“Upon seeing the Instagram post announcing the upcoming LP release of Bill Orcutt’s The Four Louies, an inspired mashup plonking excerpts from Steve Reich’s epochal Minimalist slo-mo phase variant Four Organs onto the Kingsmen’s equally canonical garage/frat/mumblecore chestnut 'Louie Louie,' I immediately commented 'Kingsreich as opposed to Qüeensryche' (not even realizing the Kingsmen and Qüeensryche both hailed from the Pacific Northwest). My bon mot was seemingly rewarded with a mailed copy, and upon receipt I luxuriated in Bill’s latest open-source leveling of rock and classical minimalist tropes, a worthy successor to A Mechanical Joey’s tautological tomfoolery. I was jazzed when a year or so later he inquired if I would be up for taking part in Louies live in New York. I wasn’t sure how familiar Bill was with my checkered history of untutored organ playing (both in Run On and solo contexts, not to mention a short-lived go at the pipe organ with Connie Burg and Haino Keiji), but he also tapped fellow guitarists/non-organists Wendy Eisenberg, Mari Maurice, and Cyrus Pireh, plus a couple of ringers (David Golightly and musical director Eli Knowles). So that’s already six organs instead of four, flanked by a full-fledged rock trio (the nimble Gumby’s Junk), a noise-tablist (Bryan Day), master percussionist William Winant, and frequent Orcutt sparring partner Chris Corsano—a veritable Orcuttstra, whose ranks exceeded the lineups of the Kingsmen and Qüeensryche put together. With the performance scheduled as the fulcrum of a three-day weekend residency of various artists/projects on Bill’s label (which I dubbed 'Palilaliapalooza'), I dutifully showed up at Roulette at noon on concert day, having carefully studied the provided staff notation, graphic scores, and recording so as to be confident I was playing the assigned single-note triplet in its properly appointed spots. Initially my part ('Louie Organ 2') sort of hockets the original Kingsmen cha-cha-cha organ chords, and then I got to spread my knuckles and lend six to eight notes to the Reichian clusters in the rollicking second half. Much like my experiences playing in Rhys Chatham’s Guitar Trio or the Boredoms 77 Boadrum, the parts are simple but everyone can put their own spin on them. I opted for using a weird-ass 60s Teisco organ from the venue’s keyboard backline, which truly fit the bill. There were four hours allotted for rehearsal (one per Louie, I guess) but we managed to nail it in 90 minutes. Bill begged off playing in the rehearsal so he could oversee the proceedings (and perhaps also shop for a new hoodie online). After some downtime and enjoyable band bonding backstage, we finally traipsed upstairs and hit the downbeat. Frankly, it exceeded all expectations. The Four Louies album is well-executed but, given its plunderphonic provenance, comparatively stiff. The live Louies was a blazing and expansive wall of sound, with impeccable time-keeping by Mr. Winant on maracas. The twin drums exploded immediately, and Bill’s riffing prodded Gumby’s Junk into some boisterous interplay. In the grand tradition of Kiss Alive, Frampton Comes Alive, Live at Leeds, or When the Shit Hits the Fans, Four Louies Live eclipses its studio predeccessor, and surely portends an attendant commercial breakthrough.” — Alan Licht Recorded live in concert March 21 2026 at Roulette Intermedium, Brooklyn NY. Performed by Eli Knowles Organ/Musical Director William Winant Maracas Wendy Eisenberg Organ Mari Maurice Organ Cyrus Pireh Organ Alan Licht Organ David Golightly Organ Chris Corsano Drums Eli Streich Drums Jas Stade Guitar Emmalee Johnson-Kao Bass Bryan Day Noise Table Bill Orcutt Guitar/Composer. Audio courtesy of Roulette. Engineers: Ian Douglas-Moore & Andrea Schiavelli. Big thanks to the ensemble, our audience and everyone at Roulette for their work.
