Click to download the tracks:

“Show You a Way”
“Back When You Had Your Thing”
“Cobra Slomo Backflip”
“Night Boat”
“Earth Angel”
“Broadcast”

This is the second half of our holiday session.  Matt Zingg and Jeremy Law join us here.  Chip Pennington was also present, but he stayed quiet.  The music is a little more unhinged now, as the libations were flowing through us good and steady by this point of the evening.

I stepped away from the drums to run beats and electronics instead.  Matt ended up taking over the drums later.

Nathan Brown – keys, electronics
Aaron Shugart-Brown – guitar
Arrison Kirby – beats, keys
Matt Zingg – bass, drums
Jeremy Law – words

Click to download the tracks:

“Commercial for a Sports Drink”
“Not a Good Place to Sleep”
“Lullaboo”
“Hustler”
“Magic Universe”
“Night Flight”

It was past Christmas, but not quite new years when we recorded this.  The darkest days amid the lazy ones provided a good ethereal vibe to this session.

As noted in the title, this is only the first part of a two session night.  We were joined by other friends later.

Nathan Brown – keys, electronics
Aaron Shugart-Brown – guitar
Arrison Kirby – drums

COP

“You’ve Gotta Go”
“Botched Operation”
“Formal Misgivings”
“Money Games”
“Filthy South”

Produced, mixed and mastered by Arrison Kirby
Composed by COP

Arrison Kirby – electronics, guitar, beats
Wesley Wyrick – electronics
SK – drums

Stream it on Spotify

Purchase it on Amazon

As the onesheet reads…

COP is a session project by Arrison Kirby (Never Sorry, Obadiah), Wesley Wyrick (DolphynRydyr, Star Mountain) and SK (The Glaring Sound).   

 Urgency was recorded at El Studio, Knoxville, TN in 2010 and subsequently edited, mixed and mastered by Arrison Kirby.  The name is a true reflection of the form; as this session was recorded in a single, very, very loud take.  By the second track, “Botched Operation,” the force of the sound was shaking beer bottles off the back of the studio’s piano.  Undeterred, the trio pressed on through these five movements of sound, their order on the disc being no different from the order recorded.

 This disc marks the fifteenth release from the El Deth recording label.  It will be digitally available on Spotify, iTunes  and all other major online distributors on December 27^th, 2011.  The track, “Money Games” is currently available for free MP3 download at www.eldeth.com. 

And here is that track…

“Money Games” – COP

Click to download the tracks:

photo by Maurita Roman

“Starve it Out and Never Go Hungry”
“Blue”
“Laundry”
“Cute Little Echo”
“The Finger Wag”
“Michael in the War”
“House of Satan”
“Dayman” (Charlie Day)

Dane Hill – bass, vocals
Rachel Jae – omnichord, vocals
Arrison Kirby – keys, beats, vocals

unidentified art, New York City, NY

“Edge of Memory”
“Mouse”
“Be My Baby” (The Ronettes)
“Sell it on the Weekends”

In our second Never Sorry session without Katie and Megan, we decided to forget all our songs and start from scratch, at least for this one.  We also abandoned the full instrumentation to go acoustic once again.  The aim was something of a brainstorm.  The result is off the cuff improvisation that sometimes veers into straight dialogue.  There is also a Ronettes cover.

I almost didn’t post this one because I thought it might be just a bit too loose.  The subject matter also ranges from questionable to offensive.  Enough to make me chop out a good chunk of “Sell it on the Weekends.”  I realized it was going to have to be done before we even finished playing the song.

This is us at our most carnal and immature.  It is also riddled with confusion and a little frustration.  Sometimes, though, it just works.

Dane Hill – acoustic guitar, kick drum, vocals
R.J. Hill – auxillary percussion, vocals
Arrison Kirby – acoustic guitar, vocals

“The Suffer Dance”
“Don’t”
“Blue”
“Moments”

I think Consolation Prize is a fitting name for this session in so many ways.  To be a consolation prize, one must serve as a remnant of something that never was.  Consolation prizes, by name, are there to soften the blow when you ruin your chances of winning.  So here is a tender, melancholy set to help cope with losing.

This is Never Sorry with no Katie or Megan.  The funerary softness celebrates that (surely temporary) loss for sure.  The set also came on the heels of a dumb break up I had and there is plenty of therapy, musical and otherwise, being passed down from the Hills to me.  “Don’t” would be the most evident of this, with Dane making up the lyrics as we went.

The beat oriented songs act as bookstands around the soft inside of the session.  “Moments” was written precisely about that aforementioned break up.  The vocals are iffy at times as I try to sort through them, but whatever.  Some cathartic life force runs through this session all the same, as we dive deeper into this fresh minimalism.

Dane Hill – bass, glockenspiel, vocals
Rachel Jae – auxillary percussion, vocals
Arrison Kirby – guitar, beats, programming, keys, vocals

“Power’s Out”
“Michael in the War”
“Springtime of the Dregs”
“Really Horrible Shit is Popular”
“Watery Grave”
“Local Flavor”
“Those Guys”
“Reggae Sunsplash”
“Lesbian But For Penis”

This was recorded to my exgirlfriend’s Olympus digital recorder on a stormy evening.  I wanted to work on something more involved and deliberate, but the weather ended up putting out the electricity (hence the session title).  And so it was settled.  As with the Pianospout sessions, I would record an improvisational set with just my voice and a single, acoustic instrument.  In this case, I used a guitar.

One song, “Really Horrible Shit is Popular,” was already written prior to the recording.  Everything else was made up on the spot.  This includes “Michael in the War,” which was later transcribed and performed on numerous occasions with Never Sorry.  To date, it’s the only song I have ever written in the moment that, when later fleshed out, kept every single lyric and chord change in tact.

Also unchanged is the order the songs were created / performed.  This is is the same path I took that evening as I strung all this shit together.  The session ended when the power was restored.

“Volare” – Dean Martin vs. Arrison Kirby

This is not a dance remix.  It’s ambient and soft.  Reverb and bells.  I put this together specifically for a show at the now defunct Patrick Sullivan’s in Knoxville, TN.  It was right around the time when Part 3 was released and I was experimenting with some sort of live performance / DJ set hybrid.  Holly Denman live painted on the stage.  The Andy Show and The Weekends also performed.

Anyway.  I was going for something that, if played loudly to a room full of people, might give the effect of being in a bubble or a tunnel or something.  Something drifty.  I don’t know how well it went over at the show, but I think it stands alone just fine.

Click to download the tracks:

“Laundry”
“Succumb When it Counts”
“Michael in the War”
“Moon Rest Over Trees”
“Karma Chameleon” (Culture Club)

This was our last Never Sorry session before Katie moved to New York and Megan to Ohio.  You’d think it would be epically emotional or something, but to me it sounds like beach music, hence the title.  It’s a good laid back feel with moments of appropriate tension.

These are possibly the best versions of “Laundry” and “Michael in the War” recorded so far.  We used beats on both of them, allowing Dane to jump on the bass.  I’m particularly fond of the break down in “Michael.”

“Moon Rest Over Trees” was our opening jam, but I felt it better positioned where it is in the line up.  The other improvisational piece is “Succumb When it Counts” and it features me on drums, Dane on guitar and Katie on the drums.  These are also the same play positions used for the session closure, a slowed down cover of Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon.”  This cover was Dane’s idea.  He lead us through it and also sang.  I like it a million billion times better than the original.

Katie Collins – omnichord, bass
Megan Driscoll –  flute, tambourine, vocals
Dane Hill – drums, bass, guitar, vocals
Rachel Jae – auxillary percussion, vocals
Arrison Kirby – guitar, beats, drums, vocals