Beats of a Different Drum

The volume’s about to get high at Low Bar.

Drummer Ryan Oslance and guitarist Alex Swing are performing Friday, Nov. 9, at the downtown Boone wine bar.

Oslance regularly performs with Asheville-based, improvisational fusion outfit Ahleauchatistas, but also enjoys flying solo.

“I try to go on an adventure with sound and movement, using many different found percussion elements and methods,” he said. “There is usually no break from start to end, so I can stay in a trance-like state and hope the audience is right there with me, so to not break the spell.”

Oslance said he likes the idea of total escape, with his major life influence being nature itself.

“So, maybe I am trying to lead people into the wilderness with sound and experience,” he said. “I have taught myself how to cut loose in the wilderness and not think about anything else but the freedom I feel and processing the effect of the many layers of texture in a wilderness setting.”

Those include sounds, sights, movement, smells, atmosphere and the unpredictable, which Oslance incorporates into his music. It’s admittedly therapeutic, he said, hoping that audience members feel the same way.

“I try to come close to recreate some of that when I sit in my percussion den, because it’s a lucky opportunity to help offer therapy to people through entertainment and sound in a group setting,” he said. “I think (music) can be really powerful and a medicine for the mind, body and soul.”

Oslance’s music is based on high-energy improvisation, creating what he calls a “percussion explosion that is textural, dynamic, spontaneous, meditative, engaging, theatrical and ferocious,” all driven by nature.

The explosive element, however, can sometimes be taken literally.

“I will actually be throwing things around and triggering explosions of objects off of the drums, like setting coins, pieces of metal and wood on drums for distortion and movement,” Oslance said.

To Oslance, it’s about cutting completely loose and having fun – explosive fun.

To see Oslance’s act, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWhhowjbHhw&feature=youtu.be.

Also performing is Alex Swing, guitarist for House Rules punk band The Lawyers. According to concert organizers, Swing, at his last solo show, was “dancing while crouched over his guitar pedals, looping distorted, intricate percussion and unabashedly screaming through a microphone duct-taped to a mask… We can’t wait to see more.”

The show starts at 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. Cover costs $5. Low Bar is located above Espresso News at 267 Howard Street in downtown Boone. For more information, call (828) 264-8850.