Essentially, the 2-man method is as follows. The cows are driven into the corridor past the gate of the room or pen. The gate to the room or pen must swing open toward that end of the corridor where all of the cows are crowded. The first man continues with cows past the gate. The second man stops at the gate; he is the gate man. The other man is the head man and makes all the decisions.

When sorting cows the gate man's subordinate station should be well understood. He must, for the sake of efficiency and safety, never question the head man's decisions. Now imagine that the head man is down by the cows at the end of the corridor, always keeping himself between the gate man and the cows and keeping the cows crowded up against the far end of the corridor. He can do this easily by making fidgeting gestures.

This keeps the necessary level of nervousness up among the cows -- so long as the cows are milling around the head man can tell that he has them in the palm of his hand so to speak. When ready to sort the head man brings the cows to attention by suddenly raising both arms straight out, bending both knees slightly into a kind of ply, dropping the upper part of his body and at the same time jumping with the lower.

The head man should practise this motion until it is a smooth movement, yet one which transforms his entire being into a state of absolute alertness, potentiality and authority. A good head man will transfix upwards of 30 cows with such a motion. After the ready-to-sort movement is made and the cows are stock still, nearly hypnotized, the gate man should place his feet well apart and get a good grip on his gate. He should be slightly crouched and concentrating on the head man.

Slowly the head man will straighten up and walk toward the cows, keeping just to the right of center, if the gate is on the left. The cows will inch toward the left side as he inches toward the right. A crowding will occur in the left corner until one cow will bolt out and down the left side of the corridor past the head man.

But this is exactly what the head man wants. he knows just what to do with this cow: as it bolts he screams "by" or "in". If it is the former the gate man flattens himself against the gate and attempts to become part of the wall; if it is the latter, he immediately springs out into the corridor pulling the gate open at about a 60-degree angle.

The cow will dart into the pen and he slams the gate and freezes to immobility and intense concentration on the head man. The inching toward the right on the part of the head man, a cow bolting, the in or by scream, the immobility or action on the part of the gate man -- so it goes until all of the cows except the last have made their exit from the end of the corridor.

The last cow is approached by the head man in a more lyrical and less tense way; usually the last cow is also somewhat more relaxed and knows what is expected of him. One might say that the last cow is "shooed" since the expert timing of the head man is now not required.

The cow will usually trot rather than bolt down the corridor to its destined in or by place. The head man must then turn to his gate man and say,

After one year of Covid, we highlight the songs our artists have created during quarantine. Featuring new tracks from Deerhoof, Ohmme, Kishi Bashi & El Ten Eleven, plus an interview & music from the infamous Rob Crow (Pinback, Goblin Cock, Optiganally Yours, Thingy, Anal Trump, etc.).

Hosted by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings.

Background music by Dumb Numbers, Joan of Arc, and Thor & Friends.

Intro by David Woodruff, featuring music by El Ten Eleven.

For more, visit joyfulnoiserecordings.com

Joyful Noise Radio Hour - Episode 3, with Rob Crow

snowflyer - ep

From "He's Got The Whole This Land Is Your Land In His Hands", released on Joyful Noise Recordings.

Order here: http://joyfulnoi.se/newJoanofArc

He's Got The Whole This Land Is Your Land In His Hands

Joan Of Arc - This Must Be The Placenta

From the album Freedays, released by Joyful Noise Recordings, 2/17/17.

To say that Mike Savino is an innovator would be an understatement. Touring under the moniker Tall Tall Trees, the banjo-wielding bard has reshaped the landscape of what is possible with the instrument. On stage and in studio, Savino breaks down the banjo into its most basic iteration, reminding audiences that the banjo is, at root, a drum. Coupled with his mastery of electronic effects, loops, toy ray guns, and heaps of spontaneous creativity, Tall Tall Trees has been encapsulating audience members worldwide with his mystifying solo shows, as well as playing alongside fellow innovator Kishi Bashi.  

His latest album Freedays is, in a way, his debut album. Having recorded two previous albums in a traditional collaborative band setting, Freedays is the first album Savino wrote and recorded as a solo project. Beginning in 2015, Savino took a much-needed respite from New York City, where he had spent a decade and a half honing his craft, and assumed the role of sole caretaker at an abandoned health retreat nestled in the green mountains of northern Georgia. The Bird’s Nest, as it was called, completely surrounded by national forest, provided the freedom and space to work without time constraints or interruption. 

Composed and recorded over a period of eight months, Freedays tells the story of a man in transition and documents an artist alone at the crossroads of the life he has and the one he wants. The album begins with “Backroads”, which drops the listener into a darkened forest amidst a chorus of wailing coyotes and quickly takes off on a midnight drive. Tracks like “Being There”, “A Place to Call Your Own”, and “CLC” provide an honest look into the author’s thought process and decision making. Although it’s often hard to imagine, most of the sounds on the album are experiments with the banjo, and they all reflect the innovative musings of one of the freshest sounds to come out of the Appalachians in decades.

Purchase 'Freedays' here: http://joyfulnoi.se/Freedays

Purchase The Album

Tall Tall Trees - Backroads

From the album "Moh Lhean", released on Joyful Noise Recordings 3/3/17.
Get the album here: http://joyfulnoi.se/MohLhean
Tickets at http://www.mohlhean.com

WHY? - This Ole King

"He's Got The Whole This Land Is Your Land In His Hands" releases on Joyful Noise Recordings January 20th, 2017.

Order here: http://joyfulnoi.se/newJoanofArc

He's Got The Whole This Land Is Your Land in His Hands

Joan Of Arc - Full Moon And Rainbo Repair

Psychic Temple - Turn Off The Lights

In 1970, Southern soul music maverick Jerry Williams, Jr. made the most radical move of his career. Frustrated with music business politics Williams reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg, an irreverent anti-hero smashing the conventions of commercial R&B music. Swamp Dogg’s debut release Total Destruction to Your Mind featured a post-apocalyptic take on the Muscle Shoals’ sound, with lyrics inspired by the revolutionary politics and psychedelic drugs of the late ‘60s. The music on Total Destruction to Your Mind stood worlds apart from the formulaic pop tunes Williams started cutting in 1954 under the name Little Jerry, and Swamp Dogg hasn’t looked back since. 

But the music business wasn’t ready for Swamp Dogg, nor was the rest of America. His bizarre album titles and wild cover art turned the average consumer off, while his subversive lyrics earned him a spot on Richard Nixon’s infamous enemies list. Swamp Dogg was not deterred. He seemed to relish operating from the margins of the music business, consequently becoming one of the quintessential outsider figures in American music. 

Now, nearly fifty years after his debut release, Swamp Dogg stands on the precipice of another radical reinvention. His latest creation, Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune, is a nine song collection featuring production by Poliça’s Ryan Olson, and finds Swamp Dogg’s bluesy southern soul colliding head-on with 21st Century electronic music production techniques.

Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune

LP/CD/Digital

I'll Pretend

This is an unauthorized mashup of Alan Watts' "Do You Do It or Does It Do You?" and Sigur Rós "Liminal Sleep". Best experienced while sleeping or in an altered state of consciousness.

The Pattern (Alan Watts & Sigur Rós)

Featuring new and unreleased tracks from Joyful Noise Recordings, plus a candid and philosophical interview with Tim Kinsella. 

Songs from: Sleep Party People, Swamp Dogg, jess joy, Danielson, Kishi Bashi, Dale Crover, Anal Trump, Alan Watts & Sigur Rós, Big Business, and Joan of Arc. 

Background music by El Ten Eleven, Joan of Arc, and Dale Crover. 

For more, visit joyfulnoiserecordings.com

Joyful Noise Radio Hour - Episode 1, with Tim Kinsella

Featuring new and unreleased tracks from Joyful Noise Recordings, plus an interview with our artist and friend Dale Crover (aka, legendary drummer of the Melvins, Nirvana, Redd Kross, etc.). 

Songs from: Paul Leary, Serengeti, The Ophelias, Dumb Numbers, Joshua Virtue, Toshi Kasai, Dale Crover, and Melvins. 

Intro by David Woodruff, featuring music by El Ten Eleven.

Background music by El Ten Eleven, Joan of Arc, and Thor & Friends. 

For more, visit joyfulnoiserecordings.com

Joan Of Arc - This Must Be The Placenta

Joyful Noise Recordings

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