The Spectacle Of Klumpffnhauser & Louison’s Amusements & Oddities – “The Death Of Louison”
In the latter Ragman days, Jeff Moravec and Matt McGuire put together a very interesting group that most people referred to as simply “The Circus.” They wrote circus-music-style instrumentals influenced by some kind of Turkish folk music, built around Jeff’s keyboards and Matt’s accordion, performed with a shifting cast of other instrumentalists and performers, many pulling double-duty between an instrument and playing a role in dramatic vignettes, with costumes and things. Among the regular contributors was Julie Lamendola (now of Ching Chong Song) on singing saw. The whole thing was based on a concept of the history of a fictional traveling circus. The shows were pretty impressive affairs. This is a recording of the only live performance I ever did with them, playing trumpet and melodica, at the Vibe Cafe. I recall also being involved in some recording sessions being laid down on ADAT but so far I’ve heard of nothing coming of them, though it was said that they were planning to release a combination album/storybook and there were even talks of buying an old school bus and doing a tour. I also have what appear to be some early 4-track demos I could post. If there are song titles, I don’t know them; I remember each piece being referred to simply by a number.