Percussionist Joel Davel performs with Jack West and Curvature and the Paul Dresher Ensemble, playing Marimba Lumina, Lightning, and various acoustic instruments. Probably the best way to keep up with his numerous appearances is to check his website, easily accomplished by clicking on his name.

The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States hosted their annual convention, SEAMUS 2002, in Iowa City from April 4 - 6. Buchla's instruments and controllers were well represented, played by Don, Joel Davel, Peter Apfelbaum, and various surprise guests. Don was presented the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award for his "pioneering achievements and lifetime contribution to the art and craft of electro-acoustic music". All in all, this is a pretty intense gathering, presenting a broad spectrum of music and a bunch of interesting research reports. For details and plans for future conventions, check the SEAMUS 2002 website.

Marimba Lumina, the first and most notorious instrument of the 21st century, has joined the musical arsenal of The Residents, the world's most famous unknown band. In celebration of their first DVD release, Icky Flix, the Residents have completed their Icky Flix Tour. For details on future engagements, visit The Residents' Official Unofficial Website.

Lightning and the Marimba Lumina, performed by Peter Apfelbaum, Antonio Zepeda, and Don Buchla, participated in the Millennium / Spring equinox festival, Tajin 2000. This extravaganza ran from March 17 to March 21 in the digs at the ancient archeological site of El Tajin. There's a move afoot to make this an annual event. We hope so.

"....the resulting amount of musical eccentricity assembled on one stage was staggering." So the L.A.Times (7/15) described the Lincoln Center Festival 2000 all-electronic presentation of of Terry Riley's "In C". The Wall Street Journal (7/26) had this to say about the subsequent Lincoln Center symposium:
"....percussionist Joel Davel blew everyone away with his virtuosic improvisation on the Marimba Lumina, an electronic invention that emulates and extends the vocabulary of conventional mallet instruments..."
All in all, we had a great time at a well-run and enjoyable festival.

Well, we're back from Iceland's first International Electronic and Computer Music Festival - loads of fun at the festival and in the rest of Iceland - geothermal capital of the world. Hotsprings, hotrivers, hotlakes, saunas on top of volcanos, even a steamroom inside a glacier. Beautiful country, wonderful people, generous hosts, even a special showing of the Northern Lights! We're looking forward to Music.is/art2004.