Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends – Dark Passengers.
An 11 song record about depression and mental health. On Learning Curve Records.
You can stream the available tracks and pre-order at: https://neutronfriends.bandcamp.com/album/dark-passengers
Protons and Electrons Atom 8 is up to listen to and pre-order*
Our song is Jilted Dragon, a song that may or not be about Smaug the dragon from the Hobbit, and may or may not be about one of Conan’s cats. Either way, it’s basically a heavy-ish surf song about the internal mindset and motivations of a frequently cranky creature.
On the other side we have Turbo Lightning! One of the bands of the unsinkable Jeff Byron of old pals The Mae Shi. Conan and Jeff go way back, and both have had their ups and downs, both are still here and doing their thing as hard as they can and with aplomb and vigor. Aplomb! Vigor!
In any case: side note, TL singer Dana is also the badass behind the harmony vocals in Quid Pro Quo.
ok? Ok!
(*not shipping until May though, so be aware!)…
Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends – Atom 2 is available to listen to and purchase!
Secret Friends is Conan Neutron on guitar and vocals / Tony Ash on bass and Dale Crover of the Melvins on drums. Toshi Kasai engineers and produces. This song trends towards the poppy/hooky side of the band and is called “Hate Secretary”
Atom 2 of 12 in the Protons and Electrons split single series.
Side B is the excellent rock band Quivers from San Francisco, California
“Although nobody in Quivers has yet played in Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends, all members of Quivers have been playing together in some capacity before coming together in this Voltron like formation of excellent rock.
As one continues “in the game”, more and more people fall off or become a soft parody of what they once more. These rockers have doubled down and are doing some of their most interesting work. It’s a delight to have played with these fellas and their irresistible hooks in any permutation over the past 18 or so years, and I look forward to doing so for years to come!”
In any case, check it out. They don’t ship until the 1st… but the SF Secret Friends show will be the 7″ release show as both bands are playing. here it is:
…
Hello! This is “A Litany of Grievances” the new single from Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends (Me: guitar/Vocals, Tony Ash: Bass, Dale Crover: Drums). This is Atom 1, the first volume of a 12 volume series called “Protons and Electrons”. Each Protons and Electrons volume features a great band on the B-side that either plays in Secret Friends, Records with Secret Friends or has some heavy relevance to how Neutron Friends came to be. In this case the other band is TROPHY WIVES, their first release in quite some time. Trophy Wives features the low end majesty of Mr. Tony Ash. Tony and I were label mates with previous bands and toured on multiple occasions. If I am the brain of the Secret Friends, he is absolutely the heart. It would probably exist without him, but I wouldn’t want it too. As per always the incredible Toshi Kasai is in the producer’s chair on this one, engineering and mixing as well, and in this case Cristy Joy provided some excellent background vocals.
The B-Side song: Trophy Wives – “Tomorrowland” was always a favorite of mine live, and it’s a pleasure to have it associated with this series. It’s an ass kicker.
Bob Weston of Chicago Mastering Company mastered and cut the lacquer.
This 7” is available for immediate purchase at $8 each, each one comes in a limited edition hand screened jacket by Christopher Williams of Plastic Flame Press, shipping later in March.
You can also purchase a digital version through bandcamp or through any of the usual ways one does that (as of later this week).
To say that this is a massive undertaking is an understatement of the highest order. It has been a grueling and involved process that is now just beginning to pay off with the actual release. Take all of the hassles of one release and multiply it by a dozen, and then involve other bands as well… yeah… let’s go ahead and say I have some tales. Yet, this is the way we wanted to present this material to you, as singles… months by months as part of this series.
What you will see is a digital single every month, followed by a physical single of the same song the next one.
If you wish you can purchase a “Friends of the Neutron” subscription and guarantee yourself a copy of each one as well as copies of the entire back catalog digitally, a custom t-shirt and another fun surprise. Either way, this is here for you to listen to now, and that makes us very happy. Spread the word!
…
Protons and Electrons: Atom 5 – This is the Line / Reptoid – No Human
What is there to say about the magificent Reptoid? A sight to behold and the only live act I can think of that sounds like an actual alien invasion. There’s a human that has a passing similarity that has held down the drum position in some live Neutron Friends outings. Said human is a tireless runner of sound and pizza aficionado, but that has nothing to do with the absolutely terrifying alien presence that is the mighty REPTOID. Prepare yourself humans! Prepare yourself.
Oh yeah, our song features the Earthquaker Devices Bit Commander heavily. However, it does not sound like Lardo. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
…
