Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA, US
"No, Headless Household is not an Industrial band. They sound like Miles Davis playing with the Kronos Quartet conducted by Sun Ra with occasional vocals by George Jones and backup singers from A Man and a Woman. Wonderful and wonderfully bizarre. If and when Twin Peaks gets another stab at prime time TV, Headless Household would be the perfect band to play at the lodge. Sounds Like: Ween, George Jones, Mark Isham, Kronos Quartet"

Basemento (2010) HI-144

                Basemento bio     check out mp3 page for sounds...

double disc delineation:

This, That

...the Other

1. Basemento (Lackner) (6:28) 2. Timo Salminen (Woodard) (5:01) 3. Unbroken Glass (Lackner/Household) (4:46) 4. Ragout (Dunlap) (4:17) 5. Nigh (All Aboard) (3:30) 6. A Littler Prayer (Lackner) (5:00) 7. Open-Heart Sandwich (All Aboard) (6:05) 8. Face Up (Dunlap) (5:40) 9. Mount Analog (for JZ) (Lackner) (6:08)

Copyright 2010, Headless Household

Produced by Necessity

Co-produced by Tom Lackner

Recorded and mixed by Tom Lackner at the Tompound, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Additional mixing by Gabe Lackner

Mastering by Emmet Sargeant, at Beagle Studios

Design by Kim Reierson

Cover photography: Kim Reierson

Credits:

The Household

Dick Dunlap, keyboards, Tom Lackner, percussions. Chris Symer, basses (except where noted), Joe Woodard, guitars

 "Honorary Household"

Tom Buckner, tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute ("Liquids for Visitors," "Hey, Hey Brazil," "Bodies in Cities," "Liquids for Visitors," "Timo Salminen," "Ragout," "Mount Analog")

David Binney, alto sax ("Basemento," "Nigh," "Open-Heart Sandwich," "Littler Prayer," "Liquids for Visitors")

Julie Christensen, vocals ("Loneliness," "Bodies in Cities," "I Never Wanted You," "(At the) Mercy of the Wind")

Glen Phillips, vocals ("Not Me," "I Never Wanted You," "(At the) Mercy of the Wind")

Nate Birkey, trumpet ("Liquids for Visitors," "Loneliness" and trumpet/vocal on "Jobim Meets Jim Beam")

David Piltch, bass ("Not Me," "Zawinul Tune," "eighteen," "I Never Wanted You," "Bodies in Cities," "Ragout," "Timo Salminen," "(At the) Mercy of the Wind"

Tom Ball, harmonicas (blues, chromatic, bass) ("Unbroken Glass," "I Never Wanted You," "eighteen," and "Basemento")

Bill Flores, pedal steel guitar ("Not Me," "eighteen," "I Never Wanted You," "Jobim Meets Jim Beam,"), lap steel ("Why Joey Can't Read")

Kenny Edwards, mandolin ("Not Me," "eighteen," "Why Joey Can't Read," "(At the) Mercy of the Wind"), vocal on "Loneliness"

Sally Barr, violin ("Loneliness," "Why Joey Can't Read," "Ragout")

http://www.relix.com/reviews/cds/2010/07/22/gabor-szabo-headless-household-omar-souleyman-and-more-ear-crystals

Santa Barbara�s Headless Household celebrates 25 years of criminal neglect with a wonderful double album, Basemento (Household Ink). Come for �This, That�,� guitarist Joe Woodard�s song-oriented SoCal strip-mall blend of jazzy bossa nova and Bakersfield country laments (i.e., �Jobim Meets Jim Beam�). But stay for ��The Other,� a disk�s worth of some of the smartest and friendliest psychedelic jazz you�ll ever snuggle up to. Guest saxophonist Dave Binney applies the hot sauce liberally to these nine smart, incisive sonic meditations encompassing everything from British progressives like Henry Cow, gnarly New York downtown jazz, Weather Report�s international feel and the heady cosmic geologies of countless Grateful Dead space excursions.

--Richard Gehr, Relix, July, 2010

Blur Joan (2005) HI-137

(bio)

Songs:

1. Blur Joan (Lackner/Woodard) mp3 2. Plaything (Dunlap)  3. Brownie (Lackner)  4. Ambushed by Serenity (Woodard)  5. Then Was the Time (Woodard) mp3 6. babble (Woodard)  7. Bluer in the Face (Dunlap/Woodard)  8. Buffoons (Lackner)  9. Door of the 4/3 (Lackner/Woodard) mp3 10. Monk's Day Off (Woodard)  11. Walk Cycle (Dunlap/Woodard)  12. Sunday Go To Meetin' (Dream on Your Time) (Woodard) mp3

Headless Household: Dick Dunlap, keyboards; Tom Lackner, percussion, electronics; Joe Woodard, guitar; (on sabbatical: Chris Symer, bass)

Honorary Householders: Tom Buckner, saxophones, clarinet; David Piltch, bass; Jim Connolly, bass; Sally Barr, violin; Julie Christensen, vocals; Bill Flores, pedal steel guitar; Jeff Kaiser, trumpet

Produced by Tom Lackner

Co-produced by Necessity

Engineered and mixed by Tom Lackner, at The Tompound, Santa Barbara, Calif.

"Walk Cycle" was written for a short film by Ted Mills

Photographs and graphic design by Kim Reierson

Copyright 2005, all rights reserved

Cadence, Oct. 2006

HEADLESS HOUSEHOLD,
BLUR JOAN,
HOUSEHOLD INK 137.

Blur Joan / Plaything / Brownie / Ambushed By Serenity / Then
Was The Time / Babble / Bluer In The Face / Buffoons (Let’s
See?) / Door Of The 4/3 / Monk’s Day Off / Walk Cycle / Sunday
Go To Meetin’ (Dream on Your Time). 63:33.
Dick Dunlap, kybd; Tom Lackner, perc., elec.; Joe Woodard, g; Tom Buckner, ts, cl; Jeff Kaiser, tpt; Claudia Kiser, cel; Sally Barr, vln; Bill Flores, pedal steel g, David Piltch, b; Jim Connolly, b. no date listed, Santa Barbara, CA.
Santa Barbara, California, a hot bed for creative music? Well, that may be an overstatement, but like many towns throughout the world, there is creative music to be found seemingly everywhere. Hailing from Santa Barbara is Headless Household, an eclectic ensemble. For Blur Joan, their seventh record released, the quartet becomes a trio due to bassist Chris Symer’s sabbatical, matching the group with several guests, including alto saxophonist David Binney, trumpeter Jeff Kaiser, and perhaps the most often heard voice, saxophonist Tom Buckner. Soundwise, it is an eclectic and surprisingly alluring program that covers a variety of genres that, while certainly experimental, remains accessible.
The group’s interest in the fusion of electric and acoustic touches is seen from the outset on the Indian tinged “Blur Joan,” with Woodard and Buckner sharing the theme amidst the blips, hums, and percussive touches or likewise, on “Plaything,” a joyous romp that puts the focus on Dunlap and Kaiser’s muted trumpet. The most impressive of these trials is “Door Of The 4/3,” an ominous, yet hopeful piece of Americana, tastefully manipulated and featuring striking work from Binney and cellist Claudia Kiser. The program also has the group in acoustic mode on several tracks, including “Then Was The Time,” a midtempo Jazz waltz for sextet with Binney and Buckner’s horns mixing with Woodward’s fluid guitar work. The quirkiest piece of the program, though, is “Monk’s Day Off” that oddly commences with tinges of Satie before settling into a lush tenor ballad then, what the heck—it sounds as if Monk himself woke up from a nap
and provides an off-kilter interlude before the lush romanticism returns. Worth noting is also the strong work throughout from Woodard, whether adding acoustic guitar touches on the ECM-like “Ambushed By Serenity” or the nasty Blues of “Bluer In The Face.”
Though not every track is compelling, with the funky “Brownie,” or the countryish vocal-lead “Sunday Go To Meetin’ (Dream On Your Time)” proving less exciting, these complaints are minor. Overall, a quirky--in a good way--outing from a group that is certainly charting its own course.
--Jay Collins

Long-running Santa Barbara eclecto-jazz weirdoes Headless Household have simmered all their exotic flavors into a very palatable goulash called Blur Joan (Household Ink). Joe Woodard, Dick Dunlap and Tom Lackner really orchestrated this one, and with the help of brilliant friends (Dave Binney, Jim Connolly, Julie Christensen et al.), swing and waltz and reggae and sound effects unite--natural, warm and full of protein.--Greg Burk, LA Weekly, May 10, 2006

www.laweekly.com/music/beauty-noise/dont-deport-him-yet/13465/#Continuation

What the band has going for it is solid musicianship and an admirable willingness to toss in whatever strikes their fancy.

                                        --Aaron Steinberg, Jazz Times, July/August, 2006

Vertical Medleys, Vol. 1 (2004) HI-335= $8. (specially-priced "hyper-remix" project)

A quasi-retrospective Headless Household wall of sound production, with telling details popping above turbulent but surprising meditative hyper-surfaces. Tom Lackner did the remixing honors. Each of the group's albums gets a track of one's own, plus a bonus track, "Lost Urchin," with layered improvisations by Dick Dunlap, Tom Lackner, and Joe Woodard.

1. HeadlessHousehold(1987)  2. Inside/OutsideUSA(1993)  3.ITEMS(1995)  4. FreeAssociations(1999)  5. mockhausen (2000)  6. post-Polka(2003)  7. lost urchin(2004)

dickDunlaptomLacknerchrisSymerjoeWoodardnateBirkeytomBucknersallyBarrgillesApapkathyDaltonglenPhillipsjulieChristensenellenTurnerjennifer

TerranarleneDunlapallegraHeidelindemarjorieExtractshellyRudolphspencerBarnitzjeffKaiserdavidBinneytheoSaundersjeffElliottjohn

SchnackenbergbillFlorestomBalljimConnollydavidPiltchkennyEdwardsjohnRapsonbruceWinterwayneSabbakbill7emmettSargent

  post-Polka (2003) HI-133= $12.00/CD (ppd) For its sixth feature-length album, Headless Household gets deep into the business of polka, as theme, variation, and landing strip. Two years in the making, Headless Household's newest CD is a set of variations on a polka theme, traditional and utterly otherwise... with multiple guests, including Julie Christensen (The Divine Horsemen, Leonard Cohen, Julie Christensen), Tom Buckner, Nate Birkey, Jeff Elliott, Jeff Kaiser, Glen Phillips, Spencer Barnitz, Ellen Turner, Allegra Heidelinde, Shelly Rudolph, Tom Ball (Ball and Sultan), Bill Flores, Sally Barr, Jim Connolly (bass and musical saw), Kenny Edwards, David Piltch, and others...  bio, Greg Drust's Post-Polka liner notes

  mockhausen is a  collection of "outtakes," improvisational matters, and assorted other noises from the Headless Household archives...guests: saxist Dave Binney,  trumpetman Jeff Kaiser, and Ellen Turner, vox (and, by sampling happenstance, various parties). bio

  Free Associations            HI-124= $12.00/CD (ppd)

1. Tiddly Wink (mp3) ; Tom Buckner, tenor sax; Dave Binney, alto sax   2. My Baby Left Brain; Jennifer Terran, vocal; Jeff Kaiser, trumpet; Tom Buckner, tenor sax; Dave Binney, alto sax   3. Requiem for a Vacant Lot (mp3) ; Jeff Elliott, trumpet; Theo Saunders, piano; Saunders and Dunlap, piano for four hands on intro   4. The Eiffel Tower Made Easy Gilles Apap, violin; Nate Birkey, trumpet; Julie Christensen, vocal  5. Laconics 1 (Mancheadlessini)   6. Honey, I'm Home (mp3)  Glen Phillips and Marjorie Extract, vocals; Gilles Apap, fiddle; Bill Flores, pedal  steel guitar    7. Green Swipe Pattern  (mp3); Jeff Elliott, trumpet; Woodard, "lawnmower"    8. The Real of the Lake Ellen Turner, vocals; Nate Birkey, trumpet  9. Surf Punctuation (Household)    10. Angry Poodle (Welsh/Woodard) Jeff Kaiser, trumpet; Julie Christensen, voice; Dunlap, Chroma Polaris    11. Man (with) Hat (and) Tan Tom Buckner, tenor sax; Theo Saunders, piano, piano; Jeff Elliott, trumpet, fllugelhorn; Lackner, drums, drums    12. Sullen Gypsum Gilles Apap, violin; Nate Birkey, trumpet; Ellen Turner, vocal    13. fragMentor Tom Buckner, tenor sax; Dave Binney, alto sax

Some field reports from the Fourth Estate:

"Headless Household is the core cooperative quartet of Dunlap, Lackner, Symer and Woodard. Various guests add to the eclectic musical scope of a startling project... "Fan Fair is a sample heavy, sequencer-intense mix that cross-fades into the rather flat funk of "Hypothyroid Dough Boy." Gilles Apap's violin carries the melodic lead of Woodard¹s lyrical ballad "3 A.M. Western." The opening three performances reveal this cooperative's challenging scope ranging from fractal freescapes ('^tExpectators") to New Age ballads ("For What Ails You/Nodding Up Front); from electronic experiments ("Dance Peace/In His Absence") to jaunty dirge fanfares ("House Rules") or ballads like News Flash" and "(Open Letter To) Manfred Eicher" with its uncanny recreation of the coo yet ush romanticism of the classic ECM sound. Most surprising of all, perhaps, is the smooth relaxed groove of "Hefty Darlin'," a slick and loving demonstration of Headless Household's ability to play with a precision, depth, warmth and ease of feeling that can rival any other outfit in the professional mainstream. Lovely stuff."

    --David Lewis, Cadence, August 1998

"On this, their fourth recording, they include everything from free improv to straightahead jazz with creative asides thrown in that include comedy, Country & Western, electronic fusion, blues and progressive rock... it’s quite an enjoyable mix from this group of talented and creative musicians."

--Jim Santella, L.A. Jazz Scene, April 1997

"Headless Household still seems to think that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Clever without being obnoxious, laid-back without snoozing, their quick-dissolve electric studiohead jazz offers an alternative--not exactly a revolution, more a wink than a nod: We haven't given up, how about you?...Awareness won't get you to heaven, but in this case it gets you pretty far."

--Greg Burk, L.A. Weekly

"...a fusion band in the broad sense of the word, fusing all sorts of musical nuts and bolts--polka, cabaret, country, bossa nova, jazz, progressive rock--into an unholy chassis. Two forces fuel the conflagration: a drive to experiment and a rollicking sense of humor." --Jeff Gordinier, Santa Barbara News Press

"Strange, cool rumblings from Southern California" --Jas Obrecht, Guitar Player.

ITEMS  HI-119= $12.00/CD (ppd)

songs by Woodard except where noted 

Review from allmusic guide, by Francois Couture:

The title of this album is the best possible description, not only for this particular release, Headless Household's third, but for the entire output of this strange band from Santa Barbara, California. Because Headless Household is all about eclecticism. The band plucks items from a very wide range of musical genres. The album opener, "Fan Fair," sounds just like... well... a fanfare, while the next song ("Hypothyroid Dough Boy") is driven by an angular funk rhythm with a little guitar melody very reminiscent of the theme song from the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon. The song then breaks totally free, only to come together once again, this time topped by a dismembered solo from guest hornist Jeff Kaiser. The next tune, "3 A.M. Western," is a beautiful (and very tonal) country/jazz ballad and the fourth a free improv jam.

I won't describe the album track by track, but by now you should get the idea: whatever it is you just heard, there is absolutely no guarantee the next minute will be in the same vein. On Items, Headless Household touches mainstream jazz, free jazz, western, polka, some very cheezy things and Zappa-like avant-rocking. The pool of guests musicians appearing on the album also has something to do with this ever-changing sound, adding to Household's basic guitar/keys/bass/drums instrumentation trumpet (Jeff Kaiser), violin (Gilles Apap), alto (David Binney) and tenor (Tom Buckner) sax, even some vocals on two tracks.

Don't think Headless Household lacks direction though. All this variety serves them well and the listener, although often surprised or taken off-guard, doesn't feel lost in Items. These guys know what they're doing and they do it very well. Fans of Frank Zappa and the likes, or simply those who appreciate not being able to predict what will happen for the next hour after the first two minutes of the CD, should definitely try to track this one down.

Inside/Outside USA HI-113= $12.00 for CD, $8.00 for cassette (ppd)

SONGS

"Santa Barbara's comically-inspired jazz-cum-anything quartet... fusion, country, folk, funk, surf, and even polka all mix together with just enough bite, humor, and variety to buck convention. Prime musical chops keep the irreverence focused... this household is all over the map; in terms of creativity and energy, the group is beyond category." --Roger Len Smith, Jazziz

"Headless Household’s singular brand of jazz is not so much free as it is amok. This Santa Barbara combo plays endearingly bizarre pop, bop, swing, and several other genres with impeccable musicianship and a sly sense of humor... `The Mayor’s Send-Off’ is a very nice piece of blue-mood lounge music with a smoky trumpet; `Rumba in Kuwait’ is an impressive exercise in avant-noise; `Wintering in Heaven’ deserves to be added to the repertoire of every nightclub crooner. An added bonus is `Woe to Him,’ featuring vocals by Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips. Recommended, but not for purists." --Rafer Guzman, East Bay Express

"Fusion's never been this bizarre. Headless Household combines good 'ol Southern blues-boogie, be-bop, swing and rock into a gamey stew served warm over a plate of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Golden Palaminos, Captain Beefheart, Savoy Brown, and onward...Wild."--Darren Bergstein, I/e

(CD) HI-111-2= $12.00 (ppd)

(LP) HI-111= $7.00 (ppd)

The band's debut album, recorded in 1987, from free improv to quasi-rock to polka ("Isle of Hugh") and back. Now available on both collectable vinyl and banal compact disc! bio

SIDE A: 1. One Form of Therapy (Woodard)  2. Year of the Donkey (Dunlap)  3. Rhythm Truck (Woodard)

SIDE B: 1. Isle of Hugh (Woodard), guest vocalist, Kathy Duncan   2. Rather by the Giver (Woodard), John Rapson, trombone  3. Gabriel (Lackner)  4. Off the Beat (Dunlap)  

"Following a private madness, they assemble (musical) nuggets into something great and, sometimes, even important. Using old and new instrumentation and technologies, Headless Household weave through tight turns and time-signatures" --B.H. Hart, Sound Choice

"It's hard to categorize these guys, though their music's playful, quirky, sometimes downright silly, sometimes quite soothing."--New Music Distribution Service Catalogue blurb

This two-song EP features the yuletide-flavored ambient anthem, Silver Bells Tolling," recorded on a 4-track in December of 1987, as well as the late-night paste-up piece from 1985, "Red Pies Over Montana."

"Holy host, Batman! Are these guys for real? You might call this recording `Christmas in the Zappa Neighborhood' or `Sledding in the Santa Barbara Snow.' This is experimental Christmas music to say the least."--Mark Hanson, Frets

"They say that a camel is a horse designed by committee, but the band Headless Household proves that good things can indeed come in collective packages." --Nick Welsh, Santa Barbara. Independent

Household Ink, P.O. Box 2093, Santa Barbara, CA 93120

...and grab life...