The Tugline

The melding of music and film has a long and storied history, from the piano players who accompanied silent films to the Velvet Underground being the house band for Andy Warhol's multimedia art shows. Hoping to create what he calls "an experiment in art and psychology," local artist Matthew Hartman has begun a series of performances called the Tugline, where experimental film and music play tug of war. The concept is simple: A group of musicians gather and are asked to perform live to accompany a film. The only catch? The players have never practiced together before, and they haven't seen the film in advance. For this iteration of the Tugline, musicians from such bands as Googolplexia and the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra will provide a live score for three different films by Chris Drummond.