11 February 2022

It’s a Lonely World When There’s No One Around to Kick Your Ass

 The Fems of Feb.



Carla Bozulich was born in New York City & grew up in San Pedro, California. Carla's first appearance on record is Gary Kail's 1982 album titled Zurich 1916. She was singer for the Neon Veins & Invisible Chains. Invisible Chains released a self-titled album for New Alliance label when Carla was 18 years old.

Next for Carla was art punk Ethyl Meatplow.

Following Ethyl Meatplow was The Geraldine Fibbers, an alt-country style outfit & the closest Bozulich has ever come to mainstream acceptance. She formed the Fibbers in 1994, naming the band after an imaginary childhood friend.

After the Geraldine Fibbers, Carla moved on to Evangelista. For her first release the L.A. based Bozulich chose to record for Constellation, perhaps seemingly a strange release for the Montreal based label who had previously championed the "Montreal sound". 

Carla traveled to Montreal to record the album because of her appreciation of that sound & the music talent associated with Constellation. She was able to work with members of Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, & Black Ox Orkestar. She utilized the production talent of bassist Shahzad Ismaily. Ismaily submerged Carla's music in pools of noise, static, & muffled instrumental sounds. This minimal but mysterious technique sets the tone for the music & as soon as Bozulich's voice is heard, it cracks through the noise perfectly. 

The first Evangelista album is titled Evangelista by Carla Bozulich but subsequent releases are credited to Evangelista which was made up of Bozulich - guitar & vocals, Dominic Cramp - keyboards & noises, & Tara Barnes bass & backing vocals. 

 



In the spring of 2009 Evangelista returned to the Constellation's Hotel2Tango studio where her previous albums were made & recorded Prince of Truth which includes a wide cast of friends including Nels Cline (Carla's Scarnella & Geraldine Fibbers band-mate), Shahzad Ismaily, Ches Smith, Jessica Catron, Devin Hoff, Thierry Amar (A Silver Mt. Zion), Nadia Moss, & Jonah Fortune (both from Montreal band Witchies).

Gatefold cardboard sleeve with a 6-panel folded liner notes paper sheet. CD in a thick paper inner sleeve. 

 

Evangelista - Prince of Truth, Constellation CST061-2, 2009.
decryption code in comments

The Slayer
Tremble Dragonfly
I Lay There in Front of Me Covered in Ice
You are a Jaguar
Iris Didn't Spell
Crack Teeth
On the Captain's Side

Enjoy,

9 comments:

  1. NIuH3i1UAz57ho9VPqQMPcv-zcUxNIT7brbRR2qu8tk

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  2. Enjoying your theme this month and really catching up on what I missed! Closest I connected on this thread was the Godspeed... CD but certainly had heard the 'Fibber's name tossed around in the old Radio K scene.

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  3. Carla is one of my favorite artists. I've tried to post up a good cross-section of her varied output. Just another chance to show another side of her tremendous talent. Thanks for the comment.

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  4. Oh man, I love Carla's voice. I wonder if she is making music anymore. It has been several years since her last album (Boy), and I think that was sort of a compilation. Here's a great live set from Evangelista at SXSW in 2008:

    https://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/03/live-from-austi.html

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  5. You & me both love that voice. Thanks for the Evangelista link. Her latest is Quieter (2018) also on Constellation.

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  6. My mistake, I got Boy mixed up with Quieter. Quieter is the one that was compiled from tracks recorded with a variety of collaborators. I don't think she has released anything since then. Her album with Simone Massaron (Dandelions on Fire) is one of my favorites.

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  7. Yeah, Quieter is a comp. Nothin' since then from her.

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  8. Nice! Carla and her brother, who I became good friends with when I was in 10th grade, used to ride with me to a family counseling place we were all going to that year and helped educate me musically and otherwise. I have a strong memory of Carla rocking out to "Sex Beat" from the Gun Club's Fire of Love which was one of her favorites at the time. I missed all her other projects you posted so I'll need to go get caught up!

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  9. Fire of Love is a favorite of mine as well. Jeffrey Lee Pierce is a great guitarist &song-writer. They always fit into my outsider likings.

    As King Congo quipped, The Gun Club was "too arty for rock people, far too rock for arty people, too cuckoo for the blues crowd, & too American for punk"

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