There are certain things you can count on.  Every year you'll have to pay taxes.  Every year Santa Claus will stuff his fat ass down your chimney - unless you don't believe in obscene consumption in the name of commercialism, that is. And every year the Olympia Strange Music Society will gather a wild and raucous mix of performers, bring them to Oly for three days, and call it the Olympia Experimental Music Festival.
This year the action will happen June 23-25.
"The Olympia Strange Music Society was founded in 1995 by Arrington de Dionyso and Jim McAdams, two KAOS DJs who agreed that while Olympia was certainly a fertile ground for independent rock music, there were other genres of very visceral music that were under-represented in the 'scene,'" states the Web site.
"What is Experimental Music?  The Olympia Experimental Music Festival does not concern itself with answering this question directly, but each year presents a very diverse group of performers, each with their own very different approach to working with sound and performance," the Web site explains.
For the record, when they say "diverse" they mean it.  If you're into strange, this festival is right up your alley. If you're into unconventional noise, this festival is for you.  If you often look at your collection of pots and pans, and think, "Gee, I could make one hell of a racket with those," this is your festival.
According to Dionyso, this year's event will feature Maher Shalal Hash Baz, a Japanese act usually described as creative visionaries.  There aren't many words that can do these guys justice.  They jumble elements of folk, psychedelia, and free jazz into their concoction, achieving a surprisingly fluid sonic daiquiri, although bandleader Tori Kudo has been quoted as saying "I am punk."  It's something you have to see and hear to comprehend.  A list of some of the performers is below. â€" Matt Driscoll

Friday, June 23rd at Traditions Café 300 5th Ave. $8, 7 p.m.-midnight
Murderous Copulation of Birds (Seattle/NYC)
Pan (Japan)
Paper Boots (Japan)
Teruki Tamayanagi (Japan)
Perfect Dancer (Japan)
Maon (Japan)
Shiu Yeung Hui (Japan)
Sans Deer (Japan)
Paul Hoskin and Doug Hanig (Astoria/Portland)
Jim Ryan’s Forward Energy (SF Bay Area)

Saturday, June 24th at Traditions Café 300 5th Ave. $8, 7 p.m.-midnight
Marco Fernandes and Emily Hay (San Diego/Los Angeles)
Bill Horist and Knot/Pine Box AKA Ineffectual Healing (Seattle)
Gust Burns and Gregory Reynolds (Seattle/NYC)
Maher Shalal Hash Baz (Japan, with guests)

Sunday, June 25th at Yes Yes, 320 4th Ave W, Olympia, WA 7 p.m. - midnight,
cost $7
The Olympia Experimental Music Festival presents:
Eyes and Ears Thunderegg: Experimental Music and Film collaborations
featuring Eric Ostrowski, Jon Behrens, Bridget Irish, Bryan Frye, Jason
Gutz, Kevin Jacobs, Sara Biagini, Artis the Spoonman, Doug Theriault, Foque
Mopus, Dead Air Fresheners, Devon Damonte and Foque Mopus.