Also this issue: Musical Chairs Queens of the Stone Age should have a revolving door on their tour bus. -Sam Adams Strong Man The Weakerthans’ John Samson likes humans. -Chris Parker Phil Markowitz -Nate Chinen Le Tigre -Patrick Rapa 'Grass Roots -Mary Armstrong

August 29-September 4, 2002

musicpicks

Zod Records Tour

What does it mean, in electronic circles, to be the abstract sound of Milwaukee? Brechtian beer song? A genuine industrial roar? Close. That town's Zod Records -- most famous, at first, for releasing speedy-Skinny Puppy-like stuff from Canada's Venetian Snares -- is notorious for using dark hyper drill 'n' bass sounds at its root and improvising from there. Label bosses Ben Derickson (Curtis Chip), Sam Derickson (Destro) and Tom Wincek (Emotional Joystick) make and release hard-hearted compilations like Zod.01 (starring themselves and locals like dance-noirists Doormouse and Fanny), EPs by Emotional Joystick and Chip's tremulous 200-bpm thunder-clapping full length CD. Zod.02 stars angular avant smoothies Aphex Twin, Zipper Spy and Photek atop Zod's usual suspects. Emotional Joystick tends to be melodic and moody, draped in lustrous strings and curving rhythmic punctuation while Curtis Chip zips between death drone and puerile punk. Zod night at the Rotunda should be fun, fast and imaginatively fertile.

Zod Records Tour With Emotional Joystick, Curtis Chip, Soplerfo and DJs Destro and Dev 79, Fri. Aug. 30, The Rotunda, 4012 Walnut St.

—A.D. Amorosi

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