WFMU's Beware of the Blog

WFMU Record Fair & RadioVision Festival - This Weekend!

 Don't miss out on the best record shopping weekend of the year! Luxuriate in the presence of hundreds of thousands of records and CDs, great films and live music, plus tons of live WFMU broadcasts!

WFMU Record Fair

Oct 28th - 30th (Fri - Sun)
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 W. 18th St, Manhattan

Early admission ($25): Fri 4-7pm (includes unlimited re-entry all weekend)
Regular admission ($7): Fri 7-10pm, Sat/Sun 10am-7pm

Bring in your Record Fair postcard or this coupon for $2 off admission!

Live Music:
- Prince Rama: Sat, 12:45pm
- Sediment Club: Sat, 3:30pm
- Black Hollies: Sat 4:30pm
- CSC Funk Band: Sun, 1pm
- John Fahey tribute w/ Glenn Jones, Charlie Schmidt, and Ragtime Ralph: Sun, 3pm

Radiovision Hack Day Oct 30th: Demo a similarity-based HTML5 Free Music Archive player, powered by The Echo Nest

Following up on last week's announcement that The Echo Nest has indexed the Free Music Archive catalog, Mike Adler put together an open source hack to demonstrate one of the myriad possibilities when this most incredible music intelligence platform is applied to the finest collection of free music.

The demo lets you search for any artist in the universe that Echo Nest knows about, and returns similar results from within the Free Music Archive's catalog in an HTML5 audio player. Go ahead and try it out. This is an incredibly powerful music discovery tool, though it's just the start of what we can build together. Sign up for API keys at the FMA and The Echo Nest to begin tinkering with our demo hack.

Next week, we're holding a Hack Day as part of WFMU's Radiovision Festival: Sunday October 30th we will "Re-invent Radio" with The Echo Nest, the Free Music Archive, and Zeega's new HTML5 platform for digital storytellers. There'll be workshops on Musical Timelines, Hacking Physical Spaces, and Multimedia Mash-ups, so plenty of opportunity to participate in the hands-on making of stuff whether or not you've got the proverbial coder's neckbeard. The Radiovision Festival takes place atop WFMU's annual Record Fair at NYC's Metropolitan Pavilion (125 W. 18th St), and Hack Day is free with RecFair admission as long as you reserve a spot in advance.

Downtown Soulville voted Best Radio Show by Village Voice

Congrats to WFMU's Mr. Fine Wine, whose Downtown Soulville radio show made it to the Village Voice's Best of 2011 list! Read all about it here.

You can catch Downtown Soulville every Friday, 8-9pm on WFMU, or subscribe to the podcast here. Mr. Fine Wine also DJs at Botanica in Manhattan every Wednesday night.

In other good press news, Tom Scharpling, host of the Best Show on WFMU, was profiled by Spin magazine, along with his partner in crime Jon Wurster. Tom will be on a panel at WFMU's RadioVision Festival on Saturday, Oct 29th, along with Ira Glass and Marc Maron (ticket info here).

And of course, let us not forget about DJ/Rupture, who landed on the cover of Wire magazine...

I must say this is a damned good week for your freeform radio pals!

Radiovision Festival: How To Pay For It

As much as the word "monetize" makes me reach for my revolver - artists, musicians, writers, and radio stations are now competing for fewer and fewer dollars, as dinosaurs like the music industry and the publishing industry shuffle off the world stage. There is plenty of great work being made right now, but until new funding models emerge its difficult to imagine how creative types can sustain the output.

October 28th - 30th, WFMU is holding its first ever Radiovision festival. On Saturday the 29th (Symposium Saturday) we will examine three possible funding models of the future:

There are plenty of crowd-funding websites and platforms but there is only one Kickstarter. This month the company announced that they just hit one million backers, that's one million backers of comics, albums, books, video games, urban farms, documentaries, exhibits, performances, and thousands of other creative works. Yancey Strickler is one of the co-founders of Kickstarter and he will be on stage to talk about why Kickstarter campaigns are so successful, and what the future of crowdfunding will be.

While most foundations have long lists of requirements you need to meet before they will consider writing you a check, The Awesome Foundation has only one prerequisite: that you be awesome. Christina Xu is one of the founders of The Awesome Foundation and she is going to talk about how her organization is regularly passing out no-strings-attached $1,000 grants to people doing awesome things like documentaries, public art projects, even interactive community notice boards. Awesome Foundation does not have a very complicated formula - every month a group of trustees get together and award a grant to a project they like best. New chapters are opening in cities all over the world, and they were just awarded a Knight News Challenge grant, this is a model with a future.

The music and publishing industries may be in free-fall but the advertising indusry is doing great. Jeff Tammes is the EVP, Creative & Strategy at Cornerstone of Cornerstone a marketing agency that pairs artists with lifestyle brands.  Cornerstone also helped set up Converse's recording studio, Rubber Tracks, in Williamsburg. Jeff's message for creators is that lifestyle brands can help artists and musicians realize their dreams.

Our moderator for this panel is Rebecca Gates. who as a member of The Spinanes can remember both the bad and the good of the old model, as a working musician has awareness of the complexity of the current scene and as a member of the Future of Music Coalition wonders: “How are all these shifts affecting working musicians? What are the implications for a musician’s practice? And what do these new models mean for the shape of arts culture in the future?

Tickets are on sale, but they are going fast. We already sold out the Radiovision Opening Night performance with Joe Frank! Don't miss out.

Radiovision Festival: Internet Culture and Community (Anonymous, Makers, and Memes)

What can Internet Communities teach us about the future of Radio audiences?

On October 28th - 30th, WFMU is holding its first ever Radiovision festival. And on Saturday the 29th (Symposium Saturday) we have a session focusing on three of the fastest growing online epicenters of community activity: Anonymous, Makers and Meme culture. we've lined up four amazing individuals to help us better understand the values of these communities and to learn how they are driving the evolution of the internet:

Bre Pettis doesn't just make things, he can make things that make things. He is a founder of Makerbot (a company that produces robots that make things), and NYC Resistor (a Brooklyn hacker collective).

Kenyatta Cheese may be famous for playing a Meme scientist on the internet (Know Your Meme), but he is one in real life as well.  Kenyatta is one of the leading experts of online media, culture and technology. He advises NGOs and is also on the board of the Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology.

Gabriella Coleman is an anthropologist and the author of the forthcoming book "Coding Freedom: The Aesthetics and the Ethics of Hacking." She is currently working on a new book on Anonymous and digital activism.

Tim Hwang is one of the co-founders of ROFLcon (a conference dedicated to Internet Culture). Tim not only helped us program this panel but he will be leading the discussion as well.

Tickets are on sale, and they are going fast. We already sold out the Radiovision Opening Night performance with Joe Frank! Get yours now.

RADIOVISION: Tom Scharpling, Marc Maron, and Ira Glass

The best comic book superheroes all have great origin stories. In fact you could make the case that characters like Batman, Spiderman, and Wolverine are great because they have origin stories that go beyond a lab accident or a secret formula (although this certainly works for Bouncing Boy).

On October 28th - 30th, WFMU is holding its first ever Radiovision festival. And on Saturday the 29th (Symposium Saturday) we are kicking things off with a discussion about Origin Stories with three radio superheroes: Ira Glass, Marc Maron and Tom Scharpling.

If you are a regular listener of these three you might be familiar with bits and pieces of their stories. Before Ira Glass founded This American Life, the show that forever changed the face of public radio (a show NPR actually passed on!) he was Joe Frank's intern, Marc Maron was one of Air America's founding hosts and after his show was cancelled he started using their studios at night to make WTF (today one of the most popular podcasts). And while Tom Scharpling's callers now line up to get banned (or unbanned) during his weekly three hour standard-setting comedy program, in the beginning they would call in to complain about the mayhem and the mirth!

Maybe we should be pitching this as "the League of Superheroes" because these three have never shared a stage before. It's going to be an amazing hour-long conversation with three of radio's best storytellers. You don't want to miss this one - plus WFMU's Therese Mahler is moderating this panel discussion.  Tickets are on sale, and they are going fast.

We already sold out the Radiovision Opening Night performance with Joe Frank! Don't wait till the last minute.

Fake Handbags, Dime Bags, Rutabagas and Snoop Dogg

A number of weeks ago, I was contacted by my friend Roderic, who plays in the Hydra Head band KNUT, for a quote about how different NYC is since 9/11 from an artist's point of view. He works for Swiss publication Le Courrier, and I thought it would be interesting to contribute to foreign language media. Here is the article for anyone curious. This past Friday, the issue came up again, but in a different way. I ran into good friend and local maniac Zenametal; curator of Zena Metal Wants to Conquer the World blog among other things. It was lunchtime on a crowded corner of Canal St., and we both were happy at the turn of events that led us to almost literally bump into each other. She works nearby and was donning fashionable duds for the office, and I wasn't looking too shabby myself. We talked for about 25 minutes, and in that time, the same gentleman approached us several times to vend what I thought he termed "dime bags". At some point I made a comment to her, since we were both looking so damn sophisticated I couldn't imagine he couldn't find anyone else in the throngs of people on a sunny Friday more suited to vend "dime bags" to. Zena, working near that section of Canal St., set me straight. In a quick debriefing, I realized that I heard "dime bag" - an old, almost expected way I had of listening to people mumbling towards me on the street. She let me in on the real words he was uttering: "diamonds, bags!" Oh! Well that sort of elevates us to tourist trash looking for a cheap but expensive looking bargain! I hadn't even noticed it was bootleg bag and bling central there. And I thought he thought we were scum! Still not buying, but a little less confused, I then saw that she was in fact, not toting a pocketbook on her lunch break, which was probably a good reason we were being hounded, not because we looked like we wanted to get stoned. So I'm really comparing from a much earlier time than 9/11; but it is interesting to notice that the things being whispered about on streetcorners are handbags, not dime bags any longer.

WKCR Launches Online Live Archives

Just yesterday, Columbia Uni's radio station WKCR made available some notable past archives from the treasure trove of live music and interviews the station's been broadcasting for years.  Click here to find the list of what's up so far - seems like a long term project that'd be worth checking back with over the course of the coming months.  Right now I'm listening to an hour long live session from Necking, recorded on Live Constructions with Narine Atamian, who also blogged earlier today for WFMU!  Apparently Phil Schaap's archives are not considered live poetry readings, you'll have to find his rants on his own site...

Shock & Awetober Listener Meet-Ups

Shock & Awetober continues on WFMU! Tune in for amazing special programs this month and don't miss out on our many social activities. We've got tons of listener meet-ups lined up, and hope you'll join us for some extracirricular fun:

Tuesday, Oct 11th - Jersey City Barcade Night
Get your beer on at Barcade in Jersey City (163 Newark Ave) with Beer Hear! hosts Bob W. and B.R. (4-9pm). Make new friends (or enemies) over Frogger or Asteroids! Barcade is generously donating all tips from the evening to WFMU, so drink up! info/RSVP

Tuesday, Oct 18th - Aerial View Beer Pull
Join Chris T. and WFMU's resident Beer Baron Scott Williams (6 PM) at Pilsener Haus & Biergarten in Hoboken (1422 Grand Street) for a LIVE Aerial View Beer Pull and WFMU listener meet-up. Use the secret word LIEBERSTRAUM during the broadcast to buy one beer and get one free! Auf wiedersehn! info/RSVP

ALSO Tuesday, Oct 18th - Shut Up, Weirdo! Meet-Up
Come have an awkward drink with Andy, Frangry, and the rest of the weirdos at the first ever Shut Up, Weirdo Meet-Up (Luca Lounge, 222 Ave B, Manhattan)! There won't be any games or cotton candy, just some booze and a whole lot of regret. info/RSVP

Thursday, Oct 20th - WFMU Rock Jock Listener Meet-Up
Come down to Maxwell's in Hoboken to celebrate WFMU's Rocktober festivities (7-9 PM)! WFMU DJs Terre T, Joe Belock, Evan "Funk" Davies, Gaylord Fields, Mike Sin and the one and only Todd-O-Phonic Todd will be in the house, and you can expect free food and drink specials! info/RSVP

Friday, Oct 21st - Underwater Theme Park Happy Hour
Join Underwater Theme Park host Meghan at Full Circle Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (318 Grand St), for free skee ball, extensive happy hour specials, and good times (7-9pm). info/RSVP

Tuesday, Oct 25th - Thunk Tank Trick-or-Treat Meet-Up
Join Bronwyn, Jay, and Thunkers galore at Jo's, 264 Elizabeth St., NYC  for a live remote broadcast and scary story hour featuring readings by DJ's Amanda Nazario, Kurt Gottschalk, Bronwyn C., and Jay B. (6–9 PM, live broadcast from 7–8). There'll be treat bags o' swag for all, and Jo's will introduce the Thunk Tank Signature Cocktail! Costumes, masks, and furry outfits encouraged, because you gotta dress up to be on the radio! info/RSVP

ALSO Tuesday, Oct 25th - Antique Phonograph Music Program Live Broadcast
The Antique Phonograph Music Program will be hosting a listener meet-up and broadcasting LIVE from 7-9pm at The City Reliquary Museum in Brooklyn (370 Metropolitan Ave). Join MAC, his phonographs, and cheap beer for this gathering including records highlighting New York and other disc delights. info/RSVP

 

WFMU at the Atlantic Antic this Sunday

Hello Brooklyn! WFMU will be holding court at the Atlantic Antic street fair this Sunday, October 2nd, Noon-6pm.

Your favorite freeform station will be parked between Clinton and Henry Streets on the south side of Atlantic Avenue (closer to Henry) in Brooklyn, where we'll be hawking swag, exchanging high-fives with listeners, and stocking up on mozzarepa tubesocks.

Stop by the WFMU tent to say hi!

Joe Frank: Live in Concert

WFMU presents a live performance by radio legend Joe Frank on Friday, October 28th at 8pm. Tickets are selling fast, so hit this page to get yours before the event sells out. Joe's appearance opens our first-ever RadioVision Festival, Oct 28-30, to be held upstairs from the Record Fair at Manhattan's Metropolitan Pavilion.

WOMAN duz EUROPE

I saw 'em explode once.  So did many others.  It was a sold-out show.  May of '09.  Opening for a reunited Chrome Cranks.  Glasslands: place is packed with good-time misanthropes ready for a prime piece.  Foursome lurks onstage, nary an introduction.  Ratchets volume up to red levels.  Volleys out waves of great, green ugly noise.  It laps at the shore of the crowd for all of four songs.  Then Ryan Skeleton Boy whips his bass at a wall, the other two gents drop their guitars, and drummer and all stalk to a dark corner offstage admist a glorious feedback serenade.

"I had people tell me that was our best show," says guitarist/vocalist Kristian Brenchley.  "It was a lotta fun."

Fun, sure.  Memorable, yeah.  Volatile, you bet.  A stellar display.

And an atypical one.  Because beyond premature explosions and mere volatility, the band is actually a sort of machine -- a black paisley mash of Aussie dark-day rock (Scientists, feedtime), '80s Midwestern knuckle-drag (Drunks with Guns, first Vertigo 45) and LES dirt (Pussy Galore).  Their din's bent by the metallic thud of Skeleton Boy's bass, tangled up in a caustic two-way guitar cacaphony of Brenchley and Brett Schultz, grounded -- but just barely -- by Alex Velasquez's thudding drum.  When they're not tossing instruments at concrete walls, when they're just as focused as they are loud and unhinged, WOMAN are probably one of the better bands in the NYC area.  Largely because they dare to keep this area scummy.  Or at least celebrate when it once was.

As evinced by "When the Wheel's Red," culled from their self-titled LP on Bang! Records (2009), this foursome means it.  And they're currently recording tracks for their follow-up album, which, judging from their live show, is going to be a good one.  

Speaking of the live show, these gents are heading to Yurp in October.  Be sure to catch 'em, because since vocalist/guitarist Schultz moved to Mexico City, they don't play as often as they once did.  There's no telling when they might finally explode for good.  Go forth:

Bringing Music to #OccupyWallStreet

 

Hundreds of people congregated in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan (Wall Street itself was barricaded and off limits) this weekend in the "inauguration" of #OccupyWallStreet. The protest bills itself as New York's "Tahrir Square," a peaceful occupation begun Saturday, September 17, meant to call attention to the the state of capitalism, corruption, and corporate globalization in America today. While many, some wearing the ominous Anonymous masks, are enraged, some protestors are channeling a more positive energy through the use of organized, ritualized musical performance. The drum circle pictured above, filmed late Saturday night, is not the only major form of music-making; Saturday saw guitarists and other groups of people forming hum circles and bursting into song throughout the first day.

The protest is about, in the words of one drum circler, "A rejection of the lack of transparency and abstraction in our society. To make that position clear we're using bodies as the most material thing we have." When asked why a drum circle, a protestor said, "Because it's fun and it's not just destructive anger. We need to channel productive anger, so we're aiming towards the positivity that communal music-making allows." As #OccupyWallStreet continues, this positive coming-together through positive and hopeful music-making also continues, as an alternative to violent and destructive attempts at creating social change.

Try to Remember the Days of September

  

I skipped all the coverage of the 9/11 commemorations today. The message seems to be “Never forget,” but what is it that we’re supposed to remember?

I remember 9/11 very well: the immediate realization, when the second plane hit, that this was no accident, the WTF moment when we heard the Pentagon was burning. I remember trying to get to WFMU to do my first show afterwards, and being turned back by NJ State Patrol officers until I figured out an alternate way into Jersey City. I remember insisting that Sluggo and Dog Baxter go with me to the station, because I did not want to be separated from them again … just in case. I don’t remember exactly what I said on that first show, but I know that one longtime Listener was so upset by it that I had the archive deleted. So now I never will know for sure, but I can’t imagine I expressed anything except bewilderment and deep anxiety. 

I remember seeing TV news reports—with video—of the small plane coming from the west, hitting the west side of the second tower, the man with the British accent describing it to the female reporter as a small plane, like a Piper Cherokee or Dakota. I haven’t looked for that footage on the 9/11 Television News Archive because I suspect it’s not there.

Like the TV archive, lots of information is suddenly appearing on this 10th Anniversary: the Marine Major who was in the command bunker under the White House when Robotic Lord Vice-President Cheney gave the order to shoot down Flight 93. (But then the passengers crashed the plane, so they didn’t have to shoot it down after all. >Whew!<) The “eyewitness video of the Flight 93 crash site,” released only now that the anonymous videographer has died—shot from a hilltop 15 miles away and showing some smoke on the other side of faraway trees. The audio of all but a big missing 30-minute chunk of FAA and NORAD recordings made that morning. The FBI explaining that they simply forgot to tell anyone about the wealthy Saudi family who, shortly before 9/11, disappeared without a trace, leaving their luxury home and all their luxury belongings—except for a computer and the contents of a safe— after meetings with Mohammad Atta. Do you remember how no airplanes were allowed to fly for days after the attacks? Do you remember reports that President Bush made an exception for a planeload of wealthy Saudis who wanted to return home? Because I do. I remember that.

We are supposed to Never Forget, but there are also things we are never supposed to remember. The former “Freedom Tower” is now “One World Trade Center” because, says Chris Ward, director of the Port Authority, the name Freedom Tower would be likely to recall “painful memories of the 9/11 attacks.” So, never forget that we were attacked, but just make sure you remember those events in a way that’s not, you know, in any way uncomfortable for you. The Port Authority and Mayor Bloomberg are working hard to “rebrand” Ground Zero. It’s the World Trade Center now—and don’t you forget it. 

The Cerberus of September from David Zung on Vimeo.

 Thanks for reading my blogpost this time, and may God bless.

 

E.S.P. TV's Psyched Out Forma Footage

I recently became acquainted with E.S.P. TV's trippy live video manipulations at The Index Festival, an insanely well curated festival of experimental music.  On one night of the festival at the longstanding downtown avant-haven Milennium Film Workshop, knob twiddling excursions from folks like Shelley Burgon and Twistycat were made a lot more visually exciting by placing the musicians in front of a green screen and superimposing faded out zebras (or what have you...), shifting geometric patterns and video feedback loops.  

It seems like only Twistycat's footage from Index is up online at the moment (and is posted below), but ESP seems to post every episode of their shows on Vimeo after editing them down and airing them on Public Access TV.  Episode 5 is below as well, with a Forma performance introduced by Sam Mickens, Ana Lula Roman w/ video artist Matthew Caron and video shorts by Aaron Nemec, Derek Larson and Scott Kiernan. One of my favorite bits appropriates an episode of Cheers and superimposes measurements of lengths pointlessly over everything.  Long live analog electronics!!

Off-Mic DJ News: August 2011

Thanks to Rebecca for editing.

Kurt Gottschalk is behind the launching of a new music blog, with posts already up about Derek Bailey, John Cage, Nels Cline, Michael Mantler, Marc Ribot and others. 

Clay Pigeon will be seen in an upcoming Rachel Shuman documentary called The Fall. In the film, Clay interviews people in New York City prior to the Presidential Election of 2008.  The Pidge also makes an appearance in Bending All the Rules made in 2001 (avail on Netflix). The cast includes Bradley Cooper (Hangover II) and Colleen Porch (Transformers), and in the film Clay reprises a character he played in Tampa Clubs called DJ Super K, a superhero DJ (image, right). You can see a clip, sadly without Clay, here.

Fri Aug 5th: My Castle of Quiet Movie Night #2 with William Berger, Don Sigal of Opposite Records, and Richard of NVT at the Nyack Village Theater, 94 Main Street, Nyack, NY. The films will be Bug, William (Exorcist) Friedkin's last film. It's a brilliant treatise on the horrors of the mind. And Haute Tension (directed by Alexandre AJa), a brutal and merciless killer is roaming the French countryside - or is he? The original better French version (subtitled).

Benjamen Walker is doing a new podcast series for The Guardian. In the first episode, Walker and guests discuss the communication theorist Marshall McLuhan and his most famous line. Hear it here.

Sat Aug 13th: Diane Kamikaze's original works and custom light switch/electrical plates will be available for show and sale at the Kearny Art Show and Flea Market which will be held at the Kearny Irish Club, 95 Kearny Avenue, Kearny, NJ. The show features several local artists and the admission is free. Starts at 9pm.

WFMU Gives Its Airwaves Over to the Girl Group Greats on July 30

WFMU will preempt its regular irregular programming on Saturday, July 30th, to bring forth the most stunning and comprehensive array of female vocalists ever assembled on one stage! Live from the Damrosch Park bandshell in Manhattan, Lincoln Center Out of Doors and The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation will present She's Got the Power: A Girl Group Extravaganza. The lineup promises a veritable cornucopia of feminine vocal and songwriting prowess, and WFMU has been entrusted to disseminate every single blessed note to you in return.

This five-hour-long stage spectacular, from 5pm to 10pm ET, is a roll call of girl group and female solo vocal greats: Ronnie Spector (the Ronettes' namesake was just added to the bill), Lesley Gore, La La Brooks (of the Crystals), Arlene Smith (of the Chantels), Maxine Brown, Barbara Harris (of the Toys), Margaret Ross (of the Cookies), Brenda Reid and Lillian Walker Moss (of the Exciters), Peggy Santiglia Davison and Jiggs Sirico (of the Angels), Beverly Warren (of the Raindrops), Nanette Licori (of the Delrons), Baby Washington and Toni Wine.

Yet WFMU's commitment to this event will have us on the air for nine — count 'em, nine — hours, beginning at 1pm ET! The festivities will be hosted by WFMU boss jocks Rex, Dave the Spazz, Debbie D. and yours truly, Gaylord Fields — we'll be the ones committed to wearing our new matching gold blazers in the sweltering summer heat — beginning at 1 with a live broadcast of Rex's Fool's Paradise program. The radio proceedings continue with tunes and interviews, cranking up the anticipation till the ladies strut their stuff onstage at the 5 o'clock hour.

To whet your appetite, on the Thursday, July 28th edition of Music to Spazz By, Dave the Spazz will host a 45 party, with Billy Miller of Norton Records prying open his record vault to musically air out some of his rare girl group singles. And if that's doesn't sate you, if you're in the greater NYC area and plan on attending the absolutely free concert on Saturday, stop by the officially sanctioned WFMU Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Internet stream meet-up. Hoist a brew with Debbie D. and the rest of the Gold Blazer Gang at P.J. Clarke's from 3 to about 4:45 to get in the mood to sing along once the show starts. 

More WFMU Listener Meet-Ups!

Hopefully, you are already locked in to join us for fun, sun, rides, freaks, and fireworks tomorrow night, when WFMU invades Coney Island. Mr. Fine Wine will be spinning soul 45s, as we broadcast "Downtown Soulville" live from the boardwalk, 8-9pm. More details about the meet-up here.

WFMU has two more listener meet-ups in the works:

Saturday, July 30th (3-5pm) - Ichiban Listener Meet-Up in Manhattan
Pre-Party for Lincoln Center's Girl Group Extravaganza

Join WFMU's Ichiban Rock 'n Soul stream Empress Debbie D. for a drink or two at P.J. Clarke's Lincoln Square (44 W. 63rd St, Manhattan), then head over to Lincoln Center to check out She's Got the Power!: A Girl Group Extravaganza -- the most stunning and comprehensive array of female vocalists ever assembled on one stage (and it's free)! Details and RSVP here.

 

Saturday, August 27th (9pm-2am) - Comedy, Horror, and Sci-Fi in Clifton, NJ

Come on down to the Clash Bar (39 Harding Ave) in Clifton, NJ for a night of stand-up comedy, live music, and a horror/sci-fi movie featuring WFMU's Professor Dum Dum! Toss back a drink with Wm Berger! Details and RSVP here.

 

Silent Barn Robbed / Party Lab Lives On (mp3)

Terrible news this weekend, as Silent Barn -- the one-of-a-kind venue/laboratory/gallery/space/place in Ridgewood, Queens -- was robbed of $15k-worth of gear/equipment (read the note here or after the jump | UPDATE THERE IS NOW A KICKSTARTER).

Among the many amazing components of Silent Barn -- the Baby Castles video game installations + hacker meetups, murals and art everywhere, live performances booked by some of the city's best curators -- here's one of my favorites:

http://partylab.swillchildren.org/

Party Lab hosts straight-to-cassette mixes of not just the live performances, but everything that's going on in and around the entire space at that moment in time. Just look at the diagram -- there were microphones everywhere, even outside! It's all part of G Lucas Crane's vision of a "Center For Non-Amoral Surveillance," which he explains with this manifesto. I remember this one show, being so stunned by Grasshopper's set, I went over to the Party Lab booth to ask James (who'd been doing some mixing while hanging by the door) how he thought the recording turned out. "Great!" he said, "An ambulance came by, got some of that in the mix, plus a fight broke out so that's in there too..."

These tapes survive to document an environment which is sure to be reincarnated before long. We're all eager for an opportunity to show support for Silent Barn, because we need a space like this now more than ever, what with the shutdown of CoCo66 and this rumor of a gigantic Whole Foods coming to bulldoze some of Williamsburg's finest venues... So, stay tuned to Silent Barn (fbook/twitter/email) and read their note after the jump:

The Men - Immaculada LP (mp3s)

If you follow WFMU's Record of the Day series (on twitter / facebook), you already know that today's pick is Leave Home by Brooklyn's AmRep-style spacerock/punk group The Men. This Sacred Bones release is the third full-length to-date from a band active since 2008, and clearly doing it for all the right reasons. Looking over The Men's discography reveals that all of their releases -- including the sold-out cassettes, a 7", and a 12" EP -- are also available for free download via mediafire. Who knows how long it'll last, but The Men was kind enough to let us mirror their 2nd LP, Immaculada, via the Free Music Archive:

After selling out of two self-released pressings, Deranged Records has a third Immaculada LP pressing available, and you'd be wise to pick up a copy now before it sells out again! While you're browsing the catalog of this top-notch Canadian hardcore label -- home to classics by the likes of Fucked Up an Total Abuse -- check out new releases by some of Canada's finest young punk bands including White Lung, Nü Sensae, and Brutal Knights (link).

The Men play live on Brian Turner's show here at WFMU August 2nd, and hit the road for a national tour Aug 4th-Sept 11th, including a bunch of dates with recent live guests Milk Music.