Update of 28 September 2007
A brief graphical advertisement for this coming Monday's show at the Berkeley City Club...
...and a brief bit of well-wishing for the Muscovite Nurses.
Update of 21 September 2007
So, in an OAC-related endeavour, the peculiar combination of Mr. Matthias Bossi, Mr. Dean Santomieri, and Mr. Gregory Scharpen have conspired to create an OAC-style piece of writing, and are (lord knows why) being allowed to read their drivel aloud to whomever wishes to attend (and has somewhere between 8 to 12 bucks in their pocket.) The hastily-constructed flyer is here:
...and while it should be pointed out that this might give the false impression that Bossi, Santomieri, and Scharpen (Willfully Unhinged Progression Systems) are somehow headlining, or the stars of the show, nothing could, in fact, be further from the truth. This bit of advertising was constructed in this fashion merely for the crass reason that the only people who will likely see it is thems who know the names Bossi, Santomieri, or Scharpen. In reality, the evening is four stories, told in an order that we're not even aware of yet. (So, hey! We might be going last...) The only other participant in this event that we've actually seen is Mr. Wayne Harris, and what we saw was an absolute joy.
There is also coming up on the horizon yet another Santomieri-and-Scharpen event, that being on 1 October at the Berkeley City Club, where Mr. Santomieri will read Angela Carter's "Peter and the Wolf" and Mr. Scharpen will read Theodore Sturgeon's "The Professor's Teddy Bear", a malicious little tale of monsters and murder. But more on that next update.
Update of 31 August 2007
More misery to feast your greedy eyes upon: a small portion of the Evening of Sinister Narratives, performed by the OAC and estimable friends, is now available here. It is a rendition of this story, although the story was expanded for this reading. This current video is, therefore, only half of the reading; the Rest of the Story will be posted when time and space permits, as will a few other bits of the evening. Many thanks are due, as always, to Karel Sidorjak, for again providing such welcome documentation.
More to report within the next week. Beware, for September is nigh.
Update of 27 August 2007
After only a 6 year delay, video documentation of a small portion of the Barely Human / OAC collaboration Innocent Malice is available on this site. This is the only actual truly authenticated OAC live music performance to date; the other performances have been primarily comprised of live mixes of pre-recorded material. Not that you can actually see any of the OAC in this video clip; we're off to the side hunkered over our infernal implements.
Enjoy this dubious piece of history.
Update of 25 August 2007
We regret that we didn't have a chance to announce the most recent irr. performance, which took place at the Starry Plough (of all places) last night... also on the bill were the Lemon Lime Lights and Moe! Staiano's new outfit, Mute Socialite. A fun frolic of an evening.
So, in atonement, we've done a little updating of the Performance Archive. Hopefully, soon, there'll be even more to post on that page.
There are stirrings of OAC-related events in September and October, and perhaps even into December. We're excited about them, but that (I suppose) is no particular reason why you should be.
Ah... fishing.
Update of 7 July 2007
Many thanks to those who came to the CorpseFlower / OAC evening at the Berkeley City Club. Especial thanks to M. Bossi for proving that pink never goes out of fashion, and to M. Waldron for not (as he'd threatened) showing his posterior sans pants.
Coming up on Friday the 13th will be the next inn. aff. (orchext.) big band show, with a dozen or so performers, including Adrian Bayless, Jesse Burson, R.K. Faulhaber, Jim Haynes, Angela Hsu, Jim Kaiser, Dean Santomieri, Gregory Scharpen, John Scharpen, Ilysea Simpson, Matt Waldron, and A.C. Way. In other words: folks from nf orchest, irr. app. (ext.), Maleficia, Nurse With Wound, Coelacanth, French Radio, Big City Orchestra, and Walden West.
Pertinent info:
21 Grand
416 25th Street, Oakland
The show starts at 9; the inn .aff. (orchext.) portion of the evening will begin last, probably around 11:30. Bring your pillows and sleeping bags.
Lastly, for old-time fetishists, a certain Mr. Faulhaber has a cassette about to be released on ye olde Psychform Records; it should be noted that this is not the cd release mentioned below. It's another release, for which we are all dancing with glee.
Well, enough (as they say) is enough. Hope to see you all on Friday.
Update of 4 June 2007
Confirmation is at hand: 25th June 2007 will be an evening of text and sound, featuring (though, perhaps, not limited to) the persons of Matt Waldron, John Scharpen, Gregory Scharpen, Dean Santomieri, and Matthias Bossi. Time will be at 8pm at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. in (surprise!) Berkeley.
For those with entirely too much time on their hands, Mr. Karel Sidorjak has now posted the vast majority (perhaps 90%?) of the Carnacki/Quattro/Burson/Staiano set on youtube, along with the M. Waldron solo set. These can be found all in a bunch right here. (Plus a lot of other fine videos; be sure to search through his "favourites" section for some choice bits of Iva Bittova and Boris Vian, plus excerpts from one of the best films ever made, Daisies.)
On a parting note: soon, very very soon, a man (and OAC contributor) by the name of Faulhaber will release a cd of music out into the world, which will make a large number of us very very happy indeed.
Update of 29 May 2007
A bit of OAC-related news to report. June will see a member (or two) of the OAC travelling o'erseas to France and Belgium to participate in various Nursery goings on. I doubt anybody who visits this particular site needs any encouragement (or, in fact, is unaware of these goings on already), but for the one of you out there who does: go here and investigate the "Live Dates" section.
June will also conceivably see a large gathering of peculiar people spouting off spoken nonsense to sound accompaniment. (Or "unsound" accompaniment.) Exact personnel, dates, (or indeed if it will happen at all) has yet to be entirely nailed down, but things are looking fairly positive.
July (jumping ahead a month) will see the return of the inn. aff. (orchext.) Big Band ensemble at 21 Grand for another Friday the 13th showing of peculiarities. This is, as you can no doubt tell, a collaboration of folks from nf orchest, irr. app. (ext.), and any random Big Band people who we could rope into the mix. The last such gathering of these individuals turned out to be not a total disaster; hopefully this trend will continue with this show.
And speaking of 21 Grand, who are celebrating their 7th anniversary this summer, they're about to undergo their annual Benefit Art Sale later on this week (namely, Friday the 1st of June.) An OAC tendril has extruded a drawing (or three) to be sold... we can only present small versions of two of them:


...named, respectively, And He Walks With Me And He Talks With Me and Stop! Thief! He Stole My Victrola! Other (much better) artwork is also on offer, all for prices of under $100. And it goes to the very worthy cause of keeping 21 Grand running for a little while longer.
That should hold you for now. More news when it's warranted.
Update of 22 April 2007
The broadcast itself was quite a while ago, but the fine folks at Neighborhood Public Radio have posted the August 12th OAC performance in their archive. The sound quality is not fantastic, given that their archive has to be host to a huge amount of content, but it will give people an idea. Six stories were told, accompanied by genuine OAC music.
More news will be forthcoming when more news has moved from the "speculative" stage into the more announcement-worthy "probable" stage. In the meantime, the OAC urges you to attend this coming Thursday's Maleficia show at 21 Grand, as well as the Spoonbending Stapleton performance at the Mezzanine in San Francisco on 11th May.
Tiddledee-pom.
Update of 6 April 2007
Many thanks to those who made the Thomas Carnacki cd release event a huge success, and we include both performers and audience members in that sweeping gesture of gratitude. Documentation of the event has already been leaking onto the internet, primarily through flickr.com, and photos of some of the other sets of the evening can be found here.
It's perhaps interesting to note (or maybe not) that all the members of the very first live incarnation of irr. app. (ext.) (also, naturally, all members of the OAC), who performed at that very same venue some four years ago almost to the day (pictures of which can be found here) all did individual performances at the Carnacki event. And, to up the ante, two of those performances incorporated OAC texts into the mix. (One of those texts is available -- courtesy Mr. Karel Sidorjak -- as a movie.)
On the topic of recent events, yesterday there was a mini-OAC excursion down to Los Angeles, where some of the OAC observed and some of the OAC participated in a Nurse With Wound in-store at the Amoeba Records in Hollywood. We're still waiting on the report back of how it went.
There is the looming possibility of a more text-based (and thus more OAC-related) event next month in Berkeley, California, in some respects thanks to the prodding and encouragement and participation of a certain Mr. M. Bossi. But this is very very tentative, and subject to the winds of people's schedules and a number of other factors.
In the meantime, on the note of rampant commercialism and consumerism, we again urge you to cast your browser upon these two American and British sites and think about handing over your hard-earned monies to them.
I promise I'll shut up about that damn cd starting with the next Update.
But before I shut up, I should mention that the Carnacki/Bossi soundtrack for Andromache has been reviewed by the outside world as well. Go figure.
Update of 29 March 2007
Things have naturally been too frantic in preparation for the below-advertised event, that we've been unable to properly advertise it on this site. But, as you may note, at least four components of the OAC will be unleashing discrete assaults upon the audience tomorrow evening, and there will even be one (and perhaps two) specifically OAC-derived elements woven into the fabric of the performances.
More than that, we shan't say. One thing which isn't mentioned in the flyer is that the incredible Mr. Moe! Staiano will be providing percussive insanity during the Carnacki set.
The other thing of note is that the cd for which this evening is being held is now available at CD Baby (for those of you in the United States), and on Colin Potter's estimable ICR Distribution (for those of you in England and Europe). Both entities are very worthy of support in their own right, so don't let the fact that the Carnacki cd is now available on both tarnish their respective reputations in your eyes.
Update of 14 February 2007
We have just this evening gotten back into our webpage account; for reasons thoroughly beyond our control, the site decided to take an extended holiday through the month of January. It may stay up for a while, or it may go away again soon. We're looking into finding a more permanent solution to this issue...
In the meantime, quick bits of news, pertaining primarily to the doings of the below-noted Thomas Carnacki. The Far Voyage cd is now available, as mentioned below, at Aquarius Records, who can ship things virtually anywhere. (You could also just use the email link below, the one which says "contact the OAC", if you wanted to get it directly from Mr. Carnacki himself). Aquarius gave the cd a nice little review, as has Musique Machine. Make of these scribblings what you will.
The month of March is shaping up to be a singularly productive one, but we'll announce the specifics a little further on down the line. Unless the website goes away again.
Update of 4 December 2006
Happy Birthday to two of the OAC. What a peculiar coincidence.
This site is now back up and running (a perhaps overly-obvious statement), but there were some issues with our server that were entirely out of our control. Hopefully these outages will cease being a problem.
The two below-mentioned cds are now available for those who are interested. For people who wish to own the Bossi/Carnacki "Andromache" cd, it is avaiable through Central Works, or by contacting the OAC through the contact button below. The Carnacki/Quattro/Burson/Brumit cd, "Far Voyage from a Placid Island", is available at Amoeba Records in Berkeley, CA, and at Aquarius Records in San Francisco. Aquarius' stock is also available through mailorder, for those outside the San Francisco Bay Area. There are efforts afoot to place the cd in a few other venues; we shall see.
Those of us who attended the Brainwaves Festival in Arlington, Mass, last month were treated to a fantastically run festival with outstanding acts from around the world. For people interested in imagery and blithering about that weekend, we urge you to visit the Brainwaves Memorial Page. Mr. Jon Whitney deserves a great deal of adulation and commendation for his hard work, as does Tim and his crew of technicians, who kept everything running on time and sounding fantastic. Never have we encountered such a team.
Upcoming this week, one of our Brethren will be performing with Mr. Stapleton's Wounded Nurses at All Tomorrow's Parties in England, but tickets for these shows are well sold-out by now. Next year will provide (projected) numerous opportunities to see this ensemble perform its intoxicating blend of histrionics throughout the European landmass; a visit to this page will keep you abreast of the gory details. (As if you need us to tell you all this.)
That's all the excitement that's been going on 'round here. Images and extraneous artifacts could conceivably make their way up here sometime soon, depending entirely on our schedules. For now, relax and enjoy the slow countdown to the end of the year.
Update of 28 October 2006
Two months without a peep outta us is long, I realize. A number of exciting events have passed by without us making announcements, and for that, we apologize, but there are still a few things that we can let you know about in ample time for you to be able to take advantage of them.
First of all, the most recent Central Works play contains original music by an OAC module and the estimable Mr. Matthias Bossi of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Book of Knots fame. It runs now through the middle of November. Speaking of music, a couple of other OAC pillars will be performing in the next two irr. app. (ext.) shows, in San Francisco on 5 November at the PlaySpace Gallery and at the BrainWaves Festival in Massachusetts on 18 November.
Images of the recent activities may yet make their way up onto these pages... there's a long list now. The most notable being the recent inn. aff. (orchext.) show at 21 Grand on Friday the 13th, incorporating members of irr. app. (ext.) (and, by [ext]ension, the OAC), NF Orchest, Maleficia, plus a few extra friends.
Finally, in the coming month, two releases are planned to come out (one the soundtrack to the afore-mentioned Central Works play, the other a collaboration between Thomas Carnacki, Jesse Burson, Jesse Quattro, and Jon Brumit) that will incorporate some degree of OAC music between their covers. More upon the actual release of these discs.
Okay. Time to go back out into the world, alas.
Update of 25 August 2006
Those wacky fellows, the Recordists, have put up a text on their website that was created back in June in conjunction with an OAC member. It can be found here.
Coming up this Thursday, 31 August, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, starting at 6:30pm, will be a performance by Barely Human DanceTheatre, featuring music by an OAC relation (a poor relation, but one ne'ertheless), the peculiar Mr. Carnacki. This will be part of a whole evening of installation-style performances, musical and otherwise, in amongst the artwork of the East Bay. Or should that be Oakland? We don't know anymore. Many thanks to the fine folks at 21 Grand for inviting such rabble to participate in their curated evening.
There is more (there is always more!), but if we lay it all out now, there will be no reason for any of you to come back, will there?
Update of 10 August 2006
A brief update on an upcoming, last-minute performance by -- in actual fact -- the OAC. We will be broadcasting on Neighborhood Public Radio from the Camera 12 Cinemas (South Second Street and Paseo San Antonio) in San Jose, California, from noon to 12:30pm (Pacific Time, naturally) this coming Saturday the 12th. The broadcast will consist of OAC music and text; an extremely rare opportunity to hear either. People outside of the South Bay can listen in at Live365 via RealPlayer.
There is more to say, but not enough time in which to say it. Next time.
Update of 25 June 2006
Thanks are very much in order to Faun Fables and Nurse With Wound for putting on such fine shows and for inviting various and sundry OAC members to provide a variety of roles in their extravaganzas. Images of these performances, as well as the Xambuca performance, may yet make their way up on this site in some form, and are most certainly available out there in the electronic world for the studious and diligent.
We also extend our congratulations to the Recordists for making the perilous journey Soothwards to the Great Untamed West, full as it is of Hills and other Unpleasantries. As always, the opportunity to collaborate with the Recordists was a welcome one, albeit this time (schedules being what they were) only a limited amount of work was accomplished.
The latest Central Works show, The Inspector General, opened last night, and will run through July. We leave it up to the discriminating audiences to determine whether it's comic, horrifying, or some combination of the two.
And lastly, from the Upcoming OAC-Related Performances file, on 13 July, at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco, Xambuca will be dragging along a couple of familiar faces with him up onto the boards to dazzle and amaze you. Miss it at your peril.
Update of 23 May 2006
So, just so the calendar is clear:
May 26th, at the Oakland Metro, as part of Faun Fables' Transit Rider cd release festivities: a short solo performance by an OAC member
May 27th, at the Oakland Metro, as part of Faun Fables' Transit Rider cd release festivities: a performance by a different OAC member
May 28th, at GodWaffleNoisePancakes, 110 Capp Street in San Francisco, at noon: a performance by yet another OAC member
June 16th and 17th, at the Great American Music Hall: sundry OAC members perform as part of Nurse With Wound
June 24th: the next Central Works show with audio additions by one of the above mentioned OAC members (take your pick), The Inspector General, opens
There's other exciting work being perpetrated at present, but it's going to stay under wraps for a little bit until a bit more progress has been made. But let that be a carrot to keep bringing you back for more.
Happy Tuesday. This Sound Has No Waves.
Update of 13 May 2006
A couple of OAC issuances have returned from a very fine time in Paris for the Chantier Music Festical, where we met and re-met a number of fine friends, and saw a number of extraordinary musical acts, whose recordings visitors to this site should do all in their power to track down.
Of especial joy was the opportunity to see Danielle Dax perform (at long last!), but we were similarly bowled over by the Amal Gamal Ensemble, Shock Headed Peters, Evil Twin, Sally Doherty (and the exceptionally talented Sumacs), Joolie Wood, Simon Finn, Arkkon, Maja Elliott, and others. We would like to say a very special thank you to Olivier, who helped us around a city whose language was a blur of syllables as far as we were concerned, and to Jay, who (entirely unbeknownst to us) has been keeping abreast of the OAC for years, and who attended the very first irr. app. (ext.) show at the Temescal those years ago. Very very good to have finally met you.
Speaking of irr. app. (ext.) shows, for images of the worst-ever irr. app. (ext.) performance (plus so-called "rampant tourism"), here is the place to go. This is a very belated addition, but there you have it.
Upcoming is still the Faun Fables performance mentioned below, and soon (though not soon enough!) will be the Nurse With Wound shows in San Francisco, featuring some OAC contributors. Also, if the two Faun Fables performances weren't enough, the day after, May 28th, a completely different OAC member will be performing at Noise Pancakes at 110 Capp Street in San Francisco at noon, with the enigmatic X A M B U C A.
So much to do, so little time.
Update of 24 April 2006
This site was down and out of service for a little while, but all the bugs seem to have been removed. Hopefully stability has returned for a while. I'm sure you'll know about it before I do if this proves otherwise.
We were unfortunately unable to announce the most recent Barely Human DanceTheatre piece which took place at 21 Grand earlier this month, with music by an OAC organ, but such is the way of computers that go down. We can announce that in addition to the below-mentioned collaboration with Mr. Santomieri, this self-same OAC organ has sent off a contribution to a SOTNE collaborative enterprise; the ultimate form this will take is in decidedly Recordist hands. (No better hands could it be in!)
Also upcoming in May (not January nor June), the Oakland Metro will be presenting The Transit Rider by our dear friends Faun Fables. At these shows, some OAC members will be appearing briefly as Denizens of the Train. We encourage you to show up May 26th and May 27th. It's going to be that good a show.
In the irr. app. (ext-y.) side of the world, a new 3" cd-r is now available from Psychform records -- a collaboration with At Jennie Richie called "Night Wearing Feathers" (actually by the newly-created organism known as Apt. J(ext)ie Irrchie, but that's all a little too technical to go into here.) There is also coming up Helen Scarsdale's release of The Sleeping Moustache, with a couple of OAC members taking part in the frolicking. Frivolity prevails.
There is more (there is always more!) but nothing we are willing to commit to print at the present time. But excitin' times is a-comin'.
Sleep well.
Update of 21 February 2006
The year is already old, but we will wish you all a Happy New one nevertheless. A few OAC-related items, pertaining to some individual strands.
Coming up next month will be a performance by Scribble Seven, including one errant OAC tendril. More information can be found here. Happy travels.
The next Central Works show, Shadow Crossing, will, as usual, feature sound from one of the OAC's ilk. Runs for a month.
There are stirrings of a collaborative project between above mentioned OAC ilk and this unsavoury fellow, although the precise scope of said exchange has yet to be fully hammered out. It may in actual fact involve some OAC material, which would make it unusually relevant to mention it here in an OAC update.
There are also stirrings of a possible performance in and or around June, but absolutely nothing has been determined. So just hold the whole month aside for the time being.
Lastly, irr. app. (ext.) has joined the horrible downward trend that is MySpace... the results may be viewed here. May the gods that be help us all.
That should suffice for the present. Go forth and feed the polyps.
Update of 29 December 2005
A tragic way to ring out the year, but we have little to no control over such things:
The OAC raises a collective glass to mourn the passing of the enigmatic and unique Per Frykdahl, artist and philosopher, whose like we meet so rarely in this world, but we are glad of the brief time we did spend with him. Rest In Peace, Mr. Picnic, and GodSpeed.
Update of 19 December 2005
Of note to those following the individual vectors of the components of the OAC: as a part of a fundraising effort for the Artists' Television Access in San Francisco, a portion of the broadcast that Neighbourhood Public Radio made from the ATA's venerable storefront earlier in the year is now available on a special limited cd (or, I believe, actually a cd-r), along with other local luminaries. Information on how to obtain a copy and benefit this fine local resource can be found on ATA's fundraiser page. The Indecency piece that was the work of an OAC particle in collaboration with AC Way, Rica Anderson, and Dawn McMahan is part of said NPR contribution.
Although we haven't actually heard the NPR mix, we can assure our visitors that the entire section put together is durned indecent, incendiary, and just plain rude.
We wouldn't have it any other way.
Update of 12 December 2005
Friend o' ours Mr. William Davison, Recordist extremus, has put up a series of images on his website, which includes a few featuring the extreme low points of his career, namely the time he has spent with the OAC. Why he put up these damning pictures on public display, we perhaps shall never know, but since he has, it seems a shame to waste the opportunity to trumpet to the world his dabbling with degeneracy. The images may be found here. Also included on this site are some audio extracts; we heartily encourage the sampling of this fare.
Update of 27 November 2005
A new irr. app. (ext.) cd/lp has emerged through Beta-lactam, "Perekluchenie", to be followed shortly by some more cds on the horizon. Featuring a couple of OAC folks, and some OAC text (cut up into unrecognizable little pieces, which is actually the best way to enjoy OAC texts, it has been found...)
Little more to report than that... but sometimes a new irr. app. (ext.) cd is all you need. And it is at those times that one should start worrying seriously about the way of things.
Update of 2 November 2005
An amusing report -- made even more amusing by the fact that irr. app. (ext.) are not actually involved in the concert anymore -- on this Sunday's show in the Billboard Section of the East Bay Express, complete with snarky commentary on said OAC-related entity. Probably our own damn fault for being intentionally obscure in the material we sent to the press people. But, despite its apperance in print, the irr. app. (ext.) portion of the evening is not going to be happening.
The newest Central Works play is happening, though, now through 20 November. Getcher information and tickets here. Worth one's while.
Ever trashing away at equine corpses.
Update of 15 October 2005
Little to say, save that the below mentioned irr. app. (ext.) performance in November has been cancelled, due primarily to the horrible human creation known as Money.
The other two items below mentioned went off splendidly, and documentation may yet appear in some form in which all of you can partake. But not until the Maelstrom that is October has wound its way into History, as opposed to still residing in the very ominous and imposing Future.
More later. Whilst you wait for the next update, remember to be kind to small animals.
Update of 26 September 2005
A few OAC-related items to report: Firstly, the next Barely Human DanceTheatre piece, featuring music by an OAC member in collaboration with Jesse Quattro, Jesse Burson, and Jon Brumit will be unleashed upon the world the coming two Sundays, October 2nd and 9th, at 5pm, at the downtown Berkeley BART station.
The second item is that the next irr. app. (ext.) performance will take place the first Sunday in November, and will feature a decidedly international ensemble, as people from Canada and Ireland will be flying out and participating in the debauchery. The honourable venue 21 Grand will host this event, bless their hearts.
Lastly (at least for the moment), on Monday, October 10th, at the Berkeley City Club, a member of the OAC will be taking part in the Actors Reading Writers series by delivering an Algernon Blackwood story to the unsuspecting masses. This event is free, so there is little to no excuse for your absence.
Hoorah for the arrival of autumn.
Update of 15 September 2005
The particles of the OAC which constituted the latest instantiation of irr. app. (ext.) have returned home from the triumphant Diversion that was the Wooden Octopus Skull Pfestival. Many many thanks to William, Leslie, and Stan for their fantastic efforts in pulling together such a fine assortment of acts and keeping the whole weekend running smoothly. We especially enjoyed the various Broken Human/Penis Machine/Orchestra permutations, Smegma, and Hans Grusel's Krankenkabinet, among many others.
For images of the irr. app. (ext.) performance, as well as others, you can visit this site.
In other news, Irreplaceable Hand is now out and available, featuring tracks by irr. app. (ext.), Nurse With Wound, Thomas Carnacki, Barely Human DanceTheatre, Matmos, and many other fine folks. It can be purchased at Electric Heavyland (our favourite record store in Seattle), Wall of Sound (also in Seattle), Amoeba Records in Berkeley and San Francisco (and soon to be available in Los Angeles), Aquarius Records, and various other places.
That's enough to hold you for a bit. Rest easy.
Update of 25 August 2005
The artwork and masters for Irreplaceable Hand are now in the hands of that curious breed known as "the printers and the pressers"... the hope is that a result with emerge in time for the irr. app. (ext.) show on the 11th at the Wooden Octopus Skull Pfestival.
More updates in days to come...
Update of 4 August 2005
A belated little update, this. First off, we should draw your attention to the fact that a number of drawings which were done in collaboration with the Toronto Recordists are now up on their site, specifically here and here. The latter were done whilst sitting in a church waiting for Current 93 and their various friends to start performing. Some textual and audio collaborations were also undertaken whilst the miniature version of the OAC was in Toronto, and these may someday see the light of day.
Upcoming in September will be an irr. app. (ext.) performance at this festival, on its final day, an event we are greatly looking forward to, not the least of which because we will be reuniting with a number of our friends up there.
Also, a number of developments on the below mentioned Dax Pierson benefit cd, Irreplaceable Hand, have emerged, and as soon as they are finalized, we will be spreading the word. In the meantime, there will be another benefit for Dax at the Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco this Friday and Saturday; please check here for more details.
Also upcoming in October will be a large-scale performance by Barely Human DanceTheatre in Berkeley, with audio accompaniment by a member of the OAC along with various collaborators. More details, again, are pending.
And let that be enough for now...
Update of 26 June 2005
Many many many thanks to those who participated in and came out to see the Dax Pierson benefit at LoBot on Friday. We raised much more than we'd hoped to think we would, and the generosity of everyone involved is cause for a tremendous amount of hope.
Upcoming will be a compilation cd, "Irreplaceable Hand", the proceeds of which will also go to the Dax Pierson Recovery Fund. All bands who played on Friday will be represented on the compilation, meaning that members of the OAC will be well represented. (And there will be some very special tracks on this cd, as well...) More will be revealed when the details are more firmly in place, vis-a-vis release dates and suchlike.
Images of the event will perhaps appear on these pages. We're somewhat behind in that respect...
Update of 18 June 2005
The OAC would like to honour the passing of one of its most esteemed members, who submitted his work through a human medium, despite his feline nature. Our best thoughts and wishes to those Sutekh left behind; he was, truly, an Exemplary Cat.

Sutekh Rufus Excalibur Forbes
15 March 1991 - 12 June 2005
"Beware the Ides of March"
Hopefully, amidst all this tragedy, something good will at long last spring.
Update of 11 June 2005
Many thanks to those who ventured out into the Toronto evening to see irr. app. (ext.) and Songs of the New Erotics on the 1st. This Sunday at The Lab in San Francisco will be the next irr. app. (ext.) show, to be followed the week later by the next-next one at LoBot in Oakland, the below-mentioned benefit for Mr. Dax Pierson. The full line-up and some other tangible surprises to be announced within a few days. You won't want to miss either event.
The Grand Inquisitor is nearing the end of its San Francisco run... and it will be a different play in Berkeley, however minor you may think the changes are.
Images and reportage from the excursion into the North will be forthcoming when the feathers and fur have stopped swirling through the air to settle once again on their respective fowl and feline bodies.
The previous sentence was the product of a tired mind.
Update of 11 May 2005
The wayward particles of the OAC have returned home, with gratitude to those who were our hosts in die Stadt von Wien, most especially Reinhard and Walter. We met a nice assortment of people, one of whom, the estimable Mr. Andrew Liles has already put up a page of pictures of those involved, so you can see the fine folks and environs we encountered.
The next irr. app. (ext.) show shall be with these jolly fellows in Toronto, Canada, on 1 June 2005, at a place called the New Works Studio (319 Spadina Ave., upstairs). Hoorah for Recordism, in its various forms!
Also, just before this excursion, the next Central Works play will go up: The Grand Inquisitor at the Thick House in San Francisco. And then, shortly following the Toronto show will be a quick one-two series of OAC/irr.-related performances -- one with the curious Mr. Jim Haynes, the other a benefit for our dear friend Mr. Dax Pierson. More information on those two shows in coming weeks.
This promise keeps being made, but the OAC itself will, at some point, resurrect itself.
Update of 1 May 2005
Two particles of the OAC are in the Lovely Land of Europe. Well wishes in advance to all those we are to meet in the forthcoming week. A report upon our return. In the meantime, for those of our audience in the Bay Area, we encourage you to look for Barely Human's performance at Dance Mission this coming weekend.
Latcho Drom.
Update of 13 April 2005
There will be specific news to report within short order. This posting is merely to draw attention to a page of photos of the irr. app. (ext.) show in Seattle this past December.
Hoorah for Electric Heavyland, our favourite record store in Seattle.
Update of 23 March 2005
Three bits of information which have a glancing bearing on the overall mechanisms of which the OAC is comprised.
One is that, in a little over a month, one of the members of the OAC will be in Wien, …sterreich, performing in this spectacle of indeterminate proportions. Start scraping for pennies to secure your plane fare now.
Second is that the newest Central Works play, Enemy Combatant, will be closing this weekend. Start scraping for pennies to secure your tickets.
Third, and perhaps the most exciting, is that there is now a fully-functional new Recordist website, peopled with all the cute fuzzy entities that you've come to expect. You don't need to scrape for a single red cent to view its contents. (Although if you have a few extra, there is a fund in place for the Aid To End World-Wide Apathy Regarding Things Recordist that could use your support...)
The OAC slumbers at present, but beware when it rouses itself into action.
Update of 22 February 2005
A very rudimentary (my dear peni) gallery from the exhibition/performance "A Breach In The Ghostly Skin" is now online, and will be added to in the due course of time.
Update of 21 February 2005
"Better late than never" may, in certain circumstances, apply; however, in this instance, probably not. This last Saturday saw a performance on Neighborhood Public Radio of one of the members of the OAC, along with much appreciated contributions by Rica Anderson, Dawn McMahan, and Andrew Way. The theme of the broadcast was indecency, which, given the fact that through a fluke of technology we couldn't really monitor or hear what was being broadcast, might be appropriate. What we mean to say is that the mix during the broadcast might have been what in common parlance is termed "a little off." C'est la vie. It may re-see the light of day in Neighborhood Public Radio's archives, but the estimable LeE Montgomery, who runs the thing, has plenty of other pressing matters to contend with before he can get around to that archive. So it may be a while.
On another, merely-OAC-related note, the newest Central Works show, Enemy Combatant, has now opened and will be running for the next five weeks at the Berkeley City Club. Sound, as always, but a member of the OAC, and in this production, a small snippet of another member of the OAC has crept its insidious way into the proceedings. Although it's hard to notice.
Lastly, irr. app. (ext.) may have some exciting news soon. But it will be reported soon. As opposed to now.
Go to sleep now. You've been awake for too long. Or so they would have you believe.
Update of 26 January 2005
A tiny bit to report, all of it with regards to the individual components of the OAC, rather than the OAC itself.
In the theatrical realm, the new TheatreFIRST production features sound from one of the OAC, likewise the upcoming Central Works show, Enemy Combatant. Along similar lines, Neighborhood Public Radio just had a broadcast a few weeks back featuring a new copyright infringement piece from a member of the OAC, soon to be posted on NPR's archive site. Upcoming in February, NPR will be having a series of broadcasts on the theme of Indecency. A contribution of some kind will be forthcoming from one of the members of the OAC.
The irr. app. (ext.) photos are still in the process of being processed. Future shows are being mentioned in furtive emails back and forth across the globe, but what is to come of these plottings is, as yet, unknown.
The OAC recommends, to those around the country outside the San Francisco Bay Area, to investigate the websites of Faun Fables and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum for their upcoming tourdates. If they are heading anywhere near where you live, we encourage you to seek them out and say hello to them afterwards.
If, however, you are a San Francisco Bay Area resident, the OAC recommends instead that you go to 964 Natoma and see Zoe Keating.
That's enough recommendations for one Update, I'd say.
Update of 11 January 2005
Debate is still raging hotly about whether or not the latest batch of irr. app. (ext.) images will be placed on this website or on the irr. app. (ext.) website. Well, in truth, it hasn't been discussed at all, but sometime in the very near future images should emerge from not only the San Francisco show, but from Portland and Seattle as well.
For the theatrically inclined, this weekend is the final weekend of Travesties, with (as previously mentioned) sound design by one of the members of the OAC. For those of you who have nothing better to do, the local East Bay Express wrote an article about said sound designer, which is only slightly factually inaccurate. (Not enough to get upset about.)
More OAC illustrations will shortly emerge, as previously promised. There are stirrings as well of future irr. app. (ext.) shows, since people seem to like them for some odd reason. And, now that the year has started in full, the OAC itself will resume its work on Batch The Ninth, which in our unbiased opinion is shaping up quite well, thank you.
I don't believe we ever said Happy New Year to you all. So we're saying it now.
Update of 8 January 2005
Many thanks to the various incarnations of those fine Spoonbending folks.
Long Live The New Flesh.
Update of 7 January 2005
As is usual, a late update, verging on the too late.
The irr. app. (ext.) show will be tonight at the Elbo Room at 647 Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District. It will start at either 9pm or 10pm... we don't know, we're just performing there. Tickets are a reasonably-priced $8 each. If you want to call the Elbo Room, the number is 415/552-7788.
Some more individual OAC illustrations will shortly appear on this site, slowly, surreptitiously, and subversively. And the Decline of Western Civilization moves just a few inches closer...
Update of 16 December 2004
The various particles of the OAC have returned to their nests, in the afterglow of the performances up in the great NorthWest. Many many thanks to Chris from Beta-Lactam Ring and William from Enterruption and Electric Heavyland -- our new favourite record store in Seattle -- for being such kind and generous hosts. It was also an especial delight to finally meet Colin Potter (we heartily encourage you to investigate his ICR distribution site, for more information on him and his water tower). Mr Potter has been doing music for many, many years, and watching him in action live was a great joy.
There will be a local irr. app. (ext.) show on 7 January 2005 at the Elbo Room in San Francisco, which will be a derivation of the shows in Seattle and Portland. More information as it arrives.
And, on a different note, we forgot to mention that one of the OAC is responsible for doing the Dada soundscape for Tom Stoppard's Travesties currently playing in Berkeley now through 16 January at the Ashby Stage. A fun play concerning the intersection of the lives of Tristan Tzara, James Joyce, and Lenin in Zurich during WWI.
Now, with all that out of the way, we would like again to say many thanks to all those who came out to see the OAC work at 21 Grand, and to those who travelled so far to see Nurse With Wound and accidentally had to see irr. app. (ext.) as well. Many thanks to Moe!Staiano as well, just for being Moe!, and for joining in with the free-jazz-acid-improv that spontaneously happened at the Optic Nerve Gallery in Portland with Colin Potter, Stan The Man Reed, a tall man named Tom, interpretive dancer and shaker Hilde Rautmann, Else Teicher and a couple of OAC members (to name a few). While due to a hideous twist of fate, this event was not recorded for its audio content, some photographs may be forthcoming, along with images from the Doug Fir Lounge show and the Electric Heavyland show.
Meeting all these people -- audience, event organizers, performers -- gives us the fleeting (and possibly misleading) notion that there is good still left in this world after all. Thank you all for everything.
Update of 7 December 2004
OAC artwork is now up over at the Oakland art gallery 21 Grand, and will be there for only a week. This includes three exquisite corpses, plus some of the individual story illustrations, and other, non-OAC artwork by individual members of the OAC. See it whilst you can, before we re-bury it in our little homes.
These same three members of the OAC will be travelling Northwards from their San Francisco area residencies later this week to perform in the next two irr. app. (ext.) live shows, one in Seattle on Friday the 10th, and one in Portland on Saturday the 11th, as part of a record-release party for the latest Nurse With Wound record.
The Seattle show will be an in-store in the Electric Heavyland record store, at 252 NE 45th; phone number (206) 545-2800. This event will be free.
The Portland show will be at the Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside; phone number (503) 231-WOOD. We've been told it's a "hip place." And hence, not free.
Both shows will be similar, but each will have distinct material that is different from the other. If you're a rabid irr. app. (ext.) fanatic, you've got to go to both.
And the final piece of irr. app. (ext.) news is that The Wire this month features an article (and photographs) on page 16 of MS Waldron and irr. app. (ext.) The OAC gets a minor mention in the article, which means we've now achieved international acclaim. Or notoriety. Or something.
That was long, wasn't it? Terribly sorry.
Update of 16 November 2004
The OAC adds its heartfelt sympathies and sorrow to all those who knew Jhonn Balance, who crossed over the Threshold this past Saturday. The influence of Balance and Coil will continue to reverberate for an unknown amount of time to come; the doors that Coil opened for the various members of the OAC will be forever remembered and appreciated. Rest In Peace to a man with a Window in his Eye..
Update of 13 November 2004
News from the Recently-Declared Disaster Zone, or at least the version of it which was broadcast on Neighborhood Public Radio in September (a revised version has been known to be floating around out there), has now been posted online, for the curious. Simply go to the Neighborhood Public Radio website, click on their Archive button.
Other news: a gallery show entitled "A Breach in the Ghostly Skin" will be on display at the Oakland art gallery 21 Grand in the first few weeks of December, featuring some of the OAC's exquisite corpses, plus individual work from members of the OAC. The opening night event will be a duet between talismanic folk entity Black Bird Stitches and Barely Human DanceTheatre. More information and images as we get around to it.
Lastly, rhe performing ensemble of irr. app. (ext.) -- all members of the OAC -- will be travelling up North in early December for a couple of live performances in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The Seattle show comes to you courtesy of that upstanding outfit Enterruption, the Portland show courtesy of Beta-lactam Ring Records. Hoorah for both. Similarly, more information when time permits.
Much to do, hi ho hi ho.
Update of 5 November 2004
The OAC is officially upset about recent events, and we invite all our visitors, likewise, to be upset.
And maybe, just maybe, do something about it. We welcome your suggestions...
Update of 10 September 2004
This is a very last-minute notice, due to the extreme time-drain involved in the creation of the below-discussed piece:
This coming Saturday, September 11, Neighborhood Public Radio will be broadcasting News From The Recently Declared Disaster Zone, an audio piece about New York City created by one of the members of the OAC, and featuring the talented throats of the Thomas Carnacki Vocal Ensemble. The Ensemble includes Rica Anderson, Matthias Bossi, Thomas Carnacki, Howard Forbes, Nils Frykdahl, Gary Graves, Christopher Herold, Carla Kihlstedt, Dawn "The Faun" McCarthy, Dawn McMahan, John Patrick Moore, Jerry Peterson, and Jan Zvaifler. The OAC itself makes brief and provocative appearances during the course of the piece.
Neighborhood Public Radio will be broadcasting on 88.9 FM, hearable throughout most of San Francisco (especially in the Mission District), and will supposedly be archiving their broadcasts for later listenability on the Web... more information upon our receiving it.
The general public is invited to come down to the Southern Exposure Gallery and watch the broadcast, which visually will probably be somewhat boring. But it's got interesting things on the walls.
Update of 13 August 2004
All of Batch the Eighth that is going to be posted has now been posted for the whole world to read. And remember to tune in to KFJC tomorrow afternoon.
For those in the Bay Area, we also encourage you to see inkBoat's new piece Ame To Ame at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (tonight and tomorrow night only), as well as the Faun Fables cd release party at the Oakland Metro on Sunday, 15 August, which will also include a performance by the lovely and wonderful Black Bird Stitches. Lots to do this weekend.
Be well.
Update of 10 August 2004
An OAC performance (of sorts) is in the offing next month, under the auspices of Neighborhood Public Radio. On September 11, NPR (the antidote to National Public Radio) will broadcast a sound piece using as its backbone a text from the OAC's autobiographical Batch the Seventh. (A portion of this text is online here.) The broadcast itself will only be listenable in the Mission District of San Francisco, but an archive of the broadcast will purportedly be available after the fact. (We will keep people appraised of this as we get the information ourselves.) For a complete schedule of NPR's six-week broadcast schedules, please go here.
Speaking of broadcasts, there will be a broadcast on KFJC radio on Saturday, 14 August, celebrating Nurse With Wound and featuring an appearance by Irr. App. (Ext.) For those of you who missed the Irr. App. (Ext.) special on KFJC last week (which we irresponsibly forgot to mention), you can at least see what was played, if you can't necessarily listen to it.
More specifics about the upcoming NPR piece will be available as the evolution of the piece progresses.
And even more changes have occurred on the site, but you will, doubtless, encounter them as you paw through it in your copious spare time.
Update of 2 August 2004
And because I found a typo in that Recordist Collaboration, I figured I'd do penance by posting more of the Batch The Eighth stories, which are long overdue. The newly-posted L stories will shortly be followed by some A stories... but those will, alas, have to wait for another day.
We here at the OAC have received notice that the below mentioned Dion McGregor cds are now available at Torpor Vigil... A very exciting day for our little town, a very exciting day for us all.
Time, now, for sleep and dreams and the plottings of things to come.
Update of 1 August 2004
The business of being busy has yielded a bit of a lull, but to tide you over until the next flood of news hits your shores, we have posted a textual collaboration that a couple of us did with the below-mentioned Recordists. Also, for the curious, the Recordist Scrapbook has images of our visit to the Recordist in their natural habitat in the wilds of Toronto. Only for the curious, though.
On a theatrical note, Central Works' The Mysterious Mr. Looney is now up and running through the end of August, with sound crafted by, as always, a member of the OAC.
There will be more texts, information on upcoming events, and images on the way. In fact, some images have already arrived, unlike poor Les Barker's snails.
Update of 28 June 2004
The OAC has returned from a trip up into the wilds of the North, and discovered numerous wonderful things and people in the course of our travels. Among them was the hidden, secretive enclave of Recordists, plying their nefarious trades beneath the notice of the appropriate government agencies, and doing a mighty fine job of it, too, if we may be so bold. A first few tentative collaborations between a slimmed-down version of the OAC and the Recordists manifested themselves, pointing towards many potential future collaborations. The fruits of these first joint ventures may yet show up, in some form, on this website. Stay tuned.
Another exciting discovery was that of Torpor Vigil, soon to be the proud purveyors of the extremely exciting new Dion McGregor cd. Who is Dion McGregor, many of you may ask? We heartily encourage you to explore the site and find out... anyone with an interest in the work of the OAC will find the work (could one possibly even say the oneiromantic work?) of Dion McGregor irresistable.
More news is on the way, but let the above hold you for the time being. Good Deal Easier.
Update of 1 June 2004
Indiviual information only -- the OAC itself is trying to get its various limbs to work in coordination to avoid tripping itself as it crosses a particularly pothole-filled field. (Being an organism which tries to think of itself as dignified, it feels that the sight of the OAC flailing around haphazardly in amongst the foxtails, legs akimbo, would be damaging to that image.)
Hence, individuality: the visual work of two members of the OAC are up for your viewing. The first is the gallery page currently available at the irr. app. (ext.) website. The second is the fine and dandy watercolours of the inscrutible Mr. F. -- a welcome return after some years of being away from the form. Discover for yourself the individual minds which make up the lumbering behemoth that is the OAC!
Enough carny barking for now. All the best to you and yours...
Update of 9 May 2004
We continue to be a font of irr. app. (ext.) information. We can announce that out there in the world, for we have seen it with our own eyes, is "Angry Eelectric Finger", a cd which combines the talents of Nurse With Wound, Cyclobe, Jim O'Rourke, and what Durtro.com describes as "San Francisco's weirdest pop combo." (Which, oddly enough, is at least half incorrect, now that we come to think of it, for irr. app. (ext.) is neither from San Francisco, nor a combo... we leave it up to others to decide the weirdness and popness of the catalogue.)
In the interest of supporting our fellow artists who traffic in the peculiar, we would like to direct the attention of those residing in the San Francisco Bay Area to the Richmond Art Center for an exhibit of the work of Per Frykdahl (aka Ward C. Picnic). Examples of his work may be found on the Sleepytime Gorilla Museum website, an outfit for whom Per has contributed many an illustation. Alas, none of these fine pieces are for sale. The exhibit runs through the end of May.
And to end on a cryptic note, if all our plans go ahead, we might -- just might -- be collaborating in an informal way with a certain Recordist character, time permitting, as we will be entering his neck of the woods in a little over a month. We can be allowed to dream.
Happy tails to all and sundry.
Update of 28 April 2004
A large version of the Exquisite Corpse created in the bathroom at the Stuck In A Hole In The Fog In The Middle Of The Night With An Owl Benefit Evening for Barely Human DanceTheatre is now up on the Exquisite Corpse page. For what it's worth.
Speaking of Exquisite Corpses, the Falmouth Art Gallery, affiliated with the Falmouth College of Arts, in Cornwall, has put up a page called Surrealist Holiday, in conjunction with an exhibition of Surrealist Art. They're celebrating all the Surrealists who apparently vacationed in Cornwall, and they asked us, of all people, for some as-yet unexplained reason, to allow one of our exquisite corpses to be posted on their site as an example of the form. They probably were unaware that the OAC had been on holiday in Cornwall in 1996, and so the appropriateness is unintentional, but nevertheless. The corpse on their page is nothing new to people who have already seen the postings on the OAC site, but we urge people to look into this site regardless... and if you happen to be in Cornwall, to pop on by the Gallery.
On a completely unrelated note, British punk band Blyth Power has turned 20. Happy Birthday, and Many Happy Returns. We'd travelled to a minor little shed outside a pub in a town surprisingly far away from London to see a version of Blyth Power play some years ago... another holiday to the British Isles. That, I will attest, is the connection to the previous paragraph, and the relevance at all of including this thoroughly obscure piece of information.
Plus, there have been even more minor changes. But minor they shall remain.
Update of 19 April 2004
Small changes, which will become apparent to the persistent.
Update of 16 April 2004
Some more stories from Batch the Eighth have crept their wretched way up onto the site. More shall follow in their wake -- it's only a question of when.
Update of 14 April 2004
Whilst we all think unhappy thoughts about the Federal Government, if we happen to be in the United States, we can at least make an announcement regarding some individual achievements of some members of the OAC.
Notably, KALX dj Carnacki is returning to the airwaves on Tuesday nights, 9 to midnight, Pacific time. San Francisco Bay Area listeners can tune in to 90.7fm, and streaming audio may be heard from the KALX website.
The newest irr. app. (ext.) releases are very shortly to see the light of day. Check the Official irr. app. (ext.) site for details.
Other notable revalations, directly regarding the OAC, are in the wings, but we are withholding the details until we are sure what the details are. Hopefully it won't be another month before we inflict another update on you.
Stick it to the Man.
Update of 14 March 2004
After long silence, at last a report, albeit a slim one, and on individual notes only, alas. The most exciting news is that the irr. app. (ext.) official site is up and running, and a handsome thing it is, too. Not mentioned on that site, yet, is that there may be some forthcoming irr. app. (ext.) live shows in the not too distant future, but all specifics have yet to materialize.
One may note that the Holocene Sound site is not yet fully operational, but keep your eyes on it. Holocene sound is a related organism to the OAC and irr. app. (ext.), and its true purpose and dimensions will shortly be unveiled before the world.
Along the line of websites which are up and running, the work of another frequent OAC contributor is now up for viewing here. Well worth repeated reloadings of the front page.
And, lastly, those who wish to see The Duel should reserve tickets now, as we are starting to fill up the final two weekends. See the Central Works site for contact information and details.
Happy Spring to all and sundry. Okay, so it wasn't as slim an update as I'd originally thought.
Update of 28 January 2004
And even more stories now clutter the enormity of the World Wide Web. Fancy that.
And, for those dedicated enough to seek them out, some other curious changes have begun occurring with the OAC writings. More at present I will not say, lest I spoil the surprise.
In the OAC-related side of the news, two plays are forthcoming next month which feature sound by an OAC member: Vita and Virginia at Theatre Rhino in San Francisco, and The Duel for Central Works at the Berkeley City Club in Berkeley. Keep an eye out for them.
Much to see, much to do.
Update of 25 January 2004
Even more stories are up for your perusal, including one about the Pope. It's a difficult life, being the Pope. One should feel extremely sorry for the Pope.
That's enough about the Pope for now, though. Maybe there will be more later.
Update of 5 January 2004
More Writings from Batch the Eighth, including the first appearance of a new OAC member on this website. Hoorah hoorah.
And yet even more is to come, time and energy permitting...
Update of 3 January 2004
Because you didn't ask for it, two more stories from Batch the Eighth are now up for your dismissal. More will be forthcoming in due course.
A new OAC visual artwork project has arrived on the scene, a notion which will take a good deal of time, given its scope. The results will be small in size, but numerous, and represent yet another attempt to dredge something redeemable from old transgressions. More than that I will not, at present, say.
Reviews for irr. app. (ext.)'s Dust Pincher Appliances continue to dribble out; we just discovered the January issue of the Wire contains some pleasant words in that regard. This gives us hope that the powers that be might be inclined to release some more of the cds which are idling at the starting gates. But it is out of our hands, and so we sit and watch events unfold just as you yourselves do. Such is the way of things.
The OAC wishes you a prosperous 2004. For our part, we all wish we could jump as energetically as David Lynch can.
Update of 23 December 2003
The OAC would like to urge people to stop buying things. It expects that its urgings will go generally unheeded, but such is the way of the world.
This is by way of saying that nothing new is happening with the OAC, although who knows what tomorrow will bring?
The OAC welcomes you to Winter.
Update of 21 November 2003
The fabulous people over at Crouton Music have released the newest irr. app. (ext.) cd, Dust Pincher Appliances, a slightly reworked and greatly expanded version of the 10" which some of you may have had the foresight to procure some years back, when it was still possible to do so. If you do have the 10", you still need to get the cd. Sorry.
Lionheart plays for only two more days... after that, it is entirely up to the fates as to when anybody may see it again. Make the most of your time. Then, on Tuesday, as is stated below, Barely Human (augmented by audio dribblings from one of the OAC) will perform at Venue 9 in San Francisco. And after that, we're going to go to sleep.
Maybe.
At least we've stopped putting up new pictures of irr. app. (ext.) live shows.
Update of 12 November 2003
There are now more pictures of that Fateful Night in July, which means that there are, in actual fact, too many pictures. We feel sure you'll agree.
In fact, there are so many pictures, that we're not sure when the next irr. app. (ext.) show will be, since the previous one was so well documented. We don't wish to overburden the world with documentation of such proceedings, after all.
The rumblings of the potential Ninth Batch of writings are gurgling through the air, in a similar fashion to the sensation one feels when one is afflicted with indigestion, or perhaps the pangs of hunger. Time will have to tell which of those two sensations more adequately describes the current state of affairs.
Update of 11 November 2003
Some of the pictures from the July irr. app. (ext.) performance are now up for public ignoral. Follow the link from the Performance Archive (see button below.)
Lionheart has two more weekends, and after that, it's gone to the aether. Grab the opportunity whilst you can avail yourself of the time...
And, for those with an eye to the future, occasional OAC-co-conspiritor Barely Human DanceTheatre will be performing on 25 November at Venue 9 in San Francisco, with aural embellishments by a member of the OAC. Please consult one of the two previous links for more information.
And that's all for the time being, which is more than enough, I should think.
Update of 9 November 2003
Just a quick note on an OAC-related matter: Central Works' production of the new play Lionheart only runs for two more weeks. To coincidentally coincide with this, Crouton Music is leading the pack in releasing the next irr. app. (ext.) cd, Dust Pincher Appliances. Hooray for all concerned.
The OAC belatedly welcomes you to Autumn.
Update of 17 September 2003
The pictures of the irr. app. (ext.) performance, which mysteriously disappeared into the aether recently, have now reappeared. And all thumbnails now have corresponding larger images. Perhaps they will have greater staying power this time.
As below: if you are in San Francisco this weekend, go to Noh Space. If you are in San Diego, go to Sushi Performance Gallery. If you are in neither place, your life is miserably your own.
Update of 29 August 2003
By coincidence, two butoh shows in September will feature music by members of the OAC. One, "Third Skin", will be performed at the Noh Space in San Francisco September 18-20. The second, Barely Human's "After You Is Manners" will be performed in San Diego at Sushi Performance Gallery on September 20.
Fancy that.
Update of 31 July 2003
Images of irr. app. (ext.)'s debut performance at the Temescal in March are now up for the unwashed masses to scratch their heads in puzzlement over. Please see the Performance Archive section of the site, accessable by clicking the friendly little icon at the bottom of this page.
Not all images have been uploaded to the site, and as such, not all thumbnails, when clicked upon, will yield the satisfaction of a larger image. Life is funny that way.
We hope you're getting a good night's sleep these days.
Update of 26 July 2003
The second full-length irr. app. (ext.) show is now dribbling away into the past. Perhaps that's as it should be.
Although this seems to be the ever-and-always update, there will be more text and images in the near future. Once the hecticism of the Month of July has gone the way of the dodo, the dinosaurs, and human rights in the United States.
On a cheerful note, the OAC recommends the film "Northfork" to all and sundry.
Update of 23 June 2003
Since everybody else under the sun seems to be announcing the next irr. app. (ext.) performance (albeit unknowingly... they think they're just announcing the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival), we figure we might as well, too. The disreputable quartet which is the current live incarnation of irr. app. (ext.), all members of the OAC, will be sharing the Thursday, 24 July 2003 bill with 23-Fiver Jim Haynes and Icelandic luminary Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson, with whose band Stilluppsteypa irr. app. (ext.) birthed its first release many a year ago, Tpith or Tetapth. The Universe is circular, indeed.
The SFEMF website has this schedule for this year's festivities, to happen at SomArts (formerly the SoMar), 934 Brannan Street, between the Trader Joe's and the Freeway Overpass. How appropriate.
For those of you who missed the Temescal performance, this will be a somewhat refined, rethought, and redirected version of that piece. Who knows when it may be performed like this ever again...
Tickets are the abundantly reasonable price of $15 and may be purchased at the SFEMF site. Many thanks to 23five for inviting irr. app. (ext.) to perform on their curated night.
More text and image to appear when time permits.
Update of 15 June 2003
Batch the Eighth has begun its slow, tortured path towards electronic existence. Due to the not entirely finished nature of the Batch at present, it may be some tme before this process is complete.
Happy Father's Day.
Update of 14 June 2003
The Aquarius Exhibit is now a ghostly memory in all our hearts, nothing more. Sadness reigns.
To compensate, the last Batch the Seventh writing -- S10(7) -- has been posted (at long last, you all say, with a glower in your eyes...) And it's an epic of New York City and the underbelly of Independent Record Shops.
Photos of the irr. app. (ext.) show in Oakland are still on their way, and news of the forthcoming show likewise. Many Happy Returns. Be Seeing You.
Update of 10 June 2003
The art exhibit of Mr. M. Waldron is coming down this weekend... if you wish to see first hand the opulent display before the contents of the exhibition scatter to divers hands who have snatched the items up at bargain basement prices, then do so this week.
Again, the show is at Aquarius Records, whose website is here, and the announcement of the exhibition is here.
Pleasant dreams.
Update of 1 June 2003
Something I've been meaning to get around to, and finally (half) have: One of the two remaining Batch The Seventh Writings to be posted has been: S6(7) is now up for your edification. It is a report from New York City, circa September 13, 2001.
When two half-seconds are available, S10(7) will join it. 'Til then, soonest mended.
Update of 29 May 2003
Little to report from the OAC itself, but as per the norm, a fair amount from the individual members thereof:
This coming Tuesday, 3 June, a member of the OAC will be performing as part of Moe! Staiano's Moe!kestra! at the Black Box in Oakland, 1928 Telegraph Avenue. Wear earplugs. For more information on the event, please go here.
Also, two theatre pieces with sound design by a member of the OAC are opening within the next two weeks: David Hare's Map Of The World with TheatreFIRST and the world premiere of a new play, The Wyrd Sisters with Central Works.
For those of you who have yet to see M. Waldron's art exhibition at Aquarius Records, time is slowly ticking away... it comes down off the walls in June. So get cracking.
And lastly, for those of you who missed the irr. app. (ext.) show a couple of months ago, you may get another chance at it late in June. More details as they are cemented.
And within due course, the OAC itself will move its gargantuan bulk back into gear. Stay tuned.
Update of 20 April 2003
In the midst of organizing chaos, we happened up on something which we'd meant to put up on this site some time back, namely, the images from the program of the Faun Fables Mother Twilight CD Release Party in which we had been invited to participate.
One can go to the Performance Archive section of this site to get to the page in question.
Now 'tis time for sleep.
Update of 26 March 2003
Our continuing audio experiments have again met with a resounding thud, sending us back to the instruction manuals scratching our heads. C'est la vie.
The important news is that the opening for the MS Waldron Art Extravaganza is tomorrow, so show up for free cheese and spirits. You can dribble wine on the Artist himself as he mopes about the room.
Update of 23 March 2003
Many thanks to those who braved the dark Oakland night to see the first-ever irr. app. (ext.) performance; the unexpectedly positive response warmed our little hearts overwhelmingly. Some of you left your gifts behind; but they were given to those who stayed after, so nothing was wasted. Many thanks to Mr. Karl Blake, as well, for caring so much about our sandwiches and for allowing irr. app. (ext.) to mangle his venerable lyrics with our substandard rendition; we encourage all visitors to investigate the workings of Mr. Blake here.
With this behind us, and only an art exhibit to mount (which is being hung in the space even as these words are being typed), we all plan to take a lengthy nap. And catch up on projects left dangling for so long whilst we were otherwise occupied.
Images of last night's events will be forthcoming at some undisclosable point, as well as portions of audio, perhaps. (If we can figure the damn technology out.)
Help is on the way.
Update of 18 March 2003
In the interest of ensuring that the Clear Channel Radio Corporation will forbid any OAC or irr. app. (ext.) recordings from being broadcast on their airwaves, we wish to state irrevocably that George W. Bush is a twit. And a dangerous one at that.
Update of 17 March 2003
The continuing news, of course, if that of the impending irr. app. (ext.) show, featuring members and text from the OAC. See the link below.
But in our remarkable inability to update our Windows page, we are being negligent with regards to a particular website and organization, namely the IBRI, who have recently come to the attention of the OAC as wonderfully kindred spirits. Therefore, we will simply link to their page here, and advise you all to enjoy the fury of Recordism at your leisure.
We will now set about worrying ourselves terribly about the prospect of having forgotten some highly important detail pertaining to this Saturday's performance. Thank you for your patronage.
Update of 5 March 2003
The announcement pages for both the irr. app. (ext.) live show and the related display of treacly objects are now up on display for the uncaring world to ignore.
We strongly remind you of the (nearly illegible) reminder at the bottom of the poster: No Mendicants. Thank you.
Update of 4 March 2003
Our experiments have been, apparently, a dismal failure, and thus we return to our audio experimentation. We will announce when we have worked out the kinks in our audio technology, and you will be able to hear our stories read over high-decibel bar noise.
The OAC would like to welcome the arrival of Willow Scharpen, who was so naively eager that she came several weeks ahead of her scheduled appearance. Despite this fact, we all hold our arms wide to herald her, which she won't see, since her eyes are (for the most part) closed in sleep. Happy Birthday.
And thus the core members of the OAC have been involved in creating artwork for an upcoming exhibit, one is designing the sound for a local theatre piece about a cow, and the third just had a baby. This last achievement puts all our other endeavours to piddly little shame.
When we're less caught up in our individual affairs, this site will indeed see more information, growth, and change. And there's a few things we haven't told you let. Just to keep you coming back.
Thanks for your continued interest...
Update of 23 February 2003
More experiments have been happening. A new experimental version of the OAC reading is now up, the old one having been deleted for the time being, due to its prohibitive size. The new audio file can be found here. Let us know if there are any problems in accessing our new experiment.
A poster for the upcoming irr. app. (ext.) show will shortly make its way onto this site, for the world to see and ignore.
The slow, crawling end of Batch the 8th is in sight, wheezing and stuttering. Its dubious fruits will be available at some thoroughly indeterminite time in the future.
That's it for now. More on the way, especially if this new experiment in audio works the way we all hope it does.
Update of 19 February 2003
An official announcement of the upcoming irr. app. (ext.) live show will shortly be appearing on these pages, but for now, the bare bones information: The show (featuring members of the OAC) will be on 22 March 2003 at the Temescal Arts Center in Oakland, California, at 8pm. The extremely affordable ticket price is $5. We look forward to your assembled presence.
There is an experimental version of an audio file on the Performance Archive page: a reading from Halloween 1999 of one of our stories as a prelude to a Sleepytime Gorilla Museum show. We welcome any feedback about your ability to access this audio file, as it is (as previously stated) an experiment. Depending on circumstances, more such audio files should be making their way onto this site, space permitting.
Look for more information in the near future. Our welcome to visitors both new and returning.
Update of 29 January 2003
The site has been marginally updated. Almost all of Batch the Seventh's writings that are going to appear on these pages have been posted for your reading (dis)pleasure, just in time for Batch the Eighth to be completed. Our lives are now on display (or at least select portions of them are, those dealing with dead dogs and plate-glass windows.)
In addition, a new portrait has been added to the Writings page, and the Exquisite Corpse which was created for Barely Human DanceTheatre's benefit evening of last February has been posted to the Performance Archive page.
We hope that the intervening twenty days since last we posted an update have been more fruitful for all of you than it has been for this site. Although we must say that the State of the OAC is better than the State of some other Unions we could mention.
Update of 8 January 2003
Happy New Year to all and sundry. There is actually OAC news to report: the beginnings of the Batch the Seventh samples are now up on the Writings page, and more will be posted in the next few days. This is the autobiographical batch, so please treat these stories accordingly.
More of everything is on the way. The OAC never sleeps (which, admittedly, makes oneiromancy difficult).
Update of 21 December 2002
Upcoming in January will be a new play about World War II, Amnesia, which will feature sounds by one of the members of the OAC. It will be at Theatre Rhino in San Francisco, dates and links to be forthcoming.
Many happy wishes to all of you, wherever you may be, for the upcoming Year.
Update of 24 November 2002
As a final reminder, for those of you interested in seeing the Central Works production Misanthrope, there are only two more performances remaining: Friday and Saturday. 30 November is our final show. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Batch the Eighth is up and running, with a total of nine participants. We are chewing on our fingers with anticipation as to how the exquisite corpses for this Batch are going to turn out, once the text is finished.
We are still working on making the appropriate corrections (grammatical and suchlike) on the pieces for Batch 7. Artworks and audio and other such trivialities are occupying our plate at the moment, and as such priorities, alas, needed to be imposed. Our promises whistle through empty rooms, but soon, hopefully, they shall coalesce into reality.
Finally, the irr. app. (ext.) show has been set for 22 March 2003 at the Temescal Arts Center in Oakland, California. This will mark the first real performance of irr. app. (ext.) (not counting the music performed for the dance piece Korper-Re some months back). More news about that show and its counterpart art show will unfold as year dies to give birth to new year.
There would be more to tell, but we have all died of asphyxiation waiting for "Inception and Silence Undivided" to be released.
Update of Hallowe'en 2002
Happy All Hallow's Eve to everybody out there. A few choice tidbits to keep you interested...
The OAC is pleased to have a "mysterious and ingenious character" among its ranks, or at least to have one of us recognized as such. Crouton Music has published an interview with Matt Waldron, primarily about irr. app. (ext.), but the OAC itself creeps silently into a few places in the discussion. The address is here. Also on that site are some interviews with Andria Degens of Pantaleimon and Aranos, among many others. All in all, a worthwhile site to browse during the odd idle moment of your day.
And the Central Works website has updated its information about Misanthrope. This play opens Saturday, 2 November, and runs through the month.
Enjoy your candy. Stay out of trouble. And Happy Day of the Dead, while you're at it.
Update of 20 October 2002
Although we don't mean to string you along, again there is more to anticipate than there is to report at present. Details concerning the first-ever irr. app. (ext.) live show, slated for March, will be among those to be announced. This will be in conjunction with an art exhibition. More than that, we cannot say.
What is concrete, however, is the newest Central Works play, Misanthrope, which opens November 1 and runs through the month at the Berkeley City Club. The Central Works website hasn't been updated to reflect this change in venue or dates, but hopefully it will soon. The up-to-the-minute phone for Misanthrope is 510/558-1381.
Completely unrelated to the work of the OAC or its members, but which the members of the OAC would like to recommend to our San Francisco Bay Area visitors, are the following upcoming shows:
Faun Fables and Rasputina at Slim's, SF, Tuesday 22 October
Tin Hat Orchestra at Yerba Buena, SF, Thursday 31 October
Faun Fables and Antony and the Johnsons at the Cafe du Nord, SF, Friday 1 November
inkBoat's Onion at Yerba Buena, SF, 7-9 November
That's enough to keep you occupied until the next time, we hope. Thanks for looking, come back often.
Update of 27 September 2002
As ever, only OAC-related news to report: The Nurse With Wound website, in its news area, hopefully posits that the United Dairies Irr. App. (Ext.) "Inception and Silence Undivided" might be on the threshhold of being birthed into officialdom by the Powers That Be at World Serpent. We will endeavour to be as optimistic. (The Nurse page also notes a series of other, far more enticing announcements, which are worth the scrutiny of any with taste.)
Rumblings of additions to this site, including (though not necessarily limited to) the addition of new audio, graphical, and textual elements in their respective places have started coursing through the tectonics. The next update will also include specifics on various theatrical and gallery-oriented works on the horizon by some of the members of the OAC. Exciting times are upon us.
Much to anticipate. Enjoy your day.
Update of 15 September 2002
One-third of the OAC's Batch 6andahalf is now being fed, piece by incremental piece, in its entirety to an unsuspecting world as a Blog journal at floatingfreely.blogspot.com. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for some of its readers to recognize the fictional nature of this story. (We have, in the course of our lives, encountered people who believe the strangest fictions to be the unadulterated truth.) This address is an elaborated version of Batch 6andahalf; it is, in a sense, a second draft. With padding. Tune in next week.
Other developments continue to develop. Within fairly short order (although we realize you have heard this from us before) excerpts from Batch The Seventh's autobiographical texts will be corrected and posted on this site. This Batch represents the largest assemblage of the OAC, welcoming two new and greatly cherished writers to the fold.
New images and announcements are lurking just around the corner. Please enjoy your stay, and check back in a short while.
Update of 31 August 2002
On the textual front, the OAC is making headway on a number of developments, to hopefully come to fruition within a few weeks, including the steps towards posting a few of the autobiographical Batch the Seventh, which welcomes a number of new contributors to the OAC process.
And speaking of autobiography, one-third of the OAC has been keeping an on-line journal of thoughts, observations, and ideas which Museums like to Reject. These Thoughts, Observations, and Ideas may be found here. It includes lists of unconventional music, stories of small children, and Aimless Ramblings. Much in keeping with the aesthetic of the OAC itself. (Aimless, that is.)
There are stirrings of another OAC performance in the upcoming months; the wheres, the wherefores, the whens, the whethers, all this is yet to be determined.
The OAC recommends to our San Francisco Bay Area audience that they look into this upcoming weekend's presentation of Faun Fables' The Transit Rider. Many years in the making, it's finally here, and we look forward to its premiere with breathless expectation.
You've missed "Mata Hari". The next Central Works play will be decidedly misanthropic. Information will be forthcoming soon.
That's enough for now. Enjoy.
Update of 25 June 2002
Further news which is only OAC-related, as opposed to OAC-specific: the next Central Works play opens in around a month, a look at early 20th-century spying, derangement, and dancing. It's called "Mata Hari", and you can find information about it here.
willyouwon'tyouwillyouwon'tyouwon'tyoujointhedance?
Update of 11 June 2002
In OAC-related news, starting next week, Carnacki returns to the KALX 90.7fm airwaves on Tuesdays, 9pm to midnight. For those interested parties outside the San Francisco Bay Area, go to the KALX website for information on how to get the broadcast over the internet. (We can still do this, thankfully... however tenuous our victory may be.)
Still no word on the irr. app. (ext.) cd. Perhaps next decade.
Update of 23 May 2002
A new portrait of the OAC from their recent journey is now up on the Writings page. Other images are secreted around. At last, all the images of Batch 6 1/2 are up, if not all the text.
An explanation of Batch 6 has finally arrived. The text has not.
We are still waiting for the announcement of the upcoming irr. app. (ext.) release. Being wise, we haven't asphyxiated, as we haven't been holding our breath.
This weekend is the last weekend of "The Colour of Justice", a play by TheatreFIRST in Oakland. It features sound by one-third of the OAC. If you're interested in a discount on the ticket price, contact the OAC, and we may be able to accomodate you, as our stash of comp tickets has not been used up yet.
More material is on its way, including a sampling of the Autobiographical Batch the Seventh. Maybe.
Update of 30 April 2002
The OAC have come back, alas, alack. More material to be added to this site after week or two's relaxation from hallucinating in churches and returning wild goats to their natural habitat.
Update of 2 April 2002
The OAC is going away, hooray hooray. But only for a couple of weeks. You won't even notice that we're gone.
Photos from "Stuck in a hole..." *are* forthcoming. Honest.
Update of 26 February 2002
The Performance Archive is now up for viewing, although it is nowhere near its completed form. One thing that is of note, however, is that the reading of G10a(3) on 7 July 2001 would have been in much worse taste had it been read two and a half months later. Is the OAC prescient?
Many people seemed to enjoy the commode installation and petting zoo that the OAC created for Barely Human's benefit evening. Some images from that event may soon make their way onto this site.
Update of 16 February 2002
There is now a poster for "Stuck In A Hole In The Fog In The Middle Of The Night With An Owl" on the Barely Human website. The OAC section of the evening will be primarily at the beginning of the proceedings, from 7 o'clock until around 9 o'clock, although the installation will be running inescapably throughout the night.
The OAC would like to extend a warm welcome to our friends from Scotland.
Update of 31 January 2002
The next public appearance of the OAC will be on 23 February at the Melting Point Gallery in San Francisco. The address is 1340 Bryant (near Division). The evening is a benefit for Barely Human DanceTheatre and will also include performances by Moe!Staiano, Ramona the Pest, Majesty's Monkey, John Doyle, Bob Webb, Tanya Calamoneri, and others. Mark your calendars.
The irr. app. (ext.) cd "Inception and Silence Undivided" will be released by United Dairies within the next couple of months. We have all been waiting with bated breath, fearing that we may perish of asphyxiation before someone would actually put out another irr. cd, but Steven Stapleton, a man of exquisite taste, has decided to lower his standards and do so anyway. Pester your local record store until they relent and carry it.
For the theatrically minded, Every Inch A King closes this weekend. And reservations are filling up fast...
Update of 13 January 2002
Batch the Seventh is, for all intents and purposes, completed, and some small measure of that large-cast, autobiographical batch will be making its way onto the site soon, so you will shortly be able to read about our miserable little lives. Or at least parts of them.
In OAC-related news, the new Central Works play Every Inch A King opened this weekend, and will be running until 2 February. There is a new Central Works website that you may wish to peruse. It gives directions and times and suchlike.
Likewise, there are rumours of a new irr. app. (ext.) cd on its way. These rumours have yet to be founded in physical evidence... but we are patient people.
Update of 1 January 2002
The OAC wishes you a Happy New Year. We spent ours in the wet and the cold engaged in dubious acts which may someday come to light.
There will soon be a performance archive page to go along with the button below.
Update of 13 December 2001
Very small changes have happened, furtively, in the night, but they have happened nonetheless.
There's nothing more foolish than a man chasing after his hat.
Update of 3 December 2001
It has been brought to my attention that the contact link below has been faulty, and this problem has now been remedied. All those vast hordes out there itching to contact the OAC may now, once again, do so.
In OAC-related news, this coming Saturday the 8th, Faun Fables will be performing at the Starry Plough, with help on a couple of songs from M of irr. app. (ext.) The second show this year which incorporates irr. music, and probably the last, considering how close 2002 is looming.
Upheavals and revisions of this site are planned, but who can tell when they might be realized.
Update of 14 October 2001
There is little new to report, and much of it seems even more irrelevant and piddling than it usually does, given the current global climate. But, for those out there who care, I feel compelled to report that the most recent Exquisite Corpses are up, and the pages for Batch Sixandahalf are slowly advancing towards a viewable state.
There are many little tragedies scurrying around in the shadow of the overarching tragedy of last month, and one of the most insignificant is the fact that the contributors of Batch 5, who had planned to meet up, eat Japanese food, and create the Exquisite Corpses for Batch 5, were unable to, as one of us lives (and thankfully still does) in New York City, a relative stone's throw from a pile of smoking ruin. His experiences may make it up onto these pages in one form or another, as we are currently involved with the autobiographical Batch 7. But that won't be very soon.
So the Corpses for Batch 5 are on hold until such time as we can get one portion of us or the other to make the cross-continent travel.
In news vaguely related to the OAC, in the beginning of next year, be on the lookout for a new Central Works play, Every Inch A King, and a new piece by Barely Human DanceTheatre at CellSpace in San Francisco, Switch. Also, for our Vancouver audience, in mid-November be on the lookout for Inkboat's piece, Tasting An Ocean, featuring the music of irr. app. (ext.)
That's all for now. The OAC now, even more than ever, are declaring themselves honorary Canadians.
Update of 20 August 2001
Sometime OAC-collaborator, Barely Human DanceTheatre, has started the first fumblings towards a website. You can see the foetal stages here.
Update of 23 July 2001
Various hidden additions have been made to these pages; their locations will become apparent to the persistent.
Update of 22 July 2001
The OAC/Barely Human DanceTheatre collaborative piece, "Innocent Malice", will be presented in a new, expanded form this Saturday, the 28th, at The Marsh. For those of you who missed it at the Cowell, here's your opportunity to see the piece in a more intimate setting.
Happy Birthday to me.
Update of Friday 13 July 2001
Many thanks to Faun Fables for being so gracious a host as to invite the OAC trio to perform at her remarkable cd release party. Despite the absence of cake, there were many fine musicians and acts, plus some figs. One can never say that Faun Fables doesn't give a fig.
Batch 6 and a half has finally been unveiled, and a few brief pages will be making an appearance in the Writings section of this site in the next few days. Also on the inevitable horizon are photographs (and perhaps more) of the recent performances, both textual and aural.
Also, hopefully soon, will be the unfortunately derailed but perhaps somewhat salvagable Batch 6. A sampling of the least offensive examples will be on display soon. Please check back for more updates.
Update of 1 July 2001
Unexpected applause greeted the performance of the OAC and Barely Human at the Cowell last night, indicating a degree of sarcasm and/or irony in the audience with which we had previously not credited them.
You will have several other chances this coming weekend to be sarcastic to the OAC, as the below mentioned Faun Fables cd-release party takes place at the Starry Plough this Saturday, and, if that's not enough for one weekend, the music of irr. app. (ext.) will be featured in a performance of Inkboat Shards at the Temescal Arts Center, underscoring a solo piece by Shinichi Momo Koga. For more information on Shards, please consult the Inkboat Website.
Various solo and group performances of the OAC are being scheduled for later this summer and in the autumn. We will endeavor to keep you informed.
Update of 24 June 2001
In addition to the below-mentioned performance at the Cowell Theater, the OAC will be performing in support of the Faun Fables cd-release party, at the Starry Plough in Berkeley, on Saturday, 7 July. Our segment of the evening's proceedings will be mercifully brief, and somewhat in keeping with the (impromptu) OAC performance which preceeded the Sleepytime Gorilla Museum performance of Halloween 1999, but slightly better rehearsed. Also on the bill will be Majesty's Monkey, Mark Growden, and a Painful Man from Rube Waddell. For this show's official advertisement, click here.
Batch 7 is being considered, but we are going to attempt to catch up with ourselves regarding the longer writings for Batches 3 and 4, and the Exquisite Corpses for Batches 4 and 5. Batch 5's Exquisite Corpse will attempt a new level of transcontinental collaboration. Details are still being pondered.
In news relating to other work by members of the OAC, a new Central Works play is set for mid-October and is currently in development, and a collaboration between irr. app. (ext.) and the enigmatic Christoph Heemann is being further solidified. Other irr. app. (ext.) news will be announced when we feel like it.
Update of 19 June 2001
On 30 June, at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco's Fort Mason Center, the OAC will be performing along with Barely Human DanceTheatre as part of a choreographer's showcase. The performance will consist of fluid acting set to realtor music. The performance begins at 8 o'clock, the OAC/Barely Human piece is in the second half of the show, after intermission.
We are, however, not an Inspiration by anyone.
In other news, Batch 6 and a half has been completed, and so relatively shortly, Batches 6 and 6 and a half will have excerpts up on these pages.
More performances may happen this summer; as we stumble upon them, so shall you be informed.
The OAC no longer has grandparents.
Update of 26 April 2001
The OAC will present its second ever-public performance (and the first-ever pre-announced) in Pt. Richmond, California, this weekend as a collaboration with Barely Human. It will be an improvisatorial performance, and will happen in a small abandoned lot on the Town Square (Washington Ave.) on Friday at 7 o'clock-ish, and Saturday at lunchtime.
Update of 24 April 2001
The OAC has returned to the United States, having finally all met itself. Another potential collaboration between the OAC and Barely Human may take place at the end of this week in Point Richmond, California. Stay posted for details and maps.
Update of 27 March 2001
Sometime OAC collaborator, Barely Human Dance Company, will be performing at Dance Mission on Friday and Saturday as part of a choreographers' showcase. Show time is at 8pm. After this, the OAC will be out of the country until April, in part working on collaborations of an unexpected and curious nature in the wilds of Ireland.
Update of 10 March 2001
Nightingale has closed, and the OAC will be removing themselves from the country for a short time. We expect to return.
Update of 1 February 2001
Information regarding the new Central Works play, Nightingale, is now online. The OAC started the new year with a collaborative improvisatory performance with local dance company Barely Human to an appreciative audience of gnats and metal rods. Bon Weekend.
Update of 11 December 2000
With regards to the previously claimed ignorance on the part of this site as to the whereabouts and estimated time of arrival of the anticipated (though by whom, we still remain ignorant) irr. app. (ext.) 7"s, we can now say that one of them has been birthed into the world. Although irr. app. (ext.) itself has yet to see a copy of this 7", 2% of the Plate Lunch Sound Snack #1 (which is a split 7" between irr. app. (ext.) and the Australian Rats With Wings) is now in the ownership of the OAC.
We still don't know when the other one's gonna come out. Don't ask us.
The next Central Works project proceeds apace, and will be commented on in this space in weeks to come.
Work by the OAC itself, as opposed to its component members, is slowly groping its way through the mud towards some kind of resolution. What or when that is or will be is, at present, Unknown.
Update of 20 November 2000
The members of the OAC have almost all met each other now. Almost.
Update of 29 August 2000
Batch the Sixth will be concluded this weekend, somewhat ahead of schedule, and its feeble results will be on display shortly. The ideas behind Batch the Seventh are currently being considered.
Also, within the space of a month or so, a fully-bound edition of Batch the First should begin its slow and inexorable journey towards fulfillment. If you have any interest in reserving a copy of what is to be an extremely limited item (due, in no small part, to the dubious quality of these early writings), contact the OAC.
A few minor changes have been made to various unswept corners of this site, the rewards of which shall become apparent to the diligent.
Earlier Updates
Christ only knows when the next irr. app. (ext.) release is going to come out. So don't ask us.