By now you know it’s difficult for me to wax aimlessly in this void when there are songs to be sung. It’s 5:30 and a Friday. By the time I reconcile some semblance of peace, some silly satisfaction, the violent gardeners will appear to clean and pollute the serenity of the one way street. In headphones listening to the 1999 EP ‘The Age Of Backwards’ by The Spells, a Mary Timony / Carrie Brownstein release on household favorite, K Records. Yes, sipping coffee, but have been up since 4 or so with my newish ritual of late(early), defeating the NYT Spelling Bee one Queen at a time.
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Gary Floyd, the lovely and enigmatic singer of the early eighties Austin, TX legends Dicks, whose SST released album ‘Kill From The Heart’ was a favorite punk/hardcore album of mine still sitting loud & proud in my record collection. I only saw them once reunited, in Philadelphia, 2006 with Clockcleaner. They were excellent. I bought a shirt and still have it. He was an original and if you don’t know his music now is as great of a time to discover it as ever.
Around that time I was super into buying outsider art and bought a piece from Gary after some correspondence with him, which hung on several walls next to pieces from Daniel Johnston, Wesley Willis and others across homes and coasts. Somehow I’m unsure where my dozen or so Daniel Johnston drawings ended up. I hope they are living well somewhere out there with my missing handwritten Mark E Smith lyrics in some lowly lost museum of anti-hero. A rusted and dusted cheap metal headcounter cries in the corner behind the plastic chain rope keeping no one away from nowhere. This is an offer for a cash reward. Gary sent me a signed live Dicks 7” which I do still have. I eventually stopped these escapades when one day, driving around Philly, I saw clearly in my rear view mirror that my back seat was taken over by a John Wayne Gacy painting of Pogo the Clown. I can’t even recall why I had it but was delivering it from somewhere to elsewhere. I think it had something to do with Howie Pyro, maybe Jonathan Shaw and/or Joe Coleman. Stretched out across the passenger seats, it just didn’t sit right.
Here is a photo of me and Gary’s painting in my old Philly loft where Cold Cave was born, 2007.
Thank You to everyone reading this who has given me the gift of following my impossible to capture muse, for lending me your cement to patch whatever unfulfillable holes appear out of everywhere. And thank You for listening to my new music how you listened to my old music.
Random:
I think imperfection is perfection
Follow you heart to the sun for Vitamin D
I don’t like music made by teams of professionals. Vapid ghosts!
I don’t like meaningless generated drivel lyrics. Shut it!
I like Blackberries!
Happy 10 years of ‘Full Cold Moon’ released in May 2014
Eros, Babylon, Harmonia, Electra, Aurora - I dunno, was just written in phone..
Second Statue Of Heaven collection near done. Maybe another cassette and then an LP of both. First tape arrives here Monday and will ship.
Manifest x Manifest x Manifest or Try My Best To Try
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Photo at top: Gary Floyd and DICKS. Photographer unknown.
More soon…
Thank YOU for sharing you thoughts with us. Reading your entries is always a pleasure. And thank you for the beautiful new songs, I keep playing them on repeat.
Hard agree with your notes. And very happy about the new Statue of Heaven material! Love this raw and dark and gritty side of your creativity.
Also it would be very interesting to see your art collection in some way.
Albini was a legend. I wonder what his version of silly satisfaction was.
Your new music is getting lots of play.
Central and South America tour sounds amazing.