There used to be a guy who would hold down his few square feet of sidewalk at Fast Freddy's Liquor in Pico Rivera barking vague derilictive diatribes at passerbys. The rants would sit squarely in between an anarchist's manifesto and someone hounded by the government. People used to call him Nacho and while he never hurt anyone, he scared many. He looked like he might snap at any moment. When he was tired he would mutter things under his breath about the chip in his brain and spaceships over Signal Hill. Anyway, when I heard "We...are Doomed" by The Irrational Library, I thought of old Nacho who is probably no longer with us.
I also realized that Nacho had a spark and all he needed was a rad bass and drum combo with a crazy cool baritone sax player and he would of shined. The Irrational Library's Nacho is Joshua Baumgarten, the "unofficial city poet of Haarlemtown (Netherlands)". Also known in the underground circles as Mr. Weird Beard and the Beat Rabbi, he cuts mean politico spoken word diatribes and leads The Irrational Library away from scary town and towards thoughtful musical / spoken word mayhem.
"We... are Doomed" is the title track from the bands latest album.
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://www.facebook.com/TheIrrationalLibrary/
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The Irrational Library is a Haarlem based rock band with its roots firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture. The Dutch-American band produces a raw, dirty groove which is heavily influenced by icons of beat-, provo- and punk culture. The band’s rhythm section -Mishal Zeera on bass and Lars van der Weijden on drums- puts the poetry packed with social criticism on a musical freight train with the velocity of acts such as The Minutemen or Gil Scott Heron. Tom de Haan’s baritone sax then propels this freight train ever onward with tight melodies and psychedelic improvisations.
The "unofficial city poet of Haarlemtown" Joshua Baumgarten is the catalyst that propels The Irrational Library forward on the rhythm and rhyme of his socio-politically engaged spoken word poetry. Known to many as Mr.Weird Beard a.k.a. the Beat Rabbi or the Godfather of the Haarlemtown Underground has been organizing alternative music events, poetry readings and mini-festivals in Haarlem for the last 20 years. A prominent man with something unique to say, who has become in the last decade a well-known element in what is happening in the local as well as national and international alternative music and poetry scene.
https://www.facebook.com/TheIrrationalLibrary/
linktr.ee
The Irrational Library is a Haarlem based rock band with its roots firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture. The Dutch-American band produces a raw, dirty groove which is heavily influenced by icons of beat-, provo- and punk culture. The band’s rhythm section -Mishal Zeera on bass and Lars van der Weijden on drums- puts the poetry packed with social criticism on a musical freight train with the velocity of acts such as The Minutemen or Gil Scott Heron. Tom de Haan’s baritone sax then propels this freight train ever onward with tight melodies and psychedelic improvisations.
The "unofficial city poet of Haarlemtown" Joshua Baumgarten is the catalyst that propels The Irrational Library forward on the rhythm and rhyme of his socio-politically engaged spoken word poetry. Known to many as Mr.Weird Beard a.k.a. the Beat Rabbi or the Godfather of the Haarlemtown Underground has been organizing alternative music events, poetry readings and mini-festivals in Haarlem for the last 20 years. A prominent man with something unique to say, who has become in the last decade a well-known element in what is happening in the local as well as national and international alternative music and poetry scene.
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