Bret H. Hart - "NC maverick outsider artist"

This morning - 1/16/2010 - around 10AM, I plugged-in, for the first time since reconfiguring the HipWorks Mobile Tone-Magnet Studio last month, and recorded an improvisation for electric guitar through the FX-array that I have been fine-tuning for extended recording purposes.

This began as an extrapolation of John Newton's 'Amazing Grace', then limped to Memphis on a broken polyrhythm, before settling down for a nap and a few cold beers in Rockingham County, North Carolina.

This is a single pass recording of a Telecaster into MXR Distortion+ into E-H Q-tron into BBE Two Timer into Danelectro Corned Beef reverb into Digitech RP155 into MXR Pitch Transposer into Tascam DP01-FXCD digital recording platform (mono).

The title, PUNCH ZONE, reflects the initials of a good friend of mine, Peter Zolli, whose home was destroyed in a house fire last week.

To Leave Empty-Handed

LUKE 12:20-21

20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Oh, to be a thin cow on the day the butcher comes
Oh, to be a winner on the day the race is run
The path is paved with cobbles, speedbumps, freaks and bums
Oh, to be a thin cow on the day the butcher comes

Oh, to have my armor on the day the swords are drawn
Oh, to have eyes open on the day of that new dawn
The path is paved with cobbles, speedbumps, freaks and bums
Oh, to be a thin cow on the day the butcher comes

Oh, to be a mirror on the day the sky cracks wide
To see the gates swing open, and get a glimpse inside
To ride beside my Savior, and hammer flat the Dark One's guns
Oh, to be a thin cow on the day the butcher comes

Oh, to keep on walking, when the path is dark and drear
Oh, to hang onto my joy, when my heart is wrought with fear
The path is paved with cobbles, speedbumps, freaks and bums
Oh, to be a thin cow on the day the butcher comes

"I wonder if I played this for a group of free-improv fans and told them it was a Fred Frith/Derek Bailey duet how many would believe me? Not that Bret and Eric sound like Frith and Bailey but this is definitely in that realm." - Jerry Kranitz/AI

"I have worked with Bret by mail before, both as assistant engineer on two Hipbone albums, on Blind Pineapple Philip's "Bee Spit Architecture" and Kudzu's "Incest Is Bad." So I am used to the snail mail process. There is obviously an element of Zen imagination applied to the proceedings, i.e., one imagines the performance taking place in real time and tries to anticipate the curves. I don't think it's consistently an advantage to be in the same environment when collaborating. The newer technology has made this especially true. There are advantages and disadvantages to any and all creative situations. This process allows for an interesting "blind" reading. The results are less influenced by outside criteria and slightly more true on spontaneous improvisation. I sent him mostly early material culled from four-track tapes. A lot of it was somewhat abstract. Bret is not afraid of abstract material. So he was very able to add appropriate content. I also think he did a lovely job in choosing sounds to apply to what I had sent. The process was a bit more outré than most of my working procedures. However I have done previous experiments in found sound and audio sculpting, so there was a context that I could place the process within." - Steve Blake

VISIT THE HIPWORKS ONLINE CD STOREFRONT!!
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3757215

Ken Hyder (dungur shaman drums, voice) began his recording career thirty years ago with Talisker, a pioneering band which fused his home-boy traditional Scottish music with avant garde jazz. Gradually the specific jazz element decreased and his music expanded to take in other Celtic musics, South American and South African forms, and two spirit genres - Tibetan Buddhist, and shamanic musics. He played drums with the Bardo State Orchestra which recorded and toured Europe with Tibetan monks. He's also played with and studied shamanic music with shamans in Siberia - principally in Tuva. He has made over two dozen albums with a range of jazz, folk and avant-garde musicians. "Ken Hyder's drumming always appears connected to the world beyond narrow musical concerns. It comes with a context, picking up on place, the past, people met and local practices. At the same time he favours strong, well-defined musical statements, entirely free from ornamental excess and fuss." - Julian Cowley, The Wire He has worked with and recorded with many musicians, including Elton Dean, Chris Biscoe, Tim Hodgkinson, Paul Rogers, Maggie Nicols, Don Paterson and Frankie Armstrong.
=========================================== Ken Hyder and Bret Hart - Duets Volume 1
"...the Hyder/Hart team are at a zenith stage on this CD! Actually, if mem'ry serves me correctly, I don't think I've heard Bret improvising against a percussionist all that frequently... but this guy Ken is a killah...There are some reviewers who tend to write this kind of experimentation up as something that "anybody with a washboard & a guitar" coulld do... & while that may be true (in one sense), it is pure balderdash with music like this duo is playing...anyone with even a dollop of adventure in their blood will fall in love with this beautifully odd CD... I did... enough so that it gets our MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating!" - Rotcod Zzaj Improvijazzation Nation # 59

Ken Hyder + Bret Hart - "Duets Volume One"
Bret really scored with this duet with Scottish drummer and Tuvan throat singer Ken Hyder. I'd never heard of Hyder before Bret enthused about him, but cruising his web site it's clear he's had an interesting and varied career. In addition to performing and traveling all over the world, he has collaborated with such luminaries as Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow), Elton Dean (Soft Machine), Nick Evans, Phil Minton, and many others. Bret's free-improv works are often heavy on the percussives so having an actual drummer participating is a treat. One of my favorite tracks is the spacey tribal free-jazz "Paltry Origin", with its steady drumming, playful piano, spacey efx, and whining howls. And I'm guessing the efx'd chanting is Hyder doing the throat singing thing. More of this singing style (along with some traditional Celtic song) can be heard on the 14 minute "Eurasian Chassis", which is a symphony of drum and percussion workouts. Another highlight is "Sibi Drone", which is not quite like the drone in the title would suggest. Hyder lays down some free-wheelin drumming while Bret conjures up some cool string manipulated sounds, all against a drifting wall of atmospherics and sedate background drones. An interesting set. There's a wealth of information at Ken Hyder's web site at: http://www.hyder.demon.co.uk.
Be sure and read the account of his trip to Siberia with Tim Hodgkinson. [J.Kranitz/Aural-Innovations]

One piece from my upcoming record - "Token Yankee". This was recorded the week before Thanksgiving '08 using a Washburn acoustic into a Boss BR-8. Like it says in the liner notes: "Just a Blues. Just another Blues. BREATHE."

I recorded this stacked-improvisation on 9.1.08 at the HipWorks Mobile Tone-Magnet in Eden, NC using a Guild "Ashbory" fretless bass (with silicon rubber strings!) and a signal-processed acoustic guitar through a Boss BR-8 recording platform. All tracks were 1st-pass improvisations.

“Jaco” Pastorius' first album entitled Jaco Pastorius (1976), was a breakthrough album for the electric bass, and its influence may still be felt in Jazz, Rock, and Hip-Hop. Many believe this to be the finest bass album ever recorded. In 1976, he joined the fusion band Weather Report, and his bass-playing became an integral part of its sound, in concert and on albums such as Heavy Weather and Night Passage. As well as pulsating basslines, he played mad solos in the higher register, with a bright tone that contrasted to the tribalism of his ensemble playing. He used chords and harmonics which created a rich texture. He played both fretted and fretless bass guitars. His playing was noted for its precision and propulsive drive.

William "Bootsy" Collins Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins' driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk. Bootsy's Rubber Band, a separate touring unit of Clinton's P-Funk collective, recorded four albums together, the first three of which are often considered to be among the quintessential P-Funk recordings. Bootsy collaborated with bluegrass legends Del McCoury, Doc Watson and Mac Wiseman to form the GrooveGrass Boyz, a fusion of bluegrass and funk. Bootsy is widely considered a pioneer in many aspects of not only funk, but also in the progression and evolution of bass playing techniques. His bass playing is driving, rhythmic and groovy, and has been very influential in the development of funk. His characteristic juicy sound, produced by envelope filters (for example the Mutron), is one of his distinguishing traits as a bass player.

Source: (adapted from)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaco_Pastorius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootsy_Collins

BROKEN EYE [Tools: guitars, bass / drumming and percussion: Mark McGee] Recorded on Chebeague Island near Portland, Maine in 1990 at Mark's Central Landing Sound studio.

This is a paean to veterans and those serving our nation in violent places overseas. Whether you feel the war is right or wrong, they are volunteers. My son is enjoying 125 degree heat in Mosul, Iraq today.

‘Taps’, traditionally played on bugle at sundown, is my jumping-off place here. My wife and I pray daily that Michael will come home in one piece next February, after Barack Obama has filled the Oval Office.

TITAN BERRY ROAD [Tools: guitars, bass, drum samples, stacked loops of our daughter Emmalee making ‘flute sounds’ with a foot-long Slurpie straw] This composition deliberately and synchronously taps into both Fred Frith’s and Bill Harkleroad’s guitar styles. The real Titan Berry Road is off RT. 135 southwest of Eden, NC. Think of the mythological Atlas holding a giant raspberry on his shoulders… I did.

BHH: voices and instruments, recorded at home during 1999 for the (unreleased) 'Faced' CD by "Blind Pineapple" Phillips

The I Like Toast Blues

I like toast...I like toast
wheat toast...buttered toast
I like toast...the most
TOAST!

I like hash...I like hash
grill-fried hash...toast and hash
I pay cash
'cause I like hash
JUICE!

I like ham...home-smoked ham
eggs and ham
with toast and jam
Sam I Am, you the man!
HAM!

I like toast...I like toast
wheat toast...buttered toast
I like toast...the most
toast
TO-TOAST!

BHH: slide and electric guitars/bass/voice; Mark McGee: percussion/production

I served two 4-years tours in the Navy during the 80's. I was a translator, for lack of a better or more permissible job description. At year eight, the USN was endeavoring to get me to reenlist again. I almost did. This song is about that.

A home recording on my new Tascam ("test drive") 8-track digital unit. This song jumped out of me after my father-in-law spoke about getting a deal on a suit. BHH: guitars/voice/etc

On The Theme of Getting Old

It can be a sad and painful time, I have been told
A time when memory fails and…. uhhh….
When your grandchildren are sneezin’ and sniffin’ with a cold
Here’s a little tale to tell on the Theme of Getting Old

I walked into a clothing store, on the rack I saw a beaut’.
“40% OFF!” - On a new Harris Tweed suit.
I took it to the counter, with a new shirt and a tie.
She was ringing up my stuff, when this gray hair caught her eye…

“You’re IN LUCK! It’s ‘Seniors Day’,” she said,
and paused to cough
“So, I can also take another 15% off.”
(Tho’ I was never good at Math, I knew the odds were good
That I could, maybe, save some more,
with the right facts … knock on wood)

“Hmmm.. I served 20 years and 6 days in the Army, and then retired.”
“I’m over 65, and lost a toe
when my huntin’ gun misfired.”
“My teeth are bad, my eyes are weak…
but, today’s my birthday.”
(She darn near broke that adding machine calculatin’ what I’d pay.)

“OK… AARP knocks off 10% more,
and ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Have a shirt.”
“We give Veterans ties for free
and let’s not forget your disabili.T.O.E….

It can be a fruitful time, I have been told.
Don’t let no one tell you that ‘it’s hell getting old’.
I walked out of that clothing store, feelin kinda rich.
In addition to a nice free suit,
they gave me ten bucks and a sandwich.

“Who was Charlie Poole? Charlie Poole was a musical maverick; a creative iconoclast who developed ways of successfully insinuating his unusual and soulful art into the world around him. Charlie enjoyed life’s blessings and curses with equal relish. The blueprint for the rough & tumble country music artist - the hard drinking, wandering, haunted, rambler - was more or less drawn from direct observation of the life of Charlie Poole. In this program, we will reminisce with one such music scholar, Charlie Poole expert, Kinney Rorrer. Kinney is the author of the quintessential biography of Charlie Poole, Ramblin’ Blues-The Life & Songs of Charlie Poole and his grandfather – Posey Rorer – played fiddle in the original NC Ramblers with Charlie Poole.

I was born on August 14, 1959. Lots of cool people died when I was a kid and teen. How would America see and value this president today, had he not been killed, had served out his term(s?), and was yet displaying intellectual vigor, as Jimmy Carter does {love him or hate him}, today?
The WUNC 91.5fm radio snippet was accidentally and auspiciously obtained and found to be extra fantastic and synchronous, given what my students and I were working with (1950's-60's Birmingham & Civil Rights) in school at the time. This was created on my Boss BR-8 a while back, but I never wrote down the date.
NPR would know.
Become a member of your local public radio station. Hang onto what objectivity and decency still can be found on the real airwaves.

Jeff Sampson (MA), Eric Wallack (OH), & Bret Hart (NC) collaborated in 2003 to produce a record of gentle post-progressive music. This is an excerpt. Hart: 'Volcano' (electrified steel sculpture/mallets) Wallack: Chapman Stick Sampson: voice The CD may be obtained from Jeff at: http://www.burningshirt.com/caustic.html
Ed Shepherd took the photograph of the owl-towel at the Eden Drive-In (in beautiful Eden, NC). I manipulated it -w- Photoshop above. Ed and I have been collaborating on an extensive audio-graphic project entitled 'The Journey is the Reward', based upon a fascinating series of photographs Ed took of the 'owl towel' in uniques locations all around America.

"Herbie-Blood-Sharrock" is a wild and funky bit that was recorded with the help of my multi-talented friend in Ohio, Eric Wallack. The sax and Les Paul you hear are him. The other guitars and so forth are me, simply sitting down in the studio and thinking about three of the artists that so impacted upon how I hear and think about music.

Many folks have heard keyboardist Herbie Hancock's music (http://www.herbiehancock.com, The Headhunters) , some before MTV brought his 'Rockit' into our living rooms. Herbie's played with everyone, and brought the concept of 'jazz fusion' light years ahead.

James 'Blood' Ulmer (http://www.hyenarecords.com/james.htm) is a remarkable guitarist whose 'Tales of Captain Black' was a seminal influence on me. He played with Ornette Coleman, Joe Henderson, David Murray, and many others. Ulmer's playing can be really frenetic and pointillistically funky, like sonic fractals chipping off his guitar neck. His brand new acoustic Blues record simply kicks ass.

Sonny Sharrock (http://www.sonnysharrock.com/thepress/quotes.asp) is another guitar hero of mine, who I first heard with MATERIAL on their great 'Memory Serves' record. Then later, my pal Bob Jordan played me (on flautist Herbie Mann's 'Memphis Underground' record) Sonny executing the most mind-blistering slide solo anyone's ever waxed. To describe this recorded guitar moment cannot be done. FIND THAT RECORD, it's on side B.
Anyhow, this piece is a tribute to all the things I think about when these great jazz-cats come to mind. Enjoy!

"reflection on parenting"
bret harold hart: "bowed things" (processed acoustic guitars)
Tony Trischka: banjos

During the 10th Annual Charlie Poole Music Festival in Eden, North Carolina I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with banjo legend Tony Trischka (who's played with Béla Fleck, David Grisman, the Violent Femmes, REM, William S. Burroughs, Leftover Salmon), who was one of our headliners.
Turns out T.T. is from Syracuse, New York same as me, and knows where all the great pizza joints and record stores used to be in the 70's! Very cool.
On the freak chance that he might have time, I asked whether Tony could stop over at my studio the day after the festival and record something with me for an album I have been working on ("Finding Grace in America") for a few years.
Serendipity smiled.

I was able to capture Tony improvising against my song 'Daddy Only Did the Best He Knew How', TWICE!
Yup, a spontaneous banjo duet with himself.
During the recording of the 8-track arrangement of the song, I welded two tracks of "bowed things", a blanket term for a particular effects configuration I like that makes everything sound like a bowed instrument (very slow attack, no sustain, very slow decay) onto it. Here, it was a 1950's Kay acoustic through an electret condenser mic into a Boss BR8 digital platform.

the instrumental "reflection on parenting" is a later minimalistic mix of only my "bowed things" and Tony's banjo playing. listen carefully and you can hear a continuous deconstruction of John Newton's hymn 'Amazing Grace' occurring.