Sun Worship Comenced Despite Rain, Darkness

It wasn't easy to invoke sound prayers to a sun that has been scarce in these parts for weeks now. But we did our best to make a sonic offering and call for the sun's return to dry out our bogs. A handful of friends were present to witness incredible sounds amidst trance inducing light shows and projections courtesy of Rick Spencer and the B789 performance space. Rick projected video and had the lights going wild while we created sounds of worlds colliding, eclipses, broken band, blowing sands. Last minute addition to the line up Asa Irons brought some of his gigantic saw mill blades to create a drone scape that led to imagery of a solar eclipse. Birdorgan was Mike Fun, Dei and Marc this time around for a sound voyage that changed and morphed over a 35 minute journey. Offset Needle Radius was a steel rod bowing growing feedback layers phasing in and out and getting a bit loud so I am told. Zeroking looped and drummed paused, shifted, repeat until Marc and Mike Fun joined in to close the night. Thanks to everyone who participated and came to witness. Special thanks to Rick Spencer for creating and sharing the B789 space with us.

Update on Sun Worship Event This Saturday June 20th

Asa Irons has confirmed he will be performing at this Saturday's Sun /Worship event at B789 Performance Space in Rollinsford, NH. Asa Irons has developed a sound all his own using giant amplified saw mill blades that resonate sound waves into every crevice. He is a welcome addition to the already diverse line up of Birdorgan, Zeroking, Offset Needle Radius. Birdorgan has been a prolifient performance group for years now consisting of a core group of Marc Bisson and his wife Dei Xrist, Mike Fun and Mike Dailey, masticating and synthisizing assistance of featured guests from time to time. Hailing from Manchester birdorgan has played all over New England. Depending on who is present and what the atmospheric pressure index is, birdorgan can vary from frienzied prepared guitar, heavily synthisized vocals, and a decombusting drum kit, to vocal loops and guitar bejangling. Never a repeat performance. Zeroking is the sound output of Shawn Dailey, Mike Dailey's brother and emerging photographer.
Come join us if you're not reading this in the future. If you are, well, you missed out. You were probably doing something far more mundane when you could have joined us at the B789.

(Oops!): Carried Away at Offset Needle Sound Lab

...this from the studio neighbor next to Offset Sound Lab...
" Hey Josh,

Can you and I try to figure out some way to sound proof against each others noise at some point. I have noticed we have a lot more overlapping hours these days. Last night what ever was happening between 8 and 9PM was so loud in my studio I had to leave (luckily my 8-9 student did no come yesterday). When I left my room I had to go the the third floor to get far enough away to have it just sound like a loud radio feeding back."

...getting carried away by lovely layers of feedback in the late evening.

Frantasia Fest 2009: August Is Coming! Time To Plan...

I discovered Frantasia Fest last year just 10 days prior to it's happening. A festival of "Out Music" featuring world class performers of improvised sound from New England, Pennsylvania, Georgia, NY. The event is held over 3 evenings, August 20th to the 22nd with improvisation workshops in the afternoons. These three days are preceded by "Water In The Woods", a two night fast in a beautiful forest setting. The Water In The Woods is a good opportunity to become more aquainted with some of the performers.
Festivals celebrating experimental sound performance works are fairly common these days in urban areas around the world. This particular festival is quite unique in that it takes place in the Public Library Auditorium in Livermore Falls, a delapitated mill town population 1,500 in Central Maine. What also makes this festival so unique is the caliber of talent and creative minds it attracts each year. It could not happen were it not for incredible spirit and personality of 'visionaries' Fran Szostek, his wife, and Edward.
About a 4 1/2 hour drive from Boston, this festival is a mini vacation in itself. Check out the Frantasia Festival Official MySpace page to link to past performers pages. Keep your ears to the rails regarding pre and post events around New England, hosting performers on their way to or on their way home from this year's Frantasia Festival.

Sat. June 20th, Summer Solstice Event at B789 venue, Rollinsford, NH

Offset Needle Radius hosts a Summer Solstice celebration at this new venue, B789 in Rollinsford, NH, on Saturday June 20th, 2009. Cost is sliding scale $7-10, with the first $5 going to support the venue.
The evening will kick off with sets from Zeroking, Birdorgan, and Offset Needle Radius. The evening will conclude with a collaborative offering of Sound Waves to the Sun (..will be sleeping at the time). Officially Summer Solstice is the following day, June 21, which I remind the reader, begins at 12:00 am. The Solstice has a tipping time of 1:45am, where the longer days suddenly turn and begin to shorten. We may not make it until that magic time. But we're going to give it all up for as long as we are physically able.
B789 is the realization of artistic visionary Rick Spencer. The name of the venue is simply comprised of the room numbers in the mill building that the venue occupys. In a recent conversation, Rick talked of his support of what he termed "Feeling Arts", that is, creative output derived from an artist's soul, mined out of deep, dark places, rather than being designed with marketability first in mind. Rick himself manifests his creative spirit in quite unique ways that may have not yet been explored. He has been constructing an experimental pool table that will wind its way around the venue once completed. Due to its design a new game will be borne of the traditional pool as we know it.
Please join us for this special event and bring your posse.

Upcomming Performance in Man Chest Hair

Offset Needle Radius will be playing in Manchester, NH on Saturday May 30th at the Monastery Hallway. Also performing will be Andy Fordyce, and Birdorgan. This space is an artists collective. Marc Bisson and Dei Xrist of Birdorgan continue to bring experimental improvised sounds to the Manchester area even after the demise of the Underground M.A.P. Project gallery.
Manchester is a strange and interesting town that I imagine only makes sense to someone who has spent a lot of time in Northeastern cities. Bring a donation for the artists, open mind, open ears. See you there...

Great Things You FInd

Seeking performers and performances, events, hidden secrets, and unknown treasures in the Montreal area prior to a visit in March, I came across the Montreal Sound Map. Not only a great concept, but a convenient way to compare sound quality of digital media field recorders. And if that wasn't amazing enough, New York has their own Sound Map site as well..