Nautical Almanac (band)

History

Nautical Almanac first organized in Ann Arbor Michigan in 1994 (the year Harper and Ptak met) from the same experimental music scene which produced Wolf Eyes, Beast People and Andrew W.K..

Nautical Almanac was created after Harper's infamous band Scheme was dissolved; at that time he was influenced by Bulb Records, Harry Pussy and Caroliner as well as the fecund local scene. Nautical Almanac's first shows revolved around guerrilla performances and consisted of general open door member policy. In the year 1996 Nautical Almanac released its self-titled debut LP on Hanson Records. By then the band's lineup solidly consisted of Nathan Young, Sol Meltzer, and Twig Harper. The following year those members were involved in a police riot which was followed by unwarranted house surveillance and raids looking for Twig Harper which caused him to move to Chicago with Carly Ptak. At this point Ptak and Harper furthered Nautical's research in DIY electronics, circuit bending, record cutting and costumed performance. From 1997-2001 Ptak and Harper operated a junk-resale-antique store on Division Street named The Mystery Spot. In 2001 they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland buying a store front with two abandoned floors above; right away they knocked a hole in a wall and began squatting the top two floors and doing repairs to the neglected space. The building was named Tarantula Hill and hosted many touring and local experimental performances, the first ever show held there featured Lightning Bolt, Forcefield, Neon Hunk, and Spread Eagle, Ptak's band with Misty Martinez. During this time the HERESEE record label was created and Nautical Almanac toured the USA and Europe extensively. In 2004 Nautical Almanac was reformed as a Noise-Rock band with the inclusion of Max Eisenberg on drums, electronics and vocals, three months of touring and the LP Cover the Earth featured this line-up. In March 2006, shortly before Harper's performance at New York's No Fun Fest, the first floor of their building and much of their equipment and archives were lost in a mysterious fire. The outpouring of support was tremendous, The True Vine record shop hosted a series of benefit concerts, Ecstatic Peace released a double CD compilation, and countless individual and arts collectives from across the world sent support. During the next year they worked on gutting the bottom floor with help of volunteers and worked with Baltimore City to secure a loan to get the building legally up to code. The repairs were finished by the middle of 2007 after which Nautical Almanac completed a 20-day tour of N. America and performed and traveled in Peru and Bolivia. After the fire Ptak moved from playing instruments to playing light and their show became even more all-encompassing. In 2007 Ptak opened a hypnotherapy office and continues her research into subtle energy and radionics, while in 2012 Harper opened a float tank in the Tarantula Hill space and has pioneered research into buccal salvia divinorum. Nautical Almanac gave their final performance in August 2016 at Baltimore's Fields Festival, and subsequently disbanded.

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