DCImprovisers
Collective
Press Release: DC Improvisers Collective (DCIC), Na, Spaceships Panic Orbit
Japan via Seattle, is the unclassifiable trio, Na
"The group performs with all instruments possible, including classical guitar, piano, electronic guitar, laptop, a child drum kit, lots of cymbals and vocals with screams and laughs in their own language."

Who: DC Improvisers Collective (DCIC), Na, Spaceships Panic Orbit
What: Wild improv music from the outer reaches of rock, jazz, noise, and the universe.
When: Thursday, June 2nd, 8:30pm. $8
Where: Warehouse Next Door, 1017 7th Street NW (metro: Mt. Vernon Sq.-7th St.-Convention Center)
Venue Phone: 202-783-3933

COMPOSING IS FOR COWARDS

Most performing artists like to know what's going to happen when they take the stage. This enables them to prepare by memorizing their material. They can market their work by explaining what their show is about. The audience knows what to expect. But why pay good money to watch people act like trained monkeys?

On the other hand, spontaneous performance presents its own challenges. Without the ability to edit, fine-tune, and otherwise craft material, how can a performer deliver high quality work? Come see for yourself as three ensembles explore improvised performance from different perspectives.

Headlining the show will be the DC Improvisers Collective: a quartet exploring the intersection of jazz, contemporary composition and experimental music. Their current lineup features Ben Azzara (drums), Daniel Barbiero (bass), Jonathan Matis (guitar), and Mike Sebastian (reeds). These musicians come together from diverse backgrounds, bringing experience from performing in rock bands and jazz groups, as well as post-classical composition. With ears wide open, they craft intricate compositions on the fly. Although the common metaphor for group improvisation often seems to be conversation, this metaphor fails to capture the true real-time, simultaneous collaboration that fuels the work. Equal parts tightrope act and group meditation, the ensemble explores the fertile territory of surprise just beyond the boundary where words fail.

Also appearing, from Japan via Seattle, is the unclassifiable trio, Na. Na formed in the summer of 2004 in Seattle, taking their name from the Japanese word for a kind of beautiful flower. Sometimes found wearing robes or homemade hats, Na consists of three performers: Noriaki Watanabe, Shinsuke Yamada, and Kazu Nomura. Na reaches musical cacophony, combining improvisation and noise with a slight pop slant and a good sense of humor. The group performs with all instruments possible, including classical guitar, piano, electronic guitar, laptop, a child drum kit, lots of cymbals and vocals with screams and laughs in their own language. Since they began last summer, Na has been busy releasing thousands of CDRs and organizing tons of performances all over the U.S.

Spaceships Panic Orbit formed in April 2001 to explore the textural and sonic possibilities of a unique combination of electronic and acoustic sound sources and a variety of sound production approaches. The group is comprised of Many Spaceships on reeds and keyboards, PJ Brownlee (Special Orbit) on laptop electronics and keyboards, Sam Lohman (36) on acoustic drums and electronics, and Jeff Bagato (DJ Panic) performing a musical instrument of his own invention: electronic sounds triggered by scraping a vinyl LP with a small hacksaw. Spaceships Panic Orbit's music brings together the aesthetics of several contemporary avant garde musics, including electronica, free jazz and free improvisation, power electronics or industrial music, and avant garde rock.

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photos by: Pete Duvall | design by: ben azzara © 2005-2007