Noisy People is a feature length video documentary that opens a window into a tightly-knit group of unusual sound artists and musicians from the San Francisco improvisational music community.
Filmmaker Tim Perkis, himself a well-respected player in the Bay Area experimental music scene, followed his subjects for a year, filming them in their homes and studios, rehearsals and performances. What emerges is a set of funny and lively portraits of some very creative and quirky people -- and a portrait of a way of life outside the commercial musical mainstream of America.
They're not making a living at it -- but these artists have pursued their work passionately and in the process have created a world-wide following and a supportive community at home. These are people, who, as composer John Shiurba put it, "aren't going somewhere, but who ARE somewhere.
Feat.: George Cremaschi, Tom Djll, Greg Goodman, Phillip Greenlief, Cheryl Leonard, Dan Plonsey, Gino Robair, Damon Smith. Also appearing are dozens of other creative musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Fred Frith and Jack Wright.
Tim Perkis has been working in the medium of live electronic and computer sound for many years, performing, exhibiting installation works and recording in North America,Europe and Japan. His work has largely been concerned with exploring the emergence of life-like properties in complex systems of interaction.In addition, he is a well known performer in the world of improvised music, having performed on his electronic improvisation instruments with hundreds of artists and groups, including Chris Brown, John Butcher, Eugene Chadbourne, Fred Frith, Gianni Gebbia, Frank Gratkowski, Luc Houtkamp, Yoshi Ichiraku, Joelle Leandre, Roscoe Mitchell, Gino Robair, ROVA saxophone quartet, Elliott Sharp, Leo Wadada Smith and John Zorn. Ongoing groups he has founded or played in include the League of Automatic Music Composers and the Hub -- pioneering live computer network bands -- and Rotodoti, the Natto Quartet, Fuzzybunny, All Tomorrow's Zombies and Wobbly/Perkis/Antimatter.
George Cremaschi was born in New York City, and studied music and composition there. He has played with, and composed for, dancers, rock bands, installation artists, improvisers, poets, film, folk musicians, theater groups, orchestras, and pop divas. He has worked with a long list of fantastic artists: Greg Goodman, Saadet Türköz, Matthew Ostrowski, Nicolas Collins, Evan Parker, Trinh T. Minh-Ha, Liz Allbee, Burkhard Stangl, Mats Gustafsson, Kai Fagaschinski, Lê Quan Ninh, Gino Robair, Rova Saxophone Quartet, Frédéric Blondy, Christof Kurzmann, Nels Cline, Andrea Parkins, Paul Lovens, Marshall Allen, Han Bennink, Butch Morris, and many others.
As an interpreter, he has performed works by Morton Feldman, James Tenney, John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Cornelius Cardew, Roscoe Mitchell, Christian Wolff, Wadada Leo Smith, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jon Raskin, Ana-Maria Avram, Louis Andriessen and Matthew Goodheart among many others.
He has appeared on over 30 recordings on the Apestaartje, Evolving Ear, Black Saint, Leo, Beak Doctor, Emanem, Rastascan, Music & Arts, Nine Winds and 482 Music labels.
