One of the wisest things my compadre and bandmate, Townsman Andyr, said during a rehearsal, as we discussed an instrumental passage in a new song, was “I don’t mind jamming, as long as it’s planned out.” Andyr is a man who values concise structures in his music – and he’s not prone to digging long instrumental passages let alone rockin’ jams, but I like to think that if something in his brain ever clicked and he found a way to appreciate long, rockin’ jams, he’d dig the intensely structured, heavy jams of Glenn Branca and his guitar army.
Following is a really long, heavy jam, although not a hippie/blues/jazz-based jam. Some might question whether it’s really a “jam,” because Branca’s, like, a dictatorial composer/conductor, man, but I’ve seen him conduct this stuff in person. His suit’s rumpled, he’s got 3 days of scruff, he’s gesticulating like John Cale, and he’s got rockin’ bedhead. This may get filed under Classical, but it’s got a rock ‘n roll heart. Play loud!
Glenn Branca, :Indeterminate Activity of Resultant Masses”
Check back with us in a half hour, when you’ve survived the onslaught of maximum heaviosity.
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