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Albany Sonic Arts Collective

And now for something completely different. Noise, avante garde and other so-called "weird" music have found a home in A-Town with a new experimental music org.

The Albany Sonic Arts Collective formed back in November. Since then they've started a monthly concert series with performances by world-renowned noise violinist C. Spencer Leh, electroacoustic improvisers Andrea Neumann and Jack Wright, along with many local musicians. And on tap for June is Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore.

The collective's co-founder Eric Hardiman said he was inspired by similar groups he'd seen while living in northern California in the late 90s. After bemoaning what he saw as a lack of experimental and improvised music in Albany, Hardimann decided to start a local collective with a group of other musicians and artists. The group hopes to build a community of people interested in listening to and performing music that goes beyond traditional boundaries.

Hardiman says people have been incredibly enthusiastic, underscoring his belief that the area really needed something like this. He says it's always rewarding when someone who's never heard this type of music comes to an event -- they're almost always struck by the welcoming environment and the musicians' dedication to playing new and creative music. He's hoping the group can continue to grow and expand their range of events.

"We want people to know they have options and that they can come out on a Saturday night, meet some great people, and hear something totally different that may just blow their minds," he said. "So it's very important to us to help expose this music to a wide range of people."

Part of the beauty of experimental music is that if you don't like one thing, there's something completely different around the corner, according to Hardiman. Some of the music is challenging, other times it's more accessible.

This Saturday, the group will host Chris Cooper and Bill Nace of Northampton, Mass. along with Troy residents Mike and Linda Aubry Bullock. The show kicks off at 8 p.m. at the Upstate Artists Guild gallery on Lark Street, with a suggested $5 donation.