ALTERNATIVE RHYTHMS, June 1985 issue

Dimthings is a man of many disguises. He has released five albums of his eclectic, all original, music; and has performed live (with his many bands) to an otherwise unprepared South Florida audience. The music is hard to pinpoint, shifting quickly between various forms of jazz and avant-garde. And Dim shifts his thoughts just as quickly, often leaving this reporter on shaky grounds; he never quite completes one thought, before rapidly darting to another subject which has caught his attention.

Dimthing's five LPs have garnered mixed reactions in the U.S.. Europe, & behind the Iron Curtain; with critic often comparing the music to THE RESIDENTS, ZAPPA, MAHAVISHNU, and ART ENSEMBLE.

Dim, who began his musical career as drummer for local acts ROLL 'N PINZ and CHARLIE PICKET & THE EGGS, is now quite skilled at most all instruments (including keyboards, Chapman Stick, Acoustic Guitar, Trumpet, Violins, & Voice). "I'm a drummer at heart," Dim comments. I play all the other instruments so I can get my compositions down on tape. If I had enough money, I would record my Orchestra pieces --- and I would play ALL the instruments."

As opposed to putting all of his funds toward one such record, Dimthings has just recently released his low budget THE GARAGE RECORDING SERIES. It consists of four LPs of new & old material recorded "on an old four track and some crappy mikes." Words like chaotic, cynical, and sarcastic are sometimes used to describe the music. "What the music does for you," Dim says, depends on what YOU can get out of it. For me, it is something that comes naturally, it is in the way I deal with things. My music describes a lifecycle; it has been a life of experimentation.

Although the LPs in the GARAGE SERIES (Volume 1; Tunes From The Garbage/A World of Segregation, Vol 2; Those Unforgettable Shaman, Vol 3; In Spite of What They Say, Vol 4; Dis-ci-plined to a Spontaneous Way of Life) feature additional musicians, Dimthings is definitely at the heart of it all. As the name of the series implies, these albums were recorded inexpensively; in fact the equipment did not even belong to Dim, it was borrowed from Dim's outstanding bass player Jean Chaine. Jean has been Dim's consistent playing partner since the two first teamed up in the band HAZARD PROFILE in 1981.

Dim and Jean are also the musical core behind the first Dimthings release, the Heart of The Klux Flux Double Record Set. This release was recorded in the studio, and included additional musicians who comprise Dim's live bands: ULTERIOR LUX.

(Along with the afore-mentioned jazz/avant-garde type songs, Dimthings has also recorded some environmental pieces, '"Premidnight Brew,' on Vol 4 has a whole towns worth of natural sounds that I have recorded. Frogs, and Rocks, and Ducks, all put together as a miniature symphony." Dim also described a new song in which he has the frogs synched up to sing along with him, like a chorus!)

Besides performing live with ULTERIOR LUX, Dim was also the leader of the short lived NOT HUMAN, has played drums for THE EXPRESSOS, and plays stick & provides vocals for LAB SERIES (which is a trio including two former members of TV AGENT).

If you are wondering why you have not heard more from Dimthings, it is because you have not been listening! Although he has performed live a number of times (usually with ULTERIOR LUX), Dim remarks "I really do not get any support from the local scene. When I played at Flynns, I got the impression that the people who worked there really did not care for what I was doing. But no one stopped me. I was able to do what I wanted. I know I got everyone's attention. If I felt like screaming my lungs out, I did it -- and nobody stopped me; I really felt unleashed in that rock-bar atmosphere."

And what does Dim do when unappreciative audience members shout remarks about his music while he is performing? "Sometimes I answer them back verbally, and sometimes I answer them back through my music. It is all interaction, within the improvisational music.

"But things have worked out much smoother in dealing with audience reaction. There haven't been any serious threats within the last year. In my early performances, people would try to start fights with me. One time I was attacked on stage, People can get real violent, if you are not careful."

Ultimately, a conversation with Dimthings leaves you wondering where exactly he stands musically. The album covers have a pseudo-boot-leg art-noise look...but the music is more commonly referred to as Jazzy.

"But I am always changing," Dim retorts. "I am not trying to project anything in the music, other than how I feel at that time. Every new piece I compose , or improvise, is different from the last. I will do a dance song, then turn around and do a piece with interaction between animals. "I do not try to meet up to any set standards."

by Sam Rosenthal, Quotes collected by Edward Sharpe