14th Annual Music for People & Thingamajigs
Night Three
Electric Junkyard Gamelan [NY]
http://www.electricjunkyardgamelan.com/
T.D. Skatchit
http://www.edgetonerecords.com/tdskatchit.html
Tracey Cockrell [OR]
http://poemophone.wordpress.com/
About the Artists
Electric Junkyard Gamelan plays the original groove driven music of composer Terry Dame on musical instruments of her invention. Originally inspired by the infectious interlocking rhythms of traditional Gamelan from Bali, today the group is a true world fusion project with influences from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, West Africa, American funk, hip hop and a little circus on top. They perform on Dame's unique musical contraptions such as the Rubarp and Big Barp (electric rubber band harps), the Sitello (an electric cello/sitar combo), the Terraphone (copper pipe horn), the Clayrimba (a three octave tuned clay pot "marimba") and an arsenal of percussion instruments fashioned from old farm equipment, kitchen ware, turntable platters, saw blades, and truck springs. The result is a super original sound with hypnotic melodies and syncopated strings riding over funky bass lines and layers of dance-able interlocking rhythms. Featuring musicians Terry Dame, Mary Feaster, Lee Free & Julian Hintz, EJG has been performing together since 2000 at venues ranging from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City to elementary schools in Iowa, arts centers large and small to music festivals, underground raves and even a couple weddings.
T.D. Skatchit & Company is a collection of Bay Area improvisers who have participated in a 2 year “Skatchbox” recording project consisting of trios in which a guest improviser was invited to record with T.D. Skatchit. The recordings took place at Eye-Full Studios in San Francisco. Select improvisations were chosen from each set, edited and compiled to form a library of Skatch recordings. Twenty-two musicians have been involved in this project, which Tom & David initiated in the summer of 2009. T.D. Skatchit & Company now focuses on public performances featuring different trios with various Company members.
Tracey Cockrell completed her MFA with a focus in Sculpture at the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. An interdisciplinary artist, Cockrell has cultivated a studio practice that synthesizes sculpture, experimental music, linguistic theory, and collaborative strategies. She has taught in MFA, BFA, and nonprofit institutions including Maine College of Art and The Crucible. Most notably, her work has been featured at Boston Center for the Arts, Institute for Contemporary Art in Portland, Maine, Oakland Arts Council, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. She is currently an Associate Professor and Associate Academic Dean at Pacific Northwest College of Art and recently completed a Senior Residency in Woodworking at Oregon College of Art and Craft.
About the Festival
The Music For People & Thingamajigs Festival is an annual event dedicated to promoting experimental music that incorporates made/found instruments and alternate tuning systems. Each year, MFP&T invites artists who design their own musical instruments to join in a festival of workshops, music making, and performances with the goal of reaching a large, diverse audience of all ages. It is also a festival where the public can participate in instrument building and tuning educational workshops, as well as hear unique sounds and compositions from up and coming artists. Now in its 14th year, Thingamajigs’ genre-crossing MFP&T Festival is the only annual event completely dedicated to music created with made/found materials and alternate tuning systems
