I find this review quite humorous.
Originally Posted on Razorcake: http://www.razorcake.org/site/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=23622
AN HISTORIC:
Ephemeral Stampede: CD-R
There are two camps of European folk-inspired contemporary music. The first include the bands and musicians who thoroughly enjoy the music of their fatherlands and wish to modernize the culture to allow greater access to the general public. The second consists of kids who listen to Flogging Molly and Gogol Bordello thinking themselves clever for being a band that pretends to have a wide worldview. I honestly don’t know which section Adam Matlock of An Historic should be placed in. He certainly seems more sincere about this music than most of the specimens I’ve ever seen. His arrangements are clever in parts and lead me to think he’s just a boy from 1930s New York longing to go back to his village in some small country that will soon become assimilated by the looming threat of the communist regime. If this is what he was going for, amazing job. –Bryan Static (Self-released)
8.11.2010
CT Indie Review of Ephemeral Stampede
Heavily percussed and violently accompanied by accordion, one of Adam Matlock's many project is titled An Historic. He just released his album Ephemeral Stampede. It features layer after layer of his soulful voice signing over top of eastern European and Balkan influenced music. He shows that he's not afraid to get a little weird, like all of the vocal layers on the first track, Briefest Eye; but later in the album in On Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? he goes completely beyond the realm of normal songwriting, where he elicits a gypsy jazz swing tune, complete with clarinets and what I think is a washtub. Fans of Beirut and A Hawk And A Hacksaw should perk up their ears and take notice. - JH
originally posted at:
http://www.ctindie.com/2010/08/historic-ephemeral-stampede.html
originally posted at:
http://www.ctindie.com/2010/08/historic-ephemeral-stampede.html
8.01.2010
Recenter Things
Recent-er things.
I've just finished recording and mixing my half of an intended split with Cud Eastbound. We find ourselves kin in strange and apocalyptic lyrics, and instead of being paralyzed by fear we decided to work with it to some common end. All these tunes are on piano with some occasional weird production effects, but I was trying to keep it simple before the next, fully arranged thing, which is still untitled but as before is almost fully arranged and completed months before any plans to record it solidify...
G. Zarapanecko is going live, on occasion, first at the August Uncertainty Music Series, as a joint set with Carl Testa, along with a set by A Split Psyche, and later Popeye's Garage on the 19th of August. This will also mark the only show of my group with Nathan Bontrager and Gabriel Bolaños, the Blackthorn Cataclysm, which is a strange and unique variety of rock-based improv. Everyone plays drums at some point. G. Zarapanecko is hard at work on some collaborations (collAberrations?) with some local noise artists, with results to be recorded or performed some time soonish - stay tuned for updates.
Finally, the debut disc from The Erasmus Quintet, recorded live in performance at Firehouse 12, has been released, and is available for download and ordinary purchase here:http://music.nhic-records.com/album/erasmus-quintet-serious-folly. The Erasmus Quintet has had some neat things said about it by the press - my take is Steve Reich on potent hallucinogens, a variously demented, driving and energetic drumless ride through the inner-workings of counterpoint. Also released on NHIC records is another group recorded that same night, Mayhem Circus Electric, featuring a strong core of the NHIC performing original compositions in the vein of better funk-influenced jazz-fusion. (less with the watery synths, more with the jittery rhythm section.)
More to come, as always.
I've just finished recording and mixing my half of an intended split with Cud Eastbound. We find ourselves kin in strange and apocalyptic lyrics, and instead of being paralyzed by fear we decided to work with it to some common end. All these tunes are on piano with some occasional weird production effects, but I was trying to keep it simple before the next, fully arranged thing, which is still untitled but as before is almost fully arranged and completed months before any plans to record it solidify...
G. Zarapanecko is going live, on occasion, first at the August Uncertainty Music Series, as a joint set with Carl Testa, along with a set by A Split Psyche, and later Popeye's Garage on the 19th of August. This will also mark the only show of my group with Nathan Bontrager and Gabriel Bolaños, the Blackthorn Cataclysm, which is a strange and unique variety of rock-based improv. Everyone plays drums at some point. G. Zarapanecko is hard at work on some collaborations (collAberrations?) with some local noise artists, with results to be recorded or performed some time soonish - stay tuned for updates.
Finally, the debut disc from The Erasmus Quintet, recorded live in performance at Firehouse 12, has been released, and is available for download and ordinary purchase here:http://music.nhic-records.com/album/erasmus-quintet-serious-folly. The Erasmus Quintet has had some neat things said about it by the press - my take is Steve Reich on potent hallucinogens, a variously demented, driving and energetic drumless ride through the inner-workings of counterpoint. Also released on NHIC records is another group recorded that same night, Mayhem Circus Electric, featuring a strong core of the NHIC performing original compositions in the vein of better funk-influenced jazz-fusion. (less with the watery synths, more with the jittery rhythm section.)
More to come, as always.
6.19.2010
Tour Blog YAY!
Tour blog or something, almost entirely un-proofread so bear with me.
It was my first tour, it was Mallory's last, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, etc. etc. I'd had a few brief but intense hangouts with the kids from Mallory thanks to a random series of occurrences instigated by The Official Suckers when they were last on tour in the states, and had only a few random encounters with them afterward, but somehow I knew we'd be compatible touring buddies, and I was right. My only worry was that I'd never done this before and that I wouldn't be able to adjust to the trappings of touring, but it wasn't too far removed from my traveling days (in which I wore the same pair of overalls to, and past, any ordinary expectations for a garment, slept on floors or vertically in buses, etc.). I traveled with Niko, Justin and Andre of Mallory, as well as Haley, a current(?) Hampshire student who I'd met at various shows in the valley.
Our first stop was in Brattleboro, where the gig we'd gotten had fallen through just a few days before we departed. The idea was that we'd busk to make up a bit of gas money and take some valuable practice time, during which I learned some Mallory tunes (I had the honor of trying to sing Sofia Albam's part on "The House You Were Raised In," which was pretty difficult.) and during which Mallory learned a few of mine. That set up a pretty good dynamic for the rest of the shows we played, ensuring that at least one person in the audience could sing along to the other's material. Brattleboro is a cool town, which I had for some reason never been to before - it reminds me of Northampton circa 1993-ish, before various chains and franchises had started to move in, and the tremendous hilly-landscape of the downtown strip was fun to navigate. But it was a Tuesday, and there weren't a ton of folks out walking that night, so we didn't do too well. Finally we called it in, spent the little money we made on a beer special at the Brattleboro Co-op, and decided to go camping. Of course, the first place we found to do so was a cemetery, where a sign said Active Sporting permitted. The grounds were huge and we found a quiet corner near a rail-yard to pitch tents, build a small fire and chill out before the drive to Portland the next day...until around midnight, when the police rolled up, informed us that the sign actually said "Active Sporting _NOT_ Permitted" (The "not" had faded away) and very nicely asked us to leave. It was probably the least unpleasant police encounter I'd ever had, mostly based on the fact that the first cop reminded me of Mr Magoo and the second cop actually drove her cruiser into a grave by accident, which we both swore never to talk about again. Rather than pay 11 bucks for a campground and try and re-pitch our tents in the dark, we decided to make the drive that night to Portland. Along the way, we stopped at a gas station - I had started to fall asleep but was woken up by Niko who told me there was something I HAD to see. In my just-woken haze it looked like a fairy careening around the canopy of the gas station, until Haley named it as a Luna Moth, some enormous lime-green creature with about a 5-inch wingspan. A local drunk named Joe (apparently a regular at that gas station, since the attendant was calling him by name) was trying his damnedest to catch it, which he managed to do quite gently given his vigor. He held it still long enough for a few of us to get pictures, and then walked inside the convenience store and accidentally(?) set it loose. The attendant simply shrugged as she grabbed the broom to try and corral the moth back outside, as though Joe set large nocturnal insects loose in the store on a regular basis.
We made it to Portland at about 4AM the next morning, at which point Justin, Andre and I choose to try and catch a bit of sleep at the top floor of a hospital parking garage. Niko and Haley went to go exploring Portland and catch the sunrise, which I was altogether too exhausted to go along with, so when they came back around 7:30, we all switched - Haley and Niko tried to sleep for a bit and Andre, Justin and I went to a greasy-spoon diner to get a little something to eat, which was in hindsight a terrible idea. We all felt pretty queasy afterward, but strangely sated. We killed time for awhile, then tried to find Coyle St, the house that we were playing the show at that night. Once we did, we went busking at the local Farmer's market. Portland's Farmer's market is truly epic, taking up a full block of an enormous sidewalk, and we did extremely well, then took a walk around with one of Coyle St's former residents, Ariella. We found some food, then Ariella took us to this dilapidated dock that seemed to be entirely constructed of burnt timber, which made all of us a little nervous; but it was a sunny, breezy day and we all enjoyed the time spent relaxing before the show. At some point along the walk back, the tour had a name - "Champagne the Pain Away, 2010," a coded reference to a Cud Eastbound song which only meant for us that we'd try to drink a bottle of cheap sparkling wine on every stop of the tour. (This didn't last for long, once we crossed into Canada where the champagne was half as strong and all the alcohol was twice as expensive.). Armed with the cheapest alcohol on tour we descended upon Coyle St for an awesome show. If you ever hear that the Pattercubs are going on tour, check them out and fucking book them. They're awesome, loud folk-punk with violin, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin, a really sick inventive drummer who plays trash as well as a kit and lots of three-part harmonies. They played a great set that set the mood for the night really well. My set got people dancing, which set in motion the theory that Portland, ME has an unhealthy obsession with acoustic punk, and when Mallory played people were moshing and crowd surfing, which proved the theory pretty well. The show closed with Glade Swope, a truly unique individual who played an hour+ of solo thrash at low volumes accompanied by a rhythm track on CD. Not sure what else to say but the dude seems to be something of a local legend in Portland, totally consumed by metal yet wearing a baby-blue Hawaiian shirt. a living contradiction. Look him up, cos' I know you don't believe me.
We had a hell of a ride ahead of us the next day, so we woke up early to make the drive quickly and coherently. All of us had discussed our "story" for the border crossing in order to avoid customs/taxes for performing in Canada, and we had both mailed CDs across to avoid that becoming an issue. Again, this was one area where Mallory had some previous experience, so I deferred to them for the inspiration, though since the car was registered to me I did most of the talking. Aside from border guards taking issue with and confiscating pepper spray that was labeled "defensive spray" and not "bear spray," (though the ingredients would've been the same,) we crossed without incident or much delay. We drove about 1 1/2 hrs to Fredricton to pick up our CDs, and then two hours north of there to Moncton to play an outdoor show in a skate park for some really enthusiastic folks. We were more than a bit exhausted and were considering skipping the Moncton show (our hosts in Fredricton told us that Moncton was the heart of Nazi sentiment in New Brunswick, which made me glad i'd brought steel-toed boots, but thankfully we didn't encounter any of that.) On account of not realizing the time-zone shift, we were a bit late and missed the first act, but we got to see Josue play, the guy responsible for putting the show together. We ended up getting to see him play that night and the following two, in Fredricton and in Halifax, and got to hang out with him and his roommate Gumby after the show, which was the last night of Champagne the Pain Away in practice, if not in theory. It was a fairly low-key evening, and we got the chance to recoup a bit.
The drive between Moncton and Fredricton was comparatively short, so we took most of the day to lounge around. I was itching to cook, so I used the kitchen at the Galley, the house where the show was that evening, while Haley and the boys took a walk around Fredricton with Carolyn, one of the residents of the Galley. The show was small but enthusiastic - we played with Story, Cud and Mogli, who all of us knew from their tours in the states just a few months ago, and it was like a beautiful reunion show. The crowd was small but almost everyone knew the words to every song, so there was a raucous choir behind almost everything. The folks at the Galley were quite welcoming and they're one of the cleanest, most organized punk houses I've ever seen which some might take as a backhanded compliment but I mean genuinely.
The day after that, Halifax, only five hours of driving. It is impossible to state how stoked we all were, and once we pulled up to the Orphanage and saw Ryley sitting out on the steps we all started screaming in a way that must have scared most of Halifax. We had arrived in the middle of a scavenger hunt and after being nearly tackled by Rosie when her team arrived I was roped into joining midway - the remainder of the challenges included sewing a Harbour Water fest patch onto an article of clothing (mine remains on my shorts in what was obviously a rush-job), "making total destroy" out of a set of cardboard condos representing the encroaching gentrification of Halifax, and having our team quickly consume a Faxe, a local, extremely potent beer. This took us forever since we all stopped outside of the liquor store to come up with the cash for the beer, and the folks inside wouldn't let one of us buy it unless all of us could present ID, so we had to devise a backup plan that caused us to lose the scavenger hunt. Still, lots of fun and a great way to see a small part of Halifax literally minutes after arriving. The show got started a few hours later after an enormous vegan meal, and it was a series of transcendent moments. I got to see a lot of bands live that I had only heard compressed myspace recordings of, and got exposed to a few bands that I'd never heard of before. All in all the show was extremely well booked and sequenced, although the highlights for me were definitely the riotous duo of Carrot and Sweet Potato, singing some incredibly energetic murder ballads, the mosh pit that started during Ants and Anchors' set (playing some truly incredible tunes), hearing the latest configuration of the Official Suckers playing "Straight Kids Playing Dress Up" which damn near brought me to tears, and the aptly named "One-Hand Orchestra," which picked up on Mallory's final song, which included about a dozen people, myself included. The energy was really riotous, Garlic Fingers (a local snack) were thrown, nearly blinding someone, faces were punched, etc etc etc. It was basically a series of peaks that just kept intensifying, and I was really, really glad to be a part of it. After the last band, Buy Nothing Life, played, we all hung out for a few hours in the adjacent parking lot, fueled on by scotch and homebrewed beer, and had an intense series of brutally honest conversations that brought me up to speed with everything going on between the folks in Mallory, almost everything going on in Halifax, etc. After that, the course of the night seemed to make a lot more sense to me. After a Newfoundlander named Larry drunkenly stumbled over and acted creepy for a few minutes, I was able to call it a night and feel almost completely fulfilled.
The next morning, our party split. Andre and Haley went with Story and Cud to their home in PEI, while Niko, Justin and I chose to stick around Halifax for a bit longer. We spent the next two days in various configurations wandering the city with residents and friends of the Orphanage, including Rosie, Ryley, Rowan Bee, Kelly, Tucker and Tay (saw Jake a few times in passing). I got my first tattoo (a stick and poke), drank some great beer from a local brewery called Propellor, and lost my heart to the city and the folks we were hanging out with. I hesitate to gush and make a fool out of myself in this venue, but it was truly, truly wonderful to see old friends again and meet so many great new ones, busk with some new folks and eat some great food. It was also REALLY hard to leave for so many reasons, the least of which was the double shift waiting for me after the 15+ hour drive.
And that's about it. I'm back in New Haven, facing a brutal 45-hr work week next week and occasionally smiling so widely for reasons no one around me will understand. I promise, y'all, I'm not going insane, and let this blog be the best I can do to explain myself.
It was my first tour, it was Mallory's last, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, etc. etc. I'd had a few brief but intense hangouts with the kids from Mallory thanks to a random series of occurrences instigated by The Official Suckers when they were last on tour in the states, and had only a few random encounters with them afterward, but somehow I knew we'd be compatible touring buddies, and I was right. My only worry was that I'd never done this before and that I wouldn't be able to adjust to the trappings of touring, but it wasn't too far removed from my traveling days (in which I wore the same pair of overalls to, and past, any ordinary expectations for a garment, slept on floors or vertically in buses, etc.). I traveled with Niko, Justin and Andre of Mallory, as well as Haley, a current(?) Hampshire student who I'd met at various shows in the valley.
Our first stop was in Brattleboro, where the gig we'd gotten had fallen through just a few days before we departed. The idea was that we'd busk to make up a bit of gas money and take some valuable practice time, during which I learned some Mallory tunes (I had the honor of trying to sing Sofia Albam's part on "The House You Were Raised In," which was pretty difficult.) and during which Mallory learned a few of mine. That set up a pretty good dynamic for the rest of the shows we played, ensuring that at least one person in the audience could sing along to the other's material. Brattleboro is a cool town, which I had for some reason never been to before - it reminds me of Northampton circa 1993-ish, before various chains and franchises had started to move in, and the tremendous hilly-landscape of the downtown strip was fun to navigate. But it was a Tuesday, and there weren't a ton of folks out walking that night, so we didn't do too well. Finally we called it in, spent the little money we made on a beer special at the Brattleboro Co-op, and decided to go camping. Of course, the first place we found to do so was a cemetery, where a sign said Active Sporting permitted. The grounds were huge and we found a quiet corner near a rail-yard to pitch tents, build a small fire and chill out before the drive to Portland the next day...until around midnight, when the police rolled up, informed us that the sign actually said "Active Sporting _NOT_ Permitted" (The "not" had faded away) and very nicely asked us to leave. It was probably the least unpleasant police encounter I'd ever had, mostly based on the fact that the first cop reminded me of Mr Magoo and the second cop actually drove her cruiser into a grave by accident, which we both swore never to talk about again. Rather than pay 11 bucks for a campground and try and re-pitch our tents in the dark, we decided to make the drive that night to Portland. Along the way, we stopped at a gas station - I had started to fall asleep but was woken up by Niko who told me there was something I HAD to see. In my just-woken haze it looked like a fairy careening around the canopy of the gas station, until Haley named it as a Luna Moth, some enormous lime-green creature with about a 5-inch wingspan. A local drunk named Joe (apparently a regular at that gas station, since the attendant was calling him by name) was trying his damnedest to catch it, which he managed to do quite gently given his vigor. He held it still long enough for a few of us to get pictures, and then walked inside the convenience store and accidentally(?) set it loose. The attendant simply shrugged as she grabbed the broom to try and corral the moth back outside, as though Joe set large nocturnal insects loose in the store on a regular basis.
We made it to Portland at about 4AM the next morning, at which point Justin, Andre and I choose to try and catch a bit of sleep at the top floor of a hospital parking garage. Niko and Haley went to go exploring Portland and catch the sunrise, which I was altogether too exhausted to go along with, so when they came back around 7:30, we all switched - Haley and Niko tried to sleep for a bit and Andre, Justin and I went to a greasy-spoon diner to get a little something to eat, which was in hindsight a terrible idea. We all felt pretty queasy afterward, but strangely sated. We killed time for awhile, then tried to find Coyle St, the house that we were playing the show at that night. Once we did, we went busking at the local Farmer's market. Portland's Farmer's market is truly epic, taking up a full block of an enormous sidewalk, and we did extremely well, then took a walk around with one of Coyle St's former residents, Ariella. We found some food, then Ariella took us to this dilapidated dock that seemed to be entirely constructed of burnt timber, which made all of us a little nervous; but it was a sunny, breezy day and we all enjoyed the time spent relaxing before the show. At some point along the walk back, the tour had a name - "Champagne the Pain Away, 2010," a coded reference to a Cud Eastbound song which only meant for us that we'd try to drink a bottle of cheap sparkling wine on every stop of the tour. (This didn't last for long, once we crossed into Canada where the champagne was half as strong and all the alcohol was twice as expensive.). Armed with the cheapest alcohol on tour we descended upon Coyle St for an awesome show. If you ever hear that the Pattercubs are going on tour, check them out and fucking book them. They're awesome, loud folk-punk with violin, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin, a really sick inventive drummer who plays trash as well as a kit and lots of three-part harmonies. They played a great set that set the mood for the night really well. My set got people dancing, which set in motion the theory that Portland, ME has an unhealthy obsession with acoustic punk, and when Mallory played people were moshing and crowd surfing, which proved the theory pretty well. The show closed with Glade Swope, a truly unique individual who played an hour+ of solo thrash at low volumes accompanied by a rhythm track on CD. Not sure what else to say but the dude seems to be something of a local legend in Portland, totally consumed by metal yet wearing a baby-blue Hawaiian shirt. a living contradiction. Look him up, cos' I know you don't believe me.
We had a hell of a ride ahead of us the next day, so we woke up early to make the drive quickly and coherently. All of us had discussed our "story" for the border crossing in order to avoid customs/taxes for performing in Canada, and we had both mailed CDs across to avoid that becoming an issue. Again, this was one area where Mallory had some previous experience, so I deferred to them for the inspiration, though since the car was registered to me I did most of the talking. Aside from border guards taking issue with and confiscating pepper spray that was labeled "defensive spray" and not "bear spray," (though the ingredients would've been the same,) we crossed without incident or much delay. We drove about 1 1/2 hrs to Fredricton to pick up our CDs, and then two hours north of there to Moncton to play an outdoor show in a skate park for some really enthusiastic folks. We were more than a bit exhausted and were considering skipping the Moncton show (our hosts in Fredricton told us that Moncton was the heart of Nazi sentiment in New Brunswick, which made me glad i'd brought steel-toed boots, but thankfully we didn't encounter any of that.) On account of not realizing the time-zone shift, we were a bit late and missed the first act, but we got to see Josue play, the guy responsible for putting the show together. We ended up getting to see him play that night and the following two, in Fredricton and in Halifax, and got to hang out with him and his roommate Gumby after the show, which was the last night of Champagne the Pain Away in practice, if not in theory. It was a fairly low-key evening, and we got the chance to recoup a bit.
The drive between Moncton and Fredricton was comparatively short, so we took most of the day to lounge around. I was itching to cook, so I used the kitchen at the Galley, the house where the show was that evening, while Haley and the boys took a walk around Fredricton with Carolyn, one of the residents of the Galley. The show was small but enthusiastic - we played with Story, Cud and Mogli, who all of us knew from their tours in the states just a few months ago, and it was like a beautiful reunion show. The crowd was small but almost everyone knew the words to every song, so there was a raucous choir behind almost everything. The folks at the Galley were quite welcoming and they're one of the cleanest, most organized punk houses I've ever seen which some might take as a backhanded compliment but I mean genuinely.
The day after that, Halifax, only five hours of driving. It is impossible to state how stoked we all were, and once we pulled up to the Orphanage and saw Ryley sitting out on the steps we all started screaming in a way that must have scared most of Halifax. We had arrived in the middle of a scavenger hunt and after being nearly tackled by Rosie when her team arrived I was roped into joining midway - the remainder of the challenges included sewing a Harbour Water fest patch onto an article of clothing (mine remains on my shorts in what was obviously a rush-job), "making total destroy" out of a set of cardboard condos representing the encroaching gentrification of Halifax, and having our team quickly consume a Faxe, a local, extremely potent beer. This took us forever since we all stopped outside of the liquor store to come up with the cash for the beer, and the folks inside wouldn't let one of us buy it unless all of us could present ID, so we had to devise a backup plan that caused us to lose the scavenger hunt. Still, lots of fun and a great way to see a small part of Halifax literally minutes after arriving. The show got started a few hours later after an enormous vegan meal, and it was a series of transcendent moments. I got to see a lot of bands live that I had only heard compressed myspace recordings of, and got exposed to a few bands that I'd never heard of before. All in all the show was extremely well booked and sequenced, although the highlights for me were definitely the riotous duo of Carrot and Sweet Potato, singing some incredibly energetic murder ballads, the mosh pit that started during Ants and Anchors' set (playing some truly incredible tunes), hearing the latest configuration of the Official Suckers playing "Straight Kids Playing Dress Up" which damn near brought me to tears, and the aptly named "One-Hand Orchestra," which picked up on Mallory's final song, which included about a dozen people, myself included. The energy was really riotous, Garlic Fingers (a local snack) were thrown, nearly blinding someone, faces were punched, etc etc etc. It was basically a series of peaks that just kept intensifying, and I was really, really glad to be a part of it. After the last band, Buy Nothing Life, played, we all hung out for a few hours in the adjacent parking lot, fueled on by scotch and homebrewed beer, and had an intense series of brutally honest conversations that brought me up to speed with everything going on between the folks in Mallory, almost everything going on in Halifax, etc. After that, the course of the night seemed to make a lot more sense to me. After a Newfoundlander named Larry drunkenly stumbled over and acted creepy for a few minutes, I was able to call it a night and feel almost completely fulfilled.
The next morning, our party split. Andre and Haley went with Story and Cud to their home in PEI, while Niko, Justin and I chose to stick around Halifax for a bit longer. We spent the next two days in various configurations wandering the city with residents and friends of the Orphanage, including Rosie, Ryley, Rowan Bee, Kelly, Tucker and Tay (saw Jake a few times in passing). I got my first tattoo (a stick and poke), drank some great beer from a local brewery called Propellor, and lost my heart to the city and the folks we were hanging out with. I hesitate to gush and make a fool out of myself in this venue, but it was truly, truly wonderful to see old friends again and meet so many great new ones, busk with some new folks and eat some great food. It was also REALLY hard to leave for so many reasons, the least of which was the double shift waiting for me after the 15+ hour drive.
And that's about it. I'm back in New Haven, facing a brutal 45-hr work week next week and occasionally smiling so widely for reasons no one around me will understand. I promise, y'all, I'm not going insane, and let this blog be the best I can do to explain myself.
5.29.2010
Post epic-show comedown, again...
Many of the times I've said the title of this blog post, it is in reference to a house/basement/DIY show, something a little more ragged around the edges but overflowing with heart, soul, and all that goodness. Last night was very different, but a complete success on pretty much every part (which is good because a lot of people put a LOT of work into it, which I witnessed over the course of the past week.)
I'm of course referring to the Big Room/Uncertainty Music collaboration that occurred last night, showcasing dance/movement by Rachel Bernsen, music by Carl Testa, Taylor Ho Bynum, Matthew Welch and Broadcloth, my trio with Anne Rhodes and Nathan Bontrager. Broadcloth performed Elastic, Carl Testa's interactive electronic environment for improvising musicians, which was basically like improvising on a really, really tricked out sonic playground, and was loads of fun to perform. As an improviser doing my own work and working with others, I've found it difficult in the past to interact with electronics in a meaningful way; thankfully, Carl has the background as both an improviser and an electronic composer to make such a thing work (and we triggered/recorded our sounds with Wii-motes, which Nintendo should be paying Carl tons of money for.) Broadcloth also performed a short improvisation which took us in a different direction than we had gone in the past, partially due to the fact that we had a bigger room and different spacing than our normal semi-circle setup for the small rooms and stages we've played before. I'll be curious to see if that direction persists the next time we get together.
I also had the chance to perform Taylor Ho Bynum's "Three Fables from Borgel," based on a text by Daniel Pinkwater. These were some really bizarre, tremendously entertaining (to perform, and judging from what I could see of the audience's reactions, to listen to) songs that really captured the spirit of the absurdist/surrealist children's book they came from, which I'm now determined to check out. Working on these over this past week with Anne and Taylor was really a treat, and I hope opportunities to play compositions like this aren't so few and far between in the future.
Matthew Welch accompanied one dance piece by Rachel, and performed a solo improvisation on his own. Suffice to say he's a monster, the bagpipes have never ever seemed cooler and I'm further building my case to eliminate electric guitars after hearing the extended techniques bagpipes are capable of, and the good old-fashioned shredding when necessary too.
Rachel presented four pieces, one accompanied by Welch, one with electronic sound and light by Carl, one accompanied by a really impressive cornet score by Taylor and the last featuring live bass guitar by Carl, voice by Anne, and a choreography that incorporated them both. I've started to develop an appreciation for dance after spending the last two years accompanying for modern dance classes (albeit for much younger dancers, at Neighborhood Music School), but I'm far from being a connoisseur; I did really appreciate Rachel's choreography in each of those contexts, recognizing some aspects of improvisation in them that I can immediately relate to as a musician. The fact that so many of these pieces were interdisciplinary at heart was part of what made them so engaging to me and to some of the folks I spoke to during the intermission and afterward. There was a nice turnout, especially for an event of this nature, and it seems as though there were a lot of people who were in my shoes as of two + years ago, surprised to see such a strong avant-garde art scene in New Haven surviving and, dare I say, flourishing.
And on top of all that, I met Anthony Braxton. Like I said, biiiiig comedown...
I'm of course referring to the Big Room/Uncertainty Music collaboration that occurred last night, showcasing dance/movement by Rachel Bernsen, music by Carl Testa, Taylor Ho Bynum, Matthew Welch and Broadcloth, my trio with Anne Rhodes and Nathan Bontrager. Broadcloth performed Elastic, Carl Testa's interactive electronic environment for improvising musicians, which was basically like improvising on a really, really tricked out sonic playground, and was loads of fun to perform. As an improviser doing my own work and working with others, I've found it difficult in the past to interact with electronics in a meaningful way; thankfully, Carl has the background as both an improviser and an electronic composer to make such a thing work (and we triggered/recorded our sounds with Wii-motes, which Nintendo should be paying Carl tons of money for.) Broadcloth also performed a short improvisation which took us in a different direction than we had gone in the past, partially due to the fact that we had a bigger room and different spacing than our normal semi-circle setup for the small rooms and stages we've played before. I'll be curious to see if that direction persists the next time we get together.
I also had the chance to perform Taylor Ho Bynum's "Three Fables from Borgel," based on a text by Daniel Pinkwater. These were some really bizarre, tremendously entertaining (to perform, and judging from what I could see of the audience's reactions, to listen to) songs that really captured the spirit of the absurdist/surrealist children's book they came from, which I'm now determined to check out. Working on these over this past week with Anne and Taylor was really a treat, and I hope opportunities to play compositions like this aren't so few and far between in the future.
Matthew Welch accompanied one dance piece by Rachel, and performed a solo improvisation on his own. Suffice to say he's a monster, the bagpipes have never ever seemed cooler and I'm further building my case to eliminate electric guitars after hearing the extended techniques bagpipes are capable of, and the good old-fashioned shredding when necessary too.
Rachel presented four pieces, one accompanied by Welch, one with electronic sound and light by Carl, one accompanied by a really impressive cornet score by Taylor and the last featuring live bass guitar by Carl, voice by Anne, and a choreography that incorporated them both. I've started to develop an appreciation for dance after spending the last two years accompanying for modern dance classes (albeit for much younger dancers, at Neighborhood Music School), but I'm far from being a connoisseur; I did really appreciate Rachel's choreography in each of those contexts, recognizing some aspects of improvisation in them that I can immediately relate to as a musician. The fact that so many of these pieces were interdisciplinary at heart was part of what made them so engaging to me and to some of the folks I spoke to during the intermission and afterward. There was a nice turnout, especially for an event of this nature, and it seems as though there were a lot of people who were in my shoes as of two + years ago, surprised to see such a strong avant-garde art scene in New Haven surviving and, dare I say, flourishing.
And on top of all that, I met Anthony Braxton. Like I said, biiiiig comedown...
5.21.2010
Broadcloth at Take Your Time
Next week, May 28th, at the Big Room in Fair Haven, CT, Broadcloth will be performing as part of a killer lineup in the premiere installment of a new series called Take Your Time. Below, I'll post the official writeup, but Broadcloth will be performing a structured improvisation alongside live electronics by Carl Testa as accompaniment to one of Rachel Bernsen's dance pieces which are the focal point of the evening. I will also be performing with Anne Rhodes and Taylor Ho Bynum on Bynum's "Borgel Songs," a short song-cycle.
It looks to be an incredibly diverse evening of new music and art, and a fully multi-media experience. Hope to see you there!
The Uncertainty Music Series and The Big Room introduce Take Your Time, an interdisciplinary performance series, featuring new works by Rachel Bernsen, Carl Testa, and special guests.
Friday May 28, 2010 at 8pm
The Big Room - Erector Square 315 Peck St. New Haven, CT, Building 6W, Studio D
Tickets are $12. Seating is limited. Reservations are recommended. For reservations email: thebigroomnewhaven@gmail.com
On Friday May 28th, a consortium of New Haven-based artists will launch a new semi-regular performance series called Take Your Time. In a co-presentation of The Uncertainty Music Series and The Big Room, choreographer Rachel Bernsen and composer Carl Testa will offer the New England premieres of new and recent work in their first shared evening. Rachel will perform three pieces, each a unique collaboration with musician/composers including Taylor Ho Bynum, Anne Rhodes, Carl Testa, and Matthew Welch. Carl will perform a new composition for light, sound, and movement, and present a new piece for trio and live electronics featuring the collective improvisation trio Broadcloth. Bynum, Welch, and Broadcloth will also be performing short improvisations and original compositions.
Rachel Bernsen “has the ability to make even the most simple things completely fascinating. She is an amazing performer and a compelling artist” (Michael Helland, Curator, Dixon Place). Her most recent projects create dialogues between sound and movement; where the musician’s physical presence and role is equally important to that of the dancer, integrally connected to the flow of time and the organization of space. Her work has been presented at such New York City venues as Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, Roulette, Dixon Place, and Issue Project Room. At Take Your Time, Rachel will perform three works: User in collaboration with Anne Rhodes and Carl Testa, Glimmer Glint Glisten (with a live score by composer/cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum), and Singular Present, a collaboration with New York based composer and bagpipes player Matthew Welch.
Carl Testa is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, most notably as the bassist in composer Anthony Braxton’s septet and 12+1tet with whom he’s performed throughout the US and internationally. Testa’s own compositions have been described as “engaging and unique” (Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery) and “human music, with varied emotions and sublime moments” (Richard Kamins, The Hartford Courant). For his performance at The Big Room, Testa will use interactive electronics and computer-controlled lighting equipment to create dynamic environments for both movement and sound. www.carltesta.net
The evening will feature additional performances by Taylor Ho Bynum, called “one of his generation’s top avant-garde figures” by The New York Times; the trio Broadcloth, a unique instrumentation of voice (Anne Rhodes), cello (Nathan Bontrager) and accordion/recorders (Adam Matlock) that plays from notated, graphic, embroidered, and textual scores in addition to completely spontaneous pieces; and Matthew Welch, a virtuoso bagpipe player and composer "possessed of both rich imagination and the skill to bring his fancies to life" (Time Out New York).
The Uncertainty Music Series www.uncertaintymusic.com is a New Haven, CT based creative music series that has been presenting concert events since September 2007. The goal of the series is to provide a venue for local and regional artists that may not have the opportunity to present their work elsewhere. The Big Room is a new studio and performance space providing the New Haven area with a much needed, low-tech platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, experimentation and research in dance and performance.
It looks to be an incredibly diverse evening of new music and art, and a fully multi-media experience. Hope to see you there!
The Uncertainty Music Series and The Big Room introduce Take Your Time, an interdisciplinary performance series, featuring new works by Rachel Bernsen, Carl Testa, and special guests.
Friday May 28, 2010 at 8pm
The Big Room - Erector Square 315 Peck St. New Haven, CT, Building 6W, Studio D
Tickets are $12. Seating is limited. Reservations are recommended. For reservations email: thebigroomnewhaven@gmail.com
On Friday May 28th, a consortium of New Haven-based artists will launch a new semi-regular performance series called Take Your Time. In a co-presentation of The Uncertainty Music Series and The Big Room, choreographer Rachel Bernsen and composer Carl Testa will offer the New England premieres of new and recent work in their first shared evening. Rachel will perform three pieces, each a unique collaboration with musician/composers including Taylor Ho Bynum, Anne Rhodes, Carl Testa, and Matthew Welch. Carl will perform a new composition for light, sound, and movement, and present a new piece for trio and live electronics featuring the collective improvisation trio Broadcloth. Bynum, Welch, and Broadcloth will also be performing short improvisations and original compositions.
Rachel Bernsen “has the ability to make even the most simple things completely fascinating. She is an amazing performer and a compelling artist” (Michael Helland, Curator, Dixon Place). Her most recent projects create dialogues between sound and movement; where the musician’s physical presence and role is equally important to that of the dancer, integrally connected to the flow of time and the organization of space. Her work has been presented at such New York City venues as Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, Roulette, Dixon Place, and Issue Project Room. At Take Your Time, Rachel will perform three works: User in collaboration with Anne Rhodes and Carl Testa, Glimmer Glint Glisten (with a live score by composer/cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum), and Singular Present, a collaboration with New York based composer and bagpipes player Matthew Welch.
Carl Testa is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, most notably as the bassist in composer Anthony Braxton’s septet and 12+1tet with whom he’s performed throughout the US and internationally. Testa’s own compositions have been described as “engaging and unique” (Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery) and “human music, with varied emotions and sublime moments” (Richard Kamins, The Hartford Courant). For his performance at The Big Room, Testa will use interactive electronics and computer-controlled lighting equipment to create dynamic environments for both movement and sound. www.carltesta.net
The evening will feature additional performances by Taylor Ho Bynum, called “one of his generation’s top avant-garde figures” by The New York Times; the trio Broadcloth, a unique instrumentation of voice (Anne Rhodes), cello (Nathan Bontrager) and accordion/recorders (Adam Matlock) that plays from notated, graphic, embroidered, and textual scores in addition to completely spontaneous pieces; and Matthew Welch, a virtuoso bagpipe player and composer "possessed of both rich imagination and the skill to bring his fancies to life" (Time Out New York).
The Uncertainty Music Series www.uncertaintymusic.com is a New Haven, CT based creative music series that has been presenting concert events since September 2007. The goal of the series is to provide a venue for local and regional artists that may not have the opportunity to present their work elsewhere. The Big Room is a new studio and performance space providing the New Haven area with a much needed, low-tech platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, experimentation and research in dance and performance.
5.14.2010
Coming VERY soon...Ephemeral Stampede!
I've mentioned this on and off over the past few months. Ephemeral Stampede is an album that has been mostly written and arranged for almost two year now. I had intended to record it all nice-like with a real studio and some session musicians/friends filling out the sound, but after something resembling a complete financial breakdown, I had to bite the bullet and self-record the whole thing. I'm actually quite satisfied with the turnout, and the re-done arrangements reflect what I've been hearing in my head after performing many of these songs live and solo in the last 9 months, which is quite different from the Kurt Weill-influenced cabaret sound I was originally going for. If some sugar-parent wants to give me a great deal of money to re-record these closer to my original vision, I would not say no. But I'm ready to move forward as well, having completed another full-length of An Historic material that I would like to record soon-ish, too (which budget concerns will probably force me to, again, self record and release, as much as I'd like to save my computer the strain of burning endless copies.) So that's that...hoping to self-produce a limited run before tour begins, so that I've got something more current that reflects a little more of the direction that An Historic has gone, since producing CDs is awfully expensive if you don't have the money for an upfront investment. And of course, it will be cheap on Bandcamp too...
Ephemeral Stampede by An Historic is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at gzarapanecko.bandcamp.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.myspace.com/adammatlock.
Ephemeral Stampede by An Historic is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at gzarapanecko.bandcamp.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.myspace.com/adammatlock.
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