Monday April 9th 8 PM $15
Inspired by seeing Muddy Waters in The Last Waltz, BILL ORCUTT began playing the guitar as a teenager in Miami. In 1992, he formed the band Harry Pussy with his wife, Cuban/American drummer and vocalist Adris Hoyos. The group recorded three LPs and toured the US frequently, often in support of indie bands like Sonic Youth and Sebadoh. Their music, which drew from American no wave, hardcore punk and free jazz was influential and "served as a progenitor for the Noise movement." In 1997 the band dissolved and the couple divorced. Orcutt moved to San Francisco and took a long hiatus from music, returning in 2009, with an LP of solo guitar entitled A New Way To Pay Old Debts which was well received, ranking third of 2009 in the Wire magazine's annual "Rewind" list. His follow-up release How The Thing Sings was similarly praised, reaching number 3 on NPR's The Best Outer Sound Albums Of 2011. Since 2009, Orcutt has toured often appearing at festivals in the US and Europe, including Hopscotch, Incubate, Le Nouveau Festival du Centre Pompidou, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Donau and Big Ears. Typically a solo performer, Orcutt has also recorded or performed with Loren Mazzacane Connors, Chris Corsano, Peter Brotzmann and Alan & Richard Bishop.
"Beautifully messy, fractured and fragmented and utterly inimitable, guitarist Bill Orcutt lays gentle waste to the canon of American song on his self-titled release." -PopMatters
DIE GEISTER BESCHWÖREN (Call up the Ghosts) is an exploration of dusty field recordings and instrumentation collected from around the globe… The spirits materialized from behind the Redwood Curtain in the late nineties and have been observed developing modestly alongside Oryan Peterson-Jones' psychedelic, roller coaster, Datura Blues. While Datura Blues satisfy a collective effort and engage in more grandiose musical pursuits, Die Geister Beschwören demonstrates an enthusiasm for Ethnomusicology, with camaraderie towards Primitive Folk and the New Weird America.
Die Geister Beschwören have performed alongside Birch Book (In Gowan Ring,) Christina Carter (Charalambides,) Waldteufel, Marisa Anderson, Faun Fables, Dana Buoy (Akron/Family,) Eric Arn (Primordial Undermind, Crystallyzed Movements,) Ruby Fray, Common Eider, King Eider (Six Organs of Admittance, Deerhoof, Badgerlore.) The spirits have toured Europe and performed at a number of strange folk festivals: A Thirst for Light Cascadian Summer Solstice Festival and Cascadian Yule Winter Solstice Festival in rural Washington BPBS Fest in Humboldt, NoFest in Portland, Fanø Free Folk Festival on a Danish island and Tera Salvaria Urfolk Festival high in the Italian Dolomites. Die Geister Beschwören have released material on Tarkovsky Green, SQRT Records, Reverb Worship, Tandem Tapes, BPBS Arts + Media and Electricity/Lust.
"Die Geister Beschwören are not a German band as I assumed when I first grabbed this CD off the review pile, but is in fact the brainchild of a certain ‘Oryan Peterson-Jones’ of Portland/Austin, who used to live with Ben Chasny as far as I gather from the press release. Peterson-Jones plays all manner of instruments on here, many of which I’ve never heard of (Baglama, anyone? Phin? Gopiyantra? No, me neither), so it’s fair to say that there’s a certain “ethnomusicological” bent here, but actually the main feel is one of gentle pastoral psych-folk with soft tones and lilting rhythms and some nice tones, both familiar and unfamiliar. The primary instrument through the album is guitar. The sounds are pretty much exclusively organic (unless you count the odd touch of synthesizer, which is particularly effective,) and this is a collection of a dozen reasonably concise instrumentals which are consistently melodic and accessible. The East-meets-West tranquil vibes are immediately bringing to mind Orfanado, or maybe Ass with more adventurous instrumentation. Six Organs’ acoustic stuff is also a slightly lazy but worthwhile comparison. It’s a heady, exotic and intoxicating trip, but never overwhelming..." -Norman Records
DURA/BRANDON MOSES explore some deeper vibrations via works for meditation bowls and guitar.
LAYNE GARRETT/JENNY MOON TUCKER sax/guitar/objects/spirit-invocation