Dear friends,

Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a brilliant new year 2016.

Here for the first time—as a seasonal, solstice gift—is my psychedelic short story ‘Apocryphal Fragment from the Lives of the Conquistadors’, dubbed to Gibby Haynes’s musical accompaniment. This is a rough radio mix put together mainly to add to the documentation of Steven Hull’s Puppet Show project for Glow: Santa Monica 2013 (the ‘for-one-night-only’ triennial arts all-nighter on Santa Monica beach) for which both story and music were specially commissioned. Hull’s giant puppet show performance of the story on a revolving stage on Santa Monica beach is pictured right.

LISTEN TO OR DOWNLOAD ‘A PUPPET SHOW (RADIO EDIT)’ WITH GIBBY HAYNES AND TONY WHITE (FROM A PUPPET SHOW BY STEVEN HULL) FROM DROPBOX HERE.

I’ve loved Gibby Haynes’s work with Butthole Surfers over the years, so I was thrilled to be involved in a project with him. The way that his music seems to synchronise with—even to illustrate—the text is all the more incredible since Gibby has said that he ‘intentionally did not read the story then was shocked to find out how much the writing inspired the sounds.’

The story vocal was recorded in one continuous take on an Edirol R09—here’s the high-tech set up ;)

‘Apocryphal Fragment from the Lives of the Conquistadors’ was first published in print and audio (with sounds by Steven Hull) on the gatefold vinyl LP A Puppet Show, by Steven Hull, together with an instrumental version of Haynes’s track, and music by the great Petra Haden, Tanya Haden and Anna Huff.

Steven Hull’s forthcoming book CARNEVIL will be the 30th title from Piece of Paper Press, and is due for publication in early 2016.

Have a great (non-ordinary) Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you in 2016.

Tony

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