Experimental collective (with aggressive noise, avant-garde, and post-punk leanings) formed by Tom Smith and Rat Bastard in 1991. A third member, Ben Wolcott, joined in 1993. Smith had previously been in the groups Boat Of, Pussy Galore, and Peach of Immortality. Bastard had been in Miami-based trio Scraping Teeth; Wolcott was a filmmaker and sound designer. Their debut release was 1994's "30-Minuten Mannercreme." Went on a three-year hiatus beginning in 2000, during which time Smith formed the "Actionist" ensemble Ohne, and Bastard focused on his Laundry Room Squelchers group. TLASILA reformed in 2003; recordings and tours have followed, and the line-up has grown to include all-star players including members of Sonic Youth and Sightings. Group's recordings combine elements of musique concrete, noise, heavy dub, and pervasive electronics to create often violent, but increasingly lyrical backdrops which frame vocalist Smith's literate, oddly disturbing croon.
toliveandshaveinla
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Members:
Andrew W.K., Chris Grier, Don Fleming, GayBomb, Graham Moore, Mark Morgan, Rat Bastard, Thurston Moore, Tom Smith (2)
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To Live And Shave In L.A.
| TLASILA
| To Live & Shave In L.A.
| To Live & Shave In LA
| To Live & Shave In Los Angeles
| To Live And Shave Amanda Green
| To Live And Shave In LA
| toliveandshaveinla
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| Horóscopo: Sanatorio De Molière (CD, Album, Dig) | Blossoming Noise | 2006 | ||
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Reviews & Discussion
To Live and Shave in L.A. are unique among the members of the Olympian pantheon of experimental avant-noise artists in that they seamlessly combine elements of the various transgressive musical genres without diluting them, and absorb more traditional tropes and gestures without softening their sound or succumbing to pastiche. They mutate and progress at a pace that would exhaust Madonna, and yet they take their time with projects, working for years on albums. Live, TLASILA are balls-out demonic... Smith is an unheralded vocal genius, Bastard and Wolcott are masters of their craft, and their more recent cohorts always seem to slot into the madness perfectly. Certain critics assail them at times for not being "enough" - harsh enough, melodic enough, violent enough, introspective enough. The genius of To Live and Shave in L.A. lies in their refusal to stand still. They've created several unquestioned masterworks ("30-minuten mannercreme", "Vedder Vedder Bedwetter", "The Wigmaker", last year's "God and Country Rally"), but never linger on any given sound or attitude long enough to create sequels. In that regard, they're like John Zorn's Naked City, except TLASILA avoid the modes of pastiche Zorn often stumbles (happily) into. They are a confounding, confusing unit, disliked intensely by some, worshiped by others. The world of art is better off because of them, that much is certain.