Carla Bozulich, Part III : The Preaching Is Over, The Lessons Begun

Carla Bozulich - Time Of The Preacher
Carla Bozulich - I Couldn't Believe It Was True
Carla Bozulich - Hands On The Wheel

Scarnella was the last i heard of Carla for a long time. On occasion my friend Scott and i would wonder what had happened to one of our favorite artists. This long period of what i can only assume was inactivity came to an end one day when i heard rumor that there was a singer/songwriter performing regularly at a local venue. The singer/songwriter was Carla and She was performing from tip to tail Willie Nelson's landmark Red Headed Stranger.

If you're not familiar, the original 15-track concept album is the story of a preacher who is on the run after killing his wife over upon discovering her infidelity. themse of rage, sex, emotional scars and substance abuse have been prevalent in Bozulich's lyrics, so hearing that Bozulich was performing again, and performing a piece like Red Headed Stranger, seemed like a natural fit.

Eventually Bozulich would record her 13 track rendition of RHS on May 7th and 8th 2002 in los angeles. Finishing touches would be applied in october of that year. two tracks on the recording featuring Willi Nelson singing in duet, as well as contributing guitar parts on three tracks. to the best of my knowledge, this was the firlst recording by Bozulich in 4 years - dating back to 1998's Scarnella album - and marked a return to more traditional (sort of) song structure. This version of RHS is a spatial recording with many elements of "sound track" to it. you might call it an asymmetrical sound. Nels Cline is very present on steel and slide guitar but within the framework of Willie Nelsons powerfully spare lyrical content, his flourishes are well fit and meaningful.

Bozulich would follow RHS up with another solo record I'm Gonna Stop Killing in 2004 which includes a 13 minute version of Geraldine Fibbers' Outside Of Town. She had essentially remade herself as an Art/Country solor act with the blessing of Willie Nelson himself.

...but then again, we're talking about a man who endorsed Taco Bell (fire in the!)

Take a break. Snack on some Rush.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead - Back In New York City

Rush - Beneath, Betweeen & Behind

Taking a break from the Bozulich bio today.

the first song is the B-side from the title-track single off the bands last record for Interscope Worlds Apart. The album came out in jan. 2005. the single arrived in late 2004. i haven't heard much from Worlds Apart other than the title track. i find the direction of this B-side represents to be exciting - borrowing from prog rock traditions of Rush with a pinch of Supertramp mixed in - but it lack some of the necessary focus and, well... vurtuosity that prog rock generally requires to be compelling.

For an example of said prog-rock, check the Rush track. when it comes to rush I tend shy away from the hits because they transcend that essential nerd factor. "Acceptable Rush" is an oxymoron. don't get me wrong, i love Tom Sawyer and Limelight but to me, those are arena rock tracks that could have been written by Journey. The quintessence of Rush is it's very outsider-ness. Red Sector A, By-Tor, 2112...

Carla Bozulich, Part II : Building The House For The Falling

The Geraldine Fibbers - House Is Falling

After EM fell apart Bozulich would form a new band with guitarist Daniel Keener (we're skipping over some other project called Neon Vein as i have yet to learn anything about). The Gerladine Fibbers were a alt-country goth-esque group that featured an actual string section (both viola and upright bass in the daily line-up). the foundation of the band however, was the play between Bozulich's wind torn vocals and Keenans (allegedly) heroine fueled guitar work.

Daniel Keenans sound was something like Robert Quine as conceived by Hunter S Thompson... a foundation of guitar hooks twisted into warped perspectives. the band put out the Get Thee Gone EP on Sypathy For The Record Industry before signing to Virgin for their full-length debut Lost Somewhere Between The Earth And My Home.

For a variety of reasons Keenan departed the band, making way for the arrival of "experimental guitarist" Nels Cline for the Fibbers follow-up Butch (think Thurston Moore of sonic youth with even less inclination towards traditional song structure).

following Butch, the fibbers would release the primarily retrospective What Part Of Get The Gone Don't You Understand. following that the fibbers were, for all intents and purposes, finished.

Bozulich and Cline had forged what could only be perceived as a tight creative relationship. i happened to catch bozulich performing at an evening of experimental guitar show at the smell in north hollywood with nels playing supporting guitar riffs.

in case you were wonder what makes guitar experimental, it's when you play one guitar riff with your hands and on a second guitar, laid out on the ground, you pound with your foot. Nels and Carla's collaboration would materialize as the first scarnella record. get it? nels + carla + all scrambled up = Scarnella? the bassis of the album was born on a two-week road trip that included 4 shows and a bunch of songwriting and recording. this was the beginning of a large period of inactivity - or rather, unknown activity for Bozulich until she would surface again a few years later as a solo singer/songwriter type.

Carla Bozulich, Part I : Queenie I Call Thee Carla

Ethyle Meatplow - Queenie

even i have to put a parental warning on this one. this song - most any song by ethyl meatplow - is an experiment in swearing. it is sailoresque.

Ethyle Meatplow was an industrial goth rock band that sounded similar to some material from the Jesus Lizard. Meatplow however was a short-lived band that fell apart not long after their first album release. The primary voice of teh band was one Carla Bozulich - a member of the so-cal music scene whos vocal scrawl is the kind of thing you only achieve through cigarettes and bourbon, and it was Bozulich who would be a major influence on the bulk of my 90's listening habbits. Bozulich was an influence that lead me towards the heavier rock and punk bands as well as the early alt-country of uncle tupelo (and ensuing bands Sun Volt and Wilco) and the folk-rock of billy bragg and so forth...

The vocal content of any given Meatplow track is primarily sexualized and frequently about emotional, physical, or drug abuse. rumors of which were often thrown about whenever a Bozulich band broke up. it's the kind of poor-me material that makes me cringe today. but when performed by a voice like Bozulich which is both confident and brass , the tone becomes knowing. it is factual and unappologetic . her thick vocals underscored by dynamic percussion.

Bozulich would manage little more than a small following from her days as the powerhouse vocal leader of an expero-industrial band to her re-emergence a few years ago as, essentially, a soft-spoken country revivalist. her career of the past 13 years seems less an attempt at reclaimed innocense. and more the absolution of knowing.