Hospital "II"

HOSPITAL II is the product of one evening and several years of friendship. Kevin Linn (Sad Eyed Beatniks, Present Electric) who runs Paisley Shirt Records, a mostly tape label in San Francisco, was releasing Present Electric S/T. He needed a bonus cassette to go with it, since he always sends one out with an official release. He asked his friends Mike Ramos (Tony Jay, Flowertown) and Karina Gill (Cindy, Flowertown) to come over and see what they could make together in the space of an evening.

In a semi-soundproofed room in Kevin’s basement, every surface is occupied with an instrument, a pile of tapes, collage materials, or a tape playing or recording device. Karina brought her yard sale Casio to contribute. The collection that came out of this evening is all impromptu — Kevin, Mike and Karina picking up different instruments and making up songs that often riff on shared experiences, like Mike’s tendency to keep counting during a sound check or the plight of Kevin’s pet snail or Karina’s tendency to get cold during basement practices.

So, the collection here was a lighthearted night of improvisation growing out of years of making music together and separately — including the apocryphal HOSPITAL I.