I’ve posted details about a collection of whirligig instruments I created. The instruments use generative design techniques and can be produced with digital fabrication tools: 3D printer, laser engraver/cutter, etc. The instruments are designed to make sound when spun on the end of a string. They include bullroarers, whistles and instruments I call bumblers that use vibrating rubber bands to make buzzing sound.
You can find the .stl and .svg files to cut and print your own instruments on the pages linked above. You can also find OpenSCAD .scad files so you can customize the designs to your needs.
Playing with the Gates Ensemble was one of the highlights of my time in Austin, Texas. The group consists of
Brent Fariss – contrabass Jacob Green – piano and electronics Holland Hopson – banjo and electronics Josh Ronsen – clarinet and piano Bill Thompson – electronics Travis Weller – violin and electronics
We’ve gotten together once or twice in various configurations since Bill and Jacob and I left Texas. Hopefully there’ll be more Gates Ensemble performances and recordings again soon.
Petal Motel has released Compassion, a Bandcamp-exclusive digital compilation benefiting the National Network of Abortion Funds. The collection features Cosmic Americana by over 30 artists ranging from fingerpicked folk and ambient soundscapes to pedal steel-driven dreams and rock stompers.
My tune “Red at the Edges” is included. It’s a companion to the work on my album Tell A Gossip.
We honor and remember the incomparable guitarist and improviser Davey Williams this weekend at East Village Arts in Birmingham. The Davey Williams Memorial Guitar Festival runs Friday through Sunday March 3-5 and will feature guitar solos by local and guest performers, a guitar parade, performances on cast iron guitars and Jean-Jacque Gaudel’s invented instruments, and more. There will also be a screening of Lee Shook’s documentary about Davey, Convulsive Blues. I’ll be performing on Sunday as part of the Antennae Road Orchestra, reinterpreting selected improvisations from Williams’ Antenna Road album. See below for the address, full schedule and festival pass info.
Davey Williams’ books, CDs, t-shirts (and these sweet bumper stickers) will also be available.
Bumper Sticker: SKRONK! if you heart Davey Williams
The DAVEY WILLIAMS GUITAR FESTIVAL MARCH 3-5, 2023 EAST VILLAGE ARTS 7611 1st Ave. N.
FRIDAY 5:00 “Rush Hour” ELECTRIC GUITAR PARADE ON THE STREET 6:00 POTLUCK/ Hospitality/EXHIBITION/byob 7:00 – !0:00 featuring: Cast Iron Guitars Guitar Solos/”Round Robins” Killick Hinds: h’arpeggione, Big red harp guitar
SATURDAY 6:00 POTLUCK/ Hospitality/EXHIBITION/byob 7:00 – !0:00 featuring: Cast Iron Guitars Guitar Solos/ ”Round Robins” Musical Inventions of Jean-Jacque Gaudel Brady Sharp: solo electric guitar
SUNDAY 6:00 POTLUCK/ Hospitality/EXHIBITION/byob 7:00 – 9:00 CONCERT and “TALL TALES” & Cast Iron Guitars Documentary Film: “CONVULSIVE BLUES” by Lee Shook The “ANTENNAE ROAD” ORCHESTRA performed by UAB Jazz Ensemble & Community Musicians
I’m thrilled to announce my latest solo recording, Sky Sparrow Snow. This release is a return to song forms for banjo, voice and electronics. Sky Sparrow Snow is a collection of seven original songs merging old-time Appalachian banjo with ambient electronics. The tunes touch on folk (“Laurel Cove“) and gospel (“Over Yonder’s Ocean“) with adventures into hybrid genres like raga blues (“Alap Catfish Impala“) or Steve Reich-meets-Dock Boggs (“No Mule“).
Though these recordings may sound like studio creations, they’re largely documents of live performances, with only minimal edits and overdubs. All of the electronic treatments happen in real-time; I play the banjo and sing while custom Max patches respond to the audio signals and data from my sensor-equipped instruments.
