Date: Thu, 5 May 1994 22:04:32 -0700 From: Brant Nelson Subject: Kendra Smith press release This is the latest Kendra Smith press release from 4AD. Kendra Smith joins 4AD Northern California based recording artist Kendra Smith has signed to 4AD, worldwide. Kendra has begun recording her first solo disc for the label, slated for release in early fall. She currently has ten songs in demo form, with plans to segue the tracks together via sound collage. The disc's instrumentation will be centered around an antique pump organ and will implement a wide scope of instruments such as violin, Turkish drums and Indian harmonium. "And of course, the distorgan, fuzz guitar and bass, three of my favorite traditional instruments," says Kendra. "So far, the music ranges from twisted classical to organic electric pop, but I make no predictions. The random factor is part of the plan." Kendra was drawn to 4AD by the label's size and artistic focus. "I can deal directly with 4AD without the usual labyrinth of intermediaries and suits." As to the label's music, "I had intentionally stopped keeping up with new sounds on the 'outside', and knew 4AD mainly by reputation, so I was pleased when I enjoyed the tapes that Ivo sent me. Meanwhile I'm still listening to Syd, Can, Faust, Eno and a good amount of Middle and Near Eastern music. Certain melodies and frequencies attract me, but I find them here and there, and not entirely in commercially produced music. It's pretty obvious the artform has been vampirized, and its social and spiritual functions altered bizarrely by narcissism and greed." Kendra originally achieved critical acclaim as founding member of Los Angeles based outfits The Dream Syndicate, Clay Allison and Opal. After her exit from the latter, she departed from the urban grind of Los Angeles, feeling the need to get out of the system and reassess what was truly necessary. Subsequently, Kendra now prefers to live in the woods without modern conveniences. Her way of life is "primitive and can be physically and 'psychically' demanding." says Kendra, "but it's satisfying to me. There are many opportunities to study nature and conduct scientific experiments. I know enough of humans already..." Regarding her sabbatical from public performing, she adds, "when the music calls for it. Sometimes you learn more by not playing, which makes me a genius, right?" However, Kendra's break from music was ended on a Northern California road-trip when she discovered an old pump organ in a dusty shop corner. "I touched it once and knew it would open musical doors for me, I began to consider recording again." Then in 1992, Kendra officially returned by releasing "The Guild of Temporal Adventurers" EP (Fiasco). It was written and recorded in two weeks with two members of the elusive Guild, plus an assortment of fellow conspirators. The disc displayed Kendra's penchant for beautiful melodies and as a result, ended up on many year end Top 10 Lists. typed in by brant Date: Sat, 29 Jun 1996 19:43:39 -0400 From: BluBelKnol@AOL.COM Subject: Kendra Smith's "Guild..." found Thought I'd let all my fellow Kendra fans know that it appears "The Guild of Temporal Adventures" has been re(?)- released in a 10" vinyl format. I'm not sure of a tape or CD format, as the record shop people didn't even know about the 10" they had. $9.99 got me this hard to find Kendra jewel... 6 tracks in all. listing as "Stars are in your eyes" "Earth same breath" "Waiting in the rain" "She brings the rain" "Iridescence 31" "Wheel of the Law" out on Fiasco records (P.O. Box 34416 Los Angeles, CA 90034) --- no evident catalogue number though...looks as if the store used the address for a # with a minor mix-up...they used 3441690037...hopefully this will help someone when ordering. Or you can just call the record store I bought mine at (they had 2 left).... contact Desirable Discs II 13939 Michigan Ave. Dearborn, MI 48126 (313) 581-1767 simplistic artwork, thoughtful wrap-up job though. ~blu~ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 01:12:03 -0400 From: Srilank@AOL.COM Subject: Re: Kendra Smith not on 4AD anymore? << ...and while not a surefire method of telling who is signed to the label, note how Smith's name was not included in the "for more info on..." part of the "Shaving The Pavement" cassette inlay card. Air Miami was missing from that list as well... >> This is all rumour...however, It began when Kendra, when working on her new ep (initially slated for a summer '98 release) submitted her demo to Ivo. It was called something along the lines of "Maggots two--this is all I have to write about in my Kaczynski shack in the hills". Apparently he (Ivo) felt that the title was a bit too long. Kendra being the sensitive type she is, at least to criticism over her titles, was, to say the least, a bit peeved. In fact, when she was working on 5 ways of disapperaring, there was a working title of "I wish my pump organ was a moog, but OOoops! silly me I have no el-ec-triss-ity!!" Of course it rhymed, but the title was a bit wordy and was rejected only to be retitled later as "Valley of the Morning Sun". A bit ironic, but that depends on who you ask I suppose. Anyway, creative differences abbounded once more in the 4AD realm, and Kendra hiked (furiously) w/ pump organ on her back from the LA office to home. "The gig is up" she fumed, waving her fists in the air (almost losing her balance and her dignity). Ivo, beginning to retort with "you have to perform *live* before you can actually give up the "gig", but realizing that it wasn't worth the trouble and anal-retentive baggage that inhabited that statement, instead bit his bottom lip and smugly replied "be careful." Kendra's angst dissipated into disappointed and saddness soon thereafter with the outcome of her relationship with 4AD, so she pondered her illustrious return to the roster on her journey home. Now, what I am going to reveal is between me, Kendra, my supplier, his agent, his mistress & her family, my dog (who is from Belgium, so doesn't really pose a threat), my twenty-five neighbors, the person in 2A's relatives' moderately sized militia, and a goatherder with incredible hearing named Bob, and of course the 418 of you. In other words, shhh. Kendra has assumed a new identity. Yes, I'm serious. Remember she was walking home and during this time she recalled a discussion she overheard in the 4AD office concerning a new signee from Iceland called Gus Gus. She ingeniously devised a plan that would continue her walk on past her home, through the straits of leeberhauden, over the many lakes, bays, and rivers of the Canadian Yukon, stopping ever so briefly at the Planet Hollywood in Greenland for a drink, stealing two rafts (one for the pump organ -- duh!) and paddling her way to Iceland with her bare hands. She searched for 30 minutes and (eureka) found the elusive Gus Gus on a streetcorner named "Desire". She introduced herself as Kjendra ver smilth, the world famous pump-organ extraordinare. Now Gus Gus had been auditioning as of late for a reclusive pump organ ingenue, so this was a bit of a coincidence to them. I would go into detail, but it's not necessary so, to make a long story short, they took her in!! IMO Ivo will never notice. The pump organ will blend with the Gus Gus scenery so well, and her new name as well as her disguise (colored contacts *and* a new t-shirt that reads "everyone says I have flavor") will safely ensure her place on the 4AD roster for many years to come. Just don't let her name the songs. jason srilank@aol.com Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 20:22:18 -0600 From: Jeremy L Orr Subject: Re: kendra smith ---from sister of the moon: > i have kendra smith's '95 release "five ways of > dissappearing", and i was just wondering if she has any > others out, or if anyone knows if she plans to put anymore > out. I think her only other solo release was back in '92, a mini album by (or called, depending on how you look at it) Kendra Smith Presents: The Guild of Temporal Adventurers. It was released on 10" and CD by a label called Fiasco, and it's been out of print for a couple years now...a second release, an EP called _Dolomite of the Angels_, was planned, but I don't think it was ever released. Before she put The Guild together, she worked with David Roback in a band called Opal, who released an album on SST called _Happy Nightmare Baby_. After she left Opal, that band evolved into Mazzy Star, and Rough Trade released a posthumous album of early Opal recordings (with the inspired title _Early Recordings_). And before Opal, she was playing bass for the Dream Syndicate. Since Kendra reportedly lives in a very...er, minimalist setting somewhere in the forests of California, and her hatred for the recording industry is well-known, her recordings are fairly sporadic. It's because of this that I've often wondered if she even has an ongoing contract with 4AD at all (i.e. I can imagine _Five Ways of Disappearing_ being a one-off deal). ---Jeremy Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 00:11:53 -0800 From: Jon Subject: Re: Kendra Smith So glad to see interest in one who rarely gets mention here (or anywhere) and is so deserving of an audience (or listeners). > I think her only other solo release was back in '92, a mini album by (or > called, depending on how you look at it) Kendra Smith Presents: The Guild > of Temporal Adventurers. It was released on 10" and CD by a label called > Fiasco, and it's been out of print for a couple years now...a second > release, an EP called _Dolomite of the Angels_, was planned, but I don't > think it was ever released. Right, this is the only other release, adn I don't think Fiaso is around anymore. I have one other release on the label (off hand can't think of what). Wished I'd picked up the 10", but the CD was first issued in a neat cardstock sleeve that is meant to be overlap folded. But nevermind the package: this mini-album is so incredible. A blend of dissonant blues, pop, psychedelia. A cover of Can's "She Brings the Rain" is so befitting. It's not quite as outright down as Mazzy (IMO), but when I listen to it I detect a slight positive almost happy tone in her voice. A little melancholy and magical. 4AD would do good to get the rights to this and reissue it. > Before she put The Guild together, she worked with David Roback in a band > called Opal, who released an album on SST called _Happy Nightmare Baby_. > After she left Opal, that band evolved into Mazzy Star, and Rough Trade > released a posthumous album of early Opal recordings (with the inspired > title _Early Recordings_). And before Opal, she was playing bass for the > Dream Syndicate. Story I heard was that when Opal was on the road, Kendra just upped and disappeared. They got Hope to fill in the rest of the way, and eventually regrouped. Both Opal CDs are worth having. Beautiful distant bluesy feel. You can hear the move towards Mazzy Star. The Rought Trade "Early Recordings" is out of print in the US long ago, but I have seen on rare occasions, listings for it from Rough Trade Germany. > Since Kendra reportedly lives in a very...er, minimalist setting > somewhere in the forests of California, and her hatred for the recording > industry is well-known, her recordings are fairly sporadic. It's because > of this that I've often wondered if she even has an ongoing contract with > 4AD at all (i.e. I can imagine _Five Ways of Disappearing_ being a > one-off deal). She is one of those artists, who I can appreciate not knowing much about, or reading interviews. Her songs speak for themselves. I had the promo letter-pressed postcards that 4AD issue for "Five Ways". I believe done by IPR, and I had them specially framed in a lovely antique matte with antique copper frame. One of my favorite 4AD artworks, not by 23v. Jon Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 15:41:53 EST From: firepile Subject: kendra smith i just picked up a split 7" on clear vinyl.. one side is kendra smith singing "stille im meine hamburg" and the other side is by kevin levene and hillel slovac singing "clothesline".. its not on 4ad (in fact i have no idea what label its on.. its really hard to tell)... jenny 02 is the only catalogue number i can find... can anyone give me some info about this? thanks -=robn Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 01:07:42 -0700 From: Jon Subject: Re: Kendra Smith Guild... > hey ho > > wow.. so i went on another record-buying binge yesterday > i happened upon a record called > "kendra smith presents the guild of temporal adventurers" > its a 10" (and i found one at 2 different reccord stores!!!) > anyway, i bought one but havent listened to it yet > the instruments used makes me think its gonna be fantastic > > anyone have any info on this?? > This is an incredibly beuatiful record. I have the Cd, but the 10" is a really nice item. There were some on clear vinyl I think. Whatever the format, it is a good pop-psychedelic piece with a nice continuity threading through the whole album. Different than Kendra's 4AD release. IMHO better. Do listen to this ASAP! And listen for the excellent CAN cover. Jon Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 22:52:13 -0400 From: Jeff Keibel Subject: Re: Kendra Smith Guild... Jon wrote: > > "kendra smith presents the guild of temporal adventurers" > This is an incredibly beuatiful record. Jon is right; it's a very good release. Kendra at her peak, prefacing her 4AD album and acts as a good companion to "Five Ways..." Historical tidbit: Ivo had originally wanted to reissue "Guild" in in the UK on 4AD, showing he was eyeing Kendra for his label long before 1995 and "Five Ways..." rolled around... JEFF KEIBEL TORONTO, ONTARIO CANADA Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 20:04:32 EDT From: Freak4ad Subject: Kendra Smith's Holocaust I pulled out two cds today, one of them Dream City Film Club, and another which I have never seen mentioned on the list, but it is relevent. I have never thought to mention it before today. In 1984, Serpent Records and Rough Trade released an album called Rainy Day. It sort of a This Mortal Coil type album in that it takes covers of songs (these from the 60s) and reinterprets it with various "indie" people contributing like Susanna Hoffs (when she still had indie credability), David Roback, Michael Quercio, Karl Precoda, Dennis Duck, and . . . Kendra Smith. The album has a fairly orchestral and depressing feel. What is really cool is that Kendra Smith does a version of Alex Chilton's "Holocaust" which, as we all know, This Mortal Coil covered. Her version however is much more dirgy and depressing ( a good song to use if you were contemplating self abuse). The piano by Stephen Roback is very minor key stuff. Very cool companion to the TMC version. Kendra also sings lead for the song "Flying on the Ground is Wrong" and does backup for "I'll Be Your Mirror." If you can find this album, get it. All the songs are good (my favorite being "Sloop John B."). Kendra even did the artwork for the album.