Author(s): Alan Licht

Art Theory

Conversations with the avant-garde's leading lights--from Suicide to Anohni--by experimental music's go-to interviewer, guitarist and sound artist Alan LichtA precocious chronicler of New York's art and music scenes of the last 30 years, Alan Licht's (born 1968) experience as a consummate experimental guitarist and conceptual sound artist--combined with his dry wit and deep erudition--have distinguished him as the go-to interviewer of the avant-garde. Having already published articles on minimalist composers La Monte Young, Tony Conrad, Rhys Chatham and Charlemagne Palestine by the time he graduated from Vassar College, in 1998 Licht began writing frequently and conducting regular interviews for the British experimental music magazine The Wire. Common Tones collects a selection of those interviews, as well as dialogues from Bomb magazine, transcriptions of conversations that took place at Red Bull Music Academy and the legendary experimental venue Tonic, and interviews conducted expressly for this book. Musicians, artists, writers and filmmakers interviewed by Licht include Vito Acconci, Anohni, Cory Arcangel, Matthew Barney, Glenn Branca, Rhys Chatham, Tony Conrad, Richard Foreman, Henry Flynt, Milford Graves, Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, Ken Jacobs, Jutta Koether, Christian Marclay, Phill Niblock, Tony Oursler, Karl Precode of The Dream Syndicate, Lou Reed, Martin Rev and Alan Vega of Suicide, The Sea and Cake, Tom Verlaine, Wolf Eyes and Rudy Wurlitzer.