In Memory of Jason Molina

Jason Molina is one of my big musical heroes. I was truly saddened to learn of his untimely passing.
This is for him.

Thanks to the team of Kule, Berlin for inviting me to perform at Labor Sonor and my two buddies – Tom Meadowcroft and Steve Heather, them beauties.

Berlin, KuLe – Labor Sonor, April 15, 2013.

If you;ve had enough circular breathing solo sax multiphonics, drones n trills you’re not only a loser but can also jump to minute 10 for juicy vocals and backing harmonies.

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check out this new piece with:
3 awesome performers, a barisax player turned pseudo performer, 3 double sided panels, a cymbal (played by the barisax player turned pseudo performer), a bell (done by the same dude), a blue light, a bow and an arrow.

sounds great, right? It’s part of this year’s Tanztage at Sophiensäle, curated by the ever brilliant Peter Pleyer.
check it or miss it. (you’ll prolly miss it cuz it’s already sold out. also most of you don’t live in Berlin. Thanks for your patience though.) Either way, hope this finds you well. Happy New Year and hope to see you soon, somewhere down the road. Cheers, Boris

Monday January 7 and Tuesday January 8, 2013 @ 8:30PM
Sophien Säle, Sophienstraße 18, 10178 Berlin-Mitte

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Alles ist erlaubt.
Alles ist getan.

Bring ein Buch und schlag es auf.

Der Spielplatz ist gewaltig.
Die Variationen unendlich.

Teile das Archiv.
Geschichte oder Geschichten?

Spielzeuge sind herausgesucht, Variationen dekliniert.

3 Flächen und 4 Menschen.
Der Rahmen, wo wir überlappen.

CHOREOGRAFIE Julian Weber
TANZ, PERFORMANCE Claudia Tomasi, Cinira Macedo, Boris Hauf, Julian Weber
MUSIK Boris Hauf
BÜHNENBILD Julian Weber

Gefördert durch Tanztage Berlin / SOPHIENSÆLE, Dank an alle.

oh yeah… also performing: a spot light, a skeleton, nail polish, newspaper and spray paint.

it’s a party for your eyes, ears, nose and other stuff.

Captain Beefheart’s Ten Commandments For Guitarists

1. LISTEN TO THE BIRDS That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t going anywhere.

2. YOUR GUITAR IS NOT REALLY A GUITAR Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.

3. PRACTICE IN FRONT OF A BUSH Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn’t shake, eat another piece of bread.

4. WALK WITH THE DEVIL Old delta blues players referred to amplifiers as the “devil box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you’re bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts demons and devils. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

5. IF YOU’RE GUILTY OF THINKING, YOU’RE OUT If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

6. NEVER POINT YOUR GUITAR AT ANYONE Your instrument has more power than lightning. Just hit a big chord, then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.

7. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CHURCH KEY You must carry your key and use it when called upon. That’s your part of the bargain. Like One String Sam. He was a Detroit street musician in the fifties who played a homemade instrument. His song “I Need A Hundred Dollars” is warm pie. Another church key holder is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty making you want to look up her dress to see how he’s doing it.

8. DON’T WIPE THE SWEAT OFF YOUR INSTRUMENT You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.

9. KEEP YOUR GUITAR IN A DARK PLACE When you’re not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure to put a saucer of water in with it.

10. YOU GOTTA HAVE A HOOD FOR YOUR ENGINE Wear a hat when you play and keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a wet paper towel around it to make it grow.

10 Rules for Teachers and Students from John Cage

10 Rules for Students and Teachers

from John Cage

RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then, try trusting it for awhile.
RULE TWO: General duties of a student — pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.
RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher — pull everything out of your students.
RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.
RULE FIVE: Be self-disciplined — this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.
RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.
RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.
RULE EIGHT: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.
RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.
RULE TEN: We’re breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities.
HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything — it might come in handy later.

things could go in any direction…

Write up by Chicago Reader’s Peter Margasak. Thanks thanks thanks:

“Berlin-based Austrian reedist Boris Hauf has been a regular visitor to Chicago since 1998, often taking up residency for months at a time. He’s developed close ties and friendships with many locals, mostly notably the members of TV Pow. Hauf arrived here Sunday night for a stay of two and a half weeks, and on Wednesday he’ll perform at the Hideout in an improvising quartet with bass clarinetist Jason Stein, bassist Anton Hatwich, and drummer Tim Daisy. Also on the bill is a project called Baseless led by cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm (here doubling on guitar), which includes saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, percussionist Steve Hunt, and analog synth player Aaron Zarzutzki.

Two of Hauf’s latest recordings were cut in Chicago during a 2010 visit, and they both bring together players from the improvised and experimental-music communities. Next Delusion(Clean Feed) is a sextet outing with fellow reedists Stein and Keefe Jackson and drummers Frank Rosaly, Steve Hess, and Michael Hartman, and as Reader contributor Bill Meyer writes in his liner notes, “You might find the Berlin-based saxophonist’s accompanists on the same bill, but not in the same group.” Indeed, Hauf combines aesthetics and personnel from both worlds not only on Next Delusion but also on Proxemics (Creative Sources), a quartet album with Jackson, Hess, and keyboardist Judith Unterpertinger; they dig deep into sustained drones rippling with subtle textural variation, while maintaining a clearly improvisational mind-set.

Everyone joining Hauf for Wednesday’s performance is rooted in Chicago’s jazz and improvised-music community, but all of them are flexible enough that things could go in any direction.”