Craig Schenker » Theatre Intangible

E009 Crow Helton Rauh Schenker 02/14/2010

All Podcasts, Charlie Rauh, Craig Schenker, Lawrence Crow, Thomas Helton, WRVU Era No Responses »

Feb 152010

I know that I have a habit of saying each show is my favorite . . . but really now, this show IS my favorite thus far. Doublebass avant-jazz artist Thomas Helton joined us for an improv with ~ORE~ regulars Lawrence Crow, Charlie Rauh, and Craig Schenker. Because Thomas was only here for one day, we pre-recorded this episode in my basement 10 days before the original WRVU air date of June 21st, 2009. Consequently, it’s the first show where the players were at least a little soused. (Charlie now loves Hopslam beer.) We didn’t have a theme per say, just the cues to play texturally and in ways the instruments weren’t necessarily made for. This happened to be a strong suit for every one of the players. This show is a textbook example of musicians playing experimental music musically and LISTENING to each other. Helton on doublebass, Crow on violin and detuned autoharp, Rauh on guitar, Schenker on flute and saxophone.

Lawrence Crow just released a new album, and you can download it for free at his website. I’ll be reviewing the album on this blog very soon.

Thomas Helton’s bio from his web site:

For 15 years Thomas Helton has laid down basslines for jazz ensembles in Houston and around the US. He has appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and has recorded with Joe LoCascio, Carol Morgan, Chris Connolly, Smitty, Kevin Patton, & Cindy Scott.

Thomas brings all of his passion and experience for jazz to the table when it comes to his other half, avant-garde music. Early in his jazz career, Thomas was inspired by the sounds of John Zorn and Peter Kowald to venture outside mainstream musical bounds. This journey began with the Rosta Jazz Avengers, a Houston-based quartet all about free improvisation and sonic exploration. Thomas quickly jumped into composition, beginning to develop a style that combines thematic composition with free improvisation, a sort of loosely controlled writing style showcasing his hand-selected performers.

Thomas has released three albums to date. “Good Robot” (2007) and “Experimentations in Minimalism” (2006) feature compositions for small ensemble. “Doublebass” (2003) is a collection of live, freely-improvised solo performances. Thomas also appears on the 2003 Norcal Noise Fest compilation CD, as well as the KUHF “The Front Row” 2006 compilation CD.

Without further ado, we bring you Crow Helton Rauh Schenker:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:17 — 92.5MB)

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E002 Get It On With Dave Cloud 12/20/09

All Podcasts, Bobobobobob (Robert Carter), Charlie Rauh, Craig Schenker, Dave Cloud, Joe Hudson, Melody Holt, pimpdaddysupreme, Podcasts, Randy Hunt, WRVU, WRVU Era 1 Response »

Dec 212009

“Watch me as I pinch myself being bitten by invisible bugs of eroticism” — Dave Cloud — Get It On With Dave Cloud

Given the recent press we received from Nashville Cream about the show that got us kicked off WRVU — Get It On With Dave Cloud, I thought it timely to release it as a podcast. You can find out more about the controversy at this previous post.

Featuring a band comprised of some of Nashville’s most talented players, Get It On With Dave Cloud sounds lush and bristles with detail. Dispensing with our usual arhythmic soup, the idea here was to create jilted lounge music that conversed with Dave’s dialogue. The band provided that, and in spades. I only wish we picked a different mic for Dave to speak into. WRVU Studio Mic 4 has a tendency to distort and Dave Cloud has a tendency to talk loud. (I warned Jim Hayes about that mic before. Am I the only dj that notices these kinds of things?) Still, the slight distortion in Dave’s voice kind of works in a strange way.

For an hour and eight minutes (I just couldn’t whittle it down to one hour), Dave Cloud flirts with callers, reads from dirty magazines, takes long smoke breaks, and espouses his wisdom. I’m quite proud of this episode, and it makes a fine sendoff to WRVU. In a weird way, this episode is responsible for this blog and podcast. If we hadn’t made Get It On, we still might be on WRVU. If we were still on WRVU, I probably wouldn’t have invested the time in learning how to podcast.

This episode was an absolute blast to create (although lugging Joe Hudson’s Fender Rhodes into the studio was no easy feat!) Participants include Charlie Rauh on guitar, Craig Schenker on saxophone, Joe Hudson on Fender Rhodes, Robert Carter aka Bobobobobob on analog synthesizer, Randy Hunt on stand-up bass, Melody Holt on various sounds (plus she’s one of the callers), and the legendary Dave Cloud on voice. I engineered and did the live mixing. Dave received calls from show regular pimpdaddysupreme and swarms of naked, nubile women. Enjoy.

Excerpts from Dave Cloud’s bio: “By day a volunteer book reader for the blind, Cloud undergoes a transformation at night, and for over three decades has entertained patrons of local dive bar Springwater, often with his band The Gospel of Power. (Tony’s note: And also his band Cavalcade of Shit, featuring ~Ore~ players Joe Hudson and Charlie Rauh) Cloud’s unpredictable performances can be uproarious, jaw-droppingly bizarre events, delighting some while frightening others. His music—an amalgam of experimental garage rock and lounge crooning—defies easy categorization, but his delivery makes the experience hard to forget.Cloud has appeared in several films, videos, and television programs, including Harmony Korine’s films Gummo and Trash Humpers.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:24 — 98.2MB)

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E001 2nd Annual Halloween Extravaganza 12/13/09

All Podcasts, Anderson Cook, Anthony William Herndon, Brey McCoy, Charlie Rauh, Cody Bottoms, Craig Schenker, Halloween Shows, Jamison Sevits, JP Patterson, Lauren Estes, pimpdaddysupreme, Podcasts, Post-WRVU Era, Tony Youngblood (performing) 3 Responses »

Dec 132009

Chaos surrounded me. On November 8th, I stood in my basement, surveying the visual cacophony of cables, music gear, and impatient faces staring at me to get my shit together. We were all set to record the first podcast of the new version of ~ORE~, and we were already one hour behind schedule. We couldn’t find enough headphone adapters, and I didn’t have enough outputs on my headphone amplifiers to send everybody the live feed. On top of that, a near-record of 10 musicians answered the call to be on this show, and I wasn’t prepared for so many.

Luckily, we worked it all out. We divided the episode into segments and let a smaller group perform on each segment. This approach ended up working out splendidly as it let things breath and brought new timbres throughout the show. There’s more variety here than any show we’ve ever done. It also serves as a perfect introduction to what we do here on Theatre Intangible as so many of the players are series regulars. You might call this an all-star episode.

The 2nd Annual Halloween Extravaganza explores the topic of haunted houses. In preparation we recorded hours of interviews with haunted house creators, attendees, and even live 3d binaural walkthroughs of the haunted houses. (The setup was two SM58 microphones embedded in the head of a Styrofoam skull, appropriately enough.) While using a Porta-Potty outside one of the haunted houses, Cody Bottoms got splattered with sewage when a kid in a clown costume took a running splat into the side of the Porta-Potty. These are the slings and arrows we must suffer when creating ART!

After assembling the field recordings and interviews, we put out a call for musical participants; and on November 8th, we assembled in my basement to record the show. I instructed the performers to create improvisational, textural sounds inspired by the recordings they were hearing in their headphones (which I live-mixed into the feed alongside the music.) The running-time went over 90 minutes. I have edited and reorganized the recording into a well-paced 60 minutes. What results is one of the most entertaining episodes we’ve ever put out. You’ll learn about the secrets of haunted house management, the psychology of clown-fear, a live psychic reading, and Cody’s fascination with funeral homes. This was the most difficult and time-consuming episode I have ever produced.

This episode features Jamison Sevitts on Rhodes Keyboard and trumpet, Charlie Rauh on acoustic guitar, JP Patterson on keyboard, Anderson Cook on modified electric guitar and percussion, Cody Bottoms on percussion, pimpdaddysupreme on records and vocal intro, Brey McCoy on Ableton Live sounds and wind instruments, Craig Schenker on saxophone, Lauren Estes on percussion, and Anthony William Herndon on theremin and synthesizer.

The episode features a variety of interviews, most notably Nathan Hamilton, founder of Haunted Nashville (comprised of the haunted houses House of Distortion, Turbidite Manor, and Riddles of Horror) . His dialogue became the backbone of the episode, and the show wouldn’t be the same without him. Special thanks to Nathan, to all the interviewees, the musicians, and also to Landon Lee, owner of Death Row Haunted Prison. Both of these haunted houses are extremely entertaining (and scary!), and I most-emphatically recommend you attend them next Halloween. All interviews used by permission.

As with all our shows, this episode is licensed under Creative Commons. You may sample it, slice it, dice it, and appropriate it in your own non-profit work. We just ask that you give us credit and let us know.

Enjoy!

Where’s the 1st Annual Halloween Extravaganza you ask? We recorded it on Halloween 2008 on our since-cancelled WRVU show ~ORE~ Theatre Intangible. We will premiere the podcast version of that episode (and many other WRVU-era episodes) later in the season.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:54 — 85.1MB)

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