Live Silent Film Accompaniment May 15th at Transistor

May 15, 2015

Friday night live at Transistor: layering/repetition-obsessed noise artist Arvo Zylo and backwoods avant-garde from Good Stuff House, 8:00 p.m. Free, BYOB.

For this Transistor performance, Arvo Zylo (Blood Rhythms, NO PART OF IT LABEL, chronic freeform radio DJ, freelance sound writer) will perform a soundtrack to a segment of the 1925 silent film version of 'The Wizard of Oz.' Says Arvo: 'I initially brought the silent film version of 'The Wizard of Oz' on a random gut feeling, to accompany a piece for two sequencers in 2012 at ENEMY. We randomly picked a segment of the movie, because I've always loved the imagery (and hated the music) to the film. What happened, I felt, went perfectly to the scenes where Dorothy is being kidnapped. I later found symbolism that doesn't quite catch on in the Judy Garland version, a much more grim prognosis for the life of Dorothy, and decided to progress with the material to make it even more fitting. I have yet to perform it again in Chicago [since 2012], but when I have tried it out of town, there has always been some mishap or shortage. I will try it one more time.'

'I've been making experimental music that wavers around but is undeniably anchored in the vein of industrial noise. I work under my own name as well as under the collaborative umbrella moniker Blood Rhythms.

I started out having no previous knowledge about experimental music, with a primitive sequencer, where I'd destroy presets and cause malfunctions as a primary source of compositional inspiration. My work has evolved to fetishize extreme layering, repetition, raw material action, feedback, human sounds, and naturally abrasive elements without the use of effects pedals.

I've toured the Midwest numerous times, as well as being featured at Denver Noise Fest every year since 2010, and also Dead Audio Fest in Houston (2010), St. Louis Fest (2010), Heavy Focus (Minneapolis, 2010), and am scheduled for more in the future. Radio stations I've been interviewed or featured on include WFMU (New Jersey), WZRD (Chicago), and WKCR (New York).

In terms of recorded output, I have done split releases with GX Jupitter-Larsen, Le Scrambled Debutante, TOMB, and Death Factory. Some of my releases have been produced by such outfits as Locrian's private label Land of Decay, Banned Productions headed by AMK, Phage Tapes, Spleencoffin, Enemata Productions (headed by Rick from Infirmary), and others.

Visit Arvo's website. [Above photo by Dana Day.]

Good Stuff House is Mike Weis (Zelienople, Kwaidan, and solo), Matt Christensen (Zelienople, Enemy Chorus and solo) and Scott Tuma (solo, Souled American, Boxhead Ensemble). This trio formed in 2006 to release a limited CD on Time-Lag Records in 2006, which was reissued on vinyl, cassette and download in 2013 on the Texas label Holodeck. The trio followed up this debut recording with an album called 'Endless Bummer' on the San Francisco label Root Strata. The band has been a side-project of sorts for each member, so live performances are few and far between. After a three-year hiatus, GSH returned for a string of shows in 2014. This performance at Transistor will be their first outing in 2015. The set will consist of three different arrangements from each individual. Christensen will play guitar, Tuma will be on guitar, vocals and harmonica, and Weis on percussion. Critics have characterized GSH as 'ambient folk', 'Americana-drone', 'hillbilly drift', 'the intersection between dusty country and ghostly ambient,' and 'backwoods avant-garde.'

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