STV: When did you hear Rocket to Nowhere?
Ravage: I heard it in 1978. Mike [Rep] gave me a copy.
STV: Did you know Mike well at that point? Or just around in the same scene?
Ravage: Yes, I knew him. He’s always been around.
STV: Ever beat him at pool?
Ravage: I need to make something clear– I paid for the pressing Of Homework, and asked Mike if I could pretend it was on a label and he just said Ok, and that was it. I even redrew the label. The Sin- Sing release it’s the first we are making any money off of homework. Mike had nothing to do with it. I just redrew the new age logo.
Rock: Yet he lists it as one of his releases.
STV: Funny how time and lack of clarification can re-historicize a narrative sometimes– but it totally makes sense. Had you wanted him to release it initially?
Ravage: No–I just thought it would be funny to make it look like there was a label.  After that, he started putting out other new age records.
STV: A forged label–clever.
Rock: I think “Accept It” was first. His band’s. [True Believers] and hw was #2
Mike Rep has a listing somewhere on the web for New Age releases.

STV: Earlier today, I was sitting around my apartment looking at The Offense, which reviews The Ramones and Screaming Urge at The Columbus Agora in 1981. It mentions “Myke Rock’s stage antics were well received by the crowd” Can you describe this stage persona? Were you channeling someone in particular? What was the audience’s response?
Rock: First, the Homework video nicely illustrates my movements, “antics”. I’m not sure I’d know how to channel someone if I ever had to. I just moved to how the music moved me. It was an internal urge and nothing to do with anyone or anything outside of me, the band and the music. I think about half the crowd at the Ramones show were into us and if memory serves, the rest were politely waiting for the main course. Never the less, it was a great experience and to meet the Ramones back stage. There was a big celebration in the Ramones dressing room for Johnny’s B-day (don’t know if it was actually the date of his birth, but they sure celebrated). They trashed their dressing room and asked us if they could switch with us. We said “sure, you’re the RAMONES!!”. Then we saw the total confetti, cake and unidentifiable debris, mess left behind! I might have had some left over cake.

Ravage: You’ll notice in the videos that most of the jumping around was done by Myke rock, I was unable to, due to a heart condition–it goes out of sink all the time, so I had to watch myself. Myke has gone through ceiling and more than a couple of walls, I think it’ was as fun for me to watch as the audience. In the videos from 1979 you’ll see me looking around a lot to see where Myke is at, I kinda always strolled around, which I still do. When we played live, in those days Rock was a lot wilder on stage than in the videos. Rock’s telling of us and the Ramones is right on track, but I was very nervous because right to my right, out of sight of the crowd Johnny Ramone was watching the whole thing, so I was thinking “oh shit” he’s checking out my guitar playing.

STV: You started the  Nowhere Fest in 78– the show that brought the first four Columbus punk bands together.  Which everyone agrees was a success. So what happened next–how did the scene solidify? Did it take time to catch on, or was it an immediate response? Once venues saw that you could draw a crowd, how gradual did their interest accrue? How did you see the Columbus punk scene changing after that first Nowhere 78 show?

Rock: The Nowhere ’78 I’ll leave to Ravage as I wasn’t there.

Ravage: I put Screaming Urge together in May of 1978 with some members coming and going for just 2 or 3 rehearsals, we didn’t make our debut until November 3rd, 1978 after I rented a hall with a stage and got a hold of the other 3 bands, meaning there was no place to play at all. I do believe it is because of nowhere that clubs began letting punk in, because of that show drawing a huge crowd, it made the papers and clubs took notice, after that things really began to change, there were at least 5 or 6 clubs we could count on to play locally, and a lot more bands popped up.

Nowhere 80 flier- "A secret society poster" bottom left, indicating that it was possibly created by Arlus Stitch (Courtesy of Blake Davis)

Nowhere 80 Poster (Courtesy of L.J. Altvater)

Nowhere 80 Poster (Courtesy of L.J. Altvater)

Photo taken during Nowhere, 1981--Courtesy of Avery Behrouz-Tazwell Cassell "Olena, Jeffrey and Jerry"

(Courtesy of LJ Altvater)

STV: How much work went into all of this planning, and how did you even find out about bands at the time that were coming from other cities? I think the H2D website mentions something about Mr. Unique and Leisure Suits– from Detroit. Did Screaming Urge befriend bands in other cities mainly through touring? Or was it through syndication?
Ravage: We were booked on the same bill at a club in Detroit with Mr. Unique and the Leisure Suits, we loved them and they loved us, so we knew we wanted them in Columbus, for Columbus to enjoy, and Myke was the one who took care of this one, renting out the Garden, getting a hold of the suits, and doing a lot of the promo. There were a lot of bands that we became fast friends with, but over the years most of the names escape me, Superman’s Girlfriend come to mind, they were from Texas.

STV: What was yr relationship with Cleveland bands and that whole scene like? How did you perceive them and vice-versa?
Ravage: Our favorite band from up around the Cleveland/Akron area I’m pretty sure I’d say is The Human Switchboard, but I also enjoyed playing shows with the Lepers, The Adults, we still have a nice relationship with the Human Switchboard as you can see thay are in our “Likes” on our facebook page. We thought of Cleveland as the bigtime!

Pere Ubu and Screaming Urge Poster, 1980-1981. (Courtesy of Marco Capalino)

Human Switchboard Poster 1980-1981. (Courtesy of Marco Capalino)

STV:Screaming Urge were signed to Stiff Records in 1980–H2D said that the deal was botched by yr manager at the time–but you continued to tour. Was there interest in a UK tour at some point? Did you continue to tour to try and find a record deal?
Rock: I remember speaking to several management types in the UK, but nothing really materialized. I don’t remember ever speaking with Ravage and Manic about how we must tour to find a record deal. Sure, it would have been nice, maybe, but that never was something to define the band. We toured, basically, because we generally got the respect we felt we deserved in places other than Columbus.
Ravage: The deal with stiff was botched by our “so-called” manager, Steve Garner, they wanted to release our first album, as it was, by me sending them the album, I have saved several letters from Stiff, they gave up after Steves relentlessly telling them he “owned” the songs and wanted more money than they were willing to give, I think they ended up telling him Fuck You. We kept touring because we loved to play, still do, if you could get us a booking in NYC we are there!
STV: It seems that graffiti was ubiquitous to the punk scene in those days. It shows up in many stories and photos from the scene during this period. Was it something that was appropriated from the whole Graffiti scene in New York?
Ravage: I have to give full credit to Zero Watts of the Blades, the very 1st. punk band in Columbus, he started it and all the bands copied him, I think we were all unaware of the NYC graffiti at the time, for us it was a way of getting the name out in public, so then when you put a flyer up, people would go, oh, I’ve heard of them.

Zero Watt Graffiti, (Courtesy of Blake Davis)

Arlus Stitch, ca. 1980 with Zero spray paint (Courtesy of Blake Davis)

Zero Watts on cover of Rave Zine #1, (Courtesy of Tony Tone)

Screaming Urge in Albany New York, 1983. Michael Ravage, L.J. Altvater (replacing Dave Manic on drums), and Myke Rock. (Courtesy of LJ Altvater)

Cover of the first issue of the Ohio-based, internationally distributed zine "The Offense" (Courtesy of LJ Altvater)

Twisted Shouts Poster (Courtesy of Susan Kendzulak)

Schoolkids Records 1985 Listeners Poll: Cover art by the lovely and talented Bruce Siple. 1) Nick Cave: Firstborn is Dead 2) Meat Puppets: Up on the Sun 3) REM: Fables of the Reconstruction 4) Tom Waits: Rain Dogs 5) The Replacements: Tim Bubbling under: The Fall, J&M Chain, Butthole Surfers, Husker Du, Prefab Sprout, Minutemen, Robyn Hitchcock, Lloyd Cole, Pogues and more. Top shows: Butthole Surfers: Staches Sonic Youth: Staches Minutemen: Staches Red Hot Chili Peppers: Newport 10.000 Maniacs: Staches (Courtesy of Gerald Moss)

Hyped2Death

New Age Discography via Collector Scum

Other Paper Interview

*The Vertical Slit LP was indeed released in 1977, most likely in Columbus- and most likely pressed at Musicol. An insert for one of his records mentions his arrival to Columbus in 1976. Also, Rep’s notes included in “Blind Boy in the Backseat” mentions that “I first met Ron House on stage.  It was 1978, the day Keith Moon died.”   7.Sept.78 -Rep also saw them a week prior clear the room at Stache’s.  ’78/’80 are the dates credited to the music on that release.  Since Nowhere 78 happened  nearly in ’79 (November of 78) maybe the bands hadn’t yet come into contact with one and other? Twisted Shouts and Vertical Slit were most likely around in 78, but facts surrounding this moment seem to be murky in a lot of ppl’s memories.

*Special thanks to JAMES E  for assistance and fact checking*

Screaming Urge is recording a new album featuring never recorded Urge material and new songs. They  are open to discussing this project and other potential vinyl reissues via email, and they expect their new official website to be launched soon.

The Policy in their practice room, 1984. Original video filmed and edited by Campbell McLay and Ritchie Venus for the Onset-Offset video compilatiion ‘Get Up and Go’. The song is from their first EP ‘Dust to Dust’.

Christchurch alt-rockers tear through a Soft Boys cover in their practice-room, 1984. Filmed by Lawrence K on super-8, who falls over at 1:57. From Lawrence and Lisa Lens’ ‘Frantic’ (1984).

Kiwi garage-punk mavericks the McGoohans perform ‘Psychedelic Texas’ in the back yard of a well-known Armagh St flat in Christchurch New Zealand. Lineup was me on guitar/vocals, Ian Blenkinsop on guitar, Susan Heney on bass and her sister Mary guesting on drums. Suitably psychedelic video shot and edited by Ritchie Venus and Campbell McLay. Go on, take the brown acid. I DARE ya to…

1977-vintage video for the first-ever Kiwi punk rock single (released early 1978). Glammy Auckland art-punks gleefully alarming society with their wild grimaces, bin-liner clothes, New York Dolls guitar riffs and a drawn-on Hitler moustache.

Someone recently recommended I revisit Jem Cohen’s documentary on FugaziInstrument. Released by Dischord Records on VHS in 1999, the film documents the band, its followers and also traces Cohen’s personal relationship with Ian MacKaye back to the 1970s DC, where the two met in high school. Shot between 1987 through 1998 on super 8, 16mm and video; the film is composed mainly of live concert footage, interviews with the band members, practices, tours and Fugazi’s studio sessions for the recording of their 1995 album, Red Medicine. The film also includes portraits of fans as well as interviews with them at various Fugazi shows around the United States throughout those years.

When asked what the goal was in making Instrument, Cohen responded:

I did feel that there were a lot of people that either didn’t have access to the band or had something of a misconception of what they were like. I wanted to address those issues to some degree, but what I really wanted to do was just capture music-making and try to make something that felt, visually, like music, and something where the music was inextricably tied in with the moving pictures.

Instrument’s Official Press Release:
“A collaboration between filmmaker Jem Cohen and the Washington DC band, the project covers the ten-year period from the band’s inception in 1987. Far from a traditional documentary, the project is a musical document: a portrait of musicians at work. Says Cohen: “With no desire on my part or the band’s to create a factual career survey or any kind of promotional vehicle, the project presented an opportunity to cut things loose. Mixing sync-sound 16mm, Super-8, video, and a wide range of archival formats, the piece includes concert footage, studio sessions, practice, touring, interviews and portraits of audience members from around the country. Piecing it together over the course of about 5 years, I thought of bringing “dub” to documentary — of a project where unadulterated real-time performances, abstract, rough-hewn Super 8 collages and archival artifacts would collide and conjoin in a way that honestly represented musical experience. The project was edited with band members and extensively uses soundtrack elements provided by Fugazi specifically for the film.”

Ink 19 Interview with Jem Cohen
Austin Chronicle Review and Interview
Complete list of Jem Cohen’s films

In true democratic spirit of cable access TV and DIY ethics so associated with the revolutionary NYC show TV Party, some excellent person has shared the recent documentary of the show on Youtube. Much has been written on the now iconic show, so we’ll leave that at bay for now–but check this well-executed documentary out!

I can recall the days of having to buy these on bootleg from Kim’s, or jump through hoops to watch them at Fales– so enjoy the convenience of being able to see them online for free. (At least for the time being…)

Now, someone needs to post some episodes of the TV Party’s LA counterpart, Peter Ivers’ New Wave Theater.

Useful:
UN-TV
Out of the Vast Wasteland
The Poor Soul of Television
TV Party

There are a lot of paths the narrative in this book could potentially go. Comprised of 52 prose poems, each a mini elegy for Kurt Cobain, the book will most likely be an explaination/apology to a friend who’s demise was largely caused by Erlandson’s long term bandmate combined with a general assessment of that whole scene. The longest Hole member, Erlandson no doubt bore witness to the various waves of psychological warfare Courtney would wage upon people in her life. The recent documentary ‘Hit So Hard: The Life and Near-Death Story of Drummer Patty Schemel,’ is another recent first-hand example of this.

Love and Erlandson, the two founding members of Hole had a contract stating that neither one could perform or release music under the Hole moniker without eachother’s participation. When Courtney announced her 2009 solo record would be released by “Hole” (but without Erlandson) things got ugly. Courtney’s management illegedly told Erlandson that the album would never be finished– and therefore there was no real threat. But it did– which definitely violated the “contract” in place. Even if Letters to Kurt doesn’t shed light on that particular situation, perhaps it will lend some insight to the general tone and current relationship between Courtney and Eric.

“Nearly two decades after the death of Kurt Cobain, a friend and fellow musician not only continues to mourn his suicide, but also rages against the culture that he holds responsible. These 52 ‘letters’ . . . combine the subject matter of the Byrds’ ‘So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star’ with the fury of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl . . . A catharsis for the writer and perhaps for the reader as well.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“The reverberations of Kurt’s suicide last to this day, and have touched the lives of many. Dozens of people could have written their own version of this bracingly candid book; Eric Erlandson has written one, filled with rage and love, landmined with detail, that can stand for them all.”
–Michael Azerrad, author of Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana

“Eric was the spirit-boy in the Nirvana/Hole dynamic. Quiet, bemused, intelligent, and curiously intuitive to the power of hugging the devil, to say we will all be okay. The early 1990s were an explosive and defining period of creativity and excitement for the underground punk/post-punk scene, particularly with the manifest poetry of Kurt, who we were so proud to have as a light in our shared time and space. Eric expresses how enchanting Kurt was, how the whole scene was, with his thoughtful, radical adult/prose love. Bring on the future, darling.”
–Thurston Moore, musician

“Eric. He was always there: supportive, observing, in the thick of it. Hidden in plain sight . . . Without him, I can’t imagine Seattle or L.A. or a dozen other places. This book is beautiful, brutal, brief. Happy-sad eloquence. Boy Scouts playing with the complimentary cologne in the heart of the ghost town. Listen to the man. He knows.”
–Everett True, author of Nirvana: The Biography

LETTERS TO KURT IS AN ANGUISHED, ANGRY, AND TENDER meditation on the octane and ether of rock and roll and its many moons: sex, drugs, suicide, fame, and rage. It’s part Dream Songs, part Bukowski, Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, and the Clash. Rants, reflections, and gunshot fill these fifty-two prose poems. They are raw, funny, sad, and searching. This will make a beautiful book for anyone who loved Nirvana and Hole and the time and place when their music changed everything. Ultimately, it’s an elegy for Kurt and the “suicide idols” who tragically fail to find salvation in their amazing music.

ERIC ERLANDSON was born and raised in San Pedro, California. He is best known as cofounder, songwriter, and lead guitarist of the alternative rock band Hole, which he formed with Courtney Love. Their albums Pretty on the Inside, Live Through This, and Celebrity Skin achieved international recognition and success. Live Through This was named one of the top 100 albums of all time by Time magazine. Since the breakup of the band in 2002, Erlandson has been involved in a number of musical and literary projects. He has a BS in Economics from Loyola Marymount University and practices Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

March 1st – Group Exhibition Opening – envoy enterprises
March 3rd – Live Performances – Dixon Place
March 10th – Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey film screening – Anthology Film Archives

This Spring, Envoy enterprises, in collaboration with NP Contemporary Art Center and Mute, will present FGFt, a three-part project series in homage to Frank Tovey – founder of the 1970s/1980s British electronic group Fad Gadget, marking the 10 year anniversary of the pioneer’s death. Summoning a diverse group of artists and musicians who have been both directly and indirectly influenced by Tovey, the series will take place from March 1st through to April 8th, 2012 featuring a group exhibition, live music performances, and a film screening. All events are free and open to the public.

FGFt was inspired in 2010 by the film Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey, a documentary produced by the Frank Tovey Estate and Mute, and directed by Morgan Tovey Frost. The documentary incited the possibility of paying tribute to a pioneer of the underground and post-punk music scenes who incorporated innovative electronic textures, Kafka-esque lyrics, and elaborately visceral performances. Known to perform tarred and feathered while hitting drum pads with his head, Tovey’s most influential tracks include “Ricky’s Hand”, “Collapsing New People” and “Life On The Line”. The exhibitions taking place this March mark the 10 year anniversary of Frank Tovey’s passing and commemorates his work and influence as an artist.

The group exhibition, on view at envoy enterprises from March 1st through April 8th, will feature new work inspired by Frank Tovey and specifically made for FGFt, including works by Olaf Breuning, Kelsey Henderson, Erika Keck, Robert Knoke, Terence Koh, Alex Rose, Desi Santiago, Matt Sims, Liz Wendelbo, Granth Worth, Una Szeemann, and Fischerspooner. The opening reception is on March 1st from 6-8pm. On March 3 at 10:30pm, Xeno & Oaklander and Ike Yard will each give live performances at Dixon Place as part of the music program. Additionally, Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey will make it’s US premiere at Anthology Film Archives on March 10th at 8:00pm, alongside short films from artists in the exhibition. All events are free and open to the public on a first come, first serve basis.

Fad Gadget was Mute’s first signing in 1979, and an enormous influence on a whole host of electronic artists. Featuring the ground-breaking debut single, ‘Back To Nature’ (originally released in October 1979) plus the classic single ‘Ricky’s Hand’, and live favourite ‘Lady Shave’. Mute will release An Introduction To… Fad Gadget this Spring.

Participating Artist Roster: FGFt
March 1st 2012
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Matthew Sims
Martynka Wawrzyniak
Erik Hanson
Slava Mogutin
Una Szeemann
Olaf Breuning
Stephanie Snider
David Flinn
Kelsey Henderson
Grant Worth
Nathan Cash Davidson
Alex Rose
Liz Wendelbo
Brian Kenny
Terence Koh
Nick Cash
Gail Stoicheff
Desi Santiago
Robert Knoke
Erika Keck
Micky Pellerano
Thomas Dozol
Conrad Ventur
Edwin Pouncey
Lovett/Codagnone
Fischerspooner

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Morgan Tovey Frost
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Xeno & Oaklander
Ike Yard

Contents:
1. Introduction to Sunday
2. A note on sympathetic materialism
3. Untitled preface to Waiting for Tear Gas
4. Lottery of the Sea: Prologue and Ending
5. The Forgotten Space – screening at MoMA, Monday, 02.13.11
6. Related readings/viewings
7. Filmography
8. About Allan Sekula
______________________________

Film-Makers’ Co-op Press Conference, 1964 L to R: Gregory Markopoulos, P. Adams Sitney, Andy Warhol, Ron Rice, Jonas Mekas © 1964

We Are Cinema is a month-long exhibit and screening series celebrating 50 years of the Film-Makers’ Co-op in NYC. It was in January of 1962 that filmmaker Jonas Mekas called an urgent meeting of about 20 avant-garde/independent filmmakers including Stan Vanderbeek, Rudy Burckhardt, Jack Smith, Ken Jacobs, and Gregory Markopoulos to discuss taking the means of exhibition and distribution into their own hands. Within months the Film-Makers’ Co-op was born. Under the stewardship of filmmaker MM Serra since 1991, the organization is now the oldest and largest artist-run cooperative in the world and membership continues to be open to anyone with a film or video work.

We Are Cinema features paintings, drawings, prints, light boxes, and other artworks from the group’s earliest to most recent members. Additionally, rare early documents, posters, catalogues, archival materials and historical sound recordings will also on exhibit.

Events start on Saturday February 11, at 5PM – just prior to the official exhibition opening – with the first screening of restored, fresh-from-the-lab 16mm prints of rare short works by legendary filmmaker/artist Jack Smith (Respectable Creatures, Song for Rent, Hot Air Specialists, Overstimulated, Scotch Tape, and Yellow Sequence), all new editions to the Co-op’s distribution. Original founding director Jonas Mekas and current director MM Serra will introduce the works. The four-part screening series continues with unique programs by Ken Jacobs (2/18), Jonas Mekas (2/25), and a group show of recent editions to the Co-op’s collection (3/4). Seating is limited. Please RSVP to rsvp@microscopegallery.com.

Artists in the exhibition include: Katherine Bauer, Bill Brand, Robert Breer, Rudy Burckhardt, Donna Cameron, Abigail Child, Martha Colburn, Bradley Eros, Su Friedrich, Ken Jacobs, Sabrina Gschwandtner, Anne Hanavan, Takahiko Iimura, Jeanne Liotta, Jonas Mekas, Julie Murray, Jennifer Reeves, Barbara Rubin, Carolee Schneemann, Joel Schlemowitz, MM Serra, Jack Smith, Smith and Lowles, Mark Street, Jack Waters & Peter Cramer, and others.

The Film-Makers’ Co-op continues to operate as a vibrant archive and distributor, housing more than 5,000 films and videos by over 900 artists. It is now located at 475 Park Ave South in Manhattan. To schedule a press screening, or for further information about the Co-op and film rentals please contact the Co-op at filmmakerscoop@gmail.com or visit their website www.film-makerscoop.com.

Microscope Gallery is dedicated to presenting the works of film, video, sound, performance and new media artists through exhibitions and a weekly event series. Since its opening in September 2010, the gallery has held 13 exhibits and more than 90 screenings, music, performance and other events. Microscope seeks to dissolve the barriers between the white walls of the gallery and the black box of the theater. It is located in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn.

EXHIBIT: We Are Cinema: 50 years of the Film-Makers’ Co-op
Drawings, paintings, photographic prints, video, sound, historical documents, & more

RELATED EVENTS

SAT 2/11:

5PM: Screening “Fresh-from-the-Lab” new prints of rare short films by Jack Smith new to distribution from the Co-op, introduced by MM Serra and Jonas Mekas. Admission $10, RSVP to rsvp@microscopegallery.com. With gratitude to the Barbara Gladstone Gallery and Jerry Tartaglia for the preservation and restoration of Jack Smith’s films.

7-9PM We Are Cinema opening reception, open to the public

SAT 2/18: 7PM Ken Jacobs in person, 16mm prints from the Co-op of Blonde Cobra (1959-1963) and The Whirled (1956 to 1963); four shorts of Jack Smith performing; and America At War, The Home Front: Film Opening – 3D (2011). Admission $6

SAT 2/25, 7PM Jonas Mekas in person to present his 1997 Birth of a Nation, which has screened previously only once. Admission $6

SUN 3/4, 7PM, New works to the Co-op’s distribution curated by Microscope, introduced by MM Serra. Admission $6

Claes Oldenburg-Still from "Nekropolis II" 1962

2/10/2012-3/17/2012
Opening: Friday 2/10/2012
534 W 25th St, New York

The first exhibition to document the origins and historical development of the transient, yet pivotal “Happenings” movement from its inception in 1958 through 1963 will be presented at the Pace Gallery this month. The experimental performances forever changed the definition of art and the possibilities for what it could be. The show captures more than thirty of the original Happenings and the contributions of the main participants—Jim Dine, Simone Forti, Red Grooms, Allan Kaprow, Claes Oldenburg, Lucas Samaras, Carolee Schneemann, and Robert Whitman. It brings together for the first time more than 300 photographs by five photographers who witnessed and documented the performances, as well as artworks, rare film footage, and original ephemera. The exhibition is accompanied by a book published by The Monacelli Press and authored by Milly Glimcher.

New York Times article by Carol Kino

Carolee Schneemann- Still from "Newspaper Event" 1963

The first openly gay American popstar– and one of the first AIDS casualties in the music business, Jobraith (who like many glam musicians at the time, went through a bevy of stage names) was working as a prostitute in LA until he David Geffen signed him to Elekra in 1972. Managed  by Jerry Brandt, his two album contract made history as the most lucritive record deal at $500,000. The above video, performed on Midnight Special (introduced by Gladys Night) marks his debut performance. Jobraith designed the triadic-ballet style costume, and Joyce Trisler of the Joffrey Ballet choreographed the performance.  Two songs were performed, “I’maman” and “Rock of Ages”, the latter substituting for “Take Me I’m Yours” which was pulled after the producer objected to its overtly sado-masochistic theme. Sales of the album were poor, and tanked–never reaching the charts.

His second album, released 6 months after his debut, Creatures of the Street was released, featuring Peter Frampton, as well as John Paul Jones.  Compiled from the extensive sessions for its predecessor, it was launched without any media promotion and again failed to reach the charts. A US tour followed, during which recordings took place at local studios for a projected third album. Both Brandt and Elektra abandoned Jobriath midway, but despite this the band completed the tour, and continued to bill Elektra for expenses. A final show, at the University of Alabama, ended in five encores and the fire brigade being summoned, due to the excited audience setting off the alarm.

In 1975 Jobriath announced his retirement from the music industry to an uninterested press and moved into a pyramid topped rooftop apartment at the Chelsea Hotel. He attempted to resume his acting career and changed his name to  ‘Cole Berlin’ (a play on both Cole Porter and Irving Berlin). He died in 1983 after being sick for two years.

Formed in 1974, the Australian band Supernaut (originally called Moby Dick) had a brief but successful career which yielded two top twenty singles and gold album status from their self-titled debut album.

Supernaut were signed by Polydor and burst on to the Australian charts with a number one hit in July, 1976 with this track, “I Like It Both Ways”. A follow up hit from their self-titled album came in November, 1976 with “Too Hot To Touch”, which reached number 19. In 1978, the band moved to Sydney and changed their name to The Naut. Now a punk/new-wave outfit, the album was received well by critics, but sales were low–leading the band to disband by 1980. Members went on to play in various bands, and work in the film industry. Most notably, Chris Burnham went on to play in The Saints.

Purple Pilgrims.- s/t 8″
It has been said that ex-Christchurch now Hong Kong based sister duo of Clementine and Valentine Nixon is really a live act, with their haunting, heartfelt, carefully layered drone; pure enough to summon goosebumps. This outsider marble-fuzz project has reproduced the same wide eyed simple magic in these recordings. Songs of light swirl tantilisingly from beneath an echoing vale of hiss and feedback as their small amp again retains its ghost. An added bonus is that the final recordings for this release were mastered by Brian Crook of The Renderers.

The Nixon sisters also work in the visual arts producing zines that are to drawing and collage what their tape recorder day dreams are to sound. (See their blog purplepilgrims.blogspot.com for examples) Purple Pilgrims have produced this video to celebrate their debut release.

West Coasters can catch Purple Pilgrims on tour in March and April. I am going to do my very best to convince them to come to NYC.

Taped in 1998 at The Point in Atlanta. The set ends with a cover of their now legendary rendition of “Money For Nothin.”

Shout out to Marc Masters for this one!

"Night Scene" Computer-generated etched aluminum plate. Copyright © 1975/2004 Lillian F. Schwartz courtesy of the Lillian Feldman Schwartz Collection, Ohio State University Library and Foundation. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Pixillation

*Note the excellent Hippie hangover burnout rock ca. 1974

Lillian Schwartz is best known for her pioneering work in the use of computers for what has since become known as computer-generated art and computer-aided art analysis, including graphics, film, video, animation, special effects, Virtual Reality and Multimedia. Schwartz began her computer art career as an offshoot of her merger of art and technology, which culminated in the selection of her kinetic sculpture, Proxima Centauri, by The Museum of Modern Art for its epoch-making 1968 Machine Exhibition.

During the 70s, Schwartz expanded her work into the computer area, becoming a consultant at the AT&T Bell Laboratories, IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Laboratory and at Lucent Technologies Bell Labs Innovations. On her own, and with leading scientists, engineers, physicists, and psychologists, she developed effective techniques for the use of the computer in film and animation. Born on July 13, 1927, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Schwartz first chose to pursue a practical career, entering The College of Nursing & Health, University of Cincinnati, as part of the United States Cadet Nurse Program. Her education commenced at this time– during World War II when she studied Chinese brushwork with Tshiro in Japan as a Nurse. Over the following years she studied the fine arts with professionals such as Giannini, Kearns, and Joe Jones. She is self-taught with regard to film and computer interfacing, and programming.

Schwartz shared a confident, experimental approach to the new medium in her immensely practical survey of the field, The Computer Artist’s Handbook (co-authored with Laurens Schwartz). Even before becoming a member of the group, “Experiments in Art and Technology” (EAT) Schwartz had long demonstrated a keen interest in the combination of art with technology and science. However, although fascinated with the technological aspects of the computer as a new approach to creating art, Schwartz was most concerned with the finished product — the permanent work of art. In the early computer works therefore, one will find the somewhat limited results of the computer program enhanced with beautiful colors in more traditional materials, such as silkscreen and film. In time, the technology advanced to the degree that her digital works created with the computer could be viewed in their finished state on a high quality monitor and printed out with the intensity and nuances of color desired.

Besides establishing computer art as a viable field of endeavor, Schwartz additionally contributed to scientific research areas such as visual and color perception, and sound. Her own personal efforts have led to the use of the computer in the philosophy of art, whereby data bases containing information as to palettes and structures of paintings, sculptures and graphics by artists such as Picasso and Matisse are used by Schwartz to analyze the choices of those artists and to investigate the creative process itself. Her contributions to electronic art analysis, and restoration, have been recognized, specifically in Italian Renaissance painting and frescoe. Her work with colleagues to construct 3-dimensional models of the Refectory at Santa Maria Grazie to study the perspective construction of Leonardo’s Last Supper and, more recently, a finite element model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to aid in the preservation of the tower in understanding its structure, have proved invaluable to Art Historians and Restorers.

[lillian.com]

In 2008, The Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at The Ohio State Universityaccessioned the Lillian Schwartz collection (spanning from 1966-present), and are currently in the process of inventorying the contents. The collection contains correspondence, journals, catalogs, awards, financial records, scripts, publicity materials, clippings, books and articles by or about her, stills, film and video masters, outtakes, and notes on computer-generated films. Correspondents include Nobel Prize winners, famous scientists, musicians, artists, and curators and others still unknown to the general public but who also had a tremendous impact on culture and technology. The collection also includes drawings, computer graphics, and sculptures, as well as sketchbooks, artworks, and drawings going back to when she was a child.

Sources:
Atari Archives
Lillian F. Schwartz website
Lillian Feldman Schwartz Collection Guide site via The Ohio State University Rare Books and Manuscript Library

Thursday, January 26th, 8pm

Brooklyn-based label Sacred Bones Records will present a selection of material and a rare-screening of  Jacqueline Castel’s Twelve Dark Noons at Spectacle Theater. Expect an unearthed collection of underground weirdness, music videos, short films, works-in-progress. The evening will conclude with the presentation of a secret feature film.

The secret feature film was the 1973 documentary by Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick, Manson. The soundtrack for the film was created by Brooks Poston and Paul Watkins, two former members of the Manson tribe. Music performed by the Manson Family can also be heard on the soundtrack.There is no trailer online, but here is an interview with Hendrickson. You can stream the film here.

The film had many interviews with the members of the group, including Charles Manson, “Squeaky” Fromme, and Sandra Good. It contained original footage of the Charles Manson Family at their Spahn Ranch compound, Devil’s Canyon, their abandoned Hollywood set hideout–Barker Ranch in Death Valley, the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles and various other locations. When “Squeaky” Fromme attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford, the Manson film was banned by US District Court Judge Thomas McBride in order to preserve Ms Fromme’s constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial. Robert Hendrickson’s right to “free speech” was thus set aside and the matter was taken by the ACLU to the US Supreme Court.
Fantastic.

“New York City 1988. Raging homophobia. A killer on the loose. Disco dancing till dawn. Performers struggle to survive. Delilah seduces Samson in song. Gender illusionists go shopping.”
Samson and Delilah, 1991.

Charles Atlas at Judson Church
January 25th, 8:30 – 10:30 PM
-Filmmaker in Person-

Dirty Looks presents an evening of video work by Charles Atlas. With a career that spans 30-years, Atlas is one of the world’s most stalwart and vibrant videogrpahers of queer cultures and contemporary dance. This program will culminate with the premiere of material from Turning, a feature-length collaboration between Atlas and Antony Hegarty, on the eve of the Museum of Modern Art commissioned Antony and the Johnsons’ Swanlights performance at Radio City Music Hall. Turning will premiere in early 2012. Atlas will also be featured in the upcoming 2012 Whitney Biennial. With special performances from Leigh Bowery, Antony, and Carlos Morales (via Atlas’ rarely screened porn film, Staten Island Sex Cult), the works in this program cover more than twenty years of portraiture and collaboration at the vanguard of queer artistic practice.

The event will also feature a complimentary publication featuring writings and original artwork.
PROGRAM
Son of Sam and Delilah, Video, 27min., 1991
Butcher’s Vogue, Video, 5min., 1990
Staten Island Sex Cult, Video, 10 min. (excerpt), 1999
Instant Fame! Donald, Video, 5min., 2005
Mrs. Peanut Visits New York, Video, 6min., 1992-99
The Draglinquents, Video, 7min., 1990
I Fell In Love With A Dead Boy (from Turning),Video, 4min., 2012

AND tonight is Light Industry’s first night of programming at the 155 Freeman Building. Media mavens Thomas Beard and Ed Halter (& co?) will project a new HD restoration of Charles Atlas’ 1977, work Torse in double projection. The work’s “subject” is Merce Cunningham, his torso, and the art of using film and video to “see choreography.”

Atlas shot the dance with three 16mm cameras over the course of three days at the University of Washington, where the company was then in residence. Two mobile cameras captured close-ups, while a single stationary camera was set up for long shots. Atlas and Cunningham manned the mobile cameras while a technician handled the static camera, and the results were edited by Atlas into a single, two-screen film that was originally shown via a now all-but-extinct dual-interlock 16mm projection system.

The fifty-five-minute work features music by pioneering composer Maryanne Amacher and costumes by the company’s longtime designer, Mark Lancaster. As was typical in Cunningham’s practice, the choreography and sound were made separately, so that any relationship between music and movement is serendipitous. Torse is also notable as an instance of Cunningham’s use of chance operations; the choreography comprises sixty-four distinct phrases, and the floor-space is divided into sixty-four squares—a reference to the number of hexagrams in the I Ching. Cunningham created separate “space charts” and “movement charts” and tossed coins to determine the combinations for the ten dancers (Cornfield, Karole Armitage, Lisa Fox, Meg Harper, and Robert Kovich are among those who appear in the film). The result is, as Arlene Croce once described it, “monomaniacally urgent.” That, and something else: one felicitous decision after another, a sublime study in the intersection of rigor and contingency.

Can’t wait! Wish someone would screen my favorite Merce/Atlas collab, Merce by Merce by Paik pt 1: Blue Studio: Five Segments from 1976. A videodance by Merce Cunningham, shot by his then filmmaker-in-residence Charles Atlas. Choreographed and performed specifically for video space, Cunningham is multiplied, overlaid and transported from the studio to a series of unexpected landscapes. Cunningham’s gestural dance is manipulated to the accompaniment of a disjunctive audio collage that includes the voices of John Cage and Jasper Johns. One of these days I’ll digitize my tape of it. Maybe this week—in honor of these events.

ARTISTS’ BOOK NOT ARTISTS’ BOOK will incorporate work by Chris Burden, Ira Cohen, Richard Meltzer, John Baldessari, Seth Price, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Richard Hell, Tina Lhotsky, Sue Williams, Tom Sachs, Richard Prince, William Gibson, David Wojnarowicz, Dara Birnbaum, Jim Shaw, Ed Ruscha, Sean Landers, and others (not to mention, Various, Anonymous, and Unknown). Publication forthcoming.

Regarding the project, Johann Kugelberg writes:

Please accept the assurance of our highest appreciation in choosing to attend this exhibition, co-curated by 6 Decades’ Jeremy Sanders and myself on behalf of Boo-Hooray. Jeremy as most of you know is a noted enthusiast, expert and dealer of artists’ books. His previous publications in the field have been splendid yardsticks of scholarly merit. Myself, I am a caffeinated perpetuum mobile of dilettantism in the field, so hey, a natural collabo is in place.

He has curated the artists’ books in this show, and I’ve curated the not artists’ books. But alas! Sometimes I’ve curated ‘artists’ books,’ and sometimes Jeremy has curated ‘not artists’ books.’ Presto chango!

“How does one tell the difference?” the curator asks the curator.

We’ll naturally have to ask a bona-fide art expert to provide all the answers. At great expense, 6 Decades and Boo-Hooray have hired a famous international expert of great dignity and renown who will peruse our exhibit* and provide us with the correct answers as per what constitutes an artists’ book and what constitutes a not.

The egalitarian component of all this demands that a kindly gallery representative will provide you a card with little boxes where you can check either ‘artists’ book’ or ‘not-artists’ book.’ The same representative will gather your card upon completion and compare it to the resolve provided us by the Certified Art Expert. Anyone who completes the card correctly gets a Dollar, so do provide your name and address!

Happy New Year!

–Johan Kugelberg

* Possibly wearing a gorilla costume

Trust’s first two singles  “Candy Walls” and “Bulbforms” on Sacred Bones were among my favorites from last year. Their debut LP entitled TRST, is slated for release at the end of February on the Canadian label Arts & Crafts. Trust will tour this spring in support of the record, stopping in NYC March 8th at Mercury Lounge and March 9th at Glasslands.

The toronto based duo is comprised of  Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski (of  Toronto buzz band, Austra). In the last year they’ve performed with DFA1979, Crystal Castles, Balam Acab, Glass Candy, and Hercules and Love Affair.

Arts & Crafts described TRST thusly:
“Tales of lust, wax, and erotomania carry along on a dense black vapor of speed, space and tears.”

Tracklist:
Shoom
Dressed For Space
Bulbform
The Last Dregs
Candy Walls
Gloryhole
This Ready Flesh
F.T.F.
Heaven
Chrissy E
Sulk

Glasgow duo James McKinven (organs, love) and Alicia Matthews (vocals, love) comprise the band Organs of Love.

“Organs of Love is a veritable behemoth of lo-fi weirdness that sounds like it’s come oozing straight out of some seedy swamp dive on Saturn.” –the band

Optimo Music will release the “Bone EP” next week.  Listen:

Face Fuck – Demo by Organs of Love

Lets Talk To Bobby – Demo by Organs of Love

By: Scott Kiernan

Setlist:
Intro
All Day
Do You Even Like It?
Cold Life
The Nature of Love
Revenge
(Everyday Is) Halloween
I Will Do Anything For You
Work For Love
Here We Go
Ricky’s Hand (Fad Gadget cover)
I’m Falling

According to notes from prongs.org,  this was the final date of the tour, and was to be a goodbye to all material from their first album, With Sympathy.

Below, a clip from a show in 1987 at Numbers in Houston, TX. “All Day” is played at this show too, albeit a bit differently…

Burning Star Core
‘Practice April 4th 2008′
at the Art Damage Lodge, Cincinnati OH

My Night With The Subliminals

– by Joe Stumble

The Flying Nun 30th anniversary hoopla happened about two months ago all over New Zealand and with it a host of reunion shows all over the North and South Islands. A lot of real culty acts got in on the action including but not limited to Fetus Productions, The Clean, The Chills, The Verlaines as well as a Shayne Carter super-show where he did numbers from all of his classic acts. The Doublehappys were always my personal favourite, but that is a different story.

Whilst I deeply love all of these bands with a passion that could probably best be described as ‘burning’, I also in my ever-increasing old age have become a little skeptical of reunion shows by classic new wave / underground bands. By little, I mean a lot. By a lot, I mean completely.

I know, I know. You’re thinking, man that Stumble guy. He’s such an uptight bastard. Can’t he just go out and have a little fun and enjoy the good old days a bit? Sing along to The Undertones without Feargal or watch Black Flag at 50 shred through a version of Wasted. The answer, of course is an unequivocal ‘no’. I can’t.  Not even at Coachella.  Sorry.

Why? Because the music I listened to at any particular moment in time represents that moment in time. Chances are, if I was fanatical about your band when I was 17 or 27 or maybe 37, it was because at that time, your band was critically important to me. I like my memories. I’m like Roy Batty in Blade Runner, ‘I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe.’ I don’t want a re-enactment of my memories. I’m too fucking busy making new ones.

I’m not even going to mention that rock-n-roll is a youth-oriented medium. Have you seen the latest Van Halen video for chrissakes? Sweet baby Jesus.

So why, dear reader, would I want to see one of my favourite bands of all time, lumber aimlessly through a song that I love passionately in their advancing age, thereby shitting on both their own personal legacy and my own personal history? The answer is of  course, ‘I don’t’.

Obviously then, with a militant stance like this one, it only makes sense that I would find  myself front row and center for The Clean reunion gig during the whole Flying Nun shebang. But before I could see The Clean, I first had to watch a band called The Subliminals who released an EP and a CD on Flying Nun back in 1999-2000.

Now, The Subliminals are not a part of my personal history– I had heard them before (on the Flying Nun Box Set) but they didn’t really stick.  Maybe this is why I was so completely fucking impressed by the band, because they did not represent a prior moment in my life. Or maybe it was because as far as reunions go, theirs was still pretty recent. Or maybe it was because they are so good that they just transcend the entire issue I have with reunion shows altogether. Probably a combination of all three. Irregardless, I found myself completely entranced by the band and their approach.

Coming out of the ashes of prior Kiwi bands The Hasselhof Experiment and Loves Ugly Children and inspired by the motorik sounds of Neu! amongst many other things, The Subliminals founded in the late 1990s and played around Auckland a little bit. Their two releases whilst being very good, hinted nothing at how amazing a live act they are/were.

The strength of the band lies with the tight rythm patterns set by bassist Jared Johanson and drummer Brendan Moran. Over this, dual guitar players Steve Reay and Simon MacLaren lay down some serious skronk. Neither the rythm or the skonkage is ever needlessly flashy. Instead, the band opts for a hypnotic, repetitive sound that really draws you in.

The Subliminals live are one of those bands that cause you to shake your head in disbelief whilst watching. You just can’t believe the good fortune of experiencing them in the here and now. This is what all of my great live rock-n-roll moments have shared.  A sense that the moment you are experiencing is unique and life-affirming; the immediacy of the medium helping for one flickering second to transcend the mortal coil. Coincidentally, this sense of transcendence is exactly what is missing in most reunion gigs, which by their nature force you to re-live the past.

Ah-hah, maybe I am on to something here.

Oh yeah, and The Clean. I’m a fanatical Clean fan. There was a point in my history where Boodle Boodle Boodle was a constant soundtrack to my day-to-day life. The show was a real homecoming for the audience and there were people there that had been part of the Auckland punk scene thirty years ago. Everyone seemed to have a great time dancing to great songs by three great blokes and reliving great old memories. Who am I to disrespect that?

Still, I found my opinions on reunion shows confirmed at the end of the night by The Clean whilst at the same time being puzzled by The Subliminals. How could a band that good have escaped my grasp for so long?

Transverse is an experimental collaboration between Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti (TG) and Nik Void (Factory Floor) created especially for the Mute festival at the Roundhouse in 2011. Late last week, Mute Records announced they will release the recordings of the project this March.

The tracks were prepared in the studio and then performed and recorded live in front of an audience. Outside of the trio, these recordings were unheard prior to the festival and the popularity of the performance left many being turned away at the door.

Said The Quietus of the performance: “…a warm embrace, creating a deep connection… Carter at the back manipulates the electronics while on either flank, Void scratches noise with bowed guitar and Tutti plays while singing vocals that she mangles and distorts… there is no nihilism in this noise, nothing but a deep and wonderful sense of love.”

For nearly two decades, Graham Lambkin has been redefining our concept of domestic disturbance. From his time in The Shadow Ring to his solo ventures (2003’s Poem for Voice and Tape and Salomon Run, from 2007) to his collaboration with Jason Lescalleet (2008’s The Breadwinner), he has continually transformed everyday atmospheres and the mundane into expressive sound art using tape manipulation techniques, synthesizers, chance operations, and the thick ambiance of domestic field recordings. Lambkin’s playfully surreal perspective is also present in his work as a visual artist. (Dusted)

Experimedia’s description for the album is pretty enticing:

“Amateur Doubles is the brand new solo LP by Graham Lambkin — two-part improvisation recorded in a Honda Civic. Dangerous, tedious, pointless and timeless, Amateur Doubles is a perfect snapshot of life on the open road. Expertly mastered by Jason Lescalleet, Amateur Doubles arrives in a high gloss full color gatefold, on clear vinyl, in an edition of 500.”

graham lambkin – amateur doubles (album preview) by experimedia

Lambkin fans– be sure to check out his upcoming performance at Issue Project Room on January 15th. There is no official posting for the performance, but I will keep an eye out, and update. Might just be a word of mouth kinda thang.

‘TG’s Desertshore – The Final Report’  (its full title) was conceived by Sleazy during a long flight from Bangkok to Berlin in the winter of 2006, and TG has been recording/collecting elements for the album since.

In 2007 TG went into the studio to record a reinterpretation of Desertshore for a release originally scheduled for 2008. These studio sessions were made open to the public at the ICA in London, and the entirety of the 3-day, 12-hour-long session was recorded, given a limited press, and released as The Desertshore Installation– a 12 disc CDr a boxed set that  documents the recording sessions for the Desertshore album.  Each session lasted for approximately 2 hours and there were 2 sessions per day, an afternoon and an evening session. A Q&A session is also included in the recordings. The set only had one pressing, but a  number of the “jams” recorded during the studio sessions appear on TG’s tour-only album release The Third Mind Movements.

BUT a lot has happened since the winter of 2008 in TG/CC/CTI land…

Chris Carter writes (1/3/2012):
“Most of you probably know some of the story and some of you may know most of the story: Genesis walked out on TG at the beginning of the 2010 tour in November (we still have no idea why!) and we three attempted to recover from that disaster with a couple of X-TG shows. Feeling both deflated at TG ending and elated that he didn’t have to work with Genesis again Sleazy returned to Bangkok later that month to work on Desertshore using new gear he’d bought for the project and to begin recording the guest vocalists. He died before he worked on a single note.

2011 was probably our busiest year since touring as Chris & Cosey in the 1980s’ and 90s’ and honestly we’re not sure why this should be. You’d think as you get older things would begin to slow down a bit, but they haven’t. Ironically we’ve also had to turn down more offers, projects and shows than ever before – we’ve felt close to burn-out a few times last year, after all we’re only human and there are only 24 hours in a day, but we got through it, just.
All that aside, last year we managed to get all our Desertshore guest vocalists recorded for the album, some were done here at our studio, some in Europe and a few in the USA. Everyone we asked to collaborate said yes and everyone has done a fabulous vocal, Sleazy would be very happy. Sleazy could bluff for England and although when asked “how’s the album coming along Sleazy?” he’d appease us with a “fine, I’ll have some new mixes ready soon” it transpires that most of the work done on Desertshore was either done here in Norfolk by the three of us or stopped being done by Sleazy in Bangkok sometime in 2009. Oh Sleazy, Sleazy…

Which brings us to now…
All of the Desertshore material that was in Ableton Live (Sleazy’s DAW of choice) has been reconformed for Logic Pro (our DAW of choice) – a laborious process! To say these are early days would be a gross understatement, there is still a mountain of work to do – for a start we’re still trying to formulate six years worth of existing recordings, audio sketches, rough mixes, scribbled notes, endless lists and recalling things suggested at many, many ‘Desertshore discussions’ had over a cuppa or three.”

Our (self-imposed) schedule is to have the album finished by July for release late 2012 – maybe that’s being optimistic, who knows? but we do have a career outside TG and we’d like to get back to it at some point.”

TG’s Desertshore- The Final Report is tentatively scheduled for release late spring, early summer of 2012.

The beloved video comp. Come on collectors out there, I know you’re harboring some gems. Digitize this stuff or send it to me, and I’ll run the transfers for you!

Released in VHS format in 1997 as “A Matador Records Instructional Film & Music Video Compilation”, What’s Up Matador has found its way to the youtubes. The notes from the back of the video jacket read:

What is a record label? What are “recoupables”? What is “indie cred”? Who is Ricky Luanda? Where is my mail order?

Every day, we receive countless letters, taxes, and electronic mail messages from children who want to know “what’s up?” And although we try the best we can to answer their questions individually (especially if they send pictures), we couldn’t possibly satisfy everyone. Enter award-winning film maker Clay Tarver. Clay (who also plays guitar in Chavez) conceived of an instructional (yet entertaining) film that would introduce young people to the world of Matador. With the help of cable television fixture Bill Boggs (perhaps you’ve seen his work as a pitch man for the 18″ satellite dish) and a New Jersey elementary school audience, Tarver’s film answers all the questions you’ve ever had about Matador, its origins, the bands and their way of life.

These lessons are illustrated by actual professional videos by Matador artists:

Spoon “Not Turning Off”
Railroad Jerk “Rollercoaster”
Yo La Tengo “From a Motel 6″
Guided By Voices “Motor Away”
Pizzicato Five “Twiggy Twiggy”
Silkworm “Wet Firecracker”
Bettie Serveert “Palomine”
Pavement “Cut Your Hair”
Helium “Pat’s Trick”
Run On “Christmas Trip”
Liz Phair “Jealousy”
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion “Flavor”
Chavez “Unreal Is Here”
Chain Gang “Satanic Rockers”

Written and Directed by Clay Tarver
Produced by Jill Covitz
Edited by Jonathan Horowitz
An X-Ray Production

10. Unknown Mortal Orchestra- “Ffunny Ffrends”

9. Anika- “Terry”

8. Grimes- “Vanessa”

7. Austra- “Beat and the Pulse”

6. Badd Energy- “Third Eye”

5. HTRK- “Synthetik”

4. Young Boys- “Bring Em Down”

3. Street Chant- “Less Chat More Sewing”

2. Throwing Up- “Mother Knows Best”

1. Friends- “I’m His Girl”