Brunch with The Claypool Lennon Delirium this weekend – recorded at the 2016 Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco on August 16, 2016.
The Claypool Lennon Delirium – one of my favorite go-to bands in recent years, probably because they remind me, in vibe and approach to Gong, another favorite band from the 1970s that stirred things up quite a bit and helped bridge the gap between Psychedelia and Prog.
There is a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek going on, but the core is straight ahead and sincere and they are a breath of fresh air during a period of time when mashups are a common occurrence and can sometimes run the risk of being tedious.
Not so with Claypool Lennon – they’ve been doing this for a while (since roughly 2016) and are in the process of getting ready to issue their latest; “The Great Parrot-Ox And The Golden Egg Of Empathy” on May 1st and launching a tour which starts in May and ends (so far) in July. Around the U.S. but I suspect the tour may extend beyond the Atlantic – of course, with the current World situation, who knows?
All I know is, this is a collaboration that works and it’s fun to listen to – and it fits nicely with much of the new music that’s coming out just about everywhere at the moment.
I hear, from a few places and from various people, that the current state of music is not good. Some have gone out on a limb to say it’s all garbage. The only thing I can say to that is, you’re not looking in the right places. Not much of an argument when you cite the current state of Mainstream Pop as the culprit in all this slamming, but when you get away from the mainstream, the Corporate version of Contemporary Music, and dive into the place where musicians are recording and pressing their own albums, putting up their own YouTube videos and gigging wherever and whenever they can. Most aren’t able to afford gas, let alone a tour manager – many are Uber drivers and live paycheck to paycheck. But they’ve got the talent and the ideas and the willingness to go out on a limb to keep the spirit fresh and alive.
And even though The Claypool Lennon Delirium may not fall into the impoverished category, they are still doing the slog to get the message across, and you’ve got to give them credit for that.
This concert is nine years old. They’ve grown since then and a lot has happened. I’m hoping that this upcoming tour yields a lot of live concerts in order to get an idea where things are heading. In the meantime, like everyone else, they can use the support and it’s up to you to give it to them.
By the way, you can pre-order The Great Parrot-Ox And The Golden Egg Of Empathy via their website, slated to drop May 1. Two months away – send in your requests.
In the meantime – crank this one up and try to stay out of the News.
