Ribot

Five years have passed since the release of Party Intellectuals, the 2008 Pi Recordings debut of Ceramic Dog, a power trio led by legendary Downtown guitarist Marc Ribot. Much has changed in the ensuing years, including the recording industry—a subject fervently addressed on Your Turn, the ensemble's eclectic sophomore effort. Railing against capitalism and consumerism with equal vigor, Ceramic Dog blends post-punk rebellion with the sonic liberation of free jazz, finding catharsis in-between genres.

Marc Ribot - Shrek (1994) {Avant Japan Avan 033}
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© 1994 Avant / Disk Union Japan | Avan 033
Jazz / Rock / Avant-Garde / Experimental / Guitar

Although Marc Ribot has lent his incomparable six-string idiosyncracy to any number of studio ensemble projects, Shrek is his first attempt to assemble a solid group of his own. Shrek's more or less stable lineup includes guitarist Chris Wood (of Medeski, Martin, and Wood), bassist Sebastian Steinberg, drummer Jim Pugliese, and percussionist Christine Bard. The group's debut shifts restlessly among animated jazz, rock, punk, and warped blues themes, filling the inevitable cracks with instrumental textures, minimal vignettes, and formless noise, similar in some respects to John Zorn's Naked City (though with considerably more focus…hell, with focus period!). The group is joined on three tracks by sampler collage artist David Shea.

When these recording sessions began in the last week of May 2020, I hadn’t left my house to go anywhere other than the grocery store in over two months. I hadn’t taken a cab or subway. I’d lost several friends to COVID-19, and was afraid I’d also lose more thanks to the non-response of our would-be dictator/“president”, whose deliberate embrace of untruth fed tens of thousands of lives to the pandemic, and also reduced what little hope was left for avoiding global warming catastrophe.

Shahzad’s lungs are all fucked up, so we didn’t get together till the end of May, even though he lived right upstairs from the studio. Ches was looking after his kid (Zane) while Miya worked, and I was walking around my apartment talking to myself and eating beans out of tin cans (with salsa and soy sauce on special occasions). But eventually we came up with a plan. Shahzad would set up all the mics before we arrived, then go into the control room and shut the door.