I hear tell local rock band SQUARE PEOPLE just put the finishing touches on a new tell-all documentary: Square People: Mysteries and Secrets Unzipped. I know this because my roommate is Square People’s drummer and they shot said-video at my house while I was fighting off a stomach virus and painting the kitchen. Overall, a chill evening. Except for the 12 people in my living room, playing Grand Theft Auto while they waited for the next setup.
Alas, we must suffer for great art. Come see the movie premiere, Saturday, February 18th at Noa Noa (house). You may even spot a certain blogger in a cameo roll as an over-excited keyboardist.
The Facebook event page says, “Part performance feature, part biopic, part etc., SP:MSU is a thirty-minute, in-depth look at the band’s history and future… and now. Presented in startling high definition.”
The movie was shot by Drew Maynard, kick-ass local director who recently edited this gem. Square People frontman Chris Murray handled the editing duties.
My solo scoop & loop project ADVENTURE BOMB kicks off the show at 8:30. The film is at 9pm, followed by LESLIE KEFFER and 84001. All in all, an evening of mirth and mayhem.
Saturday, February 18th, doors at 8pm, show at 8:30
Noa Noa (house)
620 Hamilton Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
You don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone. On February 27th, the space where Gallery F resides at Scarritt Bennett Center will be converted into a student center. There are talks to relocate Gallery F to another area on the Scarritt Bennett campus, but the award-winning art space’s future is uncertain.
I’ve been helping to organize a show for experimental jazz bassist THOMAS HELTON at Gallery F on February 26th for some time. The show was to coincide with the closing reception for the exhibition “23 Years Without War.” With the news of the gallery’s closing, we’ve decided to turn the show into one last hurrah for Gallery F.
Director Sabine Schlunk has been a tireless supporter of experimental art in Nashville, and the gallery’s absence will be sorely felt. Sabine tells me the powers that be at Scarritt Bennett are thinking of moving the gallery to another area on campus, but the details are still up in the air. One thing is for certain though: This will be the last Gallery F event at the current space.
Come show your support for one of Nashville’s most innovative spaces. Be sure and tell Sabine Schlunk what Gallery F means to you. And stay for the kick-ass lineup of performers:
* Thomas Helton
* Theatre Intangible Live
* Craig Schenker TBA improv group
* The Nashville Scene (Mike Hiegemann and Rhendi Greenwell)
* JJ Jones
THOMAS HELTON is a composer and experimental jazz double bassist from Houston, Texas. Inspired by the great improvisers Peter Kowald, Evan Parker, and William Parker, Thomas plays every inch of his double bass — bowing, plucking, beating, and scratching out otherworldly timbres. He performs around the world and with jazz greats such as Tim Hagens, Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander, Mark Elf and Ernie Watts. Thomas plays like a man possessed, lost in communication with some invisible entity, blind to everything but his instrument and the music. Thomas appeared on one of my favorite T.I. podcasts to date. Check it out: Podcast 9 - Crow Helton Rauh Schenker.
Thomas will be screening his brand new video “I,” a synesthetic collaboration with video artist Jonathan Jindra. See a preview of the video below.
Saxophonist CRAIG SCHENKER will perform an improv based on the exhibition’s theme of war featuring a to-be-announced roster of local talent.
Thomas will join Craig and others for a THEATRE INTANGIBLE live improvisation based on the exhibition’s theme of war.
“THE NASHVILLE SCENE” aka RHENDI GREENWELL and MIKE HIEGEMANN (not to be confused with the local weekly paper) will reprise their celebrated Nashville City Limits audio-visual performance. JJ JONES (The Human Snowglobe) will close the night with cappella songs. All have appeared on Theatre Intangible at one time or another.
$5 suggested donation to the touring performer. More details on the Facebook event page.
February 26th, 5:30 – 10:00pm
Gallery F @ Scarritt Bennett
1000 19th Ave S
Nashville, TN 37212
With the loss of Betty’s Grill, Open Lot’s warehouse space, and the soon-to-shutter Little Hamilton all in a year and a half, Nashville has been dealt a serious blow to its experimental and noise music venues. That’s a damn shame. But things are beginning to look up. Dinos in East Nashville has stepped up to the plate with plenty of upcoming shows (booked by LESLIE KEFFER and others). (Go see NOISE NOMADS, LAZY MAGNET, UNICORN HARD-ON, and HOBBLEDIONS Thursday, January 26th!) The Springwater and The End continue their long tradition of booking interesting music.
BRICK FACTORY, the new Cummins Station creative space, may be the next shining hope. While not technically a venue, the founders have pledged to occasionally host music and art shows. I wrote about the opening reception taking place on February 4th after the Art Crawl.
Full disclosure: I helped put together this show. Come for the music, and stay to scope out the new space. Perhaps it’s an ideal location for your next show.
Ever get the urge to make a chair out of a single sheet of 4′ by 8′ plywood? How about learning aerial dancing or space painting? Are your ideas bigger than your studio apartment? The Brick Factory, a new creative space in the Cummins Station complex, would like to help. Here you can take (or teach) art classes, use the community workshop, see performances, and get your make on.
Hackerspaces are few and far between in Nashville. There’s Hacker Consortium in Germantown, a dues-taking collective that owns a laser cutter and Maker Bot. Then there’s my group HackNash, which does not charge dues but lacks a community space. That’s why I’m incredibly excited about the opening of The Brick Factory, which bills itself as a “creative space.” They have a full wood shop, access to a CNC machine, and a photography wall with one of those half-pipe-looking floor curves for corner-free backgrounds. When I checked out the space last week, they were still working feverishly to finish the wall by opening.
The Brick Factory opens February 1st, but the best time to check them out may be during the February 4th First Saturday Art Crawl. From 8pm to midnight, the Brick Factory is hosting an open house, complete with live music and an art show curated by The Open Lot. (Full disclosure: I’m an Open Lot board member.)
Finding the space can be a bit of a challenge. Cummins Station is HUGE. Your best best is asking the front receptionist or just following the event signs.
Although co-founder Ryan Schemmel told me The Brick Factory is not primarily a performance space, they will still host events. I’m helping to organize a show on February 7th featuring Theatre Intangible participants C.J. Boyd, Kyle Hamlett (Lylas), and Sugar Sk*-*lls (Ben Marcantel). On February 29th, DeKalb, Illinois circuit-benders CMKT4 will host a bottle cap contact mic workshop and performance. Their performance at the 2010 Circuit Benders Ball was a fan favorite. More on these events soon. Also check The Brick Factory events calendar.
UPDATE: More details on the art exhibition. In solidarity with Gallery F, Sabine Schlunk’s gallery at Scarritt Bennett Center that will soon be relocated, all of the artists on exhibition are somehow involved with Gallery F. Here is the list of artists:
Carolyn McDonald
Perrin Ireland
Sierra Faye Mitchell
Duncan McDaniel
Laura Willace
Patricia Earnhardt
Sabine Schlunk
Matt Christy
The Brick Factory @ Cummins Station
209 10th Ave South
Suite 126
Nashville, TN 37203
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