Welcome to 2010

Reflecting on musical happenings in 2009, there were some great moments that we hope to share more info and footage on as tapes are collected, images are digitized and so on. Highlights included the production and release of Loop 2.4.3's 2nd album, Zodiac Dust, a residency at Alma College in MI with David Zerbe's fabulous percussion program, tours through the northeast and midwest, returning to SOUNDunderGROUND in New Haven, surfing in Maine with David Y. (that's me above trying on the full-body wet-suit) and a final blowout concert in November at the Tank in NYC with Tom Burnett, Steve Gilewski, Teresa Smith, and the enhanced visual atmosphere provided by luckydave. We do have some video footage of that event which will be showing up soon on youtube.

Frank Jiminez took his own video of the event and has made one post on his dataimagen site of our work-in-progress, As a Child. You can view that video HERE.

More to come....Happy New Year from Loop 2.4.3

- t.k.

Autumn Action

It has been a busy fall in loopland – we apologize for the lack of blog time. We’ve been posting some mobile updates on the Twitter page; you can link to that through our homepage at www.loop243.com. We of course reserve the more juicy, detailed scoop for this blog.

We traveled up to Ithaca, NY early this fall for a concert at Ithaca College, where we were hosted by the one-and-only Gordon Stout. Gordon is a legendary marimbist and a wonderful and generous human being. We stayed at his home, surrounded by trees, fields, crickets and stars and were inspired by nature. One can start to feel a bit removed in the concrete jungle.

We had a fabulous concert in Ithaca’s massive orchestra hall. The audience was mostly Ithaca students and we invited people up on stage afterwards. The downside of the trip is that the Loop-wagon was pulled over and we were issued a speeding ticket on the way to the show. I am still dealing with that beauracratic mess! I really don’t think we were traveling 81 in a 55….

We made friends in Albany the next day at our show at Emack and Bolio’s and then headed back into the city.

We were soon off to Pittsburgh and Garfield Artworks, a grungy gallery near downtown. Pittsburg seems like a tough town for music..maybe we need to dedicate something to the Steelers...props to Mannie for all his support!

From Pittsburgh we hit the PSALM Salon in Phillie. This was a really nice set-up. A stage built into a fabulous old house, great audio gear, etc., and a very warm crowd.

We were back in Brooklyn for a couple of weeks and did a pair of shows near Park Slope before heading to New England – more on that to come!

Good Stuff - Make Music New York

Loop 2.4.3 was recently featured as part of the Make Music New York festival. Pictured above is Lorne playing a Waterphone in Straus Park on the Upper West side of Manhattan. Special thanks to our friend Doug Corella (the Verve Pipe) who was in town from Chicago, and his friend James who helped us pack up when the rain came!
Below are some links to coverage of the event:

Alex Ross' Blog

The New Yorker

The New York Times

Daily News

Hog Farm Bootleg

We had a fantastic time in Maine back in June.  We played at the interim location of Hog Farm, a Maine gem run by Gil and Coco Corral. The 'interim location' turned out to be their art/design/clothing boutique which made for an extraordinarily intimate event.  There is a lot of cool stuff at this place to check out - very original work, so if you are traveling through Maine you should stop in.  We had no idea someone was operating a flip cam and recording the show, otherwise we would not have gabbed so much in between pieces!  Anyway the audience was great, the hosts were magnificent and you can check out some bootleg footage HERE.

Zodiac Dust - Summer Tour

It has been a busy summer for Loop 2.4.3!  This starts a series of posts documenting and commenting on some of the performances from our tour.  If you have photos or video from any of the events - please send them along!  

The Zodiac Dust tour has so far included shows in Alma (MI), Chicago (IL), Montpelier (VT), Biddeford (ME), Salem (MA), Lowell (MA), Katonah (NY), New Haven (CT), and multiple performances in NYC.  More shows are coming up in Brooklyn (NY), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh (PA), and others....

Times Square Event

Here is an image of Loop 2.4.3 performing for the unveiling of Robert Indiana's Hope sculpture at Times Square on June 4. The group had a great time collaborating with Teresa Smith, the Vinca Quartet, and Ha-Yang Kim. Indiana's sculpture was a hit, as was the performance.

Loop 2.4.3 meets the Godfathers of Pop Art

Robert Indiana's Hope sculpture, which he donated to Obama's election campaign, is being installed temporarily, June 4-10, in the new Times Square park. (Broadway between 47 and 42 is now a pedestrian thorough-fare w/ no cars). Michael McKenzie and Teresa Smith have collaborated with Loop 2.4.3 to present a multi-media dance/music performance to coincide with the installation of the Hope sculpture. The first performance will take place directly in front of the sculpture on Broadway, just north of 44th St. at 12pm (noon) on Thursday, June 4. The live music performed by Loop 2.4.3 will feature works from their forthcoming CD, Zodiac Dust.

Thursday, June 4, 12 noon
Robert Indiana's Hope sculpture at Times Square
live performance featuring Teresa Smith and Loop 2.4.3
Broadway between 44th and 45th (just north of ABC studios and the US Army recruiting station)

stay tuned for follow up and other performances!