Re: Isotope 217

Robin Davies
Thu, 8 Jan 1998 09:24:19 +0100


>Isotope 217 is John Herndon (the OTHER drummer in Tortoise besides john
>mcentire, who gets most the praise these days, Dan Bitney (one of the
>bass players in Tortoise), Jeff Parker (the newest Tortoise member who
>has yet to appear on any of their material) on trumpet I believe, as well
>as Sara P. Smith, Maat lux, and Rob Mazurek, all of whom I believe are
>members of a highly respected jazz ensemble in chicago (though the name
>escapes me at the moment).
>The album is produced by Bundy K. Brown (who put out a 12" earlier this

Whoa! John H. plays bass and guitar(Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day), John
Mc. plays the trap and vibes (Tortoise, Poster Children, Precious Wax
Drippings), Danny Bitney on trap, jembe, keys, (Tortoise, Uptighty,
Martinis(?), Tar Babies, Mecht Mensch) and for sure Parker plays guitar
(hollowbody Gibson ala Ted Nugent), other cast members.... Matt Lux is
definitely the bassist. Bundy and John H. seem to be the drivers behind
these projects (Isotope/Tortoise).

Name dropping aside. I know and love these guys and purely IMHO find most
of their products and shows to be... too noodly(!) Great review eh? Think I
can get that in Rolling Stone (eek!)? Point being that although ALL of
these players come from the indi-scene (ie DIY) they are extremely
talented! Nobody can rock a house like these two drummers and Lux is Phat
Phat Phat on the bass. Parker could be the next George Benson (?) Me thinks
the drivers want a loose artrock thing going and they settle for less than
the elite performance. There is value here and I enjoy both Tortoise and
Isotope, but know that w/ proper direction they could one of the greatest
bands ever. Just an opinion..... and no I don't want to produce their next
record!

R.

R. Davies UW-Madison Biochemistry Media Lab

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