drumzena
drumpet volume one [7" ep, chimp] 1993
drumzena drumpet
volume two [7" ep, chimp] 1994>>>trollin withdrawal<<<
hailed from:
boston, massachusetts
era:
1990 to 1995
members:
non robot #27 (vocals, guitar)
ronald rege (vocals, drums, various
instruments, art)
morgan andrews (various instruments
and gadgets, 1994-95)
andy bernick (live drums, 1994-95)
perhaps others
during:
the heart of trollin withdrawal was non robot #27 (many are aware of his given
name--- out of respect for non robot's wishes, it won't be mentioned here) and
ron rege. they formed sometime in 1990 (probably on cherokee street in mission
hill), and spent long nights and days recording around boston and cambridge
in vehicles, streets, bedrooms. non robot was the main lyricist---he sang, spoke,
or shouted while he played some sort of acoustic guitar, distilling and committing
to sound his mind and experiences. ron was the 4-track engineer, varied accompanist,
catalyst, art guru. the two played an assortment of shows around boston and
elsewhere. mainly, they recorded voraciously, creating an admixture of non robot's
raw story-songs and rege's maniacal noise (courtesy of his alter-ego, the discombobulated
ventriloquist). some of these songs were released on the chimp (morgan andrews)
and sealed hotel (wes wallace) labels. starting in 1994, morgan and andy bernick
were enlisted for various radio broadcasts, shows, and recordings in cambridge,
somerville, boston, providence, and elsewhere. things pretty well exploded on
4 april 1995, while recording a live set for tim leanse's 'end of radio' show
on wmfo (medford, ma). the majority of recorded material from 1994-95 (live
sets on wmfo and whrb, the cedar street sessions, etc) has never been officially
released (with the fine exception of the 'emil eye' ep on erroneous records),
but is slated to see the light of day in the near or far future.
since:
rege moved to california, made his mark in the comics world, and currently plays
drums in lavender diamond. andrews moved to philadelphia, where he currently
functions as a respected puppeteer. bernick studied birds in the nyc area for
eight years, and subsequently moved to philadelphia to finish up his degree.
non robot moved to worcester and worked various jobs (e.g. cabbie, medical launderer)
while continuing to write, make solitary music, and devise compelling tape collages.
some sort of life change occurred in late '04 or early '05---his location is
currently unknown.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
releases:
NB: check myspace.com/trollinwithdrawal for rotating tracks
drumzena
drumpet volume one [7" ep, chimp] 1993
drumzena drumpet
volume two [7" ep, chimp] 1994
shit
power! 1990-1994 [self-released cassette] 1994
/ click image above to hear 'big fat finger' /
magazine
apocalypso [7" ep, chimp] 1995
emil
eye [7" ep, erroneous] 1996
trollin withdrawal (live at whrb 1995) [web download, richmond county archives]
2005
/ click image above to download /
compilations:
don't
shove me on 'stealing the pocket' [lp, positively punk] 1995
worthless
iron shavings in wingnut v.2 [7" flexi, sealed hotel] 1996
snack
bar on 'sonic chimp v.1' [lp, sealed hotel] 1997
love is a cockroach
(solo non robot) on 'nevah have i evah-a sneaky flute family album' [cd, richmond
county archives] 2001
/ click above to hear 'love is a cockroach' /
never released:
i've lost my magic feather: the downhill
raw lit/art of trollin withdrawal [lp] 1996
the yellow thing [lp] 1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------
literature:
inserts:
from 'stealing the pocket' compilation
linx:
non robot #27
ron rege
trollin withdrawal download on richmond county archives
(rca006)
morgan at puppet uprising
an animation for 'love
is a cockroach' by stefan gruber
wesley wallace
tim leanse/infrasound
lacunae/douglas wolk
fat day
swirlies (all of trollin withdrawal
were part of this band at some point or another)
holy sons (emil of 'emil eye')
daniel joseph o'leary III
miscellaneous opinion:
how anyone could dbl track those vocals
is beyond me... tech-nerd shit aside, it's quite a tune!
---rob laakso (diamond nights) weighs in on 'gardetto's original snack'ns'
"cartoonist ron regé jr.
was for years an unofficial fifth swirlie, drawing the band's record covers,
making between-song noise on its recordings and borrowing tutunjian's 4-track
tape deck when the band was on tour. that's where trollin withdrawal, a duo
of regé and a gentleman who goes by the name of non-robot #27, comes
in. their recordings of tunelets, raps, babbling and noise (three 7-inch eps
with seven to ten songs apiece and a cassette) have the lowest imaginable "fidelity"
(like, on a walkman in the back seat of a vw golf); mostly, they sound like
beck's most self-indulgent moments. regé and n.r. #27 are effectively
non-musicians, and they're overly enamored of the "speed-up" setting
on the tape deck. those warnings posted, the records are a delight: totally
fun, inventive, charming and sweet, and improving with multiple listenings.
when the two of them chant "your dreams can come true and your prayers
can be answered" on the magazine apocalypso's "bumping incident,"
they're giggling like they're stoned out of their minds, but they also sound
like they really mean it. not for the easily annoyed, but definitely at the
top of their strange class."
---from douglas wolk's entry in trouser
press
"…some trollin withdrawal
song that i must have gotten from vanderslice and which is actually as bad as
most indie-rock is alleged to be…"
---a recent reaction to trollin by f.b.
"i like everything i post, so
further urging shouldn't be necessary. but with this song i can make the dual
promise that if you like it you will be very glad you clicked the link, and
if you don't like it, it won't take you long to realize that you need to turn
it off. trollin withdrawal were ron rege and non-robot #27, who made a handful
of bizarre seven-inches in the 90s before non-robot vanished and rege turned
his attention more seriously toward cartooning. they recorded some of their
songs in the back of a vw golf and, as you've probably noticed, really liked
the speed control on their tape machine. the great thing about trollin withdrawal
is that their gibberish is all so intentional. they frequently backtrack in
order to get a part right (on all their records, though mistakes plague this
one more than usual) and you can't beat the sincerity with which they deliver
lines like "i found it in a circle of c.i.t.'s / it started to like me
too much (oh...)"
---from a march 2005 post on the horn farm paste mob