"I'm surprised to be here in any form."
George Quasha - from "Not Even Rabbits Go Down This Hole"
Texts
Live
November 27, 2023
HedgeWitch
Heather Bentley, Leanna Keith, Bonnie Whiting
The Royal Room, Seattle
I didn't have my notebook with me so no detailed notes.
This was a
completely marvelous hour-long improvisation.
Whenever I hear others
improvising
I note to myself
how different
doing so
as a performance practice
aimed audience-ward
is
than
doing so
as a means of internal exploration
self-contained
as Banned Rehearsal finds ourselves doing.
Recorded
Étude in A-flat Major, Op. 10 #10 - Frédéric Chopin - Garrick Ohlsson
offset melody figuration play
bubbly liveliness
Song 19 - Charles Ives - Kia Sams, Russ Warner
opening lines are in a different affect
than the remainder
when he
thinks of an old melody
he uses it directly
we watch old movies
for the hats and gowns
we listen to Ives
for its evocation
of a time and place
Ruby My Dear - Thelonious Monk [from The Complete Blue Note Recordings]
each register a persona
sharing ideas about the song between them
Oh Why? (Take 9) - Little Richard [from Here's Little Richard]
seems strangely truncated
incomplete
half a song
Take These Chains From My Heart - Ray Charles [from Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music]
the conceit of the words
is plain to understanding
the path of
their saying
is lucid throughout
nearly obscuring the care
with which
he sings their melody
The Fool On The Hill (Take 4) - The Beatles [from Anthology]
circles around its center melody
mid-invention
among songsters' singing
there exists a continuum
between full on
singing
and simply saying
any songster
has a range of that
continuum
at their disposal
Sarah's range is wide
bends
toward singing
Otis and Marlene - Joni Mitchell [from Don Juan's Reckless Daughter]
melody
at the service
of how the words go
unconcerned
with singalongness
must be a no-break
afore the next song in
the album
Brilliant Disguise - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love]
romantic imposter syndrome
all the world's a stage
radio ready
Hop Up, My Ladies - Mike, Peggy, and Penny Seeger [from Animal Folk Songs For Children]
dance call
with fill-in rhymes
a series of questions
to
which no answer is expected
beyond the chorus
Killer Wants To Go To College II - Paul Simon [from Songs from The Capeman]
shaped for dramaturgical reasons
not musical
Sunday (Moby Remix) - David Bowie [from Heathen]
the underlying groove is a technological marvel of frictionless quartz crystal precision
Your Body - Christina Aguilera [from Lotus]
extruded under pounding pressure
low center of gravity
dropping
with each pound pound pound
Seashore - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from Further Journey]
a chain's end
drags upon the ground
hanging
and drawn
from far out of image
the ground
rings
as it passes
the chain
takes upon itself
a bathyspheric reverberance
Piano 5 - Sascia Pellegrini [from Five Piano Fantasies]
suddenly
the registers notice the others in the sound
everybody
freaks out at once
moderated then
by noticing a dance
a tone
dance
Undo The Right - Willie Nelson [from . . . And Then I Wrote]
one wonders
whether these songs started with the verbal game
to
which a song lyric was then attached
he loves to articulate
front
and back halves of lines
couplet aware versification
rights and
lefts
wrongs and rights
Rotary Ten - REM [from Dead Letter Office]
acoustic bass??!!
amusing themselves in the back of the tour bus
they found a groove
I Almost Do - Taylor Swift [from Red]
living on the verge of a Hollywood reunion scene
remember when we were
for the fade out
pull back
to black
A Musicians Pocket Guide to the European Aristocracy - Greg Sinibaldi [from Frieze of Life]
tableaux
or animatronic dioramas
on a prone wheel
the
aristocrats
led dull lives
in the large
and petty
this
one keeps pet flies
a sideshow
The Craving Variation - Red Ribbon [from Freaks Only]
a song part
I have this much of it so far
Track 8 - Star Anna [streamed live from Fiddler's Inn, Seattle, March 7, 2022]
Forest with laser focus
and can sneeze
introduction
is a
social negotiation
a ritual
between the singer and the song
permission to board
introductions
formally
introduce
parties
in an exchange
of introductions or credentials
Dear Santa Fe - Bob Dylan [from A Tree With Roots]
all the words are not necessary
to sing a song end
rhyme overload
percussion drums and jangles
with krummhorn
a march
I Believe - Glenn Tate [from Some of My Favorite Love Songs]
lounge piano
is a type of theater
as much as of music
Partition - Beyoncé [from Beyoncé]
a narrative made of word sounds
in drum patterns
and quite a
sharply drawn one at that
Sand & Smoke - Prom Queen [from Doom Wop]
sad sacks at the bar
a prophecy arises
enchantment ensues
sad sack magic
take your curtsy
bow
Jibing - Amy Denio [from Chapel Sessions]
a sailing term
(flipping the jib)
in tricky winds
this is
incomprehensible
unless taken seriously
and impossible
not
to smile at
mind blowing
tricky winds
jibe ho!
(translation: DUCK!)
Where The Hell Did They Go - The Young Fresh Fellows [from The Men Who Loved Music]
jump on or
watch their wake
motorized personal marine transport
Black Temple, Red Sky - Pete Comley [from Lost City Music Volume 2]
spinning nodes hum in the magnet field
Song 7 - The Tailenders [recorded live at The High Dive, Seattle, April 6, 2012]
dissonance
peeping fantasy
over drum beat sequence
patched-in
Shark Repellent Boat Spray - Lures [from There's No Pressure]
grabs and shoves
si'down son
the ride starts immediately
guitar showcase
not so far from Ventures land
Flowers for Eurydice - James May - Stephanie Lamprea [from Quaking Aspen]
somewhat less histrionic
than many of these cuts have been
but
there are still frequent eruptions of hyper-modernistic vocalizing
no song without high notes
Symphony #5 (Toccata) - Charles-Marie Widor [from 100 Greatest Classics]
circus parade
costumes!
horses!
acrobats!
now around
the corner of the block
they'll be back
Song 6 - Curtains For You [recorded live at The High Dive, Seattle, April 6, 2012]
party lights
can be glimpsed inside
should we go in
Not Afraid To Die - Shelby Earl [from The Man Who Made Himself A Name]
statement of purposeful desire
adventure ready
Missing Words IV: II. Dreiecksumgleichung (Triangle-Reorganization) - Eric Nathan - International Contemporary Ensemble, Nicholas DeMaison [from Missing Words]
trajectories on the violin
joined by cello strings
two bows at
work
pick up some reeds
when you can
where we might be left
or have gotten to
a playroom
nursery
toys
The Ride of The Valkyries - Richard Wagner [from 100 Greatest Classics]
the opening resolves into a rhythm in three
after some fuss
the
instrumental only version
no Valkyries in attendance
an empty
introduction
A Trama - Camarones Orquestra Guitarristica [from Live in Natal]
here's the step
and its variations
cycle through
in the
prescribed order of iterations
Song 9 - Mud on My Bra [recorded live at Sunset Tavern, Seattle, April 18, 2017]
kickin' down
the feelin' groovy street
on a feelin' groovy
mornin'
familiar store fronts
familiar sidewalk walkers
this sound is where we stand
this is one weight
this another
making progress
stepwise
artifact emerging
use the
brush
to brush
the matrix off
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson [from Bad]
descending by lift
to the scene
every moment
has its move
some infamous groupie legend
the new demi monde
To The Moon - Karin Blaine [from Modern Day Living]
so here we are in the land of innuendo and euphemism
Hear You - Waxahatchee [from Out In The Storm]
an album has become a collection of songs
associated with a time and a
tour
it is its own concept
and happily accepts accretions
from the working files
deluxe version can mean
you get demos
too
no more waiting
for the commemorative omnibus set
Still Good - Doug Kolmar [from So Said Life]
keeping in touch for real
all communication windows open
Green Monkey Meat (Part 2) - Tildy Bayar, Ben Boretz, Frank Carter, Bruce Huber, Penelope Hyde [from Inter/Play]
sea life
amid docks and hulls
emerged to the sphere of bells
quiet
wee hour
highways
a fog
uncloaks itself
and holds us close
bedding adjusts
to our sleeping motions
mooring lines
creak in the tide
a large vessel
passes
offshore
and the gulls
have awakened
as is their squawky
wont
massive forms glide below
time to whop up some breakfast
Crutch - Tyrannosaurus Grace [from Much More Than A Story]
I am what I am
and will continually not apologize for it
in your
face
an attitude to cop
Used To Spend - Chastity Belt [from I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone]
the act of singing
forces
the consideration of all the parts of
words
and of how they act together
which can alter ones
considerations
of what one is saying
Shining - Robin Holcomb [from One Way Or Another]
a sheltered life
circumscribed by custom
the sacrificial virgin
arrayed in divine youthhood
Operating Room Interview - Boogie Down Productions [from Criminal Minded]
corporations bickering in public
part of the song and dance
Long Time Coming - Specyphi
musics
as tribe totems
colors
uniforms
Separator - Charms [from Human Error]
regimentation beast
line up
like pews
kept in line
ferocious
as all get out
as long
as one
is kept
in line
join the machine
Violin with Þytur - Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir - Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir, Kent Olofsson [from Strengur]
become one with the hum
the homme hum
home hum
the sprits
speak seancilly
music
social use
coercion
temptation
overwhelmment
music
is without morals
nor scruples
it
is inexorable
ancestors
speak in
fragments
decontextualized
prophetic
oracular even!
subterranean worm ravaged
Alice's Eat Me
this is some spacy space
here
melting rock flow
installation sound
enchantment
we are being released
but slowly
hip gnosis
knows
hip noses
formulaic verse
versus
formulaic commentary
a dance
when they wander off
the words
word parts
become drums
Faces Like Ours - Shannon Stephens [from Pull It Together]
counting one's hopes
a weird lullaby
will survive
and take
care
of an insular us
circle the wagons
Saved By A Waif - Alvvays [from Antisocialites]
great sound in the opening
before the instruments come in singing
two voices or more
overwhelmed by reverbs
Hell Times - Robber's Roost [from Rage & Reason]
showing off the guitar chops
cred badge
Faery Sound - Rutland Boughton [from 100 Greatest Classics]
really??
Superstar - Madonna [from MDNA]
you tell that to all the guys dontcha
Marabel Morgan mantra
Auld Lang Syne - Three Fingers [from Stocking Stuffers]
with right good cheer
and all the verses
for auld lang syne
and cheering
and bells
We're The Carnivores - Mikey and Matty [from And It Came To Pass / Not So Stay]
I lost track of the conceit of the poem
picking up a word or two here
and there
dissolve out
eaten away
One: FiveText - Benjamin Boretz [from Open Space 46]
turn upon completion
motions obscured
in motions
we find
ourselves in each of their chambers
Nothin' To Do But You - Rachel Harrington [from Makin' Our House a Honkytonk]
another way to do Marabel Morgan
Jackhammer Blues - Martha Scanlan [from Roll Columbia]
rattled brains
bruised joints
deafened
Milk River - Steve Peters [from With My Back To The World]
we see the sky swimming by
as we spin by seeing sky
Dear God - XTC [from Fossilfuel]
one of those
Donkey Jacket Death Dream - Yuni in Taxco [from Prizes]
late night movies with Elvira
squishy psyche
deli cat
the
spirits have turned their gaze upon you
On My Knees - Gaytheist [from Let's Jam Again Soon]
apparently upset about something
Believe It - Emily Stranger [from Labor of Love]
flanged out repercussions
flavors of dissection
Georgia Bottleneck Blues - Cecil Barfield [from The Art of Field Recording]
guitar tunings
named after songs
this one is Sebastopol
three distinct registers
going' down the road feeling bad
Smutna rana elektricka - Stanislav Surin
a weary minor mode mood
pervading
instrumental verse
brings
nothing new to the party
Black Background - CEP [from Drawing The Target Around The Arrow]
labeled ideas
a throbbing node
and a clear node
intermuddling
Peeking Around Corners - Tom Swafford [from Rough Spaces]
imparting what is seen in a secret voice
AW at 12 - AW
comprehensible voices
clearly singing
repetitious? patient.
wandery?
intentionally so.
landed
a melodic noodle
over block chords
amply spaced
and loosely
twice curved
a curve on a
curve
similarities to Sonatina of similar era
includes ocarina
hoots
the tape machine
made a clicking noise
which the tape
machine recorded
and reports upon
try
out
its
the
new
in
not a pipe
to be seen
arrival celebration
scales are fun
or
is it a messed up metronome
oops
there's me
different recording device
one of our lessons no doubt
would AW be mortified
that I am listening to this now
30 plus years hence?
possibly
perhaps
a particularly loud clock on
the wall
tick tock
The Night Belongs To You - Song Sparrow Research [from Song Sparrow Research]
soft
semirural
warm feeling
pop
Leaving Joyous Gard - Tomten [from Cremation Songs]
tripping on Englishy fantasy
stiff fingered piano playing
memories
of Renfaeryland
22-III.6 - Eric Flesher
the collected squeaks of magic door hinges
form near
and far out
What You Say - John Cage - John Cage
set theory and scales of perception
statements spoken
in the
manners of poetry being recited
in which
it is of no concern
what gets thrown into the whole
so that
it is thrown into it
all the present states
now
one after the other
The Skies - Brendan Byrnes [from Micropangea]
classy flavor of background sound
for a psychedelically themed
restaurants
I Don't Give A Fuck - Porn Bloopers [from Blooper Reel]
seems to be a common attitude
translation into energy
of a
performance of the line
Baltimore Demo - Doug Palmer
a reading
as at a funeral
or
with soap opera pacing
it
is a whole scene
Happy Birthday - The Ancients [recorded live at Rat and Raven, Seattle, August 9, 2012]
we hear out loud
only what we say ourselves
as though
we
were deaf
Pharoah - Ephrata [from Ephrata]
doing with actual voices
what synthesizers do
the way
some
pop classical vocalismists
did
probably still do
side question:
are we seeking dialog
or acclamation
applause
or engagement
I mean
we're talking the same language here right?
side question:
am I imitating someone doing something
or am
I doing something?
alien dust specks
joy bells ringing in our ears
applause
waits to finish
taking it in
is there social music
that demands
anywhere in America
our
actual engagement
There's A Train That's Rollin' Through - Andrew James Robison [recorded live at Rat and Raven, Seattle, August 9, 2012]
obsessive memory
Blind - The Maldives [from Mad Lives]
being sorry
for one's witnessing
Sonata 3 in C-sharp minor - Adagio - Jeremiah Lawson
honest use
fully engaged
is always appropriate
Hundreds & Thousands - Swearin' [from Swearin']
an attitude
an age
lines that fight among their parts
made
of lists
Warriors - Bad Cop/Bad Cop [from Warriors]
work-out music
pumping itself up
it is its exertion
Diagnosis - Lover Lover
model correspondence:
poem of personal dedication
read as a song
a gift made by hand
A Much Married Woman Track 8 - Nancy Cole Silverman - Adam Varner
pull in a big name
something's fishy
magician's tricks
dancing with her man
an unprepared Belle
over their heads
Los Marinaros - Alone In Dead Bars [recorded live at The Victory Lounge, Seattle, July 15, 2017]
memoire entry
an event
better than the last one
Sinfonia 3 (midi) - Keith Eisenbrey
no reason to figure it out
that's what it's working on
In Session at The Tintinabulary
November 24, 2023
Sinfonia 8 (midi) - Keith Eisenbrey
this one is jolly
November 26, 2023
Shoel - Keith Eisenbrey
I am truly enjoying this project
November 30, 2023
Sinfonia 8 (clavichord) - Keith Eisenbrey
lose the metronomic impetus and the music thinks as itself
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 7: 1995-2001
During our years of chaos (parenting), keeping my hand in the game writing short pieces - and one big break-through.
Keith Eisenbrey 6: 1988-1994
Working with narrative forms, both explicit and implicit, playing games with memory, and finding ways to set texts.
Keith Eisenbrey 5: 1984-1988
My first years back in the Puget Sound area, working with the experience of repetition and with relationships between the vertical and horizontal pitch realms.
Keith Eisenbrey 4: 1983-1984
Finishes up the music I wrote while I was in New York (state) under the ostensible supervision of the academic world.
Keith Eisenbrey 3: 1982-1983
Written in Red Hook, NY, and Malabar, FL, as I was beginning to think about thinking about music.
Keith Eisenbrey 2: 1981-1982
What occupied my time toward at the end of my undergrad days and in the year before I went east for a while.
Keith Eisenbrey 1: 1979-1981
Keyboard works I composed while an undergrad at the UW.
All are free for download.
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
listening journal doodles from 2013
