Peach of Immortality – Surrealismus: Paris Prag Rockville (9xCD, GERMANY)

Disc Two (70:24)
Fendi “Kampf” Clutch (aka Bluebeard’s Blackout) (URA, 1987)
Ginsberg Basement Rehearsal, Rockville, MD
History of Duane Allman (URA, 1985)
Live, Hardart Gallery, Washington, DC (feat. Patrick Miller from Minimal Man) (18 Nov 84)
Stud Father (URA, 1985)

Disc Three (74:04)
Live, Nexus CAC, Atlanta, GA (31 Mar 89)
Medea (URA, 1987)
“Jehovah” My Black Ass – R.E.M. Is Air Supply! (OA)
REM Session #1 1986
Succession of One (aka Of Odious Kin) (URA, 1986)

Disc Four (76:08)
Talking Heads 77 (OA, 1985)
Taxi zum Shoah (URA, 1990)
The Baptist Hymnal (Initial Sessions) (URA, 1987)
A/B Edits (June-Aug 1985)

Disc Five (71:43)
The Baptish Hymnal (URA, 1987)
Live, WREK-FM, Atlanta, GA (1 June 88)
Six Times Since (URA, 1985) long sequence (feat. Jon Spencer)

Disc Six (75:27)
Final Hardart Session (2 June 85)
Sinatra/Xenakis (from Reel 1) (URA, 1988)
La Taranta (OA, lost, 1987)
Black Man Dick Look Like White Terd (original configuration)

Disc Seven (72:30)
Live, T.T. the Bear’s, Cambridge, MA (30 Oct 86)
Live, Downstairs, Athens, GA (9 Nov 89)
Live, The Chamber, Washington, DC (5 Oct 89)
Live, Porter Ellis Community Center, Macon, GA (excerpt) (9 Jan 86)
“180 Grady” (B-side of 1990 single “Ponyfur”) (TLS four-channel backing track derived from TS edit) (Oct
1990)

Disc Eight (72:49)
Live, WREK-FM, Atlanta, GA (8 Jan 86) (feat. Mike Green on computer)
Noise NY Session Anomalies (1-2 Apr 87)
Live, WCVT-FM, Towson State University, Towson, MD (25 May 87)
Live, Fallout Shelter, Raleigh, NC (excerpt) (5 Jan 86)

Disc Nine (76:18)
“E” Making of Salisbury (original live dub, mixed by Jad Fair & Don Fleming)
Live, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC (8 Dec 85) (also part of Stud Father) (feat. Julia Cafritz and Jon Spencer)
Ginsberg Basement Rehearsal, Rockville, MD (25 Aug 86)
Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC (17 Aug 85) (edit from 1985)
Westminster Basement Rehearsal, Washington, DC excerpt (10 Nov 85)

The digital version costs €39, and the physical edition will be €59 plus postage

Due to be available online here https://tomsmithksv.bandcamp.com/music

“Laughing here while listening to the 9:30 performance from December 8, 1985. Those elfin twerps from Jesus and Mary Chain were so livid that they locked us out of the dressing room – as if we could have given half a shit. Really, the best intro to any show, ever – Jared slicing up his guitar case and bearing down on the strings with an electric razor, Rogelio doubling and tripling with his wah-wah cello, me manipulating Led Zep‘s “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” and Jon Spencer soloing during the breaks at several levels of fetid mania above the Reid brothers‘ capabilities. (And, unfortunately, for a minute or so, an idiot at the mixing desk bellowing into the house mic to make light of it all.) I‘m amazed we pulled it off without police interference. When we did our Mary Chain manip, holy fuck. The spittle hit the sporran!” – Tom Smith (28 December 2017)

Photo Credit: “POI: 1985, recording the Six Times Since album with Jon Spencer, my then-bandmate in Pussy Galore.” – Tom Smith

nb.
OA = original album
URA = unreleased album

Tom Smith (1984-1991)
Jared Louche (née Hendrickson) (1984-1987)
Rogelio Maxwell (1984-1986)
Lowell Ginsberg (1985-1989)
Mark Shellhaas (1985-1987)
Tim Lane Seaton (1988-1991)
Mike Green (1989-1991)
Fred Ware III (1989-1991)

Collaborators:

Don Fleming
Julia Cafritz
Jon Spencer
Mitch Parker
Joseph Kennedy
Wag
Margaret Schnipper
Jason Gibbs

Surrealismus: Paris Prag Rockville:

Compiled and produced by Tom Smith, December 2017

A co-release from Karl Schmidt Verlag and Adult Contemporary Recordings

c+p 1984-1990 / 2017 Adult Contemporary Recordings & Karl Schmidt Verlag

1.01. Untitled (Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC, 12 July 84)
Run Time: 11:48
1.02. Untitled I (7th Street Rehearsal, Washington, DC, 17 Dec 85)
Run Time: 09:27
1.03. Untitled II (7th Street Rehearsal, Washington, DC, 17 Dec 85)
Run Time: 10:47
1.04. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Rehearsal, Rockville, MD, 24 Oct 86)
Run Time: 08:48
1.05. Untitled (Live, d.c. space, 1 Nov 86)
Run Time: 08:07
1.06. Untitled (Western Blot, Adel, GA, April 1990)
Run Time: 02:34
1.07. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Session, Rockville, MD, 30 Sept 86)
Run Time: 11:06
1.08. Untitled (Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC, July 20, 1985)
Run Time: 05:59
1.09. Untitled (Live, Ca Chapel, Tallahassee, FL, 10 Jan 86)
Run Time: 05:23

2.01. Untitled (Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC, 9 Apr 87)
Run Time: 08:36
2.02. Untitled (TS live edit, Dixie Automotive HQ, Atlanta, GA, 8 Oct 87)
Run Time: 04:03
2.03. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Rehearsal, Rockville, MD, 24 Oct 86)
Run Time: 20:21
2.04. Untitled (Assembled at the ACR Model Habitat, Washington, DC, April 1985)
Run Time: 06:27
2.05. Untitled (Assembled at the ACR Model Habitat, Washington, DC, April 1985)
Run Time: 09:47
2.06. Untitled (Assembled at the ACR Model Habitat, Washington, DC, April 1985)
Run Time: 03:14
2.07. Untitled (feat. Patrick Miller) (Live, Hardart Gallery, 16 Nov 84)
Run Time: 09:17
2.08. Untitled (Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC, 16 Nov 85)
Run Time: 08:34
2.09. Untitled Excerpt (Westminster Basement, Washington, DC, 4 Nov 85) (RM & TS)
Run Time: 06:35

3.01. Untitled (Live, Nexus CAC, Atlanta, GA, 31 Mar 89)
Run Time: 17:43
3.02. Untitled (Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC, 13 Mar 87)
Run Time: 03:19
3.03. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Session, Rockville, MD, 3 June 87)
Run Time: 07:50
3.04. 30 Jan 86 (Goatshead Sound Session, Silver Spring, MD, 30 Jan 86) (album outtake)
Run Time: 09:47
3.05. 31 Jan 86 (Goatshead Sound Session, Silver Spring, MD, 31 Jan 86)
Run Time: 06:35
3.06. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Session, Rockville, MD) (January 1986)
Run Time: 07:55
3.07. 3 Sept 86 (II) (Ginsberg Basement Session, Rockville, MD, 3 Sept 86)
Run Time: 08:41
3.08. 21 Sept 86 (I) (Ginsberg Basement Session, Rockville, MD, 21 Sept 86)
Run Time: 10:20
3.09. 25 Aug 86 (III) (Ginsberg Basement Session, Rockville, MD, 25 Aug 86)
Run Time: 02:52

4.01. 15 Dec 84 (Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC) 12:32
4.02. 16 Nov 84 (Live, d.c. space, Washington, DC) (album outtake)
Run Time: 08:55
4.03. 9 May 89 (Walking Fish Session, Atlanta, GA) (TLS mix, 14 June 89)
Run Time: 06:58
4.04. 12 May 89 (Walking Fish Session, Atlanta, GA) (TLS mix, 15 Jun 89)
Run Time: 05:35
4.05. 28 Jun 89 (Walking Fish Session, Atlanta, GA) (TLS mix, 15 Jun 89)
Run Time: 05:56
4.06. 1 Jul 89 + 13 Sept 89 (Walking Fish Sessions, Atlanta, GA) (TLS mix, 13 Sept 89)
Run Time: 05:38
4.07. 19 Sept 89 (Walking Fish Session, Atlanta, GA) (TLS mix, 19 Sept 89)
Run Time: 04:05
4.08. 26 Sept 89 (Walking Fish Session, Atlanta, GA) (TLS mix, 28 Sept 89)
Run Time: 10:28
4.09. Untitled I (TS edit, Velvet Monkeys HQ, Washington, DC, June 1985)
Run Time: 02:53
4.10. Untitled II (TS edit, Velvet Monkeys HQ, Washington, DC, June 1985)
Run Time: 01:09
4.11. Untitled I (TS edit, Velvet Monkeys HQ, Washington, DC, July 1985)
Run Time: 01:12
4.12. Untitled II (TS edit, Velvet Monkeys HQ, Washington, DC, July 1985)
Run Time: 01:25
4.13. Untitled III (TS edit, Velvet Monkeys HQ, Washington, DC, July 1985)
Run Time: 00:13
4.14. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Session, 1 Apr 87)
Run Time: 05:45

5.01. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Session, 6 April 87 ii. & iii.)
Run Time: 14:53
5.02. Untitled (Lowland Blot Session, 30 Aug 87; Telemundo Assembly Version, May 1993)
Run Time: 02:06
5.03. Untitled (WREK-FM Session, 1 June 88)
Run Time: 20:30
45.
5.04 Six Times Since (Sequence) (Westminster Basement Session, 26 Nov 1985)
Run Time: 34:13
5.05. Untitled (TS Pressure Manip Excerpt, Washington, DC, 1987)
Run Time: 04:47

6.01. Soundcheck (Final Hardart Gallery Session, Washington, DC, 2 June 85)
Run Time: 03:23
6.02. Untitled I (Final Hardart Gallery Session, Washington, DC, 2 June 85)
Run Time: 09:38
6.03. Untitled II (Final Hardart Gallery Session, Washington, DC, 2 June 85)
Run Time: 10:49
6.04. Untitled III (Final Hardart Gallery Session, Washington, DC, 2 June 85)
Run Time: 04:57
6.05. Untitled IV (Final Hardart Gallery Session, Washington, DC, 2 June 85)
Run Time: 08:42
6.06. Untitled V (Final Hardart Gallery Session, Washington, DC, 2 June 85)
Run Time: 10:38
6.07. Untitled II (Sinatra Xenakis Session I, The Bulkhead, Atlanta, GA, 23 July 88)
Run Time: 03:20
6.08. Untitled I (La Taranta Edit, Lowland Blot, July 1987)
Run Time: 02:49
6.09. Untitled IV (La Taranta Edit, Lowland Blot, July 1987)
Run Time: 02:36
6.10. Untitled V (La Taranta Edit, Lowland Blot, July 1987)
Run Time: 02:12
6.11. Untitled VIII (La Taranta Edit, Lowland Blot, July 1987)
Run Time: 00:55
6.12. Untitled XVII (La Taranta Edit, Lowland Blot, August 1987)
Run Time: 00:40
6.13. Untitled XIX (La Taranta Edit, Lowland Blot, August 1987)
Run Time: 00:46
6.14. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Session, 23 May 86)
Run Time: 14:03

7.01. Untitled (Live, T.T. the Bear’s, Cambridge, MA, 30 Oct 86)
Run Time: 21:21
7.02. Performance (Live, Downstairs, Athens, GA, 9 Nov 89)
Run Time: 21:23
7.03. Performance (Live, The Chamber, Washington, DC, 5 Oct 89)
Run Time: 24:51
7.04. Untitled (Live, Porter Ellis Community Center, Macon, GA, 9 Jan 86)
Run Time: 04:28
7.05. 180 Grady (TLS backing track, derived from TS edit) (Klang Labs, Atlanta, GA, October 1990)
Run Time: 01:25

8.01. Untitled (Live, WREK-FM, Atlanta, GA, 8 Jan 86) (feat. Mike Green on computer)
Run Time: 18:49
8.02. Untitled I (Noise NY Session Anomalies, NYC, 1 Apr 87)
Run Time: 04:03
8.03. Untitled II (Noise NY Session Anomalies, NYC, 1 Apr 87)
Run Time: 08:08
8.04. Untitled III (Noise NY Session Anomalies, NYC, 2 Apr 87)
Run Time: 06:52
8.05. Untitled IV (Noise NY Session Anomalies, NYC, 2 Apr 87)
Run Time: 05:08
8.06. Untitled III (Live, WCVT-FM, Towson State University, Towson, MD, 25 May 87)
Run Time: 07:07
8.07. Untitled V (Live, WCVT-FM, Towson State University, Towson, MD, 25 May 87)
Run Time: 13:55
8.08. Untitled (Live, Fallout Shelter, Raleigh, NC, 5 Jan 86)
Run Time: 08:43

9.01. Untitled (Live, George Mason University TV Studio, Washington, DC, 22 June 85)
Run Time: 11:38
9.02. Complete Performance (Live, 9.30 Club, Washington, DC, 8 Dec 85)
Run Time: 34:43
9.03. Untitled (Excerpted from live performance at d.c. space, Washington, DC, 17 Aug 85)
Run Time: 03:02
9.04. Untitled (Ginsberg Basement Rehearsal, Rockville, MD, 25 Aug 86)
Run Time: 06:46
9.05. Untitled (Westminster Basement Rehearsal, Washington, DC, 10 Nov 85) (JH & TS)
Run Time: 20:09

Within the restricted parameters set forth above, recording conditions varied. Certain basements, like Westminster, were soundproofed. The Ginsberg and 7th Street basements were not. Reverberance thus differs.

Many of the live club recordings were made with stereo cassette recorders placed on the stage by a member of the band (usually Tom).

Some board technicians of the time, whether lacking sufficient decorum or besotted by punk orthodoxy, saw nothing wrong in adding delay, reverb or vocal interjections to our performances. We had to ask them from the stage not to do so. Often, owing to the lack of monitoring in many spaces, we had no idea what was being added to the mix. Engineers unmindfully assumed we’d prefer their diminution of our intent.

Due to engineer meddling and general incompetence, several memorably convulsive performances will never likely be issued. Technicians at the Pyramid in Richmond and the Metroplex in Atlanta were notably unprofessional in this regard.

Where technical staff were merely disinterested, recordings of annoying inconsistency emerged. Owing to our archival propensity, however, parallel recordings of varying quality and backups of original loops, samples and edits remained in the POI library. Restorations of the T.T. the Bear’s gig and the Nexus CAC performance were constructed using a variety of period elements mapped to contoured outlines of the initial board recordings.

Some of the sessions – those from Goatshead, and later recordings created at Ginsberg – were made using a four-track cassette portastudio.

The radio broadcasts were engineered primarily on four-channel boards. (Radio engineers were the most reliably professional technicians we encountered.) Bulkhead was an eight-track studio, while Noise New York was a sixteen-track facility. Ampex 456.

All of the recordings from Klang and Walking Fish were recorded directly to digital eight-track.

That noted, high-bias chrome cassette was our default medium.

Mastering on “Surrealismus” was carried out with a very light hand. An unobtrusive graphic equalizer spread was used on most of the tracks; Audition’s “Amplify” tool was engaged to cut or raise db levels (usually by +/- 1db) where necessary.

We were usually high. We took truckloads of acid. It stands to reason that some of the wayward engineering found herein was created under the influence. Where EXTREMELY HOT WAVEFORMS were found, I first reduced their amplitude (between -10 and -15 db), then proceeded with a standard post-production regimen until something approaching semi-(ab)normal emerged.

Your hands have been held long enough. It’s fucking intense music. Dig in.

Keep in mind that “Surrealismus: Paris Prag Rockville” is not intended as the last word on Peach of Immortality, nor is it a compilation of all extant archival material. There are crates of original masters still in our storage facility in the States that have yet to be digitized or otherwise transferred.

This album is meant primarily as a means to restart a conversation. Peach of Immortality were important. More people need to know about them.

BARCODE: [unknown]

MATRIX:
DISC ONE: [unknown]
DISC TWO: [unknown]
DISC THREE: [unknown]
DISC FOUR: [unknown]
DISC FIVE: [unknown]
DISC SIX: [unknown]
DISC SEVEN: [unknown]
DISC EIGHT: [unknown]
DISC NINE: [unknown]