Tyler Damon

Mars Williams Quartet

This is my first update in a little while and I’m really excited about this one: announcing the debut of the Mars Williams Quartet! From Mars’ website:

“A new quartet organized by Chicago based multi-reedist and composer Mars Williams, featuring Peter Maunu on guitar and pedals, veteran Chicago bassist Kent Kessler and Bloomington, IN-based drummer Tyler Damon. This brand new ensemble makes it’s debut performance at OPTION for what is sure to be two sets of fantastic open ended improvisations.”

For those unfamiliar with Mars’ work, here’s a slice of his stunning résumé:

“Mars Williams is an open-minded musician, composer and educator who commutes easily between free jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock, Mars has played and recorded with The Psychedelic Furs, Billy Idol, Massacre, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Ministry, Power Station, Die Warzau, The Waitresses, Kiki Dee, Pete Cosey, Billy Squier, DJ Logic, Wayne Kramer, John Scoffield, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Swollen Monkeys, Mike Clark, Jerry Garcia, Naked Raygun, Friendly Fires, The Untouchables, Blow Monkeys and virtually every leading figure of Chicago’s and New York City’s “downtown” scene.

John Zorn credits Mars as “one of the true saxophone players–someone who takes pleasure in the sheer act of blowing the horn. This tremendous enthusiasm is an essential part of his sound, and it comes through each note every time he plays. Whatever the situation, Mars plays exciting music. In many ways he has succeeded in redefining what versatility means to the modern saxophone player.”

Hope to see you out there on the 22nd!

June 13, 2015   [permalink]   , , , , ,

Duo w/ Curt Oren clip

I played solo and duo w/ Curt Oren up at Garfield Park Eatery in Indianapolis this past week (May 20th to be exact). It was our first time playing together. Here’s a clip from the gig captured by Tom Burris (thanks Tom!):

May 25, 2015   [permalink]   , , ,

Back from tour…

I rolled back into Bloomington at 5AM sharp early Tuesday morning, decompressed and exhausted from my final performance of this tour with the unparalleled Darin Gray. I cannot say enough good things about Darin, so I will simply state, as he often says of others, that D is a “golden, GOLDEN human being.” To say I’m looking forward to our future meetings is an understatement. Special thanks to everyone who came out to a show, bought a tape or CDr, documented a gig or supported us on a bill (Microsleep, Sedcairn Archives, What We Won’t See, Ora Iso, Timeghost), but a very special thank you specifically to Bruce Woodward at The Artifex Guild, Eric (and little Hazel) Weddle, Paul Baldwin and co. at the Spot Tavern, Jason Finkelman at Institute 4 Creativity, Jeremy Kannapell (!), Jill Pifer, Glenn Kotche and, last but not least, Rachel Maudlin for scooping me up from St. Louis. I suppose I should start planning the next one…

For those interested in copies of Darin and I’s debut cassette, “…Oninbo,” please order directly from me over at the YOKE page, catch me at an upcoming SHOW, pick one up in Bloomington at Landlocked Music or snag one from Darin at a gig. If you’ve already ordered one, keep an eye on your mailbox. Our great friend Eric Weddle over at Family Vineyard had this to say of the release:

“These two began playing together in 2012 and have found an anchorless dialogue of continuous expansion and unspooling of sound. This is pretty much unlike anything we’ve released by longtime pal Gray — and it salaciously sticks to our ribs in a satisfying way. The release is limited to 100 pro-duplicated hi-bias Chrome+ cassettes on Tyler’s Yoke imprint. Downloads will be active when the cassette is gone.”

Below is one of the many fantastic photos by Mabel Suen from the St. Louis gig at the always incredible William A Kerr Foundation. For those that don’t know, the Kerr is a handsomely converted 19th century bathhouse situated on St. Louis’ north side. It overlooks the great Mississippi river surrounded by brick and mortar specters of St. Louis’ past. We were fortunate enough to perform at sundown in the center of the wonderfully maintained rooftop garden (Jer Kan – the man that makes these dreams come to life!). Thanks again for the photo Mabel! – T.

damongray composite

May 6, 2015   [permalink]   , , , , , , , , ,

< Newer
Older >