4/11 | Thollem’s Hot Pursuit Of Happiness w/ Glassmen, Space Tugboat and Stray Passage @ The Frequency

Wed, 4/11 | @ The Frequency

121 W Main St, Madison, WI 53703

Doors 7pm // Show 7:30pm

18+ ID Required
$8 (+$3 minor surcharge @ door)

Thollem
Glassmen
Space Tugboat
Brennan Connors & Stray Passage

//////////////////////////////thollem-at-luggage-store-cropped_3THOLLEM (On Tour)
With a synthesizer and a microphone, Thollem’s Hot Pursuit Of Happiness forges elements of Punk Rock, Blue and Psychedelia, among many other influences. Including new songs and solo arrangements of Tsigoti songs, with “fluid keys pulverization” (Brad Cohan, Spin Magazine), Thollem’s work is ”political debauchery and a forward vocal delivery … that comes a-swingin’ right out of the gate” (Chocolate Grinder, Tiny Mix Tapes)

Over the last decade, Thollem’s toured non-stop internationally, recording with over a hundred different musicians from a wide variety of genres resulting in more than 60 albums on 22 different vanguard labels. As a vocalist, Thollem’s been releasing albums the last 10 years with his Italian agit-punk band Tsigoti (5th album soon), Hand To Man Band (Mike Watt, John Dieterich, Tim Barnes) and Andy Kaufman plus his initial solo album ‘Machine in The Ghost’. He’s planning on releasing the first HPOH album later this year.

Thollem has performed and recorded with members of Deerhoof, The Minutemen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Half Japanese, Wilco, Unwound, Old Time Relijun, Cibo Matto, Jealousy Party, Stars Like Fleas, Tenderizor and more. 

www.thollem.com/hot-pursuit-of-happiness

Personal Note: Thollem McDonas is one of my favorite perma-tour Experimental artists.  He has been very influential to my free improvisation explorations in the last decade.  I’m thrilled to share a bill with him once again!  Also, I can’t wait to see Angela, I always learn so much from her.  It’s been a couple of years, they are beautiful people and there’s much to catch up on.  Thollem has collaborated with GrimmusiK Records in the past on both the Colias experimental/ambient compilation, live free-improv collaborations at Dobra Tea, and with a marvelous performance at our Audio For the Arts series (can’t seem to hunt down the live recording for that, unfortunately).  Thollem has an overwhelming discography, check out his extensive releases here.  < So much wonderful music to explore in his collaboration filled catalog.

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Brennan Connors & Stray Passage (Madison, WI) is a jazz trio that embraces free and structured improvisation, original compositions, groove based material, and sound exploration. The breadth of a performance ranges from fiery high energy music to focused minimalism, all while maintaining a sense of narrative organization and compelling ensemble interplay.  “Emergence” CD (setola di miale) available at the show!

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Glassmen (Madison, WI) is experimental indie rock with guitar, organ pedals, drums, and vibrato. The sound, sometimes jarring, is fragile, sharp, and reflective — like glass.

Sarah Jennings Evans started Glassmen in 2012 after being diagnosed with a rare joint condition that left her unable to use her arms.  She created music with voice, organ pedals, and loops of old recordings.  Guitar came back as her arms recovered.  Meanwhile, multi-instrumentalist Vivian Lin (TUO TUO) kept busy playing in other people’s side projects (The Party Drug, The Divine Hammers), but was looking for a musical home.  She joined Glassmen in 2015 to add drums and vocals.

Personal Note:  I’ve been meaning to get on a bill with Glassmen for a couple of years now and it’s finally going down!  ^ Check out this live version of Needle, love the sound.  Excited to hear their live set!

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Space Tugboat (Madison, WI) is dark catchy punk rock, with a twist of demented humor of reality. 

Personal Note:  Big thanks to Dan from Space Tugboat for hooking up the show and taking care of booking.  Dan has supported Stray Passage for years and given us opportunities to play.  Now we finally get to share a bill together!!


 

CD Release: BC Grimm “Orbis Obscura” available via Other Obscura records

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Buy “Orbis Obscura” CD/Digital worldwide for $10 from Other Obscura record label

“Orbis Obscura” is a 35 minute “sci-fi tone poem” for Pipa (Chinese lute) with delay & fuzz pedals by BC Grimm. Now available world wide on CD & Digital from Other Obscura Records! Other Obscura is a label promoting the compositions and improvisations of artists in Milwaukee, Madison and the surrounding areas. Est. 2016.


ORBIS OBSCURA REVIEWS

From Tone Madison, 8/10:
Brian Grimm is something of an experimental-music powerhouse in Madison.”; ” …one of the most sonically untethered things Grimm has put out there so far—which is saying something, and also not a complaint. He uses this eccentric but relatively stripped-down setup to veer through an array of warmly distorted drones, sticky pulsating rhythms, and layers of scratchy texture. The release is also the first from a new Madison- and Milwaukee-focused label, Other Obscura”     

— Scott Gordon, Tone Madison

From Isthmus Daily Page, 8/12:
 Madison composer and cellist Brian Grimm’s meditative, experimental soundscapes blend modern improvisational styles with ancient Chinese string instrument technique. …Prepare to be transported into a beautiful dream.

From Dayz Of Purple And Orange, 8/15:
” – a totally immersive, blissed-out trip that transports the listener away to distant climes…simply beautiful!”; “…glimmers of ‘sci-fi’ noises bleed through the drones. Over the course of the 35 minutes it totally immerses the listener in wave upon wave of gorgeous drones and otherworldly noises – utterly bewitching. (read: full review)     

— Andy Uzzell, Dayz Of Purple And Orange


BC Grimm

Cellist & composer Brian Grimm grew up surrounded by Chinese string instruments of every sort. After initial lessons in Chinese music with Yang Wei (pipa) & Daxun Zhang (bass) of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad Enesemble, he was lucky to then study guqin (zither), pipa (lute), gaohu (fiddle) & daruan (bass lute) in Hong Kong with members of the 香港中樂團 Hong Kong Chinese OrchestraWuji Ensemble 無極樂團. Over the last 15 years Grimm has developed a deep language of Free Improvisation & Composition with groups such as The Brothers Grimm, Lovely Socialite, and Brennan Connors & Stray Passage. In conjunction with performing & teaching, Brian runs GrimmusiK Records – a label for all projects involving him & his brother AJ (classical & flamenco guitar).

BCG on cello + pipa by John Hiller Brumbaugh

BCG on cello + pipa by John Hiller Brumbaugh


 

8/11, 8/12 | BC Grimm “Orbis Obscura” CD Release Show!

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Album Artwork by John Praw Kruse

Thr 8/11 | 8pm $5 @ West End Conservatory

5500 W Vliet St, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53208

“Orbis Obscura” CD Release Show feat.

HENRY/DROBKA/WELLER/MCEVOY/MILLER QUINTET

BC GRIMM

Fri 8/12 | 8pm $5 @ ArtIn Gallery

1444 E Washington Ave, Madison, Wisconsin 53703

“Orbis Obscura” CD Release Show feat.

HENRY (NYC) / WELLER (CHI) QUARTET

BC GRIMM

New BC Grimm “Orbis Obscura” (2016) CD $10
2nd ed. “The Ideating Knell” (2014) CD $10
Both CDs for $15
at the show

“Orbis Obscura” is a 35 minute “sci-fi tone poem” for Pipa (Chinese lute) with delay & fuzz pedals by BC Grimm. Available Friday, 8/12 on CD & Digital from Other Obscura Records! Other Obscura is a label promoting the compositions and improvisations of artists in Milwaukee, Madison and the surrounding areas. Est. 2016.

GrimmusiK Records is running a limited edition second printing of BC Grimm’s “The Ideating Knell”, originally released in 2014 by Signal Dreams. This seminal 70min work by BC Grimm features 16 experimental compositions performed on prepared Guzheng and phased Guqin Chinese zithers.  Available at the show!

BC Grimm

Cellist & composer Brian Grimm grew up surrounded by Chinese string instruments of every sort. After initial lessons in Chinese music with Yang Wei (pipa) & Daxun Zhang (bass) of the Silkroad Enesemble, he was lucky to then study guqin (zither), pipa (lute), gaohu (fiddle) & daruan (bass lute) in Hong Kong with members of the 香港中樂團 Hong Kong Chinese OrchestraWuji Ensemble 無極樂團. Over the last 15 years Grimm has developed a deep language of Free Improvisation & Composition with groups such as The Brothers Grimm, Lovely Socialite, and Brennan Connors & Stray Passage. In conjunction with performing & teaching, Brian runs GrimmusiK Records – a label for all projects involving him & his brother AJ (classical & flamenco guitar).

BCG on cello + pipa by John Hiller Brumbaugh

BCG on cello + pipa by John Hiller Brumbaugh


 

8/7 | Ben Willis + Brian Grimm @ Bos Meadery

8-7 Ben Willis and Brian Grimm v2

Sun 8/7  |  6pm  $5  @ Bos Meadery

849 E Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703

solo & duo performances from

BEN WILLIS – double bass

BRIAN GRIMM – guqin, cello

Bos Meadery – “Mead Made Modern” our mission is to make the world’s oldest fermented beverage in the most modern possible way using local ingredients, so that our mead reflects the flavor of the Wisconsin landscape. Much like farm to table eating, this is field to glass drinking.

BEN WILLIS (DET/AA, MI) – solo double bass

Egret/Flatlander is a set of solo bass pieces by Ben Willis. Composed through development and exploration of improvisational practice, the movements have taken shape as open cellular structures, that act as themes and zones for extemporaneous development.

The pieces make use of a range of extended double bass techniques, drawing inspiration from contemporary classical music and free improvisation. The musical language draws from many influences, including rock structures, folk harmonies and melodies, and doom metal.

Ben Willis is a bassist whose affinities lie in collaborative projects, new music, improvisation, and the merging of cross-disciplinary elements. He’s performed his original collaborative work at venues and festivals around the U.S., including the International Society for Improvised Music Conference, Electroacoustic Barn Dance at the University of Mary Washington, the Whitewater Arts Alliance Series at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater and the Ratchet Series at the Skylark in Chicago. In 2013, he was a Robert Black Bass Fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival. Much of his work highlights the importance of collaborative, performative process in the development of new art. He is a member of the Weather Duo, an electroacoustic ensemble with cellist Pat Reinholz, dedicated to performing new music that blends classical training with improvisation and folk idioms. The Weather Duo has contributed music to the Li Chiao Ping dance company, a video project with artist Doug Rosenberg and dancer Sally Gross, and composed occasional film scores. In live performance, they explore multimedia collaboration with the help of live video artist Anna Weisling. He has also toured and recorded as a sideman, working with many indie/folk artists, including Anna Vogelzang, Dietrich Gosser, and Thistle and the Thorns. He often participates in recitals of new music and collaborations with composers, and performs regularly with the jazz/rock project Lovely Socialite Mrs. Thomas W. Phipps, and the free improvisation trio Glacier. He currently resides in Ann Arbor, MI. He earned a BM in Performance at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and MM in Improvisation from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He’s studied bass with Richard Davis, Diana Gannett, and Bob Hurst, and composition with Andrew Bishop.

Buy Egret/Flatlander here >>


BRIAN GRIMM (MAD, WI) – solo cello & guqin

Cellist & composer Brian Grimm grew up surrounded by Chinese string instruments of every sort. After initial lessons in Chinese music with Yang Wei (pipa) & Daxun Zhang (bass) of the Silkroad Enesemble, he was lucky to then study guqin (zither), pipa (lute), gaohu (fiddle) & daruan (bass lute) in Hong Kong with members of the 香港中樂團 Hong Kong Chinese OrchestraWuji Ensemble 無極樂團. Over the last 15 years Grimm has developed a deep language of Free Improvisation & Composition with groups such as The Brothers Grimm, Lovely Socialite, and Brennan Connors & Stray Passage. In conjunction with performing & teaching, Brian runs GrimmusiK Records – a label for all projects involving him & his brother AJ (classical & flamenco guitar).

** BC Grimm’s new CD “Orbis Obscura” for Pipa, Fuzz & Delay drops Friday, 8/12 on Other Obscura Records @ ArtIn Gallery on East Wash! **

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COMING SOON! NEW BC GRIMM CD “ORBIS OBSCURA” DROPS FRI 8/12