Ok so this me here writing . Its a bit hardf to know how to open up my first real subject, i know that a lot of people will have seen me around in bristol, the southwest of England, some of you out there might have come across me blocking your view of the stage whilst X-Y Z a band or artists are on stage. Not just blocking your view with my huge 6ft 4 frame, but also offending your view with my overly enthusiastic dancing  and geeky preachings about how such a band gave me a thrilling feeling live,.

Some times I can be like a 12year old locked in a candy store overdosing on gob stoppers causing me to have kiddie like shakes from the sugar rush, boy do I get them really bad some nights. Its just I become completely over powered by the raw energy of enthusiasm. So waiting for a band to come on can be like building up the spring iof an oversized Jack in the Box.

But yeah I thought I would talk about, something that does really affect me, which is Synesthesia and more specific the hallucinogenics of sound. I know what you are probably thinking, that I am completely off my cracker and that it is not the sort of thing. I mean you couldnt imagine 2 guys in a pub talking about what freakish hallucinations like as if they were talking about football. Or if they did then they might be supremely @interesting’ individuals.

Synesthesia is something which is not all that rare, I mean rockstars  like Jimi Hendrix, the Greatful Dead and whole load of others all through the years have claimed to have seen colours in their music. so basically to try and sum it up as best as I can, that it is colourful and vivid hallucinations controlled by sound frequency and the intensity.

It is also something that Hittler tried to tap into, trying to use Synesthesia as the ultimate weapon, the weapon of mind control, this would consist of locking people in rooms and playihng single note drones to see what effects it would have on the Nazi captures.

Before I go on any further please dont quote me too seriously on all of this stuff, because I dont how true some of this is. So anyway I thought i would use this piece to talk about some of the experiences at gigs where I have had Synesthesia really effect me and talk about what i have seen in them.and how freakily scary they can be.

BUTTHOLE SURFERS @ THE BRISTOL O2ACADEMY 

Pretty much the most server case of synesthesia I have ever had was at this gig! To give you a breif run down of the Butthole Surfers, they along with the Melvins pretty much kick started one of the biggest alt rock sounds ever, it was the sound we all come to know in the late 80s and early 90s as grunge.

they were a band thatr were well renouned for their extremes. promoters used to have to put warnings on their gig posters alluring to the fact that they were wildly un predictable and that if you had ever had any bad drug experiences then you might suffer mind melting hallucinations. So you can guess they were pretty nuts.

s they reformed with the classic mid 80s line-up top do an ATP retrospective tour where they play a classic album all they way through. They played Locust Abortion Technician all the way through, which I am going to say is probably the most fucked Up album I have ever tried listening to.

But yeah they had the original line-up with the twin drums going off, their original projectionist playing films of people having sex change operations, about 15 strobe lights, oh and about 30 or so college kids who joining in with them to recreat really fucked up moments.

From the off I was seeing colours flashing left right and centre, but about 2/3rds of the way through I felt a sudden panic and I had a flash back to me in hospital being injected in the right arm by a huge 20 stone King Gorilla, I kind kid you not, the hallucination was so strong that I actually felt a pinch in my arm. This plus having kids scream at me left me feeling very disturbed.

here is a live video of them performing on the same tour! 

ACID MOTHER TEMPLE AND STEROICA @ THE CROFT

Acid Mothers Temple are like the Japanese equivlant to King Crimson,. 15 minut long wing outs certainly had a rather interesting affect on me. i kept on swearing that traditional Japanese dragons were flying around the room. I dont what it is that control these images, is it all sound frequency and light or could it be my over active imagination. but sometimes it does scare me.

here is Acid Mothers Temple playing live

I also remember they supported that night by an Italian Krautrock band called Steroika, I remember seeing some weird stuff whilst they were playing. they Dragged me up on stage during one song I I could swear that I thought the croft was on fire, even though it most definitely wasnt I think the blearing  made me feel that I was surrounded by flames. It is fair to say I was more then a little dazed.

FLYING LOTUS @ THE THEKLA

Ok so with Mr Flying Lotus brilliantly bleepy producer dude, gave me the sort of mental visuals that will perplex most people. its a bit hard to describe what is going on behind these eyes, but quite often a lot of the things i see in music, will involve weird Nursery Rhyme characters. what i saw at Flying Lotus gig at the Thekla in 2010. I saw what can only be described flying Fish with an human eyeball on side of its belly. It kind of looked like the sort of thing you would see in a Guilemo Del Toro movie. all freaky

JON HOPKINS ‘ SIMPLE THINGS FESTIVAL

By far the best thing on at Simple Things festival and quite possibly the best set I have ever seen by any producer out there. people who know me will know I am a massive fan of Mr Hopkins, but his set  in the main room for the old Firestation was utterly incredible, so far incredible it was beyond words. but my good did it cause me to freak out with his intensity.

I was there with my Friend Aaron who i was playing in a semi improvised hip hop act called Non compus Mentus, eerm well anyway, jon Hopkins was in full swing dropping in his mixture of classical melodies and deep grooving house with sudden bleep styled drops. I found myself  dancing in the big black room in like as if I was a puppet on a string and he was the master puppeteer. But I kept on swearing that Aarons face had fallen off, this got me into a panic, as I so nearly slapped his face just to check it was still there, phew it was all there I thought to myself in relief.

Who ever is reading this probably thinks I am completely crackers after reading this. Well you would be pretty damn spot on, I am completely insane!!