Wednesday, December 29, 2004

A Night of Serious Drinking...

Some bands are just different. They play a stew of so many different styles that putting a finger on anyone and saying that it defines a sound is impossible. And inappropriate. San Francisco band A Night of Serious Drinking created a record called One After Another in 1999. This record is not like many things that were heard then or now. The 9 songs on the album were played as a "suite". They were recorded in one take at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill. The band did it twice on two different nights and decided to use the second take. It's near impossible in 2004/5 to consider a band doing this: no Pro Tools, no overdubs, no multiple takes, and have it sound this good. Sure, the band is a bit maudlin in lyrical tone but that's part of the charm. Sometimes when you feel just so, a certain band will take you to another place. Your moods align. It feels like there is no other music as important. ANOSD plays a pop influenced jazz of sorts. It's gentle but can hit you with a real wallop. You don't need volume to have intensity, you need well conveyed believable emotion. Lead singer Anthony Bonet has had his trouble with the drink. He's been unpredictable, swung wildly from extremes, landed stably, careened off again. It's not like a band that has all the challenges of any other indie band needs more hurdles in front of their efforts. They don't make music anymore. The three musicians do have this though. It's a fine relic to leave for others to discover.

I struggled a bit in deciding whether or not to post about One After Another for the simple reason that it's near impossible to find. The CD was self-released so I imagine that somewhere here in SF there's someone with a box full of these cds in his garage. But how do I get you in contact with him if you decide that you have to have it? It's a bit of a conundrum. But then again maybe you're the type that browses record stores and garage sales relentlessly and might pass this gem by simply because you didn't know, might have passed it by already without giving it a thought. That's a tragic thought.

My preference would be to post the whole suite. But storage space and copyright issues prevent me. So I'll post three songs from One After Another:

Half-Lit

The End of One Life

Little Black Buzzer



posted by Peter @ 1:27 PM 

6 Comments:

Blogger Garrincha said...

This sounds sometimes very very much like Love ...

7:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you'll be saddened to know, if you don't already, that Anthony Bonet was paralyzed from an aneurysm about a year and a half ago. his health is obviously the major concern, but knowing how deep his musical talents lie, i hope that gift will remain with him.

ANOSD were THE BEST band in SF when they were around. this is not hyperbole, but simple fact. the last CD, "Never Odd or Even," is also brilliant. look for it in the clearance CDs at Amoeba, where genius often resides. buy it, and the others, when you find them, as i always do, and give them to friends who would appreciate them. it's a small act of justice and love.

great blog, btw.

10:54 PM  
Blogger cchildress said...

I have been searching desperately (and persistently) for more ANOSD since I caught "Never Odd or Even" at a used book & cd store I used to work at. God, it hurt me to realize that the lead singer was "knocked to the pavement" by his health issues. I continue to search for "One After Another."

5:31 PM  
Blogger shelley said...

If anyone wants to buy the cd One After Another email me.

3:44 PM  
Blogger shelley said...

my email is sab sa l a nt at gmail dot com no spaces

3:45 PM  
Anonymous Mike said...

Wow, just stumbled on this. I knew Antony Bonet way back when he was in London and between tenures with his band Dark Victory. But I completely lost touch with him all these years and sad that he had health problems.

If anyone knows any more about him since this I would be grateful for an update.

4:34 AM  

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