DESCRIPTION:
This piece was the last of five solo compositions performed at the Creative Music Guild's Outset Series at Revival Drum Shop, Portland, Oregon, on March 6, 2013. It was inspired by La Monte Young's 1960 text composition "[X] for Henry Flynt," which calls for microscopically exploring a single complex sound through a great number of repetitions, over a long period of time. While Young's "[X] for Henry Flynt" specifies those repetitions to occur every second or two, "31 for La Monte Young" uses an interval of 20 seconds between strokes -- an homage to the extended durations of La Monte Young's work in general. The piece is a small (and too short) nod to the debt I owe La Monte Young, with whom I studied briefly in the late 1980s, and whose work has been a constant source of inspiration ever since.

Like the entire set, this piece had at its heart two goals: (1) to get the most from limited means, instrumentally and structurally, and (2) to get fully inside the sound of the instrument, putting its inherent acoustical characteristics at the forefront. The set was filmed and produced by Portland Community Media. Apologies for the audio distortion near the beginning of the piece. Apparently the gong was too much for their mics.