Liner Notes by PEK

In May of 2021, I opened Evil Clown Headquarters to other fully vaccinated musicians, and the first session of the new age was scheduled for the second set of the Expanse sound world.  Michael and I both enjoyed the auspicious first set right before the pandemic shut down and so the collaboration became an ongoing Evil Clown project, both as a duet for some sets and as a larger unit for others. 

Now in Spring 2025, Michael has played on dozens of Evil Clown sets, and we have logged 17 Expanse sessions of several different flavors.  One of those flavors is the Expanse Percussion Edition.  As with all Evil Clown ensembles, the EPE is modular, more defined by the aesthetic problem being addressed than a fixed lineup.  The rule that assigns a set to Expanse Percussion Edition is: Both Michael and I are performing and there are at least 3 players that are principally percussionists.  To date, we’ve done three of these with different lineups.

The Striking of Solid Objects was initially scheduled to be Expanse Percussion Edition, with Michael K, Sergio, and Hilary as the percussionists and me, John and Michael C as the horn section…  Michael later invited Mara Mitchell, who like Michael, has a business selling drums and percussion equipment, to join the percussion section as an Evil Clown newbie.  As often happens, conflicts and a thumb injury arose as the set approached, and Sergio and Hilary were both unable to make the set.  Here at Evil Clown, I almost never cancel anything – a change in personnel merely changes the aesthetic problem being addressed, and sometimes means the session is assigned a different project name.  With only 2 principal percussionists remaining, this set is assigned to Expanse instead of Expanse Percussion Edition.  Even so, there is a ton of percussion in the piece as everyone else (except Scott on bass) doubled percussion instruments…

Mara’s background is mainly on drum set in rock bands, so this was a new experience for her – we set her up with a snare drum and a tom and she also prowled the room playing the auxiliary instruments.  She locked in with Michael from his seated position on the floor and even without a drum set the two of them provided more groove than is typical in these sessions…  The 3 horn front line also doubled electronics and percussion, and Scott tore it up on the 5-string fretless electric bass… 

I was expecting this to be a great session, and I was not disappointed.   Stay tuned and enjoy this set!!!

PEK, 13 May 2025