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YBCA Bay Area Then: Tommy Guerrero & Space Time Solutions

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YBCA Bay Area Then: Tommy Guerrero & Space Time Solutions

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Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is proud to present a captivating evening celebrating local sonic innovators: Tommy Guerrero alongside Space Time Solutions. This performance is part of the broader Bay Area Then exhibition and music programming, curated by Chris Johanson and Ethan Swan. 

The Artists:

Tommy Guerrero

A stalwart of the Bay Area creative scene, Guerrero has long made San Francisco both his muse and his studio. Over more than a dozen LPs, he has woven together elements of jazz, funk, ambient, surf, hip hop, and more—creating music that feels like an evening stroll through the city, alive with nuance and emotion. 

His albums are themselves collaborative artworks:

• A Little Bit of Somethin’ (2000) features cover art by Margaret Kilgallen 

• From the Soil to the Soul (2006) includes art by Barry McGee 

• Perpetual (2015) showcases a cover by Chris Johanson 

Through these syntheses of sound and visual art, Guerrero’s work embodies the spirit of the Bay Area’s cultural convergence.

Space Time Solutions:

Comprising Mike Morasky and Kal Spelletich, Space Time Solutions operate at the intersection of composition, improvisation, ambient sounds, and machine-generated textures. Their performance is immersive: custom sound machines, glitch, industrial washes, and electronic timbres blend with spontaneous gestures, evoking a kinds of mechanical poetry. 

• Morasky, a longtime Bay Area figure, was a founding member of the punk/noise group Steel Pole Bath Tub (active from 1988 to 2002) 

• He’s also known for his award-winning soundtrack work (Portal 2, Left 4 Dead) 

• Spelletich is a pioneer of machine art and interactive performance, co-founding the collective Seemen, which made a mark in San Francisco’s art and festival scene (notably early Burning Man) 

The ensemble conjures a tension between organic and constructed, human and mechanical—a sonic dialogue rooted in place.

What to Expect / Schedule

• Gallery access: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM — Visitors can explore the Bay Area Thenexhibition and related visual works. 

• Performance time: 7:00 PM in the YBCA Forum 

• Admission: Free, but RSVP is required 

This evening dovetails with the goals of the Bay Area Then series: to amplify voices forged in and for the region, bridging sound, resilience, and local community. The music curation is part of the exhibition’s programming, led by Johanson and Swan. 

YBCA acknowledges support from a range of partners including the Yerba Buena Partnership, San Francisco’s Office of Economic & Workforce Development, Blue Shield of California, the Hewlett Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and others.