Michael Atonal Vick (fretless guitars, bass, glissentar); Todd Campbell (electro acoustic drums)

VEAD: FootHills Jam am:pm is a 2010 release featuring the duo of Michael Atonal Vick (fretless guitars & bass + glissentar) and Todd Campbell (electro acoustic drums) in blatant microtonally charged improvizations and compositions. This recording is a Certified No fret Recording (CNfR) Unfretted Records.

"I feel we're at a turning point where the fretless guitar is shedding its novelty status and becoming a viable instrument in its own right." Vick in Guitar Player



"VEAD's Foothills Jam represent's Michael "Atonal" Vick's most recent foray into the atonal/microtonal world of the fretless guitar. As Vick has boasted on his website, fretnet.com has stated, "He plays fretted and fretless guitars, and sometimes his music takes a little getting used to." The music has to be considered some sort of new genre: tongue-in-cheek avant garde. If Ornette Coleman, Bernie Worrell, Les Claypool, Frank Zappa and Spike Jones' DNA was spliced into a guitar playing test tube baby, the result be something like Vick."

"With dissonant slap bass runs, microtonal sliding licks and percussion supplemented by Todd Campbell, the music would probably make a great soundtrack to a R. Crumb comic book. Sci fi sounds and jagged and/or cartoonish riffs abound on tracks like the title track and "Cave-Ceiling Dwellers." "Kierancely-Hyphened" is a sort of spooky Tom Waits atonal Mississippi delta stream of sonic consciousness. At times the guitar sounds somewhat similar to the japanese koto, and then before you know what's happening Vick turns a corner again. On tracks like "Mirrored in Moving Glaciers," by flirting with the micro tonality it seems as though Vick is interested in questioning presuppositions about music. It's just out enough to initiate a listener to micro tonality without completely scaring anybody. There is no question that Vick can play some hip "in" music (check out themichaelvicktrip.com ), but for this date he is unquestionably stretching and/or destroying any semblance of tonal composition. For the adventurous listeners out in the sonic stratosphere who gravitate toward avant sounds by groups like Happy Apple or Buffalo Collision Vead's new release might be worth checking out. But for the faint hearted listener who may have difficulty with dissonance or composition devoid of structure…consider yourself warned." ABLX Staff

1. Da-Roadah Pigulet
2. FootHills Jam (LISTEN TO AUDIO)
3. Cave-Ceiling Dwellers (LISTEN TO AUDIO)
4. Kierancely-Hyphened (LISTEN TO AUDIO)
5. Mirrored in Moving-Glaciers (LISTEN TO AUDIO)
6. Reflections of a Ghost With NoBody (LISTEN TO AUDIO)
7. Harmonical-Resolutions/Hypnoticight (LISTEN TO AUDIO)
8. Sniff O'hen
9. Campground on Jupiter-Seas
10. Open-Calls on Double Lunar Closings
11. Climb to Scale a Notation
12. Reprise of Original Arabicey Theme Middle Lakes
13. Burnt But Not Fried (slight return)
14. Dishes in a Mountain Stream, Washin'
15. V-Land Surprise
16. Urinal-Falls Vacation Center Jam