While looking through old photos for this website I came across this poster for a tour I organized in 2008.

This tour was one of the craziest, funnest, most amazing musical experiences of my life. It was a dream come true. These are two of my favorite musicians and songwriters ever. They are both just fountains of creativity, and each so unique to themselves, inimitable. We were all already friends and fans of each other so it was really fun, and the chemistry between us on stage was electric. It was just raw power unleashed. Everyone knew exactly what to do to support and spur each other on. I have had the very good fortune to be playing drums for many an ecstatic musical epiphany, more times than I can count, but this entire tour remains one of the most memorable high points of creativity.

It is absolutely insane that these guys are not both widely hailed as great legends. They are in some small circles but only amongst a few hundred people scattered here and there around the world. In my reckoning they are both up there with the greatest singer-songwriter-musicians in rock n roll history.

Ish Marquez grew up in the Bronx like myself. I first met him hanging out Manhattan’s Central Park when I was in high school. He was in an amazing acoustic trio of latino stoner punks called Hallucination Station. They played music I have never heard the likes of anywhere else, before or since. Ish’s propulsive guitar was the engine that drove it.

He’s got a relentless strumming style and some rare and fierce mojo that takes over when he plays, like he’s possessed. He loves Sam Cooke and old soul and doo-wop records, and that informs his choice of such sweet and melancholy chords, but then he plays them so furiously, he makes a guitar sound so fat and full. And his voice is amazing. He howls and cackles and moans and sings beautifully. It’s haunting. Here is a great classic example.

Some years after those days in Central Park, Ish found his way to a scene that revolved around the “Anti-folk” open mic at the Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village. Countless amazing acts were gathered around this scene at the time, including my future bandmate Jeffrey Lewis, and the Moldy Peaches who both got signed to Rough Trade Records. Adam Green and Kimya Dawson compiled a collection of music documenting the scene which was released on Rough Trade under the name Antifolk Vol. 1. and Gin is not my Friend was Ish’s contribution. That track stood out as very memorable to anyone who’s ever heard that album, I’ve heard that reported from numerous people around the world.

When word got around my musician friends about the whole Sixto Rodriguez thing, a few years before the Sugarman movie came out, and we heard the album Cold Fact for the first time, we all had the same reaction, “Thats great, he’s kinda got that Ish rhythm!” Really he’s the only one I know of who has something like Ish’s sensibilities. And it’s a similar story. Ish is just out there, living in France now, an absolute legend still mostly undiscovered to the world.

He has travelled around and lived in a number of different places all these years, but he’s never really got his music career off the ground. He’s recorded many amazing tracks but never put together a really great album. He’s done the occasional tour support slot but not kept a band together for a long time. He and I talk about it occasionally, us both being expats in Europe now. I hope we will get it together again someday soon. And actually something may be brewing now. I’ll be sure to let you know more soon.

And Stanley Brinks… oh man, he’s a whole ‘nother story. That’s going to have to wait again for another time. “Our generation’s Dylan” I once heard my friend David Deery say. I will say be on the lookout in the UK for his upcoming album with the Wave Pictures titled, Gin. It’s awesome.