Richmond - Shards of white noise envelop the room.  Someone or something is sprawled out across a pile of drums and cymbals - its long, braided hair tangled in microphone cords, a guitar sandwiched somewhere in between.  How did we get to this point?  And what exactly is this creature that is copulating with a pile of unplayable instruments?  It could only be...

The night did not start out this confusing, I assure you.  I had instructions to meet up with the band (Nate Rappole - guitar/vocals, Frayser Micou - drums, Tim Morris - bass/vocals) around load-in for a brief interview before the show.  Upon my arrival, Nate (also known as the enigmatic, masked Gull, a "band" consisting of guitar and drums played simultaneously by one man) told me we could get down to business as soon as he and his band mates got a quick bite to eat.  And that was the last I saw of them - at least, until they took the stage about four hours later.  I should have known better than to expect a smooth evening.  After all, this is a band that has been known to incorporate nudity and stir-frying into their live performances.  

The show was the second event in a series of five over the course of every Friday in April to celebrate Gallery 5's five-year anniversary, during which the esteemed local gallery engaged in a membership drive in true PBS fashion, minus the small army of pledge-collecting volunteer phone operators.  Ultra Dolphins, the night's headliners, were celebrating as well - their latest CD release, that is, although the CD was not available that evening.  Strange, indeed.  Luckily, vinyl test pressings of Alien Baby with limited edition artwork were available for purchase, courtesy of Rorschach Records. 

In an interview conducted with Nate several days after the show, he recalls the origins of Ultra Dolphins: "I met Tim and Fray in Harrisonburg in 2000, the year of our bored.  We were all going to school at JMU and decided to get together and test each others' patience...which is exactly what I would call Ultra Dolphins - a testing of and testament to our collective patience.  Just like our hands from playing, our minds have become more and more calloused as the years go by." 

And the name?  According to Nate, "One night we decided that we all had a deep appreciation for the great wet-salt expanse.  We came to an understanding that dolphins are the people of the sea...that they are the aliens from which we descended.  Then, Fray or Tim said 'Ultra Dolphins,' and it stuck like a harpoon in whale lard."

Okay, so far I follow, but care to comment on the nudity and stir-frying tendencies?  Nate replies, "Ha!  The naked stir-fry show at Crayola House in Harrisonburg!  Our friend Jimmy decided to use two frying pans in place of record players.  He had a pair of headphones on and was cooking up asparagus and hot dog beats...We decided that we would play the show wearing only underwear and hats.  We were 22 years old.  Nudity was inevitable.  Nudity is inevitable." 

Good God, in retrospect my night already seems far less confusing than it could have been.  However, at the time, I couldn't help but wonder just where the hell these guys had been all night.  Little did I know that Ultra Dolphins were about to test my patience as well.  Luckily (or unfortunately), Gallery 5 added a keg of Magic Hat and some locally distilled whiskey to their bar lineup for the evening, and so I commenced the killing of time.  Lots of time. 

My Mind opened the evening with a set of minimalist, good-natured punk that reminded me a bit of the Vaselines (one of My Mind's singers is female) channeled through the jerky rhythms of the Minutemen.  This odd comparison was heard clearest on their fitting cover of the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror," which was kicked up quite a few notches from the original.  The Cinnamon Band, consisting solely of guitar and drums, followed with a rootsy, alt-country, almost Springsteen-ish take on the ever-popular minimalist duo concept.  Throughout these sets I caught glimpses of the various Dolphins in the crowd, only to have them disappear moments later.  At this point, I am ready to give up on the interview and devote my attention to the bar.  And, of course, the headlining set from Ultra Dolphins. 

As the trio came onstage, Nate took his place at a second drum kit (bass drum, snare, and hi-hat only) with guitar in hand.  The set began with Nate attacking both drums and guitar with the ferocity of, well, an animal.  At last, the evening's difficulties are explained!  I was dealing with no ordinary man - this was the elusive Gull in his natural habitat.  No wonder I was having such trouble tracking him (or it) down.  Throughout the set, Nate had several Gull-like moments within the music of Ultra Dolphins, engaging in call-and-response drums with Frayser while maniacally tapping on the neck of his guitar and jumping back to wail into the microphone seconds later.  And while this animal runs free onstage, Tim and Frayser do an admirable job of locking everything in place, especially with such rhythmically challenging music, as beats jump start from seemingly nowhere only to fall out or transition just as quickly.  The show closes with - you guessed it - a Gull-like creature climbing over a dismembered drum kit, axe in hand, while screeches of noise test the patience of everyone in attendance. 

Ultra Dolphins debuted a solid chunk of material from Alien Baby, which shows a definite evolution in the band's material.  While a lot of the music from Mar, their previous record, evokes Drive Like Jehu and early Blood Brothers, Alien Baby seems to find its influence in an earlier era of punk and art-rock with bands such as Pere Ubu or Mission of Burma.  The jerky, math rock is still very much present except with more of a focus on melody and composed dissonance instead of (barely) organized chaos and aggression.  Nate (or Gull, I'm not sure where to draw the line anymore after witnessing the performance) describes the record as "our child."  He continues, "Whereas Mar and other earlier efforts were things we created, they are not our children.  All of our records definitely speak for where we were at the time in which they were made.  But, somehow this record is different.  Perhaps our other records were birthed in a different way, like Zeus birthing Athena from his head.  Not this record.  Alien Baby is from a womb." 

Fortunately, I have a feeling that the offspring of Ultra Dolphins will not be nearly as difficult to find as its parents.  Alien Baby is available through Exotic Fever Records in CD format, while the Richmond-based Rorschach Records is handling the vinyl.  Just be sure to keep your eyes peeled for any animal and/or alien sightings - you can almost guarantee a good show will follow.      

"Whether we continue on with this project, or others - we will always be ultra." - Nate Rappole

Ultra Dolphins on MySpace

Rorschach Records

Exotic Fever Records    

By Editor-In-Chief and Correspondent: Andrew Lutwin

Andrew is originally from Boston, but has spent equal time in Richmond and considers both home.  He graduated VCU with a B.A. in English and looks forward to seeing if his degree will be worth a damn.  While attending Northeastern University, Andrew began covering music for the Zig-Zag Live website and tour campaign, which won him the undying affection of Bostonians because of his access to free rolling papers.  He is fortunate enough to have parents with great taste in music and owes much of his musical sensibilities to them.  Some of his favorites include the Beatles, the Clash, My Morning Jacket, Mastodon, Mission of Burma, all 70s R&B, and anything that can be considered "outlaw."  Other hobbies include food, guitar, whiskey, hiking, Boston sports, and maintaining his beginner-level fish tank.