DON GERO

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Don Gero - Diskovery Zone

A live set recorded 6/18/13 in Allston, MA

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don gero - queer lodgings

recorded and mixed by zach d'agostino live to cassette at the butchershoppe 2013

"If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing drummer Zach D'Agostino in groups such as Arvid Noe or Trach, you will literally lose your shit when confronted with his furious one-man solo project Don Gero. 'Queer Lodgings' is filled to the brim with drum-fueled noise-punk brutality played at a blistering speed. Using a combination of live drum-triggered electronics and tripped out vocal effects, D'Agostino has created a massive record we are totally stoked to share with you!" -primordial sounds

cassette release off primordial sounds

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trach - mor

recorded and mixed by zach d'agostino at the butchershoppe 2013

"Trach is a 2 piece out of boston that plays somewhat of a dark math rock. Throwing part after part in your ears and right when they bring you into a melting trance they grab you by the throat and toss your right into a wall. You will never be able to stop listening to this one. You will never want to. Unfortunately these turds will be breaking up, playing their last show on June 28th which is when the tapes will be available. At least they leave us with this flawless work. Definitely one of the greatest things to hit 2013 and even Boston!" - midnight werewolf records

cassette release of midnight werewolf records

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arvid noe - islington

recorded by mark fede at the henhaus 2012

12' release off midnight warewolf records, hidden temple tapes, and surveillance investments

"“Islington”, Arvid Noe‘s crowning/singular vinyl captures the trio’s inexorable live sound, a last consummate utterance to commence “Noe Future” – Arvid Noe’s dying tour. Song structures simultaneously build steam and fall to pieces while somehow achieving an overreaching continuity, propelled by the furiosity of Zach D’Agostino on drums, ripping a gash through a heavy blanket of squall and skronk. Luke Einsiedler and Alek Glasrud’s guitars exist in a sound world entirely their own, the barrage forming a tight insulation around the compositions, each benefiting from repeated listens. “What Makes a Person Break Their Phone” reads as an open love letter to US Maple as much as The Minutemen, unleashing chainsaw fuzz and silencing, both subtle and visceral. ”Islington” rarely stays the same. Pieces fall away and regain momentum, timing and harmonic/dynamic approach change so drastically that the shape-shifted piece scarcely resembles its former self, followed by a massive refrain. Each of the 6 tracks on the record are illustrative in this way. Arvid Noe is one of the few bands that epitomizes a specifically Allston aesthetic, one that is difficult to explain by conventional means, or one possibly understood best by having seen these songs performed at a GGs show. Luminously captured by Mark Fede, who has an impressive assemblage of engineering credits from the past few years (Fat History Month, Guerilla Toss, Skimask), “Islington” is not one to be missed. File next to “awesome bands that left this earth too soon.” - boston hassel

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ADZE - adze

record and mixed by zach d'agostino at the butchershoppe 2013

"adze is a four-piece from Boston, with its members acting as crazed percussionists—or at least that’s how they used to work under two of the members’ previous guise, Gero & Ide. Before, they never shirked on making music that erred towards being on the brink of everything: sanity, good taste, you name it.

And under adze this motto persists. The opening moments of their debut EP provide nothing but a looped synth pattern. This goes on for a good 40, 45 seconds before percussion suddenly intervenes, alongside the words “hey yo, hey y’all, we don’t own a bed no more!” Then it builds and builds and builds into this deranged, all-encompassing beast of an opener. That’s “Media.” You’re then prompted with five tracks that root themselves in similar, loony ideas.

Sometimes you’ll have to take a step back, turn the record off and revive your sense of normalcy. But more often than not you’ll dive headfirst into the duo’s rhythm-enhanced noise. It’s all about the percussion, aesthetically, but there’s so much more to wander off into. So many dark alleyways full of psycho phantoms waiting to put your everyday feelings to rest." -portals

self released here: http://adze.bandcamp.com/

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gero & ide live at ted saunders in boston

"A few months back, I came across the volcanic drum beats of percussion duo, Gero and Ide, in what else, but another one of Allston’s understated, underrated basements. When the infectious banging of the groups homemade drum kit erupted from the walls of it’s origin, and out into the backyard, I knew, it was the doing of local group, Gero & Ide, and I made a beeline to the music. The two’s sounds were, like my first experience, indescribable: they compile impeccable percussion lines, innovative twists on punk, psychedelic, and classic rock influences, and impressive use of filters and looping, to create one, cutting edge sound. The two boys that make up Gero and Ide have managed to make two drum kits, alone, accomplish what typically is required of a full-piece band. If anything, the duo’s individual talent is paramount in the production of said sound. In regards to the wide array of music, Boston proudly produces, Gero and Ide, play a fundamental role in maintaining the city’s constantly evolving sound, and the music industry’s push to change the “standard”." - the musicstache

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don gero at the great scott in boston 2013

"Making our way into the space, I start to hear blistering, ear splitting noise.  This assault on my deafened ears is brought to you by one man powerhouse, Don Gero. Dude smashes the drums with lightning fast precision and has some sort of electronic set up as well.  We come into the set mid way, so I hope we didn’t miss much, but from what we see it is pretty nuts.  He has this siren sounding thing, which adds to the sheer noise that’s still ringing in my eardrums. Towards the end of the set, he provides vocals on one of the songs... I’ve never seen him before or listened to any of his music, but I am going to give it a listen right now. Oh, and I should probably inform you that Don Gero is Zach D’Agostino (of Arvid Noe)." -kids like you and me

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footage of trach's last show by ethan long.

"Fresh off Arvid Noe‘s last show earlier this week, Zach D’Agostino’s project with fellow ex-Scouter Travis Hunter is closing up tonight in Allston. Thankfully, Trach has left us with a sick final transmission. Mor comes out on tape just in time for said show courtesy of Midnight Werewolf Records. Trach is at their best on songs like “Bastard” below, where arpeggiator-like guitars precisely line up over an amorphous, frenetic drum pattern, giving way to expressive vocals and plenty of clever arranging. Elsewhere, on “Beast” and “Dead Dog”, reflective textural passages dissipate over heavy breaks at a breakneck pace. The traps are set – every song is outfitted with its own surprises, and repeat listens will definitely be crucial to unpack this little puzzle. Pick up the tape tonight, or grab a digital copy here." -boston hassel

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arvid noe at the dustbowl in chicago.  video bychicagothinktank

"Two spastic guitars perfectly timed driving and bouncing back in forth and held together by one of the sickest drummers I have seen in awhile. We are totally a fan here at Nitetrotter." - nitetrotter

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trach - heavy arms

recorded by zach d'agostino at the henhaus

Although basement rock is more often than not characterized by reckless powerchords, there are times when attention to detail goes a long way. Allston’s latest duo, TRACH, take this to heart, especially in the tight construction of “Heavy Arms.” Sure, there is plenty of ferociousness in some of the guitar parts, but the contrast of rash and composed gives a different level of sophistication to the song as a whole. The track appears on the band’s debut EP of the same name, kicking off a standout first effort. Travis Hunter and Zach D’Agostino, known from various other local bands such as Scouter, Arvid Noe, and Gero & Ide, find something a bit more complex, but palatable, with Trach, taking pointers from other locals like Fat History Month.  - boston phoenix

self release cassette

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A Farewell to Arvid Noe

"Ethan Long documents Allston grunge legends Arvid Noe as they play their last show. Drummer and long-hair-haver Zach D'Agostino recalls memories of Arvid's and Allston's past."

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don gero - catching some zs

recorded and mixed by zach d'agostino at the butchershoppe 2013

"Checking in with Allston’s DON GERO led to the discovery of this new track, something from a new album being worked on is the word on the street. DON GERO’s game is one of the hybridization of churning industrial/tribal rhythms and the dense textures of historic shoegaze or dream pop. Vocals are part of the stew, as are prepared electronics swirling around and around begging you to follow the funnel down. I haven’t dug too deeply into DON GERO’s music before, but I have to start paying more attention as this is some real post-noise rock kind of thing that I could listen to A LOT of. Looking forward to that full length. This is Zach from ARVID NOE’s solo thing, you should know. You have to check out their new record. We’ll be discussing it here soon enough." - boston hassle

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don gero - docking bay 94

recorded and mixed by zach d'agostino in los angeles 2010

This track was created using LSDJ for the gameboy.  I programmed the music for this track and later played drums along with it, live to cassette tape and added vocals.

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don gero - 04-i

recorded and mixed by zach d'agostino at problemhaus 2011

"This new 5-song, 15-minute EP from Don Gero, a side project ofArvid Noes’ Zach D’Agostino is one of those rare records that seems to excite the chilled-out/dream and aggressive/noise-rock synapses simultaneously. In many other projects, this could lend itself to messy, overly-packed, let’s-see-how-many-sounds-we-can-fit-into-this-EP pomposity, but Dynamite In The Brain succeeds in making these two seemingly contradictory elements cohere seamlessly by never leaning too heavily on melody/structure to forget to add in some weird, pay-attention-or-you’ll-miss-’em noisy moments, but also never leaning too heavily on the noisy end of the spectrum to remember to drop in a quick bit of melody here and there (hell, the 4th track “04 – i” even resembles something that could be considered a pop song under the right circumstances). To use some easily identifiable signifiers, it recalls modern Animal Collective releases at times in it’s psych-poppiest moments, but never veers to far from what seems to be its Battles-esque math-rocky core. On the Christgau grading scale, this gets an A-. On the Pitchfork 1-10 scale, it gets 8.6. But fuck scales, we prefer tails.. as in WEIRD GROWTH." - boston hassle

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Wind Shredding: Emerson sound design project from 2010

The body of the guitar was connected to one trunk of a tree while its tuning pegs were attached to another trunk of the same tree.  I recorded this audio directly from the guitar on a very windy day.  The two trunks sway in the breeze causing the the strings on the guitar to stretch and snap in the wind.

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FELIX GETS WASTED: Emerson sound design project from 2011 using LSDJ for the gameboy.

we were given an excerpt from felix the cat and told to build our own mix to fit the animation. i decided to recreate the soundscape using 8-bit sound effects from the gameboy.  i used LSDJ to make all the sounds as well as the music in this video.

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gero & ide at gaygardens

"new band gero & ide feat zach from arvid noe… really awesome double drums/vocal weirdness, can’t wait to see more of them." - speedy ortiz