JAC ZINDER-CHAIRS I HAVE KNOWN, CD, 1996 (RECORDED: 1984-1994), USA

Steaming Coils and Fibonaccis fans take heed! Though this extraordinary compendium slipped under the radar of most all but the L.A. scenesters that knew Zinder, this is one of the key pieces of the L.A. underground music scene extant. Zinder (who sadly passed away in the mid 90's after being hit by a car) was a central fixture of said scene. A writer, club promoter, musician, gadfly and bon vivant, Zinder exerted a powerful influence on all those he interacted with, as attested to by the raft of L.A. scene luminaries that share their anecdotes in the accompanying booklet. To quote an Option Magazine review: "...Zinder was a unique taste maker whose penchant for obscure soundtracks, underground weirdness and international pop prefigured the current trend toward lounge, surf and bachelor-pad music". With this archival CD, Zinder's extraordinary musical endevours (only published on a cassette release during his lifetime) are finally available to clue the rest of the world in to what a gifted creature he was. His band Stay Home (featuring Spencer Savage from Steaming Coils' first era and Fibonaccis' percussionist Joseph Berardi), whose tunes occupy the vast majority of this CD, were a seminal unit whose music will have immense and instantaneous appeal for all those attuned to the subtly skewed. Self described as sounding like "Italian spy movie sound-tracks done by a fifth grade jazz combo", I'd be hard pressed to offer a better thumbnail description of Stay Home's sensibility. With it's archly ironic approach, It's a sound that tidily holds the mid-ground between The Fibonaccis campily mannered perambulations and the cooly detached maneuvers of Australia's Essendon Airport. Just brilliant. The four Bufadora tracks that fill out the end of this disc offer a different window into Zinder's universe, exploring his Can-induced fixation on hypnotic grooves; all entirely nice, but it's Stay Home that's gonna end up sticking to your bones. Not to be missed.

Get part one Here

Get part two Here