For Immediate release April 5, 2001 Contact: Norman Rutherford/Andrew Kushin Introducing Out of Round Records: An evening of music to celebrate the launching of a new san francisco label Featuring: CLOSER TO CARBON, CORNER TOUR, DOWN RIVER, ELAINE BUCKHOLTZ, MASON HAMBLIN, PETER WHITEHEAD. Thursday May 3rd 2001 CELL SPACE, 2050 Bryant St. San Francisco, 94110 Showtime 8 : 00 p.m. $5 at the door Out Of Round, a brand new independent San Francisco record label, will present an evening of live music and other treats to celebrate the release of its first eight CDs. A compilation CD, entitled "Round One," will also be released and will contain two selections by each artist from the first eight releases. An array of Out of Round artists will perform live music from their new releases on three separate stages. Out of Round is a collaborative, artist-run label, the brainchild of musicians Norman Rutherford, formerly of Contraband and Andrew Kushin of Live Human (both pictured). They bring together seven different acts made up of thirteen different artists. The idea behind the label is a simple one: to provide local artists of similar musical sensibilities and visions with the means to record and produce their own work, free of record company oversight and intervention. The majority of sessions were engineered and recorded at the Out Of Round Studio by Norman Rutherford assisted by other label members. Out of Round is a label in the tradition of the early Jazz, Blues & Folk labels such as Arhooli, Verve and Sun Records, which made available popular or people's music that was considered too "outside" or un-commercial for mainstream record labels at the time. In the course of time these early labels paved the way for wider recognition of then-obscure artists, and eventually were able to expand the boundaries of folk and popular music to reach wider audiences. As with any Out Of Round performance you can expect more than just music at the label launching. Many of the artists have established reputations from years of live performances in local venues and also have close ties to international peformance art and theater, having worked alongside such names as Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, Merce Cunningham, Anna Halprin, Contraband and Mobius Operandi. The roster of musicians includes visual artists, film makers, lighting designers, instrument builders and sound engineers, all of whom provide mutual support for live shows. Several of the label's artists make use of traditional folk instruments : banjos, guitars, accordions, double basses, brass, woodwinds and percussion. Also featuring heavily on some of the music are "found instruments"-- particularly percussion, toys, junkstore finds--plus ingenious, one-of-a-kind, artist-fabricated sound sculptures and instruments such as the panjo, the ski tamboura, the comodium and the bass ektar, a one-stringed instrument made from a five gallon plastic water bottle and tuned with a kitchen spoon. The use of such instruments adds a strong visual element to the performances, which often incorporate theatrical elements, dramatic lighting, sculptures and Super 8 film. The unusual instrumentations are complemented by well-crafted songwriting and imaginative arrangements. Out of Round artists come from a variety of musical backgrounds; from experimental to folk to jazz to the unclassifiable and often provide back-up for one-another's recordings and performances. The surprising result is that each individual artist's or group's sound still remains unique and distinct, while at the same time sharing some unusual common ground. ©2002 Out of Round Records www.outofroundrecords.com