Boston Bands in the 90's: Neptune

When we came across this amazing early footage of Mutable favorites Neptune playing the Middle East in March of ‘97, we simply had to post it for your listening pleasure. What a time it was! For those of you not in the know, all the instruments the band’s playing here were all built from scratch using scrap metal soldered together by lead singer Jason Sanford. I believe the body of that guitar you are seeing Jason playing in this clip is actually cut from a fridge door.

Billy Ruane was a staple of the scene at one point, and he documented endless shows throughout the 90’s and beyond. These videos came out of that.

Neptune: Cave Drawings

Mutable Sound of the Month

This month, we have chosen the re-issued LP, Cave Drawings, from Neptune. The best thing that ever happened to art rock, Neptune featured guitars and other instruments constructed by Jason Sanford, and was a staple of the Boston scene throughout the 90’s and 00’s. This album, originally released in 2013, is just now being re-released through WWAB. Give it a listen and consider purchasing it for Bandcamp Friday, during which time all proceeds go to the artist. And while you’re at it, pick up one of the many fine Mutable products available as well!

Mutable Sound is pleased to present a unique musical experience every month or so by ourselves or someone we’ve been introduced to. These are from the reel-to-reels and tascams of the garages and basements of the world. If you have a track you would like us to hear, please feel free to send it on to mail@mutablesound.com along with credits and a brief description.

Neptune

In the Mutableye

Neptune was one of those bands that for the longest time the quintessential Boston art rock band. Jason was one of the first people to start hosting performance art in his loft in JP back in 1994, and his handmade scrap metal guitars have become symbols of another time in Boston—when the apocalypse was a quaint fantasy we longed for with baited breath rather than the disappointing s**tshow it’s turned out to be. Although, Jason has since moved on to the equally remarkable E with Thalia Zedek of Live Skull and Uzi fame, we will always remember with great fondness the mesmerizing grittiness of this particular long-running Sanford project. I will never forget standing in the dark of the Middle East and knocking my head back and forth to the rhythm of beer bottles being smashed in a generic metal trash can as the home-made guitars thrashed and Jason cut new grooves in his throat with his incomparable screams. All lovers of 90’s rock should have a copy of the recently re-released Studio Recordings.

Studio Recordings / May, MCMXCVII by NEPTUNE, released 02 February 1999 1. Sponge Envy 2. Take It Out 3. Wife Beater 4. Jellyfish 5. When I'm Alone 6. Titanic 7. New 8. Am I Dead Yet? 9. Ink 10. Electricity Says Recorded in May of 1997 with Y.

In the Mutableye is a segment that sometimes showcases something interesting that is happening somewhere in the world at this moment, and sometimes showcases some fad or person from the past that we here at Mutable acknowledge is still cool s**t.