Doors open 6pm, performance begins 7pm.
Admission $5.
About the performers:
Born in San Diego, CA and raised in Sacramento, Ches Smith came up in a scene of punks and metal musicians who were listening to and experimenting with jazz and free improvisation. He studied philosophy at the University of Oregon before relocating to the San Francisco Bay area in 1995. After a few years of playing with obscure bands and intensive study with drummer / educator Peter Magadini, he enrolled in the graduate program at Mills College in Oakland at the suggestion of percussionist William Winant. There he studied percussion, improvisation, and composition with Winant, Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros and Alvin Curran. One of Winant’s first “assignments” for Ches was to sub in his touring gig at the time, Mr. Bungle (here he met bassist / composer Trevor Dunn who would later hire him for the second incarnation of his Trio-Convulsant). During his time at Mills, Ches co-founded two bands: Theory of Ruin (with Fudgetunnel / Nailbomb frontman Alex Newport), and Good for Cows (w/ Nels Cline Singers’ Devin Hoff). He currently performs and records with Xiu Xiu, and Secret Chiefs 3. He has also performed with Ben Goldberg, Annie Gosfield, Wadada Leo Smith, John Tchicai, Fred Frith, and Trevor Dunn. In addition to Ceramic Dog, he also leads his two of his own projects, Congs for Brums and These Arches. He currently spends his time between Los Angeles, San Francisco and Brooklyn.
Heart Protector is Travis Laplante’s debut album, featuring original music for solo tenor saxophone by the twenty-eight- year-old composer and musician. Laplante, a powerful new voice in New York City’s experimental music set, has toured extensively with his band Little Women, whose acclaimed full-length debut was recently released on AUM Fidelity Records; with his trio, which features bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Gerald Cleaver; and with underground experimental rock bands Extra Life and Skeletons. Laplante has also worked with Anthony Braxton, Mark Dresser, Mat Maneri, Trevor Dunn, and many other luminaries of improvised music. Heart Protector was recorded by Laplante himself and Ryan Power at the Big Barn in Putney, Vermont. The album, coming out on Skirl Records, will be the label’s first vinyl release. The music itself was largely inspired by the heart protector, Laplante’s term for the pericardial sac that surrounds the heart.
About the performers:
Born in San Diego, CA and raised in Sacramento, Ches Smith came up in a scene of punks and metal musicians who were listening to and experimenting with jazz and free improvisation. He studied philosophy at the University of Oregon before relocating to the San Francisco Bay area in 1995. After a few years of playing with obscure bands and intensive study with drummer / educator Peter Magadini, he enrolled in the graduate program at Mills College in Oakland at the suggestion of percussionist William Winant. There he studied percussion, improvisation, and composition with Winant, Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros and Alvin Curran. One of Winant’s first “assignments” for Ches was to sub in his touring gig at the time, Mr. Bungle (here he met bassist / composer Trevor Dunn who would later hire him for the second incarnation of his Trio-Convulsant). During his time at Mills, Ches co-founded two bands: Theory of Ruin (with Fudgetunnel / Nailbomb frontman Alex Newport), and Good for Cows (w/ Nels Cline Singers’ Devin Hoff). He currently performs and records with Xiu Xiu, and Secret Chiefs 3. He has also performed with Ben Goldberg, Annie Gosfield, Wadada Leo Smith, John Tchicai, Fred Frith, and Trevor Dunn. In addition to Ceramic Dog, he also leads his two of his own projects, Congs for Brums and These Arches. He currently spends his time between Los Angeles, San Francisco and Brooklyn.
Heart Protector is Travis Laplante’s debut album, featuring original music for solo tenor saxophone by the twenty-eight- year-old composer and musician. Laplante, a powerful new voice in New York City’s experimental music set, has toured extensively with his band Little Women, whose acclaimed full-length debut was recently released on AUM Fidelity Records; with his trio, which features bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Gerald Cleaver; and with underground experimental rock bands Extra Life and Skeletons. Laplante has also worked with Anthony Braxton, Mark Dresser, Mat Maneri, Trevor Dunn, and many other luminaries of improvised music. Heart Protector was recorded by Laplante himself and Ryan Power at the Big Barn in Putney, Vermont. The album, coming out on Skirl Records, will be the label’s first vinyl release. The music itself was largely inspired by the heart protector, Laplante’s term for the pericardial sac that surrounds the heart.
