Bands/ Artists

American Composers Forum
Leslie Ball
Butthole Surfers
Calexico
The Capital Sunrays
Captain Beedfheart
Cat Power
Eugene Chadbourne
Vic Chesnutt
Ben Connelly
Cow Lily
The Cramps
The Cultivators/ Dan Israel
Damnations TX
Johnny Dowd
Brian Eno
Evolution Control Committee
John Fahey
The Flaming Lips
Kinky Friedman
Friends of Dean Martinez
Frisbie
Fred Frith
Reba Fritz
Robbie Fulks
Howe Gelb
Lisa Germano
Giant Sand
The Glenrustles
T. Griffin
Guided By Voices
Half Japanese
T. Hallenbeck (Mike Merz's brother!)
Wayne "The Train" Hancock
Wanda Jackson
Daniel Johnston
Chris Knox
Leningrad Cowboys
Los Straitjackets
Low
Mark Mallman
Jake Mandell
Joe Meek
Mouse on Mars
Mr. Projectile
Negativland
Neutral Milk Hotel
Ken Nordine
Will Oldham/ Palace/ Bonnie Prince Billy
Pablo
Harry Partch
Eilert Pilarm
Pimentos for Gus
The Residents
Rex Daisy
Justin Roberts
Savage Aural Hotbed
Erik Satie
The Shaggs
The Smiths
BJ Snowden
Spinal Tap
Tracy Spuehler
The Tape Beatles
Shooby Taylor, The Human Horn
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Tulip Sweet
Urban Hillbilly Quartet
Loudon Wainwright III
M. Ward
Kelly Willis
Wesley Willis
Lori Wray
Robert Wyatt

Outsider/ Oddball/ "Incorrect" Music
American Song-Poem Music Archives
The Oddball Auditorium-- must be heard to be believed.
Outsider Music Email Discussion List
WFMU's "Incorrect Music"
"Songs in the Key of Z"

Links for D.I.Y. musicians:
Ultimate Band List
autoReverse.net
CD Baby.net
Tape Op Magazine

The mother of all indie/ DIY music resources:

Gajoob Magazine

and its adjunct
Homemade Music

Looking for airplay in China? Try Radio Shanghai!

Recommended resources for music share/freeware:
Shareware music machine

Share/freeware applications:
Hyper Engine
Melody Assistant
Syd
Thonk
Virtual Drummer
These applications are all supported by the Mac platform.

Some general music-related links:
Transcripts of Buddy Rich rantings
Instrument jokes
...and, of course, just plain drummer jokes.

National Hearing Conservation Association
When you go to live shows, please do yourself a favor and wear earplugs! Human hearing is very fragile, and you never get it back once you lose it. Even theater shows and road construction can be hazardous to your hearing. If you love sound, then for heaven's sake protect your ears so you can listen to more of it!

Talk back to the U.S. government:
The White House
The United States House of Representatives
The United States Senate

More activist-type stuff:

--Mike Merz is a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union.
--Working Assets Long Distance Let your phone bill support progressive causes.
--Sign a petition!
--Click against hunger! Sponsored by online companies, this site allows you donate food to needy people all over the world just by clicking on a button. Easy, and free!
--If you tire of the annoyance / waste of junk mail, try Junkbusters.
--The Green Party
----Doctors Without Borders
--Directory of environmental activist organizations
--Think you're surfing anonymously? Find out just how much information a web site can glean from your computer, ISP, and vital stats by getting an analysis of your Internet connection.

Art:
Detritus.net: "found" and recycled culture.
The Surveillance Camera Players
Check out David Digre's paintings!

And of course, what would the Internet be without some
spectacularly useless diversions?

Recommendations:
The Automatic Complaint Generator
The Automatic Shakespearean Insult Generator
Send some crack!
--Celebrate Pi Day (March 14, 3/14 dontcha know) with some Pi Day Songs!
The Painter is an easy-loading program that lets you paint kaleidoscopically online. Tres cool!
--Warning: rotten.com is not for the squeamish.
--Behold, the Mullet!
--Let Mr. T pity your favorite web site!
--Former Pimentos for Gus/ Can o' Worms bassist Dan Levine now presides over DanLevine .com. There goes the neighborhood...
--And of course, make sure to check out the writings of the Reverend Matt Kessen in Our Precious Essence, a publication of the Ministry of Cultural Warfare. The good Reverend weighs in on all matters of staggering consequence. Not to be missed! (So why is he listed in this category? Well... uh... there just wasn't anywhere else it would... uh... fit...)

MIKE MERZ / DISCOGRAPHY / CONCERT CALENDAR / CONTACT / TRIBUTE ALBUM / REVIEWS / LYRICS / MP3/ RealAudio / Q&A A WITH MIKE MERZ / LINKS / PIMENTOS FOR GUS