Bitchin Bajas

Formerly a side project, now definitely a band in their own right. This is a thread for them. RIYL Frippertronics, Terry Riley, Alice Coltane, cosmic yoga music.

you can listen to them here https://soundcloud.com/bitchin-bajas
not too long ago they had 47 followers on soundcloud, and now there are 144

here they are being bouncier than usual https://soundcloud.com/permanentrecords/bitchin-bajas-krausened-promo

here they are last year live in paris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm1QgXdZrVk

i remember when this had under 50 views on youtube, now it has...1,944!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skNz1u9DUhI

also this is from their new album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ciyUDlY0Q

bugger.
lp and cass only :(
stop with the elitist gumph, and press a few cds ...
would definitely buy.

i think they usually do downloads at the drag city site? it appears to be not on the site yet (since i guess technically the album is not for sale yet) but i wonder if they'll add that option once the release date comes and goes. unless you really wanted the CD, and in that case you appear to be out of luck.

i find it irritating that DC doesn't offer dl codes with vinyl purchase, but so be it

Damn, was hoping the was an I Love Style thread.

I really enjoyed their show last night. They don't hide their influences at all, but why should they?

picked up a split 45 they did with moon duo a couple years back. dug their track but let them slip in favor of whatever else. "bouncier" track up above is treating my saturday morning quite nicely.

yeah, DC's no free downloads policy sucks

omg i wrote alice COLTANE

you know what i meant

Wmc what was the rest of the show like? From listening to the record this morning they played side B in the second set. Was there more guitar?

The new record is fantastic. There is a multi cassette release in the works. The "no cd's" thing isn't elitism, they just prefer analog.

i'm not annoyed by what i perceive as elitism, i'm annoyed by not getting a download w the LP

seems like industry standard at this point

we're complaining about two separate issues (not making CDs, not offering download codes -- the latter is DC policy afaict, the former up to the band?)
either way, i'm looking forward to more people enjoying this band

There was a bit more guitar iirc, plus they brought in some percussion loops for the last piece. Pared down to 3 players for the 2nd half.

oh ok, so it was more like the regular show
good to know!
i'm glad you enjoyed it!

I liked that they did that song named after Water Wrackets, which is one of my favorite Peter Greenaway things. They have good taste obv!

haha I listened to that one on spotify, my mind wandered and I genuinely forgot that I wasn't actually listening to a terry riley album!

I dig this

I was stood in a record store earlier today holding a copy of Vibraquatic in my hands. I put it back in the rack though so I guess I flunked the test?

fuck yeah bitchin bajas!

Why didn't you buy it? That was the wrong choice.

They did a whole soundtrack for Water Wrackets!

cos i already had an armful of awesome records! also the cover art was a bit iffy. xp

Guess I can't argue with that. It's good though.

I bet it is! I actually got Water Wrackets off emusic and that was very good.

Pared down to 3 players for the 2nd half.

3rd dude played sax mainly or exclusively iirc. was good to see how different the main set was from what they're presumably normally like!

looking fwd to this. krausened is fantastic

Frippertronics / Alice etc is totes my wheelhouse but can't, won't, on principle, listen to a band that can't come up with a better name for themselves than Bitchin Bajas. Sorry. What if I choke to death on a cookie and this is the last thing they find on my turntable? "Looks like he checked out to...'Bitchin' Bajas.'"

I know, but you should still give it a try. It has been a few years and I've come around. I prescribe time and patience.

yeah, it's remarkably terrible. plus when they appeared, i was boycotting all beach-related band names & chill 80s ephemera in general. but the lecher's right. they're like harrison bergeron.

Don't call me that! Geez.

I know from having an unfortunate moniker, obvs. A lifelong burden!

all apologies. meant only in respectful jest.

Tell that to the Nestlé corporation, buddy :)

:)))

Frippertronics / Alice etc is totes my wheelhouse but can't, won't, on principle, listen to a band that can't come up with a better name for themselves than Bitchin Bajas. Sorry. What if I choke to death on a cookie and this is the last thing they find on my turntable? "Looks like he checked out to...'Bitchin' Bajas.'"

― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Saturday, July 13, 2013 6:54 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think they are very deliberately trolling with their band name (and album titles). certainly evokes four non blondes or a jimmy buffett cover band much more than any of their musical reference points.

Saw them today, & despite them arriving late and only getting to play for ~20 minutes, it ruled. Nice mix of guitar, mostly sax (a little flute), and keyboard/oscillator (?) running beneath it all, along with some pre-recorded percussion tracks. great guitar sounds...wished the set had gone on for 60. took some video i'll put up at some point.

love the new record, too.

so sad that some people won't listen to them because of the name! lol

awesome band, good people, great music

Maybe someday they will accept live percussion :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzWX9V894so

ha, love the grass cam!

I couldn't help but just chill in the shade on a grassy patch. Wasn't anyone around when they started, but a good 30 or 40 accumulated behind me by the end of the jam.

nice!

personally i love the band name

i hope they call their first album with a drummer "hit with the rhythm stick"

love this drone + sax noise https://soundcloud.com/bitchin-bajas/rip-this-joint-stones-cover

it's kind of a mess but i like it anyway

SMOKIN'

Last night I saw them perform Terry Riley's In C with 20+ extra musicians, many of whom i have never seen before (and some I have) -- i'm really curious who coordinated this performance? getting 25 (26? some people were out of my view) people in the same place once is a challenge, but ostensibly they had to practice at least once? Also, I know the score is fluid and can be adapted -- who was in charge of that? I could have stayed after to ask, I guess but I don't like to bombard people with questions after they spent roughly an hour playing music in a room that was getting increasingly hotter as the hour went on.

Overall it was great!

this album gets better each time I play it

Yeah, this is great!

I wouldn't mind a new CAVE album while we are at it.

samesies

doing a short Midwest tour with Ryley Walker in March:

https://townsquare.media/site/838/files/2021/12/attachment-ryley-bitchin.jpeg?w=540&h=675&q=75

new one sounds great

https://bitchinbajas.bandcamp.com/album/bajascillators

heard it on the radio! yeah it's pretty cool

Can we get these dudes and Horse Lords to tour all over the country, please? Seems to be timing out well this time.

This year's album is utterly lovely, especially the first track which is like Steve Reich meets In a Silent Way.

Yes, first track is a highlight.

There’s also an alternate version of “Quackenbush” floating around out there which I prefer to the album version.

They just did a dc area gig and one in Baltimore both near me and I missed em both unfortunately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmsi-CBnyOk

Thanks for the heads-up, 'Amorpha' is delicious

wow this band has been around for almost a decade!!

haha, i still sort of think of them as a Cave side-project, but I guess that is not really the case, is it

understanding its origin as a side project makes it considerably easier to look past the truly shitty band name imo :)

i love BBs but i do miss cave

every now and then Cave's instagram will spring to life (with generally random posts), so maybe they're not entirely kaput.

I miss Cave, too. But they just released an album in 2018 ... which I recognize is 4+ years ago, but I don't think they're gone for good.

feels like literally a million years ago, haha

personally i love the band name

― the late great, Monday, 26 August 2013 18:04 (nine years ago)

New album is bitchin, as usual!

yeah i love the name

i think i remember them saying at their last show NYE a few years back that one of the cave members lives in nyc now? given how local scene oriented the other members are, it would explain the relative inactivity

If anyone wants to sell me the CASSETTE version of their 2014 self-titled album Bitchin Bajas, I will pay good money for it. Thanks.

New album with Natural Information Society!

https://bitchinbajas.bandcamp.com/album/totality

A little bummed with no CD release and $34 for a single LP though. Seems like a lot.

i need to hear this

xp yah this is why I no longer fetishize any new vinyl, ok I admit I kinda want the Roberto Cacciapaglia reissues but generally I just go FLAC for almost anything new these days, just my preference

also I had no idea there was an earlier collaboration?!

i am fine paying $9 for digital in this instance. i don't need any more CDs. and i don't really have the money to be spending $30+ on new vinyl

Yeah, it's from 2015. It's pretty good!

I guess I'm just surprised to see Drag City, usually a label that I've always thought of as very reasonably priced, climbing so high for a single LP. Looks like they've usually been about $24, with a couple creeping up to $28, but $34 is a whole new level. Which might be fine, if they were calling out anything special about this particular release.

Anyway... glad this is coming out and I'll totally buy a digital copy. Was just all set to instantly purchase a physical copy before I saw the options. Guess I can always settle for the... cassette lol

something about paying $13 for a cassette is so sad to me

I guess I'm still underestimating the demand for cassettes out there, but this label seems to put out more of those than CDs at this point.

cassettes make a lot of sense if you're doing it yourself. and i like them and enjoy collecting them -- plus when you buy one at a show, you can stick it in your pocket and not have to carry an LP around. but i think bigger labels putting them out in shiny shrinkwrap for $13 is maybe appealing to a different kind of person ... i have a feeling maybe younger kids enjoy them as a kind of nostalgia / action figure vibe

I went on a big tape kick last year but I'm done now, it was fun! and yeah a lot of them were egg punk obscurities in runs of 30-50

... #onethread

Yeah, I think they are cool in certain contexts and definitely nice for small scale DIY runs.

I def think of them more as a nice, small token that represents the album and supports the artist. I do know one (1) friend who skateboards to his elementary school teaching job and listens to cassettes though, bless him.

I did a tape release a couple of years ago and still sort of can't believe they sold, I don't think I ever was able to listen to my own tape (although I do sincerely miss my Walkman days, '92 - 00).

Yeah, I mean, I'm looking right now at the (still unopened, which is why I probably won't get the new one) cassette I got for their Switched On Ra thing, since I wanted to throw them a few extra bucks beyond the download cost.

ironically, I can play tapes on my current setup but not CDs - I still sometimes get tapes that aren't available on digital, so I rip them on an old Onkyo deck. CD's I can just rip right into the hard drive, so I don't actually have a CD player anymore.

$34 is high, but does include US shipping

including shipping makes that price completely reasonable, doesn't it?

for one record? it's a little high

i have no idea what shipping costs - i assume more than ever. any idea how much it is to ship one LP? if it's more than $6, then you're into your $28 price point ... $10 gets you to $24.

i'm not arguing the point ... records cost too much in general. but including shipping in that number makes me feel a lot better about it.

$5 for media mail now xp

yes and don't forget the increased cost of mailers. i hardly see anyone on discogs these days offering LP shipping for less than $7. so it's definitely a better deal than i initially thought

Yeah, it's close. certainly I'd prefer to pay $25 for a single LP and start to balk at $27, $28 and beyond.

Cassette prices are dumb, too. There should be a law against double-digit cassette prices.

Yeah, the shipping included as a good point, though my point was just that the price is even higher than other single LP releases from Drag City that have been recently issued or currently up for pre-order.

The Freckle (Ty Segall project) LP is $26, the David Grubbs LP is $30, the Geologist LP is $28, the Mess Esque is $29.

Kind of all over the place, really, wonder just how they arrive at the different price points.

Anyway, no intention to dump on Drag City, it's a good label. The price point just stuck out to me relative to others.

I'm just happy to be getting new NIS on Drag City. If Eremite put it out it would be $40+ after shipping.

My theory about the price variations at DC is something to do with packaging (gatefolds, tip-on sleeves, etc.), but I don't really understand it either. But hey, shipping included and no tax if you order from their site.

New album with Natural Information Society is superb. Like falling safely, soundly asleep on a thinly vibrating highwire.

A mere 37 bucks for the album. Let alone postage. <wide eyes emoji>