TONE DEAF 7 For its seventh year of programming, Kingston’s unique festival of adventurous sound performance, TONE DEAF, will highlight the importance of smaller labels which promote the work of experimental composer-performers, sound artists and noisicians within Canada. Three independent labels of particular distinction will be featured: Alien8 Recordings, Rat-drifting, and Kingston’s own Apple Crisp Records. We have programmed three nights of performances by artists supported by these labels on October 24th, 25th, and 26th. An exhibition featuring several artists’ critical interpretation of popular music forms will also run from October 21st to 26th at Modern Fuel Gallery. Modern Fuel Gallery will also host a closing party for the festival, featuring DJ Haircut on the evening of October 26th. Gallery Show 21-25 October 2008, 12-5pm daily Venue: Modern Fuel Gallery, 21A Queen St, Kingston. This group exhibition includes work by Canadian artists Jo-anne Balcaen, Steven Laurie, and Brian Joseph Davis which comically and darkly touch on aspects of popularity, unpopularity, fame, and gender as relating to popular music. Performances Friday October 24, 8pm : Alien8 Recordings (www.alien8recordings.com) Venue: Time to Laugh Comedy Club, 394 Princess Street, Kingston Alien8 Recordings was founded in 1996 in Montreal by Sean O'Hara and Gary Worsley. Originally focusing on noise and experimental music, the label now includes numerous other genres while focusing on Montreal artists. Representing the Alien8 roster will be sound/video artist Tim Hecker who explores the intersections of noise, dissonance and melody, and the duo of Leah Buckareff and Aidan Baker, together known as Nadja who bring obliterating and uplifting atmospheric and experimental music to Tone Deaf. Saturday October 25, 8pm: Rat-drifting (www.rat-drifting.com) Venue: Grant Hall, Queen's University, 43 University Avenue, Kingston, ON Toronto-based Rat-drifting describes its activities as "a non-systematic radiation of the skewed musical interventions of a loose collection of friends” Representing Rat-drifting will be the duo The Guayaveras (Eric Chenaux and Ryan Driver), performing with choreographer/dancer Aimée Dawn Robinson, offering tropical adornments for promiscuous lovers of summer song. The Guayaveras will be performing with the two dozen students of an experimental sound production course at Queen's. Sunday October 26, 8pm: Apple Crisp Records (www.applecrisp.ca) + closing party with DJ Haircut Venue: Modern Fuel Gallery, 21A Queen St., Kingston Apple Crisp Records originates from a monthly live music series of the same name which presents a wide range of local musics. Representing Apple Crisp is The Gertrudes, a nine-person ensemble playing instruments ranging from banjo to theremin. For Tone Deaf, The Gertrudes will present a realization of Terry Riley's classic experimental piece "In C," as well as original works which blend acoustic "folk" instrumentation with ambient electroacoustic soundscapes. In addition, a subset of The Gertrudes, TimKnightUs, will perform on "synth, theremin and a variety of wax cylinders," creating calculated aural assaults, ambient textures and hypnotic minimalist house. Video of The Gertrudes Following the Apple Crisp Performances there will be a closing party with Kingston's own DJ Haircut at Modern Fuel. Stay tuned for more details. www.tone-deaf.org info@tone-deaf.org