if you bought tickets to the black dice / wolf eyes / sir richard bishop / earthless show for this saturday please note there has been a last minute venue change! the new address is
Roman Title IV Plain Jane By Mark A. Rodriguez June 13 - July 12
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 13, 7 - 10pm
Here's a sneak preview:
'Roman Title IV Plain Jane' is centered around the idea of constructions, Rodriguez employing a variety of medias, from an architectural model sculpture of the stage scaffolding seen at large music festivals, to collage and pencil pieces depicting children trashing an office building. Rodriguez uses pre-computer architectural drafting techniques in a series of studies for imagined buildings, such as 'The Institute for Revolutionary Children'. 'In Study for the Bronzing of a Stadium-Sized Grateful Dead Audience from 1995', Rodriguez uses a photo of the massive crowd at an outdoor Grateful Dead concert and silhouettes the mob in gold sharpie, transforming them into an amorphous golden glob.
Rodriguez has been included in the group shows, Vultures (Manic, Oakland 2009), California Biennial (2008), Psych R & R (Berkeley Art Museum, 2007), and Yellow (Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2008). He is recipient of the Erin Kluk Memorial Award, Yozo Hamaguchi Printmaking Award, and the Barclay Simpson Award.
We are in the process of massively improving the online store. We'll be adding loads more items and have changed the shipping to the fixed price of $4.50 rather than the impossible weirdness of trying to charge per weight. So now shipping is fixed for complete orders regardless of size.
Hot tip - Peter Sutherland's new book, Hot Coals Only, the catalogue from his show currently up at Hope Gallery. It's published by Seems of SF, and limited to only 200 numbered copies. It looks like a thick, little paperback novel, including a paper dust jacket. There are scatteredcolor sections - Nick from Seems went to two different printers and had it bound together. It contains all the work from the exhibition and more, plus an introduction by none other than myself.
For installation shots of Hot Coals Only click here - Hope Gallery.
Our dear friend RJ Shaughnessy has a very handsome new book we'll be launching at Family June 4, at 7:30pm. In a magical pairing, RJ's favorite band Abe Vigoda will be playing against a backdrop of his projected images.
Your Golden Opportunity is a collection of black and white photos documenting street damage caused by wayward vehicles around LA. RJ manages a subtly diverse range out of a rigid concept - it's intense, funny, affecting, and resonant. RJ's Site
Here's a new video of Don't Lie from Abe V's latest, really truly great EP, Reviver:
We have the new Tehching Hsieh retrospective book. Covers his whole career.
Here he is chained to his pal for a year.
ONE YEAR PERFORMANCE 1980-1981 (You have to click for the video - for some reason I couldn't embed it. If anyone knows who to embed from this site let me know cos these are so cool)
For the second One Year Performance, known informally as the Time Piece, Hsieh punched a time clock, every hour on the hour, twenty-four hours a day, for an entire year. An observer verified each day's time card. "To help illustrate the time process," Hsieh shaved his head before the piece began, and then let his hair grow freely for the duration. Every time he punched the clock, a movie camera shot a single frame. The resulting film compresses each day into a second, and the whole year into about six minutes.
For the third One Year Performance, known informally as the Outdoor Piece, Hsieh stayed out of doors for a whole year. He did not enter any building or roofed structure. Mostly, he roamed around Lower Manhattan. He relied on pay phones and chance meetings to keep in touch with his friends. Each day, he recorded his wanderings on a map, noting in particular the places where he ate and slept.
This Sunday, May 24, at 7pm, will not only be the record release party with AsDSSka and The Ladies' Choir, but the unveiling of a new window installation by photographers Nicholas Haggard and Peter Sutherland. I won't give away too much, but Haggard and Sutherland have been trawling forsaken freeways all the way to Palm Springs.
Hey we are now selling tickets for both the upcoming brightblack morning light show at the eagle rock center for the arts and the massive black dice / wolf eyes / richard bishop show in downtown la, both are happening back to back in two weeks. tickets are $13 ($12 + $1 service fee), a steal practically.
here's the new black dice video, this is probably what the show will be like, except in full color:
Here's the debut episode of John Pham's new show, Doodling With John. It's kind of like 'Tool Time' from Home Improvement, with Pham as a young Tim Allen, but deals with the finer points of comics production. This episode focuses on ink work.
Next episode will also include Sammy Harkham as Pham's sidekick, a young Al Borland.
May 16th—June 13th, 2009 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16th, 7pm—9pm
33 Crooke Avenue #2B/ Brooklyn, NY 11226/ 917-621-5469/interestinggallery@gmail.com
MUSIC YOU CAN SEE: Eamon Espey / Carlos Gonzalez / Haisi Hu / Jenni Knight / Jonathan Petersen
May 15 - June 17, 2009 Opening Reception Friday May 15 6-9PM
“Interesting” Gallery is a temporary art space in Prospect Park South, the project of Rebecca Bird and Matthew Thurber. It will feature the work of interesting new artists.
Gallery hours are Friday and Saturday 12-6PM, Sunday 2-5PM and by appointment.
Family Bookstore is proud to present the first release from Family Bookstore Records.
Asdsska - '25'
Asdsska is a duo consisting of Aska Matsumiya (The Sads, Moonrats) and David Scott Stone (The Sads, Get Hustle, Unwound, Melvins).
'25', features classically trained pianist Matsumiya playing a slow debussy-like refrain accompanied by her delicate voice and Stone's ethereal modular synthesizer rattles and drones. The B-side is 'We Feel it More Than They Do', an ambient instrumental variation on 25's melody.
A music video for 25 was directed by Spike Jonze and Crystal Moselle.
The 7" features cover art by Elke Kramer.
Available now for $5, and will be available for purchase off the site any minute.
On May 24, at 7pm, Family will host a record release party with Asdsska backed by The Ladies Choir, made up of 14 singers. There will also be a screening of the music video.
Today the internets were graced with the official blog for the much anticipated film Where The Wild Things Are by Spike Jonze. It's editor is none other than Dallas Clayton. It's called We Love You So . We have some WTWA buttons and shirts (though I think these might be gone by the time your read this) to give away at the store too.
Michael Schmelling's 'The Plan' - Book Launch Slide Show
Sunday, May 10, 7:30pm
Between 2003 and 2005, Michael Schmelling photographed 12 private residences in the company of Disaster Masters, a New York-based company specializing in cleaning up homes and counseling compulsive hoarders. Featuring 490 photographs printed in black-and-white on 576 newsprint pages, this volume devotes one chapter to each home-- producing an arresting art object and a fantastic document of urban archaeology and psychology.
Schmelling will discuss his work accompanied by a slide show, answer questions, and sign books.
NYC based Schmelling's work has been seen in The Fader, Wired, Details, NY Magazine, The Wire, Spin, & The NY Times Magazine, Modern Painters, to name a few. He's shot book covers for authors Chuck Palahniuk, George Saunders, & Colson Whitehead, & the last 4 seasons' look books for Isaac Mizrahi Studio. He photographed The Wilco Book (Picturebox) & the Grammy-winning packaging for Wilco's "A Ghost is Born." Michael's own books include, Shut Up Truth (J+L Books), The Week of No Computer (TV Books), The Plan (J+ L Books) and Aquemini (Continuum Books), about the eponymously titled Outkast album. His photographs of the Atlanta hip-hop scene have been widely praised. Awards include one OBIE, many inclusions in the American Photo Annual, & a finalist for ICP's Infinity Award for young photographer in '03. Michael has had 2 solo shows at Bucketrider Gallery in Chicago.
michaelschmelling.com
familylosangeles.com
Family - 436 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, 90036
NOTE: This event is the night of Peter Sutherland's daytime exhibition opening reception at Hope Gallery. Come to both for a full day of photography appreciation! It's also mother's day so why not bring your mother?
Our dear friend Eddie Ruscha will be performing a live musical accompaniment to the beautifully disturbing 1922 granddaddy of all shockumentaries, HAXAN, A history of Witchcraft through the Ages, A Film by Benjamin Christensen.
This will be a film projection with live sonics.... Wed.May 13th starting at 7:30pm sharp!!! At: Hammer Museum 10899 Wilshire Blvd 90024 #310-443-7000
Come on baby, rub my head. Rub my head, while I lay down in my bed
We just got a ton of Mississippi Records stuff. Get in now, because the records really, truly go fast, and they're so limited once they're out, that's it.
True Story of Abner Jay" LP by Abner Jay Compilation culled from Abners' self released LPs & 7"s featuring hits such as 'I'm So Depressed,' 'Cocaine', 'Vietnam,' & 'The Reason Young People Do Drugs.' Abner Jay was a one-man band singer/songwriter deserving of a wider listening audience than he received in his day. This is the first vinyl release of his material since the 1970s. Great soulful folk & R&B music. Family has the special copies of the LP that include a press photo of Abner, transcriptions of his spoken word pieces, a reproduction of an informative pamphlet about Abner & a press statement penned by Abner himself.
"The approach here was to focus on the songs, and cut out the monologs which normally take up a bunch of space on an Abner Jay record (though actually the spoken intros are transcribed & included as an insert to this LP). [...] Still there’s enough of the Abner Jay banter to get the flavor, and the monologs are sort of intrinsic in several songs. There a few cuts shared between this and the Subliminal Sounds CD comp of a few years back (the only other Abner Jay album you’ll be likely to find), but mostly different tracks. A couple tracks with a full band -- still pretty minimal, but more than the one-man band setup normal for Abner Jay. These tracks are a little surprising -- old school country ballads sounding almost in the vein of like Eddy Arnold or Marty Robbins. But mostly it’s Abner on his six string electric banjo (sonically, its basically a guitar with a nice, sharp attack) with vox & harmonica, kicking out time on a bass drum & high hat, in a style maybe closer to something like Leadbelly -- not exactly blues, typically --I guess technically these would be considered folk ballads, but coming out of a dark, rural funk - deep, deep south. Drugs, depression, women, fishing, Vietnam -- Abner Jay tends to weigh in on themes like these. Jay loved to go off on his background, playing & singing since he was a kid sharecropping on Georgia plantations (c. 1930s), and this stuff is ancient, in form if not content, but I guess most of these tracks were recorded in the ‘60s or ‘70’s, while Jay was an entertainer in Atlanta bars. This stuff is the real deal, & as I’ve said before, one of a kind. No less than four inserts: a bio -- repro of Abner Jay’s self penned onesheet, looks like -- a nice looking promo photo, a little pamphlet advert from when Abner was playing the Steven Foster Museum Center in White Springs, FL, and the aforementioned transcription of the excised monologs. Incredible stuff - you know this wont be around for long." - from Exiled Records
*MR-018 (same number as Orchestre Regional De Kayes) - Armchair Boogie (LP), by Michael Hurley & Pals. Released March 2009. Originally recorded 1969 and produced by J.C. Young "in Snock's bedroom Brookline Massachusetts." Remastered by Tim Stollenwerk. Personnel: Michael Hurley (vocals, guitar, piano, mock trumpet); Maggie Hurley (vocals); Robin Remaily (fiddle, mandolin, vocals); Michael Kane (bass, coronet [sic], vocals); Jeff Myer (drums); Scott Lawrence (piano); Jesse C. Young (bass, guitar); Earthquake Anderson (harmonica).
Ntsamina (LP), by Spiritual Singers. Released 2009. No catalog number and no indications on cover or label that this is a Mississippi Records release, however "MR032" appears in the dead wax. Obscure Congolese pop-Gospel, ca. 1970-1980. "Loose-knit, almost ‘Shaggs-like’ rhythms. Accompanied by male and female vocals. From slow dirges reminiscent of Beatles pop melodies to fast African rockers inspired by American '50s R&B. A truly unique record."
I Woke Up One Morning In May (LP), by Various Artists. Released 2009. Mastered by Tim Stollenwerk. Selected pre-war blues recorded between 1927-1934. In the same vein as Last Kind Words (MR-005) compilation.
Intermittent Signals (LP), by The Rats. Released April 2009. Includes insert: reproduced flyer advertising a $2.00 show featuring The Rats and The Fastbacks back in the day. "Intermittent Signals offers up more of the same synth-laced punk rock garage rock stomp found on their s/t debut, maybe a wee bit tighter and more polished, but still heavy and snotty and snarly and swaggery -- a definite old AC/DC vibe happening too, killer riffing, tons of hooks, wild drumming, Fred's drawled punk rock vox, Toody's more frenetic yelp, all crammed into short sharp blasts of hooky catchy punk rock power pop genius. Original drummer Rod Rat guests on a couple tracks. He ended up committing suicide not long afterwards. Drummer Sam Henry would go on to drum for The Wipers as well as Napalm Beach. Another essential slice of PDX punk rock history" (from Aquarius Records blurb).
This one will be in next week: In Times Like These.... (LP), by Bishop Perry Tillis. Released April 2009. Raw, lo-fi recordings culled from 62 hours of cassette tapes recorded on a boombox in the home of Bishop Tillis of Samson (Sampson), Alabama. Electric guitar-based gospel played and sung by either Bishop Tillis, an "angel in presence" (a different voice or personality channeled by Tillis), or a combination of the two. Tillis's duets are "two or three track performances he would record through a system of boomboxes. One boombox would be employed as an overdubbing device while he preformed along with it into yet another" (from insert, p.3). Produced by Amos Harvey and engineered and mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk. Insert notes by Amos Harvey. Cover photos by Axel Küstner, with insert photos by Amos Harvey and Katie Burkart. Insert includes conversations with Tillis about his life and recordings through the channeled voices of his guardian angels and deceased family members.
I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE J. Spaceman on the Strange and Beautiful Canon of Mississippi Records
BY J. SPACEMAN
I’ve always had this belief that if you produce something beautiful, and it’s packaged beautifully and has had some love and attention invested in it, then somebody will want it.
Unfortunately, the record industry is the opposite of that. It’s all about “How cheaply can we put this together?” And “How efficiently can we knock ’em out to make the biggest buck?”
From the late 80s on, the record industry made huge amounts of money reselling the same stuff on CD they’d already sold to everybody. They sold the Rolling Stones catalog again, Neil Young again, everybody AGAIN in a different format.
Even people who had the original vinyl bought the new CDs, so their profits went up a thousandfold. Now, because they’re not making the same kind of profits, there’s this fear about the future of music. I just think: “How much do you want to make?”
For me, music and art have got to be about more than making money.
I think the business of putting out records should revolve around being passionate about them, and that’s why I’m such a big fan of the Mississippi Records label.
It’s a label with offices in Portland and Montreal, run by two guys, Warren Hill and Eric Isaacson, who willfully avoid things like the internet or any kind of self-promotion.
They release interesting records of old, obscure, and unbelievably beautiful music. The original releases were available in quantities of 500 to 1,000 and on the back it said something like: “We’re sorry, we can’t do more than this, but if you want to make copies for your friends on any format, do it.”
The records sell for $10 apiece so it’s obvious that they’re coming from a place that has a deep love of music, not profit. I guess they’re barely scraping their money back.
