Black Lodge Presents Michael Beach (Australia, Goner Records) Melanie Radford (Built to Spill) \------------------------------------ **Michael Beach** On his debut live LP, Live at Phoenix Central Park, Melbourne-based/California-born songwriter and bandleader Michael Beach brings together three of Australia’s most well-known improvisers in a mercurial performance that is both contemplative and expansive, focused and fierce. Playing live together for the first time, the band--Lloyd Swanton (The Necks), Joe Talia (Oren Ambarchi, Ned Collette), and Mick Turner (Dirty Three)—supercharge Beach’s textural songwriting, and tap immediately into a propulsive cosmic pulse. For the last decade, Beach has called Melbourne home, splitting time between making his own records, engineering records for others (recent credits include albums by Tropical Fuck Storm and Exek), and teaching music (often to people in other Melbourne bands). He worked for years at San Francisco's Hemlock Tavern, a hub in the American musical underground, and is a commonly heard voice on Melbourne independent radio stations RRR and PBS. For years, Beachhas been carefully fostering musical connections - for Live at Phoenix Central Park, it was time to bring those connections together.