#ron lessard

RRR Taste Test Series.

Emil Beaulieau – Anti-Performance.

Erik Hoffman’s Noise Wall.

In Conversation with Seymour Glass (Bananafish).

Emil Beaulieau America’s Greatest Noise (2005)

Here he is. Ron Lessard / Emil Beaulieau, labelhead and store owner of RRRecords in Lowell, Massachussetts. Here’s a guy whom I ordered all my noise music from, once in the mid-Zeroes during peak hipster-dom as program director at WUSB and twice more in the last twelve months because I miss those peak hipster-dom days. It was about time I caught up with what I played on air and missed before, so these recent months was a great time to catch up and get back in touch with some of the most enthralling moments during my time at Stony Brook. His black-marble site is still up to order from carrying the most curious and novelty of noise releases on cassette, disc, or vinyl format, including his famed recycled tapes. His correspondance is always friendly and extremely quick to send out shipments arriving at your residence in less than a week. And he’s forever grateful for your patronage, too.

RRRecords, 2018.

I was owed money on a previous occasion. Three months too late, I say. It should’ve been in my hands on Christmas or at most New Years. All of it. Not half in two months and the rest the next. I promised myself an order had to be made and couldn’t do it without the full money. Finally, I was paid back in full. I contacted Ron Lessard / Emil Beaulieau / RRRecords and said “hey, let’s do this again. Here’s my want list.”

As always, a speedy reply which is always good in the world of commerce. However, he did inform me that certain titles were sold out. Damn it. This is what happens when things needed to be done as planned but the other half doesn’t put up their half of the bargain in time. I hate dependency, but this was dependency volunteered. Well, better most of it than none at all. Next time, urgency is the key.

The second order was made because I couldn’t plunge money I didn’t have the first time around. The first order were titles he had posted on his site but happened to find them at a lower price on his Discogs seller page. The left-over titles weren’t found on his seller page, so it’s going right to the label’s mouth. Finally, I purchased artists and releases I meant to get my hands on. Bastard Noise, Burning Star Core, and Suckdog; artists we played on previous noise volumes on Omega WUSB and always heard about. Donna Parker’s recycled tape was one I overlooked the firs time around. I also purchased another Consumer Electronics title, Crowd Pleaser. For $30.00, it ties with She-Satellites’ self-titled album as the most expensive album I paid for. The most notable release? Maurizio Bianchi’s Bacteria Field , a sealed cassette with smears of dried blood on its labels.

As you notice, there are titles crossed out. It’s the first of any list found here to feature it. These are titles he regrettably had no stock on. Looks like I’m going to have to find another way to get them. Discogs is the best avenue, but as we all know, a single buyer (other than Ron) won’t have everything you need in one shot. You can’t outweigh the purchase over shipping, therefore I’ll be paying $4.00-$5.00 for shipping itself for only one title from each order. With the record-shopping spree almost coming to a close, I may have to do it so I can sleep peacefully at night. Wish me luck.

Ron Lessard thanked me for both orders and supporting him. I thanked him for everything he carried and being a key figure in the noise world. With this order, I got an RRRecords reciept, photocopied Pat Boone song lyrics, flyers from local Lowell businesses and The Brush Art Gallery, and an empty record jacket from The Andover All-School Concert. That’s Ron for you.

Donna Parker Recycled Music cassette

Bastard Noise Young World

M.B. Bacteria Field cassette

Aube Parametalizest 7"

Chinese Stars “TV Grows Arms” b/w “The Drowning"

Consumer Electronics Crowd Pleaser

Haters Loud Luggage / Booming Baggage Banned cassette

GX Jupitter-Larsen The Internationale Banned cassette

Richard Ramirez Abrupt Decision Red Light cassette

Suckdog Onward Suckdog Soldiers

Taylor Bow Thin Air

John Wiese Soft Punk Troubleman

John Wiese Tumbler

Burning Star Core Inside The Shadow

RRRecords, Summer 2006.

Over the weekend as I was putting together the Omega Radio playlist posts, I made a few trips to Discogs to grab some album art. Then it hit me. All of it. Wolf Eyes, Black Dice, Jim O'Rourke, Carlos Giffoni, Burning Star Core, The Magik Markers, Rogers Sisters, Ecstatic Peace, Lightning Bolt, etcetera. The amazing burst exploded in my head. These were artists prominently featured in everyone’s minds and conversations on campus, online music sites, and in select cities everywhere during the last decade. These were artists I played on my original show and discovered during my time as WUSB program director and at The Stony Brook Press. Some people go as far to say that those mid-Zeros were the golden-age of hipsterdom. They’re not far from the truth. There could be many more but these are the ones that happened. Whether they were taken from Pitchfork, found in our new release bins at the station, or I even bought from the shows they performed, most if not all of these artists mentioned became a significant factor during my time at Stony Brook. The nostalgic burst made me feel that something has to be done sooner or later; which is why I will be putting together a special show about the golden age I was part of. Cornflower agreed that I better do something about it.

One that I neglected to mention was RRRecords. Somewhere along the way I discovered the Lowell, Massachusetts record store and noise label that is Ron Lessard, who is better known as noise artist Emil Beaulieau. Documentaries were made with his inclusion and is known for his strange oddball behavior during performances, but he is given credit for putting the New England noise scene and aesthetic on the map, sharing that honor with the now-finished Load Records. RRRecords was the label that gave away xeroxed catalogs for more than 15 years before putting its listings online where I found them. Going through the list that RRRecords had to offer, I noticed him selling a sizable list of “recycled tapes”: low-priced cassettes which the originals are recorded overs with noise artist’s material, and their J-cards physically duct-taped and written with magic marker. Really, tapes designed as samplers for those wanting to try out new noise artists at low risk. That was how I ended up buying a substantial order from the label. The tapes were $4 a piece so I ordered a lot of them. I also ordered for $5 each Masonna’s Inner Mind Mystique on vinyl (1996) and Merzbow’s Pornoise 1KG five-tape set (1987) with filthy Trevor Brown art. Everything was sent to my residence within the week. Aside from the titles I purchased from Lessard, he was also kind enough to throw in stickers, postcards, flyers, and even rare memorabilia having absolutely nothing to do with music, including old music advertisements, train schedules, and small bank pamphlets.

Most of the artists you see here are of recycled tapes. Recycled tapes such as Sparkle Girl, Athenian Mercury, NxFxTxEx, Cherry Point, and DCLXVI were the introductory point in finding these artists and eventually made it to some of our Omega Radio noise specials and personal mixes. I also discovered that the Prurient tape made was from a split with Wolf Eyes called The Warriors (2005).

His online store is still there. Going through his current stock, another order is way overdue. There’s potential to grab some interesting marquee releases for a low price. The probability to fill some empty holes and enjoy the golden-era that I experienced at Stony Brook is high. Wish me luck.

Jennifer Wolski (recycled)

Sparkle Girl (recycled)

AT&T (recycled)

Prurient (recycled)

Aube (recycled)

Incapacitants (recycled)

Haters, The (recycled)

Masonna (recycled)

Merzbow (recycled)

Achim Wollscheid (recycled)

NxFxTxEx (recycled)

Bruce Carkiss (recycled)

Athenian Mercury (recycled)

f/I (recycled)

Cherry Point (recycled)

Bastard Noise (recycled)

Japanese Torture Comedy Hour (recycled)

DCLXVI (recycled)

Masonna Inner Mind Mystique (vinyl)

Ron Lessard - DIY Practitioner [Beniffer Ed., 2011]

36 page 8x8" screen printed book with individually collaged covers by the artist.

Edition of 120 copies.

"Submerging a found image with an iconic squiggle has become a signature look for an aesthetic that has travelled now into its fourth decade. This release is a dedication to a person who is up to this point not officially recognized as a visual artist. If you follow the noise thing, the tape thing, the weird thing or the massachusetts thing you may have an original piece of artwork in your record collection worth well over the price of admission. Beniffer Editions replicates the tireless efforts of the experimental scene's most valiant visual manipulator.

Ron's technique derives from the necessity to put good noise product out there. His work is quick, uses stuff that's lying around, and is built like a tank often due to a colored strip of duct tape. His one off collages on many releases such as "The Best", "Moonlight In Vermont", "The Dog Lady Tapes", 1000 Locked Grooves" display the rigor of a dedicated pioneer. There's no music with this book. If there was it wouldn't be a release by Ron Lessard.

Emil Beaulieau - Bigfoot - CDr [Obscurica, 2005]

"Live recording at Diva Gallery in Eugene OR, September 6th 2005.