Gabe Konrad began recording as Grey Tissue in 1984, releasing three cassette albums and contributing to some compilations in the mid-1980s. Most of the recordings were solo with occasional guests on individual tracks. Gabe also performed 8 or 9 live shows in Grand Rapids, Michigan with Toxic Scott (Bala) from the band ADC. Then ‘life’ imposed itself and Gabe’s activities went on hiatus. As he recalls, “We still called ‘noise’ Industrial back then, and for years I had the desire to start recording again.” Fast forward to Christmas 2021 when Gabe’s wife bought him a Tascam 8-track for a present: “After a few false starts and tentative steps I received some gentle prodding and encouragement from Knox Mitchell of the Easy Listening label in Detroit. By late-2022 I was off and running, recording nearly every week since. Knox put me on a compilation in 2023 – my first release since 1986 – and released my first full-length CD, An Excess of Pathologies, in 2024.” And now we’ve got two brand spankin’ new cassette albums from Grey Tissue… Grey Tissue – Sunday School The packaging for this tape is pretty cool. Gabe collected mini-Bibles for several months and repurposed them for the cover. Of the theme, Gabe says: “I enjoy the juxtaposition of hope and terror deployed by most of the preachers featured on the tracks, though I think I fall squarely on the dread side of the fence in tone and manner. I wouldn’t say the songs are inherently anti-religious, aside from the fact that I had to destroy twenty Bibles to make the covers. I’m going to hell.” The comic that came with the tape is a real ministry that former ‘Son of Sam’ serial killer, and now born-again Christian, David Berkowitz is affiliated with. There are three tracks on Side A, though the first two (‘Glory’ and ‘Wrath’) play as one to my ears. Pulsating squalls that sound like a blend of radio static and morse code combine with a drugged voice that struck me as a demon from beyond (but I now know is a manipulated preacher’s voice). Has the devil ambushed the readers of this bible?!! Eventually other garbled voices join in, only to be overwhelmed by intermittent high pitched chirp tones and scratch effects. Maybe these represent the born-again David Berkowitz crossing swords with evil? It’s fun imagining the possibilities with these themes in mind. ‘Books Don’t Cry’ opens with a sonic assault of noise that sounds like being in a tunnel when a water main has broken and we’re running for our lives. The noise waves pulsate in a way that produced an unsettling throb in my chest but is punctuated by free-wheeling tone whips and whirls against the incessant noise march, adding a sense of kid toy fun to the atmosphere of aggression. Eventually the noise builds to such frenzied levels of chug-a-chug aggression that the kid and his toy crank the volume to compete, blasting out wailing and pulsating notes as if from a ray gun. The remainder of the track consists of multiple interludes where the noise recedes and various creepy voices ramble and drone before the whitest of noise swoops in for the kill. Debates between good and evil? I like how it alternates between aggression and disorientingly spooky. The entirety of Side B is taken up by ‘Last Days’. It opens with atmospherics that make me feel like I’m in a hellish dungeon with wind whooshing and clangs echoing. Then the familiar slowed down voice comes in with its unintelligible demon sermon. I like the way the soundscapes, waves and blasts of thunder and rumbling weather patterns develop an ongoing theme without quite tipping over into noise. It’s an interesting balance that communicates the dread of navigating hell itself. Maybe the droning voice is a helpful tour guide! Later in the piece the mood gets increasingly thunderous and unsettlingly static noisy, as if the venture into hell has taken the worst possible turn. Let your imagination run wild! Grey Tissue – Recycled I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this tape is part of Ron Lessard’s RRRecords Recycled series, where the artist takes a used cassette and tapes over it to create their own audio art. Good to know Ron is still at least semi-active.
Grey Tissue’s Recycled starts off with deliriously winding and pounding space-waves. Maybe we’re on an interstellar construction site, surrounded by the pulse of tornadic jackhammers and cranes and the men whistling while they work yet cautiously dodging meteorites. As the piece develops it becomes increasingly weather beaten, as if we’re fighting the worst possible blinding Arctic storm. The winds are incessantly furious, with howls that are like a cross between wolves and air raid sirens. Eventually the storm calms to the point of hissy silence. But this is brief, as a subtle rumble quickly increases in volume, gradually creating an atmosphere that’s just as sandpaper rough as it is eerily spooky. And from here we swing back and forth between quietly dreary, ghostly dirge and higher volume threatening chorus of anguished howls and noisy spectral space symphony. The B-side is, for the most part, a more subtle affair. In fact, I thought maybe this is a one-sided tape. But patience reveals a long stretch of quiet hiss, interrupted by the most minute bits of sound. But ever so gradually the pace picks up… louder waves and blasts of hiss, the sound of what could be someone trudging through a tunnel, weather and construction bits and pieces that start to increase in volume. It’s all very sparse and, dare I say, ‘ambient’ compared to the A-side, and in a strange way gave me much more to focus on. There’s even some music near the end. Overall, a really cool tape for the noise/abstract audio art crowd. Both tapes are available directly from Gabe. Email him at: [email protected] Gabe also has a seller page at Discogs with both tapes and the An Excess Of Pathologies CD. An Excess Of Pathologies is also available at the Easy Listening label web site. NOTE: Gabe has more Sunday School tapes than comics that came with my copy. FYI to those who order it.
6 Comments
Hal McGee
2/1/2025 09:15:05
Jerry, thanks for publishing the first new article at the newly-revived Electronic Cottage website. I also enjoyed listening to these two cassettes by Grey Tissue!
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Leslie Singer
2/1/2025 09:15:54
Jerry, great to be back on the EC and read your fascinating reviews of these two Grey Tissue releases. Awesome! Two thumbs up! :)
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Rafael González
2/1/2025 12:49:43
Good work, Jerry!
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G. Konrad
2/1/2025 19:48:27
Thank you for the generous review, Jerry. Very kind of you!
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Chris Phinney
2/2/2025 11:57:30
Jerry,
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Jake
2/9/2025 01:00:33
Just grabbed a copy of Sunday School. Can't wait!
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Jerry KranitzJerry Kranitz published Aural Innovations: The Global Source For Space Rock Exploration from 1998-2016. AI started as a printed zine (nine issues from 1998-2000) and then went online for the duration. The web site also included regularly broadcast editions of Aural Innovations Space Rock Radio. Archives
February 2025
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