WILL NOT FADE AWESOMENESS AWARD 2019 – DAVID ZEIDLER

New Musical Horizons tent at dunk!fest 18. Zeidler and myself in front, with Guillaume Morette (centre) and the guys from Ranges behind.

Last year I invented an award for Adam Page, who deserved some praise for his work. Being an arbitrary award, I didn’t have set selection criteria or anything of the sort, I just think Page is awesome, and contributes a lot to the music scene.

So this year the choice seemed fairly obvious to me. And it is somewhat ironic that this recipient isn’t even a musician, but there’s no denying that he has contributed hugely to his music scene on an international scale.

I first came across David Zeidler through his writing. At the time he wrote for Echoes & Dust. Later on his was a key figure running Arctic Drones (the best post-rock site out there – give those guys some love!). And now he contributes to Heavy Blog Is Heavy.

Funnily enough, is roots aren’t in music, but horror films. He cut his teeth writing for horror zine Fangoria, and organising cult horror film screenings in New England cinemas. Over the years he transitioned to post-rock music, using the skills he’d aquired through his writing and by running events.

Ranges, Cloud Shelter, Zeidler and Joseph Hard Rock Cafe Lyon

Thinking back, our first interactions were when Zeidler asked me if I’d like to contribute to a Explosions In The Sky tribute he was assembling.

Not long after he asked me to suggest some good local bands. He was working with CJ Blessum of A Thousand Arms [and Ranges, and also former WNF writer] to put out Open Language, an international post-rock compilation, and wanted to find acts from all over the globe so that they’d have a wide selection of music to showcase. A Thousand Arms now have six compilations out, which have helped countless music fans discover new bands from around the world.

Not happy to settle with the work he’d done already, Zeidler formed a few Facebook groups to cultivate an online community. One in particular is great initiative and an invaluable resource for all the creative figures in the game, who can reach out to find others for recording, touring, design, reviews, . It is common to see something along the lines of “Hey, my band x is trying to put a tour together in this region around these dates.”, with many others replying to help piece the tour together.

Now it’s one thing to organise and promote a few local shows, or even provide a platform for others to do it themselves, but Zeidler decided to jump in the deep end and organise a music festival with an international line-up.

Inspired by a trip to dunk!fest in Belgium, Zeidler decided that America needed something equivalent. He began working on putting on dunk!USA in his hometown of Burlington, featuring a stellar line-up from America, as well as a few international acts. He already had a full-time job, plus his work writing for Arctic Drones, but decided that jumping in the deep end and taking the workload of organising a festival of this size with within his capabilities.

dunk!USA wasn’t a total success in a financial sense, but it provided a springboard for launching this year’s post. Festival in Indiana, and paved the way for possible future dunk!USA events. It was well run, felt professional, and brought many bands from the American scene together.

I personally had a great time at the event. I’d been on tour with the band Ranges, working as a roadie/tour blogger, helping with set ups/pack downs and documenting the tour with my writing and photography. The festival was the climax of said tour. I was stoked to finally meet David in person once we’d arrived in Burlington, and we even stayed at his apartment.

Drunk Joseph during Astronoid at dunk!USA. The back of Zeidler’s head far right. Image taken from Behind The Scenes footage in the forthcoming Ranges DVD The Ascent

The following year Ranges invited me back on tour with them, this time in Europe. But they also invited Zeidler.

I’ll be honest, I felt threatened. I thought I’d already proved myself when touring with Ranges in America. Why did they need another blogger?
Arctic Drones has a far greater reach than I’ll ever have, so I was worried I’d be stuck under Zeidler’s shadow.

I needn’t have worried. Zeidler wasn’t trying to steal my job (can I call it a job? It was unpaid. Internship maybe?). We have different focuses anyway – Zeidler writes about foods he ate on tour, whereas I’m more Gonzo styled and write about the crazy character I meet, or shenanigans I get up to.

We shared some quality time together, eating fine European foods. It was nice to have a friend to spend time with who was free when the band was doing soundcheck. We ate fine cheeses and meat in Paris, and went on a crepe date in Lyon.

In the Ranges tour van in Europe. Image: Luxinvictus

These days Zeidler is writing for Heavy Blog Is Heavy, and runs PR company Young Epoch – an arm of A Thousand Arms which focuses on promoting bands and running smaller local events. I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes an appearance at dunk!fest in Belgium again next year, or has a part to play in organising another USA festival in the next year or two.

So there you have it: music promoter, festival and show organiser, publicist, and stalwart of the international post-rock community – David Zeidler, recipient of the 2019 Will Not Fade Awesomeness Award.

p.s. Zeidler snores like a bear.

Joseph James

Hemispheres – A Free Post-Rock Compilation From A Thousand Arms

Hemispheres

A Thousand Arms have released another great new free post-rock compilation Hemispheres, to follow on from the awesome Open Language compilation released last year.

Open Language was split into two parts, with Side A representing American acts, and Side B featuring international artists.

Hemispheres follows this theme, with Side A representing the Northern Hemisphere, and Side B representing the Southern Hemisphere.

I’m quite excited to see a few New Zealand acts represented on Side B (Kerretta, Sora Shima and Into Orbit). Not a bad selection to showcase our homegrown talent to the rest of the world!

Here’s the track listing:

Side A: Northern Hemisphere

Old Solar – Summer Solstice

RLYR – Slipstream Summer

Au Revoir – Reverie

Eupana – The Night the Stars Fell

The Great Cold – EOS

Malämmar – I

Of the Vine – I’m Morrissey, I’m Dead.

Spurv – Passacaglia (fugler med ord i nebbet)

Sleeping Bear – Emerged

Mountain – Mondo Kane

Glories – Bravo Sierra

Ranges – Kingdom

Caspian – Sad Heart of Mine

Appalaches – Milsai

Build and Release – St Helen pt. 2

Meniscus – Overhang

Antorchas – Stalingrado Fosa Comun

Hélices – BrvdxTripp

Kjjjjjjjjj – Grrrrrrrrr

Kerretta – Ossein Trail

Under The Big Bright Yellow Sun – BERTAHAN *Angelic Version (Jeruji Cover)

Mesozoic – The Turtle

El lenguaje como obstáculo – Adonis Minos

Hashshashin – Levitation

Fourteen Nights At Sea – No Capital

Sora Shima – And Behold a Pale Horse

We Set Sail – Forgotten Shores

Kalouv – Da Bravura, Inocência

Into Orbit – Unearthing

Hello Porkins – Melon Felon

blienvesne – Definitivamente ellos no son los dueños del viento

Bear the Mammoth – Molly

CJ and David have once again outdone themselves with this collection. 36 great tracks from all over the world, lovingly chosen and presented in a great wee package.

So head along to https://athousandarms.bandcamp.com/ to download Hemispheres and discover your next favourite new band!

Joseph James

Arctic Drones’ tribute to Explosions In The Sky – The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place

We are honoured to be included in a piece that David Zeidler has put together to celebrate the thirteenth anniversary of Explosions In The Sky’s seminal third album, The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place. Joseph’s snippet features alongside a great many other musicians, designers and writers involved in the wider post-rock scene, all reflecting on the EITS album and how it has influenced them.

The Blaze and the Bloom: Explosions in the Sky’s The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place and its Integral Duality

David (who organised the Arctic Drones article) had also teamed up with our own writer CJ Blessum to organise the incredible international post-rock compilation Open Language, released earlier this year.

Thanks to David Zeidler and Arctic Drones for involving Will Not Fade in your work!

Open Language – Free Post-Rock Compilation from A Thousand Arms

Arctic Drones writer David Zeidler and our own CJ Blessum from the band Ranges have teamed up to release an incredible post-rock compilation through CJ’s company A Thousand Arms called Open Language.

The comp is split into two sides, with Side A featuring the cream of the crop of American post-rock acts, and Side B featuring an array of acts from around the rest of the world. 34 songs for absolutely free. And, even better, the four tracks marked with an asterisk are previously unreleased!

Here’s the line up:

SIDE A: USA
1. Of the Vine – Even If I Never See You In This Life…
2. Wander – Soar
3. Tides of Man – Young and Courageous
4. RANGES – Crown *
5. I/O – Twins
6. Pray for Sound – Conceiver
7. Rhone – Cedar Springs *
8. This Patch of Sky – And So They Watched As The Years Passed Us By
9. Bright Like the Sun – Jupiter *
10. Beware of Safety – Husbands & Hangmen
11. Covet – Charybdis
12. The End Of The Ocean – Star-Crossed
13. A Film In Color – All The Darkness Looks Alive
14. Coastlands – Seafarer and the Squall *
15. set and setting – The Last Night, A Vivid Memory
16. Compass & Knife – Drowned in Desire
17. Signals To Vega – Fear Not the Cycle of Life

SIDE B: Around The World
1. We Lost The Sea – A Gallant Gentleman
2. Winter Dust – There
3. Mutiny on the Bounty – Countach
4. Tom’s Story – Anchors
5. We Deserve This – Illuminate
6. Degree of Arc – Immunity in Collapse
7. Vasa – As Long As It Doesn’t Explode
8. Oh Hiroshima – Mirage
9. cataya – Tal Sperre
10. Dumbsaint – Love Thy Neighbor
11. Bear, The Storyteller – Come Here, Animals
12. Appalaches – Nola
13. Ocean Districts – Discovery
14. thisquietarmy – From Darkness Redux
15. Show Me A Dinosaur – Wojna
16. Fourteen Nights At Sea – Chiltern Justice
17. Lehnen – Grey Like Travel

Click the following link to check out the brilliant compilation: https://athousandarms.bandcamp.com/

And of course, don’t forget to support the bands that you will inevitably fall in love with as a result of this carefully compiled collection of music.

Hopefully this will be the first release of many. Thanks CJ and David for your efforts, and to all the bands who contributed their stellar material to the cause.

Will Not Fade

Content for music lovers

David Zeidler