Birdman Sound

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Birdman Sound : August 15th...

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What are you doing to participate ?

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"Zeus" by The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol

The title isn't borrowed from Greek mythology or classic rock bombast. It's something infinitely more important. Zeus was John Westhaver's dog. Friend, companion, silent witness to the peculiar rhythm of a life spent following sound wherever it decided to wander. This LP stands as a tribute, somewhere between laughter, loss and the low electrical hum that never really leaves a room once enough music has been made there.

For well over a decade, The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol have occupied their own orbit far enough from fashion that it has never had much chance of finding them. Their records don't demand attention so much as reward patience. Each release feels like another page torn from an endlessly expanding field journal documenting psychic weather, amplifier folklore and the invisible geography connecting psychedelic music across continents and generations.

You could probably draw a line from commune basements in the late '60s through the German underground, Japanese free-form explorers, forgotten Canadian rehearsal spaces and eventually to this record. But straight lines have never explained very much. Better to imagine a spiral. Better still, imagine a dog wandering happily through that spiral without ever worrying where it begins or ends.

The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol have never behaved like a band chasing deadlines or trends. Drawn from the band's own archive, the LP presents two uninterrupted side-long excursions separated by three years but joined by the same gravitational pull.

Two extended pieces, recorded years apart and rescued from the band's own vault, now finding exactly the right moment to surface. Not because the calendar demanded it, but because records have their own internal clocks. Some insist on being heard immediately. Others are content to remain quietly radioactive until the world catches up.

The older you get, the more you realise that dogs probably understand all of this better than people do.

Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records are honoured to place ZEUS into the world as another living document from one of contemporary psychedelia's most quietly singular collectives. Some things disappear. Others merely change format.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Rocket Recordings : FUCK Canada !

So...here I am still very much in the game and today after pestering my head buyer as to getting your newest shit listed to fill my clients needs, he sends me this response from whatever shitheads you guys have distroing your releases...

👉 yesterday from my supplier " So here is the situation with this label (and it pisses me off)..."

The distributor will be offering the GNOD title only to the UK and if any are left, they will open it up to other territories. As for the other titles, they were offered to the UK and US only as they are "the biggest territories". I am still waiting to hear if we can get any of them. WTF ?

Are you dudes pissed that Canada left the "Dominion" in 1982 ? You release records and cds and no fucking distro for Canada? Explain it...please. When I first started slinging wax in my country (1978) you guys were barely out of fucking nappies! When yer fledgling label first started, I embraced you as I knew you were on a proper great path ie "MY BAG", which was through radio and retail. I had in them days, ZERO problems bringing yer shit into Birdman Sound and sold fucking tons of it !!! Wanna see how much shit I played on the radio? Check this out and this is only a bit of it... Friday Morning Cartunes Playlists 2012-2020 only !!!

In the late 90's I excitedly ordered all the Rocket releases and in the early 2000's: Mammatus, Oneida, The Heads, blah, blah, blah. I sold arguably a hundred copies of Goat's "World Music" between 2012 and the release of "Commune" when all of a sudden even idiots who raved on about Commune never even knew about the 1st. Guess that tells you over in North America where you were in label ranking with regard to Sub Pop then eh? We could also say that if Sub Pop spoke, the world listened but I won't as they were mostly a shite label by that point as well IMHO. Biggest selling artists up until 2020 : Teeth Of The Sea, Gnod, JuJu, Goat, Shit and Shine, PIGS X 7, Lay Llamas, Hey Colossus and so on and so on...

Listen, I know full the trials of being a label since forever. I also know the trials and all involved with all aspects of distribution; good, bad or indifferent. The entire system has been an entire shit show for the most part forever. I had no issues with getting Rocket Recordings material until 2019. My first point of contact with you was through FB messenger.

As follows :

From me June 13th, 2019

Far be it for me to ever make suggestions to fine folks who clearly know what they are doing! I would however at this juncture be inclined to suggest that Rocket Recordings should consider a direct approach regarding distribution in Canada. FAB Distribution are great folks and have outlived all for yonkers now in North America...I have been dealing with them for over 2 decades now for Rocket stuff (I sell tons) but lately the lines of listings are now blurred for some reason...if you want specific contact with them I can provide specific names, emails etc....Birdman Sound needs Rocket Recordings releases on it's hallowed walls...just food for thought...all the best...John

Your response June 17th, 2019 7:01 a.m.

Thanks John, I'll have a chat with our UK distro on this as they are the ones who deal with them, but good to know your thoughts. John

and June 17th, 2019 10:01 a.m.

Hey Thanks John, we have been chatting to our UK distro & on the case to get it looked at, thanks for letting us know.

Then...Brexit happens in January 2020 and the Covid Pandemic in March 2020 and your presence over the pond pretty much shit the fucking bed. Totally get why based on the above 2 catastrophic events however, 6 freaking year later it's gotten dumber and never addressed!!! You have no say in where your gear goes? Makes me LOL that you think AMERICA is the be all and end all for your obscure music releases! What the actual fuck? That is such an antiquated thought ! America is a fucking JOKE in that sense alone not to mention the rest of their stupid, sad, here and now existence...

I am super disappointed in Rocket Recordings. Many clients I have are as well! For any of them to mail order a fave bands LP release from you is even a bigger fucking JOKE! Proper distribution allows folks to support your label and more importantly the artists they LOVE while keeping a little spare change in the pocket (rhymes with rocket EH?) Your respect for us here in Canada is disrespectful and repugnant.

Sincerely John Westhaver

The Heads "Born To Go" (different version)

Monday, August 10, 2026

New Arrivals 8/11/2026

Pharoah Sanders & Bill Laswell

Al Doum & The Faryds

Jeremy Gluck/Nikki Sudden/Rowland S. Howard

The Cramps

The only music magazine that still matters ! UGLY THINGS : Issue # 72

In an extraordinary interview, Jim “Harpo” Valley talks about his years on the early Northwest rock ‘n’ roll scene with the Viceroys and the Goodtimes, his wildly eventful year with Paul Revere & the Raiders at their 1966-67 peak, a summer of love solo career that failed to launch, and the dramatic events that sent him to live alone in a cave in Big Sur. Then, from “Louie Louie” to Fun House, Don Gallucci tells all about his adventures with the Kingsmen, Don & the Goodtimes, Touch, and producing the Stooges’ seminal second album.

Also, the wild ride of 1965-67 Sunset Strip garage band the New Generation, the continuing saga of ‘60s Canadian psych/rock legends the Collectors, and a short chat with writer/musician Michael Moorcock. Plus our life-sustaining reviews sections covering the latest reissues and music-related books. (152 pages)

Friday, August 7, 2026

Nick Jonah Davis - Rose Delta Rising LP (Cardinal Fuzz/Eiderdown Records 2026)

F'n hell this is sweet! A new hear for me just this moment and #NickJonahDavis is not some new patsy who just appeared outta’ the blue! #JohnnieFeck is no fucking ignoramus when it comes to music as that's been his life, and records like this are proof positive as I’ve always said, that you never know it all and a ton of shit can hit you square in the probiscus like a brick, straight outta’ nowhere (or in this case Derbyshire, England)! The delivering vessel's here are #CardinalFuzzRecords UK and #EiderdownRecordsUSA so unless yer' a fucking dumb ass (with yer noggin' likely stuck in it), that should say 👉 PAY THE FUCK ATTENTION !

When you check out Nick’s stuff on bandcamp you hear a seasoned practitioner of the art of guitar, who is DEEPLY one with his chosen implement! Of course some will think of Fahey-esque comparisons (get with the program). Problem there, is that’s the way of standard knee-jerk and since I was a fucking kid that’s where most humans show how little they “get” and how shallow most are regarding LISTENING to music (no matter the genre). This record entitled “Rose Delta Rising” should become a new cue as a go to soundtrack for any movie/tv/documentary producer worth his or her salt for years moving forward; HBO, PBS, BBC (that ilk). The mind goes places instantly with the emotions that Davis skilfully exudes. Imagine if you will that you've just parked the trailer home after a long trip in the desert after hundreds of miles on a lonely highway, late afternoon, sun blazing and yer’ under a canvas canopy for shade, getting pissed on cold beer and high on weed while scorpions and snakes silently move on the sand floor beneath you and cosmic visions seem to become reality before your eyes. If this sounds engaging, trust me, this bud’s for you! Another true gem, of which can be reverentially filed alongside #Pranacrafter #GreatNorthStar #Elkhorn #MouthPainter #SharronKraus #SonOfBuzzi #CJoynes and other artists whose search for higher elevation through their craft…

#JohnnieFeck #BirdmanSound August 2026.

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Birdman Sound @ Ottawa Vinyl & Book Fair : Saw & Arts Court : August 23, 2026

Date: Sunday, August 23rd , 2026 Location: SAW and Arts Court Address: 67 Nicholas Street Time: 11AM – 5PM Set-up: 9AM – 11AM

Join us for the inaugural Ottawa Vinyl & Book Fair on August 23rd!

More than 40 vendors from Ontario and Quebec, including Octopus Bookstore (@octopusbooks), Birdman Sound, Rough Draft (@roughdraftpaper.co), Love Lyla Books (@lovelylabooks), Bruised Tongue (@disc0p), Second Spin Records, Arc Poetry Magazine (@arcpoetrymag), Ottawa Design Club (@ottdesignclub) and Compact Music (@compact.music).