Related Objects

In 1981 the New Music America Festival came to San Francisco for a week full of concerts, sound installations, and multi-media performances. The fourth concert of the Festival, held on June 10, 1981, included works by Laurie Spiegel, Peter Gena, and George Lewis, as well as a live improvisation by LaDonna Smith and Davey Williams, and two musical performance art pieces by conceptual artist Jim Pomeroy. The concert began with two works by Laurie Spiegel, identified in the program as “The Unquestioned Answer” and “A History of Music in One Movement,” which had been previously performed on the computer but were now arranged for solo performers of the harp and piano, respectively. These were followed by an unidentified computer music piece, presented by the composer herself. Violinist and violist LaDonna Smith and guitarist Davey Williams then presented two distinctly avant-garde improvisations. Jim Pomeroy then took the stage, as his alter-ego, B. Linds Naké, and presented two humorous parody’s of the New Music scene, the first “Flute Trio” featured Naké accompanying himself by playing synthesizers with his elbows, and then, dressed in an outlandish costume, he proceeded to “Hat Dance” in which he “played” his yellow plastic hat with a rattle on top, while bathed in striped light from a slide projector. After intermission the concert continued with Peter Gena’s composition, “Beethoven in SoHo” for two pianos and electric bass, before concluding with George Lewis’ work “Atlantic” for three trombones and electronics, that was highly evocative of the sound of fog horns.

Genres

New music
Performance Art

Musical Selections

Flute Trio, for flute and synthesizers (1981) (6:37) / Jim Pomeroy -- Hat Dance, for electric hat (1979) (4:53) / Jim Pomeroy

Performers

B. Linds Naké (a.k.a Jim Pomeroy), flute, electronics, and electric hat

Subjects

New music
Performance art
Mixed media (Music)
Flute and electronic music
Electronic music

Related places

San Francisco (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

New Music America (Festival)
Pomeroy, Jim, 1945-
Naké, B. Linds