John Shiurba Link to home page : John Shiurba   Biography: Guitarist John Shiurba is a composer and guitarist whose musical pursuits include improvisation, art-rock, modern composition and noise. Shiurba has recorded and toured the U.S. and Europe as a member of the bands Eskimo, The Molecules and Spezza Rotto, as a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and the SFSound Ensemble, and in various improv settings. Shiurba has composed works for his own Triplicate and 5x5 ensembles, for the SFSound Ensemble, and for various soloists. As a guitarist Shiurba has developed a unique and personalized approach to
the guitar. Through the use of extended techniques and unusual preparations, he expands the traditional sound range of the instrument, producing stunning, often unrecognizable results.
Cadence Magazine calls Shiurba a "wildly creative guitarist... anti-jazz, anti everything else, yet utterly compelling." Shiurba was invited to play at the Seattle Improvised Music Festival in 1998 and at the High Zero Festival in Baltimore in 1999, and the Olympia Experimental Music Festival in 2002, as well as being featured at New Langton Arts in 2002, premiering his work "Triplicate" He has played with internationally acclaimed musicians such as Anthony Braxton, Fred
Frith, Eugene Chadbourne and Jack Wright, as well as many of the finest West Coast improvisers-- Gino Robair, Dan Plonsey, Scott Rosenberg, Myles Boisen, Matt Ingalls, Tim Perkis, and Matthew Sperry to name a few.
In 1998 Shiurba formed the improvised music label Limited Sedition, which has released 28 CDs documenting the diverse and lively Bay Area improvised music scene.
Upcoming Events: Tuesdays at Tom's Place 3111 Deakin Street
BerkeleyTuesday, Feb 16 2010 7:30 PM Birgit Uhler (tpt) , Solo, and with Tim Perkis (elec), Damon Smith (cb), John Shiurba (guit) and Gino Robair (perc)
21 Grand 416 25th St @Broadway
Near 19th Street BART
OaklandWednesday, Feb 17 2010 8:00 PM $20 general/$15 students & seniors
GROSSE ABFAHRT, the Bay Area's acclaimed international large improvising ensemble, celebrates the release of its third CD – VANITY, on Emanem – featuring Birgit Ulher, trumpeter from Germany, and Kyle Bruckmann, oboist from Mars; these in addition to regulars John Shiurba, Matt Ingalls, Gino Robair, Tim Perkis, and leader Tom Djll.
Grosse Abfahrt is a project designed to explore a number of problems in freely improvised music. The first and most obvious of these is the problem of ensemble size, which we tackle head-on: GA ensembles are usually of eight to ten players. This range seems to settle in a locale where there is a strong opportunity for individual sound-agents to emerge and make a statement against the ensemble backdrop, and also for the entire ensemble to cohere into long-form structures that transcend the productions of conventional improvised-music sociality (another problem we address). How these ensembles are collected takes up another issue: that of the conflict between fluency and comfort among improvising compadres. Fluency between players’ languages and approaches is desirable, of course; however, it can lead to complacency. The flip side is that constant challenges and/or deliberate upsets in a musical performance may come off as chaotic, incoherent, or just simple bloody-mindedness. Grosse Abfahrt takes on these issues through the dynamic of musical sociality; that is, how the group is composed, rather than how the music is (pre-)composed.
Grosse Abfahrt is made up of a core group of five players which does not vary. These people are all very familiar with each other’s strengths, preferences, and foibles, yet they do not play as a quintet (well, on one occasion we did, for about 20 mins.). To this core are brought musicians who have not played with any of the core members. Often, these outsiders come from far away, and are playing as duos or trios already, so they arrive with some comfort and fluency in their own musical relationship. How these two dynamics come together to create music, with practically no introduction (much less, rehearsal), is our practice.
This iteration of the Abfahrt breaks three of these cardinal rules; however, we expect that fact to lead to ever more stimulating results. Birgit has toured and recorded with Gino, and probably played with all the other GA regulars at one time or another. Kyle, Gino, and John are 3/5ths of PINK MOUNTAIN, and have thus also toured and recorded their brand of blender-projectile rock music. Thus, with seven on stage, we'll miss the minimum requirements for chairs, but with these seven, it's more like fifteen.
Oh, and spectators should bring extra money to buy CDs.
CDs on which John Shiurba appears:
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