Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars Returns to Detroit…and Royal Oak?
"...Tilted Axes? It's the brainchild of Detroit native and New York experimental composer Patrick Grant, a procession of electric guitars playing compositions in public places. Grant has brought the performance, which he's staged in Germany and New York, to Detroit's Cultural Center, and returned last year for the city's 313th birthday.
This year he's back, and his choices are even more interesting, in that he's chosen to participate in larger events that perhaps match the creative spirit of his endeavor. The axes will be rocking in the Detroit area for three days this March, including March 22, at the Marche du la Nain Rouge (this iteration of Tilted Axes will become the decidedly Francophone "Haches Incliné"), adding to the insurrectionary spirit of the event. His schedule also includes the (4th Annual) Bestest Concert Ever, on March 21, at the Royal Oak Farmers Market, and something called the Equinox Procession in downtown Royal Oak on March 20..." - The Metro Times, Feb. 19, 2015
Saturday, March 21 - The 4th Annual Bestest Concert Ever
5:00-8:00 PM - Royal Oak Farmers Market
316 E 11 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI
w/Horse Cave Trio, Motor Honey, Candy Band, Evenin' Gentlemen
Activities Include: Rockin the Red Carpet photos, Crazy Hair Salon, Zany Face Painting and a haute couture dress-up station. You can also get your hand immortalized in wax with Creative Arts Studios or play all the instruments you can imagine at the Mccourts Musical Petting Zoo. New this year is Gem Mining with the Miners Den!!
Also play games with the Royal Oak High School Drama Club and Band Boosters!! Hungry and thirsty? There will also be some super yummy food available for purchase including Detroit BBQ, Treat Dreams and The Market Cafe. Milking It Productions will also be on hand with their famous AXL Pale Ale and BRIK Red Ale for the over 21 set. $5 admission - kids welcome
FB event page:
Sunday, March 22 - Marche du Nain Rouge
1:00-3:00 PM - Midtown Detroit
Beginning at Traffic Jam & Snug (Canfield & 2nd Ave.)
Ending at the Detroit Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St.
Procession route map: http://tinyurl.com/k4ecvlg
Supposedly, for 300 years, on the Sunday after the Vernal Equinox, Detroiters have celebrated liberation from the Nain Rouge, the fiendish embodiment of all that holds us back. Revelers dressed in costume converge at or near Cass Park and hope for better things for Detroit’s future, celebrating whatever is good and working in the city: happiness, success and freedom from the antagonism of the Nain in the new year. Unfortunately, on occasion, the Nain Rouge is able to manifest, and reveals himself to the revelers, taunting them with tales of his evil machinations and plans meant to bring the city down. Just in case, revelers are advised to come in disguise, so the Nain can’t exact revenge.
More info at: http://marchedunainrouge.com/
Performers include: Patrick Grant (NYC), Paula Messner, Skeeto Valdez, Howard Glazer, Rick Matle, Jeff Adams, Bob Kaufman, Chris McGorey, Dean Western, Eric Iverson, Gael Grant, James McGlinnen, John Halo (NYC), John Lovaas (Chicago), Jude Closson, Rob Knevels, Sarah Metevier (Chicago), Erik Grant, Sean Biggs, and others TBA
TILTED AXES: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars
Combining the energy of rock, the creative discipline of theater, and the experimental spirit of the downtown NYC arts scene, Tilted Axes is both a processional event, and an ensemble of mobile electric guitarists created by composer/performer Patrick Grant.
Inspired by his background in gamelan music and vanguard theater work, classically-trained post-rocker Grant conceived of Tilted Axes in 2011 as part of Make Music Winter, an event which transforms New York’s cityscape with participatory musical parades in honor of the winter solstice. Tilted Axes was a way of untethering the electric guitar from both heavy stage amps and traditional band structures, as well as bringing live music directly to its audience.
The guitarists of Tilted Axes perform original compositions written specifically for the event by Grant as well as those from the Tilted repertoire, using portable amplifiers strapped to their sides as they walk through the city streets. The outdoor procession of musicians moves along predetermined routes in selected areas, in honor of an event, landmark, or organization unique to that community.
Since its inception, Tilted Axes has evolved as a project with multiple incarnations in New York, Detroit, and Düsseldorf, Germany. In 2015 the project will manifest itself in performances in the USA, Europe, and South America.
The musical pieces themselves, with their interlocking sections, make room for many kinds of genres and grooves. A democratic approach to interpretation allows the musicians - soloists, rhythm players, and percussionists - to shine in an ensemble of uncommon textural power. Flexible in number, Tilted Axes adapts itself to the environment or occasion, and feeds on the energy of a constantly shifting audience.
Tilted Axes cuts musical pathways through the urban landscape, turning neighborhoods into sonic narratives. As a form of street theater, the ensemble brings potent, ecstatic riffs, and an element of surprise, to an unsuspecting public. Tilted Axes is always in motion; striding in, rocking out, and moving on. Above all: it rocks.
Tilted Axes: Detroit 2015 is powered by the help and support of VOX amps, KORG/USA, Discover Guitar, Peppergreen Media (ASCAP), Strange Music Inc., Candy Band, The Metro Times, McCourt’s Music Royal Oak, & The Detroit School of Rock and Pop.
http://www.tiltedaxes.com/tiltedaxes.html
