venue
with Free All Beats
Among Lawrence's numerous bands and musicians, Free All Beats stands out amongst the pack. Their abstract, experimental free jazz is a type of music that bassist Patrick Hangauer says few try to attempt. The trio formed in Lawrence two and a half years ago and have since gained a large local audience, as well as a new Kansas City fan base after a recent mention in an article from The Pitch.
McCoy: Well, Tyler and I met about three or four years ago through KJHK and we
Q: So how did you guys first begin playing together?
As I sat at a booth upstairs at the Eighth Street Taproom, two members of the trio Free All Beats, upright bassist Patrick "Pockets" Hangauer and drummer Curtis "Candlepants" McCoy, joined me to sit and talk about their music, the local music scene and their plans for world domination. The third member of their band, keyboardist Tyler "Bone" Larson, meanwhile, was spinning downstairs between sets of the infamous rock n' roll cheerleader Nathan Brown, of which they are all huge fans. Throughout the interview they both pause every so often between thoughts and listen to the screaming electronic beats and shouts coming from the packed show downstairs, making it apparent their minds are fixed on several musical genres.
hit it off immediately. It was love at first sight. We started playing music together and things really started coming together when Patrick joined us. Our first show was at the former Paradise Café about two and a half years ago.
Q: What are some of your musical influences?
Hangauer: Sun Ra, John Coltrane
McCoy: All kinds of indigenous world music, folk music, hip-hop. We really are influenced by so many different kinds of music.
Hangauer: Yeah, I am really into whale sounds and bird calls and shit like that. I also have to mention Raffi as well as early Sesame Street.
Q: How would you describe the music you make?
Hangauer: For starters it's not gay music.
McCoy: We play auto-fisio-psychic music. It is minimal beat free jazz. We like to do more with less. There really are no rules with the music we make.
Hangauer: We have plans for world domination. We are tired of only playing in one city. Then we don't like the idea of playing in one country. We are going to set ourselves up as being entirely international. We try to teach people what they haven't heard before is what they really
want to hear.
Q: You incorporate some interesting instruments/electronics into your live sets. What do you typically play?
Hangauer: Well, Tyler plays two Casio keyboards through wa-wa peddles and he has a lot of different buttons which give all kinds of effects. Curtis plays live drums with a combination of electric drum pads. And I play a bowed upright bass.
Q: I have noticed that you have quite an elaborate stage setup including art and visuals, who can take credit for that?
Hangauer: Our friend Kyle likes to experiment with different video projections. We really should do more but since we are so improvisational, we never really know where we are going with our sets.
(McCoy leaves to watch the remainder of the Nathan Brown show as Larson sits down)
Q: You played weekly here at the Taproom in September, I was wondering why you suddenly had decided to play more often than in the past?
and more experimental. We also have many guests perform with us.
Larson: We really make each set unique and different by performing with these guests.
Q: Who are some of these guests that have performed with you?
Hangauer: Josh Powers, Left E. Grove, EMC. We have enjoyed working with hip-hop artists. We feel that we are putting the jazz and blues back in hip-hop.
Hangauer: Well, we are constantly trying to push ourselves. We want to keep things fresh. We have no set lists and we never play the same thing twice. Each time we play, the sets get tighter, more abstract
Q: Have you been recording in the studio recently or have you been mainly focused on your live performances?
Hangauer: We have plans to get in the studio as soon as possible. We have been recording our live performances on a 4-track recorder off of one mic. We hope to release a compilation of our live performances as well as stuff we have done in the studio.
Q: Any more upcoming shows?
Hangauer: Well, I think we are going to take a break for a while and get more organized. After recording we plan to play more outside of Lawrence.
- Rory Flynn
Colin Gonzales
Stumble into Quinton's on a Wednesday or Saturday night and behold Colin Gonzales, Kansas City, Kansas senior, and a two-year bartending vet. On a recent night, he whipped up a Whipper, Quinton's specialty drink, who adroitly answering insane either/or questions.
- Stones or Beatles: Beatles they're original; they're old school
- Jordan or Gretzky: Jordan for sure, the greatest athlete ever
18|Jayplay 10.06.05
- Stallone or Van Damme: Stallone, because he works out in freezers
- Buick Le Baron or Buick Le Sabre: Le Sabre - it's classy
- Dinosaurs or aliens: I like dinosaurs because of stegosaurus. Stegosaurus is a good animal.
Whipper
- Dave Ruigh