EYE HE(ART)

LIVING ROOM PARTY 62

2012-01-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

Sketch_Kumbda

(sorry computer microphone...you are no match for the crystal beth)

....you guys should hear all the parts happening in my head along with this, sometimes I forget - no one else can hear them beth, it's your own private party until you orchestrate...boom boom band coming closer every day :)

CRYSTAL BETH - BAD FOR JAZZ

2012-01-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

Presented by Bad for Jazz, Crystal Beth did a 50 min set on Hollow Earth Radio!

I think I'm going to use it as the first Crystal Beth recording for sale...there were some problems, you know, songs I started to fast or little things like that, but overall I felt it was my strongest solo set yet...it was the first true solo synthesis of my improvised and compositional personas and I got totally swept away in the music - FINALLY!

No nerves, no self abuse, no fear...just pure CRYSTAL BETH!!!

Doing a solo set is hard work, keeping the energy up and moving as a single person is really something intense....but after a year and a half of baby steps I finally feel confident enough to start booking the project on bills with other bands.

(Thank you Bad for Jazz for the opportunity and invitation to do whatever I wanted! Artistic freedom makes for artistic bliss!)

POST MOTHER MAY I PHASE 1

2012-01-18T18:21:00.000-08:00

I've finally been able to do a few updates to the Mother May I blog...there is still much audio & video from the week of performances to sift through, and eventually it will make its way up there as well...

I am so grateful to all of the artists & experiencers with whom I shared the installation week. It was unlike anything I've ever been a part of artistically, let alone created! I still haven't found the right words to truly process the experience.

Unexpectedly, a catharsis sanctuary was created out of that space with those connections and intentions....it healed me deeply, and based on the numerous letters and comments I have received, I feel it worked on a number of other people as well. Thank you again for your deep participation and vulnerability. As I move forward into Phase 2 of the project I have a much greater understanding of the potential of the piece....this is only the beginning.

"Mother May I learn from you, but find my own voice - transforming difficulties of the past into opportunities for the future?"

http://mothermayimakewaves.wordpress.com/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANK!

2012-01-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

International Frank Day!!!!
(happy 7th birthday little frankie)

After 6 months of conception, knowing it was time to pull the 5 years of arts support, administration, production and development experience I had into a single camp, unified under a single umbrella, I took the last of my student loan money to buy a laptop & printer and hire a web designer/developer...on January 5, 2005 the Frank Agency website was launched, and a new life was born.

7 years later, A LOT has happened....it constantly changes and shifts and grows and evolves, but the mission stays the same - to bridge the spaces between artists, presenters and audience members. I have had the great honor and privilege of supporting an endless list of astounding individual and organizational creators in the clarification, articulation & amplification of their vision/voice......AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF WHAT IS TO COME!!!!

An emphasis on creativity in a culture gives rise to creative solutions to social problems.

THANK YOU for 7 AMAZING years!!!!
xo - love - FRANK

LIVING ROOM PARTY 61

2012-01-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Sketch_New Year Dreams

prefunk living room party on NYE...
before the eye liner & sequins came a new crystal beth sketch...
I was thinking about all the amazing things that happened in 2011 and all of my hopes for 2012....some people are concerned about this year, I myself feel like we are on the brink of a paradigm shift that THRILLS me!!!

It's not going to be easy...in fact, at times it will be downright painful, but together we can change the course and create a more abundant future. An emphasis on creativity in a culture gives rise to creative solutions to social problems. I promise you that I will do my part, with every fiber of my being, throughout every breath I take...please promise you will do the same...we're in this together - I'm human, you're human, we're all human. It is a shared experience...

....An emphasis on creativity in a culture gives rise to creative solutions to social problems...

make the incision and fill it with LOVE, COMPASSION, and COMMUNICATION!

Happy 2012!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2012-01-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

I rang in the new year with some of my favorite people, making music with Jherek Bischoff at this event.

I will be playing with Jherek in NYC at his big CD Release concert in February, performing with the Wordless Music Orchestra and a slew of AMAZING SPECIAL guests including David Byrne & Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival.

More info if you click these words - YEAH!

FROM THE ARCHIVES

2012-01-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

a photo from 2005 where I'm seen alongside some of the gods of clarinet after we improvised together briefly...generations of greatness...

L-R: BF, Eric Mandat, William O. Smith, and Sean Osborn
(Sean taught me, Eric taught Sean, Bill taught Eric & Sean)

BISAFURY

2012-01-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

There is so much great fury to come with this new project featuring Jessica Lurie, Samantha Boshnack and myself....we kicked off a future of activities by playing with Paul Kemmish (bass) and Olli Klomp (drums) in an all improvised Christmas Eve show at the Seamonster...

It was really quite fun - with the exception of the drunk dude who faceplanted into the band, and the other dudes yelling disrespectful things at us the whole night....a note: yelling things like "come on clarinet girl, show me what you got" and "yeah trumpet girl, give it to me" do not aid the music...in fact, as I demonstrated - it makes me stop playing and wait until you shut the fuck up before I will continue to burn...women play instruments just like men do, we are badass and it sounds even better if you can hear the music instead of listening to jerk offs trying to get up in our business...imagine that...I chose not to break the flow of the music to address this problem with the audience, but after much post show thought, know that in the future, I will get on the mic and make you look like an asswipe in front of all your friends and the other hot women in the audience - so be ready.

BISAFURY will be playing in NYC in February, hoping to work out some heads and such since it's a composer heavy project...

TO THE FUTURE!! WITH BISAFURY!!!

(photo by Sparky Collins)

TANGO AHORA! MUCH MUCH MORE-A!

2012-01-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

I am loving this tango band...and I have a feeling we are going to dive in even deeper in 2012 to create some really breathtaking sounds....more to come...

CRYSTAL BETH'S FIRST CLUB SET

2012-01-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

After a year and 3 months of performances at salon parties, cafes, and galleries I was ready to take Crystal Beth into the club environment....it's a very different experience to do a solo performance in a club setting, it is a very uncontrolled environment and a bigger room to fill up both sonically and energetically, but I felt like it was time, and having the invitation to do it at Wayne Horvitz's new club, the Royal Room, seemed like a perfect fit and perfect timing...SO I DID IT!!!!

I dedicated this set to the members of Kultur Shock, who in 2009 jerked me back from the throngs of sublimating my personal artistic mission...plans were in the works for me to move to Chicago to get a masters degree in arts policy when I got hired to go on tour with Kultur Shock to Russia - through Shock therapy I empirically realized the greatest contribution I could make to the world was to perpetuate MY most authentic self (not just the authentic self of others) truly and unabashedly....I came home from Russia and changed the structure of my entire life to align with this true objective, and I continue that adventure daily...THANK YOU KULTUR SHOCK

Crystal Beth Live at the Royal Room
December 19, 2011

Djelem, Djelem
Invocation & Thanks
Rally
Ghost
Siberian Delirium
Buddhas & the Bitches
Doshi Dei

SAM BOSHNACK QUINTET

2012-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

For the opening weekend of Wayne Horvitz's new club The Royal Room, Samantha Boshnack created a new project and wrote a suite of new music for the new venue....

The band featured Sam (trumpet), myself (clarinet/bass clarinet), Joe Doria (piano), Isaac Castillo (bass), and Max Wood (drums).

Sam is one of my best friends, Frank Agency clients, and one of my all time favorite musicians/composers...and yet, we rarely get to really play together. THIS WAS AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I look forward to more in the future and hopefully there will be audio to post soon...

ALSO - SUPPORT THE ROYAL ROOM...THIS IS WHAT COMMUNITY IS ALL ABOUT!
http://theroyalroomseattle.com/

DUETS WITH TREY GUNN

2012-01-02T16:10:00.001-08:00

After 7 years of friendship and a handful of collaborations with me in the business/administration chair, I finally got to play with Trey this past December.

I had a strong hunch that it would be beautiful, but I really didn't expect the level of communication & magic we accessed....it was, to echo Trey's words, "SUBLIME"......

A recording was made of the evening, and hopefully that will surface in the not too distant future.

I'm still swirling from it really, all of it, and can't help but wonder, if that's what happened when we played together for the very first time - in the very first moment - with no plans or preconceptions, then what could we do if we actually developed something, both improvisationally and compositionally....I honestly do hope there's an opportunity to find out...

COMPOSER SPOTLIGHT

2012-01-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

This December I had the great opportunity of doing my first presentation on my current compositional practices - the blindfolded pieces and cross-stitched soundwave scores.

Thanks you Washington Composers Forum & Jack Straw!
http://www.jackstraw.org/programs/cspot/Composer_Spotlight.shtml

some of the blurbage..

Jack Straw Productions and Washington Composer Forum present
Composer Spotlight:
BETH FLEENOR
The Focusing Power of Form

Wed, December 14, 7:30pm

Composer Beth Fleenor offers thoughts, sounds, and a short performance expanding on her ongoing installation Mother May I, which features cross-stitched sound wave scores, as well as her developing etudes for Blindfolded Ensemble.

Exploring the power of focused intention, Fleenor has created a series of Movement Exercises for Blindfolded Ensemble that she uses as training pieces for unifying collective communication. In addition to performing and recording the works, she uses the blindfolded concept to develop ensemble awareness, as a means to move seamlessly through other forms of improvisation and composition. The blindfolded concept is currently being applied in training for performing the graphic notation of Mother May I's cross-stitched sound wave scores.

Both pieces are expansions of Fleenor's work, which revolves around committing to your individual voice and projecting that intent through the score or form you are working with.

Recorded works will include Seattle Jazz Composer Ensemble performances of Movement Exercise No. 1 for Blindfolded Ensemble, created through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program, as well as tracks from the Mother May I opening which featured Fleenor performing clarinet, voice & electronics with a seven-piece ensemble.

EXACTLY

2012-01-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it spends its whole life thinking its stupid" (Albert Einstein)

(photo posted from unknown internet source)

THE TRUTH ABOUT LESSONS

2012-01-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

sometimes you learn the most about what you do want by experiencing things you don't.
the future is bright...very very bright...and full of abundant LOVE

(photo posted from unknown internet source)

LIVING ROOM PARTY 60

2011-12-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

(AKA: beth tries to calm down after the FIGEATER gig)

POWER FIG

2011-12-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

photos by Chris Davis

YUMMY LUMMI

2011-12-06T02:11:00.000-08:00

At the hand of one of my good friends, I was treated to a food opera here:
http://www.willows-inn.com/

It was so incredibly delicious it physically made me cry.
At one point, after leaving the restaurant twice to calm down, I wasn't sure if I could complete the meal...honestly....it was like having 15 massive, consecutive orgasms and not knowing if you can physically take anymore.

It was art for your insides.
(all art is for your insides...yes, I know...but you see where I'm going here....it was a food opera - AN OPERA!!!!)

I will remember it as one of my life's most magnificent moments.
The moment I realized food can have the transcendence of music.

FULL SCORE

2011-11-11T02:08:00.000-08:00

THE TASK

2011-11-10T03:24:00.000-08:00

make an incision
and flood it with beauty

MALCOLM GOLDSTEIN

2011-11-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

presented by
Earshot Jazz Festival & Nonsequitur

November 4, 2011

Malcolm Goldstein with BF, Stuart Dempster, Eric Barber, Esther Sugai & Lorri Goldston

photo by Daniel Sheehan

Composer and violinist Malcolm Goldstein has been active in the presentation of new music and dance in New York since the early 1960s, as co-founder of the Tone Roads Ensemble and as participant in the Judson Dance Theater, the New York Festival of the Avant Garde and the Experimental Intermedia Foundation. For nearly five decades, he has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, presenting solo violin concerts and appearing as soloist with new music and dance ensembles. His “soundings” improvisations have received international acclaim for “reinventing violin playing,” extending the range of tonal and sound-texture possibilities of the instrument and revealing new dimensions of expressivity. Goldstein played solo and with an ensemble of Seattle musicians.

HERE IT COMES - PHASE 1

2011-10-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

More info, photos and such on the Mother May I blog:
http://mothermayimakewaves.wordpress.com/

BETH FLEENOR: MOTHER MAY I
Work in Progress – Phase 1
November 4-11

Jack Straw New Media Gallery
4261 Roosevelt Way NE

OPENING: Friday, Nov 4_8pm
Featuring: Beth Fleenor (clarinets/voice/electronics), Michele Khazak (voice), Paris Hurley (violin/tape players), Samantha Boshnack (trumpet), Michael Owcharuk (keyboard), Paul Kemmish (bass), Tom Zgonc (drums)

ACTIVATION: Monday, Nov 7 – Friday, Nov 11_1-5pm
Fleenor will inhabit the installation performing 4hours of solos and duos daily. Artists including: Craig Flory, Stephen Fandrich, Michael Owcharuk, Paul Budraitis, Double Yoko, Evan Flory-Barnes, Paris Hurley, Nate Omdal, Brian Bermudez, John Teske, Whitney Lyman, Kevin Nortness, PK, Michele Khazak, Ari Joshua, Stephen Parris, and Brad Hebert, among others.

BUILDING THE FRAME

2011-10-31T15:20:00.000-07:00

More info, photos and such on the Mother May I blog:
http://mothermayimakewaves.wordpress.com/

WHEN DEATH COMES, EVERYTHING ELSE STOPS

2011-10-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today I received news that my great friend (also one of my business mentors) passed away.

Carol Shiffman died a couple days ago - after a long, hard battle with cancer.

The last time I saw her we met at the Guggenheim, had lunch at a beautiful cafe called Elizabeth's, and took a walk in Central Park. Our very last moment was the quintessential New York goodbye - we were on the train...."Grand Central Station" it said...all upbeat, full of the strength and grace she always carried no matter what, she said "this is my stop!" - we kissed, left cheek, right cheek, a squeeze of the arm, and she bounded off the train. I watched her walk away until she was lost in the crowd. Then the train continued on....

The minute you know you've lost someone, every single element of the experience of them comes into focus. I suddenly can remember every detail about the way she stood, or held her head when listening, or the way her hands moved when she was communicating with an audience. I can remember every everything....and in such detail.

Carol had an immanent grace that is not easily summarized. It came both in the way she moved - her many years as a dancer and choreographer were evident even when she was riding the elevator - and the way she interacted with people.

She had a special way of receiving people - of really listening to them - of honoring them.

Once in talking about the old saying "this is business, it's not personal, it's business" she revealed the essence of her being...."yes it is business, but the person is always there - you can never overlook the person - the person always has to be considered"

That's not to say that she wasn't tough as nails when it came to business - just that she saw that with anything involving a human, the human must be recognized, considered, and above all else, RESPECTED.

She said that giving introductions was one of the concert producer's most important jobs - that you set the tone for the audience to receive what the artists are going to create....and that it's your job to personalize the experience, to humanize the experience, so that everyone can take the journey together - openly.

She had a way of navigating and mediating even the most tense of meetings/discussions. I observed situations where amidst great chaos she was able to give each person room to feel heard, seen and respected, even though opinions and ideas might differ greatly.

When we met, she had taken the helm as department chair of a music department, even though her background and training had been as a dancer (though she had MANY years of experience as an arts administrator working with music). Through this, she taught me alot about the core of art - how it is really all about the same thing no matter the medium it comes through - and she showed me how each discipline needs each other to learn and go deeper.

She taught me so much about feeling a space and filling a space.
about listening and being heard.
about silent confidence and unspoken channels of communication.
about the subtle lines of awareness that shape every conversation.

She taught me about believing in yourself, how to trust that everything you work on in the studio shapes your life, and that everything in your life shapes what you do in the studio....how to trust that no matter what new situation you are in, you can call on your personal history, on your personal voice to navigate the new with confidence. How to embrace the improvisation.

She taught me more things than I can possibly try to articulate through this sea of tears.

She was a beautiful, graceful, and fiercely strong individual - my life is so much better because of my experiences with her.

She believed in me.
She supported my business when I was just starting out.
and she always supported me as an artist and wanted me to promise to never stop playing - no matter how much administration I got wrapped up in.

Carol Shiffman was my great friend and mentor.

and she called me "Cookie"

(I will love you for always - you are with me on every stage and in every meeting - and you will live forever in our hearts. Rest in peace dear friend - and give 'em hell on the other side)

LIVING ROOM PARTY 59

2011-10-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sketch_Push Through

(letting release rituals be seen)

LIKE WATER

2011-10-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

I believe in the power of sound to clear the body and cleanse the soul - bathe in it

TRIO COMMANDO IMAGES

2011-10-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Taken by Daniel Sheehan at the September 30, 2011 performance presented by Nonsequitur

THE NATURE OF THINGS

2011-10-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

life is a series of experiences
that no one else can experience
that everyone is experiencing simultaneously

MOTHER MAY I DEVELEOPMENT

2011-10-24T13:41:00.001-07:00

It's coming....opens November 4....

MOTHER MAY I
Work in Progress Phase 1
(a sound/art/processing installation)

Opening Ensemble Performance:
Friday, Nov. 4 / 8pm

Daily solo and duo performances:
Monday-Friday, Nov. 7-11/ 1-5pm

Jack Straw New Media Gallery
4261 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, Washington 98105

INFORMATION: http://mothermayimakewaves.wordpress.com/

LIVING ROOM PARTY 58

2011-10-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

CRYSTAL BETH
IMPROVISATION

(dear self - please find better location for camera placement)

CRYSTAL BETH'S FIRST TIME

2011-10-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Losing my Crystal Beth virginity....this was August 2010...
surrounded by friends I braved into the scariest performance incarnation I have yet to encounter - the solo voice set...

Playing clarinet for 200,000 people - no problem.
Singing alone for 10 - scariest shit ever.

BUDDHAS & THE BITCHES

TRUE SELF

2011-10-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

BLINDFOLDED RECORDING - SJCE

2011-10-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

SJCE recorded 4 different takes of Movement Exercise No. 1 for Blindfolded Ensemble....
this is the first studio recording of any of my blindfolded compositions!!

SJCE RECORD

2011-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Jazz Composers Ensemble was in the studio this month, recording new works by a huge range of composers. One of the things that amazes me about this project is truly how much of the community it engages and reaches out to. I've never played in a jazz big band that incorporates so many different styles in the jazz canon - which is a direct result of cross-pollinating all of the different jazz scenes in Seattle and pulling them into one hell of a organism.

This is something to support for the long haul - and we need more ensembles like this!!

The Composers:
Samantha Boshnack, BF, Jim Knodle, Chad McCullough, Nate Omdal, Michael Owcharuk, & Mike Catts.

The Band:

Samantha Bosch - Flute
Beth Fleenor - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Ethan Thomas - Alto and Tenor sax
Mike Dodge - Tenor sax and clarinet
Brian Bermudez - Alto, Tenor, and Bari sax
Chad McCullough - Trumpet
Samantha Boshnack - Trumpet
Jim Knodle - Trumpet
John Terpin - Trombone
Michael Owcharuk - Piano and Accordion
James Baumgart - Guitar
Nate Omdal - Bass
Tim Carey - Bass
Max Wood - Drums

NAKATANI GONG ORCHESTRA

2011-10-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

This month I had the great honor and privilege of playing with Tatsuya Nakatani and the Nakatani Gong Orchestra.

Nakatani has developed a method of playing gongs with bows and large mallets - all of which he makes himself - to create these incredible breathing, undulating, otherworldly baths of resonant sound....it is truly spectacular...

His level of precision and openness combine into a masterful tutorial as he pulls together individuals in each city to form each incarnation of the N.G.O.

I have so many things to say about this brilliant artist/experience. and I wish I had some documentation of the INCREDIBLE solo set he did with a modified drum set that included 3 large and 1 medium gong and a collection of metal objects that he played on the drums....but I was too captivated to even think of turning on a camera.

I hope this is the first of many opportunities to swim with Tatsuya Nakatani.

ACTION/RESULT

2011-10-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Frank tappy tappy on the keyboard all day...phone, text, email, web, phone, text, email, web.....

CLARIFY - ARTICULATE - AMPLIFY

for each event - each single aesthetic opportunity - hours and hours and hours of energy have been spent in the process of creation...

(photo by Paul Budraitis)

TANGO AHORA! OCTOBER

2011-10-24T12:46:00.001-07:00

This band is so incredibly beautiful - the music and the people...on every level.
LOVE!

October's performance featured the Tango Ahora! quartet with special guest Lalo Bello (percussion).

I'm a huge admirer of Lalo's playing - and was once lucky enough to be gifted a cajon lesson from him which really helped me get some direction with that instrument. It was fantastic to finally get to make music together.

BF (clarinet)
Maria Scherer Wilson (cello)
Jason Parker (trumpet)
Michael Owcharuk (piano/accordion)
Lalo Bello (percussion)

I love these people. Pure greatness.

DOUBLE YOKO IN THE PARK

2011-10-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

if you listen through the wind, there is beauty...

Double Yoko at Sounds Outside 2010

LIVING ROOM PARTY 57

2011-10-16T15:08:00.001-07:00

SKETCH_RALLY

(a post nap Crystal Beth session)

LIVING ROOM PARTY 56

2011-10-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

SKETCH_IT COMES FROM INSIDE

(a post nap Crystal Beth session)

SLAUGHTERHOUSE 3

2011-10-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

Music for the Peoples
Slaughterhouse 3
(Beth Fleenor / Michael Owcharuk / Paul Kemmish)

LIVING ROOM PARTY 55

2011-10-13T17:28:00.001-07:00

SKETCH_MOHAI RITUAL
Crystal Beth

"Mohai is my heart. Mohai is your heart. Mohai is our collective heart. This separation is an illusion. Mohai is my heart - it is your heart - it is our collective heart. We are one....can you feel Mohai"

GOOD BYE OLD CAVE

2011-10-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

The closing of a major chapter - starting an exciting new book!

Thank you cave, for providing sanctuary for so many brilliant humans!

TRIO COMMANDO

2011-10-13T17:26:00.001-07:00

CRYSTAL BETH - NEW MOON

2011-10-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

LIVING ROOM PARTY 54

2011-10-13T17:25:00.003-07:00

LIVING ROOM PARTY 53

2011-10-13T17:25:00.001-07:00

LIVING ROOM PARTY 52

2011-10-13T17:24:00.001-07:00

LIVING ROOM PARTY 51

2011-10-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

(first time letting Crystal Beth out post Bright Archer tour...)

YOKO/ABUNDANCE STRIKES AGAIN

2011-10-13T17:04:00.001-07:00

I'm Human.
You're Human.
We're all Human.
It IS a shared experience.

TRUTH

2011-10-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

B'SHNORKESTRA

2011-10-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

Frank had the great honor of working with composer (and great friend) Samantha Boshnack on the premiere of her new ensemble - the B'shnorkestra!

Concerts Sept 22 & 24 at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center

The B'shnorkestra is a new large ensemble project featuring the work of Seattle based composer, Samantha Boshnack.

Bold and undulating, there is a majestic grandness to Boshnack's compositions, regardless of the project featured. In the B'shnorkestra, strings and percussion orchestrate the soaring melodic and tightly punctuated horn lines she's celebrated for, taking this new work to a cinematically inspired place.

Comprised of 12 instrumentalists and two very special guests, the B'shnorkestra brings together musicians from many different Seattle music communities including: jazz (free, modern, straight-ahead), rock, avant garde, salsa, pop, klezmer, Balkan, neo-sould/hip-hop, reggae, and classical. The music draws from and blends these genres into a language all its own, showcasing the wealth and variety of the talents found in the B'shnorkestra players. The ensemble will premiere eight new works this Thursday and Saturday.

*9/24 post concert reception with the composer

Information: www.bshnorkestra.com

GIFTS

2011-10-13T16:55:00.001-07:00

From my mentor, Denney Goodhew...

MOTHER MAY I - DEVELOPMENT

2011-10-13T16:51:00.001-07:00

"Mother May I learn from you but find my own voice, transforming difficulties of the past into opportunities for the future"

THE SOUTH - MOTHER MAY I RESIDENCY

2011-10-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

Atlanta, GA
Bristol, VA/TN
New Orleans, LA

NYC RECHARGE - MOTHER MAY I RESIDENCY

2011-10-13T16:02:00.001-07:00

(time with the muse: beneficial, refreshing, many layers)

BOP! FOR B'SHNORKESTRA

2011-10-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Release the Bunnies!!!!
http://joinparade.blogspot.com/

QHROMIES UNITE

2011-10-13T15:46:00.001-07:00

6 years after the band broke up, the Qhromatics get together for a picnic and farewell party for our leader and my personal mentor - Denney Goodhew...

We also got to meet the new tiny human brought forth by the porcupine...

Godspeed Dragonfly, Spider, Owl, Grouse, Armadillo & Porcupine!!

BRIGHT ARCHER SEATTLE SHOW

2011-10-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

BRIGHT ARCHER WESTERN STATES TOUR

2011-10-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

Bright Archer - August 2011
music by Johanna Kunin
performed by Johanna + BF

12 shows / 11 days / 5000 + miles
Davis, CA
San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Longbeach, CA
Tucson, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Albuquerque, NM
Denver, CO
Salt Lake City, UT
Boise, ID
Seattle, WA

Touring: Hidden Systems
Hidden Systems by Bright Archer

(BF gets obsessed with a metal bar on the staircase in the Avalon - Hollywood...)
http://www.divshare.com/download/15937674-8cf

SLAUGHTERHOUSE 3 JOURNEY

2011-10-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Alongside 2 of my favorite brothers (Michael Owcharuk & Paul Kemmish), Slaughterhouse 3 boarded a ferry to bring the musics to a party of wedding merriment! I hardly ever get to play weddings and always enjoy underscoring such important motions in peoples lives.

This one was particularly fun because the trio learned the fantastic Gogol Bordello song "Start Wearing Purple" at the request of the couple, and I had a blast singing it. I also got to finally meet Declan, the small human of one of my other musical brothers (Stephen Parris) - which was WAY overdue.

TANGO AHORA DEBUT

2011-10-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

In August a new project debuted - performing the music of Astor Piazzolla and other tango inspired originals and covers.

The band is comprised of some pretty spectacular musicians/thinkers/creators...I'm very excited for the development of this project and the music is soooooo beautiful.

We opened one of our rehearsals up through Hangouts on Google + and had 60+ people from all over join us!! It was pretty amazing....welcome to the 21st century!

Beth Fleenor (clarinet)
Jason Parker (trumpet)
Maria Scherer-Wilson (cello)
Michael Owcharuk (accordion/piano)
Adam Kessler (drums)

AS ME AS IT GETS

2011-08-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Why today is important to me....

Today is my 31st birthday - I'm celebrating the completion of my 31st lap around the sun.

I am writing from the car in the midst of a very difficult tour, en route from Denver to Salt Lake City. It is difficult for a lot of reasons but the reality is that regardless of everything it has made things crystal clear.....

That's not to say that I wasn't already clear on this subject - rather that through events of this tour the clarity has been crystalized. Almost in a way that I could pull the piece out of my body and hold it up to the light to see the prism glowing.

I am happiest playing music. I am healthiest playing music. I am most alive when I am playing music. I am at peace when I am playing music.

For me it isn't about where I'm going - where my career will end up - who likes or even sees what I create - or any of that. For me it is the necessity of the creation itself. The act of doing it.

The process. The moment. The need to take what is inside and let it out - to share it - to share myself - my voice - with the rest of existence. To be present - To communicate.

EVERYTHING IS ABOUT THE COMMUNION.
EVERYTHING.

I knew I was an artist before I even knew what it meant to be an artist....I just had to create things.
I believe that art is the discipline of being. It is a path that is forged out of highlighting and amplifying what it means to be human - to exist - to think - to be - to act - to interact....dancing with it, in it, around it.....

not everyone is a professional artist - and we don't need everyone to be a professional artist.
But everyone is an artist of their own life. and we do need some folks to be professional artists to articulate the experience and the possibilities....to refine the discipline - to train, to be able to channel and funnel, to trudge through the mud, and sift and imagine and sing with more power - to unify the collective....to bring awareness to the fact that we are all a part of the same web, breathing, moving, expanding together...

To be human is to create - we're the only species (that I'm aware of) that can imagine things in our mind and then manifest them in reality....We have conscious creation, beyond just our DNA's need to reproduce itself. We build and color and orchestrate - we flex, expand and contract our hearts, our minds, every aspect of our being.

When I was 11 years old, I tried to kill myself 3 times. The pain of reality, the loneliness, the suffering - it felt like too much to bare.
A voice inside said I was worthless, an accident, a problem, and that I didn't belong here.
But each time, for one reason or another, it didn't take and I continued to suffer.

and then I discovered the most amazing thing....
I started playing the clarinet and when I played music with people (at that time in my band class at school) all of that went away.

I was happy. I was a small part of a larger organism that echoed the beauty of all that is possible - of all existence. Working together to make something greater. I was a part of something - I was necessary to the whole. The feeling didn't happen when I was playing by myself...which is probably why I never practiced :).......but the second I was playing with the group it was transcendent.

Fast forward 20 years...I still suffer, and have suffered - at times immensely and in deafening proportions. I still have times of great loneliness, where the pain feels like a sharpened rock tearing me apart from the inside out.....but now - now I am armed with the truth and I cling to it, sometimes for dear life.

We are never alone.
We are all necessary.
We are all connected - and the web is not only omnipresent, but a beautiful, spectacular, living organism. It inhales and exhales and has and will, infinitely.
We are each a part of the collective body. A hand, a heart, the bowels, weird parts we don't know how to pronounce or what they do, but know we can't survive without, all of it, necessary to each other.

I am human - I am worthy of existence and I am necessary to the whole.

My language is music and every time I play this is what I am saying.
Dance with me. We are each other. I do believe that you are me. and WE are what it is all about.

It is the relationship that is most important - what I call relationship is what some people call God - and there is always a triangle of communication taking place to make that relationship (yourself to others to the environment).

When I'm not playing music you'll find me screaming at the top of my lungs about other peoples creations - trying every second of every day to bring awareness to these seemingly tiny things that I feel are actually THE MOST important things.

Sometimes, in my pursuit to bring awareness to the relationship - to propagate the music - I have drifted down a path of putting my voice second....I get so caught up in sharing everyone else's great contributions that I devalue my own....I start to fall back into that notion that somehow everyone else is more important than I am - that their voice is more important. Even in the transmission of the pure idea it can start to be tarnished. It takes GREAT WORK to stay focused on the value of your own individual voice - on what it is that is right for YOU...not what you can do to make it right /better for everyone else....and it is hard because it is a slippery little sucker that is always changing. The reality is that the best contribution you can make to the whole is by doing what is truly best for you.

In 2009 I experienced kultur shock and like a hallucinatory trip that rewrites your programming or what monks/nuns describe as "the call" I was blessed to be shown living, tangible proof that the most beneficial thing I could possibly do for the collective body is to be fully myself. Hurling all 130 lbs of raw & raucous energy out towards the sun, riding the vibration of the universe full throttle.

so I made a new commitment to myself and to my need to PLAY THE MUSIC. I came home from Siberia and restructured my life. I redefined my priorities. I marked my left forearm with a reminder of the lesson so that I could never forget it, and can never again hide it away from the rest of the world.

In 2010, for my 30th birthday, I went to downtown Seattle and improvised for the hour of my birth. A ritual - an acknowledgment - a promise to myself and to all of you, to the universe at large, that I will do my job. That I will refocus time and time again and I will not shut up. I will play. I will sing. I will dance. I will be my most authentic self.

Today I was originally supposed to producing a a summer festival that I've presented for the last 5 years, heralding the great creative artists of the northwest....upon ending abruptly with a very sad and depressive cancellation, I was offered a tour with Bright Archer...a dear old friend needed support and I was being called in to play.

Today I will play our 9th show in 8 days of tour, with another 2 to go before going home to reset for a personal east coast residency to work on my installation Mother May I.
Before leaving for tour I counted that I have done over 80 public performances since January 2011.

When I turned on my computer to a flood of very personal birthday wishes - messages about inspiration and strength that other people have taken from my contribution, from MY EXISTENCE, I am completely overwhelmed....in fact, I've pretty much been crying since we left Denver 4 hours ago.

The voice says something different now: we're glad you are you and we're glad you are here.
Keep going. Keep believing. Fight like hell for the truth, defend the beauty, and share yourself openly, unabashedly and without reservation.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH ME.
THANK YOU FOR EXISTING.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WHO YOU ARE AND DOING WHAT YOU DO.
UNI-VERSE = ONE SONG...KEEP SINGING IT.

"we are all connected - to each other - biologically, to the earth - chemically, to the rest of the universe - atomically"
(Neil Degrasse Tyson)

SMALL SOUNDS PLAYED QUICKLY

2011-08-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

ALWAYS A LAYER REVEALED

2011-08-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

that's the thing about those Teenage Mutant Butoh Turtles

KNOW THYSELF

2011-08-02T14:54:00.001-07:00

I AM/YOU ARE HUMAN

2011-08-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

I'm human, you're human, we're all human - it IS a shared experience

NURTURE

2011-08-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

FAMILY

2011-08-02T08:15:00.002-07:00

NEW CHAPTERS

2011-08-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

BLING!
photo by Brad Gibson

IT'S A SHARED EXPERIENCE

2011-07-28T14:04:00.001-07:00

I am/You are human - I am/You are worthy of existence

ME MYSELF - METAL MONKEY

2011-07-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

some moments I get so excited - so consumed by all of the feelings and thoughts and emotions and connectivity of phrases in the web of reality - that I actually shriek aloud in a quick externally audible blast, the echo of an internal electric shudder. (the neighbors probably think I have a pet monkey).

when I was a kid I would get so thrilled that it made me stutter - I remember feeling like there were so many words/feelings coming through that they couldn't all fit through the door at once

BLING!

2011-07-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

BLING! (Beth Fleenor & Denney Goodhew)

DENNEY GOODHEW CELEBRATION AND FAREWELL CONCERT
Chapel Performance Space / Good Shepherd Center

Screaming silence in a whirling pool of stillness, BLING! formed in 2004 to bring together mentor and student in a performance dynamic that investigates and activates new levels of awareness. The duo, featuring Goodhew on piano, and Fleenor on clarinet, explores spontaneously composed chamber music, with a commitment to ensemble intention and focused energy. BLING! opens itself to the space and audience to magnify subtleties in texture, motion and color, and their inherent rhythm, melody and harmonic form - a meditation on presence and being.

This special event featured a second set with guest Brad Gibson (drums), in a farewell celebration for Goodhew who is leaving Seattle in September.

(photos by Jim Wilke)

NEW CHAPTER

2011-07-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

FINALLY - FINALLY!!!!

this happened as a result of a lot of people coming together and chipping in...
I couldn't have done it by myself.

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!

{fully classical set up - now fully amplified}

SAY YES

2011-07-19T12:13:00.001-07:00

"A great person should die as a shattered jewel rather than live as an intact tile." -Saigō Takamori

A DAY IN THE LIFE

2011-07-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

FOCUS IS WITHIN

2011-07-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

YES - SAY YES

2011-07-16T02:17:00.000-07:00

YES YES YES I'M GOING TO DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FUCK FEAR

2011-07-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

About 6 months ago a great friend of mine did a theatre piece that had a profound emotional impact on me....I was affected for more reasons than I can possibly go into right now, but one concept in particular has been replaying in my mind daily ever since - and it has caused me to pull apart every aspect I can of myself & my life, trying to examine and inspect the authentic truth...going deeper and deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole....

......if you live by a code - shaped out of "learning" from your past experiences - and that code demands that you impede certain things in service of maintaining the code - the code itself designed to offer protection & stability....are you living by a code or are you really living a life governed by fear?

What was revealed to me is that I have defined a great number of codes that are really just a bunch of fears that keep me in a position of silencing my authentic self and core needs/desires. Codes that were established in an effort to do the exact opposite - to ensure the CULTIVATION & GROWTH of my authentic self and core needs/desires....oh, the irony....

Like every human I come with a lot of baggage - we come in with baggage (chemical, genetic, etc) and on top we pile some more (emotional, psychological, physical, environmental, cultural).......and also, like every human, I come with an amazing super power...several of them actually, but one of the most important I think, is the SUPER power of perspective.

Rejection - endless rejection....in some form or another...familial, personal, professional - like most, I could give you a long list...

ever wonder why I am a relentless supporter of the underdog - why I spend so much energy and time trying to look into all types of people to see their authentic contribution as a global citizen?

I have always been the underdog. The last kid picked for the team. The person mocked openly, and daily, as I was growing up. The one told my dreams were stupid and irresponsible. The one told I wasn't capable - not smart enough, not talented enough......"not enough".......................and the funny part when I put it all on the table is simultaneously, while living a life being told I'm "not enough" of whatever it is, I have simultaneously been told I'm "too much" ...................too loud, too weird, too intense, speak too many words, want too much, too too too....

all the while the little beth inside knowing the truth and trying desperately to advocate for our team - I'm just me. I am great like every other human. I have a voice. I have a vision. I am intelligent. I am beautiful. I am human - I am worthy of existence.

There have been amazing things that have come out of that development - it spawned a creature that constantly builds structures and hubs for other misfits....a person with ample energy to build a life not determined by the efforts or lack of contribution/interest from any other individual - self propelled of my own volition, in spite of the odds...
I build my own toys so I don't have to rely on anyone else to be able to play...

But inside I carry a lot of fear.
and insecurity.

We all do. We are human.
I'm just trying to call it out - to face the truth.

I do make a lot of decisions out of fear - most of them decisions to NOT do something or not participate in something I want or I am inclined to do.
A voice that tells me to just stop now and not go a step further - to constantly let things go, stop trying, detach, disconnect.....and obviously I've fought that for a long time.....
but the way I have learned to combat the fear is to become confrontational....it's the only way I could muster the courage to face it - just turn and run head strong into it - like a samurai getting ready to take off someone's head or die trying.

but I've reached a new point.
no confrontation.

The objective - FUCK FEAR.

Make it your proverbial bitch.

It's not going anywhere, it's a natural part of your humanity, but there is a healthy way to deal with it.
Don't fight it and don't give in to it either.

Work it. Let it move through you.
Let it take you places, let it show you where you really are - what reality really is.

Ride it.
and much like floating in the ocean, relax and let your body hover. Let yourself be taken by that which you are seeking.
If you tense up you will sink and drown.
Relax.

Stop trying to run away from yourself.
Stop holding yourself.
Stop fighting yourself and everyone else.
FUCK FEAR.

I am making an effort to live my life based on the things I want - not based reactively on the things I am given.
Behave the way I want to be treated, in the life I want to experience, not just behave as a reflection of my fears or in reaction to the fears and actions of others.
Not making choices and decisions governed, or restricted, by the past.

TRUE VULNERABILITY.
TRUE OPENNESS.
TRUE COMMUNICATION.

I think true communication is void of assumption....assumption having been constructed out of past interactions and shaped by selecting possibilities out of cumulative knowledge of past experiences. Assumption is limited. Possibility is infinite.

You see what you want to see.

Every day is a new day. and as my grandfather use to tell me each morning on the way to school: You can't get this day back.
Good or bad - you can't get this day back.

Learn from the past, but don't get trapped there.
Please face forward and FUCK FEAR.

ARCHIVE - LISTEN / WATCH

2011-07-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sometime soon I will have a website with an archive and collection of projects...until then a sampling of some of the works..

(a couple of recordings)

FIGEATER (neo-chamber avant noise jazz)
http://figeater.bandcamp.com/

DOUBLE YOKO (improvised chamber music)
http://doubleyoko.bandcamp.com/album/experiment-no-1

OWCHARUK 5 (Ukrainian punk jazz)
http://owcharuk5.bandcamp.com/

JHEREK BISCHOFF / KONONO NO. 1 ARRANGEMENT
http://jherekbischoff.bandcamp.com/album/kule-kule-orchestral-version

(vids)

KULTUR SHOCK (Balkan metal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpbMxLKwUuA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF7NOvWsjPc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4SjAIC9QNc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAeUoN62L2Y&feature=related

JHEREK BISCHOFF / AMBIENT ORCHESTRA
http://vimeo.com/25890889

http://vimeo.com/25891235

SUPPORT

2011-07-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Mother May I has received support from both the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (City Artist) and 4Culture (Individual Artist Grant)....after writing literally hundreds of grants for other people over the last decade, I received 2 for a project of my own!!!!

This is really happening - RIGHT NOW!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://mothermayimakewaves.wordpress.com/

SOUNDS OUTSIDE 2006 - 2010

2011-07-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

Due to insurmountable financial hardship, Sounds Outside 2011 has been canceled.

This unfortunate decision comes with a great amount of regret, however we turn our focus, hope, and vision to the other powerful artistic performances and activities cultivated by each of our respective organizations.

More than ever, we encourage you to step outside of the box to connect, communicate, and collectively engage with each other. Though this decision marks the end of an era, it does not mark the end of an idea.

On behalf of Advocates for Abundance and the Monktail Creative Music Concern - Thank you for supporting 5 years of Sounds Outside: A Celebration of Adventurous Music & Community.

Sounds Outside 2009 / TU (Trey Gunn & Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson)

Sounds Outside 2009 / Washington Composers Orchestra (WACO)

Sounds Outside 2007 / Cait Willis paints live ensembles

Sounds Outside 2009 / Sugar Skulls

Sounds Outside 2008 / Floss

credit: all photos MCMC

PLEASE NOTE

2011-07-11T04:11:00.000-07:00

each relationship is a catalyst.
millions of them each day!

LISTEN TO YOURSELF - AND THEN SPEAK

2011-07-11T01:06:00.000-07:00

A great deal of my interests, discipline, work and activities have to do with the notion that each person - every single individual in the entire world - has it's own voice.....it's own perspective...it's own vision...it's own song....

Your voice is entirely unique to you. No one else in the world can say and do what you can - NO ONE.

Every single one of us has this amazing super power - and we have a moral obligation to use it.

Franks actions are most entirely dedicated to this principle and working with artists and organizations to clarify, articulate and amplify their voice.

Hey Beth - did you catch that?
What do you have to say?

......................"Mother May I learn from you but find my own voice, transforming difficulties of the past into opportunities for the future"..............

S&P COMING SOON

2011-07-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

NO, DO!!!!

2011-07-10T15:18:00.001-07:00

dear little bunny - remember your mission and focus:
NO RESISTANCE
(believe it is possible - accept the possibility)

photo by Brad Hebert

IDEAS/CHANGES

2011-07-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

DRAGONFLY

2011-07-05T04:31:00.000-07:00

"I asked, and they said
the branch swathed in flame is a sparrow.

They said my face was the waves
the world's face, a pile of mirrors, a lighthouse & the sailor's sorrow.

I arrived and the world in my way was ink,
each gesture a phrase

I did not know that between it and me was a bridge called brotherhood,
made of steps, prophesies and fire.

I did not know that my face is a ship
that sails inside a spark."

(Adonis)

FACING THE TRUTH

2011-07-05T04:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's fucking do this.

JHEREK BISCHOFF AMBIENT ORCHESTRA

2011-07-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

Closer to Closure

Closer To Closure from Jherek Bischoff on Vimeo.

Cistern 1

Cistern 1 from Jherek Bischoff on Vimeo.

Jherek Bischoff: Ambient Chamber Orchestra.
Live at Chapel Performance Space (Seattle, WA)

Composition: Jherek Bischoff
Conductor: Joshua Kohl
Video by: Into The Woods
Edited by: Andrew R Tonry
Recorded by: Robb Kunz

IMPROVISATIONS WITH MIKE DILLON AND GUEST MARCO BENEVENTO

2011-07-02T01:57:00.000-07:00

BF (clarinet), Mike D (vibes)

BF (voice), Mike D (tabla), Marco (piano)

(videos by Nicholas Polimenakos)

MAY DAY MAY DAY

2011-07-02T00:19:00.001-07:00

CRYSTAL BETH performed at the New Music Marathon this past May

MESSENGER / TEACHER

2011-07-02T00:14:00.000-07:00

Gino Yevdjevich

THE DANCE

Sketch for Freehold's Pericles
Paris Hurley (violin), BF (bass clarinet), Gino Yevdjevich (tarabuka)

A NOTE FROM MY GRANDFATHER

2011-06-29T13:57:00.001-07:00

"Just remember that very smart people often spend a great deal of time trying to appear smart and that sometimes get in the way of language and communication. Ask questions!"

KEEP TRYING

2011-06-29T00:25:00.001-07:00

Despite consistent weights on the opposite side of the scale, I have to believe it is possible - I have to continue to believe it is possible. I must find ways to balance those heavy weights.

PERICLES OPENS

2011-06-26T02:41:00.000-07:00

Freehold's Engaged Theatre
Summer Tour

Pericles by William Shakespeare
Directed by Robin Lynn Smith

Thursday, June 23 - 25
Seattle University Lee Center for the Arts

Wednesday, June 29
Seward Park Amphitheatre

Thursday, June 30
Echo Glen Juvenile Detention Center

Directing/Movement Consultant: Lee Eisler
Movement Director: Jessica Jobaris
Composer: Gino Yevdjevich
Musicians: Paris Hurley, Beth Fleenor, Gino Yevdjevich
Assistant Director: Marquicia Domingue
Fight Choreographer: Jesse Sherfey-Hinds
Set Design: Roberta Russell
Lighting Designer: Joshua Tillman
Properties Design: Heidi Hunt
Sound Design: Alejandro Iragorri
Set Painter: Montana Tippett
Road Chief: Brandon Chapman
Costume Design: Hannah Stern
Stage Manager: Kristina Kyees
Poster Image: Annya Uslontseva

Cast includes: Monica Chilton, Kevin Dailey, Elizabeth Deutsch, Lori Evans, Luisa De Paula, Anthony Leahy, Parker Matthews, Phillip Mitchell, Jonathan Nawn, Riley Neldam, Caleb Slavens, Lance McQueen, Melissa Topscher, Amy Wason, and Kiki Yeung.

EYE/HEART

2011-06-26T02:37:00.001-07:00

(Image by R. W. Scott "Birds in Flight")

LIVING ROOM PARTY 51

2011-06-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

SKETCH_DISPROOF

(written during my roots & branches residency)

{Disproof}
Evidence that refutes or disproves the notion that anything is separate.

PERICLES / TEACHERS

2011-06-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

Gino writes a new part on the fly and teaches it to me...starting confused, at 2 minutes I get it - it all starts to sink in...

(Compositional sketches by Gino Yevdjevich for Freehold's Pericles)

MEDITATIONS FOR CLARINET

2011-06-07T10:17:00.001-07:00

by Michael Owcharuk
performed 5/27/11 at Chamber Bomb
Chapel Performance Space
Good Shepherd Center

MEDITATION 1

MEDITATION 2

MEDITATION 3