“I need your clothes, boots and your motorcycle.”

Laurel Near & Jack Nance on the set of David Lynch’s Eraserhead, c.1977

“Music deals with abstractions and, like film, it involves time.”

Playlists for The Double R Club, 21^st November, 2019

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P R E – S H O W :
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[ Suite of music inc. The High Night Walk – David Lynch / Summer Night Noise – Thought Gang / sound design / dialogue from Twin Peaks: The Return ]

Wolves – Terminal Sound System, from Constructing Towers
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain – Harry Dean Stanton, from Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
Diner (excerpt) – Angelo Badalamenti, from Mulholland Drive O.S.T.
Burst into Fire – Giovanni Varrica, from Little Girl Down the Lane – A Twin Peaks Tribute
The Body You Deserve (Instrumental) – HTRK, from Psychic Lilac
Pretty Fifties – David Lynch & John Neff, from Mulholland Drive O.S.T.
Bous – pavleisdead, from I Will Be in the Shadows If You Need Me (Let The Wicked Fall Into Their Own Nets)
You Are Dead To Me – I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, from Dust
Waiting For The Engineer – Hildur Guðnadóttir, from Chernobyl (Music from the Original TV Series)
Freshly Squeezed (Fast Cool Jazz Version) – Angelo Badalamenti
Fire, Walk With Me – Bookhouse, from the album Ghostwood, buy HERE
Go On and Kiss Me – The Raveonettes, from Rarities / B-Sides
Loveless – Johnny Jewel, from Themes For Television
Bring It On Home – Sonny Boy Williamson, from Mulholland Drive O.S.T.
Ufo 61 – Terry Edwards, from Terry Edwards
Questions In A World Of Blue – Julee Cruise, from the album The Voice Of Love
Bitter & Twisted – Amon Tobin, from Bricolage
I Dream Of You – Fox Bat Strategy, from …A Tribute To Dave Jaurequi

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I N T E R V A L :
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Walkin’ On The Sky- David Lynch, from Inland Empire O.S.T.
Blue Frank – Bookhouse, from the album Ghostwood, buy HERE
World of Truck Drivers – Giovanni Varrica, from Little Girl Down the Lane – A Twin Peaks Tribute
Rammstein (edit) – Rammstein, from Lost Highway OST
Lost Time Blues – The Chrome Cranks, from Lost Time Blues E.P.
Nite Train – The Von Bondies, from Lack Of Communication

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LISTEN TO PLAYLISTS HERE 
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My opening act was to My Little Corner Of The World by Connie Smith, from Born To Sing (inc. dialogue from The Missing Pieces). My second act was a version of Less Sex by Daughters, the original version of which appears on their album You Won’t Get What You Want.

“Laughing. The owls were flying. Many things were blocked. Laughing.”

“Being in darkness and confusion is interesting to me…”

Announcing the digital release of They Who Do Not Speak by Unsong, an album constructed solely from field recordings made at Chillingham Castle “Britain’s most haunted historic castle” in 2003.

A physical version of the album is included in the 1st edition of The Lights Will Go Out by Mason Ball (the book accompanying the show of the same name).

NOTE: there are plans for future live performances of The Lights Will Go Out; watch this space…

“Even bad coffee is better than no coffee at all…”

The Sound Of Two Worlds Meeting In Between…

 

 

Being a couple of new ‘Peaksian’ mashups created for play at The Double R Club and now filed beside my other audio fiddlings and interference at Soundcloud.

Enjoy, neighbours…

Josie? Is… is that you…?

“Depending on how things have been going [in the episode] certain songs feel correct”

Playlists for The Double R Club, 17^th October, 2019

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P R E – S H O W :
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[ Suite of musics / dialogue / sound, comprising Sounds of Twin Peaks – Saw Mill (excerpt) listen HERE / The Bookhouse Boys – Angelo Badalamenti, from Music From Twin Peaks / Dark Mood Woods/The Red Room – Angelo Badalamenti, from Twin Peaks Season Two Music And More / sound design from Twin Peaks season 2 / A Pot of Boiling Oil (Twin Peaks: The Return – Extras) (excerpt) ]

Mother’s Gone – Trouble, from Snake Eyes 
Corridors – Hildur Guðnadóttir, from Chernobyl (Music from the Original TV Series)The Nowhere Stroll – Unsong, from A Blue Rose For Black Bob, BUY HERE
Homicide/Suicide – Terry Edwards, from Terry Edwards
Angel (live) – Oxbow (feat. Peter Brötzmann), recorded at Moers Festival, 2018 -watch full concert HERE
Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS (watch HERE) – David Lynch
High School Swing – Angelo Badalamenti, from Twin Peaks Season Two Music And More
Blurred Dancer Music – David Lynch, downloaded from davidlynch.com
Audrey – Angelo Badalamenti, from Twin Peaks Season Two Music And More
Nightmare – Johnny Jewel, from Themes For Television
Arson – Sand, from The Dalston Shroud
Blue Hotel – Trentemøller, from LateNightTales
Love Theme Farewell – Xiu Xiu, from …Plays The Music Of Twin Peaks 

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I N T E R V A L :
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[ The Pink Room Will Tear Us Apart – a home-cooked ‘mash-up’ featuring elements from The Pink Room by David Lynch and Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, together with sound design and dialogue from Fire Walk With Me ]

[ Frank In Blue Jeans – a home-cooked ‘mash-up’ featuring elements from Blue Frank by David Lynch and Blue Jean by David Bowie, together with sound design and dialogue from Twin Peaks: The Return ]

Fatback – Link Ray, from Songs The Cramps Taught Us, Volume 1
Tears – Chris Isaak, from Silvertone
Curveball – Duane Eddy, from Road Trip
Black Satin – The Raveonettes, from Lust, Lust, Lust
Night Time Is The Right Time – The Sonics, from Here Are The Sonics

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LISTEN TO PLAYLISTS HERE
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My opening act was to Life Is But A Dream by The Harptones from Life Is But A Dream – The Ultimate Harptones, 1953 – 1961. My second act was a version of Devil Town by Daniel Johnston (with added noise from Eraserhead, Whitehouse and NON), the original version of which appears on his album 1990.

“It’s sometimes dangerous, but it’s magical. It’s such a power and it can make some beautiful images… and sounds.”

“I don’t understand it either … There are things that come into the home, you know … things that are built or created outside the house, which all speak about the time and about the life. And then if something goes wrong with those things, or if they’re not in good working order, it can mean something else too.” “[S]cientists don’t understand electricity. They say, “It’s moving electrons.” But there’s a certain point where they say, “We don’t know why that happens.” I’m not a scientist, and I haven’t talked to these guys that are into electricity, but it is a force. When electrons run down a wire— do they have that power. It’s amazing. How did a plug or an outlet get to be shaped that way? And lightbulbs: I can feel these random electrons, you know, hitting me. It’s like when you go under power lines. If you were blindfolded and drove down a highway under those power lines, and really concentrated, you could tell when they occurred. There’s something very disturbing about that amount of electricity—they know these things now. A tumor grows in the head. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not, you know, whacking you.”

– David Lynch

The owls are not…

by Nina Bunjevac

“Now it’s dark…”

“I love stories, but I love stories that hold abstractions” – David Lynch

Announcing an evening (or two) of strange and unsettling tales, three original and uneasy readings to be told in a darkened room, three ghost stories that aren’t quite ghost stories…

As well as reading these three stories, I will be making a (perhaps) surprising confession, giving a peek into my creative process, telling a true story of a terrifying incident, and recounting a time when, while pretending to be a journalist for The Fortean Times, I spent the night in “Britain’s Most Haunted Historic Castle.”

CONTENT WARNING:  This event deals with adult themes, contains sudden loud noises and may contain upsetting and / or sensitive material.

NOTE: Ultra-low-level infrasound ‘fear frequency’ audio will be used throughout the performance. Audience members may experience elevated heart-rate, perspiration, sudden spikes in adrenalin production and a coldness in their extremities. You may be alarmed, you may become restless, apprehensive and agitated; though we cannot promise any specific response. All we can promise is that The Lights Will Go Out…

A book of the three tales (plus bonus material) will be available to buy on the night (or as part of your ticket) -these limited first editions will also include audio CD They Who Do Not Speak by Unsong -disturbing ambient musics constructed entirely from nocturnal field recordings made at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland.

Why not start your halloween early?

Get YOUR tickets HERE

“Black has depth. It’s like a little egress; you can go into it, and because it keeps on continuing to be dark, the mind kicks in, and a lot of things that are going on in there become manifest. And you start seeing what you’re afraid of. You start seeing what you love, and it becomes like a dream.” – David Lynch

Doppelgängers…?

“It’s not just words or music -it’s a whole range of elements coming together and making something that didn’t exist before. It’s telling stories.”

Playlists for The Double R Club’s 10th Birthday Party, 19th September, 2019

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P R E – S H O W :
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The B.O.T.H. – Terry Edwards, from Terry Edwards
Shoot Out – Danny Bensi & Saunders Jurriaans, from American Gods Season 2 Soundtrack
Omlagus Garfungiloops – Coil, from Stolen & Contaminated Songs
Parisienne People (audio from cigarette ad) – David Lynch
Elvis and Marilyn – Jimmy Angel & The Jason Gutierrez 3, from Too Old To Die Young Soundtrack
Speed Roadster – David Lynch, from Crazy Clown Time
Headless Chicken – Thought Gang, from Twin Peaks Limited Event Series Soundtrack
The Door – Hildur Guðnadóttir, from Chernobyl (Music from the Original TV Series)
Laura Palmer’s Theme – The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live), watch HERE
Human (excerpt) – Hudson Mohawke
Black Room – Johnny Jewel, from Themes For Television
Autoluminescent – Rowland S Howard, from Teenage Snuff Film
Shadow (Opening Titles) – Johnny Jewel, from Themes For Television
Skin (live) – Oxbow (feat. Peter Brötzmann), recorded at Moers Festival, 2018
Pin-Tied – The Chrome Cranks, from Diabolical Boogie

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I N T E R V A L :
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Happy Birthday from David Lynch!
Bridge – Amon Tobin, from Permutation
Mississippi – The Cactus Blossoms, from Twin Peaks: Music From The Limited Event Series911 – David Lynch & John Neff, from Blue Bob
Blue Frank / Pink Room – Xiu Xiu, from … Xiu Xiu Plays The Music Of Twin Peaks 

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LISTEN TO PLAYLISTS HERE
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My opening act was to Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and You Are Special, by Fred Rogers, from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. My second act was a version of I Know by David Lynch, the original version of which appears on Crazy Clown Time; I closed the show with a version of I Like My Low Life Low, by Terry Edwards, the original version of which appears on I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today.

“BOB, I want all my gar- Oh.”

The Lady In The Radiator’s gone up in the world…

[from Lowlife History Facebook Group]

“You’re still with me, that’s good… ’cause Master Lynch wants his coffee…”

[by Dmitriy Raspopin]

Hey pretty girls, boys and others, time to wake up…

How, how is it possible that The Double R Club is TEN years old on September 19th?

H O W ?

Who would’ve thought, all those years ago in innocent little 2009, that we’d STILL be doing this shit? Still be producing the BEST, DARKEST, STRANGEST show in town? Not us, that’s for damn sure…

TICKETS to the returning dream without end HERE   -come celebrate our first DECADE in dreamland.  T h e r e   w i l l   b e   c a k e .

A Figment In The Elsewhere #4: Heavy Metal Pete

[pic by Juliet Shalam]

-being the fourth in an ongoing series detailing stand-out acts that ‘appeared’ at The Double R Club (often more than once); acts that Rose Thorne and I loved, that seem to typify in some way, or stand as emblems for, just what it is The Double R have attempted to do, to be, displays that went some way to describing our own particular brand of ‘Lynchian’, over the last 100 shows and nearly a decade…

This time: Heavy Metal Pete, and his Lynchian Bad Man act.

Pete has been with us since the beginning and it would be remiss of me not to mention the act he created for us that he’s most well known for, his BOB act. We’d known Pete for a while before he contacted us and mentioned he’d like to manifest as the “inhabiting spirit” and “evil that men do” and, honestly, the prospect seemed as best strange; Pete, it should be said is a very quiet, mild-mannered and altogether lovely individual and, barring the long hair, about as far from a personification of metaphysical malevolence “from another place” as can be imagined. But boy oh boy did he prove all doubting wrong. The first time he crawled onto the Double R stage as BOB, I saw the front row visibly recoil in fear. Apart from being an incredible technical performer, Pete also embodies BOB so well, it’s difficult not to imagine simply handing over all your garmobozia like a child gives a bully his lunch money. At the first ever Twin Peaks UK Festival, Charlotte Stewart (Betty Briggs) and Catherine Coulson (The Log Lady) complemented Pete on his performance and uncanny likeness while performing, to the original, the late Frank Silva. Pete also portrayed BOB, to terrifying effect, opposite Lydia Darling (as Laura) and Snake Fervor (as Ronette) in our immersive, and deeply unsettling, traincar murder at subsequent TPUKFs.

[-with Lydia Darling- pic by Soulstealer]

A particularly visceral version of Pete’s BOB act, crossed with Agent Cooper (there have been several incarnations) won him our first ever Mr. Twin Peaks crown in 2016)

[pic by gh0stdot]

And it is this physical embodiment that sets Pete apart from so many other sideshow and fire performers; many can do the ‘tricks’ that Pete does: fire breathing, body burning, sword swallowing etc. (though often not as well) but very few can then frame those skills in a dramatic character and scenario in the way that he does. When Pete does his thing, it’s as much an acting performance as it is a sideshow act.

This is never more true than in Pete’s Lynchian Bad Man act.

His very own creation, Pete’s Lynchian Bad Man is a kind of amalgamation of elements from various antagonists from Lynch’s worlds, as well as an all-new persona that would not be out of place in any of the dark worlds of Lynch’s imagination. Hair slicked back, teeth blackened and rotten, he may wear a Bobby Peru style pencil moustache and a bootlace tie similar to Frank Booth’s, but when Pete takes to the stage he is both neither of the aforementioned villains and their equal.

[pic by Juliet Shalam]

And it is the second he steps on the stage that the depth of performance becomes clear. Pete’s entire physicality changes, his shoulders narrow, hands limp as his sides, his lurching gait carrying him into the light like a sneering, suited insect. Immediately you know that you do not want to fuck with this man, that he has done things that would keep you up at nights. If he walked into a bar you were in, you’d leave.

To the crushing, epic, bluesy dirge of Wiseblood’s Hey Bop A Ree Bop, (“Where some people said I have a soul, I have a hole… An’ it’s goin’ down fast”) he slithers onto the stage, drinks whisky, puts out a cigarette on his tongue, staples fabric to his bared torso, eats a REAL lightbulb, grinning all the time, often drooling real blood as his seemingly rotten teeth grind the glass to a power, which he then washes down with more whisky.

[pic by Juliet Shalam]

Seldom will you witness on stage a man being both extraordinary bad (with a capital B) and so, so good simultaneously; not to mention so quintessentially ‘Double R’.

Truly, Heavy Metal Pete is the stuff that wonderful nightmares are made on…

[pic by gh0stdot]

Suddenly My House Became a Tree of Sores

Being a track by Unsong, inspired by the David Lynch Painting of the same name.

-released to celebrate the Lynch exhibit ‘My Head Is Disconnected’ in Manchester, England, which opened in July 2019.

Words on a Wing…

(pic by Clive Holland)

Following Cabaret vs Cancer‘s SOLD OUT show at the wonderful Wilton’s Music Hall, a number of audience members asked if I would post the poem I recited on stage so, here it is:

He Struck Me Cold
by Benjamin Louche

If you’re struck by lightning and survive it, it always leaves a mark.
As it was with Mr. Jones, when something told you you should hark,
Hark to the sounds he made, the words he spoke, and to the shape he cut
in that bright spotlight, that crutch-hungry dark, that sweet punch in the gut

as he blazed across the stage, leper messiah, Corinthian, caricature,
You were struck down, yet lifted up, by this thin white provocateur,
And as the lightning struck you, the scar burned bright and deep,
And then it sank, invisible, yet it was always yours to keep.

You wear that flash, that lightning bolt, whether it is seen or no,
Not in imitation but because you have been marked it’s ever there, below,
So paint it on from time to time, it is always yours to wear,
It may not always be visible, but trust me, it’s always there.

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And now, a treat for your ears:

A Superabundance of Bowie #1

A Superabundance of Bowie #2

Bowie (covers and/or improvements)