Ok, so this is going to be a weird one. Last Sunday, I attended a Crank Sturgeon noise show (basically a concert with experimental bands instead of conventional ones) and decided to put off the other bands on my schedule to review Crank Sturgeon and his show. I was actually lucky to be able to see Crank Sturgeon at this concert because he said it would be his last ever in the East Coast since he is moving to California!
After art school, Crank got a job working as an audio tech at trade shows. The job required him to ware a suit, but he never washed it, and still uses it today in some of his shows and art installations.
For his recordings, which he was still doing, Crank needed contact mics. He was able to jerry-rig some out of peizo discs, and guitar strings, but he found they broke quickly. A year later, Crank was able to get a job soldering with an audio company. Here he was able to hone his skills making them until some people told him he should sell them. Today, Crank makes a living doing what he loves, making experimental noise music, and selling his contact mics, which he crafts in his barn workshop. (You can buy his mics and other stuff here)
When Crank Sturgeon's show started, he went outside, and then came back in wearing a crazy costume with a giant eye, and lots of other stuff attached. He then walked around the room and making sounds like "uck" and "re - DUCK - tion." He was able to make interesting sounds through the use of pieces of his costume, his own homemade contact mics, and several guitar petals and amps. I found this use of his costume very funny and clever. As the performance went on, Crank tore and cut off more and more pieces of his costume until all that was left was a professor like outfit with a funny cap. At this point he took out a book, pretending to read it, and mumbling about redaction. Suddenly, Crank removed his contact microphone and distortion. He then cut the pages out of the book and handed them out to the crowd, instructing everyone to make redaction poetry. For those who don't know, redaction poetry is poetry where you cross out most of the words in a story, but leave in the words of the poem. After everyone finished their poems, they gave them back to Crank Sturgeon who recited them into a phone. The phone then used speech to text to write the text which was then projected on a screen so everyone could see it. Then Crank gave everyone in the audience envelopes with instructions to do. Everyone was told to randomly take a paper from their envelope and do whatever it said, and keep doing it until Crank says to stop. This was done 4 times, once for each paper in the envelope, and each one created a unique experience of controlled chaos.
After Crank Sturgeon's concert, there was also a group improv session for everyone who brought instruments, but unfortunately I didn't bring my saxophone. Crank Sturgeon, Mike, and the members of Bats from Pogo also participated.
Crank Sturgeon's concert was a very fun and unique experience, and I recommend anyone who happens to be in the area when he plays, to go check him out. Unfortunately, this will most likely only be on the West Coast, since he said this would be his last concert on the East Coast.
(Check out my pictures and videos of the concert below, I was able to get some good ones because I was sitting in the front row!)
Now getting on to the music. Crank Sturgeon is experimental noise music. Experimental noise is a genre that is trying to push the bounds of what qualifies as music, often using unconventional things as instruments. Experimental noise music can also be about making an artistic statement, or interesting soundscape, but not always.
One thing I like about Crank Sturgeon and what he does in this album is he often uses humor in his songs. For example in the first track, you can hear Crank and who I assume to be a member of IDM Theftable talking. The guy from IDM keeps choking while playing what sounds like a trumpet, and Crank keeps trying to convince him to stop playing. There is also some use of musical comedy, with some comedic sounds and surprising starting and stopping of different instruments. Another thing I like in this album are the creative use of instruments. Some instruments used are a sped up and slowed down record player, a weirdly played trumpet, feedback from what could be a toy radio?, a cash register, a squeaky toy, and unexpected piano. This record is very interesting to listen to because all of the tracks and sounds on the album work together and are almost able to tell a story through the sound. I won't go through and describe each track because it would be very hard to capture the feeling of each one without hearing them, but I definitely recommend everyone give this album a listen, it'll be a very interesting experience.
My favorite tracks on the album are (I'm not going to even bother writing the actual names out) Track 1, because of the choking trumpet player, which I thought was pretty funny; Track 2, which is kind of a continuation of Track 1, and also uses the trumpet, and other interesting sounds; Track 5, because it uses radio sound clips in an interesting way; and Track 9, which creates unnerving almost sci-fi sound.
Crank uses pieces of his costume to make sound
*Information used for this biography given courtesy of Nina Rossi and The Montague Reporter
PS: To anyone who uses Blogger, don't use the undo button, it doesn't actually undo, it deletes everything in the post. I found that out the hard way and almost had to rewrite write the whole post. I was only able save it by copying the html from a preview I had open. *Heaves massive sigh of relief*
A short biography of Crank Sturgeon*:
When he was younger, Crank got interested in dada and futurism which according to him "was way cooler than being in a punk band." He also started writing cutup poetry, inspired by these interests. In the late 80s, Crank went to art school where he started doing video art, performance art, and got into multi-media projects. It was also at this time that he started getting into experimental noise music, "I went to art school because I didn’t want to go to music school; I wanted to make noise, but I was a terrible musician." During this time, his music was very much inspired by Wile E. Coyote cartoon and technical error sounds.After art school, Crank got a job working as an audio tech at trade shows. The job required him to ware a suit, but he never washed it, and still uses it today in some of his shows and art installations.
For his recordings, which he was still doing, Crank needed contact mics. He was able to jerry-rig some out of peizo discs, and guitar strings, but he found they broke quickly. A year later, Crank was able to get a job soldering with an audio company. Here he was able to hone his skills making them until some people told him he should sell them. Today, Crank makes a living doing what he loves, making experimental noise music, and selling his contact mics, which he crafts in his barn workshop. (You can buy his mics and other stuff here)
The Live Show:
The night started out with an opening act, an experimental noise band called Bats From Pogo; consisting of Andrea, who played distorted sounds, feedback, and noise from her computer, adjusted sounds with different equipment, and did the vocals, and drummer, Walter who played all kinds of different interesting percussion; along with a guest drummer, Mike. Their act consisted of distorted feedback with weird distorted vocals and audio loops. In addition there was lots of fun creative uses of percussion and drums. One great instance I can think of is when Mike threw his drum on the ground, picked up his chair, threw it at the drum, and then stood on top of a cymbal, flattening it! Overall I'd say their act was entertaining to watch and interesting to listen to, although I didn't like it as much as Crank Sturgeon's act.When Crank Sturgeon's show started, he went outside, and then came back in wearing a crazy costume with a giant eye, and lots of other stuff attached. He then walked around the room and making sounds like "uck" and "re - DUCK - tion." He was able to make interesting sounds through the use of pieces of his costume, his own homemade contact mics, and several guitar petals and amps. I found this use of his costume very funny and clever. As the performance went on, Crank tore and cut off more and more pieces of his costume until all that was left was a professor like outfit with a funny cap. At this point he took out a book, pretending to read it, and mumbling about redaction. Suddenly, Crank removed his contact microphone and distortion. He then cut the pages out of the book and handed them out to the crowd, instructing everyone to make redaction poetry. For those who don't know, redaction poetry is poetry where you cross out most of the words in a story, but leave in the words of the poem. After everyone finished their poems, they gave them back to Crank Sturgeon who recited them into a phone. The phone then used speech to text to write the text which was then projected on a screen so everyone could see it. Then Crank gave everyone in the audience envelopes with instructions to do. Everyone was told to randomly take a paper from their envelope and do whatever it said, and keep doing it until Crank says to stop. This was done 4 times, once for each paper in the envelope, and each one created a unique experience of controlled chaos.
After Crank Sturgeon's concert, there was also a group improv session for everyone who brought instruments, but unfortunately I didn't bring my saxophone. Crank Sturgeon, Mike, and the members of Bats from Pogo also participated.
Crank Sturgeon's concert was a very fun and unique experience, and I recommend anyone who happens to be in the area when he plays, to go check him out. Unfortunately, this will most likely only be on the West Coast, since he said this would be his last concert on the East Coast.
(Check out my pictures and videos of the concert below, I was able to get some good ones because I was sitting in the front row!)
The Album, "Crank Sturgeon & IDM Theftable - Half Beast, Just You and I" Review:
I picked up this album before Crank Sturgeon's show, while the opening act was setting up. Obviously the first thing I noticed when I saw the album was the cover, I mean, what is that!? That cover was probably made to shock people looking at it, and man does it do a good job of doing that. This is definitely a record that I wouldn't want to show my grandma. Another thing I quickly noticed is that the track list and album name are nowhere on the album, or on any of the papers included with the album. It says "Crank Sturgeon and IDM Theftable" on the cover, but nowhere does it say "Half Beast, Just You and I," I only found that by looking online. Same with the track list.Now getting on to the music. Crank Sturgeon is experimental noise music. Experimental noise is a genre that is trying to push the bounds of what qualifies as music, often using unconventional things as instruments. Experimental noise music can also be about making an artistic statement, or interesting soundscape, but not always.
One thing I like about Crank Sturgeon and what he does in this album is he often uses humor in his songs. For example in the first track, you can hear Crank and who I assume to be a member of IDM Theftable talking. The guy from IDM keeps choking while playing what sounds like a trumpet, and Crank keeps trying to convince him to stop playing. There is also some use of musical comedy, with some comedic sounds and surprising starting and stopping of different instruments. Another thing I like in this album are the creative use of instruments. Some instruments used are a sped up and slowed down record player, a weirdly played trumpet, feedback from what could be a toy radio?, a cash register, a squeaky toy, and unexpected piano. This record is very interesting to listen to because all of the tracks and sounds on the album work together and are almost able to tell a story through the sound. I won't go through and describe each track because it would be very hard to capture the feeling of each one without hearing them, but I definitely recommend everyone give this album a listen, it'll be a very interesting experience.
My favorite tracks on the album are (I'm not going to even bother writing the actual names out) Track 1, because of the choking trumpet player, which I thought was pretty funny; Track 2, which is kind of a continuation of Track 1, and also uses the trumpet, and other interesting sounds; Track 5, because it uses radio sound clips in an interesting way; and Track 9, which creates unnerving almost sci-fi sound.
Crank Sturgeon & IDM Theftable - Half Beast, Just You and I
1.) RIBBr (tibLt( Th-Cane/ARRt~~~,.(donde?)
2.) Show dum tool (spit) III high men
3.) GRit(hearse||ThTunic(a) SeePez?
4.) ...kellob yef Shte
5.) orlO>>>sn?
6.) Bo_OST/Clamo(mu!
7.) serd f;klop+vj@@ agar tricks Plindt
8.) Reason Hopor Teub AGIRBLIX
9.) toble, inl h'janjues- ~p~~ OTOR
10.) HP ass/ant:[]: E-fr_ _langes :
Concert Pictures and Clips:
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| Opening act, Bats From Pogo setting up. Mike, on the left normally isn't part of the band. |
Bats From Pogo playing
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| Mike going crazy on the drums |
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| Crank Sturgeon setting up |
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| Crank in costume |
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| Crank Sturgeon reading redaction poetry |
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| Some of the prompts from Crank Sturgeon's concert |
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| Group Improv |
*Information used for this biography given courtesy of Nina Rossi and The Montague Reporter
PS: To anyone who uses Blogger, don't use the undo button, it doesn't actually undo, it deletes everything in the post. I found that out the hard way and almost had to rewrite write the whole post. I was only able save it by copying the html from a preview I had open. *Heaves massive sigh of relief*
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