well-weathered music

Haven’t written for a while. Will soon. I just uploaded some writing to my “About” page about the instruments I play and added this audio clip of a piece I recorded for my New Albion “Song + Distance” CD (2001). It didn’t make it to the final CD; I’m not sure why. But it is lovely and quite representative of the music I was writing/improvising at the time (ah, California!). The working title was “Glass Harp & Toy Piano,” which is what it is. I’m playing glass harp with my left hand and toy piano with my right. (There is no overdubbing.) Any ideas for a title would be appreciated.

There are two Ne(x)tworks related gigs coming up the second week of October. A trio concert with Cornelius Dufallo, violin; Joan LaBarbara, voice; and me, glass & electronics, at The Stone, Sunday October 7, at 8pm. Then the full ensemble at The Kitchen, Wednesday October 10, at 8pm. Each show will be very different, so come to both. The trio will be exploring some very new territory. The ensemble will be playing works by composers in the graphic score exhibit at The Kitchen, including Earl Brown, Wadada Leo Smith, Cardew, LaBarbara, and Schumacher.

Here is an excerpt from the piece I wrote for Ne(x)tworks earlier this year, premiered at The Stone in June. It was a music theater piece called Tasks & Objects. (You haven’t lived ’til you’ve seen Joan LaBarbara totally wrapped in paper, singing her favorite aria.) Unfortunately I didn’t videotape it (doh!) but did get a good recording. Here is a 3 minute excerpt.

Here are some pictures and an audio segment of the Relay event in Williamsburg last week, organized by flautist extraordinaire Jane Rigler, part of the Conflux Festival. The idea is that there are a number of improvising musicians who trade off playing trios in three locations. When a fourth musician shows up, someone must stop so that this new musician can join. The one who has stopped moves on to a new location where the same situation occurs. And on and on for three hours or so.

Here is an audio clip from one location (Lucky Cat):

This clip starts with me, Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon) & Jessica Pavone (viola). Then Chris McIntyre (trombone) shows up and takes Jessica’s place.
More audio and info here.
Here I am playing at the Ione Bar with Julianne Carney, violin, & Kyoko Kitamura, voice.

And the Lucky Cat Bar with Julianne Carney, violin, & Sara Schoenbeck, bassoon.

Actually, my favorite location was outside in front of the Conflux office, but there were no pictures.

I realized that since this blog is filled with memories from, and references to, my 30+ years in the “new music biz” (”biz?” yeah, right), that “well-weathered” could perhaps be seen as a description as the present state of my music making. Not so. I have been using the term “Well-Weathered Music” as my “business” name since the mid-80s. When I first moved to San Francisco in 1987 (uh-oh, more memories) I stopped by the SF Art Institute to see the amazing Diego Rivera mural they have there. During that visit, I noticed there was a somewhat beat up old upright piano sitting _outside_ in the courtyard overlooking SF. I started playing and found its sound to be quite wonderful and quirky.

I then started returning there once a week to improvised a 45 minute site- and instrument-specific piece. I titled this series of guerrilla performances The Well-Weathered Piano. Unfortunately I was not so into documenting my activities at that point so I have no record of it except for a few fliers I passed around to friends. I did, however, enjoy the thought of music being well-weathered. If something could be well-tempered, it could certainly be well-weathered. From that point on I started placing my music under the Well-Weathered Music moniker.

It also, for me, has a reference to the constantly evolving material of glass, whose musical use I’ve devoted myself to. Although not literally “weathered” by the outside elements, many of my instruments are weathered by performance, constantly evolving into new instruments (I believe you non glass-ites call them “broken glass”). Of course, violins & wine also improve with age. But their evolution is not caused by anything quite as drastic as being left outside in the rain (or pummeled with mallets and marbles). Come to think of it, it might just be time to add my compositional processes and improvisational strategies to that list of “things that are well-weathered.” With an emphasis on well, of course.

Nothing heralds a change of season on the east coast like the sound of Canada Geese. I actually heard a flock flying over the LI Sound the other night. I was surprised. It seems a bit early for them. But it did make me very aware that summer is indeed almost over. Too bad. I was just getting used to it.