James “Jim” Anton, is an American bass guitarist,producer and educator who has toured and/or recorded with such artists as Beat the Clock,CTB,Eight Head, Dean Magraw,Greazy Meal,Steve Tibbetts, Bradley Joseph, Jesse Johnson, Willie Wisely, Choying Drolma, Peter Ostroushko, Mandy Moore, John Gorka, Joey McIntyre, Delta Goodrem, Glen Phillips, Jonny Lang and Cory Wong. He has also performed with Grammy winner slide guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
Set 1 – Jim Anton (electric bass, electronics) Set 2 – Jim Anton, John C.S. Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers), Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics)
Thursday, March 5th at 6:00pm Sound / Simulacra is pleased to present Spanish artist, Rubén Alonso of Antropoloops at the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center (OEC) Auditorium, the University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave, St. Paul, MN 55105 . Entry is free and open to the public. The evening will start with Alonso giving a talk and performance about his project Antropoloops. Afterward John C.S. Keston (piano, electronics) and Cody McKinney (bass, eletronics) will join Alonso for an improvised concert.
While studying architecture in Berlin in the late 1990s, Rubén Alonso fantasized about the romantic notion of the traveling ethnomusicologist who collects songs around the world, but the journey would begin years later, through the distributed archive of the web and from the music remix culture with the artistic project Antropoloops that he has been developing with Esperanza Moreno since 2012. With 4 albums published, the project has been presented in several festivals and spaces, both nationally and internationally (Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Chile, Argentina), as well as in several TEDx talks.
This event is co-sponsored by Carleton College and the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences departments of Emerging Media, Modern and Classical Languages, and Music.
On February 26th 2020, Sound/Simulacra proudly presents, Thomas Nordlund. Nordlund is a guitarist, composer, and producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a lyrical guitarist whose command of the instrument allows him to shape vivid musical terrain with only a handful of notes. His compositions stretch from being insular to accessible and unfold like narrative observations of the world around him.
Nordlund released his second album as a bandleader and producer, “Miles Left Behind,” in 2018 on Shifting Paradigm Records. Previously, he collaborated with singer Maryam Yusefzadeh on arrangements of traditional Persian folk songs and new compositions, independently released as “Migration” in 2018. His debut record “Divide Avenue,” an instrumental eight-song set featuring the electric baritone guitar, was released independently in 2015. For the past fifteen years he has performed as a sideman with many artists including Sarah Morris, Chris Bates, John Raymond, Mary Bragg, Maryam Yusefzadeh, Dead Man Winter, Kid Dakota, Moon and Pollution, and Tim Sparks.
Set I – Thomas Nordlund solo (guitar/ electronics) Set II – Thomas Nordlund (guitar/ electronics) + Cody McKinney (bass, vocals, electronics) + John C.S. Keston (Rhodes, piano, synthesizer, electronics)
For the opening event of 2020 Sound / Simulacra will present Improv with Soundwalks. John C.S. Keston and Cody McKinney will be improvising with recently recorded soundwalks of urban and natural environments. Using a multiple channel sound system, the artists will experiment with electronics to craft soundscapes that compliment and contrast the unaltered found-sound that they captured. Please join us at Jazz Central Studios on January 22, 2020 at 8:30pm.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019 Sound / Simulacra is pleased to present electronic music artist and producer, Jesse Whitney at Jazz Central Studios. Music starts at 8:30pm.
Jesse Whitney is a synthesist and composer. HIs work encompasses a wide variety of endeavors, including noise improv trio The Blight & production for the witchy art-pop of Scinnlæce, as well as solo works for modular synthesizer. His solo work is primarily concerned with the effects of sound on consciousness and how that might be utilized to affect positive changes in humanity. He lives in Minneapolis.
Set I – Jesse Whitney (modular synthesizers) Set II – Jesse Whitney with John C.S. Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers) and Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics)
On October 23rd, 2019 Sound / Simulacra will feature multi-instrumentalist Tasha Baron at Jazz Central Studios, Minneapolis, MN. Music starts at 8:30pm.
Tasha Baron plays and composes on keyboards, trombone, flute and computers in hopes of getting out what is inside her head for the enjoyment of others. She grew up playing classical piano, composing free improv music, playing flute in woodwind choir and trombone in jazz big bands. She continued her musical journey studying South African Township music, Afrobeat and salsa and experimental live dub music. She joined live hip hop band Heiruspecs and accompanied Atmosphere as well as playing with Jamaican reggae band Gullibanque and hip hop artist Toki Wright. She started her own collaborative vision with the band Black Blondie which went on to tour the country and chart on CMJ. Most recently she debuted singer Dizzy Fae with co-producer Marc Rice and released an album “Laughing at Ghosts” with Sarah White, as well as producing two film scores with Rice, one with over one million views on YouTube. Her vision and direction with music is all about artistic honesty, positive social change, community collaboration and pushing creative boundaries.
Set I – Tasha Baron (solo) Set II – Tasha Baron (piano, keyboards, etc.) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)
On September 25, 2019 Sound / Simulacra is pleased to present bassist, guitarist, and composer Erik Fratzke at Jazz Central Studios, Minneapolis, MN. Music starts at 8:30pm.
Erik Fratzke is a composer/performer/educator based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Best known for his work as the bassist of Happy Apple, he also plays bass in Craig Taborn’s Junk Magic, and Cory Healey’s Beautiful Sunshine Band. As a guitarist, Erik is a member of The Dave King Trucking Company, Scott Miller’s Fifth Column Ensemble, The Gang Font, as well as the leader of the instrumental rock group Zebulon Pike. His compositions have been performed and recorded by the new music group Zeitgeist. Erik has performed/recorded with Tim Berne, Michel Portal, Rhys Chatham, Airto, Benoit Delbec, and Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins).
Set I- Erik Fratzke (solo) Set II- Erik Fratzke (bass, guitar) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (piano, rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)
August 2019, Sound / Simulacra presents special guest: violinist, Kip Jones of ETHEL Quartet.
Kip Jones is a violinist and composer from Duluth, Minnesota. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, he performs full-time in ETHEL, a modern string quartet based in New York City. His music, described by the New York Times as “buoyantly songful”, has been heard at BAM Harvey, Merkin Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Grand Canyon Music Festival, Chom Ong Tai cave (Laos), Tsetserleg valley (Mongolia), and the Jordan Nisja school of music (Albania). Acclaimed as “indefatigable and eclectic” (The New York Times), “vital and brilliant” (The New Yorker), and one of the most exciting quartets around (Strad Magazine), ETHEL invigorates the contemporary music scene with exuberance, intensity, imaginative programming, and exceptional artistry. ETHEL has collaborated with such luminaries as David Byrne, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kaki King, Todd Rundgren, Philip Glass, Julia Wolfe, Phil Kline, Svjetlana Bukvich, David Lang, John Zorn, Missy Mazzoli, Anna Clyne, Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Over the past five years, ETHEL has premiered 150+ new works, many of them commissioned by the quartet.
Set I- Kip Jones (solo violin)
Set II- Kip Jones (violin) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (piano, rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)
Whether he’s rapping, composing, performing, teaching kids to beatbox or working his former job as a youth counselor, it’s clear the man most commonly known as Carnage The Executioner was born to do two things: instruct and entertain. Musicians, dancers, DJ’s, poets and television hosts who have worked with Carnage recognize his dedication to his craft and would confirm that he doesn’t disappoint. Ask emcees about Carnage’s skill level and you’ll find out that the phrase, “he’s your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper,” actually fits … Always moving forward, Carnage continues to expand his art and build the Hecatomb crew – a slew of like-minded artists who share his passion to create honest, raw Hip-Hop music. A student and fan in his humble beginnings, Carnage stays true to the culture that both helped to change and save his life.
Set 1. Carnage the Executioner (voice, beatboxing, electronics) Set 2. Carnage with John C.S. Keston (piano, Rhodes, synths) and Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics)
On June 26, 2019 Sound / Simulacra‘s very special guest is drummer, Jay Epstein. Please join us at Jazz Central Studios, 407 Central Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN. Music begins at 8:30pm.
I’ve put in several decades performing, recording, & touring in this jazz game. After college, I studied polyrhythmic concepts in Manhattan with Barry Altschul, the drummer in Chick Corea’s Circle. Lived in Hollywood, Oklahoma City, Montana, Miami, Minneapolis, and played in house bands for 5 years on several cruise ship lines. Been on 7 European tours with pianists Bill Carrothers & Giacomo Aula. Shared a few choruses with Rocky Robbings, Barney Kessel, Roseanna Vitro, Manfredo Fest, Sheila Jordan, Terry Gibbs, Greg Abate, Claudio Roditi, Gary Foster, Eric Alexander, Richie Cole, JoAnne Brackeen, Ernie Watts, Wayne Johnson, Karrin Allyson, Kenny Werner, Howard Levy, Bruce Henry, Toots Thielemans, Avashai Cohen, Bob Dorough, and Sarah Vaughan. My CDs, ‘Long Ago’ & ‘Easy Company’, featuring bassist Anthony Cox and pianist Bill Carrothers, have garnered luminous reviews in the international press. Current bands include Red Planet, Klezmerica, Framework, Firebell, Tall Tales, Andrew Walesch, & Sam Miltich. I’ve endorsed Bosphorus Cymbals since 1997.
– Jay Epstein
Set I – Three Duets
i. Jay Epstein (drums) + Cody McKinney (bass, vocals, electronics) ii. John Keston (piano, synth, rhodes, electronics) + Cody McKinney (bass, vocals, electronics) iii. John Keston (piano, synth, rhodes, electronics) + Jay Epstein (drums)
Set II – Trio
Jay Epstein (drums) + Cody McKinney ( bass, vocals, electronics) + John Keston (piano, synth, rhodes, electronics)
