90.5 WESA: Sound artist May Wilcher was a self-described “homebody” before she started attending Pittsburgh Sound Preserve’s Open Improvisation Lab.
“I’ve just been interested in weird stuff for a long time.” Wilcher said. “If you are at the margins, you won’t feel so welcome in, like, a standard musical environment.”
Open Improv Lab is an every-other-Monday night gathering at Bantha Tea Bar in Garfield, where — as Wilcher puts it — “there are almost no rules.”
2 comments:
I found this article to be really interesting! I think the concept of an open improv lab, instead of a traditional open mic night, is really intriguing - it’s a way for artists to showcase their skills, and an opportunity for regular community members to make and listen to non-traditional music. While I can’t say I have a firm idea of what kind of music those labs produce, I do think it would be really cool to get to go see one live. I’m a big fan of music, and am interested in sound design and folly, so I think it would be an amazing experience; I’m super curious about what live coding sounds like when used to make music, and I have no idea what it would sound like to “play” a raincoat. As a whole, I think it’s important that people open up their minds to different approaches to music, and the live labs seem like an amazing way to start!
I think it’s really cool this kind of music culture exists in Pittsburgh. In college, I have started to go to smaller music venues and open mic nights around the city. I think it’s a really cool way to interact with small artists and local performances. I think it’s really cool that a place has been created for people to express random creativity on stage without judgement. I would love to go check out this cafe during one of their improv labs to see what it’s like. I also love seeing how different space set up their equipment and how they operate their production/show running. I think it’s a cool crossover of my interests to be able to listen to live music while also staring at the lights and production equipment. I would love to read more about how this project has gone and what it is looking to do in the future.
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