Search - Shawn David Mcmillen :: Catfish (Dig)

"Part of the emerging Texas psych scene - Really interesting." Thurston Moore (Entertainment Weekly June 16th, 2006) Guitarist and composer Shawn David McMillen is a native of the East Texas town of Lake Jackson. In the early Nineties, Shawn met Tom and Christina Carter (Charalambides) ?now considered early pioneers of the present avant-folk movement?as well as Heather Leigh Murray. Shawn and Heather recorded together as Ash Castles on the Ghost Coast, releasing one CD on Charalambides? Wholly Other imprint and playing one show with Palace Brothers. Circa 1999, the pair moved to Austin where they played with Rick Reed in Abrasion Ensemble and later formed Iron Kite. Recorded mostly at night, Catfish is acoustic-based only because Shawn had no electric guitar at the time. Other instruments include autoharp, Roland keyboard, Indian goat bell, Indonesian gongs, bowed electric bass, African kalimba (thumb piano), and shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). Cited influences at the time include American Indian lore, music from the Middle East and India, Phil Yost, Robbie Basho, and Malachi Favors. Catfish was released in 2005 as a limited vinyl issue on the Emperor Jones label. This CD version features an additional 20 minutes of material. McMillen recently also released a double LP with The Friday Group (with Tom Carter) and currently plays in Rubble along with King Coffee of Butthole Surfers.