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA are not playing a show and aren't recording new music or playing shows anymore. They are done. However... Back in the very early 1990's I was in a little Seattle band called Creepy Stick. We were a 3-piece consisting of Dave Thiele on a stand-up 'cocktail-style' drum kit, myself on sax and soon-to-become-famous Chris Ballew on 2 string guitar. We mostly recorded stuff in my basement, but would occasionally play 'shows' in the park to basically nobody. We had a lot of fun. I was so happy for Chris when he hooked up with BECK and then his band THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA was successful. He is a super creative type who is also a genuinely good person. Not to downplay Chris's talent AT ALL, but I know many artists like this who have not gotten the attention or success they deserve so it was nice to see it happen for a change. I do say he really deserved it and still does! Chris is like a FORCE of NATURE that can take something simple and instill it with magic. Both Chris and Dave are really good peeps and hilarious characters. Fast-forward to 2016: I moved back to Seattle at the end of 2012 and started to slowly reconnect with old friends...and got to Chris. It was really great to catch up since we both had quite the stories to share. Naturally, we started to jam and mess around and record stuff... Next thing I know, he informs me about how he and Dave never stopped jamming. While I had long ago moved off to Texas and Dave had moved off to Ohio, Dave's mom still lived in Seattle So, for 20 odd years when Dave came up to visit, he and Chris would still jam and goof around--and RECORD little snippets of ideas on hand-held devices. Chris had been digitizing and collecting them in a file. He then hands me a thumb-drive with literally hundreds (over 300) of song ideas, riffs and nuggets gathered over 20 years. Chris says to me that he loves the idea of me taking control of these snippets and 'piloting the ship' to create songs based off them as well as jam and come up with new stuff. A Creepy Stick reboot!!??!!?? I drooled a little. Its a lot to wade through...and right up my alley. I always felt that just like Chris, Creepy Stick has A LOT of potential, so I'm super happy to announce that we are back, at least as a studio project, and will be releasing music in the near future. Hopefully a bunch. This ball is just getting rolling; we've been getting busy and already have some KILLER rough mixes of stuff that I can't wait to finish and share with everyone. In the meanwhile, spread the word...for those fans bemoaning the loss of the PRESIDENTS, Chris has a surprise for you! ==================== I've just released a solo prog-rock record called, "HIGH STRANGENESS IN STEREOPHONIC SOUND", available now on bandcamp.com...link: click HERE. A new video for one of the songs on that LP, "PEEL OUT" is now on MAXBRODYWORLD TV's channel on YouTube...link: click HERE. ==================== Test Apes are working on recording new material and booking shows. We are preparing to do some of our first out of town (Seattle) shows and first festival show this year with an appearance at the "String Summit" July 13th-16th near Portland, OR. Not sure what our slot is, but will shoot out an announcement when I know more. We're also playing in the Portland area in May at a place called Al's on the 12th. More details soon; keep yer ears on... Our new t-shirts are now available with a fantastic graphic by Roy Tompkins. We already sold out of Medium and XXL, but I have plenty of L and XL. If you are interested, contact us at: [email protected] =================== Lastly, James Burns (author of definitive history of the band BUTTHOLE SURFERS, entitled "LET'S GO TO HELL") recently interviewed me for AltNation! Thanks James and AltNation :) link: click HERE btw, I highly recommend James' book!! link: click HERE |
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DECEMBER 31st, 2016:
HARVEST 2016: two LPs & two EPs, lots of music videos... + one triple LP/video mini series -- in 17 parts! LINKS: https://maxbrodyworld.bandcamp.com/…/goobersmoochers-left-o… https://testapes.bandcamp.com/album/remotes-lp https://maxbrodyworld.bandcamp.com/album/max-brody-couchlock https://maxbrodyworld.bandcamp.com/…/notorious-early-proced… https://maxbrodyworld.bandcamp.com/…/maxbrodyworld-tv-2006-… + slew of video: MAXBRODYWORLD TV, TEST APES, SH!T SHERLOCK, SUFFER ROBOT, F.U. VIDEO'S ZOMBIE MASH 1 and 2, NOTORIOUS EARLY PROCEDURES, MAX BRODY (solo) ...See my YouTube channel for full details: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd2dVlK5RdY9VEoTK-REnnA (hope I can do even HALF this much next year!) |
NEW: MBW TV Soundtrack OUT NOW! 37 songs-8 bands-$9 bucks!
click on image below! 
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October 22, 2016:
My apologies for not updating for a few months now, but its been busy around here.
Since June, I've released a few things and have some stuff coming right up and others planned. UPDATE:
1. GOOBERSMOOCHERS released another LP, called "Left On Piedmont" featuring the late-great MIKE SCACCIA (MINISTRY/RIGOR MORTIS) on Guitar. It is the last full legnth album from the duo, with one remaining EP to be released at some point next year. RIP, Mikey. I miss you!
2. I released a solo effort, "Couchlock" which is an ambient EP...& sort of a FRIED SMILING teaser. I plan on making a limited run of CDs of this. Pretty proud of how it turned out! FRIED SMILING has stopped its song writing FRENZY for the time being while Kinart gets some business end stuff organized to launch the new HITUNES app (featuring the music of FRIED SMILING) and continues with his conquest of Hollywood music supervision and story writing.
3. MAXBRODYWORLD TV, a 17 episode mini-series is now almost half the way posted on YouTube! Extra long Soundtrack/Movie combination CD/DVD hopefully out by New Year, and episodes out every week through Christmas Eve.
tune in here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd2dVlK5RdY9VEoTK-REnnA
4. A new and until now secret project with an Italian fellow, Daniele Santagiuliana, will have a surprise release for Halloween. The project is being called NOTORIOUS EARLY PROCEDURES. The EP, "...We Walked Into God's Chest Howling" is for the industrial/noise/goth kids...not for everyone. There are 50 numbered CD copies that will be available, 25 through my website, 25 from his - just after Halloween. There are other long-distance projects that I'm hoping to hatch as well...we'll see. They are in the planning stages. I enjoy these kinds of collaborations.
5. I've been creating a prog-rock record as a solo project and I'm pretty stoked about it. CRAZY! It might just be an EP or it could end up an LP, but its something I've always wanted to do, so screw it. I grew up not only listening to be-bop/big band/bossa nova/avant guard/fusion/lounge "Jazz" stuff, but also stuff like Rush, Yes, Zappa, Moody Blues, King Crimson, Can, Pink Floyd, Joe Walsh, Grand Funk, Spirit, Love, Camel, ELP, ELO, Police, Scorpions, Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Trower, etc, etc...so many other progressive/psychedelic/classic rock groups...Its making me laugh A LOT creating it. Guilty Pleasure, part 3? Its not bad, really!! HA! ...and no lyrics or screechy singers, just like I always wanted! I seem to be on a GENRE-kick; a free-jazz thing, then an ambient LP, now a Prog thing...hmmmm...? Paying homage to heros...is fun.
6. TEST APES has been on hiatus while Danny does a slew of tour dates. He is busy making money, so go Danny! We are in frequent contact though and plan to pick up where we left off in the spring at some point soon. Our next album is going to be KILLER.
7. Supposedly, the retro-80's MASQUERADE AS ANGELS is working on the remaining material for our 1st LP. I have not heard from them for a bit but I know it is a slow, but sure thing to happen. John Hawkins is stubborn like that, HA! ...Last I heard, he and Jeff wanted to try adding drums after adding vocals for the next few numbers so that I can be reactionary to John. Working long distance and trying to sound like we are in the same room has its challenges. It is an interesting concept and I'm all for trying it, but it IS taking some time. Writing lyrics and singing is tough, in my opinion! I don't do that stuff. Its like a mystery to me how folks do THAT. I can't wait to share MAA with everyone, though.
My apologies for not updating for a few months now, but its been busy around here.
Since June, I've released a few things and have some stuff coming right up and others planned. UPDATE:
1. GOOBERSMOOCHERS released another LP, called "Left On Piedmont" featuring the late-great MIKE SCACCIA (MINISTRY/RIGOR MORTIS) on Guitar. It is the last full legnth album from the duo, with one remaining EP to be released at some point next year. RIP, Mikey. I miss you!
2. I released a solo effort, "Couchlock" which is an ambient EP...& sort of a FRIED SMILING teaser. I plan on making a limited run of CDs of this. Pretty proud of how it turned out! FRIED SMILING has stopped its song writing FRENZY for the time being while Kinart gets some business end stuff organized to launch the new HITUNES app (featuring the music of FRIED SMILING) and continues with his conquest of Hollywood music supervision and story writing.
3. MAXBRODYWORLD TV, a 17 episode mini-series is now almost half the way posted on YouTube! Extra long Soundtrack/Movie combination CD/DVD hopefully out by New Year, and episodes out every week through Christmas Eve.
tune in here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd2dVlK5RdY9VEoTK-REnnA
4. A new and until now secret project with an Italian fellow, Daniele Santagiuliana, will have a surprise release for Halloween. The project is being called NOTORIOUS EARLY PROCEDURES. The EP, "...We Walked Into God's Chest Howling" is for the industrial/noise/goth kids...not for everyone. There are 50 numbered CD copies that will be available, 25 through my website, 25 from his - just after Halloween. There are other long-distance projects that I'm hoping to hatch as well...we'll see. They are in the planning stages. I enjoy these kinds of collaborations.
5. I've been creating a prog-rock record as a solo project and I'm pretty stoked about it. CRAZY! It might just be an EP or it could end up an LP, but its something I've always wanted to do, so screw it. I grew up not only listening to be-bop/big band/bossa nova/avant guard/fusion/lounge "Jazz" stuff, but also stuff like Rush, Yes, Zappa, Moody Blues, King Crimson, Can, Pink Floyd, Joe Walsh, Grand Funk, Spirit, Love, Camel, ELP, ELO, Police, Scorpions, Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Trower, etc, etc...so many other progressive/psychedelic/classic rock groups...Its making me laugh A LOT creating it. Guilty Pleasure, part 3? Its not bad, really!! HA! ...and no lyrics or screechy singers, just like I always wanted! I seem to be on a GENRE-kick; a free-jazz thing, then an ambient LP, now a Prog thing...hmmmm...? Paying homage to heros...is fun.
6. TEST APES has been on hiatus while Danny does a slew of tour dates. He is busy making money, so go Danny! We are in frequent contact though and plan to pick up where we left off in the spring at some point soon. Our next album is going to be KILLER.
7. Supposedly, the retro-80's MASQUERADE AS ANGELS is working on the remaining material for our 1st LP. I have not heard from them for a bit but I know it is a slow, but sure thing to happen. John Hawkins is stubborn like that, HA! ...Last I heard, he and Jeff wanted to try adding drums after adding vocals for the next few numbers so that I can be reactionary to John. Working long distance and trying to sound like we are in the same room has its challenges. It is an interesting concept and I'm all for trying it, but it IS taking some time. Writing lyrics and singing is tough, in my opinion! I don't do that stuff. Its like a mystery to me how folks do THAT. I can't wait to share MAA with everyone, though.
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June 6th, 2016:
I found the lyrics for NAUGAHYDE DREAM SEQUENCE. They had been lost for years, but are now scanned and on the NAUGAHYDE DREAM SEQUENCE PAGE. click HERE to be taken there...
I am also in the process of finishing up another GOOBERSMOOCHERS LP :) It will be called, "Left On Piedmont", and released on JULY 14, 2016...which would have been MIKE SCACCIA's 51st birthday, if I'm not mistaken! RIP my brother!
lastly, if you happen to be in Seattle this weekend, come on down and see TEST APES play at the HIGHLINE...!!
I found the lyrics for NAUGAHYDE DREAM SEQUENCE. They had been lost for years, but are now scanned and on the NAUGAHYDE DREAM SEQUENCE PAGE. click HERE to be taken there...
I am also in the process of finishing up another GOOBERSMOOCHERS LP :) It will be called, "Left On Piedmont", and released on JULY 14, 2016...which would have been MIKE SCACCIA's 51st birthday, if I'm not mistaken! RIP my brother!
lastly, if you happen to be in Seattle this weekend, come on down and see TEST APES play at the HIGHLINE...!!
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April 3rd, 2016:
At the end of February, TEST APES had the pleasure of playing an In-Studio performance at radio station KEXP in Seattle and they've just posted some sweet video footage of it to YouTube.
It consists of 4 songs and an interview...during which, not only is the question "What exactly IS a BARNJO?" answered, but the story of how the band got started is related, how that relates to bands like Melvins, Butthole Surfers and Honky is explained, and we release our latest LP ("Remotes", on Bandcamp HERE) and new website: wwwthetestapes.com !!!
By the way, we would like to thank Brian Foss, the staff at KEXP, and Eric Carnell for a life-long happy memory. That was a lot of fun and I think we did ok!
Now... if you are willing to help, we could use it: Please share these videos with your people and help us spread the word. We Need Exposure.
At the end of February, TEST APES had the pleasure of playing an In-Studio performance at radio station KEXP in Seattle and they've just posted some sweet video footage of it to YouTube.
It consists of 4 songs and an interview...during which, not only is the question "What exactly IS a BARNJO?" answered, but the story of how the band got started is related, how that relates to bands like Melvins, Butthole Surfers and Honky is explained, and we release our latest LP ("Remotes", on Bandcamp HERE) and new website: wwwthetestapes.com !!!
By the way, we would like to thank Brian Foss, the staff at KEXP, and Eric Carnell for a life-long happy memory. That was a lot of fun and I think we did ok!
Now... if you are willing to help, we could use it: Please share these videos with your people and help us spread the word. We Need Exposure.
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Enjoy! and Thank you!
More videos to come soon! 
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March 9th, 2016 I'm really proud of TEST APESs' progress. I've been sending out press releases and networking every-which-way. This past month has been a big push to take TEST APES up a notch, and I think we've made some headway. I can't even keep up with all the press Danny's been getting since winning that STEVE MARTIN banjo award last fall, so I'm not gonna try to--although I will link over to stuff as I run across it on my FACEBOOK pages. But I do want to mention that he was on the COVER of FRETBOARD JOURNAL recently, which is certainly a feather in ones cap. Anyway, TEST APES has been BUSY...We have a new LP, new videos, more shows booked, a new newsletter and had a radio appearance on Seattle's KEXP. We have also created a completely new and separate website--Its super streamlined and minimal, but there is something cool about that...In fact, I may try to streamline things around here a bit, too...we shall see, cuz I feel like this site is kinda getting bulky and not so easy to get around. Which brings up my next bit of news: I'm happy to announce the creation of a YouTube channel, MAXBRODYWORLD TV, which will be a more convenient way to check out the TEST APES videos as well as all the videos from MAXBRODYWORLD in general. You can... CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT I have also done a little bit more work with Jeff Kinart on FRIED SMILING stuff, and we discussed a couple options for finally starting to share our work with the world. I'm really looking forward to that. He's been a very busy boy out there in Hollywood though...so, we've had a bit of a break for the last 2-3 months. There is so much other news there that I just can't share yet. It's killin meh. To check out the new TEST APES website... CLICK HERE and LINK OVER (I have moved the old stuff under the "OTHER BANDS" tab at the top of the page menu, as well). Lastly, PLEASE hand over your email address, & sign up for the TEST APES NEWSLETTER below, which may include maxbrodyworld.com or dannybarnes.com news as well... I promise I'll keep it short and sweet, it'll have the latest links to the newest releases or videos or whatnot, and I'll never sell your info. I'm thinkin like once a month or every other month or something...depending on whats up. |
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January 13th, 2016
New Test Apes 3-Song Live EP is now available on the TEST APES BANDCAMP PAGE It also has a home HERE on the website... Danny and I sure had a fun time at the FUNHOUSE. We look forward to more gigs there... Thank You Brian Foss. |
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MASQUERADE AS ANGELS has written another song and we are starting to track it. I've also recorded raw drum tracks for them at certain BPMs (beats per minute) so that John and Jeff can chop them up and make loops or whatnot. I sent those off to them this afternoon. So there is definite forward motion going on again. Jeff just took a few weeks off in the tropics and is getting back just now...
The band I'm producing, CHAVA, will start recording their guitar parts this weekend. So, I'll be packing up the MOBILE FRUMUNDA UNIT and going to their space at the Vortex Studios up in Everett.
Jeff Kinart, my partner in FRIED SMILING actually stopped by my place on his way through Seattle over the holidays. It was really great to be in the same room with him. I haven't seen him in over a decade-- and we've been working really intensely together over the last year, only with him in Hollywood and me in Seattle. Happy to say that we have worked up a couple of good graphic ideas and should have an EP to release soon. Probably a 5-songer. He just got back down there, and says things are moving slow, but sure. If we succeed...it would be REALLY GOOD... I'll just say that.
I have also been working on the video blog that I had taped back in 2006 and 2007 but that I never edited or finished due to my life crazy life in general and then getting a divorce in 2009. I traveled a lot back then with a telecommunications job that put me all over the US. Its kinda funny to watch yourself from 10 years ago or more, but what was interesting to me from the get-go was that I had created a number of albums in a rather odd manner and this chronicled some of that time. Originally, I got started with all of it because I was asked by Pinkus to be a part of some big rock-video-blog-THING involving a number of musicians... that never ended up happening, either. Anyway, I'm glad I'm following through with my bit of it. Which reminds me, that I'd like to announce that soon I will launch a YouTube Channel to put up videos in one place and on playlists. They will probably be on my site, too, but, its kinda easier to watch on a playlist and be able to see all thats there in one place.
Meanwhile, I'm still digesting the one-two punch of LEMMY and BOWIE passing...DAMN
The band I'm producing, CHAVA, will start recording their guitar parts this weekend. So, I'll be packing up the MOBILE FRUMUNDA UNIT and going to their space at the Vortex Studios up in Everett.
Jeff Kinart, my partner in FRIED SMILING actually stopped by my place on his way through Seattle over the holidays. It was really great to be in the same room with him. I haven't seen him in over a decade-- and we've been working really intensely together over the last year, only with him in Hollywood and me in Seattle. Happy to say that we have worked up a couple of good graphic ideas and should have an EP to release soon. Probably a 5-songer. He just got back down there, and says things are moving slow, but sure. If we succeed...it would be REALLY GOOD... I'll just say that.
I have also been working on the video blog that I had taped back in 2006 and 2007 but that I never edited or finished due to my life crazy life in general and then getting a divorce in 2009. I traveled a lot back then with a telecommunications job that put me all over the US. Its kinda funny to watch yourself from 10 years ago or more, but what was interesting to me from the get-go was that I had created a number of albums in a rather odd manner and this chronicled some of that time. Originally, I got started with all of it because I was asked by Pinkus to be a part of some big rock-video-blog-THING involving a number of musicians... that never ended up happening, either. Anyway, I'm glad I'm following through with my bit of it. Which reminds me, that I'd like to announce that soon I will launch a YouTube Channel to put up videos in one place and on playlists. They will probably be on my site, too, but, its kinda easier to watch on a playlist and be able to see all thats there in one place.
Meanwhile, I'm still digesting the one-two punch of LEMMY and BOWIE passing...DAMN
