I try to keep it simple. In fact, for most of the last 10 years, my use of effects pedals has been downright spartan. At this point, I think I have finally put the right combination of sounds together. The only difference with this photo and my actual performance set up is that the BOSS RC-50 Loop Station is placed to the left of the pedal board and not on top of it.

From left to right (beginning at the top):

BOSS RC-50 Loop Station: I just replaced my Digitech JamMan with the RC-50. I used the JamMan for every live performance and recording session over the last few years and it never failed me. My only frustration was the last of control over the loops and the large amount of noise produced by the unit when attempting to record direct. So far the RC-50 has been amazing. Three stereo loops, each with their own pan, volume and forward/reverse settings.

BOSS RE-20 Roland Space Echo: I imagine this is about as close as I will ever get to a real Space Echo sound. I toyed with the idea of buying a vintage RE-201 but the cost and upkeep are a little prohibitive. Thankfully the RE-20 sounds amazing. I use it mostly on guitar but it is hard to be on a snare drum too.

Electro-Harmonix Stereo Electric Mistress: Believe it or not but this is the only modulation pedal I have ever owned in 15 years of playing guitar. The ability to combine flange and chorus leads to a number of beautiful, shimmering accidents. Play and record in stereo if at all possible.

T-Rex Mudhoney: Unlike modulation pedals, I have owned my fair share of distortion boxes. From the ugly sounds of the BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone to the underwhelming overdrive and fuzz boxes from Electro-Harmonix, I have had a difficult time finding a sound that was right for me. It just so happened that I booked a recording session for I Heart Lung at Matt Wignall’s Long Beach studio, Tackyland, when I found a Mudhoney pedal among the cables and wires. I plugged it in and ordered my own a few days later.

Ernie Ball VPJR: Volume pedals aren’t very sexy. They rank up there with DI boxes and power supplies as the last thing any musician wants to spend their money on. A volume pedal helps me add texture and thoughtful accompaniment to whatever style of music I am playing. It might be boring but it’s also my secret weapon.

Not Pictured
I still have two pedals that aren’t in this setup. One is the BOSS DD-20 Gigadelay, which I have used extensively for many years now. The other is a Digitech Synth Wah which is a decent/weird envelope filter. Depending on the setting, I’ll swap out the DD-20 for the RE-20 and if I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll plug the synth wah.

LINKS

BOSS
Electro-Harmonix
T-Rex
Ernie Ball

On May 19th, 2008, I Heart Lung went into Matt Wignall’s Tackyland Studio in Long Beach and recorded music to accompany a series of colorful short films by Canadian visual artist Jonathan Dueck. Jonathan has designed album covers for Soul-Junk, Rafter Roberts, Liz Janes and many others, he is also responsible for bringing West African artist Hermas Zopoula to the attention of the Asthmatic Kitty record label. For the past few years Dueck has quietly scratched, painted and stamped over repurposed 16mm film. Eventually he wound up with 20 short films each running 1 to 2 minutes in length. He then asked four different artists to compose soundtracks: Chad VanGaalen, Son Lux, Deneir and I Heart Lung.

After four years of work, Jonathan Dueck’s 16mm project is ready. Well, almost… All he needs now is to raise enough money to package the booklet, DVD and CD together and he’s doing it through Kickstarter.com. You can help make it all possible for only a $10 pledge. Just so you know, pledging now will not remove any funds from your account, if Jonathan does not reach his goal of $2,600 in the next 60 days, you don’t pay anything. I cannot recommend your support for this project highly enough. Check out Jonathan’s video and Kickstarter page here.

In late March of 2009, I attended the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, California. NightSky was nominated for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the Independent Game Festival and the game’s creator, Nifflas and I would be helping to demo the game on the show floor.

The conference was bustling with energy, creativity and audio/visual stimulus. I met a number of incredible designers, writers, and artists but the biggest treat for me was the Indie Video Game Music Roudntable conducted by Jeriaska. Four video game composers, Vincent Diamante (Flower on PS3), Baiyon (PixelJunk Eden on PS3), Shaw-Han Liem and I, talk about modern game music, player feedback, interactivity, and the chicken/egg dilemma of the creative process.

It was an honor to be invited and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.

FUTHER READING
An Indie VGM Roundtable – Night, Flower, Eden and Proud

Shannon Fields and I started talked in the early winter of 2008. He was booking four months in advance for the calendar at John Zorn’s venue, The Stone. Each month one person picks all of the music that will be played there, two seatings per night, one at 8pm and one at 10pm. It’s a wonderfully rigid place: they don’t serve food or drinks and they don’t accept demos. You have to be invited. Once that invitation came, I didn’t think twice before accepting it. The time and date were set for Saturday, February 7th, 2009. All I had to do was get myself to New York.

Performing Twilight & Ghost Stories in front of an audience involves highly controlled group improvisation and a loose sense of composition. There are three prewritten sections in the piece for an acoustic guitar tuned to Open C. The rest of the group has no idea how they will be used, what they might play or whom they will accompany. Some players receive specific rules or requests that the others do not. I write out charts ahead of time that help me organize instrument combinations, then I use a light box to conduct the group once we begin. The most important consideration, however, takes place long before the performance: choosing the right musicians.

Diane Cluck is one of the most intense and gifted improvisers I have ever played with. She was the first to person to confirm and it gave me early confidence. Known for focusing his immense energies on whatever instruments are set before him, Tom Abbs is a restless artist. The upright bass he brought to the performance had a didgeridoo cut into it, allowing him to alternate low end attacks. Once I read that The Stone had a Yamaha grand piano in residence I knew I would ask Mick Rossi to play it. Rossi’s work with the Philip Glass Ensemble and his own solo albums reveal a dexterity of imagination and sense of humor all to rare in the jazz and classical elite. Katie Young was the third musician who was an original contributor to the Twilight & Ghost Stories album. Her bassoon would be much needed tone in a group dominated by string instruments. With half of the group in place I contacted drummer Chad Taylor, a musician whose thoughtful, propulsive drumming with the Chicago Underground Duo I have long admired.

Naturally, I asked Shannon to participate as well. His production and arrangements with Stars Like Fleas are themselves sophisticated combinations improvisation and composition. Composer and producer Roberto Carlos Lange is perhaps better known as half of Savath & Savalas or one of his other myriad pseudonyms: Boom & Birds, ROM, or Helado Negro. Roberto has a sharp ear for melody and rhythm which would serve the performance even if he was limited to samplers and delay pedals. Lastly, G. Lucas Crane (of Vanishing Voice) and Grey Gersten were confirmed for alternate seatings. Lucas and Grey, on cassette tapes and electric guitar respectively, are both gifted improvisors and I knew they would lend color to the sets they performed in. Finally, photographer Scott Friedlander was hired to document the evening. He kindly served as the de facto master of ceremonies addressing the audience prior to the performances and establishing an etiquette for the night.

In 2003, my wife and I took a road trip across the country. It was a fast and loose affair that masqueraded as a solo guitar tour for me. In reality, it was an extended honeymoon in which we saw the country for the first time. We ate Kentucky Fried Chicken in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Our car broke down in a Sunday in Utah. We made it as far east as Charlottesville, Virginia, but our trip to New York did not materialize. Once the group was put together, I invited Adriana come to New York with me. We would spend a few days walking around the city, eat incredible food and, for the first time, she could see a live performance of Twilight & Ghost Stories. We packed a week’s worth of clothes into one bag and used the rest of our luggage to transport all of my equipment. I left my acoustic guitar at home and hoped that I would be able to borrow one in town. A few days before the performance, I talked to Lars Gotrich who said he was traveling from Washington DC to attend. He would bring his guitar on the bus, the one he played during the first live Twilight event in Athens, Georgia.

On Saturday afternoon Katie Young graciously called to excuse herself due to a nagging cold. After a few moments of slight panic I remembered that my long time friend and band mate, Danny T. Levin (of Create (!)) was in town on a tour of his own. He sent word that he could make the 8pm seating but, because of prior plans, wouldn’t be able to stay for the second set. I was also contacted by Jeff Hylton-Simmons who offered to help with microphone stands, engineering and makeshift cinematography. Without Jeff’s help at the 11th hour, the shows would not have started on time and they certainly would not have been captured with such clarity. In less than three hours we set up lighting, live sound and recording for nine musicians, and made arrangements to the stage and seating area. The group was laid out in a cramped horseshoe and we blocked off a number of seats in the back with a shared table for Roberto and Shannon as well as the grand piano. Once the doors opened, every seat before us filled up and the remaining audience members walked through the stage to take a seat behind the ensemble.

Early February was still in the heart of a cold New York winter. Every day the temperature climbed ever so slightly from 15 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Somehow, by showtime on Saturday it was a downright balmy 60 degrees. Maybe it was the beautiful weather or the assembly of these musicians, maybe it was the previews in Time Out and the NY Times. Whatever the reason, the show was deeply successful: both sets were standing room only and the music we played was nuanced, energetic and unpredictable. Small shadows bounced off the walls behind each musician as he or she was brought into and out of the piece. It contained the intimacy and drama of good theater.

Once the first set was over I talked to Danny, whose cornet playing gave the group a dynamic, melodic voice. He said he needed to grab something to eat and change his plans. He would be back for the 10pm seating. Regrettably, G. Lucas Crane’s schedule became so troublesome that he was unable to attend. Talking with friends who had driven from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Rochester, New York I was snapped back into the moment itself. There I was in the company of everyone assembled: smiling, talking, shaking hands.

At one point during the second set, both Grey and Diane locked into a loping key where he supplied a few well chosen chords and she, a melody and lyrics. Earlier, Mick brandished drum sticks and began pounding out sharp rhythm on the strings of the grand piano. No sooner had he begun, Chad’s light flickered on, he picked up sticks of his own and they were off to the races. All the while, Roberto was sampling the entire group in real time, throwing on feedback and letting it all die out in a wash of reverb. Shannon alternated from understated glockenspiel and chiming autoharp to skronking clarinet and Tom Abbs bulldozed his bass without mercy. The music was alive.

A few days later on the flight home, somewhere over the border of South Dakota and Wyoming I was listening to Paul Motian’s Story of Maryam. That night, both Motian and the incredible Cassandra Wilson would begin individual residencies at two different NYC venues, an embarrassment of riches. For one night however, I was honored to share the stage that is New York City.

FUTHER READING
NY Times Preview
Time Out NY Preview
NY Press Review
Bomblog Review
Prefix Magazine Photos

This past Sunday afternoon I spent a few hours picking up last minute accessories for the upcoming performance of Twilight & Ghost Stories: plug adapters, electric cables, miniature light switches and bulbs. My luggage hardly consists of a “musical instrument” in the traditional sense; I won’t even be traveling with an acoustic guitar. When I last performed the piece in Austin I had the luxury of time (three days) and thus, any lighting or audio issues were worked out slowly with the help of Aaron Mace. In New York I will have less than three hours to set up so I need to have my act together, so to speak.

My red suitcase includes just about everything I will need sans light bulbs; I decided to purchase them in New York rather than have them destroyed in the belly of an airplane. My lightbox (upper right) is the centerpiece of the entire live performance. Custom made for me by Will Donaldson for the Next To Last Festival in Athens, Georgia, Will was able to bring together all the ideas I had about bringing Twilight & Ghost Stories to life for an audience. Now that the size of the ensemble has grown I have augmented the light box with additional mini-light switches (below lightbox) so that I can independently control eight lights from the box alone. With the clip light (lower right) attached to my own mic stand I will have nine lights operating at the same time. I’m also bringing along a small radio, milk frother, marimba mallet and some duct tape. The older I get the more I think that gaffer’s or duct tape should always be on my person.

In addition to setting up the lighting (and performing, of course) I will also be attempting to engineer the piece with a makeshift mobile recording studio. Jake R. will be filming in HD and Scott Friedlander will document the event with his wonderful photography. It’s a once in a lifetime show for me and I want to make sure I have something(s) to remember it by. Putting this all together has been a thrill (I even got a nice write up in Time Out New York) and I can’t thank Shannon Fields and John Zorn enough for providing this opportunity.

UPDATE: Post-performance photos and essay here

Twilight & Ghost Stories NYC

February 7th, 2009
The Stone
The corner of Avenue C and 2nd Street
New York, NY. 10009

Tom Abbs- acoustic bass, dijeridoo
Diane Cluck- voice and acoustic guitar
G. Lucas Crane- tapes, electronics (Vanishing Voice)
Shannon Fields- omnichord, glockenspiel, clarinet (Stars Like Fleas)
Grey Gersten- electric guitar, electronics
Roberto C. Lange- electronics (Savath y Savalas)
Mick Rossi- piano (Philip Glass Ensemble)
Chris Schlarb- acoustic guitar, electronics, lights
Chad Taylor- drums (Chicago Underground Duo, Iron & Wine)
Katherine Young- bassoon, accordion (Anthony Braxton)

Two Seatings: 8pm and 10pm

Tickets $15 at the Door. No advance sales.

I had so many different projects on-going and intersecting this year I thought it might be fun to work up a little timeline. I ended up purchasing a beautiful piece of software by BeeDocs earlier this year called Timeline 3D and it imported all of my events from iCal. Then I started taking stuff out and simplifying. The resulting year is represented in the static timeline above and the 3D video timeline (with commentary) below.

In two weeks time I have travelled over 3,500 miles to perform Twilight & Ghost Stories. The first performance, on July 19th, at San Francisco’s Hemlock Tavern was a cramped, frenzied, artistic success that included a wonderful ensemble of musicians including an interesting substitution: cellist Alex Cort and his wife gave birth to a boy early in the morning of the 20th and, quite understandably, he was unable to perform. In Alex’s place, percussionist and composer Andrew Pompey took on the Deagan #330 marimba that he and I purchased only hours before the concert. Arranged by Ellul’s Joel St. Julien, the performance was part of the Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival and included a stellar ensemble of musicians all of whom deserve many thanks for what could be considered a thankless endeavor.

Joel Brown-Tarman and bandmate St. Julien were pitch perfect contributing monome cut ups, vocals and guitar textures while Vijay Anderson propelled and shifted time whenever he was called upon, once matching up in a spirited duet with good friend, trumpeter Kris Tiner. Matt Davignon seemed to get inside the spirit of the piece and provided elements that musicians with bigger egos could not themselves create and Andrew inaugurated the marimba by adding skillful, sensitive accompaniment.

Only a few days later I flew from Long Beach to Austin, Texas for a performance that I will not soon forget. Living in Southern California it can be easy for me to forget the hospitality shown to strangers in other parts of the country. The city of Austin left me stunned.

The performance was organized by Aaron Mace who runs the progressive music co-op called The Church of the Friendly Ghost, on July 29th we would conduct a free open rehearsal and on July 30th we would perform the piece in full.

Along with drummer and provocateur Chris Cogburn, Aaron applied and was approved for a grant from the MetLife Meet The Composers Fund that was able to pay for my travel and some promotional expenses. The performance took place at the wonderfully intimate Salvage Vanguard Theater which felt very similar to the lovely Electric Lodge here in Venice, CA. where we premiered 40 BANDS/80 MINUTES!

From Nick Hennies and his wife Meghan who housed me and took me to Barton Springs to Alex Keller lugging all of his recording equipment around just in case we might need it to Chris Cogburn keeping me company the last few days in town, I could not have been better taken care of.

And the musicians. What an incredibly wonderful group of people. Diane Cluck and Ken(’s Last Ever Radio Extravaganza) rode 41 hours into town by bus and provided a certain grace so important that the performance surely would not have been the same without them. It’s not just the tone of Jon Doyle’s clarinet that strikes you, there is a genuine good-naturedness to his personality that defies trouble. At a certain moment Nick Hennies haunting vibraphone interlocked with Doyle’s woodwind and the cello of Steve Bernal for a brief trio of master musicians. Singer/songwriter/philosopher Bill Baird (aka {{{Sunset}}}) earnestly put himself into the piece and, occasionally threw caution to the wind, once meeting with the voice of Diane Cluck and strumming a ghostly chord that the two of them rested on. Instantly recognizable, Aaron Russell’s electric guitar shimmered and sang with all the character that one would expect and engineer and sound designer Alex Keller focused unwaveringly on an ancient reverb coil that he exposed to all manner of feathers, paint brushes and screwdrivers.

Seated to my immediate left, Chris Cogburn manipulated, resonated and coaxed sounds otherwise unheard from his drums. A well known improviser and curator of Austin’s No Idea Fest, Chris and I met in Llano, Texas in the spring of 2007. Before parting company we had already begun talking about working together and when the opportunity to perform Twilight & Ghost Stories eventually arose Chris championed the idea and worked with The Church of the Friendly Ghost to make it happen. Nick Hennies took all of the ideas I had in mind and on record and immediately helped put together the crack ensemble. William Meadows and James Laurance worked their magic on the live and audio recordings and the talented Leah Ross filmed the entire piece in HD without a crew, just her camera and the music.

The performance of Twilight & Ghost Stories requires that each musician in the ensemble is assigned a light. When the light is on the musician can play music, when the light is off they must remain quiet. Prior to the first performance of Twilight at the Next To Last Fest in Athens, Georgia I asked the festival founder Will Donaldson to help me put a light box together that would allow me to do such a thing. The light box itself has a total of five switches, however, there are eight plugs for lights- some switches control two plugs and some control one.

Aside from playing acoustic guitar, I was able to put my trusty light box to the test and although things were under control in San Francisco (seven total musicians) I was faced with some very interesting challenges in Austin (ten total musicians). The challenge, as I learned during rehearsal, is that it can be difficult to create certain combinations when required to turn on two musicians at the same time: what if you only want one? A trip to Home Depot and a few extra lights helped solve half of the problem, however I ended up simply unplugging certain lights to ensure that the correct lights were turned on in combination with one another.

I doubt that I will ever forget the generosity of time and spirit shown to me over the last few weeks. The hugs and handshakes from each musician I have been able to perform with has been an experience quite unlike any other. I am already looking forward to the memories of Twilight in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

FUTHER READING
Interview and Austin Review at Tiny Mix Tapes
Photographs from Austin Performance at Flickr
Feature on NPR Station 90.5 Program Texas Music Matters
Show preview at Austinist
Recommendation at Austin Chronicle
Recommendation at Austin-American Statesman
Feature at Austin Sound

A few weeks back I was asked a question: would I like to go to Athens, Georgia in December and play some music. Typically, I responded with two questions of my own. One about transportation and one about a performance guarantee. Both of those questions were quickly answered in the affirmative and arrangements were made for me to perform at Next To Last Fest.

After confirming I then wrestled with the idea of what to perform. The festival organizer, Will Donaldson, was a fan of Twilight & Ghost Stories and I assumed that I would be performing that composition in some fashion. But how? I thought about incorporating large sections of the album recordings interspersed with live playing but this was ultimately a hedge against the possibility of putting a mediocre group together. Eventually a sense of abandon took over and in the last few days prior to the festival I shored up an ensemble:

Daedelus- monome, electronics
Lars Gotrich- acoustic guitar, voice
Liz Janes- voice, ukelele
Aaron Jollay- trombone
Chris Schlarb- acoustic guitar, electronics
Drew Smith- drums and percussion

From the beginning I intended on using the original recording of rain and street sounds as the background for the live performance, just like the album. A funny thing happened on the way to Georgia though. I forgot it.

I spent Friday afternoon down by the bank of the Oconee River recording sounds to use as a replacement. Unfortunately Athens is in the midst of a well publicized drought and the water ran quiet and still. The most exciting event of my riverside visit was the impressive bellyflop performed by a rotund beaver. It sounded like a bowling ball dropped from an airplane.

Again I resolved to use the original sounds and thought intently about how to accomplish this when it dawned on me: The Twilight Variations. I downloaded the zip file with the original four minute excerpt and via looping and crossfading I stretched it out to the thirty minute performance time.

The sounds outside a wet Long Beach apartment playing in the background, I conducted the Athenian sextet with a custom made light box that allowed me to create combinations of musicians on the fly much like the assembly of the album. I met with everyone collectively an hour prior to performance and, with no rehearsal, we took the stage.

Somehow it all sounded just as I thought it would: silence, texture, tension, melody and stillness commingling. Moments converged and dissipated naturally, one idea manually transitioning into another. The light box worked great and I got some solid ideas for future performances. Both the musicians and the audience seemed happy and shared the feeling that it was over too soon. Just the way I like it.

Soon Daedelus performed and, monome in hand, slew the crowd. His facility on the young instrument was inspiring as was his ability to inventively juxtapose melody, context and rhythm. Finally, in an enthusiastic act of quid pro quo, I accompanied Liz Janes on three songs that we have been working on over the past six months. Frozen fingers aside, I think it all went really well.

On Sunday Adam (Doseone), Jeff (Jel) and I watched former Dirty Projectors guitarist Spencer Kingman perform with nothing but a bright red Tokai electric. His guitar and vocal music is delicate, considered and beautifully written. Goosebumps and head shaking ensued.

Later the tables were turned as Spencer and I gleefully listened to Themselves vamp on George Washington’s teeth and generally rip during their set. Later on the ride back to our lodging I had the pleasure of playing Spencer his first taste of Steely Dan. I choose the Odyssey inspired track “Home At Last.” He loved it.

Meanwhile in Long Beach, my wife Adriana (along with sister Pita and friend Sancha) plied her culinary genius for benefit of all who attended the quadraphonic listening event at {open}. Many thanks to Shea Gauer (the store’s co-owner) who enthusiastically sponsored this event. Not only is {open} a great book store but it also happens to be the best place in Los Angeles to listen to music. During the listening event, my wife told me later, a fresh rain came down quietly outside.

Chris Schlarb- Twilight Athens [mp3]
Recorded in Athens, Georgia
December 8th, 2007 // 192kps

UPDATE: Lars Gotrich has posted On Performing Twilight & Ghost Stories on his blog National Public Viking. Poseidon’s Wake indeed!

The free performance brought out almost 70 people and they were witness to some vintage explorations. Old friends Nels Cline and Lynn Johnston were in fine form and the rhythm section of Bert Karl and the aforementioned Anthony Shadduck kept the churn.

The quartet was in consistent peril and the tension was palpable. I was smiling and on the balls of my feet for the entire fifty-minute, three movement improvisation. From clicking be-bop shuffle to stately melodic overtures to upright bass/electric guitar triplet pantomimes, Messrs. Shadduck and Co. rarely rested. The audience, no doubt there to see first hand the mythic fingers of Nels Cline, were witness to that rarest of assemblies: one soaked in honesty. Although the stray cliché slipped into the proceedings the bulk of the performance was a white-knuckle affair.

Lynn Johnston, performing on alto, bass and standard clarinet, bellowed, swooped and curled his notes around the strings of Shadduck’s bass. Cline wrung metallic swirls of sound out of his guitar. He alternated between clusters of notes and thin ribbons of sound looped, reversed and de-tuned. Drummer Karl conjured hi-hat ticks and tom-taps with an economy of movement. He played at times against and along the current of the evening, occasionally providing a flurry of rhythm followed by spare bass drum kicks. The ensemble’s organizing namesake, Anthony Shadduck however, rose to occasion and pulled together all disparate elements creating a conversation that no doubt would be better understood upon repeated listens. His bass lines crackled and crept: from breakneck to Brokeback.

After two extended improvisations Bert Karl tore sharply into a drum solo. Cline, Shadduck and Johnston quickly followed suit and were in and out with vague unison lines rescued from the dust by muscle memory. Restless, the group exchanged ideas and quickly organized itself. Cline scraped. Shadduck stabbed. As the mangled end came near a collective exhale and applause refused to let night fall into silence.

Originally published in L.A. Record