Zandergriff Miggs & the Parliament of Owls
Hookahs, not Bazookas!Genre Pyschedelic Band Created 3/19/2009 Fan Base 48 Total Sales 163
If you could travel up and out...really out, beyond the everything and look back upon it, then you would be gazing from the same eyes as Zandergriff Miggs.
Materialized here on Earth somewhere in the forests along the north shore of Lake Superior, he was raised by a reclusive tribe of music-meisters. He cut his teeth with early outfits like They Might Know and Root City Rebels, evolving his own songcrafting ways and eventually ended up with these crazy cats, the Parliament of Owls.
If a hippie who likes funk and a hippie who likes punk lay down in the tall grass and grooved away an afternoon, the results of such a union would be something like the sound of this band. Swirling, buzzing, droning...the descriptions become cliched. It must be experienced to appreciate the fullness of the sound. Somewhat like conversations with trees. Highly euphoric and a little bit hallucinogenic and at times quite unnerving, yet strangely beautiful in their elegance.
The Parliament of Owls were brought together by Zandergriff after the fall out of Root City Rebels. Two members of the Rebels became the foundation of the Owls. T'Cor Lokdred, who plays an upright bass but slung sideways, and Colin Trujust noodling, screaming and floating in and out of empty spaces on anything with strings have played with Zandergriff for years and the chemistry is evident once the jams go improv. At a show in Minneapolis they heard the blood pumping pulse and rump rattling ruckus of Otis san Salvadore and quickly recruited him away to man the drums for the Owls. Seamus mac Donneghie handles the winds (wood, brass and bellows pipes) in the studio, but the band employs a variety of interchanging horn players on stage. The mysterious character known only as "the Mushroom Gnome" rambles from instrument to instrument, fluent at most, he lingers wherever it seems the tune needs him. At the center of it all is, of course, Zandergriff Miggs himself. Often times only his towering tophat and wildly flowing beard are visible from behind his encompassing keyboard rig. Zandergriff is a demon on piano and Hammond B3, learning at the feet of Professor Longhair and Dr. Lonnie Smith, but he likes to dabble with any piece of electronic synthesis he can get his hands on (cutting edge and vintage).
Dig if you will the picture...He's just watching the wheels go 'round and 'round.
News
It's a bit loud and abrasive for my usual listening pleasure...but, why is no one buying "Mr. Grim", the newest release by KARKASS???
He's here about the reaping and believe me it's much better to sow your seed than meet him at your door!
Hey Cats!
As you may well know, Prime! will be debuting on 5-14. We've got some crazy people working on the cast and they deserve a lot of credit for puttin' up with me. If you would like to support this project I encourage you to buy/listen to as many albums as possible from:
*Eccentric Arcade
*Taxine Fontaine & the Park Avenue Sluts
*the Forgotten Falling
*Dementorhozen
*Funk Void White.
and of course, don't forget to check out Prime! [a rock opera]. Merch. is available now!
Comming soon-
Prime! a rock opera
Industry Bling
Albums / EPs
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Plants
Date Released: 7/22/2010
Tracks: 5 Hidden within its spiraling psychedelia, Plants is a concept album. A socio-horticultural commentary on agribusiness, railing against the likes of Cargill & Con-Agra and their decimation of the rural landscape. "wondering which of the chems to blame as we're trimming the vines on the limb" -recorded by Frey at Barnfile -produced by Z. Miggs & C. TruJust -UncleDuffRecords, TwentyTen "any fool knows that flour needs wheat and trees need not the vines on the limb" |
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Down The Owsley Hole
Date Released: 6/3/2010
Tracks: 11 the tale's not told in words it's more like they unfold a painted map on your mind and when the hyper-resonance occurs the image springs forth in the consciousness like a light speed, slow motion head trip This inner space journey thru the windowpane & down the Owsley hole brought to you by ZMPO. -all songs by Miggs, TruJust, Lockdred -except * by Mangol, Miggs, Winwood, Capaldi -recorded by Frey at the BassmentFile -UncleDuffRecords, TwentyTen this is Headphone Music-turn it up |
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Conscious Pilot
Date Released: 4/15/2010
Tracks: 13 Psych-Rock explorers, the Parliament of Owls take you along into deep space with "Conscious Pilot". Here, Zandergriff runs his Hammond thru so many pedals, it becomes unrecognizable. The Owls have warped and morphed each note, entwining the myriad lines, completing whole pieces from multi-fragmentory improvisations. This is Headphone Music. Recorded thru the haze at BarnFile studio, Grand Marais, MN. -engineered by Frey -produced by Z. Miggs for UncleDuffRecords, TwentyTen |
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FURTHUR: the American Dream
Date Released: 2/28/2010
Tracks: 17 Inspired by a week spent in the hills above the Bay. Like a sunbeam reflecting off the moisture in your eye, 'Furthur: the American Dream' is hippy folk campfire music. Acoustic and organic, filled with fuzz and washed in reverb, Z and the Owls tackle the mellow Cali vibe by stretching out the breathing room. Ken always said "Yer either on the bus, or off." This is one bus you don't want to miss. recorded in studio B, Wondering Warlock, San Fransisco, CA. UncleDuffRecords - TwentyTen |
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Absinthe Minded
Date Released: 1/8/2010
Tracks: 14 Zander looked into the future and what he saw made him want to continue living in the moment. 'Absinthe Minded' is the Owls in vintage improvisational form. From the low end boogie of "Pedal Board Stomp" to the spaced out emptiness of "Suspended Velocity" these tracks put the spot light on the spontaneity and chemistry that few bands possess. Musically adventurous and thematically trippy, this is ZMPO at the top of their game. BassmentFile Studios MPLS, MN. UncleDuffRecords - TwentyTen |
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ZMPO: LIVE in Phallicdelphia!
Date Released: 11/10/2009
Tracks: 6 Turning the "City of Brotherly Love" into a psychedelic inferno, the Owls prove once again why they are the reigning trip-adelic jam band in the land. Here is Zander, taking his B3 places unexplored. Colin TruJust, sending his guitar licks to outerspace & T'cor Lokdred rumbling and thundering on the low end. It's all tied together by Otis on the kit & the Gnome on everything else. This crazy live instrumental buzz-jam recorded by Frey w/ the MobileFile. Live in Philadelphia 11-10-2009 |
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JamBand: the video game
Date Released: 9/27/2009
Tracks: 3 Not content with the paltry musical experience of Guitar Hero & Rock Band, U.D.R. has designed a musical interface video game even musicians will find challenging and (most importantly) realistic. JamBand allows players to switch to Jam mode, dropping out all but the rhythm section, leaving you free to improvise. Points are earned by your ability to stay within the key and for creative re-interpretation of the songs. Includes entire ZMPO catalog + Zander's solo work as Dr. Zanzibar. |
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I Have Seen The Worm That Crawls Without Moving
Date Released: 9/11/2009
Tracks: 11 Flying solo once again with his chin freshly sheared, Zandergriff jumps right back on the horse that brought him. "I Have Seen The Worm..." get's right down to the basics of Z's warped out, fuzzed over, psychedelic mind walk brought to life thru the means of a battered old B3 and a room full of Leslies. *all trks intended to be listened to in 1 sitting as 1 piece* -recorded by Frey-BassMentFile studios-an Uncle Duff production, 2009 "Your mind is awash in the tunes I'm slinging..." |
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the Digital Plague
Date Released: 8/11/2009
Tracks: 13 With this album, the heavymetal thunder of Crimson Eye has leaked across the synapses of the Owls. Colin Trujust displays some stratocatasrophic guitar shrieks along with Zander's deep piercing organ snarls and the Owls put out a gem of psychemetallic grimegroove! The addition of Crimson Eye (courtesy of L.B.R.) on the final 5 tracks lends some giant credentials to this experiment in metal. 2 co-written originals & 3 brash cover versions are ponderous & cumbersome with pounding metalifunk! |
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Electric Church
Date Released: 8/7/2009
Tracks: 5 In advance of ZMPO's upcoming album, this EP gives us Zandergriff flying solo under the pseudonym "Dr. Zanzibar". Inspired by his recent collaboration w/ Crimson Eye, here we find tunes that are darker and more moody than normal. His '58 B3 was run thru 7 Leslie cabs & a pair of Marshall stacks, all distorted and overdriven to the breaking point. While this is not your father's Zandergriff, it is merely a side trip on his ever evolving musical journey. an Uncle Duff production, 2009 |
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Seizure Salad
Date Released: 7/5/2009
Tracks: 11 Like a strobed out clarion call shooting across the airwaves to the tripped out riders of the neoPsychedelic Prog-Funk comes this double album of mind bending, tube blowing, head jams! Disc 1 is packed to the hilt with psychedelic brain storms the likes of which have never been heard before. Disc 2 is one long epic that begins with Zander and his flanged, phased & wah'ed Hammond. The Owls join 20 min. in and take the song to the outer reaches. recorded thru the haze-this IS headphone music |
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Old Winter's Eve Festival: LIVE!
Date Released: 4/20/2009
Tracks: 19 1 CD for each set of this historic, first annual, musical celebration of the Spring equinox. Zander & the Owls extend most of the jams and give them their well known improvisational treatment. Filled with Owls faves and a curious mix of covers. (Dylan, Rice, Presley, Zeppelin & Prince) this is a feel-good head trip of monumental proportions. -recorded by fans in the tapers gallery - mixed to surround sound by Frey. (recommended by 4 out of 5 stoners...the 5th was too blotto before the show.) |
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Bubble Gum Gospel
Date Released: 4/9/2009
Tracks: 6 A slight departure for Zander & the Owls, this disc of slower, groovier, gospel pop songs (that still taste of pschedelia) is being released in advance of the 4CD Live album coming later this month. The songs here are moodier than the norm. The emotional trip is way heady, but with the right pre-listen rituals you're sure to enjoy it. This is Head-Phone Music. Recorded in a lava lit smoky haze by Frey Produced by Z. Miggs for Uncle Duff Records 2009 |
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an economy of motion
Date Released: 3/19/2009
Tracks: 9 Solid debut from this warped outfit. Dripping with layers of unabashed groove, it thunders along with crashing power, turning tightly wound tracks into meandering funk jams on a stratospheric tangent. Zandergriff shows why the B3 was created while the Owls lay down the riffs over which he soars. |
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