Bill Daniel's Sonic Orphans and Brian Allen-Hernan Hecht Duo

Punk rock and experimental music go hand in hand, though for practitioners of each the ideals of their bed-fellowship might not be obvious. As in many cities, Austin's creative improvisers and noisemakers have, by necessity and love, had to put on their own concerts and release their own recordings, sometimes guerilla style, for little or no money. They cannot claim a status of a paid working musician in the same way many singer-songwriters or rock musicians can, but that doesn't stop them from doing the work and finding niche renown wherever possible. Even if more accessible through the internet and global communities, underground musics still might find value in inter-group conversation. Sunday night at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre (presented by the Church of the Friendly Ghost), punk and free improvisation will meet in the same literal space.

The 16mm films of Bill Daniel, now based in Los Angeles but formerly an Austinite, document punk and outsider music from artists like Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth, DRI, Big Boys and the Dicks, and are touring in the form of Sonic Orphans. This Church of the Friendly Ghost screening will be the only showing of Daniel's punk rock films in Austin (at least this time around), and will be introduced by the sounds of free-communal group Night Viking. Following the screening will be a performance by improvising trombonist Brian Allen (North Texas) and percussionist Hernan Hecht (Buenos Aires/Mexico City), who use a variety of methods both traditional and extended to demark sound and space.