Birdsongs of the Mesozoic at Zeitgeist Saturday

In Rare Area Gig

By Susie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic is regarded as one of the area’s most ambitious and innovative ensembles, bringing their brand of avant electronica for over 20 years to venues, varied media projects and the living rooms of their legions of fans.

Simultaneously quirky and venerable in their craft, the group, comprised of Michael Bierylo on guitar and computer, Ken Field on saxophone, flute and percussion, Erik Lindgren on piano and Rick Scott on synthesizer, remain state of the art yet timeless in their repertoire and methodolgy. It’s indeed tough to label their stuff, which can include a Mercury Cougar hubcap and a paint can, or their derivations, which include classical, jazz and rock.

This Saturday evening, they’ll appear, at 8:30 p.m., with Dave Gross and Brendan Murray at the Zeitgeist Gallery, 133 Cambridge St. in Inman Square. It will be their first Cambridge-area gig in quite a while, according to Field, who promised an eclectic, as always, show.

“Birdsongs,” he said, “will preview brand new material from our forthcoming Cuneiform release The Iridium Controversy, due out in 2003, plus we'll pull music from our vast 20-year repertoire.”

Begun as a side project of punk legends Mission of Burma in 1980, Roger Miller and Martin Swope joined with Rick Scott and Lindgren for a 1983 self-titled EP. Following Burma’s breakup, the four went on to tour extensively on the heels of 1985’s Magnetic Flip and 1986’s Beat of the Mesozoic. When Miller left in 1987 to focus on his solo projects, which today include Binary System and, as every punk of a certain age in town knows, the revamped Burma, Field joined on.

That year’s release, Faultline, and 1992’s Pyroclastics followed, and Bierylo then replaced the Hawaii-bound Swope. 1993’s retrospective The Fossil Record,1995's Dancing On A'A and 2000’s Petrophonics have completed their discography until now.

Field has played with, among myriad others, Willie Alexander, Peter Wolf, John Sinclair, Loudon Wainwright III, Gary Cherone, Charlie Chesterman, Randy Black and Reeves Gabrels. In his various ensembles, he’s opened at many international locales for Fugazi, the Del Fuegos, Eugene Chadbourne, Debbie Harry, Gil Scott Heron, King Sunny Ade, Mose Allison, NRBQ, the Neville Brothers, Ray Manzarek, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Patti Smith, X, ‘til Tuesday and many more prominent musical acts. He’s had numerous university and arts organization residencies. Field also performed for President Bill Clinton, and penned two compositions for Sesame Street, where his music is heard regularly in collaboration with the work of his wife, animator Karen Aqua. HBO, the Movie Channel, the Sundance Channel, and PBS have broadcast his soundtrack work.

Birdsongs’ members have been Aritsts-In-Residence at Dartmouth College, Emory University and Massachusetts College Of Art since 1994. They collaborated with NPR commentator David Greenberger in 1998 on 1001 Real Apes. Members have composed music for film and television, including Children's Television Workshop's Sesame Street series.

Birdsongs gigs have included venues such as the Knitting Factory in New York City, the Honolulu Academy Of Arts, the Monadnock Music Festival in New Hampshire, and Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut. “This will be the first Cambridge/Boston gig in quite some time,” said Field.

For further information on Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, please visit http://www.birdsongsofthemesozoic.org.