Rhys Chatham Looking for Guitarists To Perform A Crimson Grail, Posts Ad on Message Boards, Gets Called Out For Posting In The Wrong Section After Posting In The “Looking For Artists” Section Instead of the “Looking For Musicians” Section
By Jon Lorenz on May 12 2009
Last August, we saw the cancellation of the U.S. premier of composer Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail (TMT Review) due to weather problems (TMT Feature). This year, Chatham -- who recently collaborated with Karole Armitage on Drastic Classicism (TMT Feature) and writes horoscopes (TMT News) -- has decided to take a second chance and is on a search again for 200 guitarists. The original performance, commissioned by the city of Paris in 2005, included 400 guitarists, though Chatham has shrunk it down to 200 and also made a few changes to better suit its location at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park. The performance will take place August 8, 2009.
Check out the requirements below to see if have what Rhys is looking for, and be sure to get your application in by June 15. You can find more information here.
Requirements for performing in A Crimson Grail:1. It is necessary to be a competent guitarist with at least a rudimentary comprehension of standard musical notation. A bit of basic music reading is involved to be able to perform. All musicians participating will be assigned to one of four sections, each of which will have their parts provided in simple written notation and textual instructions, and explained by section leaders.
2. You must be able to commit to attending all three rehearsals, and all 12 hours of rehearsal time. Rehearsals will be held at a Manhattan location to be announced later, tentatively scheduled for 6 to 10pm on each of the following days: Wednesday, August 5, Thursday, August 6, and Friday August 7.
3. This may sound obvious, but you must be able to commit to attending a day-long rehearsal/sound check and the performance on Saturday, August 8. The approximate performance time for A Crimson Grail is 7:30 pm, on a multi-artist show that begins at 7pm. You and your equipment will need to be in place prior to the start of the concert. The piece is approximately 60 minutes in length. The performance is outdoors, with guitarists on the perimeter of Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park, West 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam.
4. Each guitarist must bring his or her own equipment for all rehearsals and performance. This must include: an electric guitar or bass of good quality that stays in tune; a good quality amp (having a power rating of not less than 50 watts); a guitar jack (20 foot minimum); a guitar strap; a digital guitar tuner; a guitar stand; and a string changer. At the composer's request, you will need to re-string your guitar, guitar strings provided by Lincoln Center.
Please note the following restrictions: No acoustic guitars. No hollow body electrics. No vibrato or whammy bars.
5. Sorry, but no beginners. Professional and semi-professional musicians will be given preference over amateurs.
6. This is an all-volunteer event. Due to the size and scale of the event, there are no fees or expense reimbursements for participating guitarists. The experience of being part of a once-in-a-lifetime performance…priceless.
My additional requirements:
1. Your guitar must have at least 5 strings on it (Yeah I know you think its artsy to only use 4 strings but we draw the limit at 1 missing string. OK.)
2. No Pete Townsend windmills.
3. You must have absolutely no knowledge or have ever once played the following songs on guitar: "Stairway to Heaven," "Freebird," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Iron Man," "Dueling Banjos," "Back In Black," and "Louie, Louie."
4. Must not have a subscription to Guitar Player or Guitar World.
5. Finally, you must look cool on stage.
On Its Continuing Quest to Assemble the Complete Triforce, Hardly Art Signs Golden Triangle
By Couscous on May 12 2009
Yet further evidence that these days a band's gotta move to Brooklyn or starve, Sub Pop junior label Hardly Art has just signed Atlanta/Memphis/Austin-via-Brooklyn group Golden Triangle. The sextet has been described as a "super fucked-up version of the B-52s," which makes sense with its mixed-gender players.
The band has been furiously touring over the last year with King Khan and The Shrines, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, and Deerhunter, and they're keeping it up this spring and summer by continuing with dates opening for cult Brit group the Homosexuals. Golden Triangle plans to go into the studio soon to record its Hardly Art debut, which can be expected to drop in early 2010.
Tourdates:
05.12.09 - New York, NY - Southpaw
06.12.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Northside Festival
06.18.09 - Montreal, QC - TBA
06.19.09 - Toronto, ON - NXNE Velvet Underground
06.20.09 - Toronto, ON - NXNE Yonge Dondas Square
06.20.09 - Toronto, ON - NXNE Silver Dollar
07.15.09 - New York, NY - Cameo Gallery
07.25.09 - New York, NY - Soto Velez Center (FREE BEER!)
You’re Invited to Joey Ramone’s Birthday Bash! Brought to You by Manic Panic Hair Dye! OMGZ!
By Annapocalypse on May 12 2009
It’s a sad, sad day when the official birthday celebration for a deceased punk rock icon is being sponsored by a hair dye product that is synonymous with Hot Topic stores, but hopefully the 14 year olds who actually use Manic Panic to dye their greasy locks bright blue will be too busy reading Twilight to attend this year’s Joey Ramone Birthday Bash.
To honor what would have been Ramone’s 58th birthday, his Birthday Bash is being held Tuesday, May 19 at The Fillmore New York, at Irving Plaza. Fans will be treated to an advance listen of rough mixes of never-before-heard Ramone solo recordings. A full album of solo material is currently being readied by various producers and is slated for a posthumous release by the end of this year. The Bash will also feature headlining sets from Fishbone and Supersuckers (apparently it’s the mid-90s all over again), in addition to performances by The Friends of Joey (featuring Richie Ramone, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Jean Beauvoir, Ivan Julian, George Tabb, Al Maddy, and Mickey Leigh), Death, Rough Francis (featuring Tommy Ramone), Bebe Buell, and Tom Clark & The High Action Boys. Matt Pinfield is set to emcee the entire event (not like he has anything else going on).
Tickets are available in advance for $25 ($30 day of show) at the Fillmore box office, or you can get them right here. For more information, visit Joey Ramone’s official website. Net proceeds from the Bash go to support the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research.
Hey Spain! Obama Hates Your Legal File Sharing and Isn’t Going to Stand for It!
By Annapocalypse on May 11 2009
Poor Barack Obama, getting all hung up on the fact that Spanish courts recently ruled that personal file-sharing is legal, and that file-sharing sites that don’t profit from copyright infringement are also protected under the law. As anyone with an internet connection knows, the United States is all like “Dude, you can’t download that torrent of the new Wolverine movie,” and they feel that Spain should adopt similar laws.
Why the big push on anti-piracy laws for Spain and not other foreign countries? Well, according to Torrent Freak, “Spain has one of the worst file-sharing problems in the world. The U.S. claims it is consistently among the top five worst countries in terms of overall downloads and that it regularly takes the top position for movie downloads per capita.” Damn, I guess Spaniards love Hugh Jackman too. The music industry is also suffering in Spain, with around two billion tracks illegally downloaded in 2008, up 80% from 2007.
Obama is hoping Spain will curb illegal file-sharing by “…includ[ing] an agreement between ISPs and copyright holders to prevent infringing content [from] being available on the Internet and should include ‘the immediate and effective implementation of graduated response three strikes procedures.’” Basically what all that legal bullshit boils down to is that Obama wants Spain to change their laws supporting file-sharing and punish citizens through a “three strikes procedure.” Come on, Barack, you mean to tell me that all the music on your iPod was paid for? I sent you a Mediafire link to the Veckatimest leak back in March, dude!
Insound Reissues Limited Ramones and Replacements 7-Inches: A Treasure for Collectors and Sea-Faring Pirates Alike
By Liz Louche on May 11 2009
Ahoy there maties! Here be treasure far greater than ye olde doubloons, fair wenches, and Jamaican spiced rum. Perhaps ye've heard tell of two mythic 7-inch records -- one by The Ramones (the California Sun EP), the other by some blokes by the name of The Replacements (I'll Be You). Now many a landlubber hath said that such things are no longer possible to find, whether by lawful purchase, pillage, or plunder. Them landlubbers be wrong.
Take a gander at this map here, ya scurvy dogs. Just past this sea monster here and this island a' singing harpies lies a smooth passage through The Internet. Destination: Insound.com. For Insound hath made a proclamation that they'll be reissuing a batch o' these prized 7-inches, limited to 1,000 total. Aye, ye slavering fiends, they'll have the original artwork and be pressed on premium vinyl. They're available for pre-order right now, and if me pirate senses serve me right, they'll be shippin' out even before the June 9 release date.
This be a fine treasure, there's no doubtin' that. California Sun's been out of print for over 30 years, havin' been originally released in 1976. Collectors be salivating over this one, for it contains both ye olde title track, but also "I Don't Want to Walk Around With You," which were recorded live at The Roxy in 1976, and yon B-side, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." The Replacements release is no less of a pearl. From the 1989 studio album Don't Tell a Soul, this previously out-of-print lil' gem has the non-LP track "Date to Church" with a guest appearance by the fabled Tom Waits. Arrrr, Tom Waits. Pass the rum, ye blubberin' infidels, and set course -- Insound, ho!
