Elect H. Mouse State Judge will be out in August, but until then you can check out Nelly’s excellent short story collection, See Through.

Sgt Dunbar & the Hobo Banned have been hard at work on their Space Age project in which they plan to release an EP’s worth of material and a corresponding release show once a month for every month of 2013. They debuted the first EP, The Space Age, in January at Valentine’s alongside fellow B3nsonites Bear Grass and Breakfast in Fur (from New Paltz). Tim Reidy from Nippertown.com caught some great video from the show! Check it out! For their February release, Dunbar teamed up with elusive B3nson O.G. Littlefoot and Walking X-Ray to release Moss Heart at 51 3rd st. in Troy. Check out both albums below:

In late 2011 Littlefoot released his sophomore album This Will Never Happen Again. Album closer, Groves, was inspired by the book The Grove by Saugerties based writer Nelly Reifler, which, through the wonders of the internet, managed to make it’s way to the writer’s attention in early 2012. The writer recently reached out to Littlefoot to record a song for her upcoming novel, which should be available this Spring. Littlefoot debuted the song at last months show at 51 3rd st. Let’s hope this is a sign of more Littlefoot in 2013!


February also saw the birth of Isaac Asimov & the Signs of Life which was a spontaneous jam session concocted by Eric Krans, of The Parlor, and The Albany Music Coalition which featured B3nsonites Dan Maddalone (Barons in the Attic, Bum Ditties), Louis Apicello (Sgt Dunbar & the Hobo Banned), Adam Muro (Bum Ditties), and Matt Ferguson (GOLDTOOTH, BEWARE!) as well as members of Oobleck, The Albany Music Coalition, and the audience performing an improv narrative about the Mars Curiosity rover at Pauly’s Hotel. The whole thing was recorded by Todd Is New Each Moment synthist Bryan Hamill as part of the RPM Challenge.

Bear Grass has been hard at work in the studio vamping up for their May 3rd album release show at Valentine’s. They’ve also got a few upcoming shows in the meantime. Check out beargrasssongs.com for upcoming appearances. Also in the studio right now are Albany darlings The Parlor, who are currently working on their follow-up to 2011′s Our Day In the Sun, The Boston Celtics who are rumored to break their years-long recorded silence with a series of new tracks in 2013. GOLDTOOTH remain hunkered down hard a work writing and recording new tunes in anticipation of their headlining slot at this years Beatshot Music Festival. In addition to GOLDTOOTH, Matt Ferguson has also started up a new band with Oobleck bassist Nick Wallas, former Skadee drummer Todd Richards, and High Anxiety guitarist Michael Fucilli. Expect the as-yet-unnamed band to hit the dance floor this spring.

Last, but far from least, are Barons in the Attic who have absolutely been killing it the past year. Still riding high from 2011′s Turn It Off And Take Out the Battery they’ve been keeping a regular schedule opening up for Matt & Kim, Deer Tick, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Oberhoffer, Robert Delong, Phantogram, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and Future Islands. If you haven’t seen them in a while, here’s a good reminder of the fun you’ve been missing!
http://vimeo.com/46258913

Parsons, a literature professor nearing retirement, is the mild mannered narrator of the novel.  Less than fifty (of 400+) pages are dedicated to his miraculously uneventful adult life, however.  Instead, Dell tells the story of a few tumultuous years of his childhood. The novel starts with the line, “”First, I’ll tell you about the robbery our parents committed.”  But Ford takes his sweet time setting up for that scene.  We learn all about the Parson’s lives.  Dell’s father, Bev, was an Alabama man who served in the air force for most of his adult life, so the family was constantly on the move.  He was basically a good man, handsome and affable, but unable to hold a job after being discharged from the Air Force for smuggling beef into the officer’s quarters.  His mother, Neeva Kamper, was the daughter of Jewish immigrants who moved to the Northwest.  She was much sharper than Bev, and always resented him for preventing her from living the scholarly life she felt she was fit for.  Dell’s twin sister, Berner, is homely, sullen, and as moody as pubescent teens tend to be.   This irritability is compounded by her parents’ eventual jail time.

With some help from his mother’s friend, Dell is transferred over the Canadian border into the care of Arthur Remlinger, who is reminiscent of Jay Gatsby, if Gatsby fled to the prairies of Saskatchewan.  It’s clear upon their meeting that Remlinger is hiding something, and it isn’t the fact that his hotel also serves as a brothel and gambling den.  Though technically in the care of Remlinger, Dell spends the majority of his time alone, or working with Charley, an unstable, cross-dressing Métis.  Dell’s time in Saskatchewan is probably the most exciting of the novel, as much of his time spent in Montana is simply setting up for the robbery that Ford has already told the reader is coming.

Ford does an excellent job of capturing the desolate beauty in the vast expanses of both Montana and the heartland of Canada.  His writing style is as subtle as his plot development.  The most exciting (and the most disturbing) moments are subdued, muted by Dell’s telling of the story.  With Dell as his speaker, Ford leaves out the graphic imagery (incest, murder, etc.) that so many writers thrive on.  Perhaps this subtlety is what lends great weight to Ford’s words with passages like, “It’s a mystery how we are.  A mystery,” or “Children know normal better than anyone.” The novel is filled with declarative statements that have a substantial impact on the reader despite their simplicity.  And these statements often make Ford seem like a genius.  Though there are moments when some of the less stable characters make bizarre statements that also seem profound at first.  I assume that this is by design, as the reader is then forced to judge the wisdom from the nonsense just as Dell was.

This was not one of my favorite novels of the year.  The book does drag at points, and Ford is in never in any hurry to get through the action.  Instead this is a very even novel written from the point of view of a contemplative narrator whose thoughts at time make Ford seem like a subtle genius.  After finishing all four hundred pages I had to wonder if this was written for the purpose of winning literary awards.  It seems the type of novel that anyone with a say in such matters will love.  While that is yet to be decided, it is safe to say that Canada, despite its slow pace and lack of technical flair, is a very good novel.

The collection opens with “Ghosts, Cowboys,” a bizarre story that includes several interesting notes on the history of Nevada while also telling part of the Manson family’s story.  The protagonist is the daughter of one of the Manson family members, a man who charmed and lured young women into the group.  This young woman is haunted by her half-sister, who is born as the result of an orgy at a ranch where the Manson family lived.  As strange as the story is, it’s actually autobiographical.  Watkins herself is the daughter of one of Manson’s clan.  The story is fictionalized, but it’s clear that, if she chose, Watkins could be a best selling memoirist.

While the opening story has received a great deal of attention, there are several other highlights in the collection. ”Man-O-War is the story of a former miner who lives as a hermit in the dessert.  The book flap perfectly describes his conflict by stating that he “discovers the limits of his rugged individualism when he tries to rescue a teenager left for dead in the desert.” ”The Diggings” stands out because of Watkins’ uncanny portrayal of two unlucky prospectors who head west from Cincinnati.  This may be Watkins at her grittiest, as she describes the trials and debauchery among the forty-niners.

“The Archivist” is a crushing story about the end of a dysfunctional relationship.  The protagonist refuses to move on, and instead begins planning a museum in memory of the relationship, which will include the contents of her ex-boyfriend’s pockets, and miniature replicas, made of clay and toothpicks, of some of the memories they shared.  Watkins delves into the minutia that constitute a relationship with intricate detail, allowing the reader to feel the character’s pain and desperation.  This is also one of several stories where motherhood is a central issue.  In this particular story, the protagonist and her sister feel abandoned by their dead mother, and this resentment also breeds a fear of motherhood.  These feelings of  appear several times throughout the collection.

Watkins’ greatest gift is her versatility.  Her vast imagination is well matched by her writing ability.  It seems there is no description, no character’s voice that could escape her.  Along with the many shifts in perspective comes a host of different dialects, though the folksy, down-to-earth type of speech recurs throughout the collection.  The dialog matches each character perfectly, whether the characters are joking or breaking each other’s hearts.  Watkins is also capable of exploring vast ideas or packing meaning into a simple statement.  There are light-hearted moments living between moments of immense sadness and uncertainty.

Watkins could undoubtedly write a shocking and tragic book about her own (or her father’s) life.  And at some point she may do that.  But if that were to overshadow her creative talents it would be our loss.  If Battleborn is any indication, Watkins has a brilliant career in fiction ahead of her.

The Space Age

Dearest Albany, our beloved city who has supported us so diligently since the beginning, it is a new year and we are very pleased to announce that Sgt. Dunbar has BIG plans for 2013. While we have been seemingly quiet since our last cross-country tour in 2011, we have in fact been keeping very busy. Crammed in between supporting our fellow B3nson Family, the constant work of throwing Rest Fest, numerous shows throughout the region, and the general insanity that is everyday life, we have been writing, practicing, re-writing, and recording. The Hobo Banned is very pleased and most excited to announce that we will be releasing an EP every month in the year two thousand and thirteen.

The book switches settings between modern England and 19th century Germany.  The perspective also switches from Catherine, a horologist at the Swinburne museum, and Henry Brandling, an English gentleman who is heir to a railroad fortune.  Each are dealing with loss, though in very different ways.  Catherine’s (married) lover Matthew has just passed away, while Henry’s son Carl is on his deathbed.  The two protagonists are linked together by Catherine’s well-meaning boss, Eric Croft.  Croft believes that Catherine should keep working to take her mind off of Matthew, so he assigns her the task of restoring an automaton (in the form of a duck) built by an eccentric clock maker/inventor/artist named Sumper.  Brandling paid Sumper to build the contraption based on another inventor’s plans.  Apparently Brandling thought that the curious machine would cheer his son out of his ailments.  But Sumper stubbornly chose to build something greater, a beautiful swan automaton that gave the illusion of floating upon a tub while feeding on fish and leaves.  Brandling struggles both to understand Sumper and also to manage the project, failing in both regards, though he eventually comes to terms with some of Sumper’s odd habits.

What may seem like a complicated plot flows quite seamlessly.  Catherine gets ahold of Brandling’s diaries, chronicling his thoughts and the eventful process of the automaton’s creation.  The museum, of course, has all sorts of red tape that is supposed to prevent Catherine, a horologist, from dealing with the paperwork of such artifacts, (because, of course, each part of these pieces needs to be handled by experts from a completely different department, so the restoration of one toy would need to be overseen by many different experts), but Catherine becomes obsessed with Henry and Carl’s story.  Along the way, Croft gives Catherine a promising young assistant who is intended to ease the burden of such an important project, but whose obsession exceeds Catherine’s own.

Sumper is by far the most interesting character in the book, and his relationship with Brandling is the most engaging.  Of course Catherine, being a museum horologist, is at an automatic disadvantage.  She is a clock scholar.  Her passages are frequently about as interesting as I assume her work would be.  It makes sense, then, that she is so eager to slip into the bizarre world of Brandling and Sumper, not only because of her recent loss, but also because of her terribly mundane life and her absolute loneliness.

In addition to the occasional drag, the book gets a bit convoluted at times.  There are all sorts of lofty ideas floating about the book.  There’s love, man vs. machine, souls, aliens, the BP oil spill, loneliness, and a host of other ideas of varying complexity and importance.  And there is very little resolution for any of the issues.  This becomes a problem only because Carey drew so much into the novel. I imagine that the all of these ideas were meant to be tied neatly together, if not resolved, at some point.  Yet while there is certainly some sense of resolution regarding the plot, many of these ideas are essentially dropped.  To some extent this can be blamed on the mania of several of the characters, primarily Sumper and Catherine’s assistant.  Still, I believe that many readers will struggle to keep all of these ideas straight.

This leads directly to an issue with some of the character’s actions.  The novel is grounded in realism, but Carey does an excellent job creating a sense of mystique and wonder around the automaton.  With this, the reader is expected to suspend her disbelief; however, I became distracted when the characters act/react to others in an irrational or unbelievable manner.  If a subordinate in an academic setting attacks her superior, I fully expect there to be consequences.  Instead, much of the cast in both the modern and 19th century settings seem to allow their respective situations to spiral out of control by making absolutely bizarre decisions.  Again, some could probably claim insanity, and the reader has to allow for some level of fantasy, but the characters seem strange to the point of being unrealistic.

I like to think that I’m generally as objective as I can be with these book talks, and that I try to find the best in every book I review.  So I should let it be known here that I personally did not enjoy the book, and was bored enough while reading that I may have missed something important; however, I’ve taken some comfort after seeing that a few reviewers have similar issues with the novel.  Regardless, Carey’s clearly a talented, imaginative writer, and I give him credit for attempting such an interesting premise.  If you’re a fan of his previous work, then you may enjoy this novel.  And if you are a fan, feel free to point out which of his books you prefer in the comments below (or just make fun of me for not liking this one.)

While the plot seems to revolve around Seth, the protagonist is his brother, Lewis.  The novel follows Lewis as he returns home to Wichita, KS, after graduating with an English degree from NYU.  His plans to pursue life as an academic and follow in the tradition established by his father’s family is derailed by a painful break up with his Dickens scholar girlfriend of several years.  Thankfully this acts as the central conflict only in the first few chapters.  Beyond that it’s more of a selfish distraction for Lewis, though it indirectly leads to more information regarding the cold and detached branch of the family on the father’s side.  His father, Virgil, and his grandparents have always distanced themselves from Seth, treating him as an inconvenience rather than as a family member.  Seth’s care is  left to his  mother, Abby, who has tried for years to help Seth manage his disorder.  Lewis becomes involved only grudgingly, as it would be unseemly to leave immediately upon finding out that he will be forced to put up with Seth while in Wichita.

The characters initially seem dangerously close to becoming caricatures: there’s Virgil, the brilliant and cold professor who, despite all of his brains, is still bumbling and awkward; there’s Abby, who follows (and tries to cash in on) each passing new age fad and is currently engaged in a polyamorous relationship with at least two men, one of whom is a chemist who creates experimental drugs; and then there’s Seth, the extreme street punk-skater-acoustic guitar-playing-meth addicted-alcoholic-homeboy, who appears attention starved and selfish.  But as Seth’s mania grows, his lack of control over his own behavior becomes evident, as does the inability of those around him to help.  (Note: my initial impression of Seth was that he was just like Poochy.  I thought Ziokowski had created a character based on a Red Bull commercial, that Seth was alternative to the x-treme.  I grossly underestimated Ziolkowski’s intentions.)

While the storyline becomes engaging, Ziolkowski’s technical writing ability is the true reason to read this book.  Starting in the first chapter he helps immerse the reader in the setting with his beautiful imagery.  Then there are individual lines that are absolutely brilliant.  For example:

“Passing through matchstick blinds, sunlight prints lozenges of wavering striated gold on the floor.  It’s been holding Lewis’s attention for a catatonically long beat.”

and this passage describing Lewis’ attempt to clean up his mother’s yard:

“He comes to nettles with frilly leaves that sting his hands and forearms and his legs through his socks and jeans.  Resistance and resentment emanate from the plants.  They know him now.  His little apology, uttered too late and half-heartedly, meant nothing.  The dead and mangled ones want their bodies back.   They want the yard.  They want the earth.  They wish him ill.  They would enter the house through the windows and split it open from floor to ceiling and scream with joy as the sky and rain poured in.”

I’m beginning to realize that some of the writers of the most startling prose are also poets.  Ziolkowski uses every word to the fullest extent of its meaning.  The last sentence of the novel is almost too good.

The plot is slightly uneven, and a few moments of somber reflection are interrupted by sudden moments of humor (occasionally in the form of an erection.) But as a whole the book is worth reading.  It may not be realistic, per se, but Ziolkoski’s portrayal of Seth seems fairly accurate, even if some of his other traits are over the top.  The rest of the family provides depth, while Lewis acts as the counterbalance to Seth’s mania.  Wichita is worth reading for Ziolkowski’s stunning writing ability alone.  He uses it to elicit a range of emotion from readers, and it will certainly provoke envy from many other writers.

Runtime: 1:40:44
Cost: $2
Doors Open: 6:00pm
Showtime: 6:30pm {sharp}
Q&A with the Director: 8:20pm

The Foundry: 119 Remsen Street, Cohoes, New York 12047

This Movie is Rated R.
There is foul language, nudity, sexually explicit themes, and violence. And it is a zombie movie. Albeit not your average zombie movie.

The Battery is a feature-length zombie movie filmed in 15 days with a budget of only $6,000. Written and directed by Jeremy Gardner, the film follows two former baseball players, Ben and Mickey, months after an unexplained outbreak. Gardner also stars in the film, alongside New York native Adam Cronheim. The film was entirely shot on the Canon 5d mkii by director of photography, Christian Stella. The films soundtrack features songs from local band The Parlor!

The Foundry Film + Video series occurs the first Tuesday of each month. Popcorn, candy, and refreshments are available for purchase. Go to www.thefoundrysite.com for more!