In part two of our discussion with Dominick Fernow, we get into his first months in Providence, leading up to a pilgrimage to Lowell, MA on Halloween 1999. Before leaving for Providence, Dominick tells a story of attempting to book a show for a noise legend in Madison. Grab a walkman and some noise tapes and come along for some more invaluable noise history.
In the first of two episodes, Dominick Fernow joins us to discuss the very beginnings of Prurient and Hospital Productions. We begin the journey in ’90s Wisconsin as he navigates the worlds of death metal and techno, which eventually leads to the noise underground. While the three of us have all known Dominick for nearly two decades, we all learned plenty of new and incredible information about his most distant past. Join us for some highly enlightening noise history.
Noisextra is assisting Hospital Productions to compile a live Prurient box set commemorating the 25th anniversary of the project. If any listeners have a live recording, video or radio show from the years 1997-2006, please email gang@noisextra.com and we will go from there.
It was an honor to have Erik Hoffman on to discuss his history in noise. We get into his special packaging obsession during his time running Pinch-a-Loaf, touring Japan with Spastic Colon, the story behind the legendary Ground Fault label and so much more. Another important lesson on noise from one of the originals.
We had the absolute pleasure to talk with Scott Arford and to dive into his work as Radiosonde and under his own name, as well as his part in the public access show “Fuck TV” and the legendary 7hz venue, studio, and label. In addition we talk zombie movies, static, and the importance of one particular fortune cookie. Another noise history lesson is underway, and you better take notes because there may be a pop up quiz down the line.
Whether under the Crawl Unit moniker or his own name, Joe Colley has created his own unique strain of noise since the late ’80s. We were elated to have Colley join us for an in depth conversation about his work—both sonically and visually—his early experimentation, and the feeling of the boundary-free era of ’90s noise. Let the speakers crack and the floorboards creek.
Damion Romero’s project Speculum Fight rides the American noise railways as we discuss 1997’s “Highball” CD on WIN Records. Damion gave us some background information on this album as well as his equipment and inspiration around this time. Put on your engineer’s cap and enjoy the scenery thru the lens of Speculum Fight.
Pete Swanson joins us to melt icebergs and flood alleyways with “Cities in Fog” by Jeff Greinke. Swanson recommended this strange ’80s muted atmospheric haze for us to cover and we couldn’t have been happier to swim in this watery abyss. Pete brings his deep knowledge of obscure experimental scenes and sounds as we discuss where this album comes from and where it takes us. Let the dark tides roll in.
Through the advent of teleportation technology, Chris Sienko returns to Noisextra and we all go the farthest back in time yet with Robert Ashley’s “The Wolfman.” Sienko lays down some serious information. “The Wolfman” is an absolute precursor to noise as we know it, and we dig our claws into this destructive piece of sound as well as Ashley’s work in the 1980s. Noise history lesson is in session.
It is time for another entry in the Pure series as we dig into one of the more obscure titles under the Pure banner in the form of Rend “Proberta Gerber.” We were able to get in touch with Sean, the man behind Rend, and he provided us with some great information not only on this CD, but also on his work with the Plague in Perspective label. No time like now to dig deep and get washed away by Rend.
We are joined again by Chris Sienko to discuss his time in the trenches as one of the people behind As Loud As Possible magazine. Chris details how the issue came together, why there were no more issues, and stories of articles and interviews he was a part of, both published and unpublished. A fascinating look at what it takes to put together a magazine of this size and scope.