Psalm Zero's Charlie Looker to kick off residency at The Stone w/ mems of Krallice, Battles, Azar Swan, Tim Berne, more

photo: Psalm Zero at Saint Vitus in 2014 (more by Greg Cristman)

NYC experimental musician Charlie Looker (currently of Psalm Zero, formerly of Extra Life, Zs and others) is curating and performing at The Stone from January 13 to 18. As you’d probably expect, he’s got a lot of cool collaborators lined up. The full schedule is below, but here’s a few highlights:

The 10 PM show on 1/13 has Charlie playing with bassist Tim Dahl (Child Abuse, etc) and drummer Weasel Walter (Behold… The Arctopus, etc), who are also both joining Lydia Lunch at her Retrovirus show three days earlier. For that show they’re promising “mangled non-songs drawing from no-wave, free jazz, and war metal, with this highly accomplished/demented rhythm section.”

On 1/14, Charlie’s playing with guitar great Mary Halvorson (who’s also a Weasel Walter collaborator and recently opened for King Buzzo) at both the 8 PM and 10 PM shows, but the late show is especially exciting, bringing Krallice guitarist Mick Barr and former Battles guitarist/vocalist Tyondai Braxton into the fold.

On 1/15, Charlie plays the 8 PM show solo, and then brings his Psalm Zero bandmate Andrew Hock with him for the late show, as well as Jamie Saft (organ, electronics) and Merzbow/Venetian Snares collaborator Balazs Pandi (percussion).

On 1/16, the 10 PM show will have Charlie’s Northern Spy-signed band Seaven Teares joined by two exciting guest vocalists, Caleb Burhans of Alarm Will Sound and Zohra Atash of Azar Swan.

On 1/17, Charlie and Andrew Hock are playing solo sets at the 8 PM show, and then joining forces for an acoustic Psalm Zero set at the 10 PM show. New songs are promised, and $15 gets you into both shows for that night.

Finally, the last night (1/18) the 8 PM show features an ensemble that includes Andrew Hock and many others, playing a brand new 45-minute long composition that Charlie wrote. Then the 10 PM show will have one of Charlie’s other bands, Period, joined by legendary saxist Tim Berne, who’s been active since the ’70s and a collaborator of Nels Cline and many others.

Full schedule for Charlie Looker’s residency and more info below…

—

THE STONE RESIDENCIES
CHARLIE LOOKER
JAN 13–18

1/13 Tuesday
8 pm
Charlie Looker and Darius Jones
Charlie Looker (guitar) Darius Jones (sax)
Having developed a deep rapport over the years through Jones’ frequent guest appearances with Looker’s band Period, the two perform here for the first time in a duo setting.

10 pm
Charlie Looker, Tim Dahl, and Weasel Walter
Charlie Looker (guitar) Tim Dahl (bass guitar, electronics) Weasel Walter (drums)
Mangled non-songs drawing from no-wave, free jazz, and war metal, with this highly accomplished/demented rhythm section.

1/14 Wednesday
8 pm
Charlie Looker and Mary Halvorson
Charlie Looker, Mary Halvorson (guitars)
Though they have been friends since high school, Looker and Halvorson have never performed together before. Tonight they explore both open improvisation and abstracted jazz standards.

10 pm
Charlie Looker, Mary Halvorson, Mick Barr, and Tyondai Braxton
Charlie Looker, Mary Halvorson, Mick Barr, Tyondai Braxton (electric guitars)
First time collaboration, performing a set of Looker’s compositions prepared specially for the group, channeling minimalism and improvisation.

1/15 Thursday
8 pm
Charlie Looker Solo Guitar
Charlie Looker (acoustic and electric guitars)
A rare performance of Looker’s pieces for solo guitar.

10 pm
Charlie Looker, Andrew Hock, Jamie Saft, and Balazs Pandi
Charlie Looker, Andrew Hock (electric guitars) Jamie Saft (organ, electronics) Balazs Pandi (drums)
Looker and Hock (of Psalm Zero) team up with downtown luminary Jamie Saft (Black Shabbis, Electric Masada) and Budapest-based percussion virtuoso Balacz Pandi (Merzbow, Venetian Snares).

1/16 Friday
8 pm
Charlie Looker, Caleb Burhans, Robbie Lee, and Travis Laplante
Charlie Looker (electric guitar) Caleb Burhans (violin) Robbie Lee (portative organ, woodwinds) Travis Laplante (tenor sax)
First-time free improvisation collaboration of these four unique musicians. The group’s diverse collective credits include work with Alarm Will Sound, Newspeak, Seaven Teares, Howling Hex, Little Women, and Battle Trance.

10 pm
Seaven Teares & Friends
Charlie Looker (guitars, voice) Amirtha Kidambi, Caleb Burhans, Zohra Atash (voices) Robbie Lee (portative organ, guitars, bass clarinet) Russell Greenberg (percussion)
Formed in 2010, Seaven Teares combines elements of dark pop, early music, and post-industrial folk. Their debut album “Power Ballads” was released in 2013 by Northern Spy Records. Tonight they premier new songs, both originals and covers, and will be joined by special guest vocalists Caleb Burhans (of Alarm Will Sound) and Zohra Atash (of Azar Swan).

1/17 Saturday
8 pm
Andrew Hock Solo / Charlie Looker Solo Songs
Andrew Hock (electric guitar) Charlie Looker (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, voice)
Two solo sets by the members of Psalm Zero. Hock performs his dark, contemplative, loop-based compositions for electric guitar, from his upcoming album for the Stab/Repeat label. Looker plays solo versions of deep cuts from the Extra Life songbook, as well as several covers of Britpop, post-punk, and early music classics.

10 pm
Psalm Zero Acoustic
Charlie Looker (acoustic guitar, piano, voice) Andrew Hock (acoustic guitar, voice)
A one-time all-acoustic performance by new acclaimed art metal duo Psalm Zero. Performing re-worked versions of songs from their 2014 debut album “The Drain” (Profound Lore Records), and premiering a few brand new songs.

**FIFTEEN DOLLARS gets you into both sets this evening**

1/18 Sunday
8 pm
The Pleasures of a Normal Man
Peter Evans, Gareth Flowers (trumpets) Jacob Garchik (tenor trombone) Andrew Hock, Mario Diaz de Leon (electric guitars) Mike Pride (drum set, percussion) Josh Modney (violin) Caley Monahon-Ward (violin) Karen Waltuch (viola) Mariel Roberts (cello) Pascal Niggenkemper (contrabass) Charlie Looker (composer, synthesizer)
Premiere of a brand new composition by Charlie Looker. About 45 minutes long, this drone-based piece combines the influences of French spectral composition, minimalism, early music.

10 pm
Period featuring Tim Berne
Charlie Looker (baritone guitar) Chuck Bettis (electronics) Mike Pride (drums) Tim Berne (alto sax)
Since 2006, Period has been making heavy, austere, semi-improvised instrumental music rooted in metal, jazz, noise, psych, and drone music. Their 2013 record was released by Public Eyesore Records. Often working with a rotating cast of guest musicians, tonight Period is joined for the first time by downtown legend Tim Berne.