As a performing percussionist and as a composer, I am interested in those materials, forms and techniques that explore the very definition of music. I think of experimental music in two ways. Firstly, as a composition technique in which the final outcome is unknown before the performance. Secondly, as a general descriptor for any composition or performance practice that attempts to push the boundaries.
At the same time, I insist that experimental music be accessible to and engaging for the audience. In this regard I'm influenced by Harry Partch's concept of corporeality, including "magical sounds" and a shared experience. For me, this shared experience means an interaction between the performer and the audience that breaks down the separation between the two. Partch also called for a “visual beauty,” and some of my pieces do include multimedia.
Like most musicians, I began as a child: drum lessons, school bands, youth orchestras. In my teens I played in some rock bands of little account. Later in life I was a student of Dr JC Combs, professor of percussion at Wichita State University. Though I regularly performed with the percussion ensemble, concert band, Jazz Arts II ensemble and the basketball pep band, I was at best a "second string" player. However, Dr Combs gave me every opportunity to explore percussion performance and literature, and through him I enjoyed some extraordinary experiences as a music student and player. In particular, I am indebted to Dr Combs for introducing me to the field of ethnomusicology, and to the works of John Cage and Harry Partch. In my erstwhile time as a music student at WSU, I also was fortunate enough to study under Craig Owens (jazz improvisation and small ensemble), Tom Fowler (big band), Bertil Van Boer (music history) and Walter Mays (theory). To each of them I owe a similar debt and gratitude, for their patience and tolerance. It has taken a long time, but their efforts were not in vain.
For a brief while I played in a duo with guitarist Brett Boyer, then toured with Bemsha Swing (labled an "alternative" band, when such was in vogue), and Pandora's Box, a progressive steel pan band that grew out of the steel band program at WSU.
I eventually earned my academic credentials in anthropology, and currently am on the faculty of Cowley College , in Arkansas City, Kansas. My research and teaching emphasize comparative religions, ethnohistory and public archaeology, but as an anthropologist my first love is ethnomusicology. While at Cowley, I had the great fortune to meet multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Gary Gackstatter and Dave Bostiwick, with whom I formed 5 Man Trio. Though we broke up years ago, we still play from time to time. As a performer, my genre-bending work with these two great friends has been the most satisfying by far.
In 2002, I formed Temporal Mechanics Union, a community-based, all-ability percussion ensemble, resident at Cowley College. Anyone may join; there is no audition and no experience is necessary. Finding a lack of suitable works available for such an ensemble, I began composing in earnest at this time, picking up from some unfinished experiments from my music student days. As the ensemble and my compositional style evolved, I found it natural to bring together experimental music and ethnomusicology. TMU's repertoire includes traditional rhythm and drumming styles from around the world, experimental pieces, chamber works for percussion ensemble, and what we call "percussion theatre:" large-scale works that incorporate mixed media and found/constructed instruments. The newest development in TMU is the construction of our own 31-EDO instruments. This microtonal venture has enabled the ensemble and myself to further explore Partch's corporeality: magical sounds, visual beauty and shared experience.
No mention of my current work as a composer would be complete without mentioning my friends and collaborators in TMU: Bryan McChesney, Mike Fell and Wayne Farley have over the years been key to the success of the ensemble. Their talent, creativity, and friendship continue to be inspirational. And without Todd Harper, you would not have found me here. His generous and enduring friendship, and his boundless musical energy, gave me the inspiration to make my percussion pieces available to you.