Devin Sarno
Encyclopedia
Devin Sarno began CRIB in early 1990 as a solo bass sound project focusing on improvised subsonics. Over the course of a decade (and over a dozen recordings) his music evolved from high volume feedback experimentation to a sonic examination of the meditative properties of low-end drone music
. In 2003, the CRIB moniker was retired & Sarno now performs & records under his own name.
Sarno was a founding member of the Los Angeles, CA art-rock band Waldo The Dog Faced Boy and in 1989, along with partner/producer Tom Grimley, he also co-founded the experimental label WIN Records, which was home to artists such as: Petra Haden
, Alicia J. Rose
, The Centimeters, Upsilon Acrux
& many more. As a bassist, Sarno has collaborated/recorded with a range of diverse acts including: Nels Cline
, Thurston Moore
, Vincent Gallo
, Joe Baiza
, Mike Watt
, Jack Brewer, Z'EV
, Petra Haden
, that dog.
, Abby Travis
, Danny Frankel, G.E. Stinson, Jeff Gauthier, Tom Surgal, Upsilon Acrux
, Carla Bozulich
, Brandon LaBelle, Jason Kahn, The Watson Twins
, Jessica Catron, Celer and others.
Sarno's music was featured on the CBS TV network program The Courier (micro-series)
which aired nationally in January 2006 and found itself broadcast over New York City's Times Square
JumboTron
. Film composing works have included the score for "Postmortem Bliss" by noted director Floria Sigismondi
as well as "Eve" and "DadaDum" for Canadian-based director/fine artist Britt Randle. "DadaDum" screened at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
as a Best Short Film nominee.
In January 2011, Sarno began curating the independent netlabel
Absence of Wax.
Drone music
Drone music is a minimalist musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics...
. In 2003, the CRIB moniker was retired & Sarno now performs & records under his own name.
Sarno was a founding member of the Los Angeles, CA art-rock band Waldo The Dog Faced Boy and in 1989, along with partner/producer Tom Grimley, he also co-founded the experimental label WIN Records, which was home to artists such as: Petra Haden
Petra Haden
Petra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age,...
, Alicia J. Rose
Alicia J. Rose
Alicia J. Rose, known in her recording career as Miss Murgatroid, is an accordionist and professional photographer. She has released five full length albums, three credited solely to Miss Murgatroid and two collaborations with vocalist and violinist Petra Haden entitled Bella Neurox and Hearts &...
, The Centimeters, Upsilon Acrux
Upsilon Acrux
Upsilon Acrux is an American progressive rock band from Los Angeles, originally from San Diego, California.-History:Upsilon Acrux first appeared on record on a 1998 compilation entitled Trummerflora 2. Soon after they contributed a song to a compilation entitled Before the Pirates Came. They went...
& many more. As a bassist, Sarno has collaborated/recorded with a range of diverse acts including: Nels Cline
Nels Cline
Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...
, Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
, Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo is an Italian-American film director and actor. Though he has had minor roles in mainstream films such as Goodfellas, he is most associated with independent movies, including Buffalo '66, which he wrote, directed, did the music for and starred in; The Brown Bunny, which he also...
, Joe Baiza
Joe Baiza
Joe Baiza is a punk rock and jazz guitarist whom Eugene Chadbourne cites as one of the most noteworthy guitarists to emerge from the Southern California punk rock milieu. Baiza is a founding member of the bands Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress Of, and The Mecolodiacs...
, Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
, Jack Brewer, Z'EV
Z'EV
Z'EV is an American poet, percussionist, and sound artist. After studying various world music traditions at CalArts, he began creating his own percussion sounds out of industrial materials for a variety of record labels...
, Petra Haden
Petra Haden
Petra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age,...
, that dog.
That dog.
That Dog is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1991 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band consists of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her sister Petra Haden on violin and vocals, and Tony Maxwell on drums...
, Abby Travis
Abby Travis
Abby Travis is an American musician, songwriter, and performer. She is the daughter of Alice Travis Germond, the current Secretary of the Democratic National Committee and Emmy award winning cameraman Larry Travis.Abby Travis began her performance career in 1986 as the bassist in Los Angeles band...
, Danny Frankel, G.E. Stinson, Jeff Gauthier, Tom Surgal, Upsilon Acrux
Upsilon Acrux
Upsilon Acrux is an American progressive rock band from Los Angeles, originally from San Diego, California.-History:Upsilon Acrux first appeared on record on a 1998 compilation entitled Trummerflora 2. Soon after they contributed a song to a compilation entitled Before the Pirates Came. They went...
, Carla Bozulich
Carla Bozulich
Carla Bozulich is an American musician based in Los Angeles, known for her work as the lead singer, lyricist and founder of both The Geraldine Fibbers and and as a founding member of Ethyl Meatplow. Her 2006 album, Evangelista, was released by Constellation Records, that label's first release by a...
, Brandon LaBelle, Jason Kahn, The Watson Twins
The Watson Twins
The Watson Twins are an American musical group based in Los Angeles with alternative country and indie folk influences. They are identical twin sisters named Chandra and Leigh Watson....
, Jessica Catron, Celer and others.
Sarno's music was featured on the CBS TV network program The Courier (micro-series)
The Courier (micro-series)
The Courier is an advertiser sponsored, week-long micro-series debuted in 2006 on CBS, during the first act break of CSI: Miami. The premiere is a sixty second installment followed by forty second editions...
which aired nationally in January 2006 and found itself broadcast over New York City's Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
JumboTron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
. Film composing works have included the score for "Postmortem Bliss" by noted director Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi is an Italian, naturalised Canadian, photographer and director.Apart from her art exhibitions, she is best known for writing and directing The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning...
as well as "Eve" and "DadaDum" for Canadian-based director/fine artist Britt Randle. "DadaDum" screened at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
2007 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival was a 32nd annual film festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It ran from September 6, 2007 to September 15, 2007. The lineup consisted of 349 films from 55 countries, selected from 4156 submissions...
as a Best Short Film nominee.
In January 2011, Sarno began curating the independent netlabel
Netlabel
A netlabel is a record label that distributes its music through digital audio formats over the Internet...
Absence of Wax.
Selected discography
- 2011 Devin Sarno "first-impresssion" for 1.1.11 (Absence of Wax)
- 2010 Devin Sarno "Three Twenty Eight Twenty Ten" (Banned Production)
- 2007 Devin Sarno "Full dynamics-frequency Spectrum" (Banned Production)
- 2007 Devin Sarno & G.E. Stinson "Heart Cell Memory" (Squirrelgirl)
- 2005 Devin Sarno "Variations" (Banned Production)
- 2004 Nels Cline + Devin Sarno "Buried on Bunker Hill" (Groundfault)
- 2002 CRIB "Remnant" (True Classical CDs)
- 2000 CRIB "Forward Back" (WIN Records)
- 1998 CRIB "She Is Church" (WIN Records)
- 1998 Nels Cline + Devin Sarno "Rise Pumpkin Rise" (Volvolo)
- 1998 Nels Cline + Devin Sarno "Edible Flowers" (WIN Records)
- 1992 Waldo The Dog Faced Boy "Tingle" (WIN Records)
- 1989 Waldo The Dog Faced Boy "Gifts of Finest Wheat" (WIN Records)
- 1987 Waldo The Dog Faced Boy "Wood" (WIN Records)
Musical Influences
- Phill NiblockPhill NiblockPhill Niblock is a composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music based in New York with a parallel branch in Ghent, Belgium.-Biography:...
- Deep Listening BandDeep Listening BandThe Deep Listening Band was founded in 1988 by Pauline Oliveros, , Stuart Dempster, and Panaiotis...
- Arvo PärtArvo PärtArvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
- William BasinskiWilliam BasinskiWilliam Basinski is a United States avant-garde composer of ambient music via tape music and process music. Basinski is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound artist, and video artist...
- Stars of the LidStars of the LidStars of the Lid is a duo specializing in drone-based ambient music. They list among their influences minimalist and electronic composers such as Arvo Pärt, Zbigniew Preisner, Gavin Bryars, and Henryk Górecki, as well as Talk Talk , post-rock artists Labradford, and ambient innovator Brian...