Update, Dec. 26, 2004 - Istvan Kantor benefit event
Our old pal Monty Cantsin (aka Istvan Kantor) is doing a benefit music/video/performance event at The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St. West, Toronto), Jan. 1/05 to help raise money for his upcoming trial in Berlin. More info at http://www.thedrakehotel.ca
- W.A.Davison
Update, Dec. 19, 2004 - Six Heads at Lexiconjury
Six Heads will be performing as part of this month's Lexiconjury event, Tue., Dec. 21, 7:30pm at The Cameron House, 408 Queen St. W., Toronto. And it's free!
- W.A.Davison
Update, Dec. 10, 2004 - ES with GFR, Flynns
~~~~~~~
Sunday December 12 @ 8pm
New Works Studio - 319 spadina, Toronto
ES (from finland) playing with members of black forest/black
sea (from Rhode Island)
Flynns (Ocora realm sunrise/sunset..with guest)
Gastric Female Reflex (finger crossing open electronic surgery dervishes)
If you're a fan of the new Finnish underground (Kemialliset Ystavat, Avarus, etc.) or if you've read the feature article in the Dec. issue of The Wire and are intrigued, then you do not want to miss this rare and exciting appearance by Sami Sänpäkkilä's (Fonal Records) project ES including members of black forest/black sea! Toronto is the last stop on their Northeast US/Canada tour which, from what we've heard, has gone really well with some spectacular performances from ES and a number of related/like-minded projects along the way. For this tour, the music of ES has been/will be accompanied by amazing live art projections by Toronto's own Shary Boyle using several projectors, sand, ink + colored gels.
Sharing the bill with ES for their Toronto show will be the mysterious Flynns (mysterious to me at least. I think they used to be called Mausim?) and of course the one, the only, the incomparable, the ludicrously-named Gastric Female Reflex!
And it's only $5!!!
Info on ES here. Info on Shary Boyle here.
~~~~~~~
- William A. Davison
Update, Dec. 5, 2004 - I.B.R.I. R.I.P.
A report on our 20th Anniversary celebrations is coming soon.
- W.A.
Update, Nov. 30, 2004 - 20th anniversary events:
The Recordists are inviting all their friends to join them for an open house/collective activities day on Dec. 5th, 2004 starting at noon and running until who knows when. The event marks the official close of our 10 year project, the International Bureau of Recordist Investigation, while also celebrating the 20th anniversary of Recordism (!!!). Although we are sad to say good-bye to the Bureau, a project that was of great importance to us, we look forward with much excitement to all our future projects and the continuation of Recordism and Recordist activities! This is the first of two 20th anniversary celebratory events, the second taking place as part of the Torpor Vigil Dream Bazaar (see Nov. 19th, 2004 update below).
The open house/collective activities event will take place at the home of William A. Davison and Sherri Lyn Higgins in Toronto (contact us for address, directions, and more details) and is envisioned as an informal and fairly low-key gathering of friends old and new to share food/refreshments (some will be provided but bringing your own is encouraged), talk nonsense, and of course play some Recordist/Surrealist games. And, as an extension of the games idea, guests will be encouraged to contribute to several large-scale collective activities including a huge collective drawing, a number of collective texts, and an ongoing group sound improvisation (i.e. "noise jam") which we fully intend to continue uninterrupted throughout the entire event!
We hope as many of you as possible will make it to this. We'd love to see you! If you can't make it to either the open house or the dream bazaar we're sure you will find some suitably Recordist/Surrealist manner to mark this momentous occasion on your own...and naturally send all documentation to us!
- William A. Davison
416-588-7539 or davison(at)recordism(dot)com
Update, Nov. 25, 2004 - LO FI ZONE...Gastric Female update:
~~~~~~~
hi beniffer here to fill you in on some upcoming events involving
gastric female reflex
in chronological order
Monday November 29 @ 9pm
New Works Studio - 319 spadina, Toronto
Gastric Female Reflex (mashed potato mouth, pizza box electronics)
Six Heads (instrument making, certified electricians, dada)
- This event is considered a record launch for GFR as their new split 7"
with Maine's Crank Sturgeon will be available for the first time in public air
Event is $7 with the disc and $3 with just the entertainment
Sunday December 12 @ 8pm
New Works Studio - 319 spadina, Toronto
ES (from finland) playing with black forest/black sea (from Rhode Island)
Flynns (Ocora realm sunrise/sunset..with guest)
Gastric Female Reflex (finger crossing open electronic surgery dervishes)
- This event is rare seeing that (A) ES has never played in Canada, and the
collab between the owner of ultra hot fonal records and bf/bs is even more erstwhile.
(B) flynns have only played one show and it was very special, they will be playing
with the jandek of Ontario in this event.
Wednesday December 15 - time TBA
Cameron House
Gastric Female Reflex play with other modern groups in support of the official
launch of Kevin Hainey's novel "Thought Preserve". The novel itself
invents a whole new take on grammer and layout, very cutting edge stuff we're
dealing with here folks. Should be a good one.
AND then...
Date TBA @ Mercer Union Art Gallery - 27 Lisgar
GFR will be participating in the famous first annual eight hour drone fesitvus
as a benefit for local recording output blocks blocks blocks. I hear GFR may
assemble an amplified splash cymbal, stick it in inside of a banjo, put a banjo
next to a gong, which is rested on an amplified dehumidifier and then watch
what happens....
thanks for making it to the bottom of the page
jacob
~~~~~~~
The excitement! The excitement! gasp...
Thanks Jake!
- William A. Davison
Update, Nov. 22, 2004 - J. Balance R.I.P.
Just wanted to say how very sad we are to learn of the death of Geff Rushton a.k.a. John/Jhonn Balance. Like most people on the NWW and Durtro e-mail lists, I heard about it shortly after it happened, Sat., Nov. 13th. It's taken me awhile to put some words together and whatever words I'm able now to summon up still seem woefully inadequate. I'll keep it simple. John's work, through the group Coil, has shaped my life in subtle yet significant ways, both personally and artistically, since I first encountered it two decades ago. I am deeply indebted to him, as we all are, for all the words and music and ideas he has left us with.
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you John! We will miss you!
- William A. Davison on behalf of The Recordists, Nov. 22, 2004
Update, Nov. 19, 2004 - upcoming events:
~~~~~~~
Ross, Davison, Necakov at Suburban Spoken Word
Queen of Hearts Pub, 390 Steeles Ave. W., Toronto
Begins at 8 pm, ends at around 10 pm
$5 cover
Nov. 21 -- It's Surrealism in Suburbia, featuring authors from Surreal Estate: 13 Canadian Poets Under the Influence. Expect a wild ride with Stuart Ross, William A. Davison and Lillian Necakov.
More info at: http://www.suburbanspokenword.com/
~~~~~~~
This just in from Recordist collaborator Beatriz Hausner:
> Friends,
>
> I will be reading at the launch of my new chapbook of poems:
>
> THE STITCHED HEART
>
> Published by Lyricalmyrical, with amazing cover art by Sherri Lyn Higgins
>
> Also reading: Luciano Iacobelli from "The Angel Notebook" and
Barry Olshen from "Memory Rooms"
>
> Tuesday, November 23, 8:00 p.m.
>
> The ArtBar Poetry Series, uptstairs at the Victory Café, 681 Markham
Street, Toronto.
>
> Hope you can make it, Beatriz
~~~~~~~
Gastric Female Reflex will be launching their split 7" (shared with American noise artist Crank Sturgeon) at New Works Studio, 319 Spadina Ave., Toronto on Nov. 29. Crank Sturgeon won't be there but GFR (Jake, Andrew, William) will be performing as will surrealist sound collage group Six Heads and perhaps a surprise guest! More details to follow.
~~~~~~~
Dec. 5, 2004 is, as you all know, the 20th anniversary of Recordism! Some kind of event, as yet unknown, may be taking shape to mark the occasion. Stay tuned for details!
~~~~~~~
Here's some exciting news from Torpor Vigil Industries:
TORPOR VIGIL DREAM BAZAAR, Cameron House, 8 December
Celebrating new works by ANDREYEV, DAVISON, DEWDNEY, HIGGINS, MCGREGOR, VENRIGHT, ZENTNER and Others (from BOOKTHUG, COACH HOUSE BOOKS, LYRICALMYRICAL, MERCURY PRESS and TORPOR VIGIL INDUSTRIES) with appearances by AZZOPARDI, DAVISON, HIGGINS, HUISKEN, McGREGOR, ROSS and VENRIGHT
Dear Recordist Friends & Associates --
I can hardly believe it myself, so I don't really expect you to, but the first ever Torpor Vigil Dream Bazaar will happen in a big way at The Cameron on Wednesday the 8th of December. At first it was going to be simply the official celebration of the Dion McGregor spoken dreams CD on my Torpor Vigil Industries label. Then I thought, why not make it a charmingly megalomaniacal extravaganza featuring all the works I've had a hand in this past year. It quickly became apparent that there was no way to pull off such an egocentric feat without involving some of Toronto's most brilliant and imaginative artists, writers, performers and presses. And so it came to be that the Torpor Vigil Dream Bazaar was born. I really hope you can join us on December 8 at The Cameron. Bring your dreams.
The TORPOR VIGIL DREAM BAZAAR
at The Cameron House (back room)
408 Queen West (just west of Spadina), Toronto
Wednesday 8 December 2004
8PM until Midnight or so
(Readings & performances intermittently between 9 & 11:30)
Featuring works by:
SAMUEL ANDREYEV
WILLIAM A. DAVISON
CHRISTOPHER DEWDNEY
SHERRI LYN HIGGINS
RICHARD KIRK
DION MCGREGOR
STEVE VENRIGHT
KERRY ZENTNER
Featuring books & CDs from:
BOOKTHUG
COACH HOUSE BOOKS
LYRICALMYRICAL
MERCURY PRESS
TORPOR VIGIL INDUSTRIES
WOOD & COAL
Featuring appearances by:
TARA AZZOPARDI performance (and maybe reading)
WILLIAM A. DAVISON performance (and maybe reading)
SHERRI LYN HIGGINS performance
JESSE HUISKEN reading
DION MCGREGOR posthumous verbal collaboration with SV
STUART ROSS reading and intro to Surreal Estate anthology
STEVE VENRIGHT reading and ceremonies mastering
Celebrating the release of several new CDs and books:
THE FURTHER SOMNILOQUIES OF DION MCGREGOR -- OUTRAGEOUS RECORDINGS OF THE WORLD'S MOST RENOWNED SLEEPTALKER (Torpor Vigil Industries CD)
REGIONS REACH -- SONGS OF SAMUEL ANDREYEV (Torpor Vigil Industries
CD)
Sam won't be visiting from Paris until year-end, so we'll have an extra party
for this compilation album on January 4th, 2005. Meanwhile, thanks to Stephen
Pitkin in the sound booth, we can enjoy the music of this extraordinary composer
via the wonders of modern stereo technology.
A NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO (Coach House Books and
Torpor Vigil Industries CD)
Launched on October 12th by COACH HOUSE BOOKS. A manufacturing delay, unrelated
to the press, meant that the discs themselves were not out until October 29th.
This double CD, featuring the words and voice of Christopher Dewdney in a soundscape
by Steve Venright will be available at the Bazaar and audio excerpts will be
presented.
THE ILLUSTRATED VENRIGHT ENGLISH DICTIONARY (BookThug chapbook)
Glossary selections from the books of Steve Venright, impressively illustrated
by the collage work of William A. Davison and Sherri Lyn Higgins
THE SLEEPY TURBINE (LyricalMyrical chapbook -- Third Printing)
Drawings by Kerry Zentner; text by Steve Venright
Mercury Press's new SURREAL ESTATE anthology will also be available along with other titles from Jay MillAr's BookThug press and Appolinaire's Bookshop, Luciano Iacobelli's LyricalMyrical press and Jesse Huisken's Wood & Coal press. Kerry Zentner and William A. Davison will have some offerings as well. Original illustrations (Songs of Elsewhere and The Further Somniloquies) by London, Ontario artist Richard Kirk will be exhibited.
Dream events will include The Snail Time Dance, a tell-us-your-dream (if-it's-brief-and-interesting) open mic and a game of Food Roulette with poisoned chocolate eclairs! Those of you who remember the psychedelicious pastries in the days of my reading series at Cafe Blancmange will be delighted to know that the eclairs will be created by none other than St.f&e Queen of Tarts (now at 283 Roncesvalles).
We will also be toasting the 20th anniversary of Recordism, founded on 5 December 1984 by W.A.Davison. And we'll be saying a fond touche and so long to the International Bureau of Recordist Investigation (5 December 1994 to 5 December 2004). We will not, however, be celebrating Sammy Davis, Jr.'s birthday (though a ritual playing of I've Gotta Be Me appears inevitable).
Its proximity to the solstice makes The Torpor Vigil Dream Bazaar an ideal occasion for pagan celebration of a spiritual nature, but it's perhaps an even better occasion to get all your holiday shopping done on one magnificent binge. The timing is uncanny!
This will likely be the last announcement until it's time to invite you to the party I'm having for Sam Andreyev and Kate Anderson in January, just prior to their return to Paris (Sam has agreed to do a solo performance on piano to mark the official release of Regions Reach).
Thanks for your interest -- see you at The Cameron!
Steve Venright
Torpor Vigil Industries
Toronto, Canada
http://www.torporvigil.com
~~~~~~~
Whew! As you can see we're a little busy these days! A few more things are in the works but they're far enough away that we'll leave it to another update. Hope to see you at ALL of these events!
- William A. Davison
Update, Nov. 15, 2004 - Coup de Coeur francophone, Music Gallery, Wednesday, Nov. 17:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marc LeMyre at the Coup de Coeur francophone
Wednesday, November 17th at 8 PM
Music Gallery in Toronto
Toronto - Francophones and Francophiles are invited to a little happening of electric poetry on November 17th at the Music Gallery with Toronto-based poet Marc LeMyre and his guests. This show is a presentation of the Centre francophone de Toronto and is taking place during the Coup de Coeur francophone event, which is an annual festival featuring upcoming francophone artists from Canada, Europe and Africa.
And what is electric poetry? It’s poetry that goes beyond the word. It’s the questioning of poetry in order to discover all that it can be. And to do that, Marc LeMyre will be surrounded by percussionist Olivier Fairfield and guests Jeff Burke, bassoonist, Stephen Lindsey, projectionist, Amélie Lefebvre, singer and William Davison, performance artist.
Wednesday, November 17th at 8PM
Music Gallery
197 John Street (one street north of Queen), Toronto
(in the Anglican church St-George-the-Martyr)
tickets: 10$
box office: 416-204-1080
tickets also on sale at the door
Thanks to our partners: Arts Council of Ontario, Réseau Ontario, Bureau du Québec à Toronto, Radio-Canada television (Ontario-Outaouais), Radio-Canada radio (CJBC), Le Métropolitain, L’Express de Toronto.
For more information, please contact: Sophie Bernier, Centre francophone de Toronto, 416-203-1220 ext. 229.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I see Marc has me listed as "performance artist". Guess that means this will be a Songs of the New Erotics performance! Two days to come up with something...yeah, no problem...think, think, think...uh, shark-filled tank? ham sandwiches? trained weasels? all of the above? hmmm...maybe I'll wear some kind of goofy costume. Yes!
- William A. Davison
Update, Nov. 13, 2004 - Gladstone gig, Sunday, Nov. 14:
~~~~~~~~~~
Alan Glicksman Presents:
GLADTOES
Sunday November 14th. Free Event 2-6pm.
Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West, Toronto. (416) 531-4635
www.gladstonehotel.com
2:15pm
trio_muo
Glen Hall - sax
Michael Morse - bass
Joe Sorbara - drums
3:15pm
Linda Feesey - bits of sharp metal and soothing voice
William Davison - imminent disasters and electronic processing
Colin Hinz - diabolical constructions and wooden sticks
Michelangelo Iaffaldano - amplified arthropods and charming devices
Pete Mosher - electrically challenged toys and breathing noises
4:15pm
M.S.G.
Dennis McNeil - synthesizer, percussion
Steve Spears - synthesizer, guitar, percussion
Alan Glicksman - drums, percussion
with guests:
Rae Johnson - violin
Carl Braund - synthesizer, percussion
Gary Simkins - cello
~~~~~~~~~~~
Late notice, as usual. Hope to see some of you there!
- William A. Davison
Update, Nov. 10, 2004 - hURLy - bURLy
Just finished our new Recordist/Surrealist links page hURLy - bURLy. This is what used to be the I.B.R.I. Communications Division links page only it's completely redesigned and has lots of new links. A ton more links to come too as soon as I have a moment to add them!
If you'd like to suggest a link or have your own contact info added to hURLy - bURLy, write me at:
info(at)recordism(dot)com
or via snailmail at
253 College St., Unit 149, Toronto, ON., M5T 1R5, Canada
- William A. Davison
Update, Nov. 7, 2004 - sorryeverybody.com:
This is not really surrealism-related (?) but it's a nice idea and did make me feel a little better - www.sorryeverybody.com
- William A. Davison
Update, Nov. 6, 2004 - Surrealist panel discussion, Sunday, Nov. 7th:
Damn! This one snuck up on me! Sorry for the short notice.
I'm taking part in a panel discussion on Surrealism tomorrow afternoon (Sun., Nov. 7th) as part of Jay MillAr's "Speakeasy" series. It's being held upstairs at This Ain't The Rosedale Library, 483 Church St. (south of Wellesley), Toronto, at 2:30 pm sharp. Please come out and watch me make a total fool of myself, my humiliation won't be complete without you!
- William A. Davison
Update, Nov. 2, 2004 - Surreal Estate book launch, Thursday, Nov. 4th:
~~~~~~~
The Mercury Press cordially requests the pleasure of your company at a launch and celebration for
The Migration of Butterflies by Carol Malyon (novel)
Apikoros Sleuth by Robert Majzels (novel)
Doctor Weep and other strange teeth by Gary Barwin (short fiction)
Shack: The Cutland Junction Stories by Kenneth J. Harvey (short fiction)
Masque by Rachel Zolf (poetry)
At the Edge of the Frog Pond by Nelson Ball (poetry)
Surreal Estate: 13 Canadian Poets under the Influence edited by Stuart
Ross (poetry anthology), featuring work by Gil Adamson, Tara Azzopardi, Gary
Barwin, Daniel f. Bradley, Alice Burdick, Kevin Connolly, William A. Davison,
Beatriz Hausner, Mark Laba, Lance La Rocque, Lillian Necakov, Stuart Ross, and
Steve Venright.
~~~~~~~
You might notice a few familiar names in the list of Surreal Estate authors and one in particular...mine!! This is the first substantial publication of my "poetry" and I'm really excited about it! Many thanks to Stu Ross and Mercury Press for including my work! The anthology itself looks fantastic and it looks like some other great stuff is being released at this launch too so I really hope some of you can make it out. I will read one or two of my poems (out loud, perhaps even amplified!) and, in an act of true Maldororesque cruelty, I'm also planning on commandeering the stereo and playing some Six Heads music at some point in the evening (see how I pay them back for their kindness and generosity. I'm wicked!). Proves to be an event not to be missed!
There will be more Surreal Estate-related announcements in the very near future. Watch this space!
- William Davison
Update, Oct. 26, 2004 - Laurence Weisberg event:
On Friday, December 10, 2004 L.A.'s legendary literary arts center Beyond Baroque will host a poetry and dance event featuring the work of surrealist poet Laurence Weisberg. Our friend Alice Farley will be dancing so if you're in L.A. in Dec. please check this out! Have a look at Beyond Baroque's website for many other wonderful events!
Thanks to Thom Burns for the heads up on this one.
- W.A.Davison
Update, October 19, 2004 - Songs of the New Erotics performance:
Songs of the New Erotics will be performing at this year's 7a*11d performance art festival, Thu., Oct. 21, 8pm at Xpace, 303 Augusta Ave., Toronto. Lots of other great events in this year's festival too, check out the details at http://www.7a-11d.ca
- William A. Davison
Update, October 11, 2004 - Coach House/TVI launch tomorrow night. Here's everything you need to know from Steve Venright:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends and Associates --
The time has come at last for Coach House Books and Torpor Vigil Industries to release my audio version of Christopher Dewdney's *A Natural History of Southwestern Ontario*. I've been working, on and off, for the past dozen years on this two-and-a-half-hour soundscape featuring Chris reading his renowned poem in its entirety. Gordon Nicholson helped me initiate the project and collaborated with me on Spring Trances in the Control Emerald Night. The other sections I later completed on my own. The 16-page full-colour booklet included with this double-CD contains liner notes and artwork by Chris and several photographic illustrations of my own. It would be great to see you at the launch, so I hope you can make it out this coming Tuesday. Coach House is also launching books by five authors: Rob Benvie, Geoffrey Brown, Mark Truscott, Julia Williams and James Reaney (details towards the end of this message). Here's when and where:
Tuesday 12 October 7:30PM
Revival
783 College Street
Toronto
A quick update on other TVI releases:
The Further Somniloquies of Dion McGregor--Outrageous Recordings of the World's Most Renowned Sleeptalker has been extremely well-received so far (especially in California), despite the fact that I've hardly managed to do any promotion for it yet.
Regions Reach--Songs of Samuel Andreyev will be out within a week or so. I think it's a fabtastic (yes, that's a typo, but I'll go with it) compilation. Far from being tired of the songs, after working with them so much over the past few years, I feel like listening to them more than ever.
If you don't want to wait for the December release party for these two discs (when Sam will be back from Paris to play a couple solo sets!), you can pick up Regions Reach and The Further Somniloquies on the Torpor Vigil Industries website (http://www.torporvigil.com)
Before closing, I'd like to draw your attention to one other event which may be of interest to you. It's a workshop in instrument-building by acclaimed "noisician" William A. Davison, to be held above This Ain't, in Toronto, on the 24th and 31st of October. To register or get further information, you can contact William at 416-588-7539 or davison@recordism.com
Thanks for receiving, and the best to you all for an inspired and marvelous autumn.
Steve
====
About the Coach House books (and the Natural History CD):
*Safety of War* by Rob Benvie
An underworked copy writer spends his days at an advertising firm and his nights
lost in old war movies, fantasizing about his strange teenage cousin and revisiting
his father‚s suicide. A hellride of exploded symbolism and beery misadventures,
New Age games and necromancy, laughs, puzzles and meditations on valour and
sacrifice in a world short on true heroes. The debut novel from musician Rob
Benvie (Thrush Hermit, Camouflage Nights).
(1552451437 $22.95)
*Self-Titled* by Geoffrey Brown
In Self-Titled, Journey Prize nominee Geoffrey Brown, author of the acclaimed
Notice, stares into a mirror and writes what he sees, what he thinks and what
he feels--a novel, elegant and elusive, that asks, can a breakup break you apart?
(1552451445 $16.95)
*Said Like Reeds or Things* by Mark Truscott
Mark Truscott's long-awaited debut is a book of micropoetic and linguistic koans,
poems which are a fresh and amusing diversion from the everyday from which they
are derived. An overturned toy box in your path to the television set.
(1552451453 $14.95)
*The Sink House* by Julia Williams
A long, eccentric love poem that will immerse you in the flood of its own desire,
Julia William's first book describes a stalled affair between a suburban house
and an elusive and alluring Oxfordshire riverbank. In Fred Wah's words, „poetry
that makes seeming so.‰
(15524514611 $14.95)
*Scripts: Librettos for Operas and Other Musical Works* by James
Reaney, edited by John Beckwith
A collection of poet and playwright James Reaney's musical writings, including
such masterpieces as Night Blooming Cereus, Crazy to Kill and Taptoo! Nine complete
works in all, extensively illustrated with poster and set designs, stills from
productions and graphics by Reaney himself.
(1552451496 $22.95)
*A Natural History of Southwestern Ontario* Poetry by Chris Dewdney
in a soundscape by Steve Venright
Dewdney's A Natural History of Southwestern Ontario has been published serially
since the late seventies and was collected in book form for the first time last
year by ECW Press. Venright's wondrous two-and-a-half-hour-long sonic interpretation
weaves together five hundred location-specific recordings with a reading of
the entire poem by the author.
(155245147X $19.95)
For those of you who can't make it to the event, please note that on the day of the launch all of our books will be available for sale at 15% off (website and walk-in sales only). For more information or review copies, please contact Christina Palassio at 416.979.2217 or christina@chbooks.com
Steve Venright
Torpor Vigil Industries
Toronto, Canada
http://www.torporvigil.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naturally, The Recordists will be in attendance at this event, celebrating with our dear friend and collaborator Steve Venright the launch of this long-awaited project. Hope to see some of you there!
- W.A.Davison
Update, October 7, 2004 - Sleepytime Gorilla Museum in T.O.!
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum are playing at The Poor Alex Theatre (296 Brunswick Ave., just south of Bloor), Toronto, Fri. Oct. 8th. The Recordists will be in attendance and you should be too! If you're not in Toronto, check their website for further tour dates, they could be coming to your town!.
- W.A.Davison
Update, October 6, 2004 - some info on an upcoming School of Experimental Arts workshop:
~~~~~~~~
SCHOOL of EXPERIMENTAL ARTS presents:
Building musical instruments from found objects and materials
A workshop by improviser and instrument builder W.A.Davison
No previous experience or musical background necessary, join our two-day workshop and create your own musical instrument! From concept through design, construction, to playability, take that thingamabob or whatsamajig lying around in the attic or found in the trash and turn it into a music-making work of art. Could be a variation on a traditional instrument, could be an entirely new invention, it’s up to you!
This Ain’t The Rosedale Library (upstairs)
483 Church St. (south of Wellesley), Toronto
Day 1: Sunday, Oct. 24, 2 - 5pm
- basic theory, examples of homemade instruments, beginning actual design and
construction
Day 2: Sunday, Oct. 31, 2 - 5pm
- further discussion and finishing construction, culminating in a noise jamboree
with your new instruments!
Cost of workshop: $120
To register or for further information contact William Davison at 416-588-7539 or davison@recordism.com
~~~~~~~
School of Experimental Arts is a new initiative begun by me and intended to act as an umbrella organization for independently produced workshops, lectures, etc. which present material under the loose term "experimental arts". It's little more than an idea right now although, as you can see, I've already started using the name. I'll post more on this project as it develops. In the meantime...
C'mon kids, take the "Foundstruments" workshop! Foundstruments are Funstruments!!
Okay, forget I said that, but do take my workshop, it'll be good.
- William A. Davison
Update, September 27, 2004 - horrible music!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sep.29th
8:30pm
new works studio
319 spadina ave., toronto
free (or pay what you can't )
'the most horrible night of your life , vol 2'
hansen - needles
davison - found around objects
hinz - god knows what , hopefully something hellish
fisher - thrashcore guitar and ultra frequency horns
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- W.A.Davison
Update, September 22, 2004 - poetry and noise tomorrow night!
~~~~~~~~~~
Poetry and Noise
w/ Alexandra Draghici
+
Gastric Female Reflex
Le Gourmand
152 Spadina Avenue (at Richmond), Toronto
Thu. Sept. 23 8pm
free event
ALEXANDRA DRAGHICI: poetry, voice, mouth, larynx, hats
GASTRIC FEMALE REFLEX
on this occasion being some configuration of:
william a. davison: homemade instruments, electronics
sherri lyn higgins: toys, infant spirit
jacob horwood: treated percussion
andrew zukerman: bowed banjo (bojo), electronics
~~~~~~~~~~~~
- W.A.Davison
Update, August 27, 2004 - upcoming gig!
-------------------
POETRY @ THE BAGEL
285 College Street, Toronto (W. of Spadina)
Tuesday, August 31 at 8:00 pm
Free event
An evening of music improvisations by
GASTRIC FEMALE REFLEX
(on this occasion A.Zukerman, S.Higgins, W.Davison)
accompanied by
SHOUTS AND WHISPERS,
SCREAMS AND SONGS
by
TOM WYSOCKI
--------------------
"The Bagel" may sound like a quaint deli/cafe but actually it's a somewhat less than quaint diner/greasy spoon...and I don't think they've ever had live music or poetry there. I'm sure they have no idea what they're in for and this fact alone should make this an "interesting" gig!
Hope to see you there!
- William A. Davison
Update, August 26, 2004 - more news from Torpor Vigil Industries:
~~~~~~
THE ILLUSTRATED VENRIGHT ENGLISH DICTIONARY from Book Thug press.
This conveniently alphabetically ordered compilation of definitions
from the glossaries of three of my books has been made valuable by the craftspersonship
of publisher Jay MillAr and the god-rattling retina-freaking illustrations of
Recordism's own William Davison and Sherri Lyn Higgins (also alphabetically
ordered). Look here, if you please:
http://www.torporvigil.com/vendex1.htm (click on BOOKS....)
It sells from ten bucks from the Torpor Vigil Industries site or from Appollinaire's Bookshop (Book Thug <bookthug@hotmail.com>). Or you can just go and ogle some of the images at the TVI site. I'm enthralled* -- and so will you be!
Steve
* Enthrallment: an emptying of the bowels, having to do with the mental state in which consciousness seems to expand.
Steve Venright
Torpor Vigil Industries
http://www.torporvigil.com
~~~~~~
- W.A.Davison (and S.Venright)
Update, August 26, 2004 - follow this link to read a tract, co-signed by a number of surrealist groups, which will be distributed at the upcoming anti-Republican Party marches and forums in NYC:
http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=04/08/21/1755252
- William A. Davison
Update, August 25, 2004 - News from our friends at Torpor Vigil Industries:
~~~~~~
Dear Friends and Associates,
It is my great pleasure to announce the release of a most extraordinary
CD
-- a compilation of the strange and absolutely hilarious spoken dreams of
legendary sleeptalker Dion McGregor.
.jpg)
THE FURTHER SOMNILOQUIES OF DION MCGREGOR
-- MORE OUTRAGEOUS RECORDINGS OF THE WORLD'S MOST RENOWNED SLEEPTALKER
features eighty minutes of fascinating and uproarious somnolent storytelling.
These unique audio tracks are beautifully complemented by cover art from acclaimed
artist Richard Kirk (perhaps best known for his illustrations of Clive Barker's
work). The back cover notes are presented below. If you'd like to find out more,
the liner notes (as well as a couple short audio excerpts) can be found on the
Torpor Vigil Industries website:
http://www.torporvigil.com/soundworksindex4.htm#dion
The disc can be ordered from the website. If you'd rather skip
that and get right down to business, here's what you can do:
A) Go to PayPal.com and use a credit card to "SEND" US$15.99 (plus
US$2.50 shipping charge for orders outside Canada) to this address:
steve@torporvigil.com
or B) Send an international money order or Canadian cheque (CAN$20.85 within
Canada, or CAN$24.10 to other countries) payable to Steve Venright/Torpor Vigil
Industries. The postal address is:
Steve Venright
Torpor Vigil Industries
548 Roxton Road
Toronto, Canada
M6G 3R4
An event is being planned for mid October (to be held somewhere in Toronto) to celebrate this release and the forthcoming release of REGIONS REACH: SONGS OF SAMUEL ANDREYEV. Around that time, in collaboration with Coach House Books, the audio version of Christopher Dewdney's A NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO will also be released. Details will be announced in September.
Thanks for your interest. Please get in touch if you have any questions.
Bye for now!
Steve
Steve Venright
Torpor Vigil Industries
http://www.torporvigil.com
- - - -FURTHER SOMNILOQUIES back cover notes:
The selections on this CD are among the most hilarious, bizarre and compelling
recordings ever made: the incredible spoken dreams of Dion McGregor.
Over a period of several years, McGregor’s roommate Michael Barr recorded hundreds of these extraordinary monologues, all while the speaker lay fast asleep. This collection offers up two dozen of McGregor’s most riotously outlandish dreams, including a scavenger hunt in which participants are given fory-five minutes to come up with everything from a yellow robin’s egg to Valentino’s automobile hubcap, a visit to the home of the lascivious Mrs. Dangerfield and her perverse butler, a game of ‘food roulette’ with a spinning tray of poisoned chocolate eclairs, and an encounter with a frightened little alien whose rocketship has ‘mislanded’ in an Indiana back yard.
If you listen to just one CD this year by an eloquently deranged sleeptalker who’s got a thing for mangoes, make sure you listen to The Further Somniloquies of Dion McGregor.
~~~~~~
- William Davison (thanks to Steve!)
Update, August 23, 2004 - This just in from Steve Venright (forwarded from Darren Wershler-Henry):
~~~~~~
Subject: Jim Woodring animation
http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/sakuhin_backnumber/15/frank.html
~~~~~~
Wonderful! Go there now!
- William A. Davison (thanks to Steve and Darren!)
Update, August 19, 2004 - I'll be performing some improvised music with friends at the Gladstone Hotel this weekend. Here are the details (as usual, extracted from Soundlist):
---------
Sunday, August 22nd
Alan Glicksman Presents
GLADTOES...an afternoon of music composed and performed in the moment
Free Event, 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Art Bar, Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West, Toronto. (416) 531-4635 www.gladstonehotel.com
Set One 2:15-3:00pm
Alan Briks: harmonica; Michelangelo Iaffaldano: krautonium, clarinet; William
Davison: guitar and homemade instruments; Alan Glicksman: percussion
Set Two: 3:15-4:00pm
Mani Mazinani: electric piano; Watson Jennison: soprano saxophone, flute; Jack
Vorvis: drums
Set Three: 4:15-5:00pm
Vanessa Hanson: voice; Felicity Williams: voice, djembe; Sundar Subramanian:
prepared electric guitar; Andrew Mason: bass;... present screams of the subconscious.
Set Four: 5:15-5:45pm
Michael Brienza: computer; my secret fire explores biorythmic patterns using
deep throbbing drones
-----------
- William A. Davison
Update, August 16, 2004 - a word or two from Jake:
~~~~~~
hi it's jacob from gastric female reflex with a quick update on some shows and releases for the end of the summer and the fall.
This Teusday Aug 17 at Rancho Relaxo we play with a great band, The Ronin King....coming all the way from Houston Texas. The concert is Five bucks and starts at nine.
Thursday Aug 19 at the Oasis Jacob and Oscar Laguan play live together for the first time. Using extended drones opening for Toronto's The Sac.
Teusday Aug 31 Venue TBA GFR plays background music for a evening of experimental poetry led by Tom Wysocki. These gigs of course will never be repeated as each Gastric Female Reflex concert in a prom in itself.
In terms of new releases from Andrew and Jacob this is what is available
GFR: David L. Coria C60 $5
GFR: 3ep's CDR $10
GFR: self titled CDR (Gold Soundz) $10 (very few left)
GFR: Moments CDR (gold Soundz $10 (very few left)
Upcoming
Gastric Female Relfex/Crank Sturgeon split 7"
Gastric Female Reflex: Pop Rocks 3" cd
Gastric Female Reflex: Best of AZ's NZ CPU archival finds CDR
Remember all of these pieces of information as there will be a quiz upon our next interaction
jh
~~~~~~
all above gigs are taking place in Toronto. Contact GFR at gastric_influence(at)emailaccount(dot)com
- William A. Davison
Update, August 12, 2004 - excerpts from the Six Heads CD "Six Heads or The Appearance of Hairs Band" (Disembraining Songs DIS-006) are currently being used in the Dogs In Space dance production "Secrets of the Arena". Details follow:
~~~~~
Dogs In Space & Moss Productions present:
Secrets of the Arena
A new dance for 2 cows and their cowboy
Featuring Aries Cheung, Scott O‚Neill, & Jane Townsend
fFIDA International Dance Festival 2004
Series C:
Sat Aug 14, 7pm
Sun Aug 15, 2pm
Mon Aug 16, 7pm
The Distillery, 55 Mill Street, Toronto
(E. of Parliament, S. of King)
The Cannery Studio #313
Tickets: $10 & gst
Info: 416-214-2619
www.ffida.org <http://www.ffida.org/>
Choreographed by Jane Townsend
Performed by Aries Cheung, Scott O‚Neill, Jane Townsend
Funded by the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Laidlaw Foundation.
Other programs in the same series:
Helen Myers
Dominique Chartrand
Tina Fushell
Sarah Johnson
Matthew Kwasnicki
~~~~~
- William A. Davison
Update, August 9, 2004 - news from SU-EN Butoh Company:
~~~~~
SU-EN Butoh Company and Skrotcentralen i Uppsala AB present
THE SCRAP PROJECT 2004
body, art and scrap metal dealing in a sparkling performance
Saturday August 14 at The Scrapyard in Uppsala
Performance starts 9 pm and scrap party until 1 am
Concept and choreography: SU-EN
Concept and scrap coordinator: Robert Alm
Participants: SU-EN Butoh Company/workshop
Drivers and workers from Skrotcentralen i Uppsala AB
Lee Berwick, Eva C Björkman, Sons of God, SU-EN
More info: www.suenbutohcompany.net
Sponsored by Statens Kulturråd, Uppsala kommuns kulturnämnd, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Musik i Uppland, Svenska Institutet.
Photo: Eva C-B
© SU-EN Butoh Company & Eva C-B
~~~~~
- SU-EN Butoh Co. (via W.A.Davison)
Update, August 5, 2004 - Short notice on an upcoming gig!!
~~~~~~~~
FREE NOISE ON KENSINGTON AVE.
last temptation, 12 kensington... (Kensington Market, Toronto) friday, august 06th, 7pm.
HAIR POLICE: these noise-boys from kentucky get their kicks humiliating their homemade electronics and molesting a drum set while accusing it of being easy. maybe it's some correlation that they're sonic youth's 'eccentric, untalented openers' that no teenage riot fan really has patients for? in any case they'll be force feeding vile noise erotica to the innocent civilians of bohemia.
GASTRIC FEMALE REFLEX: risking permanent larynx damage and impending dangers of electrocution during the virgin performance of pop rocks vocalizations. these psudo-chin scratchers put it all on the line to rock the noise hymen, utilizing amplified samplers, modified field recordings, piezo noodling and tape machines that eat but don't rewind.
~~~~~~~~
Actually, I don't even know whether I'm going to be participating in this one or not but go see it anyway.
- W.A.Davison
Update, July 4, 2004 - Recordist activity report: from June 17 to 22, 2004, a number of significant meetings took place in Toronto as The Recordists played host to a variety of entities claiming to be from the Oneiromantic Ambiguity Collective. Although quite startling in appearance and projecting powerful psychic emanations which resembled long threads of melted cheese, these entities turned out to be quite friendly and, after the paralysis had worn off, we spoke with them in an improvised language of prolonged guttural squelching. Several of them danced for us in a peculiar manner (not to be confused with The Peculiar Manor, one of our previous abodes), after which we noticed that our fingers had lengthened considerably (this later proved to be quite necessary in removing the small, clay balls from the orifices).
We also introduced our guests to Steve Venright at Torpor Vigil Industries, whose shoes suddenly burst into flames (no surprises there!).
Exciting plans were made for future interactions, collaborations, exchanges, and waving of appendages.
Photographic evidence of these visitations has been posted to the Recordist Scrapbook.
- W.A.Davison
Update, July 3, 2004 - Important announcement: as of today, the Virtual Bureau Of Recordism website is no longer being maintained. This is in preparation for the site's eventual dismantling when its host organization, The International Bureau of Recordist Investigation, ceases to be (set to take place on Dec. 5, 2004).
Information on Recordist projects will continue to be posted here at "The Organ Grinder's Gazette" and at various other websites, all of which can be accessed at Recordism on the Web.
- W.A.Davison
Update, June 15, 2004 - Gig announcement:
I'll be performing with Gastric Female Reflex next week at the Drake Hotel, Tue., June 22/04. Here's someone else's description of the event.
~~~~~~~~~
NOISE HIGH-FIVE! at the drake underground on june 22nd.
GASTRIC FEMALE REFLEX: illiciting asphyxiation live by means of plastic bag suffocation, tape manipulation, one-stringed instruments, awkward pauses, the bowing of rulers, contact micing, downs inspired chinese raga-pop, electronics, modified toys, a genuine lack of respect for each-other and more!!!
KNURL: the scraping/ bludgeoning of rotary blades and mesh fencing just doesn't sound right unless the king of southern-ontario harsh noise is instigating it. legend has it that the man is made out of steel but i think he's made out of love- you be the judge.
MY SECRET FIRE: strictly for those under the impression that cavity and bridge work is performed by 'musicians'. a genuine irritation utilizing the laptop for means other than word-processing and robot-funk, you'll wonder where the beats are and then get smacked upside the head for being presumptuous.
doors at 8:30pm, pay/what/you/can (bring money).
~~~~~~~~~
The Drake is at 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto.
- W.A.Davison
Update, June 11, 2004 - began this webpage which will serve as one of the primary information points for updates on Recordist activities. All announcements, commentary, essential instructions, gimcrackery and useless claptrap will be posted here. Said material will also be posted to the Recordism discussion group at Yahoo and to various and sundry e-mail lists and whatnot (Public Eyesore and Soundlist for music-related announcements, Akimbo and Instant Coffee for art stuff, etc.).
This webpage and the aforementioned postings will henceforth replace the I.B.R.I. Global Mailing List. In case you missed it the I.B.R.I. Global Mailing List was "an e-mail list with a focus on contemporary surrealism, the absurd, and the fantastic, as well as the activities of the International Bureau of Recordist Investigation (film, performance art, visual art, music, poetry, theory, networking, publishing, curating, removing the dipterous ones from the vitreous portal, and so on)". The I.B.R.I. Global Mailing List was maintained by the soon to be defunct International Bureau of Recordist Investigation.
An archive of past I.B.R.I. Global Mailing List announcements is available here.
Other links:
Public Eyesore (Nebraskan experimental music label. Runs a Yahoo discussion group which is an excellent source for news and announcements from experimental music artists far and wide)
Soundlist (the number one source of information on experimental and improvised music events in and around Toronto, Canada)
Akimbo and Instant Coffee (great sources for up to date listings of art events in the Toronto area, as well as international listings)
Recordism On The Web (web portal to all things Recordist)
- William A. Davison
* a note on the title: "The Organ Grinder's Gazette" was the original name of the official printed bulletin of the International Bureau of Recordist Investigation which was published by Emunctory Of Dreams Press and ran for three issues from Jan. 1999 to Feb. 2000. Each issue had a different title - "The Organ Grinder's Gazette", "The G. Grosz Garden Nitrate", and "Tarred Eggs Entering Azoth" - and each variation was an anagram of the original. Since we've decided to resurrect our little bulletin here in the form of this webpage, we also will carry on with our changing name game (using anagrams and other strategies), albeit on an occasional basis, beginning with "The Grazed Noggins Retreat".
Online versions of the original printed bulletins are available on the EOD Press Table of Contents.