Cuneiform Record’s CEO, Steve Feigenbaum,
Recalls First Seeing (Then Signing) Ahleuchatistas Live

In October, 2004, not too long after Cuneiform Records released Larval’s album Obedience, Larval did a small tour of a week's worth of dates, including a show at a Baltimore club that Simon Mertz, my long time second-in-command at Cuneiform and Wayside Music, helped set up. Besides Cuneiform, Simon was doing a lot of booking and dj-ing in Baltimore and was getting a lot of promos from bands wanting to play there. He was handed a promo of Ahleuchatistas' second album by a label from Alexandria, VA (about one hour south of Baltimore) who had released it. When it came time to book a supporting act for Larval, Simon contacted Ahleuchatistas, thinking the band was from Alexandria, to book them for this mid-week show.

Shortly before the gig Simon found out Ahleuchatistas were from ASHVILLE, NC (9 hours away), NOT Alexandria! He called them to tell them that he had no idea that they had to travel that far and that it was totally cool with him if they had to cancel for what was going to be a very poorly paid show. They said, "no, we want to play this show and we'll be there." What they didn't tell Simon and what I only found out years later was that they wanted to do this show to play in front of ME!

So, it's a typical Baltimore rock-club mid-week night that goes WAY WAY too late. I don't know anything about anything other than I'm getting to see and meet Larval (who I'm putting up at my place outside DC for the night). Larval finish their set and I'm helping them get ready to leave and I have NO INTENTIONS WHATSOEVER of seeing ANY other music, as it's already something like 1:30 am on a Tuesday or Wednesday night and I'm beyond exhausted.

I walk past the stage on my way to tell Bill Brovold of Larval that I am leaving and to follow me back to my place when I witness 20 seconds of Ahleuchatistas, who are in full SLAY mode in front of maybe 8 people. I couldn't believe my eyes. They were (and remain) the most amazing musical sight I had ever seen cold. I do remember sitting down next to Simon who was also watching them with his jaw dropping and saying to him, "Simon, I'm so tired. My judgement is shot. Are these guys as good as I think that they are?", and he replied, "Better!"

They were quite different than other bands I had worked with up to that point on Cuneiform, and even though around that era I was trying very hard to expand the sound of what Cuneiform was known for, I must admit that I was fascinated but unsure. A couple more performances at various long-gone dives in DC convinced me, and we signed them for their third album in July, 2005 with their album What You Will released in January 2006.

Things started moving very fast; their amazing shows were finally gaining them the attention they 100% deserved. And Cuneiform had a really good promo team in those days, led by Joyce (now heading The Music Outpost–Publicity), and that helped them too. Javier Diaz, who set up the 2006 WUMC show, came on board around this time, first as an intern and then as promo team staff. I don’t remember much about the tour that the poster included in this package came from, but Ahleuchatistas were definitely leaving the East coast for the first time. Was that the same tour where they played SXSW and even made it to California? I don’t remember.

The Ahleuchatistas were smart but a little bit innocent in my view; I remember Shane talking about people contacting him about free CDs for ‘promo’ (a big, big scam in those days) and my warning him that there were a lot of scammers out there and to forward any inquiries he had to our promo office, who knew how to sort the legit from the not-so-legit. One of these times, he told me that he had been contacted by the Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria to play a gig; they were offering all transportation costs and a good fee. I remember telling him that it had to be a fake invite and asked him who the email came from. “booking@jazzfestsaalfelden.at”, was the reply. I blinked a few times and said, “Get ON it.”

The two shows on this live album, THE SUMMER WE WENT WEST [and EAST] – LIVE 2006 are by far the best recordings of this trio at their absolute peak. 20 years later, I’m thrilled to share these recordings with the world.
– Steve Feigenbaum 

Shane Parish – guitar
Derek Poteat – bass
Sean Dail – drums

Tracks 1-19 recorded at Saalfelden Jazz Festival, August 27, 2006.

Tracks 21-34 recorded at the University of Maryland, WMUC studio, April 19, 2006.

University of Maryland engineered by Javier Diaz and broadcast over WMUC, except for 20 and 21, which were recorded by Mark O. Chapman on mini-disc in the audience.

Photos of the University of Maryland performance by Mark O. Chapman.

Mastering by Ian Beabout, ShedSounds Media.

Archival research and presentation by Steve Feigenbaum.

Shane Perlowin • Ryan Oslance

On their seventh album and third for Cuneiform, Ahleuchatistas’ Heads Full of Poison is a sonic brew that reveals new flavors, new spices with every aural taste. Now a duo of charter member Shane Perlowin (guitar and bass) and Ryan Oslance (drums), Heads Full of Poison was developed over a two year period, road-tested and honed with numerous performances, including nearly 100 in Europe. The music was altered, edited, and embellished at nearly every gig with improvisational possibilities explored at length. The music combines highly detailed composition with a looseness that encourages a range of interpretation. Each track was recorded live in the studio. Oslance performed all the drums and percussion live with zero overdubs. Perlowin produced the various guitars and bass tracks to impart the richness and detail of a conceptualized studio album, but the basic tracks are performed live. By the time of the recording in January and February 2012, the music had been given ample time to ferment, so the performances captured are as close to perfection as possible, with technical hurdles surmounted, the sonic palette settled upon, each note and beat executed confidently and with nuance.

"Music doesn’t get much closer to the edge than this." – Alternative Press

“…remarkably tight, with the ability to turn complicated and seemingly unrelated phrases on a dime.” – NPR

“Formerly a trio the band…has pared down to a duo….The new sound…has…a much greater emphasis on ragged, high-tempo garage prog brutality and spine-chilling soundscapes.” – DownBeat

“…they lurch swiftly from speed metal to thrash punk to a kind of heat-stroke minimalism. There’s noise and fire in their playing, but most of these tunes are also studded with signposts, demanding close attention and clear execution. …” – NY Times

Heads Full of Poison Press Release

Shane Perlowin • Ryan Oslance

Leaving audiences slack-jawed in amazement at South by Southwest, punk-rock dives across the USA and jazz festivals in Europe, the Ahleuchatistas and their unique, high-energy, instrumental, technical, undefinable trio music for guitar, bass and drums continue to reach new heights as a performing and a recording unit. If they come to your town, you must see them; there is no one - and I mean no one - who can match them at what they do. Even in the Midst... is their fourth album and the years together playing hundreds and hundreds of shows have created one of the most amazingly tight ensembles that you will ever hear or see. This album widens their sound a little bit; there's plenty of the insane, over-the-top playing that we've come to expect, but there's more room for improvisation here and also for more quiet moments as well. The CD contains an 8 page, full color booklet of Courtney Chappell's beautiful and disturbing artwork. With this album, both in terms of the sonics of the album and the performance itself, the band have made their best recorded statement yet.

"...just great, fun music."– Lucid Forge

"...what innovative metal groups have been trying to do for some time – Ahleuchatistas finally makes sense out of the unexpected and extreme, giving up none of its ingenuity. (9.25/10)" – Maelstrom

"...they're astonishingly together even on passages where it seems impossible to stay in sync." – Pitchfork

"A wonder of complex rhythms, virtuoso musicianship and a name that's really, really hard to pronounce." – Go & Do

Even in the Midst... Press Release

Third and best yet from this amazing instrumental, post-Beefheart, avant-technical, improv-core, math-metal, art-damage, punk-rock power trio from Asheville, NC. Using the simple and classic skeleton of guitar, bass and drums, these three make powerful music that is undeniably 'rock' but is also undeniably much wider in musical influences than what one would imagine in such rock-based work. For example, the opening song is Remember Rumsfeld at Abu Ghraib; of course we all know what that title is in reference to, but, huge Charles Mingus fan that I am, I also immediately caught the reference to Charles' great work, Remember Rockefeller at Attica, which is not a reference I would expect from a rock band. But then, these guys are the most technically adept 'punk' band you will ever hear; they have chops growing on their chops, so surprises are to be expected! The playing from everyone is beyond powerful and while the term "Beefheartian" gets bandied about way too much, the complexity and directness of the playing here really does bear some comparisons. Their music has been developed over playing tons of shows and the sound on the CD reflects this with a very well recorded, but not so "produced", live feeling sound. If they come to your town, go see them. Having said that, if you can't see them live, this CD comes with 3 short, nicely shot QuickTime movies which you can watch on your Mac or PC, so you can see just what you are missing.

"This Asheville, North Carolina-based power trio's quirky cross between new music composition and raw punk energy will have the self-appointed genre limiters scratching their heads for the rest of the year. The rest of us can just enjoy it and hope there'll be more in the not-too-distant future." – New Music Box

What You Will Press Release