Charles Rice Goff III is a veteran of the homemade musician underground, with a massive and varied body of work that dates back to the late 1970s. Black And Decker Q Tips is Volume 39 in the “Uncooked” series, and in the Uncooked spirit, all the music is performed solo, without the addition of effects or overdubs. The 3 track, 40 minute set was recorded on October 25, 2013 and are all unrehearsed improvisations. Charles utilizes loops to create multiple layers of accompaniment, jamming away on his Stratocaster, aided by various phaser, distortion and wah devices. He also inputs a microcassette recorder (with original tape recordings), music boxes, vibrators and toys into the guitar pickups. And to ensure you have fun at the hootenanny, he uses the following as guitar string preparations: Metal Slide, Sea Shell, Beaver Jaw/Teeth, Plectrums (Acetate, Felt, Metal), Fishing Lure, Vibrators, Marbles, Meat Tenderizer, Arrow Heads, Playing Cards.
Cordless Cerumen opens the set, with Charles jamming away in an acid-rock solo style, and this serves as the core for all the freakier spaced out soundscapes and avant-lysergic effects that slip, slide and glide along with it. Anitmicrobial Carbide Teeth starts off with an eerie, warbling fuzz-drone and spacey effects, soon joined by Frippertronic inspired guitar. But Charles’ take on Frippertronics includes other elements, the whole being an oddly pleasant and melodic, as well as slightly harsh and distorted, guitar and effects excursion that occupies one of the more experimental points on the space-psych axis. Random Orbit Swab struck me as being like an acid-fuzz-drone soundtrack to an avant-garde sci-fi film. It really does have an image inducing narrative quality. Charles creates waves of steadily weaving worm-like fuzz-scapes, along with anguished whining acid mind-fuck licks and other fun effects, the whole glom causing throbbing phase shifts in my brain. And for the last minute Charles goes off into what sounds like a freakout nod to Hendrix. Recommended to psychonauts who like experimental guitar improvisations that are deep in psychedelic space.
Black And Decker Q Tips can be downloaded for free at: https://archive.org/details/BlackAndDeckerQTips
If you are interested in a CD, email Charles at: padukem@sbcglobal.net
For a mind boggling array of information and catalog of releases dating back over 30 years, visit the Taped Rugs Productions web site at: http://www.tapedrugs.com
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz