This year’s fest brought in nearly 60 artists from all corners of the United States and even some international artists from as far as Switzerland and Mexico. Sound was run by Novasad, using his legendary sound system. I overheard some artists throughout the fest, saying it was worth the travel just to get an opportunity to perform using his PA. Jadis Mercado from the west coast created video projections for each set, for some additional eyeball stimulation. In addition to the noise, lots of labels and artists had merch tables set up. By the fest’s end I ended up with quite a nice pile of loot through trades, purchases, and artists handing out free merch.

Day 1 opened with J. Thelonious, moniker of Jesse Vance, head honcho of the establishment. Vance’s set combined noise with elements of jazz, utilizing: keys, a sampler, laptop, and a saxaphone. A few set’s later, Rest in Satin Silence performed a collaborative set with Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! and Ron Collins. The set started off with broken static from a small portable television and was quickly joined by guitar run through a myriad of effects pedals. The guitar went from clean amplifications to thudding distorted lows, at times, barely recognizable as guitar chords. Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! provided vocals which added a haunting, almost gothic element to the cacophony. Ron Collins played a flute, adding an organic vibe to the guitar and electronics. It was interesting balance of sounds and perhaps one of my favorite performances from this act.

St. Pete duo, Mayan Apocalypse performed next. The project of Eric Thompson and Zachary Short Jr., combine noise and spoken word. For this performance, the multi-talented Short, utilized a roll out keyboard run through effects pedals and a gutted amp (for added sound sculpting), while Thompson recited poetry with subdued, fuzzed out vocals.

The mysterious and elusive, Su Sous Toulouse en Rogue performed a noise/performance art set. Hailing from Treasure Island, FL the duo of Sterling Batome & Noni Halloway produce experimental sounds that run the gamut from: chill synth jams, to musique concrete, to sound collage, to harsh noise; so I wasn’t sure what to expect on this outing. Batome disguised in a big wig, sunglasses and fake stache crafted some jagged beats out of a 4 track that almost mimicked some kind of rhythmic malfunctioning machine. Halloway dressed in oriental garb and a gold mask performed a quasi geisha dance, rhythmically swaying with fans in hand. Mid-way into the short set, the rhythmic beats devolved into vigorous static rumble. Their set ended celebratorily with poppers and confetti. Good times! They don’t play out too often, so my condolences to anyone who missed out.

Durastatic, the project of Josh Boutwell generally performs solo, but on this outing he brought a full band. It was quite a departure from the synth noise and metal abuse I’ve seen Durastatic do in the past. The trio played a near 10 minute set of discordant noise rock, with fellow noisician WAMPO on bass, and a live drummer.

As the night continued, Sisto Rossi (Forecast, Wallkeeper) performed a dense noise swell. The set sounded reminiscent of some of his output under his natural disaster HNW project Forecast. Through a homemade drone synth and some effects pedals, he produced a thick atmospheric mass, that made me feel like I was being engulfed by a plague of locusts.

Dan Reaves aka Trotsky’s Watercooler arrived to perform a set that was equal parts metal abuse and noisy synth explorations. He was fairly stripped down gearwise, utilizing only a Korg Kaossilator for electronics. What really caught my attention was the piece of scrap metal he duct taped to his torso as the synth flailed. Once attached he banged the amplified scrap metal with a chain, a mallet, and his fingers. The contact mic(s) attached to the metal were further manipulated by a pedal creating all sorts of wiggly, wobbly reverberations. As always, it was an interesting collision of approaches.

Italics, moniker of Ry Sikora, worked a table full of pedals, a photo theremin, a couple of Korg mini synths, and a percussive noise device. Repetitive synth tones mingled with sci-fi esque twists and turns. Despite creating a noisy racket, there were some sonic elements that made the piece sound rather jovial. Later on into the piece, Sikora used a music box on top of the percussive device, which further added to the childlike atmosphere.

Laundry Room Squelchers, the project of noise legend Rat Bastard, performed next. The project is usually a revolving door of collaborators, but on this outing, Rat played a solo set of discordant noise guitar. Just watching him wail and shred on nothing more than a guitar and an amp was pretty inspiring. At times he would manipulate the guitar in way to make it sound like broken static. At one point he grabbed some handheld device that I couldn’t make out from my vantage point, but it seemed to induce more feedback from his amp. It was a stripped down and very raw performance. A very welcome contrast to the electronics and pedal noise that dominated the fest.

As the night winded on, Whitey Alabastard ran both a handheld radio and cassette recorder through delay and shifter pedals to creates some wobbly sounding modulations for his set. It was quite departure from his vocal centered performances I’ve seen in the past. Performance artist Nequam Sonitus, looking like a junk metal alien, banged and clanged a steel drum and a rusted out air conditioner unit. Periodically he would make weird inhuman screeches, to further add to the otherworldliness of the persona he inhabits.

As the night started to draw to a close, Black Beast of Arrrghhh crushed onlookers with wall of noise generated by a contact mic’ed ukulele and a series of effects pedals. Novasak, the project of fest runner Todd Novasad, closed out the first day of the fest. His hardware included some Audible Disease gear and a noisemaker he built himself. Of course the piece of gear that drew everyone's attention was a dual synth bomb housed inside a Hellraiser puzzle box. It delivered an array of squelchy, squeally synth sounds, further sculpted by an arsenal of pedals. It was a fantastic ending to the first day’s festivities.

Day 2, opened with Florida’s own Noisekillr. Unfortunately, I arrived a little late and missed out on his set. I did manage to get some loot from his label Sluggisha Tapes, which I look forward to spinning. As I arrived, Hell Garbage (project of Dylan Houser) was underway, creating piercing feedback with a mic and a tiny amp. He also used a mixer/drum machine for further noise sculpting. Mid-way through his set he played a sample of the Silver Shamrock theme song from Halloween III: Season of the Witch. As the sample ended, Hauser proceeded to exact some violence on a computer delivered by a long, rusty chain.

Human Fluid Rot, the project of South Floridian Robert Brantley, performed a fast and furious set. Working from a small table, which all his gear was strapped down to, his set began with an extended sample (likely from a horror or exploitation film I couldn’t identity). After a minute of the sample running it’s course, onlookers were pummeled with unrelenting harsh noise. Brantley ran through his set with a punk rock urgency, which isn’t surprising since he also performs in the grindcore band Karras. Midway through his brief set, he encouraged everyone to come in close and take part in the chaos. Punctuated by: static hiss, wobbly synth sounds, low end rumbling, laser-like reverberations, and high end feedback; the cacophonous wall of sound barely crossed the 5 minute mark (about 2 minutes longer than the 2 HFR performances I’ve witnessed in the past). The set ended with both Brantley and his gear on the floor. It just goes to show that sometimes you don’t need a lot of time to get shit done. Human Fluid Rot is proof positive!

Ironing (Andrew Chadwick) on tour with Juice Machine offered a brief respite from harsher fest offerings. Performing with various turntables and cassette players atop a duo of ironing boards, Chadwick: scratched, speed up, slowed down, and layered dancehall tunes (though I did catch Lorde’s “Royals” thrown into the mix). Records were placed upon records, upon records; creating well placed skips throughout the set, and cassettes were rewound and fast-forwarded to add another layer of sounds. Another piece of smile-inducing, sound collage from this long running artist.

Long running act from Pittsburgh, Triangle & Rhino performed a beat driven noise set. The duo of Matt Rappa and Matt Lexso have been weaving the thread between noise and punk for almost 2 decades now. On this outing they dropped traditional instrumentation in favor of a sampler, noise synths, laptop, and vocals. Rhythmic beats provided the canvas for crackling static shifts and harder bleeps and bloops. Vocalist Rappa provided frozen pterodactyl screams sustained by an effects pedal, while Lexso worked the knob twisting. The set had almost a tribal feel to it. I’ve known about them since the early 2000’s so I was psyched that I finally got a chance to see the live.

Hailing from Tennessee, Victims de Regime performed a really eerie set. He utilized a reel to reel recorder, old mixer, and a circuit bent keyboard. As the reel to reel spun on, he would drag a mic over it (sometimes just letting it drag). This created a real chilling sound. The keyboard run through the mixer added another layer of dense atmosphere. While that was humming along, he would cut in with a crackling static sound to break up the eerie drone. The piece sounded like it could easily be the background noise to a horror film. I hadn’t heard of this project before the fest, so I was very pleasantly surprised.

Hailing from Chicago, Arvo Zylo performed an intense set that was potent mixture of power electronics and performance art. Arvo started his set by removing his shirt and taping a contact mic to his chest and another to his throat. The mic wrapped around his throat was so tight that he appeared to be on the verge of asphyxiation. As the mics amplified his heartbeat, he fired up his sequencer to provide the electronic component of his piece. He also took an air mic and held it against a socket wrench that he slowly turned while reciting a poem in suppressed reptilian shrieks. Later on into the piece, he grabbed a vinyl padded sheet which he wrapped around his head and proceeded to grind with a belt sander. By set’s end his mic was broken and his mixer hit the floor, but it was an intense spectacle, one that will stay in my mind for a long time to come.

Legendary home taper Hal McGee delivered a no-input mixer set with a very minimal set up. Only a small mixer and Moog Moogerfooger were used to create a wide palette of sounds, from: crispy crackle, bleeps and bloops, sci-fi-esque twinkles and twists, and a panoply of other noisy oddities. A fellow onlooker said to me, “woah...Hal McGee does harsh noise?” I’m not sure his set would qualify for harsh noise, but it was a likely a departure for those accustomed with some of McGee’s later day microcassette collage and monotron output.

B-O-U-R-G-E, the project of Matthieu Amstutz, traveled all the way from Switzerland to perform a tightly focused drone set. Using simply a Korg Monotron and 2 pedals, Amstutz created a meditative set that started as a quiet buzz, but swelled to a thick droney mass by the set’s end. It was quite extraordinary to hear such dense sounds produced with such limited gear, but Amstutz pulled it off masterfully. After his set he even taught me a little trick to get a Monotron going without having to constantly touch the keys.

Smith Lavender has only been doing noise for a brief period of time, but she performed like a seasoned veteran. Her primary sound source was a mic’ed tin can that was run through a series of effects pedals. She started using the can to reverberate her voice and thuds from her fingertips. Then she utilized a vocal mic, held in her mouth, to create a thick bassy mass of noise. My favorite part of her set was when she placed a music box inside the mic’ed can. At first she let it play quietly, but then tweaked the effects and used the vocal mic again to finish out the set with a massive wall of sound. She’s definitely a noise artist to keep an eye on.

Sharlyn Evertsz performed a set of focused beat driven noise. She utilized a sampler and Kaossilator to produce repetitive damaged beats, layered with electronic chips and laser-like synth blasts. Despite being rythmic, the piece stayed really noisy throughout. It was simultaneously danceable, yet devastating.

Clang Quartet, once again made an appearance at the Fest, crushing onlookers with his sonic interpretation of the New Testament. Utilizing a number of colorful props and costumes, the project of Scotty Irving, is always an interesting experience to behold. Throughout his near twenty-five minute set, he melded performance art with blasting walls of noise and drumming. At one point during his set he scattered a mess of cymbals on the floor and impressed onlookers with his drumming prowess. This is the third time I’ve seen him perform and every time it’s an awesome set to witness.

Husband/wife duo (Roger Smith and Heather Chessman) Juice Machine, who were on tour with Ironing, performed a set of layered synth drone and glitch. They weaved spritely drones with steady buzzes, pulsing electrical currents and a glitchy synth that sounded like a malfunctioning Atari 2600 at times. It was simultaneously meditative, yet playful. Watching the pair work the table was a real treat as you could tell they were really in sync with one another during their performance.

Blessed Thistle, the project of New York based noise artist Bob Bellerue performed next. He played in near darkness so it was difficult to discern what hardware he was utilizing other than a laptop and a mixer. The piece started with what sounded like a sputtering piece of machinery, before being broken up by an extended buzz and ear-piercing feedback. The sounds synthesized and moved along vigorously before slowing down and sputtering again. The PA really accentuated some of the nuances of the crackle and pop of his layered sounds. It was hard to make out, but by set’s end it sounded like he took out some cymbals for extra clang.

Thirteen Hurts, from Colorado, utilized an enormous table of pedals and electronics. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first. There’s been times when I’ve seen artists perform with similar set-ups that afterwards make you wonder why they needed that much gear. Thirteen Hurts on the other hand utilized every single piece of hardware on his table and every little nuance could be heard over the course of 15 minutes. He basically started on one end of the table and worked his way to the other end. Soundwise it was a treasure trove of harsh noise goodies: static shifts, high end squeals, rumbling low end crunch, electronic pulses, wallish static, and electronic chirps, just begin scratch the surface of his sonic output. Not only were the sounds great, but you could tell he has a great sense of humor which came out several times during the performance. A mosh pit even formed at one point. The set was just brilliant start to finish. Thirteen Hurts, I’m sorry I ever doubted you. I’m not worthy.

Andy Borsz (½ of the duo Slasher Risk) slayed the crowd with some devastating guitar generated noise. Seeing Slasher Risk at last year’s fest was a huge highlight, so I was very excited to check out Borsz’s solo outing. His performance can best be summed up as pure electric. Borsz abused his guitar, strumming it frantically, while crashing and colliding into onlookers. The instrument was processed through several effects, making it hardly discernible as a stringed instrument. At one point he even played with his teeth. The 5-6 minute set ended with a pretty banged up guitar and (by some accounts) a broken finger. I can’t confirm or deny the later, however given the frenetic pace of the set, it seems highly likely.

Newton, from Philadelphia, performed his own brand of sound collage meets harsh noise. Performing in darkness, Newton utilized cassettes players, a cell phone, a few pedals, a sampler, and some small mixers to craft his sounds. He performed an engaging set of noisy squeal, piercing feedback, static crunch and buzz, mixed with a myriad of found sounds. Towards the end of his set it sounded like he was playing the mangled sounds of a pelican or duck. Nothing says Florida like large birds.

AODL, the moniker of Utah based harsh noise monger Jeffrey Paul Shell performed a jaw-dropping set later that evening. His hardware consisted of a couple small modular synths, a noise swash, and effects pedals. However, what intrigued me the most was a wired crown he wore that amplified his voice. As he produced ear-bleeding highend feedback and low end static crumble, ghostly voices weaved in and out of the cacophony, generated by the headpiece he was wearing. He would also scratch at and grasp the headpiece, generating further sound textures to his piece. His mannerisms were partially comedic, partially insane, waiving his arms around, clutching his head, and looking like he was having a conversation with himself. Kind of reminded me of watching a ventriloquist performing without his dummy, in an extremely noisy atmosphere. This was definitely one of the most memorable performances of the night for me.

Dromez delivered a punishing set of metal abuse, ear-piercing feedback, and shredding vocals. Devastatingly painful for all the right reasons, a contact mic met distortion and more distortion. Vocals were manipulated in way to sound broken up and choked off. As if the set required any more intensity, an angle grinder and sheet metal were used to great effect showering her table and onlookers with sparks.

As the fest moved into it’s final hour, Texas based power electronics act Glasgow Smile took to the floor wearing a black ski mask. The project of Zack Guttowsky (Folter, Postule, and Black Leather Jesus) performed the track “One Day Maybe” off his new self-titled CD, released on his own imprint Burial Recordings. Slow, swelling drone collided with cold, inhuman sounding vocals and electronic crackles. Mid-way into his set he began to whip a contact mic’ed suspension wire stretched over metal, adding some dense metal abuse to the mix. It was a short set, but focused in it’s distillation of cold, synthetic soundscapes and very real human angst.

The final set of the fest was delivered by local noise terrorists, The Uh… The set started with a massive wall of sound generated by a processed bass guitar and a couple pedal boards. The frontman came out wearing a wrestling mask a few minutes later. What followed was perhaps one of the most debaucherous noise sets I’ve ever witnessed. I don’t really think I can  really give the performance justice, so you might do well to track down some of the videos floating around the net. Yes, noise has a dark side and it was on full display. The set was both surreal and grotesque. I felt like I was on the set of an early John Waters' film. Someone mentioned to me, that they felt the need to listen to Beyonce for the next week just to cleanse themselves of the filth they were privy to. The set ended with the 2 primary noisicians blowing themselves up with firecrackers and exiting the building as feedback droned on for a few minutes. It was a fitting ending to another fest on the suncoast.

Despite the fest just ending, organizers are already booking for 2014, so instrested parties should contact here  stpetenoisefest@gmail.com

Pictures used through-out this review were taken by Ry Sikora, and the front page picture/ menu picture is of Human Fluid Rot