I found out today that my friend, fellow noisenik (on several of my Jewish Noise records releases), collaborator, artist and past studiomate Monte Williams passed away yesterday. Monte performed with Spiderworks, Weak Stream and solo as stole_life. Monte was nothing if not singular. He once chased me on foot and booed the Eagles as I biked home from the studio. We used to work side by side in the studio: me working on photos or fabric work while Monte cut a lino block or built a print/light installation. The photo above is from my send off party at our old studio in Riverside. Monte’s playing his beloved hand-luthed Gretsch guitar with Joe Hill (Spiderworks, Alien Ant Farm, Weak Stream), Demonslayer on the right, and myself offscreen since I took the shot and was playing the circuit-bent Barbietron II. I have a recording of Weak Stream from a Vanagallery guerilla performance that I wanted to release and still plan on it. Below are some field recordings Monte made in India in 2006. Monte was a world traveller and encouraged me to see more of the world. Goodbye friend.
The following mp3s are recordings of conversations, monastery chants, sheep and horse bleats, and prayer wheels in India by stole_life 2006 from Jewish Noise Magazine, released in 2008. Soma Gompa Prayer Wheels
