LOW ON HIGH (R.I.P.)

LOW ON HIGH was a punkoid duo featuring JON MORITSUGU on guitar and vocals with AMY DAVIS on bass and vocals in a full-on blitzkrieg of skuzzy, drippy, riff-drenched, feedback-damaged ROCK. Davis is daughter of jazz great Mel Davis, and the band existed in some form since the early 1990’s, gigging with Deerhoof, The Gossip, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and a few others. Originally hailing from Frisco, the noisy two-piece released several recordings including a 7″, 2 albums, and tunes on several compilations/soundtracks. After more than a decade in California, Moritsugu and Davis moved further west, relocating to Honolulu. There they were voted “Best Local Band” in 2005 by the readers of The Honolulu Weekly. Then they got evicted. After spending a few years in the gloomy Pacific Northwest and being picked up by an upstart Seattle label that subsequently imploded, LOW ON HIGH moved to the New Mexico desert, where they melted and then dessicated into silvery dust.

“LOH is still using its sonic fearlessness and lightning-bolt angst to bore new and interesting holes into my dented, earworm-riddled cranium. Ice Cream Sex packs the guitar punch-crunch of a Germs or Flipper album and the vocal sneer and scream of a low-fi Sleater-Kinney garage show. Moritsugu and Davis work fuzz-inflected magic over their respective strings, and Davis’ powerful screech-enabled voice wails like a dog whistle strong enough to be heard by drooling gutter punks on the other side of the globe. Moritsugu chimes in now and again with some gritty vocal backup. I swear, that man is possessed. And the music world is so much better for it.”
-PASATIEMPO (Santa Fe), Rob DeWalt, 4-26-2013

“DIY and free spirited, LOW ON HIGH is very reminiscent of early ’90s lo-fi pop rawk, and inspired by the likes of Sonic Youth, Jesus And Mary Chain and grrrl punk. Noisy distorted tunes with a candy crunch core and glamor puss accessories.”
-AQUARIUS RECORDS (San Francisco), May 2012

“Washed-out guitars and raw drums seem to have descended from the prettier Velvet Underground songs, with Amy’s dulcet voice contrasting sweetly with the din. Fans of her caustic appearances in films will be surprised by her disarmingly sweet vocals, which appear totally void of sarcasm in selections like the jangly “Crush” and the fuzzed-out “Splendid Things.” In a twist, it’s Jon who provides most of the anger and psychosis, channeling his inner Gibby Haynes in “Why Are You.” ”
-GIANT ROBOT (Los Angeles), April 2010

“Blending the crunchy-scratchy guitar atmosphere of a good Bikini Kill vinyl album with elements of ’80s hardcore punk, New Wave, Siouxie Sioux, Cibo Matto, Joy Division, and The Breeders, LOH is the musical equivalent of a hyperative child born to postmodernist author Kathy Acker but raised in the Hotel Chelsea by Romeo Void and The Melvins”
-PASATIEMPO Soundwaves (Santa Fe), 3-12-2010

“Scumrock excellence.”
-ALIBI (Albuquerque), 3-11-2010

“A punkoid duo more blisspop than scumrock but skuzzy all the same.”
-LADY FEST HAWAII, 3-3-2005

2019 “Los Angeles” 2-song EP, Apathy Productions. Produced by Jason Reed, recorded at Frogville, Santa Fe.
2013 “Ice Cream Sex” 9-song EP, Apathy Productions. Produced by Jason Reed, recorded at Frogville, Santa Fe.
2009 “Low On High” 13-song LP, Apathy Productions. Produced by LOW ON HIGH, mixed by Erik Blood.
2009 COMPILATION “Lausanne Underground Film Festival Audio Enforcer Vol. 2.” Includes song “I Dunno” and tracks by Skullflower and others.
2003 “Scumrock” original motion picture soundtrack (CD), New York City Records, performed under band name “Toni Ann.” Includes 2 songs and tracks by J-Church, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Mel Davis and others.
1997 “Fame Whore” original motion picture soundtrack (LP + CD), New York City Records, performed under band name “Dixieland.” Includes 3 songs and tracks by Dub Narcotic Sound System, Emily’s Sassy Lime, Mel Davis, Barbara Manning and others.
1994 “Babydoll” b/w “Why Are You” 7″ single (pressing of 1000), New York City Records, performed under band name “Dixieland.”
1993 “Mod Fuck Explosion” original motion picture soundtrack split LP with Unrest (white vinyl pressing of 2000), Ballpeen Records, performed under band name “Karyo Tengoku.”