Gowanus Canal Sonata: Canoeing Guitarist Plans 90-Minute Show

GOWANUS, NY — A guitarist plans to take to the Gowanus Canal and shred while floating down the polluted waterway this week.

Composer and guitarist Elliott Sharp — a well-known figure in the city's avant-garde music scene — will hop on a canoe rigged up with waterproof speakers and lead a flotilla of ten other boats while playing a 90-minute solo, organizers said.

"I do want the music to reflect the medium, so fluidity and flow will be very much in mind," Sharp told organizers Make Music New York. "The spread of boats on the water should also create interesting psychoacoustic effects.

"Finally, I’m hoping that we will stay dry, not in the sense of lack of reverb, but of not ending up in the canal," he added. "It’s difficult to play guitar while wearing a hazmat suit."

The concert, dubbed "Swamped," is part of Make Music New York's 12th annual series of concerts bringing musicians to public spaces in all five borough that starts this week.

The concert kicks off at 8 p.m. with the boats taking off from the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse at 125-153 Second St., organizers said. The flotilla will row up and down the canal while Sharp plays then return to the boathouse at 9:30 p.m.

People can catch the solo for free from the banks of the canal, with the best spot between Carroll and Second streets, or register online to get a spot on one of the boats.

In case of rain on Thursday, the concert will be postponed to Friday, organizers said.

Image: Nicholas Rizzi/Patch