Welcome to podcast #36! That makes three years of Errant Space Podcasting, and to celebrate we have a super-special guest, the incomparable Brian Dewan!
I’d seen Brian perform several times, and each performance was quite different from the rest, but they were consistently interesting and unusual. They always featured strange, hand built instruments; folk-art synthesizers, 8-track pulpits and the occasional accordion. I approached Brian about appearing on my podcast at a show in Kingston, NY where he was part of a band playing a tribute show to celebrate Alex Chilton’s birthday. He was the wildcard in an otherwise standard rock line up.
Brian brought the Melody Gin and the Swarmatron to our recording session, and we spent a pleasant afternoon exploring strange sonic terrain. The sun set as we recorded our last piece, and as darkness set in, it felt as if we were in a submarine descending into a deep ocean of sound…
This month’s podcast takes a look back at some of the past year’s live performances. I played with some great musicians in a variety of settings in 2017, and could probably fill several podcasts with those recordings. But here are four that represent the range of sonic experiences I had this year.
It starts with a solo performance at Beste Studios in October (thanks to Samantha Beste for the drawing at the top of this post!)
At around 11:17 there’s a duo performance with Dean Sharp on guitar, beats and loops, recorded at Newburgh Open Movement in August.
Then at 26:06 it’s a quartet performance with Al Margolis playing wind instruments, including alto clarinet, recorder and trumpet, Andy Rinehart on accordion, and Steve Roe on the Straddlevarious! This was recorded at a contact improvisation workshop in November.
This month’s podcast features experimental musician Al Margolis (if, bwana). Al attempts to use instruments as sound making devices, stripped as far as possible from their traditional sounds and modes of playing. The results are texturally rich, and sonically surprising.
Al manipulating his compromised impositions.
I first met Al performing at My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, where he was assaulting a violin in a most appealing (appalling?) manner. He brought his violin, an alto clarinet and his laptop to our session. We did some improvising with both of us playing instruments, some improvisations with me playing guitar, and Al on laptop manipulating his “compromised impositions”, and also improvisations with Al playing his instruments as I processed them live through my effects. Needless to say this podcast is pretty different, but if you’re interested in exploring sound I think you’re gonna like it.
This month’s podcast features the modular synths of Okkoto. I met Okkoto at a synth meet put on by the Hudson Valley Machine Appreciation Society, where he performed a beautifully minimal set. I was very pleased that he was interested in recording a podcast, and our collaboration produced some deep, textured electronic soundscapes.
Okkoto in the studio. What’s in that box?Many, many things in the box!
Here it is, the thirtieth Errant Space Podcast, The big Three-Oh! This one is a collaboration with Sonic Hudson, playing his suitcase of electronics and lap steel. Its nice and weird, sometimes leaning a bit more into the realm of noise than usual, and traversing some adventurous sonic terrain.
Sonic Hudson, with electric suitcase and lap steel.
This month’s podcast (#20!) features the amazing sound artist Jen Kutler who I met at a show at My Life In the Bush of Ghosts. Jen brought over some of her found object instruments (including the Sewing Machine Inductor Synth) for our collaboration and the resulting soundscapes are fantastically otherworldy.
This month’s podcast is for all you halloweeners out there. Put it on loop and add some atmosphere to your halloween party, or use it to creep out trick-or-treaters…
There is a bit of overdubbing on this one, which is a first for the podcast. I added some synthesizers and old casio keyboards, and also some prepared electric bass and pedal steel guitar.
a few of the special guests on this month’s podcast.
The second year of the Errant Space podcast kicks off with some fairly mellow, in studio experimentation. All three parts of this one are performed on the baritone guitar, which I’ve been gravitating to lately. I think the little bit of extra low range appeals to me as a bass player. I’ve tried ambient looping using bass guitar, but I find that those low frequencies muddy up pretty quickly, so the baritone guitar is a nice compromise.
And, for those who are interested in such things, here’s a photo of the latest pedalboard setup (with the lower bit of the baritone):
Welcome to podcast #36! That makes three years of Errant Space Podcasting, and to celebrate we have a super-special guest, the incomparable Brian Dewan!
