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Alan Licht Book Tour and Text of Light Shows

Catherine Lewis reports:
The slacker lifestyle is becoming increasingly hectic these days-- what with all the office working, weekend protesting, and show-ticket purchasing, the last thing most of us have time for is a book. Experimental guitarist Alan Licht understands this, though, and has generously offered to read us his latest book, An Emotional Memoir of Martha Quinn, during a six-date book tour over the next week.

An Emotional Memoir, released last year through Drag City Books, is an efficient (76 pages-- maybe if you're quiet, Licht will read you the whole thing!) treatise on music and culture that anyone who grew up in the MTV 80s and played in the indie-rock 90s should soak up like backstage beer. Besides being a frequent contributor to The Wire (check out his upcoming cover interview with Lou Reed), Licht also has a long pedigree as a guitarist, from his work in 90s sensations Love Child, to his guitar battles with Rudolph Grey and Loren Mazzacane-Connors, to his melodic rants in Matador's Run-On, to his numerous solo albums on Siltbreeze, Corpus Hermeticum, and Crank Automotive. He's also guested on several albums recently, including the Pacific Ocean's So Beautiful and Cheap and Warm, which was recently released on Teenbeat Records. Dates:

01-23 Cambridge, MA - Twisted Village (12 Eliot St.), 8 pm
01-24 Pittsburgh, PA - Paul's CD (4526 Liberty Ave.), 6 pm
01-25 Washington, DC - DC CD (2423 18th St.), 6 pm
01-26 Columbus, OH - Used Kids Records (1980 N. High St.), 5:30 pm
01-27 Royal Oak, MI - Neptune Records (503 S. Main), 6:30 pm
01-28 Chicago, IL - Quimby's (1854 W. North Ave.), 7:30 pm

Along the way, Licht will record a solo guitar set for future broadcast on Maryland's WMUC-FM and join improv stalwarts Ken Vandermark and Fred Longberg-Holm for a trio performance at Chicago's Empty Bottle.

In the upcoming months, Licht will stay busy as part of Lee Ranaldo's Text of Light ensemble. Originally formed to put together an improvised soundtrack to legendary filmmaker Stan Brakhage's 1974 silent film Text of Light, the group has played to a few other films over the past year. Featuring a revolving lineup that has included William Hooker, DJ Olive, Christian Marclay, Ulrich Kreiger, and Tim Barnes, the group will play at Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut on February 1st, before traveling to Europe in late March to play in Italy, Paris, and Berlin.

.: Pitchfork Review: Alan Licht & Loren Mazzacane-Connors: Hoffman Estates
.: Alan Licht: http://www.dragcity.com/bands/licht.html
.: Text of Light dates: http://www.sonicyouth.com/calendar/index.html
.: Originally published: 22 January 2003
.: Items mentioned above on Amazon.com: An Emotional Memoir of Martha Quinn (Alan Lich, 2000); So Beautiful and Cheap and Warm (the Pacific Ocean, 2002).