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Andrew's Collection

Mosquito Death Squadron   07/13/2006

Basement Tapes, Arlington, VA
Source Radioshack 33-3021 Omnidirectional (handheld) > Sony MZ- R500 (AVLS on) > Phillips PSC604 PCI Soundcard > .WAV (GoldWave) - volume maximized, small edits made to remove silence at 19:28, 22:27, 23:25, 30:17, & elsewhere, saved @ 16 bit stereo si
Media Flac CDR   1 disc
Tech Notes A bit hissy, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyability (and weirdness) of this recording.

"
*Musically, if you've ever heard the "improvisitory" bits of the early Mothers of Invention ("Didja Get Any Onya" off of Weasels Ripped My Flesh), and are familiar with Henry Cow, Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere, the Fantomas, and Mr. Bungle, you'll know exactly what to expect. For those who don't, or those who just like a second opinion, these guys are incredible musicians playing some incredibly off-kilter rhythms mixed with everything from surf rock to intense, gloomy dirges.


BAND BIO (from MySpace):
A runaway train of genre-bending mayhem, Mosquito Death Squadron blasts through the walls of Jazz, Punk, Surf, Metal, and Psychedelic Post-Rock with gleeful abandon. In the rubble and debris, one could even take in breaths of Noise, Ambient, Electronica and Country/Western. Capable of shifting tempos, tones and timbre faster than you can say "pretentious art beef", this DC area quasi-rock ensemble has made a quasi-career out of completely ignoring the talent-deaf behemoth now known as pop radio. Featuring a vast and revolving collection of obscure and not so obscure instrumentation, the group fashions its material into expansive medleys spiked with deliberate chaos and elements of performance art. Those who have witnessed one of the band's explosive live shows know that all is fair game and that no style of music is safe in the hands of this twisted quartet. Little can prepare you for this quirky, ADD-art-rock circus.


BAND MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/mosquitodeathsquadron"

"Show Notes:

On a youthfully impulsive whim, I and a friend drove down to Arlington, Virginia, cautiously sub-navigating the disorienting grid of Washington DC and the fast paced, adrenaline-laced highways of Northern Virginia along our way to a house previously unbeknownest to us.

Eventually we got there, and I set up my dick-lengthening taping rig right next to the soundboard, casting nervous looks at all those daring to dance or clap or cheer near my oh so very precious Schakes (that's Expensive German for "Radio Shack") mic. That is to say, I pulled the shit out of the plastic shopping bag, made a weak-hearted attempt to untangle some of the wires, found a roll of duck tape to prop the microphone up against, and promptly hid in a corner, hoping nobody would knock the microphone over or verbally accost me.

Eventually we left the basement, my friend with a future hangover and myself with three new recordings, all of which I later deemed completely fit for DIME. This is the second of those recordings to be released to DIME.

Mosquito Death Squadron, already quite the name in the under-the-underground DC scene, "headlined" the show - or at least, they played last. Subtracting people who lived in the house and band members, my friend and I were the audience - or at least, my friend was, as I was a highly exhalted Taper.

Considering what they had to work with, Mosquito Death Squadron was incredible. Ferocious energy, incredible sound (I later told the bassist I found it unbelievable that the band sounded as good as they did, having seen the acoustics of the situation), and a sassy, devil-may-care attitude that made even the tuning moments exciting. The band's obviously spent a lot of time practicing, and it shows, as they have no qualms about playing off of each other, interrupting monologues by screaming "shut UP", and covering their asses when another member starts a song despite their protests of ill-prepardness (all of which can be heard on this tape). The entire show was punctuated when the Casio keyboard, dangling precariously on a faulty stand, finally succumbed to vibrations and fell down, punctuated with a tinkle from the percussionist.

If you wish there were more circulating tapes of the original Mothers of Invention, do yourself a favor and check this out. You may well be pleasently surprised.

Mosquito Death Squadron will be launching their coast-to-coast bombastic fall tour in a month. They will play not just one, but -both- coasts of the Potamac River. The first show is in mid-September (9/14/06 at the Wonderland Ballroom in DC), and after a few days off to travel across the pond, they'll play another in early October (10/8/06 at the Galaxy Hut in Arlington VA). Actually, Arlington is on the same side of the Potomac as DC, but since when did big bombastic rock groups feel the need to pander to the common man's idea of geography?

Anyway, if you're local, or are going to be on important governmental business, check them out."

"Recording Notes:

Alas, be it from the intense vibrations (of a physical, non-immaterial nature) generated from this band, or be it the result of failing batteries or a loose connection, for some reason this recording was mildly flawed. Namely, it seemed as if the microphone cut out for split-seconds at a time towards the end of the show. I'm going to be optimistic and pin this on the recorder being jostled and eventually needing time to re-calibrate.

Whatever the cause, the result is a recording that, if you pay close enough attention to, suffers from a handful of little nips and tucks, performed in Goldwave (details above).

With that in mind, however, this is still a nice little recording. It captures the basement atmosphere quite well, and thanks to the band's keen ear for sound mixing, there's really nothing drowning anything else out - aside from instruments drowning out band members trying to tell us about their MySpace, of course.

I kept the recording in mono, as a "stereo" effect, given the acoustics, would probably be unwarrented and distracting.

If you're a whiz-bang genius with EQ, feel free to tinker to your heart's content - and let me know of the results."
Trades Allowed Yes
Ratings Show: A    Sound: A-
Owned by Andrew · Last Updated May 23, 2023