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The music of sound Radio show host expands his experimental program Listen ‘It’s Too Damn Early’ airs on WDBX (91.1) from 4 to 6 a.m. Saturdays; ‘Sounds Like Radio’ will air from 3 to 5 a.m. Sundays on WSIU-FM (91.9).
Submit music Dave Armstrong’s new radio show on WSIU-FM, ‘Sounds Like Music,’ is seeking submissions from experimental musicians across the region. Music may be sent to WSIU-FM,
c/o Dave Armstrong, Communications Building 1003, Mail Code 6602, SIUC, 1100 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale IL 62901 BY ROB CROW THE SOUTHERN
Several months ago, Dave Armstrong underwent a routine dental procedure. At least, for most people, it would be routine. But while having a tooth pulled, Armstrong felt something. It wasn’t any
pain or discomfort; it was the type of experience Armstrong has had repeatedly throughout his life, the type of experience he’s not likely to forget anytime soon. “It was the sound of it that was interesting to me,” Armstrong said. “Sound is touch. Sound is actually something hitting your ear; it’s a touch sense, and people forget that. So, to have the sound of it played through your jawbone without the touch of it,
presents
The Musical Charles Dickens’ touching tale of an orphan boy who runs away from the orphanage and tries to pick a pocket or two for Fagin, but gets caught. As Fagin tries to save him, all Oliver wants to do is go to his uncle, and live a good life.
at the Marion Cultural & Civic Center March 25th, 26th, & 27th @ 7:00pm Sunday, March 28th @ 2:00pm
Purchase tickets at Civic Center box office or by calling 997-4030.
Music, Lyrics and Book by Lionel Bart. Licensed by Arrangement with Olivery Productions, Ltd. and Olivery Promotions, Ltd.
Page 6 Thursday, March 11, 2010 FLIPSIDE
that’s a really unique sonic experience.” And it’s the type of experience Armstrong said he hopes people have while listening to his radio shows. The voice and vision behind WDBX’s “It’s Too Damn Early” since 2001, Armstrong is preparing to begin a new program, “Sounds Like Radio,” which will premiere next month on WSIU-FM. His WDBX show — on which Armstrong goes by the name “Dave X” — airs from 4 to 6 a.m. Saturdays. “Sounds Like Radio” will air from 3 to 5 a.m. Sundays, although an exact start date has not yet been chosen. Armstrong will use his last name on his WSIU show. Both of Armstrong’s shows deal with experimental music, although it may also be called avant-garde music or sound art. No matter what it’s called, Armstrong’s selections sure aren’t likely to be heard on Top-40 radio. To describe experimental music, Armstrong first discussed other genres. “For instance, if you have country music or heavy metal, you can discern the difference quite immediately between, say, Johnny Cash versus Metallica,” he said. “Yet, if you just looked at it, you couldn’t immediately discern the difference, because there’s guitar, there’s bass, there’s drums.” The difference,
PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERN
Dave Armstrong of Carterville is starting a new experimental music show on WSIU next month.
Armstrong said, is in the music’s end result, the artist’s need to make music sound a certain way and fit into a certain mold. And that’s where experimental music differs. “Experimental music doesn’t have that end in mind,” he said. “The results can be anything from, potentially, what we call country music to what a person would ordinarily call noise, if they weren’t focusing on it as music. “I’m not even as interested, sometimes, in the end result as the process, or to say that the process of making it is as important as the result.” Armstrong said he’s been interested in the process of sound for as long as he can remember. One of Armstrong’s most vivid childhood memories, he said, was listening to insects in the woods. As he continued to listen, he heard more and more insects, and more and more layers of sound that they created. He said that was his first experience as an “active listener,” which is the type of person he hopes to attract to his shows.
“I don’t consider this to be music that people should just chill out to,” Armstrong said. “This is something that you need to focus on, something that’s intended for you to think about. Even though there aren’t lyrics or a dance beat, it’s intended for you to be an active listener, and the act of listening is a really important part. “The more a person can take on the role of an active listener, the happier I think they’re going to be with the show.” And they may even leave the show with the same feeling Armstrong had when he left the dentist’s office. “Don’t come into the show with a preconception. Don’t come into it thinking, ‘I want this,’” Armstrong said. “Come into it with the conception of, ‘There’s this guy at the dentist, and he just had a remarkable sound event happen to him.’ That’s not normally how people approach it, but isn’t that fun? Isn’t that unique?” rob.crow@thesouthern.com 618-351-5085