the improvisor 30th Anniversary Festival

NEW FROM SHAKING RAY RECORDS:

A.S.A.P. Wings (SRR CD-005)
Killick Erik Hinds, Bob Stagner, & Dennis Palmer
Cover art by Dennis Palmer

A.S.A.P. Wings now on iTunes!

A.S.A.P. Wings is the first album from the trio of Killick Erik Hinds, Dennis Palmer and Bob Stagner, a.k.a. the Shaking Ray Levis. The music is a juggernaut, a whale of a hoot. Post-post-modern revivalism at its ornery and most unabashed best, and there's even a cover of The Residents' Red Rider. Open up yr wind-ers, open up yr doors...

The Shaking Ray Levis is an ongoing collaboration of musicians with a common interest in improvisation. The project was conceived and led by the Chattanooga-based team of Dennis J. Palmer and Bob Stagner. The latest incarnation of the group is a trio with Killick of Athens, Georgia. They use storytelling, synthesizers, samplers, percussion, and Killick's one-of-a-kind H'arpeggione to achieve their distinctive sound. They are the first American group to have recorded for Incus Records, the record label of late British free improvisational guitarist Derek Bailey. Additionally, they have performed and recorded with John Zorn, David Greenberger, Fred Frith, Min Tanaka, Amy Denio, Ken Vandermark, Peter Kowald, Susan Alcorn, Larry Ochs, Habib Koite, Chris Cutler, Susie Allen, and Derek Bailey, as well as many other critically acclaimed artists. Click here to learn more about "Thealm Ol' Levi Boys."

Killick, of Athens, Georgia is a tireless advocate for improvised and the other kind of music. He plays here his devil cello: the H'arpeggione, an upright acoustic instrument with sympathetic strings. Killick focuses on the raw sound of his strings in all their microtonal glory; his style blends primitive folk, heavy metal, and sacred musics from around the world into a doomy/pretty/physically exhausting voice. He runs Solponticello Records and is the fellow who put out a solo acoustic H'arpeggione version of Slayer's Reign In Blood.

Available in our store.