Archive
Bird on a Wire
Being a fan of animals and a fan of avant-garde/experimental music, I am really digging this…
New commission for The Curve
French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot creates works by drawing on the rhythms of daily life to produce sound in unexpected ways. For his installation in The Curve, Boursier-Mougenot creates a walk-though aviary for a flock of zebra finches, furnished with electric guitars and other musical instruments. As the birds go about their routine activities, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a captivating, live soundscape.
Thanks, Jim Tuerk of Greenleaf.
~Dan – np: Hotel Lights – Hotel Lights
|:. Musical Stairs .:|
“We believe that the easiest way to
change people’s behaviour
for the better is by making it fun to do.
We call it the fun theory.”
– TheFunTheory.com
Stairs temporarily a piano.
Sorry for the convenience.
~Dan – np: Tegan and Sara – Sainthood thainthood
PS- The Bottle Bank Arcade and World’s Deepest Trash Bin videos are also on the TFT site above…
REVIEW: Erik Friedlander @ Winningstad Theatre (Portland, OR – 9/12/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Erik Friedlander grew up spending many of his summers on the road with his family due to his photographer father, Lee Friedlander. I knew his dad was a photographer with some notoriety, but I hadn’t known about the long, cross-country summer road trips – which were the basis for Erik’s 3-day run of Block Ice and Propane at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)’s TBA Festival (aka T:BA:09). More about T:BA:09 later…
I have been into Erik for a while… basically contemporaneously with my immersion into John Zorn, as Erik is a mainstay in the Downtown NYC jazz scene and finds his way on maaaaany of the Tzadik releases that I love. He’s a part of the Masada String Trio & Bar Kokhba Sextet, and has played with Dave Douglas, Ikue Mori, Wadada Leo Smith, severalk of Zorn’s Filmworks series, et cetera.
When I showed up for the event, I was caught off guard by the vast amount of people milling about the lobby. “Does Erik have this big of a draw in Portland?”
Well, the answer to that question is, “now he does.” This was the third night of his three-night run as part of the T:BA:09 festival put on by PICA. The entire 10-day festival was also coming to a crescendo on the 12th… needless to say, the program looked amazing, full of art of all kinds, not just music. I’m definitely putting T:BA:10 on my radar for next year.
Erik’s solo chair, laptop stand, and microphone in front of a projector screen was nicely lit with a blue light as the herd of an audience entered the Dolores Winningstad Theatre. I’d never been to the Winningstad Theatre, but it’s in the same complex as the Newmark Theatre (where I saw the SF Jazz Collective in ’08 and where I’ll see Patton Oswalt tonight), and it’s right next door to the Arlene Schnitzer Hall (where I’ve seen many shows). “The Winny” was a great venue… small & intimate, but seemingly able to fit in a large amount of people, including 2 tiers of balcony seating. Luckily I was solo; so I found a stray seat right up front-left.
As mentioned prior, the show was Erik playing solo cello in front of a backdrop of photos from his childhood, primarily taken by his father Lee Friedlander. The performance, specifically the backdrop, had a very “Americana” feel set to non-“Americana music.” Or perhaps it was Americana music set through the filter of the cello. It wasn’t Woody Guthrie-esque, but it had that dirty, road weary, wow-look-at-this-wonderful-country feel to it. Amongst the photos were also some videos shot by Bill Morrison.
Outside of photographing the country on big summer roadtrips, Erik’s father Lee also photographed many musicians… Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane… even up to the current era like a famous Madonna photo. Lee’s love of music spilled over to Erik, who found a love for music early in his life. He started on guitar and eventually moved to cello. However, his basis in guitar drove much of the style of playing last night. Only a few times did Erik pull out a bow – rather he plucked and strummed his cello like one would with a guitar… well, a guitar that you were holding like a cello. :)
Setlist:
- Block Ice & Propane
- Road Weary
- King Rig
- I’m Not Here
- Cold Chicken
- Yakima
- Pressure Cooking
- Winking at Highway 7
- Rusting in Honeysuckle
- Dream Song
- Airstream Envy
- Night White
Some of my favorite pieces were the lead-in, title track (to the 2007 CD of the same name), as well as “Pressure Cooking” and “Night White” (nice harmonics). The story about “Cold Chicken” was great, about how at a diner they were served very slowly and Lee stormed into the kitchen to complain about “who wants to eat cold chicken!?” while the family scurried away. The music, which I’ve heard several times before on the CD, totally made sense now. Nice…
Block Ice and Propane (the 2007 CD) can be purchased directly from Erik HERE.
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Porcupine Tree – The Incident
ERIK FRIEDLANDER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (by Gabe Askew)
Someone should have a job at Pixar really soon… here is Gabe Askew‘s fan-made video for Grizzly Bear‘s “Two Weeks.” It’s very Michel Gondry-esque, but I think all done in the computer… it’s pretty damn amazing…
~Dan – np: Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant – Sister Phantom Owl Fish
Dirty Car Art Gallery
So… yeah… Scott Wade is a genius.
This is a dirty car…
This too…
And this…
And this…
Check more out at:
~Dan – np: Bill Frisell – Disfarmer
Mike Bragg :: Pulled from the Ground
Yesterday, I went up with some friends (including the featured artist) to see the opening of Mike Bragg‘s Pulled from the Ground at OGLE in Portland. Fun times, too much food, great art, and voodoo donuts were had by all. If you’re up in Portland within the next two months, go check it out. It is set up with a great view from the street, too…
MIKE BRAGG
Pulled from the Ground @ Ogle
August 6th to September 26th, 2009
http://www.mikebragg.com/
http://ogleinc.com/
310 NW Broadway
Portland, OR
The images & video below are the intellectual property of Mike Bragg
and are used with promotional intent only.
(click for larger)
The performance piece / video is located at:
Mike Bragg’s Video Archive
Pulled from the Ground is a series comprised of a multi-channel video installation, a single channel video, photographs, drawings and a sound collage. Its foundation imagery centers on a collection of roots and a man’s obsession with them. The symbolization of the roots is seen throughout: they are an anchor of stability, yet at the same time, a literal reminder of the tangling snare of obsessiveness. Pulled from the Ground documents a struggle for stability against the constant flux of existence. The perception of safety and comfort derived from man’s organization and compulsory system of stability are precarious when viewed from within an exaggerated environment.
The elements of this series are designed to operate both autonomously and in conjunction with one another. The main element of the installation is the substantial, obsessive collection of roots. Displayed within the existing space or within a constructed set, the jars of roots are combined with drawings, photographs, videos and sounds to create an overwhelming, claustrophobic effect. In addition to the installation videos, there is a single channel video providing an experimental narrative echoing the themes explored in the installation.
Pulled from the Ground is adaptable to a variety of spaces. The project can be assembled as a full installation, a site specific modified version or as a single channel projection. The full installation includes three monitors situated in a room cluttered with root filled jars. The monitors loop images of pulsating and turning roots synchronized to a cacophony of sounds ranging from deep breathing to frantic mumblings. Almost every space is covered with worn photographs, tattered drawings and jars filled with roots. Other items contribute to the obsessive collection, such as microphones positioned to “capture the sounds of the roots” and a reel-to-reel recorder. A fourth monitor is tethered to the space via an extension cord, distanced somewhat from the cluttered collection and displaying an experimental narrative that documents the themes’ progression.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And unrelated, but also dark & arty (ok, maybe Anti-Sweden could use Mike Bragg’s accompanying music to sell jeans, too)… drone metal titans Sunn O))) are now being used to sell Anti-Sweden jeans in Norway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxjGPRPODyc
Odd. I doubt we’ll ever see Sunn O))) used for commercial purposes in the U.S.A.
~Dan – np: Bill Frisell – Disfarmer
upcoming David Bazan & a Sufjan senior project
Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan is finally releasing his full-length debut. It’s not his first release under his own name. He had an EP out in 2006 (Fewer Moving Parts) and has released a few iTunes EPs/singles and some 7″ vinyl releases since Pedro the Lion’s last “band” record, Achilles Heel (in 2004). David’s album comes out September 1st (on Barsuk Records CD/LP/mp3)… it’s called Curse Your Branches…
1. Hard To Be
2. Bless This Mess
3. Please, Baby, Please
4. Curse Your Branches
5. Harmless Sparks
6. When We Fell
7. Lost My Shape
8. Bearing Witness
9. Heavy Breath
10. In Stitches
Keep your peepers here or on davidbazan.com for info as it shows up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Also, as reported on All Good Naysayers, student Jax de León did a senior graphic design project on Sufjan Stevens‘ 2005 album, Come On Feel the Illinoise, called Illinois: Visualizing Music.
Check out more about Illinois: Visualizing Music (link).
Speaking of Sufjan, Asthmatic Kitty is trying to call Osso’s upcoming album a Sufjan Stevens’ release. Ha!!! We’re on to you guys… come on, when is Suffie’s real next album coming out!? :)
OK, I know… Osso’s Run Rabbit Run album is a “real” album… and it’s gonna be rad as hell… but you know what I meant.
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy – On Stage: 6/18/09 (early set)
Drawing Illusion
Get your mind out of the gutter!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Oh, and totally unrelated, but it popped up on my RSS feed… TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan‘s side project, PUSCIFER, will perform at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on April 4, 2009. He just got off a three-day stint at the Pearl in Las Vegas’ Palms Casino. Maybe this one-city-being-booked-at-a-time tour will come my way sometime before 2012. :)
~Dan – np: Monty Colvin “Chia Pet” (with Ben Huggins)
galactic cowboys crunchy king’s x California
Nib in Eugene
Wow… we went to a chocolate tasting last night at the newly opened NIB dessert and wine bar in Eugene, OR. It’s on Monroe, just south of 7th (by Sweet Life, Laughing Planet, etc). It’s owned and operated by a husband and wife team who has been behind the KeKau Chocolatier deliciousness seen around town for the past few years at various restaurants.
We started the night with quite possibly the most delicious cheese plate ever. It was very gorgeous, well crafted, and… YUMMY. It was nine month Dolaner Gouda (cow’s milk), Bellweather ricotta (cow’s milk) with Meyer lemon curd, and Humbolt Fog, Cypress Grove chevre (goat’s milk). Accompanying it was this odd, but tasty, encapsulated orange sauce over toasted nuts (hazelnuts, perhaps). There were also thinly sliced apples & pears, diced winter squash, and these sugared crackers that were absolutely fabulous. I think my favorite cheese was the gouda, but it was all quite AMAZING. My wife and I paired it with Navarro Vineyards Gewuerztraminer grape juice and a 2005 Abacela Malbec.
The chocolate tasting started at 7pm, and it was very informational. The husband side of the mom & pop run wine bar, Shane Tracey, came out and told us about each chocolate before the pieces came around. It was very informative, and I started writing stuff down, but gave up early on… We tasted 6-7 chocolates, I believe. Our table was at the end of the pass along; so the chocolates stopped at our table. Darn… we could nab extra nibs. :)
The first was a delicious white chocolate, which was high in cocoa butter content. We usually don’t like white chocolates, but it was quite good. Next up was a milk chocolate (or two). Then we had a spicy darker chocolate (this one was my favorite). We had a creamier dark chocolate that, no lie, had heavy hints of banana up front with a pineapple finish. We rounded out the tasting with a 70% chocolate, which is more of what my wife and I usually get from Trader Joe’s. The final chocolate was also a dark, but I don’t remember the % of solids. I paired my tasting with a 2003 Chateau Les Justices Sauternes.
At the end of the tastings, we bought a 2 Bite Holiday which was a small and delicious chocolate mousse with (if I remember correctly) some caramel, candied ginger, white chocolate shavings on a (fancy) graham cracker. We also bought some of their truffles to take home: Habañero Tequila, Thai Curry, Kalamansi Coconut, Spiced Berry, and maybe one other that I don’t see on their website right now.
NIB dessert & wine bar is a GREAT place. They have many great desserts, a great wine selection (white, red, dessert), and their cheese plate is amazing. They also do brunch on Sundays (and on New Year’s Day from 12am to 3am!!).
Eugene, Oregon… it is now your duty to support this amazing new place!!! Go forth and be delighted!!
~Dan – np: Miles Davis – On the Corner
This is… AWESOME.
I was gonna post a blog about a reminder about Orange Tulip Conspiracy‘s upcoming West Coast tour, Opeth and wrapping their latest video, or Will Ferrell and his George W. Bush stage production, or Wynton Marsalis on the Colbert Report, or a too cute for school puppy, or Kevin Smith doing a space film next… but it ALL got sidetracked due to this amazing new album cover (thanks EW blog):
Animal Collective‘s Merriweather Post Pavilion (due out Jan. 20, 2009)
THIS is NOT an animated GIF. It’s a regular, 1-layer jpeg. I downloaded it and it doesn’t have any funky layering going on. It’s all a trick of the eyes…
Wicked cool.
~Dan – np: VidyA – VidyA
JZ’s The Crucible, The Dreamers, biography, and JFJO grumbles
Well, first.. I didn’t end up at the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO) show last night. Boo. Stupid Eugene Celebration blocking off within 60 yards of the art gallery where they were playing and wanting me to buy a wristband to see a show I’d have to pay for that’s not on a stage at Eugene Celebration. I think me skipping it was on principle, not on lack for wanting to see JFJO. Rassen frassen… but I hope to catch the free Richard Crandell show today at Cozmic Pizza. He’s a mbira player, and I have one of his composer series CDs on Tzadik Records. He’s from frickin’ Eugene and on Tzadik Records – – how cool is that?
Speaking of Tzadik… on to some upcoming Jay-Z news… and by Jay-Z, I mean John Zorn (founder of Tzadik).
Graphic design artist extraordinaire Heung Heung “Chippy” posted on her blog about some new design stuff that she’s been working on for Tzadik:
I’m designing a book jacket for John Brackett’s biography on John Zorn, published by Indiana University Press. Title: John Zorn Tradition and Transgression. Cover photo by Scott Irvine, Book Jacket Design by myself, Book Interior Design by Jamison Cockerham. It’s nearly done and looking pretty good. Please look for it and buy this first biography ever on one of New York City’s heroes.
FOR MORE JOHN ZORN MUSIC, we have many treats for you–he’s been releasing amazing FilmWorks CDs (yes, prolific), another one is on its way–this one is extra special, one I’ve been listening to everyday–very meaningful, touching upon so many personal levels. (The Last Supper, FilmWorks XXII).
For those who are eagerly waiting for The Crucible (Moonchild’s 4th CD), it is coming very soon. Expect more killer photography by Scott Irvine (Tzadik’s official photographer–thank you to all who voted for him this summer), design by myself. Powerful music. And yes, you can have your Mike Patton too.
And it doesn’t stop there. The Dreamers will be expanding like a Chippy dream come true. For you audiophiles, this is our first yet–can’t say now until I’m working on it. Expect limited edition. Speaking of Limited Edition–The Dreamers’ shirts–they will now be considered limited edition, so please get them at Zakka in Dumbo (childrens are only available there or through me) or http://www.tzadik.com Note: once these go and we reprint, the artwork will be different.
My recap in backwards order…
I imagine The Dreamers limited edition thing for audiophiles may very well be a vinyl issue. That’s my inkling and heretofore a rumor. Tzadik hasn’t done a vinyl yet, and what else for audiophiles is considered limited edition these days? Sweet… The Dreamers is a fantastic, exotica meets Electric Masada ventures out earlier this year on Tzadik. It’s one of my favs of 2008 so far.
The Crucible… yay! A 4th installment from the noisemetal Moonchild Trio of Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron was inevitable.
I dig JZ’s Filmworks series… Sholem Aleichem: Filmworks XX is on its way to me now.
Additional info on the John Zorn biography… it’s due out in early 2009. It’s a book. With pages. Some probably graphic (just judging based on JZ’s Naked City album artwork and Dr. Brackett’s recent presentations at recent conferences).
~Dan – np: The Tiptons Sax Quartet – Laws of Motion
Drumcorps / Animosity – Altered Beast
I first heard of Drumcorps last year via a noise / experimental artist An Endless Contortionist (not for everyone). Anyway, I got Drumcorps’ Grist via Lala, and I totally dig it.
Drumcorps is a Berlin-based one man wrecking crew, Aaron Spectre. The music is grindcore, breakcore, noisecore, noise metal, or whatever you might call a brutal onslaught of your ears and mind. In other words… awesome, but not for everyone.
The Altered Beast LP is music by Animosity and remixed by Drumcorps. The music is all free online… you can get it 100% free as (great quality) 320kbps mp3 or (better/CD quality) FLAC:
*freemusic* http://drumcorps.cc/alteredbeast/mp3 *freemusic*
*freemusic* http://drumcorps.cc/alteredbeast/flac *freemusic*
01 Thin Retro God
02 A Profit on Greediness
03 Mobs Over, Rob Me
The main thing about this blog was to mention how gorgeous the vinyl editions are… wholly cow… It’s an etched & foil stamped 10″ vinyl, in four different color variations, some of which are ultra-mega-deluxe and come with 22-color hand-screenprinted and letterpressed jackets.
The vinyl is all limited edition, and based on the pictures above, I can see why. When I ordered, the Birthday Cake style was out already (only 100 made); but the Cupcake (200 made), Wealthy Eggplant (300 made), and Moldy Cheese (400 made) styles were all available HERE at Man Alive! Records.
~Dan – np: Drumcorps / Animosity – Altered Beast
gettin’ wood
While I don’t want to cheapen anything posted 12 hours ago, this one tries to move on slowly from a sad note of last night’s blog…
While at the Oregon Country Fair this past weekend, we stumbled upon the Musical Furnishings booth. This was the company mentioned back in this blog. They’re based in Olympia, WA, but I had no idea that they’d be in Oregon for the fair.
Anyway, they had some “scratch-n-dent” models that they couldn’t sell online to sight unseen buyers… so we came away with a cool marimba-style table… never mind the dust (we still need to clean it from the dusty weekend it encountered at the Fair). My wife actually paid for it; so one might say that she knows how to give me wood*.
We also got to play on one of the drum-style ones, too… and we hope to get one of those in the near future. :)
Check out their website: http://www.musicalfurnishings.com/
*– alas it’s not a gift for me. It’s hers, and hopefully she’ll let me play with it…
~Dan – np: Ornette Coleman – Change of the Century
REVIEW: Indigo Belly Dance @ Oregon Country Fair (Veneta, OR – – 7/13/08)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Rachel Brice, Mardi Love & Zoe Jakes are three tribal fusion belly dancers from San Francisco who go by the name The Indigo Belly Dance Company. I’d heard of them before, and my wife has gone to performances & workshops of theirs in the past when we lived in Cincinnati (at least Rachel & Zoe). Anyway, they were here in Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair (actually closer to Veneta than Eugene). Rachel Brice is pictured here (photo credit: Kristine Adams from the Indigo BDC’s MySpace page):
Here are Zoe Jakes and Mardi Love (photo credit unknown):
Well, on to the Oregon Country Fair ~ We braved the heat, the stinky bus passengers, and the heat (yet again) for the Country Fair this year. All around, the Fair was hot but shady (which was a pleasant surprise). It was also expensive, dusty, greasy and stinky. Alas, it’s a country fair in Oregon in July; so that was all expected. :) We came away with a nice table purchase, but that’ll be for a separate blog later.
We had a good time at the Country Fair… we started out with a fun show with the Stage Left Vaudeville Show. It started strong and, well, we left during the “free-style rap” section. Needless to say, it drifted from its big band flair entrance into something that wasn’t our thing. We went on from that to snag some yummy popsicles (Baja Coffee popsicle for me, i.e.- coffee with cinnamon, and Lemon Ginger popsicle for my wife and our friends Chris & Melissa).
We got to the Gypsy Caravan stage around 2pm for the 3pm show of The Indigo. We got there at just the right time… we scored some nice bench seats in the center of the audience. The Gypsy Caravan band was playing… and we saw some good shimmying from Aziza, Colleena (sp?), Claudia, and some other that I couldn’t remember how to spell or pronounce.
Up next was The Indigo… Their backing band was dubbed something along the lines of the Balkan Brass Band / Brass Menagerie (they were made up of several bands). It was interesting to see bellydance to something different than middle eastern music, and I dig Balkan music…
Rachel, Zoe & Mardi did a trio number to start things off. Then Zoe did a solo song, Rachel did a solo (complete with her quite phenomenal “drop move” – see around 1:17 in that video link), then there was a duet of some sort (Rachel & Mardi then Rachel & Zoe, if I remember correctly… likely I’m not remembering correctly). A special guest, Elizabeth Strong, came out and did a fantastic number with a sword. Then the group came out and did a few more numbers, along with Mardi doing a slow moves solo. They danced for about an hour, or slightly under an hour.
Photos of the performance that my wife took are BELOW…
~Dan – np: Charlie Hunter & Bobby Previte – Come in Red Dog, This is Tango Leader
Gypsy Caravan & The Indigo @ Country Fair PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 emobie,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
From the Gypsy Caravan Stage (Aziza, Colleena) & Misc Other Fair Pics
The Indigo (Rachel, Zoe, Mardi, Elizabeth) Pics
John Zorn Presents the Aleph-Bet Sound Project
reposted from here
John Zorn Presents the Aleph-Bet Sound Project
June 8, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Aleph Bet Project
About the Exhibition
Highly-acclaimed musician and MacArthur Fellow John Zorn was commissioned by the Contemporary Jewish Museum to curate a series of sound pieces for the Museum’s Special Events/ ‘yud’ gallery, a unique space featuring a 65-foot ceiling, 36 diamond-shaped skylights, and walls that converge at different angles. Featuring new work by leading musicians and composers such as Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Erik Friedlander, David Greenberger, Chris Brown, Z’EV, Terry Riley, Alvin Curran, Christina Kubisch, Marina Rosenfeld, Raz Mesinai, and Jewlia, the Aleph-bet Sound Project acoustically explores the Kabbalistic principle that the ancient Hebrew alphabet is a spiritual tool full of hidden meaning and harmony. The works musically link the alphabetic symbols in architect Daniel Libeskind’s design for the new facility with the Museum’s mission of exploring traditions within a contemporary context.
John Zorn Presents the Aleph-Bet Sound Project is supported by a generous grant from The Guzik Foundation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More about the Museum: http://www.thecjm.org/
If you’re in San Francisco in the coming 6 months or so, it may be worth checking into…
I will, if I get down that way…
Here’s someone’s recount of their visit to the exhibit…
http://becomingpresent.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/november-30-2008-making-this-moment-the-most-important/
~Dan – np: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Paris 1958
np: Bar Kokhba Sextet – Masada Book Two: Lucifer
clever use of pomo
Heard about this from Pharyngula (oddly enough, a science blog)…
UK artist Jonathan Yeo has created a telling post-modern piece…
http://www.jonathanyeo.com/gallery.asp?pid=143 (for detail)
On first glance, it just looks like a painting of GWB. If you click the detail links, it’s made up of clipping from pornographic magazines (mainly assholes).
Fitting…
~Dan – np: Béla Fleck & the Flecktones – Live at the Quick
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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