Know Yer Artist: Jim Shepard

Artist: Jim Shepard

Bands
Creature
Ego Summit
Lacquer
Phantom Limb
Skullbank
Snooks
V-3
Vertical Slit

Releases
1977 - Slit and Pre-Slit album (Not On Label)
1987 - Jagged Flash album (Old Age/New Age)
1991 - No Big Deal album (Iron Press)
1991 - Amsterdam album (Iron Press)
1991 - Whiskey Priest With A Master Plan (Iron Press)
1991 - The Folk City Aztec Drama Series: Volume One album (Iron Press)
1995 - Picking Through The Wreckage With A Stick album (Siltbreeze)
1995 - Morphine Monogram album (Iron Press)
1995 - Evil Deeper Love album (Thrill Jockey)
1995 - The Folk City Aztec Drama Series: Volume Two album (Iron Press)
1996 - The Evil Twin album (Iron Press)
1996 - Plays The Songs Of Kim Fowley - The Hollywood Hills Are Alive And Well 7" single (Anopheles)
1998 - Motorcycle Movie album (Iron Press)
1998 - Collisions compilation album (Iron Press)
2001 - The Dispossessed w/Charles Cicirella album (Shrimper)
2009 - The Voices Of Men 7" single (Columbus Discount Records)
2010 - V-3 Next Album (Not On Label)
2018 - The Letter Tapes album (Feeding Tube Records)
2019 - Heavy Action album (Ever/Never)

Know Yer Artist: Sam Esh

Artist: Sam Esh

Releases
1994 - Montezuma Baby Duck ‎album as Sam Esh + Hard Black Thing (Siltbreeze)
Unknown - Sammy Sails Sings cassette (Old Age/No Age)
Unknown - Jack of Diamonds cassette (Old Age/No Age)

New Jim Shepard Compilation Available

It's not often I get to post about current events or new releases, but here is one that is very relevant to the project: ever/never records has a new compilation of Jim Shepard rarities titled Heavy Action. Here are the details from Tom Lax of Siltbreeze:

When Charles and Josh tapped me to spill some ink for this project, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. Culled from Charles’s vast personal collection, the contents herein abide no formality and as such, ushers forth an insider’s take into Jim’s frantic, restless genius you’ll not likely find again. Timelines? What are you, some kinda cop? It’s fresh ears all around on this one, folks, none of this material has seen the light of day till now. It twitches, it grunts, it flares, and it soars. It ain’t no one type’ve nothin’, unless that’s Loaded. In my king fu village, this pivotal document to the blood spilt across the floor of an iconoclastic career is right up there with the Velvets, Caught Between The Twisted Stars, Beefheart’s, Grow Fins & those Blorp Essette comps. Who knows if the official vaults will ever be opened? And even if, what you’d likely get is the known entities anyway, trussed up in new boots ’n’ panties. This is mud fresh from the private swamp. And as you’ll soon find out, Jim could make it crackle. 

- Tom Lax, Philadelphia, Pa 3/15/19, From the liner notes, "BRING ME THE MOUSTACHE OF BERNADINE DOHRN"

One Base On An Overthrow blog: I Know You're Dying But I've Got Feelings Too

Back in 2013, the One Base On An Overthrow blog wrote about The Yips, which was covered in the Brushback zine put out by the author in the 90s. Here's some of that:

The Yips were one of my favorite bands from the 90's; Gilmore Tamny gave really cool interviews (the one in the Matador zine about the clock radio falling down and playing the Kinks was pretty funny, at least) and "The Blue Flannel Bathrobe Butterfly" was right snazzy, even though I had it on CD, which was how almost everything was made back in the late '90s. Once the Aughts rolled around, making things easier to find, you weren't stuck with just Tim Adams' bullshit catalog or whatever, I ordered a copy on vinyl from Siltbreeze, although they dithered around with my order and sent me "Bonfire in a Dixie Cup" instead. Not that I minded, I mean, it's a great album, too. Probably even better.

New Additions: 1000% Fox / 9 x 11 seven inch single by The Yips

The first thing I was able to grab by The Yips was their 1995 seven inch single 1000% Fox / 9 x 11 released on Siltbreeze. This deep into researching the book and history of Columbus music, and it is quite interesting how much music Siltbreeze put out in the 90s by Columbus bands for not being a Columbus based label. The Yips are pretty raw here, but the melodies and evolution that would take place over their next three albums are pretty evident.

Know Yer Band: The Yips

Band: The Yips

Members
Guitar, Vocals – Gilmore Tamny
Drums – Jon Davidson

Releases
1995 - 1000% Fox / 9 x 11 7" single (Siltbreeze)
1995 - Bonfire In A Dixie Cup album (Siltbreeze)
1997 - The Blue Flannel Bathrobe Butterfly album (Siltbreeze)
1999 - The Seven Pillars Of The Yips album (Menlo Park Recordings)

Know Yer Band: Times New Viking

Band: Times New Viking

Members
Elizabeth Murphy - Keyboards, Vocals
Jared Phillips - Guitar, Vocals
Adam Elliott - Drums

Releases
2004 - We Were High We Were Not High album (300%)
2005 - Busy Making Love & War 7" single (Columbus Discount Records)
2005 - Dig Yourself album (Siltbreeze)
2005 - We Got Rocket single (300%)
2006 - Present The Paisley Reich album (Siltbreeze)
2006 - Imagine Dead John Lennon single (300%)
2006 - Split w/Psychedelic Horseshit 7" EP (300%)
2006 - Little Amps single (300%)
2007 - My Head 7" single (Matador)
2008 - Stay Awake 7" EP (Matador)
2008 - Rip It Off album (Matador)
2008 - Shred Yr Face Tour split 7" single (Shred Yr Face)
2009 - Born Again Revisited album (Matador)
2009 - Split w/Axemen 7" single (300%/Sleek Bott)
2009 - Move To California 7" single (Matador)
2010 - No Room To Live 7" single (Times New Viking)
2010 - No Time No Hope 7" single (Oslo Grammofon)
2011 - Dancer Equired! album (Merge Records)
2012 - Over & Over 7" single (Siltbreeze)

Know Yer Band: Gibson Bros

Band: Gibson Bros

Members
Vocal/Guitar/Banjo - Jeffrey Evans
Guitar/Vocals/Bass/Drums - Don "Chet" Howland
Guitar - Dan Dow
Drums - Ellen Hoover/Cristina Martinez/Rick Lilash
Guitar - Jon Spencer/Jack Taylor

Releases
1986 - Keepers 7" single (Okra Records)
1986 - Build A Raft album (Old Age)
1987 - Big Pine Boogie album (Okra Records)
1989 - Dedicated Fool album (Homestead Records)
1990 - Emulsified 7" single (Siltbreeze)
1990 - The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing album (Homestead Records)
1990 - Southbound 7" single (Glitterhouse Records)
1990 - Split album w/Workdogs, Punk Rock Truck Drivin' Son Of A Gun (Homestead Records)
1991 - Mean Mistreater 7" single (Homestead Records)
1991 - My Huckleberry Friend 7" single (Giant Claw)
1991 - White N*gger 7" single (Sympathy For The Record Industry)
1992 - Knock Down My Blues 7" single (In The Red Recordings)
1993 - Memphis Sol Today! album (Sympathy For The Record Industry)
1996 - Columbus Soul 85 album (In The Red Recordings)

Magnet Magazine - 15 In Philly: Siltbreeze Records

Although not a Columbus label, Siltbreeze out of Philadelphia is an important supporter of the Columbus music scene going back decades, with ties that bind the Gibson Bros. and Times New Viking. Magnet Magazine provided a nice primer on the label in 2009, here is some of that:

Siltbreeze’s aesthetic was all over the stylistic and geographical map, from the cracked country of Ohio’s Gibson Bros. to the overloaded Philly skronk of Blue. The label’s biggest finds, however, were avant-garde New Zealand artists such as Alastair Galbraith and the Dead C. 

“New Zealand was churning out all sorts of strange and personal folk and noise music that no one was paying attention to in the early ’90s,” says Jay Hinman, editor of music zine Superdope. “Siltbreeze got the Dead C stuff out in America first, and over the next few years, people really started taking notice.”

New Additions: Under The Blood Red Lava Lamp album by Vertical Slit

Digging into the various releases and projects of Jim Shepard has been an interesting experience. The music is far more experimental and avant-garde than anything I'm used to as a music listener. While a number of discoveries have tipped me to new favorites, I'm still getting used to Shepard's work, such as the 1986 album Under The Blood Red Lava Lamp by Vertical Slit, which was originally released as a cassette on Old Age, but re-released on Siltbreeze in 1999 on CD with additional tracks.

Know Yer Band: V-3

Band: V-3

Members
Vocals/Guitar - Jim Shepard
Vocals/Guitar - Roxanne Newman
Bass/Keys - Nudge Squidfish / Leland Cain
Drums - Rudy Smith / Dave Mikula / Sam Brown

Releases
1991 - Psychic Dance Hall album (Ropeburn)
1991 - Monsters Of Hollywood 7" ep (Iron Press)
1991 - The Earth Muffin 7" ep (Siltbreeze)
1992 - Negotiate Nothing album (Ropeburn)
1995 - Evil Love Deeper (w/Jim Shepard, V-3, Lacquer, etc.) album (Thrill Jockey)
1995 - W.N.U.R. Chicago Radio Show album (Iron Press)
1995 - American Face / Son Of Sam Donaldson 7" single (Anyway Records)
1995 - Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" ep (Birdman Records)
1996 - Photograph Burns album (Onion Records)
1996 - Elevator To The Gas Chamber ‎7" ep (Spirit of Orr)
1997 - Live '97 album (Old Age / No Age)
1997 - Launchpad Explosion 2x7" single (Spare Me Records)
1997 - The Other Side Of Darkness ‎compilation album (Not On Label)
1998 - Pimping In The 90's (Action Painting #Ninety-Eight) ‎album (Iron Press)
2014 - Live At Bernie's '97 album (Not On Label)

New Additions: Magic Flowers Droned by Psychedelic Horseshit

My ten-year run in bands ended in Columbus right around when the lo-fi "shitgaze" bands started popping circa 2007 and 2008. I'll admit that, first time around, I was completely oblivious to Times New Viking, Psychedelic Horseshit and others that were making waves in Columbus in the mid-2000s. Thankfully, due to his project I've been able to go back and start reassessing the whole scene, including the first album from Psychedelic Horseshit, 2007's Magic Flowers Droned on Siltbreeze, a long-running label out of Philadelphia that has been home to number of Columbus bands. The music is decidedly not for everyone, yet my I've found my musical tastes expanded rather than contracting as I get older, and even through dense patches of atonal noise, there is some really fascinating melody in the chaos. Again, not for your average listener, but if lo-fi is your thing, worth checking out.

Know Yer Band: Psychedelic Horseshit

Band: Psychedelic Horseshit

Members
Bass/Keys – Jason Roxas
Vocals/Guitar/Keys – Matt "Horseshit" Whitehurst
Drums – "Psychedelic" Rich Johnston
Percussion/Samples - Ryan Jewell
Bass - Michael Bray

Releases
2006 - 7" single Who Let The Dogs Out? (Columbus Discount Records)
2006 - 7" split single w/Times New Viking (300%)
2007 - Magic Flowers Droned album (Siltbreeze)
2008 - Magic Flowers Dubbed album (bumtapes)
2008 - 7" single New Wave Hippies (Half Machine Records)
2009 - 2x7" single Too Many Hits (Columbus Discount Records)
2009 - 12" EP Shitgaze Anthems (Woodsist)
2009 - Golden Oldies compilation album (Wasted Vinyl Records)
2010 - Acid Tape EP (Fan Death Records)
2011 - Laced album (FatCat Records)