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Daevid Allen's University Of Errors:
Ugly Music For Monica
Audiocrash
The British-French-Australian gang
of Gong should've been a frequent guest
here at Luna Kafé. They're the only
band I know of concerned about the whereabouts
of the moon when planning their gig
schedule. They tend to start tours and
other major events at the strike of
the full moon. Daevid Allen is the most
vital part of Gong, but he is involved
in numerous other projects as well.
University Of Errors is Professor Allen's
current American band, established in
1998.
Ugly Music For Monica is the faculty's
third recorded effort. I bought a pre-release
copy when the band visited Oslo earlier
this term. By now it's been given a
proper release. So far I haven't found
the name of the record company. My copy
says AudiocrashCD01; the real release
has catalogue number Errz 003. Maybe
it's a GAS release (Gong Appreciation
Society)? At least you can buy it from
them. Whereas Gong is a hippie-dippie
eccentric gang, according to Prof. Allen
'University Of Errors is an aggressive
political anti capitalist rock band
& does not always give out positive
vibes. It is more punk than hippy and
in it I work with dissonance & shadow.
I see this band as art as a mirror.
Reflecting back the ugliness of the
world.'
To me their gig at Oslo's So What!
club was more refreshing than the Gong
gigs at the same spot a year earlier.
UoE was a confident, young and potent
gang. Especially UoE's lead guitarist
Josh Pollock who uses a left-handed
technique similar of Hendrix's, but
simpler - I guess - and more aggressive.
Some songs - "Rich Men Eat My Voice"
and "Patapan" in particular
- remind of early British punk bands
like Vibrators or even Sex Pistols.
"Wage Slave" might have been
a glam-hit with T. Rex 30 years ago.
"Skulls Of Our Enemies" is
a standard semi-heavy rock instrumental,
if ever there was one. But there are
quieter moments as well. "So What"
(little to do with the aforementioned
club, I guess), "Moo?" and
"If You Die" are probably
the closest tracks to eccentric Gong,
though lyricwise more down to earth,
whereas "Mystico Fanatico"
and "Earthbound" are somewhere
in between. The old Gong song "Pot
Headed Pixie" (here retitled "PHP
2032") and Kevin Ayers' "Clarence
In Wonderland" (also performed
while he was part of the Gong collective
around 1971) are given rough treatments,
the latter closer to Velvet Underground
than anything else. But most songs are
not that straight forward after all.
Many include lengthy instrumental parts,
mainly guitar driven that owe more from
psychedelia than punk which make the
songs more interesting and the album
last longer.
Prof. Allen sounds as vital here
as ever. Although he soon ought to be
ready for retirement (he's more than
60 years old) his creativity doesn't
seem to have weakened. It might have
something to do with the musicians he
collaborates with as well, I guess.
Anyway, enrolment at the University
Of Errors might not be your biggest
mistake. And you don't need to do a
Jumping Jack Flash to get in touch with
GAS
or check out the University's own home
page.
Copyright
© 2002 JP
University Of Errors - "Ugly Music For Monica"
(WEED Records 2003, weed
7912)
I've been a fan of Daevid Allen's music for nearly 30 years, but it wasn't
until Gong came through Cleveland in 1999 that I got to see him perform live.
I've had the good fortune of seeing him twice since then - once with University
Of Errors and once again with Gong - and I have to say that he is responsible
for some of the most purely FUN shows I have ever seen. Honestly, in addition to
cranking out fantastic and completely cosmic music, the man is an absolute blast
in live performance. And this sense of fun is clearly communicated on the new
University Of Errors CD, Ugly Music For Monica.
The opening track, "Skulls Of Our Enemies", starts off like we're going to be
in heavy metal heaven. But it soon launches into a quirky but brain crushing
rocker of an instrumental that sets the tone for this crunchy rocking album that
includes all the circus-like hallmarks of a Daevid Allen performance. Daevid and
Josh Pollack are a guitar duo force to be reckoned with, and along with the
rhythm section of Michael Clare on bass and Jason Mills on drums, they crank out
blazing rock that is just as head banging as it is thoughtful.
"Wage Slave" and "Mystico Fanatico" are equally searing rockers with robotic
rhythms and classic Daevid lyrics. "Earthbound" is similar, and one of my
favorite tracks, being a rockin Gong and Beefheart blend of heavy, humorous
progressive rock. "Rich Men Eat My Voice" is a riotous slab of progressive space
punk. "Php 2032" is the 2032 futuristic version of Gong's Pothead Pixies. "Moo?"
is a classic Gong styled tune. Ditto for "If You Die", on which we're also
treated to some tasty cosmic glissando guitar. Probably the most purely spaced
out song of the set. We're also treated to a cover of Kevin Ayers' "Clarence In
Wonderland".
But my hands down favorite is "So What?", which begins very much in the Gong
mold, and even has a jazzy feel, but a few minutes into the song the bubbling
space guitars start to meltdown, and the music dances about as a tripped out,
off-kilter, dark and mysterious avant-prog construction. What's really
interesting is that the song is credited to Allen and Miles Davis, "So What"
being a track from Miles' classic Kind Of Blue album, though this version takes
the basic riff and turns it into something totally belonging to University Of
Errors.
In summary, this is by far the most balls out rockin set the faculty have
released yet. Over 30 years after the inception of Gong, Daevid Allen is still
rocking out, clowning around, and standing tall as an inspiration to us all. Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz
DAEVID ALLEN'S UNIVERSITY OF ERRORS
- Ugly Music 4 Monica (WEED Records
7912) On this one Daevid picks his guitar
and sings, Josh Pollock plays guitar,
piano, bass & megaphone, Michael
Clare on bass, Jason Mills on drums
with Nicoletta Stephanz on theremin
& wand and Tony Maimone on keys.
This fab studio effort was recorded
in Brooklyn and released in 2003, but
we just a promo recently and didn't
know that it even existed. Mostly originals
by the band with a few covers like Miles'
"So What", Kevin Ayers' "Clarence
in Wonderland" and a traditional
song called "patapan". Opening
with a heavy tribal jam called "skulls
of our enemies", with more layers
of wailing guitars. Daevid tells it
like it is on the aptly titled "wage
slave" and "mystico fanatico",
hitting the target straight on, poking
fun at the mass of sheep who don't question
things and at ourselves for not doing
enough to change things. Allen adds
some his spooky voice and words of caution
to Miles' "So What", slows
down and twists the melody inside-out.
Daevid loves to takes some of old songs
and rock them up even more like on,
"php 2032" (as in pothead
pixie). On "earthbound" the
group take us on a great space jam with
lots of swirling sounds sailing in a
hypnotic haze, eventually bringing into
another alien world with that bass throbbing
and the guitar (and theremin?) glowing
and droning as Daevid plays some cosmic
glissando. A nice version of Ayers'
early gem, "clarence in wonderland",
brings things to groovy end, while that
traditional tune is heavy version of
a folk tune, with a grinding riff at
the center of the storm. Perhaps not
as great as 'Jet Propelled Photograph',
but still pretty nifty. - BLG
Daevid Allen's
University of Errors: Uglymusic.4.monica
A Star Trek gnome giving you a two-fingered
salute, blistering asymmetrical funkin',
brine for the skulls of your enemies.
This University is eviscerating in a
refreshing way. Led by the Soft Machine
and Gong founder, there's an English
air and rambling logic to this ugly
music that includes lost families and
lost jobs, humpty dumpty dykes, and
bubbles of security. Josh Pollock's
endlessly prickly, beautiful guitar
is a veritable smorgasbord of string
subtleties. He also plays megaphone
and produced the whole wonderful mess.
"Wage Slave" revels in noisy
anthemic repetition with a purpose before
reeling off towards a finger bending
complexity. There's the gentle, slippery
irregular heartbeat trundle of "If
You Die," a bang up cover of Kevin
Ayers' "Clarence In Wonderland"
and an amped take on Brit bar staple
"Patapan." Pere Ubu alumni
Tony Maimone throws in some nifty keys
and Nicoletta Stephanz palms some dorktastic
Theremin. The good news is there's a
new record with more of the same but
different coming later this year. Goody!
splendid > reviews > 10/13/2003Daevid Allen's University of Errors
: Ugly Music.4.Monica
The
prog-rock family tree spawned by the
Soft Machine and Gong (sometimes referred
to as the Canterbury scene) is as intricate
and involved as any save Hawkwind, and
it requires that peculiar combination
of perspicacity and obsessive perversity
typically found in dungeon masters and
comic-book collectors to keep up with
all its twists and turns. In short,
if you have never watched a Star Trek
spin-off, heard a King Crimson album
or rolled out hit point damage, you
probably need not apply here. This album
features sexagenarian Daevid Allen,
one of Gong's founding members, playing
some chunky, guitar-heavy space rock
interspersed with some screwy tempo
changes, some free-form instrumental
jams, and some ranting about pot-smoking
pixies and the state of our oligarchy.
"So What?" slowly congeals
into a pleasantly skewed cover of the
Miles Davis classic from Kind of Blue,
complete with a set of politicized lyrics
and a syrupy wah-wah solo, while "Earthbound"
plays like one of Guided By Voices'
proggier moments until it detours into
a loose jam of synth farts, siren-like
sound effects and guitar dismantling.
That kind of unpredictability is what
makes Ugly Music.4.Monica such a bracing
listen; it's so consistently surprising
that you are willing to overlook the
absurdist experiments that don't work,
such as the barnyard silliness of the
anti-frankenfood anthem "Moo?"
and the Autotuner-gone-crazy ramblings
of the creepy metaphysical reflection
"If You Die". These missteps
don't undermine the overall feeling
of unfettered creativity, the sense
that the musicians are following their
instincts and not a marketing strategy.
The fact that this was recorded in Brooklyn
and that Pere Ubu keyboardist Tony Maimone
plays on it should not mislead you into
thinking that it's avant-garde, post-punk,
or in any way appropriate to load into
a iPod for a L-train ride to Williamsburg.
But if you've made peace with your inner
dork, Ugly Music.4.Monica just might
be for you.
Rob
Horning
Daevid Allen's University Of Errors:Ugly Music 4 Monica
Il y a eu Soft Machine, puis Gong
et de nombreux autres groupes cosmiques
en fait... Depuis 30 ans Daevid Allen
est toujours à la pointe de l'activisme
politico-psychédélique et il sortait
en 2003 le troisième album de son nouveau
groupe, The University Of Errors, à
géométrie variable. Et surprise, Daevid
Allen, qui à plus de 60 ans, est désormais
beaucoup plus punk qu'hippie, et toujours
adepte d'une musique des plus acides:
on croit entendre un croisement entre
le Velvet Undergound, Gong, les Sex
Pistols et Mushroom!!! bon, les disques
on les trouve chez Weed Records, donc,
mais les champignons alors, on les trouve
où?
Translation: There was Soft Machine, then Gong and many other cosmic
bands in fact.... since 30 years, Daevid Allen is always ahead of his time and
at the edge of politico-psychedelism. In 2003, he released a third album of his
new band The University of Errors with varied line-ups (?!). And surprise,
Daevid Allen, who is more than 60 years old, is now more punk than hippie, and
always adept of one of the most "acid" music: we feel like listening to a
croospoint of Velvet Underground, Gong, Sex Pistols and Mushroom. Well, CDs are
available at Weed records, but the mushrooms, where could we find them?
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