Long Overdue

I've been largely ignoring this blog as of late, but it's mostly because I've been trying to further sustain the juggling act of late, not usually succeeding.

Some highlights of the last few months:

Broadcloth did several extremely interesting performances, including one at the excellent venue Outpost 186 in Cambridge, MA. The highlight of the recent gigs was certainly the performance in New Haven with touring group Not the Wind, Not the Flag. They performed an amorphous take on free-improvisation, offering one duo of amplified mbira and percussion, and one of guitar and percussion, that was bracing, energetic and above all agile. Our set that night was extremely minimal, focusing on a lot of microtonal interaction and subtle shifts in various musical qualities over the course of several minutes. It was some of the most challenging music that I've played with Broadcloth, and proof to me that what we're doing has some vitality to it, even playing some of the same pieces multiple times during the past few gigs.

I've been working on the accordion part of Erik DeLuca's "Four Days of Winter," for an upcoming performance at Wesleyan University. I appreciate opportunities like this to perform new music, as it often is able to give me a perspective on both writing and improvising that is extremely valuable. The performance will be at Wesleyan University on November 16th, at 6PM, further details TBA.

After the recent string of G. Zarapanecko live performances and recorded collaborations, I've settled down back into some studio recording for another upcoming album. Pieces have been in progress in some form or another since December of 2009, and finally congealed in a cohesive way, one that's almost ready for release. The album will tentatively be called "New Doom," and while reflecting some of what I learned from doing live performance (i.e. noise and shifting loops) these are probably some of the most melancholy and desperate pieces ever recorded under this alias, even while being more direct than I often am. Expect future news about a tape release from GREESE,the hybrid of G. Zarapanecko and New Haven harsh noiser Bella Reese, too.

An Historic has been on-again/off-again. I'm gearing up for the release of a split with Cud Eastbound, tentatively titled "Cutoff." The songs for my half were originally recorded this summer, and have been tweaked recently with some bits and pieces of re-recording and overdubbing. They're all still geared toward (and were written at) the piano, but have been tweaked on various levels and provided with some expanded arrangements. I've been frustrated with the process of recording this one myself, mostly because recording a piano with proper equipment is difficult, let alone with a crummy built-in mic. I wonder if a situation will ever exist where studio time is possible through bartering or some other situation that doesn't involve temporary or long-term debt? Just an ongoing thought-process.

An Historic will be playing a show on November 19th at the Neverending Books, in support of Cabinet of Natural Curiosities and World History, starting at 7:00. The following Monday, I'll be playing a show to support Squinch Owl on her New England tour this year. This'll be November 22nd at Popeye's Garage - come dressed warm or ready to drink - it'll be cold, although one or two space heaters. Also, you should dance, I hear that helps.
You can check out Squinch Owl's latest release at http://squinchowl.bandcamp.com, and if you haven't already you should. Consider donating a few bucks if you can, because Sofia has run into some car trouble already on this tour that isn't cheap.

The show at Popeye's will also be the debut of Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps, a group that I've been playing in with Nathan Bontrager and Brian Slattery. We primarily do bastardized renditions of folk music of varying origin, although the level of authenticity has been ranging wildly to great effect when we've practiced. It should be fun.

Finally, a show with an intriguing grouping of the NHIC, known as ATLAS. Consisting of Steve Asetta on saxes, Nathan Bontrager on Cello, Bob Gorry on Guitar, Jamie Paul Lamb on bass, myself on Clarinet and Steve Zieminski on drums. Many folks within this grouping already have some kind of rapport together in other situations, and the rehearsals so far have been extremely promising. This is Saturday, November 20th at 8:30 at Firehouse 12. The 10:00 pm show that night will be Mayhem Circus Electric, with the official CD release party of the group's freak-fusion effort, "Lubricity."

busy, busy, busy.