Warning: Declaration of Suffusion_MM_Walker::start_el(&$output, $item, $depth, $args) should be compatible with Walker_Nav_Menu::start_el(&$output, $item, $depth = 0, $args = Array, $id = 0) in /home/theatr23/public_html/wp-content/themes/suffusion/library/suffusion-walkers.php on line 39
Dec 122013
 

 

DigDeep5Crop

I had some time this week to finish up five new podcasts that I’ll be cranking out in the coming weeks. I also recently treated my room with homemade sound absorption panels, and the new podcast intros are my first tests of the panels. I normally record the spoken intros with an SM58 dynamic microphone.  I wanted to really test the limits of my absorption panels, so for the these intros, I decided to use the ultra-sensitive Rode NT1000 condenser mic. The result is pretty nice with higher fidelity and WAY less room reflections than the previous intros.

My new homemade sound absorption panels.

My new homemade sound absorption panels.

Today’s podcast is episode 106: Dig Deep.

On July 22nd, 2013 the Dig Deep Light Show performed an improvised light show in the basement of Noa Noa house. Members Scott Sanders, Dave Shamban and Brian Miles use overhead projectors, clear glass serving plates, transparencies, and multi-colored liquids to create beautiful abstract images at concerts and multimedia shows. Normally, they’re taking cues from whatever band they accompany, but for this show, we wanted the visual artists to take the lead for a change. So Scott and Dave performed an improvised light show (Brian attended but did not participate that night) while a group of musicians sat in the back of the room and created a score to the visuals. That musical improv is what you’re about to hear.

DigDeep4Crop

This was part of a lineup that also included the bands Insect Factory and Public Speaking. I also recorded their performances, and I’m offering those recordings as free downloads. Download the Insect Factory set here and the Public Speaking set here. Note that these are mixing board recordings. There may be some un-mic-ed acoustic portions that are not very present on the recordings. You can also check out video clips below.

The Dig Deep Light show improv featured Tim Carey (84001) on synths and guitar, Alan Fey on Marimba, Matt Hamilton on guitar and effects, Mike Hiegemann on Analog Synths and Bass guitar, Craig Schenker on Alto Sax and Flute, and Chris Watts (Most Amazing Century of Science) on Alto Sax and Glockenspiel.

DigDeep1Crop

 

Tyler Blankenship put together a wonderful video that links the music recording with video of the light show. Check it out below.

Jul 062013
 

Robert_Bond_Regi_Wooten_01

Here’s podcast 105: Robert Bond and Regi Wooten Artist Showcase.

We recorded this series of four improvs at The B Room in Nashville on June 18th, 2013. Regi and Robert are two Nashville musicians with long and fruitful careers who have only just recently begun performing together.

Guitarist Regi Wooten is the eldest of the Wooten Brothers, five tremendously talented siblings. Victor Wooten plays bass in Bela Fleck & The Flecktones and other projects. Roy “Future Man” Wooten is a percussionist, instrument designer, and drummer for Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Joseph Wooten plays keyboards with The Steve Miller Band and other projects. Rudi Wooten played saxophone in Rudy and the Ban of Brathazz, on his brother Victor’s albums and in various other projects. Sadly, he passed away in 2010.

When the Wootens were children, Regi assigned each brother with an instrument and taught them all how to play. The young Wootens toured the country extensively, opening for artists such as Curtis Mayfield, War, and The Temptations.

Regi teaches guitar in Nashville and performs with the other Wooten Brothers Band weekly at Third and Lindsley, a showcase now in it’s 21st year.

Robert Bond is a percussionist, electronic artist, producer and composer. He is a graduate of Indiana University School of Music where he studied both jazz and classical. Robert has worked with The Yardbirds, Bo Diddly, Charlie McCoy, London Symphony Orchestra, Charlie Louvin, Sleepy LaBeef, Chris Stein of Blondie, 3kStatic, Les McCann, jpop star Hitoe and countless others. He has taught at Lavelle School for the Blind in New York, as artist in residence for Fundacio “la Caixa” in Spain, for the Osher Lifelong learning Institute at Vanderbilt University, and as Adjunct Professor at Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt.

Robert also opened the Zeitgiest Indeterminacies series at the new Zeitgeist space.

Regi and Robert took a unique approach to this session. They recorded an initial improv with Regi on electric bass and Robert on electronics. Weeks later — and on the date I was in attendance — they ran back the tape and recorded again with Regi on guitar and Robert on drums and additional electronics. This is essentially a quartet with two players improv-ing with past versions of themselves.

Since we were in his studio (The B Room) and the setup involved multi-tracking, Robert Bond recorded, engineered, and mixed this episode. I did some light mastering and assembled the four improvs.

See below for a video I took during the performance.

Thanks for listening!

Jun 212013
 
Still from a/v synth performance at Transcinema, 1999, Benton C. Bainbridge

Still from a/v synth performance at Transcinema, 1999, Benton C. Bainbridge

Here’s episode 104: Adventure Bomb: Projecting, a revised and expanded edition of the set I performed at Soundcrawl in collaboration with Benton-C Bainbridge’s live video projection mapping (“Fast-mapping”). Recorded at Brick Factory Nashville. Best experienced through headphones.

Adventure Bomb is my experimental “scoop & loop” solo project.  “Scoop & loop” is a performance-style that involves scooping out sections of recordings and looping them live … basically, audio juggling.

Benton-C Bainbridge is a media artist based in The Bronx, working with custom systems of his own design. Benton has presented immersive environments, screenings, installations and live performances across five continents, collaborating with scores of artists around the world. He even has a Wikipedia page! (Someone should add this collaboration!)

Soundcrawl is a sound art and new media organization led by Kyle Baker presenting works by the best and brightest new media artists and composers in a unique “opt in” gallery format.

“Projecting” is comprised of:

  • Interviews with Soundcrawl attendees. As they listened to Soundcrawl “sound art” selections via headphones, they were asked to describe what they were hearing. The central idea to this experiment was seeing if I could “map” their descriptions onto the music I was generating live.
  • Snippets of live musical performances occurring at Soundcrawl 2012.
  • Instruments performed by Adventure Bomb live, including a Casio Sk-1 keyboard, circuit-bent toys and various effects.
  • Sound effects and field recordings from Freesound.org. Freesound aims to create a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, bleeps, etc … released under Creative Commons licenses that allow their reuse. Listeners are encouraged to donate to Freesound.

The interviewees (in order of appearance):

  • Lesley Beeman
  • Unknown (Let me know if you can identify this person)
  • Antonia Oakes
  • Joe Nolan
  • Tony Youngblood
  • Ilana Morgan
  • Ryan Hogan
  • Unknown (Let me know if you can identify this person)

The 2012 Soundcrawl performers sampled (in alphabetical order):

  • Jason Fick
  • Timothy Harenda
  • Ilana Morgan
  • Adam Vidiksis
  • Sally Williams
  • Mark Zanter

Freesound.org collaborators and the names of the samples used:

Big thanks to the participants and to the Freesound artists! Thanks for listening!

May 302013
 
Photo by A. Howes, Copyright 2009.

Photo by S. Howse, Copyright 2009.

Here’s episode 103: Tim Barnes and William Tyler artist showcase, recorded July 13th, 2012.

Chris Davis organized a fantastic show at the Downtown Presbyterian Church featuring free jazz legends Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston. He also booked Louisville-by-way-of-New-York experimental percussionist Tim Barnes and Nashville guitarist William Tyler to perform that night, and that duet is what you’re about to hear. We released the Weston / Watts recording as episode 92.

Jesse Jarnow at AllMusic writes,

Tim Barnes emerged in the late 1990s, contributing to indie rock staples like the Silver Jews and the Elephant 6-affiliated Essex Green, as well as pop-fancying avant-garde mainstay Jim O’Rourke. . . He hovered on the edge of Sonic Youth’s world, as well, joining the band for their deeply psychedelic Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui release and serving as occasional member in Lee Ranaldo’s Text of Light.

As a Louisville resident Tim has played with The For Carnation, MV+EE, Wooden Wand, Jason Ajemian, R Keenan Lawler, Jim Marlowe, Jordan Richardson, and Steve Good.

William Tyler is the founder of the excellent local record label Sebastian Speaks , member of Lambchop and the Silver Jews, and a session guitarist for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Tim Chad and Sherry, Laura Cantrell and others. He just released his new instrumental album The Impossible Truth on Merge Records, and it’s been getting rave reviews. You can buy it via the Merge records online shop or your local record store.

Incidentally, William is performing a free outdoor show this Sunday, June 2nd, 4pm at Dragon Park. Details here. On Monday, June 3rd, he’ll be introducing the film Heaven’s Gate at the Belcourt Theatre prior to the 7pm screening. Thanks to Sam Smith for tipping me off to these events.