Liner Notes by PEK

Every once in a while, a new ensemble gets started at Evil Clown.  Sometimes the new unit has a particular aesthetic problem and an appropriate band name assigned defined in advance.  For example, Metal Chaos Ensemble started as a duet between me and Yuri Zbitnov as soon as we started to work with newly acquired metal instruments in 2015, and Turbulence was formed to feature groups of horn players – sometime as only horn players and sometimes with bass and drums.  Sometimes the new unit is spun off from an existing ensemble with some variation or different set of resources.  Simulacrum was spun off from Metal Chaos Ensemble to include even more electronic instrumentation and signal processing and to not require a drummer.

Sometimes the new unit comes about because new players join the roster and contribute to a session by an existing ensemble, and it is clear their contribution adds a distinctive voice to the Evil Clown palette which deserves a new band name.  Such is the case with Neurodivergent.  Count Robot, DNA Girl and Tim Mungenast played on two Expanse records in 2023 (Swathe in March and Gamut in July).  They bring an odd sensibility that involves improvised spoken word banter between the three of them and a more pop-culture oriented use of guitar, mandolin and electronics than is typical in Evil Clown ensembles.  For the third set featuring these three relative newbies, I rolled out the new band name, Neurodivergent, to explore combinations of their aesthetic as a group of players with a long history with various combinations of players from the Evil Clown Roster.  For the fourth set, Stigma, I added the AKA band name, The Wacky Banter Ensemble, to reflect the essential element of this unit which makes it distinct from the other Evil Clown Ensembles while solving the same basic aesthetic problems addressed by all the Evil Clown Ensembles.

For the second time, this ensemble has reached 8 performers which is the threshold for putting “Orchestra” at the end of the ensemble name.  So, Beyond the Planet of Banana Cream Pies, like Monsters Keep Interrupting My Science uses the large ensemble size to blend the Wacky Banter of Count Robot, DNA Girl, Tim and myself with the sound world of Evil Clown (here comprised of bass, drums and three horn players).  Many of us play the auxiliary instruments available to all at Evil Clown Headquarters, so we really take advantage of the broad palate possibilities to make a concert length journey through a broad range of sonorities combined with the interludes of Wacky Banter.

Count Robot loves to come to these sessions with crazy outfits, and this time he upped the anti, coming in an Ape suit suitable for the Planet of the Apes, so the Wacky Banter naturally went to the Planet of the Apes.  Of course, it also covered a bunch of other territory including a pointy headed alien with a French horn on the top of his head and tentacles sticking out from his stomach that play the French horn.  Aliens and Monsters seem to be a common theme that comes out in the improvised words in these sessions.

While most of the Evil Clown ensembles perform strictly instrumental music that does not contain words, a few of the bands do use words and I like how the text provides an entry point for the audience to access the music.  Metal Chaos Ensemble uses text from literature and movies and Axioms uses the Poetry of the amazing poet Jane SpokenWord who recites her words in small ensembles which also feature the amazing bass playing of her husband Albey onBass.  In these settings, the words come from fixed text, but the delivery and the choice of which words and when to place them are improvised.  In Neurodivergent, the improvisation of the words is on another level… None of the text is fixed in advance; all the words are improvised in reaction to the Wacky Banter of the others.  This music contains a great deal of playfulness and humor which is often lacking in the world of pure improvisation.  I have long valued humor in music as a method of engaging people and I think this band is the best example so far of an Evil Clown ensemble which centers humor as a critical element.

Anyway, we had a terrific Livestream performance.  I really like this set and I bet you do too…

PEK 1/11/2025