Important Announcement

If you live in Atlanta and have any inclination at all toward the hip, you will be at the Atlanta Soto Zen Center (1167 Zonolite Place Atlanta 30306) in September for the Zen and the Art of the Arts festival. Here's this weekend's lineup:

Friday 9/11 (7:00-9:00 pm) - Opening Party featuring artistic snacks, a wet bar, and music by Zentrophy: The band's name says it all. Sometimes the zen of the moment takes the sound into exciting directions, but often, the order and structure will break down and transform itself as entropy takes it's toll. Such is the nature of live improv, and such is the nature of Zentropy. Keyboardist Allen Welty-Green, bassist Jim Cotton and drummer Davis Petterson. It's improvised but is it jazz? It's spacey but is it jam? Listen and decide for yourself!

Saturday 9/12 (3:00-4:00 pm) - Esteban Anastasio is the director of the Childbloom Guitar Program at his own private teaching studio 'The Apollo Conservatory' (across the street from the ASZC). Esteban also is a very active performer and studio engineer. While maintain an incredibly demanding classical guitar repertoire, Esteban also enjoy playing extreme electric "stunt" guitar craziness made famous by players like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eddy Van Halen, and others. Also very well educated in Jazz, Esteban enjoys to emulate the styles of Wes Montgomery, John McLaughlin, Grant Greene, and others.

Sunday 9/13 (2:00-4:00 pm) - Halucination Sextet. Electroacoustic music and poetry featuring two live performers: Dick Robinson and Jerry Cullum; and four virtual performers. The program will include a reading by Jerry Cullum of several of his poems, a concert of three short electroacoustic pieces by Dick Robinson based on Jerry’s poems, and a Grand Finale Improvisation by the Hallucination Sextet.

But, wait, there's more! Later this month the following will also perform:

Friday 9/18 (7:00-9:00 pm) - Schwarzkommando is my friend and Monday-night backup Michael Goldman on guitar, drummer Kelly Shane, and bassist Andy Tegethoff. All three are Atlanta music scene veterans and have performed in a wide variety of contexts with a wide variety of musicians. They began to play together as Schwarzkommando 2 years ago to explore improvisational and arty rock using the texts of novelist Thomas Pynchon as lyrics and Eno's oblique strategy cards as compositional tools.

Friday 9/25 (7:00-9:00 pm) - Local singer/songwriter/ keyboardist/guitarist Heidi Pollyea and actress/singer/ percussionist Towanna Stone have recently teamed up for a new musical collaboration. Their songs are a mix of originals and originally done covers, featuring lush melodies, tight harmonies and soulful grooves. They are sure to have something for everyone so don't miss this great new act.

Saturday 9/26 (1:00-2:00 pm) - Chicken Little Duo sings folk songs like they're punk songs, and punk songs like they're folk songs. They write spirituals to be protest songs, and protest songs to be broken-hearted love ballads.

Saturday 9/26 (2:00-3:00 pm) - Kate Morrissey’s music finds its way into the honest, vulnerable parts within all of us. She is perfectly at home behind her piano, but Morrissey is best known throughout this corridor for her “strong, almost acrobatic vocal style,” the range and control of which stands on its own. Backed by Charles Harvey on upright bass and cello and John Norris on drums and guitar, the music is nothing short of delicious. Beyond their uniquely rich sound, Morrissey’s literate and playful lyrics stand up to multiple listenings. She keeps their live shows funny, laid back, and joyful. And, as an added bonus, she is a long-term Zen practitioner, which infuses her music with that influence.

Sunday 9/27 (2:00-3:00 pm) - Don Hassler and Dick Robinson will present a work of free running, self playing electronic sound work utilizing Symbolic Sound's Kyma System and a Buchla 200e modular electronic music instrument.

And finally, there will be a closing party on October 2 starting at 7:00 pm featuring Zentropy again. And on top of all that, there will be a juried art exhibit featuring works in a wide variety of media. For more information, or to just confirm that all of this is real, see the ASZC website.

So as you can clearly see, this is the place to be this month. Be there or be unenlightened, y'all!