Steve Krakow's just-published book "A Mind Blown Is A Mind Shown" will be on sale at Chicago's Million Tongues Festival tonight at the Empty Bottle.
Writes Steve...
"Holy cow, I AM NOT KIDDING when I say WHA MY BOOK HAS DROPPED??? I was absolutely not expecting it for weeks, and BOOM here it is, just in time for Million Tongues Fest madness!? So yes, I will indeed have copies for sale as it’s being shipped to pre-order peeps and stores as we speak! If you are not local, please do order it for a mere $10 from Far West Press right here.
And if ya are Chi-core, come buy one tonight and tomorrow Empty Bottle for thee fest fun and I’ll sign it n shit! ! Many harrowing tales of Million Tongues Fests are in the book funny enough! OK I gotta lie down now but soooooooo stoked to see Simon Finn, Spires, Josephine Foster, Eli Winter, and Bil Vermette tonight!"
Check out a few performance clips of Simon Finn (who'll be backed by the Singleman Affair with Spiral Galaxy's fab Sara Gossett on flute!), Josephine Foster and Eli Winter.
Chicago's Million Million Tongues Fest kicks off tonight with Simon Finn & Josephine Foster at the Empty Bottle.
Psych fans will be descending on Chicago for the 20th Anniversary edition of the Million Tongues Fest on August 15 & 16.
Here's the scoop from Steven Krakow...
Ok Folks, This is a BIG ONE!! After MUCH planning, I can finally announce....
The 20th Anniversary Celebration of Million Tongues Festival at Empty Bottle!
Yes, for you younger heads, my very first Million Tongues fest was wayyyy back in 2004, and featured a VERY rare appearance by 70s UK dark-folk legend, Simon Finn (of Pass the Distance fame)--as well as astral folk vagabond Josephine Foster, avant goddesses Spires That in the Sunset Rise, and when legendary Deviants frontman Mick Farren canceled last second, my band instead ended up backing local legends like Christopher Connelly (of Ministry/Sons of the Silent Age/Rev Co), for a rousing "Proto/spacepunk cover set"
ALL THIS IS HAPPENING AGAIN AND THEN SOME!!
The fest has always had a tradition of hosting international "cult/underground legacy" artists like Terry Reid, Keiji Haino, Bert Jansch, Acid Mothers, Mark Fry, LSD March, and Michael Chapman, and this fest is no exception—with the second-ever Chicago appearance of exalted Mexican 70s psych-rockers Los Dug Dug's! Thrilled to also have the long-awaited return of Windy City hallucinogenic hellions, The Great Society Mind Destroyers, who played MT eons back with literal cult-rockers Ya Ho Wha 13 of the Source Family. Folk/drone has a rich history with the Tongues, with past fests featuring Tony Conrad, Peter Walker, Cave, Mark Fosson, Ruthann Friedman, Jack Rose, Espers, Fursaxa, Charalambides, 6 Organs, and now the acclaimed Eli Winter. If that wasn't enough, the genius sike-tunesmiths The Joy Poppers with Tom Szidon and Jason Batchko are back for a rare side set, as well as the esteemed William Vermette, who has been crafting synth soundscapes since the 70s. There'll be psychoactive/rare record dealers too, and mind-expanding visuals courtesy of Interstellar Space Records. There's discounted 2 day passes too, so miss this hoo hah at your own peril (your spiritual growth might be stunted forever). Major thanks to sponsors Daze Off and there just MIGHT be more fest-related haps being announced soon, so stay tuned in and turned on...
Get tickets for the 20th Anniversary Million Tongues Festival's opening night Thursday (August 15) at Chicago's Empty Bottle (1135 N. Western) headlined by Simon Finn right hereand for the Friday (August 16) show headlined by Los Dug Dugs overhere. Those wishing to attend both nights can also get a special rate two-night pass right here. Check out Simon Finn and Los Dug Dugs in action below.
Simon Finn's cult corker Pass The Distance is being reissued by Superior Viaduct on November 23.
Few albums define a genre as succinctly as Simon Finn's Pass The Distance does for psychedelic folk. Not even landmark recordings by Pearls Before Swine or Skip Spence can stand up to the sheer madness of Finn's sole LP, originally released in 1970.
After moving to London in 1967, Finn busked around town for a couple years before entering Camden's Chalk Farm Studios, best known for producing a string of reggae hits. Pass The Distance, however, would become more than a solo-acoustic project.
Backed by free-improvisation innovators David Toop and Paul Burwell, Finn's dark, personal songs unravel lysergically over 40 minutes. Toop's sinewy electric guitar and Burwell's broad percussive palette lift up Finn's ardent strumming and snarling vocals, making this one wild ride in catharsis, introspection and raw merriment.
As Finn tells journalist Dave Segal in an interview for this vinyl reissue, "The songs were about alienation and loneliness. 'Jerusalem' came to me in one shot. I wrote it on mescaline and was playing it over and over and one of my flatmates wrote it down."
Pass The Distance remains a "cult record" in the best sense of the term, possessing a hypnotic beauty all its own. Pre-order a copy via Superior Viaduct right here.
Check out the video of Simon Finn performing the songs of Pass The Distance with Maja Elliott and Joolie Wood from Current 93 following the track listing below.
Simon Finn - Pass The Distance (Antarctica Starts Here)
Very Close Friend
The Courtyard
What A Day
Fades (Pass The Distance)
Jerusalem
Where's Your Master Gone
Laughing 'Til Tomorrow
Hiawatha
Patrice
Big White Car
