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B A L L P E E N ( ! ) B U L L E T I N S

updated:August 31st, 2006




Salütes Sound Seekers ( ! )
SKiN GRAFT's Ace Reporter, "Jazzy" Joe Romita here with another staggering summary of the frankly phenomenal feats fathered at the famed fount of flabbergast... the forever favored, far-from faddish, far-flung frontiersmen of the fashionable Fort SKiN GRAFT!!!! Face front, frenzied ones!!!!

IN THE NEWS:

KOENJIHYAKKEI
vv Viva Koenki!! CD! The band's second, largely
vv unheard album. Brand new domestic release
vv of the heaviest Koenjihyakkei album

KOENJIHYAKKEI

.....Live At Doors DVD! Plays in all regions!
vv Imported from Yoshida's Magaibutsu label.

JAPANESE NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL
vv RUINS ALONE plays RUINS & KOENJIHYAKKEI!
MADE IN MEXICO at CMJ and
.....split 7" with the MICROWAVES
vv It's all in the headline!!

AIDS WOLF: CMJ / SHOWS / VIDEO
.....E*Rock's Spit Tastes Like Metal in 2-D!!


Gzandak Zeuhligans!!! ! Best be in a modernist, neoclassic, full-on fusion-filled frame of mind, cause we're going on a superiorsonic celestial excursion in this edition of the Ballpeen Bulletins! That's right, it's a full-on Prog Party, with Yoshida Tatsuya's KOENJIHYAKKEI!!!

ITEM! When it comes to highly-desired, collector brow perspired,"been-looking-for-it-but-boy-am-i-tired", albums, KOENJIHYAKKEI's second full length "Viva Koenji!!" takes the present-day prog cake. With the original pressing routinely going for two arms and a leg on the collector's market, it occurred to those ingenious overseers' at SG Recs that there just might be interest in seeing the record brought back from the grave. And after countless late nights, hours of negotiations, and a couple of bucks - HERE it is! Let's take a gander at the official press release scribed by our own Charlie Nite!

Following the release of 2005's "Angherr Shisspa", Skin Graft proudly presents Koenjihyakkei's second album "Viva Koenji!!" to western listeners. With the original issue on Japan's God Mountain label largely unheard, "Viva Koenji!!", generally considered the band's heaviest album, returns to print in an affordable remastered edition. Headed by vocalist / composer / drummer extraordinaire Yoshida Tatsuya (of the bass and drum duo RUINS), Koenjihyakkei sports a listenership comprised of zuehl prog fans, no-wavers and adventurous music enthusiasts; and has proven itself the most exciting contemporary progressive rock act on the planet.

"Start here. That is, put down all your worn out copies of Magma "Hhai", King Crimson "Red" and Univers Zero "Ceux du Dehors" and start all over again with "Viva Koenji!!"... The opening track "Grembo Zavia" has it all - spastic tempo, coathanger meter, vocals that would make the cokehead Magma fan proud, and a creepy zeuhl mosh at the end. The ultimate prog call to arms".
- dom at Ground and Sky

Not convinced? Saunter on over to the AUDIO page, download all ten minutes, fourteen seconds of the newly encoded "Grembo Zavia", and take it for a test spin. If you're still not sold, kindly download it to where the sun don't shine and step off... posuer!

ITEM! Now, ever since "Angherr Shisspa" dropped late last year, the internet traffic cops haven't been able to halt the torrent of emails worrisomely wondering if Koenjihyakkei would be perfoming outside of Japan anytime soon. See, the line-up's scheduling conflicts make it especially difficult, so, we've brought in the next best thing! By special arrangement with Yoshida's Magaibutsu label, we're pleased to import Koenjihyakkei direct to your television set! In stock and ready to ship now, put your heads together for KOENJIHYAKKEI "Live At Doors" on a portable, all region DVD! Packaged in a lavish photo filled fold out jacket, this dynamic video disc documents last years' Angherr Shisspa release show - performed at the Doors nightclub in Tokyo (Photos of the show were previously posted in the photo gallery HERE). The DVD includes two sets plus an encore for a grand total of 16 tracks (and one of 'em's a 3 song medley)! Quantities are limited, so slackers need not apply

KOENJIHAYAKKEI "Viva Koenji!!" and "Live At Doors" are up for ordering now in honor of the incoming Japanese New Music Festival (see below). For prices and info, paypal customers are advised to click HERE. And get this, we have a treat for those who prefer the tried and true traditional mailorder method (y'know, with stamps and envelopes and stuff). You will be among the first to try out the brand spanking NEW Skin Graft Mailorder address! From here on out, send those checks or money orders to:

SKiN GRAFT Records
Mailorder Department
P.O. Box 1545
0'Fallon, MO. 63366 USA

The Chicago P.O. Box remains open, but we've shifted the mailorder outfit a few hours south, so unless you're prepared to W-A-I-T for your order to wind it's way over to the ajoining state, send it direct to the new address.

ITEM! And - wrapping up this edition's titanic trifecta of peerless progressive rock reporage, the North American edition of The JAPANESE NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL is practically upon us! Gird those loins, cuz no less than SEVEN EXTRAORDINARY ACTS will be appearing LIVE on-stage!: - RUINS ALONE! - ZUBI ZUVA X! - AKATEN! - SHRINP WARK! - ZOFFY! - SEIKAZOKU! - and - ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE! The tour starts September 2nd at New York's Tonic and will conclude south of the border in Mexico City! Much like last summer's RUINS "Bassist Wanted" Tour, Yoshida will be perfoming a stripped down solo set as RUINS ALONE, and this time, he'll not only be performing the music of RUINS, but (by special request) attendee's should keep an ear wax-free for some KOENJIHYAKKEI tunes too! A complete listing of The Japanese New Music Festival tour dates have been posted HERE.

ITEM! FAST FACT: The Spellcaster Lodge in New Orleans' 9th Ward is back in business, so to celebrate, Mr Quintron and Miss Pussycat are taking a European vacation... And all of Europe is invited to join 'em! The month-plus long tour will wrap with a show aboard the S.S. Stubuniz at an undisclosed location in Amsterdam! Dates are at the TOURS page!

ITEM! If the first three items have proven anything, it's that music made in Japan can be the tops - the coliseum, even! But take it from Jazzy, some of the best tunes you're likely to hear are MADE IN MEXICO. As you already know, their debut album "Zodiac Zoo" has been pleasing plenty in parts far and wide - and now MADE IN MEXICO have a new split 7" with the mighty MICROWAVES courtesy of the rollicking rollers at Rampage Recordings! We have copies at the ready for mailorder direct to your den of iniquity, so for details, hop to the everything else section of the paypal shop and click "Add To Cart" or, if you prefer, subtract the appropriate fee from your checkbook and send it to the aforementioned new P.O. Box! And get this - MADE IN MEXICO will be performing at the Knitting Factory for CMJ's New Music Marathon this year (along with AIDS Wolf and a host of stars). The scoop may be scooped HERE!


IT
EM!
Shortly after their CMJ splashdown with MADE MEXICO, Montreal's AIDS Wolf will be blasting off to Europe for a massive two month long tour. The dates are starting to pour in and they are up and at 'em at the TOURS page. And in other news, AIDS Wolf have enlisted the ever-awesome artistry of E*Rock (well renowned all around for the mind-altering POINT LINE PLANE "Smoke Signals" sleeve) to direct a video of the song "Spit Taste's Like Metal" from "The Lovvers LP"! It's now online for the watching - no MTV required! JUST click HERE!

And, yep, all ingredients are jelling for a year-end release for the debut LP from AIDS Wolf versus ATHLETIC Automaton. Watch this space!

But before AAAW hits, tune in same Graft time, same Graft channel for another long awaited piece of business, as members of HELLA, PINBACK, THE ADVANTAGE and a former FLYING LUTTENBACHER (to name a few) knock iit way outta left field. Hit after hit after hit, here comes HOLY SMOKES!

Excel-sore!

"JAZZY" JOE ROMITA


MORE NEW NEWS!

updated: July 11th, 2006





IN THE NEWS:

ARAB ON RADAR
vv Soak The Saddle LP Deluxe! Includes: vinyl LP,
.....screenprinted cover on heavy board, (2) metallic foil
.... stickers & european tour poster reproduction!

COLOSSAMITE

.....Economy Of Motion LP Deluxe! Includes: vinyl LP,
.....gatefold wraparound cover, bonus split 7" single
.... & duotone economy of motion poster!

GORGE TRIO
vv A return to form - European tour this October!
THE FLYING LUTTENBACHERS
vv Weasel Walter and company unleash Cataclysm!
SNEAK PEAK
vv An advance look at the Fall SGraft ad with art from
vv HOLY SMOKES and KOENJIHYAKKEI!


Yo-Ho-Ho, it's Jazzy Joe! Your souped-up sound spinster is long in his britches, but short on time. We've only got a few minutes for a flash update, so lets dig up the treasures and divvy up that booty, lickety-split!

ITEM! Chums, Fall is falling early here at SGRecs.dotcom, now in-stock and ready to order(!) are a pair of Deluxe Vinyl Editions from two of the most awe-inspiring acts ever to grace our stage! Read 'em and weep 'em (tears of joy, natch)!

ARAB ON RADAR Soak The Saddle Deluxe LP
Arab On Radar's breakthrough album on vinyl again for the first time in 6 years! Screenprinted cover on heavy board, first 300 copies include an ARAB ON RADAR Soak The Saddle European Tour poster reproduction & metallic foil sticker set (two different stickers)! Powerful and cathartic, ARAB ON RADAR is a unique and unprecedented brand of psycho-neurological terrorism. This strain is the most dangerous; Listeners have reported SEIZURES, HEART ATTACKS and HEIGHTENED STATES OF SEXUAL AROUSAL upon repeated use. Arab On Radar's members have gone on to form MADE IN MEXICO, THE CHINESE STARS and ATHLETIC AUTOMATON. CD also available.
Preview MP3's can be found HERE

COLOSSAMITE Economy Of Motion Deluxe LP

The landmark album on vinyl in a gatefold sleeved deluxe new edition. Each includes a duotone 22" x 17" poster and early mailorder copies will also include a bonus COLOSSAMITE / WHITE TORNADO import split 7". "Economy Of Motion" sounds like a comp-mix tape gone awry. A meeting ground of hardcore, noise and improvisation... Black Flag vs Derek Bailey... Aggro burdened with afterthoughts and a bit-o-honey. COLOSSAMITE was GORGE TRIO plus Nick Sakes, vocalist/guitarist of DAZZLING KILLMEN. Includes members of DEERHOOF, SICBAY and THE FLYING LUTTENBACHERS. CD also available. Preview MP3's can be found HERE

In addition to the MP3's already archived at the AUDIO page, we've ripped a second song from each album, just in case your ears are itching for the hard sell. Both LP's have been added to the SKiN GRAFT paypal shop HERE, and orders begin shipping now. For traditional mailorder, please send checks or money orders to the P.O. Box up top.

For those feeling especially nostalgic, the original FLASH ad created way back when "Soak The Saddle" was originally released has been archived for your look-sees. To view it, scan the far left of this page for the banner ad and give it a click!

Now surely these LP's are already jam-packed with enuf special features to satisfy even the heartiest of graft-etites, but we've got a special deal for early 2-fer mailorder-ers! Order both LP's, we'll knock a dollar off - PLUS, we'll include a glossy b&w promo photo of AOR & a reproduction of the original "Soak The Saddle" presskit just for kicks!

Order BOTH LP's and you'll receive:
COLOSSAMITE "Economy Of Motion" vinyl LP
wraparound gatefold sleeve
COLOSSAMITE duotone poster
import split 7" with White Tornado
ARAB ON RADAR "Soak The Saddle" vinyl LP
screenprinted cover art
(2) different AOR stickers
AOR Soak The Saddle poster
----plus:
ARAB ON RADAR glossy promo photo
Soak The Saddle presskit reproduction

Quantities on the bonus items are very limited, when they run out - that's it! No more than (2) of each LP per order please.

ITEM! France may not have the World Cup, but their big balls need no protection with news like this... With the release of the Colossamite LP Deluxe, the time just couldn't be better to announce 2006's first show from the incomparable GORGE TRIO (that's 3/4th's Colossamite ya idjit, we just mentioned it above!)! GORGE TRIO is on deck to perform at the "La Nuit Blanche Festival" in Northern France October 7th - and additional European dates are in the works! If you're one of the two or three troopers who have yet to pick up GORGE TRIO's "Open Mouth, O' Wisp", Doctor Jazzy will no longer tolerate such a flagrant act of self-abuse. He prescribes one copy, taken orally, 6 times daily. And Gorge Trio's not the only band with shows on the horizon, check out the TOURS page for a complete rundown of stunning acts in action!

ITEM! It's a good time to be an Ed Rodriguez fan. Not only is COLOSSAMITE's piece de resistance available on vinyl, not only will GORGE TRIO be performing live before a free France, but Ed is also a member in good standing of the current FLYING LUTTENBACHERS - and Weasel Walter's badass band of bombast needs no introduction round these parts! By special arrangement with Ug Explode, Skin Graft is pleased to present the band's new album to friends and enemies alike! "Cataclysm" clocks in at a healthy 58 minutes with 9 cuts of unflinching rock modernism from Weasel Walter (drums), Ed Rodriguez (Gorge Trio), Mike Green (Burmese) and Mick Barr (Orthrelm). Listeners will be treated to an epic cover of the fourth movement of Olivier Messiaen's "L'Ascension" and the even more epic 15 minute composition "Regime" (5 years in the making!) Supplies are limited - copies from the first CD pressing of 500 are now at the ready in the Everything Else section of the PAYPAL Shop!

And in breaking news, Mr. Walter is hard at work on a special edition of the currently out of print FLYING LUTTENBACHERS masterwork "Destroy All Music" for release here at Skin Graft next year! This special edition will feature the album in it's entirety - in a radically remixed and remastered new edition, plus a bucketful of rare and unheard tracks from the Electric Quintet Era of the band: Dylan Posa, Ken Vandermark, Chad Organ, Jeb Bishop and Weasel Walter himself. More info as it hits this desk!

ITEM! Here's hoping your suitably dizzy from this go-round rockers, cause that's a wrap. In the coming months, Jazzy Joe will have more news on the rapidly-approaching CD's from HOLY SMOKES "Talk To Your Kids About Gangs", KOENJIHYAKKEI "Viva Koenji!!" and the cool-cool-collaborative album of the century from AIDS WOLF and ATHLETIC AUTOMATON. Those eager for for an early eyeful will be happy to see that your Jazzy jet-setter smuggled away a snapshot of Skin Graft's up and coming Fall advert, which clearly pictures art clipped from the HOLY SMOKES and KOENJIHYAKKEI releases! Click the pic above for a bigger view!

Excel-sore!

"JAZZY" JOE ROMITA


MORE NEW NEWS!
updated: June 5th, 2006


IN THE NEWS:

IN STOCK: DAZZLING KILLMEN CD's
....
QUINTRON and MISS PUSSYCAT
vv
Face Of Collapse, Recuerda, These Hands... & L.M.O.P !
ATHLETIC AUTOMATON

vv Debut album 5 days in Africa out now on 180 gram vinyl
GUMBALLHEAD T-Shirt SELLS OUT
....(and GETS A REORDER)

vv
More are on the way! In Ragstock stores now!
SKiN GRAFT's Fall Lineup REVEALED
vv
ARAB ON RADAR & COLOSSAMITE vinyl!
vv ATHLETICAIDSAUTOWOLF!
vv HOLY SMOKES! -and- KOENJIHYAKKEI!


Greetings Guys and Dolls! Lace up your dancing shoes extra tight, once again the time has come for Jazzy Joe to tippy-tap his way through another torrent of toe tingling tidbits, certain to put a summer spring in your tepid two-step! Here at the offices of SKiN GRAFT Records Over Mid-America, the air is thick with excitement, so thick, that your audio overlord had to whip out his bowie knife to cut himself a little breathing room! With the hot air cleared, lets proceed to thickening your atmosphere, shall we?!

ITEM! On occasion, your tender tyrant of tempo has had reason to report of an outage of this or an outage of that. Yes, the Skin Graft brand has proven itself time and time again as the crafty connoisseur's platter of preference when it comes to indoor dining, though occasionally, certain ingredients remain elusive and the kitchen comes up empty. But today (!), word comes from the chef that back on the menu are four fan- favored, full-flavored full lengths - that both royalty and ragamuffin alike had been kicking and pleading for a return to greatness! Bon Appetit!

SUMMER 2006 REISSUES:
DAZZLING KILLMEN "Face Of Collapse" CD
The label's first full-length release, declared by ALTERNATIVE PRESS as the TOP HEAVY ALBUM of the 90's based on the following criteria: 1) Avoidance of formula or cliché. 2) Dexterity of Rhythm section, 3) Quality of production values, 4) Lack of predictable lyrical subjects - Satan, Straightedge, Viking folklore, etc. "Sounds like Dave Bruebeck's Time Out played through Carcass' PA system."
DAZZLING KILLMEN "Recuerda" CD
Collects re-recordings of the the first album "Dig Out The Switch", the Lounge Ax cassette, the singles, unreleased gems and about 20 cub scouts. 76 minutes of blistering fast emotional Prog-Metal-Math-Hardcore. Your band can't play this. These guys wrote the book before the dogs ate it. Legendary.
QUINTRON "These Hands Of Mine" CD
Truly the greatest, excitingest, rocking & especially rollingest one-man-band the world has ever seen. If you're thinking honkin' squonkin' washboard, sideshow one man band, then fast forward past that big bass drum & start thinkin' stripped down drum machine, overdriven Hammond Organ and a frontman who screams and gestures like he invented devil's music. The dance craze starts here, on shag carpeting.
FLOSSIE and the UNICORNS "LMNOP" CD
Miss Pussycat's little animal friends are always starting bands and the most popular is Flossie And The Unicorns... furry animals playing dance music on little tiny guitars, eensy weensy drums and itty bitty synthesizers! Now, Please don't try to figure out the "time signature" of this music - there isn't one. So simple and perfect, it's almost frightening - unless of course, you're a badger!

While digging through the SG archives in preparation for the 9 Lives exhibit (see the last update), an entire box of the original cassette version of DAZZLING KILLMEN's "Face Of Collapse" was excavated and brought to the surface! As a special treat, while supplies last, we're offering the cassette as a bonus with the purchase of the CD! For a modest packing fee, you can enjoy DAZZLING KILLMEN's coup de grace in your Ford Escort's antiquated stereo system, that walkman wasting away in your dresser drawer or that vintage boombox with the Warrant sticker on the side! These are slick, mass-manufactured cassettes, designed for retail sale - each includes the album artwork and the whole bit! No DIY aesthetic evident here!

QUINTRON "These Hands Of Mine", FLOSSIE AND THE UNICORNS "LMNOP", DAZZLING KILLMEN "Face Of Collapse" & "Recuerda" are 100% guaranteed to kick ass. If, upon purchase, you choose to dispute their greatness, Jazzy guarantees' that you are in need of a serious kick in the pants and - sometime, somewhere, you're gonna get it. All four of our summer reissues are up and at 'em for order now - the paypal savvy should visit the SKiN GRAFT shop HERE, while snail mailers are invited to send checks and money orders to the P.O. Box. MP3 samples from each album (including a newly ripped track from Recuerda!) have been archived at the AUDIO page for your approval.

ITEM! After a series of false starts, time-outs and illegal motions, the kitty's play was ruled foul and the initial public offering of Rhode Island's ATHLETIC AUTOMATON is at last, really, truly being made public! Courtesy of AA & LDR/HPR, "5 DAYS IN AFRICA" has arrived, weighing in at 180 grams and measuring a full 12 inches! One look at the stats of this lineup will tell you all you need to know: On Offense, Stephen Mattos (Guitar & Lap Steel), formerly of now retired world champions, Arab on Radar - and on Defense, Patrick Crump (Percussion) a Kansas City native, originally with Pellum 1-2-3.

The merrymen of the meritorious Skyscraper magazine got an advance earful of "5 Days In Africa" and have reported the following on their sports page: "Athletic Automaton rock a sick dynamic that is all about sustain, twisting your mind and expectations past the breaking point. Their riffs and grooves are minimal, the lyrics occasional, and the tension they bend so well is a definite, and most welcome constant".


To order the "5 Days In Africa" LP, dribble toward the Everything Else section of the PAYPAL Shop. Listening is mandatory, cause this Fall, ATHLETIC AUTOMATON are gonna be playing REALLY dirty with teammates AIDS WOLF in a super special release here at SGraft - and you're gonna need all the practice you can get!

ITEM! Now that we're in a sporting mood, let's reflect on Jazzy's last at-bat in our previous update. In his riveting report, Jazzy spilled a shpeel on the SKiN GRAFT "9 Lives Exhibit" and pimped the impending splash of the GUMBALLHEAD THE CAT T-shirt, which made it's debut at the show. Seems the bum rush to glom onto these terrific tee's was an even more staggering stampede than the SG higher-ups had anticipated, resulting in a swift sell-out of all sizes! One by one they fell: XXL was the first to go, XL and L were knocked out soon thereafter, and then in a fatal flurry of orders, M, S, and YL were wiped off the shelves of the SG warehouse. Now, while we're not at all against the concept of letting one's chest go bare this summer, particularly when it comes to the ladies (Cool it Jazzy -Editor), far be it from your pals at SGdotcom to turn away your cold, hard cash, especially when exchanged for a glorious Graft-filled full-frontal endorsement! More five-star, five-color Gumballhead T-shirts are being printed as Jazzy types! Ladies and Gentleman, place your orders - operators are standing by! And if you just so happen to stop by one of the reputable RAGSTOCK chain of clothier's dashed across the Midwest, we're pleased to announce that they have just picked up ol' Gummy's shirt up for retail sale - in all 14 of their lofty locations! They are in-stock now, so tell 'em Jazzy sent you (and watch 'em scratch their heads)!

ITEM! If you've been surfing around the site recently, you've no doubt noticed that the AUDIO and TOUR pages are sporting new looks, as various corners of the Skin Graft website receive a little spring sharpening. A peppering of previously unavailable items have been sprinkled across the PAYPAL SHOP and perhaps someday, even the way-out-of-date RADIO SHOW and SGTV pages will get a long overdue revision - - but kimosabbe, that ain't happening today. On the tour page, be sure to check out the return of YOWIE to live performances, the QUINTRON and MISS PUSSYCAT summer slam and word of an incoming Japanese New Music Festival, masterminded by RUINS' Yoshida Tatsuya! Plus show listings from MADE IN MEXICO, THE FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, ATHLETIC AUTOMATON, THE CHINESE STARS and AIDS WOLF!

SKiN GRAFT 2006

ITEM!
Buck up, chums, we've reached the end of our little tête-à-tête and your sour sound sovereignty must vacate the internet. But first, Jazzy will confirm the magic on deck for the fatter half of 2006... What's in store? Implore no more! Stuffing into the pipeline are... DELUXE VINYL editions of two holy grails from our distant past: ARAB ON RADAR "Soak The Saddle" and COLOSSAMITE "Economy Of Motion" (!)... the divertissement digital dynamo of HOLY SMOKES "Talk To Your Kids About Gangs" (!)... the collaborative cacophony of AIDS WOLF and ATHLETIC AUTOMATON - together on one record (!)... and, by popular demand, an all new Skin Graft production of the hardly-ever available KOENJIHYAKKEI "II" (!)...!!!


It's gonna be another year to remember, so steer clear of falling anvils, avoid aluminum-based deodorants and don't forget to check in again soon!

Excel-sore!

"JAZZY" JOE ROMITA

Click HERE for MORE RECENT NEWS ( ! )



NEWS ARCHIVE
NEWS: EARLY 2006

NEWS: LATE 2005
NEWS: MID 2005
NEWS: EARLY 2005
NEWS: MID 2004
NEWS: EARLY 2004
NEWS: MID 2003
NEWS: EARLY 2003
NEWS: MID 2002
NEWS: EARLY 2002

NEWS: MID 2001

NEWS: EARLY 2001

NEWS: MID 2000
NEWS: EARLY 2000
NEWS: WINTER 98 / 99
NEWS: WINTER 96 / 97

NEWS: FALL 95
NEWS: SPRING 94
NEWS:SUMMER 93





New ADDRESS:
P.O. BOX 1545
O' Fallon MO 63366
USA