Create (!)
Encyclopedia
Create is a free jazz
or "free form" band formed in Long Beach, California
in 1999.
, free jazz
, progressive rock
, freecore, hip hop
R&B and the traditional music of America
and Africa
. Since their first fully improvised
live performances in 1999 the group has engaged in a sometimes ragged, sometimes transcendent mixture of humor, skill and stream of consciousness.
Other groups related to Create (!) include Havalina
, Ruins, The Mars Volta
, Night of the Wrecking Ball, Castanets, L.A. Symphony, I Heart Lung and Soul Junk. Create (!) records on the Sounds Are Active
label.
natives and had discussed playing music together for almost a year. Since that first ad hoc performance with the three founding members and Ian Souter, the group has refused to hold rehearsal or practice sessions. The band immediately began adding and subtracting members with each performance and recording session.
Their first album, Moth Nor Rust, was a collection of the first four occasions the group assembled. In 2001, they released Patterns. Both albums were limited edition CD-R releases and never saw national distribution. Later in 2001, the group contributed three new studio tracks to Jazz – A Compilation, a compilation of Long Beach, California
artists. The compilation was released by Sounds Are Active and Pete Records and received a fair amount of attention and subsequently sold out of the first pressing on vinyl and CD.
The group began recording a full length studio follow up in 2002/2003 but numerous personnel changes, familial demands and group commitments hindered its completion. The open ended philosophy of the group has simultaneously seen them swell and shrink in local and national popularity as there is no particular driving force behind the ensemble's progression.
In 2004 Create (!) collaborated on releases with Castanets and folk
/blues
vocalist Liz Janes. On December 19, 2004 Create (!) also recorded their first album since 2001's Patterns
, A Prospect of Freedom. A relatively subdued sextet recording containing one original composition and seven collective improvisations.
Beginning in March 2001 the group began teaching their Create (!) Workshops at MacArthur Park in Long Beach, California
. The musical workshops are taught free of charge to both children and adults of utilizing video and audio recordings, live performances and interactive teaching methods. Create (!) has continued to perform the workshops in schools, parks and community centers throughout Los Angeles
and Orange
counties.
Also appears on:
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
or "free form" band formed in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
in 1999.
Music
Create (!) draw upon no waveNo Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
, free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, freecore, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
R&B and the traditional music of America
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
and Africa
Music of Africa
Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. The music of North Africa for the most part has a different history from sub-Saharan African music traditions....
. Since their first fully improvised
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
live performances in 1999 the group has engaged in a sometimes ragged, sometimes transcendent mixture of humor, skill and stream of consciousness.
Other groups related to Create (!) include Havalina
Havalina
Havalina Rail Co. or just Havalina was an eclectic rock band from Long Beach, California. Many of Havalina's releases were regional concept albums. According to the band's website, the band's name was inspired by the song "Havalina" by The Pixies. Havalina was active from 1992 through 2005. ...
, Ruins, The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
, Night of the Wrecking Ball, Castanets, L.A. Symphony, I Heart Lung and Soul Junk. Create (!) records on the Sounds Are Active
Sounds Are Active
Sounds Are Active is an independent record label based in Long Beach, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Chris Schlarb. The label has focused on releasing music in the genres of free jazz, avanthop, ambient and other experimental music....
label.
History
Create (!) began in the fall of 1999 at a birthday party for bassist Orlando Greenhill. The three founding members Orlando Greenhill, Steve Richardson and Chris Schlarb were all Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
natives and had discussed playing music together for almost a year. Since that first ad hoc performance with the three founding members and Ian Souter, the group has refused to hold rehearsal or practice sessions. The band immediately began adding and subtracting members with each performance and recording session.
Their first album, Moth Nor Rust, was a collection of the first four occasions the group assembled. In 2001, they released Patterns. Both albums were limited edition CD-R releases and never saw national distribution. Later in 2001, the group contributed three new studio tracks to Jazz – A Compilation, a compilation of Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
artists. The compilation was released by Sounds Are Active and Pete Records and received a fair amount of attention and subsequently sold out of the first pressing on vinyl and CD.
The group began recording a full length studio follow up in 2002/2003 but numerous personnel changes, familial demands and group commitments hindered its completion. The open ended philosophy of the group has simultaneously seen them swell and shrink in local and national popularity as there is no particular driving force behind the ensemble's progression.
In 2004 Create (!) collaborated on releases with Castanets and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
/blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
vocalist Liz Janes. On December 19, 2004 Create (!) also recorded their first album since 2001's Patterns
Patterns (album)
Patterns is an album by jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, released on the Blue Note label. Although recorded in 1968, the album was not released until 1980...
, A Prospect of Freedom. A relatively subdued sextet recording containing one original composition and seven collective improvisations.
Beginning in March 2001 the group began teaching their Create (!) Workshops at MacArthur Park in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. The musical workshops are taught free of charge to both children and adults of utilizing video and audio recordings, live performances and interactive teaching methods. Create (!) has continued to perform the workshops in schools, parks and community centers throughout Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and Orange
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
counties.
Members
- Orlando Greenhill – upright and electric bass, voice, toys
- Steve RichardsonSteve RichardsonSteve Richardson is an American puzzle creator and founder of Stave Puzzles.-Early life:Steve Richardson was formerly a student of math and computer science. He lived with his wife in New Jersey until 1969 when they moved to Vermont...
– drums, voice, percussion - Chris Schlarb – acoustic and electric guitar, electronics, clarinet
- Richard Greenhill – keyboards, electronics
- Justice Constantine – drums, percussion
- Homeland Cultural Center
- Vincent Reyes – drums
- Ian Souter – trumpet, electronics, percussion, electronics
- Danny Levin – trombone, euphonium, percussion, electronics
- Peter Chan – baritone and tenor saxophone, clarinet
- DJ ESP – turntables, electronics
- Andrew Pompey – drums, percussion
- John "Jack" Spencer – bass
- Karl Hofstetter – drums
- Robert Gutschow – keyboard
- Tim McMullen – paints
- Brandon Mitsunaga – dance
- Monica Levette Clark – dance
- Shea Gauer – electronics
- Harry Sumako – conductor
- Isaiah Ikey OwensIsaiah Ikey OwensIsaiah Randolph "Ikey" Owens is an American keyboardist known for his work with The Mars Volta and an array of other bands from the Long Beach music scene.-Biography:...
– keyboard, organ - Anthony Shadduck – upright and electric bass
- TembaTembaTemba is a male given name and may refer to;* Temba Bavuma, a South African cricketer* Paul Temba Nyathi, Zimbabwean politician* Temba Tsheri, Sherpa from Nepal and youngest person to climb Mount Everest...
– drums - Naisha Walton – upright and electric bass
- Raymond Raposa – electric guitar
- Andy Bruntel – electronics
- Tom Steck – drums
- Kris Tiner – trumpet
- Lynn Johnston – bass clarinet, clarinet, saxophones
- Siamese Sisters – electronics, production
- Patagonian – electronics
- Deneir – electronics
- Jonathan Gulmatico – bass
- Sup Tha Chemist – MC
- Liz Janes – voice, guitar
- Galaxalag – baritone saxophone, MC
- Slo-Ro – clarinet, vinyl record, electronics
- Circus – MC
- Phoenix Orion – MC
- Be-Ond – MC
- Gajah – MC
- Olmeca – MC
- DJ Kenzo – turntables
- Dia Joy Silverstein – saxophones
- Dark Leaf – MC
- Bizzart – MC
- Omid – producer, electronics, percussion
- Firefly – BeatSpeak
- Mark Morrison (Palmdale, California) – harmonium
- Miike Coleman – electronics
- Brad Lindsay – guitar
- David Smytcamp (Ganglia) – vocals
- DeadbeatDeadbeatDeadbeat is the stage name of Scott Montieth, a Canadian electronica musician. Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, Montieth currently works and lives in Berlin....
– MC - J-Beits – MC
- Trendy MC – MC
- Solo – MC
- Millennium Krump Time – dance
- DJ Cylume – turntables
- David K. – electronics, samplers
- Beegs Alchemy – keyboard, vocals
Discography
- Moth Nor Rust (2001)
- Patterns (2001)
- Liz Janes & Create (!) (2005)
- A Prospect of Freedom (2006)
Also appears on:
- Jazz- A Compilation (2001)
- Songs For Bethune (Album, 2004)
- Soul-JunkSoul-JunkSoul-Junk is an experimental genre-hopping Christian rock / hip hop group from San Diego, California.-Background:The roots of Soul-Junk began in 1993 when Glen Galloway began experimenting while touring in Europe with his rock band Trumans Water...
- 19371937 (EP)1937 is a remix album released in 2005 on Sounds Are Active by the avant-garde group Soul-Junk.-Track listing:#"Opidish" – 0:31#*#"Begollar Tempus" – 3:58#*...
(2005) - Strata- A Young Person's Guide To Experimental Music (2005)