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Sheep Fiends – Leftovers, Vol. I

Album #: 49

Recording Dates: 2000-2001

Release Date: 2002

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

Despite a steady stream of CD releases typically sourced from a single Sheep Fiend jam, oddities and side jam tracks began to pile up.

Dave L. determined it was time for a compilation CD of various unreleased tracks from the previous few years. And thus the “Leftovers” series was born!

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One Track Sampler

Track 14 – Happiness (The Sheep Fiends) – Wah-wah drenched electric guitar is where we find our joy. [Scratch on Guitar]

Daniel A. Foss – Counter Aesthetic

Album #: 48

Recording Dates: 1994-1995

Release Date: 2002

Catalog: SMR21

ScratchNotes:

Years before I became affiliated with the Sheep Fiends the band was joined for a period by Daniel A. Foss, Phd. Dr. Foss was much older than the 20-whatevers that largely populated the band at that time. Dan worked as a sociologist for most of his career, and gained major cred by publishing the book Freak Culture: Life Style and Politics in 1972 – back when the freakiest thing about the Sheep Fiends were their diapers. Daniel Foss did not lead an easy life, suffering a range of family and health crises.

Dan would add commentary about cultures, wars, and the rise and fall of civilizations to instrumental Sheep Fiend jams. Many pure conversations where recorded with Dr. Foss at this time, and Brian C. conducted a full autobiographical interview with Foss that appears here in several segments. I was given the challenge of taking 6 or 8 tapes of raw material and creating an album that captures the experience of Dan Foss. How successful I was in this endeavor is for others to determine, but immersing myself in the world of Foss for a few months was certainly a unique time for me.

Sadly Dan passed away in 2014 – but he lives on in our memories…and on the Internet. He has a Wikipedia entry here. And you can read Dan’s unique take on his days with the Sheep Fiends here.

Three perplexing samples of this release can be accessed below.

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Three Track Sampler

Track 05 – A Drunken Wall (Daniel A. Foss) – Drinking is the topic. And minorities. And New Zealand. [Scratch on Production]

Track 16 – N2O (Sheep Fiends with Daniel A. Foss) – This ridiculously psychedelic sonic cornucopia was presented to me somewhat pre-produced. Some of the effects I added but most of this was recorded in real time…somehow! A bit of rearranging was really all it needed. [Scratch on Production]

Track 22 – The Possibility of Daniel A. Foss (Daniel A. Foss) – Dan ponders those who ponder him. [Scratch on Production]

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Sheep Fiends – We Got the Buddhist

Album #: 45

Recording Dates: 06/30/2002

Release Date: 2002

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

The members of the Dentists are joined by the Theremin-tacular sounds of a visiting Russell M. This once in a lifetime Sheep Fiends lineup contains screaming lead guitar, drum machines, fuzz bass and vocal samples while Russell brings the UFO down into Section X. A really different and exciting sound on this one, with a halfway decent mix to boot.

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Three Track Sampler

Track 04 – Take the Fifth (Sheep Fiends) – Theremin swoops in and out of your consciousness over crunching bass and guitar riffs, a drum machine, and a loop of the word “what” on of this heavy rock instrumental. [Scratch on Bass]

Track 05 – The Night Time (Sheep Fiends) – An off kilter rhythm playing in 9/8 or something merges with a tasty guitar lick as I extoll the virtues of the darkness and warn you of what I’ve found.  [Scratch on Vocals & Sampling Keyboard]

Track 10 – Here Come the Pigs (Sheep Fiends) – Listen carefully for the cowbell. Oink oink oink oink.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Sheep Fiends – A Cosmic Unity

Album #: 44

Recording Dates: 05/12/2002

Release Date: 2002

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

Scott J. returns to an expanded lineup to record this celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Sheep Fiends. Featuring five different vocalists this album is varied stylistically. Ballads, anthems, hard rock, hard funk, hardadelia…songs about birth, family, work and the end of the world.

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Two Track Sampler

Track 06 – Stay Away (Sheep Fiends) – A booming rhythm sort of anchors this loose and rollicking rocker.  [Scratch on Bass]

Track 08 – A Cosmic Unity (Sheep Fiends) – Can’t we all just get along? I mean cosmically? Here is a gripping narrative that questions the questions themselves. Emotive melodic guitars carry you along the laser rays pulsed out by the keyboards being phased through a gravity void. All the while you hold out hope that the essence of the universe will be saved. Believe in it. Trust it. Obey it.  [Scratch on Vocals]

Sheep Fiends – Magick Cabbage

Album #: 43

Recording Dates: 04/28/2002

Release Date: 2002

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

This very abstractionist Sheep Fiend jam was recorded on April 28th, 2002 by a snappy seven man combo in Chicago. Listen below for more!!!

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Two Track Sampler

Track 01 – Magick Cabbage (Sheep Fiends) – Spine warping tones meet a dense whirling synthesizer amid an army of guitars on this aggressively played instrumental.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Track 06 – Heissen Pfeffern (Sheep Fiends) – Matt Cramer and I trade vocal duties over the bizarre electronic music erupting around us. Jalapeno! Habanero!  [Scratch on Sampling Keyboard Vocals]

Sheep Fiends – Take Me Down

Album #: 40

Recording Dates: 11/18/2001

Release Date: 2001

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

A dark undertone permeates this album. Several tracks offer up very raw lyrics about a disintegrating relationship, and even my interstellar dance epic ultimately results in suffocation and emptiness. The addition of Scott J. to the fairly steady lineup of this era adds a visceral edge to the music itself.

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Three Track Sampler

Track 07 – Disco on Saturn [part one] and also Disco on Saturn [part two] (Sheep Fiends) – Have you ever pondered what will happen to civilization when our planet is finally absorbed into a black hole? Yeah, me too. Here’s a song about it in two parts…  [Scratch on Vocals]

Track 13 – Easy to Hate You (Sheep Fiends) – They say time heals all wounds. This song reminds us that time can also create the terrible wounds that need healing.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Track 14 – Introducing the Impatients (Sheep Fiends) – As so often happens, the first few seconds of sound check suddenly launch into the first jam of the day. Great for musicians eager to play if often detrimental to the quality of the final recording. Luckily in this case the initial mix is clear and powerful.  [Scratch on Bass]

Sheep Fiends – People Are Nice

Album #: 39

Recording Dates: 10/14/2001

Release Date: 2001

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

Lyrically a strong album for this era, People Are Nice is brought down by some very loud (and often contrasting) flute playing. In today’s world of multitrack that would be pushed way down in the mix, but in 2001 you got what you got. This was our first jam after 9/11 and some improvised vocals tackled the subject – from the sins of an amped up media to my changing perception of the sky. And time. You can’t change time.

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Three Track Sampler

Track 04 – Linear Phenomenon (Sheep Fiends) – And I quote: “We don’t want to think of time as a linear phenomenon because that puts the focus on the fact that we can never go back – clean up our mess. Every moment is ticking towards our deaths because time is a linear phenomenon.” Whoa. Heavy.  [Scratch on Vocals and Bass]

Track 08 – Planes of Death (Sheep Fiends) – My reflections on the world one month after 9/11 – over a hypnotic bass line and some scratchy shrieking guitars.  [Scratch on Vocals and Bass]

Track 11 – The Egg Yolk (Sheep Fiends) – Let’s change the mood a bit. It’s time to generate lists of tasty vittles.  [Scratch on Bass]

Sheep Fiends – Rock Tonic

Album #: 38

Recording Dates: 09/09/2001

Release Date: 2001

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

An uneven affair in my estimation (read as: I don’t care for this one much); “Rock Tonic” continues the rapid pace of releases during a jam packed 2001. Guitar-fueled and slightly out of tune…

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One Track Sampler

Track 07 – Exploding Tyres (Sheep Fiends) – A lackluster mix and my opinions on SUV tire explosions…just two days before 9/11.  [Scratch on Vocals and Bass]