Category Archives: Music

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

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Brett Kimberlin has had a desire for a career in the music business for decades. Between his first release from prison on his bombing sentence and when his parole was revoked, he tried to make it as a rock musician. Mark Singer tells of how he started Brettsongs, a publishing company, and put together a demo tape and promotional package.

Brett is American; he grew up on rock and roll in a musical family. At odds with the right-wing Administration during the 1980′s, he was jailed as a political prisoner. While there, he experienced first-hand suffering of the underclass and the cynicism of governments. He became a champion for those less fortunate and rose above the evil around him.

It was while in prison that Brett wrote 29 “Songs of Passion.” These songs will resonate in the hearts of people throughout the world because of their insight, honesty and directness. Moreover, many of them will, through controversy, raise the consciousness  of people everywhere. Brett’s combination of social conscience and anger, as represented  in the songs, brings comparisons to Lennon and Sting.

—”Song of Passion” Promotional Package quoted in Citizen K, p.306

I don’t know that I have ever heard any of those 29 song, so I can’t say how they resonate, but there were several items in that puff piece that struck a chord with me. The chord contained a flatted fifth.

Political prisoner? Not really. Brett Kimberlin was convicted of smuggling dope and bombing charges. I don’t care what country in the world you pick; get caught doing either of those things, and you’ll spend a long time in jail—if they don’t execute you.

Raise the consciousness … Oh, goodness! That’s a feminist term that was spun out of the Marxist idea of false consciousness.

Comparisons to Lennon and Sting? Perhaps, but certainly not favorable ones.

OK, it’s an advertising piece, and it’s puffery, but … oh, never mind.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

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There’s a Maryland corporation called Act Up Enterprises Inc. It was founded in 2011 by Brett Kimberlin “to provide entertainment services to musicians.” So far, it has one artist signed. She’s Brett Kimberlin’s daughter.

The company doesn’t do much to promote itself or its artist. Here’s its web page.actup_homeVarious websites related to the sole artist affiliated with Act Up refer to it as an artist management company and a record label—an artist management company with no bookings for its client and a label with no releases.

Hmmmm.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

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The Dread Pirate Kimberlin’s bio over at Brett Kimberlin dot org contains this sentence:

He has worked for and with many progressive organizations, and currently is Director of Justice Through Music, a 501c3 non-profit that works with famous bands, musicians and artists to inspire and motivate young people to engage in civic participation.

Famous bands, musicians and artists …

Uh, huh.

Looking back over the past three months of the JTMP website’s postings, one can find lots of references to “famous bands, musicians and artists,” but only three instances that might be stretched to be considered working with them.

MAR 11, 2013 – An organization that JTMP is part of, “Artists Against Fracking”, have released a music video for their song, “Don’t Frack My Mother”. A funny song featuring many different artists, such as Josh Fox, Sean and Yoko Ono, and a whole bunch of other artists all chipping in for this hilarious protest song that is great for firing up the much-needed opposition to Fracking.

A group that JTMP is a part of made a video. What was JTMP’s participation other than promoting it on their website and YouTube?

MAR 31, 2013 – Occupy This Album …
JTMP is excited to announced the album has been nominated by The Independent Music Awards for the “Compilation of the Year”, and voting can be done by YOU! So head on over to the Occupy This Album web site, check out the songs, and then head on over to the Independent Music Awards web site and vote for this album!! Below is a JTMP video of one of the main activist-musicians that helped launch the project, Matt Pless.

That Matt Pless (Is he famous?) video is from a 2009 performance at a public event. Someone they recorded at a public event was nominated for an award for a project that had no involvement by JTMP.

MAY 31, 2013 – Aerosmith, who was blogged about recently by JTMP …

I’ve blogged about musicians too.

Brett Kimberlin says he’s into supporting green projects. Well, the stuff he’s spreading does make the grass grow green—unless it’s over used; then the grass dies.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

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cameramanThe Justice Through Music Project house band Op-Critical has been putting out covers of old hits fondly remembered by baby boomers, For What It’s Worth and Paradise most recently. Now that they’ve got footage of a process server and cops that they can use, maybe they will favor us with their version of Indiana Wants Me. One of the members would be a natural for the lead vocal.

frontporch

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

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In November, 1997, Brett Kimberlin filed a complaint because the Bureau of Prisons would not allow him to play music on an electric guitar. An amendment in the Budget Act had banned the use of electric and electronic instruments in prisons except during worship services. The U. S. District Court in D. C. decided his case (in favor of the BOP) in late May, 2001, just a couple of weeks before his second release. The following is from the court’s decision [Kimberlin and Rice v. U. S. Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons, 318 F.3d 228 (2003)]:

Plaintiffs assert that an acoustic guitar is not equivalent to an electric guitar. According to plaintiff Kimberlin, it is impossible for him to play his songs on an acoustic guitar. He is not able to make long, sustained notes. Also, he cannot perform a technique called “vibrato” because the strings on an acoustic guitar will not bend or sustain like those on an electric guitar.
…
Notwithstanding, BOP has not prohibited all musical expression, only the use of electrical instruments. An active music program and other informal means of musical expression still exist. Plaintiffs contend that an electric guitar is essential to their musical expression. Thus, they argue, banning this instrument is an absolute ban on their musical expression. Plaintiffs are incorrect in asserting that music created by an electric instrument is a distinct expression protected by the First Amendment. This Court has not found, and plaintiffs do not cite, any cases addressing this proposition. Accordingly, the issue is whether BOP’s policy impermissibly limits a prisoner’s First Amendment right to express himself through music by banning one of several mediums by which a prisoner can musically express himself.
…
Plaintiffs argue that to require them to express themselves musically on an acoustic instrument would be akin to requiring rap musicians to sing ballads, or Muslim prisoners to attend Catholic religious services. Plaintiffs insist that they cannot perform their music on acoustic instruments.

Plaintiffs are free to express themselves musically using other instruments, such as an acoustic guitar. Like the prisoners in Amatel, plaintiffs are only limited, not deprived. They can perform music written for an electric guitar on an acoustic guitar. This is not the same as expression on an electric instrument, but it is certainly an alternate to such expression. Moreover, plaintiff Kimberlin has stated that he has written a song which he can hear in his mind, but cannot perform, edit, polish, or get feedback. He may discuss the notes, lyrics, and ideas with others as a means of expressing himself through his music and getting feedback. Again, this is not the same as playing the electric guitar, but it is an alternate that allows him to express himself musically.

Well, like a group of real musicians once said:

No, you can’t always get what you want,
But if you try sometime, you just might find
You get what you need.

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

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Justice Through Music Project has posted another music video on YouTube. It’s a sorta/kinda cover of John Prine’s Paradise. It’s an anti-natural-resource-extraction propaganda piece aimed at the Keystone XL pipeline. In fact, the band calls themselves the Keystone Pipeline Kops instead of Op-Critical.

Now, if I were Brett Kimberlin, I would avoid having anything to do with any song from John Prine’s first album lest I remind listeners of other songs from that album that might have unfortunate references to drug dealing, porn, etc.

Sam Stone: “There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes.”

Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore: “While digesting Reader’s Digest in the back of a dirty book store …”

Illegal Smile: “Won’t you please tell the man I didn’t kill anyone …”

Just sayin’ …

Team Kimberlin Post of the Day

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The most popular of the hundreds of posts about Brett Kimberlin here at Hogewash! was not about his lawfare or his Dread Piracy. It was about his musicianship. It’s time to recycle it again with an update at the end—

bkepoxyBack in 2002, Brett Kimberlin fronted a band named Epoxy and released a CD called Nothing Else. The story he spun promoting the album was that it contained songs that he had written while he was being held as a political prisoner in the federal prison system.

The band consisted of Brett Kimberlin on guitar and vocals, Wade Matthews on Bass, and Robbie White on Drums. The genre of the album is someplace between grunge and punk, neither of which are among my favorite musical forms.

Let me first comment on Mr. Kimberlin’s voice. I had heard his speaking voice in court, and I understand why some people refer to it as whinny. His singing voice reminds me of the silly voice that Weird Al uses on tracks such as Eat It. Mrs. Hoge, who listened through the CD with me, said, “Eddie Haskell.” On most of the tracks his voice was off key, usually flat.

Most of the songs could have been filler tracks on a generic grunge album. Some of the alienation in them seems to be more appropriate for a 17 year old, not someone 30 years older. Mr. Kimberlin was in his late 40s when the recording was made. However, three of the songs stood out. Vicegrip was actually interesting musically. Donuts had clever lyrics. It’s about lousy prison food and would probably get a nod of approval from G. Gordon Liddy.

Then there’s the last cut Keyhole. It was outstandingly bad. Mrs. Hoge and I met while we were in the music business, and during her career as a recording engineer, she recorded more gold and platinum records than I did. Her comment was, “If you’re gonna mike a guitar that close, you should use a better guitar and make sure it’s in tune. And get a better guitar player.”

While he didn’t do especially well with the acoustic guitar on Keyhole, Brett Kimberlin is actually a reasonably good guitarist. He probably couldn’t cut it in Nashville or LA, but could make a living in a minor market (such as Seattle) or playing the Holiday Inn circuit. Indeed, the world would be a better place if he did ignore the usual advice and give up his day job.

Nothing Else by Epoxy (Pollen Records, $16.04 from Amazon) is interesting because of who recorded it, but I can’t honestly recommend it for the musical experience it offers.

UPDATE—Aaron Walker’s review of music videos by Op-Critical, The Dread Pirate Kimberlin’s latest band, can be found here. Another Op-Critical video can be found here. On 5 December, TDPK and Op-Critical released a new music video called “Coal Miner’s Family.” It’s lurking on YouTube, and it deserves a review.

First, a decade of practice has not made any significant improvement in TDPK’s musicianship. The song is supposed to be about a family caught up in the Upper Big Branch mining disaster of 2010. The band seems to be striving to sound like an Appalachian folk group, but it doesn’t seem to have the chops to get there. Instead, it hits that level of mediocrity one hears from urban local bands at East Coast bluegrass festivals.

Second, the choice of subject matter is interesting. Op-Critical is the house band for Justice Through Music Project, an organization with the stated purpose of using “famous musicians and bands to organize, educate and activate young people about the importance of civil rights, human rights and voting.” How a mining disaster relates to that escapes me, but I notice that over the past year, JTMP has promoted anti-natural-resource-development causes such as the Tour de Frack. And now it’s taking on coal mining. And it has a major donor with possible connections to the environmentalist wackos who put Brandon Darby on a hit list. Hmmmm.

Third, listening to a Brett Kimberlin song’s treatment of the loving relationships among family members reminded me of Bruno Graz’s brilliant performance in Downfall. I don’t mean the scene that has been the subject of all those parodies. Graz’s performance showed a view of a man who was throughly evil and yet was kind to many around him. Mark Singer’s portrait of TDPK in Citizen K shows a similar, albeit less powerful, personality.

I’m Not Making This Up, You Know

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Brett Kimberlin fancies himself a great musician. (H/T, Kimberlin Unmaksked)

The term “delusions of adequacy” comes to mind.

UPDATE—Here’s a statement made by a Justice Through Music Project spokesman (not Brett Kimberlin) about the time this video was released:

We want videos that have staying power, that make a cultural statement, and that have an emotional component to them so that they will influence youth. Politicians spend hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars on ads to influence middle class America, and they basically ignore young people totally; and we feel like the music videos are like the cultural statements or the ads for young people, so we hope to get them involved and influence them to make the right decision in November.

Uh, huh.

Another Year Older (and Deeper in Debt)

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So I survived my 65th birthday yesterday, and the country is over the fiscal cliff. Oh well, Mrs. Hoge threw a nice party for me, our traditional New Year’s Eve open house.

There were guests from many slices of our lives such as friends from church, Mrs. Hoge’s gardening and beekeeping, and my amateur radio and blogging. The food was great, and the mix of company made for an interesting evening.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Dread Musician #BrettKimberlin: Year in Review

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The most popular of the hundreds of posts about Brett Kimberlin was not about his lawfare or his Dread Piracy. It was about his musicianship. Here it is with an update at the end—

Back in 2002, Brett Kimberlin fronted a band named Epoxy and released a CD called Nothing Else. The story he spun promoting the album was that it contained songs that he had written while he was being held as a political prisoner in the federal prison system.

The band consisted of Brett Kimberlin on guitar and vocals, Wade Matthews on Bass, and Robbie White on Drums. The genre of the album is someplace between grunge and punk, neither of which are among my favorite musical forms.

Let me first comment on Mr. Kimberlin’s voice. I had heard his speaking voice in court, and I understand why some people refer to it as whinny. His singing voice reminds me of the silly voice that Weird Al uses on tracks such as Eat It. Mrs. Hoge, who listened through the CD with me, said, “Eddie Haskell.” On most of the tracks his voice was off key, usually flat.

Most of the songs could have been filler tracks on a generic grunge album. Some of the alienation in them seems to be more appropriate for a 17 year old, not someone 30 years older. Mr. Kimberlin was in his late 40s when the recording was made. However, three of the songs stood out. Vicegrip was actually interesting musically. Donuts had clever lyrics. It’s about lousy prison food and would probably get a nod of approval from G. Gordon Liddy.

Then there’s the last cut Keyhole. It was outstandingly bad. Mrs. Hoge and I met while we were in the music business, and during her career as a recording engineer, she recorded more gold and platinum records than I did. Her comment was, “If you’re gonna mike a guitar that close, you should use a better guitar and make sure it’s in tune. And get a better guitar player.”

While he didn’t do especially well with the acoustic guitar on Keyhole, Brett Kimberlin is actually a reasonably good guitarist. He probably couldn’t cut it in Nashville or LA, but could make a living in a minor market (such as Seattle) or playing the Holiday Inn circuit. Indeed, the world would be a better place if he did ignore the usual advice and give up his day job.

Nothing Else by Epoxy (Pollen Records, $16.04 from Amazon) is interesting because of who recorded it, but I can’t honestly recommend it for the musical experience it offers.

UPDATE—Aaron Walker’s review of music videos by Op-Critical, The Dread Pirate Kimberlin’s latest band, can be found here. On 5 December, TDPK and Op-Critical released a new music video called “Coal Miner’s Family.” It’s lurking on YouTube, and it deserves a review.

First, a decade of practice has not made any significant improvement in TDPK’s musicianship. The song is supposed to be about a family caught up in the Upper Big Branch mining disaster of 2010. The band seems to be striving to sound like an Appalachian folk group, but it doesn’t seem to have the chops to get there. Instead, it hits that level of mediocrity one hears from urban local bands at East Coast bluegrass festivals.

Second, the choice of subject matter is interesting. Op-Critical is the house band for Justice Through Music Project, an organization with the stated purpose of using “famous musicians and bands to organize, educate and activate young people about the importance of civil rights, human rights and voting.” How a mining disaster relates to that escapes me, but I notice that over the past year, JTMP has promoted anti-natural-resource-development causes such as the Tour de Frack. And now it’s taking on coal mining. And it has a major donor with possible connections to the environmentalist wackos who put Brandon Darby on a hit list. Hmmmm.

Third, listening to a Brett Kimberlin song’s treatment of the loving relationships among family members reminded me of Bruno Graz’s brilliant performance in Downfall. I don’t mean the scene that has been the subject of all those parodies. Graz’s performance showed a view of a man who was throughly evil and yet was kind to many around him. Mark Singer’s portrait of TDPK in Citizen K shows a similar, albeit less powerful, personality.

Well, that’s 2012 in review for TDPK. Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, and it will be another day off. Tune in on Wednesday for new material for the New Year.

I Blame Jim Morrison

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My brother-in-law sent me an email that contained the following:

Ever walk into a room with some purpose in mind, only to completely forget what that purpose was? Turns out, doors themselves are to blame for these strange memory lapses.

Psychologists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that passing through a doorway triggers what’s known as an event boundary in the mind, separating one set of thoughts and memories from the next. Your brain files away the thoughts you had in the previous room and prepares a blank slate for the new locale.

The Ring Cycle

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Last night, Mrs. Hoge and I watched the Met’s production of Das Rheingold on PBS. We intend to watch the rest of the Ring Cycle tonight and on Thursday and Friday evening. I didn’t pick up enough German while I worked in Switzerland, so I have to rely on the subtitles to follow the libretto. Fortunately, I am very familiar with the plot thanks to the keen analysis provided by Anna Russell.

My only complaint about the Met’s production is that they have cut Gollum from the script. Sorry, wrong ring.

UPDATE–Yes, Ms. Russell is who I stole recycled the I’m Not Making This Up, You Know tagline from.

The Enchanted Island

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Mrs. Hoge and I just finished watching The Enchanted Island on PBS. It’s a pastiche of an opera that combined the stories of The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with music by baroque composers such as Handel, Vivaldi, and Rameau. The Met’s production was interesting and, at points, delightful.

I particularly enjoyed Danielle de Niese in the role of Ariel and Luca Pisaroni as Caliban, the only bass role. Prospero was one of two countertenors.

Mrs. Hoge said that the ballet reminded her of the Fire Gang dance sequence in the Jim Henson movie The Labyrinth.