Treasure Mammal

Holy crap. Okay, first off, just let me say that this is easily the weirdest thing I've listened to in years. Freaky, freaky shit. Treasure Mammal appears to be two guys, mad scientist geniuses Abe (guitar, sampler, theremin, drums, and vocals) and Nick (drums, drum machine, guitar, and "sing[ing] about the reservation," according to their Website), and whatever they're smoking, keep it the hell away from me, because it sounds like it might just do permanent damage. Musically speaking, Secret Treasures is all over the map, swinging from ear-shredding electrofuckery and sample thievery ("Intro," "Professional Organizer," "Jesse Spandex," "Bear Claw") to sloppy, Mudhoney-ish rock ("Rio Grande") to the craziest party-funk/soul this side of Har Mar Superstar ("Handlin Business," "Spring Break," "Dance Party").
The weirdest thing about this disc, though, is that, well, I'm still listening. Insane though it certainly is, Treasure Mammal has also somehow wormed its way into my brain, to the point where I can't stop hearing Abe shrieking "Spring Break Oh-Four!" over and over again in my head. And for some reason, I don't mind. (JH)
(self-released; Treasure Mammal --


http://www.spacecityrock.com/issue9/reviews/rev-T.shtml - Space City Rock Reviewer (JH)

In almost every track on this too short CD, I find something that I like a lot. But just when I start getting into it, everything changes and all the sudden I'm listening to something else. And it is hard to figure out where songs are as some of the songs run together on the same track. It's like somebody broke the record and crazy-glued it all back together out of order. As long as it sounds good, I'm fine with that and while this album does test me, I still like it in general terms. Now if I only had the power to do my own remix album of this one. Best songs on this CD are "Autobahn", "Dance Party", and Spring Break". Get this one to play really loud on that boombox you have pointed at your neighbor's house. Hopefully I'll be hearing more from this band as I stand intrigued so far.

http://www.nofimagazine.com/46Bmusrev.htm

- NoFI Magazine- Chris Beyond

Red Dress Press, Baby Gecko, Treasure Mammal and Flaspar at the Aristocrat, Dec. 30


There is no stage at the Aristocrat Bistro. Bands play on the floor at eye level - which suits the collectivity-minded indie rockers and avant punks that pass through just fine. And the audience is as much a part of the event, as the bands on a night like this past Friday, when Red Dress Press and Baby Gecko from Flagstaff rented a tile beside Treasure Mammal and our own Flaspar. Audience/performer dichotomies are considered horribly bourgeois; tambourines pass back and forth like collection plates and the audience generally displays a well-developed sense for when a song calls for a hand-clapping intro. But the bands themselves made for a robust display of Arizona's musical biodiversity.

Opener Red Dress Press raised and answered the question of whether hardcore might be better without guitars by demonstrating how hard and vertiginous four girls with two keyboards and a drum kit could sound.

Simpler and noisier than bass player Bobby Carlson's previous band, Ponies, Baby Gecko was very pure with the kind of loose song structure that calls up wide open spaces. But the important thing is that this particular noisy band made a girl want to dance - and specifically on account of the spreading warmth in her stomach. It was some big-hearted punk.

Before their set, Phoenix's Treasure Mammal beckoned the crowd closer as if to create intimacy so the lead singer could begin the set by barreling into the audience like a bowling ball. Crawling and writhing on the floor was popular with band leaders that night, often turning sets into a rousing game of find-the-frontman. Composed of a boy and a girl equipped only with mics and samplers, watching Treasure Mammal was like watching a blender full of mid-'90s trash culture (chanted lines taken from the O.J. Simpson trial, generic self-helpisms and Bruce Springsteen in no coherent order) and anvils of jet engine noise set on liquefy with no lid. Except that if you just want to watch a band like this, you are going to feel like a voyeuristic asshole. These people are not here to entertain you and they only physically attack you because they love you so much and want you to play with them.

http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2006/01/05/music/music05.txt

- Beverly Bryan

Treasure Mammal : Hey, Kids, Get Your Greasy Mitts On Your Very Own Action Figure!
By: Benjamin Leatherman

Tired of all the ho-hum musicians our local scene has to offer? You know, boring bands who'd rather blast their tracks while standing on stage? Then peep the perversely non-plastic performing plaything known as Treasure Mammal. This one-man musical dynamo is gung ho like G.I. Joe, giving new meaning to "action figure" as he bounces around local venues during his shows. He comes with all the awesome accessories and fabulous features shown.

SUNGLASSES
These shaded specs conceal the alter ego of Abe Gil, a mild-mannered 26-year-old middle-school teacher who, over the past two years, has been "changing people's views of what music is with a more performance-based act," in the vein of I Hate You When You're Pregnant.

BRIEFCASE
This battered baggage holds a BOSS SP-303 Dr. Sample, which stores Gil's various songs. Mixed from surreal samples of Jane Fonda workout tapes, self-help cassettes, electric guitars, and manipulated sounds of children's toys, the dissonant ditties are overlaid with scream-sung lyrics about doing your parents, having spring break misadventures, and other seamy subjects.

SPRING-LOADED LEGS
Used to launch Gil through a series of outlandish antics -- hanging from the rafters, organizing conga lines, crawling on the floor, and jumping on the backs of audience members -- which helps "get the crowd into the act."

TEE SHIRT
Depicting a winged unicorn lit by bolts of purple lightning, this tog embodies Gil's freaky fashion sense and was created by local punk DJ TeeRoy.

MEGAPHONE
A Public Address Musical Powerhorn from RadioShack, held in Gil's kung-fu grip, is used during certain songs to create "really gritty and distorted" vocals.

SOLD SEPARATELY:
Treasure Mammal's new nine-track CD, Expect the Max, is filled with tributes to the late Luther Vandross, dorky dance-pop songs, and an early '90s-style rap number called "Let's Get Naked."

Music Details
Who / What:
Treasure Mammal
Music Genre:
Rock
Details:
CD release show scheduled for Friday, February 24. Batteries sold separately.
Where:
Trunk Space
The Coitus
Celebrity Sex
Asleep in the Sea
Reindeer Tiger Team - Phoenix New Times

"Of course! You will certainly need a guide in your travels. We must leave tonight.
And that was how it began. We swiftly navigated out of the bar and made our way down the block to his white Rover. I was unsure of what I was doing, but pushed myself to continue in the uncharted territory of the supernatural.
I had heard his music; I had seen his performance, but nothing could have prepared me for the true Treasure Mammal experience. Everything Abe was made of was merely homage to this elusive and possibly fabricated guru in the White Mountains. For those of you who feel that Abe is a hyperactive testament to self-affirmation, please multiply that by one million, and then you will know what Treasure Mammal truly is."
- Java (Phoenix, AZ)

In reference to Treasure Mammal's 2006 release "Expect the Max" here is what Ben Vaughn, the music director of the University of Texas-Dallas had to say. "It started a virtual revolution at the station becoming the cult hit of the year". - Ben Vaughn

Here's what Clinton Kirby of WUSM had to say, "I'm the music
director at WUSM in Hattiesburg, MS and I love the Treasure Mammal album! - Clinton Kirby

Here's what Ashley Watkins, music director of WSUM in Wisconsin had to say, "I almost died when I heard him say Don't make me snap my fingers in a Z formation!

Fun Stuff."
- Ashley Watkins