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Canzoni di pazzia e morte

by Jason Beers

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Misterioso 04:00
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Pulsazioni 04:19
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about

     At the beginning of this year, following the success of her (literal) smash hit album series Having a Marfy Xmas!!!, renowned tympanist Mrs. Helen Marf was given carte blanche for her next recording project by Quilt Records president Clancy Snarrup. “I’m convinced Mrs. Marf can’t hit a sour note!”, boasted Snarrup, adding with a wink, “and she’s really cute.” Nineteen-seventy-four happens to be the 15th anniversary of the death of Mrs. Marf’s friend and fellow Quilt Records artist, piano wizard Jumbo “Puny” O’Dainty. Feeling that a tribute of some kind was in order, Mrs. Helen Marf searched through the memos, letters, records and reels of tape contained in a row of messy file cabinets the Quilt office staff fondly referred to as “Jumbobilia”.
One perfectly preserved acetate disc she found captured her attention. In O’Dainty’s inimitable hand, the label bore the legend, “Piano track rec’d 8/2/59 for Hassell Clark, Mer Rouge, La”. O’Dainty, to the shock of fans everywhere, passed away suddenly in September of 1959, and the disc was never mailed to the mysterious Mr. Clark. After some diligent sleuthing, Mrs. Helen Marf contacted Ford Hassell Clark, Jr., a cotton farmer and gin operator who had a secret hobby of composing electronic music. Tape and sound manipulation, looping, found sounds, modular synthesizers, etc. were all colors in his musical palette.
Mr. Clark and Mrs. Marf hit it off on the phone. Clark invited Mrs. Helen Marf for a visit, not only to hand-deliver Jumbo “Puny” O’Dainty’s precious acetate, but also to collaborate on some new recordings. A trailer full of kettle drums, along with the Quilt Records Mobile Unit truck, piloted by engineer/driver Fletcher Munson, pulled up in front of the Clark home in late April. The visitors were greeted with fresh pecan pie and ice cream by Mary “Bunte” Clark, who kept her husband and all the crew well-fed for the duration of the recording. On hand for many of the sessions was one Melvin R. Daniels, Quilt Records’ Sales and Distribution Manager for the Ark-La-Miss region. “Folks, we ah hearin’ Quilt Rekkuds’ fuyst MILLION SELLAH!,” he was often heard to exclaim at the end of a take.
In mid-June, Mrs. Helen Marf arrived back in Fresno and delivered several reels of tape to Clancy Snarrup who, upon first listen, declared, “This is the future of music!”  He wasted no time, working round the clock with engineer Munson to sequence, master and press the album you now hold in your hands.
And so, listener, dig in to a sonic feast and decide for yourself: is this truly the future of music? Only time will tell, of course—but this reporter would not be surprised if, 40 or 50 years from now, all of today’s kids, and their children, as well, will have traded in their rock and roll guitars for kettle drums and tape splicing gear. And what a wonderful world that would be.
--Amorphous Lagbolt Happenstance IV
Music Critic and Swap Shop Editor
Peculiar (Mo.) Post-Progress-Picayune
September 31, 1974

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released May 1, 2019

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Jason Beers Kansas City, Missouri

Jason Beers is a Kansas City, Kansas native. He's been playing for well over 35 years. Primarily a bass player, in acts such as The Brannock Device, Dead Voices, Scott Hrabko, The Ants, occasionally Freight Train Rabbit Killer, and many more, Jason Beers also plays solo clawhammer banjo gigs. ... more

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