Arcana

ARCANA

“Herein lie demos, live recordings, podcasts, and more from Nathan Wade (with and without The Dark Pioneers), including obscure recordings from the past…”

Skylark Live: April 23, 2010

01. Gotta Get Right
02. All You Shadows
03. Down At Silverdam
04. Sweat Through
05. Suicidal Revival
06. [Skronk/Band/People’s Instrument]
07. Cold, Cold Hands
08. Rusty Blade
09. [Sore Thumb/My Father]
10. Weeds Grow Around
11. [ZZ Top/Get The F*ck Out!]
12. Cool Your Guns
13. [Smoker’s Cough/Like A Douche]
14. I Am The Rust
15. [Virtual Encore/Beat Poetry/Shaft of the Tiger]
16. Just Got Paid/Outro

File this show under “hot mess.” I was recovering from a nasty cold at the time, and the medicine I took (over-the-counter, I swear!) to get through the night aided and abetted my torrent of unfiltered, foul-mouthed banter in between songs–and sometimes during songs. Thankfully, the audience was ready to play along. So while I was blowing lyrics with abandon and my guitar work is often downright deplorable (i.e., the unintentionally hilarious skronk solos on “Suicidal Revival” and “Just Got Paid”), the show manages to be a weird sort of fun. I hope.

The show went down at The Skylark Cafe in West Seattle; Charlie, the Skylark’s excellent house engineer, recorded it, while my friend Eddie Williams mixed the resulting tracks for aural consumption. I’ve also included a pdf file of photos from the night, courtesy of Colby Perry.

Click here to download MP3s of the the full live album (zip archive).

Argot, Vol. 1 (2010)

01. Intro/Jungle Beats
02. Son Of Glitch
03. Open Sea (Part 1)
04. Roland Juno Blues
05. Welcome To Guitar Center
06. Dirty Scofield Vibe
07. Oh, Broken Walls/Do Your Worst
08. I’m Your Secret Nurse
09. Argento Moan
10. Welcome To Sky Valley
11. 80’s State
12. Post-Blues
13. Open Sea (Part 2)
14. Angels Of Our Loss

Recorded live in a small room with only a handful of microphones (and no plan whatsoever), Argot, Vol. 1 is an Id-driven trip across a surrealistic neverland, revealing a side of Nathan Wade & The Dark Pioneers you’ve never heard before. In just two short sessions, the band plowed through hours of inspired, spontaneous creation running the gamut from Pink Floyd-ian, synthed-out psychedelia (Roland Juno Blues), Sonic Youth-inspired art rock (I’m Your Secret Nurse), metal-infused techno-jazz (Son Of Glitch), to blissful soundscapes (Angels Of Our Loss). Everything you hear is an improvised first take, edited down from three hours of non-stop recording into 14 mind-warping musical curios.

Available as a free download on Bandcamp.com.

Future Warnings/Field Recordings (2008)

01. This World (Is Already Over)
02. Messenger Angels
03. No Hot Ashes
04. Cool Your Guns
05. Lake Of Fire
06. Let The Wind Know Who I Am
07. Gotta Get Right With The Savior
08. The Golgotha Drone
09. Goodbye, Old Cloud
10. The Way

In February of 2008, Nathan took on the RPM Challenge: to write AND record a full album (10 songs or 35 minutes of music) in a single month. Mission accomplished! And while this home recorded album is raw and rough around the edges, there’s plenty of promising tunes and inspired ideas to make for an entertaining 30 minutes of listening. Dark Pioneers Brian Alter and Sam Collins make guest appearances in the form of sampled drum and bass loops, but several of these songs have already found their way into the band’s live set and onto their new album, The Gospel Of Rust.

Click here to download MP3s of the the full album (zip archive).

DEMOS & OUTTAKES

- Goin’ Over (alt. take) | mp3
This is an alternate version of the track that would close out The Dead Leaves Sing; Nathan eventually opted for a more peaceful finale, but this version has it’s merits.

- Big Black Sleep DEMO | mp3
- Rusty Blade DEMO | mp3
- I Am The Rust DEMO | mp3
To take advantage of their time in the studio, the band recorded these three tracks on the same weekend that produced The Chroma Session EP. Allowing themselves only two takes to get it right, everything you hear is completely live with no overdubs; special guest Lincoln Barr also plays some skronking lead guitar on “Big Black Sleep.”

LIVE RECORDINGS

- Dead Leaves: Live at Egans (w/Charlie Spring) | mp3
- Rusty Blade: Live at Egans | mp3
- Seen The Glory: Live at Egans (w/Charlie Spring) | mp3
These tracks are from Nathan Wade’s solo performance at Egan’s Ballard Jam House in Seattle (April 2007); the audio was stripped from a video recording courtesy of David Guilbault. Part of a “songwriters-in-the-round night,” Charlie Spring played host (and some harmonica, as well).

- Dead Leaves Suite: Live at Conor Byrne Pub | mp3
A “bootleg” recording from March 2007 by soon-to-be-Dark-Pioneer drummer Brian Alter. While the noisy crowd at Conor Byrne shares the audio spotlight at times, this was one of the last shows Nathan would play with Creeping Time as a backing band. Joined by special guest Lincoln Barr on electric guitar, the band closed their set with a 10 minute, Dead Leaves Sing musical trilogy (”Dry Up Like A Dream” > “Goin’ Over” > “Dead Leaves”). Amidst it’s peaks and valleys, the Allman Brothers-esque finale inspired the Chroma Session EP version of “Dead Leaves.” (The audience seemed to approve.)

PODCASTS & MORE

- Midpoint Music Festival Interview (2006) | mp3
Also know as “The Lawnmower Interview,” this was a preview for Nathan’s showcase at Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio. His dry humor (and wise-assery) is on full display, but the podcast also features “The Final Blow” from The Dead Leaves Sing.

A Fistful Of Demos Vol. 1 & 2 (2005)

The (unofficial) debut recordings of Nathan Wade, both volumes of these home recorded demos were hand-pressed/home-made CD-Rs that Nathan would distribute at early shows. The seven tracks include early versions of songs that would later appear on The Dead Leaves Sing and The Chroma Session EP.

Care to travel deeper into Nathan Wade’s musical abyss? Then pass through the gate…

Nathan Wade Music