Microstock 5 review

(I sent this yesterday and it seemed to be eaten; if it appears
twice, my apologies...)

Microstock 5 was held Saturday, September 18 in Denver. I met some
other listers in person for the first time, but since I'm apparently the
only list member who did not perform, I'll take a stab at writing a
quick review. I'm vague on some particulars, so I hope others will
correct any factual errors I make.

Neil Haverstick was MC, and was very comfortable in the role. The
audience was largely composed of greying boomers. The atmosphere was
casual and relaxed. Lighting in the church did leave a lot to be
desired: the performers were in half dark, while the one spotlight shown
onto an immovable cross on the wall. Oh well, we were there for sound,
not sight...

First Ernie Crews performed on a kind of "jew's harp", the exact name of
which I don't remember. Program notes, though extra hassle for the
organizers, would help. It all pretty much sounded like "boing, boing"
to me, but others seemed to take pleasure in the changing overtone
emphasis Ernie produced.

Ernie then played on a santoor (?), which sounded to me much like a
hammer dulcimer tuned to JI. His touch was adept and the audience
seemed to be drawn into the piece.

Well, I wasn't taking notes - it wasn't till later that I found out a
volunteer might be needed to review the night. Neil played some solo
guitar as I recall. He had several, with and without frets, including
at least one fretted to 34-tET. As he played I amused myself by working
out the math for 34-tET (no logs, just dividing 1200 cents by 34 and
getting just under 35.3 cents per microtone. Not a meantone scale: C to
D is 6 steps; D to E is 5. Fifth, at 20 tones, is about 4 cents long.
Uh-oh: 7/6 and 8/7 both require 7 steps: too bad...).

Then John Starrett took the stage for, as Neil quipped, "the really
serious music of the evening." This involved a lemonica, which is a
couple of citrus fruits impaled on zinc and brass rods, making a small
voltage cell. The voltage produced controls the frequency of an
oscillator, and the whole thing is effect-processed out the, uhhh, ears.
No, wait, there's more! Ernie played the vegephone, which consisted of
many pieces of fruit and vegetables, watermelon down to apple, each with
a microphone surface mounted. Each vegetable was thumped and/or stroked
to produce percussive sounds. Neil played one of his guitars. The
highlight came as Ernie bit into the apple during the performance. How
can I describe it? The audience went wild.

But I left out the part about the star chamber. No, that's not it.
StarrBoard. I'll let John S describe it. The sounds were wild, highly
processed, difficult to describe.

After intermission, Gao Hong closed out the evening with a heartfelt
performance on the pipa, a lute-like instrument, which she rested, neck
up, in her lap. She was irresistible: centered, modest, soft-spoken,
but clearly in love with her work. Successful too, as far as I could
tell. The presence of all us half-grubby, half-scruffy greybeards
didn't seem to bother her in the least. She let her passion flow into
the instrument, and it was electrifying.

It seemed to me as if all pieces played on the pipa use the same low
sort of drone note. I wonder if the ear would tire of that one note and
long for another.

Many hung around talk to Gao, but I was bushed and had an hour's drive
back to Longmont. Neil: you took up your CD's before I had a chance
to buy one; I'll catch you next time. And come back to the list,
willya? Past, begone!

The evening was enjoyable and I look forward to next year's
performances!

JdL

Microstock 5 was held Saturday, September 18 in Denver. I met some
other listers in person for the first time, but since I'm apparently the
only list member who did not perform, I'll take a stab at writing a
quick review. I'm vague on some particulars, so I hope others will
correct any factual errors I make.

Neil Haverstick was MC, and was very comfortable in the role. The
audience was largely composed of greying boomers. The atmosphere was
casual and relaxed. Lighting in the church did leave a lot to be
desired: the performers were in half dark, while the one spotlight shown
onto an immovable cross on the wall. Oh well, we were there for sound,
not sight...

First Ernie Crews performed on a kind of "jew's harp", the exact name of
which I don't remember. Program notes, though extra hassle for the
organizers, would help. It all pretty much sounded like "boing, boing"
to me, but others seemed to take pleasure in the changing overtone
emphasis Ernie produced.

Ernie then played on a santoor (?), which sounded to me much like a
hammer dulcimer tuned to JI. His touch was adept and the audience
seemed to be drawn into the piece.

Well, I wasn't taking notes - it wasn't till later that I found out a
volunteer might be needed to review the night. Neil played some solo
guitar as I recall. He had several, with and without frets, including
at least one fretted to 34-tET. As he played I amused myself by working
out the math for 34-tET (no logs, just dividing 1200 cents by 34 and
getting just under 35.3 cents per microtone. Not a meantone scale: C to
D is 6 steps; D to E is 5. Fifth, at 20 tones, is about 4 cents long.
Uh-oh: 7/6 and 8/7 both require 7 steps: too bad...).

Then John Starrett took the stage for, as Neil quipped, "the really
serious music of the evening." This involved a lemonica, which is a
couple of citrus fruits impaled on zinc and brass rods, making a small
voltage cell. The voltage produced controls the frequency of an
oscillator, and the whole thing is effect-processed out the, uhhh, ears.
No, wait, there's more! Ernie played the vegephone, which consisted of
many pieces of fruit and vegetables, watermelon down to apple, each with
a microphone surface mounted. Each vegetable was thumped and/or stroked
to produce percussive sounds. Neil played one of his guitars. The
highlight came as Ernie bit into the apple during the performance. How
can I describe it? The audience went wild.

But I left out the part about the star chamber. No, that's not it.
StarrBoard. I'll let John S describe it. The sounds were wild, highly
processed, difficult to describe.

After intermission, Gao Hong closed out the evening with a heartfelt
performance on the pipa, a lute-like instrument, which she rested, neck
up, in her lap. She was irresistible: centered, modest, soft-spoken,
but clearly in love with her work. Successful too, as far as I could
tell. The presence of all us half-grubby, half-scruffy greybeards
didn't seem to bother her in the least. She let her passion flow into
instrument, and it was electrifying.

It seemed to me as if all pieces played on the pipa use the same low
sort of drone note. I wonder if the ear would tire of that one note and
long for another.

Many hung around talk to Gao, but I was bushed and had an hour's drive
back to Longmont. Neil: you took up your CD's before I had a chance
to buy one; I'll catch you next time. And come back to the list,
willya? Past, begone!

The evening was enjoyable and I look forward to next year's
performances!

JdL