By Glenn M. Ito

Gino Robair is an improvisor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Though he specializes in percussion, he also performs regularly on theremin, electronics, and found objects. His current fascination is bowing styrofoam (a full-length CD of this, "Plates, Blocks, Cups, and Hair," is on the Limited Sedition label). Gino works primarily as a solo peformer, but enjoys playing in ad hoc groupings - especially trio settings. Recent performances have included Derek Bailey, John Butcher, Carla Kihlstedt, Matthew Sperry, Gianni Gebbia, Tim Perkis, and LaDonna Smith.

As a performer, Gino is somewhere between a meta-percussionist and anti-drummer. Time and rhythm are often avoided, while melody and subtle sounds are explored. As a reaction to instrument fetishism, his current solo practice is to show up to his performances with as few instruments as possible, in order to see if music can be made from his bare hands. Ultimately, anything and everything becomes an instrument.

GI: Can you recall the first time you were attracted to music?
GR: Not really. As a toddler, I used to crawl over to the cupboard and get out the pots and pans, set them around me, and play on them with my hands and with wooden spoons. Around the same time, I'm told, I was fascinated by TV commercials, especially when things on the screen were changing really fast or there was a lot of activity.

GI: What convinced you to become a performing artist?
GR: I just sort of fell into it. I joined the junior high-school band, and pretty soon I was part of a gospel choir (on drums) and a local chamber orchestra (on percussion). From age 14 on, all I wanted to be was a musician. This lead to bachelors degrees in composition and performance, and masters degrees in composition and electronic music.

However, I always enjoyed improvising, especially as a young person studying piano and drums. I would rather make things up than play finger excercises. This eventually led to a trip to the UK to study with percussionist Eddie Prevost of AMM in 1985.

GI: Would you mind revealing the elements of your 'sound?'
GR: To begin with, I'm trying to make percussion instruments sound as unusual as possible. That means trying to find hidden voices in the instruments as well as getting away from traditional ways of approaching rhythm and time. This includes avoiding the cliches you here in free jazz, classical-based "new music," etc. I'm always finding new preparations, motorized toys and implements, electromagnets, and other stuff that work well with drums and percussion.

The other thing I do is modify the instruments incrementally during an improvisation, so that each time an instrument is played it sounds slightly different. I really like it when things bounce around on a drum, fall off and hit the floor, roll off the stage, etc. Sounds I'm currently persuing include playing the snare drum with an ebow and using a bass bow on wig heads.

GI: What is your most memorable, musical moment to date?
GR: Playing timpani with an orchestra during a performance of Beethoven's 1st symphony. It's not unlike driving a freight train or steering an aircraft. You get this feeling that you're pushing this huge sound-mass. I had a similar sensation playing in Anthony Braxton's opera Trillium R, though it didn't feel like I was at the wheel...

GI: What is you most memorable, non-musical moment to date? GR: Witnessing the birth of my daugther. The birth experience makes you aware of the reality of being alive.

GI: What's your favorite food?
GR: Italian, Indian, Greek, and North African foods are high on the list. The spicier the better! At home, pasta (especially with pesto), salad, and garlic bread; or perhaps fried chicken and mashed potatoes, with corn on the cob. I'm ominverous, more or less, so I'm easy to please.

GI: Can you give some recommendations for fine eating establishments when on the road?
GR:That's a tough question. Eating on the road is always difficult, unless you have a guide that knows the area. I've found that the best thing is to play in a college town and get someone from the local radio station to take you to the best eatery.

I recently toured the UK with John Butcher and had some weird experiences. For example, we ended up at a Denny's-type of road-side diner, and the only thing I could stomach from the menu was a curry dish. Thankfully, it wasn't bad: even a bland curry beats any other fast food, hands down.

Upcoming Shows: (month, day, info#, venue, city, state) Thursday, May 4th with Peter Kowald and Miya Masaoka at the Luggage Store, in San Francisco. Saturday, June 2nd with LaDonna Smith at the Meridian Gallery, in SF. And, Thursday, June 22 with John Butcher and Matthew Sperry at New Langton Arts in SF. For contact information, check the performance calendar at http://www.slip.net/~wedge/gigs.html

Discography:
A partial list includes:
Gino Robair w/guests, Buddy Systems (Meniscus)
Gino Robair, Plates, Blocks, Cups, and Hair (Limited Sedition)
Gino Robair/Anthony Braxton, Duets 1987 (Music&Arts0
Gino Robair, Singular Pleasures (Rastascan Records)
Splatter Trio, Hi-Fi Junk Note (Rastascan)
Splatter Trio, Jump or Die: A Braxton Tribute (Music & Arts)
Gino Robair/John Butcher/Matthew Sperry, 12 Milagritos (Spool)
Ielasi/Rinaldi/Sciajno/Robair - May 15th (Fringes)
Ingalls/Shiurba/Perkis/Robair - Matthew Sperry Trio (Limited Sedition)
Oluyemi Thomas/Gino Robair - Unity in Multiplicity (Rastascan)
Miya Masaoka/Tom Nunn/Gino Robair - Crepuscular Music (Rastascan)
Phil Gelb/Miya Masaoka/Gino Robair - Purple Wind (Ryokan)

Upcoming releases include a trio disc with Derek Bailey and John Butcher for the Acta label; Anthony Braxton's opera Trillium R on Braxton House; and a new, long-awaited Splatter Trio release.

Website: www.rastascan.com/gino.html

Watchout for JAZZIZ magazine's July 2000 issue, which features a GINO ROBAIR profile and review of his "Buddy Systems" CD in Sam Prestianni's column, 'OUTSIDE/IN.'