Super Eight Loop "Grid" New T-shirt, Hoody and Tote

Super Eight Loop "Grid" New T-shirt, Hoody and Tote I've been moving very slowly on the Super Eight Loop book that I announced, when I was wrapping up the remixing and remastering process. I do tinker with it, here and there, and one of the results of my work is this grid of all 100 faces from the digital art. I figured that I'd channel my energy into a new Threadless design and make it available to everyone, rather than auction it off as an NFT that only one collector would own. All 100 recordings continue to be available to stream/download exclusively via Bandcamp. This new design is available as a T-shirt and as a hoody in a full range of men's and women's sizes. Tote bags are also available. https://bloodyminded.threadless.com/designs/super-eight-loop-grid Super Eight Loop: Bandcamp

New Intrinsic Action "Metro 86" T-shirt

 

Intrinsic Action "Metro 86" New T-shirt, Hoody and Tote The first Intrinsic Action show was on December 10, 1986, at Cabaret Metro, in Chicago. We were on a bill with the bands Unit 731 and White China. I first saw Unit 731 open for Whitehouse, in 1984, at The Cubby Bear, and he (Paul) was a good fit. White China had an ex-member of Ministry, if I remember correctly, and they were more in that vein. The show was part of a regular Wednesday night budget-price series that was sponsored by the radio station WXRT and that was typically well-attended. We had a great crowd that night, too. At the time of this show, we had already released our demo in 1984 and our self-titled full-length in 1985, and we were about to release Intrinsic Action "II." We were definitely anxious to dip our toes into the live arena. The choice of the Gustave Moreau image was based on my growing interest in this symbolist artist. I had graduated that spring from The School of the Art Institute and I was working as a curatorial assistant in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the museum. I only remember The Art Institute having a small number of works on paper by the artist, but they had long and prominently displayed the large dark painting, "Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra," which I regularly went to look at. When a curator at the museum found out how much I liked the artist, she gave me a copy of the fantastic catalog from the Kunsthaus Zürich show that had been published earlier in 1986. Shortly before our show, Pamela and I had been in NYC, and we saw the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Oedipus and the Sphinx," which became another favorite of mine. A related influence was Symbolist literature, which I had been increasingly enjoying, after encountering the reading lists published in The Industrial Culture Handbook, which I read when it was published in 1983. I was already familiar with some of the big names, particularly the major French authors and certain of their Russian influences, but the Handbook got me to delve deeper into writers like Lautréamont, and especially Huysmans. After one of our practices, leading up to our first show, we (Pamela, Peter Margasak [my cousin, who briefly played guitar with us], and I) decided to go for a drink. There was a biker bar nearby, in Edgewater, called Deadwood Dave's Wild West Saloon. There were usually choppers parked out front, including one that had saddlebags with impressively long fringe that dragged on the ground. After walking in, we went up to the bar and we ordered drinks. I remember, specifically, that I ordered a weissbier. The bartender put my bottle and the appropriate tall glass in front of me and I proceeded to quickly pour the beer, which resulted in a volcano of foam and a wet mess on the bar. The bartender saw this and made eye-contact with me. I thought I was fucked. He walked over, pulled out a bar towel, and wiped up my beer, saying, "I see we've got a little spilly over here." Okay, not bad. Just a little friendly humiliation.  About the show. I will tell you that we prepared a video to be played on the numerous monitors around the venue and on the two 12-foot by 12-foot screens that we requested be pulled up on either side of us on the stage. These screens were used to project videos during Video Metro nights. What we showed ran the gamut of objectionable and inspirational material... sex, violence, German scat films, S&M, Pentecostal Christian snake handlers, Alice Cooper and his snake, Led Zeppelin in all their glory... and more. Not only was the owner of Cabaret Metro very unhappy with us... but the museum curator who gave me the Moreau catalog attended, and she was extremely upset by our performance. Our working relationship and friendship was negatively affected... something I'd have to get used to, making this type of music. Still, the venue asked us back the following month, to open for Wiseblood, under the agreement that we wouldn't show those video nasties. Well, we managed to get a friend to "handle" the projection in the sound booth and - yes - we did it again. We were banned from playing Cabaret Metro until the following year, as our punishment. I just added this new design to our Threadless store, and it's available as a T-shirt and as a hoody in a full range of men's and women's sizes. Tote bags are also available. https://bloodyminded.threadless.com/designs/intrinsic-action-metro-86 Intrinsic Action: Bandcamp Spotify Apple

BLOODYMINDED "202" T-Shirt

 

NEW BLOODYMINDED "202" DESIGN What can I say about the connection between BLOODYMINDED and the Roland MC-202? It was the ideal choice of synth, when I was contemplating the end of Intrinsic Action and the beginning of BLOODYMINDED, in late 1994/early 1995. In the later era of Intrinsic Action, we were playing live with a Moog Rogue and a Roland SH-101, which meant that we were tied to keyboard stands or bar tables, or something similar. Using the attachable mod-grip and a guitar strap was never an option with the 101. Never. Back then, I pictured a point where we could be more mobile, onstage, even if we didn't start that way. But a small, battery powered synth, like the 202, opened up more possibilities for dynamic performance, and I'd say that we got there, relatively quickly. Also being being familiar with the 101 made using a 202, its "little brother," a no-brainer. I had already acquired two of the synths, prior to our first studio session, and from the start, we seemed very certain that 202s would be a big part of our band. On one of the spines of our "Trophy" CD, we included the phrase, "Twin 202 Power-Electronic Death-Noise," and we included a 202 on the inside artwork of our "West" 7-inch, with the name BLOODYMINDED replacing the Roland logo. The 202 photographed for this new design is one that was used extensively on tour by Pieter, and it suffered tremendously, in his hands. Over the years, we've learned that 202s are not just musical instruments, but they're shields and sometimes defensive weapons. After nearly every show, I'd discover that another fader cap or knob was missing, and I finally removed all of them from this synth to replace missing parts on other 202s that were also seeing hard use in live shows. Pieter ultimately bashed this one up so badly that not only did the body crack in several spots (thus the gaffer tape), but the circuit board actually cracked in two pieces. I also recall that one of the bare faders punctured his hand during one particularly rough show. This one's been out of commission for years, and several other of our 202s are also in pretty rough shape.  In 2010, when the majority of our 202 "fleet" had fallen into disrepair, I initiated a departure from our signature synth and I bought a few tiny Korg Monotron synths. It was worth a try, right? They'd typically break after just one show, because the mini output jacks are so delicate. A very kind Guitar Center salesperson, who'd seen me return several times with broken Monotrons, recommended that I buy a new one with a protection plan. While I would normally never waste money on that, she explained that for the low cost of the plan, I could keep bringing back broken synths after using them during shows. Huh!?! So, we went down that route, for a while, until the novelty of jumping around on stage with smartphone-sized synths simply got old for us. I kept a box full of broken Monotrons, but that seems like it would make for a boring shirt design. I used to care more about synths, although I still have a variety of small to medium-sized analog mono-synths to write and record with. Over time, however, I think I pretty much lost interest in music gear. I even relaxed our 202 rule again, so you might see Isidro and Will onstage with something else in their hands -- maybe Roland, maybe Korg. Sure, maybe some new micro-synth hitting the market will catch my eye in the future, but I'm not holding my breath. In the back of my mind, I always wondered if BLOODYMINDED would have the natural expiration date of when all of our 202s were destroyed. In the 1990s, they were easier to find and they only ran about $350-$400. By the early 2000s, they were at least double that price, and now they're frequently priced well over $1000, with really clean ones even reaching $1500. That seems a lot of money for something that'll probably get destroyed. Luckily, we've still got some back-ups, so we're not giving up, anytime soon...  https://BLOODYMINDED.threadless.com/designs/bloodyminded-202 https://bloodyminded.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bloodymindedchi/ https://www.facebook.com/BLOODYMINDED/

BLOODYMINDED "MOTHERCARE" SHIRT

NEW BLOODYMINDED "MOTHERCARE" DESIGN Our "Mothercare" CD-single had a long and somewhat convoluted gestation period. During the 90s, I read several books on the Jamie Bulger case, which informed the direction of some lyrics that I was working on. In 1998, Xavier and I spent a week together in London, during one of my trips there. After Xavier returned to Toulouse, I spent a fun Saturday hanging out with Philip Best, visiting various pubs and "slob book" shops (I'm bastardizing Philip's slang here). I have a memory of passing by a Mothercare shop and boasting that BLOODYMINDED would be making some sort of shirt with the store's logo, as an insider nod to the Bulger case. Five years later, our "Mothercare" single was released. My original thought was that we'd release a two-song 7-inch single, as something like a love-letter to the early grindcore scene, which definitely influenced my direction during the transition from Intrinsic Action to BLOODYMINDED. The single was to include two live songs, "As If" and "Baby," and it would have come in well under one-minute long. Somehow, along the way, the discussion changed to include "A Song For Lisanne, A Young Model," an alternate version to the one on our 2005 album, "Gift Givers," and to release the three songs as a CD-single in a cardboard sleeve. I have no memory of why we went with those choices, but there you have it. The front cover of the single features a cropped image from the well-known CCTV capture related to the aforementioned case. For the new shirt, I've included a wider crop of the photo and I've messed with Megan's great original layout. On a side note, the pressing plant objected to a photo of JonBenét Ramsey that we originally included on the back cover and they requested that we remove it, due to copyright issues. At least they weren't concerned about the photo of Alice Liddell that's on the back. The single went on to totally divide audience opinion. Some people loved it and some people simply couldn't understand why we'd bother pressing a CD that was only a minute-and-a-half long. I guess if you have to ask...  Listen here: https://bloodyminded.bandcamp.com/album/mothercare Twenty-three (oh my!) years later, we've finally made those Mothercare shirts, although they're not quite the same as the original idea that I had back then. They're a first for us, as the design is printed on red shirts (as well as red hoodies and red totes). People have been asking about colors, so as a follow-up to our recent "BLOODYMINDED Black-on-White" drop, here you go. They're available in a full range of men's and women's sizes. https://BLOODYMINDED.threadless.com/designs/bloodyminded-mothercare https://bloodyminded.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bloodymindedchi/ https://www.facebook.com/BLOODYMINDED/

New Intrinsic Action "Shock Pit" T-shirt

 

Intrinsic Action "Shock Pit" New T-shirt, Hoody and Tote Intrinsic Action first performed our song "Shock Pit" on September 8, 1989, at Dreamerz, in Chicago, on a bill with the band End Result. I had written the song earlier that year, after following the news of Gary Heidnik's arrest in Philadelphia, in March 1987. I believe that I relied on newspaper articles, as I'm pretty sure that the song was written before the publication of Cellar of Horror by Ken Englade. My memory could certainly be foggy on that point... In any case, it became a fixture of our sets, from then on. The song was recorded during October and November of 1990, and was released on our album "Sado-Electronics" in 1992. You can listen to the song via our Bandcamp page (as well as on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.): https://intrinsicaction.bandcamp.com/track/shock-pit I just posted this new design in our Threadless store, and it's available as a T-shirt and as a hoody in a full range of men's and women's sizes. Tote bags are also available. In fact, the 18" x 18" tote is probably perfect for heavy-duty jumper cables. https://bloodyminded.threadless.com/designs/intrinsic-action-shock-pit Intrinsic Action: Bandcamp Spotify Apple

Intrinsic Action - CBGB - T-shirt + Hoody + Tote

Intrinsic Action CBGB New T-shirt, Hoody and Tote Intrinsic Action played at famed NYC music venue CBGB a few times, and our last appearance there was kind of a strange one. We were initially booked for Saturday October 15, 1994, but as had happened before, we were bumped from that bill and shifted to a lineup on Friday November 18. I think we were paired up with Drag because they were an industrial band from Chicago that had a connection to Ministry. Sacred Addiction was a post-punk leaning rock band that played around NYC at the time. More surprising, as I'm a huge fan of Blue Öyster Cult, was that we followed The Brain Surgeons, a new band launched that year by Albert Bouchard, a founding member of BÖC. That just didn't quite compute, but I was definitely pleased to share that stage with them, even if our music was at odds. I still have my copy of The Brain Surgeons' debut CD, "Eponymous," which was released earlier that year. I don't remember it being a remarkable show, for us, and it certainly wasn't a particularly friendly or easy bill for us to be on. It was our last show of the year, and following one more show the following spring, Angel, Megan and I launched BLOODYMINDED. I have a recording of the show, which definitely sounds solid, though. And loud! Typically, if you had a sound engineer at CBGB record your set, you got a very high-quality board recording. I also recall that they charged an arm and a leg to do so. I suppose it was a lucrative way for them to supplement their paycheck. Listening to the tape as I type this, I can't hear much audience interaction (heckling), compared to what we were used to, especially for a crowded Friday night at CBGB. Not surprising, really, since it was such a diverse bill. The best part is probably how well the recording picked up Megan screaming on "Mantra." I'm planning to release recordings of select Intrinsic Action shows, so maybe this one will make the cut. Songs from prior CBGB shows ended up on our "Manhattan Power Surge" single (also on the "Peepland" CD), as well as on the CD re-issue of "Bad Jack." As soon as we finished playing you can hear Ozzy Osbourne's "Diary of a Madman" over the PA. I've heard far worse choices of music during tear-downs, over the years. Looking at the ad that I clipped from the Village Voice, it's also cool to see that our friends Crisis played there the night before. And on a fitting side note, one of my favorite albums of 2020 was Albert Bouchard's "Re Imaginos," which only came out in November, but which I've already played, a ton. Design adapted from one of the original flyer variants: https://bloodyminded.threadless.com/designs/intrinsic-action-cbgb/ Intrinsic Action: Bandcamp Spotify Apple