#ice 9

so much from so little

A recent dream led me back to Cat’s Cradle. In the dream… Something similar to Nine 9 has been developed. That’s it. That’s all I remember. Nonetheless, I didn’t toss that dream away--we can learn much from even the smallest fragments. And besides, Ice 9 is serious business. In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle, Ice 9 is a man-made crystal that instantly freezes water. Drop Ice 9 into a bath…

Special guest: Dennis Rockney

0:00:00 — "A Stranger in Time" (Film Clip) by Dennis Rockney (1989)

0:01:18 — DJ

0:10:51 — "Hot Pistol" by King Bee (1978)

0:14:29 — "Out Out Out" by Ice 9 (1979)

0:15:51 — "Afraid of the Russians" by Stiphnoyds (1980)

0:17:58 — "Commie Symp" by The Cleavers (1980)

0:20:53 — "Freedom Attack" by Attack and the Fun (1980)

0:26:20 — "Law and Order" by Crazy 8's (1984)

0:31:38 — DJ

0:36:39 — "Look Around You" by The Resistance (1985)

0:39:12 — "Pneumatic Nightmare" by Johnson Unit (1985)

0:40:59 — "Big Parade" by Moose Lodge (1986)

0:43:51 — "Sympathy" by Jungle Nausea (1982)

0:46:04 — "Don't Make Me Laugh" by A Few Chairs (1986)

0:52:06 — "Carousel" by Theatre of Sheep (1983)

0:57:22 — DJ

1:02:25 — "I'm Not Special" (Live) by Punishment Farm (1983)

1:06:13 — "Time" by Chuck Clearwater (1984)

1:13:07 — "Not So Far Away" (Album Version) by Robert Blanche (1990)

1:17:47 — "Sarah's Dream" by Doug Zabroski (1990)

1:21:17 — "Fallout" by Kevin Courcey (198?)

1:25:50 — "The Ride" by Talvé (198?)

1:29:06 — DJ

1:34:47 — "Farmyard" by Dharma Bums (1988)

1:38:21 — "7/26/89" (Live) by Agrosoul (1989)

1:41:58 — "Uptight World" by Single Mary (1987)

1:44:49 — "Time Machine" by The Undertakers (1992)

1:52:22 — "Celsius" by The Headhunters (1985)

1:56:18 — "Chemicals" by The Parasites of the Western World (1980)

2:00:04 — DJ

2:06:27 — "All for You" by Patrick Burke (1987)

Greg Harvester recounts the history of punk band Ice 9/Count Vertigo in Out Out Out.

           Ice 9/Count Vertigo (it was the same group with a different name) was an early Portland, Oregon, punk band formed in 1978. Although they never reached the relative heights of their peers—The Wipers, The Rats, The Neo Boys, etc.—Ice 9/Count Vertigo did cut a couple of singles and made a posthumous appearance on a Killed by Death comp. The reissue of Count Vertigo’s extremely rare and pricey 7” on Mississippi Records (2011) prompted Harvester to flush out the band’s story beyond their scant KBD liner notes.  

           Harvester does a great job recounting the group’s history with singer Eddie Morgan and guitarist Dan Demiankow. Demiankow had a long history predating punk, which included capturing the tail end of the early 1960s surf-rock boom and surprisingly studying jazz guitar with Howard Roberts of Wrecking Crew fame. Eddie Morgan’s back history was a little more conventional—he was younger than Demiankow—and it’s Morgan who drives the narrative. Together the two recount Ice 9 shows, recording their two singles, their idiosyncratic drummer Count Vertigo and late bassist Jeff Sogge, whose untimely death in a car accident ultimately lead to the group’s 1980 breakup.  

           Ice 9’s story is not unusual. Many KBD bands who formed during the first wave of punk had similar histories. Nevertheless, it’s rare that someone takes the time to document their story, especially with quality journalism in collapse. The fact that Harvester had the self-confidence and integrity to self-release this zine, as opposed to pitching it to some corporate entity slumming it for a tax write off, is refreshing. Out Out Out also serves as a case study of a late 1970s punk band operating in a mid-sized city without the record biz infrastructure of Los Angeles or New York City. There are a number of parallels with Ice 9 and The Consumers’ history.

           Out Out Out  is well put together. The cover is silkscreened, and there’s an abundance of photos, flyers and a scan of the Count Vertigo 7”. I ordered mine from the Loki Label. You can also pick one up from Harvester here. I highly recommend you do so. -Ryan Leach

COLD DOWN THERE

Marvin gave Cecil the thumbs up and said “okay” but the word was lost in bubbles around Marvin's scuba mouthpiece.

Cecil managed the specialty photo gear for this dive. A type of camera the police and military used for thermal imaging.

Wet suits keep a diver warm very simply. The suit allows in cold water that warms in proximity to the diver’s body. Marvin enjoyed scuba diving but he always wanted a better solution for staying warm in the cold California ocean water.

Marvin and Cecil were at a depth of 40 feet, certainly deep enough for chilly water and really as deep as a diver ought to go.

Both divers activated the chemical mixing device on their belts. Pulling the belt away from their bellies gave the chemicals the space to flow up into the water next to their skin. Both divers reached to the small of their backs and duplicated the action with the mixer there.

Marvin felt the effect immediately. He nodded his head and pointed at the camera. Cecil began to record his diving partner. Cecil nodded his head in excitement as he handed the camera off to Marvin to photograph Cecil’s new heat profile. Marvin smiled as he looked at the camera monitor.

It felt as comfortable as a warm bath. The camera documented the existence of his new discovery’s heat creating ability. There on the monitor, pouring from Cecil in patterns that looked like bright green cigar smoke. Rising, cooling, then disappearing as the heat energy mixed with the cold ocean.

Then a change occurred. The green smoke patterns stopped in an instant. Marvin felt his wonderful, comfortable heat being swiftly replaced by deep cold. Cecil obviously felt it too. He signaled his alarm by pointing up, toward the surface.

Marvin again bubbled “okay” without thinking and begin to flipper his ascent. His swim strokes caused a cracking of breaking ice. Marvin felt ice cold for good reason. His suit was turning into ice. His legs became harder to bend and kick.

He glanced at Cecil as ice crystals formed inside his diving partner’s mask, quickly obscuring his terrified eyes. Ice formed inside his own face mask, blinding Marvin. His lung's labored to expand in a tight ice casing. Within a minute, both men floated unconscious toward the surface. The experimental heating chemical’s effect grew two icy coffins for the doomed men.