The Orange Spotlight

Hosho McCreesh Marching Unabashed Into the Weeping, Searing Sun... (Bottle of Smoke, June 2008)

"There is only alchemy, only what we start with, & what we make of it."

The image of a soldier marching through streets or fields or deserts on some strange level can be compared to the thoughtful and creative individuals marching through life consistently full of questions and doubt. Fearing that the world they perceive is either not real or at times all to real. They are soldiers of thought, conquering and questions all that is true and all the believed to be true. Through observation the artist can make statements of the world and situations and how they relate to their lives. However, these statements are merely statements and when complied may only speak to a few or they may touch a nation. The point of it all is simple to march, to shout, to speak, to move, to allow your thoughts escape and travel into the world. Everything else depends on the reader.

Hosho McCreesh has a very distinct view of the world and the struggle of life. At times he expresses this struggle with a smile and sly comment, and at others he slaps and pounds, jumps up and down waving the freshly type page, he spits and bits at the soul of the modern American beast. Yet social commentary aside my favorite aspect of this collection are the titles of the poems. Some titles are larger then the actual poem that follows. Truthfully they are as poetic as the poems and at times more revealing. Case in point, "Like The Eventual First Blast Of The Imminent Nuclear Assault The Savage Dark Plays No Favorites As It Aimlessly Envelopes Us All...", what a brilliant title for a poem!

To purchase a copy of Marching Unabashed Into The Weeping, Searing Sun... visit Bottle of Smoke Press.

Mystery Palace Flags Foward (Zod Records, 2008)

When a man calls himself Foodteam and you receive his bands new album in the mail, it is truly a mystery. You see, I like to try to guess what an album might sound like before I listen to it. I read the names of the tracks, and I look at the label. The I flip through the liner notes and read the names of the band members. Of course the cover design, artwork, etc also factor into my descision process. Then I read "Foodteam: Vocals + Keyboards". I was back to square one, so I just placed the disc in the player and waited.

Mystery Palace is actually James Buckley (Bass), Joey Van Philips (Drums), and Ryan Olcott aka Foodteam (Vocals, Keyboards, and so much more). As the disc begins to play I am suddenly overcome by a wave electronic blips and squeeks moving into a very appealing combination of electronics and live instrumentation. So that's what Foodteam does, he has mastered the craft of making/building his own machines and devices and somehow turning them into mysterious little pop gems.

Rebelize/Every Hour/Nascar Survisor/You and Me/Two-Way Stranger (mp3)/What Are you whispering?/You're a Whore/Free Ride/I Can't Want?/Stepchild