We’re extremely grateful to all of our commited musicians and to Art Jones for making the trek down from NYC to add some inventive video imagery to the performance. A very speical thank you goes to Irene Hofmann, the executive director of the Contemporary, for embracing the series so energetically and giving us a (really, really cool) home. And of course, many, many thanks to all who came out to the show to support new music in Baltimore. We hope to see everyone on May 9th for our next concert.
Mobtown Modern launches Tuesday (today, or tomorrow, depending on when you’re reading). All indicators are pointing to an exciting event. We’ve got some great coverage leading up to the show, including a CityPaperCritics Pick, 300 words in last Sunday’s Sun, and a Top-5 calendar pick from MetroMix. The politically-inspired program includes a Rzewski remix, Andriessen’s Workers Union, and Tim Feeney beating himself up. Art Jones will remix video from President Bush’s final State of the Union address as the music churns. Woof.
I’m not sure how this one flew under my radar for so long, but back in September The Album (Erik Spangler’s pastlife laptops and attic instruments, to be exact) was featured on WNYC’s New Sounds with host John Schaefer. You can listen to the entire show on demand by clicking here. Our bit starts at 15:09.
How about just a little Bach today? Yours truly with accordionist Lidia Kaminska, playing an arrangement of the fourth movement from the Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1014.
Hybrid Groove Project’s been busy in the lab experimenting with ways to expand our live sound. Erik’s augmented his arsenal with a brand new melodica and theremin. And I’ve unearthed the effects pedal that’s been dormant in my closet since some performances of James Tenney’s Saxony a couple years ago. The pedal’s best feature is its ability to record, play back, and loop up to 23 seconds of material. And, even better, after recording the first loop, you can keep adding new layers on top of the original. So I’ve been releasing my inner minimalist recently. Here’s a short 4-part bari sax loop I came up with this weekend based on three 3-bar phrases from HGP’s work in progress a firefly in the belly:
Well, 2008 is off to a grand start as The Album continues to garner some good press. Though my appeal for a recount is still being processed by the Academy, the CD review in the December issue of Gramophone Magazine, which occupies the better part of an entire page, more than makes up for the Academy’s oversight.
Unsilent Nighters may have noticed a mysterious man giving a play-by-play of the evening’s activities into a small handheld recording device. It turns out that our interloper was none other than Ed Schrader, whose Feedback article appears in this week’s CityPaper.
