Tag Archives: Bill Orcutt

The Other Side of Life Returns with Two Contemporary Experimental Music Concerts in June and July

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Louisville, KY – May 8th, 2025

After a decade-long absence from concert promotion in Louisville, The Other Side of Life returns with two exciting concerts of contemporary experimental music, both presented at Art Sanctuary in Louisville’s Schnitzelburg neighborhood. Online ticketing is now available for the following performances:

Guitarist BILL ORCUTT returns to Louisville for the first time since 2014, in his acclaimed duo with drummer CHRIS CORSANO:

Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano, Flanger Magazine, Jungle Boogie poster designed by Robert Beatty

BILL ORCUTT and CHRIS CORSANO
with special guests
FLANGER MAGAZINE
JUNGLE BOOGIE

Wednesday June 25th
Art Sanctuary (back room)
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY 40217

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show
Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; physical tickets available soon for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
7:00 PM doors
8:00 PM music
More info here.

Heralded electronic music duo MATMOS (featuring Louisville native Drew Daniel) returns for the first time since 2013:

MATMOS
with special guest ED SUNSPOT

Thursday July 3rd at Art Sanctuary 1433 S. Shelby Street Louisville, KY 40217

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; physical tickets available soon for in-person purchase at Surface Noise Records (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
8:00 PM doors
9:00 PM music
More info here. 

The Other Side of Life is a sole proprietorship venture whose mission is to promote contemporary music events in Louisville, Kentucky. In its prior incarnation from 2008 to 2015, The Other Side of Life was responsible for bringing hundreds of legendary international and national touring musicians featuring all kinds of musical genres to Lousiville, including unforgettable concerts by acts such as Faun Fables, Wire (UK), CJ Ramone, Shonen Knife (Japan), Sir Richard Bishop, Tashi Dorji, Steve Gunn, Helmet, Oren Ambarchi (Australia), Spider Bags, Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band, D.R.I., Endless Boogie, Peter Brotzmann (Germany)/Hamid Drake/William Parker trio, Marisa Anderson, The Skull Defekts (Sweden), Loop (UK), Colin Stetson (Canada), Bombino (Niger), Helado Negro, Daniel Higgs, Cave, Josephine Foster, Horse Lords, and many more. The Other Side of Life also promoted events with such local, Louisville-based musical talents as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, State Champion, Parlour, Old Baby, Coliseum, Young Widows, Tropical Trash, Anwar Sadat, Cher Von, The Java Men, Black God, Tyrone Cotton, 1200 (Jecorey Arthur), and White Reaper, among many others.

Live music events in Louisville, KY. Show announcements, music and news, and other ephemera at: https://bsky.app/profile/theothersideoflife.bsky.social.

BILL ORCUTT and CHRIS CORSANO, FLANGER MAGAZINE, and JUNGLE BOOGIE at ART SANCTUARY, Wednesday, June 25th

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Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano, Flanger Magazine, Jungle Boogie poster designed by Robert Beatty
(Poster design by Robert Beatty)

The Other Side of Life presents:

BILL ORCUTT and CHRIS CORSANO
with special guests
FLANGER MAGAZINE
JUNGLE BOOGIE

Wednesday June 25th at Art Sanctuary (back room)
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY 40217

UPDATE WEDNESDAY 6/25: Shelby Street is closed at the Ash Street railroad crossing four blocks north of Art Sanctuary due to track repair!

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show
Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary;
Physical tickets now available for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
7:00 PM doors
8:00 PM music

‘It should surprise you not an iota that [BILL] ORCUTT’s style is rooted as much in the fractal melodies of Trane and Taylor as it is in Delta syrup or Tin Pan Alley glitz. As for [CHRIS] CORSANO, well… to me Corsano is beyond jazz, almost beyond music, his ambidextrous, octopoid technique grappling many stylistic levers and spraying a torrent of light from every direction. Corsano’s ferocity has elevated many “mere” improv records to transcendence, but… he’s crafted his polyrhythms within more narrative channels, bringing to mind his “mannered” playing in the lamented Flower-Corsano duo. It’s not “groove” playing precisely, but it follows many grooves simultaneously, much like Orcutt’s own melodic musings — which is why they’re so naturally lock-in-key here.’ – Tom Carter on Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt’s album Made Out of Sound.
https://palilalia.com/
https://billorcutt.bandcamp.com/album/made-out-of-sound-2024-reissue
https://cor-sano.com

FLANGER MAGAZINE is the duo of Chris Bush (Caboladies, Equipment Pointed Ankh) and Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, Sapat): ‘Gathering samples, a River Doctor Limnologist inspecting the properties of After the Bend might note the specter of Leroy Jenkin’s free-violin heat-light deep in the water’s thermal stratification. Or mortgage the late-Maestro’s time with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza to pay down the growing river heat budget. Or take one’s dirty buckets to the banks of the 19th laundromat where Walt Dickerson plays his vibraphone parts from Divine Gemini with dowsing rods. Or excavate the bedrock in the drainage basin, noting skeletal remains of a Shostakovich string quartet attempting to tune up a Kentucky Fiddle’s subsequent influence on the chemical composition of the water. Or consult the historical revisionist reenactment troupe’s episode of Fishing with John (Fahey) in which Codona, The Sea Ensemble and Nuno Canavarro guest host as their fleet of paddle boats churn river water into a regal lager, and all the fish get drunk in their quest for the leaner enamel Hosianna Mantra GPS coordinates of the Fattened Herb.’ – Kris Abplanalp on Flanger Magazine’s album After the Bend.
https://flangermagazine.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-bend

JUNGLE BOOGIE is Ken “Bundy” Brown, founding member of Tortoise, and former member of Bastro, Gastr del Sol, Directions, and Pullman. Jungle Boogie’s Cease and Desist is now available at Bandcamp:
https://jungleboogie.bandcamp.com/album/cease-desist

Live music events in Louisville, KY. Show announcements, music and news, and other ephemera at: https://bsky.app/profile/theothersideoflife.bsky.social.

BILL ORCUTT, TIM BARNES DUO and SOLO at DREAMLAND, Friday, March 28th

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billorcuttlarge

The New Media Project and The Other Side of Life are proud to present:

BILL ORCUTT (San Francisco, CA)

and

TIM BARNES (Louisville, KY)

in duo and solo improvisations

Friday, March 28th
at DREAMLAND
810 E. Market Street (in the alley behind Decca Restaurant)
7 PM Doors*, $10
Advance online tickets available for purchase here: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/515521-bill-orcutt-tim-barnes-louisville/.

*A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE DOOR TIME FOR THIS SHOW: In order to ensure that plenty of our patrons can also make it to Zanzabar to see Earth and Mark McGuire the same night, the doors for this show will open promptly at 7 PM, with music to follow. Tim and Bill will play solo and duo sets, but there is no “opener” per se. Refunds due to lateness will not be granted.

orcutt
(Photograph of Bill Orcutt by Amanda Dawn Cristie.)

BILL ORCUTT – former guitarist of noise-rockers Harry Pussy – went under the radar for several years after his first solo LP in ’97. However, he resurfaced promptly in 2009 with the LP A New Way To Pay Old Debts, consisting of eight acoustic songs driven by visceral, spastic clatter, backed by either sung, grunted or chanted vocals. It’s safe to say no one handles an acoustic guitar like Bill Orcutt, and we are all better for it. That fine line between ‘genius’ and ‘crazy’ is his to tread.

Barnes

TIM BARNES is an internationally-known percussionist, electronic musician, and recording producer/engineer who has played and recorded with Sonic Youth, Wilco, Body/Head, Jim O’Rourke, Silver Jews, Neil Michael Hagerty and the Howling Hex, The Tower Recordings, The For Carnation, and MV+EE, as well as being featured in countless multiple other settings, from jazz-influenced free-improvisation to full-on rock n’ roll. He is the Artistic Director of DREAMLAND, and also runs the newly-revived Quakebasket record label (best known for its mid-1990s archival releases of solo work by Angus MacLise, poet and original drummer for the Velvet Underground). A California native, Tim moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 2007 from his longtime musical base, New York City.

This show marks their debut!

Check out the Facebook invitation here: https://www.facebook.com/events/603029353117028.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil@gmail.com. You can also join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/232825523444477/. Twitter: @OtherSideShows.

The Best of 2013

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After careful consideration, here’s my list of top albums this year, as well as some other commentary on music happenings. Enjoy!

1. Boards of Canada, Tomorrow’s Harvest (WARP)
2. WIRE, Change Becomes Us (Pink Flag)
3. Bombino, Nomad (Nonesuch)
4. Bill Orcutt, “Twenty Five Songs” (Palialia)
5. Run the Jewels, s/t (Fools Gold)
6. Zomes, Time Was (Thrill Jockey)
7. Marisa Anderson, Mercury (Mississippi/Change)
8. Endless Boogie, Long Island (No Quarter)
9. Daughn Gibson, Me Moan (Sub Pop)
10. Anwar Sadat, Gold (Sophomore Lounge)

Honorable mention: Matmos, The Marriage of True Minds (Thrill Jockey); The Dead C., Armed Courage (Ba Da Bing!), Jovonaes, Paranoia Makes a Crazy Gift (Sophomore Lounge); Steve Gunn, Time Off (Paradise of Bachelors); Call Back the Giants, “The Marianne” (Kye); Francisco Franco, s/t (New Images); Circuit Des Yeux, Overdue (Ba Da Bing!); Jaye Jayle, Jayle Time (unreleased); Glenn Jones, My Garden State (Thrill Jockey); Van Dyke Parks, Songs Cycled (Bella Union); Richard Youngs, Summer Through My Mind (Ba Da Bing!); Nathan Salsburg, Hard for to Win and Can’t be Won (No Quarter); Mammane Sani et son Orgue, La Musique Electronique du Niger (Sahel Sounds); Cian Nugent & the Cosmos, Born with the Caul (No Quarter).

Best Shows I Attended in 2013 (that I didn’t book):
1. Cropped Out Festival, Louisville, Kentucky — highlights being Mayo Thompson performing Corky’s Debt to His Father, Borbetomagus, Endless Boogie, The Endtables, Blues Control, Bill Orcutt & Chris Corsano, Superwolf, Montag, lots more.
2. Goblin and Zombi at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN.
3. Aaron Dilloway, Darin Gray & Raw Thug, Mike Shiflet, Jonathan Wood & Lowe Sutherland at the Louisville Experimental Festival.
4. Blondie and X at the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN.
5. TIE — Run the Jewels and Bombino at Forecastle; Yo La Tengo at the Brown Theater, both in Louisville.

Worst Things to Happen in 2013: The deaths of Lou Reed, Ray Price, Zbigniew Karkowski, Bernard Parmegiani, Jim Hall, Junior Murvin, Richard Coughlan, Cheb i Sabbah, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Chico Hamilton, Butch Warren, Philip Chevron, Wadih El Safi, Gypie Mayo, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Makoto Moroi, Isamu Jordan, Forrest, Prince Jazzbo, Jerry G. Bishop aka Svengoolie, Jackie Lomax, Mac Curtis, Jimmy Ponder, Lindsay Cooper, Pavlos Fyssas, Zulema, Tim Wright, George Duke, Willie Dunn, Zev Asher, Batile Alake, Eydie Gorme, Aube, Allen Lanier, Eyob Mekonnen, Marian McPartland, Bernard Vitet, T-Model Ford, Steve Berrios, Mike Farren, Joey Covington, Arturo Vega, Darondo, Johnny Smith, Fatai Rolling Dollar, Alastair Donaldson aka William Mysterious, Claudio Rocchi, Slim Whitman, Mary Love, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Puff Johnson, Alan Meyers, Chris Kelly, Jeff Hanneman, Cedric Brooks, Steve Martland, Ollie Mitchell, Ray Manzarek, Andy Johns, Don Blackman, Dean Drummond, Cordell Mosson, Storm Thorgerson, Chrissy Amphlett, Richie Havens, George Jones, Bobby Rogers, Alvin Lee, Peter Banks, Clive Burr, Bobby Smith, Hugh McCracken, Cecil Womack, Donald Byrd, Reg Presley, Rick Huxley, Shadow Morton, Tim Dog, Kevin Ayers, Damon Harris, Magic Slim, Cleotha Staples, Virgil Johnson, Richard Street, Nic Potter, Bobby Bennett, Steve Knight, Gregory Carroll, Leroy Bonner, Butch Morris, Patty Andrews, Ann Rabson, and probably many more that I’m forgetting. Rest in peace.

UPDATE, 12/24/2013: Rest in peace, Yusef Lateef, Diomedes Diaz, Björn J:son Lindh, Lord Infamous, David Richards, Herb Geller, and Ronnie Biggs.

UPDATE, 1/4/14: Rest in peace, David Wertman, Doe B, Benjamin Curtis, Wojciech Kilar, Jay Traynor, Al Porcino, Phil Everly, and Rita MacNeil (thanks to Alexander Campbell for informing me of her music).

Some Last-Minute Reviews for 2011

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Here are some short capsule reviews of some 2011 releases we didn’t otherwise get to over the past year.

Bill Orcutt, How the Thing Sings (Editions Mego) LP— Seemingly more aggressive than A New Way to Pay Old Debts, Bill Orcutt’s second “post-comeback” LP  How the Thing Sings still manages to showcase the occasional moment of beauty within what superficially may sound like a huge racket. Buy it here.

Nathan Salsburg, Affirmed (No Quarter) LP — We praised Salsburg’s duo record Avos with James Elkington, and we worked on the occasional show with him, so maybe you’re tired of reading about Nathan Salsburg’s deft guitar work and superb melodic sense in these pages. Well, guess what? Too bad. His solo debut, Affirmed, is every bit as good as Avos, perhaps it’s even better in its melancholy starkness. Can’t wait to hear more from Nathan in 2012. Buy it here.

Craig Colorusso, Sun Boxes (self-released) 7″ — One of the more pleasant surprises in our mailbox this year was this unassuming 7″ record documenting Craig Colorusso’s “Sun Boxes.” Basically they’re some sort of contraption that involves twenty amplifiers looping parts of a guitar chord and running on solar power, documented here in two different Massachusetts locations. Despite the short format, we look forward to hearing more. Buy it here.


The Parasites of the Western World, “Politico” b/w “Zytol Automation” (De Stijl) 7″  — Faithful repress of an obscure 1979 single by this band, recently resurrected by the same folks who brought you Michael Yonkers and 39 Clocks (so you know it’s gotta be pretty great). Late 1970s Eno-damaged glam-punk moves on the a-side, with a sparkling synth-driven instrumental on the flip. Highly recommended. Buy it (and their self-titled debut LP) here.

Silver Tongues, Black Kite (Karate Body) LP — This new Louisville band is both confounding and fascinating — the former because of their occasional “big rock” moves, the latter because of the clear gospel-via-Spiritualized influence we hear ringing throughout. Tough to grasp, in a good way, and hints at a possibly more interesting sophomore record. Buy it here.

Stare Case, Lose Today (De Stijl) LP — If you thought you were familiar with Nate Young and John Olson’s music through their “other” band Wolf Eyes, you may be in for a slight shock when you hear the much mellower — yet still intense — Stare Case. Lose Today is almost like a mash-up of their solo work as Regression (Young’s vocals and electronics) and Spykes (Olson’s electronics and reeds), which shouldn’t work, but does. Buy it here.

Mark McGuire, Get Lost (Editions Mego) LP — Excellent solo noodling by the guitar player in Emeralds, probably the best band to come out of Cleveland since, well, the 1970s. Reminiscent of our favorite Cluster/Harmonia/Eno records, but with an acid-drenched modern edge, which is no mean feat. Buy it here.

Void, Sessions 1981-83 (Dischord) LP — Void still sounds better than 99% of hardcore since. Buy it here.

A CROPPED OUT Summary: Or Louisville’s Best Music Weekend Ever

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Hey Louisville, if you weren’t at CROPPED OUT at some point during this past weekend, you really missed something quite special. It wasn’t just that there were a buncha noisy, arty bands and rock n’ roll and whatnot. There was actually a quite palpable community spirit, evidenced by the smiles, high-fives, and general fun it seemed that most everybody had. Didn’t hurt that some of the best weather of the fall made it possible for lots of bands to play outside, too. So here’s a quick rundown of best parts of the festival, complete with crappy pictures from my cellphone.

DAY 1 — FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11th: Though it got started way early on Friday afternoon, and there was some noise issues early on, Friday was a good start, especially for the Louisville bands on the bill. SAVAGES played immediately after LEARNER DANCER, both of which brought forceful, guitar-heavy rock (the former more in a pop vein, while the latter mined some heavy Sonic Youth-style dissonant territory).

Shedding

One of the early Friday highlights was, of course, Louisville’s SHEDDING (disclaimer: Connor and I are buds, but even if we weren’t, I’d still love his music). Despite his talk of being influenced by RUSH, Connor really brought more of a CURRENT 93 vibe, perfectly mellow yet eerie.

Shit & Shine

Another Friday highlight was Austin, Texas’s SHIT & SHINE, which featured none other than the BUTTHOLE SURFERS’ KING COFFEY on percussion. Tribal, BOREDOMS-esque throb with synth squiggles and CB radio nonsense. Totally fun.

Other Friday night highlights included (in no particular order):
1. apologizing to KING COFFEY for talking his ear off at SxSW ’07
2. MOUNT CARMEL — and the revelation afterwards that KING has never seen ZZ TOP!
3. bonfires (more on them later)
4. hangin’ with MV + EE‘s dog Zuma
5. SHIT & SHINE‘s bunny suits
6. MV + EE singing “Fire on the Mountain” at the end of a fantastic set backed by TIM BARNES and CHRIS from the CHERRY BLOSSOMS (thanks for the beers!)
7. Locals ALCOHOL PARTY, NATIVES, ANWAR SADAT, and AXEL COOPER showing how it’s done
8. Chorizo taco from the Holy Mole Taco Truck
9. Good times with friends old and new
10. Beer

DAY 2 — SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12th: Saturday started inauspiciously as I showed up to the venue, the CRUMMY DEN, way early, so I wandered over to the FLEA OFF MARKET (where I bought an excellent book of photography from Louisville Hardcore’s poet laureate, Mr. BRETT EUGENE RALPH), then had lunch at the Blind Pig. Missed most of the early sets due to some errands I had to run, but caught a little bit of VIDEO DAUGHTER, who were okay.

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CROPPED OUT is coming up…

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We haven’t had too much to say about the upcoming CROPPED OUT festival, on the weekend of November 11th – 13th here in lovely Louisville, Kentucky, because it seems like it’s all anybody can talk about anyway! I mean, can you believe freakin’ SCRATCH ACID is gonna play?* Me neither, and I’m really stoked!

But the CROPPED OUT fest is far more than just one band. It’s a whole mess of ’em! Including some of our favorite performers ever:

  • BILL ORCUTT, former guitarist for HARRY PUSSY, and one of the most exciting purveyors of six-string nonsense (even though he only plays four strings, apparently) going today.
  • MV + EE, the duo of Matt Valentine (formerly of THE TOWER RECORDINGS) and Erika Elder is probably the closest you’ll get to seeing Neil Young live, except perhaps even more damaged. And rumor has it that former TOWER RECORDINGS member TIM BARNES will be joining them!
  • MOUNT CARMEL is probably our favorite of the new SILTBREEZE roster — straight-ahead Ohio-style boogie rock!
  • HUMAN EYE might possibly be the best rock band in Detroit right now. Period.

And there’s a whole slew more, including lots of shit we’ve never heard of before! And a bevy of fantastic local artists, including our friends SAPAT, YOUNG WIDOWS, SHEDDING, COLISEUM, CROSS, and lots more!

They got a new web site up at http://croppedoutmusic.com, so check it out and buy your tickets ASAP.** It’s gonna be killer!

*On a side note, how come nobody got it together to bring THE JESUS LIZARD to Louisville during their recent reunion action? Just because Laura Shine has no idea who they are doesn’t mean they weren’t one of the most popular Chicago-style bands to play in Louisville during the 1990s. Our excuse for not booking them is, well, we were too poor to afford their guarantee (as if our shoe-string show budget wasn’t obvious).

**Seriously Louisville, if you sleep on this like you slept on TERRASTOCK 2008, you only have yourself to blame. The prices are good, the venue is centrally located, and if you miss it…

DISCLAIMER: We are buds with Ryan and James who are booking/promoting CROPPED OUT, and we think they’re awesome! We do occasionally co-promote shows with ’em but that’s only because they rule!