updates from home

BBC RADIO3: SLOW RADIO: THE LAST SONGS OF GAIA

My new soundscape composition FORMIPHONY is featured on the program Slow Radio on BBC Radio3. It’s available to listen via streaming until 28 July 2020 at this link. I positioned ant sound as a focal point of the soundscape as it moves from dawn through evening in Reserva Ducke, Manaus, Brasil.
This piece is a result of the collaborative project ATTA (Amplifying the Tropical Ants).

ECOLOGY ENSEMBLE: SEQUOIA STANDING

featuring Mother Sequoia, Dana Reason, Anthony Brisson, Allan Wilson, Paris Myers, Zanny Geffel, Larissa Conforto, Lumanzin, Mike Gamble, Lisa Schonberg, Shahzad Ismaily, Susan Lucia, Jonathan Sielaff, and Machado Mijiga.

Sequoia Standing is a tribute to a 100+ year old giant Sequoia tree in NE Portland that stands over 100 feet tall with a 9' diameter. Anthony Brisson and I visited the tree at sunrise, recorded it's electrical energy with MIDI sensors, and processed this musical code with synthesizers. 12 musicians individually responded to this translation of the tree's energy with sound and video. The resulting audio-visual work, in four movements, includes our collective response and the synthesized sound of Mother Sequoia. The city of Portland is mandating the removal of this healthy tree. If it is not cut down, the tree can prosper and remain part of the urban tree canopy for over a thousand years. For more info go here.

THE DIY GUIDE TO DRUMS - 5TH EDITION - NOW AVAILABLE

The brand new 104pp completely expanded and revised edition of the book is available HERE. Ebook coming soon !

SUMMER 2019

I just returned from Brazil, and have a lot to share from that trip. For now, here is the brand-new performance video that Umanoid Productions shot in Rio de Janeiro at Z42 Gallery. We were at Z42 for the exhibit opening of Como Falar Com As Árvores, a group exhibit of Labverde artists commenting on and exploring different aspects of Amazon forest ecology and social reality through visual art, sound art, installation and performance, including my 16-minute loop installation UAU. The LA Times wrote a bit about the exhibit.

SPRING 2019

UAU: ANT ACOUSTICS AND SOUNDSCAPES OF AMAZONAS
I am returning to Brazil this month to present my work on ant acoustics and soundscapes of Amazonas, and to continue my research with entomologists Fabricio Baccaro and Erica Valle, primatologist Tainara Sobroza and SDB member Anthony Brisson. First up is a Labverde exhibit and performance in Rio de Janeiro. The UAU band - featuring myself, Anthony, Larissa Conforto and Lumanzin - will be performing at the exhibit opening at Z42 on May 9th. There is more info on that event and the exhibit here. My audio/video installation from UAU will be part of the exhibit as well. I am so excited to be reunited with many friends and colleagues from Labverde to make this exhibit happen together!!

LOOKOUT CREEK: EIGHTH NOTES OCT 2018 (above)
In October 2018, my composition Lookout Creek: Eighth Notes premiered at Leah Wilson’s exhibit, Collecting Evanescence at the Joan Truckenbrod Gallery in Corvallis, OR. This sound piece is modeled after fellow HJA resident Wilson's work, Ambient (2014), which hangs on the wall outside the apartment I stayed in at HJA. Andrews researcher Fred Swanson suggested that I create an audio piece based on her approach. Through this work I have thought about the immense musicality of stream acoustics, how we might grow more familiar with each stream site's acoustic details through isolation and repetition. I re-visited Leah's approximate sampling site on Lookout Creek, at the water gage. I extracted the notes using a process I developed that models biological sampling. I did not effect or process the sounds beyond using an equalizer and adding a touch of reverb.

BANFF CENTRE - MUSIC RESIDENCY NOV-DEC 2018
I was a resident for 6 weeks in the Banff Centre’s Musician in Residence program. This was an invaluable time to work on compositions based on my field work in Brazil and at HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. I performed two works in concert with fellow residents while at Banff: (1) Anthrophony, co-composed with Ariel Schlichter and featuring marimba, vibraphone, caxixi, and field recordings of anthrophony in the Amazon and (2) Acromyrmex for Saxophone, based on laboratory recordings of Acromyrmex ants and featuring Lily Kaufman on saxophone and parts for bass/cello and four percussionists. I composed the large part of 7 other works, many which feature timpani and mallet percussion - in late summer I will announce more about the completion and release of these works and associated writings!

SHOTPOUCH CABIN - SIGBERLIED FILM SCORES FEB 2019 and OSU FILM PREMIERE APRIL 2019
In February, Kristina Dutton and I returned to Shotpouch Cabin to score a second film by lepidopterist Robert Sigberlied. Our scores for Rearing Anartia and Colias had their premiere screening in Corvallis, Oregon with the Spring Creek Program on April 24. The days’ events included an exciting panel discussion on working in the intersection of ecology, entomology and the arts in the context of insect collapse and climate change. In the evening, we screened the films to a sold-out room at the Darkside Cinema. Thanks to all who participated, and special thanks to Chris Marshall for giving us a tour of the OSU Entomology Collection. Chris asked us to look into the acoustics of Passalid beetle larvae, and I’ll be investigating them this summer in Brazil and Panama.

SECRET DRUM BAND NORTHEAST TOUR MARCH 2019
Secret Drum Band completed a 11-day tour of the northeast this March. Percussionist Leah Bowden joined the ensemble, and Brian Mumford performed on synth and guitar in the ensemble, as well as opening several shows as Dragging an Ox Through Water. We kicked it all off with four days of rehearsal on a farm with sheep and chickens running around - pretty much the most perfect way to begin it all. We had the honor of playing the first known performance in the Plant Sciences building on the Cornell University campus. Johannes Lehmann hosted our event, and in between songs, I lectured about the ecological and environmental context of the works. There is a lot of enthusiasm at Cornell for integrating artists into its existing scientific infrastructure. A couple days later, we took up residence at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. I presented a workshop on composing from soundscapes, we performed in the evening, and I spoke in Prof Josh Ness’ course, Communication in the Life Sciences. I love having the opportunity to speak with science audiences, and especially students, who are usually very receptive to the idea of working together with artists and musicians. Another highlight of the tour was performing at Bennington College - and being hosted by the wonderful Michael Wimberly. All of our shows on tour were wonderful —- and we made many new friends.

CHAVRUTA PREMIERES FEBRUARY AND APRIL 2019
Alicia Jo Rabins, Jodi Darby and I celebrated the premiere of our short documentary, Chavruta: A Drummer’s Bat Mitzvah in our hometowns of NYC and Portland. We screened the film in Manhattan at Town and Village Synagogue in February, and in Portland, OR at the JCC in April. We also held previews at Limmud events in the UK and Seattle, and at the Oregon Jewish Museum in Portland. On May 3, Tom Tom Magazine will be hosting the online premiere, and the videos will be available online for all to enjoy, with captioning available. We are also excited to be releasing a study guide pdf to encourage discussion around the topics covered in the film —— and it includes a mini drum lesson!

SUMMER UPDATES 

I want to send a tremendous THANK YOU to everyone who hosted or attended our performances on Secret Drum Band tour. Some highlights include lecturing and performing for scientists at the NYC Urban Field Station in Queens, getting pulled over and searched in Indiana for no good reason, and looking at the blue whale while we drummed at the Museum of Natural History on Earth Day. 

HJ ANDREWS EXPERIMENTAL FOREST :
 I recently returned from an artist residency with the Long Term Ecological Reflections program at HJ Andrews Experiemental Forest, where much of the foundational research concerning old-growth forest ecology has been conducted. I spent my time there recording vegetation, streams, and other aspects of the soundscape, and composed new music. I visited an incredible stream restoration at Deer Creek, and searched for spotted owls (and we heard one!). I am excited to share this work soon. 

STAND4: INVISIBLE LANDSCAPES: My audio-video installation UAU was shown in Brooklyn, NY as part of Labverde's exhibit at Stand4.
Check out an excerpt ABOVE^^^ 

TRANSLATING THE ANIMAL: My audio works Atta and Multispecies were featured in artist Melody Owen's thesis exhibit Translating the Animal at the OSU Greenhouses and the Ecomedia Arts Festival at the University of Oregon. 

JUNE SHOWS

6.28.18 at Turn!Turn!Turn!: The premiere performance of my new "Cover Band" with Allan Wilson and dancer Taka Yamamoto. Also performing: AMENTA ABIOTO, the GSO, and Shin Kawasaki. 

6.29.18 at Leaven Community: Drum Solos from myself, Danny Sasaki, Sara Lund, John Niekrasz, Mark Kaylor, and Scott Demay -- and an ensemble performance from all 6 of us. 

UAU: Music for Percussion
Soundscapes and Ant Acoustics of the Brazilian Amazon

UAU is my new project exploring insect communication and soundscapes. This is my new album of 5 new compositions featuring percussion and field recordings. 

Now available on CD or digital download. 

I am returning to Manaus, Brazil this summer to continue my collaborative work, and to present lectures and perform throughLabverde & INPA. Your purchase of UAU will support this work. I will be researching and recording ant acoustics with entomologists Fabricio Baccaro & Erica Valle, and working on a new audio/art book with visual artists Renata Cruz & Laura Gorski.

If you would like to donate to support this work, you can do that here. 

I want to express gratitude to the individuals and organizations who have made my recent work possible:: Secret Drum Band, Mirah & Maia, OSU, Spring Creek, Labverde, Stand4 Gallery, HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, the Oregon Arts Commission, and The Oregon Community Foundation.

ENVIRONMETAL IMPACT STATEMENT
CALL TO ARTISTS  for collective resistance to the proposed Polymet Mining project in NE Minnesota

fall '17: art + the amazon + chavruta  

I am immensely grateful to have been able to spend a few weeks this summer in and around Manaus, Brazil for the Labverde Artist Immersion. We explored the Rio Negro and Rio Amazonas, and stayed at Reserva Aldolpho Ducke, every day stumbling upon things I'd never seen before in my life, even in my previous experiences in other tropical areas. I was honored to share this experience with 14 artists from all over the world, some of whom I am now collaborating with. I spend my time there focusing on field recording, with a special focus on recording ANTS. I am currently editing ant recordings and collaborating with Fabricio Baccaro on the analysis - he is an entomologist in Manaus. Leah Bowden premiered Terra Firme, my first composition from my Amazonian work for her doctorate performance at the University of California in San Diego on October 10.  I will have more developments to share from my Amazonian work soon. 

Soon after returning from Brazil, Secret Drum Band completed a tour of the west coast. Thank you to everyone who supported us on that trip. Our new album DYNAMICS is available digitally & on vinyl in our shop. We are currently booking a US TOUR for March-April 2018. 

Alicia Jo Rabins and are presenting the first public performance of our project CHAVRUTA: A DRUMMER'S BAT MITZVAH this week in Portland. Our year-long research has dug into spirituality, Jewish tradition, feminism, environmental issues, and goddess worship. It has been such an honor to work with Alicia, and I hope you will join us for this event and for the premiere of Jodi Darby's documentary about our work in February in Portland. 

Here are some upcoming events: 

10.14.17: Chavruta: A Drummer's Bat Mitzvah 

11.2.17: Lecture & performance at Oregon State University, Corvallis. 

11.08.17: Secret Drum Band at the Fixin' To with Man Forever

11.11.17: Solo performance at the Portland Art Museum for Wordstock

12.30.17 & 12.31.17: Explode into Colors at Mississippi Studios

SUMMER!!! 

AMAZONAS

I am writing from Manaus, Brazil, where I will be attending the Labverde Art + Science Immersion program in the Amazon!!! I feel so lucky to be here and to have met some amazing Brazilian friends. I take off in a few days for the forest & will be focusing on field recording of all sorts, with an emphasis on recording movements of ants. It is so exciting to return to my favorite organisms, with a new approach. 

SECRET DRUM BAND:: NEW ALBUM and TOUR

Secret Drum Band is touring the western states in support of our new album DYNAMICS this August!! We released two singles AND YOU CAN LISTEN HERE: DaDaDa & Jazz (Timber Sale). 

I am so so excited to be playing music with this SDB lineup: Pieter Hilton (Typhoon), Allan Wilson (chk chk chk), Christina Bouza (Cubana Social/MEN/Boyskout), Anthony Brisson (Psychomagic), and Amenta Abioto on ambient sounds & noise. Amenta will be opening up several of our shows with her own rediculously amazing solo set. Here are the dates: 

Aug 7: Corvallis OR @ Bombs Away with Amenta Abioto & Mike Gamble
Aug 8: Sacramento, CA @ WAL with Drug Apts
Aug 9: San Francisco, CA @ El Rio with Drug Apts + Yolo Biafra (DJ set)
Aug 10: Oakland, CA @ Pro Arts with the Dutton/Nishi-Smith/Otte Trio, Jorge Bachmann, Cheryl Leonard
Aug 11: Ojai, CA at Bryant Warehouse with LA Takedown, My Allowance & Amenta Abioto
Aug 12: Los Angeles, CA at Zebulon with LA Takedown & My Allowance
Aug 13: Santa Ana, CA at LGBT Center with YAAWN
Aug 15: San Diego, CA at Soda Bar with INUS, Necking, Amenta Abioto
Aug 16: Joshua Tree, CA at HELL Warehouse with The Renderers, Amenta Abioto & Nigel Roman
Aug 17: Los Angeles, CA at Spacedust for Echo Park Rising (daytime show)
Aug 18: Salt Lake City, UT at Vague Space with SELFMYTH
Aug 19: Boise, ID at The Olympic with Big Taste and Phantahex
Aug 22: Spokane, WA at The Observatory
Aug 23: Olympia, WA at Obsidian with Nudity and Angel Food
Aug 24: Portland, OR at White Owl Social Club with Notel

MAY 2017 NEWS 

> The DIY Guide to Drums was featured in a piece about drum method books by John Colpitts in the Paris Review. 

> XRAY Records has sent Secret Drum Band's new album, DYNAMICS, off to the record press! Release date + tour dates coming soon. 

> I have been researching common themes between spirituality, ritual practices, drumming, and ecofeminism with Alicia Jo Rabins for our new project Drummer's Bat Mitzvah (working title). Alicia is teaching me how to chant Torah; I am teaching Alicia how to play the drums. Videographer Jodi Darby is documenting our experiment in research & pedagogy.

> I presented The Hylaeus Project to a packed audience in Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii Island this February.  A revised 2nd edition of the book is now available and includes a new preface highlighting the recent listing of 7 species of Hylaeus bees under the Endangered Species Act. {Write your representatives today to tell them how you want them to fight like hell to protect this legislation}. 

upcoming

5.27.17..............Coordination at Day Winery tasting room opening
6.3.17................Secret Drum Band at the Know for Portland Label Coalition, Portland OR
6.7.17................Coordination at Turn!Turn!Turn! for CMG Outset Series, Portland OR
6.23.17..............Secret Drum Band at The Fixin' To for XRAY Records showcase
August 7-22......Secret Drum Band West Coast Tour in support of our new full length record, DYNAMICS

january 2017

winter news

PERFORMANCES + EVENTS
1.secret drum band & steve reich's DRUMMING @ the fixin to 2/3/17, Portland
2. presentation on The Hylaeus Project, 2/14/17, Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Island
3. coordination at Hawaiian Brian's 2/23/17, Honolulu
4..secret drum band at the vera project 3/18/17, Seattle

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT is CURRENTLY ACCEPTING ARTIST PROPOSALS to be submitted as comments on the EIS FOR THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE. APPLY HERE. #NODAPL #WATERISLIFE

thank you to 2016

Even though 2016 was quite terrible in many ways, I have so much to be forever grateful for; I had some truly amazing opportunities to create and present work, to see beautiful places and to meet great people. I was able to get my feet on many trails in Oregon's forest and desert, in icy upstate NY, and at the coast; Explode into Colors played two reunion shows, and Secret Drum Band toured south to Tijuana. Environmental Impact Statement submitted artist's proposals as comments on the Pollalie-Cooper sale, Kim Zitzow published them in a catalog, and Sediment gallery featured our work in an exhibit. Seven Hylaeus species were listed as endangered! I performed as one of 20 drummers in the Oral History of Female Drummers at the Brooklyn Museum, and Tom Tom Magazine published our 7th year of the mag! I got to teach the most wonderful group of private drum students & PCC students, and performed some special one-off shows with DUBAIS, Sara Lund, John Neikrasz, & Tres Drums. I just want to say a huge thank you to the universe. On to 2017.........see you in the streets/meeting/show/trail......

HAWAIIAN BEES
 I just sent off the 2nd edition of The Hylaeus Project book to Publication Studio Hudson for printing. I will be presenting a talk on that project at Volcanoes National Park on February 14th! While I am in Hawaii I will be visiting with some amazing biologists who are doing some exciting field research on the Hylaeus bees. Anthony and I will be performing as Coordination in Honolulu on February 23rd at the studio at Hawaiian Brian's. 

DRUMMER'S BAT MITZVAH
Writer/musician Alicia Jo Rabins and I have embarked on a new exciting exchange of knowledge and collaborative research. We will be studying the Torah, drumming, and our relationships with the natural world, focusing on the themes of ritual, spirituality, and feminism. Our research and process will be presented in public performance and a documentary video by Jodi Darby in the fall of 2017. This project is an exciting leap for me, where I will be publicly exploring my spirituality, and I am excited to present this merging of mine and Alicia's creative practices. This project seems ever so important right now, when our individual beliefs and opportunities seem threatened by imposing political changes. Our research will invite conversation around some important intersecting issues in order to build strength and resilience. Thank you to the Regional Arts and Culture Council for funding this work!

THE DIY GUIDE TO DRUMS
I will be writing a new greatly expanded edition of the DIY Guide to Drums in 2017! The new addition will feature ideas that I've developed over the past several years of teaching, and there will be a digital version + new audio. Tom Tom Publications will release the work into the universe. More on that soon --- thank you to the Regional Arts and Culture Council for funding this work!! 

october 2016

hawaiian hylaeus spp listed as endangered! 

>>>> GREAT NEWS:: AS OF OCTOBER 31, 2016, SEVEN SPECIES OF HAWAIIAN HYLAEUS BEES WILL BE LISTED AS ENDANGERED BY THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.

I co-authored the petitions to list these 7 species of yellow-faced (Hylaeus) while employed at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. May this bring nothing but good things to the flora, fauna, people and land of Hawaii. These are the first species of bees to be put on the endangered species list. You can read the official statement here.  From the Xerces Society press release by Matthew Shepherd: 

"The USFWS decision is excellent news for these bees, but there is much work that needs to be done to ensure that Hawaii’s bees thrive. There is only one genus of bees that is native to the Hawaiian Islands, Hylaeus, commonly called yellow-faced bees because of colored markings on their faces. These bees are often found in small patches of habitat hemmed in by agricultural land or developments. Unfortunately, the USFWS has not designated any “critical habitat,” areas of land of particular importance for the endangered bees.

We want to recognize the work of researcher Karl Magnacca, who has spent years studying Hawaii’s bees and whose work provided the evidence for these listings. We also thank photographer John Kaia, whose images have done much to lift these bees out of obscurity.

An excellent offshoot of the work to protect these bees is the Hylaeus Project of Lisa Schonberg, drummer, entomologist, and previous Xerces employee, who helped write the petitions in 2009. Lisa combined her two passions and spent time observing the bees’ environment, in particular the soundscapes they live within, and published a book about it and created a series of compositions for the Secret Drum Band."

explode into colors : 2 shows !

We are reuniting for a double header in Portland on 10/16/16 at Mississippi Studios!! An earlier all ages show with Wampire and Hugo Berlin will benefit Portland all ages show organization Friends of Noise. You can buy tickets for that show here. The later show (21+) is with The Ghost Ease and Lithics, and will benefit Los Angeles all ages venue The Smell. Get those tickets here. It feels so good to awaken my muscle memory & benefit the all ages music scene, which needs all the help it can get to persist in the face of the ruthlesscondo and development scene. Watch videos of us performing at a cabin, on a school lot, and in a museum. 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Environmental Impact Statement was part of an exhibit in Richmond, VA at SEDIMENT this spring alongside east coast comrades Virginia River Healers. A catalog featuring documentation and discussion of the exhibit was just designed and released by EIS artist Kim Zitzow. The catalog really exemplifies the important role of artists in amplifying discussions of environmental issues, and why we started EIS. Please do check it out.

// upcoming events \\

friday 9/2: COORDINATION at Beyond Repair in Minneapolis @ 7 pm sharp. COORDINATION is my duo with Anthony Brisson (Psychomagic). Check out our work here. We will be performing music for a graphic score that is being printed by Beyond Repair for the occasion. 

sunday 9/11: SECRET DRUM BAND at Pioneer Square for PMOMA's Houseguest Residency & the Time-Based Art Festival.We perform at 5pm, after Tropic Green and before Fred & Toody. We are excited to perform with our new bandmate Matthew Berger! 

sunday 10/16: Explode into Colors at Mississippi Studios (see above)

// education \\

I will be teaching two sections of Rhythm Training at Portland Community College this fall. Learn more & register here. 

secret drum band
spring tour 6.14.16-6.28.16

6.14 PORTLAND @ HOLOCENE w/ double plus good, golden donna, dj yolo biafra ###
6.17 SPRINGFIELD/EUGENE @ DITCH PROJECTS ###***
6.18 ARCATA @ THE SANCTUARY ###***
6.19 OAKLAND @ STUDIO GRAND w/ Jackie-O Motherf****r
6.20 LOS ANGELES @ THE SMELL w/ Lucky Dragons, beyondadoubt + SLEEF
6.21 SAN DIEGO @ TOWER BAR w/ Tara Jane O'neil & Penis Hickey
6.22 TIJUANA @ MOUSTACHE BAR w/ Penis Hickey
6.23 JOSHUA TREE @ LANDERS BREW w/ Tara Jane Oneil + The Renderers
6.24 TUCSON @ MOCA with b3nbi and Jpop ###***
6.25 LOS ANGELES @ The BlindSpot w/Madame Gandhi, Musical Tracings, Penis Hickey & dj Yolo Biafra
6.26 VENTURA @ EP Foster Library
6.27 SACRAMENTO @ The Red Museum w/ Drug Apts. & Vasas 

*** featuring percussion workshop before show
### featuring screening of new music videos by Seth Nehil, Leif J Lee, Jodie Cavalier & 

may and june 2015

Thursday May 14th: Environmental Impact Statement community forum + performance. Part of CENTRAL's month-long symposium, Peripheral to What? at HQHQ Project Space in SE Portland.EIS will facilitate a group discussion about how artists might generate more energy to counter industrial and corporate interests while bridging gaps between environmental and other movements of social change. After the discussion, Danielle Ross + Alison Jane Clarys and I will present a performance reflecting on the dynamics of the Airstrip timber sale on Mt Hood. 630pm, all ages, free. 

Thursday May 21st:  I will be a guest on Eric Parren's radio show La Force Sauvage at KCHUNG Radio at 3PM PST broadcast on 1630AM in Chinatown, Los Angeles and on http://www.kchungradio.org/ for the rest of the world. 

Thursday May 21st: HITS CASSETTE RELEASE at the WOMENS CENTER FOR CREATIVE WORK  in Los Angeles! Very excited to put our music out into the universe {via Crash Symbols}, and to share a bill with Katy Davidson {of Dear Nora} and Bouquet {ex-Finches}. Also featuring a pop-up shop from Heather Treadway fashion. 7pm door time, $8, all ages. 2425 Glover Place, Los Angeles, CA 90031. 

Saturday May 23: HITS at the OUTDOOR MUSEUM in Joshua Tree, California. A festival throughout the Memorial Day weekend put on by the Portland Museum of Modern Art & Thousand Points of Light. Also featuring Julia Calabrese & Jin Camou, Bouquet, Lavender Mirror, James Kidd, Tara Jane Oneil + more. exact time TBA. all ages. 

Tuesday May 26th: Newman/Schonberg/Reyna at Valentines in Portland! It has been a long while and i am really looking forward to raging with these badasses again. 8pm. 21+ $. 

INTO THE FUTURE: 
june 4th: Secret Drum Band at the Improvisation Summit of Portland. It runs all weekend, but we go on at 1030pm at Disjecta. all ages. $. 

june 25th: HITS at ALL RISE in Seattle as part of Chris Johanson's Quiet Music Festival. I think the link says SDB is playing, but believe me it will be HITS. 

june 26th: Secret Drum Band at the QUIET MUSIC FESTIVAL at Disjecta in Portland. Yes, we will be playing quietly! It will be cool and new, and you should come and lay down and take it in. 

JUNE 27TH: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT group exhibit opens at SURPLUS SPACE in PORTLAND! 
 

MARCH >> APRIL 2015

Hello, and I hope you are enjoying the snow/sun/hail/rain/sleet, wherever you may be. I recently returned from a great trip to Los Angeles, where I exhibited my books and sounds at the Los Angeles Art Book Fair. It was a really good time, and I met some serious badasses that were tabling nearby us. I have been teaching a full roster of students in Portland since i returned, and have been spending time up on the mountain doing research and work  for ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. Environmental Impact Statement is a new collaborative effort between myself, writer/Signal Fire co-founder Amy Harwood, and visual artist Leif J Lee. EIS exists to amplify issues related to land management and resource extraction through all sorts of artforms, and will be bringing artists out to Mount Hood throughout 2015 & will ask them to create work that reflects on the condition of Mt Hood's ecosystems, and in particular, forest stands that are threatened with timber extraction or other kinds of development. We will present this work - from dancers, visual artists, musicians, writers and video artists - in multiple exhibits, performances and a publication towards the end of 2015. Artists so far confirmed include Jodi Darby, Jodie Cavalier, Sidony O'Neal, Justin Hocking, Daniela Molnar, and Heather Treadway. Environmental Impact Statement is partially supported by a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts & Calligram. 

upcoming events

Saturday March 7th, 2015. HITS with Psychomagic, Slow White & Sculpture Garden. 3714 N Williams Ave, 8pm, $5. Portland. Look for the only interesting looking building near the condos. 

Saturday March 21, 2015. Secret Drum Band with Minden, Holiday Friends for XRAY.FM 1st Birthday Show. Mississippi Studios. Portland. $10. 21+

Thursday March 26th. Solo performance at ALL RISE in Seattle. Magic Hour, 5:00pm. Free. all ages. outdoors. 

April, 19 2015. HITS at ESP TV LIVE TAPING. With Ashby Lee Collinson, Goodwin & Marcus Estes. Live at S1 Gallery, Portland, 8pm. We will be playing a special call-and-response set for this performance, and Allan and Lisa's sound will be projected from Joshua Tree, CA to S1 Gallery ; Heather will perform live at S1. 

Friday, May 1st, 2015. Secret Drum Band with OLD TIME RELIJUN & Like a Villain. Mississippi Studios, Portland. It is OTR's 20th birthday! 21+, $12. TIX. 

Saturday, June 6, 2015. Secret Drum Band at the Improvisation Summit of Portland. 

-------------------

​

WINTER 2015: UPCOMING 

los angeles art book fair

I will be tabling at the 2015 Los Angeles Art Book Fair. I will have prints, sounds, books, and a new surprise available at the table that I will be sharing with Iris Porter. 

MUSCLE MEMORY: DRUMS & YOGA

Sweethome Teacup and I will be presenting our second installment of MUSCLE MEMORY at North Portland Yoga on Saturday February 7th from 1:30-3:30. Cost is $20. The workshop will feature 1 hour of yoga and voice exercises accompanied by harmonium, focusing on routines that strengthen right-left/limb independence and other skills related to muscle memory -- and then appx 1 hour of instruction in rhythm, improvisation, and syncopation. Please bring drumsticks and a practice pad if you have them. 

thank you 2014, you were really good to me. 

upcoming 2015 events/ recent news:

> I am honored to have received a 2015 Precipice Grant from PICA, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Calligram for ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. Environmental Impact Statement is a new collaborative effort between myself, activist/writer/Signal Fire co-founder Amy Harwood, and visual artist Leif J Lee. EIS exists to amplify issues related to land management and resource extraction through all sorts of artforms, and will be bringing artists out to Mount Hood throughout 2015 & will ask them to create work that reflects on the condition of Mt Hood's ecosystems, and in particular, forest stands that are threatened with timber extraction. We will present this work - from dancers, visual artists, musicians, writers and video artists - in multiple exhibits, performances and a publication towards the end of 2015. 

> I will be presenting a talk on the Hylaeus Project for Portland Ecologists Unite! at Holocene on Friday January 9th, 5-7pm. The talk is free and open to the public. 

> DRUMS & YOGA: Sweethome Teacup and I will be presenting our second installment of MUSCLE MEMORY at North Portland Yoga on Saturday February 7th from 1:30-3:30. Cost is $20. The workshop will feature 1 hour of yoga and voice exercises accompanied by harmonium, focusing on routines that strengthen right-left/limb independence and other skills related to muscle memory -- and then appx 1 hour of instruction in rhythm, improvisation, and syncopation. Please bring drumsticks and a practice pad if you have them. 

A CALIFORNIAN OCTOBER

I am writing from the wonderful deserts of Joshua Tree, where I am doing an artist residency at A-Z West. I am seriously happy  to be able to return here where we created Hits (of Sunshine) just two years ago. Some things happening this month: 

Wed 10.22 at A-Z West, Joshua Tree, CA: I'll be doing an outdoor performance on Angie Terry's blacksmithed percussion. I am excited to be performing alongside presentations from Rebecca Gates & Kim Zitzow. Gather at 4:45pm sharp at A-Z West to walk to the performance site. Over at 6:30pm. Check out the video above of a similar performance on Angie's percussion that i did with Neal Morgan in Portland. 

Fri 10.24 at Otherwild, Los Angeles, CA. I will be performing again on Angie Terry's blacksmithed percussion, but this time I'll be performing with drummer/percussionist Corey Fogel. I've always wanted to collab with this guy, and i'm excited to see what sounds we make together. ALSO the one and only Sarah Johnson will be performing. Do not miss this, LA. 1932 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. 7pm. $5 donation, all ages. 

TOM TOM MAGAZINE, for which i am the northwest correspondent, just put out our 19th print issue! To celebrate this moment, we will be having a seriously epic performance of 19 drummers at the Ace Hotel in NYC on Oct 21st. It is at 8pm and it is all ages and free, and highly recommend you not miss this. And the group may very well be performing some material that I composed (but I will not be there). Participating drummers include Venzella Joy (Beyonce), Emily Wells, and Tom Tom's editor Mindy Abovitz. Check out more info on the event here. 

Hawaii was absolutely amazing. 

Last month I gave talks on the Big Island and Oahu about The Hylaeus Project. Mahalo to everyone who we spent time with along the way, and  to West Hawaii Today for writing about the project:

Hylaeus Project merch is now on sale >>
$30 for the book + audio download/cassette together

I've fallen harder for Hawaii than ever before, and will definitely return again soon. I'm stoked about building connections with the people I've met there, and to continue learning more about Hawaii through talking about the native bees and everything related to them. Mahalo to Waimea Valley, The Hawaiian Conservation Alliance, The Volcano Art Center, and Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park for graciously hosting my presentations - and to Elby Jones for assisting with these events & adventuring with me in between. Some memories from our two weeks on the Big Island & Oahu: the thunder and the racket of the fabulous rain on our roof on the Hamakua coast; spelunking; exploring Pu'u Huluhulu; sunset at Hawaii Kai with Dre and Vitale; Hylaeus bees in HAVO; talks on acoustic monitoring, monk seals, hoary bats, and the moon at the HCA conference; seeing so much ohai growing at Kahuku; chatting with Frank Howarth; poke bowls at Suisan; meeting the Sandalwood man; practicing Hawaiian plant ID; talking to Angela Huntemer about land politics at Kahuku Point; the manago hotel; watching Aaron Hammer craft corkscrews out of koa; sunset at Malakawena; so much more. 

other summer-related news + events: 

Heather Treadway and I continued our shape-shifting music performance with Fabi Reyna as LICHEN on August 16th at the new S1 Gallery in Portland. It was so so lovely to share the bill with James Kidd, TJO and Taka Yamamoto. Video and Images from that excellent evening coming soon. 

UPCOMING: 

TUESDAY AUGUST 19TH: I will be performing a drum duo with Chris Johnedis as part of his weeklong residency at Al's Den with Catherine Feeney. Starts 7pm - and it is free. 

MONDAY SEPT 15TH: Al's Den is my new zone, it seems - and I've heard the sound is great in there. STLS will be performing there as part of Papi Fimbres' weeklong residency. A different band of PApi's will be playing every night that week, and we'll join them on Monday. 7pm. Free. FUN. 

THURSDAY SEPT 18TH: SECRET DRUM BAND is performing a special set at Mississippi Studios --- LEIF J LEE will be doing live drawing along to our performance. So stoked on the current SDB lineup: Sara Lund, Trina Shaghafi, Heather Treadway, Ben Tyler & Sam Humans! We'll be opening for Doubleplusgood, for their album release party. 

FRIDAY SEPT 26TH: Angie Terry, Neal Morgan and I present the second installment of PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE, this time at PMOMA. Angie's metalwork will be on display, and Neal and I will perform an improvised performance on a set of their hand-crafted metal percussion.

RECENT PAST:

THIRD CULTURE CONVERSATIONS (May 2014)
I participated in a conference of some really fantastic artists & scientists at the University of Oregon. We gathered for three days and shared our work. These things were on my mind throughout the conference and afterwards, as I relished in this merging of art and sciences: urban meteorites, window to mouse brain, natural florescence, synesthesia, jackson pollock & forest canopies, simulated creatures, nickels, lorry lokey, a wave is a particle is a wave is, paying more attention to the movement of shadows, matter/anti-matter, 5-D, 6-D, 7-D, modeled jamming, fungal mimics, rooftops, reefs or tires, sounds of ice cream trucks, skin, black holes, darkest spaces, experimental leafcutters...and more. I am honored to have been part of this wonderful gathering. 

SUMMER FIELD STUDIES at the Henry Gallery, Seattle. WAThe Hylaeus Project is featured in a new exhibit at the Henry Gallery in Seattle, on view through September 14th. Artist Daniela Molnar and I presented a workshop in affiliation with this exhibit in Discovery Park on June 28th. Participants in our 'Documentation in the Field' workshop examined sounds, organisms, and landscape through creative field surveys of study plots. Ryan Pierce conducted several rigorous scientific experiments at the workshop, including the study in a photo above. Check out an entire album of photos from the event taken by Lucinda Roanoke here. 

STAY WILD MAGAZINE (summer issue)
The most recent issue of Scrappers Morrison's publication on outdoor adventuring features The Hylaeus Project. 

IMPROVISATION SUMMIT OF PORTLAND (June 2014)
Heather Treadway and I presented a sound collage of basement & field recordings and live drumming at the Creative Music Guild's annual festival. We manipulated recordings played through four cassette players while dancer Suzanne Chi accompanied us with movement. 

SPRING 2014

I've been nesting in the Pacific Northwest for a few months and have been occupied mostly by teaching drums and working on various music but i've made sure to get out into our incredibly lush lands as often as possible, which is never often enough. On a recent hike in the Gorge i noticed that Oxalis oregana (sorrel, above) closes down its leaves when the sun is shining directly on it.

I also spent some time building this new internet reality. This one works much better than what came before! There is even a shop where you can buy nearly everything I've worked on in the last several years! Records, cassettes, downloads, t-shirts, drum lessons, books. 

spring ! lots is happening. such as:  

MAY 9: The Hylaeus Project: book release/cassette release (PUBLICATION STUDIO HUDSON). 7:30-9 PM, $5 for the talk. Optional Hawaiian picnic at 6:30pm - $10 - (please RSVP if you'd like to eat). 460 Main St., Catskill, NY. I'll be presenting a talk/slideshow and drum performance at this event. 

MAY 13: Newman/Schonberg/Reyna Group at BUNK BAR in Portland with LIKE A VILLAIN & IAME

MAY 28-30: Third Culture Conversations at the University of Oregon. So excited to be partaking in this creative meeting of artists & scientists!

JUNE 6: Performance at the Creative Music Guild Improvisation Summit of Portland w// Heather Treadway 

JUNE 21: HITS at Foggy Notion with Impulsive Machinations (Sara Lund & Thollem McDonas!!) & Million Brazilians. 

JUNE 21-SEPT 14: SUMMER FIELD STUDIES exhibit at the Henry Gallery, Seattle, WA. I am so excited to be part of this group show. From the museum's description: "Artists, musicians, permaculture advocates, curators, activists, sailors, poets and explorers were invited to participate in the creation of a series of interactive field guides for the Henry’s Test Site. These field guides will introduce visitors to a variety of individual and collaborative projects from in around the Pacific Northwest that deal with landscape as a means to facilitate personal reflection and as a discursive space."

JUNE 25: Newman/Schonberg/Reyna Group at Northern with Neal Morgan. Olympia, WA. 

JUNE 28: DOCUMENTATION IN THE FIELD workshop, Discovery Park, Seattle, WA. I will be facilitating this workshop with Daniela Molnar in association with the Henry's Summer Field Studies exhibit. 

JULY 15: The Hylaeus Project - presentation at the Hawaiian Conservation Alliance conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

JULY 22: The Hylaeus Project - presentation at Volcano Art Center, Big Island, Hawaii. 

AUG 16: Performance with Heather Treadway, also featuring James Kidd, Taka Yamamoto & TJO. Location TBA, Portland OR. 

SEPT 15: STLS at Al's Den for Papi Fimbres' music residency.