Racer Session #176 | GRID | June 23, 2013
Tonight, my project GRID performs live music to silent film. Over the past year, I have worked with the Royal Room, Central Cinema and the Northwest Film Forum to present the short films of Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, Maya Deren, Ilya Chaiken and others. On August 2nd I have the great honor of setting live and recorded scores to the mammoth King of feature length silent films, Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ at the Henry Art Gallery. The players with me tonight will also be playing live for that amazing night. They are: Dick Valentine, sax, flute and synth; Neil Welch, sax; Simon Henneman, guitar Erica Carlson, percussion and Don Berman and myself on drums.
This Sunday, the evening will open with a short film which none of us have seen in its entirety and some of us not at all. It has not been discussed between us, and yet will reflect a relationship that has developed over the past year as well as our process relating to film.
I love playing music to film because there is an idea already in the room outside of ourselves which we must deal with. There is a consciousness around how to set up scenes for the ones that follow, how to let the film be the strongest voice and, in my experience, regardless of aesthetic, less often seems to be more. Musicians are not in the spotlight and because of this ego is glaringly obvious. My intention in bringing it to Racer is to invite the improvisations that follow to be more cinematic in this sense, which, like all good improvisation in my opinion, is concerned with the bigger picture. I am really looking forward to this. Thank you.