Live Music is Art in Motion: THE DRIFT

On Monday, November 15, 2010 at The Great American Music Hall I went to a benefit show for Jeff Jacobs a recently injured member of the San Francisco based band The Drift. Originally I was drawn to this show because Explosions in the Sky, a band I have wanted to see for a long time, was playing. Yet the band that peaked my interest was the openers, The Drift.

Three men stood on stage and create a beautiful symphony of expression leaving space for their fallen member. Precise and careful The Drift painted pictures with guitar, base and drums. Like the jazz musicians that came before, their songs seem to never end flowing from one to the other. The musicians closed their eyes and breathed deep, they sat inside the music engulfed in the flames of each note. What impressed me most was their ability to make choices. They had a certain level of simplicity in their music at times that was breathtaking. Of course you could hear a heavy jazz and indie influence but the sound is so layered and unique to them that it’s difficult to single out specific influences.

I couldn’t help but ask myself if we have entered a place musically that Bach, Mozart, and composers a like only dreamed of? A place where musicians tell stories with their instruments and not their lyrics. We see this with bands like Four Tet, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, God Speed! You Black Emperor (just to name a few) that choose to express themselves with an emphasis in instrumental scores rather then catchy pop lyrics. This is also seen with the increasing popularity of electronic music, even if sometimes the story expressed is to simply dance. Like the old saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well, if you can’t write lyrics or don’t deem it necessary then don’t. Not everyone is a lyrical poet but at the same time not everyone can create sweeping musical movements like these bands can.

Standing there watching, The Drift, I was reminded not only of why I love music but mostly why I love seeing live shows. The space between musician and fan becomes filled with sound soaked deep into the walls, into our pores, consuming everything it comes into contact with. Music becomes the ultimate form of expression transcending all other forms of storytelling. We fill the void between space with experience and the tunes take flight.

Since the beginning of time humans gathered to tell stories: to chant, to dance. Around a fire we bellowed into the night discovering that we could make “music.” Somehow in the age of Internet we have lost this desire or perhaps we begun losing this many moons ago. Now satisfaction can come from downloading a performance on an iphone. And hey that gets people listening but it’s not just noise, it’s not just sound bites. It’s art. It’s storytelling. It’s tribal. The experience you have when seeing music live is like nothing else. Your imagination begins to soar as you watch artists bare their souls in a dingy, dark theater. With beer spilling on your shoes and the smell of sweat, you stare into the abyss and you are not only viewing the creation of art you are apart of it. Human connection has been made and you might as well be around that fire from whence it all began. This is why live music can and will never be replaced. This is why it survived and continues to thrive. This is why music is art. This is why we love music.

Live Music Review: Quasi and Sebadoh

The 90’s were alive on February 8th 2011 in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall. We gathered in our flannels, hoodies and uncanny indifference to watch Sebadoh with special guest Quasi. Together we tapped our feet, bent our knees, and waved our heads back and forth executing the minimal amount of effort. When people think of 90’s music the first thing that comes to mind is grunge and consequently Nirvana but there were many bands that came out of the days of the slacker. Bands such as Sonic Youth, Pavement, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh (just to name a few) gave way to the Indie explosion, influencing the likes of every hipster’s dream. So it only makes sense that these bands are able to tour now and bring in bigger crowds. Why were they not as mainstream in the 90’s? I can only speculate that they didn’t fit in the “suicidal” nirvana package.
Sebadoh, led by front man Lou Barlow, doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Although they have lines in their songs such as, “no one cares, cause no one should” and “It’s like wasting everything on someone else’s dream” they counter it with “but I tried to chase you down and I got tired” suggesting that its necessary to carry an uncanny laid back sense of humor which makes dealing with life a little more tolerable. Even in their performance you can see evidence of this credo. They laugh and make jokes, run around the stage like teenagers in a garage band. Sebadoh has an honestly and relaxation to their performance that is hard to find today in our media heavy society. It’s refreshing to just listen to a band play, no spectacle needed.
The set that evening was like going back in time. Most songs were played from the albums Harmacy and Bakesale, two great albums from the mid nineties. Most of the audience seemed to know every song. I found comfort in the sea of lip singing. I was amongst fans. And like most indie bands that came before and after the set started off slow but picked up as more beer was ingested as they sped through every song breaking for jam solos. The set was long but enjoyable. The highlight for me had to be when they played Drama Mine form Bakesale. I waited patiently for my favorite Sebadoh song to be played, holding in beer-induced pee to the point where if I moved I might have had an accident. And then when I thought I could wait no longer they busted it out. Needless to say all expectations were meet and I could pee a happy fan.

Now something must be said about the opening band, Quasi. They are a band that stayed under the radar of their sub culture counterparts Pavement and Sebadoh. They recently emerged proving why they are a favorite opening band choice for recent reunion tours. With a sound that combines indie power cords with fifties ballads and a killer rocksichord its amazing that this band didn’t surface sooner.
All three members are extremely talented and work well together. Bassist Joanna Bolme still enjoys the crazy antics of the front man Sam Coomes displays. Drummer Janet Weiss stays in control by telling ex-husband Coomes what instrument he will use next. They mostly play songs from their album Featuring “Birds” but tried overall to give a general ‘Intro to Quasi’ class for the audience, a smart move to get new listeners.
Already being a fan of Quasi I found it refreshing to see the total abandonment that Coomes displayed throughout the show. At the end of the set he began hitting the rocksichord and playing it with his feet and head just like Jerry Lee Lewis.

When people say the nineties are dead they most certainly have not been listening to good music. Bands that never left remind the majority that if it weren’t for their influences we wouldn’t have the rock ‘n roll we have today. In this case, however, they were preaching to the choir. Will opening for bands like Arcade Fire teach the new fans the history of Indie? Perhaps. But I think, for the most part, bands like Sebadoh like where they stand. And you know what? So do I.

Everyone Farts

9/2/10

Everyone Farts

Today I went to get a burrito at a mediocre chain. I knew this going in and yet there I was ordering, paying, devouring. As I went to the condiment bar to grab some watered down tomato paste disguised as salsa I heard the loudest fart I think I have ever heard in a public space. There were only four burrito consumers including myself, the fart assailant and two burrito slaves (workers). Naturally, everyone turned and looked. No one laughed – everyone was just shocked that someone could let that escape their ass with such ease and abandonment. There was probably a moment for all that experienced this when they told themselves they didn’t really hear it, rationalizing the magnificent explosion. The man who had let out this bellow from his bowels got up without hesitation, made no apologies or acknowledgement of the act, even though it was clearly him who had disrupted the silence, and then walked up to me. I quickly diverted my eyes like a child for fear that I would become the only one in the room who would laugh.

“Do you know where the Peets Coffee is?” He asked me.

I almost forgot instantly where it was, and I work there. All that was going through my head were comments like, “Doesn’t seem like you need anymore there, buddy.” Or “You should check your pants first before you head over for seconds.” But instead I controlled my urge and slowly gave him directions while a little smile lingered on my face during the entirety of our conversation. He then smiled and thanked me and calmly left the burrito palace.

I then looked up and realized that all the other customers had been staring at me, so naturally I smiled and continued to eat. Everyone took this as his or her cue to go back to eating as well. We sat there consuming, ignoring one another, and pretending that we were alone. We were changed though, all of us, we were forced to connect through one single event. We made a collective decision to not embarrass the man by ignoring what had taken place. Or perhaps we did this to not embarrass ourselves. As a result I can’t help but thank that flatulent man. Thank you; thank you for not giving a fuck, for waking everyone up and reminding us that YES EVERYONE FARTS!

Dora Maar: A Spiral of Expression - Art Review

A Spiral of Expression

The Getty Center, located on the west side of Los Angeles, is having a photography exhibit entitled In Focus: Making A Scene from June 30th through October 18th, 2009. The main goal of this exhibit is to showcase several photographers over the years that used fictional elements within their artwork. Beginning in the late 1800s and ending in the 1980s each photograph depicts different art movements, the influence of other mediums such as film and painting as well as the evolution of dark room effects within photography. A wide range of photographers are shown, mostly well known, however one piece in particular stood out among all the rest as a perfect example of using fictional elements within the art medium, photography. Dora Maar’s Le Simulateur, The Simulator or The Pretender, taken and produced in 1936 not only catches the eye of the viewer but engages the audience in a way that none of the other photographs have. Maar, a French surrealist, uses experimental techniques and winding composition in order to send the viewer to a land of distorted imagination, pushing the psyche by not only testing the limits but also by questioning the possibility of an opposing reality. The idea of this, seemingly off putting, attracted most of the museum goes, who huddled around the photograph as if it were the only one in the room. I expected to see a well known photographer’s piece when I finally got a glimpse, but was surprised to see that the artists was known for another reason, being Pablo Picasso’s muse. (McQuillan)

Dora Maar was born in Tours, Western France on November 22, 1907 as Henriette Theodora Markovitch. Her father Josip Markovic was Croatian and a famous architect in South America; her mother was Julie Voisin, and was French. Maar grew up primarily in Argentina speaking fluent Spanish as well French. In 1926 she went to study in Paris at the Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs, Ecole de Photographie and the Academie Julien. Her primary focus was in painting, photography and poetry. Maar became associated with the Surrealist Movement in the mid-1930’s and made a name for herself by posing as Pablo Picasso’s muse for nine years, documenting his famous painting Guernica and participating in political exhibitions with fellow surrealist. Unfortunately, she is mostly known for her work as the ‘weeping woman’ coined by Picasso and not by her artistic talents. She has been described as a “dark beauty” attracting those, including Picasso, because of her theatrical behavior, mutilating violence and unmistakable talent. (Latimer) Through her career these defining attributes seem to seep into her work adding texture and substance.

During the time of this piece, 1936, the Surrealist Movement was at its height. Dadaism, surrealism’s predecessor, was an art form that emphasized the absurd and illogical as well as mocking art in general but surrealism took it one step further conveying an abnormal world as reality. Surrealist leader Andre Breton, a famous writer, defined the name in 1924 in the Surrealist Manifesto. Here Breton defines it as,

“Surrealism. Philosophy. Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin once and for all other psychic mechanisms and to substitute itself for them in solving all the principal problems of life.” (Ades & Gale) This came out of psychology, Sigmund Freud in particular, creating a movement in art, music, literature and politics. Themes within a surrealist work include dreams, childhood, madness, and elements of surprise and an irrational display of juxtaposing images. Dora Maar surrounded herself with some of the most influential surrealist: Salvador Dali, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso (although mostly known for Cubism) and Marcel Duchamp. (Foresta)

Le Simulateur, which Maar finished in 1936, is considered a surrealist piece. The photograph seems to almost be a painting because of its abnormal qualities and exquisite lighting. Dora Maar made most of her photographs come to life in the dark room where she was able to manipulate images and experiment with composition. In this particular photograph, Maar has overlapped two images in order to create the finished product. This process takes some time in order to get the images lined up just right as well as keeping the integrity of the images in tact. One of the most difficult parts of layering negatives is figuring out the exposure time in order to make the layering process seamless. What was created with this process was a maddening exploration of human capabilities.

At first glace the photograph jumps out because of the circular lines, contrast and unusual position of it’s subject. My eyes instantly go to the boy, off centered, and bent backwards looking at the viewer. One of the lightest points of this picture is the boy’s legs and torso, which are both twisted. Another area that is lit and pulls the eye is the section of the building’s roof where it begins to spiral. What this does to the viewer is it causes s/he to spiral towards the right, into the photograph. Maar has taken us into this world just by creating lines that suck you in. The shock factor that is incorporated in most surrealist work is evident through the boy’s position, which has him twisted upside down, defining gravity. Our mind wanders because only in our dreams can we walk on the ceiling like this boy. His face turned towards us, daring the viewer to try it. Pools of light make there way through the background of the photograph showing us that this tunnel goes on. We are left questioning, how many other children are hanging from the walls? This world that she has created does not end when we come around the corner it goes on.

The name of the piece stood out for me as well. The Pretender (or simulator) can express many different ideas. The concept of pretending is an extremely powerful one. As children we pretend in order to transport our selves to another place and time, one in which anything is possible. We pretend because, in this world there are rules and laws that hold us back. What if we were to pretend that our dreams are reality or just a different aspect of it? I think Maar is exploring the idea of simulating an alternative reality. She dares you to do what she has done both in art and in life.

Dora Maar’s Le Simulateur was incorporated into the exhibit Making a Scene for many reasons. Her subject, location and mood that are portrayed within the piece all make for a dream like reality, although seemingly real, are a work of fiction. This is a great example of how painting and dramatic storytelling can influence an artist. The Getty Center, where this exhibit took place, is located in the land of fiction, Los Angeles.

The Getty opened its doors on December 16, 1997 and their primary focus is on European and American paintings, drawings, photography, sculpture and decorative arts, with examples of modern landscaping as well as architecture. The Getty, although a younger museum, emphasizes education, research and conservation. The staff at this museum, “strives to provide its visitors with access to the most innovative research in the visual arts while they enjoy a unique experience in viewing works of art…” (Getty) So it comes as no surprise that they would strive for innovative and unique exhibits such as this one.

What a perfect exhibit for a place where film, a mostly fictional based medium, lives. The magic in movies can be made by some of the same effects shown in this exhibit. Having a photograph within a film that can tell the story without words or explanation can carry that piece so much further then without it. When I saw this piece I was instantly inspired. The dream/nightmare aspect to the photograph is intriguing and created millions of stories in my head. As a filmmaker, having an image that can express this much can save pages of tedious dialogue. This exhibit reminded me of the importance every image has in the photography of a film. Dora Maar proves that your only limit is yourself. This exhibit also gives a history for future artist in how art can inspires more art, which can be interpreted within different mediums. Storytelling and causing the viewer to engage with the piece is the goal, no matter what art form you are using.

Dora Maar has displayed what it is to be a surrealist. There is an element of surprise, unusual subject matter set in a dream like world. She uses experimentation in order to cause the viewer to think differently about life and their surroundings. The expectations of reality are exceeded by the juxtaposition between the subject and it’s setting. Maar displays a philosophical dilemma digging into the subconscious in order to create meaning. She captures the story, different to all its viewers, within one photograph. Questions arise in the mind, beauty comes out of distortion and our reality shifts. The line between what is real and what is not meld, what is left is the imagination.






Works Cited
Ades, Dawn and Gale, Matthew. "Dada." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 22 Jul. 2009 http://0-www,oxfordartonline.com.library.academyart.edu:80/subscriber/
article/grove/art/T021094

Ades, Dawn and Gale, Matthew. "Surrealism." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 22 Jul. 2009 http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.library.academyart.edu:80/subscriber /article/grove/art/T082410

Foresta, Merry A. "Man Ray." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 22 Jul. 2009 http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.library.academyart.edu:80/subscriber/
article/grove/art/T053862

Latimer, Tirza. "Maar, Dora." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 22 Jul. 2009 http://0- www.oxfordartonline.com.library.academyart.edu:80/subscriber/article/grove/art/ T2021794

McQuillan, Melissa. "Picasso, Pablo." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 22 Jul. 2009 http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.library.academyart.edu:80/subscriber/
article/grove/art/T067316

The Getty. The J. Paul Getty Trust. 1 Aug 2009. http://www.getty.edu/

Mysterious Skin -Film Review/Scene Analysis

Mysterious Skin
Written and Directed by Greg Araki
Adapted from the novel by Scott Heim

Mysterious Skin is a story about two boys growing up connected by one traumatic childhood event; they were both molested at age eight by their little league coach. Brian (Brady Corbet) and Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) have a different take on the series of events, which in turn affected who they have become. Neil is a self-destructive male prostitute, convincing himself that the only man he’s ever loved was his coach. While Brian believes he was abducted my aliens and will stop at nothing to learn the truth. In order for Brian and Neil to move on in their lives they must face the past together.

Mysterious Skin is written in a unique way, recalling the traumatic memories of two different boys blending the lines between fact and fiction. The script plays with the idea of perception and synchronicity while examining the lives of Neil and Brian, the two victims, as they grow up. Each scene in the film works on multiple levels, creating a character arc for both boys and even some minor characters while keeping the story moving with strong structure and an overall vision. Some themes expressed in this film include: salvation in the most unlikely of places, dealing with the past in order to move on and how our perception can alter memories. The screenwriter weaves these themes throughout each scene while continually keeping the viewer involved, waiting to see how the story will pan out.

One scene in particular that showcases these elements of screenwriting beautifully is the Halloween scene. This scene comes fairly early on in the film, when we have already met the eight-year-old Brian and Neil as well as these boys in the current state. The audience knows that Neil is gay and that he was a willing participant in a sexual act with his little league coach. We also know Brian believes that he was abducted by aliens because one night he blacked out and ever since then he has nose bleeds. The connection between these two boys seem to be the little league team that they both played on. Within the Halloween scene much more is revealed, characters become more developed and relationships are formed.

The scene goes back and forth between each of the boy’s experiences that Halloween night. We begin with Neil’s voice over telling us that Wendy Peterson was his soul mate and if it weren’t for him being gay they would have been more than just friends. We see the two children (Wendy and Neil) holding hands and dressed alike. Now we understand that they have been friends for a while. This eases us into their relationship that we later see. Young Neil decides to kidnap a boy with Wendy; convincing the boy that they are going to “do something fun.” The tone of the film, as well as the music, lets us know that this "something fun" will more then likely not be typical child like behavior.

We then cut to Brian with his sister, too scared to go through a haunted house. Brian is told to wait outside while his sister goes through alone. While outside, Brian is pushed around by a bunch of bullies. His glasses fall and he is disoriented. Here we learn about Brian’s demeanor. He is not a very popular or strong boy. He is an outsider. As the scene intensifies and Brian is more bewildered, flashing Halloween masks past quickly until everything goes blurry. In the distance Brian sees a figure that calls his name. This is the first time we see an image of the “alien” Brian claims to have been abducted by. Without glasses this being coming towards him truly looks like the aliens seen on the television program he watches. Brian’s nose begins to bleed and he passes out.

After Brian has fallen we cut back to Neil and Wendy telling the boy they kidnapped to get into a hole in the ground. Wendy seems apprehensive so Neil takes the lead. Neil curses at the boy and tells him to put firecrackers into his mouth while he lights them. After lighting the firecrackers, Neil asks Wendy to shine the light on the boys face. The boy is bleeding all over and in shock. Wendy is afraid that they will be tattled on but Neil says he knows just what to do. Neil touches the boy sexually (the way his coach touched him in the scene before) and Wendy watches. This not only establishes Neil’s nature that he learned from his little league coach but also how Neil revealed a part of himself to Wendy that he was never able to reveal to anyone else.

At the end of the scene we go back to Brian, waking up not knowing how he got home. He had lost an hour and he couldn’t remember anything, just that this event and the one from before were connected. Brian’s voice over lets us know why this is such an important memory:
All I knew was that it was somehow linked to the other time, the night I woke up in the cellar. And I also knew that, no matter how long it took, I had to find out what had happened to me. I had to find an answer to the mystery. Brain has now committed himself to finding out what has happened to him, his journey can begin. His character has been established and we know that he will have to change over the course of the film in order to find the truth.

Neil also breaks through in this scene. Before we were under the impression that Neil enjoyed his time with his coach, but there was something under the surface that wasn’t seen. In this scene, what is under the surface begins to be revealed. Neil is affected by what his coach has done to him and it has formed the way he looks at other people, hurting them and then making it up to them sexually. This helps the viewer understand Neil’s actions later in the film. The relationship between Neil and Wendy is developed further, so we can understand why Wendy sees Neil that way she does. As Neil’s voice over states:
Wendy never looked at me quite the same after that night. Sharing this part of myself...I'd never showed anyone else ever before. I knew we'd be bound together...forever.

To create an amazing scene the screenwriter used character development, story movement, a visual representation of the “alien figure” and economy, by moving back and forth between one boy’s Halloween experiences to the others. However, there is one more element that the writer weaves throughout this scene and many of the others, and that is a theme. As I said before, there are many themes within this film but one of the major ones is this idea of perception. These two boys see life differently and so they react to people and situations adversely. One boy is in denial while the other becomes numb. It is interesting to see these two reactions to abuse and how they might affect the child as he grows up. Reality can be altered depending on the lens it is seen through. This is what the film is about. After this scene the viewer is ready to take the journey with these two boys. We know that they will have to eventually meet and somehow save one another.

Two Years Later, LA is My Home

It's been two years since last I wrote...since last I lived in Arcata...and since this photo was taken...

Life has changed, and so it must. I moved to LA to leave the life of "fun" that was leading me away from my goals in life. I have hit some bumps along the way. To say it was easy would be ridiculous, but to say it wasn't necessary would make my denial even more apparent. Some how I found my way back to my passion in the hot desert that we all call Los Angeles.

LA frustrates me and at times makes me "mad as hell" but the new year has brought a sense of new found love for the city of angels. After attempting to move for the fifth (or so) time, I have choose to accept my placement here and to look at the positive. I have found that most of my frustration lies with the simplicity of differences. By this I mean the age old rivalry that is less express then the popular west coast/east coast feud . That is the difference between Northern Californians and Southern Californians. Yes, California is not one collective state. Those that dwell in the bay area, where I spent many years, are completely different from the Arcadians (Humboldt County folk) that I had became long time friends with. And that's just the Northern part of Cali, SoCal is a completely different beast! Perhaps the greatest thing about California is that it is so different everywhere you go. However, this causes problems when moving from one extreme to the other. This being NorCal (past SF, for those of you who think Cali stops at the bay) to SoCal (that is LA county, not San Diego). The difference between the two may be the cause of all this frustration.

I was spoiled in Arcata, a place that prides themselves in the virtue of friendliness, non-conformity, vegan affordability and unpopulated beauty. And although I felt that LA represented the exact opposite of my past home, I have come to find these difference are what makes LA the great place that it is. The limited things that I complained about in Arcata (more shows, dance clubs, people, opportunities, MOTIVATION!) are those things that are plentiful here in LA. And although I will always miss my little town of Hippies, I realize that perhaps there is a place for me here and dare I say, a purpose.

So, what does this mean, if you are a traveling Californian, trying to find a steady footing everywhere you step? Well, for me, it means to stay true to yourself, which is always the answer, but even more then this, it is staying true to the places you've been, the experiences you've had and the people you've met. Take these experiences with you to not set standards or compare, but to add to the experiences to come. Without it you can not survive, here or anywhere. And beyond surviving, you can not grow, learn or be happy.

After two years I have accomplished a lot! I stopped doing drugs, I got back into school, I got back into making movies and writing, I fell in love, and I'm happy. And in a way, I have LA to thank for that. An unlikely place to sober up and find happiness, but some how, for me, it happened. Who knows how long I'll be here or where I'll end up but I am letting go of a comfortable past that may have kept me away from the life I really wanted to live. Now if I can only convince my body that LA weather is not too hot...

-Tazer

In the beginning there was nothing intellegent said...

To All the Soldiers Out There:

I decided to begin this blog in order to express how I felt about films and music, books and entertainment, the world and it's inhabitants blah, blah,blah...you know pretty much what everyone else does on these little websites that help people like you and I stop being bored and help express ourselves. I hope to sometimes say something interesting but who knows, it might all be crap!
I would also like to network on this little address I have just created. Meaning: Hey you SLACKERS that I have made films with before or soon will! Yeah you! All the little ones hiding in Santa Cruz, San Fran, Oakland, Portland, LA, Arcata and so on...let's finally do something! I say we start getting together and making films, begin our own company because we all know no one else is really doing it. I know, I know...how many college film students think this will happen? Well I'm crazy and I think we can do it so... CALLING ALL CRAZIES! LETS DO IT!
Alright...there's my opening statement: Nothing of Importance...tune in next week I might slip out a nugget of entertainment.
Over and Out
-TazerONE
The Champion