Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Pairs


Recent performance pictures were either too dark or were somehow not taken at all, so Fish #1 (out of 3) offered his environment as a stand-in.

The Big Pink and Red is gratefully over. I can't think of a better place to spend V-Day than with the harp at Barcelona Restaurant. They were slammed -- still taking reservations even after the five hours I had been there. Though I still need to work out a few kinks, I am really happy with my new Phil Jones Flightcase amp that I used on this gig. The sound is clean and I don't throw out my back or shoulders hauling it from car to venue and back again.

The other weekend performances were with Chris Becker from New York City. Chris assembled a group of musicians to improvise live to a series of silent short films by Maya Deren, Molly Schwartz, Noe Kidder, Ariane Anthony, Aurora Nealand, Ruby Quincunx, and Tom & Marta. The two out of three performances I had the privilege of contributing to were vastly different from each other -- one at Capital University for the NOW Festival, the other at Carabar. Imagine harp, two guitars, bass, trumpet, saxophone, flutes, and digital loops on laptop on one stage with a huge screen of stunning images behind them! Becker's blog entry summarizes the weekend of performances.

For me, a certain hyper-awareness is required to perform this way, which is perfect because that is a state where I tend to reside. Every moment is a new choice, influenced by what you see, hear, and feel. Being very present -- this is what the arts are all about. I am looking forward to future collaborations and more intense listening.

One of my favorite pairs.