The collection of previously unpublished interviews and extended versions of Alan Licht’s famous conversations with figures in the American art and music scene.

For more than thirty years, Alan Licht has been not only a figure himself but also a programmer and chronicler of New York’s art and music scenes. His dry humor, deep erudition, and singular perspective, informed by decades of experience as a touring and studio guitarist in the world of experimental music and underground rock, have made him the go-to writer for portraits of adventurous artists from all walks of life. A scholar and precocious improviser, Licht had already written, before graduating from Vassar College in 1990, important articles on minimalist composers La Monte Young, Tony Conrad and Charlemagne Palestine, and recorded with such luminaries as Rashied Ali and Thurston Moore. In 1999, he became a regular contributor to the British experimental music magazine The Wire while continuing to publish in a wide range of periodicals, from art world journals to underground fanzines.

Common Tones brings together a selection of previously unpublished interviews, many of which were conducted during the preparation of portraits and feature articles, as well as extended versions of his famous conversations with artists, previously unpublished public exchanges, and new exchanges developed for this collection. Even Lou Reed, known for not facilitating interviews and here, was particularly impressed.