Wu Fei & Dave Willey - Colorado Creative Music Series August 17, 2007

“The East and West met long ago with the Silk Road. Through music and sound, we are an echo of this union in our current time,” said Chinese composer and improviser Wu Fei about her upcoming performance with luminary Dave Willey, leader of the eclectic and acclaimed Hamster Theatre.

The concert will consist of song offerings from both artists combined with some improvisational outings. Instrumentation will include Wu Fei on Chinese guzheng and voice and Dave Willey on accordion, electric guitar, and percussion. The marks the third and final installment of Wu Fei as curator for the 2007 Colorado Creative Music Series.

The duo performs 7 p.m., Sunday, September 9th at the Lab at Belmar, Belmar, 404 S Upham St, Lakewood. Tickets are $4 for Creative Music Works members and students with a valid ID and $7 for general admission.

"As the founder and primary composer of Hamster Theatre, Dave's playing has not only shown me his fun personality, but also his sophisticated compositional skill,” said Wu.

“As a composer and performer myself, I admire artists who can be a master in both fields. I have played with Dave for a modern dance event a couple years ago,” continued Wu. “However, this upcoming concert will give me a more intimate environment to communicate with and parallel Dave's artistic language."

Willey is most well known locally for founding the Hamster Theatre in 1993 and as a member of the seminal experimental band Thinking Plague. Hamster Theatre’s latest release is The Public Execution of Mister Personality/Quasi Day Room (2006). Willey graduated from Boulder’s Naropa University in 1987.

Willey is currently working on an album with Hugh Hopper (bassist of the original Soft Machine), Debra Perry (singer of Thinking Plague), and Elaine DiFalco (Caveman Shoestore). Willey also plays in a gypsy swing band in addition to the Hamster Theatre.
“I’m looking forward to this performance,” said Dave Willey. “Wu Fei is an amazing improviser. I miss improvising, and this is an incredible opportunity.”

Official Website: http://creativemusicworks.org/index.html