Born and raised in the Detroit area, Glenn Poorman has been a musician his entire life. He started playing the piano as soon as he was old enough to reach the keyboard. In grade school, he began studying the saxophone and continued his study of classical and jazz through college. During high school, Glenn attended the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan where he continued his study of saxophone and attended master classes with Donald Sinta. "We ate, drank, and slept music" he later recalled. "The only time we weren't practicing, performing, or studying was when we were going to concerts. We got to see some big names too. Van Cliburn and Dave Brubeck were regulars there, not to mention the World Youth Symphony."
After high school, Glenn attended Eastern Michigan University where he majored in music studying saxophone and also taking on elective study of piano and violin. There he received an extensive education in music theory and also performed regularly with the E.M.U. Concert Band and jazz ensemble. It was then that he began playing guitar and bass on the side and became involved in some local garage bands. In 1982, Glenn found a vehicle for his own music when he joined Conditioned Response as the lead guitarist and song writer. The group was formed by bassist Larry Cepuran and included Tom Demerly on drums as well as singer and guitarist Amy Griffiths who contributed the bulk of the lyrics. The band spent two years playing all over the greater Detroit area and released a three song self-titled EP before disbanding in 1984. In 1985, they took two more shots at it briefly reforming as March 4th with slightly different personnel and then again as Conditioned Response with the original lineup. Both attempts were short lived.
During the Conditioned Response years, Glenn also built the first of many home studios and began writing and recording music projects independent of the band. Between 1986 and 1991, he put all of his focus into these projects. Without the constraints of writing for a performing band, Glenn's music took on a more experimental tone and he began finding as much inspiration in movie scores as he did in songs. "I saw Blade Runner and was really blown away by the score. Then The Bounty came out and I just couldn't get enough Vangelis. I really started to take a lot of influence from his work back then." This was also the period where Glenn's fascination for looped music began and he started experimenting with creating loops using the affordable digital delay devices available at he time.
In 1992, Glenn began working with a live band again when guitarist Dan Holmes enlisted Glenn's help in recording and producing a demo tape for his new band Coup Detroit. Glenn also played keyboards on the recording and was asked to become a permanent member of the band after the tape was finished. That first incarnation of the band enjoyed two very successful summers with Glenn doubling on keyboards and guitar. "Coup was the first band I was in where the shows were like events" Glenn recalls. "We had a front guy with a real flamboyant persona and a cast of backup singers who wore choir robes and choreographed their steps. People really went nuts over the whole presentation." Coup Detroit seemed to be on a fast track to success pulling in larger audiences and attracting the attention of such local notables as Mike Clarke, ICP, Kid Rock and George Clinton. Ultimately, however, dissention within the ranks began to result in one personnel change after another plummeting the band back into obscurity. Over the next several years, the Coup personnel and material would continue to change leaving Glenn, along with founder Dan Holmes, as the only surviving members from the original lineup. Later they would be rejoined by original Coup drummer John Turnage.
In 1999, Coup Detroit were well into their third incarnation (briefly going under the name CD3) and, by this time, Glenn was playing bass full time. In an effort to expand his role, he began studying the Chapman Stick. Right from the start, he was hooked on this new instrument. "I hadn't been that jazzed about playing since I first started learning the guitar back in 1980." Glenn immediately began to work the Stick into much of the Coup repertoire and made his first public appearance with the instrument in early 2000.
In the years that followed, Glenn resurrected his home studio projects and began revisiting some of the music he was recording during the 80s and 90s. Now playing much of the music on the Stick, he began performing some of his work live enlisting the help of modern day looping devices and drum machines. In 2004, Glenn completely rebuilt his home studio using a new computer based setup and began working on his first official solo release opting to name the project 121normal after the location of his first studio. In the summer of 2007, the project's first self-titled CD was released.
Today Glenn continues to work with the 121normal project and still performs live both as a member of Coup Detroit and as a solo. His music has been played on local radio and has been featured in independent film. He is an organizer of the annual Midwest Chapman Stick Seminars and is a regular contributor to the manufacturer's website. With all that, he still finds time to play the piano every day focusing primarily on a small repertoire of classical pieces.
For more see:
www.detroitstick.com
www.121normal.com
www.coupdetroit.com
