Listen to the Mannlicher Carcano Radio Hour Live on CHMR-FM

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

God Rest Ye Collagey


Curly missed the Dec 13th show, but thanks to Sound Magic's Michael Doleschel, Porter and I were able to produce a serviceable jam without any actual in-studio host whatsoever! On the 20th, we couldn't get through at all, and I went to walk the dogs, but then Curly showed up and he and Porter finished the hour together. All's well that ends well, but you'll want to fast forward to about the half hour mark on this one unless you dig the BBC World Service.

Image: Mannlicher Carcano debuting Rhizomatic Transmission live at the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Oct 2008, photo by Cathy Ward

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Curly Language, Living Skin


Our last two programs have featured all three members of the group performing from remote locations - first with Porter joining re-emergent probationary Old Gogo in his Winnipeg studios and then via SKYPE from Montreal. Hosting the show in Guelph on both occasions was Curly Language, who has an out-of-the-box distinctive mixing signature that is well worth auditing:
Here's the link to the show for Saturday Dec 6th
Here's the link for Nov 29th

Image: Gogo Breaks at MC's Riverside Art Museum performance "Next Time", Oct 2008

Monday, November 24, 2008

A connecting principle linked to the invisible


Well, as anyone who tried to tune in Saturday knows, that was a washout. Radio station politics are so viscous precisely because the stakes are driven through the hearts and minds of a generation lost in space! Andro-GenX/Y plotting re-entry even as we speak. Until such time, feast upon this report from recently recruited adjunct member Rock Pitts, whose work with the disturbingly Mannlicheresque Solid Eye and Dinosaurs With Horns goes without saying.

"Yesterday (a morbid anniversary) I looked up the JFK assassination on Wikipedia and discovered the Mannlicher Carcano reference for the first time. Aha!! Moments later I was researching a movie scheduled for latenight broadcast on KOCE, an inland empire PBS affiliate who shows public domain commercial free movies in the early AM. 'McKlintock,' a John Wayne western comedy known for it's extended comedic mudpuddle fistfight and the spanking of Maureen O'Hara, was to be shown. No, I wouldn't bother to tape it. IMDB research lead me to find the movie premiered in 1963. In the viewer comments I read that in photos of the JFK's funeral procession the word 'McKlintock' is seen on a theatre marquee. It was a weird moment when all the connections were revealed.

My weirdest JFK moment came in 1964. As a five year old Jackie and JFK were popstar icons for me, especially after I got my parents to buy me a pair of bobble-head dolls at a liquor store/truck stop on the way home from a dove hunting expedition in the Imperial Valley. They had magnets located behind their pursed lips and kissed when situated next to each other. I thought it was the funniest most wonderful thing. I remember JFKs funeral. I was recuperating from a skinned chin caused by a Flexi Flyer mishap, and watched from the couch with my grandmother. The strange thing happened a month or so later when my brother Joe picked up the JFK bobble-head on my dresser. The right side of the dolls head was smashed. Joe said "Whoa, Ricky what happened to this?"
and I said "Oh yeah, I knocked it off the dresser and it broke".
"When did that happen?" I didn't know way he was so concerned.
"I don't know a long time ago...a few months ...I think before Halloween." Joe stared at the doll shaking his head with his eyebrows raised and made his trademark 'shhhhsh' sound of disbelief. Maybe the world has my carelessness to blame!"

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Future Epics and True Pastry Love


Just a heads up that this Saturday November 22 - the 45th anniversary of the so-called JFK assassination - the Mannlicher Carcano Radio Hour will once again be manifesting in a temporally extended mode: a four hour audio collage running from 9 AM to 1 PM Los Angeles time. Join us!

Click here to download the first single derived from "Rendezvous with Density" - a double-tracked rendition of Canada's national anthem entitled No (noise) Canada. All rise!


This is a picture of the wall-mounted vitrine dedicated to Mannlicher Carcano ephemera included in Untidy: The Worlds of Doug Harvey, which will close the day after a Moldy Slide Show with soundtrack by Mannlicher at LA Valley College on Nov 25th.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

"Rendezvous with Density" Now in DIM Quad


Never mind - I Did It Myself! Click here to download The Simulated Quadrophonic Condensation of yesterday's 4-hour Mannlicher Carcano Radio Hour, boiled down to a CD's-worth of more-or-less arbitrarily layered aural confections by Really Happening, now entitled "Rendezvous with Density." Enjoy! (PS: The singer at the end is repeating the phrase "Our table food is not Jesus, it is only a gift" from the record Religion for the Retarded - which I probably got off Otis Fodder.)

MCRH Now in DIY Quad!


Here are links to the four 1-hour mp3s from yesterday's marathon radio show. We don't actually get hooked up until about halfway through the first hour, and the sportscasters never quite disappear, then towards the end there is an extensive audio vérité section chronicling disconnected Porter's unbeknownstly successful attempt to get on the air via SKYPE. Best to set up 4 discrete sound sources and listen simultaneously. Educational radio at its most!
Hour 1
Hour 2
Hour 3
Hour 4

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Now That the Buffalo's Gone... Crazy!


The band's limited edition commemorative GMC20A"NT"WCM-T08 tee-shirts -- destined for a co-branding with the Nader/Gonzalez 08 campaign (in alignment with the FDMS bloc of course) -- arrived today - November 6th - slightly later than expected. Our crack team of reverse engineering tee-modifiers will get to work immediately nevertheless. In the meantime, a heads-up that this Saturday's show will be an epic 4 hour extravaganza beginning at 9 AM Los Angeles time - with any luck it will include a radically deconstructed version of longtime Mannlicher collaborator Madonna's Dodger stadium gig, which at press time has traffic backed along Sunset Blvd all the way to the Prop 8 protests in Westwood. What a woild! Next weekend, listen for our first SKYPE link-up with Peas Porrigiott, Our Man Now In Czechoslovakia On Classical Keyboards.

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Whole Enchilada Catalog


Here we see Let's Paint TV's John Kilduff in front of his almost-complete prophetic oil painting depicting Mannlicher Carcano performing in a celebrity-packed sports stadium, created during the group's October 21st live performance on his daily webcast during the GMC20A"NT"WCM-T08, which is now uploaded in its appointed-timeslot entirety (BBQ sequence omitted) to Youtube. Click here to view. The single is clearly the "extraordinary rendition" of La Bamba, occurring around the 26 minute mark. Could use more cowbell though.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Two recent radio shows "Now with Twizzler Vomit!"


Gogo II enjoys some of the 21 pounds of Twizzlers that were specified in the group's rider for the Museum of Jurassic Technology gig, while Porter documents. Here is a link to last week's Mannlicher Carcano Radio Hour (bumped up again - but the Gryphons were spanked by the Ottawa Gee-Gees, ending the season with a 4-5 overall record, and no more postponed shows for a while.)


The side of the tour van christened with Twizzler vomit. Here is this week's show: Really, Porter, and Ken Cheezy OMIGOD - featuring the newly relocated Stylophone and newly repaired (after nearly a decade of valvular incoherence) thrift store trumpet.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Mannlicher Carcano on Let's Paint TV


Mannlicher were guests on an epic episode of John Kilduff's Let's Paint TV webcast out of his UNDISCLOSED LOCATION home during the GMC20A"NT"WCM-T08 -- we ended up with 3 hours of audio, which seems to have finished off our portable digital voice recorder once and for all. But we got the file off there and will edit it down and post it in due time. Similarly, Mr. Kilduff has begun excerpting what he considers the most compelling segments of the episode and posting them on Youtube. Click here to see the first.


And in case you missed our first appearance on the show, in the Eagle Rock then-Adelphia cable access studios, the full show is on Youtube, broken into three parts here, here, and here. The above resultant portrait in oils is currently on view in the hallway display case dedicated to Mannlicher as part of the exhibit Untidy: The Worlds of Doug Harvey through November 26th at Los Angeles Valley College. MC also provided a new audio installation for the main gallery, entitled Tri-Corps 2008.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Mannlicher Carcano Political Endorsement


Los Angeles, Oct 19, 2008 - Experimental "audio collage" musical group Mannlicher Carcano have formed a coalition with the Filthy Discarded Mattresses of Silverlake to endorse the Nader/Gonzalez ticket in the upcoming United States presidential race.


"The FDMS bloc was flip-flopping in an alarming manner," observed MC Minister of Information Really Happening "So we decided to step in and 'clarify' the issues. You'd be surprised how much a filthy discarded mattress still has to lose, if you get my drift."


Patriotic junior member Gogo Breaks, pictured here in action, was quick to add "I WANT YOU to change my pee-pee diaper!"
Click here to download the historic Mannlicher Carcano Radio Hour from October 18th 2008, featuring Porter Hall and Gogo Breaks' first visit to Really Happening's Los Angeles audio dungeon!
More documentation from the historic Gala Mannlicher Carcano 20th Anniversary "Next Time" West Coast Mini-Tour 2008 coming shortly!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Gala Mannlicher Carcano 20th Anniversary "Next Time" West Coast Mini-Tour 2008


Yo ma peeps. Mannlicher Carcano will be performing live in the flesh, on the radio and on web TV from Los Angeles between Oct 15th and 23rd. Porter Hall and Lucky Breaks are flying down from Montreal and Gogo Godot SAID he was coming but we haven't got a confirmation yet as he has the mental craziness and the unreliable. Nevertheless, we will persist with a line-up of at least 2/3 of the core and various adjunct members in the following venues:

October 15th 6:30 PM - 7:15 PM mini-set in the art gallery of Los Angeles Valley College, 5800 Fulton Avenue, Valley Glen, CA 91401 as part of the opening rituals for the exhibition 'Untidy: The Worlds of Doug Harvey,' which also includes a sound installation by MC and a vitrine displaying Mr. Harvey's collection of MC ephemera. Followed by a panel discussion and musical performances by Nic Waterman and Wounded Lion.

October 16th 8 PM - 9 PM PRIVATE live improvised soundtracks to a moldy slideshow screening at the Museum of Jurassic Technology. If you would like to be on the list for this event, email us at dghrvy@hotmail.com

October 17th Riverside Art Museum 3425 Mission Inn Ave. Riverside CA 92501 Mannlicher will play a set sometime between 7 PM - 11 PM as surprise guests at EARWAX at RAM, also featuring Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound, Tim Cosner (of Circuit Scarecrow), Choreographers Hannah Schwadron and Laura Vriend presenting “Premises For A Yellow Manifesto” plus "special Performances by UCR Gluck" $5 admission

October 18th tune in for a special 2-hour version of the radio show at www.cfru.ca at Noon L.A. time or drop by the audio dungeon to participate in you are in the area.

At some point we'll be appearing on the web version Let's Paint TV - probably the 21st

We're scheduled to be guests on Professor Cantaloupe's beloved GLOSSOLALIA show on October 22nd at 10 PM on KXLU Radio at 88.9 FM in L.A. or streaming live at www.kxlu.com

We've had offers of a couple of other venues, but we may be tuckered out from these - if anything new is scheduled, we'll keep you posted. Hope to see you all out there!

R. Happening, Minister of Information

Sunday, October 5, 2008

The Name of this Band is...

...derived from the weapon allegedly used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in November 1963. As regards the implement itself, we learn from Wikipedia that the 6.5x52mm Carcano or 6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano is actually an Italian military 6.77 mm (.266/67 cal.) rimless bottle-necked rifle cartridge, developed from 1889-1891 and used in the M 91 Carcano rifle and its successors. In US parlance, the moniker "Carcano" is frequently added to better distinguish it from the rimmed hunting cartridge 6.5x52mmR (US version: .25-35 Winchester). Ballistically, its performance is very similar to that of the 6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schönauer.

Under the direction of the "Commissione delle Armi Portatili" (Commission for Portable Weapons), instituted in 1888 to develop a smokeless-powder rifle for the Italian Army, the "Reale Laboratorio Pirotecnico di Bologna" (Royal Pyrotechnical Laboratory of Bologna) developed and tried several different cartridge designs, with a bullet diameter from 8 mm to 6 mm. Finally, due also to the influence of Maj. Antonio Benedetti, of the Brescia Arsenal, Secretary of the Commission and strong supporter of the advantages of smallbore cartridges, the 6,5X52 cartridge was definively adopted in March 1890, first than the rifle that had to use it (it will be the M91 Carcano rifle).

Since the adoption of the cartridge, the Arsenal's technicians worried about the characteristics of the original ballistite load, since that propellant was considered too erosive (flame temperature of 3000-3500 °C) and not stable under severe climatic conditions. Several other loads were tested, including the British cordite but without good results, until the Reale Polverificio del Liri (Royal Explosives Factory of Liri) developed a new propellant called "Solenite", composed of trinitrocellulose (40%), dinitrocellulose (21%), nitroglycerine (36%), mineral oil (3%), and shaped in large tube-like grains. The new propellant, that reduced the flame temperature (2600 °C) and proved to be very stable, was adopted in 1896 and never changed until the end of the military production of the cartridge.

The 6.5x52mm Carcano was designed as a full-blown infantry cartridge, in accordance with the tactics of the time, the adjustable rear sight of the rifle allowing for volley fire up to 2000 metres. It was the first to be officially adopted of a class of smallbore military rifle cartridges such as the 6.5x50 Arisaka (Japan), 6.5x53R Mannlicher (Romania / Netherlands), 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schönauer (Greece), 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser (also Norwegian Krag-Jörgensen), 6.5x58 Portuguese, of similar ballistic performances.

A comparison with other cartridges of the 7.62mm and 8mm caliber class (starting in 1886 with the French 8x50R Lebel, continuing with the German 7.92x57, the Austrian 8x50R, the British .303, the Russian 7.62x54R, the Belgian and Argentine 7.65x53, the .30-40 Krag, and the much later .30-03 and .30-06) may make all these 6.5mm rounds appear "underpowered" on paper though, and lacking of stopping power, compared to other military cartridges and rifles of the time. On the other hand, they seem to have a long list of advantages, as the flatness of trajectory, outstanding penetration at distance, less weight, less recoil, smaller dimensions, less material required to produce them.

Its short-lived intended successor cartridge, the 7.35x51 Carcano, is sometimes identified as the first intermediate round, before the German 7.92x33 and the Soviet 7.62x39.

The original 6.5x52mm Carcano barrel design, developed by the Brescia Arsenal at the same time of the cartridge, and first than the M91 Carcano Rifle, used a gain twist barrel with deep rifling to reduce wear, extend barrel life and give consistent accuracy. Gain twist has a slow initial twist in the barrel progressively getting faster until the full twist rate is attained at the muzzle, resulting in less torque being imparted to the bullet during the highest stress phase of the interior ballistic cycle, and thus less barrel wear in the throat of the barrel.

The 6.5x52 Carcano is an effective and easy-to-shoot deer cartridge out to 200 m (220 yards), with properly-bulleted ammunition. Its main drawback in military use was that the standard Italian service round had a round-nosed bullet and was highly stable (did not usually tumble unless it hit bone), giving many narrow-channel straight-through wounds.[citation needed] This characteristic is due to the high sectional density of the round (the extreme bullet length compared to its diameter).

Handloaders should note that the currently available factory ammunition may lack accuracy due to use of a 6.7 mm (.264 in) bullet instead of the 6.8 (.268 in) as originally loaded.

Under the heading "Notable Uses" Wikipedia adds: The cartridge achieved some notoriety as having been the choice of Lee Harvey Oswald, who used a World War II Italian Carcano rifle in this chambering to allegedly assassinate President John F. Kennedy.

Here is a link to this week's MCRH Broadcast, hosted by the Temporarily Sane Ken Cheezy - welcome back aboard the bus, Ken!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

From Contented Cowbells


Here's a link to this week's show - another all-telephonic Happening/Hall duet, with a couple of minutes of premature discojaculation from the jungle buddy that follows. In memory of devoted Mannlicher fans Allan Kaprow and Manny Farber, we have added more cowbell to our less than two-minute reduction of a 100-minute-long recording from our 1993 performance Regicide and Dispersion at UCSD's Center for Research in Computing and the Arts entitled Condensed Cream of CRCA.

 Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj 


Above, Porter Hall's schematic diagram for the reduced recording. Click on image for larger view.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

As Promised, the Meeting of Two Great Canadian Musical Legends

This one didn't turn out so well as the last one; you can almost hear the software crying...

 Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj 

...though "Once my pants are on I make gold records" should be the title of a Leonard Cohen's Greatest Hit anthology! If this recording actually finishes him off, does it still count as a prophetic dream?

PS: If anyone knows an easy way how to download and save this kind of audio file, make a comment!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Ciao Leo, Howdy Porter


I dreamt this morning I was saying Goodbye to Leonard Cohen, and that he was dying. It was a weird-feeling dream so I googled him to see if he had died at the exact moment of my dream or what. Found out he's 74 tomorrow. Go Lenny! I'll see if I can add more cowbell to MC's cover of Suzanne and link it up here for the occasion. In the meantime, this week's show is available for download here -- if you look for it on the cfru archive page, it's the 12 noon - 1 PM slot usually occupied by Sound Magic, as we were bumped forward by the Gryphons game. Just Porter and Really on this one, kids.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Cover Story from MUSICWORKS #84

Click on each image to see a large screen-res version.









Monday, September 1, 2008

Porter Hall in Montreal (not Ottawa)


Here is a link to the first radio show after Porter Hall's recent relocation to Montreal. As such, it is a landmark in the group's history, as no member was actually present in the radio station for the broadcast, though of course adjunct MC faculty Fez & Boston Carlyle worked the board and threw in their two bits.

Funny thing about the above picture. I typed "Porter Hall" in for the google image search, and this was one of the first things that came up, with a caption reading "Porter Hall at Carleton University in Ottawa Friday, September 13th, 1985." At first I thought it was a Canadian band named Porter Hall, but quickly surmised that it was, in fact early 80s Ottawa punks the Randy Peters and that "Porter Hall" is a building on the campus of Carleton.

The funny thing is, our Porter is supposed to hook up with a couple of old friends who now host the Harvey Christ Radio Hour (a live weekly radio show heard every second Tuesday night 11-12AM EST on CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal) but were also among the lucky few who witnessed the very early days of Mannlicher Carcano. I am referring of course to Reverends Norm (Jan) Desrosiers and... Randy Peters! These are the kinds of amazing coincidences that Improvisational Audio Collage is all about!