HR021 - Cancerous Growth — Bound To Die — C60 — 1985
Side A
Sea Of Serenity Milk White Eyes Dreamhouse Mark Of The Beast Things That Go Bump Incestual |
Side B
Brain Dead March Of The Tumours Seizure Devilspawn All Instruments Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson |
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
With roots in the R.S.V.P. tape (HR018), and all things Memphis experimental music scene, Cancerous Growth was the duo of Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson. Bound To Die is their first cassette album and they would go on to release many more on Harsh Reality and other labels.
Side A begins with ‘Sea Of Serenity’, with its noise-drone waves crashing on the beach synth whooshing, cascading electronic waterfalls, a spaced out pulsating melody, and miscellaneous alien effects. At the end the noise abruptly disappears, leaving a brief moment of melodic serenity. ‘Milk White Eyes’ features multiple searing, anguished synth waves and bubbling effects, anchored by a hyperkinetic electronic drum beat. I like the off-kilter dance rhythms, wildly throbbing effects, and efx’d spoken word on ‘Dreamhouse’, which make for a hauntingly cavernous experience. ‘Mark Of The Beast’ is all about fun with vocal effects, with multiple layers of howls, rants and chants. The only words I can make out are at the end with a repeated whispering “There is no God, There is no God…” ‘Things That Go Bump’ is a multi-layered glom of noise pulsations, high intensity screaming electronics, and whimsical video game and carnival effects. But there’s a weird sense of rhythm within the chaos here. ‘Incestual’ is a rock n roll noise jam, with guitars that make it sound like Captain Beefheart meets Throbbing Gristle.
Side B opens with ‘Brain Dead’, which must be Cancerous Growth’s take on ambient music. It’s minimal, has a nice flow, a steadily rickety groove punctuated by understated clatter percussion, and a lightly applied noisy static gloss. ‘March Of The Tumours’ is a noise symphony with an uneasy gothic atmosphere. It really does sound like a blustery orchestra, and it’s all carried along by a rhythmic pulse that feels like a bumpy car ride. But as the piece progresses it gets increasingly spaced out, adding wildly bubbling and other miscellaneous effects and jamming trip guitar. The jamming continues on ‘Seizure’, with acid rock soloing guitar and doomy bass riff, surrounded by blankets of noisy atmospherics. Finally, despite the title, ‘Devilspawn’ is the most whimsical track of the set. It traipses along at a clunky pace amidst a delirious hornet’s nest of alien effects, bursts of synth melody, what sounds like a blaring noise-tuba, and ranting vocals.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson by Jerry Kranitz
JK: Obviously you and Mike Jackson gelled well enough together to create this long-lived duo. I count about 20 Cancerous Growth tapes in the Harsh Reality catalog. Were there releases on other labels too?
CP: Alternate Media Tapes, IRRE Tapes, Lord Litter’s Out Of The Blue, Cause & Effect, Audiofile Tapes. Carl (Howard) released one of the best one, Textures (Audiofile Tapes 1988, aT 78)
Xkurzhen Sound
Sound Of Pig
MJ: The “Endless Grindstone” CD compilation released by K.O. City Studios was kind of a big deal since we were all still analog-based but was a pay-to-play scenario. Either way, Andy was a great guy (still is I’m sure), and had us all up to his place in Lowell, MA, to meet and hang out with the other participants. That sort of dissolving of the mail boundaries had only really happened with Zan Hoffman traveling, the Hal McGee/Al Margolis tour, and various Alien Planetscapes outings to my knowledge.
JK: The credits for Bound To Die just say all instruments by Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson….
CP: Korg Poly 800, ARP Axxe, Moog Prodigy, Moog Rogue, Ibanez Analog delay pedal, Boss Distortion pedal, Boss Digital delay/Sampler 3.5 second sampler delay, Art Proverb 200 rack mount reverb,
Digitech Time machine delay rack mount with 7.6 sampler.
MJ: Honestly, I only recall bringing an electric bass, Realistic reverb and a bunch of cassettes filled with pre-recorded sounds. All that clanging metal & distorted noise came from that. At this point I owned no sampler, delay or even a 4-track; just an open-reel machine, Realistic mixer & reverb, cassette machines & sundry ‘junk.’ Getting my paws on Chris’ analog synths opened doors that have yet to be shut.
JK: Is there any guitar? It sounds like I hear guitar on the song ‘Incestual’.
CP: We’ve got my Van Halen copy guitar playing (laughs). It looked like Eddie Van Halen’s guitar.
JK: Was that you playing guitar?
CP: Yeah.
MJ: That’s my distorted bass guitar ‘blaring noise-tuba' at the end of Side 2
JK: There’s lots of variety here.
MJ: Variety or inconsistency?
CP: This was very early days of me and Mike playing together. We got a lot better in my opinion.
MJ: Man we were all over the place and unapologetically so. I was so blown away by being in Chris’ space and being given a say in the proceedings...this cat actually cares what I think as a creative being and we are working TOGETHER.
JK: How did R.S.V.P. become Cancerous Growth? Did you just decide to transition to a separate duo group?
CP: We just decided to do it. We gelled well in R.S.V.P. That was a one off with Dave (Henderson). And me and Mike decided let’s get together and jam and see what happens. So we did it and we liked what we heard. It was all improv. And it turned out good.
MJ: My version of history is that Chris invited myself & David Peterson (friend/bandmate/brilliant guitarist/genius dark humorist) over for a Harsh Reality session. I’m pretty sure he thought we were full of shit, being 10 years younger, playing in punk bands and printing a ‘zine that drew inspiration from his own MALICE publication. We had seen his band SKOPTZIES a couple of times and were turned on (if not somewhat terrified) by that. Anyway we had a blast and that was R.S.V.P. I think David dug it, but he was done with that sort of thing. Chris invited me back & Cancerous Growth was spawned.
JK: Did you have any typical method when you improvised? Did one of you start with an idea, or did you just launch into it?
MJ: I have a hard time considering this improvised music. Spontaneous & carefree no doubt, but I’m pretty sure we were working with Chris’ open reel 4-track and determined instrumentation & tracking beforehand
CP: One of us would start up and then after a few seconds the other would jump in. Me and Hal, 90% of our output as Phinney/McGee was the same way.
MJ: This is how we worked later; it was so organic we didn’t have to discuss anything.
JK: There’s lots of variety here. Just to call out two completely different tracks, ‘Sea Of Serenity’ I described as “noise/drone/space/effects/sound exploration”. But then you’ve got ‘Dreamhouse’, which has dance rhythms/effects and spoken word. The voice is so efx’d I can’t make it out, but still sounds like spoken word vocals. ‘Mark Of The Beast’ is another with wild vocals, even though I can’t make them out. Were you even saying anything?
CP: No, we were just shittin’ around (laughs). We were just doing improv vocals.
MJ: Well I was 15 years old and disillusioned with just about everything so no telling what flew out of my mouth (except for that embarrassing ‘there is no g-d' bit).
JK: At what point did you start playing out live as Cancerous Growth? And did you play out much?
CP: We only played live twice. We were supposed to do a gig with Rhythm & Noise and Trial, and neither one of them showed up so we were the only band playing that night at the Antenna (Club in Memphis). Jackson did some crazy shit. This was where he jumped off the stage and had fake blood all over him. And he was yelling “Queers! Queers!”. Because we incorporated the Viktimized Karcass song ‘Queers’ into that Cancerous Growth live gig. It was more shock tactics than anything else just to freak some people out.
MJ: I recall some shenanigans with a mannequin when Naut Humon didn’t show up at the Antenna. The ‘Queers’ bit was a VK show I’m pretty sure. No recollection of a second gig.
JK: ‘Incestual’ is a standout track. I described it as “a rock ‘n’ roll noise jam, with guitars that make it sound like Captain Beefheart meets Throbbing Gristle.” So you guys could really rock out too in addition to the noisy ambient music and sound explorations.
MJ: At this point I had not yet been invited to join VIKTIMIZED KARCASS but there was plenty of TG & Trout Mask Replica coursing through my veins.
CP: Well, being that we had both played in bands we could do that if we wanted to. Later on as Cancerous Growth progressed we stuck strictly to synthesizers, and the spacey stuff like Doug (Walker – Alien Planetscapes) was doing.
JK: Was that a decision you guys made or just the way it developed?
CP: It was more of a conscious decision. We decided we wanted to go in that direction.
MJ: I felt that to be where we ended up organically; it was home, our free space. We made a bunch of fun loopy cut-up stuff along the way though!
JK: Was Jackson like you doing all kinds of other projects too?
CP: He was running his Xkurzhen Sound label and recording as Cephalic Index.
MJ: So much happened in 1985 through to the end of 1987 when I left Memphis. Running a label, recording incessantly, ISOLATION with Mike Humphreys, international networking, booking/promoting concerts, co-working a ‘zine with Ben Sizemore, actually graduating high school...all the time spent with Chris, Roger, Richard, Pete, and later Robert as a VK. Discovering new music on a weekly basis was mind-blowing thanks to Chris, my pops, the Memphis Public Library, Mike Honeycutt, WLYX, WEVL, Rare Records...all without the internet
JK: How the hell did you do as much as you did at once? You must have had a revolving door of musicians coming and going for all these projects. Plus you’re your trading with people too.
CP: It took its toll on family life a little. But that’s the way it is. I’ve got to have an artistic outlet. It’s very therapeutic. A lot of people don’t understand that.
MJ: Chris provided a template for what I did. His energy and generosity set me on the path that I’ve been on since he scared the shit out of me when I was fourteen. He gets the credit AND the blame!
With roots in the R.S.V.P. tape (HR018), and all things Memphis experimental music scene, Cancerous Growth was the duo of Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson. Bound To Die is their first cassette album and they would go on to release many more on Harsh Reality and other labels.
Side A begins with ‘Sea Of Serenity’, with its noise-drone waves crashing on the beach synth whooshing, cascading electronic waterfalls, a spaced out pulsating melody, and miscellaneous alien effects. At the end the noise abruptly disappears, leaving a brief moment of melodic serenity. ‘Milk White Eyes’ features multiple searing, anguished synth waves and bubbling effects, anchored by a hyperkinetic electronic drum beat. I like the off-kilter dance rhythms, wildly throbbing effects, and efx’d spoken word on ‘Dreamhouse’, which make for a hauntingly cavernous experience. ‘Mark Of The Beast’ is all about fun with vocal effects, with multiple layers of howls, rants and chants. The only words I can make out are at the end with a repeated whispering “There is no God, There is no God…” ‘Things That Go Bump’ is a multi-layered glom of noise pulsations, high intensity screaming electronics, and whimsical video game and carnival effects. But there’s a weird sense of rhythm within the chaos here. ‘Incestual’ is a rock n roll noise jam, with guitars that make it sound like Captain Beefheart meets Throbbing Gristle.
Side B opens with ‘Brain Dead’, which must be Cancerous Growth’s take on ambient music. It’s minimal, has a nice flow, a steadily rickety groove punctuated by understated clatter percussion, and a lightly applied noisy static gloss. ‘March Of The Tumours’ is a noise symphony with an uneasy gothic atmosphere. It really does sound like a blustery orchestra, and it’s all carried along by a rhythmic pulse that feels like a bumpy car ride. But as the piece progresses it gets increasingly spaced out, adding wildly bubbling and other miscellaneous effects and jamming trip guitar. The jamming continues on ‘Seizure’, with acid rock soloing guitar and doomy bass riff, surrounded by blankets of noisy atmospherics. Finally, despite the title, ‘Devilspawn’ is the most whimsical track of the set. It traipses along at a clunky pace amidst a delirious hornet’s nest of alien effects, bursts of synth melody, what sounds like a blaring noise-tuba, and ranting vocals.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson by Jerry Kranitz
JK: Obviously you and Mike Jackson gelled well enough together to create this long-lived duo. I count about 20 Cancerous Growth tapes in the Harsh Reality catalog. Were there releases on other labels too?
CP: Alternate Media Tapes, IRRE Tapes, Lord Litter’s Out Of The Blue, Cause & Effect, Audiofile Tapes. Carl (Howard) released one of the best one, Textures (Audiofile Tapes 1988, aT 78)
Xkurzhen Sound
Sound Of Pig
MJ: The “Endless Grindstone” CD compilation released by K.O. City Studios was kind of a big deal since we were all still analog-based but was a pay-to-play scenario. Either way, Andy was a great guy (still is I’m sure), and had us all up to his place in Lowell, MA, to meet and hang out with the other participants. That sort of dissolving of the mail boundaries had only really happened with Zan Hoffman traveling, the Hal McGee/Al Margolis tour, and various Alien Planetscapes outings to my knowledge.
JK: The credits for Bound To Die just say all instruments by Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson….
CP: Korg Poly 800, ARP Axxe, Moog Prodigy, Moog Rogue, Ibanez Analog delay pedal, Boss Distortion pedal, Boss Digital delay/Sampler 3.5 second sampler delay, Art Proverb 200 rack mount reverb,
Digitech Time machine delay rack mount with 7.6 sampler.
MJ: Honestly, I only recall bringing an electric bass, Realistic reverb and a bunch of cassettes filled with pre-recorded sounds. All that clanging metal & distorted noise came from that. At this point I owned no sampler, delay or even a 4-track; just an open-reel machine, Realistic mixer & reverb, cassette machines & sundry ‘junk.’ Getting my paws on Chris’ analog synths opened doors that have yet to be shut.
JK: Is there any guitar? It sounds like I hear guitar on the song ‘Incestual’.
CP: We’ve got my Van Halen copy guitar playing (laughs). It looked like Eddie Van Halen’s guitar.
JK: Was that you playing guitar?
CP: Yeah.
MJ: That’s my distorted bass guitar ‘blaring noise-tuba' at the end of Side 2
JK: There’s lots of variety here.
MJ: Variety or inconsistency?
CP: This was very early days of me and Mike playing together. We got a lot better in my opinion.
MJ: Man we were all over the place and unapologetically so. I was so blown away by being in Chris’ space and being given a say in the proceedings...this cat actually cares what I think as a creative being and we are working TOGETHER.
JK: How did R.S.V.P. become Cancerous Growth? Did you just decide to transition to a separate duo group?
CP: We just decided to do it. We gelled well in R.S.V.P. That was a one off with Dave (Henderson). And me and Mike decided let’s get together and jam and see what happens. So we did it and we liked what we heard. It was all improv. And it turned out good.
MJ: My version of history is that Chris invited myself & David Peterson (friend/bandmate/brilliant guitarist/genius dark humorist) over for a Harsh Reality session. I’m pretty sure he thought we were full of shit, being 10 years younger, playing in punk bands and printing a ‘zine that drew inspiration from his own MALICE publication. We had seen his band SKOPTZIES a couple of times and were turned on (if not somewhat terrified) by that. Anyway we had a blast and that was R.S.V.P. I think David dug it, but he was done with that sort of thing. Chris invited me back & Cancerous Growth was spawned.
JK: Did you have any typical method when you improvised? Did one of you start with an idea, or did you just launch into it?
MJ: I have a hard time considering this improvised music. Spontaneous & carefree no doubt, but I’m pretty sure we were working with Chris’ open reel 4-track and determined instrumentation & tracking beforehand
CP: One of us would start up and then after a few seconds the other would jump in. Me and Hal, 90% of our output as Phinney/McGee was the same way.
MJ: This is how we worked later; it was so organic we didn’t have to discuss anything.
JK: There’s lots of variety here. Just to call out two completely different tracks, ‘Sea Of Serenity’ I described as “noise/drone/space/effects/sound exploration”. But then you’ve got ‘Dreamhouse’, which has dance rhythms/effects and spoken word. The voice is so efx’d I can’t make it out, but still sounds like spoken word vocals. ‘Mark Of The Beast’ is another with wild vocals, even though I can’t make them out. Were you even saying anything?
CP: No, we were just shittin’ around (laughs). We were just doing improv vocals.
MJ: Well I was 15 years old and disillusioned with just about everything so no telling what flew out of my mouth (except for that embarrassing ‘there is no g-d' bit).
JK: At what point did you start playing out live as Cancerous Growth? And did you play out much?
CP: We only played live twice. We were supposed to do a gig with Rhythm & Noise and Trial, and neither one of them showed up so we were the only band playing that night at the Antenna (Club in Memphis). Jackson did some crazy shit. This was where he jumped off the stage and had fake blood all over him. And he was yelling “Queers! Queers!”. Because we incorporated the Viktimized Karcass song ‘Queers’ into that Cancerous Growth live gig. It was more shock tactics than anything else just to freak some people out.
MJ: I recall some shenanigans with a mannequin when Naut Humon didn’t show up at the Antenna. The ‘Queers’ bit was a VK show I’m pretty sure. No recollection of a second gig.
JK: ‘Incestual’ is a standout track. I described it as “a rock ‘n’ roll noise jam, with guitars that make it sound like Captain Beefheart meets Throbbing Gristle.” So you guys could really rock out too in addition to the noisy ambient music and sound explorations.
MJ: At this point I had not yet been invited to join VIKTIMIZED KARCASS but there was plenty of TG & Trout Mask Replica coursing through my veins.
CP: Well, being that we had both played in bands we could do that if we wanted to. Later on as Cancerous Growth progressed we stuck strictly to synthesizers, and the spacey stuff like Doug (Walker – Alien Planetscapes) was doing.
JK: Was that a decision you guys made or just the way it developed?
CP: It was more of a conscious decision. We decided we wanted to go in that direction.
MJ: I felt that to be where we ended up organically; it was home, our free space. We made a bunch of fun loopy cut-up stuff along the way though!
JK: Was Jackson like you doing all kinds of other projects too?
CP: He was running his Xkurzhen Sound label and recording as Cephalic Index.
MJ: So much happened in 1985 through to the end of 1987 when I left Memphis. Running a label, recording incessantly, ISOLATION with Mike Humphreys, international networking, booking/promoting concerts, co-working a ‘zine with Ben Sizemore, actually graduating high school...all the time spent with Chris, Roger, Richard, Pete, and later Robert as a VK. Discovering new music on a weekly basis was mind-blowing thanks to Chris, my pops, the Memphis Public Library, Mike Honeycutt, WLYX, WEVL, Rare Records...all without the internet
JK: How the hell did you do as much as you did at once? You must have had a revolving door of musicians coming and going for all these projects. Plus you’re your trading with people too.
CP: It took its toll on family life a little. But that’s the way it is. I’ve got to have an artistic outlet. It’s very therapeutic. A lot of people don’t understand that.
MJ: Chris provided a template for what I did. His energy and generosity set me on the path that I’ve been on since he scared the shit out of me when I was fourteen. He gets the credit AND the blame!