Sound Experiment 2
12/29/07

The microphones were hot and the board ready by 3pm. What was about to transpire was any ones guess? We had Bruce Nelson return from sound X 1 to continue to surprise me and Rich with his metronome like rhythms he’s a percussion genius to say the least. But today a new energy had entered the studio. His name is John O’Reilly and we had no idea what the luck of the Irish was about to bring us!


John, a bass player and sound experimentalist himself He is a 39-yr-old and plays a 5-string electric bassist (low B) & audiophile. He played professionally in his early 20s. Currently, he’s been participating in the New Haven Improviser's Collective. Also, he plays in an original, progressive, fusion trio. John started playing bass drum in The Shriner's marching band where his son is learning bagpipes. His favorite music Texts are "Twentieth Century Harmony" & "The Secret Power of Music". He’s Fascinated by synthetic scales, using those scales to build unconventional Chords, the physical & chemical properties & possibilities of sound.

Captian's Groove

In the last 3 yrs., he’s been playing, listening & experimenting with drones. And now he’s found the Blue Star Sound experiment files and we are happy to have him with us! Just take a listen to what happened! The quartet proved to be a group of musicians that really knew how to listen to each other. A rock like bass line and pure rhythmic and up tempo drum beat set the space for the low over and undertones of the didgeridoo. Add a little of Rich McGhee on top and this group kicked it! Lot’s of fun and we look forward to playing and experimenting with these guys again real soon.

Seven Seas Clip

"Mind is the creator of everything, you should therefore guide it to only create good. If you cling to a certain thought with dynamic will power, it finally assumes a tangible form. When you are able to employ your will always for constructive purposes, you become the controler of your destiny."

There is a Zen story in which two monks are looking at a flag that is waving in the wind. The first one says, " The flag is waving." The second one says, "No, the wind is moving." Their teacher comes over and the pose him the question. "Who's right? I say the flag is moving. He says the wind is moving." The teacher says, "You are both wrong. Only consciousness is moving. As consciousness moves, it imagines the world into existence."
----from Deepak Chopra's book The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire

The first sound exploration December 15, 2007

The group came together this day with a sense of professionalism I have not seen in a while. The combination of sounds created an almost immediate ethereal and surreal atmosphere. With the drone of the Didgeridoo , Rays electric bass groove train and Carl’s stand up bass fluctuation, the foundation was set.

The “in the pocket” nature of Bruce’s percussion, combined with a complex multitude of Anne and Emily’s vocal variance, created the audible space for the intricate and almost artistically mathematical placement of sound accents by Rich McGhee.

Put together, these sounds lifted the room and most likely this part of town, to higher levels of consciousness. When the collective intellect was auspiciously quieted and the creative combination of sounds came forth from our instruments, true shape shifting transpired. Listen for yourself to the complexities and yet almost indigenously simplistic yet profound connection to our reality that seems to be happening here. The key that made this session what it was, was the level of respect each musician had for one another and deep listening skills that each participant seemed to have. There were no stars here only a focused group effort at a sonic happening.

Angelic Existence Clip



The line up was fantastic and the group of musicians that gathered for collaborative improvisational sound exploration, creative conversation, food, drink and sharing of ideas was more that I expected. Thank you to everyone!
Namesta

This session included alphabetically

• Ray Cody on electric and slide bass. Buster1043@sbcglobal.net

• Richard McGhee III on flutes, horns. Percussion. RAM3X@aol.com


• Bruce Nelson on trap drums.

• Pete Onofrio on Didgeridoo, Native American flutes and vocals www.discoverbluestar.com

• Emily Santos-Poplawski vocals. tomily@comccast.net

• Anne Rhodes vocal experimentalist. Anne.Rhodes@yale.edu or www.annerhodes.blogspot.com

• Carl Testa on stand up acoustic bass and bass clarinet. carl@carltesta.net or http://carltesta.net