Saturday, May 06, 2006








"PelPel Recordings presents "1001 Real Apes"
by David Greenberger & Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

1001 Real Apes, mixes David Greenberger's monologues with music by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. It's loaded with quirky stories, reflections, and opinions that Greenberger has culled from The Duplex Planet, his publication of conversations with old people - particularly drawn from the residents of the defunct Duplex Nursing home in Boston.

Greenberger offers up everything listeners have come to expect from Duplex Planet projects, plus some. The 27 stream-of-consciousness stories are alternately funny, moving, wise, silly, and inspirational, providing a unique view into the minds of the characters. They meander, as minds tend to do, through a terrain of guitars, travel, silverware, dating, beer, dinosaurs, and a perennial Duplex Planet favorite, ìSnakes.î The moods range from the jazzy riffs of the insistent "I Ain't Coe" to the prayerful mourning of "No Firebugs." Working with producer Bill Scheniman (Deborah Harry, NRBQ, Bon Jovi) has also yielded a friendly, spoken-word pop song, "How Records Are Made." Roll down your car windows, turn up the volume, and go for a ride; this song sounds like summer.

Twenty-seven years ago, David Greenberger started a magazine using stories he collected from residents of the Duplex Nursing Home. The Duplex Planet continues today as a periodical, but has gained wider renown in some of its other forms: book collections, a comic book adaptation, two documentaries, CDs and performances. Last year NPR's All Things Considered featured selections from Greenberger's previous two releases, Mayor of the Tennessee River and Legibly Speaking. Greenberger has just completed a public radio program, Growing Old in East L.A., with music by David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos.

Available now at The Duplex Planet for just $12 (plus $4 shipping), or by check to: The Duplex Planet, POBOX 1230, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

David Greenberger: monologues

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic:
Michael Bierylo - guitar, computer sequencing, sound design Ken Field - saxophones, flutes, percussion Erik Lindgren - piano Rick Scott - synthesizer, samples, percussion

Produced by Bill Scheniman"

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