no.245 | Live for Artist Run Club
Artist Run Club changed my life. The club meets every Wednesday at 6:30am to look at art and then run at 7:00am. I began running during the pandemic when all the pools were closed. My runs back then were miserable plodding solo affairs. The club was going to visit a show I had up in town, so I thought I should see what it was all about. I discovered running with other people is so much better than suffering alone. Growing up as a swimmer, I thought it was natural to churn away in agony by yourself. While I still love to swim, especially in Barton Springs among the turtles and fish, running as a social event was a revelation. Not only was running less grueling, we got to see art shows around town in intimate ways and run in new neighborhoods adjacent to the venues we visit.
In the summer, ARC often meets for an event at Barton Springs, which is a spring-fed WPA miracle located near Zilker Park. Despite the heat, the water is always around 70 degrees. This is the second time ARC asked me to play there.
Artist Run Club has been gracefully spearheaded by Phillip Neimeyer of Northern Southern Gallery here in Austin and a group a volunteers for several years. Many thanks to them for inviting me to share the music and images and for creating such a wonderful community.
I set up in front of a large heritage pecan tree affectionately called the Monkey Tree. On Sundays, a drum circle coalesces at dusk under its sprawling canopy. On early weekday mornings, there are swimmers making their way to the pool, various work-out groups, dogs, and lots of birds inhabiting the space.
I played about 15 minutes of improvised music. PSO no.245 is snippet of the begging grafted onto the psychedelic ending. It was the first time I had used guitar effects in public with PSO and it was fun to mix in a kinda spacey vibe to my acoustic plucking. Phillip generously described it as sounding like bringing My Bloody Valentine to a campfire.
I couldn’t make a picture while I played, so I asked club members to send me pictures afterward and collaged them together. I am grateful to Phillip Neimeyer, Thira Rose, Stephen Henderson, Joe Chandler, Tyler Lofgren, and Kevin Muñoz for contributing images. Also, shout out to Paul Stautinger for helping me with the audio!
Email us at info(at)porchswingorchestra.org
Photographs and musical improvisations build a framework for deep listening and visual contemplation. Barry Stone plays acoustic guitar with a Fahey-inspired picking style mixed in with electronic effects, like My Bloody Valentine for a campfire. The sounds of the outside—bird calls, stray conversations, passing cars—become part of the music.
Stone scrambles the code and layers images taken on-site to produce new imaginaries. We discover fresh ways to see and hear everything.
Since 2018, PSO has collaborated with dozens of musicians, artists, poets, writers, and activists to publish over 240 unique combinations of images and sounds.
Most PSO pieces are made on Stone’s front porch in Austin, Texas, but PSO has traveled to Spiral Jetty in Utah, the border town of Del Rio, Texas, Maine, the San Juan Islands, and performes live in unconventional venues such as the James Turrell Skyspace, The Color Inside as a part of The University of Texas Landmarks Songs in the Skyspace Program.
Each new piece displaces the last and is not archived on the site. Never miss a piece or performance by signing up for our FREE NEWSLETTER below.
To experience selected past pieces, listen to the PSO RADIO, or tune into our PODCAST, or stream us on SPOTIFY in the links below.
Releases can be purchased on BANDCAMP or at BARRYSTONE.COM
In the summer, ARC often meets for an event at Barton Springs, which is a spring-fed WPA miracle located near Zilker Park. Despite the heat, the water is always around 70 degrees. This is the second time ARC asked me to play there.
Artist Run Club has been gracefully spearheaded by Phillip Neimeyer of Northern Southern Gallery here in Austin and a group a volunteers for several years. Many thanks to them for inviting me to share the music and images and for creating such a wonderful community.
I set up in front of a large heritage pecan tree affectionately called the Monkey Tree. On Sundays, a drum circle coalesces at dusk under its sprawling canopy. On early weekday mornings, there are swimmers making their way to the pool, various work-out groups, dogs, and lots of birds inhabiting the space.
I played about 15 minutes of improvised music. PSO no.245 is snippet of the begging grafted onto the psychedelic ending. It was the first time I had used guitar effects in public with PSO and it was fun to mix in a kinda spacey vibe to my acoustic plucking. Phillip generously described it as sounding like bringing My Bloody Valentine to a campfire.
I couldn’t make a picture while I played, so I asked club members to send me pictures afterward and collaged them together. I am grateful to Phillip Neimeyer, Thira Rose, Stephen Henderson, Joe Chandler, Tyler Lofgren, and Kevin Muñoz for contributing images. Also, shout out to Paul Stautinger for helping me with the audio!
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LETS'S MAKE SOMETHING TOGETHER
I love to collaborate, remotely or in person, but if you have a piece you would like to feature on PSO (without contributions by me), by all means, please reach out!Email us at info(at)porchswingorchestra.org
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ABOUT PSO
Porch Swing Orchestra is an art project begun by Barry Stone that explores the interplay between still images and sound.Photographs and musical improvisations build a framework for deep listening and visual contemplation. Barry Stone plays acoustic guitar with a Fahey-inspired picking style mixed in with electronic effects, like My Bloody Valentine for a campfire. The sounds of the outside—bird calls, stray conversations, passing cars—become part of the music.
Stone scrambles the code and layers images taken on-site to produce new imaginaries. We discover fresh ways to see and hear everything.
Since 2018, PSO has collaborated with dozens of musicians, artists, poets, writers, and activists to publish over 240 unique combinations of images and sounds.
Most PSO pieces are made on Stone’s front porch in Austin, Texas, but PSO has traveled to Spiral Jetty in Utah, the border town of Del Rio, Texas, Maine, the San Juan Islands, and performes live in unconventional venues such as the James Turrell Skyspace, The Color Inside as a part of The University of Texas Landmarks Songs in the Skyspace Program.
Each new piece displaces the last and is not archived on the site. Never miss a piece or performance by signing up for our FREE NEWSLETTER below.
To experience selected past pieces, listen to the PSO RADIO, or tune into our PODCAST, or stream us on SPOTIFY in the links below.
Releases can be purchased on BANDCAMP or at BARRYSTONE.COM
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
PSO RADIO
Listen and view a stream of randomly selected past PSO pieces!
Exclusively here at PSO HQ.
Click on the PSO Radio Icon to Start the Stream
Exclusively here at PSO HQ.
Click on the PSO Radio Icon to Start the Stream
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LISTEN TO THE PSO PODCAST
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Orchestra Players:
Gregory Brooks, Bob Warner, Emily Scarlet Kramer, Rainey Knudson, Ryan Lauderdale, Tamara Gonzales, Katy Chrisler, Gibson + Recoder, Paul Stautinger, Sarah Hennies, Eric Zimmerman, Matt Bauer, Sandy Carson, Ryan Rhodes, Rebecca Marino, Shannon Spurgeon, Aaron Winslow, Ivy Stone, Mark Menjivar, Gavin Watts, Ryan Sprott, Brad Tucker, Caleb Churchill, John Hunt, Audra Wolowiec, Lauren Grant, Bill McCullough, Henry Smith, Anthony Francis, Xavier Gilmore, Ana Treviño, Ariana Gomez, Jessica Mallios, Thomas Hooper, SKLOSS, The Reformers, Zuriel Waters, Joe Williams, Jason Reed, Adam Henry, Saumon Oboudiyat
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