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about

In Athens, Ohio there is an old asylum which operated from 1874 until 1993. It was known originally as the Athens Lunatic Asylum, most locals today call it the Ridges. As was not uncommon during some of that time, certain procedures with little scientific basis were used at the asylum including hydrotherapy, electroshock, and lobotomies. Some of the common ‘mental illnesses’ that led to confinement to the hospital during its early years were masturbation and drunkenness.

Outside the asylum to this day are hundreds of gravestones, many of them merely with numbers on the headstones. These were provided when one was too poor to afford a stone.

Here, we hear from a ghost with amnesia. Perhaps due to one of the ‘therapies.’ Perhaps, without a headstone to tie herself to, the facts have slipped away.

The stone 483 in particular was chosen along these lines. The phoneme si in Chinese means 4 and death. 8 on its side is a symbol for infinity. A 3 is broken infinity.

lyrics

I awoke from the dark dreaming of you again
Slipped through the hollow between current and air
I was thinking of you, but you're not here
I try to find your face, but it’s never near enough

I don’t glow bright enough to leave
I only meant to say hello, I know how it must seem
Along the Ridges, detailed in iron and stone
I fade in and out, fired filament bones1

People and places with good souls
Must taste better.. to the demon folk
We were in love in the quiet in the dark
With your hands and your eyes you took me apart

Maybe you remember me?

Backbone of sticks and stones, numbers god only knows
Fractured family pride? An island cast aside.
A lettered board2 calls out, I lack the strength of hand
A crowd of ravens3 pick through glass and sand

1 Fired filaments were used in old flash camera bulbs.
2 You may know this as a ouija board. The ghost can’t remember or never knew the word.
3 A group of ravens are called an ‘unkindness’ or a ‘conspiracy.’

credits

from Island of the Dolls, released November 22, 2014
Lyrics S, Music S w/ N M P
S - Main vocals, guitar, organ, extra percussion & samples
N - Bass, backup vocals, extra percussion
P - Drums, backup vocals, & extra percussion
M - Drums

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American Sinner Maryland

American Sinner is a rock n' roll stiletto switchblade dance along the edge of a knife that opens up for stabbing. They are not your run-of-the-mill musical tricksters in harlequin unitards holding bouquets of flowers behind their backs. No!...they got it all -manliness like Bowie and femininity like Tina Turner. They got it all so when these boys are randy to rock, you better let 'em. ... more

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