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We have two series at present: The "Holding Tank" Series, and a series called "STRIKE!", the latter in which performances - including boxing bouts by actual boxers -- take place on boxing rings.
In the fall of 2002; cellist/composer/ conductor Dan Barrett had been fired by the idea of continuing and intensifying close associations with Gene Pritsker (compose/guitarist), Arthur Kampela (composer/guitarist/singer/Columbia professor), Margaret Lancaster (flutist), Erik Blank (puppeteer), Greg Kitzis (violinist), Elfenbein (bassist/gamba player/vielle and rebeq player/composer)and Mat Fieldes (bassist). A little later John Feeney brought a heightened level of stylistic breadth and expertise to the ensemble, as well as his widely known instrumental expertise, his instinctive eye for programming(as has been evinced in a number of the "Holding Tank" concerts). Still later, in 2006, Franz Hackl, with his expertise in trumpet and composition, in sound and production, and with his genius in producing and constructing events, helped to accouter the project with new contacts and influences. Among those crucial contacts were Tyler Lerned (stage and technical expert), Chuck Moses (technical, sound and lighting expert) and Astrid Steiner (videographer, filmmaker and VJ.) The group, in its different formats, and as a unit rather undifferentiated, has been giving presentations since 2005.
The goals of the Cannibals are a) the de-sacralization of the concert hall, and b) the transformation of the performing space into public space.
We naturally seek out elements unconventional and eclectic, but at the root of this striving to "make it new" (Ezra Pound's words) is not the downtown compulsion to peddle incongruities, but the desire to fix upon things, be they musical materials, players or venues, which may be aptly twisted, tilted, colored, or altered, as to allow latent aspects of the text to emerge. The same approach we apply to standard classical repertoire.
This freshness of application and attendant augmentation of perspective allows a glimpse of the music's textual and expository parameters. And this modus turns each piece and event into a process of the textual, historical and social defining -- the "locating", as it were -- of each work. Given this context, it will not be difficult to discern that the Street Cannibals see the true art of exposition precisely in the very resistance to the presentation itself: the Art, as it were, of Not Presenting. We seek a context wherein -- as if prompted by the mad buzzing of our own antennae from some inexorable superabundance -- the trap doors of possibility and necessity may open, and real performance can begin to happen. One can then get a sense of the splendid heterogeneity which can be achieved by way of textural combinations.
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In The "Holding Tank" Series(at St Mark's-in-the-Bowery), the alteration of the space's architectonics is a key element, as our players are allowed to use the given space in ways that change the interpersonal dynamics which are, in a sense, arbitrarily or prescriptively dictated by the space. This is part of an approach where, as well, the existence and occurrence of meaningless space is avoided. Concomitant with this avoidance is an avoidance of meaningless time. The setup time between pieces and events is filled by the use of thematic material and with eventful, genuine transitions.
Finally, it's worth noting, that the age range among our players extends from 9 years of age(in the case of Julian Kampela, our djembe player)up through 70 years; all of which is, for us, yet far too narrow a window. We are at home with and tickled by this notion of such an age spread; and it is implemented, not merely because it feels thoroughly natural, but, quite consciously, as it tends to emulate what is known of tribal life, for instance, those characteristics evident in the group meetings of Hopi Indians. Many of the above elements are also at work in our other series, STRIKE!.
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The STRIKE! series combines boxing matches and contemporary chamber music, most of the performances taking place in boxing rings. The crowd at STRIKE! is unusually diverse, and the series derives much of its fundamental vitality from such a mix, a mix where everyone gets to learn a little about the other "world." STRIKE! creates a perceptual apparatus wherein music has a chance to seen in the light of explosive engagement-both physical and interpersonal, while boxing is encountered in the light of chamber music. The series flows from the Street Cannibals' philosophy of performance , which centers on the dismantling of conventions, the striving for textual renewal, and the resuscitation or introduction of ritualistic elements. This particular series uses as its chief venue Gleason's Gym, in Brooklyn, where we have given nearly all of our performances. Gleason's has been the training ground of 127 world champions, among them Mohammad Ali, George Foremen, Robert Duran, Mike Tyson and Zab Judah. Bruce Silverglade, the rather visionary President of Gleason's, who has served in this event in something of the role of Emcee, has also, during all of our Gleason's presentations, assisted me in marshalling the forces and steering the event while in progress.
STRIKE! is a phenomenon as much educational as it is presentational. Our audiences see and hear "hot off the press" compositions and musical ideas being fashioned before them. And ultimately, our audiences enjoy the challenge of trying to discern the meaning and intent behind the event.
I'd approached Bruce Silverglade in 2003. After a number of delays, the first performance at Gleason's took place on December 7, 2006. Dan Barrett would formulate the initial scheme and staging; Franz Hackl and Gene Pritsker were instrumental in refining the conception of the series.
There is a concrete educational correlate to all of this. STRIKE! has begun to funnel funds into a program which hopes to provide experiences for the children who train at Gleason's; the seminars will deal with themes and subjects in various provinces of human knowledge -- art, literature, music and mythology. Fashioned by John Hunter Gunn(Queen's College, CUNY faculty) and Dan Barrett, the program will emphasize learning, stimulated by the process of the pupil's "enactment" and subsequent "empowerment". This will facilitate learning and equip the student with newfound abilities.
STRIKE! basically features short 10 or 12 minute "sets" of chamber music presented in alternation with 8-minute matches of 3 rounds each. At times, short verbal introductions might proceed each "set." The introductions orient the audience to the nature or background of the compositions, and sometimes to the origins of the more exotic instruments. This approach is less formal and livelier than program notes. The event generally progresses from boxing ring to ring, utilizing the spaces so that a smooth and seamless interlacing of music with boxing is achieved. The preparation for one performance goes on while the current performance is in progress. The configuration of the gym lends itself to urging the audience into different areas of the space. A theater-in-the-round forms around each ring, as audience and performers pass from one ring to the next. And as the audience moves from ring to ring, the mind and ear follow the alternating concert events of music, dance, movement and boxing.
Within such a context, the audience is neither sequestered nor imprisoned, as might be the passive audience in a concert hall. A democratization of space and function occurs: the audience is at leisure to move freely about the space; he or she may sit on the floor within inches of the ring, or on the boxing ring's edge; one may choose as his seat a light movable chair, or he choose to stroll and nibble food; here taking in the concert at whatever proximity to the ring would gratify him; there allowing his curiosity to guide him momentarily away from the performing area to a punching bag that may now engage his attention; there toward the indolent examination of a boxing action photo in a far corner area of the gym. And the players, within the new psychological architectonics of this space, become-in a sense-boxers, independent journeymen. The boxers, equally, become instrumentalists: technicians and custodians of their tradition. In this way, the utilization of space becomes the setting through which the liberated functions of the participants-what otherwise would have been merely audience, athlete or artist-are released like so many caged birds.
STRIKE! uses many of the players of Holding Tank, and all of our core players participate. In STRIKE!, the Street Cannibals are joined by boxers, who not only box in actual matches, but who are urged to utilize shadow boxing in a way that functions as kinetic dance, which may accompany or be accompanied by music. As the staging of this event can be intricate and its coordination a rather touchy issue, the roles of our stage manager, Tyler Lerned, and of our technician, Chuck Moses, are expanded. Weeks prior to the performance, Tyler sits down with Chuck, Director of Programming Director Gene Pritsker, Co-director Franz Hackl and myself. We work out the "figure" of the concert: the staging and phyical flow. Tyler then works this out on diagrams, and soon after sends us a full "notation" of the concert's staging.The video projections of the brilliant VJ Astrid Steiner ("VJ Luma") are used to highlight and illumine certain human elements and themes of the performance; which, at times, can acquire the flavor of annotations to a text. At other times-a web of superimposed subtext. For the most, Dan Barrett and Bruce Silverglade pilot the general event, helped along by Gene. But it is, however, the execution of Tyler, Chuck and Franz that really allows this performances to take place, to construct a framework within which the superb work of musicians, composers and boxers can be exhibited. And all of the team -- Franz, Gene, Tyler, Chuck, Dave Taylor and myself -- make sure that events and staging go according to the "figure" of the concert which we've composed, and the notation we've provided to the performers. Thematic sound design created by Franz Hackl-chiefly composed of sounds acquired from Gleason's during the periods in which the boxers train-enriches the intermission.
Messers Dan Barrett (a.k.a. Wotan Lefty De Sade) and Gene "Noizepunk" Pritsker and the INTERNATIONAL STREET CANNIBALS
-- a collective of composers, chamber players, filmmakers and painters -- present the second in a series of concerts.
Conceived in 2005 by composer, cellist, conductor Dan Barrett, and steered by composer/ guitarist Gene Pritsker, the THE INTERNATIONAL STREET CANNIBALS (I.S.C.), aspiring to the presentation of newly composed works, convokes a pool of composers whose influences and philosophy are rich and various, and whose works range over an ample latitude of styles. Among our players are instrumentalists represented in The Orchestra of St. Luke's, The STX Ensemble, The American Ballet Theater, the New York City Opera, and The Absolute Ensemble.
Our composers:
Dan Barrett, Charles Coleman, Dan Cooper, Greg Evans, Joe Gallant, Arthur Kampela, Dary John Mizelle, Joseph Pehrson, Gene Pritsker
THE AMERICAN REFUGEE BAND
Krista Bennion Feeney - violin and viola
Andy Stein - violin, viola, and sax
Gregor Kitzis – violin and viola
Dan Barrett – cello
John Feeney – bass
Robert Wolinsky - piano
Archive: Old Events
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Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Also are featured Stravinsky's Petrouchka for solo piano, performed by pianist Taka Kigawa, utilizing the break-dancing of Franklin Chen over specific segments of musical text; a solo flute piece, by Dan Cooper; Joe Pehrson's cello piece for 31-tone intonation - with dancer Linda Past; a world premier of Gene Pritsker's 'Everything Profound' - a piano trio; and Mr. Pritsker's acoustic/electric rearrangement of a Handel flute sonata. Woven in with the above material will be numerous brief dance interludes by Megan Sipe, and a several-part unaccompanied dance work by Christina Ilisije. WORKS BY: Dan Cooper, Handel, Arthur Kampela, Joseph Pehrson, Gene Pritsker, and Stravinsky PLAYED BY: Dan Barrett - cello, Lynn Bechtold - violin, Arthur Kampela - guitar/voice, Taka Kigawa - piano, Margaret Lancaster - flute, Gene Pritsker - guitar, Michiyo Suzuki - clarinet, Mioi Takeda - violin CHOREOGRAPHED AND DANCED BY: Franklin Chen (breakdancer) Chritina Isilje, Linda Past, Max Pollak (tap dancer), Megan Sipe |
 "Strike!" Part III Part of a new music & boxing series Saturday, March 3, 2007 at 8 PM Gleason's Gym 77 Front Street, Brooklyn Admission: $15 Ticket Info: 718-797-2872 or email bruce@gleasonsgym.net |
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