...a solo acoustic guitar release, improvised music, instant composition, sometimes with a spiky avant-jazz feel, other times with a rambling dusty Americana feel, plenty of vibe, a nice ruminative listen, no real ruts to speak of (like say the Bailey and Fahey ruts that so many others stumble into, nay, wallow in). - Blogstitude

Thornton points his pick somewhere towards the same kind of personal event horizon as rigorously avant garde players like Hans Reichel, Donald Miller and Guitar Roberts, with what sounds like variously augmented strings singing and stopping in the kind of steel codes that would combine post-Joseph Spence re-thinks of Hawaiian cracker turf with phased ragtime phrasing and a feel for the more barbarous qualities of auraless guitar holler that is pure Jandek. Recommended. - Volcanic Tongue

BD02 Carter Thornton Ten Fingers for Forefathers

If you are a fan of the archaic format of music storage and delivery known as vinyl then you are also probably experienced in the art of search and rescue when faced with a pre-auction era, dusty, moldy shop filled to the rafters with such blasts from the past. Every now and then one comes upon a platter in one of these fading outposts, marked at about $3.99. Cover seams split, maybe some radio call letters scrawled in marker, maybe a booze-coffee-bongwater spill splayed like a Rorschach on the back. Perhaps it is the cover art itself that draws your attention… black and white photos seemingly from another time in content and message. Or perhaps it is the title of the album…the way it rolls off the tongue, its playfulness marked by a seemingly obscure reference. The fact that there are no song titles may pique your interest… why is this? Are there even songs on there? You can see the gaps in the grooves so there is some sound being broken up with seconds of silence. You wipe the grime off the grooves with your shirtsleeve and take the disc over to the crappy player up by the register. You pop it on, slip the needle in the groove, and immediately you have the thought… “What the hell is this?!?!?” You’re hearing one of those rare recordings of a singular and personal vision. A solo guitar performance that not only operates outside any current or previous fashions, but one that seems to render the idea of recorded music as commerce a nonreality. Although you are carried away with delight by the sounds you are hearing, you can’t help but wonder why this person recorded this music. His intent is as elusive as the music he is presenting. It seems as though you are there with the player, this audio mirage helped by sounds of his chair creaking, his arm brushing against the side of his instrument, his fingers scraping across the strings. You purchase the item straightaway, as determined to figure out the history of the recording as you are to wear out its grooves with repeated listenings. With Ten Fingers for Forefathers the proverbial chase has been cut right to. Take a listen and see if you can crack the sonic code contained therein.

Edition of 500
Recorded at Black Dirt Studio
Westtown, NY
Mastered by Carl Saff
Chicago, IL
180g vinyl pressed at RTI
Camarillo, CA
Covers silk screened by VGKids
Ypsilanti, MI

BD01 • BD03 • BD04 • BD05 • BD07