David Greenberger and Prime Lens will present live performances during CD release shows Friday and Saturday nights, Aug. 18-19, at Wayne-O-Rama.
"My Thoughts Approximately" will feature monologues of Duplex Planet publisher and NPR contributor Greenberger combined with the musical compositions of collaborator Bob Stagner, double bassist Evan Lipson and keyboardist Tyson Rogers.
"My Thoughts Approximately" draws on conversations Greenberger had with elderly citizens in various cities and circumstances, which were the starting point for 30 character-driven monologues.
As part of a two-night 2013 concert celebrating the late Dennis Palmer's life, Stagner and Greenberger were joined by Lipson and Rogers for a performance. They debuted their new ensemble, David Greenberger and Prime Lens, at the Big Ears Festival in 2014, where festival founder Ashley Capps dedicated the event to the memory of Palmer, co-founder of Shaking Ray Levis, and Lou Reed.
If you go
› What: “My Thoughts Approximately” CD release shows› Where: Wayne-O-Rama, 1800 Rossville Ave., Suite 108› When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 18-19› Admission: $10 in advance, $15 at door› For more information: www.shakingray.com/news.shtml#greenberger
Greenberger is best-known for his periodical of 32 years, The Duplex Planet. For two decades, he has explored ways that music can be paired to spoken monologues. His conversations with the elderly are the basis for the text he develops. He presents characters who still find pleasure in others and who open up to someone taking an interest in them. Greenberger's art shapes dialogues into works that resonate with shared humanity.
He has worked with a range of musical collaborators - Terry Adams (NRBQ), David Hidalgo & Louie Perez (Los Lobos), Glenn Jones, Chris Corsano, Robyn Hitchcock, Wreckless Eric, 3 Leg Torso, Paul Cebar and Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.
Stagner has been a percussionist, teacher, speaker and arts advocate for 30 years. He co-founded the Shaking Ray Levis, as well as the Shaking Ray Levi Society. He is the Southeast director of the Rhythmic Arts Project providing music workshops for people with disabilities.
Lipson tours with Roughhousing (featuring Jack Wright and Zach Darrup). Tyson toured extensively with blues man Tony Joe White and country legend Don Williams, playing on his Grammy-nominated duet with Alison Krauss, "I Just Come Here for the Music."
"My Thoughts Approximately" will begin at 8 p.m. each night. Doors open at 7:30. For more information: wayneorama.com.