I’m sitting in The Dark Bob’s studio, hearing, absorbing, track-by-track, his new double album, Ekphrasis Synesthesia- Songs for Artists, and I’m overwhelmed with emotion. It’s a totality of feelings. A swirl of memories, excitement, admiration, sadness, courage, curiosity, thankfulness and – mostly – love. For each of the 26 songs is a love song to a particular artist. These range from longtime friends/collaborators of DB (Llyn Foulkes, Barbara T. Smith) to Los Angeles legends (Ed Ruscha, Cheri Gaulke), some of whom are no longer with us (Mike Kelley, Chris Burden), to superstars (Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Rauschenberg) and household names (Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso), and many more.
Uniting each tribute is the love The Dark Bob feels for these artists. As he sits with me, pointing out details and musical collaborators, I feel how this love is founded in affinity of one artist for another. Also threading through this tapestry of sound is The Dark Bob’s musical approach: He crafts his catchy compositions to the identity of the artist. This happens in some cases stylistically. Bad Boy, for Billy Al Bengston is crunchy, reverb-thick surf rock, as the Ferris Gallery pioneer drenched himself in California culture, and died (2022) where he surfed, in Venice. In other cases, DB discards pop genres to create compressed collage/operas. I don’t know how else to characterize the clash of musique concrète with voice in The Disasters of War for Francisco Goya, which paints a harrowing soundscape of Goya’s depictions of the Spanish Civil War.
Cover art by Lou Beach
This approach is where the album title comes in. The Ekphrasis is emulation of the artist’s style, while the Synesthesia is that style rendered in sound rather than visuals. (Of course, some of his subjects are/were, like The Dark Bob himself, both visual and musical. Mike Kelley, for example.)
Hyper-emphasizing the meta levels of his aesthetic are DB’s collaborators: a treasure of artful virtuosos, splashing color across multiple genres. These include DJ Bonebrake of X, Syd Straw of the Golden Palominos, Dave Alvin of the Blasters, Peter Case of the Plimsouls, Nels Cline of Wilco, and Marty Rifkin of Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Hans Zimmer, etc. Two other musical alchemists that are essential to the power of Ekphrasis Synesthesia: producers Ryan Zin and Glenn Nishida, both of whom I have jammed/worked with, who give greater shape to The Dark Bob’s catchy music and lyrics. Zin is also the bassist on 22 of the 26 songs while Nishida arranged many of the multi-dimensional vocal harmonies.
The Dark Bob, photo by Glenn Nishida
So, sitting there, listening, feeling the art that intensifies in layers and waves, yes, I feel the intense love that The Dark Bob feels for art and artists.
I have listened to music many times over the years with The Dark Bob. I have intense memories of us grooving together in his studio examining with wonder the genius of Brian Wilson, for example, or attending concerts together (Wilson, Paul McCartney), and even co-writing songs and performing in his bands or recordings. Every one of these has been a peak musical experience for me because of the daring drive that infuses DB’s work.
The Dark Bob dueting with Syd Straw, photo by Glenn Nishida
So that’s what I feel the most as we near the end of our listening session. The final pieces are The Fab Two(for Bob & Bob, his duo featuring The Light Bob which hilariously and legendarily upended L.A.’s early performance art scene), and Legacy/Swan Song (for The Dark Bob).The Fab Two is a football cheer for Bob & Bob’s victories:
If you want to see ‘em, they’re in the museum
The Smithsonian thinks they’re smart
Which is true: They were recently inducted into the Smithsonian Institute’s Archives of American Art for their contributions to conceptual art.
The Dark Bob with Dave Alvin, photo by Glenn Nishida
Legacy ostensibly celebrates the end of the album, but, of course, it’s really The Dark Bob’s quasi-eulogistic self-tribute. And it imparts to me an epiphany: Any true artist – musician, visual artist, writer, performer – if they are breaking barriers, cannot escape the anxiety that comes with exposing their work to the world. It’s that uneasy mixture of cringe and confidence. The feeling that the only thing worse than being rejected is to be ignored or forgotten. And then the intense gratitude that comes from audience acceptance, and support from peers. Low and slow, he sings:
Sometimes it’s been painful
The dreadful feeling that it’s all gone wrong
I try to be grateful
But it’s not easy to always be strong
And in the silence that follows this final song, The Dark Bob and I give each other a long look. We come to a summary agreement: Art is courage.
Cover art by Lou Beach
Cover image: Photo of The Dark Bob by Ryan Zin.
Order a copy personally signed by The Dark Bob at: www.songsforartistsalbum.com
Jack Skelley is author of the novel, The Complete Fear of Kathy Acker (Semiotext(e) 2023), and songwriter/guitarist for psychedelic surf band Lawndale (SST Records).
