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Dave Barrett (saxophones, electronics) is also a
member of "Figure 8", a saxophone group with ROVA Sax
Quartet, Glenn Spearman, and Tim Berne. He frequently
collaborates with poets and is currently living in Mexico
where he is continuing his research into pre-colonial
culture.
Myles Boisen (doubleneck electric guitar/bass, electronics) currently runs Guerrilla Recording and the Headless Buddha Mastering Labs in Oakland, and is an in-demand recording and mastering engineer. His first solo CD release Guitarspeak is full of unique performances and instrumental combinations captured both live and in the studio. Gino Robair (drums, sampler, Maestro theremin) is on the road much of the time as a solo performer. His current passion is in developing the true art of improvising by performing on whatever instruments are provided by the concert promoter, as well as utilizing site-specific artifacts during the performance.
The name of the band reflects the messy act of creation: "We chose the name 'Splatter' because that's what we wanted the music to be like. Painterly, but also kind of bloody... half-Pollock and half-Peckinpah." Splatter was formed after saxophonist Dave Barrett (then a member of Club Foot Orchestra) saw a 1987 performance of John Zorn's Cobra Ensemble that included Myles and percussionist Gino Robair. Years of collective experience with the likes of Anthony Braxton, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Snakefinger, Fred Frith, and Dead Kennedys gave the three exceptional skill with experimentation and improvisation. Rather than being slaves to song structure, they play with it. Gino calls structure "our main material, like sonic playdough... as if the playdough just sort of appears as we play." Myles says, "We don't get lost, but we also don't know where we're going." A Cambodian saying quoted on their first album Splatter Trio puts it well: "When musicians play together each goes his own way but they meet from time to time." When these musicians play together, they seem intent on surprising and delighting each other. They typically have no set list; instead, one of them starts playing something and the others play whatever makes sense at the time, sometimes complementing the other musicians, sometimes going off in a completely different direction. The result gives the audience a constantly changing stream of squawks, beats, swirls, jokes, splashes, and noise, an improv soundtrack for the listener's own private contribution. Current Splatter performances often include an improvitory use of custom-made compact discs containing solo material from each of the Splatter members. In this way, they are able to create a virtual double-trio, or any combination derived from it. The custom discs are unmarked so that the players are unable to plan anything in advance - which is exactly how they like it! A 1996 limited edition CD (25 copies) called Recombinance (Live) documents a "performance" by the trio using only Splatter Trio-related compact discs. A selected discography:
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