"Sub-chaotic...refined, and well-balanced. This is the kind of music that makes a statement as an art form rather than adhering to traditional musical boundaries. Kind of reminded me of when Bootsy Collins and Buckethead got together."
--Tim Green, [+]"Sub-chaotic...refined, and well-balanced. This is the kind of music that makes a statement as an art form rather than adhering to traditional musical boundaries. Kind of reminded me of when Bootsy Collins and Buckethead got together."
--Tim Green, on garageband.com
"Two words: noise art."
-Melissa London, Project 12:01
It's Chicago, about 1998. At least, it feels like 1998. Joe Griffin and Chris Petkus, each pushing the edge of his own minimalistic envelope, meet while working on an indie film whose non-existence, they both agree, would have been a blessing for the universe. Griffin and Petkus discover they both enjoy the works of David Lynch, Brian Eno and Frank Zappa, and want to create experimental music. Griffin likes to juxtapose opposites -- like recording a voice reading Thomas Aquinas' highly structured philosophical proofs over a bed of random and chaotic sounds. Petkus likes to hit or strum or pluck unusual items, just to see what the sound will be. In late 2000, they make it a weekly habit, this "creating sounds" thing, and set only one firm rule -- each session will begin and complete a single piece of music. They play with sounds, twisting and turning them to see where they lead. Out of these weekly adventures, Donny Who Loved Bowling is born. A full-length CD, "Tree Fort," is planned, and the second part of the project begins, as they carve out the time and space they need to let the magic deepen and find new surreal expressions. The One Session/One Song rule is discarded in favor of a more relaxed randomness. Petkus returns to Chicago from his new home in Austin for a week in 2001, and the two rent an abandoned bar on one of those Chicago streets that for more than a century has heard each new wave of immigrants sing its first American song. Behind that bar's black door, they bring their instruments, set up their equipment and make music. Sleep is rare. By 7 a.m. each day, Petkus has listened repeatedly to the last night's efforts and has thoughts for Griffin. By 10 a.m., they are back at their studio, developing, pushing, playing. In seven days, "Tree Fort" is done. "Tree Fort" cannot be pigeonholed as a particular genre or subset of experimental music. It doesn't take itself that seriously. Rather, it creates a day-tour through the
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