Gallery 1412, Seattle's unofficial home for adventurous music, celebrates its one-year anniversary this month. After Polestar Music Gallery closed in October 2004, an informal musicians' collective banded together to keep the Capitol Hill storefront space open. No other venue in town presents so much noncommercial music—free improvisation, noise, lowercase sound, cracked electronics, phonography, weird pop, installations, postclassical composition, and other unclassifiable sonic phenomena—so consistently.
"It's been a good year," says Gust Burns, pianist and part of the collective that runs Gallery 1412. "It's been successful in the ways we wanted; we have a diverse group running it." Musicians such as violinist/composer Tom Swafford, pianist Julie Ives of the chamber group Sorelle, out-jazz bandleader Greg Sinibaldi, and electronician (and occasional Stranger contributor) Scott Goodwin are just some of the artists behind the venue.
Indeed, Burns contends that collectively running the space keeps Gallery 1412 vital. "We all book different things. It's not just one person or a committee deciding who gets booked—that's the Gallery's main strength," declares Burns. "There might be a punk show one night, performance art on another. It's nice to know we can fill that void." And for year two? "[We want to] continue doing what we're doing and continue broadening our basis of support."
They're looking ahead with a quadruple bill that showcases the Gallery's impressive range of music. Along with quirky experimental pop group the Dead Science, who plan to augment their lineup with several avant improvisers, Tom Swafford serves up a solo acoustic set on violin. The duo Bonus (described by band member Scott Goodwin as "electronic glacial drone with very minimal means") and a new trio with Matt Carlson, Na's Kazu Nomura, and Burns round out the evening. Here's to year two. CHRISTOPHER DeLAURENTI
Gallery 1412 celebrates on Sat Nov 12 (Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 322-1533), 8 pm, $5–$15 sliding scale donation.
