Artist description Ezekiel Talbot performs a combination of improvised and composed music, and particularly explores the hinterland between the two. Just about anything can happen when he combines guitars, voice, toys, homemade electronics, found objects, and computer. Raised in the Seattle area, he's performed around Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area, where he currently resides, and every show is unique. What stays consistent is the way he uses his diverse background in Northwest rock, free improvisation, contemporary classical, industrial noise, heavy metal and various cultural traditions to move among the frontiers of any box you try to put his music in. It's often a delicate web - of electric and acoustic, otherworldly and urban, humorous and serious, traditional and experimental - that creates a tension in his music. Sometimes this tension bursts into a high energy/noise-oriented conflation, other times it subsides into a psychedelic lullaby. The sonic result, rather than upsetting or trying to shock the listener, is something strangely familiar, yet provocative.

Music Style Experimental/Rock/Weird/Improvised/Lo-Fi/College/Classical

Musical Influences Frank Zappa, Fred Frith, Einsturzende Neubauten, John Cage, Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Bach, Coil, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen

Similar Artists Tom Waits, Syd Barrett, and Lou Reed

Artist History Ezekiel's first album, recorded at the tender age of nine, was sent halfway around the world to his Grandmother in England. When he later visited, the villagers said "Ah, the musician." Between his violin playing and singing such classics as “Little Bunny Foo-Foo” and “London Bridge is Falling Down,” each of which was rendered almost unidentifiable, he didn’t win over any new audiences. However, this didn't deter him from pursuing the art of music, later learning cello, guitar, then piano, and finally ending up at Mills where he's working toward a Master's degree. He spent years recording, though his many self-made and released tapes were met with much indifference. He played in Washington with Richard Bundy (yes, Ted’s little brother) and Keith Thomas (no relation to Dave), in the groups Freaks in Heat and The Lost Adventurers, while also performing solo. �Much of his output during this time was weird retro-style rock songs, largely influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, The Beatles, and the Velvet Underground. �His anti-tour, which was an unadvertised effort to not play for several years, was also met with widespread indifference. While on a solo backpacking trip through the North Cascades, Ezekiel had an epiphany to end his anti-tour and re-join the world of music. �Thus began his study of contemporary composition and classical music. �He attacked the guitar and recording studio with a new-found vigor and new-found ideas about composition, making more recordings of higher quality, though still largely ignored by the mainstream musical establishment. �He has been building a loyal base of listeners, one at a time. Currently playing on and off with Jonathan Segel (of Camper van Beethoven) and Jen Baker, Ezekiel appeared over the past year at Acme Observatory in Berkeley, The Luggage Store Music Series in San Francisco, 21 Grand in Oakland, and the Cognitive Dissidents Series at Coffee Messiah in Seattle. �He and Jonathan also created music for Danny Nguyen Dancers and Musicians, performing at the Marin Center and Laney College. �Other artists wielding influence over his work are Tom Waits, Einsturzende Neubauten, Marcel Duchamp, AMM, Buffy Ste. Marie, Fred Frith (duh!), Henry Kaiser, Patti Smith, John Cage, Nurse With Wound, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, LaMonte Young, and Pauline Oliveros.

Group Members Ezekiel Talbot

Instruments Guitar/Voice/Computer/Electronics/Toys/Found Objects

Albums The Lost Adventurers, Love and Loss, This 'n' That, Random Gatherings, A Live or Dead Album

Location San Francisco, CA - USA

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