EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 70, Issue 07 This issue's topics: Metlay gets avant-garde metlay conducts zorn! (14 messages) Your EMUSIC-L Digest moderator is Joe McMahon . Please send articles to emusic-l@american.edu. Administrative mail should be directed to the editor at the address above. You may subscribe to EMUSIC-L by sending mail to listserv@american.edu with the line "SUB EMUSIC-L your name" as the text. The EMUSIC-L archive is a service of SunSite (sunsite.unc.edu) at the University of North Carolina. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 01:16:46 18000 From: Phil Gelb Subject: metlay conducts zorn! I am happy to announce the introduction of Mike MEtlay to the Tallahassee avant garde music scene as Mike takes the stage, cue cards in hand, xpander under foot on NOvember 11 at the Cowhaus in tallahassee as mike prompts a movement of JOhn Zorn's game piece, "Cobra". He will of course, play on the movement (s) that he does not prompt. Truthfully it is great to have a fine musician with an open mind and a great sense of humor like mike around. phil "Do i have to wory that people in the audience will throw things at me when i play music as strange as Cobra" Mike Metlay during rehearsal. -- when 2 crackheads show up at your door with guns in hand, things get very strange ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 10:25:22 18000 From: Phil Gelb Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! > > >I am happy to announce the introduction of Mike MEtlay to the > >Tallahassee avant garde music scene as Mike takes the stage, cue cards > >in hand, xpander under foot on NOvember 11 at the Cowhaus in > >tallahassee as mike prompts a movement of JOhn Zorn's game piece, > >"Cobra". He will of course, play on the movement (s) that he does not > >prompt. > > It's killing me that I'm not going to be able to see this. :) Perhaps i need to arrange for a videotape of this event :) (sorry mike) > > >"Do i have to wory that people in the audience will throw things at me > >when i play music as strange as Cobra" Mike Metlay during rehearsal. > > This is one of the reasons. :) > when 2 crackheads show up at your door with guns in hand, things get very strange ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 15:48:48 18000 From: Phil Gelb Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! > > > > >I am happy to announce the introduction of Mike MEtlay to the > > > >Tallahassee avant garde music scene as Mike takes the stage, cue cards > > > >in hand, xpander under foot on NOvember 11 at the Cowhaus in > > > >tallahassee as mike prompts a movement of JOhn Zorn's game piece, > > > >"Cobra". He will of course, play on the movement (s) that he does not > > > >prompt. > > > > > > It's killing me that I'm not going to be able to see this. :) > > > > Perhaps i need to arrange for a videotape of this event :) (sorry > > mike) > > What time on Friday? I got the weekend off and this would make for an > interesting road trip. About 8 hours from Huntsville, Al, i guess... the concert starts at 9:30. A curious Yellow (sort of a Badfinger imitation) goes first then CObra then the WOggles (a garage band) phil ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 11:29:29 -0500 From: Joe McMahon Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! >I am happy to announce the introduction of Mike MEtlay to the >Tallahassee avant garde music scene as Mike takes the stage, cue cards >in hand, xpander under foot on NOvember 11 at the Cowhaus in >tallahassee as mike prompts a movement of JOhn Zorn's game piece, >"Cobra". He will of course, play on the movement (s) that he does not >prompt. It's killing me that I'm not going to be able to see this. :) >"Do i have to wory that people in the audience will throw things at me >when i play music as strange as Cobra" Mike Metlay during rehearsal. This is one of the reasons. :) --- Joe M. -- "Don't be absurd. We're scaring the locals with music for fun, not profit." (Lord Cthulhu, in Savage Henry #1) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 16:59:47 18000 From: Phil Gelb Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! > Seriously, anyone who wants info on the show should email Phil for details. > It's a benefit concert to fund a new music festival in Tallahassee next > January. It's a triple feature: a garage punk band, "Cobra," then another > garage punk band. We're gonna get lynched. actually the first band is a badfinger imitation. > > >Truthfully it is great to have a fine musician with an open mind and a > >great sense of humor like mike around. > > Phhht. I don't wanna hear about 'great musicians' when I'm sitting > next to a guy who wires a shakuhachi to a Microwave via contact mics > and a pitch to MIDI converter, and a trombonist who can imitate a > synthesizer doing a pink-noise LFO sweep at a moment's notice. I feel > like a kid trying to sit in on an adult's poker game. Especially when > I'm running the cues... "Let's see now, he's pointing at his > ear...ear...ear...which ones are the ears? No! That's an EYE cue! And > the Guerillas just announced Operations mode! Wait! WAAAAIIIT!!!" anybody can wire a shakuhachi into a microwave. just wait mike, next week Yi Yi joins us and he can imitate anything you do on his er-hu (a 2 string chinese bowed instrumetn) > "Last time we did this piece, I was running cues, and for four minutes > I was sending out an average of one cue every three seconds. The > musicians were all signalling me to slow down and I just said, 'the > hell with you! You want me to slow down, you gotta force me to with > the music!' Until they figured that out, they thought they > were gonna die. But it was a GREAT piece." (phil gelb) Prompting can be fun > "Where are we? I'm LOST." (kevin "deep kimchee" brislin) > > Are we having fun yet? Hell YES. I ought to type up the rules for > "Cobra" and upload them so OTHER people can shred their heads the same > way....anyone got John Zorn's email address? Not sure about this one Mike. Better see if Zorn minds if his work becomes public domain. At least dont tell him i taught he piece to you. As far as i know he is not on the net. phil -- when 2 crackheads show up at your door with guns in hand, things get very strange ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 13:35:43 -0600 From: Arne Claassen ISE Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! > > >I am happy to announce the introduction of Mike MEtlay to the > > >Tallahassee avant garde music scene as Mike takes the stage, cue cards > > >in hand, xpander under foot on NOvember 11 at the Cowhaus in > > >tallahassee as mike prompts a movement of JOhn Zorn's game piece, > > >"Cobra". He will of course, play on the movement (s) that he does not > > >prompt. > > > > It's killing me that I'm not going to be able to see this. :) > > Perhaps i need to arrange for a videotape of this event :) (sorry > mike) What time on Friday? I got the weekend off and this would make for an interesting road trip. About 8 hours from Huntsville, Al, i guess... -- Arne F. Claassen On the Web: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "[I]f a license was required to drive your synth, there might be less of a need for these newbie-type questions - then again, we'd have to deal with a Department of Transportation (Workstation?) - aaahhhhh!" - Jeff Schultz ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 12:02:15 -0800 From: atomic city Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! Phil Gelb writes-- > >I am happy to announce the introduction of Mike MEtlay to the >Tallahassee avant garde music scene as Mike takes the stage, cue cards >in hand, xpander under foot on NOvember 11 at the Cowhaus in >tallahassee as mike prompts a movement of JOhn Zorn's game piece, >"Cobra". He will of course, play on the movement (s) that he does not >prompt. Aw, PHIL...! Geez, can't a guy get out and do some Locus hand cues with some friends without its becoming a major production? :) Seriously, anyone who wants info on the show should email Phil for details. It's a benefit concert to fund a new music festival in Tallahassee next January. It's a triple feature: a garage punk band, "Cobra," then another garage punk band. We're gonna get lynched. >Truthfully it is great to have a fine musician with an open mind and a >great sense of humor like mike around. Phhht. I don't wanna hear about 'great musicians' when I'm sitting next to a guy who wires a shakuhachi to a Microwave via contact mics and a pitch to MIDI converter, and a trombonist who can imitate a synthesizer doing a pink-noise LFO sweep at a moment's notice. I feel like a kid trying to sit in on an adult's poker game. Especially when I'm running the cues... "Let's see now, he's pointing at his ear...ear...ear...which ones are the ears? No! That's an EYE cue! And the Guerillas just announced Operations mode! Wait! WAAAAIIIT!!!" >"Do i have to wory that people in the audience will throw things at me >when i play music as strange as Cobra" Mike Metlay during rehearsal. Gimme a break, we're playing a mosh pit! No, you want quotes from that night, here are some: "Last time we did this piece, I was running cues, and for four minutes I was sending out an average of one cue every three seconds. The musicians were all signalling me to slow down and I just said, 'the hell with you! You want me to slow down, you gotta force me to with the music!' Until they figured that out, they thought they were gonna die. But it was a GREAT piece." (phil gelb) "When you're a spy, you gotta be SUBTLE. Raise an eyebrow, make eye contact for a little longer. Dan used to move his plunger mute with his toe by about a half inch, and THAT meant he was turning Spy." (phil ballman) "Where are we? I'm LOST." (kevin "deep kimchee" brislin) Are we having fun yet? Hell YES. I ought to type up the rules for "Cobra" and upload them so OTHER people can shred their heads the same way....anyone got John Zorn's email address? mike -- mike metlay * atomic city * box 81175 pgh pa 15217-0675 * atomic@netcom.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "ah, art. i've heard of that. nah, just kidding...."(j. drukman (on cobra)) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 12:03:29 -0800 From: atomic city Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! Phil Gelb writes-- > >> >> >I am happy to announce the introduction of Mike MEtlay to the >> >Tallahassee avant garde music scene as Mike takes the stage, cue cards >> >in hand, xpander under foot on NOvember 11 at the Cowhaus in >> >tallahassee as mike prompts a movement of JOhn Zorn's game piece, >> >"Cobra". He will of course, play on the movement (s) that he does not >> >prompt. >> >> It's killing me that I'm not going to be able to see this. :) > >Perhaps i need to arrange for a videotape of this event :) (sorry >mike) No problem, I'll just kill you later. :) mike -- mike metlay * atomic city * box 81175 pgh pa 15217-0675 * atomic@netcom.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "ah, art. i've heard of that. nah, just kidding...." (j. drukman) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Nov 1994 15:52:28 18000 From: Phil Gelb Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! > > Um, not asking for the disclosure of the great and secret rules of this show, > but what exactly does this Cobra thing do. I've heard about cues of weird > sorts. Do these cues realte to particular passages to be played, or just > styles? It does sound like you are the detox, between two more commonly > digestible formats. > nothing secret about the rules at al. i t was just that i dont feel comfortable making public the score of someone els's music. The cues and gestures signify various types of interaction. All notes, rhtyms, pitches, etc are completely improvised on the spot. If you come here i can explain the piece in detail, plus seeing it in action will make it seem a whole lot more understandable. phil ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Nov 1994 08:54:16 -0800 From: atomic city Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! Phil Gelb writes-- > >> . It's a triple feature: a garage punk band, "Cobra," then another >> garage punk band. We're gonna get lynched. > >actually the first band is a badfinger imitation. Oh pardon ME. :) >anybody can wire a shakuhachi into a microwave. just wait mike, next >week Yi Yi joins us and he can imitate anything you do on his er-hu (a >2 string chinese bowed instrumetn) Holy...! You got HIM to join the group?! I thought he'd retired!! Phil's not kidding. I've seen Yi Yi perform; he can coax sounds from his erhu that are absolutely mindbending, from sound effects to exquisite strings and percussive guitar-like effects. On top of this, he's very easy to talk to and should be a blast to work with. Make the drive, Arne-- this is going to be a hell of a show! >Prompting can be fun I found this out last rehearsal. >> Are we having fun yet? Hell YES. I ought to type up the rules for >> "Cobra" and upload them so OTHER people can shred their heads the same >> way....anyone got John Zorn's email address? > >Not sure about this one Mike. Better see if Zorn minds if his work >becomes public domain. At least dont tell him i taught he piece to >you. As far as i know he is not on the net. Oops! VERY good point, Phil. My apologies, I'm glad I thought to ask before uploading anything. Does anyone know how I could write to Zorn or get in contact with him? mike -- mike metlay * atomic city * box 81175 pgh pa 15217-0675 * atomic@netcom.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "ah, art. i've heard of that. nah, just kidding...." (j. drukman) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Nov 1994 13:46:27 -0600 From: Arne Claassen ISE Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! > Phil's not kidding. I've seen Yi Yi perform; he can coax sounds from > his erhu that are absolutely mindbending, from sound effects to > exquisite strings and percussive guitar-like effects. On top of this, > he's very easy to talk to and should be a blast to work with. Make the > drive, Arne-- this is going to be a hell of a show! Sounds like it. I'm still not sure what the hell this Cobra thing is but i want to know! I just have to get some new rear tires before ventureing that far from home :) Email me if there are any accomodation/crash-abilities that i might take advantage of. I'll even get to see a real live Xpander! (correct) > >> Are we having fun yet? Hell YES. I ought to type up the rules for > >> "Cobra" and upload them so OTHER people can shred their heads the same > >> way....anyone got John Zorn's email address? > > > >Not sure about this one Mike. Better see if Zorn minds if his work > >becomes public domain. At least dont tell him i taught he piece to > >you. As far as i know he is not on the net. > > Oops! VERY good point, Phil. My apologies, I'm glad I thought to ask > before uploading anything. Does anyone know how I could write to Zorn > or get in contact with him? Um, not asking for the disclosure of the great and secret rules of this show, but what exactly does this Cobra thing do. I've heard about cues of weird sorts. Do these cues realte to particular passages to be played, or just styles? It does sound like you are the detox, between two more commonly digestible formats. -- Arne F. Claassen On the Web: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "[I]f a license was required to drive your synth, there might be less of a need for these newbie-type questions - then again, we'd have to deal with a Department of Transportation (Workstation?) - aaahhhhh!" - Jeff Schultz ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Nov 1994 16:06:21 -0500 From: Brian Good Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! Arne F. Claassen writes: > > Make the > > drive, Arne-- this is going to be a hell of a show! > > Sounds like it. I'm still not sure what the hell this Cobra thing is but i > want to know! I just have to get some new rear tires before ventureing that > far from home :) New tires won't help. If you really want to get into the proper frame of mind for "Cobra," you should sit for an hour or so with a running belt sander 1/2 inch from each ear. > Um, not asking for the disclosure of the great and secret rules of this show, > but what exactly does this Cobra thing do. I've heard about cues of weird > sorts. Do these cues realte to particular passages to be played, or just > styles? It does sound like you are the detox, between two more commonly > digestible formats. I saw Zorn do "Cobra" last winter at Oberlin, and I have to admit I don't have a clue as to the working paradigm. There was a lot of eye contact among the band, donning and doffing of headbands, holding up of cards, organizing into subgroups, disorganizing same subgroups, gesticulating, shrieking and caterwauling. I loved it. So if Mike would post the performance notes (if Zorn's blessing can be obtained), I'd appreciate it. brian good ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Nov 1994 13:07:00 -0800 From: Peter Mueller Subject: Re[2]: metlay conducts zorn! Sounds like it. I'm still not sure what the hell this Cobra thing is but i want to know! I just have to get some new rear tires before ventureing that far from home :) There's a doubleCD of it, I think its on Hat-Hut. Go into your local big CD place, they should have it in the John Zorn section. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Nov 1994 00:19:32 -0800 From: atomic city Subject: Re: metlay conducts zorn! Brian Good writes-- > > >I saw Zorn do "Cobra" last winter at Oberlin, and I have to admit >I don't have a clue as to the working paradigm. There was a lot of >eye contact among the band, donning and doffing of headbands, holding >up of cards, organizing into subgroups, disorganizing same subgroups, >gesticulating, shrieking and caterwauling. I loved it. I am in tears. This is the most beautiful, succinct, marvelously accurate mental picture of a COBRA performance I have ever read. Especially the gesticulating, shrieking and caterwauling. >So if Mike would post the performance notes (if Zorn's blessing can >be obtained), I'd appreciate it. They're halfway written up already. I need to get in contact with Zorn somehow and discuss it with him.... -- mike metlay * atomic city * box 81175 pgh pa 15217-0675 * atomic@netcom.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "ah, art. i've heard of that. nah, just kidding...." (j. drukman) ------------------------------ End of the EMUSIC-L Digest ******************************