Alabaster Museum Presents:
Sir Richard Bishop
Robert Millis
Curanderos
Free (Donations Accepted and Appreciated)
Sir Richard Bishop:
Richard Bishop is an experimental guitarist whose improvisations and compositions often reflect the shadow worlds of India, the Middle East, North Africa, and other points along the Gypsy trail.
Richard is perhaps best known as a founding member (along with brother Alan Bishop) of experimental ethnic-improv pioneers and underground tricksters Sun City Girls, who for nearly 30 years have produced an extensive discography of over 50 full length albums, 20 one-hour cassettes and a dozen 7" records. Sun City Girls formed in 1981 after the Bishop brothers' stint in the group Paris 1942 which also featured J. Akkari and former Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker.
Richard's first solo record, Salvador Kali, was released by John Fahey's esteemed Revenant label in 1998 under the moniker Sir Richard Bishop (the name stuck). In 2005, Bishop began performing relentlessly as a solo artist, playing throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States. In May of 2010, Drag City released the album False Flag by Rangda, a new group featuring Bishop, Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Comets on Fire), and Chris Corsano (Flower-Corsano Duo, Flaherty/Corsano, Jandek, Bjork, etc). In September of 2012, a second Rangda album came into existence, this one entitled Formerly Extinct.
Richard was also a co-founder of the Sublime Frequencies label (with Alan Bishop and Hisham Mayet). The label, whose mission is dedicated to acquiring and releasing obscure sights and sounds from Africa, India, S.E. Asia and beyond, began in 2003 and currently has over 65 releases to its credit.
"Bishop is a splendid acoustic guitarist with a sure touch and an
impressive vocabulary gleaned from the Spanish flamenco and North
Indian classical traditions with a bit of Belgian Django Reinhardt's
gypsy swing jazz mixed in." - Bill Meyer (Ink Blot Magazine)
Robert Millis:
I have a golden childhood memory of an attic in a very old house.
Crawling through the dark, creaking front part of the attic I found a
room bathed in sunlight, with a pile of forgotten books. On top of
this book throne sat an old wind-up gramophone. This memory informs my
work: the sense of exploration, the secrets old books and 78rpm
records hold in their designs, the scars of their age, their receding
sounds and stories.
I am a founding member of Climax Golden Twins and AFCGT, a solo artist
and a frequent contributor to the Sublime Frequencies label. I have
scored long and short films, created sound installations, produced and
designed audio projects, and released many LPs and CDs. My work veers
haphazardly between sound art, music concrete, instrumental, improv,
field recording, song and collage. I have a deep interest in folk and
traditional music, so imagine Pete Seeger trying to cover Revolution 9
by the Beatles.
During 2012 and 2013 I was a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar in
India studying Indian music, sound art and the early recording
industry.
Curanderos:
Psychedelic improvisational blowout with members of Bardo Pond and
Kohoutek. Kosmische raga drone, heavy on the electronics and alien
percussion, traversing the same hypnodelic territory both bands are
known for. RIYL: Ash Ra Tempel, Agitation Free, Guru Guru, Trad Gras
Och Stenar, Taj Mahal Travellers, etc.- bio
links:
http://www.sirrichardbishop.net/
Admission is FREE (Donations Accepted and Appreciated)