Chunklet

For a while in the 90's, Jim O'Rourke was around Georgia a lot. He did a number of live performances and more than a couple radio sessions in Athens. One in particular I remember is when he mic'd up a refrigerator up at the WUOG station and that was his "performance" for an hour.

It wasn't until I met Jim at a chance encounter at Albini's house in '94 that I realized what a joker he was. We were talking about pranks that we've pulled (by that time, I was knee deep in my prankster phase) and he told me of how to kill a fax machine's toner by sending a taped up loop of black paper to somebody. Ah, the good ol' days.

A couple years later, 1997 to be exact, I found myself at the first Terrastock in Providence. It was a great weekend. A ton of friends from all over the world. My Athens buddies in Neutral Milk and the Olivias were finally being fawned over and playing out to a huge group of fans. I got to see the first Major Stars performance (!!!!) and the final Magic Hour one as well. I put out a recording (called "Providence" fittingly enough) which was a one-time drone out with the Gibbons brothers from Bardo Pond, the two Jasons from The Azusa Plane, Carl Hultgren from Windy & Carl and Dave Pearce from Flying Saucer Attack.

Speaking of Flying Saucer Attack, Terrastock was the only time I ever got to see him/them perform. And who was playing guitar along with Dave? The joker, Jim O'Rourke.

Any time I ever bring up this "routine" that Jim did that weekend, I'm surprised more people don't know about it which is why I'm posting it here 12 years later. I apologize for the fidelity, but Jim was speaking into a mic that wasn't particularly loud in the mix. However, it does improve. Just bear with it for a while.

oh shit, i was there and remember this one all too clearly. think i was on something when he started, and by the time he was done...rarely more brutally sober. the visual -- him really killing it, like, to death -- helped. everyone who broke a string that weekend yelled out for him to tell a joke.

Posted by mike wolf @ 03/31/2009 07:06 PM

Where did the Mastodon talk come from? Ah well, since we're here, would you guys mind playing Portland soon? I quit doing cocaine and it would be great to remember a show. I saw you guys twice and they are the most hazy shows. You guys are a bad influence.

Posted by kip @ 03/23/2009 12:25 PM

yea, we're pussies now, we're getting to that age where we claim to be in to classic rock and CCR and all that bullshit. So we like combined metal with that and shit.

Posted by Mastodon @ 03/23/2009 11:47 AM

the new mastodon album sounds like it's missing its dick. Where'd the crunch go? Damn them.

Posted by ghost @ 03/22/2009 02:32 PM

Jim O'Rourke did a version of "Dust In The Wind"
at a karaoke night at Lounge Ax that still brings
a tear to my eye to think of it..

he's enough of a cut-up that IMO he could be on
SNL along with Fred Armisen!

Posted by Jerny @ 03/21/2009 12:09 PM

I don't get it?

Posted by billy @ 03/20/2009 01:00 AM

Dammit, Dave, I'm such a pushover.

Posted by henry @ 03/19/2009 10:25 PM

Hey!- I liked it the old way! The file name being funny was the only reason I clicked on it!

Once I figured out that it was going to be the punch line, it made waiting for it even better.

Posted by Brushback @ 03/19/2009 09:26 PM

You might change the file name so that it doesn't give away the punch line.

Posted by graeme @ 03/19/2009 06:31 PM

And it kind of became a running joke; during a small equipment snafu in the midst of the Olivia Tremor Control's set, one of the Olivias called out "JIM O'ROURKE! TELL A JOKE!"

I have that "drone summit" on video somewhere... but I think it's on Hi-8 and not DV...

Posted by Joe Turner @ 03/18/2009 12:46 PM