HISTORYOFALIENS

WHY CALL THE BAND ALIENS?

ALIENS ARE NAMED ALIENS BECAUSE BLAKE AND A LONG-TIME FRIEND
BEGAN REFERRING TO EACH OTHER AS "ALIEN" AN ABBREVIATION OF
ALIENATED, WHEN TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY FELT IN THIS WORLD. "IT IS
DIFFICULT TO INTERACT WITH SOME PEOPLE, WHO JUST BUY- INTO ALL THIS
BULLSHIT. IT SEEMS WE ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY RIDICULOUS
ARTIFICIAL AND PLASTIC EXISTENCE. IT IS CHOKING OUT HUMANITY AND
REPLACING IT WITH THIS VERY IN-HUMAN WAY OF LIFE, VERY UN-REAL
SOMEHOW. IT SEEMS LIKE FEELINGS ARE THE LAST THING PEOPLE WANT.
THEY WANT NEW SHOES AND A MATCHING HANDBAG OR A FANCY CAR.
PEOPLE CAN'T DEAL WITH EMOTIONS IN SUCH A CASUAL AND COLD WORLD
SO THEY CLOSE THEMSELVES OFF FROM FEELING AND SOME MEDICATE
EMOTION AWAY."

BLAKE ALSO RELATES ALIENS TO SEVERAL ODD COINCIDENCES ONE HIS EAR
CONDITION IS CALLED ETD(EUSTACHEAN TUBE DYSFUNCTION) THUS E.T. D.,
LIKE E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL? IN FACT BLAKE COULD BENEFIT FROM
BEING IN ANOTHER ENVIRONMENT AND SEEMS ALIEN TO THIS EARTH
ATMOSPHERE AS HIS EARS DO NOT PRESSURIZE CORRECTLY.   MOST OF US
HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS IS LIKE EXCEPT THE BRIEF DISCOMFORT WHEN
FLYING AS OUR EARS ADJUST TO THE PRESSURE CHANGE. IN SOME WAYS
BLAKE FEELS LIKE HE IS, "ON A PLANE ALL THE TIME."

ANOTHER COINCIDENCE BLAKE HAS MENTIONED ABOUT "ALIENS" IS HIS
EXCLUSIVE USE OF THE "EBE ALIEN GLOW IN THE DARK" GUITAR PIK.
BLAKE'S AGGRESSIVE PLAYING HAS ALWAYS BROKEN MANY PIKS AND
STRINGS. HOWEVER, "THE EBE ALIEN HEAD PIKS HAVE NEVER BROKEN ON
ME, THEY JUST GET WORN DOWN, THEY ARE THE ONLY PIKS I USE." ONCE
WHEN "HEART OF TEXAS GUITAR" WAS OUT OF THE PIKS THE OWNER
RECOMMENDED AN "UNBREAKABLE" PIK BY ANOTHER BRAND. BLAKE
BOUGHT THREE AND WAS SURPRISED TO BREAK ONE IN HIS FIRST DOWN
STROKE! THE OTHER TWO LASTED SLIGHTLY LONGER BUT ALL THREE BROKE
INTO PIECES. EVER SINCE HE SPECIAL ORDERS THE EBE PIKS IN BULK!

WHY IS THE ALBUM COVER A PICTURE OF A DIVER
HITTING HER HEAD?

BLAKE SAYS, “I SAW THE PHOTO OF THE GIRL HITTING HER HEAD AND IT WAS
IMMEDIATE, A GUT REACTION, POW! IT WAS AMAZING SHE IS PERFECTLY
POISED YET IN THIS HORRIBLE MOMENT. A FROZEN SECOND IN TIME AND
YOU CAN FEEL THE SURGE OF ADRENALINE WHEN YOU ARE FRIGHTENED. IT
IS ALMOST LIKE A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, PERFECTLY POSED….I WAS SO
AMAZED BY THE IMAGE I DECIDED RIGHT THEN IT WOULD BE THE ALBUM
COVER IF WE EVER RECORDED ONE,” BLAKE SAID. LATER HE SAYS HE WAS
INSPIRED BY RELATING HIS OWN HEALTH PROBLEMS TO THE GIRL.
“SHE SURVIVED HER INJURIES AND RETURNED TO COMPETITIVE DIVING.”
BLAKE DECIDED NOT TO USE THE PHOTO AFTER HE DID A PAINTING OF
THE INCIDENT MAKING IT AN EVEN MORE PERSONAL IMAGE.

LYRICS:

"BLAKE IS SAYING SOMETHING IMPORTANT THAT NO ONE ELSE
IS SAYING RIGHT NOW IN MUSIC" - TAMAKI UI   DRUMMER SUN SESSION

BLAKE HAS MADE HUNDREDS OF HOME RECORDED TAPES SINCE HE WAS IN
HIGH SCHOOL.   SINCE 2001 THESE HAVE BEEN DOMINATED BY SIMPLY
STRUCTURED SONGS, REDUCED TO THE BARE ESSENTIALS OF TWO TO FIVE
CHORDS. THESE ARE LYRICAL SONGS, SOME WITH CHORUSES AND OTHERS
THAT SEEM TO BE ALL CHORUS, OR AS BLAKE HAS SAID "ALL HOOK." THIS
STRIPPED DOWN CONCEPT HAS ALLOWED FOR VOCAL IMPROVISATION OVER
THE REPEATED CHORDS AND CREATED SOME DIVERSE AND IMPRESSIVE
SONG WRITING- WORDS.

"THE WORDS ARE WHATS IMPORTANT IN LYRIC BASED MUSIC."

BLAKE LISTENED TO THE SEX PISTOLS ON HIS WALKMAN HE ESTIMATES
"FOR TWO YEARS STRAIGHT." IT IS SO AMAZING, AMAZINGLY RECORDED,
AMAZING LYRICS, ONE OF THE GREATEST BANDS EVER PERIOD. THEY
WANTED TO DESTROY ROCK AND ROLL AND IN A WAY THEY DID BUT THEY
ALSO CREATED A NEW WAY TO DO IT OR A NEW IDEA TO USE ROCK AND ROLL
AS A SOCIAL MESSAGE CARRIER, NOT ALL LOST LOVE SONGS."

"IT IS IMPORTANT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING THE MUSIC IS THE CARRIER OF THE
WORDS. OTHERWISE WHY SING AT ALL? THIS IS WHY FOR YEARS I JUST
MADE MUSIC, EXPERIMENTING WITH SOUNDS AND NOISES, AND
COMBINATIONS OF SOUNDS.   WHEN YOU START TO SING IT HAS TO BE
SOMETHING SIMPLE AND THEN IT CAN REINFORCE THE WORDS AND MAKE A
COMPLETE SOUND, A COMPLETE LISTENABLE AUDIO CONCEPT. THE WORDS
CARRY THE MESSAGE THE SOUNDS ADD TO IT AND CARRY IT THROUGH."

"SO WHEN I WRITE SONGS THAT HAVE LYRICS THAT IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT."
THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS YET MANY AT THIS POINT IN TIME SEEM TO WANT
TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST BANDS ON SOUND ALONE IN THE ENDLESS
SEARCH FOR SOMETHING "NEW." NOT SEEMING TO TAKE NOTICE OF THE
FIFTY YEARS OF GUITAR BASED ROCK AND ROLL AND THE FACT THAT THE
LYRICS ARE REALLY THE IMPORTANT THING, THE WRITING. HOW MANY
PEOPLE CAN HUM BLUE SUEDE SHOES?   HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN
RECOGNIZE THE WORDS: "WELL YOU CAN DO ANYTHING BUT DON'T STEP ON
MY BLUE SUEDE SHOES?"   OR KNOW THE WORDS "I AM AN ANTI-CHRIST!"
OR "THIS ONE GOES OUT TO THE ONE I LOVE" OR "SUNDAY BLOODY
SUNDAY," "I'VE BEEN WORKING IN A COAL MINE" OR "I WANNA ROCK AND
ROLL ALL NIGHT!.... OR "BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE," "AN ALBINO, A
MOSQUITO, MY LIBIDO" OR "BLITZKREIG BOP - HEY HO LETS GO!"

THE HISTORY OF SONGS IS A HISTORY OF WORDS. A HISTORY OF LYRICS
AND IDEAS, MESSAGES FROM SOMEONE WHO HAD THE GUTS TO GRAB A MIC
AND MAYBE A GUITAR TOO AND BELT IT OUT ON A STAGE IN SOME PLACE
WHERE THEY LIVED AND DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN BECAUSE THEY HAD TO,
JUST TO GET BY OR MAYBE THEY JUST LOVED IT THAT MUCH OR MAYBE
BOTH!

SO LISTEN UP AND DON'T LET PEOPLE TELL YOU WHATS GOOD, JUST LISTEN.
OR AS BLAKE WOULD SING, "YOU TELL ME , YOU TELL ME , YOU TELL ME ,
DON'T TELL ME!" JUST MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND AND YOU WILL BE OK.

GUITAR:

SURPRISINGLY BLAKE HAS ONLY BEEN PLAYING GUITAR SINCE THE END OF
1999. BLAKE WAS GIVEN A EIGHTIES MODEL AMERICAN MADE FENDER
BULLET AND A FENDER AMP.   HE IMMEDIATELY MADE THE INSTRUMENT HIS -
OWN EXPRESSIVE TOOL.

ONE OF THE MOST SHOCKING THINGS ABOUT BLAKE’S PLAYING IS THAT HE
DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING! BLAKE HAS HAD NO GUITAR LESSONS,
NO TRAINING. HE PLAYS BY EAR. HE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT NOTE HE IS
PLAYING, OR CHORDS….HE CAN JUST DO IT, POUND IT OUT. PLAYING OVER
AND OVER, SONG AFTER SONG. HE PLAYS VERY HARD IN AN ALMOST
BRUTAL WAY. BREAKING STRINGS, PIKS, THUMBNAILS, HIS SKIN.

IF YOU WATCH CLOSELY YOU WILL SEE ANOTHER UNIQUE THING ABOUT
BLAKE’S PLAYING….HE PLAYS WITH THREE FINGERS – HE HOLDS HIS PIK
“WRONG”– HE HOLDS HIS PIK WITH HIS THUMB AND HIS INDEX AND MIDDLE
FINGERS. CREATING MUCH OF HIS EXTRA POWER I WOULD GUESS..

EARLY RECORDINGS WERE JAGGED AND WILD FREE-FORM PUNK ROCK
MEETS JAZZ IMPROVISATIONS. BLAKE HAD TRIED TO BE A JAZZ MUSICIAN IN
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL PLAYING HORNS. "I WANTED TO PLAY SAX BUT
THE SCHOOL MADE ME PLAY TROMBONE."   BLAKE HATED IT, BUT LOVED
MUSIC SO HE STUCK WITH IT AND PLAYED SAX WHEN HE COULD. "I NEVER
READ THE MUSIC I JUST LISTENED TO WHAT EVERYONE WAS DOING AND
FIGURED OUT THE SONGS." BLAKE CARRIED A SMALL WALKMAN WITH A
TAPE OF DIZZY GILLESPIE AND CHARLIE PARKER IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.   HE
ALSO WAS VERY INTO SOME NEW ROCK AND ROLL COMING FROM VARIOUS
SPOTS AROUND THE COUNTRY R.E.M, THE DEAD MILKMEN, DANIEL
JOHNSTON, BUTTHOLE SURFERS, SCREAMING TREES, HE ALSO LIKED
THROWING MUSES, THE CURE, DEVO, HUSKER DU, LOCAL STEVIE RAY
VAUGHN, AND OF COURSE JIMI HENDRIX.   BLAKE'S OLDER BROTHER HELPED
HIM DISCOVER SOME OF THESE BANDS. IN HIGH SCHOOL HE DISCOVERED
THE SEX PISTOLS, DINOSAUR JR., REVEREND HORTON HEAT, AND OTHERS.
THEN CAME NIRVANA THROUGH THE HEADPHONES OF A FRIEND AT HIS
LUNCH TABLE. "BLEACH CAME AS AN AMAZING GIFT, I INSTANTLY THOUGHT I
KNOW WHAT HE IS SINGING ABOUT, I THOUGHT IF I MADE MUSIC IT WOULD
BE LIKE THAT...." WITH THIS DISCOVERY THERE WERE MANY MORE BANDS.
SONIC YOUTH, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, GREEN DAY, HELMET, FUGAZI, BIG
BLACK, MELVINS, KLEENEX, THE SLITS, DEAD KENNEDYS, GERMS, CH3,
AGENT ORANGE, CITIZEN FISH, JOY DIVISION, BEAT HAPPENING, CRACKER,
PUBLIC ENEMY, FUGAZI, POSSUM DIXON.....HE ALSO DISCOVERED SONNY
BOY WILLIAMSON, B.B. KING, THE HOWLIN' WOLF, LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS, AND
ROBERT JOHNSON : THE BLUES!

IN THE FIRST MONTHS OF 2000 BLAKE MET CHRIS HUI A DRUMMER IN NYC.
BLAKE WAS LISTENING TO A RECORDING HE HAD JUST MADE AT TOP VOLUME
IN HIS SMALL STORE FRONT ON AVENUE B. SO LOUD THE PASSING CHRIS
HEARD THE SOUNDS AND STOPPED, LISTENING FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE
KNOCKING LOUDLY. BLAKE THOUGHT HE WAS A COP COMPLAINING OF THE
NOISE, BUT CHRIS CONVINCED HIM TO LET COME IN - HE LIKED THE MUSIC.
CHRIS CAME IN AND THEY SHARED A BEER AND SAT ON THE FLOOR
LISTENING.   CHRIS SAID HE WOULD LIKE TO PLAY DRUMS IF BLAKE NEEDED
A DRUMMER. A FRIENDSHIP WAS QUICKLY FORMED AND DAYS LATER THE
TWO BEGAN RECORDING IMPROVISED SESSIONS. THEY RECORDED FIVE
TIMES OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. THE LAST SESSION WAS INADVERTENTLY
RECORDED OVER BY BLAKE AND IS LOST FOREVER.
THEY OTHERS MAY EVENTUALLY BE RELEASED ON MISC. MUSIC.

WHEN BLAKE MOVED TO NYC ONE OF HIS GOALS WAS TO BE ABLE TO SHOW
HIS PAINTINGS AND ARTWORK. ANOTHER WAS TO LEARN THE HISTORY OF
PUNK ROCK AND THE EXPERIMENTAL AND UNDERGROUND MUSIC SCENE IN
THE CITY. A BOOK HAD HELPED HIM DECIDE TO MOVE TO THE EAST VILLAGE,
"ART AFTER MIDNIGHT" DETAILED THE RISE OF ARTISTS IN ALPHABET CITY
AND THE BANDS AT CBGB AND MAX'S KANSAS CITY AND OTHER LOCAL CLUBS.
A COPY OF "ENGLAND'S DREAMING" ABOUT THE UK PUNK SCENE SHOWED
EVEN MORE BANDS TO GO OUT AND DIG IN THE BINS FOR.   BLAKE BECAME A
EXCELLENT SCAVENGER AND OFTEN ENLISTED THE HELP OF SEVERAL
HOMELESS PEOPLE TO BRING HIM INSTRUMENTS AND RECORDS FOUND IN
THE TRASH FOR SMALL PAYMENTS. BLAKE AMASSED ALBUMS, SPEAKERS, A
ELECTRONIC SAXOPHONE, A KORG ORGAN, A PUMP ORGAN, SEVERAL OLD
GUITARS.   THEN ONE DAY HE DISCOVERED TWO TURNTABLES, OLD DIRECT
DRIVE DECKS IN THE TRASH. THEY BOTH WORKED FINE. IN ALL HE FOUND 6
TURNTABLES LIKE THIS ON THE STREET.   BLAKE HAD ALREADY BEEN
DEVELOPING AN INTEREST AND KNOWLEDGE OF TURNTABLISITS AND DJS
AROUND TOWN.   HE BEGAN TO LEARN ABOUT REGGAE FREQUENTING THE
NOTORIOUS "LIONS DEN" CLUB STICKING OUT WITH HIS WHITE SKIN, BUT
GETTING RESPECT FOR HIS INTEREST IN THE MUSIC.   SOON HE DISCOVERED
TWO OF HIS HEROES LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY AND THE VERY RARE
RECORDINGS OF "POMPIDOU" A RECORD HE BOUGHT IN A LOCAL STORE
NOT KNOWING HOW RARE IT WAS. HE HAS SEEN LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY
PERFORM TWICE AND HOPES TO VISIT JAMAICA SOMEDAY.

BLAKE WAS INTERESTED IN THE TURNTABLISTS PLAYING IN DOWNTOWN
MANHATTAN. HE SAW DJ SHADOW, DJ SPOOKY, KID KOALA, KRUEDER AND
DORFMIESTER, PANAGEA, AND SAW AFRIKA BAAMBAATAA. HE BECAME
FRIENDS WITH DJ HIGH PRIEST, AKA "THE ORIGINAL" HIGH PRIEST, NAMED BY
JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT. HIGH PRIEST WAS IN "GRAY" THE NOISE BAND JEAN
MICHEL FORMED WITH MICHAEL HOLMAN. HIGH PRIEST JOINED BLAKE
ONSTAGE AT CBGB IN LATE 2005.

"I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WOULD BE INTERESTING
TO COMBINE DRUM MACHINES AND TURNTABLE
BASED MUSIC WITH LIVE GUITAR" - BLAKE

WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW ABOUT ALIENS:

ALIENS FIRST "REAL" STUDIO RECORDINGS WERE DONE IN 2002, AT THE HOME
OF VIRGINIA TATE.   THESE WERE RECORDED ON THE ORIGINAL "NOISE NEW
YORK" BOARD USED EXTENSIVELY BY KRAMER, THE LEGENDARY AND
ILLUSIVE PRODUCER AND FOUNDER OF SHIMMY DISC RECORDS.   BLAKE HAD
DISCOVERED KRAMER THROUGH FINDING A CD BY "UNCLE WIGGLY" CALLED
"ACROSS THE ROOM AND INTO YOUR LAP!" THIS CD INTRODUCED BLAKE TO
THE WORLD OF UNDERGROUND MUSIC OUT SIDE OF AUSTIN.

LO - FI:

BLAKE HAS WRITTEN SONGS HIS WHOLE LIFE, OFTEN RECORDING
ON VARIOUS HAND HELD TAPE RECORDERS, MINI-DISCS, AND A COLLECTION OF
ODD HOME "KARAOKE" MACHINES. ONE OF THESE WAS BLAKE'S FIRST AMP,
THE OLD "LONE STAR" BRAND MACHINE HAD THREE SPEAKERS AND A DUAL
CASSETTE DECK, ALLOWING FOR SOME INTERESTING ABILITIES TO RECORD
MATERIAL AND PLAY IT BACK WHILE PLAYING LIVE OVER THE PRE-RECORDED
TAPE. IT ALSO HAD A VERY GOOD ECHO EFFECT ON IT BLAKE USED
EXTENSIVELY FOR VOCAL EFFECTS. "YOU CAN SING AND PLAY GUITAR OR
ANOTHER INSTRUMENT THROUGH IT SIMULTANEOUSLY." BLAKE PERFORMED
MANY TIMES MAKING "BEAT TAPES" AND PLAYING LIVE IMPROVISED GUITAR
OVER THE PRE-GENERATED NOISES/BEATS.   BLAKE STILL USES THE
MACHINES FOR WRITING SONGS AND RECORDING.

IRONICALLY BLAKE ACTUALLY "HATES KARAOKE," HE ONCE WORKED IN A BAR
THAT HAD KARAOKE AND HE SAID IT WAS "SERIOUSLY DAMAGING." SO MUCH
SO HE WORE EARPLUGS TO CANCEL OUT THE OPPRESSIVE DRUNKEN
VOCALISTS WARBLING SCREECHES WHILE WORKING THE BAR AND BUSING
TABLES.

ONCE WHILE PREPARING FOR AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS IN SAN ANTONIO
BLAKE WAS LISTENING TO A TAPE OF SOME OF HIS MUSIC WHEN THE
GALLERIST ENTERED THE ROOM STARTLED.   SHE THOUGHT THE AIR
CONDITIONER WAS BROKEN! BLAKE WAS LISTENING TO A TAPE OF A
PERFORMANCE IN NEW YORK THAT HAD A REPEATED MOTOR-LIKE DRONE
MIXED WITH OTHER SOUNDS COMING ON AND OFF, "SHE THOUGHT THE AC HAD
MALFUNCTIONED! PRETTY FUNNY!" HE LAUGHS. PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
OF MUSIC IS SOMETHING BLAKE GETS FROM THE INFLUENCE OF JOHN CAGE.
"I DISCOVERED HIS WORK IN THE COLLEGE LIBRARY IN AUSTIN. BECAUSE OF
MY INTEREST IN BUCKMINSTER FULLER AND JASPER JOHNS, I FOUND CAGE.
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE - AND NAM JUNE PAIK TOO!"

PLAYING "SONGS" IS REALLY SOMETHING NEW FOR BLAKE, AT LEAST
PUBLICLY. IN AUSTIN BLAKE HAD STARTED THE "FAKE" COMPANY "SEVERED
LEG PRODUCTIONS" THIS IMAGINED COMPANY ACTUALLY MADE SHIRTS AND
ART OBJECTS AND PRODUCED LO-FI HOME MADE TAPES OF EXPERIMENTAL
MUSIC. BLAKE SAID, "WHEN I MOVED TO NEW YORK I WAS INTERESTED IN
MAKING MUSIC FROM FRAGMENTARY PIECES OF RECORDED SOUNDS AND I
TAPED ALL THE TIME, ALMOST ENDLESSLY.   I RECORDED CONCERTS,
CONVERSATIONS, TV, RADIO, WALKS THROUGH THE STREETS, DJ
PERFORMANCES, AND TRIED TO MAKE A LIBRARY OF SOUNDS. I STARTED
CUTTING THEM TOGETHER AND MAKING SOUND COLLAGES ON THE CASSETTE
DECKS. THEN I FOUND TURNTABLES. I DECIDED TO BUY A MIXER AND BEGAN
TO LEARN HOW TO MIX SOUNDS BUT MY APPROACH WAS DIFFERENT AND I
WOULD MAKE MUSIC FROM TINY SAMPLES AND BUILD BEATS."

LOOP BEATS:

BLAKE MAKES LOOPING BEATS WITH A DIGITAL DELAY SAMPLING TINY BITS OF
SOUNDS AND REPEATING THEM, FORMING BEATS. "AUDIO - FRAGMENTARY,"
WAS A NAME BLAKE WROTE ON SEVERAL TAPES OF THIS TYPE OF DISSECTED
SOUND MATERIAL.   (SEE S.L.P. LOOP BEATS FOR MORE ON THIS)

"I ALWAYS MADE SONGS AND WROTE SONGS WITH MY FRIEND JEREMY, WE
WOULD RECORD THEM ONTO CASSETTES BUT NEVER GOT A SHOW OR EVEN
HAD A BAND NAME - OR A DRUMMER, IT WAS TWO GUITARS AND VOCALS."
HE ELABORATES, "I NEVER FELT LIKE I HAD ANYTHING DIFFERENT, OR
IMPORTANT I WAS SAYING WITH THOSE SONGS. THEY WERE HUMOROUS OR
ABOUT LOST LOVE OR NEED FOR LOVE, BASIC, SIMPLISTIC, AND FUN BUT NOT
WHAT I WAS GOING FOR. I REALLY GOT INTO EXPERIMENTAL GUITAR MUSIC
AND TRIED APPROACHING THE GUITAR LIKE I THOUGHT CHARLIE PARKER OR
JOHN COLTRANE WOULD HAVE."

THIS CHANGED AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. 9/11:

"IT WAS LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD, OR THAT WORLD I KNEW IN NEW YORK
AT THE TIME. BOOM - OVER! MY LIFE, LIVELIHOOD, MY FRIENDS MOSTLY
MOVED AWAY, LEFT NEW YORK, THE ECONOMY WAS DEAD, I HAD TO WALK
ABOVE CANAL STREET TO GET FOOD TO EAT - ALL THE DOWNTOWN PLACES
COULD NOT GET FOOD FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS AFTER THE ATTACK. THE
AFTERNOON OF 9/11 I WALKED WITH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OUT OF LOWER
MANHATTAN UP BROADWAY LIKE A DEFEATED PEOPLE. CARS WERE PULLED UP
ON THE CURB DOORS OPEN WITH THE RADIO LOUD SO PEOPLE COULD GATHER
AND HEAR THE REPORTS. PEOPLE WERE COVERED IN ASH AND BLEEDING.
RESTAURANT WORKERS WERE POURING WATER OVER PEOPLES FACES TO
CLEAN THE ASH OFF, SIRENS WERE EVERYWHERE, I ENDED UP GETTING
BLOCKED BY A POLICE LINE TO GO BACK HOME. THEY HAD MADE SECURITY
CHECK POINTS AT CANAL STREET, IF YOU DIDN'T LIVE BELOW CANAL YOU
COULD NOT GO DOWNTOWN. I DID NOT HAVE MY ID AND COULD NOT PROVE
WHERE I LIVED, I HAD TO SNEAK HOME AND LATER CARRIED A CON ED BILL TO
MAKE SURE I COULD GET HOME. FOR THE FIRST FEW NIGHTS AFTER 9/11 I
SLEPT AT A HOTEL AROUND THE CORNER FROM MY PLACE WHICH HAD THE
WATER TURNED OFF. THE HOTEL WAS A RESCUE AND OTHER RESPONDERS
HEAD QUARTERS. THEY PILED BURNED OUT CARS IN FRONT OF THE HOTEL 20
FEET HIGH AS A DUMP UNTIL THEY COULD BE REMOVED BY GIANT TRUCKS.
MANY OF THESE CARS WERE POLICE AND FIRE TRUCKS.   THE EPA SET UP A
BASE IN FRONT OF MY BUILDINGS DOORS COLLECTING SAMPLES AND
READINGS. THE THING PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND IS THAT "GROUND ZERO"
BURNED FOR SIX MONTHS! IT WAS A WAR ZONE FOR A LONG TIME DOWN
THERE. LIFE HAD CHANGED ONE DAY TO SOMETHING VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.
I WROTE A LOT OF SONGS AND PAINTED. AFTER 9/11 I BEGAN SITTING ON THE
COUCH AND WRITING MORE AND MORE SONGS. I FOUND UNLIKE BEFORE I
HAD SOMETHING I WANTED TO SAY, SING. I REALIZED NO ONE ELSE SEEMED
TO BE SAYING ANYTHING SIMILAR TO WHAT I WAS WRITING AND THAT I HAD TO
START SINGING THESE SONGS IN FRONT OF PEOPLE . IT WAS REALLY
IMPORTANT TO ME. I FINALLY LEFT NYC IN EARLY 2002 FOR A TRIP TO LAS
VEGAS, AND ALL OVER CALIFORNIA DURING THIS TRIP I BEGAN PLAYING THESE
VOCAL SONGS FOR WHOEVER WOULD LISTEN. PEOPLE WERE ENCOURAGING
AND I STUCK WITH IT. RECORDING FOR HUGH HOPPER WAS A BIG CONFIDENCE
BUILDER. THEN BEING ASKED TO DO THE DANIEL JOHNSTON COVER SONGS
WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.

IMMEDIATELY AFTER 9/11 I BEGAN LISTENING TO SONGS I GREW UP WITH AND
FELL BACK ON THE SIMPLE SONG CONSTRUCTION. SIMPLE SONGS TO CARRY
WORDS. PLAYING GUITAR BY MYSELF AND WRITING. DANIEL JOHNSTON IS A
MASTER OF SIMPLE SONGS ABOUT ALL SORTS OF TOPICS THAT JUST SEEM TO
FLOW FROM HIM. I WANTED TO WRITE SIMPLE, DIRECT SONGS AGAIN. SOON
AFTER I MOVED BACK TO TEXAS I DECIDED I WOULD FORM A REAL BAND."

F.R.E.D.

"FUCKING RIDICULOUS ELECTRONIC DRUMMER"
- AS BLAKE CALLS IT:

WAS PURCHASED BY BLAKE IN 2004.
IT IS A VINTAGE UNIVOX DRUM MACHINE RUNNING
ON TRANSISTORS. IT HAS A SURPRISINGLY
REALISTIC DRUM SOUND LIVE. VERY BASIC AND
NOT PROGRAMMABLE, THUS THE RIDICULOUS PART.
THOUGH IN A WAY IT IS AMAZING IN IT'S ANTIQUATED
WARM TRANSISTOR SOUND. WHEN CRANKED IN A
CLUB IT GETS PEOPLE MOVING!

"HE NEVER QUITS, OR COMPLAINS" BLAKE JOKES.

ALIENS HAVE GONE THROUGH MANY CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
ESSENTIALLY ALIENS IS BLAKE AND WHOEVER HE CAN GET TO PLAY
DRUMS, RELYING ON F.R.E.D. WHEN A DRUMMER IS HARD TO FIND. IT WAS
NOT ALWAYS THIS WAY.   "ORIGINALLY ALIENS WAS MYSELF AND TAMAKI UI
ON DRUMS IN NEW YORK." THE ONLY SONGS WE RECORDED WERE THE
DANIEL JOHNSTON COVER SONGS. WE DID RECORD AN EARLY VERSION OF
"COMMITTED TO WIND" THAT WAS NEVER MIXED."

"I MOVED TO TEXAS AND RENTED A WAREHOUSE SPACE IN THE MIDDLE OF
NOWHERE. I MADE A STUDIO CALLED "BELLY FLOP NOSE DIVE
SANCTUARY" AND BEGAN WORKING OUT SONGS ON MY OWN IN MY
STUDIO AWAY FROM EVERYBODY. THEN ONE NIGHT AT A SHOW IN A BAR I
SAW THIS GUY PLAYING DRUMS, I THOUGHT HE WAS GOOD AND DIFFERENT
THAN THE BAND HE PLAYED WITH.   I GAVE HIM A TAPE AND WE MET AT A
PARTY LATER THAT NIGHT, HE HAD BEEN LATE TO THE PARTY BECAUSE HE
WAS LISTENING TO THE TAPE! HE LIKED MY SONGS AND WE BEGAN
PLAYING TOGETHER SOON AFTER."   THUS, ANDY PALMER BECAME THE
SECOND ALIENS DRUMMER. BLAKE OFTEN DROVE INTO AUSTIN ON THE
WEEKENDS TO HEAR BANDS AND VISIT FRIENDS. HE AND ANDY SOMETIMES
PLAYED SHOWS IN AUSTIN TOO. ANDY AND BLAKE RECORDED A VIDEO
DEMO AT THE STUDIO USING AN INGENIOUS METHOD OF RECORDING ON A
SURVEILLANCE CAMERA IN NIGHT VISION AND THEN RECORDING
SIMULTANEOUSLY OFF THE SCREEN WITH ANOTHER VIDEO CAMERA. THIS
CREATED A STRANGE EFFECT MAKING THE IMAGES NEGATIVE TWICE AND
CREATING A FEEDBACK IMAGE OF A LINE MOVING UP AND DOWN THE
SCREEN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. "IT LOOKED LIKE WE WERE FILMED
UNDER SURVEILLANCE AT AN ASYLUM." BLAKE SENT THESE TAPES TO
DOZENS OF PEOPLE AND GOT ALIENS BOOKED AT CLUB DE VILLE IN AUSTIN
FROM THIS TAPE. THE SHOW WITH JUST ANDY AND BLAKE PERFORMING
WAS NOTABLE AS IT WAS THE FIRST WITH BLAKE'S MARSHALL HALF STACK
AND MUSIC MAN HEAD. "WE PLAYED OUTSIDE AND I ASKED ANDY HOW
LOUD I SHOULD GO HE SAID, "ROLL IT ALL THE WAY OVER!" WE PLAYED ONE
SONG LIKE THAT, I COULD NOT HEAR WELL FOR THAT ONE SO I DIDN'T
KNOW HOW LOUD IT WAS. WE GOT IN TROUBLE BECAUSE I HAD NO IDEA
AUSTIN HAD NEW NOISE ORDINANCES AND WE HAD IT AT FULL BLAST! THE
AMP GOT NICKNAMED THE "JET - ENGINE" THAT NIGHT!" PEOPLE SAID THE
GLASS WINDOWS OF THE BAR WERE SHAKING, "WE PLAYED THE NOMADS
SONG IRON DREAM FIRST AND ABOUT 8 ORIGINALS.   THE NOISE THING -
PLAYING LOUD MADE US KIND OF NOTORIOUS."

ONE WEEKEND WHEN BLAKE RETURNED TO AUSTIN HE RAN INTO A OLD
FRIEND AT A POPULAR RESTAURANT NEAR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.   THE
TWO SPOKE AND "WE DECIDED TO START PLAYING TOGETHER THE NEXT
WEEK!" BLAKE SAYS. DAVE IS A VERY TALENTED BASSIST WHO WAS A
SOLID AND LOYAL FRIEND AND BASSIST IN ALIENS FOR A YEAR AND A HALF.
THE TWO COMPANIONS PLAYED WITH ANDY OR LOCAL BAND "YUPPIE
PRICKS" DRUMMER NIGEL SMITH AS A FULL THREE PIECE. THEY WOULD
PLAY BEERLAND, ROOM 710 AND OTHER PLACES IN THE RED RIVER
DISTRICT OF AUSTIN. NIGEL WAS IN ALIENS SERIOUSLY TOO FOR 4 MONTHS
OR MORE. HE QUIT TO CONCENTRATE ON WORK. DAVE AND BLAKE
CONTINUED ON AND TRIED VARIOUS OTHER DRUMMERS NEVER FINDING
THE RIGHT ONE.

BLAKE BOUGHT THE DRUM MACHINE AND BEGAN USING IT EXTENSIVELY,
DAVE COULD NEVER GET INTO IT. BLAKE LIKED IT BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT
WAVER OFF THE BEAT AND REMINDED HIM OF TECHNO, REGGAE, AND THE
MUSIC HE GOT INTO IN NYC. BLAKE AND DAVE WITH F.R.E.D. PLAYED
SEVERAL SHOWS IN THIS GUITAR / BASS / DRUM MACHINE
COMBINATION(BLAKE NAMED F.R.E.D. TO GO ALONG WITH DAVE'S NAME
AND RECALL THE HAL 9000 PERHAPS). THIS REMINDED MANY AT THEIR
SHOWS OF "BIG BLACK" THE INFAMOUS STEVE ALBINI BAND. DAVE COULD
NOT GET INTO THE MUSIC WITHOUT LIVE DRUMS AND ONE DAY HE QUIT
ABRUPTLY.

THIS ALSO CORRESPONDED WITH BLAKE'S HOSPITALIZATION.

"I THOUGHT I WAS DEAD" BLAKE SAYS MATTER OF FACTLY. "OR I WAS SEMI
- CONCIOUS FOR HOURS AND HOURS. I HAD GONE TO THE EMERGENCY
ROOM FOR PAIN MEDICINE FOR MY EAR PAIN, I WAS GOING CRAZY FROM
THE PRESSURE AND PAIN IN MY HEAD." BLAKE WAS GIVEN PRESCRIPTION
MEDICATIONS AND I HAD A VIOLENT ALLERGIC REACTION TO THEM. BLAKE
HAD MULTIPLE SEIZURES AND DEVELOPED NEUROLEPTIC MALIGNANT
SYNDROME. THERE ARE FEW WHO GET NMS WHO LIVE, BLAKE IS LUCKY
TO BE ALIVE TODAY. THIS 10 DAY HOSPITALIZATION AND MONTHS AND
MONTHS OF RECOVERY PUT EVEN MORE FIRE INTO THE ALIENS PROJECT
FOR BLAKE.

ONCE HE WAS DOING WELL ENOUGH TO PLAY GUITAR AND BEGIN TO
REGAIN HIS VOICE HE WAS AT HIS STUDIO WORKING ON REGAINING HIS
SKILLS AND TIMING. HIS VOCAL CHORDS WERE DAMAGED FROM THE
HOSPITAL ORDEAL.

BLAKE MANAGED TO GET BETTER TO VISIT FRIENDS IN NEW YORK AND
PLAY A SHOW AT CBGB. IRONICALLY HE COULD NEVER GET BOOKED
THERE WHEN HE LIVED THERE, BUT THE ALIENS CD HE MADE WENT OVER
WITH THE BOOKER AND HE AND DJ HIGH PRIEST PERFORMED THERE ON
DECEMBER 18TH 2005.   FOR BLAKE IT WAS A TRIUMPHANT COME BACK!