Crow Crash Radio video up at Youtube!

Crow Crash Radio guitarist/songwriter did a really cool job with this!

Lithium Milkshake 1996 demos up at Bandcamp!

I wish that there were more recordings, but that seems to be about it.
RIP Justin Martin.

Knames-Finnish Hall, Berkeley CA; 11/3/18

Initially, M-KAT Ensemble was supposed to provide music for a Contact Improvisation Jam set up by Kevin Dockery and Rosemary Hannon. We had had a private rehearsal with them, and they graciously asked us if we'd like to participate. Andrew could not join us, so we had to put a new configuration together. Thankfully, John Vaughn made himself available when asked. M-KAT without Andrew would not be M-KAT, hence the new (K)name!
Kersti, Thomas, John, and myself managed to fight our ways through Saturday night Berkeley traffic and score parking spots at and around Finnish Hall. Promptly at 8PM, we started playing. A few dancers joined us in the main hall portion of the building to start. It was amazing to watch new dancers arrive from downstairs or outside and begin their improvisational moves together and solo. About thirty minutes in, the floor was pulsing with energy from the synergy of the music and the dancers. Improvised Music and Contact Improvisation: perfect for one and other! Knames ended up playing for two hours straight, going through many changes of mood and mode; at the end, we all agreed that we were inspired and moved by the dancing people that were in front and around us. At one point, the group reminded me of the motion of flocks of birds with their seemingly random, yet clearly not random at all, patterns.
Another one of those gigs wherein the vibe made me extremely happy and fulfilled.
Many thanks to Rosemary and Kevin for asking us to participate in such a great event.

Below: Knames setting up; Thomas Harrison Jr. with his great new bass

Above: dancers after one and a half hours!

Bamboo Skin Duo-Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco CA; 10/25/18

It's always kind of slog to drive into downtown San Francisco for Thursday night Luggage Store Gallery shows, but I am always satisfied with the end result. Inevitably, there are good conversations with valued friends and co-conspirators along with music that I like. Such was the case last Thursday. After a great set by the wonderfully named Runcible Spoon Fight, John Vaughn and I ventured forth for the first time as a duo. Neither of us are really interested in having any project go by our names. We figured that Bamboo Skin Duo would work. It was Brandon Evan's phrase, used in September for a quartet which featured all of us, along with Tim Orr. Thanks, Brandon! Our set, made up of four pieces, paired my drums with John's flute, soprano, and theremin, all mic'c and fed into a looping device. John got some great, thick loops going, over which I had the freedom to pretty much play as freely as I wished. I had fun using brushes, mallets, sticks, and metal rods to coax textures from my kit. It seems as though John's only demand on other players is that they pay attention and play what they truly want to play; what a great paradigm! Over forty or so minutes, the sounds felt very connected and in sync. We got into some pretty interesting spaces, sometimes quite quiet, sometimes a bit more bombastic; everything felt right, either way. One of those sets during which I could close my eyes and feel every striking implement touching drums and cymbals in just the right place and just the right way. Bliss! Hopefully this duo can continue for a while.

Below: duo gear

Above: Bamboo Skin Duo with a few friends (photo by and courtesy of Tom Djill, thanks Tom!)

Playing in duet with John Vaughn this Thursday!

John Vaughn and I will be playing a duet concert this Thursday at the Luggage Store in SF!
Details:
10/25/18
Luggage Store Gallery
1007 Market St.
SF 94103
8PM
Runciple Spoon Fight
Vaughn/Pino Duo
$8-15 sliding scale

Aural Monsoon-house show, San Francisco, CA; 10/21/18

Today Aural Monsoon played at this really neat old Victorian house in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco, the same one in which we played late last summer. Will Alexander, Andrew Joron, an myself were joined by bassist Shawn Miller. We played for about an hour and a half of freely improvised music. It seemed as though we hit some rather frenetic spaces at times, which all felt good. Definitely a trance-ed out of heaviness. Absolutely fun! Hopefully we can do it again.....

Below: candid snaps of Will Alexander and me by Andrew Joron, thanks Andrew!

PureFinder-Studio Grand, Oakland CA; 10/15/18

A good year and a half had passed since our last PureFinder gig before last Monday's Studio Grand performance. As such, I was certainly ready to delve into our brand of Electro-Acoustic blending. In rehearsal, Andrew and I had decided to whittle our respective rigs down to quite minimal proportions. I simply brought my wind gong, with two contact mics; Andrew brought a couple of modular units and a mixer. Signals from the gong were sent into the electronics and processed, and we got into what I felt were some pretty thickened territories. Sounds that were scraped and knocked from the gong turned into any and all manner of burping, whirring, buzzing electronic tones. Our roughly twenty five minute set felt nicely varied to me as it made its way out into the the Studio Grand space with its freshly white painted walls. It seemed as though Andrew and I had really good concentration and focus, and the music reflected that. A very satisfying evening of Industrial-like moves from the newly arising PureFinder!

Below: minimal rigs in Oakland!