Shit yeah... this year Halloween comes on the weekend, me and Ghetto Boys are trick-or-treatin':
HALLOWEEN
Great Tyrant | Darktown Strutters | Akkolyte (Chat Room) Frightening. Akkolyte will kick the shit out of you via the toughest grindcore set in town, Darktown Strutters will seduce you before they slit your throat with mutant disco goth, and Great Tyrant will just make you feel all funny with Tommy Atkins' bass vibrating through your body. I guess going to this will sort of be like getting sexually assaulted.
Dj Kool Herc (Minc) For those who don't know, and I imagine many people don't, DJ Kool Herc more or less LITERALLY invented hip hop in the Bronx in the early 70's at house parties he hosted at the famous 1520 Sedgwick apartments, spinning old funk records and focusing on the breaks back when my parents still did drugs. This is a nice grab for Vigilante Music Group, and although I'm not exactly sure what dude spins these days, does it really even matter? This is probably a very rare opportunity to go somewhere where you can ponder a worldwide cultural phenomenon before you point over to the corner and say "oh, that guy. He started all of that shit."
Rock N Roll Masquerade feat. Nouns Group as Joy Division | Make Believers as Flamin' Groovies | Sean Kirkpatrick as Polvo | Drink to Victory as Nirvana (Dan's Silverleaf) Covering Nirvana is almost as tough as trying to dance exactly like Ian Curtis. It helps if you have some kind of nerve disease or something.
Zombie Prom with Yeahdef | Parata | Nanotech | Photobooth/like 15 kegs and stuff (Interskate, Lewisville) Skating and drinking and costumes and hipsters, oh my.
Play N Skillz Halloween Bash (House of Blues) Don't you wish you were me? I've been invited to waltz right into this motherfucker tonight any time I want while the rest of you don't even stand a chance at being allowed to stand in line for this thing. Viva la blog revolution! Everyone already knows the story about these hometown hip hop heroes and their rise to fame via Lil Wayne, so I won't bother explaining it other than to say that currently, these guys are the poster boys for the emergence of Dallas Hip Hop. And lets give credit where credit is due-- Sam Machkovich (spelling?) was writing about a lot of the now successful Dallas Hip Hop acts like three years ago, back when people were laughing at him for it, which is pretty impressive considering what the Observer is like these days. Let me know when Pete Freedman figures out who the Velvet Underground are, ok? And PS-- I'm so fucking cool that I'm not even going to this.
Crystal Antlers | Lake | Desolation Wilderness | The League of Fucking Decency | Dogme 95 (Swiss House, 3114 Swiss Ave.) Very respectable line up over at Swiss House this weekend, and Kudos to Swiss House Evan and John Iskander for putting it together on short notice. It's not exactly mind blowing these days when you hear about a band of punk influenced hipsters who have only half ironically embraced prog and classic rock, but everything I've heard about Crystal Antlers' live show indicates that these guys do it better than just about anyone. If they are half as good live as Akron Family, this will be worth it. Get there a bit early to check out K Records' wonderful Lake, who are one of the few bands on K these days that actually remind me of why I used to like that label so much in the first place. Twee with a dark side. Thanks. Oh, and Desolation Wilderness sound like they will be a perfect band for the Swiss House faithful. Very solid stuff.
Pocket Change | Rival Gang | PVC Street Gang (Rubber Gloves) Here is your chance to catch the excellent PVC Street Gang--- I really didn't give a fuck about this band until I heard some of their newer stuff a couple weeks ago, and I was really impressed.
SUNDAY
Vic Chesnutt | Elf Power (Rubber Gloves) I just downloaded Elf Power's latest, and seriously, I remember them being better than this.
No, this isn't the BIG announcement we promised you... that one has taken a little more time than we thought it would, but we'll have it for you soon. Anyway, we did want to tell you to go ahead and mark next Friday, November 7th on your calendars, because we'll be having a free party at the wonderful Time Bandits show space just off the Denton square. Details to come soon...
Human Eye | Silver Shampoo | Orange Coax | Girlfren | Daniel Bass (715 Panhandle) Um, yes. Very solid show all the way through. I sat down and listened to Orange Coax for the first time several days ago (the group features members of Koji Kondo, PS), and it was honestly one of the most exciting, uh, local music moments that I've had in a while. Apparently, the band Aids Wolf agrees with me-- they left a comment on the groups's Myspace page praising their songs, and Orange Coax, or the "OC" as I like to call them (don't call it that), will be opening for the group when they venture back to Dallas next month. And while you're at it, check out Austin's Girlfren... you'll thank me. Human Eye, meanwhile, sounds like some strange mixtures between The Stranglers, Dead Boys and Iggy Pop's early solo stuff, and Silver Shampoo sort of have a Siltbreeze kinda thing happening, but are in no way derivative of that label. Great stuff.
80's Night with DJG (Hailey's) Tonight will be a Halloween party, of course.
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea | Eaton Lake Tonics | New Science Projects(Lola's) We have a copy of MATAS's latest record, and we'll probably share our thoughts on it some time soon... there's a lot of "next big thing" talk concerning these guys amongst members of the local trad media right now, and I hope for the sake of the band that it doesn't kill their career before it even really starts.
SR and I are having a little spat right now, so this is late and brief, I know. You know how it goes-Who knows more about music, who's more punk, what's lamer: trip-house or ska, Angelo's versus Asti, Austin versus Dallas, Reebok versus Nike, Fort Worth Hospital District versus Lakewood, Gold Rush Cafe versus All Good, Misfits versus Minor Threat, blogs versus blogs etc. Help me.
Convextion | Maetrik | Alta (The Cavern) Some of Dallas' most internationally known DJ's will be playing tonight's Detour at The Cavern. Baby Ruthless plays upstairs.
Blixaboy/Juan Solo (The Lounge) Wanz sent us a brief list of what he'll be playing tonight: Lots of original trax and live improv along with classic Dub trax (i.e. Lee Perry, King Tubby, Adrian Sherwood.......) ,the best in new Dubstep (i.e. 2562, Andy Stott, Benga, Shackleton, Darkstar, Burial........) and some classic dubby post-punk (Killing Joke, The Clash, The Ruts, Generation X, Mark Stewart and The Pop Group.......).
TV On The Radio | Dirtbombs (Lakewood Theater) You know who TV On The Radio is, I don't really think I have to explain it. What I should do is explain why it's at the somewhat unlikely location of the Lakewood Theater, and yet I don't have an explanation for that at all. I know there have been other shows there, but I have heard very little about what it's actually like to see a performance there. I saw Obama's acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination there, and that was pretty exciting, but as far as rock shows go, I just don't know. Seems like it would be expensive no matter what. That guy from TV On The Radio did a bang-up job making that Scarlett Johansson record sound like a cross between a Christmas album and his own band, except better. Dirtbombs have an extensive track record for live shows, as well as the diversity of their releases, and are by far one of the best bands out of Detroit's rather unwelcome garage rock revival earlier in the decade. The lead singer makes Jack White seem like a total joke.
"Zaireeka"/"Christmas On Mars" at Good Records: I have heard mixed things about this vanity project/movie, but I'm still interested in seeing it. Seems like a nice, cheap way to spend Tuesday night. Here's the schedule, straight from G-Rex:
Last year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Zaireeka by unveiling the elusive 5th disc. This year we are taking it a step further in several ways. We are still encouraging people to bring in their stereos and copies of Zaireeka but we will have PA on hand for each of the 5 discs to make sure they are good and extra loud. Also we will be screening "Christmas On Mars" at the conclusion of our Zaireeka experiment. Costumes are again encouraged as we will be holding our 2nd annual costume contest. Please bring a bean bag or folding chair of some sort so you can get comfy and truly enjoy your listening and viewing experience. A keg of adult libations will also be on hand to get you in that Halloween spirit so to speak.
Alex Hamrick is a recent graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts and is currently at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In addition to attending schools with really long names, he's a collage artist who sat down for some hard-hitting questions from WeShotJr for this week's edition of Greatness.
Richardson Heights: Red Sox or Rangers?
Alex Hamrick: Baseball's never really been my sport, but I do have a small bit of sway on the matter. I generally have at least one of my windows up when I'm at home, and my room faces an inner "courtyard" (for lack of a better word) that is exceedingly good at amplifying noise. I live two or three blocks from Fenway Park, and when there's a game on there are generally helicopters flying about, probably getting aerial shots or something. I don't know really why they fly around, but they do, and the courtyard outside my window amplifies that awful noise that helicopters apparently make, and it drives me up the wall. So I'd have to say Rangers, if only for that slight detail. Which isn't so slight. It's incredibly aggravating.
RH: Kurt Schwitters or Raoul Hausmann?
AH: I've been told by more teachers than I can remember to look up Kurt Schwitters in relationship to my collage work. Until a few minutes ago when I googled him, I'd never really seen much of him. I'd never even heard of Hausmann. After a quick breeze through a few pages of image search results, I have to say that Schwitters knocks the hell out of Hausmann, who had maybe one piece that I liked. On a somewhat related note, when it comes to knowing about art history and artists, it isn't too hard to make me look like a fool. This is my sixth year in art school and anyone that's taken a single art history course and paid attention knows more than me about what's happened and is happening now.
RH: Would you kindly describe the three most significant events in your life in the last 24 hours?
AH:
Finishing drawings to photograph for the public relations department at school. We have a sale every year to raise funds for scholarships, and I was contacted about my work possibly being used for publications and advertising for the sale. Problem was, I didn't really have much new work to submit. I was told that it would be fine if the images I submitted were not images that would be in the sale, but that didn't seem right to me. Why would I want old work published if it wasn't going to be in the sale? If someone saw an image of mine and thought "hey, yeah, that's pretty nice, I'd like to buy that", they wouldn't be able to. Because it wouldn't be there. That's just silly. That being said, I had to produce some new work in about a two week time span. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but I had a mini meltdown and became frustrated, bored and generally uninterested in pretty much every way I could think of pertaining to drawing. This caused some problems, but I managed to dig into something new this past week and pump a few things out just in time to meet the deadline. I didn't get very good photographs of the drawings though, so they probably won't even use them. Oh well.
Two of my friends called me up Thursdsay and asked if I wanted to play drums with them in a band the following day (yesterday). I've been playing drums for about five years now, but don't have the luxury of having a kit in Boston. Adapting has not been easy. When at home in Dallas, I play my drums every day, and I mean every day. Letting go of that was really hard for me to do, and it frustrates me daily (I've taken to tapping relentlessly and beatboxing). Going over to Scott's and beating the crap out of his kind neighbors set was absolutely amazing, and the whole band aspect was really positive too. Droning, spazzed out distorted loops, guitars, vocals and drums. Yes and yes.
Making sure I called one of my best friends on her birthday. Missing a birthday is a pretty horrible feeling, especially when it's a close friend. I have an awful memory for birthdays so that was an accomplishment for me.
RH: You have won an all-expenses-paid 5-day trip to fabulous Aruba! You must select an artist, a writer, and a musician from anywhere in history to go with you. Who would you choose?
AH: Well, shit! That sounds nice. Where is Aruba anyways? I have this thing where I feel that meeting well known people in the creative spotlight would be really terrifying and uncomfortable. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 5 days in Aruba with some total stranger (much less three!) that intimidates the hell out of me. Besides, if they're already well known, they could probably pay for their own damn trip to Aruba. With that I'll present two scenarios, one where I take three well known people that would make me horribly uncomfortable, and one where I take three people that still qualify in those categories that I already know and respect.
Scenario 1 Artist: Nina Katchadourian Writer: E.E. Cummings or Ayn Rand, but probably Cummings Musician: Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo
Scenario 2 Artist: Will Schneider-White or Mike Lay Writer: Blair Patterson Musician: Adrian Haynes
AH: My experience at Booker T. was about as brilliant as I believe a high school experience can be. The entire student body is full of creative people, with smaller concentrations of really dedicated talents that actually decide to go on to school for the arts. Being around those kids was absolutely the best part of the whole deal, because they were a constant motivator (whether by positive or negative example) to push myself further and explore different ways to produce work. Not being in dance, music or theater, I can't really say anything about the people who taught in those departments, but the staff of the Visual Arts department were all good for me in their own way as well, especially the first two or three years. They really kicked my ass and squeezed all the work out of me that they could. I think going to Booker T. made it a lot easier to adapt to college, both in the nature of the curriculum and also the openness of the staff. We had a really strong academic department, too. There were/are some great teachers at that school, and they all helped give me the confidence I needed to believe in myself and my own practices.
RH: Can you describe your art studio environment? During what time of year do you work best?
AH:My school is very small. The amount of undergraduate students is about the same as the total number of students at B.T.W. Having such a small school is great because it creates a close-knit community that is very comfortable and supportive. It allows you to form tight bonds with students and staff alike. SMFA is a very creative, open environment. We don't have a foundation year and we don't have majors, so you essentially build your own curriculum in the sense that you just take whatever classes interest you. The building is open from six or seven in the morning to midnight every day of the week, and if you want to do an overnight all you need is a signed form from any teacher. Every square inch of the place encourages kids to make things.
I'm not sure what time of year is best for me art wise, but I can say that in the past two years, summer has been the worst time. When I get into a serious art groove, I work and work and work and by the end of the school year I'm totally burned out. It takes me a few months to cool off and reset. On a day to day basis though, night time is definitely where it's at. Last night / this morning I was up until five working on my website.
RH: As an artist, what was the first inspiring event or other influence that made you realize (more or less) "I should try that... I could be an artist."
AH: I never went to public school as a kid. I started off in Montessori school, then went to George Bannerman Dealey, then to K.B. Polk for the TAG program, and then to W.B. Travis, which was a fully formed TAG school (TAG standing for Talented and Gifted, whatever that means). When it came time to figure out where to go to high school, there were a few options for me. One option was to go to S.E.M., one was to attend the TAG Magnet, one was my local high school Bryan Adams, and the last was Booker T. I thought to myself, "hmm, I've been in heavy academics for four years. That wasn't much fun. Bryan Adams is a horrible horrible place. I like art I guess." My parents enrolled me in a class at Lakewood Arts (which is now Studio Arts) that was created specifically to build a portfolio for application to Booker T., and to generally prepare students for the audition process. Everyone that took the class got in, myself included. Somewhere over the summer after my first year at B.T.W. I realized that I loved whatever the hell it was that I was doing, and that was kind of it for me. I've been a lost cause ever since. I guess that's not really a specific event so to speak, but I'm not sure there really was one. I think it was just the process of learning something about myself that I didn't know.
For some of Mr. Hamrick's work, check out his stuff at Deviant Art and at his web site (a work in progress). He's also working on some artwork for a future Tame... Tame and Quiet album (see the cover here). Image courtesy of Alex Hamrick.
Remember that announcement we promised for today? Well it is still coming, but you might just have to wait until later tonight, so check back wit us. Shows:
Magnolia Electric Co | David Vandervelde | Tre Orsi (Rubber Gloves) Jason Molina's Magnolia Electric Co. has certainly built quite a loyal audience over the years, and you can be sure that these guys will be a hit with the Denton folksy rootsy dudesy dudes, even on a Monday night. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course, and for what Molina is trying to do, he is really quite good-- very straight forward, "No Depression" style alterna-roots rock, anchored by very solid, scruffy vocals and competent playing. It's nothing that Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt or Will Johnson hadn't already done a decade ago or more, but such things don't seem to matter too much with music like this, especially considering that Will Johnson and Uncle Tupelo certainly weren't doing anything that countless other artists hadn't been doing for generations before them. Vandervelde seems to be a hipster version of all the aforementioned stuff mixed with some glam rock influences and harder edged "southern rock" sounds, as well as some hip 70's AM radio singer/songwriter stuff. I think I'm just shallow enough to like his material better than that of the headliners, and way more than I thought I did when I woke up this morning.
Halloween Covers Show (1919 Hemphill) A variety of bands take the stage at Hemphill tonight for what I believe is an annual event over there this time of year-- the Halloween Covers show. You'll have Dead Ramones as Circle Jerks, Just Like Kevin as the Cure, Blank Blank as Early Lines and folks from Caddis and Neighborhood Villain as Bad Religion. Should be good.
Cool Out (The Cavern) There is a Melissa having a birthday party at this thing. Line starts around the corner, dudes.
MON: Magnolia Electric Co./David Vandervelde/Tre Orsi (Rubber Gloves) TUE: TV On the Radio/Dirtbombs (Lakewood Theater) WED: Kings of Leon/The Stills/We Are Scientists (Palladium) FRI: Dj Kool Herc (Minc) FRI: Darktown Strutters/Great Tyrant/Silk Stocking (Chat Room) FRI: Hands Up Halloween with Klever/Sober/Select (The Loft) FRI: Rock N Roll Masquerade feat. Nouns Group/Make Believers/Drink to Victory and more (Dan's Silverleaf) SAT: Crystal Antlers/Lake/Desolation Wilderness/The League of Fucking Decency/Dogme 95 (Swiss House, 3114 Swiss Ave.)
We have something big for you coming up on Monday, as well as a few record reviews that we've been trying to get around to for some time now. So... sit tight, ok? And by the way, we realize that we've been late with our lists lately, but that will change starting on Monday, mkay? Thanks for being so understanding that we can't get fired from our jobs just so we can work on this blog for no compensation at all. You guys are the best! Here are some shows for the weekend:
FRIDAY
REM | Old 97's (Nokia) Yeah, so if I had to put together a list of my all time favorite bands, REM would most certainly make the cut. The remarkable thing is that they also would have made the cut at pretty much any other point in my life where I might have been asked to make such a list. The band's output since 1996's New Adventures in Hi Fi has been spotty at best, but goddamn, why don't you take a look at the tracklist in Eponymous, a collection of their early singles. Is there even ONe song on there that isn't absolutely perfect? I don't think so. I wonder if anyone would like to share their favorite REM album in the comments section? For me, its probably Murmur or Reckoning, but I'll take pretty much anything they did during the 80's. Too bad they had to fuck this up by charging 70 bucks a ticket and getting the Old 97's to open for them, but hey, I'm sure their hedge funds will thank them.
Chinese Stars | El Paso Hot Button | Darktown Strutters | Cosmic Cocks (the Lounge) Hey, Chinese Stars! Ok. I remember them from back during the height of what they used to call the dance punk revolution... maybe I should go to their Myspace real quick and see what they sound like these days. Hold on just a sec. Ok, got it. Let's see here... oh yeah. Gang of Four, glam rock, good beats, does it sound a little dated now? Yeah, kind of. Do I still like it? Yeah, kind of. Would it be fun live? Probably. Do Cosmic Cocks sound cool? Pretty much. Would it be worth going just to see Darktown Strutters? Yep. Can I get drunk there too? Oh word? Cool man. See you there.
MSTRKRFT | LA Riots | Felix Cartal (House of Blues) MSTRKRFT, or "the Crystals Castles of 2005," as one of my friends calls them, sounded pretty ahead of their time when they came out-- distorted synth beats, an apparent obsession with Chicago House, etc. But now it's kinda like, "got anything else?" I don't think I'll stomach the House of Blues in order to find out, but I'm sure there will be an army of good looking hipsters there to make me seem grumpy. Well good for them.
No Thanks Fest (Emory, TX) Large, mostly locally based one day, two night grindcore/metal/hardcore festival in Emory. The line up is huge and I don't have time to post it for you, but you can get all the info from the website linked above. I hope someone who takes pictures for us is willing to go to this, because I imagine that some hilarious shit will be happening. Continues all day Saturday as well.
Yeah Def | Damaged Good$ | Juicy the Emmisary (Hailey's) Anyone who caught Damaged Goods' 3am set at our party last weekend knows why this might be the best thing going in Denton tonight. Juicy the Emmisary is decent white boy Def Jux kinda stuff, and even though I usually hate that kind of shit, gotta give a local guy props for sounding this tight on the mic. Really, its pretty competent stuff.
Rabid Rabbit | The Falkon/Jack with One Eye/Akkolyte (Doublewide) This will be a reunion show for Wanz Dover's The Falkon, who were apparently playing around town five years ago or so, only to complete an album that was never released. You know you're a local musician if.... anyway, solid line up all around.
former dentonite becomes central figure in prostitution debate
Former Dentonite and UNT student Patricia West, who played a role in putting on shows at 715 Panhandle and releasing music with the No Parents No Rules Label, has become an outspoken activist in favor of Proposition K, an initiative that will appear on ballots in San Francisco this Novemeber that would decriminalize prostitution within city limits. West apparently moved to San Francisco some time last year and began working as a fetish prostitute by placing online ads, and has recently started speaking out in the press and granting interviews to the Associated Press in which she advocates in favor of Prop K, a measure that, according to her, would "allow workers to organize for our rights and for our safety." Here is the initial associated press article on the subject, and here are a couple more. Its an interesting issue on many levels, and if you want to comment on it or debate it, please feel free, but we will erase any and all malicious personal attacks or gossip comments on this post. Try to be intelligent for a change, mkay pals?
Clint Butler, the sole owner and operator of NPNR, sent us an email disputing the claim that Patricia West played any role in either 715 Panhandle or the No Parents No Rules label. We wrote what we did concerning her involvement with the house and label based on conversations we had with her during her time in Denton, as well as conversations with others who claimed that she was involved in working on both at different times. We are attempting to reach her in order to allow her to comment. Thanks.
Electioneering (Fort Worth Contemporary Arts) 6-9pm Hmm- this looks interesting, a show that looks at "flattery and seduction through to coercion and threats."
SMU Juried Show (Gray Matters)7-10pm Paul Slocum curated this show of work from SMU students. One night only.
Cold War Kids | A.A. Bondy (Lola's) This show is sold out, so I just have to ask-- really? THIS is what you fucking people listen to? To put it simply, Cold War Kids are a really good reason to hate music, or new music, or new indie music, or however specific you want to get with it. They're a good reason to hate SOMETHING. Perhaps this is all a bit dramatic, or maybe I'm just having a bad day at work, but jesus, what a calculated shit storm of obvious rip offs of rip offs of good bands. It's like-- hey everyone, if you dig: Spoon, Maroon 5, Jeff Buckley, Modest Mouse, Interpol, The Killers, Radiohead, and every other commercially successful "indie" act from the past 15 years, then you'll love these guys, right? Wrong. That isn't how it works. There is a thing called trying too hard, and it leads to nothing but striking out with the opposite sex and making bad music. Cold War Kids emerged at a time when any dumbass with a blog could say just about anything and get away with it, pushing their favorite new bands into the indie spotlight with the click of a mouse before anyone had an opportunity to question their "taste." Aren't you glad those days are finally over? Fuck music blogs. Also, you know your band sucks when you make AA Bondy sound like a fucking miracle.
And since making fun of Ben Folds is boring (he's playing at Palladium tonight for like $3,000 a ticket), and making fun of Jason Mraz (playing at Nokia tonight) is easier than making fun of Black Tie Dynasty, I'm just going to tell you that 80's Night is happening at Hailey's and peace out.
ADD: Of course, there IS one show happening tonight that you might be interested in--
Watain | Withered | Book of Black Earth | Resigned to Fate | Dagon (Reno's Chop Shop) Highly respected Swedish black metal band Watain headlines another solid metal show at Reno's tonight. It feels kinda weird saying it, but these days, the Dallas metal/grindcore/hardcore scene might be the healthiest thing going in Big D music.
One of North Texas' preeminent social entrepreneurs, Sarah Jane Semrad, seems to have her hands in just about everything cool going on around here. She sat down for a hard-hitting interview with WeShotJr for this week's edition of Greatness.
Richardson Heights: What do you do all day long?
Sarah Jane Semrad: I don't have one steady job. Some days I literally fantasize about having insurance and benefits and steady income. Basically I freelance it all day every day. I hope that someday very soon La Reunion will be my full time job and I can start picking and choosing the indie work. The best part about my life is that I can travel when I want and basically do anything I want without the constraints of 'the man'. Luckily, I'm disciplined enough to do this. In fact, I have an uncanny ability to complete projects.
RH: I'd never heard the term "social entrepreneur" before hearing it in reference to you. What does it mean?
SJS: Seeing solutions to social problems. Doing something about it. Measuring success by the social impact. Applying business planning to create a self-sustaining non-profit. Something along those lines. I firmly believe that when you nurture creativity in people and organizations you have the possibility to create social change. Your brain starts to fire differently and new solutions appear. Allowing that theory to cook in a residency with artists, musicians and creatives locally and from around the globe serves as amplification to the world. With our environment and financial system going to shit, I don't see a better way than to start thinking creatively. La Reunion is this magical vision that has reveled itself - trust me, I'm not smart enough to have thought this up by myself... it's as much an arts org as it is an environmental org. It's as much a collaborative think tank as it is time and space for creativity for the individual artist. It's shocking and humbling who is coming forward to help and manifest this vision. I'm a serial entrepreneur with a laundry list of businesses and organizations under my belt. (some have even been glorious failures!) La Reunion has revealed the social entrepreneur in me.
RH: You recently returned from Kazakhstan. Just how offensive is the country's depiction in the Borat movie?
SJS: The poverty was accurate in the movie. Poor like we can't fathom here. It's shocking that we piss on our drinking water and they don't have any. They have a simpler life - growing their own food out back, using an outhouse, walking everywhere.... Kazaks are outrageously friendly and generous when you get to know them. On the surface though, they are very shut down and I suspect it is left over Soviet mentality. Kazakhstan is a hard place to visit if you're from the West. Visas are hard to get and like most places these days, Americans aren't well-liked. Despite all that, I had a marvelous time and I'm already scheming on how to get back over there. The area I visited is up near Mongolia - China - Russia, where all the nuclear testing was done for 40 some odd years. Crazy remote - in fact it's one of the most land locked places in the world. Everyone there just wants to "see the ocean" someday. Interesting fact about the town I stayed in - Semipalatinsk - it's where the Russians used to send its unruly artists and musicians to be in exile. It's most famous resident was Dostoevsky.
RH: How often does your chemistry degree come in handy these days?
SJS: More than you think. The tedious nature of so much of my record keeping with running a non-profit is a snap due to my math-physics-chemistry training. I did use the degree once upon a time. My first job out of college was at the Frito Lay factory up in Plano. I worked in the Cheese Puff lab (which was across the hall from the Rold Gold Pretzel lab). We were working on top-secret puffs made with Olestra (remember the oily anal discharge?) for the Spanish market. After three weeks of poking, measuring and testing cheese puffs I walked out and never looked back. Falling into what I'm ultimately doing now happened purely by accident.
RH: Can you tell us about the location of this year's Art Conspiracy?
SJS: Now in our 4th year, this is the second year of Art Con that I've taken a giant step back. Kudos to the ladies pulling this shit off. Location this year? A 40,000 sq foot warehouse just west of downtown. 150 artists. Some bands and dj's. Dec 6. www.artconspiracy.org for all the deets. My favorite part about Art Con is the street level philanthropy. Regular income people conspiring to be a part of something greater than him/herself. I adore the collaborative relationships that naturally occur! I can think of several instances of people who are now dear, close friends as a result of this org. Others who are now working and selling their artwork after having given up on it....
RH: Holy crap! The winning design for La Reunion looks so amazing. Is this really going to happen?
SJS: Hells yes. I have faith in very little, but the series of serendipitous events and coincidences have given me faith in this project. La Reunion is trying to birth itself. I'm just the midwife. Disclaimer about the winning design - it won an ideas competition. Who knows what we'll actually build out on the 35 acres of donated land. But we have 68 entires from 19 countries of cutting edge green ideas of what we could build!
RH: Like for real?
SJS: Sure. Got 3 mil? Know anyone who does?
The fourth annual Art Conspiracy is coming up on December 6. Check out the web site if you want to get involved as a volunteer. Photo (train trestle at La Reunion) courtesy of Sarah Jane Semrad.
Dear Best Friends,I have to go because my real job asked me to do something where I might get paid if I finish. Love,
Your Secret Admirer
Butthole Surfers | Golden Boys | Nervous Curtains (Granada) Yet another band from the "Our Band Could Be Your Life" crowd that reformed with its original lineup. The Surfers are probably more known for their antics than their spotty output, particularly their work in the 90's. Records like "Locust Abortion Technician" definitely have brilliant moments, and I'm sure this show will be a spectacle no matter what. Aside from his work in this group, drummer King Coffey will always be highly regarded for giving Texas its last label that, along with its roster, had an international reputation you didn't have to be embarrassed by. Pain Teens, Cherubs, and Bedhead records on Trance are now collecting eyebrow-raising prices at record conventions. I never thought I'd see the day...
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