Wednesday, December 21, 2011

BEASTHEAD - Tape - 2004

    Much like 2/3's of this band's former project, SWORD OF THE ANCIENT, I'm at a loss for words when it comes to describing their sound. A more fucked up and DIY RAINCOATS? True freedom? Some of their songs, with a guitar/violin/drums approach, sound as if they are helping to lay the groundwork for bands like RED HERRING and THE NEW BLOODS, but BEASTHEAD is more open-ended and wild-sounding. Impossible to tame, perhaps. I was confused, bewildered, enthralled and entertained when I saw them play to 15 people in a coffeeshop in Pensacola FL years ago. Now, knowing these songs, I wish I could turn back time to see them again.

Their violinist, Jesse now plays drums in Asheville's COMMON VISIONS. Amy, on guitar, now plays in VILLAGE OF SPACES. Kristen, their drummer, is very possibly doing yoga or just hanging out somewhere totally beautiful in Hawaii right now.

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10 comments:

  1. cdbJanuary 1, 2012 at 1:34 PM

    i really like this! when you namecheck the raincoats, red herring, & the new bloods, thats a giant flashing CHECK IT OUT sign for me. punk violin is the best. thanks harvester.

    also, i want to put in a request. do you have this tape or know anything else about it, sari - "porch core punks live for sin" or that's what the j card seems to say. there is a song from it here:
    http://www.thesoundofindie.com/2006/09/01/sari-the-gun-song/
    its pretty great and would love anymore information.

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  2. HarvesterJanuary 1, 2012 at 6:41 PM

    I don't have Sari's tape and never knew of her music, but I recognized the name as being the name of my current partner's old friend. So, this link is being sent to her and maybe she will respond with more information.

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  3. AnandiJanuary 1, 2012 at 6:42 PM

    She's a friend of mine! I forwarded the link to her and she can answer all your questions her very own self! She is currently very involved in The Bay Area Girls Rock Camp and playing in a band called the Spindles... beyond that I defer to Sari's greater knowledge of her own life, so let's see what she can tell us...

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  4. HarvesterJanuary 1, 2012 at 6:42 PM

    whoops...responded at the same time.

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  5. SariJanuary 1, 2012 at 9:50 PM

    Wow - this is so random. And really neat...

    cdb - I'm happy you liked that tape. I have the world's spottiest memory, but I still remember how much fun it was to make that in my friend's garage with nothing but a four-track, a guitar, a cowbell... and possibly a tambourine?

    Are you looking for a copy of it? If you are, the timing is fortuitous. For years, I didn't have a copy of it myself, but a few months ago, a friend put some of my old stuff on cd - and I'm pretty sure that's on it. There's certainly got to be a way to get you a copy if you want it.

    As far as what I'm doing now, Anandi's close to right... I was in a band called the Spindles, but it broke up last year, so now I'm singing in a band called, The Chelsea Set. I don't know where you're located, but we'll be playing in Portland and Olympia in a few weeks. If that's your neck of the woods, you should totally come out and say hi!

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  6. cdbJanuary 4, 2012 at 7:15 AM

    am i ever glad i asked about the tape here! what a super great turn of events. yes sari, i'd really love to hear a copy of the tape or anything else you'd be willing to share. you can email me at sockmonkeyjunkie AT yahoo DOT com or i could contact you if you pass along a email address and we could work out details.

    also, i don't know if you noticed this on the sound of indie post, but i asked if you are the sari bacilla who performed "in the hands of a saint" , which i believe is from the Topps All-Stars No. 1 tape on 20-20 or that's what i found by googling at least. its alright if you're not, but that has always been one of my favourite songs.

    i live in calgary, canada so i can't check out those Chelsea set shows, but its really great to hear you are still making music.

    thanks everyone!

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  7. AnonymousJuly 22, 2013 at 11:51 PM

    re-up?

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  8. AnonymousJune 3, 2015 at 8:27 AM

    Oh, I'm so excited this page exists! I "bootlegged" a mini-cassette recording of a house-show in Memphis in 2004 with Beasthead being my favorite band that played that night. My recording is super lo-fi, so I was craving some more audio of them. THANK YOO!

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  9. jmhouseAugust 11, 2015 at 3:21 PM

    I've been having my tape collection digitized for...well, it seems like the last 15 years, probably, and I have a copy of Porch Core Punks Live for Sin. This thread is pretty much the only place I found it referenced. I don't know if CDB ever got a copy but I posted it here:

    http://cityofdust.com/st_judes_day/Sari_Porch%20Core%20Punks%20Live%20for%20Sin/

    I'm pretty sure I got Porch Core Punks Live for Sin when my band, Bombsite, played with Kid Dynamo in Mankato, MN (?). I think Sari played solo. She was really great so I got a tape. You know, these songs still sound awesome 20 years later. There are excellent melodies and some rather good turns-of-phrase, too.

    Feel free to back up a directory to see other tapes that have been digitized from my crates over the years, if you're interested.

    JM

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  10. cdbJune 19, 2017 at 11:48 AM

    oh geez! i finally saw this post now, almost 2 years later! way to go JM!! THANK YOU, i never got a copy! i can listen to "the hands of a saint" over and over & over now like its 1996. AWESOME!

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