Monday June 15
Doors 730pm Music 8pm SHARP
$7
PYRAMID ATLANTIC
8230 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring MD 20910
301.608.9101
located three blocks south of the silver spring metro station (red line)
Free parking in gated lot out front
DIRECTIONS: www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org
Gregg Kowalsky resides in Oakland, California where he completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in Electronic Music and Recording Media at Mills College. Kowalsky’s compositions range from drone and noise pieces to meditative psychedelia with minimalist aesthetic. Gregg has composed dance, sound installations, film and acoustic ensembles.
After the release of his 2006 record, Through the Cardial Window, Gregg started experi- menting with tape loops, cassette players and record- ers, analog synths, sine oscillators, mixer feedback, contact mics and various acoustic sound sources. Through these experiments he developed a series entitled Tape Chants, which is made up of perfor- mances and compositions using tapes as the main source material as well as the mono speakers of various cassette players for the piece’s amplification. All of the cassettes are tuned to each other using the pitch control and halfspeed playback devices located on the Sony TCM 200DV cassette recorder. All of the compositions are constructed with tuned sinewaves as the starting point and the pieces are built using sources such as shruti box, percussion, gongs, etc. The live performances of Tape Chants begin with the placement of the 6-10 cassette recorders and boomboxes around the performance space. The piece begins with the adjustment of the amplitudes of the individual tape players. Gregg walks around the space listening to the overall mix and slowly adjust the volume on the players’ to create a live lo-fi sur- round sound mix. The live set fits somewhere be- tween sound installation and performance. Gregg also perform a heavier version of the piece on a PA or guitar amps.
http://www.kranky.net/artists/kowalskyg.html
For the past 15 years, Ben Bracken has slowly been creating a unique sonic language utilizing electronics, acoustic sound sources (guitar, cymbal, bells, found objects, etc), electric guitar, and field recordings. Primarily interested in the possibilities of a kind of echo- relocation that exists with sound based art, his work has oscillated from performance to installation, often blurring the lines between the two. In both, the location of the event becomes an active participant, intimately shaping the nature and direction of each work. After finishing a graduate degree in Electronic Music at Mills College in Oakland, CA, Ben moved on to his current technical support position at Cycling ‘74, the developers of Max/MSP. Ben also curates the Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut, a performance space in West Oakland, CA. Some previous or current musical groups include Crystal Village (with Gregg Kowalsky), Flashpapr, Tiny Lights, Remote Viewing Ensemble, Duo with Luis Maurette, Duo with Zach Wallace, Bones (with Jacqueline Gordon). Ben has improvised with Le-Quan Ninh, Brent Guetzeit, Kevin Drumm, Peter Kowald, Chris Cutler, Phil Minton, Rhodri Davies, Werner Dafeldecker, Fred Van Hove, Johannes Bauer, among others.
Trio O is Rich O’Meara (Kwo’m Percussion Group, Silent Orchestra) on amplified vibes, electronics and percussion, Kevin O’Meara (Videohippos, Blood Baby) on drums and percussion and Gary Rouser (Vector Trio, Nine Strings) on NS bass/cello and other objects.
Gary and Rich played in many free improv/ prog rock sessions in the late 70s and have been looking for a way to collaborate in the present. Kevin and Rich have been collaborating ever since Kevin was born in the very late 70s.
This first ever performance as a trio will be propelled by Kevin’s energetic, skittery, surprising drumming into a dialogue that may leave many questions unanswered. Sometimes the conversation may drift off ….. or become heated - but everyone is listening. This music comes from a lot of places and is looking for new ones.
http://www.myspace.com/richomeara
