Dave Nuss
Dave Nuss, born 1971 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Raised in an Evangelical Christian environ, he has spent now many years to let go of those memories -- first through the violence of heavy metal, and later through more subtle tactics of self-immolation. Now Nuss in NYC works in two bands: 1. the No-Neck Blues Band, 7 members together for 13 years and dedicated to unmediated and clear expression of the collective mind, based in Harlem; and 2. Under Satan’s Sun, a metal-physical band. Nuss’ music is about the twin-spirit dark/light world actualized in human ritual connection. He began his career in the thrash metal band Angkor Wat (Death Records) in the late 80’s, moved to New York to experience the avant garde of improvisation and expansive music. At the time of this performance, Nuss was working with a social service mission called ArtSpirit that organizes drumming groups for people that live on the streets. A poem given by one of the homeless drummers in the days before the show provides its title:
Here is my tom-tom playing
It’s a tumult of a waterfall
Made so by the energy of syncopation
Wild onions
And words of fire
It’s the magic of wood on wood
The healer is at work
His art is on display, a music conveyed
By the tom-tom; a secret, sacred, beat
Established long ago.
-“Nouk”
“Wood on Wood” is dedicated to Keiji Heino, Mick Barr, and Frost.
