Photography by Kristen Goodfriend

Joe Turner has always sung and played a variety of instruments, so when his previous outfit Abunai! called it quits after five years, he got off their drum stool and back to work on some new sounds of his own. After the small distraction of organizing the universally loved Terrastock 5 festival was over, he began to make a year and half of unemployment worthwhile by focusing on his new solo sounds. Between Two Seconds runs a length of wire between meditative gauze-rock and full-on rocking psychedelia. He's got plenty of inspired experience to draw on, having played onstage with The Lilys, Barbara Manning, Damo Suzuki (Can), Brother JT, and Nick Saloman (Bevis Frond), as well as performing several times with the Boston Rock Opera. Joe's song contributions to Abunai! had left a clue as to the layered, melodious urges that he'd been harboring, and now those urges are ripe for the rock harvest.

Whether it's the huge harmonies that fill up "Coordinate Zero" (an audio picture-postcard from Amsterdam), the rock-solid drums and sharp guitar leads in "Perfect the First Time", a watery piano leading the way in "When the Day Crowd Leaves", or the muscular bass of "Stella Luna" --- written only after seeing, but not actually reading, the children's book of the same name --- Joe uses his unerring melodic sensibility to plunk stoned cyclical mantras onto the same skewer as twitchy psych-pop, delivering a delicious rock shishkebab to your plate.

Joe handles almost all the instruments and vocals himself on Between Two Seconds, but grabbed a few friends along for the ride: Bill Doss (Sunshine Fix, ex-Olivia Tremor Control) and Sam Mixon (Sunshine Fix) help out with vocals, Heather McIntosh (Circulatory System) adds her cello to several songs, Brendan Quinn (ex-Abunai!) contributes some squalling lead guitar, Ajda Snyder (Turkish Queen) breathes light into the proceedings with her amazing flute work, and Mark Dwinell (Bright) has just recently helped out with his own droney/melodic/off-kilter guitar. Between Two Seconds (which includes the Dollar Star EP) was produced and engineered by Joe (with some help from Joel Simches) and mastered in HDCD format by Jeff Lipton (Wheat, Magnetic Fields, Sebadoh) at Peerless Mastering.

When the Day Crowd Leaves appears on the soundtrack (and in the film) The Sacrifice, which is out now on DVD.

Turn Me Upside-Down appears on the compilation CD The Further Adventures of the Telepathic Explorers from Free City Media (http://www.freecitymedia.com). This year's installment features great tracks from Anton Barbeau, Bevis Frond, Dipsomaniacs, Discolor, The Heads, Hoyt, The Impossible Shapes, Kable, Lucky Bishops, Sh'Mantra, Troll, and others. Out NOW!

Current Projects
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JOE TURNER & THE SEVEN LEVELS (2004-)
Drums, vocals, guitar, bass, keyoards, production.
Releases:
  "Between Two Seconds" (Camera Obscura CAMCD067)
  "Triplets EP" (self-released)
Appearances:
  "The Sacrifice" (Dunkirk Studios)
    - Independent film feat. "When the Day Crowd Leaves"
  "Further Adventures of the Telepathic Explorers" (Free City Media)
    - Compilation feat. "Turn Me Upside-Down"
  "Higher & Higher: A Tribute to the Moody Blues" (Mellow Records)
    - Compilation feat. "Tuesday Afternoon"

VIDEO JOE (2006-)
Live VJ artist for:
  West Indian Girl
  Spectrum
  Acid Mothers Temple
  Concord Ballet Orchestra Players
  The Hush Now
  Casper & the Cookies
  The New Collisions
  Asteroid #4
  The Luxury
  28 Degrees Taurus
  (the sounds of) Kaleidoscope
  Chapterhouse

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Previous Projects
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DARKFLOW (2009-2010)
Drums, guitar, bass, production.
Releases:
  "Darkflow" (self-released)
  "Distance Varies" (self-released)

BLACK FORTRESS OF OPIUM (2007-2009)
Drummer
Releases:
  "Black Fortress of Opium" (self-released)

TURKISH QUEEN (2005-2007)
Drummer

TERRASTOCK 5 (2002)
Organizer/promoter, international music festival.

ABUNAI! (1997-2001)
Drums, vocals, guitar, production.
Releases:
  "Universal Mind Decoder" (Camera Obscura CAM006CD)
  "Mystic River Sound" (Camera Obscura CAM021CD)
  "Round-Wound" (Camera Obscura CAM039CD)
  "Deep Mu Flux" (Camera Lucida CL003)
  "Two Brothers" (Camera Lucida CL004)
Appearances:
  "Terrastock: Ptolemaic Providence Perambulation"
    - Compilation feat. "Gypsy Davy" (live at Terrastock 1)
  "Little Darla Has a Treat for You #9" (Darla 060)
    - Compilation feat. "Words"
  "Serotonin Ronin" (Camera Obscura CAM013CD)
    - Compilation feat. "John Riley" (previously unreleased)
  "It's the Big One" (Ptolemaic Terrascope POT27)
    - Compilation feat. "Dock Ellis" (live w/Barbara Manning)
    - Given free with Ptolemaic Terrascope #27
  "Serotonin Ronin II" (Camera Obscura CAM029CD)
    - Compilation feat. "Learning to Ask" & "Barbara Allen"
  "The Pot Machine Turns You On" (Ptolemaic Terrascope POT29)
    - Compilation feat. "Willo' Bend"
    - Given free with Ptolemaic Terrascope #29
  "All the Paths Lead Nowhere" (Drag City DC207CD)
    - Compilation feat. "Brown Ant" w/Nick Saloman of Bevis Frond
    - Given free with Galactic Zoo Dossier #5
  "Journey to End of Twilight: US Pop Life Vol. 8" (Contact CR009)
    - Compilation feat. "Barbara Allen"
  "DREAM Magazine #2" (DREAM #5)
    - Compilation feat. "Fire Bright"
  "Krautrock Karnival" (SAS Records SAS5)
    - Compilation feat. "Earth Mover"
  "Pull Up the Paisley Covers: A Psychedelic Omnibus" (Aether AECD010)
    - Compilation feat. "Citadel" by the Rolling Stones
  "Hall of Mirrors" (Emperor Jones EJ69)
    - Compilation feat. "Our Wayward Fuel"