Road Reports 2000
(click pics to enlarge)
Road Reports 2000
(click pics to enlarge)
January gig report
Jan. 19 - The first hit of January for me was the Knitting Factory's Festival of Electronic and Improvised Music where I performed a solo Tectonics set. First up that night was Datachi with a grooving and wry mix using his variety of filters and boxes and CD & DAT soundsources. Alvin Curran next presented his "history of the knitting factory" in sample fragments played by him from a keyboard. Tectonics followed. Happy to report no Powerbook crashes and MSP/MAX performed admirably to play samples from the 8-string guitarbass and soprano sax. I played versions of some of the new pieces from Errata as well as KRKD from Field&Stream with a fair amount of new material interwoven. Last up that night was the trio of Zeena Parkins, Jim O'Rourke, and Charles K. Noyes performing a relaxed improvised set.
Jan. 20 - Orchestra Carbon performed Radiolaria for the second time at the Angel Orensanz Foundation, an old synagogue on Norfolk St. The room is beautifully decrepit with high balconies and great acoustics. It is, unfortunately, a bit thermally challenged, especially for a freezing January night. The evening was curated by Chris Rael of Church of Betty. They went on first, performing a spirited mix of Indian-pop and filmi influenced pop songs with a large group including strings, tablas, accordion, drums, three guitars, acoustic bass, and Chris' sitar and guitar as well as lead vocals. Up next was Simon Shaheen, the composer , violinist and oudist, accompanied by frame-drummer Glenn Velez and a bassist. They played Simon's stately compositions fleshed out with beautiful improvisations. A highlight was Simon's oud-playing: virtuosic, elegant, and fiery. Orchestra Carbon included the same musicians as the premiere performance in December. The acoustics of the space allowed the musicians to hear each other in a way that was impossible in the sonic swimming-pool of the Whitney PM. The computer-processing was also more audible on stage as well as in the audience. These factors allowed us to dig in to the piece. I was very happy with the performance and the response to it. The concert was recorded to DAT which I look forward to hearing.
Jan. 21 - An improvised quartet at Tonic consisting of Bobby Previte-drums, Mark Helias-acoustic bass, Tim Berne-alto and bari saxes, and E# on soprano sax and guitar. We played two sets and remained in a jazzy vein with gestures ranging from delicate melodic filligree to raging noise with lots of grooves throughout. I used a guitar with a semi-hollow telecaster-shaped body and three P90 pickups - this instrument has a ringing acoustic-like quality when played quietly and it truly roars when pushed into overdrive mode.
jan. 31 - Zeena Parkins is teaching at The Museum School in Boston this year and brought up Christian Marclay, Ikue Mori, and myself for a concert event in conjunction with the Sond Art exhibition there. The evening began with solos. Ikue started with her unique drum machine magic: 2 drum machines are routed through reverbs and delays to yield an astounding variety of textures and sounds and layered rhythms. Next Christian performed using 3 turntables, a wah-wah, and delays. This was a much more aggressive and noisy set than i've heard Christian play in a long time - very exciting! I performed a Tectonics set next using the 8string, soprano sax, and the Powerbook running MSP/MAX plus various effects. I feel as if I'm gaining fluency when using the trackpad on the 8string to control samples - I don;t have to look at the screen nearly as much - like any instrument, practice gives one unself-conscious control of the instrument facilitating spontaneity. After a short break, we performed an improvised trio of 40 minutes duration. In all our years of friendship and gigging, this was the first time that the three of us played in trio. Lots of respectful listening going on as the group sometimes broke down to a variety of duos and short solos. At times, it was impossible to tell who was playing what! The concert was recorded for possible release.
February
Feb. 24 - First set is a collaboration with two of my favorite writers, Jack Womack and Lucius Sheppard. Both fit loosely in the "sci-fi" category but this genrefication does not do them justice - perhaps "speculative fiction" is better. both have incredible poetic imaginations - Jack's writing is often more farcical but always deep. He read a selection from his in-progress novel Going Going Gone, the last in the "New York" series which includes Ambient, Terraplane, Heathern, Elvissey, and RandomActs of Senseless Violence. Everyone should read them all! I accompanied him on guitar and powerbook. Lucius' writing is concerned with the dark undercurrents of life and the manifestations of unknown elements. these have included voodoo in his book Green Eyes and in Life During Wartime, native magic and its interaction with the military forces of imperialism in the near-future Central American war.
Lucius read his story "A Little Night Music" from the collection Barnacle Bill The Spacer and I provided a processed and warped sax accompaniment.Second set - my first meeting with White Out. White Out is the duo of Lin Culbertson on synth, amplified zither, flute, and voice and Tom Surgal on drums and percussion. They normally (if that's the word!) create huge waves of sound, ebbing and flowing like a natural force. it can range from quiet pools to an oceanic roar. We've been friends for a while and it was great to finally play with them in a set of free improvisation.
March
Mar. 8 - Electronic percussionist Ikue Mori and I head to Madison, Wisconsin for an electroacoustic music festival organized by the students. Our first event is to address the composition class about our work - we play examples from CD, show scores and patches, and discuss our approaches. We attend a concert of student work that night and the next night perform at the Rathskellar in the student union. The soundcrew is efficient and has great equipment and the acoustics are surprisingly good for a large vaulted room with arched ceiling. Lots of wood helps. The audience is full and enthusiastic and we perform two sets of solos and duos. The evening was recorded to DAT. Thanks to the organizing of Jeff Snyder and Paula Matthussen and the hospitality of Prof. Steven Dembski and Cycling 74's Greg Taylor.
Mar. 12 - Radiolaria at the Knitting Factory. I've learned that this piece needs a reflective room to get the acoustic processes happening to my liking. The sound this night was almost too clear - it made the piece more "traditional" in a way as every detail was audible. With more time for soundcheck, we might have been able to tweak things to get a slightly wetter sound on stage, allowing for more blend and difference tone effects. Section F is based on processes similar to elements of SyndaKit and the group dug in to them beautifully.
Mar. 18 - This jaunt begins with a flight to Atlanta and a double-bill at the Echo Lounge with Sex Mob. We all stay at the funky but sweet Highland Inn with the great Cafe Diem attached. The club is barn-like but a good stage sound.
Mar. 19 - Gallery 701 in Columbia, South Carolina, also with Sex Mob. The Gallery has a large room with columns to break up the sightlines so the audience sits surrounding the stage. Great acoustics - excellent for chamber music but also works well with louder music. Unfortunately, the sound system is minimal. Still, a great response by the audience - I can always feel it when people are paying deep attention. Sex Mob plays a strong set - they're all great musicians but on this evening they shine - the rhythm section of Kenny Wolleson on drums and Tony Scherr on bass is muscular but supple. I join them for a bluesy thing at the end.
Mar. 20 - A long drive through the Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains across North Carolina and Tennessee to Lexington, Kentucky. I pass many placenames familiar to me from years of American folk music - each name brings forth a sonic memory - a melody or lyric. Gig is at a bar/restaurant, Yat's Coffeehouse. Guitarist Keenan Lawler opens with a beautiful set performed on amplified National guitar through various types of DSP - orchestral & expansive! Tectonics performs a useful separation - the unbelievers depart! Those who hear it, let me know - thanks!
Mar. 21 - Another long drive through Kentucky and West Virginia ( I need espresso!!) on up to Pittsburgh for a concert at the McConomy Auditorium at Carnegie-Mellon University. A very enjoyable interview at the radio station, WRCT, before the gig. Hats off to organizer Karthik.
Mar. 22 - Across the Alleghenies to Philadelphia and a show at the Khyber Pass. I find a copy of Michael Swanwick's great book "In The Drift" at a bookstore near the club. Opening is Krakatoa - quirky and unpredictable. Tectonics again clears out the heathen - so be it. Thanks to Tyler for taking care of biz and amps. After the set, I head back to NYC for a brief respite in civilization.
Mar. 23 - Remedial espresso consumption complete, I drive out to Princeton's Terrace Club for the final gig of this tour. A great listening audience and great sound - thanks to Xabier for arranging it.
April
April 25 - A very tranquil flight to Frankfurt and a quick train to Karlsruhe. After a little sleep and espresso, head to the Jubez for soundcheck and concert. The room is set up in cabaret format with tables in the front and bleachers around the back. Excellent sound equipment and crew and good acoustics for a moderately loud concert. I perform 2 sets and feel as if new territory is entered - starting to think about the next Tectonics CD. The MSP patch works as it should, a joy and relief - sometimes the patch (or the powerbook hardware itself) acts quirky - I can't predict what situation will cause this - I do believe I'm always starting from the same initial conditions! I've acquired a digital camera so tour reports will now include some form of visual documentation.
April 26 - the Kaserne in Basel, Switzerland is an old armory converted into a cultural centre with a restaurant. There are a number of halls for concerts - the room i played in had a clean sound, good equipment.
April 27 - Podewil, Berlin. a favorite place to play - this concert was curated by Reinhold Friedl of Zeitkratzer. The only problem with this venue is the proximity to the giant television tower in the nearby Alexanderplatz which causes a variety of noises and hums that are impossible to eliminate. Berlin audiences are always fun & intense.
April 28 - Graz, Austria. this is a festival titled "Women In Jazz." Technical needs not attended to and our soundcheck is torturous. fortunately, the hall is good and the audience attentive. Also on the bill is the wonderful Amina Claudine Myers, singing and playing Hammond B3 and piano. with her are Reggie Nicholson on drums and Jerome Harris on bass - both great players. The photo was taken as we were landing, coming in over the mountains.
April 29 - Teatro, Bologna, Italy. This hall is an old university theatre that has been taken over and used for cultural events by the community. Beautiful '60's space architecture with just the right touch of decay. Great sound and audience - we start at midnight and play 2 sets and an encore, finishing after 3. Head to the airport at 5:30 for Frankfurt and Tel Aviv.
April 30 - Arrive in Tel Aviv late in the afternoon. With Ronnie Someck and Ze'ev Schlick of ZuTa Music, we visit the venue where the concert will take place on the 4th and then find an Iraqi restaurant.
May 1 - In the morning we pick up an acoustic guitar (a Canadian-made Horabe) then head down to the Negev desert where we will meet with Bedouin musicians associated with Muhammed Abu-Ajaj, an oud-player. The meeting takes place at Amir's tent - he is an Israeli who has been involved for many years with the Bedouins near the kibbutz on which he was raised. The Bedouin leader of the Azazme tribe, Suleiman, allowed Amir to erect a tent where he lives part-time. A few of the Bedouins arrive around 2 in the afternoon, Muhammed plus 2 sumsumiya players, Einad Abu-Kaf and Mhamad Synk. They are from the Abu-Kaf tribe and live in Embatin, a Bedouin village in the Negev.
Mhammad is Palestinian. The sumsumiya is a 6-string zither made from whatever materials are at hand (wood, plastic, or metal for the body - communications wire or bicycle cable for the strings) and played with a soft plastic plectrum. The name comes from "sesame" - ancient versions of this instrument used strings made from sesame fibres. Strings are tuned to different maqam, or scales associated with the various songs. The technique is based on a very fast, steady & rhythmic, right-hand strumming while the left hand stops and unstops the strings at various nodal points. The result is combination groove, drone, melody, and chordal movement. The effect is hypnotic - revealed in the sound is the wide horizon of the desert, its space and light, its drama and shadow. The sound of the sumsumiya is without beginning or end. The Bedouins all seem to have cell phones - indispensable in the desert. The first to arrive call the others. Within 2 hours, there are about 12 musicians and continuous playing: 5 sumsumiyas, 2 oudists, a rebab player, a few drummers, and one who plays the azzam, or "inviter," a large mortar-and-pestle used to grind coffee beans (appropriately enought!) with a steady syncopated rhythm that accompanies the drone of the sumsumiyas. Songs build, or rather, get deeper, as they progress. One may last for fifteen minutes. The songs often have unison chanted lyrics over simple chordal patterns which are woven into intricate tapestries by the sumsumiyas. The oud often doubles the main melody and provides ornamentation. I try my hand at playing the sumsumiya and with guitar find ways to join in on the Bedouin songs. All throughout the day, we hear the muffled roars and booms of the munitions of the Israeli army on maneuvers a few miles away. Later, a young oudist arrives, Hisham Abu Muatiqud. He lives in Jordan and is in the camp visiting family and is an incredibly inventive virtuoso - at one point we engage in an extended duet , getting hotter and wilder by the minute. There is a dinner break to eat hummus, chopped vegetable salads, chicken, and the amazing pita bread handmade by the wife of Suleiman. Then back to the music. Around 10:30 PM, the Bedouins suddenly all leave, quickly and with little ceremony.May 2 - After a leisurely breakfast, I rehearse some approaches with 2 young Israeli percussionists, Yair and Yenib, from the Jerusalem group Mysteria. They specialize in the zarb but also play frame drums, bayan, and other small instruments. After working out some ideas, we drive back to Tel Aviv and the studio Tomix, to record some improvised tracks. My plan for this trip is to record in a variety of situations with the idea of putting out an all-acoustic instrument CD on the ZuTa label. We track about 60' of music which I will evaluate when I mix it at Studio zOaR.
May 3 - Return to the studio, this time joined by Einad and Mhamad with sumsumiyas. They have never been in a recording studio before but are immediately comfortable with the use of monitoring and concepts of microphone placement. We click and dig right in, recording about 75' of material of a variety of flavors. No evaluation distance necessary - I'm immediately and incredibly excited by what we've recorded. Hearing the detail of the sumsumiya recorded with good microphones is an unbelievable experience. Feels like a meeting in some abstract place that cannot be defined or contextualized. Hope to mix the recording within a few days of returning to NYC.
May 4 - Inbal Center For Ethnic Arts, Tel Aviv. A well-appointed small theatre is the venue for this concert: a solo Tectonics set followed by the duo with poet Ronnie Someck performing our material from our Tzadik CD, Revenge of the Stuttering Child. Unfortunately, the amplifier provided for me is not what was requested and is fairly inadequate, especially in terms of headroom and low-frequency clarity. It never ceases to amaze that a specific technical rider is ignored. After being told repeatedly that everything for the concert was okay, I'm asked "What's an amplifier? Why do you need one? Why didn't you bring it?" Eventually a small Marshall bass amp is located. Once I get going, I can pretty much forget about the technical problems and dig in. The set with Ronnie proves especially enjoyable as we achieve a certain relaxed looseness, a give & take that transforms pieces that were much more formal in earlier perfomances. After the gig, stay up at a restaurant then head to the airport for my 5:30AM flight to Frankfurt and from there back to NYC.
May 20 - Orchestra Carbon performs Radiolaria at Location One, NYC. This venue is a fairly new multimedia gallery in Soho and not yet overly utilized for concerts. The room is assymetrical and white, capacity about 150 seated, with quite a reflective sound, fortunately dampened by some strategically placed curtains. This reflectivity is actually perfect for the piece and sounds are revealed that have never occurred in Radiolaria before - great difference-tone beating effects! Substituting for Sam Furnace this evening is the great multi-reed player JD Parran and subbing for trumpeter Frank London is Boston's Taylor Ho Bynum. Both do a fantastic job.
May 22 - Vision Festival, NYC - duo with I-Sound. This is my first participation in this event which spans ten days with 3 - 5 sets each day. I have unfortunately found that jazz musicians often lose sense of the duration of their sets and for this reason, I do not like to follow jazz acts. My worst fears were realized - two of the acts preceding our set went WAY over their allotted 45 minutes which pushed us back to quite late on a cold and rainy Monday night. Fortunately, just preceding us was a beautiful and (beautifully concise - thanks!) duo by Ikue Mori and pianist Sylvie Courvoisier. I-Sound uses different formats for performance - tonight he used 2 turntables and realized a wide variety of timbres and densities from them. I hope we will continue work together.
June 10 - Terraplane performs at the World Trade Center plaza as part of the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival.
It was incredibly hot this day, nearly 100 Celsius, but the plaza at WTC in this narrow part of lower Manhattan is like a deep canyon and is slightly cooled by the powerful breezes swirling around and blowing across. Our friends Sex Mob play first - always fun though they are plagued with a bad bass amp. When we reach the stage, we are amazed at the sound of the wind captured in the mics and amplified over the monitor system - it's as loud as the drums! The large crowd is attentive and we dig right in, dedicating the set to Eleanor Bumpurs and Amadou Diallo, both victims of NYC police brutality. Vocalist Dean Bowman joins us for two songs, As It Falls and Feel Each Day. On the upcoming Terraplane CD, As It Falls is performed by the acoustic band with horns and tuba - today we do it electrified as kind of a New orleans second-line Albert King-style funk thing. Feel Each Day enters the realm of the freeform then we bring it back with Rails, dedicated to Howlin' Wolf.June 15 - Tonic NYC - E# meets the Freight Elevator Quartet.
For our second collaborative concert, we performed one set at Tonic to a packed and appreciative audience. FEQ interspersed tunes from their new CD on Caipirinha, BECOMING TRANSPARENT, with textural improvisations. I added sounds and melodies to their pieces and contributed a few grooves that FEQ elaborated upon. The group includes cello and three electronicists - heavy grooving that operates in the techno and drum n'bass realm. Mark McMahon added live video mixing from his Powerbook running the Imag(ine) software from STEIM. We'll shoot for September for another gig, maybe some recording.
Sunday July 2 - PS1 Contemporary Art Center, LIC, NYC - VOLUME:Bed of Sound opens.
Thousands of people usually turn out for PS1 openings and this one is no exception (the pics were taken before the people arrived!) It's always a charged atmosphere. People jumped right into the headphone stations but took a little longer to discover and make use of the speaker room. The archive in the cafe will continue to be expanded during the course of the exhibition. Eric Mingus and Marianne Nowottny both performed solo sets as did a number of DJ's. People wandered around the museum to take in the 80's Show as well as installations by Christian Marclay and Jonathan Beppler plus party in the courtyard, sitting in the water that was part of ShoP's installation and enjoying the water-misters.
Aug. 23 - Künstlerhof Buch: this is an artist-space about 30 minutes outside of Berlin it was the site of the only medieval castle to survive the Allied bombing in WW2 but the East German government of Walter Ulbricht razed it because it represented the domination of the working class. What's left are the stables and a few miscellaneous buildings used for artist-studios, performances, and workshops plus some strange statuary. There is a bar and restaurant as well. This first night is all laptop performances with Zbigniew Karkowski, Merzbow, Carsten Nicolai, Shunichiro Okada, Kozo Inada, and E#. We do a variety of solos and duos and finish with everybody.
Aug. 24 - Buchs: solo Tectonics - I was very happy with my set and hope to get a DAT of it. During the afternoon, I did a workshop on my approaches to real-time computer music discussing both technical anbd esthetic questions. Very engaged participants!
Aug. 25 - Buchs: A concert by Zeitkratzer performing a piece by Phil Niblock with slides projected from his computers plus my composition Coriolis Effect. Coriolis Effect has changed quite a bit since its' premiere. It's finally getting more sonic and the hocketing is working better. I still hope to record the "definitive" version of it.
Aug. 29 - Wien, Austria: Solo Tectonics at the Museumsquartier version of Porgy & Bess. P & B is still under construction so it is now temporarily housed in a hall in the Museumsquartier - a large exhibition space. The roundish room has been transformed into a 40's-style jazzclub and has a great vibe and good sound (though I wish there was a sub-woofer for some ultra-lows.) The club is quite full with what looks to me like an audience that is not so familiar with what I do - perhaps I should not judge by appearance but they look quite conservative and I expect them all to ledave after a few minutes! I'm very pleased and surprised by the warmth of the reception - I'm playing a pretty "hardcore" Tectonics set but the audience is with me. I've always felt that Viennese audiences really listen. After a break, I perform a second set.
Aug. 31 - No Borders Music Festival - Klagenfurt, Austria. Klagenfurt is in the heart of Styria - a very conservative area and the home of Haider's "Freedom Party" - ultra-conservative and racist! It's good that this festival happens here because No Borders presents intense music of all kinds and from all ethnicities. First is the Bedouin group Kseife of Muhammad Abu Ajaj who I've mentioned in the report from the Negev. They play a hypnotic and deep set. Next, I do solo Tectonics. Finally, we collaborate. This is my first time I've done a performance with them. The recording session was a little simpler: ideal listening conditions and just two sumsumiya players. This night Abu Ajaj joins us on oud and there is a substitute for Muhammad Sync because there are visa problems: first the Austrians wouldn't give Muhammad a visa - when that was solved, then the Israelis wouldn't - then finally it was the Palestinian authority that put up the obstacle. Monitoring was difficult as this was an outdoor stage. In any case, the results were quite different from the CD but we still had some powerful and surprising moments. I'm looking forward to future possibilities. After our set, there was a wonderfully raucous performance by a gypsy group from Rumania, Fanfare Ciocarlia.
Sept. 1 - Berlin - I return to Berlin for the final night of the Off-ICMC at the Akademy der Kunst. This is the lunatic fringe woing of the International Computer Music Festival. It starts quite late and is quite disorganized, both in terms of logistics and soundsystem. I do Tectonics solo. Notable is the duo of Karkowski and Merzbow.
Road
Reports 1999Writings
Road Reports 2001
[ Datacide ]
