Esopus CD #19: Customer Service

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During Esopus’s relocation to Brooklyn, we spent countless hours ironing out the wrinkles of the move by dealing with telephone and cable-company representatives, ISP technical-support staff, billing-department account supervisors, and shipping company “logistics specialists.” Many of these individuals were clearly human beings, but a number of others—the live-chat companions “Brad” and “Ashley C.” come particularly to mind—we weren't so sure about. One afternoon, as we endured yet another endless loop of tinny, upbeat music while waiting for “a representative to be right with us,” it occurred to us that customer-service experiences could provide rich source material for the Esopus 19 CD. The enthusiastic responses from the musicians we approached made it clear we’d hit the jackpot. The 12 resulting songs, inspired by everything from telephone-support nightmares to Kafka-esque encounters with direct-loan servicing, create a communal catharsis for participants and listeners alike.

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01
Jacob Garchik
The Tip Jar
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San Francisco-born composer and trombonist Jacob Garchik has lived in New York since 1994. He has collaborated with many of the city's avant-garde musicians, including Anthony Braxton, James Tenney, and Frank London, and has also created dozens of arrangements and transcriptions for the Kronos Quartet.

Voice: Eliza Margarita Bates; voice, trombone, sousaphone, accordion, drums, electronics: Jacob Garchik. ©2013 Hogoe Publishing (ASCAP)
 

PLAYLIST
01
Jacob Garchik
The Tip Jar
02
Jens Lekman
Regarding a Package
03
Literature
Boring
04
Basia Bulat
White Rose
05
Richard Swift
The Food Poisoning
06
Jim Schoenecker
Slow Today
07
Pastimer
Last First
08
Cakes Da Killa
Operator
09
Taliesin
One Station Leave
10
Black Pus
Pay My Bill
11
Dag Gabrielsen
The ELIZA Effect
12
Dirty Beaches
Please Hold
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