Dispatch 50: Explosion or Implosion: ATTN:Magazine Thinks the Latter

Dispatch 50: Sounds like Jack at ATTN:Magazine in England had a really good experience while listening to our album for review. He writes about the implosion sensibility of the record, an inward look as opposed to an outward expression of the album. He then paints a really great visual picture with words.
 ATTN:Magazine is based in Bournemouth, England and features interviews, articles and reviews on new experimental music and sounds.
 Read the review here.

Dispatch 49: DS Peligro Vinyl Now Available at MCL Bandcamp!

Thao's Sunday LP with poster insert

Dispatch 49: The DS Peligro album Thao's Sunday is out and  available at the MCL Recording Bandamp store along with the previously released digital download! It was made available with a record release celebration in Venice, Ca. on Oct.15th, just in time for xmas.
 Sit back and enjoy. It's a dark rock album with roots in dub and guitar rock. These eleven fantastic tracks tell a full story that is ripe for interpretation by the open mind of the listener.
  The classic black vinyl 12" album comes with partial dimensional printing on the jackets and the usual for all MCL albums, an inserted handprinted 11x17 poster. All the designing and printing was done at MCLscreenworks. Instead of the boring old download card, all our records have a card inserted prompting one to email us here at MCL Recording and we will send you a digital version for free. (I here the interns are throwing in freebies now and then!).
 Thao's Sunday is available here.

Dispatch 48: Digital Release for Thao's Sunday by DS Peligro (Vinyl Oct.15th)

Dispatch 48: The MCL Recording Co family is very excited to announce the digital release of the newest record by DS Peligro titled Thao's Sunday (MCL438) at Bandcamp. The album is 11 intellectual wanderings down heady side roads. Reflective and beautiful. From psyche to dub to noise and back around to guitar rock. Simply, purely premium experimentalism.
DS Peligro is a one man show, self composing, performing, producing and releasing his unique brand of experimental no-fi since the early 1970's on west side of L.A. and draws on that long pedigree to create some of the most unique and inspiring experimental music today.

The limited edition vinyl version comes with handprinted jackets and poster insert and will be available on about Oct.15th. This digital version is available at the label's bandcamp page.

Dispatch 47: Solar Maximum Releases New "Black Triagles/ExtraDimensional Love EP"

Dispatch 47: MCL Recording Co is happy to announce the release of the new EP by the ultimate drone lords, Solar Maximum. The EP features 2 heavy droning, yearning tracks. As Bill Boethius in England says about the EP, "what a beautiful contrast - the lightly skipping vocals over the deep lugubrious drones ... and yet the vocal is unsettling to .. opens out to a dark and immense dimension. This sets the mind to endlessly speculate on the black triangles on a subliminal level..."
Check it out for yourselves. Fortified with Poetry by pallasCatfight.

Dispatch 46: Solar Maximum Release Full Live Performance Video

Dispatch 46: On a warm summer evening in early September, Solar maximum did an intimately live in-store performance at Hercules Records in Berkeley, Ca. A single stationary camera documented their performance.

Dispatch 45: Solar Maximum Perform Live at Hercules Records in Berkeley

Sammy and Heather are Solar Maximum

Dispatch 45: Sometimes we are fortunate enough to be part of something that will only happen once in a lifetime! The MCL Recording Co. is very happy to announce the live debut by those ultimate drone lords, Solar Maximum! On Tues Sept. 6, 2016 at 7pm they bring their own unique brand of experimental psyche drone to Hercules Records for a rare in-store performance promoting their new album. The limited edition LP's with handprinted jackets and poster is available at Hercules while supplies last. Its also available online at MCL Recording Co. Bandcamp.

 Sammy and Heather started together with their fast and loud stoner-punk thrio Leather Pills in 1999, learning and jamming a whole set of Ramones songs for fun. A twist of fate and Leather Pills went live without a clue!  The Pills kept rehearsing, recording and gigging until 2004, and on more than a few occasions, supporting Marky Ramone and the Speedkings, D.I and The Lewd.  Since then, Sammy and Heather have continued to write and record at home both together and separately. Sammy has also become a principal in the Oakland Ca. music/art collective known as Her Majesty theE Spleen. 
 So in the early summer of 2015, coming together in the couples home studio, plugging in, turning on and tuning out as they say, Sammy and Heather began the sessions that have become the core of the bands existence to this point. Recording almost all of the sessions they have done, each session an event and throughout those events are moments. Those moments are Solar Maximum.

  This will be part of the monthly block party held first Tues of the month at Adeline/Alcatraz in Berkeley, Ca. which always includes Hercules Records, a really cozy indie record shop specializing in new and used rock, blues, soul jazz, hip-hop and Solar Maximum, you know the good stuff. Good selection is always changing and great prices. So come hangout and enjoy a nice festive evening with good friends, vinyl records and Solar Maximum.
"Heavy psychedelic droning riffs are what Solar Maximum is bringing to the party!"

Dispatch 44: We are Now MCL Recording Co.

 Dispatch 44: Introducing our new name, MCL Recording Co. Same great bands, same great label, great new updated name. Contact us at mclrecordingco@gmail.com

Dispatch 43: 'Soundtrack: Event I Uranian Fire' LP by Solar Maximum available on Vinyl now!

Dispatch 43: Music for closetLames is excited to announce that "Soundtrack: Event I - Uranian Fire" (MCL343) by Solar Maximum is now available for purchase on 12" vinyl at our label Bandcamp store, and at Mod Lang Records in El Cerrito, CA.

 The limited run of only 143 numbered copies with the beautiful 11"x17" poster insert come housed in very special hand-printed jackets.
 The ultimate drone lords have offered up a complete DIY package here. The ambient, experimental psychedelic music on the record was conceived, composed, recorded, mixed, and produced by Sammy and Heather. They also conceived, produced, hand-printed, and assembled the covers and poster insert. Aaaand, they are also working the release and promotion of the album. Some help came from Matt Kelley for mastering and Pirates Press for vinyl pressing. Just the way they like it. The band says: We do this kinda stuff because we believe there is value in the hand-produced aspect of our releases, and we enjoy all of the various aspects of the project. We think it's cool that each of these records is unique and we both had our hands on every single one of them.  It makes these pieces really personal.
This is Sammy and Heather to the max!

  The album has already been described this way:

 "This is an incredible piece of work as it is so zoned in as a total concept. It is full on, flat out and limber. It is the maxiumus of solaris. The bass is the maximum bass. The riffs are the ultimate riffs. The sound aches with perfection. The ensemble roars..."
-Bill Boethius, England

"Solar Maximum's new work has a surrealistic, Eraserhead kind of feel. The music evokes a posterized imagery in black and white with the low-frequency sound. The bass is heavy and rich, and it has the sound of belonging in a David Lynch movie soundtrack.  "Soundtrack: event I uranian fire" brings together psychedelic rock and a gritty ambient sound that is easy to get lost in. 'Uranian Fire' is music you listen to straight through."
-Becca, Fiberglass Jacket Blog


 "I can only say this is absolutely fantastic. Congratulations for the masterpiece!"
-Daisuke Muraoka, Japan

Uranian Fire is available at our Bandcamp store where you can find other great tracks by Solar Maximum, closetLames, PallasCatfight, SMDS and DS Peligro, whose new album Thao's Sunday will be available on vinyl in October here on MCL!
 The best shit is always on MCL Recording Co!

Dispatch 42: Ronzo Calzone releases "Citizens of the United States" video

Dispatch 42: Ronzone Calzone guitarist, producer and collaborator with HMS has released a new single video on his Youtube channel via his wordpress site  titled "Citizens of the United States" The track seems to have only a little hint of current events, politics and the American electorate in this year 2016. Take a listen:

Dispatch 41: Solar Maximum's Uranian Fire vinyl LP available July 25!

Dispatch 41: We are very happy to announce that our 1st experimental psychedelic album "Soundtrack: Event I Uranian Fire" will be available on 12" black vinyl Monday, July 25th (around 9 PM Pacific)! They will be available thru our label Bandcamp (musicforclosetlames.bandcamp.com) and BigCartel (http://handprintedbymclscreenworks.bigcartel.com/) stores. Heavy drone! Super limited run of only 143 pieces! They come in hand-printed and numbered jackets and (usually) a cool screen printed 11x17 in. poster insert.
This whole offering, inside and out, was conceived and executed by Heather and me (Sammy) just for you! We hope you enjoy it.
First one down, NEXT!!!
Always on Music for closetLames!

Dispatch 40: Her Majesty theE Spleen - out with 'Assault and Batterie'

Dispatch 40: Its been a little while,  speaking relatively to the Spleen world, since we have heard anything coming from the direction of the HMS collective, but to be sure, when we do, it's always a doozy!
  Never ones to disappoint, we have Assault and Batterie, a slower, drudging track that would have made the perfect soundtrack to a great mushroom trip i had years ago! The track was recorded on a handheld then produced by Phonic theE Bomber.
 Prepare oneself. Grab a seat. Close your eyes and open your mind!
 Whoa! Why is that bunny looking at me with that evil eye? Released thru the bands soundcloud page.

Dispatch 39 (Sunday Edition): From an imminent release to 6k bags of Cheetos! MCL happenings.

11x17 Poster insert for Uranian Fire

Dispatch 39: A little update of the lots going on at MCL HQ.

Ready for Imminent Release!

Solar Maximum is putting the final touches on the very limited vinyl 12" version of Uranian Fire, screen-printing the jackets and poster inserts. Only 143 hand numbered pieces will be available thru the MCL Big Cartel store, our bandcamp store and in brick-and-mortars around the SF Bay Area. The digital version of Uranian Fire has been getting some nice reviews so far and we are very excited to finally be releasing the album. Watch here for release date really really soon!

In the mean time, along with rehearsing for a live show debut, Solar Maximum has released another single track titled 'Empires' on our Soundcloud page. Come by and check it out and let us know what you think. Here it is:

Thao's Sunday

We are very, very excited to announce that the DS Peligro album titled Thao's Sunday is off to the presses for an October 2016 vinyl release on MCL. The album was written, recorded and produced by DS himself, curated by Heather and then mastered by Matt Kelley in San Francisco. The album artwork was designed by Sammy (Solar Maximum and MCLscreenworks).

DS is a one man experimental sound fiend. There's no way to accurately describe the genre, or even the time period of his tracks. One has to experience the prolific nature of this man's output to understand it. The passion and vision that come thru consistently are mesmerizing. Check him out!

PallasCatfight has been busy in studio recording and has released a few tracks thru her soundcloud page recently.

 What's Wrong With Me is a rocked up punk song with loud screamin' guitars and an equally loud and bratty vocal! This Pallas track was dug up outta the archives and as soon as it hit the ground it was on the run! Look for a couple more from Heather's archive to surface in the comin' months. 

Dispatch 38: An Informative Song About Birds of Prey - A New PallasCatfight Single

Heather Salazar is PallasCatfight.

Dispatch 38: PallasCatfight, aka Heather, has released her latest single "Seven Modes of Hunting." 
Like the headline reads, it's an informative song about birds.
Self produced and recorded at MCLscreenworks with music by Solar Maximum, Seven Modes of Hunting is yet another in the line of spoken word poetry, delivered in a package of swirling sounds and heavy emotion. A delivery style that leaves some tingling and has been compared at times to Throbbing Gristle. PallasCatfight and Solar Max are working on a spoken word EP for release later in the year.
 The song has been released on Heather and Sammy's Music for closetLames label thru the PallasCatfight soundcloud page and available for purchase at the MCL Bandcamp page.
 Heather Salazar is PallasCatfight and is also one half of "the ultimate drone lords" Solar Maximum, an experimental psychedelic duo with fellow musician and husband Sammy Salazar. Based in the SF bay area city of El Cerrito, Ca., they have been making music and art together since 1995 and have had the Music for closetLames label
since 1998.

Dispatch 37: Phonic theE Bomber Remixes Solar Max! SICK!!

Dispatch 37: In a really cool development from the maniacal mind of artist Phonic theE Bomber comes the sickest remixes of tracks from the Solar Maximum album Soundtrack Event I: Uranian Fire. (The album is available now at Bandcamp for streaming, 12" LP available really soon on black vinyl).
 The psychedelic as f#*k video remixes are totally beyond explanation (just how we like it!) and will certainly "render you susceptible to suggestion!" as Phonic said it. Look out!  Phonic goes all the way on these! They were originally posted to his YouTube page and shared thru his Facbook page.
 Phonic theE Bomber is a musician and visual artist as well as business owner in Oakland, Ca. He is a DJ and a member of the MCL musical collective known as Her Majesty theE Spleen as well as a whole lotta other things. He's an intense and busy man.

Dispatch 36: PallasCatfight/Solar Max Collabo Featured at CaliperMusic Blog Today!

I Know this is All in My Head by palaceCatfight

Dispatch 36: Lots going on these days with MCL artists PallasCatfight and Solar Maximum. They have the featured song at the CaliperMusic Blog today! I Know its all in My Head is the first PCF/SM collaboration track released a few weeks ago thru our soundcloud and Bandcamp pages and features a nice haunting vocal by PallasCatfight over an equally haunting track by Solar Maximum.
 PallasCatfight is essentially Heather Salazar and friends. Heather is also 1/2 of the Solar Maximum duo so she is all over this track! Nice work, H.
 Solar Maximum have been busy as heck these days making lots of great new friends with these international collaborations, releasing ones with DS Peligro in L.A, Trauma in Germany, the Dali of Guitar noise Bill Boethius in England, Mihaly Wulfen in Budapest, Hungary and palaceCatfight right here in-house. All of these can be heard at our bandcamp and souncloud pages. Come by and check them out if you have'nt already, some great stuff there!
 Its always exciting to see our music featured and we are always thankful for the exposure! Thanks Matt!

Dispatch 35: PallasCatfight and Solar Maximum release another collaboration!

 "When the Well of Tears is Dry but you're not Finished Crying"- palaceCatfight

Dispatch 35:  Solar Maximum and PallasCatfight have been keeping busy in studio making a batch of collaboration tracks together and having a great time releasing them thru the Solar Maximum soundcloud page and our Music for closetLames Bandcamp page where you can purchase these collabos as singles. Collect them all!
 The latest work is titled "When the Well of Tears is Dry but you're not Finished Crying". PallasCatfight is essentially Heather's project (along with various backup players) where she is vocalizing, mostly poetry these days but there is a new 3 song EP in the works for the near future which features Heather singing called Biggest Brat on the Block. Look out for that soon here on MCL. 

Dispatch 34: Solar Max Uranian Fire LP test pressings approved!

Dispatch 34: The test pressings for the Solar Maximum LP titled Soundtrack Event I: Uranian Fire (MCL343)

have arrived at MCL HQ and have been approved. The album will be available for pre-order soon thru the Music for closetLames bandcamp page. It will be a limited numbered release of approx. 143 copies (rare black vinyl) so get on it before they are gone.
 The LP jackets and poster inserts will be handprinted at our sister screen shop MCLscreenworks. Check back soon for availability.
In the mean time, the digital version of the album can be heard and purchased here at the MCL bandcamp page along with plenty of other cool music from the MCL family! Lets go!

New collaboration and a partial explanation of how we work

Check it out...we just posted this new collaboration on Soundcloud between Solar Maximum and PallasCatfight, called 'I know this is all in my head.'

 'But wait,' you're thinking to yourself, 'isn't PallasCatfight Heather?'
  Why yes, it is (she is?).
  'Sooooo, wouldn't this just be a Solar Maximum track?' you're thinking to yourself.
  Weeeellllll, not really, and here's why...

Solar Maximum is a middle-of-the-night channeling of the sounds, songs, and signals of the cosmos. It is Sammy and Heather but beyond Sammy and Heather. It is beyond thought, beyond words...in a way, it's out of our hands. It has a purity that we don't. HA. It has balance - Sammy and Heather in equal proportions. And so, if the mood strikes to add anything to this cosmic collage, we call it a collaboration. Conveniently, we both have musical alter egos (Sammy is closetLames, Heather is PallasCatfight).

Yeah yuh!

Sunday Edition vol. 5: UFO's and EDM

[For your Sunday afternoon reading and/or viewing pleasure, we present vol. 5 of THE SUNDAY EDITION at Music for closetLames. A bit of this, a bit that, maybe art, whatev's. May include contributions from friends, associates, accomplices, not to exclude detractors, and maybe even us sometimes. So, kick back and dig in...]

Page 1: One of our favorite true accounts of UFO's in our airspace. Cant get much more official disclosure than this!

Page 2: A fantastic artist we are having the pleasure of working with and together have a collaboration EP in the works. Trauma hails from Osterrönfeld, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and does some interesting EDM/electronic music. take a listen.

Dispatch 33: New Solar Maximum single Devils Thrill (Moments1&2)

Dispatch 33: Devil's Thrill is the psychedelic and transcendental new single by Solar Maximum, our resident stoner jam-heads and their brand of minimalist riffage, once called a metal haiku. The track comes in at just under 14 min, so prepare yourself right, get comfortable, sit back and enjoy. The relaxing will come when you close your eyes and let the Devils Thrill fill ya. Come on, it won't hurt ya. It feels good to let the music flow right thru...anyway you dig it, we hope you do...

Dispatch 32: Solar Maximum interview on Bay Area Band Show podcast!

Dispatch 32: Solar Maximum is the featured interview this week on Steve O'Sullivan's podcast called Bay Area Band Show released at iTunes.  We went over to his place in San Mateo, sat in front of the mics and talk for a bit about what we do and kinda how we do it. He plays some music off the new album as well as the single Circular Logic. Thanks Steve, we had a blast.
 He's always interested in talking with musicians in and around the bay area, hit him up at www.thebayareabandshow.com

Dispatch 31: Bill Boethius with Solar Maximum on "Maxed Out"

Dispatch 31: Another astounding track has been produced using the set of tracks (Solar Selfies) we made available as a project for different artists to play too, with, for, about etc. to see what kinda unique music come out of each artists approach. We have been duly impressed ever time!
 This time we asked the "Dali of Guitar Noise," Mr Bill Boethius to take a stab. Maxed Out is the track he gave (and named)! Full of texture and screaming guitars, the track explodes...a few times!
Give it a listen and then maybe listen again! Have fun.

Here is a playlist of all the collaboration tracks we have made available thus far.

Dispatch 30: The Ravens Eye by A Solar Trauma

Dispatch 30: Hello everyone, we are very excited to announce the release thru our Soundcloud page of a new collaboration track by Solar Maximum with Trauma called The Ravens Eye. Bill Boethius says about this track, "...great textures...and...awe inspiring riffage." Once again, Trauma took a track, worked his magic and what we offer here is the result. We hope you enjoy it!



Here is a playlist of thge collaboration track released so far.

The Sunday Edition #4: Poetry, videos, JFK?

[For your Sunday afternoon reading and/or viewing pleasure, we present vol.4 of THE SUNDAY EDITION at Music for closetLames. A bit of this, a bit that, maybe art, whatev's. May include contributions from friends, associates, accomplices, not to exclude detractors, and maybe even us sometimes. So, kick back and dig in...]

(Page 1)
A poem By Heather Salazar

Oh yes - the city sound
It fills up in aroud you
carries you down
slick black gum dotted
sidewalks like a river
it muffles, screetches and clicks
is greater than the sum
of its hearts
the sun of its heart
it heaves and moans
drowns out
the sounds
of ancient voices
ancient vices
oh it rises up
crests and pulls us under
crashes around as
you sit with your coffee
going cold
as you sip with your
heart going cold
and it buzzes there
about four feet high
like a cloud like fog
you can wrap up in it
wrap it up
and there's nothing like it when it stops







oh you can hear it
you can sing it to me
send it to me
we can harmonize rise above
rise with it
we can ride it

oh yes find
the right corner and it
- the sound -
will resonate just right
to drown out
ameliorate
anxiety, mistakes
all that crap you ate
the crap you hate
it will make you forget
how to fake
forget to make way
to plan your escape
 

(Page 2): A video by DS Peligro

TRANSMISSION ALPHA - Master Mix from David Spero Peligro on Vimeo.



(Page 3): The JFK Assasination
I've always been interested in the fateful events of  Nov 22, 1963 in Dealy Plaza, Dallas, Tx. Presented here are a couple of podcasts by professor Jerry Kroth from Santa Clara University that really shed a lot of light on the events of that day. I hope you enjoy them. -Sammy

Sunday Edition vol.3 - Poems, Music and Orbs...thats a nice Sunday!

[For your Sunday afternoon reading and/or viewing pleasure, we present vol.3 of THE SUNDAY EDITION at Music for closetLames. A bit of this, a bit that, maybe art, whatev's. May include contributions from friends, associates, accomplices, not to exclude detractors, and maybe even us sometimes. So, kick back and dig in...]

(Page 1): More prose from the twisted mind and pen of John Middle.

  A precedent a funeral pyre. A lawyers recurring dream... A digital glitsch... Over driven in solid state... A march of skinny pennies... A sonnet sung in machine code... Sodomy and Victories made of ego and boredom. We are RIGHT They are WRONG Sad WORDS (STOLEN from poems and forced into hard labor by Matthew Bender TM) A rainbow scorched black and hideously crooked. Technicalities and leverage. Your child is starving. Mine is anorexic. A future unlimited Cast into irons. blinkered. Simplified. Lobotomized. and writhing. Justice cost an arm and a leg. Clapping now not an option.... hopping mad. That sound? (It's SUCTION>) HEX cast. TORT law. TOXIC MOLD "I OBJECT" perfect DIS-FUNKtion. Injunction. S and M SO HIP it hurts Love distracts RESTRAINT Brown shirt. A submarine became A SUNKEN BOAT. Harmonic distortion. An eye of GOAT.

(Page 2): Ramones Live New Years Eve 1977. (Ramones - Its Alive!) My favorite Ramones concert.

(Page 3): Her Majesty thee Spleen...We play for the orbs. Often times at jams we are accompanied by orbs who come out to dance to the hypnotic sounds of the Spleen. This is a fine example of the spectacle. Any thoughts?

Sunday Edition vol. 2: Flyer Art from the Archives

[For your Sunday afternoon reading and/or viewing pleasure, we present vol.2 of THE SUNDAY EDITION at Music for closetLames. A bit of this, a bit that, maybe art, whatev's. May include contributions from friends, associates, accomplices, not to exclude detractors, and maybe even us sometimes. So, kick back and dig in...]

 Byline: Sammy Salazar

 I have been doing gig flyers and posters for my bands (including but not limited to Decembers Child, Bigger Than God, Anonymous Beef, closetLames, Leather Pills, Solar Maximum...) since i began gigging in H-Town in the mid 1980's and straight thru my continued years in the SF bay area. I uploaded a bunch of them to gigposters.com some years ago and just found the link recently. I will be uploading more soon to fill out the collection, but in the mean time, take a look at these gems...

Dispatch 29: SMDS Booty-Shakin' with "Sammy daBass" Dirty Single!!

Dispatch 29: The Solar Maximum and DS Peligro collabo SMDS is at it again with a little experimental funkay bizznezzzz! Busting thru genres and the ages, Sammy daBass (the New York Dirty No Soap Mix!) has a funky old school booty-shakin' hip hop feel with a cool modern sound.  DS produced this track straight over the top! Its available for just $1 at our Bandcamp page. Enjoy. Introducing SMDS...we will seeya at da club...

                                   

Dispatch 28: DS Peligro Track Featured at CaliperMusic Blog!

DS Peligro

Dispatch 28: Always nice to announce that Caliper Music has featured another MCL artist as the daily feature on the blog. This time around its experimental sound addict DS Peligro and his track "One Minute Funk" (which actually clocks in at 4:44 but hey, are we splittin hairs here?...). A super quirky track that makes you feel good.
So much more over at his soundcloud page. Headphones on, volume up, enjoy! ...Always on Music for closetLames.

Sunday Edition, Vol. 1: Conversation on the subject of The Fall

[For your Sunday afternoon reading pleasure, we present the first volume of THE SUNDAY EDITION at Music for closetLames. A bit of this, a bit that, may include writing from friends, associates, accomplices, not to exclude detractors, and maybe even us sometimes. So, kick back and dig in...]

CONVERSATION on the subject of THE FALL.
Byline: John Middle, Oakland, CALIFORNIA

My old friend Tim Ascough recently regaled me with a dense and expectorant sodden missive on the subject of his intense loathing of THE FALL. As a long time FALL fan I have been made aware of such feeling many times before by many people from many different walks of life. Particularly in the early 80's (when I was initially developing my appreciation of their music) I found myself on the receiving end of negative feedback ranging in tone from incredulous and disbelieving to hostile and annoyed upon playing THE FALL or bringing them up in conversation. Certainly I was never taken aback as THE FALL have a sound and musical angle that can only be described as difficult, abtruse, challenging, ramshackle, cacaphonic and so on ... and so on. Mark E Smith, THE FALL's only permanent fixture at this juncture has a vocal style that de-emphasizes range and key by way of skewing more in the direction of squeaks, mumbles, hard consonants and hard-talk. I generally assumed that I would be alone in my affinity with their din. Back then THE FALL as a band were not considered "cool" at any level. Mark E Smith was considered an annoying but persistent fixture on the "scene" by most. The band dressed "wrong". Their Link Wray/Beefheart/Van Der Graaf Generator/Iggy Pop/CAN/FAUST/Velvet Underground/Country and "Northern" influences were over most peoples heads. They slagged off your favorite band without hesitation in the media...etc etc. When you met folks who were into THE FALL back then you came across a certain type of music fan. 'Committed' in a word. The type of music fan who understood that great music is oftentimes only revealed as such by way of repeated listening. You have to 'earn' the privilege. FALL fans loved the 'differences' they heard....Wrong notes over right 'business as usual' notes. THE FALL are about uncompromising vision in combination with committed creative execution. THE FALL for a huge portion of their career pursued these qualities in the face of overwhelming commercial disdain and public disinterest. Mark E Smith is certainly a known and respected cultural renegade THESE days. The dogged persistence that has characterized his 'career' in its entirety has paid off ultimately. The last 5 years have been good to him at a public level. Vindication... Lets not forget though that THE FALL have been in business since 1977. They have completed 25 original albums. They have released 50 singles. They have issued 50 live and compilation albums. Mark was a dock worker prior to being in the band. He believes in hard graft and testicular fortitude. '' Nothing has happened since 1977 to STOP Mark from 'doing his thing'.....Of course the truth is that his experience in the biz has been rife with the typical (and at times uber-typical) challenging situations and problems. He has endured thirty years worth of such moments to state the obvious. Throughout, he has kept rolling ever onwards. We are after all talking about the music business....SHOW BUSINESS. Mark has evidently faced down the type of 'shit' that stops most bands in their tracks by album 3 if they are lucky AND determined. THE FALL are of Mancunian stock and represent the grit and "no mithering please" nature of the place to the core. Personally, I am into the idea of having a strong 'work ethic', be it in music, art, sport or whatever. Hard work is tough to ignore or downplay ... It can't be "bullshitted" if you know what I mean. It resonates. What about the music? Well .... you develop your craft thru repetition right? THE FALL have gone thru a lot of repetition. The craft is accordingly in good shape. Its not the typical 'craft' mind you. It is born of a contrary nature. It is about the advantages of making music while NOT being a musician. I DON'T SING I JUST SHOUT .....ALL ON ONE NOTE....SING SING SING SING.....LOOK AT ME I JUST STING......YOUR HEART OUT. Mark is in his 50's these days. Listen to his last three albums and see if you can pick up on a softening of his approach to creating music. NO NOSTALGIA resides therein. Instead you will find odd and unique sounds and noises. Techno synths in rockabilly shirts. Industrial grind in cod-cabaret sequins. Punk meets APHEX TWIN by way of a detour through a ROCHDALE working mans club. FOOTBALL HOOLIGAN ANTHEMS and freestyle crap-raps. His hips may have proven fragile but his ears are those of an athletic elephant, greedily filtering the RIGHT frequencies for the NEW sounds to add to the OLD new sounds. Head music with energy. VALUES and having an ANGLE. No love songs..... Mark like myself would rather read a HORROR STORY. The Mills and Boones preoccupation of modern pop music is somewhat narrow right???? RIGHT? What if we make the atmospheric presence of a song its HOOK? BAD DRUGS and PARANOIA. BACK STABBING and RIP-OFFERY. Y'know life....... Thats without going into the BAD stuff. The 'wirey' out of tune guitars that chicken scratch at your psyche. The "drums being kicked down the staircase" BIG BEAT.....Gary Glitter meets JAMES BROWN uptown. The purposefuly anemic but HUGE and turgid bass undulations. ONE NOTE SOLOS. Mark scratching on the microphone so that it sounds like someone or something is trying to scrape its way OUT OF YOUR SPEAKERS upon playback. LO FI NO FI .....RIGHT FI.....FEE FI thumbed noses. "TURN THOSE BLOODY SPACE INVADERS OFF - UHHH" ... keyboard tone setting. And to top it off......from my perspective at least the funniest and most interesting lyrics in modern music. BOB DYLAN FANS TAKE ELEVATOR TO 13th floor AND EXIT THIS DIATRIBE BY WAY OF WINDOW PLEASE.... An example of this lyrical prowess......I could pick any of a thousand. Check this one out for example..... It's about methedrine related insomnia....squalid ciity living...creeping paranoia and worry. Such that you cannot....WALK THE FLOOR AT NIGHT IN PEACE. Pacing the floor y'gedditt? Such conditions must be the fault of another.....CITY HOBGOBLINS perchance??? CITY HOBGOBLINS Spiders know these things Gremlins know these things Tap, tap, tap, tap You think it's the pipes But who turns on the lights? Our city hobgoblins Ubu le Roi is a home hobgoblin at night always ready. City hobgoblins Infest my home at night They are not alright Ten times my age One-tenth my height Our city hobgoblins Buzz of the all-night mill Ah but evil Emigres from old green glades Pretentious eh? Our city hobgoblins They'll get yer I saw Queen Victoria on the back of a large black slug Where? in Piccadilly, Manchester Our city hobgoblins They stay I say We cannot walk the floor at night in peace At night in peace At night in peace ME NOW.....So in closing I leave you with this thought. Tim knows his music. He perhaps makes several good points about MARK. He is undoubtedly a man with a strong sense of self. He may well have a large ego. He is unruly, disagreeable and contrarian in nature it would seem. I have never properly met the man so can't really be the judge of such matters. His empirical history provides us with one obvious elemental truth about Mr. Smith. He is a survivor. Plain and simple. In my view.... He is a working class success story from Manchester who succeeded through bloody minded persistence and self-belief. Begrudge him or commend him...Your choice. MARK COULD NOT CARE LESS either way I imagine. A genius ????? God knows. HIP PRIEST? (stolen from Burroughs...notebooks out plagiarists) No such thing. A haggard "speedy" snaggle toothed POET LAUREATE for the terminally disenfranchised. YES... I believe so. and a lot more besides when you really get into it....

Dispatch 27: MCL Welcomes DS Peligro to the label!

Dispatch 27: We are beyond excited to welcome DS Peligro to the ever-dysfunctional Music for closetLames family! From the moment we made contact via the mysterious ways of the internet (soundcloud in particular) we knew we had found a gem, a kindred spirit.
 A self-described AUDIO ADDICT!!! DS is legit from the start. As a kid in the early 70s he was recording everything from toilet flushes to construction sites to the bass guitar he pulled out of the garbage. And then layering sounds on an old reel-to-reel he salvaged from a fire.
At age 10 his dad gave him a CB Radio which he used to harrass local CBers with his very first radio program  "The Bubba Jones Show." Despite threats and near-constant attempts to triangulate his position, he was never discovered.  Then he moved on to dubbing cassettes and taping them to telephone poles. He was leaving them on the counters at local record stores.
In the early 80s, DS was quickly accepted into the tiny dark underground art scene. He had a 'highly unusual' setup of tape machines, effects units, a cheap synthesizer, and electric bass and one cymbal. His sound was raw, twisted, loud and distorted - so much so that he was often ushered out, and sometimes forcibly ejected from his own performances!
The late 80s were a mash-up of drugs, home recording, confusion, pirate radio (transmitted from his Mazda), and countless failed romances. Since then he's worked doing location sound and restoration for adult films, for radio stations (MARS FM 103.1), tv stations (KCBS, KTLA), and LA Theatre Works,
And he just can't stop! He's still recording!
 So head on over to his soundcloud page and take it all in! The quality and the pace of his output is stunning. Lots to hear. We will be including a couple DS Peligro tracks on our 2016 Music for closetLames sampler along with Her Majesty TheE Spleen, Palace Catfight, closetLames, Leather Pills and Solar Maximum. This year is gonna be hot!

Dispatch 26: First Solar Max and Trauma Collabo made Available!

Dispatch 26: We are very happy to announce a new collaboration project with sound artist Trauma in Germany. We met on Soundcloud and were instantly mutual fans. Trauma's offerings are a bit more electronically based than Solar Max and so we thought it might lead to a cool mashup! It has! Here is the first part of said mashup! Birthday Party is now beating like a heart! Trauma employs the Kaossilator on this exclusively. Take a listen and let us know what you think! More to come soon!

Dispatch 25: HMS Video Featured at CaliperMusic Blog!

John and Sammy of HMS.

Dispatch 25: We are very excited that the video for Her Majesty theE Spleen's track called Aunt Anxious was the featured video of the day on the CaliperMusic blog last Sat. Feb 6, 2016. John Middle of the Spleen (and ACME House of Music in Oakland) is at it again with some really intense psychedelic visuals accompanying the track recorded in early Jan. at HMS HQ by Emery Bored. There sure is plenty more where that came from on his Youtube channel and also here at soundcloud!
 Look out for some Her Majesty theE Spleen hitting the MCL bandcamp page later in the year.

Dispatch 24: Solar Max at Bay Area Band Show

Dispatch 24: Waking up to the sun shining brightly and the birds'a singing, we thought what a cool way to spend this afternoon, heading across the San Francisco bay to record a podcast with Steve O'Sullivan and his Bay Area Band Show, www.thebayareabandshow.com
  We talked about all kinds of stuff from what got us into music to how we make this music, technically speaking. Also touched on a bunch of other things that we have going on with the band, the album and the record label.
 Steve has been a huge fan of music his whole life, and as he was wondering how he could pursue these musical fascinations for himself and his children, his podcast was born. He doesn't play an instrument or sing but he does have the curiosity bug and the love of music. So the connection. The bridge. The Bay Area Band Show. Artists love to talk about ourselves and our projects and Steve loves to listen and learn! A match made in his garage studio. We talked for about an hour then wrapped it up. We are only his third band to come in and chat and he's in the process of putting a few podcasts together before going live on iTunes. We can't wait, Steve!

 He's also interested in talking with anyone about possibly being on his show so if you're interested, hit him up at steve@thebayareabandshow.com, he would dig that!

Dispatch 23: Heather Caught in Palace Catfight!

Heather Salazar of Solar Max and Palace catfight owning the bass!

Dispatch 23: We have started re-mixing a few Palace Catfight (a project of Heather's) tracks to be included on the Music for closetLames sampler this spring. Look for a sneak peek on our soundcloud page coming up very soon.
 Palace Catfight is a project Heather has worked on and off for many yrs. Vocalizing over loopy analog beats that we've created together with an old keyboard rhythm thing along with screamin gtr and bass.  Lyrics about confusion, defiance and chaos. Rhythms reminiscent of Sleaford Mods in their repeatative nature.
 Watch for this, its gonna kick-ass!

Dispatch 22: Solar Max on Feel Guide Comp Vol.5 by Caliper Music Blog

Dispatch 22: Solar Maximum is on the new Feel Guide Comp Vol.5 (with killer artwork by Zena) put out by the experimental music blog Caliper Music at their Bandcamp store. We are in very good company on this comp with the likes of Comfort Food, a really interesting track by Feather Beds, a Conrad Burnham track and so much more. If your interested, its a free download.
 We are also on the DroningEarth #73 Comp released by the Droning Earth Blog late last year, and its also a free download.
 Both of these blogs have lots to look at and discover. Caliper Music leans more towards the more experimental music side of life, while Droning Earth leans towards the darker, metal and experimental side of life. Solar Max is very happy to inhabit all sides of life!

Dispatch 21: El Pipe in studio with Solar Maximum!

El Pipe, Sammy and Heather after the session.

Dispatch 21:We had a great time in the (home) studio when El Pipe (Zoe') came by to hang out and add drums to some previously recorded Solar Max. A really great way to cap off 2015.
 After rolling thru a few times and then lunch, Heather and I strapped on the basses, Pipe climbed behind the kit (thanks Steve M.) for a Solar Maximum event. Epic! Felt good to jam with my old pal. Heather was in classic form.
 Look for these recordings to become available later this year at our Bandcamp page and all the usual digital music stores.

El Pipe and Heather laying it down at MCLscreenworks.

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