The Bootleg of the Month Club®
Click to hear a performance culled from the 4boxs Archive Library   (rev: June 16 2009)

Our leaders are long gone...all they left us were insults.

In response, I make music that is simple, direct, but layered with subtext. I aim to bring challenges and rewards back to the listener, through subtle melody and explosive energy. Free of irony, innocence is restored, reverted to its primal state, and any further notion of style or genre is flushed away.

In order to effectively demonstrate this principle, I have assembled specialized teams and recorded their actions for the permanent record. These results are listed below. Click on any track title for free download (Quicktime required) or click on the album icon to download the entire album.

Various Artists
Exclusive Music by 4boxs
Personally Commissioned by
Tom of MySpace.com 2006

Featuring Joe Bianco, Jason Erdmann, Anthony Fresina, Jim Gailloreto, Steve Gasson, Ken Haebich, Mike Hagedorn, Steve Ivan, Thymme Jones, Brian Klein, Andre Marquetti, Shannon Morrow, Rob Pleshar, Dave Purdie, Ed Reardon, and Brett Vandonsel

The Cardinal (Typewash) - 3:58
Friendlies (Mike Hagedorn) - 4:30
1-30.4a (1,2,3,4) - 4:03
Tampan (Darkk Bros.) - 5:21
TV Eye (The Ridiculous Trio) - 3:11
Like a Doll's Eyes (Temeritorium) - 3:31
brezz (Speed, Glue & Satan) - 1:29
wher (Speed, Glue & Satan) - 1:29
Part 2d (anaananaan) - 1:37
1-30.4b (1,2,3,4) - 3:42
She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills (Take 11) (The Ridiculous Trio) - 1:11
SkyCam 666 (Typewash) - 1:49
MH (Darkk Bros.) - 7:02

While "personally commissioned" is a bit of a stretch, I answered Tom's call to upload new compositions, bootlegs, outside projects, rarities, and alternate takes for my new-found pixilated friends. While the crass commercialism of MySpace forced me to shut down the page, I gathered my favorite pieces and gave them a permanent home here on the site. Various recording dates, engineers, locations and composers - see album art for full details. Released May 2008.

The Ridiculous Trio
7-inch vinyl II

Mike Hagedorn - trombone
Shannon Morrow - drumset
Rob Pleshar - tuba

The second edition is here from our buds at Slovenly Records! Features the gem "TV Eye" and a special mix of "Not Right" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog". Get this limited ediiton 7-inch for only $5! Released August 2007. Buy here!

1,2,3,4
Doctor

Nick Broste - trombone
Mike Hagedorn - trombone, electronics
Toru Hironaka - tenor saxophone
Steve Ivan - peck horn, percussion
Andre Marquetti - tenor saxophone
Ed Reardon - Polymoog
Aram Shelton - alto saxophone

Doctor - 4:16
Cowboy - 37:31

What do you want to be when you grow up? The seven of us give you our answer. The final 1,2,3,4 album features a cut-n-paste composition for three instruments and a half-hour-plus chunk from our legendary 2005 Emprty Bottle marathon show. Recorded by Joe Bianco, February 23, 2005 and Ed Reardon, June 17, 2006. Released November 2006.

The Ridiculous Trio
7-inch vinyl I

Mike Hagedorn - trombone
Shannon Morrow - drumset
Rob Pleshar - tuba

From our new favorite enemies at Slovenly comes this limited-edition single. Get "No Fun" and "Down on the Street" in a quality-mastered collecter's 7-inch EP. Don't be square! $5 gets you one of these babies. Released December 2005. Buy here!

anaananaan

Rufus Brown - right guitar
Mike Hagedorn - trombone, Casio VL-TONE, drum programming
Ed Reardon - left guitar
Brett Vandonsel - drums, Casio SK-1

Part 1 - 20:52
Part 2 - 7:22

Time decides to broaden its horizons and takes on that extra axis. Somewhere nobody remembered to look for them, Achillies, Mr T., The Crab and Ol' Bach chat over tea. Behind them stands Dr. Hoffy with a microphone. First serving, a sloppy cut-n-paste orgy of forgotten principals and open wounds. Second serving, dueling Casios vs. the i808. Produced and recorded by Mike Hagedorn December 18, 2004 and March 19, 2005. Released August 2005. A part of the Terry Plumming release series.

Mike Hagedorn
The Driver

Mike Hagedorn - trombone

The Driver - 31:14
Tickle - 3:23
Sarabande - 3:24
Feelers - 4:33

My first solo trombone release is a mix of composed and improvised arrangements and is full of the unpredictable risks and unusual concepts that those familiar with the 4boxs catalog have come to expect. The disc's centerpiece is Rufus Brown's title track, a half-hour long cut-and-paste composition taken from a single extended trombone improvisation. Track 1 produced and recorded by Rufus Brown, January 10, 2004. Tracks 2-4 produced and recorded by Mike Hagedorn, January 7 & 8, 2005. Released January 2005.

The Ridiculous Trio
Plays The Stooges

Mike Hagedorn - trombone
Shannon Morrow - drumset
Rob Pleshar - tuba

No Fun - 3:35
Down on the Street - 3:27
I Wanna Be Your Dog - 1:54
Dirt - 5:26
She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills - :47
Scene of the Crime/Death Trip - 3:22
Not Right - 2:19
We Will Fall - 15:39

The above information is correct - trombone, tuba and drums (no vocals!) covering Stooges classics. And, I know what you're thinking - on paper, the novelty joke wears off before the ink dries. But after you get over said joke, you will find within these sessions the pure essence of rock and roll; and it's raw, loud and bitchin'. Challenge your assessment of one of rock's sacred cows. Produced and recorded by Mike Hagedorn, November 2004. Released November 2004.

Temeritorium

Jim Gailloreto - saxophone & flute mouthpieces, voice, paper, handclaps, effects
Ken Haebich - bass
Mike Hagedorn - trombone
Thymme Jones - drums

Whore - 4:06
Dedication: 1520 - 5:30
Caesar in White - 5:56
The Weatherman - 4:26
La Madonna - 6:44
Dime Liquor, Sleep Too Late - 6:16
Black Napeoleon - 4:01
Gimme Somma Dat Good Ol' Fashioned 20th Century Music - 3:43

The challenge: drag jazz music kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The challengers: four diverse improvisers swapping roles and ditching preconventions. The match: a one-hour one-time-only recording session yielding bizarrely unique results. Truly, this is a swing-based free-improvisation album like no other. Recorded by Joe Bianco, May 21, 2003. Produced and mixed by Mike Hagedorn. Released December 2003.

1,2,3,4
Total Improv!

Bob Falesch - laptops
Mike Hagedorn - trombone, effects
Steve Ivan - trumpet
Andre Marquetti - tenor saxophone
Ed Reardon - Polymoog
Richard Theodore - bass clarinet, C-melody saxophone

A Pleasant Conversation Concerning the Weather - 10:11
Tuesday is Trash Day - 5:58
56 or 47 - 2:53
Are You Feeling Better? - 8:40
Comfortable - 8:26
Chocolate & Cheese - 5:06

Challenging, disruptive, enlightening, aggravating, meditative; basking in the simple while immersed in the chaotic. More digital cut-and-paste collages culled from a variety of sessions and locations. Recorded by Ed Reardon at Big Recording Studios and Eric Butkus at WZRD Studios, with additional recording by Bob Falesch and Mike Hagedorn, May 2002 - October 2002. Produced and mixed by Mike Hagedorn. Released February 2003, new master May 2008.

Typewash
Beekey

Joe Bianco - drums
Mike Hagedorn - trombone, vocals
Brett Vandonsel - guitars, basses, cello

Clobberin' Time - 4:57
Skank Town - 4:01
My Aluminum Bat - 2:10
Famous - 3:29
Sickly, Sickly Scorpions - 4:47
Love Song - 5:11
The Show - 10:45
Tough Guy - 5:05

Rock like you forgot how to, rock like you're going to lay some hurt down deep. Raw and fresh, cold and calculated. Loud guitars, scratchy vocals, and a big wonky fuck-you trombone. Like nothing you've heard before, all over again. Recorded by Brett Vandonsel and Joe Bianco, February 2001 - March 2002. Produced by Mike Hagedorn and Brett Vandonsel and mixed by Mike Hagedorn. Released May 2002, new master May 2008.

1,2,3,4
Ol' Sparky

Mike Hagedorn - trombone
Steve Ivan - trumpet, baritone
Andre Marquetti - tenor saxophone
David Lee Smith - Handsonic

Track #1 - 11:34
Track #2 - 16:50
Track #3 - 4:33
Track #4 - 6:00

Some saw it as a cold instrument of death, others saw it as a reliable co-worker and friend. This is an album to greet this contradiction, from our workshops to your easy chair. Preconceived and accidental solo, duo, and quartet improvisations digitally reassembled into four unpretentiously titled untitled tracks. Recorded by Ed Reardon at Big Recording Studios, June and September 2001. Produced and mixed by Mike Hagedorn. Released November 2001, new master May 2008.

...even the bad ones!

All nine titles from 4boxs on CD-R (sure to be recognized as the most important recordings of what will be known as the Early 21st Century) can be obtained by emailing me at the link below or by running into me randomly on the street. Burning your own copies are, of course, highly encouraged.

For our friends living outside the Chicago area that are interested in owning the real thing, handmade CD-R's are available "cheap". To cover the cost of manufacturing and shipping, which is about $5, I charge $5 a disc. 45's from Slovenly are also $5. For international orders, I have to charge double ($10 a disc) because of the increased shipping cost.

Drop me a line at mike@4boxs.com. These days, I'm no longer fronting my own groups, but you can hear me play with Cheer-Accident and Lovely Little Girls.