ALAN VEGA. 'Live at Max's Kansas City' out 20th November via Sacred Bones Records. First track "JUKEBOX BABE" online now.

ALAN VEGA - Album 'Live at Max's Kansas City' out November 20th via Sacred Bones  - First track "JUKEBOX BABE (Live at Max's Kansas City)" online now

Photo credit: Marcia Resnick Alan Vega's Live at Max's Kansas City, out November 20th via Sacred Bones, captures one of music's most fearless innovators and visionaries at full creative force, transforming this punk clubhouse, one of New York City's most iconic cultural landmarks into a theater of raw performance, sonic experimentation, and uncompromising artistic expression.    Recorded on July 18, 1980, just weeks before the release of his landmark self-titled solo debut, the performance finds Vega at a pivotal moment in his career, forging a singular artistic language where rockabilly, blues, electronic noise, and performance art converge with electrifying intensity. Across seven tracks, Vega is joined by young Texan guitarist Phil Hawk, whose razor-wire guitar work intertwines with Vega’s tape manipulation and experimental sound to amplify his uncompromising sonic vision. Driven by instinct rather than convention, the album captures the collision of rockabilly and blues with electronic experimentation, unrelenting energy, and the radical artistic freedom that defined Vega's career. Discovered by Liz Lamere and Jared Artaud in the Alan Vega archives, Live at Max’s Kansas City is the latest previously unheard recording to emerge from The Vega Vault Project. Lamere, Vega’s longtime collaborator, wife, Vega Vault Project leader and co-producer, and Artaud, co-producer and creative director of The Vega Vault Project, continue to explore and develop Vega’s and Suicide's extensive archive, uncovering recordings, artwork and other material that reveal new chapters of his creative life and work. Live at Max’s Kansas City is one of those discoveries, capturing Vega at a pivotal moment just weeks before the release of his landmark self-titled solo debut. This historic performance is available on streaming platforms and vinyl for the first time and today the first track "JUKEBOX BABE (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980)" is available online. "JUKEBOX BABE (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980)" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFubZYJN6G4 "JUKEBOX BABE (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980)" on other DSPs:https://alanvega.lnk.to/JUKEBOXBABE ‘Live at Max's Kansas City’ album pre-order/pre-save: https://alanvega.lnk.to/LiveatMaxsKansasCityPR Opening with “Jukebox Babe,” we’re immediately immersed with the screams and whistles of Vega’s name coming from the audience, before his unmistakable voice tears through the room with raw authority. Before launching into "Kung Foo Cowboy," Vega addresses the crowd with a brief introduction, setting the stage for the track's fractured blend of blues, rockabilly, and electronic menace. Each of Vega's interjections lands with sharpened intensity as the southern twang and hard-hitting pre-recorded backing tracks remain relentlessly locked in. On "Bye Bye Bayou," the song's haunted, hallucinatory rockabilly is pushed to its breaking point, with Vega's screams and shouts reverberating through the venue, unleashing a raw ferality that rivals the power of the studio recording.   The album presents both the short and extended versions of "Ice Drummer," revealing another dimension of Vega's live performance. Stripped of the harmonica heard on the studio recording, the song is propelled by plaintive vocals, hypnotic marching rhythms, and the tension of its minimalist arrangement. Before launching into the performance, Vega can be heard asking the audience, "Anyone have a mouth harp?" On the record, Vega’s longtime collaborator, wife, Vega Vault Project leader and co-producer, Liz Lamere said "Alan was an early pioneer of using backing tracks for live performances. This was partly out of necessity, but very much an aesthetic choice. Starting early in his life, he was drawn to electric sound, radio static, street noise and was experimenting with recording sounds as early as the late 50s.  In the early 70s, he made a conscious decision to explore performing as a musician. He had a natural gift for making electronic music sound like it was pulsing with hot blood.  From the start of his solo music career, Alan used pre-recorded drums, bass and sounds that he created as a foundation for live performances, sometimes appearing on stage backed by just a boom box. Adding live guitar, as here with Phil, gave the music another dimension and dynamic.   And he continued this tradition during the later part of his solo career. Throughout the decades that I recorded and toured with Alan, much of what we created in the studio couldn’t be recreated live.  The Vega Vault contains dozens of CDs and tapes of backing tracks used for live shows. We made separate master backing tracks, as well as sound effect tracks (containing sounds created by effect machines and used on the album recordings). On stage, I ran those effects tracks through machines, such as the Air FX or Kaos pad, to morph the sounds live and add an additional performance element to the show.   'Live at Max's Kansas City' is an integral part of Alan Vega’s history as a solo artist and part of an ongoing rollout of unreleased recordings through the Vega Vault Project. Jared Artaud and I have been very methodical in curating materials from the Vault and are currently working on another full length LP album of previously unreleased Vega recordings."   Co-producer and creative director of The Vega Vault Project, Jared Artaud added “Alan left behind so much material that we are still uncovering. It’s an unreal feeling when you stumble across something that feels like a Holy Grail. Live at Max’s Kansas City blew me away the first time I heard it. When discovering anything by Vega, my instinct is always, ‘Would people want to hear this?’ Not everything you find in an artist’s estate is meant to be seen or heard, but with this recording there was no question. Alan left behind an incredible amount of work.   The thing is, Alan only performed this material a couple of times in NYC at Max’s in 1980, so having a recording that sounds this good is really special. Some of my favorite music ever are the live albums by Albert Ayler and The Velvet Underground’s Quine Tapes, and I always hoped we would find something in the Vega Vault that had that same sense of discovery and level of intensity. Live at Max’s Kansas City has that for me. It captures Vega at the start as a solo artist, in the same year Suicide released their second album. This was also the beginning of Vega producing himself, which continued throughout his career. He had a very specific and defined sound he wanted for his first album. While Vega often collaborated with other artists throughout his career, he remained the driving force behind the production. I think this is something that gets easily overlooked in his work. He was an artist with a fearlessly singular vision. 'Live at Max’s Kansas City' captures that raw energy and no-fucks-given approach to making music and performing on stage that is incomparably Vega.”   Live at Max's Kansas City serves as a vivid document of Alan Vega standing on the precipice of his solo career with the vital commitment of his creative powers. Every scream, whistle, and eruption from the audience becomes part of the performance itself, preserving the volatile exchange between artist and crowd that defined Vega's singular presence on stage. Recorded in 1980 and previously unreleased, this historic performance is now presented with design and art direction by Jared Artaud and Michael Handis.  The record will be released on the following LP vinyl variants, as well as download: Sacred Bones Exclusive Cobalt Blue w/ Mint-Green Splatter (BE) Sacred Bones Exclusive Wax Sealed Edition (LE) Cobalt Blue - Indie variant (C3) Live at Max's Kansas City artwork: Live at Max's Kansas City tracklist: 1. JUKEBOX BABE (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980) 2. KUNG FOO COWBOY (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980) 3. LOVE CRY (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980) 4. BYE BYE BAYOU (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980) 5. ICE DRUMMER V1 (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980) 6. FIREBALL (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980) 7. ICE DRUMMER V2 (Live at Max's Kansas City, 1980) Links: Alan Vega : Instagram : Facebook : X