photo by: Aaron Gwirtz (from left to right) Ed Pastorini, Indigo Street, Ben Perowsky and Oren Bloedow.

Songs

Can't Fall Off the Floor - Recorded at Alair Studios w/ George Javori and Ed Pastorini
Endgame - Recorded live with Ed Pastorini and Jan Kotik
Strange Lures - Recorded live at Tonic, Summer 2005
Tsunami - Recorded live at Tonic, Summer 2005
Raid On the Still - Recorded live at Tonic, Summer 2005
Following Instructions - Recorded live at Tonic, Summer 2005

Bios

Ed Pastorini studied piano with Lenny Tristano but loved the Beatles and Beefheart even more than jazz. His songs reflect all these influences as well as his literary heroes Joyce, Beckett and Pinter. Ed's raspy, accurate singing, trigonometrical melodies, stunning piano and guitar playing and the unmatched brilliance of his lyrics have made him a legend in the downtown scene. Artists with whom Ed has worked include Elysian Fields and Beth Orton.

Ben Perowsky plays the drums. He's played them since he was 3 years old. He was born in New York City. He has played with a lot of very famous musicians and has had a lot of fun. When he was very young, he started playing professionally with big stars like jazz great James Moody, pop songstress Rickie Lee Jones and soul/jazz hit maker Roy Ayers. Ben grew up listening to many kinds of music. You can tell when you hear him play. Besides the many bands he plays for, he has a few of his own bands. He writes music for them. One is a new four piece band with accordion, clarinet and bass. They're good. Another band is called Moodswing orchestra. They're good too. There are 7 musicians in that band. Ben put out a cd of a smaller version of this band on his own record label called El Destructo. There is more music on the way.

Oren Bloedow Writer, Guitarist, and Vocalist for Elysian Fields. His birthday is July 3rd. Born in New York City, where he grew up on the streets "throwing things at cars". His father was a playwright, poet and film editor, whose erratic income Oren's mother supplemented by working as a bookkeeper to support Oren and his sister.

Reviews

Thomas Bartlett, Salon.com:
The stock listings phrase that when a particular band plays "some of the best musicians in town take to the stage" is actually true in the case of Ed Pastorini's 101 Crustaceans, the "town" in this instance being New York City. And here's a line of glib hyperbole to follow it: The rest of them are in the audience. [more]

Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide:
Songs [of Resignation] is a glorious cacophony of disjointed but somehow still euphonious dissonance -- yes, complete with rave-ups, though intentionally misshapen ones -- that boldly chips away at the carapace of rock & roll, with the chisel swinging somewhere between the Knitting Factory scene and downtown N.Y.C. no wave. [more]