Nautical Almanac (band)
Encyclopedia
Nautical Almanac are a noise music
group based out of Baltimore
Maryland with a rotating membership based around Carly Ptak and Twig Harper.
, Beast People and Andrew W.K.
.
Nautical Almanac was created after Harper's infamous band Scheme was dissolved; at that time he was influenced by Bulb Records, Harry Pussy
and Caroliner as well as the fecund local scene. Nautical Almanac's first shows revolved around guerrilla performances and consisted of general open door member policy. In the year 1996 Nautical Almanac released its self-titled debut LP on Hanson Records
. By then the band's lineup solidly consisted of Nathan Young, Sol Meltzer, and Twig Harper. The following year those members were involved in a police riot which was followed by unwarranted house surveillance and raids looking for Twig Harper which caused him to move to Chicago with Carly Ptak. At this point Ptak and Harper furthered Nautical's research in DIY electronics, circuit bending, record cutting and costumed performance. From 1997-2001 Ptak and Harper operated a junk-resale-antique store on Division Street named The Mystery Spot. In 2001 they relocated to Baltimore
, Maryland buying a store front with two abandoned floors above; right away they knocked a hole in a wall and began squatting
the top two floors and doing repairs to the neglected space. The building was named Tarantula Hill and hosted many touring and local experimental performances, the first ever show held there featured Lightning Bolt
, Forcefield, Neon Hunk
, and Spread Eagle, Ptak's band with Misty Martinez. During this time the HERESEE record label was created and Nautical Almanac toured the USA and Europe extensively. In 2004 Nautical Almanac was reformed as a Noise-Rock band with the inclusion of Max Eisenberg on drums, electronics and vocals, three months of touring and the LP Cover the Earth featured this line-up. In March 2006, shortly before Harper's performance at New York's No Fun Fest, the first floor of their building and much of their equipment and archives were lost in a mysterious fire. The outpouring of support was tremendous, The True Vine record shop hosted a series of benefit concerts, Ecstatic Peace
released a double CD compilation, and countless individual and arts collectives from across the world sent support. During the next year they worked on gutting the bottom floor with help of volunteers and worked with Baltimore City to secure a loan to get the building legally up to code. The repairs were finished by the middle of 2007 after which Nautical Almanac completed a 20 day tour of N. America and performed and traveled in Peru
and Bolivia
. Since that time Ptak has opened a hypnotherapy
office while Harper continues his research into radionic
record cutting and music production.
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
group based out of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Maryland with a rotating membership based around Carly Ptak and Twig Harper.
History
Nautical Almanac first organized in Ann Arbor Michigan in 1994 (the year Harper and Ptak met) from the same experimental music scene which produced Wolf EyesWolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes is a post-industrial/noise band from Detroit, Michigan, United States.-History:Wolf Eyes began as a solo project of former Nautical Almanac member Nate Young, with Aaron Dilloway joining in 1998, and John Olson in 2000...
, Beast People and Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K. is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entertainer, and motivational speaker. He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy.-Early life & career:Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
.
Nautical Almanac was created after Harper's infamous band Scheme was dissolved; at that time he was influenced by Bulb Records, Harry Pussy
Harry Pussy
Harry Pussy was a noise rock band from Miami, active from 1992 to 1997. The main members were Bill Orcutt on guitar and vocals and Adris Hoyos on drums and vocals. Other members included briefly Ian Steinberg on accordion, and later either Mark Feehan or Dan Hosker on second guitar...
and Caroliner as well as the fecund local scene. Nautical Almanac's first shows revolved around guerrilla performances and consisted of general open door member policy. In the year 1996 Nautical Almanac released its self-titled debut LP on Hanson Records
Hanson Records
Hanson Records is an American independent record label founded in Brighton, Michigan and now based in Oberlin, Ohio. It is operated by the musician Aaron Dilloway, formerly of the band Wolf Eyes.-History:...
. By then the band's lineup solidly consisted of Nathan Young, Sol Meltzer, and Twig Harper. The following year those members were involved in a police riot which was followed by unwarranted house surveillance and raids looking for Twig Harper which caused him to move to Chicago with Carly Ptak. At this point Ptak and Harper furthered Nautical's research in DIY electronics, circuit bending, record cutting and costumed performance. From 1997-2001 Ptak and Harper operated a junk-resale-antique store on Division Street named The Mystery Spot. In 2001 they relocated to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland buying a store front with two abandoned floors above; right away they knocked a hole in a wall and began squatting
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
the top two floors and doing repairs to the neglected space. The building was named Tarantula Hill and hosted many touring and local experimental performances, the first ever show held there featured Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt is a noise rock duo from Providence, Rhode Island, composed of Brian Chippendale on drums and vocals and Brian Gibson on bass guitar. The band met and formed in 1994, when the members of the then-trio attended the Rhode Island School of Design. The band signed to Load Records in...
, Forcefield, Neon Hunk
Neon Hunk
Neon Hunk was a husband/wife noise music duo, composed of Jennifurmium - vocals and analog synthesizer/ring modulator, and Pink Diamond - Drums, Vocals, and Modular Digital Synthesizer. Neon Hunk formed in the summer of 2000 under the name Abracadaver, but changed their name to Neon Hunk in 2001....
, and Spread Eagle, Ptak's band with Misty Martinez. During this time the HERESEE record label was created and Nautical Almanac toured the USA and Europe extensively. In 2004 Nautical Almanac was reformed as a Noise-Rock band with the inclusion of Max Eisenberg on drums, electronics and vocals, three months of touring and the LP Cover the Earth featured this line-up. In March 2006, shortly before Harper's performance at New York's No Fun Fest, the first floor of their building and much of their equipment and archives were lost in a mysterious fire. The outpouring of support was tremendous, The True Vine record shop hosted a series of benefit concerts, Ecstatic Peace
Ecstatic Peace
Ecstatic Peace! is a record label based in Easthampton, Massachusetts, founded in 1981 by Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore. The premiere release was a split cassette featuring spoken word performances from Michael Gira of Swans and Lydia Lunch...
released a double CD compilation, and countless individual and arts collectives from across the world sent support. During the next year they worked on gutting the bottom floor with help of volunteers and worked with Baltimore City to secure a loan to get the building legally up to code. The repairs were finished by the middle of 2007 after which Nautical Almanac completed a 20 day tour of N. America and performed and traveled in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. Since that time Ptak has opened a hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is a therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis.The word "hypnosis" is an abbreviation of James Braid's term "neuro-hypnotism", meaning "sleep of the nervous system"....
office while Harper continues his research into radionic
Radionics
Radionics is the use of blood, hair, a signature, or other substances unique to the person as a focus to supposedly heal a patient from afar. The concept behind radionics originated in the early 1900s with Albert Abrams , who became a millionaire by leasing radionic machines which he designed...
record cutting and music production.
1996
- "Nautical Almanac" LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
(Hanson RecordsHanson RecordsHanson Records is an American independent record label founded in Brighton, Michigan and now based in Oberlin, Ohio. It is operated by the musician Aaron Dilloway, formerly of the band Wolf Eyes.-History:...
) - "Nautical Almanac" CassetteCompact CassetteThe Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
(Hanson Records) - "Isolation Muzak" Cassette (Hanson Records)
1999
- Split LP with Wolf EyesWolf EyesWolf Eyes is a post-industrial/noise band from Detroit, Michigan, United States.-History:Wolf Eyes began as a solo project of former Nautical Almanac member Nate Young, with Aaron Dilloway joining in 1998, and John Olson in 2000...
(Hanson Records) - Tour-Only Lathe Cut CD (With Rubber-(o)-Cement and Wolf Eyes) (Self-released)
2000
- "0000 Yearbook" BookBookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
(With Wolf Eyes) (Hanson Records) - "Transcriptedvisions" LP (Hanson Records)
2001
- "Two Mutants or Two Mongrels" CD-RCD-RA CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
(American Tapes) - "Live From Mexington, Kansas 9/29/01" CD-R (With Meerk Puffy (Gods of Tundra)
2002
- "Nauticalamanac" Cassette (Heresee)
- "Rejerks Vol. 1" CD-R (Heresee)
- "The Twilight Zone" Cassette (With Dead Machines) (American Tapes)
- "Untitled" CD-R (With Meerk Puffy) (Veglia)
2003
- "Cisum" LP (Heresee)
- "19994-20003" Video (Heresee)
- "Kool Kreek & The Chaser Gang" Cassette (With Local Disorder) (American Tapes)
- "We Want War" Tour-only CD-R with Lathe Edge (Heresee)
2004
- "Cleanse Bathe" 10" Lathe Cut on Lacquer (Heresee)
- "Handcut Record Transfers" CD-R with Record Edge (Heresee)
- "Rejerks Vol. 3" CD-R (Heresee)
- Split LP with Vertonen (Crippled Intellect Productions / Scratch And Sniff Entertainment)
- Split 7" Lathe with Cotton Museum (Hanson Records / MUET / IHTR)
- "We're Stupid, And So Are You" 3" CD-R (Fargone Records)
2005
- "Rooting For The Microbes" CD (Load Records)
- "Cover The Earth" LP/CD-R (Heresee)
- "Something" Euro tour-only CD-R (8mm)
- "Intuitive American EsotericIntuitive American EsotericIntuitive American Esoteric is the name of a limited three-volume, multi-label series of LP records by Nautical Almanac member Twig Harper, released between 2005 and 2006. Each album features a standard cut recording on side A and a handmade lathe-cut recording featuring numerous locked grooves on...
" Twig Harper solo, 3 volume LP (Heresee, etc.)
External links
- HereSee website
- http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/features.php?which=267 Interview with Nautical Almanac