Saturday, April 21st - Kevin Harris Premiers New Works at Fort Gondo

Photo By: J.J. Lane

Local modular synth hero and Floating Laboratories founder, Kevin Harris, will be presenting three exclusively new pieces to the public at his opening at Fort Gondo on Saturday, April 21st at 8pm. The concert is put on by local experimental enthusiasts, The HEARding Cats Artists Collective. Here's what they have to say:

"HEARding Cats is proud to present St. Louis artist Kevin Harris in a solo concert! Harris is a longtime advocate and performer of synthesized music. His career as a working artist has taken him on tours of the U.S. and Europe over the last two decades. While he’s perhaps best known as the proprietor of the south city concert space, Floating Labs, his talent and abilities are not to be underestimated. Harris is an accomplished synthesist using multiple formats ranging from self invented instruments to old analog units, and even computers for digital music creation. For this concert, Harris will premier three new pieces which each take an entirely different approach to music creation: one for keyboard synthesizer, one for solo computer, and a last for modular synthesizer.

With piece names such as “D2Y9k301” and “A1Z3k302,” Harris’ aesthetic can on the surface appear robotic and emotionless. However, a quick conversation reveals both light-hearted humor, and a deep seriousness in his approach to creation. Harris cites “ice cream,” and “the inferiority of squares to circles,” as “food or ideas, which may be important to the music being presented.” Yet he also considers “the disadvantages of rational thought,” and “interpersonal information selection and distribution (the process by which humans distribute information about their thoughts, ideas, and experiences to other humans,” as keys to his artistic process. With such dichotomous influences, Harris is at once complex, sophisticated, and highly creative. A truly strange and wonderful St. Louisan."

12.16.11 Flood Yr Face Update

Greetings STL Friends,

I don't know if I've seen a Friday like this in a long time. There is literally something going on for everyone in the City of St. Louis tonight!

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PLUG: Friday, December 16th - We see the arrival of Quicksails and Ryley Walker from Chicago, IL on their Bleak Horizons Winter Tour. For those of you who don't know, Quicksails is the synth-based project of Ben Baker Billington of Tiger Hatchery, White Prism, and Moonrises! Ryley Walker is also on tour. Walker's beautiful guitar flourishes conjure up thoughts of John Fahey and Evan Miller, eminating from his incredible 12-string guitar technique. Duddley Fogg is a mysterious modular synth / shoegaze guitar duo from the past, here to piece together our future in a time warp of sound. Local Analord Kevin Harris demonstrates patience. We see the Kingston Family Singers new direction in mixed media, melding video, synthesis, and musique concrete. Note: Billington is one of my oldest noise buddies. I've never seen him do a bad thing musically. Ever.

Quicksails

Ryley Walker

FLOATING LABORATORIES | 4528 OHIO ST. | 930PM | BYOB | $5 DONATION

I'll be starting this show at 930PM on the dot! Chad Hickman of KFS is backing me up on this! We BBQ early! Bring your own BEER! I will be kindly asking everyone for a $5 DONATION to pay for the traveling acts' gas. And for those of you who absolutely must know, it will go something like this:

Kingston Family Singers > Kevin Harris > Ryley Walker (Small Room) > Quicksails > Duddley Fogg >>>>>> BE THERE!

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Friday, December 16th:
Quicksails, Ryley Walker, Duddley Fogg, Kevin Harris, Kingston Family Singers - Floating Laboratories
Pink Sock, Little Big Bangs - 2632 Nebraska
A Very Bert Dax Christmas Special with Ded Bugs, BassAmp & Dan-O, Hathead Jones, & many more - 2720
Manipulation, Divine Right, Shaved Women, Sweet Tooth, Masculine Journey - Bonerville
Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost, Griddle Kids - Schlafly Tap Room
Dino Bravo, Trauma Harness, Spastic Plastic, Carte De Visite, Adam King - Illegal Tone Recordings
Cup Collector, Charlie Turner, The Least Comma, Heavy horse - Bowen House

Saturday, December 17th:
Ou Où, Kid Counselor/Sean Brown, Corpse Pose - Pig Slop
Pat Sajak Assassins, Navigator, Bruiser Queen - Schlafly Tap Room
Volcanoes, Union Tree Review, Bo and the Locomotive - Plush

Sunday, December 18th:
A Very Bert Dax Christmas Special with Dubb Nubb, Navigator, Prune - Lemmon's
Moon Duo, Tone Rodent, Roundheels, The FU'zz - Cicero's

Notes and Tidbits:
The Pink Sock and Little Big Bangs show is a full on rager with TWO KEGS. I've been told that the magic starts at midnight.
This is the third show in a string of shows celebrating the NINTH YEAR OF A VERY BERT DAX CHRISTMAS - Big ups Matt Harnish, Pancake Master, and Co.
Manipulation is an excellent, fast hardcore band from Chicago featuring our ex-STL buddy, Scott Plant (Broken Prayer, Civic Progress, To No End, etc.)
Total house show at the Bowen house with Jim Fitzpatrick's Cup Collector and noisenik mind-bender Charlie Turner!
Illegal Tone Recordings knows how to put on a show! Venture out East! Also, check out Trauma Harness! Killer stuff!
Bob Reuter is a local legend and if you don't know who he is, now is the time to find out. I hear Griddle Kids kill it too!
Corpse Pose is the new moniker of former Daydream Lullaby mastermind, Eric Ryszkiewicz. For the ambient at heart!
Free gig as always at the Schlafly Tap Room! Navigator kills it!
Haven't seen Volcanoes yet? What's wrong with you? See what the kids are doing RIGHT! At the newly opened venue, Plush!
A book end to the Bert Dax Christmas Special with everyone's favorite sibling rivalry Dubb Nubb! Two nights in a row with Navigator!?!?
What better way to blow your brains out on a Sunday then with psychedelic stalwarts, Moon Duo! Featuring Wooden Shjips Ripley Johnson!
TONE-FUCKING-RODENT - HEAVY SHOEGAZE INSPIRED PSYCH! BE THERE.