hiya,
i just put up our peel session from 2003. took a long time, eh? anyway the songs also have johns commentary.
growing up in new mexico, it was pretty hard to find new music that wasnt hardcore or classic rock. though i very much liked the former. there was no college radio in my town. nor was there an internet back then! i found an old newsstand by the university when i was in high school that sporadically carried the NME. this is how i eventually found the music that would inspire me beyond the 60s favorites. how i became a fan of music and personalities. one of these was john peel.
in 2003 we, the aislers set, were honored when asked to do a peel session. i cant speak for the rest of the band but i was especially thrilled. a peel session...the smiths the fall the go-betweens joy division robert wyatt...all my teenage loves that made me a pop music fan...they all had a session or more with the legend, john peel.
we recorded the session at the maida vale studios. the mic closet thrilled me. full of old neuman mics.the engineer set up an akg 414 on every drum! this blew my mind. jen played the studios b3 with leslie speaker. was a first for me hearing, live, an real b3. amazing. they tracked the session onto two inch tape. old tape and i wondered what they were taping over. what could it have been?
anyway the session went well. though it was clear that we were amateurs. our drums were borrowed and shitty, out of tune, and we had to do over dubs (which i guess is not regular) cos my trumpet playing and our singing was so off initially. i remember the nerves while waiting to hear the mix in the wait room outside of the big recording room where a symphony was rehearsing. the deal is its supposed to be fast and live. all things considered, it was. for us.
we left the studio and continued touring through england, up north till we got to scotland. we had a day off after our nice and sleazy show (i think. maybe it was before)and that was the day the sessions was to air. we had been out and about with belle and sebastian folks and settled into a bar in the west end when we found out the session was to air. stevie asked the bartender to shut off the music and turn on the radio when it was discovered the radio didnt work. thing is, the bars top shelves were lined with old single speaker transistor radios so we went through all off them. the bartender did. not a good battery among the bunch so stevie legged to who knows where and procured some fresh batteries. we were all huddled around a big chopping block of a table when he threw them in the radio and it came to life just as john peel started speaking. all of us, so many ears were so close to that single speaker in the middle of the table! the first notes of mission bells came out and, and i still cant describe the feeling. i was listening so hard and so proud. mission bells was just past the trumpet section and stuart asked me if i wrote that song. yeah. but my eyes were tearing up way before the question. best day of my music life for sure.

as i write this the first spring rain is falling in brooklyn, effectively banishing me and my guitar from my favorite late night spot in the back yard...
....i wrote some music for genius artist, daniel barrow, and his current performance "every time i see your picture i cry". look it up!!!
he will be performing the piece in ottawa, canada, and chicago, il. soon. (ny in the fall) look out for it. it'll blow your mind for sure. he recently won the grand prize at the toronto images festival for this performance.
im so honored to be a part of this and i hope you see it.

best,
linton

Alicia Vanden Heuvel said...
I have picked out a few things that I thought were appropriate, that kind of express some of the feelings that are so inexpressible. Here in San Francisco (San's Birthplace and Namesake) many hearts are full sadness but also love for San. He was a really good friend. The first time I saw him, I thought he was a beautiful woman! After knowing him on tour over the years and getting a chance to play in Ladybug for a while, I can only say that I loved San. He had such an amazing character, smile, biting wit and when he said "fuck!" it sounded like he was spitting fire! I am sure many of you know how incredible and UNIQUE he was... and that's to say the least. There are so many memories of our conversations, especially over the last tours. One thing I specifically remember was in one of our last conversations, him saying how one could really get by with practically nothing.. even in a place like New York... he had an ability to look at life in that way... that the material world wasn't what mattered at all. What really mattered was who you loved... and Swiss chocolate, of course, but nevertheless, the conversation stuck with me. Anyways, here are a few from San Francisco, with love for Liam and Brigette and all the Ladybug Transistor and Friends:

'Someone says, Sanai is dead.
No small thing to say.

He was not bits of husk,
or a puddle that freezes overnight,
or a comb that cracks when you use it
or a pod crushed upon the ground

He was fine powder in a rough clay dish.
He knew of what both worlds were worth:
a grain of barley.'



'Imagine the time the particle you are
returns to where it came from!

The family darling comes home. Wine,
without being contained in cups,
is handed around.

A red glint appears in a granite outcrop,
and suddenly the whole cliff turns to ruby.'

- Rumi

All my love Brigette, Liam
We are here for you and hold love in our hearts
We are here if you ever need us, when you need us
Know that our love for San and our respect for his work will be remembered.. that Liam will know about this, about how amazing his father was through all the hearts of his friends and family.

san fadyl, of long time and good time friends, the ladybug transistor passed away last wednesday. total shock and totally sad. one of the warmest people i have ever met and surely one of the very best drummers. that guy had a passion for drums and music above and beyond most musicians i know, myself included. a fucking with it player with an ear for music. no showy bullshit though he was more than capable. totally on the mark. he cared about sounds and intermingling beats and fills and about the music he played and the ideas he and fellow ladybugs created. no solo jams. no one upping. but man, his pick up fills are unreal. listen for them. his timing, immpecable, even weirdly perfect. a craftsman for sure.
most of the aislers have played with san and the ladybug transistor. i toured for them last winter through europe. his last tour. i feel so lucky for that. but i felt lucky before san's passing. the honor of having spent time, and playing music with san and all of them was so rad and also one of the best trips/tours of my time. it was one of the only experiences ive had performing where i felt i could just play well and have fun. and san most certainly helped make that happen. i followed him, every kick drum beat, anticipated his every beat, knowing he was solid and on the mark and i had to be there with him. thing was as i got used to it, following him, the last dates were glancing over to view this huge fucking grin. commence my huge fucking grin. thats what i was following. lord knows a smile like that cant be nothing than pure love. and its infectious for sure. the guy was having a ball!
he was always ready for a fight though. politcal mostly, but cross him in a prog-rock debate and your done for.
thing is im sure he knew complacency and consistantly concurring dialoge is boring, not challenging. he played devils advocate for sure, but that just cos he was smart and knew getting to the meat of real communication and ideas involves challange. that said, he was also one of the most tender and forgiving people ive ever met. i guess those two charictaristics together are called wisdom. or just real good people. neither the lesser.
san will be missed.
incomparable. truly genuine.
im sure he was many things to many people but who he was, when he was for you and you and you, it was fucking real, for sure.
see ya later san.

MICHAEL AND LINTON WILL BE PERFORMING AT 4 PM SUNDAY THE 12TH OF NOVEMBER AT RECORD HUNTER RECORD STORE IN STOCKHOLM AND AGAIN LATER THAT NIGHT AT Ondskan at Läckerbiten IN STOLKHOLM. DOORS ARE AT 8 PM FOR THE LATER SHOW.

LINTON AND MICHAEL WILL BE PERFORMING ACOUSTIC VERSIONS OF THE AISLERS SETS SONGS. WE WILL BE JOINED BY THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR FOR PART OF THE SET!!!!!!
WE WILL NOT BE PLAYING THE SHOWS IN VALENCIA AND BARCELONA BUT LINTON WILL BE FILLING IN ON BASS FOR THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR.


NOVEMBER
12th Stockholm, Sweden - Record Hunter (show at 4pm)
12th Stockholm, Sweden -Ondskan at Läckerbiten (show at 8 pm)
14th Stockholm, Sweden - Svenska Musik Klubben http://www.myspace.com/ svenskamusikklubben
15th Bergen, Norway - Kvarteret http://www.kvarteret.uib.no/
17th Trondheim, Norway - Samfundet http://www.samfundet.no/detalj.php? id=5953
18th Tallin, Estonia - Kuku www.kukuklubi.ee
21st Heulva, Spain - Salon De Actos University
22nd Linares, Spain - El Pequeno Saltamontes
23rd Sevilla, Spain - Sala Chicote
24th Granada, Sugar Pop
25th Lerida, Spain - Cafe del Teatre In-Somni Festival
26th Tarragona, Spain - Zero
29th Madrid, Spain - Sala Nasti http://www.myspace.com/nasticlub
30th Murcia, Spain - 12&Medio
December
1st Valencia, Spain - Sala El Loco http://www.myspace.com/ tranquilomusica
2nd Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Club Festival http:// www.primaveraclub.com/

anyone know of a place ( do you live or have friends who live in a musician friendly loft building in brooklyn or queens and can pass on a landlord or supers number?) one bedroom apartment or room availble to move into september first?
ideally, i would like to find an affordable queer/trans friendly apt. share situation, live on my own to record music in a loft apartment, or share a loft (or apt big enough for a recording studio) with like minded folks.

any leads or ideas?

gratefully,
amy linton
347 415 2070

thanks to everyone who could make it to the benefit show we played on saturday at north 6. the event raised a considerable amount of money for the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and its all cos of you. thanks so much. it was a good ol acoustic time. hope you enjoyed it.
we will have some live tracks from the show up on the page soon as we can.
if you are interested in learning more about SRLP go to: www.srlp.org

love
linton

hey ya,
if any one has any favorite "bootlegged" songs of ours...maybe youd lke to share them? send me an mp3 at proleart@hotmail.com and i can put them up on the page.
i think that would be real nice.let me know where the show was and your name so ican put that info in there.
thanks,

linton