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Below The Radar 01

Track 8

"Overcome"

From That Lonesome Road Between Hurt And Soul

Dredd Foole (aka Dan Ireton) and Ed Yazijian met in Boston in the 1980s when they were both involved in the city’s post-punk scene. Yazijian was playing in avant rock groups, including the original version of Cul De Sac; Ireton had just dissolved his free rock unit Dredd Foole & The Din. He wanted a chance to do some real singing. Yazijian was feeling a need for something more subtle and embraced the idea of actually being able to hear what he played. They set out to turn the world onto the largely acoustic folk and free Improv stew they had cooked up. The rock audiences of Boston where not impressed. Indifference and downright hostility were the norm. There was talk of an LP and some tentative recordings were done. But before anything could materialize, frustration took over and Ireton decided to retire from performing music altogether. Yazijian went back to rock with Kustomized. And eventually, Ireton bought a four-track and recorded the In Quest Of Tense LP (which some consider the opening salvo of the free folk movement) with Yazijian appearing on one track. But by the time it was released, they had gone their separate ways.

Years later by a series of coincidences they reconnected (Yazijian was in Chicago; Ireton had moved to Vermont) and they found that when they played together again it seemed nothing had been lost. They did a short tour with comrades and friends Damon & Naomi and eventually played the now legendary Brattleboro Free Folk Festival. A couple of years passed during which Ireton released three solo records and a record with a new improvisational version of The Din (which included Chris Corsano, Thurston Moore and the members of Pelt). Yazijian recorded and released a solo record, Six Ways To Avoid The Evil Eye. Then, in February 2008, the two recorded together in Foole’s Ashram in Brattleboro for the better part of a week. That Lonesome Road Between Hurt And Soul is the result of those sessions. Long talked about, long awaited, years in the making, the Dredd Foole & Ed Yazijian recordings are finally here.

Dredd Foole on MySpace
Bo' Weavil Recordings

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