10:00am | Tomorrow, Tom Zear (aka Thomas Beyrooty) will be presenting an art/sound installation in the Fingerprints Music book room as part of the monthly 2nd Saturday Experimental Music Series, curated by Sumako of LVXEdge.com. The presentation will involve live art making, sound collage, and installation components, and runs from 8 – 9 PM.
I met Tom nearly 10 years ago. At that time he’d just become president of Long Beach Arts, the oldest arts organization in town. I was really impressed by his affability, enthusiasm, and his unique creative vision. After that, our paths crossed several times but a number of years had passed since I last saw him. Now, he has two kids and works two jobs (cooking at Berlin and Zephyr Vegetarian Cafe). I asked him how he got started with art.
“In High School,” Tom said, “I took 6 semesters of photography. [After that,] I went to Orange Coast College to study commercial photography, then transferred to CSUF for a BFA. I was burned out on the “camera” aspect of photography, but loved the whole process of the darkroom and chemicals. I began to manipulate the light sensitive paper and the chemicals. Along the way, my work got more and more abstract. I started to work with other materials, along with the manipulated paper.”
I asked him if music was a parallel development.
“I’ve been joining and starting punk rock bands since High School,” Tom confessed. “Music has been in my heart. I have always loved ‘sound.’ In 1990, I started to combined my artwork and sound as one. My first combo piece, ‘Chamber Of Dementia,’ started as an installation so the viewers could interact and produce sound themselves.
“Being a musician, I started hooking up all my guitar effects, using guitar pickups to amplify the vibrations. Loops, delays, sheet metal and voice came into the picture.
“The first time I showcased my sound piece was at CSUF. The professor, Eileen Cowin, was angry and said ‘it sounds like a kid hitting pots and pans.’ Anarchy. I liked it. So the installation became my instrument. I played at undergrounds, galleries and street scenes.”
I asked Tom what new artistic avenues he’s been exploring.
“I’ve turned to the computer for a creative outlet,” Tom said. “I’ve designed a couple of websites, a few book covers but, mostly, I’ve been working with sound. I’ve been finding samples, creating samples, manipulating sound and using obscure music software.
“The music I will create on Saturday will be a combination of live looping, machinery, guitar and, I hope, some viewer interaction. A wave of sound, from tranquility to anarchy, all coming together. At the end of the performance, I want viewers to feel that they really experienced something, mentally: Joy, anger and, hopefully, many feeling in between. The end of the performance should leave people calm and content, kinda like meditation does.”
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To check out some of Tom’s work, visit MySpace.com/codementia.
To keep track of the goings on at Fingerprints, visit FingerprintsMusic.com.
To find out about Sumako’s art and music events, visit LVXEdge.com.