This Saturday night, your braincells—like Bob Bellerue's bachelorhood—will be KILT

As I’ve said before, the influence of noise artist Bob Bellerue on the contemporary L.A. music scene cannot be overstated. As a performer, Il Corral co-founder, promoter, record label boss, and Mac expert, he pretty much inspired the D.I.Y. scene we are currently loving so much here in Los Angeles.

Add to that the fact that Bob is one of the nicest, friendliest guys I’ve ever met, and one of the most brutal sound makers ever…well, he’s a special one.

And now he’s back in L.A. to get married to the dancer, choreographer and artist Wanda Gala.

So for what promises to be the highest-wattage bachelor party this planet has ever heard, Bob Bellerue is reuniting with his KILT collaborator, Raven Chacon, for a “goodbye to single life” celebration like no other.

KILT’s darker-than-dark sonic blasts have always had an undeniable spiritual component.

The group’s secret? “Some pedals, some winds, and a bottle of tequila,” says Bellerue.

Which may be why Bob is the only person I’ve ever interviewed who can describe his music in a very twisted-sounding haiku.

Bob Bellerue is noisy

Noise maker Bob Bellerue is getting married this weekend, so Saturday’s KILT performance is bound to be an underground all-star event to remember. I caught up with Bellerue who was kicking back at his place in New York City in advance of his wedding:

Hey, Bob. Who’s in KILT, and what do they play?
KILT is Raven Chacon and myself (electronics and winds), with Sandor Finta (percussion, breath) being an honorary member after surviving enough drinking parties with us.

Hey, Bob. Where’s everyone in KILT living now?
I’m in Brooklyn, Raven is in Albuquerque, and Sandor is in L.A. (though he surprised us by being in Portland this weekend, looking for weed apparently if you believe his Facebook posts. I don’t know what happened to that dude…)

What have you been doing?
I’m working at The Kitchen doing theater and gallery tech work, playing music, loving my lady Wanda, and caring for my savior Hazeltine Apocalypse. Raven travels a lot teaching and presents work as part of the Postcommodity art collective. Sandor…I dunno what to say, that man is busy. Pretty soon he’ll own all of us.

Could you describe the KILT aesthetic with a haiku?
Balls deep in the red,
go; more tequila; & go
balls deep in the black

What KILT recordings should we check out?
We have two things still available: Snow White In Hell LP, and Chrome Bellows. We had some other releases on Banned Productions, EMR, small doses, Barfing Dagger, and self-released on Bastardised / Sicksicksick / Anarchymoon.

Raven Chacon is a psychedelic animal spirit

When was the first time KILT played? And the last?
First time Raven and I collab’ed was in Albuquerque in October 2005. The last time was in June 2010 in Brooklyn at Zebulon, the night of frighteningly blurred memories.

Why exactly is KILT getting back together this weekend?
We still play every year, and this is just a good excuse to get down on some good old awesome L.A. turf where we got started. We thought the three of us would be together but unfortunately Sandor will have to be here in spirits.

Is this a final hurrah for KILT, the start of something new, or what?
The continuation of a tequila soaked dream.

Was that your craziest show ever?
Probably House of Tinnitus in Denton, TX was. Zebulon was the most debaucherous, but H.O.T. was an epic show. Didn’t start until 11:3pm, huge turnouts, total hick college town vibe and everyone was playing super harsh noise and people were eating it up. Raven went into to some sort of tequila trance state, a giant metal table fell apart around me and I slept through it unharmed, lots of wild weirdness.

Have you ever seen the Saturday Night Live sketch with Fred Armisen and also Dave Grohl where they “get the old band back together” for the wedding? You’re getting hitched this weekend. Is your show going to be like that?
Ha I saw that. No, well yes, I dunno yet what it will be like!

California loves you so much. Might you and your bride move back to Los Angeles?
We talk about it all the time. Whenever we think about long-term resettlement, L.A. is where we wanna be. But we also wanna travel more and just figure out how to do it all.

What’s next for you?
Finishing this interview! Then drinking port with our friend Maile who just arrived from her home in Portugal. We are watching tornado videos (we had a monster come through our neighborhood and totally fuck it up). Then, packing bags.

Where’s the honeymoon?
In Portugal!? No plans yet but no time for serious travel until next Summer. Hopefully Raven and I can do some touring, and Europe would be a nice place to chill out.

Hear/download a very special KILT track

And don’t miss the show this Saturday, October 9…