Saturday, August 26th, 2017
Gallows Hill Theatre, Salem, MA
CRANK STURGEON (Williamstown, MA)
CRANK STURGEON is an artist extraordinaire... He is one of the most powerful sound and performance artists of New England and probably the US. The unbelievable craft of his performances is utterly astonishing... And this happens every time you see him!
Read his own bio:
Foaming at the gills with pockets full of thrift store novelties, homemade transducers, and costuming collaged from mailbox weeklies usually reserved for the cat box, Crank Sturgeon utilizes such finery to marinate a commingling of noise and lower case art interruption. The consequence has been a quarter century-long journal entry that reads something akin to a failed circus flier: brimming with tales of dirigible mishaps, bathtub teleconferences, cassette
recordings consisting of hiccuping contests, and skits showcasing repurposed office equipment that never seem to stay on script (or upright for that matter).
In recent years, a number of these close shaves have placed themselves on the map. Witnesses observed processes involving self-inflating shirts in Quito, airborne conga lines featuring dancing plywood business suits in Leipzig, parades in Roanoke denoted by trousers filled with 30 gallons of water, and revelations pertaining to the acoustic qualities of packing tape in Athens. To
date, Crank Sturgeon's career highlight has been a fingerprinting marathon which took place on an island in Maine -- 600 people in four hours -- printing just their middle fingers.
https://www.youtube.com/cranksturgeon
https://soundcloud.com/user6719786
BRITTANY KARLSON (Boston, MA)
Brittany Karlson is a bassist and vocalist who lives, works, and plays in Boston, MA.
Making a dogpile of wooden sounds drawing from a pool of improvising, old time, and bizarre religious music.
https://lungbasket.bandcamp.com/album/feast-day
https://lettercastle.bandcamp.com/album/rehearsal-tape-3-26-16
MIKE BARRETT (Northampton, MA)
For the better part of the last 20 years, Michael Barrett has been a consistent presence in the Western Mass noise scene, playing and booking shows at the Flywheel and any other venue that would let him through the door. Under the name Belltonesuicide he has released dozens of short run tapes, CDrs (and even a couple LPs), on Feeding Tube, Kendra Steiner Editions, and his own label, Gilded Throne. Michael is a former member of The 23 Ensemble and has also collaborated with Tom Crean, Cruudeuces, Diagram A, Noise Nomads (as Vapor Attack), Erik Brown (of Scald Hymn/Wish For Skin, as Useless Little) and for many years drunkenly tag teamed audiences with the notorious Radioactive Prostitute.
As of 2016, Michael has retired Belltonesuicide and begun separate projects to focus more concisely on the elements that were once synthesized in Belltonesuicide. Working "solo," under his own name, he develops loose compositions and concrete collages using analog synthesizers, field recordings and radio. And under TRUNCATE, stays true to his roots in pure noise and Harsh Noise Wall.
https://tickedofftapes.bandcamp.com/album/m-barrett-no-sex-no-gender
https://gildedthrone.bandcamp.com/album/live-wcuw-2017-06-06
DOMESTIQUE (Providence, RI)
Domestique is Ricky Katowicz. He is a dedicated maker of things – toys, fun, art, costumes, performance – no matter what he gets his hands on, there tends to be a lot of glitter and magic involved. His one-minute series of dance videos on every Sunday is a jewel.
Check Dance Sunday: 21 above!
