3:00am

This was the result of picking up a cheap cast off electric guitar at an auction. I experimented with preparing the guitar by inserting screwdrivers, pens and nail files between the strings. This adapts a technique devised by John Cage to turn the piano into a percussion orchestra. Preparing the strings selected a range of tunings (like adding movable frets, like a sitar) that could be changed as it is played. The guitar was played by laying it flat on a table and using drumsticks, the whammy bar and plucking with the thumbs in the manner of an African mbira (thumb piano). The guitar was recorded from it’s pickups without processing, so the natural sound of the paraphenalia is missing and really displaces the expected sound of a guitar. The title refers to the time of performance and my mood…

(4/1994 5:42, stereo)