Today's available music:
"A Stylist You Can Trust" an improv recorded to ADAT on December 22, 2003 featuring 064 on guitar and rhythm loops, Wendy Bauer on vocals, Bruce Fraser on electric bass, and Neal Cronin on guitar.

Windows Media file (2M suitable for streaming with dial-up connection) Mac users: These music samples are in Windows Media format. Click here to download Windows Media Player for Mac (free) and play the samples.

MP3 (9.5M for downloading or streaming with faster connections)

Our Story
An ongoing series of freely improvised music sessions are held in a small recording studio in Berkeley, California. The regular players these days include the members of the Seething Brunswicks; 064 (guitar and electronic instruments) and Neal Cronin (guitar and vocals), as well as Wendy Bauer (vocals) and Bruce Fraser (bass). 064, Bauer and Fraser have played together since 1980 when they were all members of the Artichokes.

Each member of the group describes the music differently. However, they could probably be made to agree that it is purely improvised music created with six and twelve string electric guitars, synthesizers, vocals, four or five string electric bass, percussion, acoustic and electronic drums, drum machines, computers and other noise makers. The players are aware of the various traditions of improvisation within jazz, rock, industrial, experimental and other types of music, but the players rarely stay within any particular stylistic tradition for more than a few minutes. It is a unique stylistic blend that has evolved gradually since 1979 when Bauer and 064 first began their musical collaboration. Each member brings a long list of musical influences, but only a few artists are appreciated by every member of the group. This short list would include: The Residents, Captain Beefheart, King Crimson, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, John Coltrane, Tom Jones, the Animals, Weather Report, and Miles Davis .

Guest artists are occassionally brought into the fray. If you are interested in participating, e-mail us with some information about your interests and background. We are also open to possible collaboration via tape or the internet.

The Artichokes resembled a rock band and played several San Francisco Bay Area clubs including the Mabuhay, On Broadway and Keystone Berkeley beginning in 1980. The Artichokes' sound was described by Calendar magazine's Mimi Chen; "Propelled by squalling babies, chicken noises,and balloon rubbing, the Artichokes take the mundane and twist it into something bizarre." The band released 064-produced videos and audio tapes and also contributed to the Seaside Curios compilation album. Dissatisfied with the club scene, the Artichokes began producing their own multi-media shows which also featured other local performers such as the Club Foot Orchestra, Ibbilly Bibbilly,the Fabulous Davitons and others. Notable among these shows were 1984: An American Nightmare (1984) and The Conspiracy Show (1985). Held near Halloween, these events used the audience's theme-related costumes as a starting point for intense interactive environmental manipulation.

The Artichoke's gradually mutated into a free form electronic music collective and dropped the Artichoke's name shortly after the addition of Phil Potestio (formerly of Borrowed Millions and Poetic Justice) in 1986.

The 1986 project A Tribute to the Seven Deadly Sins brought exciting shows to Artists Television Access gallery. These events (Greed, Lust and Envy) featured improvised music by 064, Wendy Bauer, Bruce Fraser, Kevin Smith and Phil Potestio, performance by Michael Charnes, videos by 064, film by Tracy Witt and extensive audience interaction.

A series of unfortunate incidents occured during the production of the Seven Deadly Sins performances. At first the incidents were minor: an unexplained facial growth, a maimed hand, interpersonal difficulties. Then, during the Halloween 1986 performance of Greed, the performance space burned down. These harrowing incidents caused the band to retire from live performance for the rest of the twentieth century. They have re-emerged for occassional live performances in the last couple of years, most notably at the 2002 Skronkathon. Watch this site for updates on the availability of recordings.

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The Transbay Music Calendar for Experimental, Improvised, Noise, Electronic, Free-Jazz, Avant Garde, Modern Composition, and Other Forms of Contemporary Sound in the San Francisco Bay Area

www.bayimproviser.com-A great source for info on improvised music in the San Francisco Bay Area

The Seething Brunswicks

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