A Man with a Gun Lives Here, by Steve Snowden

Performed by line upon line
Matthew Teodori, Cullen Faulk, and Adam Bedell
Mvt. 1 - Be Prepared to Defend Yourself (0:14)
Mvt. 2 - There are Thieves About (3:07)
Mvt. 3 - A Man with a Gun Lives Here (5:52)
vicfirth.com/artists/line_upon...
ABOUT THE PIECE:
Most prevalent during the Great Depression, hobos were nomads who roamed the United States taking work wherever they could. In their extensive travels, hobos learned to leave notes for each other, giving information about places to camp, where to find a meal, or dangers that lay ahead. This unique Hobo Code was known to the brotherhood of freight train riders and used by all to keep the community of traveling workers safe, fed and in work.
Life as a hobo was difficult and dangerous. These vagabonds developed their own secret pictographic language to help other hobos to food, water and work or to direct them away from dangerous situations. The Hobo Code is a fascinating system of symbols understood among the hobo community. Because hobos weren't typically welcomed (and were often illiterate), messages left for others in the community had to be easy for hobos to read but look like little more than random markings to everyone else to maintain an element of secrecy. Scrawled in places where hobos were likely to convene, the purpose of the code was not only to help other hobos find what they needed, but to keep the entire lifestyle possible for everyone.
Each movement of this piece is based on one of these symbols and, just like those resourceful hobos, makes use of very limited materials. All activity is centered on a single bass drum. Other items utilized include steel plates, rubber balls, and a paper bag containing 3 lbs of loose buckshot.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER:
Steven Snowden creates music for a diverse array of settings including theater, dance, film, multimedia installations, and the concert stage. He has focused much of his recent work on interdisciplinary collaboration and remains active as a performer in both acoustic and electronic mediums. Raised in rural Southwest Missouri, Snowden began composition studies in 2002, received his Masters degree in composition at the University of Colorado and DMA at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a co-founder/director of the Fast Forward Austin new music organization and his works have been performed by many outstanding ensembles at numerous festivals and concert series across five continents.
He has recently received awards and fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, the Austin Critics' Table, Copland House, ISCM World Music Days, Future Places Portugal, MACRO, IC 2013, The Mizzou New Music International Composers Festival and the ASCAP Morton Gould Awards among others. He was also the recipient of a 2012-2013 Fulbright Grant to Portugal in music composition/technology where he researched the augmentation of interactive motion tracking systems for use in large-scale interdisciplinary collaborations. He's currently a visiting professor and composer in residence at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:
Formed in 2009, line upon line percussion is committed to seeking new ways for percussion instruments to advance contemporary music. To date, the ensemble has commissioned and premiered 8 new works for percussion with 13 additional works currently in the collaborative process. In 2011, the Austin-based trio released a disc of commissioned, homegrown music and premiered their award winning project, seeing times are not hidden, a site-specific work for custom chimes. April 2013 brought the North American premiere of Hugues Dufourt's massive, evening-length masterpiece, Erewhon.
After nominations in 2011 and 2012, the trio was named Best Ensemble by the Austin Critics' Table in 2013. The Austinist called line upon line "the premier new music percussion ensemble in Texas and the South."
line upon line maintains educational and outreach roles with the Austin Chamber Music Center and has performed and taught at numerous academic institutions around the United States. November 2012 marked their first appearance at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. The group has previously performed at the Fusebox Festival, SXSW, Fast Forward Austin, the Victoria Bach Festival and the International Festival-Institute at Round Top.

[@jongeller4913]

i love this. i once dumped a girl cuz she said "percussion is kinda pointless". some people don't appreciate sound

[@TamoghnaDas_dumbo]

I second you without any hesitation.

[@N0Comm3nts]

jon geller I'd suggest having a look here, I have a whole series of posts dedicated to dissipating the misconception that percussion is simple and that percussionists are simpletons: facebook.com/nudycity/

[@DrummahMike]

@Tabi967 A lot of people get dumped for having a difference of opinions on things, it's called "not getting along". Especially if that dude is a percussionist, that's a big deal. You pull the stick out of your ass sometime.

[@armandorosales1118]

if she said that to you after showing something similar to this, seems like she wanted to be dumped /:

[@PT-xi5rt]

Cuz you were gay you mean

[@emersongoo1224]

Exceptional musicality. This is really, really great.

[@Coolrock-fg4tu]

I thought for sure that they punctured the drum head

[@jmpsthrufyre]

a tense piece. the elephant sounds like constant stressed sighs and railyard sounds, the brushwork like the soft steps taken behind, between.. there, but unseen, the loud drum the unrelenting norm always looking to eradicate.

[@angelflorido]

I no longer remembered this excellent piece . I love their performance, their mallets , the sounds and timber . Great job my friends.

[@DerHerrMitR]

Most prevalent during the Great Depression, hobos were nomads who roamed the United States taking work wherever they could. In their extensive travels, hobos learned to leave notes for each other, giving information about places to camp, where to find a meal, or dangers that lay ahead. This unique Hobo Code was known to the brotherhood of freight train riders and used by all to keep the community of traveling workers safe, fed and in work. Each movement of this piece is based on one of these symbols and, just like those resourceful hobos, makes use of very limited materials. All activity is centered on a single bass drum. Other items utilized include steel plates, rubber balls, and a paper bag containing 3 lbs of loose buckshot.

[@GerstBladeworks]

Why'd you just copy the description?

[@Yanb57479]

Is that..... a red brake drum?!?!?

[@Everlongfive]

This is absolutely stunning! What a piece and what a performance!!! Thank you!

[@isaacdennis4351]

I present you the gods of percussion

[@Bigdrum2]

Lol :-)))...

[@benjaminwaddill1625]

Isaac Dennis :)

[@doodoodaadoo1]

I hate how accurate blowing into Cymbal on a bass drum sounds like something heavy is being moved

[@jotagomezmusico]

Bravo! That was excelent! Great composition. Greetings from Chile!

[@antiago1983]

So great, GREAT work. I badly want that bassdrum.

[@alainlemoal2643]

Excellent et surprenant (des effets que je ne connaissais pas)

[@DolphinPain]

Around 4:45 I hear an elephant running through the African savanna as a great lion stalks an antelope and kills it. Somehow, I can't make the thieves connection.

[@Ankylophobia]

I imagined the "elephant" sounds as creaky doors, like maybe people are sneaking through his house or trying to get in

[@thewrongones2800]

Ankylophobia I imagined it as a train horn or the train grinding to a halt on the tracks since the piece is about hobos and the great depression and hobos usually hitch rides by train. Or they used to anyway.

[@kaimoskow3110]

That's the great thing about music; You don't have to make the connection. The performer interprets the music as it is written, and the audience interprets music entirely based on sound.

[@campbellsprojects7533]

The composer said that the piece isn't programmatic, the sounds aren't meant to represent anything, rather they are meant to evoke a feeling, the feeling of being terrified and scared

[@xCentauri]

spiderman into the spiderverse also used these 'elephant' sounds and it truly makes the scenes tons more terrifying

[@Jdrummer596]

My percussion ensemble at Adelphi University did this piece I love it so much!!!

[@MasterZephyr6]

Jdrummer596 How did you do the cymbal elephant/creaky door noise?

[@renezinondrums]

Amazing!!!

[@MrChasalopolis]

Really Good!

[@MrSifkis]

that was so amazing im going to listen to it again

[@JLopez429]

Amazing!!

[@patrickmckinney8610]

Incredible!

[@tlmillmus]

Great theatric piece!!

[@jparks4815]

Beautiful Art. Nothing more to say.

[@0eroPositivo]

It's a realy creative composition.

[@groovyjazzbeats61]

To leave the "preformed" concepts of music and ALL its elements is to live FREE... BEAUTIFUL HUMANOID EXPLORATIONS...COOL!

[@dmndsol]

Nothing left in the baggie but seeds, they obviously finished off the weed.

[@GerstBladeworks]

Oh my lord!! This is excellent with good headphones or a surround sound with subwoofers..did you guys have a mic in the bass drum ?

[@michaelchang2930]

I can see this properly recorded in a hall in ultra-fidelity and presented as an audiophile recording.

[@jimmyshrimbe9361]

It IS about hobo codes!

[@edgarloen9714]

great! to make the elephant sound are you blowing in side the plate? or how did you do the sound? congratulations! great job and execution.

[@mikegarcia7252]

What are they using for bell plates in the second movement

[@VITALSEAmusic]

I've see. These guys preform this live, the man in the black was a graduate from my high school

[@adamwojtasiak6204]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to mount the metal pieces they use as stand substitutes?😊

[@saaaraaah97]

please someone tell me what theyre dragging across the head at 0:47 is that like a rubber mallet??? wowski i love

[@jordanlieberman2014]

If I'm remembering correctly, the piece calls for a rubber bouncy ball with a stick punctured into it. I think we used some beefy paper clips so we could wrap it around our fingers like a ring (for those quick changes). Goofy, I know.

[@samlau_]

It’s a superball mallet!

[@jawslego123]

What superball mallets are used in this?

[@EAPanamaChannel]

De pelicula

[@ggggyeeee]

Flipting out...

[@ZxMusTanGxZ]

Каааиииф!

[@sstipech]

What size is the bass drum that's used here?

[@chebetodrums]

usedes son unos abusadores eso es lo que son !!

[@brittanywagner7930]

Anyone have suggestions on how to make the cymbal blow sound? Currently playing this piece for my recital but can't make the sound 🙃

[@justingrubbs5574]

I played this my junior year in college! It’s a great piece. Provided you are using the right kind of cymbal, I used an oboe-ish embouchure and blew down and at an angle through the hole. It takes time to get the right amount of pressure on the head. It takes a LOT of air. Works best on calf-skin heads.

[@brittanywagner7930]

@@justingrubbs5574 thank you!! I think I've been attempting that but maybe thinking more directly to an oboe embouchure will help more. I have the right jing cymbal it just seems that the hole in the top is a little small.

[@justingrubbs5574]

Brittany Wagner Think about your airstream going in a straight line from the hole at the top to the exact spot where the inside chamber meets the drumhead. It worked best for me blowing at that angle towards my body.

[@ThereaalSP]

Music sheet

[@MinhLe-qo8iz]

poor paper bag

[@user-zu1xt7lr4b]

5:56

[@lidiaber6837]

Magnifico

[@hunterreece6659]

What are the things being drug across the bass drum?

[@jmpsthrufyre]

Windowpane rubber ball mallets?

[@radia9098]

Can someone tell me what they're trying to do when they slide those "half-balls" over the drum?

[@VicFirthCompany]

They are scraping the drum with them which causes the head to vibrate -- and it creates a "whale-like" sound. Sort of like doing a tambourine thumb roll.

[@ajames0531]

Vic Firth What is it exactly that they are using to create the sound?

[@Ankylophobia]

Alex James they look like they may be some kind of "friction mallet" kind of like a superball attached to a stick :) the important thing is that it's rubber

[@iDawd]

Too bad they don't have oily hands. I can do it just as well with my thumb, without beeswax.

[@sasquatchpatch]

This doap

[@karlajung1107]

What's in the bag?

[@jakefarley6202]

+Karla Jung Looks like buckshot or bb's

[@sivadepilif]

Que merda hein?

[@matthewgriggs7638]

Theres so much sexual tension in this piece what

[@iownthepack]

except that a punk band named "man with gun lives here" from memphis owns the name