SEISMIC WAVE WORLD HQ is proud to present the second record by Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends – “The Art of Murder”
Conan Neutron is a guy; Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends is a band. It is a band featuring Dale Crover of the mighty Melvins on drums, Tony Ash of Trophy Wives and Coliseum on bass and the production skills of the iconoclastic and enigmatic Toshi Kasai. The Secret Friends bring forth a wiry and adventurous rock ‘n roll that is equal parts Kyuss, Cheap Trick, fugazi, Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age and DEVO with perhaps Mean Streets era Van Halen mixed in.
Neutron, a rock ‘n roll lifer has spent the last 16 years making records and touring in such bands as Replicator, Victory and Associates and Mount Vicious, making uncompromising, sometimes challenging and daring rock music to anybody that is interested. This record The Art of Murder is the second that he wrote and arranged himself, and the second recorded by the band now known as “The Secret Friends”
The Art of Murder, was fully fleshed out and recorded at the secret Melvins HQ – Sound of Sirens. Tracked, mixed and produced by Toshi Kasai (Helmet, Melvins, Foo Fighters), Mastered by Bob Weston of Shellac, and with Artwork by Rick Froberg of Hot Snakes/Drive Like Jehu fame. Buzz Osborne of the Melvins shows up to lend his distinctive and authoritative vocals to Avid Fan and Chair of Antlers.
Following up the well-received Enemy of Everyone, this Art of Murder is directly inspired by the Hannibal Lecter series of books by Thomas Harris. Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal and the fascinating interpersonal dynamics between the characters within. As well as some of the other associated material around the characters of said stories.
For those familiar with Conan Neutron’s oeuvre it has the Replicator muscle, the Mount Vicious weirdness and the V and A pop sensibility. For those that don’t, this is a record made by some smartass with sideburns that features one of the greatest living drummers. No big deal.
Live performances continue to be a like a comet sighting. Infrequent and rare, but there will be some shows, and more recordings to come. However, we urge you to give this record your FULL ATTENTION and to TURN IT UP.
This record was written and mostly arranged leisurely between November 7th, 2014 and March 7th 2015 by Conan Neutron. Tracks were given final arrangements and recorded at Sound of Sirens studio in Sun Valley, CA between May14th-18th, 2015 by Toshi Kasai. Mixing was done at Sound of Sirens between June 12th- July 28th. 2015 by Toshi Kasai.
Mastering was done at Chicago Mastering Company by Bob Weston: September 2015
Art and layout by Rick Froberg
This record was directly inspired by the Hannibal Lecter series of books by Thomas Harris. Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal and the fascinating interpersonal dynamics between the characters within. As well as some of the other associated material around the characters of said stories. Certain phrases are cited in the lyrical content and are done so with the utmost respect and admiration.
Thanks to Lindsey Neutron, Stephanie Vogt, Jordan Sobolew, Michael Marchant, Erica Strout, Lindsey Charles, Kevin Burkett and the Electrical Guitar Company and to all of the rest of the Friends of the Neutron out there. Secret, explicit or otherwise.
www.neutronfriends.com
All songs © Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 3.0 unported (CC BY-NC-SA3.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
credits
released March 1, 2016
Engineering/Production: Toshi Kasai
Vocals/Guitar: Conan Neutron
Bass: Tony Ash
Drums: Dale Crover
Additional Synth/Organ and Strings: Conan Neutron
Additional Vocals on Avid Fan and Chair of Antlers: Buzz Osborne
Additional Vocals on Eat the Rude and Chair of Antlers: Tony Ash
Additional Harmony Vocals on Quid Pro Quo and The Doctor Will See You Now: Dana Poblete
Additional Percussion and Vocals: Toshi Kasai
Additional Percussion: Dale Crover