Devil Rock in the Monongahela River

this devil rock was video recorded using a G1 Android device on July 19, 2009.

Cloud video for Hothouse 2009

this video was shot, processed and edited by Edgar Um Bucholtz in August 2009. the cloud footage has been sped up by 500% to 1500%. it was produced for projection at Hothouse 2009 as part of Thommy Conroy's decor. Hothouse is an annual fundraiser for the Pittsburgh philanthropic non-profit organization, The Sprout Fund.

in addition to making this cloud video, Edgar Um Bucholtz was the music coordinator for Hothouse 2009. Zombi, Philadelphyinz, Harlan Twins, Humanaut, Flamenco Pittsburgh and Sam McUmber were the featured musical acts.





http://www.sproutfund.org/hothouse/

lighting design and video projector installation by Rob Long and and the excellent folks at Clear Story.

enjoy the silence.

"I Exalt We (Backyard Orgy)" by J. Fox and Edgar Um Bucholtz

this is the first part (of three parts) of an experimental video by J. Fox and Edgar Um Bucholtz. it was shot and edited in Pittsburgh in the Summer of 1996. it was publicly screened only once (at The Andy Warhol Museum in 1996.)

the soundtrack was produced by Edgar Um Bucholtz at the studios of WRCT FM. it is a manipulated recording by jazz vocalist Shirley Horn.

this video was made the summer that J. Fox and Edgar Um Bucholtz became domestic and artistic partners. this partnership lasted approx. 7 years. they are remain close friends.

it was shot on VHS-C and transferred to mini-DV for editing.

parts two and three have minor adult content, so i uploaded them via xTube. xTube's embed code is not getting any love from google today. here are the links:

part two

part three

Edgar Um Bucholtz "Solo for WRCT" (2009)

Edgar Um Bucholtz performs "Solo for WRCT" (with assistance from Josh Beyer on mixing console/production and Marcus Kim on two Denon CD players.)

This piece was improvised and composed for broadcast on WRCT as part of Josh Beyer's "Local Solo Improvisation Summer Radio Series."

Edgar Um Bucholtz reads "Writing Through Derek Bailey's IMPROVISATION," a mesostic text composed by Edgar Um Bucholtz for the 2003 HIGH ZERO Festival of Experimental Improvised Music in Baltimore. Accompanying the reading are excerpts of Edgar Um Bucholtz improvising on cornet and miscellaneous objects (recorded at The Nerve on Monday July 13th 2009) and on soft synths and drum machine (via LOGIC STUDIO PRO; recorded on Monday July 13th 2009 in the attic at 4222 Calvin St. in Pittsburgh.)

The piece in full was recorded at WRCT on the evening of Tuesday July 14th.

It was broadcast on Thursday July 23rd.

Thanks to Josh Beyer for asking me to do this. Thanks to Marcus Kim for helping out. Thanks to John Cartwright for letting me use his MicroKorg as a controller.

I apologize for mispronouncing "scherzos" and "passacaglia"!!!!

Telecorps "Reaching Out" Bootleg audio cassette

this audio cassette from 1992 (or 1991?) was the first self-issued Telecorps release--even though we called it a "bootleg." it was our attempt to make a live record as shitty as "Confusion Is Sex." we succeeded hugely. it is pure shit. it consists of audio edits of Telecorps rehearsing in the living room of the band house on Hobart Street in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. i made these edits using the shittiest tape decks available and without listening to the source material nor what i was editing.

our friend, songwriter/guitarist Gary Anderson who could never quite grasp what Telecorps was ever trying to do, commented on over-hearing these rehearsals that it seemed we were "really reaching out." hence, the title.

House of Duh was a conceptual and real noise and rock label run by Ray-C-Ray of the bands Propane Beef Dog, Salt Chunk Mary, Telecorps and Infinite Slab of Electric. this release is House of Duh 98.

the cover design and song titles are by Markus P. Spanglestein of Revo/O.R.I. (Edgar Um Bucholtz may have assisted.)

the only time Telecorps played State College (on the "Healthy Lifestyles" mini-tour with Fly Wallpaper a.k.a. Giorgio, Salt Chunk Mary, and Tiny Little Help featuring Duane Jones), we gave away or sold this fake bootleg cassette. Edgar Um Bucholtz's step brother, John Archer, was at a house party in State College a few years later and found one of these cassettes underneath a bathroom sink. or maybe it was a toilet.

listen at your own risk.

"Life In Aliquippa" (1993)

This is video cutup primarily features footage of Michael Johnsen, Brian Dean Richmond and Edgar Um Bucholtz performing in Aliquippa, PA in 1993 as part of Michelle Illuminato's Aliquippa Embraces Art. The venue for this trio performance was a large empty, decrepit department store in downtown Aliquippa.

For his performance, Edgar Um Bucholtz spent many days researching the story of the town of Aliquippa (at the Aliquippa Library, at the Carnegie Library in Oakland and in the Labor archives at Hillman Library.) For example, he learned of Queen Aliquippa (for whom the city is named and whose name translates as "large hat" for which she was famous for wearing), a leader of the Seneca tribe of American Indians who became an important British Ally leading up to the French and Indian War. He learned of the many African-American families who were moved en masse to Aliquippa in the 1970's to work at the Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill--only to be left mostly without jobs after the collapse of the Steel Industry in the 1980s.

In the performance, he read this text he compiled about the origins and history of the city of Aliquippa. He sat at a table in the middle front of the large space. His voice was sent via microphone and cable to the very back of the room into a 30 second delay and then into an amplification speaker system. The very apparent delay between his live reading voice and his amplified delayed voice was disorienting.

Michael Johnsen also sat at the table with a brass microscope & some video equipment (all equipment, including Bucholtz's was powered via one dangerously warm 200 ft blue extension cord dressed through the wet and sagging floor). On a small monitor, visitors were able to observe the teeming microscopic "Life in Aliquippa" contained in sample of ditchwater collected behind the venue. These were tough times for people in Aliquippa, reflected in the general tenor of the other work in the show, but the protozoa seemed to be doing quite well. Some children asked if "they" were predicting the weather.
Michael also projected a 16mm black & white film loop of sow bugs.

After Edgar Um Bucholtz finished reading his text, he, Michael and Brian Dean Richmond repeatedly played and improvised on three tone rows. Michael played clarinet. Brian played trombone. Edgar played cornet. Edgar Um Bucholtz derived these tone rows from the letters in the various spellings of the name Aliquippa using a alpha-tonal transcription method he devised.

This video cutup also also features bits and pieces of a video by Edgar Um Bucholtz called "Noise In System." The video ends with a bit of Christian evangelical TV re-edited by Edgar Um Bucholtz.

Fuck Telecorps "RedGreenBlueWhite"

video, audio and edit by Edgar Um Bucholtz, 2009.

this video was shot and edited in Pittsburgh on Monday July 6th 2009.

the audio soundtrack consists of edits of solo improvisations on multi-various electronics by Edgar Um Bucholtz recorded in 1994-1996 live on WRCT 88.3 FM Pittsburgh.

the audio was edited for video on Monday July 6th 2009.

this video was produced to be the Fuck Telecorps set of a concert organized by Mike Kasunic at the Nerve featuring Caboladies, Tusk Lord, Sundogpeacehouse and Fuck Telecorps. at the concert the video was projected on a white wall. the audio was played loudly through a stereo PA.

this video is dedicated to Mike Kasunic, Marcus Kim and Lauri Mancuso.



flyer by Mike Kasunic.

Fox And His Friends: New Millennium Post-Gay Photography 2003

announcement card by Daniel Minskey. image taken from the film "Mahogany" (1975).


"Fox And His Friends: New Millennium Post-Gay Photography" was an art show organized by Edgar Um Bucholtz and installed at Pittsburgh's Garfield Artworks gallery in May/June 2003.

the first part of the title of this show is a reference to a 1975 film of the same name (English translation) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

the artists included in this show were: Bruce LaBruce, Conrad Ventur, Slava Mogutin, AsianPunkBoy (a.k.a. Terrence Koh), Timothy Dowling, Terry Young, J. Fox and Richard Orjis.

(artist Terry Lewis is listed on the announcement card, but his work was not exhibited as it was very unfortunately damaged during shipment.)

I, Edgar Um Bucholtz, was a guest curator of Garfield Artworks for this show. the primary curator of Garfield Artworks at this time was Lauri Mancuso.

below is a series of installation shots. (unfortunately, they are fairly low res.)

thanks to Lauri Mancuso for letting me do this show, helping to install it and taking these installation shots.





installation views




J. Fox "I Dart NY" (detail) 2003




Slava Mogutin



Slava Mogutin




installation view




Conrad Ventur (portraits of Phiiliip and Debbie from Avenue D)




installation view




Terry Young



Terry Young




Richard Orjis




Timothy Dowling



Timothy Dowling



Timothy Dowling




installation view (with Conrad Ventur portraits of Spencer Product and Melissa Burns in foreground)




AsianPunkBoy (a.k.a. Terrence Koh)



AsianPunkBoy (a.k.a. Terrence Koh)



AsianPunkBoy (a.k.a. Terrence Koh)




Bruce LaBruce



Bruce LaBruce



Bruce LaBruce

below are two short video clips relating to this show.

the first video clip was taken during the installation of "Fox And His Friends: New Millennium Post-Gay Photography."

in this video clip are: Terry Young, Jeremiah Brace, Timothy Dowling and Tracy Stewart.



the second video clip contains live footage of the band Ludus Lovestyle performing at Modern Formations gallery as part of a concert organized in conjunction with the opening of "Fox And His Friends." the date of the opening and concert was Friday May 30th, 2003.

headlining the concert was SSION from Kentucky. opening the concert was Ben Greene's experimental project, Cachexia.

this video clip also has footage (shot in "nightvision" after the concert) in the "Fox And His Friends" installation. it is the only video documentation yet found that gives a sense of the finished installation of the show.

appearing in the video clip are: Lesley (of Ludus Lovestyle), Justin (of Ludus Lovestyle), Terry Young, Ben Greene, Edgar Um Bucholtz and Alec Smith. the video camera was operated by Tom Hall.

Thurs. May 28th: improvised sounds of JACK WRIGHT + BOB MARSH and more...

Thursday May 28th

an evening of improvised electro-acoustic sounds at The Nerve

with

JACK WRIGHT + BOB MARSH
improvised reeds + cello/voice
http://www.springgardenmusic.com/

MICHAEL JOHNSEN + MARGARET COX
home-built electronics, saw, magnetic cards, etc.

FUCK TELECORPS
(Steve BOYLE + Edgar UM BUCHOLTZ + Jim STORCH)
improvised percussion/etc. + cornet/etc.

JOSH BEYER
homemade guitar manipulations

$7 or so

admission begins at 6pm.

live sounds begin at 7pm.

performances will finish by 10pm.

The Nerve: an art and performance venue
500 Dargan Street (at Minerva St.)
Pittsburgh, PA 15224

"Playing together since 1986, Jack Wright (alto & soprano saxophone, contra-alto clarinet) and Bob Marsh (cello, violin and processed voice) really convey how theirs is an "improvisational music that reflects and celebrates the mutual dependence of the players", to quote the liner notes (of their Birds in the Hand CD release.) There's an almost physical feel of strict interplay between the instruments, though in a realm of sonic cubism, with broken lines, abrupt changes and jigsaw dialogues; and the key word must be joy, the joy of creative jamming bewteen two long-time friends. Something clearly audible even if you're not a jazz expert." - Eugenio Maggi

noise show in Pittsburgh with Cock Scene Investigator

tonight Friday May 8th

the first power electronics/noise show at the Nerve

with

CHAOS CHARACTER
solo digi-noise from Providence, RI
http://www.myspace.com/characterchaos

JAMES AMOEBA
solo neon-noise from NYC
http://www.myspace.com/jamesamoeba

FLEA APPARITIONS
solo anemic noise from Pgh
http://www.myspace.com/fleaapparitions

HANDHOLDER
solo porno noise from Pgh

COCK SCENE INVESTIGATOR
terrible noise trio from Pgh/Monroeville
(Nick Painter, Joe Roemer + Edgar Um Bucholtz)

7pm - 11pm

$5

all-ages

The Nerve
500 Dargan Street (at Minerva St.)
Pittsburgh, PA 15224

(flyer by Marcus Kim)

Um Bucholtz "My Little Cow & Me"

this is an 8 track analog tape composition utilizing an Akai S900 sampler that was realized at Carnegie Mellon University's Electronic Music Studio in the College of Fine Arts. it was my final project for my second semester studying electronic music composition with composer Reza Vali. the year was 1989. i was 18 or 19 and pre-Um.

Reza Vali appreciated my "agressiveness with the devices," but he thought i went over the top when i played the piece in public for the first (and only) time at CFA's Alumni Concert Hall. i accompanied my audio with the projection of a video piece i shot and edited (featuring amongst other imagery a toy cow from my childhood and video of my girlfriend at the time with tape over her mouth, egads!) two performer friends of mine sat on either side of the projection screen doing lord knows what (was fire involved?) the last minute improvised maximalism of the whole thing amused me at the time.

this piece incorporates a sample of my grandmother, Fanny Jean Harrell née Flanagan, speaking to me in 1972 ("What about those paints of mine?"), a James Brown horn riff sample (from "I've Got Money"), samples of people answering the phone at randomly-chosen CMU extensions ("This is Mike Snyder", "Mathematics") and my own voice hooting (in tribute to Lee "Scratch" Perry?), moaning and singing bits of "Blue Skies" (composed in 1926 by Irving Berlin, but known to me from Willie Nelson's version from 1978.)

this version comes from a cheapo audio cassette dub i made of the original 2 track 1/4" tape master (now lost, i think.)

there was a very brief audio drop-out at the end of this dub that i removed using Final Cut Pro.

Um Bucholtz "Chord Organ Improvisation"

this is a solo improvisation on a Magnus Chord Organ Model 670 done in a minimalist style. it was recorded in my 3rd floor bedroom on Hobart Street in Pittsburgh in 1990. it was the summer, i think.

i believe i was inspired in part by Steve Reich's Four Organs (1970.) unlike that famous piece, this piece's rasion d'etre seems to be the changing tonal beats heard throughout as the notes change in proximity to each other and to the constant tonal cluster drone.

it has a mediative tone--which is only somewhat disturbed by my finger flub at almost 6 minutes in.

Um Bucholtz "Fish Woman" (stereo disco mix)

this is a solo recording done live in one take in my bedroom in 1991 (or 1990?)

it's my attempt at a punk pop song.

all of the sounds, except my voice, come from vinyl records that i manipulated to make skip. (the only record i recognize is Tommy James and the Shondells.)

soon after i recorded it, i dubbed it to a cart at WRCT 88.3 FM. it received some moderate airplay.

Telecorps "99/33" (video documentation edit)

Telecorps performed "99/33" as the opening act for a concert (organized and promoted by Manny Theiner) featuring The Haters, Caroliner Rainbow Oblivion and The Spo-its on August 13, 1991 at the Birmingham Lofts gallery in the South Side of Pittsburgh.

in this composition, Telecorps performed 99 songs in 33 minutes. the start and stop times of each song were pre-determined using chance operations. no individual song could be longer than 9 seconds. musicians followed a timed score and a clock. (due to the way that the score was composed, individual songs could sometimes overlap and create longer than 9 second periods of sound-making.)

various mics placed around the musicians fed the sounds of each song into a mixing console which was manipulated (per song) by a recording engineer who followed his own timed score (adjusting mic volume input levels, equalization and stereo panning.)

the (manipulated) sounds of each song were recorded to individual numbered cassettes (#1 - 99.) members of a volunteer assembly line packaged each song cassette as it was recorded into manila envelopes and used chance operations (via a program written in the BASIC language for a Commodore 64 home computer), local phone books and a Pittsburgh postal code book to determine mailing addresses in the greater Pittsburgh area for each cassette.

each cassette package also contained a photo-copied page (also selected using chance operations) from Jacques Attali's book "Noise: The Political Economy of Music" with a Telecorps 99/33 song chart on the reverse side.

immediately after the end of the Telecorps performance, 78 completed cassette packages were taken to the U.S. Post Office in the South Side and mailed.

21 of the 99 cassette packages were not completed at the end of the performance and were not mailed.

over the course of the following two years, 10 of the 78 cassette packages were returned due to various postal irregularities.

of the 68 cassette packages that were received at the selected addresses, Telecorps received no replies to the Telecorps P.O. Box return address listed on the packages.

for this performance, Telecorps was:

Edgar Um Bucholtz: voice, Atari 800XL BASIC programming, 99/33 scores, process, audience handout design
Raq. V. B.: bass, bandages
Ray C Ray: drum set
Sam Ward: drum set, clock
Oliver Kollar: electric guitar, fx, clock
Bob Kollar: Commodore 64 BASIC programming, postal address divination
Sarah Wilkes: address divination, addressing
Kate Glicksberg: labeling, packaging
Gary Miklusek: tape deck operator
Marty Miklusek: tape deck operator
Ky Kim: audio engineer
Matt Marcus: asst. audio engineer
Missy Galore: video documentation, costume design for Edgar Um Bucholtz
Jen Saffron: still photographer

this is a 7 minute edit (made on March 28, 2009) of the original 50 minute video documentation master. this edit features approximately 20 songs (of the 99 performed.) the sound for this video was recorded in-camera and thus is not ideal.

the radio music that can be heard in the background during the latter half of this video edit is the result of members of the Spo-its who attempted to sabotage our performance with easy listening AM sounds.



special thanks to Manny Theiner and WRCT.

i plan to photograph and digitize the audio on the unsent and returned cassettes. i'll post it on here when i get to it.

Fuck Um Bucholtz "Tempelcorps Ass Rash 93" (rough edit)

Fuck Um Bucholtz "Tempelcorps Ass Rash 93" a.k.a. "(P)(r)(E)(A)(Z)(A)(N)(S)(e)" (2009 rough edit)

this is a 2009 rough edit of a live Edgar Um Bucholtz solo electronics performance on WRCT 88.3 FM in the wee hours of the morning of an unknown day of 1993.

instruments used: Casio CZ-101 (in system mode), voice, analog and digital delays, parametric equalizers, feedback, tape loops and misc. other FX boxes.

this performance was inspired by sounds on the "Kosmische Musik" compilation released in 1972 on the Ohr label of Germany.
thanks to Dave Shim for turning me on to this compilation.

this recording is a cross between screeching power electronics and slowly-evolving Kosmische Musik. the original master is approximately 60 minutes. i edited out many of the transitional sections. i would like to cut it down more at some point.

listen to this the way it was created: at VERY LOUD VOLUME.

notes from the original cassette master (shown below):

"LIVE UP-UM SYNTH THESIS 1993 (NOSIED)"

"Cosmo Synth Musick (Please to Destroy)"



---------------------------------------------

April 27, 2009 update:

i re-uploaded this track. it should now be in stereo.

Fuck Telecorps "Who Shit (Inverse Redux)"

this is dub of a rough 2-track mixdown of a 4-track tape composition by Edgar Um Bucholtz from 1993. it is named "Who Shit" because the master was recorded over someone's homemade cassette of The Who. the tape i found this mixdown on is pictured below.

it was mixed down to stereo by Edgar Um Bucholtz from a Tascam 4-track in Bob Kollar's house on Chesterfield Street in Oakland on August 13, 1993.

it was digitized and converted to mp3 on March 25, 2009.

-----------------------------------------------------------

April 23, 2009 update:

i realized yesterday that i mistakenly uploaded this in mono. it should be in hard stereo.

it should now be fixed.

Telecorps live on New Year's Eve 1992 (rough edit)

this is a two camera edit of a live performance by Telecorps in the basement of the Turmoil Room in Wilkinsburg/Pittsburgh on New Year's Eve 1992.

a projected film-loop by MIchael Johnsen accompanied the performance.

on this occasion Telecorps was:

Edgar Um Bucholtz - voice, cornet, orders, timing clock, jumping about
Missy Galore - voice, tinsel
Raq V.B. - voice, ass cheeks, candle-phallus
Ray C. Ray - drums, skree-tar, fx
Sharyn Frederick - bass, hair
Buffy Um Kollar - bowed dulcimer, dominatrix outfit
Ian Williams - guitar, thrashing about, drums
Jen Saffron - violin
Catherine Randecker - electric blinking bug alien
Gary Miklusek - rhythm guitar, hat flaps
Michael Johnsen - film-loop

plus

taunting by Damon Che

video by Gern and a tripod assisted by Michael Johnsen(?)

The Feral Family play in the background at the beginning when Michael is speaking.

This video documents the only time Telecorps rocked in a live setting. It was an accident.

Ray C. Ray plays drums on the first half with Ian Williams on guitar. For the second half, they switch.

Thanks to Brian Dean Richmond for asking us to play this gig.