Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Croiners: Generator Live! 2/24/90

This is a cassette, from 1990, dug out of a bin in my house over the past weekend. In 1989, about the same time my record store (Auricular Records - then Kaleidoscope) opened, Ken Montgomery opened Generator in NYC. Generator was a personal/public experiment that began on June 1, 1989. Having been involved in sound art music culture and the international mail art and cassette networking scene for 10 years while being based in New York's Lower East Side Ken wanted to find out how much of an interest there was in the same scene locally. Generator quickly became a meeting place for those already attracted to this international network who might have otherwise only known each other by post. It also provided an opportunity to expose this culture to a new audience of people who stumbled upon it, read about it or heard about it who wouldn't otherwise have known about this music and culture. This release basically comes from a place that could be considered another coast' s sister experiment to Auricular Records.

From the sleeve notes by Gen Ken Montgomery:

Generator was proud to host a rare appearance by the Croiners. There was an elaborate set of midi samplers and controllers which were used in an invigorating performance of the kind of off the wall spoken word and and repetitive juxtapositions the Croiners are infamous for. You'll hear plenty of laughter in the audience as the wit of teh Croiners makes it hard to resist. On the wall at Generator hung a myriad of promotional prints from Jim Tapes depicting The Croiners over three years with allof their wacky slogans - G.K.M.

From the Generator website:

Generator is a resource for sound artists and sound art related projects.

GENERATOR SOUND ART, INC. was created to produce and disseminate original recordings by dedicated sound artists, presenting releases of Electronic, Electro-Acoustic, Noise, and Experimental Music. Uncompromising, non-commercial, and definitely not for everyone. These projects are geared towards the discerning and adventurous listener.

Generator Sound Art, Inc. is Gen Ken Montgomery, founder of the GENERATOR SOUND ART GALLERY, NYC, (1989-1992) and Scott Konzelmann a.k.a. CHOP SHOP.

Download The Croiners: Generator Live! 2.24.90