Litany: Music News Covering Skinny Puppy, Download, ohGr and Related Projects

We're all waiting to hear something from the new ohGr material and we're going to have to keep waiting. But a few images from a "studio work pause" this month have been added to the Ocular section of ohGr.org. Thanks to the many folks who emailed about this one. Enjoy.

The new collaborative project of Phil Western and Mark Spybey, Beehatch is now shipping from Lens Records around the world. According to Mark, the pair are already working on their second album.

Coincidentally, both members have some live material newly available to you for free. Check out Phil's site for a free download of a complete recent live performance. On Spybey's end, his Dead Voices on Air Live album is available this month on CD for free from Invisible Records right here.

EDIT::: apparently the free DVOA offer has ended, but the album is still worth checking out.

Surprise, surprise. On the heels of The Secret Experiment, cEvin Key recently announced the completion of a brand new Tear Garden album with Edward Ka-Spel. He took some time out from preparing for a return trip to Japan to give us some details:::

I am retracing some old steps with past host family members going back 30 years and 4 close friends of mine. Going to photo document / sample as much as possible (been thinking about this for years). I was actually busy saving money to move back to Japan once and for all in 1980 to take a job with Fuji Tv as a music correspondent when I fell into my musical career. I did return 15 years ago, and met Yukihiro Takahashi from YMO, one of my musical inspirations. But this time we will travel to the sacred 3 Buddahs of Japan in Nara, Kamakura, and the biggest in southern Chiba and to Mt Fuji.

Recently I was listening to some of the first recordings of the Pink Dots and it reminded me of how for several years I could have been the moderator of a LPD site I was SO into them. I had sent a few fan letters and I can easily recall why when I listen to these LPs: Brighter Now, Curse, The Tower.

It was amazing recently to have an experience where Edward wanted to come hang out in California and just chill and see what came up. I was surprised to see a few days where 2 or 3 songs ideas were being put down. I haven't seen that since the old days to be honest. We had a friend loan us some choice mics and I was amazed at Edwards voice, as usual again, years later, now sitting with him in the room. He really is a genius. We would make a song idea with the most primitive means we could to get that human old school feel. Have been working a lot with a monome 128 and max msp, so we have some different palettes. Edward has always has pen in hand, with notebook. I remember visiting Teotihuacan Mexico with him,and in the splendor of witnessing the pyramids Edward had pen to paper. It seems that within a few minutes he has a vision of what he wants and where the trip will take us. Often within a hour he would say "Ok I am ready to lay down the words." It's now when I listen back a week later with Ken Marshall that I hear that the lyrics again are from that mind, that brilliant person to whom I have been such a fan for so long. That was fun, but now I am hearing the words hit me instead of looking at the recording levels, and it hits me how fortunate we are to be celebrating our 22nd year being friends, but that the music has always kept us ticking!

The title is currently Have a Nice Trip, and it isn't finished mixing. We are wondering what to do to make this as special as possible for the final mixes. We will have this ready for pre-xmas on Subconscious.

Currently Ken, Otto and I have been finishing a Library "SCARED" with Scaremeister that has been our priority to finish first, but we have also been composing the new Skinny Puppy at the same time, and have a few nice ones so far for this that we are excited about as well. So busy!

This break going to Japan will be nice and provide the new inspiration for the second half of the recording/mixing year for Skinny Puppy and The Tear Garden and the SCARED library...and other surprises!!!

Phil Western has provided some further details on the forthcoming remastered and expanded edition of the 1994 album Beam Error from his Floatpoint project with Dan Handrabur:::

The cd is packaged in beautiful new artwork by Simon Paul, and features a BONUS CD with the following tracks:

Over Theirs - an unreleased Floatpoint track
Acid Jam - the 45 minute live set by Phil Western, Dan Handrabur, and Dwayne Goettel
Witch Hunt - an unreleased song by Phil Western and Dwayne Goettel
Acid Painting - an unreleased Floatpoint track
On the way out - an unreleased Floatpoint track.
Bonus CD running time - 74 minutes!

Beam Error and the unreleased material is being mastered by Frankie Pett.

As of now, the CD will be available in limited quantities. Thank you for orders already placed!

TO ORDER - please send 25 dollars through Paypal to musicatdhsound@gmail.com

The CD is set to ship this Saturday. Phil says that there's not many of this edition left uncalled for, but it may see a repress it at some point in the future.

A website has just been launched for the American Memory film project of William Morrison and Justin Bennett complete with a trailer. Though still somewhat cryptic, a poke around the site reveals links to some of the source material. Visit the site and watch the trailer here.

And in other Puppy related film news, Bill Piper notes that a website for the upcoming Repo: the Genetic Opera starring Ogre has popped up. Watch the trailer and other goodies right here.

People have been asking me for ages, "What happened to the Song of the Week feature? I loved that," to which I'd coyly reply that I was busy working on something even better. It has been a long time coming but it's finally here. We're debuting a new feature here on Litany for your reading pleasure: Litany Liner Notes. Think of it as an online version of the stuff that's normally squeezed into a tiny a booklet inside the package these days.

We're taking an in-depth look at the making of the classic album by Puppy-project Doubting Thomas, The Infidel. cEvin Key has quite generously granted us some exclusive insights into the record that has just been reissued as a deluxe 2CD edition as part of From the Vault 2. As if that weren't enough, we've even got some comments from Simon Paul about his graphic design for the album, touches of which now grace these pages. All in all I think it's one of the most exciting things to come out of Litany yet. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it. And let us know what you think. Maybe we'll do more?

My thanks to all of those who contributed and helped, and especially to Mish for making this happen.

Read it here

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS AN APRIL FOOL'S DAY JOKE:. THAT MEANS IT IS NOT REAL, TRUE, OR ANY COMBINATION THEREOF:::

Well folks, it's going to break my heart to do this. But I need to part with one of my most prized possessions. As some of you may know, I've been having some rough times financially lately (radio isn't what it used to be), so I'm going to have to sell my original copy of Back and Forth Series 1, the Puppy's first handmade cassette and one of the most sought after collector's items out there. To make it even more special, this is copy number 23, a one-of-a-kind error pressing on which cEvin accidentally taped a bit of a Culture Club album after Edge of Insanity. Owning this unique piece of Puppy history has made me feel special for many years. Now it's someone else's turn.

As you all probably know, I'm no fan of Epay, so I'm going to do this the old fashioned way. Email me your bid. The tape will go to the highest bidder. I'm going to start the bidding at $900 (US) to make sure this only goes to a true fan. Serious inquiries only please.

German fans will want to take note of this upcoming performance featuring Mark Spybey (Download, Reformed Faction, Beehatch). I'll let him explain:::

I think German Litany readers may be interested in a performance I am involved with in Dresden on March 25th at the famous Societatstheater.

I am appearing as part of the Dresden band Scatology in a theatre piece about Antonin Artaud.

It's a piece of live music, with theatrical elements, film and I saw them do this in Berlin when they supported Reformed Faction and it blew me away.

I'm playing percussion.

I know there are lots of Puppy fans in Eastern Germany and I believe they would enjoy this show.

And here's the official word on the show:::

Absolut A!

"Who am I? Where do I come from? I am Antonin Artaud. "

This performance is based on the life of Antonin Artaud, who according to author Stephen Barber, "was one of the great cultural legends of the twentieth century. His Theatre of Cruelty changed the course of modern theatre, and his involvement with the Surrealist movement has inspired modern theatre in Europe and America. But Artaud’s life was one of terrible failure and confrontation, an exploration of the extremes of agony and joy."

Scatology act as spokespersons for Artaud’s legacy. This performance is insistent and engaging, with reckless speech, sound escapades and vulnerable melodies. Weird, demanding, striking.

Music, Vocals, Speech, Performance: Mark Spybey and Scatology

Video Projection: Anna Kasten

Dance Performance: Glorianna Belladonna

For more info visit scatology.de and societaetstheater.de.

It's a bit of a quiet time for Puppy news, but there's a ton of miss-it-and-be-sorry new music coming our way from their associates.

Firstly, the brand new Ket Vector project of Justin Bennett, Puppy's live drummer extraordinaire, is now shipping. My copy of The Infinite Regress arrived a few days ago and it's fantastic. Back after the Mythrus tour I described Justin as a very musical drummer. This record illustrates that perfectly. Aggressive electronic percussion is the focus. Imagine industrial drum production meets IDM on the way towards a mutant breakcore sans the breaks. Or don't imagine it, listen on myspace and order it here.

Dre Robinson (aka Databomb), contributor to Mythmaker, Fixer, GWOTR, etc. has a new project called Binary Field that has a release out at Amoeba in LA. Expect more in the near future. I haven't gotten to hear the full EP yet, but you can check out a bit of it at myspace.

Phil Western continues to be busy. The first release from his new collaboration with fellow founding Download member Mark Spybey, Beehatch, is available for pre-order right here at Lens Records for a price so low it's almost free.

Both of Phil's recent limited edition releases, 4AM and the live album 1221, have been repressed and are available for order again. His first two long out of print solo records, The Escapist and Dark Features, will see represses later this month. And in some very exciting news, Floatpoint's Beam Error is set to be reissued in April in a special edition. This album from Phil's project with Dan Handrabur will be augmented with a previously unreleased jam featuring Puppy's Dwayne Goettel. Here's the official word from Phil's newsletter on this new recording:::

This is a 45 minute performance, entirely live, with Dwayne on 303, 202, Jupiter 6 and K2000, Dan on Wavestation, and Phil doing live mixing, RY30, 303, 202, and fx. Many thanks go out to Dwaynes sister Diane for giving her blessing on this release.

Finally, the full length release from Phil’s project Kone, Cirrhotic Psychotic, is now shipping out and delighting ears around the world (you can order it here). Since Kone has been a fairly obscure project up until now, I thought I'd ask Phil to explain to Litany readers just what Kone is:::

Kone is basically a solo project from myself which really was my attempt to record an album that was more streamlined electronic, as opposed to covering a multitude of genres typical of my other releases. Kone is and will continue to be ELECTRONIC music, in the spirit of Plateau, Download and of course the earlier Kone material released in the past. The sound could be described as Detroit on meth.

You know what else Kone is? It's amazingly good. I expected it to be good, but as always these guys surpass even the high standards set by their last releases. Between the Ket Vector and Kone albums my car stereo has been quaking the doors off the hinges with some of the most intense, pulsingly gorgeous electronic music I've heard, well, since the Vault 2 series ended. Nothing excites me more than having spectacular new music like this to spread the word about. So if you're looking for a fix while Puppy is quiet, look no further than the links above. Treat your ears, they deserve it.

Here's wishing cEvin Key another happy year from those of us here at Litany. May it be a good one.

To celebrate Groundhog Day, when we all hope that Bill Murray sees his shadow, here's a wonderful Puppy artifact contributed by Daring. Published in 1986 by Tessa Bartholomeusz and Carrie Edwards, this fanzine features some original band quotes and what I can only presume are the real lyrics to the first verse of K-9 (I will someday get the full lyrics, I swear it). Take a trip back to the days when the internet wasn't around to spread information, rumors, and lies about your favorite band here.

Today would have been Dwayne Goettel's birthday.

Life is precious. Use it well.

You may have heard mention of a new multimedia undertaking of William Morrison, longtime provider of visual stimulation for Puppy projects and guitarist on the GWOTR tour, called the American Memory Project. He and fellow live Puppy Justin Bennett will be spending the next few months collaborating on the film and soundtrack. Here is what they have to say about it:::

"it is useful to remember that history is to the nation as memory is to the individual. As persons deprived of memory become disoriented and lost, not knowing where they have been and where they are going, so a nation denied a conception of the past will be disabled in dealing with its present and its future" - Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

The American Memory Project is a broadcast from the future. A digital archive of a long dead country unearthed in a distant era and broadcast back to our time. A short wave transmission bounced off the fabric of eros, washed up on the shores of the twenty first century. It is both abstract melancholy verse and a dire warning. A container filled with ghosts speaking stories so far removed from their origins that they defy context. Or perhaps, invite it anew. Memory is fleeting. Short term, long term. A collection of neurons, traveling at light speed, rendered in matter, always fading. Nostalgia is such a beautiful curse. We are animating ghosts...

The Project will soon manifest in it's initial form of film and music with a DVD release... as well as a series of live presentations, the first of which will be performed and screened on the upcoming 2008 Ohgr tour.

Until then, here's a clue. Litany readers will especially want to keep their ears open for this project's soundtrack.

What with the news of the beginning of the early stages of a new Puppy record, I thought it was time to take a look at some of the other musical treats happening while we wait.

Firstly, Phil Western has launched a brand new website at philwestern.net. He's also got a flurry of things going on, including some upcoming live dates and a brand new album from his project Kone (known to owners of Paradigm Shift and Rare) that is now ready for pre-order.

Also of major interest to Litany folks is the news that Phil and fellow Download member Mark Spybey have completed a new album together under the familiar name Beehatch. The album is set for release on April 29th via Lens Records. Read and hear more at their myspace.

Contributors to recent Puppy LPs Otto Von Schirach and Cyrus Rex are embarking on a short tour together. Check out these dates:::

Feb 8th - Los Angeles, California - Das Bunker
Feb 9th - Denver, Colorado - Benders Tavern
Feb 15th - Austin, Texas - Elysium
Feb 16th - Phoenix, Arizona - Sadisco

Skinny Puppy's magnificent live drummer, Justin Bennett's project Ket Vector will be releasing the album The Infinite Regress on Rustblade Records on Feb 15th. Take a listen on myspace.

Finally, Omar Torres, who most recently contributed to PlatEAU's Kushbush, has just mastered and contributed a remix to the debut album of The Secret Life out on Nophi Recordings.

Always good to start out a new year with some good news, eh? Here's some straight from cEvin Key himself:::

Yes, as far as Skinny Puppy #3 goes, I have started work on that in addition to our work with Scaremeister.

I spent about 2 months changing up my studio and incorporating plans for the new SP recordings. For me that means taking the typical gear away and putting different gear there to see what happens. Thanks to Moog for stepping in and some killer new custom CYLON designs by Russell Nash. Incorporating these with the old school modulars and machines has been quite exciting. We also have a team happening with Otto Von Schirach and K Hiwatt Marshall and friends that is exciting to say the least.

So Puppy's 3rd LP for SPV is underway. Now we play the waiting game.

Some people on the forum have put together a wonderful little way for Litany readers to collectively do something nice for the world this holiday season. Two charities, the Humane Society of the U.S. and Doctors Without Borders, have been chosen to receive monetary donations. Leviathan has set everything up and provided detailed instructions on just how to go about donating money right here. You can donate as little or as much as you wish. It's a great way to acknowledge the spirit of the season in a purely positive way. Besides, what else were you going to do with that money? Buy a giftcard that will go unused for someone you don't actually like and who won't appreciate it anyway? Screw them, give it to threse organizations instead. This way, you'll feel good about at least a few of the dollars that leave your wallet. Do it here.

My thanks go once again to Leviathan for working to make this a reality.

It's Ogre's birthday again, so on behalf of Litany, happy birthday and continued best wishes. Also born today were Walt Disney and Otto "panties panties panties panties panties" Preminger.

Collectors take note: the new issue of Germany's Sonic Seducer features an accompanying DVD with footage from this year's M'era Luna Festival, including some from Puppy's performance. Visit their website for more info.

May all our U.S. readers enjoy their Thanksgiving tomorrow. Sure there's a lot to bitch about, but hey, if you're reading this site, that means that at some point in time someone introduced you to the music that brought you here. So be thankful for that. That and your day off (unless you're one of us poor souls who work in radio *cough*).

Phil Western's 4am, released exclusively online in a gradually diminishing edition of 250 copies, is a record you want to make sure you hear while you have the chance. My first listen was while driving home from work at a time I'm rarely on the road. I pulled onto the highway and the trees opened up on a truly breathtaking sunset. It was one of those skies that makes you wonder if someone had painted it just for you. I saw brand new colors for which I don't even have words. But I don't need the words to describe it. This album is the perfect encapsulation of that moment.

Over the course of the album, Phil journeys through the varied styles that have formed the basis of his previous solo work as well as his collaborations with cEvin Key in Download and PlatEAU. 4am clearly shares some of the grooving DNA of those projects' 2007 masterpieces, Fixer and Kushbush. The sneering funk of Pontiac Pigeon is a stripped down cousin of Download's UHM. If the tastemakers of this world had any taste, the bouncingly glorious Electric Death would be an electro R&B crossover dance floor hit. In addition to the funky elements, 4am shares some of the glitchtastic moments that marked those most recent Download/PlatEAU albums. Ja Bay is an earlier version of Kushbush's Bubba that illustrates the track's breakcoresque origins. Phil's roots are also represented on the album by the stripped down trance of San Julian while the shimmering of The Sign will surely appeal to fans of Effector. Thieves Suffer is, dare I say, Skinny Puppy-esque, with dark synth lines and richly produced percussion. Though Phil had nothing to do with Mythmaker, this could've easily worked as part of that album. Never predictable, the album continually shifts into unexpected sonic territory, like the acoustic guitar and fx-based Where. 4am concludes with a trio of songs that bridge the gap between ambient and shoegaze, wrapping us in their deep textures.

4am travels from the techno arena that marked Phil's earliest recordings through psychedelia to the edge of the current electronic scene and beyond. It grooves, it chills, it trips, it breathes, it stomps, it bubbles, and it whispers. It's yet another fantastic record that these guys have collectively treated us to this year. It's been said before, but 4am proves it once again: it's a great time to be a fan. Do your ears a favor and get a copy of 4am before they're all gone.

4am is available exclusively online. Send $15 through paypal to musicatdhsound@gmail.com

Those in Amsterdam will want to try and make their way to the Toon Festival on Friday November 9th. The impressive line-up includes Mark Spybey's Dead Voices on Air, Robin Storey's Rapoon, and their collaborative Reformed Faction.



According to Mark's latest myspace blog entry, he will soon be posting the hitherto unreleased Dead Voices on Air version of Download's Base Metal on the DVOA myspace. But he'll only be leaving it up for a short amount of time. Be sure to keep an ear out for it here (and don't forget Mark's extensive commentary on this song for Litany).

Here's some halloween goodies for you. Ogre's role in the upcoming film, Repo: the Genetic Opera, is getting a lot of press. Moviesonline.ca has an entire with the entire cast, including discussion of Ogre's audition for the film. Read the whole thing here.

Over at Shocktillyoudrop.com you can find a set visit. The report includes some comments from Ogre about his character and a photo of his masked visage. Read it here.

And finally, the trailer has hit Youtube. View it here.

Thanks to all the many folks who've been submitting this stuff.

You may recall that a few months ago we saw Ogre posing with a Muppet. From even further in the depths of the "internet nerdom collapsing in upon itself" file comes an interview with Ogre about Star Wars. No, this is not your fanboy fantasy. Vorbedacht pointed out this interview, part of StarWars.com's Star Wars Rocks series, which has previously featured Conan O'Brien and Weird Al. So if you've ever wondered who Ogre's favorite Star Wars character is, well wonder no more.

Phil Western's brand new, limited edition album, 4AM, has begun arriving in the mailboxes of those who pre-ordered. Unfortunately mine hasn't shown up yet, so I can't give you a review, but so far I've been hearing nothing but good things.

There are still some copies of this first run available. To order send $15 through paypal to musicatdhsound@gmail.com

Noisescape TV, a bimonthly music program in San Francisco, will be feautring an interview with Ogre in their upcoming show. The episode will air Tuesday October 16th at 10pm on cable channel 29. For those of us elsewhere in the world, the show will be available online at their website starting on that same day.

The ohGr site has been updated to include some information regarding an issue with one of the new t-shirt designs. One of the shirts was not printed properly. That design has been removed and the company manufacturing the merch will be offering refunds on this item. For more info, see ohgr.org.

Phil Western of Download and PlatEAU will be releasing a CD of new material in a limited edition of just 250 copies. Tentatively set for October, the album will include some of the tracks recently heard on his myspace. You may recall that Ja Bay was the early version of the track that evolved into Kushbush's Bubba. This is Phil's first CD under his own name in years, and if his contributions to this year's Fixer and Kushbush are any indication, it will be a great one.

electric death
no to gladys
san julian
stalker
were on the other side
down to the world
existing out of body
thieves suffer
voices (in my head)
where
crackheads
ja bay (original mix)
pontiac pigeon

To preorder send $15 through paypal to musicatdhsound@gmail.com

Hot on the heels of the album's release come some live dates for the Mark Spybey project Reformed Faction. There are currently 2 confirmed shows in Germany:::

06 Oct 2007, 20:00
Morphonic Lab VI
Barockpalais Großer Garten; Dresden, Germany
Dresden,
US
Cost:12 Euro
Description:Also featuring: SARDH, chen unst and Sadiq Bey. Many artists will have projects and installations (light, video...)

07 Oct 2007, 20:00
Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche
Kreuzberg, Berlin
Berlin,
DE
Cost:12 Euro
Description:Also featuring: Scatology and Kreisverband Friedrichshain

Further shows in Amsterdam and Prague will likely be announced soon.

Officially released tomorrow is the new album from Reformed Faction, the collaborative project of Rapoon's Robin Storey and Download's Mark Spybey, both former members of Zoviet France. The War Against..., out via Soleilmoon, is limited to 400 copies with unique packaging featuring postcards of the band's artwork. Any fans of Mark's recent Dead Voices on Air witll want to investigate this release "cultivated from hours of improvisations made whilst watching Werner Herzog movies and drinking red wine. Spybey would record Storey and then manipulate the sounds, combining rough mixes of the pieces with sounds of his own. Although the most of the music was recorded over the course of a weekend, it took several months to assemble the album." You can order it from Soleilmoon.

Some people on the forum have been contributing a lot of articles and interviews lately. I'll be adding them to our interview archive as time allows. First up is a new interview with cEvin Key by Germany's Terrorverlag conducted at the recent Berlin show. If you speak the language of the land of chocolate, you can read it in the original German here. The rest of us can thank Pessi profusely for translating it into English for us here. He discusses their setlist choices, compares the creation of Mythmaker and TGWOTR, and even namechecks some guys who put up some silly website called Litany.net (Scott Graham could not be reached for comment on this story, as his publicist stated he was busy "playing with his happyfunball.") To top it off, they've also got a photo gallery from the show up here.

In advance of the upcoming ohGr studio record, the official ohGr website has reopened at ohgr.org or ohgr.com. The videos and megafantastic live audio that the site has previously hosted are available again for your browsing pleasure. Also featured is a line of brand new t-shirts with the new logo design available for purchase. The site mentions that plans are for a Spring '08 album release followed by a tour.

Ogre's aforementioned film role in Repo! the Genetic Opera, is now confirmed. I've been getting tons of mail on this. It seems people are pretty excited to see Ogre finally on celluloid. Here's an article submitted by a few people in Shock Till You Drop discussing the recording of the soundtrack, which briefly mentions Ogre's participation.

This Song of the Week is The Tear Garden's A Ship Named 'Despair' featuring comments by Edward Ka-Spel. Thanks once again go to him for his contributions.

Phil Western of Download and PlatEAU has added some new material to his myspace for your listening pleasure. You can now hear two tracks from PlatEAU's fantastic new Kushbush album as well as a brand new, unreleased track right here.

While you're at it, read Regen's brand new interview with Phil covering the new releases in the Vault 2 series, Fixer and Kushbush. Read the whole thing here. Thanks to Intraframe for the head's up on this.

In case you're still missing out and haven't yet ordered, get yourself a Fixer and Kushbush exclusively here.

Normally I do not post anything unless it's 100% confirmed, but I'm getting a ton of emails about this one. Horror site Bloody-Disgusting.com is reporting that Ogre is in final talks to star in an upcoming musical horror movie. Here's what they have to say:::

Bloody-Disgusting has learned exclusively this morning that Nivek Ogre (aka Kevin Graham Ogilvie; pictured inside) - the lead singer of the band "Skinny Puppy" - is in final talks to star in Darren Lynn Bousman's hotly anticipated horror-musical, Repo! The Genetic Opera, which begins production September 10 in Toronto, Canada. He joins Alexa Vega, Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino and the luscious Paris Hilton. "Repo!" focuses on a cruel entrepreneur who creates genetically perfect organs that everybody needs in 2056, and who is content to send in a repo man if the recipient can't make payments. Lionsgate will release this unique blend of genres in theaters on April 25, 2008.

Take a look at the official site for a stage version. Of course, "final talks" really means that anything could happen. But it looks like Ogre will be a busy man for the forseeable future, what with him finishing a world tour, filming a movie, and recording a new ohGr album.

With Puppy's European tour kicking off it's now our turn here in NA to be jealous. But at least we have another wonderful Song of the Week to comfort us. Mark Spybey has again delivered us magnificent insights. Those of us who love the b-side and non-album obscurities will want to rush to read his take on Download's IM5.

Puppy is offering fans a chance to contribute directly to the video content of the upcoming European shows. Here is the scoop straight from SPV:::

Skinny Puppy is known for their visually engaging live performance. Now fans will have a chance to help create that live performance. The band is offering fans an opportunity to create Video Imagery for their live show on the upcoming European tour. The video can consist of a slide-show of pictures, or a complete video. Create what you could imagine seeing on stage while Skinny Puppy is performing. Your video must be uploaded, with the link emailed to SkinnyPuppyST@gmail.com by August 3, 2007. Videos may be used in full or collaborated with other videos, so there are no time requirements or restrictions. All material used in the video must be original; absolutely no copyrighted material is allowed to be submitted. The participants retain ownership of their footage, however Skinny Puppy and SPV may use any footage submitted however they want, not limited to location or duration of time.

We have someone new aboard for this edition of Song of the Week. Mark Spybey has taken the time to share his thoughts on the Download track Base Metal. He's gone above and beyond the call for this, writing a mini article on the song and even including some relevant photos. He has my deep gratitude for giving so much of his time and memory to participate. Mark's even added a few comments to the SOTW threads on the forum for prior Download tracks in which he was involved (see Sigesang, Beehatch, and Energy Plan). For this occasion, SOTW has a gorgeous new layout courtesy of Litany's most dedicated Scot, Mish.

Mark's website at Spybey.net is currently undergoing spring cleaning, but you'll want to keep an eye on it for news regarding his work as Dead Voices on Air, among other projects. He had recently posted a reminiscence of the recording of Download's Furnace. And let's all hope that we can soon hear Mark as part of another long overdue live edition of Download, eh?

You may have noticed that this site (and the forum) have been down for a few days. We've had some unfortunate technical problems, which of course had to occur while Afra, who does our hosting, was out of the country and away from the internet. But we're on our way towards putting the pieces back together. The forum is going to take a little more time, but stick with us. We should be back to normal shortly once Afra comes back to these shores and saves the day (again).

Thanks for hanging in there with us.

Update: 6/25::: The forum is now back.

Here's an interview with cEvin Key from back in January in Premonition. The catch? It's in French. While it has yet to be translated by the magazine, a rough idea can be gleaned from Google's translation. The original is here. Here's a comment regarding his early relationship with Ogre (bizarre auto translation artifacts left intact):::

Our first disc was called "Remission" because our respective parents were in remission at the time of the recording. They died some time later. We was both traumatized, it is certain. We share this common history. Our relation enabled us not to lose ourselves. We grew together like brothers one for the other, however we came from a completely different background. We found a form of unit.

Subconscious has announced a brand new member of their menagerie. The infamous yet mysterous BananaSloth, who has haunted Otto von Schirach's performances in the past and was heard on the exclusive Vault 2 bonus disc, Rare, has been added to the Subcon roster. Visit the BananaSloth myspace to hear three tracks. Subcon is looking to have a CD co-produced by Otto and cEvin out in '08.



If you're jonesin' for a musical banana fix until then, try this completely unrelated thing. The person responsible for this explained that it was intended to promote safe sex because "if everyone were having sex with a banana no one would catch a disease."

Due to issues outside of the band's control, the show in Krakow Poland has been cancelled and replaced with a new stop in Vienna at WUK on August 8th.

For the first time with Song of the Week we will delve into a track off the Tear Garden's 1991 album, Last Man to Fly, which just happens to be my favorite record ever made by anyone. Hearing this album was a life transforming experience, and I honestly can't say if I'd be here doing this, or if I'd have pursued a music degree, or who I'd be at all without it. It's the sound of a group of musicians coming together and sharing a perfect organic moment in time.

Let's hear cEvin Key discuss Hyperform

All good things must come to an end and the NA tour is now over. It reminded me what an amazing treasure we have here in this band. The fact that in this day and age a group of people came together and worked to make a nightly thing of beauty such as this tour reminds me that it is a great thing to be alive.

Those of you in Europe about to witness this have my extreme jealousy. If anyone flying over there has a suitcase I can hide in, let me know.

cEvin Key recently posted some post-tour thoughts and thank yous on our forum, and I thought I'd post it here so everyone can read the names of the people who helped make this all happen for us. They have my sincere thanks as well.

Top 3 Fave shows of the tour

(1.) Los Angeles June 23 (second night Henry Fonda) w HiWatt Marshall and Michihiro mixing FOH. One of the few shows that went through this intense And also had magical sound. We agreed one of our fave shows ever done. That is why we had to do Maggott and Convulsion.

(2) NY Nokia Theatre (Runner up)
For obvious reasons the setting of this show, and the magic of the whole night for all the bands made this show also one of our fave shows. The Theatre has to be one of the best venues we have ever played, and the NYC audience made for a classic evening. Ok the block long marquee helped too.

(3) Toronto Koolhaus
Our soundman Mich had pointed out to me earlier that this sound system in the koolhaus has to be the most impressive setup we have played. Mich was telling me that there was a total of 52 -18" speakers. He had quite a grin. I must agree that the Toronto crowd and scene has been one of the most supportive scenes in our career. Still to this day they remain one of the the top crowds to play to.

-Fave Otto show Los Angeles night 2 or Houston
The show was ON ! It's become a virtual circus. ! I ve seen Otto grow in the 4 years and this was his night to shine big. He's an amazing dude w super powers and some really comically insane friends.

-Fave White Mice Show Tempe
They blew everyone away that night. Mix was superb.Everything the Providence scene has to say fully in your face DC they also sounded as big or bigger than anything. Swans loud. Great guys

-Fave Sword Heaven Chicago HOB
That night there was nothing better than hearing them attack that crowd. Its no wonder they were very silent.

-Fave Sightings show NY Nokia Theatre
It took until the second show for me to hear them properly but this night was special, they were like the modern days Doors, or Joy Division.

-Fave Silver Daggers show Los Angeles Night 1 June 22
This set was brilliant. Reminded me of some of the classic psych, mixed w what I miss about the true punk rock scene. These guys are better than people realise. I loved the smear key chords and the play between the drummer and guitars. Sorry folks I like the vocal too. Full on Hilt.

-Fave Fan Charles aka Imaginary Truth. Saw every show of the tour, front row. He was at times one of the people who were truly living the show. From the first note of the night to the end Charles was there !

Would like to thank our crew for their hard work each in their own department making it the best it can be.

Michihiro ( Front of house mixer ) from Ministry Incubus and Deftones comes a new wave of terror. Michihiro. The Master. He supplemented every PA system we played w except Toronto. He has a secret that is something I hadn't expected to learn. Even Hiwatt said he learned something, while mixing vocal fx next to him for the 2 LA shows. The secret is ..well it's a secret. Domo Arrigato to Michi SAN

Tim Hill (Visuals and films) Tim had originally done the 96 Download tour and ever since has been working on concepts w Frozen Rabbit and now he has a chance to go big, and lets say Tim was ready to do that..Tim Rules!

Kenny Chesney ( Lights) though there has always been some difficulty w those particular colors that Ogre doesn't like, Ken did some pretty interesting complementing to Tims Psych backdrop.

Skully aka Alex (stage Manager) Kept us all on our toes and kept the glue on the fingers when they needed stitching. Skully was there through thick and thin again. Amzing since it is his 19th year w the band,, thanks again Skully.

Sasha aka Scooter ( Prop/stage /Ogre tech) Ever wonder who straps all that stuff on Ogre each night, and then cleans it all up ? Well a great guy. One we all know well and couldn't do this without.. Again thanks.

Jill ( Tour Manager) Never has a Skinny Puppy tour traveled with as few troubles as this one. That is a real accomplishment. To pull it all together and make it happen we have Jill to thank. Ok she has to do Warp tour now. Jill you need a holiday !!!

Tawny (Merchandise Manager) Ever seen someone running through the venue trying to keep everything in stock? Well that's Tawny. She gives 100% each show and it shows, then she comes to the bus, and stocks it with all the goodies one could ever ask for, ok that is what makes a Tawny super duper.

Otto ( technician) Yes folks not only did Otto pull off that circus but he also loaded gear, set up the stage and helped Skully, but also helped us all. In the band by being there for us when we needed anything. And we mean anything.... Otto was the guy.

Justin Bennett (drums)
I had said to Justin a few shows back that this is really feeling like the real deal Sp to me again. He has brought a whole new level of playing to the table that I can barely believe. It is so strange to find someone so perfect to play with again. We all really miss Dwayne and we speak him all the time, but one thing Dwayne would love is Justin. He unknowingly has adapted that space that was uniquely Dwaynes into a new place that I know Dwayne would be very proud to know of. Justin is his perfect rep. Its so strange to hear sometimes something being said that would have come from Dwayne, but now Justin. Its almost like the world knew how to rebalance this equation. Thanks to Justin for being so dedicated and such a positive energy on the tours. I really feel like he is a must have on the next studio LP.

Bat Bat ( tour pup) Yes the quietest Dog you have ever not heard. This pup traveled on the bus from show to show and visited each venue. She was a great energy to have there when you come off after a show and see a cute little faCE looking at you..

( Wayne) Each night at 2am Wayne would roll in and drive us all to the next Show. Well we got there safe, so we have Wayne to thank for that.

Jeff Our Manager the guy who hears from us all the time and is still here years later. Thanks Jeff. !!!

Lastly like to thank the folks and fans from LITANY, Skinnypuppy.com and SP TRAVEL It was a pleasure meeting all of you who came forward. Thanks for your support and compliments. It really means a lot.

Additional thanks can honestly go out to all , but for sure Allen Jaeger. Allen you always have a great amount of fun and we live it with you. Thanks for that. Simon Paul, Chris Sheppard, Jesus Penis, and anyone who handed us those buds Thanks again !!!

One more note is that if anyone ordered from the vault stuff it will all be sent out this week as we are now back in the studio. Thanks for your support on this. Very much. See you in Europe in August.

cEvin Key 07

Remember the Omar Torres appearance on WREK radio I mentioned a few days back? Well, the show went off swimmingly, and Omar played a few hitherto unheard unreleased collaborations with cEvin Key, including a few unused demos for the GWOTR album and an early version of Download's Walking, Talking. Want to hear it? The show will be archived for one week only right here

New on Musicplustv.com is a 30 minute video interview with cEvin and Ogre conducted before last Saturday's LA show by Rev. Mitcz. The interview is completely unedited and they cover a lot of subjects in greater depth than in typical published accounts. And the guys have some kind words for this very site (thanks!!!). Watch it right here.

Fixer month here at Litany keeps on going with 12 Years Blows. I also want to take a moment to again thank Phil Western, cEvin Key, and Edward Ka-Spel for contributing to SOTW and making this all happen for the fans.

And howsabout that brand new Fixer layout? The accolades for our new look go to Simon Paul and Brydon 'Mish' Cheyney for getting it together, and of course to Allen Jaeger for allowing his gorgeous artwork to be used.

The interviews keep coming fast. Here are two brand new articles. First up is an Ogre interview in Regen Mag submitted by Lebanull. It covers the tour, his views on politics, his future plans for the ohGr project, and the recent eye troubles that caused to him don an eye patch for a few shows (I was thinking he could change his name to Ogarrrrrrrr). Read the whole deal here. Here's a sample concerning Ogre's tour personna:::

For me, I didn't really want to do a spectacle, per se. It's still very theatrical, but I stumbled upon this idea based on the fact that the making of this record for me was extremely difficult, because I was dealing with a personal relationship and a number of other things that happened to me at the time in Los Angeles. It all came to create the infrastructure of the record, and for me it kind of happened all at once. In retrospect, that was the theme to the whole thing. That continued on for me emotionally afterwards, and this tour was moving up, so I created a broad spectrum playground to work in and figure out what I was going to do. I knew I wanted to use silhouettes and work with the idea of those images that are larger than life, and that seems to me to be something that was quite cost-effective. It also hearkens back to what we used to do back when we were a younger band. That opened up for me, quite extensively, the whole emergence of this character that grew out from a time when I was very insecure and tentative. Obviously, for someone who came from a non-musical background, and definitely not a singing background, as my singing was more guttural anyway, it was very challenging for me back then. I realized that what I'd done was created this place where I'm revisiting that character, and that opens up all these possibilities.

If you never thought you'd live to see Ogre posing with a Skeksis, you'll want to take a look at this next one. Here's a sneak peak at an upcoming feature in Movement Magazine by Max Michaels entitled Field Trip with Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy. It chronicles a trip to Atlanta's Museum of Puppet Arts (which looks to me like one of the coolest museums on the planet) with Ogre in photos. See the spread in pdf form here. Now if only we could just get him posing with David Bowie's Labyrinth wig...

We've got a bunch of Puppy-related artists who have things happening these days. First off is Collide, both members of which have worked with Puppy in the past. They have a new collaborative project with Dean Garcia of Curve called The Secret Meeting. The album Ultrashiver should be on its way this month from Noiseplus. Hear a few songs on their myspace.

Omar Torres, who has worked closely with Subcon in the past and most recently appeared on PlatEAU's magnificent Kushbush, will be appearing on Matt Simpson's Georgia Tech WREK radio show The Mobius this Wednesday 7-9pm local time. You can hear this streaming live on the web here.

You may recall me mentioning a new record from Cyrusrex a while back. The Anno Dalleb project from the GWOTR collaborator was to come out, and I was even giving it some spins on my own college radio gig, but the record never made its way to commercial release. The album, Daath, is finally going to be widely available on Negative3 via the Metropolis label. The record features remixes by Otto Von Schirach, 8 Frozen Modules, and Hallucinogen. Hear more at Negative3 or order the record here.

If you were as amazed by Justin Bennett's drum work on the Puppy as I was, you'll want to investigate Bahntier. He is featured on this Italian band's latest record, Blindoom. Hear more at their myspace.

And finally, those in Europe soon to receive the Puppy tour can also rejoice in these upcoming dates from The Legendary Pink Dots:::

07/26/07: Uherske Hradiste / Summer Film Festival (CZ)
07/27/07: Hrachovec U Vala - Festival Hrachova
07/28/07: Strelecky Island, Prague / Open Air Cinema (CZ)
07/29/07: Bolkow / Castle Party (PL)
09/08/07: Mannheim Sulphur Festival (D) (more information TBA)
09/25/07: Koln / Underground (D)
09/26/07: Frankfurt / Das Bett (D)
09/28/07: Leipzig / UT Connewitz
10/11/07: Lyon / Sonic
10/13/07: London / Slimelight (UK)

While we're in interview madness mode (see below), here's two interviews from the past that have just been added to the Interview Archive.

First up is an extensive 1997 feature on cEvin Key from Interface. This must-read gives a rare look into the Vancouver home of Subconscious Studios from the time of Download's III. Enjoy the sample below or read the whole thing here.

cEvin's opinion of that album is not all negative. "I really felt we
came together and all said 'Hey, let's really give this a try' on
'Candle'. I really like that song. If I were to make a greatest hits
album, I'd put that on there, along with 'Rodent', 'Nature's Revenge',
'Worlock' and 'Killing Game'."

Next we have a SunnyPsyOp-era interview with Ogre from 1340 magazine unearthed by Bronzebed. Enjoy the clip or the whole thing now here.

"There has been some crossover from other people but it's mainly the Skinny Puppy fans. Hopefully this is something that they have gravitated to and they see what I'm doing and kind of understand and have come along for the ride. That's more important to me than the press. The most important thing to me is touching those people. If they can trust in it and gravitate towards it and after a few times start to get it then that is the most rewarding thing for me. I don't think art exists without an audience. It can be therapy and exist in your own mind but forums need audiences to make their art come alive."

Here is an extraordinarily entertaining read featuring cEvin Key and Otto Von Schirach from OCWeekly. The whole shebang is here. Here's Otto's description of a Skinny Puppy show:::

cEvin lays down thick-ass bass, while Ogre extracts energy from his shadow, and there is banging on metal and mutant lizard sounds, like the sound of Godzilla urinating on the city we played in. It's like a Japanese sci-fi horror movie.

Here's a new interview with Ogre by way of the San Francisco Chronicle. Ogre discusses the band's impact and his onstage personna. Read the whole thing here. Here he is discussing the fanbase:::

"It's kind of like a Deadhead thing, isn't it? You either love it or you don't, and then people come along and they get it at certain times in their lives and they're like, 'Oh wow,'"

Fixer month continues with the ever funky UHM.

Sitting here now it's hard to believe that a week ago I was on my way to the first Puppy show I'd catch on this tour. Last weekend was some of the most fun I've had in many a moon. Now I'm in full-on post show blues mode as I return to the thing we call real life, wishing I could see just a few more dates. Alas work and finances won't allow that. Hopefully next time I can follow the tour a bit longer. This was an amazing experience, nonetheless, not the least of which was getting to meet and spend time with a bunch of Litany folks. I won't go down the list because I'm sure I'll forget a few names, but my sincere thanks to everyone who said hello. Special shout outs and name drops to those who shared a pizza, showed pages from their new book, poked me with their pool cue, the creepy DJ requesting Texan, the less-creepy Canadians, the best poster ever, and the person who let me stay with the bouncy dog. We've got a lot of good people out there in Litanyland. And I got to share the whole thing with The Lady. What more can I ask?

One of the more entertaining aspects of the NYC show was the venue's rather prominent marquee right on Broadway. Take a look at this shot below, taken by Dash, of Skinny Puppy's presence in Times Square:::

Click to see it in motion on a busy Broadway Saturday night as captured by video wizard, Warden. Trust me folks, this is something you'll want to experience. Did you ever think you'd see this happen in your lifetime?

And so I come to the show itself. You all know that I'm a diehard fan that obsesses over the anal minutae of their catalog. I was prepared to hear my favorite band again. I was not prepared to hear them like this. The NYC show was the best I've ever heard them play. There's a magic happening on this tour that I've never heard before. Standing there (ok, bouncing up and down, more accurately) I somehow managed to fall in love with Puppy all over again. For a jaded, bitchy, over educated music geek such as myself, that's no small thing. It was like getting another first kiss.

They were unbelievably phenomenal all around. Ogre's stage presence is still unmatched. The theatrical elements of this show are more subtle, based upon intimation and shadow, and, for me, much more effective. During the final encore of the NYC show, he managed to transform an innocuous piece of the stage set into a prop via his rare creative alchemy, improvising a visual that will remain seared in my mind anytime I hear those songs.

cEvin Key brings a hell of a lot of live energy to this tour from his setup. From the improvised bits of noise twisting through the mix to the new and surprising bass lines added to old favorites, he controls it all in the moment, making every performance feel unique and live. Even the songs I would've said I didn't need to hear live again were made new.

Adding to that sensibility is the dynamic between cEvin and Justin. On the last tour we were all impressed by Justin. "The new guy" did a fine job helping recreate the songs. But many people still missed having Key on the drums. On this tour Justin is far more than a hired hand. He's breathing new life into these songs in ways I'd never dreamed. I was transfixed by his work throughout most of the Philly show. It was one of the best live drum performances I've ever heard. He's tight and heavy enough to be a solid backbone for Puppy, but is also a very musical drummer. He and cEvin are gelling superbly. Justin is allowing Puppy to become something live that is has never been before. I sincerely hope we get to hear him on the next record.

Put these three guys together, plus the visuals of Tim Hill, and the dedicated work of a crew that truly wants to make you experience the best show possible, and you've got something rare. If they're still heading your way, don't you dare miss this tour. This isn't a nostalgia act. They aren't going through the motions. This is a real band in peak form and I feel damned lucky to have had the chance to witness it.

There's more I could say about particular songs, from the unexpected delights of the encore choices, to the brappified extended endings of some, to the joys of bounding around the pit to others, but I won't spoil any details here. Just go and hear Skinny Puppy live.

Here's a new interview with Ogre from the Phoenix New Times regarding the current tour. Read the whole thing here or check out this clip:::

I've always believed in a gratuitous moment. I've always believed in never having too much planned. I would prefer to create broad strokes and broad boundaries from which I can work within. Whether it's playing off the audience or playing off what the audience reacts to or off the band or what our video guy is doing. There are open, broad strokes, but the theme or where it's going or where it ends hasn't really been determined. Justin, our drummer, said it best: "The monster has begun. The monster has begun to grow, so we'll see where it goes."

As Puppy tours the U.S., Fixer month continues here on Litany with Krakatoa pt 1, 2, and 3, featuring comments from Phil Western.

Some late word from the band:::

CHANGE OF PLANS FOR SKINNY PUPPY MARYLAND SHOW!
The Maryland show is cancelled. However, if you have tickets for the Maryland show, they will be honored at the D.C. show tonight (June 11). We're sorry for the inconvenience, and we hope everyone that was planning on going to the MD show can make it to the DC show!

Spread the word to your fellow MDers about the change. Hope everyone can make the D.C. show.

It's my turn to catch the Mythrus tour this weekend. I'll be at the Philly and NYC shows. All Litany readers please feel free to say hello. And don't pull that "emailing me after the show to tell me that you stood right next to me but didn't say anything" stuff this time. It's creepy. View a relatively recent photo of me with the only drummer talented enough to replace Justin here (hint: I'm the one on the left).

And if you're a procrastinating NYC area fan, check out this contest at KRock for a free ticket to the show here (thanks to Joe).

For the most up to the minute coverage of the Mythrus Tour be sure to check out the tour reports section of our forum and, as always, sptravel.info.

Also, the aforementioned Haze video is now viewable sans the German legwork right here and will be on CNET.com tomorrow!

In case I haven't made it abundantly clear, I'm madly head over heels in love with the new Download album, Fixer. With Vault 2 entertaining us around the globe, I figured we should do something a little special and different with Song of the Week this month. So June will be Fixer month here at Litany. As Puppy tours North America throughout the month, we'll cover a song from Fixer each week.

Let's kick things off with the opening track, Bell Ringoor.

P.S. Those of you who agree with me about Fixer, and I know from your emails there are many, must be sure to grab a copy of PlatEAU's Kushbush from the Vault 2 as well. You will not be disappointed. It's Fixer's brighter, technicolored sister album. Think of it as a gift for your ears.

The brand new video for Haze from Mythmaker can now be seen online.

The only catch is that it is currently only on the SPV's German language edition newsletter here. For those who don't read German, you'll want to go to the third page, so click the arrow on the upper right of your screen twice to get to the right spot. The video should be embedded in the page (next to a photo of Lemmy from Motorhead). If you don't see the arrows, zoom out with a right click.

I almost forgot about this one. Before tomorrow's show in Denver, the band will be appearing at Fashionation for an in store signing at 6pm. Check out the flyer below or click here for more info:::

With the release of Furnace Re:dux, I thought we should take a look back to Download's debut album for Song of the Week. Phil Western discusses the serene Beehatch.

We've got a bunch of new interviews of note. First up is an interview with cEvin Key by Dixon Christie of Punktv.ca, who you may recall from some great interviews with cEvin and Bill Morrison a few years ago. This is an important read, as cEvin discusses his current feelings about working with Rave in detail for the first time. Dixon tells me he and cEvin also talked about Litany, but unfortunately that part didn't make it to the published version. You can read the whole thing here. Here's a clip in which he discusses working with Mark Walk:::

"'Haze' was an idea that's been kicking around. When I sit down on piano and start playing something, I always end up playing 3 or 4 of the same melodies until I end up recording them. And then once I record them, it's like their good, see-ya! 'Haze' has been like...oh my God that song has been around for at least since The Process. For Mark to finally help me develop that, and to develop it into the song that it is; has been like letting go of something in my head, and I have to thank him for that, because I don't think that would have happened without him."

Next up is a brief interview in the Salt Lake Tribune by author Amy Spencer (who you may recall from the 5/10 update). Read the whole thing here.

And Litany's star Utah reader notes that the full interview is featured in the May 24th edition of Utah This Week. So you can read the entire original interview text here. Here's a a rather appropos clip::::

in: The Skinny Puppy fans on Litany.net don't seem to like former Skinny Puppy member Bill Leeb. How do you feel about sharing the bill with his band Frontline Assembly at Convergence next weekend??

Key: I have no problem with Bill. He's one of my best friends and has been a great friend in my memory. I think it was friendly resentment that we had between each other because in a way, we taught Bill what we do and showed him what we do. And then he went and did Frontline Assembly, so people at that time were saying that if we hadn't done that there wouldn't be a competitive band coming from the same city.
But who cares? I don't really care.

And finally, here's an interview with Ogre dug up by Hatelull in the May/June edition of publication HM - a Christian rock themed mag. Apparently they have a regular feature on mainsteam artists. Read a sample of the interview here.

I've been pretty quiet here since the tour has begun because I've been trying to avoid spoiling the show for anyone (including myself). But here's a tidbit that deserves mentioning: at the recent performance during the Convergence festival, which also featured an FLA show, none other than Bill Leeb joined Puppy onstage for a one-song guest appearance. I believe this would be his first onstage appearance with Puppy since early '86. The rest of the tour, however, will likely remain Leebless.

You can follow the tour and post your show experiences, images, etc. in our special spoilerific Tour Section. Also, don't forget to read the excellent SPTravel.info

Good news! The next and final batch of releases in the Vault 2 are now shipping out, along with all other recent orders from Subcon. Subscribers will be getting the brand new PlatEAU album and reissue of Music for Grassbars, the new Tear Garden album, and the new albums of unreleased material from Hilt/the Flu and, of course, Skinny Puppy.

With Puppy about to embark on a tour, this will be the last shipment of Subcon merchandise for a little while. However, for those that haven't ordered, cEvin does say that some copies of the Skinny Puppy entry, Back and Forth vol. 7, will be sold at the shows. All of us subscribers and pre-orderers have a big package of musical goodness heading our way.

Phil Western has recently finished adding all of his back catalog to iTunes, including many long out of print recordings by the projects Frozen Rabbit, Floatpoint, and Off and Gone as well as his spectacular solo recordings. So go find them and I guarantee you won't be disappointed (unless you're like me and your computer is 10 years old and running Win98 so you can't run itunes, in which case, just what is wrong with you, anyway?)

In honor of this, I'm going to do something a little out of the ordinary for the Song of the Week. Instead of one track, I've chosen the entire epic suite Asleep and Awake, which comprises the entire second disc of Phil's Worlds End album. To me, this has always been one long journey of a song, the kind you can put on in the dark and drift along with. It seems to tell a story of some sort, there's a sense of progression and movement throughout rather than the homogeny that sometimes characterizes such soundscapes. It's almost to Worlds End what Download was to Last Rights. Sonic escape in 29 parts.

From the depths the dusty goblin infested corners of 4-track portastudios gone past comes the official myspace for Hilt and The Flu. The punk/noise/insanity project of cEvin Key and the late Alan Nelson (originally called The Flu but rechristened Hilt upon release of their first album for Nettwerk) has a new CD of previously unreleased private recordings heading your way via the Vault 2 series. In honor of this the mysterious Hilt mastermind Meklaker Fletcher has brought Hilt to everyone's favorite social networking and cleavage photo posting service, Myspace. Included are a new detailed history of the band, sound samples from their previous Vault release, and the video clip for Stoneman from their first album. So now you can become Hilt's friend. Just don't leave it unattended with your record collection, as it may melt your weaker, less pungent records.

Order the new Hilt/Flu collection, Minooot Bowl Dropped the Ball, exclusively from Subcon.

And here we have the complete European tour dates:::

Aug 6 2007 Tivoli Utrecht Holland
Aug 7 2007 Columbia Club Berlin Germany
Aug 8 2007 Klub Studio Krakow Poland
Aug 9 2007 Roxy Prague Czech Republic
Aug 10 2007 Sziget Festival Budapest Hungary
Aug 12 2007 Mera Luna Festival Hildesheim Germany
Aug 14 2007 Astoria London UK
Aug 15 2007 Academy 2 Manchester UK

For those budget minded consumers who don't want to shell out for the entire Vault 2 series at once, the remaining releases in the series are now available for individual preorder, including the upcoming collection of unreleased Skinny Puppy material, the brand new Tear Garden album, and the new slab of Hilt madness. I've been hearing good things about all. But don't forget that subscribers to the whole series will be getting a super secret bonus disc. These are scheduled to ship right before cEvin leaves for the tour. So don't procrastinate too long, or you might have to wait until he gets back.

Also added is a new set of nine (9) posters from the Vault 2 releases fabulous artwork by Simon Paul and Allen Jaeger.

Order any or all of this stuff exclusively here.

After a bit of a hiatus we're reviving the Song of the Week feature with a look at one of Puppy's great overlooked b-sides, Lahuman8, courtesy of cEvin Key. Once again my thanks to cEvin, Phil, and Edward for contributing to this feature and making this happen for the fans.

And here's a little tidbit of tour news straight from the rehearsals. The band is working on both old and new material, including some classics that they've never played live before. This tour will be very different from the set that wowed us all on the GWOTR tour and was captured on the DVD. Only a few songs from that set will be held over. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get very excited for that moment when the house lights dim and the strains of their intro begin to trickle out of the monitors...

More support act details are in:::

Otto Von Shirach Opening support all dates.
website

Main Support:

Sword Heaven: June 1st, 2nd,3rd (Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland)
myspace

White Mice: June 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 21st (Toronto, Montreal, Boston, DC, Baltimore, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, Tempe, San Francisco)
myspace

Sightings: June 8th, 9th (Philly, New York)
myspace

Silver Daggers: June 22nd, 23rd, 24th (los Angeles, Anaheim)
myspace

Support acts for the remaining dates will be announced shortly.

The replacement copies for the defective original pressings of Fixer are beginning to arrive. So if you ordered Fixer, look to your mailbox for the new pressing, whether you reported yours broken or not. And if you're just getting to hear it for the first time this way, be excited. So far it's poised to be my pick for album of the year.

Singer Mandy Cousins was Dwayne Goettel's musical partner in the group Water. The band's opening spot for Skinny Puppy in Edmonton on the Bites tour (either in Nov. '85 or Jan. '86) led to Dwayne joining Puppy shortly thereafter. Water never recorded commercially and, like so many other bands that disappear, seemed to have been forgotten. After having read about Water, I tried to track down Dwayne's bandmate online to no avail. After ten years of looking for "Sandy Weir," Zipperhead pointed me in the right direction and I found her under the more accurate name of Mandy Cousins, currently with the band Titania. She graciously agreed to be interviewed for Litany and share some of her memories.

Read the full interview here.

My thanks of course to Mandy as well as Michael for helping make this happen.

From the ever expanding WTF File comes this clip from a local entertainment newspaper in Utah, covering the upcoming Front Line Assembly show:::

in: Utah this Week, 20May2007
Back on the Frontline
By Amy Spencer

...Marking another first for the band, in two weeks at Convergence, a Gothic festival in Portland, Ore., FLA will share a stage with Leeb's former band, Skinny Puppy. The two bands haven't ever had conflict, but Leeb hints that the tension created between the legendary acts comes from Skinny Puppy's fan-popular message board at www.Litany.net: "[Skinny Puppy's] cEvin and I talk a couple of times a year and it's not a big scene or anything."

That's right, Litany.net is now getting press courtesy of none other than Bill Leeb himself, commenting on the lunacy of our forum. I, for one, am so honoured that I'm going to spell it with a U. Thanks go to Litany's favorite Utahite for sending this in.

Otto Von Schirach has been announced as the first opening act for the Mythrus tour. He is of course known for performing a set on the GWOTR tour, as well as contributing to the last two SP albums and, most recently, Fixer.

Some shows will feature the following bands from Load Records:

Sword Heaven: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit
Sightings: Philadelphia, New York
Silver Daggers: Los Angeles, Anaheim

Further details to be announced as it comes.

Thanks to Sptravel and jaqviolet for the info.

Three new dates have been added to the Mythrus Tour. We now have shows for Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, Boise, and DC. Here's what the tour looks like as of now:::

Update 5/7::: Boise date just added
Update 5/8::: DC date just added

SKINNY PUPPY MYTHRUS Tour 2007

May 24th Santa Cruz CA / The Catalyst
May 25th Portland OR / Crystal Ballroom (Convergence Festival)
May 27th Boise, ID / The Big Easy
May 29th Salt Lake City UT / The Depot
May 30th Denver CO / Ogden Theater
June 1st Chicago IL / Houes Of Blues
June 2nd Detroit, MI / St. Andrews Hall
June 3rd Cleveland, OH / Agora Theatre
June 5th Toronto ON / Kool Haus
June 6th Montreal QC / Le Spectrum
June 7th Boston MA / Avalon Ballroom
June 8th Philadelphia PA / Electric Factory
June 9th New York NY / Nokia Theater Times Square
June 11th Washington DC / 9:30 Club
June 12th Baltimore, MD / Sonar
June 14th Atlanta GA / Center Stage
June 15th New Orleans LA / House Of Blues
June 16th Houston TX / Warehouse Live
June 17th Dallas TX / House Of Blues
June 19th Tempe AZ / Marquee Theater
June 21st San Francisco CA / The Fillmore
June 22nd Los Angeles CA / Henry Fonda Theater
June 23rd Los Angeles CA / Henry Fonda Theater
June 24th Anaheim CA / House Of Blues
August 12th Germany / M'era Luna festival

Head on over to the band's official myspace or skinnypuppy.com for a preview of the soon-to-be-released video for Haze. Thanks to Troylertrash for the head's up.

As the tour dates start to pour in (see below), take a minute to read this new interview with Ogre and Cevin from Remix Magazine, in which they discuss their earliest shows thusly:::

While Skinny Puppy continued to push the envelope musically, the group's live show became a major draw and a calling card. The star of the show was Ogre, who envisioned a show full of horrifying costumes, fake blood and a wide array of props. Many of the band's supporters even helped to create the live show. "Some of our fans were welders and metal-shop workers, and they helped to build stuff for the live show," Key says. "Still, I had no idea what to expect when we did our first show. I had a hard time playing. I wanted to see what was going to happen next, and it was really bizarre."

Read the whole thing here

Also new is a feature in Rue Morgue magazine, which a number of people have been emailing me about. Included are an interview Key, an interview with Ogre (taken from the Rue Morgue Radio interview I mentioned here a while back), and a list of what they think are Puppy's 25 scariest songs.

The news we've all been waiting for. Here's the first batch of confirmed dates for the Skinny Puppy tour. More dates will be added soon when they are confirmed. Keep your eyes peeled here but don't forget the always thorough sptravel.info for all of your SP tour information, photos, links, etc.

update::: just added Santa Cruz date
update 4/27::: just added SLC and Atlanta dates
update 4/30::: just added M'era Luna date

SKINNY PUPPY MYTHRUS Tour 2007

May 24th Santa Cruz CA / The Catalyst
May 25th Portland OR / Crystal Ballroom (Convergence Festival)
May 29th Salt Lake City UT / The Depot
May 30th Denver CO / Ogden Theater
June 1st Chicago IL / Houes Of Blues
June 5th Toronto ON / Kool Haus
June 6th Montreal QC / Le Spectrum
June 7th Boston MA / Avalon Ballroom
June 8th Philadelphia PA / Electric Factory
June 9th New York NY / Nokia Theater Times Square
June 14th Atlanta GA / Center Stage
June 15th New Orleans LA / House Of Blues
June 16th Houston TX / Warehouse Live
June 17th Dallas TX / House Of Blues
June 19th Tempe AZ / Marquee Theater
June 21st San Francisco CA / The Fillmore
June 22nd Los Angeles CA / Henry Fonda Theater
June 23rd Los Angeles CA / Henry Fonda Theater
June 24th Anaheim CA / House Of Blues
August 12th Germany / M'era Luna festival

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the day I first started what became the SP FAQ and Lyric Archive. At the time, it was just an attempt to provide a home for the various attempts that some of us on the Smothered Hope email list had made at figuring out what Ogre was singing. Then came writing the FAQ and compiling as much information about the band I could find. And it's still incomplete (with my bad-even-for-1997 HTML, though I hope to remodel it soon). Then, six years ago, the Honorable Scott Graham invited me to work on Litany.

Ten years back I never thought I'd get to witness Skinny Puppy take the stage or hold a new album in my hands, let alone see 14 discs worth of unheard material released to the fans. And the best part of it all is that I've had the privlege to be a part of something that has helped make it happen. I was just a kid posting lyrics and ancient ticket stub scans and analyses of bloody tour props to share with people on the internet. Never in my dreams did I think it would turn into what Litany has become. The fact that it has had an impact and that so many of you out there have enjoyed it is beyond my comprehension. My sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to or simply enjoyed Litany / the FAQ and Lyric Archive over the years.

And since I'm waxing nostalgic, let's celebrate with a little revelation of one of the earliest documents in SP history. Below are scans of the Skinny Puppy Membership Card handmade by cEvin Key in the Spring of '83 for Joe Vizvary of Images in Vogue. cEvin made these for Joe and Dale Plevin, the proposed members of the project called Skinny Puppy that he'd thought up but which never truly happened. By the time Skinny Puppy took shape with Ogre, it had become an entirely different entity. The scans below were quite graciously shared by Joe, who has often often opened the vaults of his incomparable memory to contribute to this site.




A few years back I spoke with Dale Plevin in email and he said he still had his card too. Unfortunately, I've long since lost his email to the netherworld of forgotten ISPs gone past.

First a clarification about yesterday's update. According to cEvin, everyone who ordered Fixer will be receiving a replacement disc from the manufacturer, whether your original arrived broken or not. So if you were unlucky enough to get a broken one, just sit tight. cEvin said the replacements should be ready to ship in a few weeks. How's that for customer service?

And for those still waiting or even on the fence about ordering, I have to say that I think Fixer will blow your mind. To say that cEvin and Phil have taken Download to a new level is an extreme understatement. As a diehard fan of all the Puppy projects, I think Fixer is easily one of the best albums to come out of any of them, ever. It's one of the most vital, exciting records I've heard in years and will prove to be a landmark album in their careers.

The best part? We've gotten 5 CDs worth of goodness in this mailing and we're not even halfway through the Vault 2 series. We've got a lot of gems still heading our way. Once again it's a great time to be a fan.

The great news:::

The first package of releases in the Vault 2 are showing up at doorsteps across the land. Mine found its way to scenic New Jersey an hour ago and I'm experiencing Fixer for the first time at this moment.

The less great news:::

Due to a manufacturing issue some copies of Fixer may arrive broken.

The great again news:::

These defective discs are set to be replaced by the manufacturer.

It's a happy day in Subcon fan land...

Subcon posted this good news on our forum:::

Our first mailout of all Subcon stuff (if you have ordered in the last 30-40 days) including Inception V3, Doubting Thomas, Download FiXeR and the back orders for repressing all ship at the end of this week or Monday.

Yes, it's time to anxiously check the mailbox and give the mail carrier suspicious squint-eyed glances waiting for your order. I've been putting off listening to The Infidel again for months now, waiting for the remastered / expanded edition. And at the same time we'll be getting the first new Download material in 5 years! It's a good time to be a fan.

The Subcon Vault series is available to order.

A new interview with cEvin Key by Daniel Raven from April's issue of Phoenix's ZiaZine! has been kindly made available on the author's Myspace for your reading pleasure. Here's a clip:::

We just try to make our music regardless of definition. We'll see a lot of likeminded individuals making music and so on, but ten or fifteen years later you begin to hear a lot of carbon copies and a lot of people that are striving to sound like certain bands that (already) exist. I just don't find that interesting. I'm more of a listener of say experimental music or dub reggae. Something more outside the realm of what I actually do.

Here we go with a new Song of the Week and I'm thrilled because it is
Mirrorsaw, a song which is one of my favorite pieces of music period. To me, it defines the magic that somehow Skinny Puppy were able to commit to tape. Thanks go to cEvin for his thoughts on this.

April Fools!

Yep, yesterday's post was 100% bullshit. As were all of the coordinated shenanigans on the forum. Thanks to Akagod, Kalyx, and Mish for playing their parts and to Dreadlock for playing along. We hope it gave people a few "WTF?" moments.

Kunopis picked up on this new interview with Ogre in Movement Magazine's Jan/Feb issue. The interview can be read in its entirety in pdf form on their website [which, as of 3/31 6am EDT appears to be down]. Topics include Mythmaker's lyrics and the state of the music industry.

An update on the progress of Vault II from cEvin Key:::

I have been moving very efficiently working together
daily with Phil Western and Edward Ka-spel assembling
the new vault series. Strangely because of special
packaging and stuff the manufacturer hasn't been able
to catch up to our pace so we haven't received any
finished product back yet.

The first package everyone will receive will be a double
package containing Doubting Thomas The Infidel special
edition (x2 disk) and NEW Download FiXeR. In a very short
time later a second package will arrive with Download
Furnace Redux and Tear Garden The Secret Experiment.
All are done and on their way to pressing. Sleeve for
Tear Garden being done now, and Phil and I are just
wrapping up today the new PlatEAU LP Kuskbush that
will be coming with Music for Grassbars and Skinny
Puppy B&F 7 (which still has a week left in production).
The final Hilt CD and the bonus surprise is definitely
a special thing you won't want to miss.

They will come together hopefully all to the fans by
Skinny Puppys North American tour which starts late
May !!!

This set is limited to a first run edition of 1000 of
which is already more than half sold out. Thanks to
Simon Paul for overseeing the layouts and being the
graphic guru he is, to Ian at Mantra Media and of
course to all the Litany people without whom this
would not even have happened!

brap on

You can order the Vault II series or any of the individual CDs at the Subcon ordering page.

Yes, friends, it's time once more for the Song of the Week. This week is the first time we'll be doing a PlatEAU track, Nocruisin, with comments from Phil Western. This one was always a favorite of mine, showing the grimier, warped side of the Subcon family while retaining that addictive ambling little groove. In retrospect, I think this track paved the way for things we'd hear on Effector and Worlds End.

Update::: the band's management has said that this date is not confirmed.

Skinny Puppy have been discussed to play at Hungary's Sziget Festival on August 15th. Thanks to Fabrice for contributing.

So far, this and May's Convergence are the only announced dates. As soon as more dates come in, I'll post them. Until then, just be patient and enjoy the anticipation.

This time the song of the week is Bird, from cEvin Key's first solo record, Music For Cats. This is a special one because it is the track that inspired the whole idea