New website for TAD, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and Witch Ape Studio

The new website for TAD, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and Witch Ape Studio is up and operating. There you can find information about goings on along with merchandise and links as well as news and contact information for us.

West coast this September

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH is embarking on a West coast this September. Hell yeah! Wait 'til you witness this aural assault!

Get the demo here BOTSC Band Camp

2-Sept :: Portland, OR @ Plan B w/ Cull, Norska and Negative Queen

3-Sept :: Chico, CA @ Monstros w/ Exhausted Prayer, Cold Blue Mountain and Armed for the Apocalypse

4-Sept :: Oakland, CA @ Eli's Mile High Club w/ Walken, Kowloon Walled City and Flood

5-Sept :: San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern w/ Hazzard's Cure and Hashashin

6-Sept :: Los Angeles, CA @ Mountain Bar w/Special Guests

7-Sept :: Ventura, CA @ Zoey's w/ The Fucking Wrath, Huntress and Gypsy

8-Sept :: San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar w/ Archons and Otro

9-Sept :: Sacramento, CA

10-Sept :: Arcata, CA @ The Alibi w/ Fall the Giants

11-Sept :: Eugene, OR @ Oak Street Speakeasy w/ HC Minds and NinthMoonBlack

The Maple Forum

The Maple Forum is a short-run label created with the intent of helping release the music of artists I respect. The focus is not on sales or who can move the most units. This is an in-house operation, geared toward those who still believe in music enough to directly support the people making it. Releases will be limited and sold through The Obelisk page. Essentially, this is a new forum for supporting creativity in a way that writing reviews and posting interviews simply can’t accomplish.

The Maple Forum’s first release is Acts I-VI from Seattle’s Roareth, coming in May. The disc will be in a gatefold digisleeve, hand-numbered in a run of 100 copies. The band are set to record with Tad Doyle (Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Tad) at the end of April.

There is something tectonic in the music of Roareth, something cerebrally metallic, but visceral, speaking to a passionate essential nature. The band, comprised of former members of Eshas, Hauler, Shit Gets Smashed, Himsa and Iamthethorn (and many others), have tapped into a line of communication that requires no speech to get its point across; their messages are felt rather than received and processed. They are doom at its bleakest and most rudimentary, but expanded into an encompassing aesthetic that is more than just riffs, crash cymbals and screams. The dynamic nature of the material — of the work — speaks for itself, and The Maple Forum is thrilled to have Acts I-VI as its first release.

Click the link below to download the first song by Roareth.
The Maple Forum

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INDIAN

Indian: I love this band. I have heard the new demo and it crushes. I believe INDIAN have set the new standard in doom metal. This video is not the new stuff. Just so you know.

London Calling

I met Pete and Catherine of the London, UK Doom Metal band Pombagira through my friends Lesbian who had toured in Europe together.
We spent two days together at Studio Witch Ape and captured some huge riffs of monumental size and girth as well as beauty that goes with sweet valleys of blues influenced lushness and simplicity. Pombagira are a couple of musicians who not only play intuitively together but are married and have made a deep commitment to what really matters to them in their lives. Pete tells me that he is very happy with the new recording and both he and Catherine agree that this was the funnest and most relaxed session they have had in a recording situation thus far. Pombagira also shared with me the intent of using this recording of "Dawn of the Black Sun" as their contribution to a split with Japan's Death Metal trio Coffins sometime in 2010.

What's next

We will be unveiling two new songs at our record release.
You can get one of them here.

Lot's of shows coming up here and there. We are also playing a private party soon at an undisclosed location.

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH / MICO DE NOCHE 10” Split Hits the streets

VIOLENT HIPPY RECORDS presents…….

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH / MICO DE NOCHE 10” Split

RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2009

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, led by Seattle music legend Tad Doyle (TAD, Hog Molly), has joined with
fellow Pacific Northwest heavies Mico De Noche and Violent Hippy Records to bring you a very limited
(500 copies) debut vinyl release.

Available for preorder now click here

Select independent record stores will have copies for sale on 10/13.
Brothers of the Sonic Cloth fill Side A with over 12 minutes of epic riffage in the form of “Fires Burn Dim in the Shadows of the Mountain”. At turns bludgeoning, charging, and psychedelic- Doyle and bandmates Peggy Tully on bass (Inciting Riots) and Aaron DC Edge on drums (Himsa, I AM THE THORN) take the listener on a cinematically aural journey to Doomsville. Imagine a tribe of cro-magnon nomads inventing not the wheel, but giant loudass tube amps and finding alien blueprints for some pre-Bonham set of mammoth Ludwigs. Recorded by Tad at Studio Witch Ape, you could say it’s heavy- and you’d be right.

Mico De Noche drop two audio bombs on the B side- “Ganges” and “Misanthrope”. Ripping and throbbing through themes of death and hate (metal?!?!?!), the northwest’s best kept secret unleash chooglin’, galloping sludge like it was your goddamn birthday. Formed in 2001, the duo of Donovan Stewart and Mike Clam have expanded Mico De Noche in recent years to include Chad Baker (bass) and Reno Dave (drums). Reno Dave is actually from…..wait for it……RENO. Tony Dallas Reed (Stone Axe, Mos Generator) captured the band’s angst and joy at Temple Sound in Port Orchard WA- should you damage your plums while moshing around the kitchen to these tracks, let Tony know how it feels.

A record release show is set for 10/10/09 at Seattle’s Comet Tavern. BOTSC and MDN will be joined by
Madraso and Black Elk.

More info on all of the above can be found at the following:
Mico De Noche website
Brothers of the Sonic Cloth myspace
Mico De Noche myspace

VIOLENT HIPPY RECORDS is a small, independent label based in Bremerton,WA and dedicated to
bringing the world quality freakrock. Find us on the web at www.violenthippy.blogspot.com

And here’s where you can find some preview videos for the split 10”, should you be so inclined…..

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth MySpace Blog

MySpace.com Blogs - Brothers of the Sonic Cloth MySpace Blog

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What I have been listening to

1. "Planet of the Apes original 1968 soundtrack" composed by Jerry Goldsmith Amazing textures and killer percussion with primitive motifs. Goldsmith is a master in his use of silence as a part of the music. This has been a mainstay lately.

2. Yob - "The Great Cessation" Every Yob record is an amazing journey and this one is the best yet. Mike S. is singing so awesomely it brings tears to my eyes. Anyone who knows me knows that this is one of my top bands ever. I couldn't imagine them topping "The Unreal Never Lived" but they did and they also set the new standard. I was given advanced high Q mp3s of "The Great Cessation" by Mike S.. This Crushes!

3. Madraso "Van Horne" The new CD is out now and it kick ass. In the vein of Big Black and Jesus Lizard but they take it further and the drumming is fantastic.

4. The Christpunchers "Psalms for a new Dark Age". Available from Unfortunate Miracles Records, and it's pretty hard to find. This is an audio onslaught that tells its own story of sonic sedition and my favorite track "Tread of the Iron Legion" is so heavy that it has its own mass and density.

5. Sly and the Family Stone "Life". I dare anyone not to crack a smile while listening to this record.

Honorable mention goes to Anon Remora from PDX, Black Elk, Lesbian - I can't wait to hear the new one, I have played shows with them and I love their live show sounds. Always a little Edgar Varèse is a pleasure.

Split 10" vinyl release to come by Halloween 2009

BOTSC is announcing plans to do a split 10" vinyl release with their friends Mico De Noche. The split 10" release is slated to start recording in July for the Brothers at Studio Witch Ape and for Mico De Noche at Temple Sound in Port Orchard, WA with Tony Reed in his studio. We are hoping to have this record ready for consumption as early as September 2009. Tentative release date for the split is slated for 10/31/2009, that's Halloween MFs!

BOTSC Limited Demo 2009

We just finished up recording and mixing our two song demo at Studio Witch Ape here in Seattle.
Track 1 - La Mano Poderosa 12:22
Track 2 - I Am 8:22.
The total length clocking in at just over 20 minutes.
We will be sending out a number of press and promotional only copies with a different artwork.
we hope to have a full length release this year or possibly the beginning of next year. In the meantime here is a portion of a review of the demo found on www.Stonerrock.com :
"the tunes here are given space to breathe and shift, growing unhurriedly, in the case of the first track, into a towering mountain of riffs. La Mano Poderosa’s opening guitar rides a ‘breaking storm’ sound effect into the first minute of the track, beginning a series of changes that cycle repeatedly back into the main theme/vocal part." Read the full review here.

Return of Yob

We just finished a very fun and successful trip south to Portland to play the Return of Yob show with our friends Iommi Stubbs and YOB. What a weekend it was. You can read more about what happened here.
We had a blast and sold 26 demos out of the 50 limited that we have made. Once they are gone they are gone. We will have more available at the next show (see the sidebar of this blog for dates).

Recording Requin

We have been very busy busy busy indeed. I have been engineering a recording for a band that is best described as a modern day Black Flag with excellent discordal stabs not unlike a school of Le grande Requin Blanc (aka Carcharodon carcharias) Ravenously voracité du bas ventre du schlok de corporation faible et banal que la plupart des personnes écoutent sur la radio et sont heureuses avec être gavé le PAP luisant et impuissant.

Espanol: Voraz voracidad del bajo vientre del schlok corporativo débil y sin inspiración que la mayoría de la gente escucha en la radio y es feliz con force-fed el pap pulido e impotente.

English: ravenously devouring the underbelly of the weak and uninspired corporate schlok that most people listen to on the radio and are happy with being force-fed slick and impotent pap.

Yes.... This band's sound is muy agresivo and that is why it needs to be written three times and in three different languages. As our friend Goodie says, "Requin is bitchin'.... F*ck it, let's have a beer."

BOTSC in the studio

We will be bringing a limited run of 50 numbered demo CDs with hand made packaging and art work designed by our drummer Aaron Edge to our PDX show with Yob and Iommi Stubbs at the Ash Street Saloon on Satuday, Feb. 28, 2009. We are pleased that we are able to be a part of this monumental musical event and bringing this very collectable demo to our friends in PDX is just a pleasure. The demo will have four tracks on it and is being recorded even as of the writing of this news at Studio Witch Ape. - BOTSC

Rabby the cross-eyed fungus licker and the attack of the Dingus Faddiddle Whapper Ponjos in SNOWPOCALYPSE 2008

So, I took my lovely wife to work today and got stuck in the snow on the way back to the house after dropping by work.. There was no one at work so I thought it better than to freeze my ass off at the 30 degree Fahrenheit office. In a day where there is snow (here in Seattle the locals aren't used to snow that the rest of the nation gets dumped with every year) I thought it wise to get home and off the roads and see what the developments are here in Snowpocalypse 2008 as one of my favorite morning radio show hosts dubbed this weather. Upon arriving home I thought it might be fun to let our cats out to see what they think of Snowpocalypse 2008. So here it is. A video of our cat Bear in the snow.

So, there you have it. Gray Snow Puma in the snow. It doesn't get anymore exciting than this!

Tribute to a friend

I wrote this little ditty about our cat that passed away in April 2008. Although the song was written in 2006 a year or so before the little fellow died. Recorded at Studio Witch Ape. Peggy played bass and acoustic guitar and sang, I played the percussion items and electric guitar and sang and our good friend Seven played lead guitar.
It is a fun little remembrace of the one we called Kyuss aka the Puppy Bear, Ding Dong, Monkey Elvis, Phuqoeh, Kee-oos, fluffy nuts, Lord of the Mieses, The Great Desert Puma, Snackazoid, Kyussy-Moto and many other aliases too many to list here. We love you and miss you Kyuss.

Click here for the song and download the mp3 if you like.

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth

Tad Doyle Reverbfest video Interview on Brothers of the Sonic Cloth

Video interview with myself about our music from our show at the Seattle Weekly's Reverb Fest.

Why Mike S. is is the Clint Eastwood of Doom Metal....

Spaghetti Westerns, Clint Eastwood and Mike Scheidt

I recently watched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and was thinking about the first time I saw this masterpiece of a movie. I was very young and my older brother Buz took me to a theatre in Boise where I grew up. The film had just come out and Buz was on a date with his girlfriend Cheryl who later became his life long wife and friend. I was very excited that I was going to a movie with my brother whom I had a profound respect and love for.

Many years later I was able to see The Good, The Ugly and many other spaghetti westerns and a plethora of Clint Eastwood movies as well. Each time I would see these films I would notice things that I hadn't seen or heard before. In the last viewing of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly there was a scene where I noticed a sign that was outside of the hospital that read, "If you are trying to make a living, why do you work yourself to death?" Good question; especially in light of the fact that for me, and I am willing to bet that for most people as well; money has lacked the ability to bring any long lasting happiness in to my life or the lives of others. Likewise, in respect to seeing and hearing something new everytime I listen to any of Mike Sheidt's music I get the same effect of hearing something that I hadn't heard before. To me this is one of the marks of music genius and makes for great listening as well.


Back to the original thought I had.... I submit to you that Mike Scheidt is the Clint Eastwood of Doom Metal and here is why: Both Mike and Clint are men of few words but they are action men. Less talk and more rock. However, when they do speak it is compelling and usually something worth listening to. Both Mike and Clint have an intensity to them backed with incredible talent and accuracy in their trades. Clint's character portrail of "Blondie" in the The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is really what I am making the association with to Mike. The tones and timbre of Scheidt's guitar sound are immense and full, dark and chock full of overtones that makes him stand alone as one of the best heavy guitar tones I have heard. Mike's playing is equally incredible in that he plays with rythmic intensity and throws in some chords that are very unusual sounding. Literally, every time I have heard Mike play it has brought tears of joy to my eyes and the sounds have awakened a profound sense of infinity and a feeling as if I am moving freely through the universe. So, it is with much due respect to both Mike and Clint that I make this association. Take it or leave it.

YOB has returned. Welcome back.

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

The Brothers (aka BOTSC) play 6/6/2008

On Friday 6/6/2008 Brothers of the Sonic Cloth will be playing the middle stot at the Jules Maes Saloon in Seattle's Georgtown on Airport Way. Hollywood Lightweights and Madraso will be playing too. We are really looking forward to this show because we are getting really tight and playing the songs well and also because I will get to see my former band mate Mike Mongrain (playing drums for Hollywood Lightweights now and Mike was the last TAD drummer), even though Mike and I live in the same city, we don't have that much extra time to see each other. Also, it's going to be fun as hell to finally see Madraso. Peg and I went to see Madraso last year and were disapointed to find out that we just missed them play.