TOPS OF 2009: RECORDS, ETC

To tell you the truth, I don't think I buy enough records. Regardless, these are my tops music wise for 2009.

1. MARKED MEN - GHOSTS
2. SCREAMING FEMALES - POWER MOVE
3. CANADIAN RIFLE - VISIBILITY ZERO
4. ZOMBIE DOGS - LICK YR BRAINS TAPE + LIVE PERFORMANCE
5. RINGERS - HURRY UP AND WAIT
6. P.S. ELIOT - INTROVERTED ROMANCE IN OUR TROUBLED MINDS
7. TEENAGE COOL KIDS - FOREIGN LANDS
8. JOHN K. SAMSON - CITY ROUTE 85 7"
9. FATAL ERECTION - DEMO TAPE + LIVE PERFORMANCE
10. LAURA STEVENSON & THE CANS - HOLY GHOST EP

Some notable runners up:
FOREIGN OBJECTS - 7"
CLOAK/DAGGER - LOST ART

* I also posted this list over at TAKE IT SERIOUS, a message board for NYC DIY shows and happenings. If you're from the NYC area go sign up and post a top 2009 list or info about whatever shows you're booking!

HAPPY HOLIDAZE

My gift to you, another Cheeky [second-to-] last show video found on the internet. Surprising, I know. I really like this one, I think it's analog.


cheeky from tofus on Vimeo.

LESS CHEEKY, MORE CONDOS

So I never realized that Less Artists, More Condos was kind of a big deal. And I guess when Cheeky played there, I didn't realize it was the first show there either.

RIOT GRRRL HISTORY

EXCITING NEWS  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


I will be moderating the riot grrrl panel at Sarah Lawrence College's Twelfth Annual Women's History Month Conference.

The Message is in the Music:
Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music, and More

Twelfth Annual Women’s History Month Conference
at Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York

Friday & Saturday, March 5 & 6, 2010

Keynote speaker: Carmen Ashhurst, former president of Def Jam Recordings and Rush Communications, and author of the forthcoming book, Selling My Brothers: The Movement, The Media and Me

Music has long served social movements as a sound track, as a means of communication, and as its own arena for activism. While multiple generations of feminists have used music in these ways, it has played especially vital roles for those born since the 1970s. This conference will explore the ways in which young feminists have defined and expressed politics through music and musical cultures and communities. Among the questions we will ponder are: How does music reflect sites of agreement and conflict among different groups of feminists? How have movements like Riot Grrrl and Hip Hop feminism attracted young women to feminist activism? How do young feminists’ uses of music compare with those of earlier generations?

[Call for Proposals from Sarah Lawrence College]

ART HAPPENING TONIGHT! 12/12/09

[image & opening announcement from NORTE MAAR]

19th Century Breakdown

an immediate response

a spontaneous exhibition organized and curated by

Elliot Lessing

with special assistance from Anna D'Agrosa

OPENING PARTY:

Saturday, December 12, 6-10PM

exhibition continues for one day only, Sunday, December 13, 1-6PM

NORTE MAAR

83 Wyckoff Avenue, #1B

Brooklyn

DIRECTIONS: L-Train to Dekalb Avenue Stop. Brooklyn.

Austin Thomas plans the art stumble (from LES to Bushwick) for you: here

More info on 19th Nervous Breakdown from NORTE MAAR: here

I'll be working the opening at NORTE MAAR, so come say hi!

XOXO

MIX TAPE #1: ONSET OF WINTER

The Beatles - Cry Baby Cry
Ben Folds - Golden Slumbers (Beatles cover)
Billy Bragg - The Saturday Boy
The Chieftains ft. Elvis Costello - St. Stephen's Day Murders
David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things
The Evens - Shelter Two
George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
John K. Samson - Heart of the Continent
Madeline - Dumpster Dive Mother
Paul McCartney & Wings - Live and Let Die
Pixies - Hey
Queen - Somebody to Love
The Replacements - Answering Machine



A new thing: I will be posting mixes along with a drawing every now and then.

I'll try for once a month. Here's number one! Just in time for yr favorite season of lovey-dovey times, snowflakes, presents, and stuffing yrself with food. And hibernating... forever. Or tackling mountains of schoolwork with all of that good stuff nowhere in sight. These songs bring about all those mixed up feelings. Nostalgia and longing, dudes! That's what the winter is about.

* e-mail me for a copy!

STRAIGHT TO HECK

Videos of the last Cheeky shows have surfaced.

courtesy of vinylbob on youtube



New Brunswick, NJ at Pet Cemetery

more here >>

courtesy of obcwillie on youtube



Brooklyn, NY at Death by Audio

more here >>

courtesy of loopyvids on youtube



Brooklyn, NY at Death by Audio

more here >>

THE PARTY IS OVER

[photo by Ben Pier]

Okay folks, this is it: CHEEKY'S LAST SHOW EVER IS TONIGHT.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH, 2009
7PM
A Benefit for the Walk for PKD
$6-$10 sliding scale

CHEEKY
SHELLSHAG
SLINGSHOT DAKOTA
STUPID PARTY
ZOMBIE DOGS

@ DEATH BY AUDIO
49 S. 2nd Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Here is what some other people had to say about the end of Cheeky*, since I don't really know what to say yet:

Punknews
Death by Audio/Entertainment4Every1
Exploding Penguin
Screaming Females
THE FMLY
Star Beat
Rock and the Single Girl
Planet Chocko Zine
Just A Visual / At the Movies

[* 12/6/2009: I'll be adding more as they come up]

GIRLS & DRUMS

[photo of Krista by me, you can tell by the thumb]

As you may know, I am all about women & girls playing music. That's why I've written about Tom Tom Magazine: A Magazine for Female Drummers, and that's why I've written about lots of my girl friends who play music. So, combine the two and you get my dream article.

Debuted this evening in Tom Tom: Angie, my current bandmate (in an of yet unnamed project, and also, Cheeky), interviews Krista, my past bandmate (in Carnal Knowledge)! And Maggie, current drummer of Scantron [who I just saw the other day for the first time and damn! Girl can play the dance beats!] took photos of the whole thing. Angie asks a lot of great questions, and Krista covered so much about the feminist music scene in New York, while also detailing experiences of sexism. It really gives a full picture of what it's like to be a woman playing music and all the things, especially the challenges, that come along with that.

It's a good day for women drummers, and especially, yours truly (not a drummer -- yet).

CHEEKY LAST GIGS EVER - POSTER

[poster by BLACKANDREDEYE]

My good friend, fellow organizer, and creative partner Lauren Measure designed this rad poster inspired by Annie for Cheeky's last shows. Check out more of Lauren's stuff at Black And Red Eye! Tom, another friend of mine, ridiculous drummer of Slingshot Dakota and mastermind behind Bird Apartment Printing (myspace / facebook), will be screening these as posters to be sold at the shows.

SCREAMALES BEST OF

Jarrett D., friend of Cheeky and infamous drummer of Screaming Females, named "What the Heck" one of the best albums of 2009. Thanks Jarrett! We love ye!

REVIEW: The Girls' Guide to Rocking

Here's the review I did of Jessica Hopper's Girls' Guide to Rocking for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #318, November 2009).

[UNEDITED]

The Girls’ Guide to Rocking
Jessica Hopper
288 pages
Workman Publishing
http://www.workman.com/

The Girls’ Guide to Rocking is just that, and that’s what makes it totally radical. The first time I saw Jessica Hopper speak she read an inspiring piece about being a grunge poser in her teens, and it was the greatest thing my ears had ever heard. She ended on the note that Bikini Kill taught her to be herself and that she could do whatever she wanted -- incidentally, this meant playing music and touring and becoming one of the freshest music critics currently writing.

FEMINISM IS FOR LOVERS

I spotted this today on Bedford Ave. between North 4th & North 5th Streets (in Williamsburg). Whoever's making these totally rules!

[11/07 Note: These folks found me on Flickr, and apparently FEMINISM IS FOR LOVERS is a movement!]

REVIEW: Gender & the Sectional Conflict

And now for something... not so totally different! I began pursuing my Master's degree in Women's History at Sarah Lawrence College in September. I've been writing weekly papers, but recently, I was assigned a book review for my Visions & Revisions in U.S. Women's History class.

Gender & the Sectional Conflict
Nina Silber
The University of North Carolina Press
http://uncpress.unc.edu

IT'S THE FREAKIN' CHEEK END, BABY

I just posted the info on the last of CHEEKY. Yes, that means the last blog posts that I make about my beloved band are soon to come. Also, we put up a new track from WHAT THE HECK, called "Two Face Basket Case" on our myspace, so you can check that out too.

LAST WORDS / LAST SHOWS:

HEY FRIENDS,

As you may or may not already know, Cheeky is breaking up. We'll be playing THREE LAST SHOWS:

Fri 10/30 (7pm) at THE KICKSTAND in GAINESVILLE, FL @ THE FEST VIII

Fri 11/27 (6:30pm) at PET CEMETERY in NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ with LIGHTEN UP! and NIGHT BIRDS
[ ask around for address, keep it word of mouth ]

Sat 11/28 (7pm) at DEATH BY AUDIO in BROOKLYN, NY with ZOMBIE DOGS, SLINGSHOT DAKOTA, STUPID PARTY & SHELLSHAG
[ this show is a benefit for the Walk for PKD / please respect the space / no outside booze ]

We're putting out an 8-song 12" with Freedom School Records, which should be available in a limited amount at The Fest and definitely available at the last shows. It's also available for preorder now from Freedom School Records, shipping on 11/4. We'll have other merch at the shows - buttons, a live tape, tee-shirts and 7"s. After the 12", we have a split 7" with Tenement coming out on Rally Records. We apologize if you've asked for stuff through mailorder, we've never been good with that.

So as always, thanks so much to our amazing friends, folks who have booked us shows, put out our records, let us borrow their equipment or vehicles, who drove us around, people who helped book our tours that did or didn't happen, y'all who danced and sang and showed us a good time. And don't worry, we're all already in or starting new projects, so we're sure we'll see you around.

We love you, you fucking twinkies.

- CHEEKY

Here's the article on punknews.org: http://www.punknews.org/article/35699

FREAKY FRIDAY

Dave of If You Make It made a flyer for the Kickstand show. It has all the set times for your convenience!

CHEEKY: WHAT THE HECK 12"

IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING! "What the Heck" is coming out this Fall, we should have a limited amount of copies at THE FEST VIII. Art and layout by me. Check out the "press release" type thing from Freedom School:

FREEDOM SCHOOL RECORDS is proud to present:

CHEEKY's long awaited WHAT THE HECK 8 song 12" EP (FSR011)

Yes, is finally coming out. And by the way - I've heard it, and it's awesome! Now accepting pre-orders, the 12"s are $10 each plus $3 shipping for up to 3 items.

paypal - thehunchback@hotmail.com

I HARDLY KNOW HER

I Hardly Know Her is a minimalist Flickr viewer. You can see my flickr pictures here too:

http://ihardlyknowher.com/mysticalhomegirl

CHEEKY SHOW AT THE FEST VIII

It is official, we are playing Friday, October 30th at 7:10 PM at the Kickstand in Gainesville, Florida. Hope to see ya there...

GIRL COMMUNITY POST-SCRIPT

Thanks so much for the shout outs (or holla backs?) from STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, ROCK & THE SINGLE GIRL, KING KOG, and TOM TOM MAGAZINE re: Girl Germs: A Brooklyn Scene Report.

One thing I wanted to touch on was the criticism I got for missing out on certain bands in the Scene Report. Jamie, blogger at Rock & The Single Girl, touched on this a little bit by mentioning "there isn't enough documentation of some of the amazing girl and punk bands I've been following." This is my sentiment exactly, there's never enough documentation of what the women are doing. In most instances, it's taken considerably more effort for girls to begin playing music and start their own scenes. Since we're usually the documentarians, it gets even harder to work double duty and be sure we get it all on paper.

I can't cover everything, and neither can just one article. "It's going to take more than one person, and more than one scene report to capture and contextualize the art being produced by these women..."

Please keep in mind that Maximum Rocknroll is a democratic publication. If you want to see more girl bands in it, PLEASE, write a follow up to the Scene Report, write your own article, send them your demos for review! Heck, review demos for them! I got involved because I like the mag and because I wanted to see more girl involvement. Luckily, I can say an old bandmate of mine (hey Diane!) is currently the Distro Coordinator there, and I sweat so many of the women writing for them currently - Layla Gibbon, Osa of New Bloods and Shotgun Seamstress... anyway, what I'm saying is, please get involved in the documentation process of girl bands, girl scenes and queer or feminist projects! My article was not meant to be the end-all be-all of what's happening with women in the New York punk scene, I just want to make us more visible. Also, MRR is looking for a content coordinator, so you should apply!

XO

GIRL GERMS: A BROOKLYN SCENE REPORT

Holy shit! I am so excited to ring in my favorite season with some really exciting news. I just got the October issue of Maximum Rocknroll (the Queer Issue) in the mail. I wrote up a Brooklyn scene report for it and to my surprise... it's the first article after all the regular columns and it's a fucking 2-page spread! Right before queercore in Brazil and an autobiography by Gary Floyd! What in the world?

Also, they forgot to credit the photographers (or maybe they didn't have enough space) - but in order, thank you to Orlando Perez, Dave Sanders and Konstantin Sergeyev for letting me use their photos.

So without further ado... here's the unedited version I sent to MRR. I also uploaded PDFs of the printed version here & here (these files are HUGE - they're 300 dpi and meant for printing in case you can't get your hands on a copy - though for now the issue is available at Maximum Rocknroll!)

GIRL GERMS: A BROOKLYN SCENE REPORT

by KATE WADKINS

(featured in Maxmimum Rocknroll #317)

GROW FINS, TURKEY AT IF YOU MAKE IT

Dave just posted a new Cheeky video at If You Make It of us playing Grow Fins, Turkey at last year's Fest. We're gonna be playing this year's Fest and a couple shows in New York/New Jersey too. Note the Kerplunk girl stagediving (that's Fid from The Measure [SA])!

Cheeky - Grow Fins, Turkey from If You Make It on Vimeo.

2009 IN PICTURES

Yes, we may be only 8 months through (coming up on 9!) but I did a major Flickr upload of all things 2009.

WHAT THE HECK

Here's the album art I'm doing for Cheeky's last record, What the Heck. Details are still forthcoming as stuff keeps changing.

Recognize this dude?

EACH OTHER'S MOMS

It has been awhile since I did the cover for the Each Other's Mothers demo, but it is now up on If You Make It, so therefore, my art is too. Check 'em out!

THE BIG SHE-BANG IV: Details Confirmed!

I just posted everything you need to know about The Big She-Bang IV on the For the Birds blog here.

REVIEW: Jin & Jam #1

Here's the review I did of Hellen Jo's Jin & Jam #1 for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #315, August 2009).

[UNEDITED]

Jin & Jam #1

By Hellen Jo

Sparkplug Comics

I liked this comic book the minute I laid eyes on it. I mean, I know you’re not supposed to judge like that, but come on – the cover is bright yellow and there’s two badass girls smokin’ cigarettes in a cloud of unidentifiable confetti on it. I’ll take it!

MOVIN' ON UP

While I was on hiatus, a few things happened. My friend Ben's zine Sick: A Compilation Zine on Physical Illness came out a few weeks ago. It's really beautiful and well-done, an articulate and necessary document which many of my good friends contributed to. I read the zine right after my friend had heart surgery and finished it while I was with my Dad, holed up at the hospital. It was really helpful for me during this whirlwind of a summer. If you or anyone you know is dealing with or has dealt with physical illness, especially within DIY/punk/activist communities, I highly reccomend this.

NEXT, in related news, some more of my friends re-released a documentary about the Long Island "DIY punk community" called Between Resistance and Community. I was interviewed along with a number of my girlfriends: Cynthia of Jettison Sister & Zombie Dogs; Carly of Slingshot Dakota; Krista of Carnal Knowledge & Zombie Dogs; Tia of Bridge & Tunnel & Fellow Project -- to talk about what it was like to grow up as a girl in that scene. It's a feature on the DVD. Here's the trailer:

Between Resistance & Community: The Long Island DIY Punk Community on Vimeo.

Next up, my review of the comic Jin & Jam #1, from this month's issue of MRR. The Jodi zines have arrived, appropriately in time with the 2 year anniversary of her passing.

YOU'VE GOT TO CARRY THAT WEIGHT

I wrote this Friday but never posted it. Here goes, since my dad still needs yr good vibes.

Maybe y'all have realized, but I have been trying to get back into the personal with this blog a little, of late. I realize the blog has strayed far from merely showcasing my doodles and punk flyers and the like. These days I do a lot of tracking on the girl-punx revival in Brooklyn/on the East Coast as it is near and dear to my heart. Often I write about For the Birds, and maybe that seems self-serving, but as our website has been down I've felt the need to document all the new things that we continue to make happen / that continue to happen to us. Point being, I haven't been getting too personal. I guess now I find it necessary.

My news for the week is as follows: my father has been seriously injured and is stuck in the hospital. The dude does not get a break, and I am in awe of my family's ability to constantly live, survive, get up, brush their shoulders off and move on. Pops can't really get that far yet, we are still in the tough part of the journey, but as always, I have faith in him. It's the little victories.

I leave in about 15 minutes to venture to Westchester Medical Center again. All I ask is if you are down with sending some good folks your good vibes when they need it, my dad-ums is one, and it would be cool if you did so.

MUCH LOVE, KW

http://www.lohud.com/article/20090714/NEWS02/907140421

TOM TOM MAGAZINE SHOUT-OUT

[flier by Cynthia]

The rad, rad ladies over at Tom Tom Magazine wrote up a little article about For the Birds & our upcoming show Saturday! We're so stoked.

Here's a snippet of the article:

This weekend a scene of a different sort is worth supporting: the For the Birds Collective show at the 1087 Broadway loft.

For the Birds is a Brooklyn collective supporting women in music that’s been around for a couple of years now with members from the ashes of the beloved feminist Jane Doe books out on Montrose avenue. You might have seen them tabling at the Tom Tom benefit at Death by Audio and they put out zines, comps, and a yearly all-ages all-day event called The Big She-Bang (8/15) with “workshops, panel discussions, visual art, and music by and for women and women-identified artists & community members.” click here to read more!

HOMESICK

ON JODI TILTON

I contributed to a zine about my dear friend Jodi, with the excerpt that I read on the panel we organized in her rememberance at last year's Big She-Bang. The zine will be available this week, printed by Eberhardt Press.

Here's the post about it on the Team Colors blog: http://teamcolors.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/new-zine-jodi-tilton-one-of-the-womyn-the-world-requires/

There is a PDF of the zine available here: http://www.scribd.com/full/16909776?access_key=key-1wz2rgok6bdp2d14fh6y

ON SCREAMALES & ROCK RELEVANCE, ETC

(clearly a g-chat conversation between Ali & myself)

me: omg, i wish you could have seen screaming females last night it was SO EPIC.

me: like, so, so so epic

Ali: oh yeaaah

me: they play with these tiny amps but because it was in that place it was all mic'd up and they sounded so fucking heavy

me: it was like the perfect sound for them

me: best i've ever heard them

me: and the applause was insane i was like, holy shit, if people didn't like them before...

me: it was straight up insanity

Ali: that is awesome, how was dinosaur jr?

me: they were good, but seriously it was like, such a hard act to follow! they played for an hour and a half which was soooo excessive

Ali: wowww

me: and they didnt play "in a jar" which was a total bummer

me: you know, it was total dino jr though, they were tight, super shreddy

me: just... its hard seeing bands like that when what theyre doing is "old" - screaming females are just so relevant, it was hard to juxtapose the two and see dino jr and not just think what theyre doing is kinda self-congratulatory

Ali: interestinggg

Ali: yeah that makes sense though it's often weird seeing older bands alone let alone with a super strong opening act

me: yeah, absolutely especially when theyre playing like that, for so long - and how SO many bands from that era are doing this now

me: these reunions and new albums and tours

Ali: totally like sonic youth too they have a new album and touring

me: THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I COMPARED IT TO haha

Ali: it's good but like i dunno i feel like i need a break from them or something

Ali: i saw them last summer at mccarren and in LA when they did daydream nation

Ali: i just dont need any new music from them

Resistance Behind Bars review online

Vikki Law posted the review I did of Resistance Behind Bars on her website. She even uploaded a PDF. Sweet! Thanks Vikki!

6/26: CARNAL KNOWLEDGE REUNION SHOW

[Flier by Lauren S.]

BACK FROM THE DEAD! CARNAL KNOWLEDGE REUNION JUNE 26TH
local all girl hardcore favorites are back! one night only! (http://www.myspace.com/carnalk)

JUNE 26TH - DYKE MARCH BENEFIT SHOW with:

INA! INA!
http://www.myspace.com/inainabrooklyn

ZOMBIE DOGS (ex carnal knowledge, all-lady thrash)
http://www.myspace.com/zombiedogsnyc

DEATH FIRST (ex carnal knowledge, female fronted brutality)
http://www.myspace.com/deathfirstbk

THE DIAMOND SEA (on tour from australia, sweet!)
http://www.myspace.com/slowsignal

Friday, June 26th @ Silent Barn 915 Wyckoff Ave
L to Halsey or M to Myrtle-Wyckoff
8PM, 5-10 bux sliding scale

Proceeds go benefit the 17th Annual NYC Dyke March:
The NYC Dyke March is a protest march to demonstrate for lesbian rights and visibility within the larger LGBT community. The reason for the creation of the various Dyke Marches was to protest what many women saw as the control of Gay Pride events by white gay men at the expense of lesbians in general and women of color in particular. Many of the organizers were also concerned that New York's Gay Pride March was losing its political edge as it became more accepted by the city and courted by corporations. This illegal protest march steps off on Saturday, June 27th at 5PM sharp at 42nd and Bryant Park, marches down 5th ave and ends at Washington Square Park.

[show curated by Kathi K.]

REVIEW: Resistance Behind Bars

A sudden return to writing. I guess it's been awhile on that front, but I don't like posting my reviews before they actually get published. July's MRR just came out and to my surprise, my review of Resistance Behind Bars was in there. Also, check out the awesome review of the Zombie Dogs demo and some other cool lady-punk jams by the likes of Turboslut and Libyans!

[UNEDITED]

Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women
By Victoria Law
PM Press
http://www.pmpress.org/
2009

Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women is a premier effort to increase the visibility of women’s prison resistance in the United States. Victoria Law has dedicated much of her life to prisoners’ resistance, honing in on the lack of discussion about the specific plight that women face in prison, and their efforts to challenge the prison system. Law started off self-publishing prisoners’ stories in zines and circulating them in publications like Clamor, Punk Planet, and off our backs. A lot of this work is represented and revisited here, in Law’s first book, Resistance Behind Bars.

MONDAY, JUNE 15

I'm booking a show for Canadian Rifle from Chicago. I put some of my favorite local ragers on the bill too.

I think I'm officially dubbing this GIRL GERMS GIG VOL #1.

Editor's Note (06/2010): Due to the Girl Germs DJ night in the UK run by Tukru, I am actually renaming my curatorial moniker to Girl Gang Gig Vol.


MONDAY, JUNE 15
AT TOMMY'S TAVERN
8PM - SHOW MUST BE OVER BY 12

1041 Manhattan Ave.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn

G train to Greenpoint Ave.
B61 or B43 bus

IRON CHIC
[CATCHY JAMS FROM LI, MEMBERS OF LATTERMAN, SMALL ARMS DEALER] http://www.myspace.com/ironchicsmyspace

CANADIAN RIFLE
[ON TOUR FROM CHICAGO, DON'T MISS]
http://myspace.com/canadianrifle

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY
[ON TOUR FROM CHICAGO]
http://www.myspace.com/daylightrobberychicago

FATAL ERECTION
[YR NEW FAVORITE HARDCORE BAND. FROM LONG ISLAND] http://myspace.com/fatalerectionny

PASSIVE AGGRESSOR
[LOCAL BROOKLYN RAGERS]
http://www.myspace.com/passiveaggressorbk

* * BRING $3-5 FOR TOURING BANDS * *

MRR

Maximum Rocknroll has had a major site overhaul, you should check it out! Speaking of which, one of my past reviews didn't make it to print and I'm not reviewing for the August issue. So keep yr eyes out for a review of Resistance Behind Bars here, after I return from Chi-boogie!

10:39AM

[photo from Bedtime]

All these friends sending me photos of my work and getting tattoos of stuff I've done makes me so stoked! Totally re-affirms any reason for me to keep doing things.

ART ABOUT TOWN

[photo from Jess]

Jess sent me this from her phone. I sold these owl prints for $1 each at LEAVE HOME, Ian pasted one on his bedpost.

Laura got a tattoo of my coffee cup cloud! How cool is that?! Tattoo by Noah V.

CHEEKY TATTOO

[photo from Perryage]

PERRY SHALL IS REAL.

(tattoo by MP)

MORE LEAVE HOME PHOTOS

My work in "LEAVE HOME" being set-up. Picture from my phone.

Here's a better-lit image of the skyline drawing.

I included this so you can get a better idea of how big the silhouette paintings are. I think about 2' x 5'.

And last but not least, I think my favorite part. Some multimedia pieces I did of New York scenery and owls. They were set up in a little black room in between the main room and the back/bar area. The image is a little washed out because the light was shining directly on the pieces. I may try to shoot these again for my "professional" site... GASP! Summer project.

These photos are courtesy of Lauren Measure!

LEAVE HOME PHOTOS

Skyline

Silhouette

Paige & one of my owl prints in the background

Coffee cup cloud installation

Here are some photos of my work, taken by my good friend Orlando Perez at the LEAVE HOME show. Click to make 'em bigger.

EXCITING

LEAVE HOME GROUP SHOW FRIDAY! DETAILS HERE!

Check the official press release:

LEAVE HOME

Featuring Works By
LAUREN DENITZIO
CRISTY ROAD
KATE WADKINS
TAMARA WAITE-SANTIBANEZ

And MUSIC By
LITTLE LUNGS
LAURA STEVENSON
FATAL ERECTION

@ DEATH BY AUDIO
MAY 15TH, 2009 - 8PM - ALL AGES!
49 S. 2nd ST. BROOKLYN, NY

LEAVE HOME Binds varying linear structures with the sparkling connections between our souls and our soil. Home is dissected. As Brooklyn slowly transgresses into a development landmine, we hold on to the purity of bricks, concrete, our soil, our urban breeding ground, and the spurts of nature which trickle inbetween. Our identities, and our connections to our home, vary as much as our artistic renderings; but in the end converge into a collective act of visual chaos.

Originally from the concrete depths of New Jersey; Lauren Denitzio seems to have spent a lifetime fervently investing her creativity in punk rock. Aside from being the guitarist/vocalist for The Measure [sa] (New Brunswick, NJ), Denitzio has been creating artwork, of varying visual degrees under the moniker Black & Red Eye, using thoughtful linework, an eccentric and beautiful use of patterns, and textures foreign to atypical art supplies.

Through her art and writing, Cristy C. Road blends social principles, sexual deviance, mental inadequacies, and her Cuban, punk, and queer identities. Her preferred medium is Micron Ink pens, Sharpies, and Chartpak markers. Although, coloring techniques range from Markers, Fluid Acrylic, and occasional digital color for most commissioned work. Her obsession with making art accessible began when publishing GREEN’ZINE in 1996. This snowballed into years of illustrating for punk bands, magazines, non-profit organizations, and more. In the last five years Road has released Indestructible, an illustrated novel about adolescence, Distance Makes the Heart Grow Sick , a book of postcards, and Bad Habits, her most recent illustrated novel about healing, self-change, and irresponsibility, and partying hard.

Often blurring feminist theory and art practice, Kate Wadkins is interested in the historical connection between women and birds. When she’s not drawing, Kate plays bass in Cheeky and works with For the Birds, a feminist collective and distro, curating DIY music and art shows and other creative feminist cultural happenings. She also writes for Maximum Rock’n’roll and Feminist Review.

Creating work under the studio heading No Guts No Glory, Tamara Waite-Santibanez is a printmaker and illustrator. Rooted firmly in DIY ethics and aesthetics, her work is created with as little help from computers or electric presses as possible, in an effort to adhere to a traditional printmaking practice and printmaking's history as a democratic art form. When not creating gross-looking flatstock and other ephemera, Tamara spends her time at the Stolen Sleeves Collective and singing for an all-female hardcore band, Zombie Dogs.

Lauren, Cristy, Kate and Tamara all reside in Brooklyn, and tend to run into eachother every weekend.

For any requests or inquiries, please contact: LEAVEHOMESHOW@gmail.com

LAST NIGHT OUT-OF-TOWN

[image via chicago art source]

So The Sketchbook Project Volume 3 finally calls it quits tonight after a semi-national tour. Tonight is the opening party for FROM SCRATCH, which is a show I guess I'm technically in. Funny how that works. Here is the info from Shane and Steven of Art House Co-op:

The Sketchbook Project at Chicago Art Source Gallery Tonight

Friday, May 8th (tonight!)
6:00-9:00pm
Chicago Art Source Gallery
1871 N. Clybourn Ave
Chicago, IL 60614

Tonight is the final exhibition for The Sketchbook Project Volume 3. It is hosted at Chicago Art Source Gallery in Chicago, IL. The opening is from 6:00-9:00pm. The exhibition will be on display through June 20th.

As much as I was pretty removed from this project and its 2,784 other artists, I did get to check out the whole thing at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn and it was a pretty great event. If you're in Chicago, you should definitely check it out!

Another note: my dear friend Aimee Lusty - whom I used to live with and majorly helped smooth out my senior thesis ideas (all while laying down some serious Darger knowledge) - has JUST BEGUN blogging for the Marcel Duchamp World Community online. I think it's pretty rad. Congrats Aimee!

LEAVE HOME

IT IS TOTALLY OFFICIAL! PLEASE COME OUT TO THE ART SHOW.

[click on postcard to make it bigger! designed by blackandredeye]

LEAVE HOME
a collaborative art installation

by artists:

LAUREN DENITZIO
CRISTY ROAD
KATE WADKINS
TAMARA WAITE-SANTIBANEZ

featuring bands:

LITTLE LUNGS
LAURA STEVENSON
FATAL ERECTION

ART! BANDS! BOOZE! FUN!

FRIDAY, MAY 15 - 8PM
@ DEATH BY AUDIO [ALL AGES]
49 S. 2nd St.
Brooklyn, NY

FEEL FREE TO REPOST!

[ I reposted with more bird-related info at: FOR THE BIRDS' blog ]

SAVE THE DATE

"LEAVE HOME," a collaborative installation by

Lauren Denitzio / BLACK AND RED EYE
Cristy C. Road / CROADCORE
Kate Wadkins / WISDOM TOOTH
Tamara Waite-Santibanez / NO GUTS NO GLORY

MAY 15TH at DEATH BY AUDIO
49 S. 2nd Street
[btwn Kent & Wythe]

Brooklyn, NY

THE OWLS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM

A preview of some of the stuff I'm working on for the art installation-collaboration-bonanza with Cristy Road, Lauren Measure, and Tamara Waite-Santibanez. We think it's gonna be called "LEAVE HOME."

REVIEW: Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture

Here's the review I did of Stephen Duncombe's Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #312, May 2009).

[UNEDITED]

Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture
By Stephen Duncombe
Microcosm Publishing
http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/

Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture is not only a history of zines, but an attempt to theorize the existence and meaning of zines throughout this history. Originally released in 1997 by Verso, it has been re-released in a new edition for 2008 by Microcosm Publishing. Stephen Duncombe traces the zine movement back to sci-fi fanzines of the 1930s, and even the early political pamphleteers.

WE DID IT!

[photos via for the birds collective]

Cross-posted with FOR THE BIRDS:

The Queer Eye for the DIY workshop we did at Visions in Feminism was a major success! There was super-smart audience participation, we received really great feedback, and we even got interviewed by The Nation and the Washington City Paper! We also met a bunch of nice folks and sold lots of stuff at the distro table. Thank you DC, for such an awesome Saturday. Photos from the workshop can be found on For the Birds' flickr, or on the gallery of our website.

REVIEW: Terror in the Heart of Freedom

Here's the review I did of Hannah Rosen's Terror in the Heart of Freedom: Citizenship, Sexual Violence and the Meaning of Race in the Postemancipation South for FEMINIST REVIEW (April 3, 2009).

Terror in the Heart of Freedom: Citizenship, Sexual Violence, and the Meaning of Race in the Postemancipation South

By Hannah Rosen
University of North Carolina Press

Hannah Rosen's Terror in the Heart of Freedom is an essential historical document. This text is a detailed analysis of the connection between gendered rhetoric, sexual violence, and the oppression and resistance of freed people during the reconstruction era. Rosen demonstrates a thorough understanding of gender, race, and power dynamics and how these issues are employed through politics on different levels.

Read the full review here

FTB @ VISIONS IN FEMINISM CONFERENCE

I'm crossposting something I blogged about on FOR THE BIRDS. Myself and some other Birds will be presenting at a conference this weekend. Here's the info:

FOR THE BIRDS feminist collective + distro will be both tabling and presenting at the upcoming Visions in Feminism conference in Washington, DC on April 4th, 2009. Our workshop, "Queer Eye for the DIY," is in the 2:00PM-3:30PM timeslot.

More info on the conference can be found at: http://vifconference.wordpress.com/

From the website:

Visions in Feminism is a local conference held annually in the DC area since 2001. Originally hosted by the University of Maryland, the conference has been held at American University for the last three years. Each year Visions in Feminism seeks to provide a forum for diverse perspectives on feminist praxis.

Behind the Music: CHEEKY

Seriously, this is hilarious.

http://www.ifyoumakeit.com/video/cheeky/in-the-studio/


Cheeky - In the Studio. from If You Make It on Vimeo.

Dave and Katie did an awesome job with our ridiculous band. Brian Schleyer is (still) my hero.

FOR THE BIRDS ON AFTER ELLEN

It's a little shout out but damn, us birds are proud.

http://www.afterellen.com/music/2009/3/soundcheck?page=0%2C2

Feminist record label For the Birds has released a compilation, Gimme Cooties, featuring female bands and musicians, including New York indie-queer group Each Other's Mothers.

REVIEW: London's Burning

Here's the review I did of Dave Thompson's London’s Burning: True Adventures on the Frontlines of Punk, 1976-1977 for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #311, April 2009).

[UNEDITED]

London’s Burning: True Adventures on the Frontlines of Punk, 1976-1977
By Dave Thompson
Chicago Review Press
http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/

London’s Burning by Dave Thompson is treading ground that has been trod many times before, the birth of punk: 1976-1977. As much as this might seem redundant, and the subtitle “TRUE ADVENTURES ON THE FRONTLINES OF PUNK” might seem a bit overdramatic, it does kind of embody Thompson’s approach to this time period, which is that of the anticipation and excitement of a young kid in a burgeoning new scene.

PHOTOS

Uploaded some stuff to the flickr from 2009 so far.