Live Room; Wayne Horvitz and Pigpen

There they are Wayne Horvitz and Big Ben Ortiz on me is a big Ben. Oh. Oh yeah. Up. I'm. Broadcasting live from Jack Straw studios in the heart of the University District This is live room on K CMU ninety point three FM Seattle bringing you over a very hip variety of live performers. Every Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. I'm your host a decent end tonight. Wayne Horvitz and pig pen. And it's been a special treat for me because I've got to sit in here and listen to these guys warm up. And it's going to be quite a show. We've got Wayne

Horvitz on keys bringing over there on the sax Freds on bass Mike playing the drums. Let's hit right into the music and get the ball rolling. Wayne Horvitz in pink pen on K C M U. Live. Live. Live. Live. Live. Live. Eh eh.

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listener powered case CMU. Wayne tell us a little bit about the origins of the band I know you're coming from a different part of the country. Yeah I moved from New York on an old war torn half years ago. The origins of the band I was in a band with John Zorn and I had a band of my own called the president and both of those sort of came to in and around the same time. So I was stuck here in Seattle. I played with our bass player Mr. Fred Shallon are in my own band the president and I heard a Bring I don't know how to bring in I think Bill Frisell told me about him actually he's done a Cornish and Bergen told me about Mike and we tried it very first rehearsal. I brought out a tune I thought was in seven and Mike told me was in force I knew I was in good hands. He's been wrong ever since he was right on that first occasion. And that's

about it really. Well it's sounding great so far let's let's hear some more music. Pig Pen on K C M U. Come. On.

Why. Big Ben Whalen on live room you're listening to a live room great fertile

production on K CMU. We're broadcasting from Jack Straw studios in Seattle's you district. And each week live room presents live performances of incredible variety but also thanks Zobrist for the lovely monitor support. Just as I thought I have to count that last set and I counted 24 wiles on that last set. Some some good some great stuff. The times I silently said wow to myself I'm wondering as far as the rest of the band goes what kind of influences you've brought to Wayne's music and I'll come over here to brigand on saxophone. I don't know what kind of influences I'd said bring to this music other than just whatever player and you know by virtue of being influenced in part by Wayne and and just being in this band I think we've all evolved together to plan this kind of a of a of a vibe with you know electronics and and also just being an acoustic saxophone player and having to deal with with all these a

few of these crazy people. And this to sonically you know just you know I think it's saved me as much as it's a broader thing. And Wayne how about these guys what if what have they done to change your style of music writing music playing performance. Well that's kind of hard to answer in starting the band I change things quite a bit. I mean I just I can't even remember what I did no one thing I did was I decided to write about 30 tunes in about four days and so that changed a lot right there when I kind of got in the rut with the president I was kind of I got into something I really liked and I was kind of at like 10 tunes the first year and five tunes and next year I was down about like one two and every two years that I have that I would like for that band you know. And I decided just sort of break it wide open. And then of course you have to write for who's playing in the band. And but I

can't remember how I did that. Maybe I haven't really very successful you know. You know I think I have and bring in brought up a really good point I mean it's it's a it's really a thing it's part of reason why I kept the saxophone band too as I didn't want it to be. I mean it's something that I've been interested in electronics all along it's where they crossover with acoustic instruments and I guess that comes from being a piano player and and liking and shipments like a Hammond organ that are electric but so to have a relationship with the engine. And so that's been a really great challenge and I don't know what else. And of course we have electric bass where they can sound like anybody so that helps. As far as your own piano setup here you've been stuck with a pretty standard setup you've got the DX 7 and the KSA 32 even kind of criticized and praised both for for not upgrading your setup.

I'm wondering your comments on that but I'd like to know who criticized me first now. It was pretty good yeah well that's OK I can take it as you know. Well you know it isn't a standard set up anymore no one plays it anymore. I feel with keyboards that you know one of the problems is that any new keyboard has a learning curve of about five years and what people do is they buy each new keyboard and they play what's comes with it and they don't learn how to use it. To me like learning to use the DX 7 from a sound point of view was. I couldn't say it's as much of a challenge as learning to play your instrument like learning to play the piano or something but it's a big challenge and it takes a couple years to feel like you're really inside a keyboard and so on. I have no interest in you know spending my time you know reading manuals the rest of my life. And I also have I'm I'm I'm happy with it. I changed my pedals around pretty often and that kind of stuff. That's that's pretty much it.

I don't hear anything that exciting in everything and keep at it and as far as the experimentation of the band goes a lot of experimentation a lot of a lot of solo stuff that that's not exactly planned out beforehand and I'm wondering if you ever are playing a show or recording or practicing and you get to the end of the song and realize that maybe the experiment has failed or something hasn't worked. Yeah I don't look at it as the experiment if it didn't work I looked at it as you just saw you know on it. And I mean but I mean that's an important distinction because it's no different than playing a jazz tune and not liking your soul you know you know so I'm saying I mean if you go out and play you know all the things you are where you are you go and play a blues in and you're playing in a blues band if it were your and Soundgarden and the guitar player. He takes us all of what he may say that one night it's not happening. I don't see what we were doing in your group improvising it's been like in another category. The same kind of thing you know works sometimes doesn't.

OK as far as as the mainstream jazz goes and it seems to be just that is as far as jazz and rock and music as a whole I think what's going on is there's music being played and it's getting played on the radio it's not really experimental or or creative in a lot of ways and it seems there's been sort of a trend there and there isn't maybe a mainstream market for for some of the more creative and experimental music that's going on and I'm wondering if if there should be a mainstream market for that kind of stuff or whether it's where it belongs. It's a complicated question I mean. I'll leave rock and pop music out of it for a second because it's easy to sort of talk about one thing at a time. In jazz obviously when when Marsalis came along and I kind of found that there was two things happening I mean a whole bunch of people said well this is really conservative. You know it's a dragon and a bunch of people obviously liked it.

Well I think it's great they like it because when Marsalis is plain really well over a type of new type of music that that should continue it has a tradition I don't see it and I don't see it as being. I mean when someone comes along and plays Mozart Well again it's great. I think it's too bad when people draw the line someplace or people put themselves in different camps gets really tricky I mean for Cecil Taylor or Ornette Coleman to be you know the edge of jazz and then suddenly for them to be you know not relevant or something like that. But then that's really a problem. Actually my main problem with with some of the things what Marsalis have said has been more about his his comments about pop music as if it's kind of a lesser music you know and I think that's really well I just think it's it's patently absurd I mean I think Prince is a great example of like one of the you know great creative composers I mean what else to call me if you call Ellington a composer you call Prince a composer. He's a great

composer in the 20th century and that's that. You know but. Music and rock music I just think it's really a matter of the marketing that's been 25 years ago. I just remember I didn't make it. If you bought a record record you really went to the record store. But I don't know why that listener powered radio. Wayne Horvitz and the pig listener powered CMU

live room stupid. Will it be featured in the new album. We'll talk a little bit about the new album the new Well it was future and when we get rid of it. And so it's going to be even though you do have an EPA out that's available right now. Correct. Right. That's correct it's out of Portland but the new one will be a vast records of records that are produced by Jim's or her famous left handed quarterback Joe Johns. The production there now I want to talk a little bit about gigs we've got Monday coming up at the Nippon concious or not this band actually but yourself and bring in. And also we've got Marty Erlik private Phil sparks featured at that show. Anything coming up for pig pen.

I think we're going to color box 20 for November and January we're going to do it with with guests like you do this summer. So it sounds like some good shows coming up then. One more thing. Tell me a little bit about the pig pen audience the the group of people that have come to the shelves and whether that's the group you expected to show. Up at shows I don't think your audiences ever did that. No actually I've been really happy with the audiences it's been a really good mix different people come out because of the clubs we play and there's people come out because of what they heard about the band as people come out because of stuff I've done in the past and so I've I've just I really enjoyed it. I don't really know what else to say I mean usually the audience members that you get to know are the ones you want to know the least I mean the really. Ninety nine of them are really great and all you know like I like your music and leave after show and as the few kind of guys you know

it's probably really hard for an artist you know what they're what their audiences. OK we're going to get one more song in tonight. I understand this was written during Seafair the Seafair season and it's titled appropriately O Blue Angels. You are but a god to me pig pen on Casey a muse live room. Thanks

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Faith. Wayne Horvitz and the pig pen Thanks for coming in. It's been incredible hour. Take a look at future file here for live room we've got the onion eaters coming in Reggie Garrett the snake oil peddlers the disruptors tiny head orchestra with skulls of the gods. We get pleasure lete coming next week. Clue. Whatever was Nixon recorded like a Jack Straw production is not proper to the ability of the Jack Straw foundation. Nix engineers dud hair with assistance from Steve Dettori and Eric Bobby Bauer and LIVE FROM is produced and directed by Greg Lee head Fergal productions in conjunction with K. CMU I merely state besides inviting you to join us next week for some but stop and dog kick and other clean correct sex rock for Mel performed live by the pledge really. Thanks for joining in the live room dammit. Special thanks to Zo breast

for monitor support. This is KC Emmys live room I'll talk next week. See.