The Shaking Ray Levi Society and Swine will present Broken Glass and Stand-up Tragedy: Justice Yeldham (Australia) with Bryan Lewis Saunders, Aether Jag (Providence) and Tapecanvas/Baby Magic, on Sunday, Aug. 14, at 4 p.m. at Swine Gallery (at Cine-Rama), 100A W. Main St.
Admission is $7-10. The show is for mature audiences only.
Here are the reviews of the performers:
The first set will be Justice Yeldham on broken glass with Bryan Lewis Saunders (poetry), What's been described as "a trumpet player trapped in a two dimensional universe" is in fact the unique work of Australian Justice Yeldham (a.k.a. Lucas “Granpa” Abela), a maverick musician with an unhealthy obsession with sheets of broken glass. In his infamous show that has astonished and bemused countless people in over 45 countries, Yeldham ecstatically purses his lips against panes of amplified glass whilst deftly employing various vocal techniques ranging from throat singing to raspberries, turning discarded shards into crude musical instruments. The results are a wild array of cacophonous noise that is oddly controlled and strangely musical. The instrument's simple, original and effective premise is a welcome respite to the technically complicated musical performances of modern times. A one of a kind act re-defining the expression 'don't try this at home' this show quite simply needs to be witnessed to be fully appreciated, let alone understood.
Bryan Lewis Saunders of Johnson City is the powerful spoken-word artist who has unleashed his disturbing and unforgettable "stand-up tragedy" for audiences at art museums across Europe and punk houses in rural America. His stories, which can draw from harrowing personal experiences in prison and the assisted-living apartment building in which he currently resides, are known for being unflinching, vivid, brutally honest accounts of the often unexamined aspects of (in)humanity. Saunders has collaborated with dozens of international musicians for recordings on his Stand-Up Tragedy label and many other labels, including the acclaimed album Daku created with the legendary sound artist/percussionist Z’EV.
Best known as a visual artist, Saunders has exhibited in museums including MoMA PS1 (NYC), La Maison Rouge (Paris), MIKA (Tel Aviv), MQ21 (Vienna) and Oslo 10 (Basel) and is the subject of the award-winning documentary feature film Art of Darkness directed by David Parker. Since 1995, Saunders has created at least one new, unique self-portrait every single day, and he gained attention from CNN, The Guardian, Vice and many other media outlets for a series of self-portraits, each of which was made under the influence of a different controlled substance.
Aether Jag of Providence, R.I., a.k.a. Bridget Venuti, will be the second set. She blends her musical inventions (home built sequencers, circuit-bent and rerouted riggings) with otherworldly vocals to coax compelling textural soundscapes.
Tapecanvas and Baby Magic will be the third set. Tapecanvas (Noah Dobbs) is a Chattanooga video artist and performer whose work derives from an early interest in circuit-bent electronics and uncovering a deeper feature-set within the devices used in his practice. He creates single-channel video works, experimental installations, and has performed alongside members of the region’s avant-garde and beyond, creating accompanying visual material that pulls from mostly improvised soundscapes and acts as a bridge between senses.
Baby Magic is the audio-based project of Jason Reevs of Chattanooga, who makes sounds informed by his background as a visual artist and child of hillbilly folk balladeers in hope of forging a spontaneous psychic connection with the audience. This is where, with a bit of patience, entropy, and improvisation, the magic comes in.