ARLO BATMÖSTÄR - ELECTRIC BASS, DEERBOL, GAR
I grew up in california listening to amazing me. I am being constantly inspired by amazing music around me. I FIRST LEARNED TO WALK BY PULLING UP ON MY DAD'S UPRIGHT. I WAS NATURALLY ALWAYS DRIFTING TOWRDS THE LOWER VIBRATORIAL INSTRUMENTS. THEY JUST ALLOW ME SING MY SOUL CLEAN. I'VE PLAYED MANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS BUT MY SOUL SPEAKS THROUGH MY BASSES AND MY NEW COMPANION THE DEERBOL. I TAUGHT MYSELF FROM SCRATCH ON THE ELECTRIC BASS. THE FORMAL TRAINING NEVER QUITE STUCK WITH ME. I HAVE HAD A NACK FOR PICKING NOTES OUT BY EAR. THE FIRST SONG I EVER LEARNED ON PIANO WAS THE PINK PANTHER. I ALWAYS LOVED THAT SONG WHEN I WAS FIVE THEN IT STARTED COMING OUT OF MY FINGERTIPS WHEN I WAS JUST JAMMING OUT ON MY OLD PIANO. THEN I JUST STARTED LISTENING TO EVERYTHING I COULD GET MY EARS ON TILL I FOUND SOMETHING I LIKED. THEN IT WOULD JUST COME TO ME. AND NATURALLY I HAD TO DO THE SAME FOR THE DEERBOL, AN INSTRUMENT I INVENTED. I LOVE ALL MUSIC AND I AM CONSTANTLY EVOLVING. IT'S ALL BECOME A GIANT BLUR. SOME OF MY FAVORITE MUSIC I'VE HEARD LATELY HAS BEEN IN THE FORREST AT NIGHT OR NEXT TO THE OCEAN. I ACCEPT FAR MORE PHYSICALLY VISUAL STIMULI THESE DAYS SPIRITUALLY AND MUSICALLY. I live my life by experimenting with not-so-matter- matter, enjoying our earth, and letting my fingers take my soul on wild and extravagent journeys across the realms of existence, angles of perception, and dimensions of awareness.
If you'd like to contact this GAIAN VERBATIM member or would like to further your ear knowledge
feel free at: GAIANCENTAUR@GMAIL.COM
VINCENZO LUCCHESI - ELECTRIC BASS, VOCALS
One day I came across a black Squire Bass. I struck the E string with my thumb, and from that point my love for the Six String slowly dwindled, (that is until I got a Six String Bass). When I picked up the instrument, I decided that the best way to learn how to play it was to immediately bring it to any location where there was a jam occurring.
The lowest note I use is at this time is at 30.868 Hz. I think in time, I will be using lower frequencies. As music becomes more influenced by Eastern and Cultural thought, we should be straying away from the Pythagorean Chromatic Scale and start working with tones that exist ecologically and affect us physically and spiritually.
The Bass is an incredible instrument that has taught me how to think of music as an art form that is rhythmically expressive. Because of my love for rhythmic complexity, I always fooled around with the thought of having a band with more than one bass. The instrument has a wide enough range, bassists don't clash so long as they are wise in their choice of notes. One day I heard a band from NYC called Burn Guitars with 3 Bassists! It sounded amazing. Most people thought it was good for novelty's sake. However, I saw it more deeply than that. First of all, I heard for the first time (not including "Big Bottom" from Spinal Tap), my dream come to fruition. I started talking to everyone about it. All of my Bass playing friends thought it was a good idea. But nothing Came of it, until Arlo came along wanting the exact same thing I did. And Now We have a band that's more than just Two Bassists. We have an Electric Eclectic Psychedelic Collection of some of the Strangest Noises you've ever heard with a Rhythmic and Notational Diversity that has not been shared enough with the public.
CLARK MEREMEYER - ELECTRIC TAR, VOCALS
My name is Clark Meremeyer. I am the only Meremeyer in the world and it is the name I was born with. I started playing music when I was a tiny child in the Yamaha music school. By fourth grade I was in the Golden Gate Boys Choir, singing Latin in gorgeous cathedrals around the country. Then my voice changed and I dropped out. At fifteen I saw my friend Dan Abbot playing Nirvana on the guitar and I thought, if he can do it I can do it. For the next several years I played the guitar badly and covered dozens of songs by Dan, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, The Doors...etc. I also wrote songs which mostly involved screaming obscenities. I joined and formed many bands. By twenty I was listening to music from around the world, and had all sorts of instruments to pretend to play. One night I saw Hossein Alizadeh and knew I wanted to play traditional Persian music. I got rid of all my other instruments and stared lessons with a setar master, Partow Hooshmanrad. I learned traditional music based on the Radif, and sang Persian folk songs. Improvisation is the main component of this music. Mohammad Reza Lotfi became my main influence in music. I was able to attend Persian events and play with great masters, including Hussein Parishan. After studying the music intensely for five years I switched to another Persian instrument, the tar, and began learning from my current teacher, Ashkan Ghafouri. Six years later I have become a tar teacher and play regularly with Persians. My teachers have been exceedingly patient with the ignorant American. In the past few years I have taken up the guitar again and enjoy playing music from all over the world. Recently my friend Kazem Zia-Ebrahimi created the world's first electric tar. This is the instrument that I play in the band Gaian Verbatim. Because Persian music uses a different note system than Western music, I move my frets to match the rest of the band. Occasionally I use quarter tones in the band, and although these notes are used by some cultures, they are not used by Persians. I play music of all kinds with many people, but traditional music is my favorite. Besides Persian, other favorite music cultures are Indonesian and Tuvan.
If you'd like to contact this GAIAN VERBATIM member or would like to hear him play traditional and nontraditional music feel free at www.myspace.com/meremeyer
KWOTE - TURNTABLES, MODULAR SYNTH
How long have you been playing? Since 1997.
Where did you learn to play? On my own. Recordings, Videos, the internet and friends.
Why did you pick up this instrument? I was inspired by DJ Jazzy Jeff at the height of their fame but didn’t actually have an opportunity to start til much later. But I never lost site of that inspiration.
Any formal training? No. There aren’t really any avenues for lessons with scratching. Perhaps in the future when things are more established. This artform is still in it’s infancy.
What bands or groups have you played with? I’ve sat in on a couple things but most of my experience comes from mixing at parties and open turntable events with other dj’s. It’s definitely time for a change.
Have you moved through different genres? Most definitely. Genres are helpful for conversation’s sake but when the music hits classification is tricky. I guess the easiest way to sum it up is fusion of many genres.
Take any detours along the way, like a few years as an engineer or doctor? No. I’ve always worked a day job but it’s just to keep the music going.
Played with or fronted for anyone you'd like to mention? There are many people who have kept me motivated over the years but the ones that have driven me the most are my current cohorts, Gaian Verbatim & Kurteek.
What do you do when you're not playing? Practice man.. Practice.
If you'd like to contact this GAIAN VERBATIM member or would like for further you ear knowledge
feel free at: http://www.kwotemusic.com or http://www.myspace.com/kwotemusic