8pm
Matt Herman - solo live-looped customized guitar
9pm
John McCowen - clarinet
John McCowen's musical path is rooted in the DIY culture of American hardcore music. John was a vocalist in hardcore music until he heard the music of Albert Ayler. At that point, he began channeling his energy through the saxophone. After a few years as a touring musician and independent study, he entered academia and studied clarinet with Eric P. Mandat who opened his eyes to micro-tonality and extended techniques
Matt Herman has logged over twenty years on the electric guitar, and has employed live looping techniques since 2001. Incorporating seemingly disparate influences, the end product somewhat resembles a melange of early-'70s ambient math-rock, classical and extreme metal as if it were performed in an intimate jazz bar.
Through customizations and minimal (relatively speaking) electronics, and having spent years also playing the Chapman Stick, his guitar setup has increasingly taken on the role of an extended range instrument. This yields a deeper bass range that still extends through a normal guitar's upper range, augmented with layers of (set up completely live) loops.
In his current project Storm Door (stormdoorband.com), with singer/keyboardist May van Oskan, the music resembles a vivid spacedream; with drummer Chris Taylor (disonova.com), minimalist-reductionist metal; and in a solo setting (mattherman.net), contemplative ambiance.
Cost: $6-10 sliding