TONEBURST 3:new and unusual experimental music from austin and beyond...

Friday, September 15 , 2006 - 8pm - $5
Ceremony Hall
4100 Red River
Austin, TX

Hello! On Friday night, September 15th at 8PM, we will be conducting the third installment of the ongoing creative music series known as Toneburst at Ceremony Hall (4100 Red River).

This segment will be a special showcase featuring the return of Bill Thompson to Texas soil. Thompson has been in Scotland at the University of Aberdeen, getting a PhD in music composition. This will be his first time back in the states in over 2 years. This evenings lineup will include solo performances from Thompson, Alex Keller, Travis Weller and Toneburst founder, Rick Reed. The second portion of the program will feature the long running Gates Ensemble, of which Thompson and Weller are both members. Gates also includes Jacob Green, Josh Ronsen, Holland Hopson and Brent Fariss.

The philosophy behind Toneburst has always been about giving a voice to the underexposed and often marginalized creative music scene that has managed to stay alive in the shadows of the more celebrated mainstream musical styles that have long been Austin's claim to fame as 'the Live Music Capital'. The acts are usually short, focused solo sets or ad hoc group endeavors made up just for the occasion. Expect unusual sounds, flickering lights, madness, tranquility, as well as absolute sonic mayhem. The night will also celebrate the record release of a new disc by Bill Thompson & Brent Fariss entitled august / september on spectral house records.

TONEBURST 3:

Bill Thompson (returning to visit from Scotland!)

Alex Keller

Travis Weller

Rick Reed

The Gates Ensemble (their 1st show in 3 years with founder, Bill Thompson)

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Alex Keller is an audio artist, instrument inventor, sound engineer, curator and teacher based in Austin, Texas. He releases CDs, makes sound installations, helps other artists with audio projects, and performs on his own and in small groups. Alex has received awards for his work from the City of Seattle, Puget Sound Transit and the Jack Straw Foundation. Alex holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a MLA from St. Edward's University, and interned at Chicago's Experimental Sound Studio. He co-hosts KOOP Radio's Commercial Suicide, is an active member of the Austin New Music Co-op, and is a founding member of the Mimeograph Collective, a label dedicated to releasing new and adventurous works.

Travis Weller is a composer, improvisor and violinist based in Austin. He writes for and performs with Gates Ensemble, Imbroglio String Quartet, Cinders, Golden Hornet Project, and New Music Co-op. He is one of the founders of New Music Co-op and curates the Willow Street Concert Series.

Rick Reed is an enigmatic figure from the Austin experimental underground. A man who so far, despite all reasons to the contrary, has totally refused to give up and go along quietly. He has been making noisy sounds around town for more than 20 years, both as a solo act and with various combinations of people and situations- The Fear and Tension Corp., Frequency Curtain, Abrasion Ensemble to name but a few. Expect bizarre, buzzing soundscapes with flickering lights- don't be scared, it's only the wind.

Bill Thompson has been an active musician and composer for over ten years within the central texas area. he began music studies with private teachers in austin and eventually attended north texas state university, and texas state university in san marcos where he earned a masters in composition under russell reipe and taught electronic music and composition. after graduating he started the gates ensemble that became one of the only regularly performing electro-acoustic ensembles in texas and the southwest specializing in improvisation and modern composition. with clark crawford and brent fariss, he founded thomfaricraw, a modern music initiative dedicated to the creation and presentation of the highest caliber of modern experimental music. they hosted one of the only house concerts (the loft series) in the us that presented new experimental music.

The Gates Ensemble is an electro-acoustic ensemble formed in September 2001 to realize the piece Gates, for which the ensemble was eventually named. The piece involved free improvisation within the context of strict entrance and exit times. Since its inception, Gates has had a somewhat fluid membership. As of the time of this recording, Gates consisted of Brent Fariss, Jacob Green, Holland Hopson, Bill Thompson, Josh Ronsen, and Travis Weller.

Press Release for Thompson and Fariss' august / september (sh008)

TONEBURST 2

TONEBURST 1