Music will be covered via live performance from such bands as John Shirley's Panther Moderns, Little Fyodor, Fuguelixir, and PH10. Tribal Rhythmic Entrainment is also scheduled (bring your didjeridus, rhythm sticks, or pan flutes, and join in the fun! Even if you can't play you can at least add your body to the primal break-down). There will also be a theremin concert, so be sure to let us know if you are a theremin composer.
The Panther Moderns: This is the current band fronted by novelist and GoH John Shirley (his previous bands included Sado Nation, The Monitors, Terror Wrist, and Obsession. He's also been a lyricist for Blue Oyster Cult). The sound is of an industrial lounge band reminescent of Jim Carroll, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Frank Zappa, Johnny Cash and Iggy Pop. Songs include: I Love to see you in black because it makes me feel like your Husband's Dead.
Fuguelixir: An "art performance" THING that usually tries to pass itself off as a band. They do often play actual music (as well as noise) but are just as likely to do a one minute "performance" piece like, say, proclaiming psuedo-political gibberish, accusing themselves of being Karl Malden (intentionally unconvincingly) and detonating an indoor pyrotechnical device that covers the audience in Smurfberry Crunch, and passing out hairbrushes, all the while apologizing that their mind is a bulb.... We humbly dare you to try making sense of it.
Little Fyodor: Little Fyodor's two main releases are Dance of the Salted Slug and Idiots are Closer to God. Both titles say a lot about Little Fyodor and Babushka live. The latter title sums up the aire, the former title is an ode to an actual dance that he does for the audience. You have to see it. Ever-so-wonderful songs include: I am Insane and Oh God I Feel Like Shit. No matter how much you don't want to, you can always relate to Little Fyodor. I tried, very unsucessfully, to describe him once and came up with this: "Take life's pressure points, try to look at them with a minimalistic yet completely twisted outlook, remove all chirpy optimism, add a blunt form of convolution. No, that doesn't make sense."
Ph10 (was LD-50): "In many cases, the samples LD-50 features are more explicit than its lyrics, which on the EP consist largely of barked syllables arranged into a Dadaist collage. What often makes the final cut, Gobo claims, 'is a misinterpretation of what someone wanted.' The Melville-penned Tower of Babel, for instance, contains monologues recited in four different languages: French, German, Japanese and Italian. The result is a wall of glossolalia that's haunting and beautiful."
Tribal Rhythmic Entrainment: An esoteric music improvisation and primal break-down. This will be headed by people who are actually accustomed to playing tribal music and clatter, but everyone is invited to join in with click sticks, drums, didjeridus, rattles, pipes, etc. If you can't play, you can add your body to the frenzy.
Theremin Concerto: Or perhaps there will be nothing concerto about it. This is a concert for theremin composers and is open to anyone who can make nifty sounds with the device. The theremin was invented in 1919 and is still heavily used by experimental musicians. It is played by running your hands near two antennae: one used for pitch control, the other used for volume. Some bands make theremins that are large enough to be used for audience interaction in their live shows. Moog developed a midi-controlled theremin, which will likely make them yet more popular in electronic music. Don't fret if you don't yet have a theremin. Just go to the workshop for building them at Death Equinox '97 and you should be ready for the festivites of the next year.
If you need to brush up on your knowledge of every aspect of the theremin, here is the perfect web site for it: The Theremin Home Page
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