Lungbasket Recordings, originated in 2011 by a group of friends in Geneva, IL and now based in Roslindale, MA, prides their catalog on being focused on “improvised and experimental music, American song, historical American music, and all things quiet and loud. Our artists are producing some of the most exciting music being made today.” They weren’t lying. In particular, one of their brightest stars to date is free-jazz impresario E.T. Parcell.
Amassing a large discography through mostly collaborative work, Parcell appears to be one of the hardest-working musicians on the scene right now. From providing the drums for Tredici Bacci and Cowboy Band to playing the electric bass for Every Kim Parcell, you’ve heard him but you might not know his name. Yet. Parcell takes a leading position in Vesper Chimes (guitar, singing, tape) and with solo work such as his Good News for Orchestra, created for the Boston Conservatory Composers’ Orchestra. Good News stampedes in with a triumphant horn section as a frenetic cacophony follows right behind it; a march with good intentions, Parcell’s tongue-in-cheek News solidifies his status as an up-and-coming composer and lets listeners know that the orchestra is still alive and kicking.
What you really need to be listening to is Parcell’s side project, Dog Brain Ragtime Band. A completely theatrical hybrid of flash and substance, Dog can be heard exclusively through their SoundCloud page. Take a listen to Dog’s “Bed Bug Stomp,” a taped performance where the entire kitchen sink full of instruments are thrown in as a voice, possibly Parcell’s, shouts “SORRY!” Like a found-footage montage, every “mistake” (i.e., footsteps, laughter, string screeching, general howling) renders the whole and is completely intentional. With a sudden cymbal crash, time signatures change and a rapid-fire drum leads the charge. This is music with a lot of stamina in short bursts, which makes sense, because somewhere on the Internet Parcell is mentioned as being born in ’92.
The youth are in revolt, they’ve got ahold of the music-theory textbooks, and they’re playing by their own set of rules. Parcell is at the head of the class.
