Hearn Gadbois plays: dumbek, zarb(tombak), zirbaghali, various frame drums, the heart of jesus (a wooden udu of his own creation), and a variety of bells, cymbals, and rattles with his feet, and tibetan bowls (rubbed and struck). He also uses tuned half-joints of bamboo and split buzzing bamboo sticks known as dao daos (sorry potheads, these are intstruments, not party goods). Many of his instruments he made himself.
DHOLA THASE DORBHALA- guest vocalist: MAHABUB KHAN
Influences
'My influences are literally all over the map, but a number of bands/rhythm sections stick out: Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters, James Brown and his whole band, virtually every Miles Davis band from 1965-1975, Ashton and Carlton Barrett of the Upsetters, later to become the Wailers. Music of the 'Stans' particularly Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Rajahsthan - folk music from these places has powerful feel. The ba-benzele Pygmies of central Africa reign supreme. I am also greatly influenced by the ambience of sound, whether it is music heard in a 'native' setting or something produced by natural or mechanical causes within an environment, i.e. machinery or thunder echoing off of urban spaces, insects, birds, various accidentals- voices, backfires, etc. It would be criminal not to acknowledge the enormous influence of all my teachers and all those with whom I have played. Everybody brings something to the party.
Sounds Like
...More than one person (even without overdubs), melodic, dynamic, polyrhythmic and sometimes polyphonic, never polynesian. Sounds like someone who hates drum solos so much that he was willing to go to great lengths to create a solo form that he (and his listeners) could enjoy.
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Hearn Gadbois was born in Des Moines, Iowa, into a family of visual artists. His father was a commercial illustrator, his mother a mechanical draftsperson and both older brothers were accomplished illustrators of monsters and battle scenes before he was born. He grew up listening to Ravel's Bolero, western movie soundtracks, and Perez Prado records. He started playing blues harmonica at age twelve and at fifteen he discovered conga drums and decided to pursue music as a career. Within two years he was gigging throughout the mid-west in a variety of groups: soul, calypso, percussion ensembles, African dance troupes, free jazz, fusion jazz, big-band jazz, vocal jazz, and coffee-house folk. In other words, if it could be done, he did it, and if it couldn't be done he tried it anyway.
In 1981 he moved to New York with The Wallets, a promising young band that quickly met with difficulty and moved back to Minneapolis, later to record for Capitol Records. Staying in New York, Hearn made the first of many collaborations with the choreographer Bebe Miller entitled Story Beach and recorded a fairly eccentric version of I've Got My Mojo Workin' sung by a computer for Tellus ..12: The Dance. From the middle to late 80's he performed with Cargo Cult, co-founded the underground favorites Saqqara Dogs, and was an original member of Annabouboula, a psychedelic-funk Greek hybrid of both bands that recorded for Virgin Records.
Coinciding roughly with the break-up of the very loud Saqqara Dogs was a playing-related injury that almost cost him his left hand. He decided to concentrate on making quieter, more 'accoustic' music and teamed up with cellist Robert Een (of the Meredith Monk ensemble) and accordionist Carter Burwell (of film soundtrack reknown) to form the band Big Joe. He also performed and recorded with what was to become a glut of singer-songwriters, of which some of the better-known are Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega, Katell Keineg, and Anna Domino.
In the mid-nineties he became passionate about wood carving, creating numerous fish and animal fetishes that were heavily inlaid with metal. He showed the pieces in galleries and sold them to collectors of 'Outsider' art, and over time they became less inlaid and much more hollowed-out and resonant. He found that he had re-invented the woodblock! He took up the study of instrument making with master craftsman Ben Hume and produced several drums of Afghan/Persian origin that he had long desired. The process of making his own instruments deepened his understanding of sound and profoundly influenced his sense of music making. The drums that he made have been central to the development of a completely unexpected and unique 'melodic' playing style and he continues to use them.
Following the September 11th attacks, he decided to take a more 'international' approach to living and now resides part-time in the Czech Republic. He is director of the Skola Ritmu in Prague and has worked with Slet Bubeniku, Vladimir Vaclavek, Feng-Yun Song, and with his performs regularly solo and with his partner, dancer-choreographer Renata Milgrom. He has recorded two solo cd's, Joinery and One Thousand and One Fingers as well as an instructional cd.
Hi Hearn, thanx for the appreciation, took a hell of a work to make the clarinet sound like a guitar... Enjoy NY and looking forward to having you back in good ole europe a.s.a.p. Best wishes, BOO
AFGHAMMA RAY SOL plays its debut gig in Prague on Feb. 9 at Shakespeare and Sons.
Our instruments were literally buried in Afghanistan for five years to escape destruction by the Taliban's morality police. Now the music is flowing once again.
Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 8:00pm Shakespeare and Sons cafe Krymská 12 Prague, Czech Republic
Classical Afghan music featuring harmonium, Afghan voice, rabab, zerbaghali and tabla. An unusual new group in Prague's expatriate DIY independent 'underground' scene.
thanks for add and nice comment i deeply work on instruments,i dont make them like a factory,all are hand made and i make 1,or 2 just per month,with all of my pleasure..
