Unplugged Summer 1987: For Collectors Only

by Disism

Disism =

Charles Rice Goff III
and
Killr "Mark" Kaswan


In early 1987, Disism performed publicly a couple of times without its Frippertronics-style tape loop system (without any electronics whatsoever in fact). The success of these performances inspired Goff and Kaswan to work up a set for public performance which was comprised of acoustic interpretations of their electronic compositions. Disism rehearsed these interpretations a few times during the summer of 1987, but no acoustic set of Disism’s electronic compositions was ever presented to the public.

While several of Disism's acoustic practice sessions were crudely recorded with a portable cassette deck, only one survived over the years in playable condition. This one session, in fact, was the very first of these acoustic rehearsals. The actual date of the session was not written down, and the recording itself is so riddled with hiss and the sound of wind blowing into the microphone that it best can be considered "for collectors only." However, there is a charm about this recording that transcends its poor sound quality, and, thus, it is archived here purely for its historical values.

Tracks 1-11 were recorded outside, in the "backyard" behind the Taped Rugs Oakland studio on Telegraph Avenue (more specifically, behind The Robert L. Brackett Company at 43rd Street and Telegraph). The Brackett family was particularly tolerant of the noises created by Goff and his associates, and in this case, so were the residents of the apartments above the backyard, who were fully exposed to Disism's activities that day (and on many other days as well). Tracks 12-13 were recorded with the same portable cassette recorder inside the Taped Rugs studio.

These recordings have not been re-processed to remove their hisses, wind noises, automobile sounds, aircraft sounds, or even the sounds of Goff's pet finches (Bozie and Bumbi). The banter that goes on between Goff and Kaswan as they evaluate their acoustic performances gives this archive a unique and personal flair that other Disism recordings cannot provide. Most of Disism's conceptual and notated pieces from 1986 and mid 1987 are presented (attempted) in this set, as well as a few improvisations:

1 Space Swing Music (Improvisation)
2 Bart In D Lydian
3 Freeway
4 God Bless America (Berlin)
5 Two Plus Two
6 What You Call Jesus Christ
7 It Doesn't Matter
8 Pop Goes The Crack, Mac, Spider In The Dell
9 Love And Hate
10 Space 101/Red Finger Aspect
11 Asbestos I Can
12 Improvisation/Let's Take A Ride In The Automobile
13 Improvisation

This archive has never (up until June, 2009, at least) previously been released to the public by Taped Rugs Productions or by any other recording label. However, edits of these improvisations and a warped recording of this version of "Freeway" were mixed into the piece entitled: "Howl Coming Out Of A Yawn," released by Taped Rugs in 1990 on the cassette album: "Quakewalk."

copyright 1986, 1987, 1990

by Taped Rugs Productions

www.geocities.com/padukem




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