What’s the difference between postmodern brilliance and utter crap? At the ongoing Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music, Jeff Surak has been the person to make that call. Surak, who became director of Sonic Circuits in 2006, has been performing in various experimental music projects since the 19080’s, both in the U.S. and in Russia. His current project, Violet, produces sounds out of cassette tapes, various pieces of electronic equipment and other found items….

We’re two days into the Sonic Circuits Festival and it’s already been an interesting experience. We’ve seen bicycle pumps used as instruments (Twilight Memories of the Three Suns), a classically trained vocalist snort like a Beluga Whale (Thomas Buckner) and one of our anticipated picks (Odal) a no show due to missing equipment. We’ve also seen virtuosos make good on their acclaim (Elliot Sharp, 21st Century Ensemble) and discovered some local artists that we…

>> Tonight, The Alfred Mojica Band, a latin-jazz ensemble, performs at The Bossa Bistro & Lounge. Call 202-667-0088 for details. >> On Thursday, guitarist Robben Ford (pictured), an alum of Miles Davis’ band, takes the stage for a four night stand at Blues Alley. Tickets to the daily 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets are available here. $35 + $10 food/drink minimum. >> HR-57 has some cool things going on this weekend. On Friday, saxophonist…

This Friday marks the start of D.C.’s Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music, which will run through September 29 at venues around the city. The festival traces its roots back to 1993, when the American Composer’s Forum (ACF) curated a traveling program that was hosted by ACF chapters across the country and offered to any venue interested in presenting music based on electronic technology. The D.C. chapter of ACF first hosted the festival in 2000,…

DCist is, collectively, having one of those Fridays. You know, one of those Fridays when your boss dumps a bunch of work on your desk and wants it done before you leave for the weekend (the sweet, sweet weekend) and your Internet keeps crapping out so you can’t even check your email. The weekend is quickly approaching and we haven’t yet had time to scour the best of the city’s offerings. But, we think…