Characters from Stroller White's Goldrush Days
for two Highland bagpipes and snare drum
(also: version for two or more (amplified) soprano saxophones, snare drum, and (amplified) drone)
Gussie LaMore (mp3 excerpt)
Nosey (mp3 excerpt)
Hot Cake Kid
(-) First performances of Gussie LaMore and Nosey: 2003, Northern Lights United Church, Juneau/Alaska; William Todd Hunt, Jeremy Brandt-Young (soprano saxes), David Sheakley (snare drums), Shoshannah Seligman (hurdygurdy)
(-) First performance of Hot Cake Kid: 2004, Pony Bar, Melbourne, Victoria; re-sound
(-) Australian premiere of Gussie LaMore and Nosey: 2004, Pony Bar, Melbourne, Victoria; re-sound
Program notes
Nosey and Gussie LaMore are two characters from Bob D'Armond's book on the gold rush days of our region. They have inspired the two pieces that you hear played tonight by two amplified soprano saxophones, snare drum, and amplified hurdy gurdy. The other source of inspiration for these pieces is Scottish bag pipe music, with its characteristic scale, the drone, and the entrance procedure with the drum rolls. Gussie LaMore is a gig which sometimes begins to swing a bit. It's second part is a version of a song by Fred Gilbert that Gussie reportedly has performed with great success. Nosey is a flowing reel crossed with a shrewd bossa nova.
(Stefan Hakenberg, 2003)
Reviews & press
"(. . .) die Komposition Nosey & Gussie LaMore (Characters from Stroller White's Goldrush Days) von Stefan Hakenberg verwandelte den Konzertsaal mit verflochtenen, volkstümlichen Melodien in einen spannenden Klangkörper."
(Kiyoshi Furukawa, Positionen)
"We sat right in the middle, the best seats in the house.The show opened with four people on stage: a Scottish snare-drum player in a kilt, a guy with a clarinet [sic], another man with a very little saxophone, and a woman with a hurdygurdy on her lap. They each played a different tune at the same time, clashing with great conviction. Sort of like a preschool marching band. The middle row liked it. It was loud, funny, and there was a man in a skirt."
(Heather Lende, Anchorage Daily News)