Machine Gun

[AndrewHill]

So at Half Price, I was combing through their dollar bin and found two cd's by Machine Gun on the MU Works label: Machine Gun and Open Fire. What really makes it interesting is that Sonny Sharrock is on both of them and Karl Berger is on the self-titled one. Apparently, the group got their name from Brotz' album Machine Gun and the music kinda has that vibe, although the line up is completely different in structure. The music kind of reminds me of a mix between Black Flag and John Zorn. Pretty wild stuff at times. Anyone heard of these guys? Have their cd's? Like them?

[ep1str0phy]

I have one or two of their sides--definitely the one with Berger (and Sharrock, for that matter). I like the Zorn comparison. The group sound on these albums is surprisingly skittish, granted that it supposedly takes after Brotzmann and co. Now, granted, I haven't pulled out these recordings for a while, but I do recall thinking that there's less wollup for your buck on the self-titled than the ensemble might suggest--that one recalls the sparser, less dynamic moments of Last Exit--especially with Sonny in tow. Not what I suspected at all, and certainly not the stuff I might reach for when starving for a skronk fix, but not without its interesting moments in a jumpy, Downtownish sort of way.

[Bluesnik]

nothing to do with this, but i had a friend who played in my band and had a parallel band in the late eighties called like that, Machine Gun, and their tagline was live acid house!

it was a wild combination of proto sequenced music (the first digital drum machines, some synths and the TB303) with Hendrix-type guitar lines, all played live. one of their signature tunes was a delirious version of Purple Haze. very, very wild stuff.

i even had a t-shirt from them.

this British guy is now in the backing band of avant theatre group Fura dels Baus, who also use strong apocalyptic electronic soundscapes in their action shows.

i know, i know, no relation (except maybe for the energy level), but the name brought forth very good memories of past wild days, precisely at a moment when acid house is high in vogue again.

sorry for temporarily hijacking this thread