075. FILM
- The Saint Mark's Poetry Project, New York City, us@
- Monday, May 27, 1985
- This was meant to be a fairly straight-forward presentation of some of my films with my presence adding little more to it than the possible giving out of MIKE FILM DISTRIBUTION FORMS (forms containing some of the approximately 46,800 super-8 frames of film that I'd cut up for the purpose of having them put in odd places around the world + information about what other people had done with theirs) & my cutting a "double negative" symbol into my leg with an exacto knife while my film "A Double Negative As Not A Positive" (a quasi-document made with HannaH AvivA / Casandra vonRinteln of us cutting into each other's skin with exacto knives). Much to my surprise though, the audience called me a psychopath (which I sometimes think of myself as) & tried to stop the showing of "Neoist Guide Dog" (see the entry about this) because they thought I was exploiting the "poor blind woman". Much to the projectionist/organizer Mark Nasdor's credit he resisted them & the short "show" went to its conclusion.
- recollections from tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
076. FILM &/OR VAUDIO
- Cafe Anthrax, Stamford, Connecticut, us@
- May 30, 1985, 8PM
- I don't remember much of what I did for this other than the usual presentation of films & vaudios but I do remember not having any pants on when the cops arrived there. Much to my surprise I wasn't arrested - despite the fact that the majority of my audience were probably teenagers.
- recollections from tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
077. booed usic
- t he No Business as Usual Benefit, St Johns Church, Baltimore, us@
- June 29, 1985
- More video simultaneous with booed usic in which the main other visual element was me frantically trying to save the borrowed stereo amplifier that I was blowing. The booed usicians: Beef Jerky (guitar), Herr Brain Storm Drain (percussion), myself (tapes, records, radio, ring modulator, voice).
- recollections from tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
078. [piano concert 'for' 'transitionals'
- St Johns Church, Baltimore, us@
- spring or summer?, 1985
- This wasn't originally intended to be a concert for an audience - I just wanted to use the baby grand piano at St Johns to play & record some experiments I had in mind. However, the time arranged for my access to the piano coincided with a gathering of 'transitionals' at the church. These were, I was told, schizophrenics & other people who'd been institutionalized for mental problems who were using the church as a sortof halfway house where they could attempt to 'transition' back into the 'normal' world. As such, I wasn't exactly playing 'for' them but they were there. I remember the situation being somewhat awkward because I don't think that my playing was framed for them in any formal way. In other words, I doubt that I announced that I was going to play a concert or anything like that. I just prepared the pianos & then played. I vaguely remember people meandering around, possibly talking, probably not paying much attention to me. One of the 'transitionals' did come up & critique my piano playing after it was over. Alas, I don't remember what he said. I played 2 SELECT SUSTAIN 'pieces' of mine: "Black Keys Sustained" & "Whole Tone Scale Sustained". For the 1st, I (w/ assistance from my girlfriend O. J. D'Art & possibly others) I held down all the black keys & then weighted down the select sustain pedal so that those keys would be unmuted throughout. I then took advantage of this in a half-hour improvisation where the black key pentatonic scale would've 'wallowed' in harmonics, & the tempered diatonic white key scales could've been either staccato or sustained. I alternated between these possibilities & combined them. For the 2nd, a whole tone scale throughout the entire keyboard was sustained in the same way. Again, I performed a half-hour improvisation exploiting the unique harmonic situation created by the selective unmuting.]
- recollections from tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
to Personal Favorites: 1959-1989