Set in Concrete: A Group Show of New York Artists and Musicians

Saturday Sep 29, 2007
@ Spool Mfg (Binghamton, NY)
7-10 PM – Closing Reception

Set in Concrete features exclusive art work by Jason Friedman of The Boggs, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lizzi Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance & Aurelio Valle of Calla

Complete list of participating artists:
Lee Ranaldo
Lizzi Bougatsos
Jason Baron
Jon Santos
Jess Holzworth
NIck Zinner
Aramis Gutierrez
Moh Azima
Richard Alvarez
Aliya Naumoff
Pedro Mena
Tom Vadakan
Mike Vorrasi
Aurelio Valle
Wayne B. Magruder
Scott Irvine
Jason Freidman
Todd Bura
Johnny Harrison

Curated by Aurelio Valle and Pedro Mena
Production by Julian Duff

DIRECTIONS... By car: Take exit 70S off route 17, onto route 201S. take traffic circle to Floral Avenue. take left onto Baldwin Street. Spool is on the left just past the light. parking is available on the right just after the train tracks.

By bus: Take Trailways NY from Port Authority to Binghamton. for schedules and fares: www.trailwaysny.com. Taxi from Binghamton station to Spool about $7: 607-722-2227

Happy Birthday, Joe and George!

All In the Family

So my sister told me that our grandfather died over the weekend. Usually it would follow that there would be some sadness felt here, but I don't feel sad. I didn't even know the man. He had abandoned my grandmother long ago, and was still living in Korea at a monastery or something.

Here's my question: If you are blood-related to someone but you didn't really know them while they were alive, should you feel sad when they pass on? Connected? Sad for the disconnection?

Most of the stories in my family's life follow the typical dysfunctional family outlines. No one gets along. There are a lot of myths floating around about various members of the family, in particular mine, because my immediate family is the only one with a broken marriage... two broken marriages, in fact.

I know I have some family out there on the West Coast, too, that I don't really know well, but at least I've met them before. But I've often wondered the same question about them -- them being my birth mother and my "whole" sister, who happens to be a year younger than me. I'm almost positive I would be sad. I think I've always hoped that when I got older, I could reconnect with them in a meaningful way, without all the dysfunction. Perhaps that will still happen one day.

As far as the family I grew up with, I am definitely getting closer to my sister Cathy. As she's catapulted into her 20s, I find we have more and more in common. And it's a nice feeling when I can actually help her with different aspects of her life. I actually feel like a sister. Go figure!

Lifeskool TV Songwriter Spotlight on Scott Masson of Office

i asked scott masson of chicago-based band office about his musical inspirations... the band just released their debut LP, a night at the ritz, on scratchie records this week... read the interview here.

Dirty on Purpose + Fujiya & Miyagi Tour Starts Today!

Check out both these bands on tour...

Sept 25th—Baltimore, MD—Ottobar
Sept 26th—Philadelphia, PA—Johnny Brenda's
Sept 27th—New York, NY—Bowery Ballroom
Sept 28th—Brooklyn, NY—Music Hall of Williamsburg
Sept 29th—Boston, MA—Middle East Downstairs
Oct 2nd—Montreal, QC—Lambi-Pop Montreal Pre-Opening Night Party
Oct 3rd—Toronto, ON—Lee's Palace
Oct 4th—Pontiac, MI—Eagle Theatre
Oct 5th—Chicago, IL—Empty Bottle
Oct 6th—Minneapolis, MN—7th Street Entry
Oct 11th—Washington, DC—Rock 'n' Roll Hotel-DAM! Festival

Dirty on Purpose on MySpace
Dirty on Purpose on iLike & Facebook

Fujiya & Miyagi on MySpace
Fujiya & Miyagi on iLike & Facebook

Gabby Glaser + The Great Ones Play FREE Atlantic Antic After Party @ Magnetic Field This Sunday

bjork, klaxons, santogold @ madison square garden

i don't normally like huge stadium shows (usually bowery is as big as i like to get), but watching bjork perform at madison square garden was really amazing and enjoyable. we had nosebleed seats, but that's ok because we didn't have to sit next to any crazy people.

i had seen her perform at united palace not too long ago, and was expecting the same show... and it basically was the same show except bjork had on a different outfit, there were red flames bursting up from the stage on the opening number, and at one point bjork squirted out spider webs from her hands into the crowd like she was spiderman. she did her duet with antony of antony and the johnsons, which started off kinda weak, but then antony regained control and really put on a powerful vocal performance. i have to say though, my heart nearly exploded again during "army of me" because the crowd just went FUCKING INSANE. it was crazy. she ended the night during the encore with "declare independence" just as she did during the united palace show.

as i said in my united palace review, it's like watching a musical unfold. this time though, i was thinking this: her show is not as much about the hits as much as it's about the mystical, strange journey she is taking you on. she is able to create a world of her own, and when you're at her concert, you feel like you are not on earth. it's like peeking into another world... or rather peeking into the majesty and chaos that must be bubbling up in bjork's cute lil' head.

the british band the klaxons played as main support, and while i liked their music, i found their live show a bit on the dull side. their music could benefit from a little more of a light show. a lot of their songs started to sound the same, but it all still sounded good... sort of in a lansing-dreiden way, with lots of vocal gymnastics.

santo gold opened the show and they reminded me of m.i.a. meets no doubt or gwen stefani. the california m.i.a., i say (even though she hails from brooklyn). and what do you know, diplo was on the wheels of steel. no wonder!

chemical brothers, ladytron, the rub @ mccarren park pool

'cause i was helping mikers out with some filter work, i went to the chemical brothers show the other day, and the glow sticks were out and about... man, i haven't seen glow sticks since the last time i took a hit of X.

seeing the chemical brothers was a similar experience. though the music isn't really my thing per se, i loved the light show they put on. it took me back to my suburban high school days -- when i would go see the laser light show's "alternative music night" at the franklin institute planetarium. the images at the chemical brothers show were somewhat political with images of guns (or at least i think i remember seeing guns), scary with images of yellow-toothed clowns and awe-inspiring with their vivid colors.



it was also my first time seeing ladytron, whose music is more up my alley. in fact, i was even dancing during their soundcheck. i love the female vocals mixed in with the upbeats. they were less techno, and more indie dancefloor. just give me a disco ball and my new favorite drink ["summer babe" from soundfix - soco and peach schnapps and gingerale], and i'm all set to get a move on.

we were working with this great screenprinting company called hacienda, who were screening original collectors prints on the back of the chemical brothers merch tees. it is a pretty ingenious idea and really did boost the band's merch sales. what fan wouldn't want a limited edition concert tee? they were doing a different print with chemical brothers lyrics on the back of each tee, a different design for every night of the tour, presented by zune.

the rub were the opening djs for the shows at hammerstein and mccarren park pool. i saw both sets and thought their set at mccarren park pool was so much better. i recognized more songs and less techno beats. i guess i am anti-techno, eh? it's like an allergic reaction or something, but nothing personal.

sara glick talks about fall makeup on the washingtonpost.com

new york city based makeup artist sara glick talks about fall makeup trends for the washingtonpost.com. read the article here and get your fall on. i myself am in denial that summer is over and painted my nails orange and sparkly... ha!

oh didn't you know...

there has been an admitted lapse in my blogging. but you know what? life has been busy, and blogging is not the solution to everything (though stephen colbert will tell you, we are the generation of doing nothing and blogging everything). however, i am back online with a renewed sense of wanting to write. and that, my friends, is the inspiration i've been waiting for.

i have been interviewing a lot of songwriters and musicians on their inspirations for lifeskool tv, and in so doing, have been wondering what the hell inspires me. inspires me to write? inspires me to manage bands? inspires me to love? the lucky thing about life is that if one aspect of your life feels uninspired, you can turn and develop another side that may finally give you a tingle in your fingertips, enough to get them moving on the keyboard. it's sort of like playing the piano.

the mr. move @ mercury lounge tomorrow night!

check out the music at myspace and get ready for the fun debauchery!

songwriter spotlight on christopher denny on lifeskool tv

check out the interview i did with indie country singer christopher denny. he's got a voice that's otherworldly, caught in another era... read the interview.

Karaoke with Calvin Harris

last night i went to karaoke with calvin harris and almost gold. it was so much fun! i wrote a review for filter's blog. check it out here.

for a full set of photos from the night, check here.

patti smith @ music hall of williamsburg

my filter blog post of the show... short and sweet.

songwriter spotlight on ferraby lionheart on lifeskool tv

here's the songwriter spotlight on ferraby lionheart on lifeskooltv.com.

calvin harris, gabby glaser (luscious jackson), zambri @ mercury lounge on sept. 12

check out the great review from extrawack! on gabby glaser's debut solo album, gimme splash, her first record since the breakup of luscious jackson. read it here.