The Spirit of EOTR1: An interview with Lord Open
Channel: Space Basement Collective
Date: 13/05/2020

Space Basement Collective presents EOTR1: An interview with Lord Open (Jacob John Vrieswick)

Ear of The Rat (EOTR1) was formed during the Year of the Earth Rat (2008) Twelve years later, Space Basement Collective pays tribute to EOTR1 during the Year of the Metal Rat (2020) by interviewing some of the founding members of the collective and Ear of the Rat.  

Episode 2:  An interview with Lord Open
This episode was recorded LIVE  May 09, 2020

In this second of a series of interviews that will continue until the end of the pandemic, or until Wemgadge gets bored, Wemgadge interviews Lord Open about the beginnings of the Ear of the Rat open source jam, home rock, open stage improvisation vs open mic and expounds on the philosophy of Big Fun!  

Check out https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22EAR+OF+THE+RAT%22 to hear The Real Rat Rockers do their thing.  
There is also music from Billy's Masonic Tavern online here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Billy%27s+Masonic+Tavern%22 
A rare Lord Open session with Gord High here:
https://archive.org/details/LordOpenGordHightheOpenHigh 
Psychosomatic Climax Machine; the radio show here:
https://archive.org/details/PsychosomaticClimaxMachineHSOCT1799
An early example of the Big Fun philosophy in action here:
https://archive.org/details/Lc0010-Abetr2moro 
And more of Lord Open's soundscapes here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Lord+Open%22 
The documentary mentioned about Niagara in the 60's and 70's: http://www.miil.ca/doc.html 
Ear of the Rat at In The Soil: https://archive.org/details/EOTRATINTHESOIL2013 and you can watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhOQY2OCnI 
1:11:26 Shout out to Building Castles out of Matchsticks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRok65XMERfoobd-IFMCDOg
1:15:04 It was Raising the Fawn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Fawn 
Lord Open's Doorway; the radio show here: https://archive.org/details/PublicDomainLordOpensDoorway

Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic prevents us from jamming in SB5.  We're currently on hiatus due to the global pandemic, but before this all started we were getting together every couple of weeks to create an improvised live to air radio concert series under the moniker Space Basement 2020. Founded by members of Home Rock jams EOTR1, SB5 and Full Spectrum Alliance, the goal of Space Basement Collective is to continue our music experimentation in the spirit of the original 21st Century Un-band, Ear of The Rat and the many Niagara based jams that have come before us.  

"Unlike other types of rock, home rock is big on friendly enthusiasm and those types of swinging rock sounds that can only be created in the comfort of lemonade living rooms or brooding nights of angst in basements and bedrooms. Although it isn't always big on production value, home rock compensates with a range of sounds generated to stir the listener from boredom, bring tears to teenage eyes, or inspire other folks to get on and do some of that stuff themselves. All you need is a crucky tape recorder and a bit of fearlessness." excerpt from "HOME ROCK the Magnet that pulls us together by Gordon Paul High

We are grateful to continue to be part of the St. Catharines' Home Rock music scene.