SEAN NOONAN'S STORIES FROM BEHIND THE DRUM KIT CONTINUE WITH BRUISED BY NOON

Accompanying the Bruised by Noon CD or vinyl is an exquisite book, containing the poem captured on the CD's final track which is read by Noonan portraying Finny. The "voice" of the wall is rendered by the drums. "There are a lot of spoken rhythms that mirror my drumming, and vice versa," explains Noonan. "That interplay is an important part of my musical concept. I try to speak like a drummer, and to drum words or say them from the drum set."

As high concept as it may be in theory, Bruised by Noon is still a solo drum work, albeit one by an artist who consistently strives to expand the boundaries of his instrument. "Let's face it, a drum set is not a tempered pitch instrument, nor is played as a melodic instrument," acknowledges Noonan. "Yet on Bruised by Noon I have worked to create not only melodies with my drums, but harmonies as well, even though drums are nothing like a piano or a guitar."

A master collaborator (over the course of the 19 albums that he has recorded, the list of artists with whom he has worked includes Marc Ribot, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Tom Swafford, Mat Maneri, Alex Marcelo, Aram Bajakian, Abdoulaye Diabate, Matthew Bourne, Momenta Quartet and Susan McKeown), Noonan still managed to find a musical co-pilot for the solo flight that is Bruised by Noon.

A seemingly tireless creative spirit drives Noonan to continually explore new terrain and blur the boundaries between music, art and poetry. "I always feel a natural need to re-invent myself and not to use the same concept more than a few times such as the relationship with A Gambler's Hand and Bruised by Noon," he concludes. "There are no limitations in to what boundaries I might establish and also influences that inspire me, but at the same time I find my vision to be more authentic when I truly follow my own musical instincts and to create art from my own voice."