Sandy Ewen, Avant! Guitar! Night! May 2013

Colleen McCarthy sent in some haiku written at the most recent Avant! Guitar! Night! (with Terrence McManus, Nick Didvkovsky, Andrew Smiley and myself aided and abetted by Catherine Sikora, Jessica Lurie, Kate Pittman, Josh Sinton and Jake Henry). While the last three NYC based events have been musically stellar, it is somewhat dispiriting that attendance has been so meager. That it inspired some haiku helps (more art!). It is often the little things that keep us going…

here’s a warm-up haiku:

For those who speak in
Iambic pentameter,
this will blow your mind

soloists, quartets,
travelers and locals mix
tune up, blare, and rest.

Plants grow majestic
to this improvisation,
virtuosity.

Surrender your ears!
Listen with all your organs.
Avant! Guitar! Night!

Prepare to embrace
the noise, the shock arrangements.
They can be trusted.

Thurs Mar 29 is Avant! Guitar! Night. Likely to become a monthly series wherever I am located…which is Brooklyn for now. The first installation is at Legion Bar and is a dandy.

1) James Beaudreau / E. Ryan Goodman acoustic guitar duo.
This past winter, I was watching American Astronaut with music by the Billy Nayer Show, loving the tone dripping tremolo/angular guitar work and thought, “what is this guy up to now?” Turns out this guy is James Beaudreau and he lives in NYC!

2) Brett Zweiman Trio.
Mystical guitar man, $50 Trumpet dude and curator of the local improv freak out called A Night of Clutter, brings it on.

3)  Rob Cambre / Marco Bucelli  guitar / drum duo.
Rob is our guest of honor. Fab guitar maven hailing from New Orleans where he is a driving force with the fabulous Rough 7 and curator/pomoter of improv and out music with folks like Borbetomagus’ Don Miller. Marco is a Brooklyn based drummer (and fellow Italian) with various projects including his collaboration with Xenia Rubinos and Hypercube.

4) Grollman / Lightning / Landis
My new NYC based, twin guitar/electronics & drum trio with David Grollman (snare drum) and Brendan Landis (guitar). Our specialty is short pieces – generally under 3 minutes.

The idea behind the monthly Experimental/Improv Hootenanny & Social Club is to foster collaboration and community amongst players and fans of improvisational outside music in a cozy place where people can chill, chat, get a decent cocktail – all with no cover..

Each month consists of one featured act and three curated sets with five minute overlaps creating a seamless night of improvised outside music and spontaneous collaboration.

Rules of the road:

All music is improvised.

The feature act can be an existing group or collaboration.

Curated sets are new collaborations or untried solo experiments. Curators either arrange collaborators beforehand or engage musicians in the room to play with.

After the main sets are over, the stage is open to collaborations until 1am. This has been really fun and sometimes pretty crazy. One late set had a DJ, a guy knocking out demented guitar/vocals, a sax and some drums/noise. I was like some 6am Berlin bar scene from ‘Wings of Desire.’

Third Monday’s of the Month at KingTone’s Ivy Room, in Albany, CA.

Check out the recent East Bay Express Article

Sonic evidence courtesy of Michel Zelner/House of Zoka (link takes you to a directory of all the audio):

#1 7/14/08
Brumit/Carnaki, Blue7, Jonathan Segel, John Hanes, Myles Boisen, John Shiurba/Morgan Guberman/Suki O’kane, Allen Whitman, Guberman/Spurgeon/Lightning (Fisted Lizard)

#2 9/15/08
Laurie Amat Sextet, Ross Hammond Quartet (w/ Hanes, Mezzacappa, Greenlief), Mark Growden Quintet

#3 10/27/08
Reid Johnston, Jeff Hobs, Geo, Jonathan Segel, Pluto

#4 11/24/08
KAP/Myles Boisen, ‘Lude, Lords of Outland, Michaela Peterson

#5 2/16/2009
Allen Whitman, Strangelet

#7 4/20/2009
Greyscale, Jet Black Hair People (P. Conheim), O-Type, Suki O’Kane, LM, David Slusser, Jeff Hobbs

#8 5/18/2009
Michaela Petersen (w/ Damon Smith/Weasel Walter), Mark Growden Sextet (w/ Hanes, Mezzacappa, Greenlief, Ross Hammond, LM), Wayne Grim, Salane & Friends

#9 June/15/ 2009
Ross Hammond, Matt Lebovsky, Salane & Friends, The Noodles