Tag: music

where to be on Sunday

WAYFARERS OF THE GYPSY MANSION
a musical bazaar of sorts with
HUMANWINE, THE BLACKBIRD ORCHESTRA, NATHANIEL JOHNSTONE, TOY BOX TRIO, MEISCE, FINN VON CLARET, and DJ Q.

“These are the times, my friends. And these are the days. Where the world becomes malleable, palpable. When novelty and genius are within our reach. We are cautioned against being passionate about these things by tales of progress turned to greed and of technology turning on us. And yet, the golden light is just right, the clocks are synchronizing, the stars are in alignment.

This is what we celebrate tonight. We celebrate these transient times, with these transient artists.” – c. lantz

Sunday, May 10, 2009 3 pm to 10 pm
The Little Red Studio
750 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA
ALL-AGES, $15 donation

Wearables, craftables, and edibles provided by a plethora of local and regional artisans. (ex. Sock Dreams will be arriving from Portland to vend excellent foot/legwear.) We will take a dinner break (with DJ) at 6:30 pm – please bring your own sack meal, a picnic to share, or food can be acquired from two of our vendors. Vegan options available. Adult beverages can be purchased by 21+ individuals.

Spread the word. All are welcome.

[Another fine event brought to you by the incomparable Libby Bulloff and Willow Brugh.]

how casually I enjoy nepotism (hello cirque make-up, hello feathers in my hair)

Work is freaking out today, hysterical in the face of our involvement with the Juno’s this weekend. (Seriously, they’re going ballistic). Passes are being handed out, rescinded, then handed out again. Same with business cards. “No, wait, take these ones instead.” Rounded corners, snazzy, to make it easier to slip into my bra? What? I had no idea my quiet little workplace could get so frantic, or so oddly surreal, as when I was instructed to make sure to “be nice to Nickelback”.

I’ve managed to claim two of the laminated on a lanyard passes to the Quintessential VIP Juno Awards Party tomorrow. (One for me and one for my roommate David as a birthday present.) A description I am amused by, if only because it says so on the pass, right above the cartoon red carpet covered in silver hollywood pavement stars. It should be fun. Work says I have to be pretty for maximum impact, but I know better. Some of the most beautiful women in the city will be there, so as far as I’m concerned, the pressure’s off. Let the diamonds sparkle. I’m not six two and I wasn’t designed in a wind tunnel, so I can show up in whatever I want! Screw you, heels. Screw you in the ear. I’m not going to make a fool of myself trying to pretty. I’m going to be interesting.

because I need distraction after being kicked in the teeth

Six-Word Reviews of 1,302 SXSW MP3s
via jwz:

“You know, when I listened to all of the 2007 and 2008 SXSW torrents, I thought that was kind of hardcore.

I was wrong.

Paul Ford is hardcore. He listened to all of the 2008 songs, all the way through, and wrote six word reviews of each.“

Brilliant reviews, even. Fun, sparkling, delightful reviews like “This guitarist has too many feelings.” rated with a well thought out yet amusingly arbitrary rating system gently broken into sections by band name anecdotes, clever charts, perceptive bon mots, and the occasional entertaining short-yet-rewarding paragraph about a particular song/artist/title/genre, like, “ANTHEM: This song by Born in the Flood is inexcusable. Consider: (1) It is called “Anthem,” and it is an anthem. (2) It sounds like Bono and the Edge riding around on Sparklehorses. (3) I can’t understand the lyrics but there’s a crown mentioned. It was heretofore considered impossible for any singer to overcome these cognitive challenges in order to create a distinct and memorable song. And yet this man does exactly that. Or to put it another way: When you were 23 and living alone without many friends and definitely no girlfriends, did you ever jerk off and cry at the same time? This is your song.”

In a word, the article was glorious. Even better, thankfully, oh so thankfully, Paul Ford has done it again. Click. Read. Enjoy.

ps. Dan‘s review, four out of five stars, “It’s difficult, living as an automaton.”

who’s up for making some noise?

A composer friend recently took up the pen again after a very long hiatus and is looking for local musicians willing to perform his finished music. I can assure you he’s fun, his work is top notch, and you won’t be disappointed. Here’s the basic info:

* It’s 149 bars, running at just over 10 minutes in length;
* The instrumentation is for french horn, violin, viola, ‘cello and baritone/low tenor vocalist (range: F-sharp below Middle C to G one and a half octaves above Middle C). A vocalist with training/experience for singing on the stage is preferred, but not absolutely necessary;
* The primary key is D major, with a few modulations to A major, E major, B-flat major, and B minor (not necessarily in that order). The time signature is 6/8.

If you happen to know of anybody who plays any of the above instruments, (including yourselves), and would be willing to give this music a try, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with him. Thanks in advance!

things that are awesome #450986

Former NiN Drummer Takes Album Promotion A Step Further:

$500 (limited edition of 15)

– Signed CD/DVD and digital download
– T-shirt
– Signed cymbal and sticks
– Meet Josh in Venice, Calif., and go floating together in a sensory-deprivation tank (to be filmed and posted on YouTube)
– Dinner at Sizzler (get your $8.99 steak and “all you can eat” shrimp on)

$1,000 (limited edition of 10)

– Signed CD/DVD and digital download
– T-shirt
– Signed cymbal, drum head and drumsticks
– Josh washes your car OR does your laundry … or you can wash his car
– Have dinner with Josh aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif.
– Get drunk and cut each other’s hair in the parking lot of the Long Beach courthouse (filmed and posted on YouTube, of course)

$2,500 (limited edition of 5)

– Signed CD/DVD and digital download
– Get a private drum lesson with Josh, or for all you non-drummers, have him give you a back and foot massage (couples welcome)
– Pick any 1 member of the Vandals or Devo (subject to availability) to accompany you and Josh to either the Hollywood Wax Museum or the lunch buffet at the Spearmint Rhino
– Signed DW snare drum
– Take 3 items of your choice out of his closet (first come, first serve)
– Change diapers and make bottles with him for an afternoon (after hitting the strip club)

…

$10,000 (limited edition of 1)

– Signed CD/DVD and digital download
– T-shirt
– Signed DW snare drum from A Perfect Circle’s 2003 tour
– Josh gives you a private drum lesson OR his and hers foot/back massage (couples welcome, discreet parking)
– Twiggy from Marilyn Manson’s band and Josh take you and a guest to Roscoe’s Chicken ‘n’ Waffles in Long Beach for dinner
– Josh takes you and a guest to Club 33 (the super-duper exclusive and private restaurant at Disneyland located above Pirates of the Caribbean) and then hit a couple rides afterward (preferably the Tiki Room, the Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror)
– At the end of the day at Disneyland, drive away in Josh’s Volvo station wagon. It’s all yours … take it. Just drop him off on your way home, though, please.

$20,000 (limited edition of 1)

– Signed CD/DVD and digital download
– T-shirt
– A signed drum from the 2008 Nine Inch Nails tour
– Maynard James Keenan, Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo and Josh take you miniature golfing and then drop you off on the side of the freeway (all filmed and posted on YouTube)
– Josh gives you a tour of Long Beach. See his first apartment, the coffee shop on 2nd Street where his buddy paid Dave Grohl $40 to rip up tile just weeks before joining Nirvana. See the old Vandals rehearsal spot, the liquor store he got busted at using a Fake ID when he was 17 (it was Dave from the Vandals’ old ID). Go check out Snoop Dogg’s high school. For an extra 50 bucks see where Tom and Adrian from No Doubt live. For another $25 he’ll show ya where Eric from NOFX and Brooks from Bad Religion get their hair cut.
– Spend the night aboard the Queen Mary and take the “Ghosts and Legends” tour. (Separate rooms … no spooning.)
– Josh writes 2 songs about you and both are made available on iTunes and appear on his next record (you can sing back up on ‘em, clap, play the drums, triangle, whatever)
– Drum lesson OR foot and back massage (once again … couples welcome and discreet parking available)
– Pick any 3 items out of Josh’s closet

$75,000 (limited edition of 1)

– Signed CD/DVD and digital download
– T-shirt
– Go on tour with Josh for a few days
– Have Josh write, record and release a 5-song EP about you and your life story
– Take home any of his drum sets (only one, but you can choose which one)
– Take shrooms and cruise Hollywood in Danny from Tool’s Lamborghini OR play quarters and then hop on the Ouija board for a while
– Josh will join your band for a month … play shows, record, party with groupies, etc.
– If you don’t have a band he’ll be your personal assistant for a month (4-day work weeks, 10 am to 4 pm)
– Take a limo down to Tijuana and he’ll show you how it’s done (what that means exactly we can’t legally get into here)
– If you don’t live in Southern California (but are a U.S. resident) he’ll come to you and be your personal assistant/cabana boy for 2 weeks
– Take a flying trapeze lesson with Josh and Robin from NIN, go back to Robins place afterwards and his wife will make you raw lasagna

what mash-ups are meant to be, when the medium is partly the message

thru-you.com, by Kutiman

Music + (Video/Sample) x Mash-up = Sexy

“What you are about to see is a mix of unrelated YouTube videos/clips
edited together to make ThruYou. In other words, what you see is what you hear.
Check out the credits for each video – you might find yourself…”


Unbelievable. Kutiman’s ambitious project, to create an astonishing album of meta-song videos slash home-sampled music made up of a ridiculously complicated collection of cleverly layered YouTube videos, is entirely successful. It sounds half-baked, especially given every song is a different genre, like the sort of thing an undergrad would try to throw together for a media studies class because it sounded relevant on paper and they could use words like “synergy” and “interscape” in the artist statement. Instead? It’s amazing and I’m thrilled. The videos are bloody brilliant, super impressive, as unexpected as they are incredible and compelling. As someone on StumbleUpon said, “I can’t favorite this hard enough.”

I’ve actually been trying to post this for days, but the site’s been down. Hit by too many people, Kutiman’s bandwidth went bork. Now that it’s back, set aside twenty minutes, turn up your volume, turn off your power saving screen settings, and expect to have your socks knocked off.

the dusty flowerpot cabaret is what the kids call the bomb

The Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret, makers of a magical and fantastical world,

in collaboration with

The Pivot Legal Society, purveyors of justice and equality,

present to you…

The Listening Jar.
(facebook event page)

Thursday February 26th
until Sunday, March 1st
Doors 7:00pm Show at 8:00pm
Followed by a dance party and social

Russian Hall 600 Campbell Ave. in Strathcona
Advance Tickets $16

Also available at
Pivot Legal (678 E Hastings)
$20 – $30 sliding scale at door

One performance by donation
Saturday, February 28
Doors 2:00pm, Show at 3:00pm

I’m lining up between noon and one o’clock on Saturday with treats from the Elizabeth Bakery.
Come join me for a line-up picnic! Bring sandwiches!