Playing Snow and Ending Things in Snowpocalypse
When the Snowpocalypse hit central Virginia, the plans for an 8-piece improv ensemble representing the HzCollective fell through at the Center of the Study of the End of Things‘ Symposium Opening. The storm left no drivable conditions for our HzCollective mates – including Kenny Yates, Jennida Chase and Hassan Pitts of Pilotone – to join us for the performance from Richmond. Grapefruit Experiment and our friend Erik DeLuca decided to go ahead with the gig as a trio. To echo the apocalyptic theme of the “the end of things,” we carried minimal gear in our backpacks and trekked in the snow maxing out our creative and physical ends.
Carey sounded her ever-sustained bells that she bought in China. I played amplified snow using Erik’s hydrophone while playing back samples of snow collected on our walk to the space. Erik played back and processed sounds of snow and vibes that he recorded throughout the day. We played a 28-minute improvised set. Then our set was joined by an impromptu reading (of his elegy to Lydia Gasman) by Steven Margulies.
After a short break, we went into a second set starting with Carey’s bells, live and captured on Erik’s tape recorder. Erik and I then joined Carey with electronic sounds. I used a bit reduction pedal to noisify the sound of snow-crushing. Erik played back and manipulated sounds of Carey’s bells. Then the projected sound started to cut in and out sweeping in as low-frequencies, as Erik gestured the smell of something burning. Thus we ENDED our set. Not only that, we put an END to the speaker, a decrepit JBL dust-collector donated by UVa’s VCCM [Virginia Center for Computer Music].
Organizer Wes Milholen said that they will honor the end of the speaker by shining a spotlight on it. Maybe they will even suspend it mid air.
The End.
Playing bikes, plants, dirt, water, and combs with Erik DeLuca
Grapefruit Experiment did a two-part improvisational set with our friend Erik DeLuca at the Charlottesville Experimental Music Showcase at The Bridge PAI on 12/16/09. The first part features Wendy and Carey on amplified bikes; the second part features Carey on an amplified cactus, Wendy on mic’ed pine cones and combs, and Erik on an amplified small leafy, easy-to-care-for plant with some dirt and water.
Video by David Eklund.
Documentation from Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Insane trip. Our ride from DC to New York took 8 hours – the police along with homeland security vehicles blocked off two stretches near air force bases on I-95. We arrived way behind schedule and had to set up in 10 minutes. We didn’t even have time for refresh ourselves and say hi to our friends. We then jumped right into playing our duo noise set fully utilizing the sound, equipment, and the space of a rock venue. I thought my bike sounded great through the PA system. Jack Tung said that our set was ‘brutal.’ 
Thanks to Kite Operations for inviting us play and again, congratulations to your new album Festival. It’s breathtaking. It’s a feat!
We didn’t even have to set up our recording devices. Thanks to Dave Yang of K.O. and many other for documenting our set!
pictures by Tom Lin
**Bikes bikes bikes!**
“Irigaray”
“N+1 to the Floor”
11/21 Show Poster Released!
Facebook Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125361251491
GFX @ Silence and Coincidence
Carey and I participated in a HzCollective improvised music event called Silence and Coincidence at The Bridge PAI in Charlottesville last night. The show was curated by our friend Jonathan Zorn. In addition to us, the participants included: Jonathan Zorn, Bob Holub, Lanier Sammons, Sarah O’Halloran, Megan England, Matt Lerner, and Erik DeLuca. The event lasted 60 minutes and our objective was to limit each of our playing time to be 30 minutes throughout the session. I performed on my new instrument – an amplified bike. Carey used a combination of Lander (built by Zach Mason) and her snare drum.
Audio documentation of the entire set [~60 min]
Shhhh! – Private Noise Show in Richmond
We played at a private show in a warehouse studio in downtown Richmond on Sunday, September 20, 2009, sharing a bill with Jonathan Zorn + Erik DeLuca; Caustic Castle (Kenneth Yates) + Philip White. Carey posted about this show on her blog. Here’s the portion related to our set:
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In our set as Grapefruit Experiment, Wendy and I were working out a new set up. Our theme was futurism of the past and our ethos was “work.” I used a new instrument built by Softpieces (Zach Mason) which is a pill bottle with a contact mic on the bottom and paper clip “feet” designed to pick up the resonance of containers. It looks like a moon lander. Wendy had a broken accordion (mailed to her from Craig’s List in a broken box without any packing materials) and she wanted to play it as a shell of a deceased instrument.
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Read entire post detailing the back story about the show and the other sets on Carey’s blog.
Listen to entire set [mp3, 10:26]
The video footage here – consisting of the second half of the 10-minute set – is partially distorted due to a video recording glitch. It looks like we need to get a new camcorder.
In-House Collab with Soft Pieces
Our friend Zach Mason (Soft Pieces) drove down to our home in Charlottesville from Rockville, MD to jam and record with us today. We made a big meal of DIY vegan burritos to welcome him.
Zach gave us a noise-making toy that he constructed from a pill bottle, rubber bands, and a contact mic. We named it “Lander”.
We did a free improv jam. We tried various ways to set constraints such as “playing with Lander and letting it guide us.” We also used Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s Oblique Strategies that Zach brought during our last take. During this take, I was to experiment with the concept of humanization (“free of error”), Carey with frame and edges, and Zach with fakery.
We had a blast! It felt really good to do some serious experimentation.
It looks like we will be playing with Zach sometime in the near future. We’re concocting a performance possibly for the Femfest at Maya Gallery later this fall in Greensboro, NC.
Queering Sound Photos Posted
Finally, I posted all the arty photos taken at Queering Sound 2009 by our friend Hong “Waldo” Nguyen. Our set was joined by Martin Terrazas on guitar. Thanks for these kicking photos, Waldo!
More from this Flickr set by Hong Nguyen.
Access Benefit Comp Is Out
The Access Comp benefiting the DC Abortion Fund (DCAF) is now available. This compilation features BLK w/ BEAR, Layne Garrett, Grapefruit Experiment, Sandy Marshall, and Soft Pieces. GFX’s contribution is “Irigaray.”
You can order the CDR from Zach Mason (Soft Pieces).
Compilation for Reproductive Rights
The murder of Dr. Tiller inspired Zach Mason (Softpieces) to bring together experimental noise/sound artists to raise for issues related to reproductive rights. Zach asked us to perform and contribute to a compilation CD-R. Unfortunately the show is schedule during our visit in the UK. We will contribute the live recording of our performance of “Irigaray” at Queering Sound 09. Thanks to Steve Sanford for recording it.
Here are our liner notes:
//Grapefruit Experiment (Wendy Hsu & Carey Sargent) dedicates “Irigaray” to the compilation to support women’s rights to control their bodies. Inspired by the writing of Lucy Irigaray, we construct a feedback guitar/percussion/electronics system to create a non-linear sonic experience. Emphasizing the body, this piece outputs sound from bodily-engaged gestures.//
All the funds generated from the CD-R sales will go to the DC Abortion Fund.
