Composers’s Collaborative Serial Underground
8.30pm Monday 14 May 2007
Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia St. (near 6th Av & W. 4th) * $15
DUET with Todd Reynolds, violin and processing.
With short videos curated by Ken Cro-Ken, members of First Avenue, and a “corporate motivational speaker”!
I knew he was a great violinist when I first noticed him tearing into those mind-bending, grid-shifting Michael Gordon rhythms…next thing I knew Todd Reynolds founded the string quartet Ethel, started composing and all the while has been a Bang On A Can regular.
Know what really turned me on to Todd–made me excited to collaborate?While he was still a (founding) member of Ethel–the quartet approached me to perform some of my headphone-driven material. Naturally I insisted they all get trained personally in the headphone-driven technique (gotta–it’s the only way these pieces keep their good reputation).
I took them in pairs (that sounds funny). While Mary Rowell was performing a 9-minute section of special material, I offered Todd another set of headphones and my budding iTunes collection to block out Mary’s voice so the material would keep utterly fresh for his turn. Todd zeroed in on one of my favorite Fat Boy Slim tracks, called “Sho Nuff”, as the sampled lyrics themselves put it, a “thumpin’…whumpin’…humpin’…pumpin’…” almost stupidly minimal, ultra danceable piece. Todd came back to the session with a fierce look. Todd thanked me for “Sho Nuff”. Somewhat off-guard, I think I muttered something about Fat Boy Slim not showing a lot of “new music”-type sophistication. I can’t remember the exact response, but Todd’s attitude seemed to be–show me a groove like that and you can keep your sophisticated new music.
The man doesn’t just know how to groove–he believes his sacroiliac. Just like me.