Paul Flaherty has been a direct lifeline to the radical free-reed lineage of Albert Ayler, John Gilmore, Peter Brotzmann and Arthur Doyle since first coming into our vision sometime in the 80s. At some point in the 90s he began woodshedding hard with Northampton, Massachusetts resident spirit-drummer Chris Corsano. As the contemporary free-noise-space-weird underground gathered around minds were liberated to godhead heights.
Also in the 90s a young and beautiful boy-man named Bill Nace was drawn to the region by the living art and music here and also began inter-sonic-guitar/linguistics with Corsano (as Vampire Belt). After Corsano relocated to the UK, Nace began a long-running duo with Flaherty.
Sonic Youthian Thurston Moore had been tracking Flaherty’s comet whilst perusing dog-eared copies of Cadence mag in the early 90s. He eventually booked the infamous Flaherty-Colbourne group for their first ever NYC gig at the legendary now-defunct Cooler club on way West 14th Street.
In 98 Moore and his family escaped to free-zone Northampton and immediately fell in with Corsano and Flaherty as a trio. (This group recorded, with the extended lineup of saxophonist Wally Shoup, for a Japanese only CD produced by Jim O’Rourke – which Ecstatic Peace will re-issue to the western world soon ‘nuff).
Subsequently Moore and Nace begat Northampton Wools, a basement-ritual guitar-noise duo (Ecstatic Peace CD forthcoming). From time to time Nace, Moore and Flaherty would collect their energies and throw down live trio sessions which still resonate through the valley’s ear(s).
This trio CD is a session Flaherty set up in the late winter of early 2008. There are 3 tracks (“sex”’ “drugs” and “lavender”), one short, two looong. It is a primo example of this threesome’s focus and sonic storytelling, ferocious yet pensive.
Cover art by Noise Nomads.
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