Experimentalist Chadbourne to bring Horror to Oberlin

Just in time for Friday the 13th, banjo legend and his Horror Part One project appear at the Cat

He's come a long way from the Carolinas-not Alabama-with a banjo on his knee. On Sunday the Cat in the Cream will play host to a rare appearance by experimental banjo anti-legend Dr. Eugene Chadbourne. Chadbourne, who will be appearing with his Horror Part One Project ensemble, will be concluding a short tour of the midwest in celebration of his newest recording, "Horror Part One"- the latest release on Chadbourne's own House Of Chadponk imprint.

A self-described "avant-folk troubadour," Chadbourne's most recent effort finds his energies focused on "horror movies, monsters, bad luck and a host of other weird musics." How timely for this Friday the 13th weekend. For Chadbourne, this newest disc is both abnormally strange and strangely normal. Indeed, until now, the Doctor has never released an album in this genre, so to speak. In that respect, it is new.

However, "Horror Part One" is one of literally hundreds of CDs and tapes in dozens of genres that Dr. Chadbourne sells from his mail order catalog out of his house in Greensboro, N.C. - including a hearty handful (somewhere in the teens would be a good guess) released this year.

Releases available from Chadbourne's catalog, spanning his more than 20-year career, contain straight forward jazz, bluegrass (including duets with Psychograss musician Tony Trischka), rock and roll, Insect and Western (a genre of Chadbourne's own creation), country and others. More often than not, though, the releases blend styles with reckless abandon. Also available from Chadbourne's catalog are his two books: the novel Bye Bye DDR and I Hate The Man Who Runs This Bar: The Survival Guide For Real Musicians.

While a good chunk of the Doctor's releases are solo works, just as many feature him at play with musical cohorts and friends such as proto-acid-poppers Camper Van Beethoven (the band that spawned Cracker), the Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants, John Zorn and Jimmy Carl Black (the drummer for Frank Zappa's original Mothers Of Invention).

In Horror Part One, Chadbourne collaborates with longtime friend Joe Conroy (cello, violin, koto, zither, dulcimer, mini bass); Steve Good (clarinet); and Norman Minogue (theramin, drums).

Horror Part One will perform at the Cat In The Cream on Sunday, November 15th at 8 pm. Admission is free.