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This idea was also first conceived for the Toronto show. Earlier in the year I had been looking through an ornithological field guide at Jim Haynes’ house and had discovered it contained long lists of transcribed birdsong; it immediately struck me how similar these transcriptions were to Kurt Schwitters’ ‘Ursonata’ and some of his other phonetic poems. I copied out the most interesting examples onto scrap paper, and while gathering materials in Toronto I found some nice handmade notebooks, transferred different extracts into each of them and painted bird icons onto the covers.

At this part of the performance we would pick up our notebooks, wander into the audience and do overlapping, Ursonata-eque recitations of the bird transcriptions that would increase in intensity until they became nothing but inarticulate howling; we would then throw the notebooks aside and converge on a pre-selected member of the audience (pre-selected by the band, but without the particular individual’s knowledge or consent). For this show the selected audient was Moe Staiano, who was seized in mid-chatter (grrr) with a lady-friend, carried to the stage-area, thrown into a chair and tied down with a long coil of text-inscribed rope, beaten with slabs of raw pork and then repeatedly shat upon. Well, ok -- there was not actually any pork or beatings or shatting involved: he was just tied to a chair, shouted at for a bit and then left there for the remainder of the set.

Unfortunately, in this direct-through-the-board recording the bird recitations are only subtly present beneath the backing field recording, but I’m sure they’re audible enough to give a general idea. Incidentally, the field recording used here is one of several I’ve made of the spectacular dawn chorus that takes place every spring morning in Cooloorta.

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lyrics

text:
Teef kitsif, Dree-yurr bree, PEEawee peeyoo
Pee-didip plit
RITZbew rrr, EEP-yew rrrrip
Whit
Ree-BEEa rrreep, Reeeoa pep
Tsi-pik, Swi-urk, Grr-vik peek
Jr-vrip tidoo
Whit
Tsip Klseewi
Ptik
Tsee weep, PIdew piDEW, PIdew pit,
Seeeridip seebr, Pidiweew pidirep
Pdeertuee
Quittta Queeto, Queep KRRREEp
PrEErr-prdrdrr, Wrrp-didider
Whip brrrg, Uurk-iik
Pep pep pep, Pehr pehr peehr
Peehr pehr, Pep pep pep
Pe PAA pe PAA pe PAA
Tip too too, Towidgawid, Teeeooip,
Seee sitsweeda, Sowit-seee, Sreee
Pidi pew pew ppedrrr, Pididi peeeer
Hweeeew whit
PrEErrr-prdrdrr, Wrrp-didider
Whip brrg
(etc)

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credits

from Public Performance #7: Lobot Gallery, Oakland {2005​-​06​-​24}, released October 26, 2011
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Greg Scharpen: birdsonata, assault & bindery
John Scharpen: birdsonata, assault & bindery
M. S. Waldron: birdsonata, assault & bindery, field recordings

license

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