Asylum On The Hill

The Asylum on the hill. From its opening in 1935, the United States Narcotic Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, epitomized this country’s ambivalence about how to treat addiction. On the one hand, it was a humane hospital set on 1,000 acres of farmland where drug addicts could recover from their habits. On the other hand, it was an imposing federal prison built to incarcerate convicted addicts. “Narco,” as it was known locally, was a strange anomaly, a coed institution where convicts did time alongside volunteers who’d checked themselves in for treatment. It became the world’s epicenter for drug treatment and addiction research. For forty years it was the gathering place for this country’s growing drug subculture, a rite of passage that initiated famous jazz musicians, drug-abusing MDs, street hustlers, and drugstore cowboys into the new fraternal order of the American junkie. But what began as a bold and ambitious public works project was shut down in the 1970s amid changes in drug policy and scandal over its drug program, which recruited hundreds of prisoners to volunteer as human guinea pigs for groundbreaking drug experiments and rewarded them with bonus doses of heroin for their efforts. The Narcotic Farm – both the documentary and the book - tells the story of this fascinating institution through rare photographs and film, forgotten press clippings, revealing government documents, and historically significant new interviews with prisoners, doctors, and guards who were there. Through their interviews and a wealth of newly collected archival material, The Narcotic Farm traces this federal institution’s rise and tumultuous fall. *The above info and more can be found at www.narcoticfarm.com - buy the book and check out the movie! They ROCK. Asylum On The Hill...the sonic mayhem. Rising from the ashes of the madness and impurities of years on the road in several international rock n’ roll machines, the mighty Lexington, Kentucky based band ASYLUM ON THE HILL began defining their sonic mayhem in early 2009. In all actuality, these old bastard’s have been creating massive doses of rock since the earth began. Singer and guitarist Dave Angstrom (Hermano/Supafuzz), returns to the mic to deliver his angst and raw emotion, while producing moments of chaos and fuzzed-out riffs with his mighty black Les Paul and vintage Marshall stacks. Bassist Jason Groves (Rosie Rose/Supafuzz) and drummer Phil Kring (Rosie Rose/Lennon) combine elements of mastery with a unique aggressive modern approach to create a under layer of badassness to the bands monsterous sound. Guitarist JD Garner (The Dead Hours/Lennon) provides layered textures, smooth harmonies and attacking precision to the incredible wall of sound that is ASYLUM ON THE HILL. ASYLUM ON THE HILL has begun recording their debut album at two studios in Lexington, Kentucky…The A Room (Dave’s home studio) and Sneak Attack! (Jason’s Sonic Wonderland). The bands initial 15 tracks consist of a depth and diversity forgone in much of today’s rock genre. With songs ranging from the full on fist-to-the-face “Deluxe” where the band announces “Hello you, it’s me again…” to the cosmic and carnival-like sound of “Some Kind of Wonderful” to the Narco inspired monsterpiece “Seasons of Hurt”, ASYLUM ON THE HILL’s debut album is poised to deliver a sound and honesty that is as unique as it is addictive. The band’s debut album will be available on Mine’s Bigger Than Yours Records in the states this winter…European label and release date information to follow. Management and Brutal Assault Provided by RAManagement Worldwide.