(Colbeck Labs 001) Peregrinating the Highway of Dreams: the kompleat public domain Krazy Kat Sunday Strips 1916-1922352 pages, 8.5" x 11" paperback
Available thru lulu.com as a paperback, or as a downloadable e-book. Get your copy today!
(9/30/09)Now available at Amazon, too!
Cricket Toes did a nice review of the book here.
Reprinting the complete run of Krazy Kat comics seems to have a curse attached to it--similar to the curse that seems attached to "Don Quixote" in the film world--Every company that attempts to do so goes out of business before finishing the job. Eclipse and Kitchen Sink Press both were able to release some volumes before going belly-up. As of this writing (9/2010), Fantagraphics may yet pull this off. Most publishers, i think, were hesitant to re-publish the early years of the comic strip (1916 - 1922 for the sunday strips), since they were in the public domain. Any moron could pick up a copy, and start making photocopies w/ impunity. And in 2008, I figured I was just the moron to do it. Except I didn't have access to most of the out-of-print reprints, so I had to actually scan these things from vintage newspapers, and even *microfilm* at times. This is what Photoshop is for, right? For the most part the results are pretty good. Maybe not as good as if I'd had access to the original artwork, but pretty good nonetheless.
I dunno if I should point this out, but buying the paperback is cheaper thru Amazon, but if you want a *really* cheap copy, you can get a downloadable .pdf from lulu.com for $5.
(Colbeck Labs 002) Dan of Earth "...I can still see the X"3"cdr
my first attempt at noise, composed at a time when I hadn't yet heard much contemporary noise. I hadn't built "El Cajon" (the small modular synth I use in Dan of Earth and Phoned Nil Trio) when I recorded this, so it was composed from a lot of found sound, and processed with homemade software. Very "sci-fi" sounding. Probably overdid it w/ the vocal samples, but I'm still very happy w/ this one. No longer available as a 3"cdr, but downloadable for free from Datahex Records.
(Colbeck Labs 003) PHONED NIL TRIO "ar b ok alou" cd/c26/7" boxed set
co-released by Blackhouse, Colbeck Labs, FTAM Productions, MaxCorp Industries, Rainbow Bridge Recordings, and Ursa Major
After a handful of cassettes, cd-r's, online albums and a week long tour through the midwest and east coast, Phoned Nil Trio and a host of labels are proud to present the first major release from the group: "ar b ok alou", a boxed set consisting of a pro-pressed cd, a pro-duplicated 26 minute cassette and a 7" vinyl record. On this release, the three headed monster consisting of Peter J Woods (industrial percussion, vocals and pedals), Neil Gravander (of Lucky Bone, tapes, vocals and turntables) and Dan Schierl (of Dan of Earth, modular synth) sputter and stammer ahead in a way that only PNT can muster. Harsh static blasts, piles of tape hiss, extremely low frequency oscillators and a host of other unworldly sounds awkwardly collide and just as awkwardly bolt for the exit. Sporadically, the group finally meshes, building towards collaged walls of auditory weirdness, only to have the rug torn from under their feet.
While "ar b ok alou" does work together as one whole piece, each individual element highlights a different take on the group's sound. The cd focuses on the sparse, minimal side of PNT's repertoire, filled with long stretches of silence followed by minimal crackles and quiet scrap metal abuse. The cassette features a lo-fi approach, filling the cassette with layers of tape hiss and bizarre samples. Finally, the 7" hits with blunt and heavy force, finding the group at their cut up, harsh and synthy best. All of these parts are housed inside of a barf-inducing collage of retro colors, awful fonts and truly absurd images. Enjoy!
Sound samples can be found here.
$18.00 ppd US//$22.00 ppd World
want one? send email to colbecklabs@gmail.com to check availability.
OR contact one of the following:
Blackhouse- grbah@comcast.net
FTAM- http://experimentalmilwaukee.com/projects
MaxCorp Industries- isotope454@hotmail.com
Rainbow Bridge- http://hellorainbowbridge.blogspot.com
Ursa Major- thaifoodrulz@gmail.com
(Colbeck Labs 004) Dan of Earth "voynich was here"3"cdr/download
Algorithmic composition as applied to horrible noise...one of my first attempts at rule-based stochastic arrangement of noise (and not as pretentious as that sounds). homemade computer software rearranges AM transmissions from the electrical system of my neighbor's car. Seriously! No longer available as a 3"cdr, but downloadable for free from archive.org.
(Colbeck Labs 005) BlipVert #6: BlipVert goes on the road with the nurses!20 page zine/download
I published a "humor" zine, BlipVert, from 1991 to 1997. it was a collection of reprints of science and cultural articles I found interesting, "Onion"-style parody news stories, and homegrown superhero comics. Almost without exception, the entire run is an embarrassment to look at now (the 10 page ray-traced superhero/Charlie Brown/Apocalypse Now mashup from issue #5 still holds up, maybe!). Issue #6 is the only one that still warrants the occasional reprint--agents of BlipVert go on a (slightly fictionalized) road trip to the Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas with members of the avant-weirdo free jazz band, the nurses, and live to write about it afterwards! Founder of the nurses, John Fante, co-wrote this issue. I decided that I wasn't going to re-print this anymore, but here's a set of .pdfs so you can print your own: BlipVert #6