memorials

“Making America Great Again” and five visual poems published in Otoliths

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Great news! Issue 56 of Otoliths was just released. Sad news: it is dedicated to the memory of Reuben Woolley, a fine poet and editor in the vast international avant garde, who published my work in his journal Curly Mind. He will be missed as a poet and peace activist, both of which are much needed today.

Otoliths 56 is chock full of the usual suspects, representing the full range of textual and visual poetics options today, always cutting edge and great fun. Never a dull moment and an essential read. I’m very pleased to be represented among such fine company with a text poem from the robotspeak series, “Making America Great Again,” which applies the linguistic logic of the Facebook AI units to the branding catchphrase of the current US delinquent-in-chief. Plus 5 visual poems with asemic writing from a recent series of tape sampling pieces that seem to represent a scientific journal from a human colony on an extraterrestrial world. You can check it out here.

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Stylus live track released on SoundCloud

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Washington, DC’s turntable orchestra Stylus played a memorial concert honoring circuit bender, multi-instrumentalist and founding member Keith Sinzinger on February 1, 2019, at RhizomeDC. Group director Jim Adams composed another score based on Morse code, called “And All Thy Joy and Sorrow Shall Never Pass Away,” which was performed by four turntablists using Califone turntables and copies of the District of Noise loop LP marked for Keith’s solo tracks. Turntablists for this incarnation of Stylus were Jim Adams, Chris Videll, RA Martini, and myself. Steve Sanford made a live digital recording of the piece, which Jim posted to his BLK w/Bear SoundCloud account. You can listen to it here.

Stylus ensemble memorial concert for Keith Sinzinger on Friday, February 1

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This Friday, February 1, turntable ensemble Stylus will perform at a memorial concert honoring ensemble member Keith Sinzinger. The concert will include performances by Art & Amber (theremin duo), Hawkins & Mullinax, Liquid Friction Ensemble, and the trio Beau, Bev, DeJoe. The event will be held at Rhizome DC. Admission is $10 at the door, with proceeds going to sponsor a DIY electronic workshop scholarship in Keith’s name.

A mainstay of the DC experimental music scene, Keith Sinzinger was known for inventing strange musical instruments from found materials, circuit bending children’s musical toys, and collaborating with just about everyone else in the scene in different projects. In particular, he was an inaugral member of the Stylus ensemble, a group using Califone turntables and prepared LPs to create atonal musical works under the direction of Jim Adams. Keith’s passing last November caught us all by surprise, and his enthusiastic, supportive presence in the scene, as well as his creative music, will be missed.

For more info about the show, go to the Facebook event page here.