ITS HAPPENING
DAME SATAN / TWO SHEDS SPLIT 7" IS HERE
10.4.07

Once upon a time, way out west, living close and even closer to the edge of land itself, two music-making outfits forged the most decent of human friendships. These bands, they're called Two Sheds and Dame Satan. They've put out albums and toured aplenty. Some months ago, after a night of shared performance, most members of which they're largely made up retired gleefully to the sweet Sacramento domicile of Johnny and Caitlin Shed to enjoy the kind company of Flash the Basset Hound and indulge in late-night snacks (if you must know (and you must), the snacks were crisp scoop-shaped corn tortilla chips festooned in canned bean dip, salsa, queso, and crowning "bloody" dollops of fiery Tapatio), hillocks of 7 oz. "little dude" domestic brews, and a double-feature of The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension and Larry Bird: A Basketball Legend. They never made it to Bird's highlight reel but, somehow, before slipping off into easy foam-addled sleep, swathed in blankets, curled up in beds or above/between comfortable couch cushions, gentle Flash passed-out pawing lazily in the corner to the tune of joyous doggy dreams, the sun aching to press through a witching hour haze outside, the gang sat in the kitchen with clear heads and hatched plans for a collaborative sonic labor.

Now, down the road a few sun-kissed paces, these here are the luscious Fruits -- a most excellent Good Times Jam Experience -- two songs written, arranged, and performed by Two Sheds and Dame Satan, captured by Wizard Robert Cheek at The Hangar in Sacramento on June 24th (and a sliver of the 25th) in 2007, mixed shortly thereafter by the same wonderous mage at his new home in Seattle, Washington, and, finally, mastered by George Horn in Berkeley, California. We hope you enjoy hearing them half as much as we enjoyed making them.

LOW RED LAND
ACOUSTIC CDR
OUT NOW ON GMR
8.27.07

Low Red Land played their first all-acoustic show at Ghost Mansion and had a blast.They decided to record the songs from that night and release them. The band recorded the five songs on this EP live in their apartment one afternoon. Their friend Adam played banjo and sang a bit on two tracks, and their friend James added some inspirational dialogue and some well-timed party atmosphere. The first volume in a planned series, these EPs feature unique, hand-pressed, linoelum-block print covers and hand-written liner notes, and are limited to an edition of 333."

you bros are awesome.

This shit will be in our store tonight!

also,

BE THERE

"MOJITO"
A MOMENTOUS WEEK INDEED
8.23.07

This past week at Ghost Mansion was a momentous week indeed. We celebrated not only our 6th release (more on that in a minute) but also cheered on the first multi-disc purchase from our web store that shipped to Germany of all places. Thank you Rafi for the support and we will let you know if down the road we need a place to sleep. In addition, we saw Dame Satan play a benefit show for Box Dog Bikes at 14th and Guererro and then saturated our Sunday with the dance anthems of San Francisco's Dirty Bird Records in Golden Gate Park. Seriously, before reading any more we implore to click on the hyperlinks embedded above and support two very local and sweet collectives.

Now, let's get things started with a little show at a special place we call The Ghost Mansion. On Friday August 17th, festivities were in the air and the GM once again opened its doors to host a very awesome show indeed. The line-up was classic and featured all local musicians and actual residents from the Ghost Mansion.

El Capitan, playing a week after their newest CD "Strickeen" was released on August 11th (distributed by our pals Grass Roots Records in Nevada City), regaled us with stripped down versions of these songs in our living room. Normally wailing high above the rim on electric guitars complemented with a full percussion/band ensemble, the acoustic version of El Cap's songs reminded us of time spent huddled in the backwoods of California with nothing but the stars and Russian River to keep us company.

Dame Satan then strummed in familiar territory with their soaring harmonies bouncing from the same mantle and cavernous ceiling that played host to the recording of their phenomenal 2nd release "Ghost Mansion." Our fellows bellowed through 8 songs, playing live for the first time two soon-to-be released tracks off their new album slated for pressing early 2008. "Dawn and Delta," a mellow, ambient free-floating groove depicting the trials and tribulations of two whales lost among the tepid waters of the Sacramento Delta, battered. And "The Golden Iranian," which brings together group vocals and a trippy tale of love won and love lost, lying on the ground as the world circles around, completely melted. It was a transmontanus performance for sure. Benjammin said of the boys' performance, "The Ghost Mansion set was the best show I've seen since moving to San Francisco. I will never forget it."

Complimentary words from a fellow who then proceeded to rip a stand-up bass, as Mark, Neil, and himself played in support of Low Red Land's first acoustic release and our 6th release. All hand-made in the simple DIY fashion that GM is best known for this release is amazing and offers you the listener the root of what makes Low Red Land's music so amazing. It's party story-telling, part window into the band's originations, and part what we hope to see more from them in the future. As an acoustic trio, the band retains their incredible chemistry and crafts subtle textures that still manage to fill the entire room. It's a different aspect of volume worship where in you are overwhelmed not by shear movement of air but rather movement within, swept away by heartfelt harmonies and their sweet meditative melodies. Thanks again friends and newest members of Ghost Mansion. Get the discs here while they are around. Only 333 are being made and we are assured they will move fast as LRL sets out to conquer the entire United States this Fall.

All in all the third official Ghost Mansion show was a huge success capped off by BZeus on the turntables and Ipod. Dude seriously broke out the jams and in a Mojito-induced haze the party lumbered on into the wee hours highlighted by an encore playing of T-Pain's "Bartender" when the party requested a 2nd playing. For those of you who missed this show, you need not worry as we are already putting together our next show scheduled for Friday November 9th which will feature the one and only, banjo as rifleman himself, Matt Bauer. Who knows, maybe even Batt Mauer will drive up from LA?

Some Mp3's of the night's performance:
El Capitan
Dame Satan
Low Red Land

ELDERS ESCALADE ELDERS
ESCALADE ELDERS
BIG TIME
8.21.07

UPDATE UPDATE
UPDATE
UPDATE
8.9.07

Ok friends, things are happening. This site is still not all it should be, but do check in from time to time. Like I said, things are happening.

1. Elders are in Japan! Holy cow! If you are in Japan, go check them out.

2. Sky Pilots, have released their sophmore melter ENJOY A DAY OFF, continue to rip shows, are booking a US tour.

3. Low Red Land are readying an acoustic vibed cd for ghostmansion, will tour forever.

4. Dame Satan & Two Sheds are deep within production of the forthcoming ghostmanison split 7" and will play sweet shows together in Davis, Sacto and Frisco.

5. Sweet shows coming up next weekend:

Tuesday, AUG 14 Sky Pilots rock the Hemlock with Birtday Suits!!!

Friday, AUG 17 A gmr throwdown at the GM itself!!! Acoustic living room vibes. 8pm Low Red Land Will be celebrating their new acoustic disc on ghostmansion! Dame Satan Will finally play the house! El Capitan Will have just released their new disc which we are all psyched to hear.

Saturday, AUG 18 A tiedye bbq at Dog Box Bikes. 4pm Dame Satan & This Union Sidecar aka. Justin Frahm!!!

BE THERE!!!!

SHOWS SHOWS
SHOWS
SHOWSSHOW
SHOWS

JULY, 20th 2007
OR, THE WHALE
http://www.orthewhale.com/
DAME SATAN
http://damesatan.com/
SNOWBLINK
http://snowblink.org/

@ the Hotel Utah Saloon
4th & Bryant SF

JULY, 27th 2007
TARTUFI
http://www.tartufirock.net/
SILIAN RAIL
http://www.myspace.com/silianrailmusic
SKY PILOTS
http://www.sky-pilots.com/
LOW RED LAND

@ Bottom of the Hill
17th & Texas SF

"PROUDLY FACING THE BAY"
CYCLONE WAREHOUSE
6.8.07

Friday night came on like a worn out t-shirt. Having peeled themselves off their beds for yet another day of work, it was good to know that rock was on the rise. Sky Pilots got the call officially at 12:15 a.m. Friday morning about the possibility of playing a show that night. What was known was that it was in celebration of the Conspiracy of Beardswho were having a cd release party at Amnesia at 7 p.m. and this was the after-party. The show was confirmed at 9 a.m. over e-mail and all Pilots eagerly answered the call. Work ended and each Pilot fueled for the fight. Pat and Brendan ordered Indian. Bill ate Metate and Mike ate boring refrigerator born leftovers. 6:30 p.m., show is confirmed with a cryptic message to show up at 10 and ask for Dan or Dave. The Pilots quickly tightened a couple loose screws, formally agreed to play a Black Sabbath cover, and rolled to the show in style, riding in vanny and sittin on chrome.

And then there was the Cyclone Warehouse. Proudly facing the Bay and a visible affront to the creeping progress of San Francisco's revitalizing shipyards, initially it felt more like breaking into someone's urban barn after hours and taking advantage of their absence to party in their sweet city space. The rumor was that this place was "legendary" but even that does not fully describe the excitable mood in the air, nor the giant growing crowd of people, nor the feeling of absolute freedom that circulated this evening throughout Cyclone. There was something too DIY about the whole evening already and believing that all of this was to good to be true, no one wanted to get too out of control or spoil this perfect secret. Soon though, this mindset was outrightly abandoned as first came shouts to move vehicles for the buidling of a giant bonfire, quickly followed by a torching rock fueled opening performance by GM's very own Sky Pilots.

Tonight was a rather aggressive performance for these boys as they blazed the stage with furiously tight riffs and rode the snake when it was necessary to let the dedicated crowd breathe. Sabbath appeared followed by a punishing version of "Time Gunner," much to the chagrin of our Thread productions' super bros Low Red Land. Overall Bill, Pat, Brendan, and Mike were collectively victorious in their rock campaign and not too overwhelmed by how incredible this space was to simply play a tight rock show.

The Conspiracy of Beards, having fueled up on cold beer and awesome snacks, then regaled the crowd with a few choice Leonard Cohen tracks. Touched By A Janitor then took the stage, completely punishing every inch of Cyclone Warehouse with their spitfire guitar riffs and spastic shifts in rhythm. The crowd was enthusiastic and returned to the bonfire ready to celebrate rock freedom.

And celebretory we would remain for the rest of the evening, stuck between illegally parked cars on a newly constructed railroad bridge and a warm fire. There, in the shadows of giant overhead Gantry cranes and illuminated shipping docks, cell phones were tossed into the fire symbolizing a momentary separation from the reality that is the rest of San Francisco on this cool Spring evening. Something felt right about the entire evening, and this righteousness was solely capitulated with a late night order of 6 Tender Crisp sandwich meals from our very own BK on Bayshore. Oh and the TC's had pickles on them, making the late night food run nothing less than a total jam.

Photos from the evening's performance.

"GOOD VIBES"
RECAP OF A GM HOUSER
4.7.07

Wind wisps through the Ghost Mansion completing the current that connects every room in the house. Although steps from SF General, the vibe is certainly more than such as tonight the residents of the GM have opened their doors in celebration. There is an understanding among residents of the GM that music should always be free and accessible and upon stripping away the idols of volume worship, you are left with music in its purest and most neighbor friendly form. Dare we call this celebration a proper show or the Entertainment Commission (guilty of horrid, unspeakable acts throughout the city this past May) might shutter our doors forever. That or finally validate the quality of music that graces the GM's living room this evening

Jack Francis and Ilk, 2/3 of The John Francis open the evening with an acoustically aggressive set. Ilk, perched high upon two phone books rhythmically dances beneath Jack's bellowing voice and we skip along with them wishing we had previously learned his melodies so we could all sing along.

Low Red Land comprised of Mark, Ben, Neil, and for this night Adam, then take the floor and play an absolutely mind blowing second performance. Low Red Land could travel many paths in their musical career and tonight we get a glimpse of what they might sound like as old rock fathers sitting not on our floor but on a front porch of a mighty Montana ranch. Stripped of their much celebrated volume, Neil and Ben's vocals still sit proudly above the steady rhythmic momentum of Mark and Adam and the resulting sound is possibly even more powerful than when they are fully cranking air.

Two Sheds, on third, are just Caitlin and John this evening and we could not be more excited to have them play at the GM. Let's preface their performance by saying that good vibes always abound when Two Sheds are involved and that is certainly the case when they are playing here. We love Two Sheds songs and we sing them all the time. Tonight we are able to see how these songs may have sounded in their infancy when these mind-blowing ballads were being crafted in the Shed's Sacto shed. Having been fine-tuned by many months on the road, it's like hearing the songs again for the first time and enjoying them even more.

Or, The Whale plays last and almost immediately stirs the GM congregation into a feverish frenzy. Foot stompin, hand clappin, and epic strumming make for a wild and fantastic final performance. For a minute the room is transformed into the sinking and swooping galley of a pirated ship in search of more non-believers. Their energy is contagious and their songs beckon for others to sing with them. We all hoist a beverage and stomp, shout, clap, and hoot along knowing full well that our neighbors are probably calling the Police right now.

With a climactic ending, Or, The Whale says their goodbyes thus formally ending the live acts tonight. Although our main focus is the music that graced our living room this evening, we cannot help but take advantage of such a mighty gathering to push the celebration into a full blown dance party. Fueled with backyard delicacies and dorm-style refreshments, we push on with pulsating breaks from GM's resident dj "Cr me Fraiche," until the real heat, personified as our very own Mr. White, rips skulls into the wee hours. All said and done, the cops were in fact called but conveniently did not show up until the show/party was officially over and all involved had a wonderful time. More shows will definitely happen, more food will be consumed, more beverages will be swilled, and the Ghost Mansion, a patient but eager giant, will once again open it's doors in celebration. We will hope to see you then and in the meantime look at these sweet pics.