gunnelpumping: the act of standing on the rear gunnels of a canoe and propelling the craft forward by pumping one’s legs
Gunnelpumpers: a group of inspired musicians dedicated to the art of progressive, free improvisation
Gunnelpumpers is a group of musicians dedicated to the art of progressive, free improvisation. Founded in Chicago in 2002 by bassist/composer Douglas Johnson and percussionist Randy Farr, Gunnelpumpers has had over 50 musicians perform with the group. The core of the group currently includes founders Johnson and Farr, as well as rock guitarist John Meyer, Chicago Symphony bassist Michael Hovnanian, and session musicians Tom Mendel on bass guitar and Bob Garrett on drums.
At the heart of Gunnelpumpers lies the spirit of improvisation, and each musician brings a wide range of influences to create a unique and compelling sound. By nature Gunnelpumpers defies labels, but perhaps “tribadelic” best describes the myriad of styles drawn from, which ranges from rock to classical, jazz to psychedelia, and beyond.
Based in Chicago, founded in 2002
After pondering as to how to actually do it, we have finally figured out how to capture and post visualizations of Gunnelpumpers music. The goal is to make the music visually appealing as well, and a YouTube playlist containing all of the visualizations has been created for your listening and viewing pleasure.
Click here for our audio recordings.
Find us on Bandcamp.