DylanGoing (FMA Admin)

A nugget of not-so-distant history from 2006:

My band politely opened the show and played a decent, three song set that didn't have anyone jumping out of their skin but generated some polite comments afterwards. Mordstrahlen, the eastern European chopped-and-screwed hip hop cdj alias of Shawn Greenlee played between all the sets as people perused the liquor table full of Old Grandad of an indeterminate age that my friend, the estate cleaner/tomb raider, had found in he attic of someone recently deceased. The attic conditions didn't prove to be too kind on Old Grandad's finer notes and nuances so a mildly distressed, kerosene-smelling crowd politely waited for the next action-adventure rock band to play...and play they did.

One particular person was so excited about the playing that it suggested to him that the plastic lawn nativity virgin mother that was hanging around was not being smashed with enough garden hoes. Person, who happened to be the propietor of the space, took his trusty garden hoe and in the upswing, knocked the head off of the sprinkler, letting a violent black cloud of warehouse water out on the crowd, band, and vintage equipment. He disappeared and water kept filling the space for about twenty minutes while I ran several blocks down to find a wet-dry vac from my studio.

This was the second out of five acts set to play, two being on tour from Europe: Jason Forrest (aka DJ Donna Summer) with his band, and About from the Netherlands. We certainly couldn't have brought these nice people all the way out to not play, so we strung some extension cords (on the ceiling, for there were already a couple inches of water on the floor) and some lights to a part to the warehouse where there was a spot of raised cement about four inches high where a band could conceivably fit, completely dry. They fit, and they performed for the remainder of the crowd who danced enthusiastically in several inches of water. Nobody was electrocuted.

Anyway, moral of the story: however cold, bleak and socially anesthetizing this winter might be, check out Jason's take from the Peppermill Records compilation "Winter" and remember that you're probably not ankle deep in water right now.

It's been quite an initial year for the FMA! There's way too much going on within these 15,000 tracks to get an all-encompassing favorite free music of 2009 but I thought I'd give a shout out to some of my favorite live recordings I saw come through within the comfortable confines of an embeddable FMA mix.

Along with nine other instant classics, I've included one of my favorite recorded live bits this year: Dan Deacon imploring the Spanish-speaking crowd at Primavera Sound 09 to follow his human tunnel instructions. Speak English or die...in a poorly buttressed tunnel made of Deacadets!

Also, I don't know if it ruins it for you or not, but I just found out the Master Musicians of Bukkake aren't actually from Bukkake. The track's still good though.