Ross Farrar's Blog

Very pleased to announce Melters will be putting out our new cassette. I’m doing vocals and a bunch of legends from the bay playing the music. Check it out. 

I’m back! Recorded a song last summer with a few friends from the bay. Enjoy. I love (hate) you all.

I had my last day as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley last week. It was a strange day. I was on campus from 9:00am to 8:00pm handling last minute business, attending final classes, sitting on stone steps, and basically doing a lot of contemplation. It was very much a final day, physically and mentally. Before taking on the last hour, I stumbled into Morrison Library and opened The Paris Review to a particular James Tate poem. It was his last, and felt very fitting as the final piece of literature I’d read as an undergrad. This poem will be with me forever now, and I have a strange connection to Tate because of it and would like to take this time to praise the master and send my appreciation for his life and work. Please Read. I love you all.

First
Night of Catholicism

Everything speaks to you while in the process of grieving.

Pain, a magnetic field pulling thorns from the stems of roses–


bringing you back to that first night of real guilt, knees

a bit scraped from the rough floor, hands open then close.


If I broke it down to you, I swear you wouldn’t believe it.

You might fall back a few decades, take the phone from the wall,


the one with the long, spiral cord that twists like the gyre

& sneak to the bathroom giving five Hail Marys


into the receiver of your heart, but you know it’s never really

like that. You can always ask forgiveness, make a sign


for the cross & approach the Olympic-size swimming pool

because sharing the diving board always made sense–


to both dive right in, but something disappeared–how?

You think. How do clouds disappear–they just do, like people,


like all your grandparents & theirs too, like Houdini’s

elephant, terribly there on stage then suddenly–poof.


The stage I’m on now is actually a wave breaking towards some

shore, somewhere. I’ll get off my surf board, but it will remain


attached to my ankle & the sand will be everywhere, all over me,

little pieces of time & it hurts to rub–the rub of time,


so quickly made thin, so unlike Adam’s lifeboat rib–
I loved you in a cosmic way. I loved you
more than anything.


But now, it’s okay, you think.
Everyone’s alive & those who

aren’t once were, board in arms, walking again with no one else.

I’m going to Syracuse baby. I love you all.

Early SF street shots. 2005-06. Find Kerbs and Jade.

rossfarrar:

RIP.

I just came across this. An older man contacted us back in 2010 and explained how his son had passed, and that he wanted the roses on his gravestone. As you can imagine, we were pretty taken aback–Rest in peace John L. Macnamara.  

rossfarrar:

Dan, Nashville Tennessee.

Classic.

: )

1) Perverts Again: Cleveland. Yes, so good. The front man had a really cool marching thing he was doing throughout the set, and the music was simple, primitive and catchy–sort of reminded me of The UV Race–most interesting / radical band of tour. - https://pervertsagain.bandcamp.com/

2) Nightklub: Atlanta. I loved this band, very lonely sounding, very sparse, very dark. For lovers of Slint. I really love this band. I can’t stop listening to their page. - https://nightklub.bandcamp.com/releases

3) Perverted Justice: Montreal. This band tripped me out in a very good way. Old and new friends were formed that night. I’ve never seen anything like their setup. Five people formed a horizontal line behind Josie, lead vocalist. Starting from far right: Christine on vocals and synth, an electronic drummer next to her, another synth player next to him, and another dude next to him, but I forget what he played exactly. Each of them looked different. Cartoons playing instruments. They also covered GG–Don’t Talk to Me. Fantastic. - https://pervertedjustice.bandcamp.com/releases

4) Mushmind: Tampa. Chaotic at times, but also a bit funky. Time Square was said to be a scary, grimy place in the 70′s. This music could be an interesting soundtrack to that time in history. For more inquiry look for the track “Substance Control.” - https://mushmind.bandcamp.com/

5) Brother Beast: NC. Vengeance against society. They are putting out a record called “Pregnant God” which I believe will be their last. Phenomenal drumming. Watch out. - https://brotherbeast.bandcamp.com/

6) Olivia Neutron-John: DC. Whoa. Beautiful music that conjured the new wave, the groove wave, the darker waves and the water waves all together–forming a synthetic punk version of rainbow light. - https://olivianeutron-john.bandcamp.com/

7) False Punk: Orlando. Rippers who are ripe on the scene, filled with angst, and look cool on stage. A lot of punks don’t think about how they look on stage, and that’s cool, but these guys look good. Members of Gross, who also played the show, and who also played with us the previous year. Good dudes, good tunes. - https://falsepunk.bandcamp.com/

8 ) Triage: Toronto. This band really ripped. Female fronted thrash punk metal. The kind of shit you listen to driving fast through the night in New Jersey, flashing by nuclear waste dumps where Toxic Avenger was inspired. - https://triageheshlords.bandcamp.com/releases

9) VCR: Toronto. Second band in Toronto. Danger House vibes. Young kids with bad attitudes who like to play fast and freaky. Greg from S.H.I.T put out their EP, and had some funny shit to say. The singer and I spoke a bit while doing merch. Two quotes: “We’re playing with Sheer Mag soon” which he was very excited about, and “We played this show to get money for tour.” Best quote of tour yet so far. - https://vcr-toronto.bandcamp.com/

10) Hide: Chicago. Extremely powerful Goth beautification. The sound was huge. The people were huger. - https://hide3.bandcamp.com/