Composer Rhys Chatham performs his now-classic Guitar Trio (1977), presented at ISSUE Project Room in partnership with Northern Spy Records as part of the second annual SPY MUSIC FESTIVAL. This performance will feature Rhys Chatham with nine guitarists, one bassist, and one drummer. Including Adam Wills (Bear in Heaven, February), Charlie Looker (Extra Life)— guitar, Mark Pearson (Neptune)— guitar, Jason Sanford (Neptune)— guitar, Kevin Micka (Neputne) — guitar, Sarah Lipstate (Noveller) — guitar Sarah Richardson (Blues, ex-Creeping Nobodies)— guitar, Steve Gunn— guitar, Chris Weiss— guitar, Caley Monahan-Ward (Extra Life)— bass, Kid Millions (Man Forever, Oneida)— drums
For full lineup go to http://spymusicfestival.com
“GUITAR TRIO IS MY LIFE!” This disarmingly concise personal manifesto -- bellowed by an ecstatic fan at the top of his lungs during a 2006 Rhys Chatham concert in Cleveland (the de facto capital of rock 'n' roll, of course), pretty much says it all.
Written in 1977, Guitar Trio is Rhys Chatham's signature composition, and with good reason. With a single, repeated chord, Chatham permanently altered the DNA of rock by splicing the gritty, overtone-drenched minimalism of John Cale and Tony Conrad with the elemental fury of the Ramones. The amalgamation was inspired. It energized the downtown New York scene throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, and made Chatham a founding father of the notorious No Wave movement. The influence of Guitar Trio spread even farther as former ensemble members carried its shimmering swagger into the rock mainstream.
Brooklyn-based Extra Life have challenged various underground circles with their dark, unclassifiable fusion of Experimental, Pop, Industrial, Prog, Classical and even Medieval aesthetics. The band’s dramatic sound, labeled by some as “Plague Pop”, has been called everything from “genius” to “pretentious” to “religious”. Extra Life was formed in 2007 by singer/keyboardist Charlie Looker after his departure from influential noise-chamber cult Zs and his brief stints with Dirty Projectors and Dax Riggs. After some lineup changes, the band gelled as a trio with guitarist/violinist producer Caley Monahon-Ward (of Snowblink) and drummer Nick Podgurski (of Feast of the Epiphany).
Extra Life has toured the US and Europe extensively, performing at festivals including Primavera Sound (Barcelona), Kilbi (Switzerland), Villette Sonique (France) and Moers Jazz (Germany), and sharing bills with Sonic Youth, Deerhoof, Sunn 0))), Owen Pallett, Xiu Xiu, Deerhunter, Lightning Bolt and Liturgy. By confronting both the so-called Indie world and the experimental noise underground which birthed them, Extra Life has built a devout international following of kids who refuse to take the easy way out. On April 10, 2012, Extra Life will released their third full-length album Dream Seeds on Northern Spy Records (US) and Africantape (EU/UK).
Neptune’s origins trace to 1994 as a sculpture project by Boston artist/musician Jason Sanford, who forged the band’s haphazard guitars and reluctant drums from scrap steel and found objects. Eight lineups, twenty-four releases and hundreds of instruments later, the band continues to wrench its sound spatter on self-built instruments to often confounded audiences around the world. In 2007, they released Gong Lake with avant arbiter Table of the Elements, home to art heroes Tony Conrad, Rhys Chatham and Faust. Neptune has shared the stage with a variety of influential artists such as The Ex, Mission of Burma, Ut, Oneida, Lightning Bolt, The Flaming Lips, Blonde Redhead, Melt-Banana, Charles Hayward, Liars, Black Dice, James Chance & the Contortions, Gang Gang Dance, The Dresden Dolls, Six Finger Satellite, and Wolf Eyes. Sanford and longtime Neptune collaborator Mark Pearson are currently joined by musician/instrument inventor Kevin Micka, redefining their music and creating new sounds from scratch. Propulsive percussion and sonorous electronics tangle with Sanford’s microtonal string creations with a refined minimalism, adding a new chapter to the band’s ever-evolving story.