Boud Deun
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1/4 1994: First band practice with all four members in the same room together. 1/7 1994: First gig! The Cave: Manassas, VA. 1/8 1994 - 9/25 1998: Lots of stuff happens. Including 4 critically acclaimed CDs and 193 live performances. 9/26 1998: Last show with full line-up. Orion: Baltimore, MD 10/3 1998: Band breaks up. 10/4 1998: Shawn and Matt play one last show as BOUD DEUN to fulfill a contractual obligation. Fells's Point Festival, Baltimore, MD 10/5 1998: All of Shawn's and Matt's amplification equipment gets stolen, about $2500.00 worth of gear. 10/6 1998: Life goes on. Cuneiform Records - Boud Deun clip of "Spiders". Song composed by Matt Eiland, features Shawn on electric guitar. Cuneiform Records - Boud Deun clip of "Waterford". Song composed by Matt Eiland, features Shawn on electric guitar. OUTSIGHT Boud Deun The Stolen Bicycle Rune/Cuneiform Boud Deun is a quartet of violin, guitar, bass and drums that improvise exciting and dynamic instrumentals pregnant with the same high-energy charge that typifies early King Crimson. This tight, integrated unit deifies belief with degree to which much of their extemporaneous jaunts sound premeditated. Consider, for instance, the sudden change from punk assault to violin and guitar recital in "Burnsville." Also in "Burnsville" bassist Matt Eiland charges to the front for a spirited bass lead, one of the two few times that he does so. Three of the musicians will deftly swing behind guitarist Shawn Persinger or violinist Greg Hiser with barely a note's notice. The result is stunning and masterful. Influence of the Crimson ones is detectable throughout, as is the hyper-folk of Stravinsky ("Saints," especially the end) and traditional jazz in the guitar-led "Broken Spokes." Elsewhere, the lexicons of punk bombast, bluegrass lightning licks (together in "Ten Pence/Bridges") and more are referenced. Boud Deun's fiery charges into one territory and then another leaves no prisoners and asks no quarry in laying claim to fertile lands left fallow under the rule of orthodoxy. Boud Deun is Mahavishnu Orchestra on fire, The Dixie Dregs gone to town, a worthy new volume in the encyclopedia of progressive, limitless, surprising pantheon of instrumental groups. - Tom Schulte The Christopher Currie On October 22, 1998, Shawn Persinger informed the readers of rec.music.progressive that the rumours which had been circulating about the breakup of Boud Deun were unfortunately true. This announcement marked the end of one of the more promising progressive (not just "prog") bands in North America. Boud Deun hailed from northern Virginia, and played a style of music that was influenced by the progressive, punk and jazz-fusion traditions (real jazz-fusion, that is -- not the miserable lounge recordings which helped taint the 1980s), with some bluegrass thrown in as well. Their official web site (defunct) lists King Crimson, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Leo Kottke and Minor Threat as the band's primary influences. Others have also added the Dixie Dregs to this list, much to the band's consternation. In their brief existence, the band recorded three studio albums: Fiction And Several Days (originally only available on cassette), Astronomy Made Easy and The Stolen Bicycle. While I don't have F&SD yet, I still feel fairly comfortable in asserting that the band operated at a high level of virtuosity -- usually loud, fast and complex, but capable of more poignant moments as well (this being mostly due to Greg Hiser, not surprisingly). Astronomy Made Easy, which seems to be fairly representative of the group's talents, indicates the ways in which progressive music can be relevant in the late 1990s. Rather than repackaging the cliches of the genre (or watering them down, as per the Magna Carta bands), BD infused virtuosity and complex songwriting into their own unique style, in the still-emerging undercurrents of punk-prog. While their music is clearly influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson, it isn't simply derivative. No band exists in a cultural vacuum, of course, and the mere fact that the band was able to get away with music of this sort (even on a fairly low level) probably has something to do with the success of Primus in the American market. Primus, after all, demonstrated that complex musical arrangements aren't necessarily anathema to success with a younger audience demographic, and it's probably not ridiculous to assert that Les Claypool's trio has inspired other adventurous musicians to seek out and combine the best elements of both punk and art music. This parallel doesn't run very far, of course (Boud Deun were an instrumental band, were much more jazz-influenced than Primus and tended to avoid references to "white trash" culture), but there is some level of cultural overlap here. The album begins with "December 17th" [the song explanations on the web site are really unhelpful, btw; you'll have to use your imagination with most of these titles], a heavy and impressive Mahavishnu-esque work with strong performances by all four musicians. The guitar and violin duets work well, and Eiland's bass work is at times quite amazing. As a "statement" of the band's abilities, this is a good way to start the album. "Good King Friday" is a less sonically overwhelming number - a quieter work featuring shared virtuoso leads from Persinger and Hiser [think of Robert Fripp's guitar solos on "Suite No. 1" and "Fracture" and you'll have some idea of Persinger's part here]. "Spiders" then sees the band returning to a "heavy" mode, and shows some influence of King Crimson's songcraft without descending into mere imitation. "Sleeping" is a curious sidestep. A brief piece, dominated by Hiser's traditional violin performance, this is easily the mellowest section of the album. The next track, "Neither", is a much, much heavier number -- strongly punkish, but nevertheless bearing some formal similarities to the MO's "One World". I'd have to think that the juxtaposition of these tracks was deliberate ... "Copper Ink", the longest track on the album, begins with an extremely impressive band section, and soon shifts into solo exchanges from Persinger and Hiser (Eiland gets in a slap-heavy bass solo in mid-song as well). Some elements of the track might not seem substantial enough at the beginning, but the development of the song eventually makes sense of it. I imagine that this one must have been impressive live. "Conversations With Ellis" [the title refers to the first piece of fan mail that the band ever received] is another track in the heavy/ crafty mode, and is notable for the strong role played by the bass in driving the song forward. "Coal Boxes And Daisy Cutters", too, is an good punk-prog number, with an excellent guitar solo toward the end. The primary feature of "Lincoln" is its folkish violin lead, which bookends the jazzish improvisational section that dominates the track. The violin part itself it quite impressive, though it must be admitted that the improvisation meanders a bit. This is followed by "Jupiter", a lengthier piece which isn't immediately distinguishable from the rest of the album on a thematic level -- some of its subsequent developments deserve mention, though, including a wah-wah violin solo that doesn't sound entirely derivative of Jean-Luc Ponty, and a solo by Rocky Cancelose that actually comes off fairly well [it isn't the most amazing technical display imaginable, but it "fits" as part of the song]. I'm struck by the similarities of the opening bass line to the Cranberries's "Zombie", by the way ... "The Miller's Tale" is another brief work, neatly summarizing the band's progressive and fusion tendencies. The concluding track, "The Quince Tree", is a bit odd -- beginning with a fairly sparse introduction (by the group's standards, at least), the track eventually mutates into another slappish bass solo, and resolves itself with a guitar-driven conclusion. I'm still not certain that the track coheres together all that well, though its development is certainly interesting. Perhaps that was the idea ... It will be interesting to see what becomes of the musicians in this project. Persinger's letter mentioned that he was going to Europe, though the exact nature of his plans weren't revealed -- as to the rest, I have no idea of their current engagements. One way or the other, though, these four musicians are to be watched for further developments ... I'd be surprised to see their talents go unused for too long. This album is strongly recommended to fans of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the mid-1970s version of King Crimson, who have some interest in discovering the creative spirit of those bands living on in the present day. Virtuosity enthusiasts will probably find little to disagree with here, as well. If I had to name a single fault with the album, it would be that Persinger occasionally seems a bit too "flashy" for his own good. This, however, is a minor complaint. - Christopher Currie PROGRESSIVE WORLD When I received a Laser’s Edge mailorder catalogue some years ago, I read a review from a band I had never heard of ‘til then: Boud Deun. They wrote about it being instrumental, progressive fusion with duels between guitar and violin with clear tendencies towards Dixie Dregs and lots of references in the direction of King Crimson. This surely was something in my line of taste and I ordered a copy of their Fiction And Several Days album. It was a winner! The same quartet also released Astronomy Made Easy. On the CD itself you see a screenprint of a constellation whilst the booklet enables you to find out more about the wondrous world of the stars (a much better result than the appaling sleeve of their debut!). The guitar parts on this album are more subtle than on the debut, which gives me the tendency to compare the current Boud Deun as a cross between Philharmonie and Jean-Luc Ponty with a dash of Happy Family thrown in for good measure. To review every single track on this album would be a waste of time because I can guarantee you that every singular note on this album is brought to you by some of the best musicians in the world! However I do want to mention the brilliant fretless bass courtesy of Matt Eiland as in "Copper Ink" where he sort of proves to be the stepson of Stanley Clarke. Of course, this kind of music is situated in the domain of avant-garde, but every lover of good music should once in his/her lifetime park his/her car in front of the Boud Deun estate. Highly recommended! - John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg REEL OF DREAMS UNROLLED Boud Deun Astronomy Made Easy Cuneiform 1996 With the release of the second disc by this Virginia-based band, the suspicion that these guys are the best thing going for prog in the U.S. has been made stronger...at least to this reviewer's ears. Astronomy Made Easy, released on the great Cuneiform label is a far step above Boud Deun's first self-released job a few years ago. First of all the sound quality is great with the seperation of guitar and violin easily distinguishable which was'nt exactly so on their first disc. Gone is the muddy wall-of -sound-type feel, replaced by a pristine amalgam of Mahavishnu-type fusion, King Crimson-type neurotica and their own highly original take on the progressive rock scene which is done in a fresh and exciting way. Secondly, these guys aren't afraid of hitting the road to flaunt their talents. I've been fortunate enough to see them twice in the last two years, and both times I was utterly blown away by the sheer musical intensity that can only be hinted at on a recording. Boud Deun (which I'm told means "definitely positive") consists of Shawn Persinger on guitars, Matt Eiland on 5 string bass, Greg Hiser on violin and Rocky Cancelose on drums. Together the four work as a tightly meshed unit that is able to play start-and-stop-on-a-dime arrangements with effortless grace. Most of the songs are in the four minute range, and they are so loaded with ideas that they virtually threaten to overflow. One minute they might be doing a Gentle Giant-like violin-led jam, only to abruptly change into a screaming dark King Crimson-like passage and then back again. As already mentioned, there are many influences thrown into the pot here. I hear elements of the aforementioned Gentle Giant and King Crimson, plus Mahavishnu Orchestra, Brand X, even Hawkwind. There are no vocals. In fact, the music doesn't warrant vocals. They would probably detract from the already sterling musicianship. It's in the way that the band presents these influences that makes Boud Deun so special. Yes, the violin does sound like Jerry Goodman at times but working against the jagged Fripp-like lines of Persinger it takes on a totally different feel. And yes, the drumming does occasionly remind me of Bruford but heard in conjuction with Eiland's clean, precise bass playing all thoughts of "Fracture" by Crimson disappear. What does appear though is a competely self-assured sound that is distinctly American. Everything from the short drum solo in "Jupiter" to the manic slaps and pops on the bass on "The Quince Tree" tells me that these guys are definitely a band to watch. Other songs like "Spiders," "Copper Ink" and "Coal Boxes and Daisy Cutters" are played with such precision that only drives home the point that practice makes perfect. With all the gigging the band has done, there seems to be a telepathic understanding between each musician giving me the impression that they can pull off all the complex charts they do in their sleep. Even during their improv jams the tightness remains. The rhythm section is seemingly joined together by the cerebral cortex. The front line of guitar and violin play off one another like two guys that have been playing together since childhood, each knowing the next move of the other. I'm told that Boud Deun are supposed to be doing another disc for Cuneiform. I'm waiting for its release with baited breath. Live, these guys are monsters, but that's another story. Suffice it to say that if they ever show up in your town, do yourself a favor and check 'em out. You won't be sorry. In the meantime...get the CD. A fantastic release from a band with a very bright future. - Mike Eisenberg THE END |