An Evening with Tatsuya Nakatani and Dr. Eugene Chadbourne

Saturday November 11th | Door at 9:30pm | $10 cover | limited seating

Percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani and guitarist, banjoist and composer Eugene Chadbourne aka Doc Chad came together first circa 2007 when the former sent the following email message from his home in Pennsylvania to the notorious House of Chadula in Greensboro, North Carolina:
“Hello, I want to come South and play Johnny Cash train beat with you.”
Of course the Doc’s radar went up, having spent decades in an intense if sometimes inexplicable mangling of American country and western, Appalachian folk, rock and roll and international free improvisation and noise music.
Within months Nakatani had entered the geographical region known informally as “Cackalackee” and the two were performing in a series of club dates in Greensboro, Chapel Hill and Winston Salem. Several New York City shows followed including the legendary New Directions in Appalachian Music evening at John Zorn’s club The Stone during the 2008 Chadfest.
Scheduling problems prevented the duo from further collaboration, but here they are again in a weeklong swing that will take them not only back to the Carolinas but will include shows in Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia.
During the first go-round Doc Chad was delighted to learn that Nakatani had fronted a bossa nova band at various points in his career and could sing in Portugese. Thus, a small set of bossa was also added to the show which of course includes a tribute to Johnny Cash as well as a variety Doc Chad’s original songs from a catalog that has been expanding since since the early ’80s Shockabilly years.
In this period Chadbourne mostly focuses on these original songs, including a great deal of political and social satire. In collaborations as well as solo, these songs are launching pads for improvisations that are likely to go anywhere. The duet show also features solo sections by both performers.

Eugene Chadbourne – USA
BIOGRAPHY:
The task of describing the life and work of Eugene Chadbourne (aka Dr. Chadula) is more than daunting. His music is so unique, and his output over almost thirty years of music-making is so vast, as to defy description To that must be added so many other skills and important contributions to music. He is truly a Renaissance man, a rebel among rebels. When I first thought about both an anniversary festival and a special focus on improvisation and collaboration across traditions, Dr. Chad’s name appeared in red neon letters.

He began playing guitar at an early age. Noticing that girls liked The Beatles, he thought perhaps learning to play the guitar could lead to getting a girlfriend. Having rejected the other two paths to this desirable outcome, beating people up and being good at sports, he began to teach himself how to play. What began with a simple boyish dream and a Herman’s Hermits record turned into a musical odyssey that has connected the dots between the Appalachians and the edges of the known musical universe. Along the way, he’s taught himself the banjo as well as piano, bass and drums.

Eugene is a music lover who listens to the world with an open mind, which is reflected in his sets. A typical one could include the music of Thelonious Monk, Eric Satie, Merle Haggard, Phil Ochs along with his own. Some of the departure points may be familiar, but even if you have heard him play a song before, you won’t hear it the same way again. Each performance and each listening is unique. It has to be. To paraphrase an old saying “you can’t play the same note twice” and at the heart of improvisation is an awareness of music, the instrument, the place and all that has led up to that moment. The improvisational music scene can sometimes get a bit rarefied and oblique, but Eugene’s guiding star is his ongoing love for country music. It is not a repertoire customarily heard in New York’s The Knitting Factory or the avant-garde festivals of Europe, but Dr. Chad has made it so.

The list of artists he has collaborated with runs into pages. Camper Van Beethoven, John Zorn, Aki Takase, Jimmy Carl Black, and the Violent Femmes are just a handful, appearing in clubs, galleries and festivals and in one case, a command performance with Tony Trischka for William S. Burroughs.
He has also written widely about music, inventing the touring diary when he described his travels with Shockabilly in 1984, and creating books including I Hate the Man Who Runs This Bar. He is one of the founders of the “low-fi” or “low tech” movement that came to see thousands of artists creating and releasing their own cassettes (and now CDs) on their own labels. He has also inspired many as a creator of instruments. His electric rake has motivated many artists to build new instruments and expand the sonic landscape. When you combine all of the above with his penchant for speaking out loud and clear about what exactly the hell seems to be going on, you have an unforgettable artist whose connection to folk is both deep and wide.

Tatsuya Nakatani
-Percussionist-

BIOGRAPHY:
Tatsuya Nakatani (percussion) is originally from Osaka, Japan. In 2006 he performed in 80 cities in 7 countries and collaborated with 163 artists worldwide. In the past 10 years he has released nearly 50 recordings on CD.

He has created his own instrumentation, effectively inventing many instruments and extended techniques. He utilizes drumset, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls, metal objects, bells, and various sticks and bows to create an intense, organic music that defies category or genre. His music is based in improvised/ experimental music, jazz, free jazz, rock, and noise, yet retains the sense of space and beauty found in traditional Japanese folk music.

In addition to live solo and ensemble performances he works as a sound designer for film and television. He also teaches Masterclasses and Workshops at the University level. He also heads H&H Production, an independent record label and recording studio based in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was selected as a performing artist for the Pennsylvania Performing Artist on Tour (PennPat) roster as well as a Bronx Arts Council Individual Artist grant.