Lesson No. 1

About

Lesson No. 1 is the debut solo EP by American avant-garde musician Glenn Branca. It was released in March 1980 on 99 Record. In the late 1970, Branca was a member of no wave band Theoretical Girl. While he was out of town touring with the Static, Max's Kansas City invited Theoretical Girls to perform for a 1979 Easter festival. Branca convinced the venue to book him for a solo gig, and he assembled a group that included Barbara Ess and Christine Hahn. The group performed "Instrumental for Six Guitars", and its sound convinced Branca to continue composing for multiple guitar. He began performing solo at rock clubs and avant-garde venues such as The Kitchen. Branca "wanted to make sure was understood as rock and nothing else." Branca knew Ed Bahlman, who sold independent singles at a store run by his girlfriend, and asked Bahlman if he would be interested in starting a label and releasing a record by Branca. Bahlman knew little about recording, pressing, and distributing record, but Branca had some experience with Theoretical Record. Having seen some of Branca's show, Bahlman agreed and decided to make Lesson No. 1 the first release by 99 Record. Branca needed guitar players to form a large guitar orchestra, and he posted fliers at record stores in downtown New York City. He held auditions at his apartment where he conducted guitar player. Thurston Moore, who performs on "Bad Smells", auditioned at the recommendation of his girlfriend Kim Gordon but was rejected. Rhys Chatham of the Gynecologists was initially upset after hearing the new band, feeling that it was reusing his idea. Branca's group performed around New York and was invited to perform at the Walker Art Center in Minneapoli. When three musicians pulled out, he recruited guitarist Lee Ranaldo. Ranaldo had seen Branca's ensemble perform at The Kitchen and lived in the same building as Branca's friend, pianist Anthony Coleman. Branca bought tickets providing unlimited flights for three weeks for what became his first tour. The tour began in December 1980 and included Ranaldo, Ned Sublette, David Rosenbloom, Jeffrey Glenn, and Stephan Wischerth. They traveled the country performing "Lesson No. 1 for Electric Guitar", "Dissonance", and "Compositions". Ranaldo, who performed with a six-string guitar strung with E6 string, emerged as a foil to Branca. The two would playfully butt heads or guitars onstage. Some of the tour's audiences were unfamiliar with art music and heckled the band by calling the work "devil's music". Lesson No. 1 applies repetitive techniques that Branca learned from Chatham and Jeff Lohn. It combines these minimal music compositions with the aesthetics of punk rock. Branca uses dense overtones and shifting melodies created from repeated electric guitar part. The guitars build during extended crescendoe. "Lesson No. 1 for Electric Guitar" was inspired by Joy Division's 1980 single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and the work of composer Steve Reich. It opens with two-note guitar figures similar to Reich's experiments with phasing. It introduces one-note parts on the organ and bass that gives the sense of harmonic progression, and drums enter the arrangement three minutes into the track. The piece is a structured improvisation where Branca specified the musical and tonal structure, but the strumming technique was improvised. .

via Last.fm

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