...but why is a person like me unable to do anything in this world except dream or scratch at the violin, for which he possesses no talent?

After some patience and work, here is the go-round:


- my solo LP "Book of Ghosts" is available as of today from Vinyl Rites, Katorga Works (alone or with a package deal), and No Idea. I should be getting my personal copies within a week or so. Here's the description, written by the VR PR man:

"David has been cutting his teeth for 10 years in various bands around the Tampa area. Most recently he's been half of MERCHANDISE and a quarter of NEON BLUD, before that he was one of the primary song writers in CULT RITUAL, and all this time he has had 5+ other projects on deck. Very rarely do we drop the ex-members card at VINYL RITES, but having that kind of musical pedigree is pretty unbeatable. His first solo LP is wildly different from the aforementioned groups, although it shares some of the bedroom sensibilities that MERCHANDISE espouses so well. Luckily for all of us, great song writing transcends genre and with BOOK OF GHOSTS he explores more of the Creation Records and 4AD back catalog. His musical hombre ZZ compares it to FELT and TRANS era NEIL YOUNG. It seamlessly goes from intensely personal singer-songwriter numbers to huge and lush shoe-gazing darkness, from NEW ORDER pop to THIS MORTAL COIL downers. Not only our favorite release on VINYL RITES yet, but it's also the most hauntingly beautiful recordings we've heard in years."

the second track on the album:
d. vassalotti-death will one day rob us all by Vinyl Rites


- in addition to "Book of Ghosts," I've completed another full-length of instrumental music entitled "say hello to the devil for me (and other fragments)". this may or may not get released within the next year. i'm also at work on a follow-up to "Book of Ghosts" that also may or may not get released within the next year. see music vids below to attach a visual to this madness.


- Merchandise has been busier than ever this season. we're wrapping up production on a new LP, tentatively titled "Children of Desire." We are going to tour much of the USA (and maybe some Canada) in the spring, so be on the look-out for those dates.


- the Church Whip 7" has been recorded and should be out within the next few months via Corpse w/o Soul and Fallow Field. the "Psychedelic Nightmare" LP is in its infancy. touring plans for us as well, sometime in 2012 (hopefully sooner than later).


- the Dads (the Grateful Dads) "Bubular Tubes" single should be out any day now, but we're still awaiting the word. the LP is done and will probably get released mid-2012.


- Neon Blud's 2010 magnum opus "Discotheque Deathbed" will finally see the light of day next year via Vinyl Rites. Hear the kick-off track here: NEONBLUD#1 by Vinyl Rites


- per tradition, we're holding our annual Xmas Midnight show this 12/25 at Unit 19. the line-up consists of Russian Tsarlag, Church Whip, Merchandise, and the Dads. i didn't book it, so don't take me for being overly self-indulgent here.


- keep on the look-out for LA Bat, as well as Higgs and the French Man, the future saviors of rock and roll.


take care, y'all. next year's gonna be da one.

<3
shrimp narcissus.



vids:

d. vassalotti - l'ange de l'assassinat from Id House Vid. Group on Vimeo.

d. vassalotti - masks confronting death I from Id House Vid. Group on Vimeo.

...the key to this savage sideshow.

Much time has passed and things are only getting busier in my camp:

- Merchandise is doing a short east coast tour, beginning on 6/17. Lucky towns include: Gainesville, Richmond, NYC, Amherst, Philadelphia, and maybe somewhere in North Carolina. We will be armed with cheap keyboards and boxes of records+tapes from our myriad side bands. A new Merch LP is in its infancy.

- Dads (The Dads?) is back and more active than ever this Father's Day season. We've been recording hours and hours of new material, some of which will be released late summer/early fall on a 7" (Bubular Tubers b/w Shit on the Tracks), a collaboration with photographer Sam Falls. A NYC show is being discussed, as well as the premier D'ads full length LP. Stay tuned, then tune out.

- Neon Blud's summer tour has been cancelled and the band is on indefinite hiatus. Our LP is still supposedly going to be released soon, but details are scarce.

- the Church Whip demo tape has finally hit the streets. consult Corpse Without Soul for acquisition, or just come to one of the Merchandise shows and pick one up from us.

- Video Disease records is releasing two 7"s from two of my Atlanta projects: 性交 and Crooked Cross. These should be available for purchase within the next few months.

- ( ) or d. vassalotti or 'whatever you want to call it' has been recording constantly. an LP entitled "Book of Ghosts" has been completed and will be unleashed by the fine folk at Vinyl Rites later in the year. a new 12" single is also rumored to in development.

- i have very, very few remaining copies of my new(ish) zine "Eclectic Depression." i don't like going to the post office, so come visit me in my lonesome room to take a piece. a window into progressive neurosis and a bunch of dumb drawings.

as i said earlier, things are only getting busier.

time for bed.

"Renaldo and Clara" has ruined my life.

in a slow-motion film...

it hasn't quite been a year and a half since my last update, but the ball is rolling and it's a rainy mornin'.

- my "False Xmas" cassingle ended up being pressed onto 12" by the fine folks at Katorga Works. buy it+hear it here.

- KW also just released the new Merchandise (Werchandice?) single for "Schoolyard" b/w "Graveyard." Scope out the new video for "Schoolyard" and then buy the damn thing. We're playing a few random Florida shows throughout the next few months. more info on those to be posted on our blog.

- Neon Blud LP in the works. Will hopefully be released in early summer, in time for our (tentative) west coast tour.

- Dads (aka Dadz, D'ads, The Dad, and Cameron's Dad) will be in the "studio" soon which may "lead" to "our" third 7".

- Church Whip has recorded a demo that should be seeing the light of day sometime in the near future. consult Corpse Without Soul if you dare.

- many upcoming projects/new ventures/tampa tomfoolery, so keep your ears to the ground and your eyes on the 'net. addio.

have me in the blue and the sun...

much has changed since this has been touched.
i won't even get into that.

for an update:
- Cult Ritual is long dead.
- i lived in Atlanta for a year and collaborated endlessly w/ the brilliant and prolific JW. releases will trickle out for years to come.
- i moved back to Tampa.
- Merchandise has an LP entitled "(Strange Songs) In The Dark" coming out this Monday on Katorga Works and Drugged Conscience Records. Another full-length tape of (mostly) new material and demos, "Gone Are the Silk Gardens of Our Youth," on Cult Maternal, will be released later in the month.
- Dads' "Hat Creek" EP has just been released on Katorga Works. We also have the live VHS+cassette combo pack "Live at Club Fuck", available through Soft Languages, who will be soon releasing the "Working Man's Dads" tape.
- Neon Blud has a new 12" on Drugged Conscience. Will be available November 1st. We're going to be on tour for pretty much all of November (east coast, Canada, midwest). See Cult Maternal for the dates+locations. We'll have the new 12", a VHS cassingle for "Neon Nites," a live tape from our set at this year's Bloodfest, as well as many other Tampa goodies.
- ( ) hasn't slowed down a bit, amassing albums and albums of material that probably won't get released until after I'm dead (if I should be so lucky). A limited run of the "False Xmas" cassingle (2 long tracks) is available now through Cult Maternal. The music video for the title track is below. Also in the works: Ventriculoperitoneal Sound will be releasing a 12" version of "Berlin," an album that was recorded a year ago in my bathroom in ATL on a microcassette recorder.

until next time (probably another year and a half), do something productive, goddamnit.

( ) - False Xmas from Id House Vid. Group on Vimeo.

resurrectus...

this blog has been dormant since its inception, but now it will (hopefully) see some activity.
i plan on uploading music and related goodies, as well as writing about whatever strikes my fancy.

on the news front:

- "Non Serviam," my second full length that was recorded over a year ago, is finally seeing a proper release on C30 from the fine folks at the Offices of Moore and Moore. not sure when exactly it will be out, but plan on sooner rather than later.

- "Signs on a White Field: October MMVIII," my third full length, will be uploaded soon. i need a damned camera.

- Cult Ritual is going on tour for 52 days. if you live in the USA, chances are we'll be in an area near you. ditch me and head over to Cult Maternal headquarters for the skinny.

- i still have copies of the first (and only) two issues of my zine, which shares the same title as this blog. come up to me and i'll give you one for free. if you do not live in florida and/or don't want to physically confront me, i'll mail them to you for pretty cheap$$$. issue no. three is currently in the works.

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