A portabe game concerning the shadows that cover a strange land of shifting forms and hidden secrets.
Tetris for the Masses
One of the greatest games of Russia sheds its lonely shell and goes massively co-op!
Shining a Light on How Games Play (Larklamp Game System)
The Larklamp Game Lantern at Indiecade East
The flagship game system from Lumo Amuzo studios debuts at Indiecade!
Sumer Showcase at Indiecade
More info here
The first of a number of showcased games debut at Indiecade East 2016!
Samurai Fuck Rave (NSP at Magfest)
Ninja Brian and Danny Sexbang live at Magfest
The bombastic dou of NSP combined with 80's rock gods TWRP! Live at Magfest!
Notorious MSG at MOMA PS1
Notorious MSG at MoMa PS1
Its been undeniably uplifting to see that this upwards trend of rap-rock in NYC continue to grow and explode for bands that are finally getting recognition for pushing so hard at the genre like Shinobi Ninja getting to film at Youtube NYC and young music gods like MC+A having an animated video in the works in their first 3 years as a band.
D-Lo flying over the crowd at MoMa PS1
And if we are talking founders of such a push, at least when it comes to the city, the name Notorious MSG has to come up starting off as parody music before quickly making their own marking; rocking the hardest and growing the quickest before blipping off the map for nearly 3 years. So its great say that they're back, rocking the wonton and making music with a resurgence show this last month at MOMA PS1 at the Dome in NY.
And one hell of a resurgence show as well, performing alongside Cao Fei's debut in a American art gallery, celebrating her work analyzing Chinese heritage and politics. Notorious MSG was part of a documentary series that Cao Fei had created back in 2006 which showed before their musical performance. I was able to crack eggrolls with the group abit before their big show and talk past, future and big penis problems.
While no details has been released concerning what new music is coming, its safe to say that Notorious MSG didn't return just for some take-out. Rather, as they say, simply prepare your bootholes for whatever is coming.
Hair styling tips from the Huna Bomb himself
Thanks to MoMa PS1 for assistance with the interview.
Thanks to Notorious MSG, Cao Fei and MoMa PS1 for supporting and sponsoring art, Chinese heritage and local music.
Notorious MSG: http://notoriousmsg.com/
Cao Fei: http://www.caofei.com
MoMa PS1: http://momaps1.org/
Cavalry is Us Down in Amityville!
While most folks I'm sure completely gloss over the Amityville Music Hall for its bigger cousin, Revolution, it has its constant share of local bands that have kept the music scene strong for a shit ton of years.
One band I had a chance to shoot there was Cavalry is Us, a rock-punk band based in LI itself. Their music kicks back to earlier 2000's punk/pop; love, life and mistakes wrapped around driving drum beats. Definitely a band born out of Long Island's punk scene with all the trappings that come with a background.
Track to start with; Modern Life
Crobot Tours with Clutch!
A month or so back I was given the singular opportunity to interview Crobot just minutes before their Terminal 5 show touring with Clutch.
Beyond talking the nonsense origins of their band name to hot sauce and brand loyalty their show in general just showcases the sporadic, laid-back feel they somehow bring to metal and rock.
The interview is down below the highlights of the night, but safe to assume that they are a band worth following.
Links for more information;
The Christmas We Said Yes!
This christmas came, along with the ever flase promises of snow, cold and fincial equity, (Damn you Long Island housing market!) a small spark of positive light came from the Jun-Xion's first event at the new House of Yes!
Ontop of the talent that they brought, House of Yes showcased the unique kind of performance thats made them a name to remeber in NY.
Of course, any event at House of Yes isn't complete without the main shows
More information concerning Jun-Xion and their upcoming events can be found here;
Mike Montrey at Brooklyn Bowl
Mike Montrey
With Brooklyn Bowl, its always something different each time I go and this time had some delicious jazzy undertone to an veteran of music, Mike Montrey.
Karl Dietel
The best bits of a driving undertone dig up from Staring at the Lights and build upon big band sound within a five-person setup. The slow flow of Ghosts and Gypsy Ways is melodic reminiscing of Bruce Springsteen and a million other soulful singers from before.
The Mike Montrey Band
Coming off his first major band ...water.., more a jamspace/improv setup, the formation of The Mike Montrey Band came about more as a practical application of using his own personal star power to jump start the awareness of the new band, "At one point, I was just trying to utilize whatever notoriety I had gained at that point."
Song by a Song by a Song; over the course of a year and a half was deployed as numerous singles linked by the theme of the album built to showcase each song over the duration rather than one giant leap of a full-blown cd.
Jen Augustine
"This is something about an album that captures a feeling or moment that occurs in a short amount of time, but the market is shrinking for full blown albums"
Adam Garnys
"I don't really think about the song I want to do, record stuff on a phone or something" Mike talks about, rather having the snippet caught to flesh out later, work it out with the band. Alot of the CD, despite having videos and releasing them over more than a year's time, still had a spontaneous, improvisational, build them out process to them where the band still has a large input and together the final piece was made.
Mike Montrey
The Mike Montry Band is new, but built upon a rock-hard foundation of jazz, funk, rock and soul and if any of those ring true with your inklings then they play all the right points and swing well in all the right styles. They love what they play and it gets showcased in their music.
Song to Start: Staring at the Light
Biking Through Brooklyn
Brooklyn Spaces Bike Tours, founded by Oriana Leckert and Jonah Levy, had a test run of sorts this past few months, Oct 22, wherein they attempted to add a more local flavor to the standard trope of a bicycle tour in the city with the hope to return in the warmer weather. I had the privilege of joining this initial run as a photographer, recording the various art locales shown us while trying my hardest not to crash into everything.
Biking is much more feasible within Brooklyn's wide streets.
Navigating sparse city traffic early in the morning brought us to the first stop of the tour, Twig's Terrariums; a art boutique shop run by Michelle Inciarrano and Katy Maslow where the creation of 'terrariums', miniature enclosed floral landscapes are grown and molded for folks wanting something more visual worthy than some cacti to adorn their home. The organic art pieces have been so successful that several have found homes in high-profile actor's residences, like Kevin Bacon and Jack Nicholson, (though his maid apparently let his die).
I love you too tiny, minuscule yellow woman!
Immediately afterwards , just a few blocks away was Brooklyn Superhero Supply, a store geared 100% towards the comic nerd inside us all. The shelves stay stocked with every hi-tech gadget and shady chemical you can imagine, even a cape-posing station for practicing your heroic stance.
Of course no proper superhero locale is complete without a secret bookcase, behind which is offered writing classes for youth along with a yearly publishing of their work for sale in the store.
Shush, plotting evil plans, eeeevil!
The the whimsical way of superheros is balanced by the Morbid Anantomy Museum, the next stop of the tour, focusing on anatomical displays of corpses, diseases and other grotesque imagery and sculptures.
And the humor was not lost me wherein the museum was the only stop on the tour that had a full food/coffee counter, which I suppose is more a testament to people's iron stomachs then convenience. Regardless, if the squeamish nature of seeing detailed stages of birth and the death masks of old sparks intrigue then its somewhere I would definitely write down on your to-do list.
Off to that big Malibu rave in the sky...
Then quickly off to Serett Ironworks, one of the most infamous iron art facility of New York and also home to Gowanus Ballroom.
A custom metal fabrication studio dealing with clientele around NYC and beyond, it operates both commercially as well a long standing residential area for numerous sculpture artists with a fully-equipped warehouse.
After we dodged molten lead and home-made submarines, it was off to the golden coastline of Brooklyn to catch the seaside spectacle of Hot Wood Studios.
Hot Wood is a arts collective that offers one-year residency leases to artists, with the intent for work to constantly to be created and show-cased to visitors throughout the year.
Indoor swings should be mandatory
Then it was time for a sunset picnic by the water with vegan pumpkin bread and tea. Which I was surprised by their quality, my fears of tasteless health food and bland vegetarian diets are slowly being washed away in delicious exceptions to the rule.
Its environmentally delicious!
And then was the main event, our final stop between dodging cars and angry pigeons was Pioneer Works, one of the premiere art event sites for the last whenever it existed in time till now.
Half exhiibition area, half concert venue, half research site and half radio station, Pioneer has multiple segments built into it as its own artist's grotto in industrial Brooklyn.
The biggest surprise I found happily, was the vested research into technological artwork. Format No.1 is a real-time program able to translate black and white shapes into audio tones by Louise Foo, changing the pitch, octave and sound based on the density and shape of black value in the world, even accounting for their 3D spatial location, affected by how close or above/below you are the black object.
To see more information on these places, you can follow the links here below;
Twig Terrariums: twigterrariums.com
Superhero Supply Co. / 826NYC: superherosupplies.com / 826nyc.org
Morbid Anatomy Museum: morbidanatomymuseum.org
Gowanus Ballroom / Serett Metalworks: gowanusballroom.com / serett.com
Hot Wood Arts: hotwoodarts.com
Pioneer Works: pioneerworks.org
Clocktower: clocktower.org
And the provider of our delicious snacks: Trough Catering troughcatering.com
And Brooklyn Spaces, for more on tours and other events; http://brooklyn-spaces.com/
The Honest Truth Sofar Sounds
SoFar came and went this week! Missed the show? Then check the music!
Hope: Through Examples
A pproject focusing on musicians, performers and artists to showcase they're lives and downturns of growing up in comparison with who they are now.