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Self-presentation:
Linking the rebellious spirit of Fugazi to the experimental adventures of Ornette Coleman, or fusing the ghetto-box hype of Public Enemy to the rock fortitude of Humble Pie, may not seem to be obvious connections for the everyman. But like the subversive stories uncovered in the JFK conspiracy on that fateful day in Dallas, The Grassy Knoll lurks in the dark corners of our musical memory, assimilating and connecting disparate sonic textures by way of his own methods and the ever-suspicious ear. You could classify the Knoll's music as melody-entrenched rocktronica, but why limit your experience? The band, and the man behind the band, rarely stand still long enough to let you wonder what is next.
Liberated from his record deal stalemate, Knoll mastermind Bob Green has adapted the credo of the independent rock community in creating his own visually astute and musically rich coop: www.sixtyonesixtyeight.com along with fellow artist absorption (London) and Jettatura (New York). While the newly recorded / released Short Stories (2003) is The Grassy Knoll's first album in several years, within it Green has reasserted the kind of raw artistic control found only when free from the hit-sifting industry machine. Born from sweaty bass and guitar jams in his New York City studio apartment, Short Stories may be Knoll's most intimate work. By sampling spoken word artist / NY actress Becca Ayers, and reworking tracks from longtime cohort Chris Grady (trumpet), Short Stories concocts images of post 9-11 New York using brave sonic imagery and a purposefully dark subtext. Amazingly, The Knoll's dub-laden stylistic mix simultaneously tips its hat to John Adams, '70's era Miles Davis, Sonic Youth, and the mix of Green's urban experience.
To understand what is rock and what is not is but to glimpse at the seam of Green's overlying vision. His early albums, 1994's untitled debut, 1996's Positive, and 1998's III were premonitions of the music-future as well as critically acclaimed recordings. These snapshots were a full, ahead-of-the-curve exposure of the loop-based sonic collages taken for granted today -- a today where Green now looks out his lower Manhattan apartment to study the movements of a flirtatious neighbor, watch the garbage truck skittering by the neighborhood soup kitchen, and reminisce about growing up in Texas.
Having earned an MFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute taking his music into the visual arena is a natural process. Green prowls the pavement of New York City capturing the intimate details of city life and infuses the vision with the many magical wonders of Arkaos.
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